Magical Boy ~ English version

Chapter 80

The small group had a pleasant and fun evening. Kotaro did not drink anything that had been purchased, consuming only the contents of his gourd. They were all reasonable, however, and returned to their respective dorms in time despite Kotaro's bad temper, which had grown worse and worse.

In the morning, in the 2-S boys' dormitory, their angry comrade was unusually the last to get up. The others were returning from the showers while he was still buried under his covers. Tomeo walked over and pulled at the sheets.

"Oi, doggie," he called mockingly, "stand up! We had planned a walk in town!"

"Shut up," Kotaro's voice mumbled, muffled by the plaid, "my head hurts so shut up."

"Get out of there, lazy!"

Tomeo pulled harder, even kicking him a few times.

Everyone else, knowing Kotaro's explosive character, soon preferred to flee the dormitories, until only the two of them were left.

Tomeo sighed and used all his strength this time, to pull the sheet completely. Kotaro looked bad, but it wasn't even a surprise. Against his comrade's wishes, Tomeo grabbed him and lifted him easily.

"Oi! Are you crazy ?!" Kotaro exclaimed, struggling limply. "Put me down, Bulldozer!"

"Calm down, Doggie," his mate replied calmly, "you don't seem able to walk straight so I'll take you to the showers."

Kotaro protested, but soon seemed to catch his headache, unwillingly clinging to his mate. Tomeo gave an amused smile. He reminded him of a koala clinging to his eucalyptus. He even seemed to be falling asleep ... until Tomeo let go of him violently in one of the shower stalls. He didn't let him yell at him and turned on the water while his mate was still dressed.

"What the hell is your problem ?!" Kotaro yelled, rubbing his head.

"I couldn't find anything better," Tomeo said suddenly more serious, "to recover from your hangover."

"My... you're crazy, Bulldozer!"

"I was kind enough to wait until everyone was gone, figure you. But I can still round up the teachers if you prefer."

"What are you talking about ?!"

"You know, until I joined Saurity last year, I lived with my father's brother in Tokyo for six years. My uncle... he was lovely, but he was a lifelong alcoholic. Despite three attempts at weaning, he always ended up relapsing. I spent my time cleaning his apartment when I got home from school, picking up empty bottles while he dozed like a blessed on the couch or on the floor. So gin is a great way to keep alcohol off your breath, but frankly, you can't fool someone who can recognize the brand of a beer by its smell! This fucking gourd doesn't contain water, Doggie!"

"Tch! Mind your ass, Bulldozer!"

"You might not be, but I consider you a friend and I'm not just going to watch you fuck yourself and say nothing! Do you think Kemori would be happy to have a drunk brother ?! With that, you could even be fired!"

"Tch! Wait for that! Go ahead, go tell! Anyway, if I can't even protect my family, what kind of hero would I be ?!"

Tomeo grimaced and slammed his fist as hard as he could into Kotaro's face. He knocked so hard, his comrade's head banged against the shower wall and knocked him unconscious.

Tomeo sighed. He turned off the water, checked him for a broken bone, began to change him, then carried it to the infirmary. He simply explained to Phen-x that Kotaro had slipped in the showers and hit his head, not to mention his findings and their argument.

Kotaro didn't regain consciousness until a few hours later, with an even worse headache than when he first woke up.

Phen-X gave him some medicine to relieve his migraine, his everlasting kind smile on his lips.

"You should be careful next time," he laughed gently, "wet tiles can quickly turn deadly if you lose your balance."

"What are you talking about... ?"

"Tomeo explained to me that you slipped in the shower and knocked yourself out. He took the time to get you dressed before bringing you here. You should go thank him."

"... he didn't say anything else ...?"

"No, why ?"

"Nothing..."

Phen-X checked Kotaro for any after-effects from his fall, before finally letting him go, assuring him that he could come and ask for pills if his headache returned.

The teenager walked over to the roof to join his comrades, brooding inwardly. Why hadn't Tomeo denounced him? Did he want to force him to owe him a debt?

As he predicted, the group of friends were on the roof. When he saw Tomeo, he clenched his teeth in anger and stepped forward to slam his fist in his face, knocking him to the ground.

"Shime-san !!" Monaka exclaimed. "Why did you do that ?!"

"Shut up !" Kotaro growled, looking at his gray-haired comrade. "Let's be clear, Bulldozer, I owe you nothing !!"

Tomeo sat up, rubbing his cheek, but was still smiling.

"I haven't asked for anything," he whispered, standing up, "you're having ideas. Helping a friend is not expecting anything in return."

"You are not my friend!"

"I know. But you are mine."

Kotaro was about to punch him again, when two soft hands rested on his cheeks. Nanaya watched him closely, looking at the bruise left by the blow Tomeo had given him, slid his hand over his head, looking worried.

"Ogami-san told us you slipped," breathed the young man, "are you okay?" "

Kotaro seemed to calm down instantly. He just nodded in silence. Though calmed by Nanaya's simple touch, he gave Tomeo a menacing look who just shrugged and smiled. Then observing the group, noticed an absent.

"Oi," he said, "where's the stupid shark?"

"Hase-san went home for the weekend," Enko replied simply, "he has driving lessons every Saturday apparently."

"It is true that he is already of age," Rakko pointed out, "he is lucky."

"Oh, Kot-chan," Nanaya called again, "I got you a choco-melon taiyaki, I know you like them!"

He reached into his bag and pulled out a bag with the fish-shaped cake in it. Kotaro hesitated a moment, then decided to sit down on one of the benches to consume his pastry in silence. Nanaya sat next to him, still worried about his fall.