Takane no Hana - Volume 2 Chapter 4

At the bathroom in Hinako’s room.

I was watching over Hinako as she soaked in the bathtub and ate an ice cream stick.

“Unmah…….”

I smiled at Hinako, who was looking much more relaxed than when she was at the academy.

“Can you forgive me for this?”

“Hmmm …… I’m still a little unsatisfied.”

“Please forgive me. It’s hard enough to bring ice cream without Shizune finding out.”

Saying with a sigh, Hinako drops her gaze and opens her mouth.

“I really still hate it, but …… if it’s for me, I forgive you.”

Once again, I get permission to spend time with Tennoji-san.

From the time we talked about this at the dojo until now, Hinako had always been against it, but the decisive factor in convincing her was the bribe with ice cream. She had been busy lately with the dismissal of her caretaker and the mess in social circles, so perhaps she was glad to have a break after all these years.

However, Hinako was still somewhat dissatisfied.

I call out to Hinako, who is staring at the surface of the water like she’s sulking.

“If Hinako doesn’t like it, I can turn this down……”

“I don’t want to get in the way of Itsuki …………”

“…… I see.”

I wonder if she’s concerned about me.

Normally, that would be my role as a caretaker, but …… I’m a little happy.

“To be honest, I’m a little relieved.”

“Relieved ……?”

“I thought Hinako had been avoiding me lately.”

“……. Why did you think that?”

“Well, because you don’t seem to want me to wake you up in the morning, and besides that, you’ve been distant from me on occasion.”

Hinako’s cheeks puffed up as I said this.

“It’s not that I want to keep my distance.”

“So was there a reason for this?”

“…… Mmm.”

With a complicated expression, Hinako muttered quietly.

“I don’t want to tell …….”

I’m curious, but if she doesn’t intend to tell me, I’m not going to pry into it either.

“By the way, Hinako.”

“…… What?”

“Isn’t it hot in that outfit?”

In front of me, Hinako was wearing a school swimsuit designated by the academy.

It’s an elegant design that is typical of the Academy. However, viewing it in the bathroom is a bit uncomfortable.

“Apart from …….”

“You’ve been wearing a bikini-type swimsuit up until now. Why did you suddenly change to a school swimsuit?”

“Because I’m in the mood for …… something like this.”

Hinako said in a way that made it very difficult to answer.

I looked away from her and turned my back to her, and I thought to myself.

–I wonder if she’s avoiding me after all.

In spite of this, we bathe together like this, and she talks about wanting to spend time with me after school as much as possible. …… Now, I didn’t know what Hinako was thinking.

As her caretaker, I’ve been spending time with Hinako for more than a month now. I thought I could understand what Hinako was thinking little by little, but recently, I couldn’t understand her thoughts again. I wondered what this was all about.

“Wash my hair.”

“…… Oh.”

Let’s not get depressed later. I reached out my hand to Hinako’s head.

Hinako’s ears were tinged with red, as if she was a little flushed.

“Hmm …”

Hinako let out a satisfied sound.

Well, at least she won’t let someone she doesn’t like touch her hair.

“… Itsuki.”

“Hmm?”

As I was washing Hinako’s hair with shampoo, Hinako said in a small voice.

“You can’t do this kind of thing with …… Tennoji-san.”

I wondered what she was going to say.

I lightly blurted out and replied, feeling somewhat relieved.

“Of course not.”

How hard do you think it was for me to get used to this situation?

I can be unaware of it now, but when I first became a caretaker, it was hard.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, I noticed that Hinako’s hair was caught in the shoulder strap of her swimsuit.

“I’m going to shift the shoulder straps just a little bit.”

“…… Eh?”

As I shifted the left shoulder strap down, I thought I heard a strange sound.

“t’s hard to do these things with long hair.”

“I…tsuki …?”

“Just give me a second. We’ll be done in a minute.”

“…!”

Suddenly, Hinako jumped up and down in the bathtub.

Bubbles were floating on the surface of the water. In the center of it, Hinako was glaring at me with a bright red face.

“Mm …!”

“Mm?”

“Mm, insensitive ……!!!”

Hinako embarrassingly put her hands on both shoulders and hugged herself.

“Insensitive …”

It was an unlikely line from someone who had voluntarily taken off her swimsuit before.