Chapter 20 Part 2
"What... What've I... what've I done?.." The words stumbled off disobedient lips. Awkwardly, she pushed strands of hair off her face — feeling the words get lost in the ringing in her head.
Abruptly — clumsily — she buried her face in the pillow. Intensely embarrassed. Once the haze faded, shame and guilt started burning me up inside.
"I!.. I did! S-SUCH A—! SUCH A—!" Panic. How am I supposed to feel about this?! Wild shame. Guilt. Especially toward Kaoru. Because I... to him...
She never finished the thought.
"Naruko — you still not up?!" The voice from the kitchen window hit like a lightning bolt.
"KYAH!!!" She shrieked. Her heart dropped into the Abyss — then exploded into frantic drumming, threatening to burst out. Panic-launching off the bed — flailing — what do I do first?!
The window opening sounded like Doom itself. Chaotically yanking her clothes straight — trying to hide every trace of the "crime." An absolutely indescribable sound — then she dove under the blanket, head and all — hiding from the world. Fear. Guilt. Shame. Embarrassment. An inexpressible cocktail — her heartbeat probably audible from a dozen meters away.
She squeezed her eyes shut at the soft sound of feet on the floor.
"Naruko?" Kaoru's voice through the blanket. "You still asleep, sleepyhead?"
"Oh! K! K-k-k-kk-koru-ch-chan!" She poked her head out — twitchy — trying to look normal. Her face was on fire. Her eyes literally burning. She couldn't lift her gaze. Couldn't look at him. Just impossible.
"Oh?! Your face is so red! What happened?! You're not sick, are you?!" Kaoru leaned over the bed — concerned.
"Nnnnothing! I'mmm perf—!" She babbled — feverish — stuttering.
Her voice died the second a cold hand touched her. Carefully lifting her stuck bangs, Kaoru pressed his lips to her forehead.
Uzumaki froze. Eyes wide. Her hammering heart seemed to stop completely.
"Mmm?.. Hot — but it doesn't feel like a cold." He murmured it, worried — while Naruko felt steam about to shoot out of her ears from the tidal wave of emotion. "How d'you feel? Any nausea? Headaches?"
"Nnnnothing! Nothing at all!" She practically shouted. "Everything's fine! Hot! Just — I was hot sleeping! I'm totally fine! Ha! Ha-ha-ha!.."
Kaoru gave her a suspicious look — which made her quietly panic.
"Hmm — alright." He shrugged, mild. "Sorry — guess I interrupted your sleep. Scared you. Didn't realize you'd decided to sleep in today, Naruko-chan."
"It's all good, all good!" Energetic assurances — steering hard away from the topic. "Did you — did you need something, Koru-chan?!"
"Yeah." He nodded, settling on the edge of the bed. "Think I've recovered enough to examine the seal properly. Will you let me check it?"
She'd barely caught her breath — and now shuddered.
"Ummmu..." Something unintelligible — face hidden in the blanket.
"Naruko?"
"Huh?! Ah! Etto... Yes — ha-ha-ha!.." Treacherous sweat. Crumpling the blanket edge — hunting for an escape. Heart pounding. Thoughts at lightning speed — all of it just making the panic worse. With horror — I realized I just couldn't say no. It'd be suspicious. Worse — Kaoru might think I stopped trusting him! I don't want him thinking that. But at the same time — I'm burning up with shame. I can't show him my body. Not after THAT.
"Not in this life! I just CAN'T!! He'll find out! FIND OUT!!! Koru-chan'll HATE me!!!" The panicked thoughts deafened her. The fear of being exposed was too much.
"Naruko? Naruko — you sure you're okay?" Kaoru's voice pulled her out of the black panic-spiral. Warm brown eyes — genuine concern. Warmth spread in my chest. He really is kind to me.
"Umm... I'm fine. Yeah. Yeah — I'm okay..." She whispered it. I decided! Squeezing her eyes shut — brave — she pulled the blanket off. Her face was burning as she awkwardly clutched the hem of her pajama top, pulling it up — exposing the seal on her stomach. Inside — I was burning up. Ready to crumble to ash — I was that ashamed. She'd shown Kaoru her skin plenty of times before and never felt anything like this. But now — the fact that he was looking at her bare stomach made her want to literally fall through the earth so no one — NO ONE — could see her. Never in my life have I felt this flustered. This shy.
"Let's see..." Kaoru whispered it. He hadn't fully recovered — more focused on the Seal — so her obvious agitation just passed as background.
"Ah!" She almost cried out at the careful touch of fingers on her skin. Timidly opening one eye — she watched him trace her stomach with that serious face. A trembling, agitated feeling squeezed her chest. Every touch — even the lightest — like a tiny needle-prick.
"This is?..." Kaoru whispered — stunned — breath catching. He laid both hands on her faintly trembling stomach — concentrated — pushed energy into his palms. Instantly, a second layer of dimly glowing symbols appeared around the original Dead Demon Consuming Seal. "'Kabe' — 'wall'/'firmament.' 'Gedain' — 'guardian'/'overseer'... 'Azuko' — 'Meiyomo'?.."
Muttering — tracing each symbol on her skin with his finger. Some he recognized. Most were completely new — he could barely guess at their meaning. The whole thing was double-layered — Inner and Outer rings — each circling the original seal's symbols on its respective side.
"'Eastern light,'" Kaoru thought, tapping a specific symbol. Somewhere at the edge of his awareness — a strange squeak. "And this... 'Wind of Four Sides'?... No — 'Four-Sided Stream'! Incredible — this is way beyond me. But it seems harmless — as far as my limited knowledge goes. Most of these symbols carry positive, harmless meanings... Did I do this?! No. No-no — absolutely beyond my level. But then... HOW?!"
"M... umm... etto?.." Naruko murmured — timid — embarrassed by how he was acting. Kaoru'd been sitting there for a while now — stroking her stomach with that focused expression. It makes me feel... weird.
"M?! Oh! Sorry — got a little carried away." He blinked — dazed — pulled his hands back — smiled guiltily. "Looks like everything's fine — no signs of damage. I still can't say for sure what all the seal's functions are, but one thing's certain: nothing to worry about for the foreseeable future."
"Mm!" She nodded — beaming.
"Thank the kami!" Relief. Hastily yanking her pajama top down — finally able to breathe.
"M — Naruko?" Kaoru suddenly asked.
"Y-yes?!" Something's coming.
"Don't you think?.. hm... I smell something... weird?" He murmured it, vague. His nose twitched — catching the strange scent in the room.
"An o-o-od-or?!" She stuttered — voice nearly cracking.
"Me?! That's — I SMELL?! LIKE THAT?! HE NOTICED!!!" Spiraling into the black Abyss. He's gonna figure it out! He caught the smell — now he'll know what I was doing!
sniff-sniff-sniff
Naruko shrank — pure horror. Ready to die of shame. Right now — Kaoru's gonna understand everything and then... THEN!..
"I think..."
"Eeeee!"
"I think you should change your bedsheets, Naru-chan." Kaoru said it — and Naruko's brain short-circuited.
"HUH?! NANIIIII?!!" Eyes wide — unable to process.
"Seems like you sweat a lot during the night — the smell got into the fabric..." He kept going, thoughtful. "If you want — give 'em to me. I'm heading to the laundry tomorrow..."
"NNO!" She shouted. "I... I'll do it myself. Later!"
"It's no trouble, y'know." His kind smile didn't calm her down at all. No — I can't let him have the sheets that smell like THIS. "But — if you wanna do it yourself?.."
"Yes! Yeah — I-I'll do it!" Fervent nodding.
"Y'know, Naruko..." Kaoru said quietly — leaning closer.
"N-noo!" Inner voice screaming as his hands settled on her shoulders. He leaned in and... laid her down on the pillow. "Huh?! Huh?! Awawawa!.."
"Think you should rest a little, Naruko-chan." He said it gently — smoothing her hair.
"What?!" She blinked.
"I think — all the same — better for you to stay in bed today." Conviction in his voice. "These last few days've been exhausting... better safe than sorry. I'll tell Akashi-sensei you're not feeling well — so just rest today, okay? I'll make some food. You change the sheets, get dressed — your pajamas are damp from sweat. Anyway — I'll be right back. Just don't push yourself, alright? Back soon!"
"Ah... uh-huh?.." She stared at the closed window — stunned. Heavy exhale — collapsing onto her back — body going limp. The day's barely started and I'm already wrecked. Morally, at least.
"Kami-sama — I got away with it!" Relief flooded through her. "I was... I was doing..."
"MM! Bad! Bad, bad Naruko!!! Bad! Bad! Bad!" She screamed into the pillow — trying not to think about It. But the outburst faded fast — and she lay there, dazed. "Kami — what IS this?! What am I DOING???"
Exhausted — wrung out by the morning's chaos — Naruko drifted off. Too much. Way too much to process.
When Kaoru came back, he found her asleep. Curled around the pillow — fetal position — mumbling something into it.
"Umu-mumuuu..."
"Naruko's so Naruko," he thought, sighing. Smiling, he set a covered bowl on the table and pulled the blanket over her.
sniff-sniff
Kaoru wrinkled his nose — thoughtful — then just shrugged. He cracked the window for some air and headed back to his place to get ready for the library. Those unknown symbols needed decoding. Proper interpretation.
He didn't figure it out.
"Achoo!" The girl sneezed in her sleep.
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I started a new translation, it's a crossover based on Mondaiji (Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They?), and the story also intersects with No Game No Life, Honkai: Star Rail, and Demon Slayer. I've only just started reading this story and can't say much about it yet, but so far it's pretty interesting, so I recommend checking it out via the link or finding the translation on my profile. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do!
Mondaiji: Am I A Dragon Species? https://www.webnovel.com/book/36661423108025005