113: Want to See My Tattoo?

In the end, Yotsuba couldn't find any suitable clothes for Hakuto. She could only get a thin jacket for him, barely covering his upper body.

"Sorry, Shiratori-sensei, I couldn't find any clothes that fit you."

"It's fine, better than nothing."

Hakuto didn't really mind. After all, as a grown man, he didn't have a strong opinion about these things.

Besides, he wasn't completely shirtless—at least he had a jacket on. Though, this jacket… was a bit on the girly side.

But it was pure white, which actually fit Hakuto's aesthetic quite well.

"But Yotsuba... you really didn't have to go into Itsuki's room just to find me some clothes…"

Yotsuba didn't say anything in response, just gave an awkward laugh.

"Hehe…"

When Hakuto stepped out of the bathroom, he saw that Miku had already gone back to her room to sleep, but Nino was still sitting on the sofa in her pajamas, seemingly waiting for something.

Just as Hakuto was about to ask why Nino wasn't asleep yet, Yotsuba suddenly spoke up.

"I'm so sleepy. I'm going back to my room now."

"Hm?"

Hakuto was a little surprised. Just a moment ago, Yotsuba had been full of energy—why was she suddenly sleepy?

But he didn't dwell on it. It was late anyway, so wanting to sleep wasn't unusual.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Shiratori-sensei."

Watching Yotsuba go upstairs, Hakuto found it a bit strange but didn't think too much about it.

He sat down on the sofa and took out the test papers he hadn't finished reviewing.

At this moment, Hakuto was wearing only a pair of shorts and a thin jacket. His messy hair draped over his shoulders, yet he didn't look disheveled. 

The red pen in his hand spun like a windmill between his fingers.

He slowly removed the cap of the red pen and glanced at Nino beside him.

"Nino, you're still not going to sleep?"

"I'm not tired yet…"

"Hmm? Are you suddenly in the mood to study? Want to go over the test papers with me?"

Hakuto teased her with a deliberately puzzled look. After all, sitting here, there wasn't much else for Nino to do.

"Pfft! Even if I had to jump off the balcony, I wouldn't study!"

"There's no need to make such a dramatic declaration…"

Looking at Hakuto's gentle smile, Nino's face suddenly turned red. She instinctively turned her head to the side.

Although she hesitated for a moment, she didn't forget her main reason for staying up.

"About earlier…"

"Hmm? What about it?"

"I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken so harshly to you…"

Hearing Nino's words, Hakuto momentarily stopped spinning his pen, nearly dropping it to the floor.

Because he wasn't quite sure what Nino was apologizing for… 

Speaking too harshly? 

Huh? 

That was considered harsh? 

Hakuto actually thought his own attitude had been a bit condescending just now.

His first thought was that Nino was messing with him, but judging by her expression and tone, she was clearly serious.

And thinking back to how Yotsuba had asked if he was mad earlier… Do girls really think people would get angry over something like this?

Even though Hakuto had no idea why Nino would think he was mad over such a trivial thing, he usually just went along with the conversation.

"No need to apologize, Nino…"

"So you really are mad, huh? Well… I guess it makes sense… I did throw the remote at your head, after all. That was pretty rude…"

Hearing this, Hakuto immediately fell into deep thought.

Wait… you're saying you were the one who threw something at me to wake me up?

Hakuto didn't really think it was a big deal, since he had wanted to wake up anyway.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Nino continued.

"But I only came downstairs because I was worried about you…"

"I was the one who brought down the blanket and turned on the air conditioner for you, you know…"

(●—●)??

"Wait… hold on a second!"

Hearing the words "turned on the air conditioner," Hakuto immediately interrupted Nino.

"Nino, are you saying that you were the one who turned on the air conditioning in the living room?"

"Y-yeah…"

Hearing her confirm it, Hakuto fell into contemplation once more.

So Nino not only brought him a blanket but also turned on the air conditioning, saving him from the heat…

And in the process, inadvertently woke him up… And the only thing she felt guilty about was speaking a little harshly?

And she even came to apologize for it?

After sorting out his thoughts, Hakuto felt that he shouldn't be the one receiving an apology—he should be the one apologizing to Nino!

Looking at Nino sitting beside him, he suddenly felt like her familiar face had never looked this beautiful before.

"W-what? Why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden…?"

"It's nothing. I just wanted to say thank you, Nino."

"Huh? Thank me?"

Nino was momentarily confused as to why Hakuto was thanking her, but in the next second, he continued speaking.

"Nino, what do you think about tattoos?"

Though the conversation shift was sudden, Nino still answered seriously.

"Hm? I think they're fine…"

Although tattoos were somewhat stigmatized in Japan—people with tattoos couldn't even enter most public baths because of gang associations—

It couldn't be helped. If you chose to stand out, you had to be prepared to lose something in return.

But Nino didn't think tattoos were a big deal. 

She naturally liked things that stood out.

Hearing that Nino had no prejudice against tattoos, Hakuto continued.

"Then… Do you want to see mine?"

Since Nino had helped him so much and even apologized to him, Hakuto wasn't sure what he could do in return.

So he figured he'd just show her something she might like.

Hearing his words, Nino's eyes widened in surprise, her face full of disbelief.

"You have a tattoo? Since when?"

After being at the same school for so long, Nino had never heard anyone mention Hakuto having a tattoo before.

Given how much people gossiped about him, they would probably even know which class period he preferred to use the restroom.

"I've had it for a long time. People just don't know about it."

"I've never heard anything about it…"

"Do I seem like the kind of person who would go around showing off his tattoo?"

Nino shook her head. In her impression, Hakuto wasn't that type of person.

Sure, sometimes he liked to act cool and could be a bit of a tease, but deep down, he was actually a pretty mellow guy.

She really had no idea why Yotsuba was always so afraid that Hakuto would beat her up over nothing.

___

Read 20 Advanced Chapters on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics

Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you!

Don't forget to leave a review too~ 

Check out the other translations too

___