Head Over Heels From The Scarf I Lent Her Chapter 18

Satsuki must have heard what happened. She sat on a chair at Tooru’s bedside and watched over him with concern.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I felt much better after sleeping the whole afternoon. Where’s Jun and Nis.h.i.+no?”

“They said they will bring you your belongings. I’m sure they will soon be here.”

“I see…”

Tooru was in quite a lot of pain when he was carried to the infirmary, but he slept off the worst of it. He wasn’t feeling perfect, but he could probably walk home.

Satsuki arrived not long ago. She had been crying over what his situation, but Tooru couldn’t really do much. He wasn’t used to getting in fights and so he didn’t know how to fight back.

The wind, warmed up by the orange evening sun, flowed in from the window. Though the air conditioner was on in the room, the window had been left open which made him sweat in his sleep.

Satsuki looked as warm. Her forehead looked a little damp and her hair clung to her neck. It proved to be a little too stimulating and Tooru quickly averted his eyes.

Voices echoed from the courtyard. Both the soccer and track and field teams were out practicing; the latter of which seems to be preparing for a compet.i.tion. Good luck, everybody.

“The track and field club are really giving it their best.”

“Yeah. I hope they win at their event.”

“… about your injuries…”

“… yeah. You can probably guess what happened, right?”

It’s my sister, right? she murmured with pain in her voice. Then, she took out her handkerchief from her school bag and dabbed the sweat on Tooru’s brow. He didn’t expect her face to be so close to his.

“I will definitely be speaking to her after this.”

“If you do that, Satsuki, she’ll—”

“I’ll be fine. I’m used to it.”

Her words were followed by a bitter smile.

It’s not about whether she’s used to it or not. She’s a girl and one who’s younger than him too. Tooru couldn’t place that burden on her.

But then Tooru didn’t feel right to tell her what and what not to do. He felt like he shouldn’t be intruding on her family’s matters.

“You have helped me out twice already. I can’t be slacking off either.”

“But…”

“Ding dong! Delivery for Tooru!”

Akane burst into the nurse’s room with her usual energy. Jun, with a smile on his face too, was right beside her. Then, as they walked up to Satsuki and Tooru, Akane took out her notepad.

“So, where did they get you?”

“My face first, then my torso. I bet she was just jealous of my pretty looks.”

He cracked a joke to clear that solemn feeling that was in the room. Tooru was glad he got everybody laughing too. After she finished with her notes, Akane turned over to Satsuki.

“Look at him getting all c.o.c.ky just because he’s a little good looking.”

“Oh, so you think I’m good looking?”

“The key word was “a little”, my dude.”

“That’s right. Very, very little.”

Tooru groaned as Jun and Akane dig at him. The two of them really get along well.

“Don’t you groan at us!”

“Wow, how rude! Maybe I’ll toss your stuff out instead of handing it to you.”

“I’ll kill you.”

Oh, scary! the two of them exclaimed together in sync. Just as Tooru sighed again at their little schtick, Satsuki chimed in.

“Shall we have dinner together tonight?”

“Ahh… piping hot porridge and ice cold AC—what a combo.”

“So warm! So cool!”

“Are you hot or are you cold? Make up your mind already, Akane.”

“There’s still a lot more, so have as much as you’d like.”

Satsuki placed a plate full of ingredients beside the portable gas stove.

On top of the burner is a pot of porridge with lots of cabbage, pork, and a variety of ingredients mixed inside. The broth was made from kelp and bonito flakes, lending to a light yet hearty base for the porridge.

Nothing healed Tooru’s wounds quite like a delicious meal. And the other two, trying Satsuki’s cooking for the first time, couldn’t stop eating either.

“It’s so good. So much better than what I make at home.”

“Not enough practice, Nis.h.i.+no?”

“Hey, don’t pick on Akane.”

“Yeah, alright.”

Jun chided as he was stuffing his face with porridge. The kelp, the bonito flakes, the hint of soy sauce, and the sweetness of the various ingredients came together in a delicious harmony of flavors.

After seeing how the three of them are devouring the food, Satsuki knelt by the pot and scooped a portion for herself. Then, the gently blew on her spoon before taking a bite.

“… mm, not bad.”

“You couldn’t tell by how we’re demolis.h.i.+ng own bowls?”

“Yeah! It’s so good! You should be confident in your cooking!”

Satsuki’s face was beaming after hearing that. And of course, her smile had only made other three fall harder for her.

“I’ve also bought some jello that’s not too sweet for you. Think of it as medicine for your wounds.”

“Nah, I’m fine.”

“No, you must!”

After seeing their exchange, Akane and Jun gave them a thumbs-up. What’s that supposed to mean? Tooru asks. But the two of them calmly replied, Nothing at all.

Tooru was just thinking they’re acting weird then suddenly, Satsuki squishes his cheeks with both her hands.

“Jeez, pay attention to me today!”

Tooru stiffened up as soon as Satsuki said that. The other two did so too. There was no hidden—well, yes, there was a little bit of hidden meaning to that.

Satsuki then looked around at all of their faces and blushed bright red after realizing what she had just said.

“S-Sorry! I got a little excited…!”

“Don’t worry. Get as excited as you want…”

“Ooh, how naughty, Satsuki…”

The two of them were muttering to themselves as Tooru turned redder than Satsuki. Heck, both Tooru and Satsuki were tomatoes by now.

“Pay attention to me” is a confession, right? This isn’t her first time saying something like this, but never have they been more embarra.s.sed. That line made Tooru aware that Satsuki, too, is a girl. But now he couldn’t bear to look at her in the face.

The two of them sat there silently while Jun and Akane grinned from ear to ear. Then, Akane makes a heart with her hands.

“Oh, just ask each other out already, you two.”

“Ask…”

“Each other out…”

Tooru and Satsuki couldn’t have been blus.h.i.+ng any harder after hearing that.

It’s not that Tooru hasn’t entertained the idea of dating a girl like Satsuki. But no matter how you look at it, this was too sudden. There’s no romance to that.

Plus, he doesn’t know how Satsuki thinks about him. He couldn’t just ask her out so casually.

Not to mention, there’s the fact that Amane exists. He learned earlier today that she’s incredibly jealous of her younger sister. There was no way that now is a good time to ask Satsuki out. Still, Satsuki’s line was all too effective.

If asked whether he wants to be her boyfriend, the current Tooru would have to say no.

“You keep talking, I’ll finish the rest of the food.”

“Ahh!”

“Anything but that!”

Tooru sighed at how in sync Jun and Amane were. They’ve been too in sync lately. They’re the ones who should be going out with each other, he thought.

After using the porridge to deflect them, Tooru stretched his legs out and looked up at Satsuki, still bright red. Looking at her right now was still too embarra.s.sing for him, so he looked away instead.

Satsuki, though, seemed to be taking it well as she helped herself to more food.

“Look at Satsuki. You two should just shut up and eat like her or else I’m going to eat it all.”

“Okay…”

Akane pouted as she went for more porridge. Jun, too, followed suit and had Akane serve him.

Tooru wondered if the two of them were just flaunting as he looked up at Satsuki, no longer blus.h.i.+ng.

After Akane and Jun went home, Tooru hit the books as Satsuki cleaned up.

None of them touched the topic of Amane. Well, rather, they were both trying to find the right time to bring it up. It was a touchy subject between the two of them.

It shouldn’t be difficult to talk about Amane though. Satsuki gets bullied by her sister and as of today, Tooru gets bullied by her too. But what should they talk about? Surely, they both must have lots to say about her.

Satsuki finished tidying up and let her hair down. Her long, flowing hair is something he’s now used to seeing.

Satsuki let out a sigh before naturally sitting down next to Tooru. She looked down at this notebook and was surprised.

“Wow, your notes are so easy to understand.”

“Really? It’s just how I normally take ‘em.”

“Is that right? I was thinking that you might have someone tutoring you.”

“I’m not in any clubs or anything since I have work after school, so I don’t know really have anyone who’s older and close to me. This is just how I do it.”

Everybody would be happy from being complimented for their notetaking. Tooru let out a slight chuckle and Satsuki giggled too. Her smile was as beautiful as ever and leagues better than her crying or angry face.

Then, they made eye contact. With that, Satsuki had an opening.

“Did something happen today?”

There it is. Tooru knew this unavoidable topic was coming.

Tooru gave her the gist of what happened and why Amane never gets in trouble with the teachers.

Satsuki went pale listening to the first half but then calmed down afterwards. She placed her hands on her lap and gravely looked at Tooru.

“Then in other words, my sister had your former friends hurt you.”

“Yeah, I guess so. We haven’t been speaking for a while, so it wasn’t a huge surprise.”

Tooru stared off into the distance. He had invited them over to hang out like this in the past. The good memories hurt, but he wasn’t about to cry. After all, Satsuki cried only once because of Amane.

Satsuki seemed to be in the middle of thought, but then she suddenly rested her head onto Tooru’s shoulder. She smelled as nice as she normally does, but with a slight tinge of sweat today, though nothing offensive.

“Won’t you rely on me?”

“Aren’t I already? I get you to clean my room and make my lunches already. That’s not nothing, y’know?”

Then, she puffed her cheeks and pouted. It wasn’t until recently that she started showing this innocent side of her. And since he’s only seen her smiling before, this side of her caught him by surprise.

Recently, he’s learned that sometimes, Satsuki is a little childish too. Perhaps because she never grew up with any friends, she doesn’t always know how to deal with people. Once she relaxes a little more around Akane and Jun, she’ll likely show them her childish side too.

And that’s just fine for Tooru.

He used to strive for her smile, but before he knew it, there was much more to Satsuki. Perhaps she’s letting her guard down around him, but it’s also building trust between them.

“But…”

“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna screw up a second time. I’ll be extra careful from now on. Okay?”

“Okay…”

Tooru immediately drew his hand back as soon as he realized he was subconsciously reaching out to caress the anxious Satsuki on the head.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t…”

“… no, don’t be. I like it when you do that, so please keep ?”

She says as she sticks her head over for him to pat. She’s just like a cat.

“I’ll run when I need to.”

“Okay. So…”

“I’ll take care of myself. I promise.”

His words came from the bottom of his heart and he finally got through to Satsuki with them. She closes her eyes and gently breathes in and out. She didn’t show it, but he felt she was a little nervous.

Tooru kept patting Satsuki as he thought about what is to come.