[Prev] ~ [TOC] ~ [Next]


I: The Flowers Are Not Sleeping
Chapter 31: Little Sea Urchin
Sea urchins generally have expressions of bitterness and hatred.

＊＊＊

In mid-December, snow had completely covered the entire courtyard. The soil and dead leaves were covered under the thick snow. Not a single leaf of the cherry blossom tree was left. On the dark branches Stained with rime and hung with ice edges.

The ravines on the roof were filled with snow, and fine ice ridges hung under the roof. Light and soft sunlight flowed on the ice ridges.

It snowed heavily last night.

After the heavy snow had passed, it was a sunny day that made people feel happy.

When she got up in the morning, Yayoi took out a light blue ribbon hairband from the small paper box in the drawer that was specially used to store hairbands. She used this hairband to tie her red hair into a ponytail and used hairpins to clip up the excess hair in front of her forehead, it revealed her white forehead.

The weather was very good today. The dark clouds that had accumulated in the sky for several days had dispersed. The sun below was soft, just like the mist in the mountains at the beginning of the morning. The tips of the ebony branches were trailing white snow, and a golden glow was sprinkled on the layer of snow.

Yayoi looked at herself in the mirror. She had red hair, her forehead was clipped sideways to the side of his head, her forehead was white and smooth, and she looked very energetic.

Yayoi blinked and ran to the wall next to the desk. There were several thick black lines on the wall. Ever since Yayoi moved here, Yayoi took a black marker and drew corresponding horizontal lines on the wall while comparing her height.

The closest horizontal line to now was a few months ago.

Yayoi compared her height and found that she seemed to have grown a little taller.

One day when she woke up early, Yayoi found out that she had grown taller. She was in a great mood and ran downstairs to share the good news with her mother.

The courtyard was filled with snow, and there were several cat footprint on the white and soft snow. Yayoi saw the big orange cat swaying its fat body leisurely, swaying its tail and slowly walked from the courtyard to the veranda. It shook the snow from its body then nestled into the mat in the room.

There was snow on the top of the wall, and a handful of white snow was held on the black branches, extended towards the outside of the wall.

Yayoi hadn't seen Satoru for many days. After the drunk incident in early December, Yayoi hadn't seen Satoru and Suguru for many days.

The life of a sorcerer seemed to be very busy. The number of sorcerers was generally rare. Otherwise, they would not have recruited all underage high school students to become strong men. Moreover, Satoru and Suguru were very strong, and the stronger they were, the tragedy of being caught as a collie could not be avoided. Jujutsu High students were like bricks, moving wherever they were needed. It was estimated that they had been moved to some nook and corner to exorcise the cursed spirit.

After Yayoi swept away the snow in the courtyard, Yayoi put down the broom, ran to the room, sat down next to the soft cushion where the big orange cat was lying, and touched the big orange cat's chin. Tangerine looked happy and made a comfortable sound. It purred loudly and its furry tail swayed.

Yayoi touched Tangerine's soft back. Tangerine's back was very soft, and its fur was soft and shiny. Tangerine lay in Yayoi's arms, making a "meow" sound from time to time, with a very comfortable expression.

Yayoi picked up Tangerine. The orange cat was still heavy in her arms. Yayoi put her hands through the gaps of Tangerine's front paws and lifted the big orange cat.

"Mrr-"

Tangerine narrowed its green eyes, and its round face looked lazy.

Yayoi blinked, "Are you getting fat again?"

"Meow-"

Tangerine yawned, showing its white teeth, its pink tongue rolled up, and its whiskers twitching as its facial expression changed.

"If you get fatter, you won't be able to walk." Yayoi told the big orange cat seriously, and touched its paws, which had a lot more meat.

Satoru hadn't come to climb the wall of Yayoi's house for several days. Without the white cat who was at odds with the big orange cat, the big orange cat had no someone to fight with, and the amount of exercise was much less. Tangerine life these days was very nourishing, it nestled in the cat's nest peacefully. When eating, it slowly follow Yayoi's voice and walk to the dining room to eat. When the weather was nice, it walk around on the wall with its tail wagging.

Yayoi raised Tangerine in her hand and felt that the cat had become heavier.

Yayoi squeezed Tangerine's belly again. It felt plump and the belly had gained a lot of weight.

Tangerine purred twice comfortably.

Tangerine had very good appetite. Tangerine had a good digestive system. If it eat more, the fat on its bodies would also increase. Some people say that being able to eat was a blessing, but the cat eat too much and had to much fat on their was not a good thing. Having too much meat on your body would not only make it difficult to walk and collapse your cat's nest, but being overweight could also cause some obesity complications.

"Tangerine, you need to lose weight." Yayoi told the fat orange cat seriously.

You eat too much. Although our family did not lack food for you, you eat too much.

"I won't be able to hold you if you get fatter." Yayoi said.

Yayoi liked Tangerine, but the nurse at the pet hospital told Yayoi that she must control the cat's diet. An overweight cat would have uneven fat on its body and would weigh it down until it couldn't walk.

Yayoi imagined a big orange cat that was so fat that it couldn't walk on its own, and thought it wouldn't work.

So Yayoi decided to take Tangerine out for a walk.

Putting a collar on its neck and connecting the leash, Yayoi led Tangerine out the door while the cat meowed unhappy.

Cats were not dogs. Dogs like to take walks. Put on the collar and connect the leash. After went out, the dog would run out happily. A dog that did not pay attention to its owner would still be unable to hold back a happy dog.

But Tangerine was a cat. Even though its almost obese and had the size of a dog, its still a serious orange cat. Its body was highly flexible and agile, and it climbed onto the branch of a tree by the roadside by borrowing the wall of a house and refused to come down.

Thanks to Tangerine, such a fat cat could still perform such difficult movements.

There was an orange furry lying on a bare tree branch, and the furry was quite big, so it was impossible not to attract attention.

Yayoi looked up at Tangerine on the tree branch. Tangerine's two fat paws were pulling at the trunk, refusing to go down.

The weather was very good today. The winter sunshine was a faint golden color, and it fell on the orange fur of the big orange cat, as if it was coated with a layer of golden light.

Yayoi looked at Tangerine. The big orange cat on the tree branch looked left and right, but it just wouldn't go down or take a walk.

Yayoi felt that she should not force Tangerine to walk, but if Tangerine did not go for a walk or increase the amount of exercise, it would not lose weight. Tangerine would become fatter and fatter, and would be so fat that it could not walk.

"Come down." Yayoi tried to reason with Tangerine.

Tangerine: "Mi—"

Yayoi raised her head and looked at Tangerine, "I won't force you to take a walk, can you come down?"

Tangerine shook its tail, shook its head and looked at Yayoi underneath with its green eyes. It looked like "I believe you were a big watermelon" and shook its tail, "Meow—"

Yayoi had always been very upright, since you wouldn't come down, I would go up.

Yayoi put down the leash in her hand, moved her joints, and prepared to climb up and catch the fat orange cat.

The sun had risen very high, but there were still white remaining snow piled on the roadside. After the snow, the world seemed to have become simpler, with snowflakes on the roof, snow on the ebony branches, and the emerald green eyes of the cat. It was so lively in a white winter day.

Inevitably, Yayoi noticed a bright emerald green, but that emerald green did not belong to the big orange cat, nor to any other kitten. It was in human eyes.

Yayoi saw a... little sea urchin?

Yayoi: Huh, sea urchins are coming to town.

Ah, it's not a sea urchin, it's a little child with hair stuck out everywhere. At first glance, it looked like a little sea urchin.

The clothes on the little sea urchin were very thin and did not seem to fit well. A large piece of white skin was exposed on his neck. The coat hung loosely on his shoulders. His nose was red from the cold, and sneezed twice.

Yayoi paused and looked back at Tangerine on the branch, "I'm going to see a little sea urchin. You stay on the branch, so don't run around."

Tangerine: ???

Yayoi thought for a moment and added before running to see the little sea urchin, "Be obedient. There will be dried small fish in the evening."

Tangerine: "Mrreow—"

A familiar noun, the pronunciation of food.

"Whose little sea urchin are you from?" Yayoi ran up to the little sea urchin and crouched down.

The little sea urchin was startled by the red hair that suddenly ran up to him. His emerald green eyes were a little confused. After he realized what he was doing, he looked at Yayoi with a bitter and angry expression, "I'm not a sea urchin."

Yayoi: Cute.

After thinking about it, Yayoi had seen a sea urchin before. The expressions of sea urchins seem to be born with bitterness and hatred. They didn't like to smile and always had a straight face. When they were in a good mood, their cold facial features seem to be more... be gentle.

The facial features of the little sea urchin had not yet grown, and they were still tender and soft like a child.

Yayoi stretched out her hand and put her warm palm on the little sea urchin's cheek. Even though the little sea urchin's hair was sticking up everywhere and looked prickly, his skin was very soft and delicate. Yayoi rubbed it gently.

The little sea urchin was stunned for a moment and wanted to let go of Yayoi's hand, but the hands were too warm and he didn't react for a while.

"Are you cold?" Yayoi asked.

The little sea urchin's red nose moved and he sneezed twice.

No need to ask, it seemed to be cold.

Yayoi stretched out her hand to tidy up the little sea urchin's clothes, zipped up his coat, and patted the snow off the clothes. The little sea urchin seemed to have fallen, and there were fine snowflakes on his body. The sea urchin's clothes were dark and white. The snow was particularly conspicuous above.

The little sea urchin was stunned for a moment, pursed his lips, and let Yayoi play with him obediently.

After finishing sorting the little sea urchin's clothes, Yayoi took off the red scarf around her neck and wrapped the scarf around the little sea urchin's neck. The scarf was very long and the little sea urchin's neck was very slender, so Yayoi wrapped it around a few more times.

"It won't feel cold this way." Yayoi curved her eyes.

The little sea urchin discovered that Yayoi's eyes were a beautiful amber color, a bit like the color of the sun, as if they were full of sunlight.

The palms of her hands were warm, and so was the scarf.

The little sea urchin's fair skin turned a light pink, and he buried his face in the red scarf.

The meowing of the big orange cat on the branch attracted the attention of the redhead and sea urchin under the tree.

Yayoi saw Tangerine hugging a tree branch and said, "I almost forgot about you."

Tangerine: "Meow- meow-"

Yayoi felt that Tangerine was a little unhappy.

The little sea urchin looked at the big orange cat on the tree branch and said, "He climbed so high."

Yayoi: "Yeah."

The little sea urchin tilted his head, "But he is so fat, it doesn't look like he can climb that high."

Tangerine bared its teeth and claws on the branch of the tree, "Meow- meow- meow-"

Yayoi: "I don't think he can get off."

Little sea urchin: Sea urchin nods.jpg

Big orange cat: "Meow- meow- meow-"

"Stop screaming, I'll carry you down." Yayoi said.

The tree was very tall, Yayoi was very short, and the little redhead herself did not look like she had two pounds of flesh.

The little sea urchin was about to ask Yayoi how she was going to carry the big orange cat down. Yayoi stepped on the tree trunk, and then jumped up with the strength of her feet. She stretched out her hand to grab the black tree branch, swung her body in a circle and then fell down, squatting down. She stood on the tree branch next to the big orange cat and picked up the big orange cat.

The movements were smooth and flexible, like a light red cat.

When Yayoi jumped down from the tree, the little sea urchin's expression was still blank until Tangerine in Yayoi's arms yawned.

"You are really careless." Yayoi touched Tangerine.

Tangerine yawned.

Yayoi realized that the little sea urchin had been looking at the big orange cat in her arms, and ran up to the little sea urchin with Tangerine in her arms, "Do you want to pet Tangerine?"

The little sea urchin was stunned for a moment. The big orange cat narrowed its green eyes and glanced at the little sea urchin. The two pairs of green eyes met.

Yayoi pinched Tangerine's flesh pad and said, "Don't be so stingy, just touch it for him."

The fat cat yawned and laid its head back.

"Rub it, touch it," Yayoi said, "Tangerine said it's okay."

The little sea urchin was a little hesitant. The orange fur of the fat orange cat looked very soft and warm, so he carefully stretched out his hand. The touch under his hand told him that this cat was indeed very soft and warm.

The little sea urchin couldn't help but touch it a few more times.

The fat orange cat yawned several times in Yayoi's arms.

"You are so lazy." Yayoi looked at the fat orange cat and said, "I don't even know how to help you lose weight."

Tangerine shook its tail to show that it didn't need to lose weight.

"Where did you come from, little sea urchin?" Yayoi raised her head and asked the little sea urchin again.

The little sea urchin puffed up his cheeks and said unhappily, "I already told you that I am not a sea urchin, I..."

Came here with dad.

But dad was missing.

Before he finished speaking, the little sea urchin's emerald green eyes dimmed.

"I'll take you home." Yayoi said.

The little sea urchin's face darkened, and he lowered his head and told Yayoi, "That kind of place... isn't considered home."

•

Toji Zenin accidentally lost his sea urchin headed son.

Toji didn't want to stay in this small town in Saitama Prefecture for long, but it suddenly snowed, and dense dark clouds packed the sky tightly, leaving no gaps.

The snow was falling heavily, and it was very cold.

Considering his young son, he had to stay in this place for a while.

This town was not a wealthy place. There were not many ways to make money. Even the number of cursed spirits was not very large. Most of them were just low-level cursed spirits. Their strength was at the level of fish. It could just be ignore. Compared with Tokyo, this place was considered 'clean'.

After the snow stopped, the sky was clean blue, as if it had been washed, and the white clouds were glowing with golden light. Looking up, he felt a little better.

The old scar on the corner of his mouth began to sting silently, and he thought that he had once looked up at the sky like this in a "garbage dump".

Toji grabbed two handfuls of hair irritably, put his hands in his pockets, stepped forward, and browsed the streets deliberately, hoping to find his son, Megumi.

Ah, so children were troublesome.

Toji thought with a numb expression.

Just hit a Pachinko and he's gone.

Tsk.

With this thought in his heart, the black-haired man couldn't help but speed up the search for his son.

The weather in late winter was very cold, so he only wore a cotton-padded jacket with the zipper unzipped, revealing the thin long-sleeved shirt underneath. He was tall and had rippling muscles under the clothes. The man was out of tune with the crowd, like... a lone wolf who strayed into the village who frequently attracted the attention of others.

Toji, who was numb to the attention of others, ignored them. They were all irrelevant people and had nothing to do with him, and he didn't want to pay attention to them.

He just wants to find his son, Megumi, as soon as possible.

There was not much traffic in this town, and the number of cursed spirits was also small. The small flow of people did not mean that there were no people with ulterior motives. The small number of cursed spirits did not mean that there would not be a threat to his young son. People with evil intentions were everywhere. Right, there were cursed spirits all over the world that could threaten his son.

Thinking this, Toji clicked his tongue.

A flash of red suddenly came into his sight. In the cold winter, this red looked like fire, like fire and blood, and the color was warm, like the dancing light of a candlestick on a snowy day.

Toji paused and saw a little red-haired girl.

The color was so bright and natural, and Toji had only seen one, that was the little redhead in front of him.

None of the reds he had seen before seem to be as bright and vivid as the red on this little red-haired girl.

Looking at the back, the little redhead was holding a super fat orange cat in her arms, and... a sea urchin?

Wait, did that sea urchin look familiar?

Toji Zenin: "..."

F*ck, wasn't that his son?

＊＊＊

· Genuine translation can be found only in OchatimesBlogspotCom, FanFictionNet, and Wattpad

• Omake •

#playing Pachinko:
Dad: Suddenly I found that my son was missing.

#son found:
Dad: I was gone for a while, and my son hooked up with a little redhead.


[Prev] ~ [TOC] ~ [Next]