I’m an Introvert, but After Taking Care of the School’s Most Beautiful Girl Who Lives in an Apartment When She Was Sick, She Became Attached to Me and Started Inviting Me Over to Her Place! - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

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Kaon Natsuki’s POV

“—! …A dream?”

When I woke up, it wasn’t my parents’ old house, but the familiar ceiling covered in white vinyl wallpaper. As my consciousness gradually cleared, a throbbing pain pulsed deep in my head, and my body felt as though it were floating.

Whether it was because of the nightmare or a sign that my fever was about to break, heat poured out of my body. The blanket I was wrapped in had trapped the warmth. Feeling short of breath, I peeled it back just a little.

I’d had that dream again. Among all the memories from my difficult childhood, it was by far the most bitter. It felt as though a slab of lead had been placed deep in my chest, making it hard to breathe. My body felt heavy from the cold, and even my heart seemed hollowed out.

As if begging for help, I searched for the warmth of another person. But there was no one there. When I woke up again, all that lingered in my chest was a persistent melancholy and loneliness, clinging like smoke. Since then, I had forgotten how to rely on others. My hands, never held by anyone, were never wrapped in another person’s warmth.

Or so I thought.

My throat… So dry… Water.

Wanting to moisten my scratchy throat, I slowly tried to raise my body, which still wouldn’t move properly, as if I were half-dreaming.

“Huh…?”

A voice slipped out before I could stop it. When I put just a little strength into my body, my right hand felt something warm and slightly rough…. As if it were being held. Leaving me there in confusion, that “something” slipped smoothly out of my grasp. Then, in the blink of an eye, a shadow swayed at the edge of my vision.

“Hm? Natsuki-san, are you awake?”

“S-Suzuya-kun?”

The shadow that slowly moved into the center of my vision revealed itself under the light filtering through the curtains. Long bangs, a gentle mouth, and a low voice that quietly calmed my heart. I didn’t know why, but the moment I heard his voice, I felt at ease. Even loneliness and hollow memories were easily swept away. The seeds of loneliness that had taken root in my heart just moments before were gently brushed aside by his voice.

And then… When our gazes met, the “something” that had been held in my right hand twitched faintly. A ticklish warmth traveled from my fingertips to my heart, sending a shiver down my spine. Slowly lowering my eyes, I saw that what was in my hand was Suzuya-kun’s hand—white and slightly slender.

“…Th-this…”

“Oh, that? Well, you were really restless earlier, Natsuki-san. You kept saying ‘hand… hand…’ over and over, like a broken tape. So I thought I’d try reaching out, and then—this happened. Ahaha.”

Suzuya-kun smiled with troubled eyebrows, scratching his head as he shyly explained the situation. Still confused, I blinked rapidly and said nothing.

I… was having a nightmare… And I grabbed Suzuya-kun’s hand…

“——!?!”

“Huh!? What’s wrong!?”

Gradually, Suzuya-kun’s words took shape in my mind. I understood why things had ended up this way. In my nightmare, I had definitely reached out again and again, as if begging for my father’s hand as it slipped farther away. That scene was still vividly burned into my mind. To think that it had spilled out into reality as sleep talk… The instant I remembered, heat rushed back into my cheeks, and I couldn’t bring myself to meet the young man’s eyes.

“Ah—was it uncomfortable!? I’m sorry… I’ll let go right away!”

“Ah…”

Mistaking the way I had averted her eyes for disgust, Suzuya-kun gently released the hand he’d been holding. It was the action of a gentleman, but as I watched the warmth fade from my palm, I let out a small sound.

“Just wait a moment, okay? Your throat’s dry, right? I’ll get you some water.”

—Clack.

The quiet sound of the door closing felt strangely distant. Looking beside the bed where he’d been sitting, I noticed a novel wrapped in a brown book cover. The bookmark was already tucked halfway through, leaving clear signs that it had been thoroughly read. When I picked it up and removed the cover, the title caught my eye: “I’m a Bottom-Tier Streamer, but My Longtime Listener Turned Out to Be a Super-Popular VTuber.” The cover illustration was cute as well.

“…That caught your interest? Here, your water.”

“Ah, Suzuya-kun, thank you… gulp, gulp.”

Suzuya-kun was standing right beside me with a tray, just as I’d been absorbed in the cover. After gratefully drinking down the glass of water he’d filled for me, I looked once more at the novel he’d been reading.

“So, Suzuya-kun, you read stuff like this too?”

“Yeah. A friend recommended it, so I bought it yesterday and started reading it today. It was so interesting, I kind of got carried away.”

Huh…?

That was when I noticed something off.

According to Suzuya-kun, he’d only bought the novel yesterday and started reading it today. If that was the case… Why had he already read more than half of it? Maybe he’d been reading it at school. Maybe I was just imagining things. But…

Could it be that he stayed here the whole time…?

When I reached that one guess, the weight of the novel in my hands suddenly felt heavier, like it was telling me how much time he’d spent in this room.

“Hm…? What’s wrong? Still feeling foggy from the fever?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

The way he naturally kept his distance, his effortless consideration, his kindness. All of it slowly seeped into my weakened heart. His warmth, as if wrapping up my loneliness and desolation, melted the ice around my heart. The small, sharp ice I’d sealed away when I was young started to melt.

I want you to hold my hand again.

That was why the warmth slipping away from my hand felt all the more precious.

Please, let this moment not be a dream.

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