Fushimi saw Tamako wanting to drink more after throwing up and quickly held her hand down, saying, "If you can’t drink anymore, don’t force it."
"You’re the one who can’t drink, I can still drink... I can still drink!"
Minamoto Tamako was starting to feel tipsy, sprawling on the couch, blabbering about wanting to continue drinking. Fushimi recalled her performance last time she drank beer and quickly patted her face, trying to get her attention while she was still somewhat sober: "Do you have something you want to tell me?"
"Uh... what?" Tamako asked, tongue-tied.
She overestimated her tolerance; half a bottle of beer down, she felt dizzy, her brain like mush, unable to think straight.
Fushimi supported Tamako up; this was the make-or-break moment, he didn’t want to waste his efforts, so he shook Tamako’s shoulders, trying to bring her back to reality:
"Did you forget? You said something like ’can’t say it without drinking’... What do you want to say?"
"What do I want to say... hic... what do I want to say..."
Tamako’s face turned as red as a monkey’s butt, her eyes increasingly dazed, wobbling in front of Fushimi, her body as limp as if she had no bones, "No wait... who are you..."
Upon hearing this, Fushimi’s heart sank.
Well, today’s effort was wasted again.
Why is this girl’s mouth so tight?
Are the words ’I like you’ really so hard to say?
He had already used all his tricks, backed into a corner with nowhere to retreat, seemingly breaking through Tamako’s psychological defenses, yet ultimately it was all in vain.
Forget it, let’s try again tomorrow.
Fushimi laid Tamako flat on the couch, shakily stood up, casually took a blanket and covered her. He himself had drunk quite a bit and was feeling a bit hazy.
As he returned to the room, Taira Sakurako poked her head out and asked quietly, "Are you really going to die?"
Fushimi replied with a "hmm," saying, "Absolutely."
"Is it really that easy for people to die, or is it just adults?" Sakurako was kneeling by the door, listening in for some time, put back on her Hannya Mask and shrank behind the doorframe, looking a bit scary.
"It’s like that," Fushimi casually touched her head, "Cheer up, if I die, the money will all be yours."
Sakurako was silent for a moment, turned her head to avoid his hand, and closed the door. Through the door panel, she said, "I don’t want money, I want you to be alive."
Fushimi snorted and said, "I want the stars in the sky too! Life isn’t always ideal."
After saying this, he went straight back to his room, washed up, and went to bed.
Perhaps it was because of the drinks, Fushimi felt sleepy as soon as he closed his eyes. He thought he would be sleepless again tonight, but unexpectedly, he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
Before falling asleep, he remembered smoking in the hospital, Tamako was choked by it but didn’t say much... by the rules, smoking is prohibited in hospitals.
Since he was about to sleep, why not give it a try?
Fushimi sat up, found Kazama Tatsuya’s cassette, inserted it into the tape recorder, clicked play, and then lay down to continue sleeping.
A bird chirping sound started, followed by wind passing through the forest, then the rushing sound of a stream.
He had heard similar white noise in his previous life, clearer and more lifelike, but this audio segment was more intense.
The overwhelming sleep engulfed his rationality, and Fushimi fell into a deep slumber amidst the white noise.
In the first half of his sleep, he surprisingly didn’t dream, sleeping particularly deep, particularly soundly;
During the latter half, he dreamed of a cat, wriggling into his arms. The cat was soft with smooth fur, its body warm...
In a blink, the fat cat turned into a big rabbit, then into a bunny girl. She was petite, extraordinarily clingy, hugging him and refusing to let go, no matter how much Fushimi tried to push away.
"Stop this... alright alright..."
Fushimi’s dream gradually began to turn sultry, almost turning into a classic wet dream, when a tuft of hair suddenly poked his nostrils, making him sneeze.
Fushimi woke up, groggily wiped his nose, only to find the tuft of hair was an ahoge.
There was a warm soft sensation in his arms, his right hand was holding a heart-shaped soft object; after a moment of dazed realization, he suddenly realized the dream wasn’t entirely a dream.
Fushimi recalled Kujo Yua’s warning, slowly lifted the blanket, and saw the girl in his arms was well-dressed, just a bit disheveled, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Thankfully, thankfully...
Fushimi lifted the blanket higher to confirm that the sleeping girl in his arms was Tamako, then he finally relaxed completely.
How did this girl end up on his bed?
Fushimi propped up his upper body, looked up, the room door was tightly closed, he hadn’t forgotten to lock it before sleeping. Turning to look, the balcony’s floor-to-ceiling window was open, the night breeze lifted the curtain.
Moonlight dimly spread on the floor.
The silver-gray light split the room in half, shining on Tamako’s profile, her breathing even, eyelashes slightly trembled, curling up her body, side-lying in Fushimi’s arms.
Tamako, in a dazed state, felt the person holding her was about to leave, subconsciously clutching the collar of their clothes.
Fushimi had no choice but to lie on his side again, maintaining the embrace, with his left arm under Tamako’s profile.
He could clearly see Tamako’s eyelashes, particularly long, he heard that long eyelashes meant someone cried a lot.
Tamako reached her hand into his clothes’ hem.
Fushimi felt a bit ticklish, realizing something wasn’t right, sat up again, shook Tamako: "Are you awake?"