Even so, we are living in the present

Chapter 73 – Face-to-Face

It was 6:30 a.m. in New York City.

This was the second time Kyosuke and his friends had spent this hour of the day.

Their bodies and brains can’t adjust to the internal clock and the actual time, thus they dropped by a restaurant that was operating early in the morning and settled down for a break at a few tables large enough for all of them to congregate.

Even if Kyosuke was going to meet his mother, it was still too early in the day.

“I don’t want to call to meet my mother.”

Out of respect for Kyosuke’s own wish, no appointments have been scheduled.

“I am sleepy…”

It was Yuu who mumbled promptly after taking a seat.

The long limousine was allowed to park in the store’s parking lot as a VIP, and from there to the store, Yuu who was half-asleep drowsily bumped against Kyosuke.

“Big brother, I am sleepy too.”

Like Yuu, Tomoya also said the same thing and wrapped his arms around Natsume, who was sitting next to him, somewhat indulgently. While wryly chuckling at this, Natsume let him hold onto him, tenderly stroking his beloved younger brother’s hair before speaking.

“We’re going to have breakfast now.”

“Mm, I know.”

In an environment unprecedented for him, coupled with the effects of the time difference, Tomoya nodded but made no attempt to separate from him, which may have been attributed to the anxiety brought on.

Beginning with Kouki’s father, Kyosuke, Natsume, and Kouki seemed unfazed by the experience.

Although it was their first flight, the effects of the time difference did not seem to affect them adversely. The six of them sat around the table with Kyosuke sitting next to Yuu, Tomoya and Natsume, Kouki, and his father. And Kouki’s father and Kyosuke were seated adjacent to each other.

Eventually, Natsume’s face instantly scrunched up at the sight of the authentic American fast food that had been served to them.

“… The volume is amazing.”

The more his vocabulary declined, the more American the plate looked.

Kyosuke and the others shared the sentiment, their faces winced by the sight of the oversized hamburgers and fries that had been delivered.

“Yuu, do you believe the two of us could finish these?”

“Good luck, Kyosuke.”

“…”

His question was flippantly ducked, and once he was cheered instead, nothing was said in return, ending the conversation.

Everyone came to an understanding of the meaning of “one plate for two,” as suggested by Kouki’s father when placing the order.

With one plate for one person, the result would certainly be more than half of the food being left over.

That would mean being too disserviceful for the restaurant.

The six of them began to eat bit by bit, having the same menu together.

─​───────

After the meal had begun, roughly thirty minutes had passed.

The plates arranged on the table were nearly all neatly empty. Natsume and Tomoya had finished their meal, and Kouki and his father were grabbing the rest of the fries. As for Yuu and Kyosuke, the former had his appetite appeased early, and the latter was working tirelessly to consume the rest of his meal.

However──

“I’m not that much of a glutton…”

The large hamburger was still half full. As if to say, “I can’t eat anymore,” he put the hamburger back on the plate, which he had grabbed with both hands.

On the other hand, Yuu was biting a long french fry.

Natsume, who had been watching silently for a long time, eventually saw what was happening and reached out and grabbed the hamburger he was about to eat.

“You guys, it’s rude to leave so much food on the plate, even if you didn’t order it yourselves. How pathetic.”

Having said that, he bit down on the burger with his mouth wide open.

“Thank you…”

Powerless to say anything back to Natsume’s words, Kyosuke could only offer his thanks.

“Yuu… you should eat a little more too.”

“Impossible.”

When Yuu immediately replied, Natsume nearly choked as he sipped with the straw of a large beverage cup. While the carbonation stimulated his throat, he swept away the foreign substance that had been caught in his throat.

“Thanks for your answer for not betraying me…”

After a pause for breath, Natsume returned the words to Yuu and chomped down on the burger once more. In no time at all, the plate in front of Kyosuke was empty. And in less than five minutes, Natsume had finished the burger and fries as well.

“Thanks for the food.”

Even as he said this, his lips brushed against the straw and he gulped down the soda. Before long, the bottom of the straw made a ‘zzzzzz’ sound as he was done drinking, and his lips parted as the cup was set down on the table. He wiped his mouth with a paper napkin, rolled it up and placed it on the plate.

“I guess we’ll take a short break and start the operation.”

“What’s the plan, big brother?”

Tomoya’s question with a tilt of his head caught the attention of the others, and they shifted their focus to Natsume.

“I’ve planted a listening device in Yuu’s eye patch…”

“Eh?”

This time, Kouki voiced his doubt. Yuu’s eye patch was completely overlooked by everyone around him. At a glance, it appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary, but there was a very small, inorganic foreign object embedded in the fabric. This was something Natsume had planned in advance.

“Listen closely. Only Kyosuke and Yuu will meet his mother. Tomoya and I will pose as strangers, and I want Kouki and his father to stay outside.”

“What’s the reason for the listening device?”

A quiet yet penetrating voice rang out. The group gasped at the voice, but Natsume looked on indifferently.

“My earrings are designed to transmit the conversation. I’ve made sure that my earrings will be able to hear the conversation, in case something happens, allowing me to get there quickly. But since I don’t know anyone in this country, I’m going to use your face to guide me to the president’s office if anything should happen.”

Although they had been listening in silence, Kouki’s father’s expression darkened slightly at the last word. He did not react favorably to the fact that he had suddenly been instructed to be taken advantage of.

“… Father.”

Kouki gripped his father’s sleeve and stared at him as if he were clinging to him.

“Please. Please cooperate.”

His voice was laced with strain, but he appealed desperately with intent and eyes straight ahead, for Kyosuke’s sake. Unlike the past, Kouki had never trusted and depended on him, and the option of refusal dissipated and vanished like sand.

“Ah, I understand. I’ll make use of my status then.”

“Thank you!”

Natsume, who was listening to the conversation, still thought that it was unlikely that he could get on well with Kouki’s father, but a smile crossed his face at the sight of the rift between the father and son untangling before his eyes.

“Then, let’s get going.”

“…”

As Natsume stood up with his hand in his pockets, Kyosuke’s expression instantly grew tense.

“Kyosuke, do you still want to rest?”

“… No, I’m fine.”

While he could rest as long as he wanted, Kyosuke shook his head and stood up, not allowing himself to be carried away by it.

“Yuu is here for me, so I’ll be fine.”

Nobody pursued the matter at his words, and everyone after him rose to their feet as well.

At last, it was time to make a visit to Kyosuke’s mother.

While bearing a sense of foreboding, Kyosuke let out a brief exhale.

T/N:

Declined – The word volume in the dialogue is written in katakana which is a loanword, so “The more his vocabulary declined, the more American the plate looked” means that the more katakana words are used, the more foreign the plate looks like, something like a pun