The Lap Pillow Incident

I woke up while it was still pitch-black outside. The room was completely silent, and I could hear the unfamiliar sound of my hair rubbing against a pillow I didn’t remember having. At some point, someone had even draped a blanket over my stomach.

The light was off too, so Yūha must have done it.

There was a pillow and a blanket, but the futon mattress was lying some distance away. That was further proof that someone other than me had taken care of things.

Vaguely, I felt like I’d dreamed about something… but it was too hazy to remember.

I had a feeling it was a dream about eating something.

I ruffled the back of my head with one hand. Something felt slightly off. The pillow somehow didn’t feel quite right.

—Almost as though I’d been sleeping on something more comfortable before.

Maybe that part had been a dream too.

I moved quietly so I wouldn’t make any noise and crawled into my futon. The fatigue still lingered, and drowsiness quickly overtook me again.

The next morning, Yūha came into the washroom while I was brushing my teeth.

She combed her fingers through her sleep-tousled hair while blinking her drowsy eyes. She seemed to notice me right away, and our eyes met.

“Thanks for yesterday. I feel a lot less tired because of you.”

Thanks to her setting out a pillow and blanket, I hadn’t woken up with a sore neck.

I meant it as a straightforward expression of gratitude.

But Yūha’s eyes immediately began darting around. She blinked rapidly as though I’d suddenly brought up a topic she desperately didn’t want mentioned.

“W-wait, you noticed?”

“Well, obviously.”

Anyone would notice if they woke up on the tatami with only a pillow and blanket.

“So… you did it on purpose?”

What was she talking about?

Did she think I’d intentionally fallen asleep at my desk?

Of course I hadn’t. I’d simply been so exhausted that I couldn’t help it.

“It was basically unavoidable.”

“U-unavoidable…”

Yūha edged one step backward.

Whatever sleepiness had remained on her face was long gone.

“There was no resisting it.”

“I-I see… So it’s really that powerful.”

Farm work could be brutal beyond imagination.

Two years ago, I’d been dragged into it almost every day…

What the hell was wrong with past me? Was I some kind of monster?

“Well, yeah. I guess you could call it powerful.”

“Wh-why are you acting so normal about it, Rokurō? Is this actually normal and I just don’t know?”

“Well, once you get used to it.”

“You’re used to it…”

The blood rapidly drained from Yūha’s face.

Had I said something that shocking?

While I was trying to figure it out, Yūha pursed her lips, and her mood visibly worsened by the second.

“Hey, aren’t you misunderstanding something—”

“Idiot, Rokurō! Womanizer!”

She reached her limit before I could confirm anything.

She whipped the towel around her neck back and forth and stormed off somewhere.

Lately, this kind of thing has been happening all the time.

I’d gotten so used to it that I calmly gargled, put away my toothbrush, and crossed my arms.

“Hmm. This has become complicated.”

Then energetic footsteps came pounding down the hall, and a second person burst in.

“Morning, Roku-kun! Feeling better?”

“Must be nice having such a simple mind.”

“You’ve got some nerve insulting me first thing in the morning! You personality labyrinth!”

We got one round of arguing out of the way.

It was basically morning calisthenics.

“Ugh… ahhh…”

During her break at work, Yūha crouched behind the restaurant while getting some fresh air.

Her mood had been terrible since morning.

The fact that she’d managed to work at all was practically a miracle.

As far as this incident was concerned, the fault lay entirely with her.

After all, Yūha had been the one to offer him a lap pillow.

Rokurō had been defenseless in his half-asleep state, and she’d thought maybe she could get away with it.

Maybe if she crossed that line now, she could blur away the restraints of being brother and sister.

The moment that thought passed through her mind, the words had come out naturally.

But when Rokurō had actually entrusted his body to her, she’d been so shocked that even she couldn’t understand her own reaction.

Her heart had pounded beyond its limit.

Even the incident when they’d fallen asleep together and he’d used his arm as her pillow hadn’t been this bad.

Of course, Yūha’s feelings had changed since then.

Even so, the difference was ridiculous.

It had to be because Rokurō never initiated things himself.

Yūha was always the one reaching out, and she liked watching him smile a little awkwardly in response.

Only now had she realized that she had absolutely no resistance when the situation was reversed.

If he ever patted her head, she would probably boil over and start steaming from the top of her head.

If he ever held her hand, she might heat up so much that she’d burn him.

(Okay, maybe not that far…)

The thought that she was the only one panicking made her suddenly feel empty, and she sighed.

Rokurō remembered what had happened yesterday.

And yet he’d said things like, “I feel less tired,” and “It was unavoidable,” with a completely calm expression.

There hadn’t been even a trace of embarrassment.

On top of that, he’d said he was used to lap pillows.

Had Nene given him so many that he’d gotten sick of them?

Or had there really been some woman Yūha didn’t know about during those two years?

Either way, it was embarrassing and infuriating.

“Yūha-san, what’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”

The person who called out from behind her was Riichi, the manager.

The flow of customers seemed to have stopped for the moment, and he’d taken off his apron and was relaxing.

“No, um… it’s not that.”

“Okay.”

The dark-brown-haired man narrowed his eyes gently.

If she kept things vague, he would probably let the subject pass without prying.

She wanted to ask Misuzu, but the person involved was her actual brother.

She didn’t want Misuzu thinking it was some bizarrely complicated issue.

Riichi, on the other hand, was an adult and didn’t seem like the type to pry unnecessarily.

In that respect, he had an atmosphere somewhat similar to Rokurō.

If Yūha handled it carefully, he might not notice anything.

“Um, well, how should I put this…”

“Mm-hm. If I’m good enough, you can tell me anything. Improving the work environment is the employer’s responsibility, after all.”

“It’s not about work.”

“I see. Then maybe Misuzu would be better.”

“No. It would help if I could ask you, Riichi-san.”

At those words, he seemed to sense something.

He put his hands in his pockets and deliberately looked away from Yūha.

“Go ahead. You can think of me as a tree growing nearby.”

“Are men unable to resist lap pillows?”

“Hmm…”

Riichi narrowed his eyes and tried to determine what exactly the question was really about.

But his brain failed to reach a conclusion.

For the moment, he chose the safest possible answer.

“A lot of men probably fantasize about them.”

“Does that mean… Roku… Riichi-san, do you too?”

He had very clearly heard the name she nearly said, but out of adult kindness, he pretended he hadn’t.

Incidentally, in that single instant, Riichi had more or less figured out everything and now wore a complicated expression.

He shut down the part of his brain trying to think too deeply about it and answered the question in front of him.

“Not particularly. I’d probably spend the whole time worrying that her legs were going numb, so I don’t think I’d be able to enjoy it properly.”

“They don’t go that numb… I mean, never mind.”

Riichi became certain that she’d given Rokurō a lap pillow.

And apparently something had happened because of it.

Judging from her reaction, Rokurō had probably said something insensitive afterward.

“I see. Sounds like you’ve got a surprisingly difficult problem on your hands… I need to make a phone call, so I’ll leave you to it.”

“Ah, okay. Sorry.”

Riichi casually walked away and took out his phone.

He called a number he’d saved recently, and the other person answered almost immediately.

“Riichi-san? Did something happen to Yūha?”

“Roku, we’re drinking tonight.”

“Huh? Oh, sure. I actually had something I wanted to ask you about too… I’ll come by after work.”

Apparently, Rokurō had something on his mind as well.

“Um, Riichi-san. There’s something I want to ask before then.”

“What is it?”

“What exactly goes through the mind of the person giving someone a lap pillow?”