"What's wrong, Kawaki-san? No, I should start calling you Danna-sama from now on," Hinowa said with a soft smile.
Huh? Danna-sama? Kousei-san? Is that the rough guy you mentioned earlier? Is that rough guy in this room right now? Is he hiding somewhere? Kawaki thought to himself. Oh no, I'm sorry! I barged in and ruined the moment for you two newlyweds! My bad! I'll leave right away!
With that, Kawaki immediately turned around, opened the sliding door, and was about to step out. But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly paused, realizing something.
No... no, that's not right! I almost instinctively tried to run away, but that was not the right response! There's no way I did something like that!
Kawaki began to analyze the situation internally.
That woman must have just led me on. Maybe she's just joking around. Although normal women wouldn't joke about something like this, Hinowa is anything but normal. Compared to her, I trust my body. I wouldn't do something like that to Hinowa.
Then, another thought struck him.
But... could I really be sure?
So what do I do now? Did something really happen, or didn't it? There are only two possibilities, right? No, it should be that nothing happened at all. But because of this doubt, the chance of something having happened went from zero to one percent. And when there are only two possibilities, one percent might as well be fifty percent. So what really happened? What should I do?
"What's wrong, Danna..." Hinowa began.
"Stop right there! Don't call me that! I don't like being called that!" Kawaki interrupted, quickly closing the door and turning back to face her.
"Alright then, I'll just keep calling you Kawaki-san, as usual," Hinowa replied with a smile.
It's now or never! There's only one way to find out if anything really happened! Kawaki decided internally, and as he approached Hinowa, he began to undo his belt.
"Huh? You want to do it again?" Hinowa asked in surprise. "But my back is still..."
Exactly! This is just a test! Kawaki thought as he threw his belt aside and started to remove his kimono. If nothing happened, Hinowa would absolutely reject me! Yes, she'd reject me strongly—just like now! Please, reject me even more strongly! Show me with your actions that the possibility is zero!!
"If you can't wait until tonight, then... I guess... we can do it now," Hinowa said, lifting the blanket and lying back down, gently patting the spot next to her.
Kawaki silently picked up his kimono, put it back on, and started to tie his belt tightly as he slowly backed away toward the door. Zero... it's gone from zero to one! It's now a hundred percent!
Watching Kawaki retreat towards the door while getting dressed again, Hinowa smiled softly and said, "You're worried about my health, aren't you?"
"Uh... uh," Kawaki muttered, his eye twitching as he responded quietly, then quickly opened the sliding door again. "You... you should rest well."
With that, Kawaki stepped out of the room, closed the door behind him, took a deep breath, and then bolted down the hallway like his life depended on it.
...
Knock knock!
"Tsukuyo! Tsukuyo!" Kawaki, now kneeling on the ground, pounded on the door, desperately shouting, "Open up! Please! I need to ask you something! I'm begging you!"
"Ah, come... come in," Tsukuyo's voice responded from inside. "The door's not locked... I'm not feeling well."
Hearing this, Kawaki felt a glimmer of hope and quickly stood up, opening the door and stepping into Tsukuyo's room.
"Tsukuyo! Last night..." Kawaki began, but his words trailed off as he noticed something—Tsukuyo was lying in bed in the same position as Hinowa had been earlier.
"You... you're back..." Tsukuyo said, turning her slightly flushed face away. "We... welcome back."
"Uh..." Kawaki muttered, his expression blank as he asked, "What's wrong? You're not feeling well? Do you need a doctor? Why are you turning your face away? Why won't you look at me? Hey..."
"Id... idiot!" Tsukuyo stammered, her face turning even redder. "That... that kind of discomfort doesn't need a doctor. It'll get better with some rest. And... and now... now it's a bit embarrassing to look you in the eye... especially after... after what we did..."
Who? Me? Knocking? Does she mean I was knocking on the door roughly just now? Kawaki began to question his own life choices. Did my knocking disturb Tsukuyo's rest? Is she mad at me? Did I make her upset by disturbing her rest, so she's turning her face away? Girls usually turn their faces away when they're mad! Yes, that must be it! There's no other explanation!
"I've... already decided..." Tsukuyo said, clutching the blanket tightly as she shifted slightly under it, her voice small. "I won't back down anymore—not from my role as the leader of the Hyakka, not from my role as a woman, and... not from my role as your wife."
Kawaki's mouth dropped open, his eyes widening in shock as if he had been struck by lightning.
"After all... after you said those things and... and did those things to me," Tsukuyo continued, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment as she squirmed. "I... I don't have any experience, so... so I don't really know how a woman is supposed to react in these situations, but... but I'll do my best... Let's start with how I should address you. From now on, I'll call you Danna..."
"No, no need!" Kawaki interrupted, snapping back to reality as he quickly raised a hand to stop her. "No need to change how you address me! I... I don't like that title!"
"Is that so... then... then we'll keep it the same as before," Tsukuyo said, still turning her face away, though she occasionally glanced back at Kawaki with a flushed face. "I... I also think changing the way I address you feels a bit unnatural..."
What on earth did I do last night?! Kawaki's mind was in turmoil. Not only Hinowa, but Tsukuyo too?! No, no, no! This isn't right! I've always been confident in my self-control! Ever since the daily life arc started, I've stuck to my principles and never crossed the line. It's always been like that...
As he thought about it, Kawaki glanced at Tsukuyo, who kept stealing glances at him with a flushed face, only to quickly look away whenever their eyes met. Can you stop looking at me like that? I wasn't even that embarrassed, but now you're making me feel awkward! Ah, I misspoke; I was already pretty embarrassed...
"Uh... well, you should rest. I'll just... I'll just go now..." Kawaki muttered, his face covered in dark lines as he turned around and started to walk unsteadily towards the door.
"Oh... okay."
No! This isn't right! Kawaki suddenly realized this when he reached the door and stopped in his tracks. No, no, no! Something's wrong! Absolutely wrong! Me? Tsukuyo? That's impossible! Impossible! There's something fishy going on! What do I do? Should I test it out? With Tsukuyo, I'll know right away! If something inappropriate really happens, I'll find out with a simple test!
Nervously swallowing, Kawaki turned back around, determined.
"What... what now?" Tsukuyo asked, her eyes darting nervously as she watched Kawaki slowly walk towards her.
Without answering, Kawaki began to undo his belt again, slowly removing his kimono and letting it fall to the ground.
Reject me! Reject me, Tsukuyo! Show me with your actions that everything is safe between us! Show me that it was all just a joke! Please, I'm begging you!
"You're not..." Tsukuyo suddenly realized something, her face turning bright red. But then, her expression shifted to one of mild anger.
Kawaki, noticing Tsukuyo's change in expression, felt a glimmer of hope. Yes! This is it! This is the feeling! The feeling of being annoyed and angry! Next comes the kunai, right? It has to be the kunai! As long as there's that, it'll prove we're completely safe!
Swish, swish!
Hearing the sound of kunai slicing through the air, Kawaki let out a sigh of relief.
Safe... With kunai embedded in his forehead, Kawaki smiled weakly as he began to fall backward, feeling a sense of release. At least...
"Wait until tonight, you idiot!" Tsukuyo shouted, her face still flushed as she crawled back under the covers. In a quieter, embarrassed voice, she added, "Tonight, I'll let you do whatever you want."
Not safe at all!! Kawaki thought, completely shattered. Sure, she used the kunai, but this is still totally OUT! She's totally OUTing me! What... what did I do last night?!
"Uh... okay, then..." Kawaki muttered as he stood up, dark lines covering his forehead, his eyes twitching uncontrollably. Forcing a strained smile, he added, "I'll... I'll just head out. You... get some rest."
"Kawaki..." Tsukuyo called softly. "Can you help keep an eye on the Hyakka for me? Also... what would you like for dinner?"