72 - Saik and Reversi
When I woke up, I was on top of a bed. More precisely, on top of the foot of a bear stuffed toy placed on the bed. This stuffed toy I named 'Jinbei' was huge, anyway. Huge on an insane level. Even when sitting, its head reached near Leonardo's chin, and if it stretched its legs and stood up, its head would seem to reach the ceiling. And that ceiling was on a completely different height level from a Japanese house's ceiling. I did not know if it was because this was a so-called mansion, or if this was just the standard ceiling height for houses in this world, but even the tall Leonardo could not reach the ceiling even if he stretched out his hand.
A stuffed toy foot that big was like a body pillow for a toddler's physique.
...Why was I on a bed? When did I fall asleep?
I woke up on a thick foot I had been hugging without realizing it, and tried to organize the situation with my not-quite-functioning brain. Right, I had been scolded by Leonardo for a reason that was not quite unreasonable, but certainly was not convincing. I protested that I could not stay silent about this. Since words did not work, I launched a fierce protest using my whole body. To recall specifically, I stood on a chair and swung a cushion around. Not satisfied with that, I slapped Leonardo's face. Since no amount of hitting had any effect, I eventually dug my nails in and scratched him. When both hands were pinned, I used my feet too. I raised my leg to kick him with my reinforced-toe shoes and...
...What am I, a child!?
Looking back at my own actions, I writhed in embarrassment at how childishly I had behaved. I am a toddler now, so maybe it is fine to throw a tantrum like a child, but I am a former adult... even if that is just my own self-conception. The adult me, just because words did not get through, rampaging around relying on physical strength like a child. It was embarrassing just to think about.
...No, that was Leonardo-san's fault! I told him over and over that Kaya was acting strange. He did not listen properly, and then he got mad at me when Kaya was the one in the wrong. Leonardo-san is the one at fault!
Even I thought my reasoning was sound, but my final actions were too similar to a child's, and I squirmed with an indescribable itchy discomfort and embarrassment. Then I noticed something. Since I was sleeping in a bed I did not remember getting into, someone must have carried me there. I could not imagine Leonardo entrusting me... someone he was just talking to moments ago... to anyone else. Which meant, even after being hit with a cushion, punched with fists, scratched with nails, and kneed in the solar plexus, Leonardo must have carried me to bed.
...I am way too unrestrained! How am I supposed to face Leonardo-san after this!?
I felt so guilty I pressed my face against Jinbei's foot I had been using as a pillow, when I heard a hesitant knock.
"...Tina?"
...Leonardo-san came!? The number one person on my 'do not want to face right now' list came!
It was entirely my own fault for finding it hard to face him, but I could not answer Leonardo's hesitant voice and held my breath. I was too embarrassed to face him.
"Tina? Are you awake? I am coming in."
"I am ashleep!"
At the sound of the doorknob turning, I answered on reflex. Shouting that I was sleeping so please do not wake me, I pulled the sheets over my head. It was a very energetic case of playing possum.
...Huh?
It should have been an obvious case of playing possum, but Leonardo said "Still asleep, huh" and left. I strained my ears and heard his footsteps receding.
...Was that not a continuation of the scolding?
Even though he must have known I was awake, Leonardo did not come into the room. Feeling a bit curious, I got out of bed and pressed myself against the door. When I closed my eyes with my ear to the door, I heard Leonardo's footsteps going down the stairs.
...He left? What did he come for?
It was a mystery, but convenient. At any rate, I was too embarrassed to even look him in the face right now. I wanted to avoid Leonardo until my mood settled a bit more.
Comforting myself that Leonardo would surely go to the fortress for work soon anyway, I went down to the dining room at dinner time only to find Leonardo was there. On a day when Leonardo came home in the morning, it was rare for him to still be at the residence in the evening.
...Huh? What about work? Did he have the whole day off?
I could accept either explanation... that the day after a festival was a day off, or that the day after a day off was especially busy with work. That is how work is.
...Something is strange?
Feeling somehow uncomfortable, I kept stealing glances at Leonardo's face. He was eating dinner in silence, so I was the only one feeling awkwardly self-conscious.
...Ah, the scratches I made.
I noticed Leonardo's cheek twitching occasionally and stared at it. Looking closely, Leonardo's cheeks were covered in red earthworm welts.
"...Are you okay?"
Worried about the earthworm welts all over his face, I forgot my embarrassment and called out to him. As for Leonardo, who was suddenly spoken to during his meal, his eyes widened in slight surprise, then he quickly broke into a relaxed smile.
"Will you put medicine on me, Tina?"
"I will put mushtard plashters on you."
Leonardo's smile felt somehow irritating, and I could not help talking back. After saying it, I got embarrassed and turned my face away with a 'hmph,' and Leonardo said, "Are you still mad?" I was just too embarrassed to face him because I had thrown a childish tantrum, but it seemed Leonardo thought I was ignoring him out of anger.
"I am not mad, ya know."
I had been angry, and I was irritated that he had not handled the Kaya situation properly. But I thought I had thrown quite a fit, so I felt refreshingly clear-headed, almost to the point of being stunned at myself.
...But it is really embarrassing, though.
Resorting to throwing a full-force tantrum just because words did not get through... that is exactly like a child. Looking back on my rampage today, my anger had been logically consistent in my own mind, but it was too similar to a child's temper tantrum. If I pride myself on being an adult, I should not have resorted to violence in the end.
"I see, so you are not mad."
Saying that and letting out a relieved breath, Leonardo suggested we sleep together tonight, but I refused, saying he smelled bad. It was not that he really had a terrible odor, but I was a little sensitive to adult men's sweaty smell.
"...You really are mad, are not you."
"I have never shlept with Leonyaldo-san before, ya know."
At Aurelia's house there was only one bed so we slept together, but since coming to the residence I basically slept alone. 'Basically' meaning it was not like I never slept with him occasionally.
"Then how about we take a bath together today?"
When Leonardo followed up saying he would not smell if he washed off the sweat in the bath, I refused, saying girls do not take baths with boys. Bathing culture was certainly established in the city, but people did not seem to have the fixed idea of bathing at night like in Japan. At Aurelia's house, Leonardo would heat the bath while I made dinner, so bathing was always before bed, but in the city it was different. Tabitha and Bart prepared the bath according to Leonardo's schedule, so he usually bathed in the morning. Especially in summer, it seemed he slept naked at night and washed off his night sweat in the morning bath.
...Even if I am a little girl, sleeping with a fully naked adult man is disgusting.
It was beyond unpleasant. I absolutely refused on that point.
"You are being really pushy today. What is wrong?"
"Because I hurt you by not listening to you properly about the Kaya matter."
It seemed the invitation was his way of thinking he would spoil me a lot as an apology. A boy might be happy about that, but inviting a girl to sleep together or take a bath together was counterproductive.
"You do not need to apologize. But next time, pleash believe what I shay, okay?"
Even I thought that if it were between what an adult says and what a child says, I would believe the adult. The child who should be telling the truth gets hurt, but between a child's poorly communicated words and an adult's easily understood words... even if they are full of lies... an adult would believe the latter. Even a real parent would find it hard to believe everything a child says without question.
"And anyway, there is no way I would bother making up lies when I can barely talk."
"You are right. I am reflecting on that."
Leonardo pushed his plate aside and bowed his head slightly, so I followed suit and bowed mine.
"And I am sorry for scretching you sho hard."
I was not sure if he would actually act on it, but he seemed to have apologized in his own way, so I decided not to bring up the topic of Kaya anymore. Rather, just remembering Kaya made me feel sick, so it was not good for my health. If he understood that Kaya was acting strange, then Leonardo would handle things appropriately from now on.
"...If it is after a bath, I guesh I could shleep with you."
When I said I would let him enjoy the comfort of Jinbei's foot as a pillow, Leonardo gave a wry smile.
In the time before bed, he kept me company plenty for the first time in a while. Usually we just ate meals together or talked for a little while, so I almost never spent the entire time from after dinner to bedtime with Leonardo. He read books to me while I lounged on the sofa, and taught me a game using cards called 'Upunarotto'... which I thought was like playing cards.
...The number of cards is different, I have no idea what is going on!
Upunarotto looked like playing cards at first glance, but the number of cards was different from Japanese playing cards. Thirty-six cards, fewer than Japanese playing cards. There were some similar card games, but the difference in number made even the rules feel different, and although I could tell Leonardo was going easy on me while explaining the rules, I could not win at all.
...I can only really play Old Maid or Sevens!
Both were unsatisfying games for just two people.
"I hate Upunarotto!"
In the end, unable to win even once, I scattered the cards in frustration. It was no different from a child's short temper, but I was a child now, so I let it slide. Holding things in too much was not good for anything. I had learned that from the Kaya affair.
As Leonardo gathered the cards with a wry smile, I too gathered the cards, having vented my frustration by scattering them. When all the cards were collected in Leonardo's hand, he counted them and put them away in the box. Since Upunarotto did not seem to suit me, the next game Leonardo brought out looked like a chessboard. This game, apparently called Saik, involved placing pieces representing things like kings and knights on an eight-by-eight grid and doing battle. Capturing the king's piece meant victory, so it was essentially chess with a different name.
"The priesht moves diagonally...? Huh?"
"The priest piece can move diagonally any number of spaces."
He explained how the pieces moved, but the movement differed by piece type, so I had trouble remembering them all. Still, if I could just learn the movements, I felt like I could manage, so it seemed more playable than Upunarotto. With him going easy on me, I finally managed to win once on my fifth game.
...I learned the piece movements, but I do not feel like I will ever get good.
Reversi, now... I thought the rules were simple enough for anyone to play. I asked Leonardo if there was a game similar to Reversi, and he asked me to explain what it was.
"The number of shquares is the same ash Saik, and the piecesh have different colorsh on each shide, and you shandwich the opponent'sh piecesh between your own to flip them..."
I tried to explain with gestures, but it seemed there was no game like Reversi. I made pieces out of paper and showed him as I explained, and since the rules were simple, Leonardo caught on quickly. I felt a bit bad about making him play Reversi endlessly until I got sleepy, but he said not to worry about it, so I took him up on the offer without holding back. I rarely got to spend leisurely time with Leonardo, so he could put up with being sleep-deprived tomorrow.
...It is like compensation for the Kaya thing anyway.
After putting away the paper Reversi pieces along with the Saik board, we got into bed. Jinbei had two feet, so even with two people sleeping, it was like having two pillows... no inconvenience there.
"...Can you sleep in that pose?"
"Comphy?"
I straddled Jinbei's foot and clung to it like a body pillow. It was hardly a position you would call sleeping in a bed, but Jinbei was so big it could not be helped. It was too tall to use as a pillow, and when I tried using its belly as a pillow, it only worked as a backrest... that was the kind of absurd size Jinbei had.
"I like thish bignessh. It ish all sturdy and reassuring."
"You like big things?"
"Jinbei ish my favorite, but it ish sho big, pleash do not buy another one."
When I honestly said it was too big and in the way, Leonardo seemed to agree with the 'in the way' assessment from the sense of scale. He answered "Understood," so I decided to trust him on that.
Leonardo lay down trying to use Jinbei's foot as a pillow, and furrowed his brow at how too-tall it was. He tried hugging the foot too, thinking he might manage the same pose as me, but the foot that was just the right size as a body pillow for me was too small for Leonardo. After adjusting positions several times, it seemed Leonardo eventually decided to sleep using Jinbei's belly as a pillow. Leaning against Jinbei's belly to sleep... depending on preference, it seemed like it would be comfortable. After I confirmed Leonardo had lightly closed his eyes, I closed mine too.
When I thought about it, we had slept together just yesterday morning, but it felt like it had been a long time since we had shared a bed.
Alf is the type to rub salt into wounds. Tina is the type who wants to put mustard plaster on wounds.
When I searched online to confirm the number of squares this time, I learned for the first time that Othello is a trademark. That is why I used Reversi. I always thought Othello was the common name and Reversi was a word used by people trying to be a little stylish and edgy orz