I followed Kurosawa-san into the bedroom and watched how he tried to wake Yumi-chan up. She kept groaning and frowning in her sleep, shuffling away from his hands. It made my heart twinge with slight sadness, that she had to be pulled out from her dreamland so soon. 

Then, an idea popped into my head.

“Kurosawa-san, what if you let her sleep here tonight?”

I admit, I didn’t give it too much thought before I blurted it out, not realizing what having her staying overnight would entail. I just wanted to allow Yumi-chan to sleep comfortably for a while longer.

At my words Kurosawa-san stiffened slightly and his hands stopped while pulling at the blanket. He turned his head slowly, giving me a puzzled look.

“Masato-san, are you sure? I mean I can’t just…”

“Of course, you can stay as well.” I said quickly, thinking that he wouldn’t allow his niece to spend the night at my place by herself.

“Are you sure, Masato-sensei?” he asked. His voice sounded a bit hoarse, but it might have been just because he was surprised.

“Yes. The house is big enough for the three of us. Also, Yumi-chan’s school is closer to my apartment so she can wake up later than if she were to stay at your place. It will also be more comfortable for you since you have to go out of your way to drop her off and go to work. Having to pick her up in the late afternoon and drive for more than an hour everyday would be too tiring. So, I was thinking that…” 

I hesitated for a second, but finally managed to say the final conclusion. 

“You two can stay here until her father returns from his business trip.”

During my entire rant Kurosawa-san had remained quiet, but his ardent gaze was glued to my face. 

In the shallow light coming from the living room, I could detect an odd glint in his eyes, but I couldn’t make much sense of it. I kept wondering why Kurosawa-san kept staring at me weirdly.

What was going on in his head? Were my arguments not enough to convince him? But I thought about it and it all sounded pretty logical. There was nothing wrong with my reasoning. Then why did he keep quiet like that?

“Masato-sensei.”

Kurosawa-san’s low voice startled me out of my silent speculations.

“Yes?” I asked, blinking at him and waiting for the final verdict.

“Masato-sensei, you are so very kind. Thank you very much.” He turned to face me and bowed at a ninety degrees angle. “Then, I will accept your offer and stay here with Yumi-chan for the next few days.”

Huh?! Just like that? Then what was the reason for you staring at me unblinkingly for half a century? 

I really felt like complaining for wasting my nerves and thoughts on this stupid person.

“Good. Then you can go shower first. We already ate dinner, so if you want to eat, go ahead and order something.”

And with that I turned around and left the bedroom. 

But a few seconds later I went back and rummaged through my dressing for a change of clothes. I finally found a pair of pants and a simple black t-shirt.

“You are a bit taller than me, so I don’t know if this will fit you well, but try them out first.” 

Actually, I exaggerated when I said he is just ‘a bit’ taller than me. In truth, Kurosawa san is almost half a head taller than me. Also, his body seems to be better proportioned than mine. I guess being older by one year doesn’t give me much of an advantage.

He took the clothes with one hand and placed the other on top of my head, playfully ruffling my hair.

“Thank you, Masato-sensei.” I heard him say before he pushed past me and went inside the bathroom.

I remained stunned in place and it took me a full minute to recover my senses. 

In a daze, I raised my hand and touched my hair. The strands were scattered in a mess, but the place he touched felt warm.

After showering Kurosawa-san came out and gave me another shock. 

My clothes, which when I wore them were normally a bit loose, clung tightly to his body. His chest and abdominal muscles were sticking out through the fabric and even his legs looked stronger due to the tight pants.

“I’m sorry my clothes don’t fit you too well.” I said ruefully, suddenly feeling ashamed with my own body.

“It’s alright. I’ll go tomorrow and grab a few changes of clothes from my house.” Kurosawa-san replied in a natural tone. 

He didn’t seem to feel too uncomfortable. On the contrary, he seemed to be particularly pleased.

After the shower I went to my computer and continued writing, while Kurosawa-san flopped onto the sofa with a book in his hands. He must have brought it with him because the cover didn’t look familiar.

An hour later Yumi-chan woke up and Kurosawa-san helped her wash and change. Amami-chan had prepared a large bag of clothes in advance so that Kurosawa-san wouldn’t have to worry about anything.

When it was time to sleep, I arranged for him to stay in the bedroom with Yumi-chan.

“No.” he flatly refused when I told him about it.

“Kurosawa-san, you should go ahead and sleep. If you are afraid of waking her up during the night, I can get you a futon and place it beside the bed. Either way, it’s best for you to stay in the bedroom.” I insisted.

“Masato-san, I couldn’t possibly take your bed. It’s enough that you allowed us to stay here.” He kept on arguing. “I will sleep in the living room on a futon and Yumi-chan will take the couch.”

“You can’t let her sleep on the couch. It’s not comfortable for a child to sleep there.”

“But…”

“But nothing. Don’t be unreasonable.” I said firmly, showing an unusual amount of stubbornness, even for me. “You and Yumi-chan take the bedroom and I will sleep on the couch. Besides, I might spend the entire night writing and, since the computer is in the living room, it will be easier for me to just sleep here until you leave for work.”

And that is how things were settled. 

During our verbal exchange Yumi-chan simply stared at us in silence. Now that I think about it, I wonder what she was saying in her head. But remembering those weird thoughts from earlier that day, I decided to ignore my budding curiosity.