Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Getting Used to Each Other

“Nnnh…”

“Kana-chan?”

Not long after Toru calmed his racing heart, Kana started rubbing her eyes.

From the way her body was swaying sleepily, Toru guessed she was getting sleepy.

“Kana, are you sleepy?”

“Mmm…”

Kana shook her head, her eyes almost closed, in response to her brother’s question.

She was probably thinking that if she fell asleep, she would be separated from Hiyori and taken home.

Toru, who had exactly that in mind, smiled wryly at his clever little sister’s patience.

He was sure that if she fell asleep and woke up at home, there would be a lot of crying.

Remembering the times when she cried a lot as a baby, Toru’s expression turned slightly gloomy.

“Hyo-chan…”

Meanwhile, Kana, whose sleepiness had reached its peak, lay down with her head on Hiyori’s lap.

Perhaps it was very comfortable, as Kana fell asleep soundly in less than ten seconds.

Toru and Hiyori, stunned, looked at each other and chuckled softly.

“…I’m sorry, Tsukishiba-sensei.”

“No, no. Don’t worry, I don’t mind at all.”

Hiyori smiled and waved her hand, assuring Toru, who apologized for his sister causing trouble, that she wasn’t bothered.

As if to prove it, she gently stroked Kana’s head.

Her sleeping face seemed even more relaxed, suggesting she was comfortable.

But for some reason, a hazy noise ran through Toru’s heart.

He shook his head to dispel the distracting thoughts, confused by the emotions he was feeling.

‘No, no, what’s with this hazy feeling? Don’t think about weird things.’

In any case, if the person whose head was on her lap said it was okay, then he had no objections.

However, Toru couldn’t shake off the lingering feeling of guilt.

He reflected that ever since his “neighborly relationship” with Hiyori began—though it was a bit too heart-pounding to be called that—he had been apologizing constantly.

At the root of it was his guilt for relying on her, someone who wasn’t family.

He told himself he needed to be more independent.

“Kuwa-kun.”

“? What is it?”

While lost in his thoughts, Hiyori suddenly called out to him.

Toru reflexively responded, and Hiyori’s slender finger touched his nose.

The unexpected contact made his heart race.

As Toru sat there speechless, Hiyori slowly opened her mouth.

“If you really feel that sorry, then don’t call me ‘sensei’ outside of school.”

“…Huh?”

He stared blankly at her unexpected words.

Before he could even reflect on whether his feelings were showing on his face, Hiyori continued with an unusually serious expression.

“If you’re worried about bothering me on my day off, it would be easier for me to relax if you didn’t call me ‘sensei’.”

“That’s… but then what should I call you?”

“Hmm, anything you’re comfortable with is fine, Kuwa-kun. I won’t get mad unless it’s something really outlandish. Okay?”

“…Okay.”

Feeling a strange sense of closeness from this compromise, Toru averted his eyes in embarrassment and nodded.

He pondered how to address Hiyori, not wanting to dismiss her kind offer.

Honestly, it was easier to call her “sensei.”

But she had rejected that.

Then he should call her “Tsukishiba-san,” but that felt somewhat distant.

That left him with only one option.

‘Is it really okay…?’

Would it be rude?

Would she be offended?

Such hesitant thoughts clouded his mind and hindered his decision, but he shook his head to dismiss them, determined to accept her outstretched hand.

Toru ate a chocolate cookie and exhaled softly.

Feeling annoyed by his rapidly beating heart, he mustered his courage and spoke.

“These are the best cookies I’ve ever had… H-Hiyori-san made.”

“!”

Hiyori’s body stiffened when he addressed her by her name while expressing his admiration.

Her eyes, slowly turning towards him, widened as if she couldn’t believe her ears.

And then, as Hiyori regained her composure, her face quickly flushed red.

“K-Kuwa-kun? Did you just… call me by my name?”

“……I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

Seeing Hiyori’s bewildered expression with her flushed face, Toru also blushed and apologized, bowing his head.

Even though he knew this would happen, he couldn’t help but feel a burning sense of embarrassment.

“You don’t have to apologize like that! It’s just… it was the first time a man other than my father called me by my name, so I was surprised…”

“I see…”

He was relieved to hear that she wasn’t offended, but at the same time, he was once again reminded that this was a new experience for Hiyori.

Even if she had gone to all-girls schools, he couldn’t help but worry that she had too little experience with the opposite sex.

“Um, ahaha… Being called by my name feels a bit strange.”

“It’s the first time for me too… to feel so nervous just calling someone’s name…”

“I-I see…”

After sharing their impressions, both with flushed faces, they fell silent, averting their gazes.

It wasn’t like he had never called someone of the opposite sex by their first name before, aside from his family.

His friend Shiomi was a prime example.

But with Hiyori, he was strangely conscious of it.

Just as he was trying to calm his pounding heart…

“Then, we’ll have to get used to it. —Toru-kun.”

“Eh?”

Unable to immediately process her unexpected words, Toru reflexively looked at Hiyori.

Their eyes met, and Hiyori looked away with an embarrassed smile.

Toru was left dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, his heart, which had been about to calm down, started racing even faster than before.

It was because Hiyori had suddenly called him by his first name.

He couldn’t help but realize that this was how she must have felt earlier.

‘Um, does this mean… it’s okay for me to call her by her first name?’

He managed to think through his flustered state and arrived at a rough answer.

He felt his shoulders relax with the relief of acceptance, but it seemed that from now on, when they met on weekends, they would be calling each other by their first names.

It was probably just because she thought it would be better to differentiate their names to avoid confusing Kana when he called her by her last name.

He desperately tried to convince himself, trying to calm the excitement that was almost turning into a sense of superiority.

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