Tsukumodo:Volume 3 Sleeping Beauty

At the end of the day, I'm just a high school student.

It may look like I'm always working on some Relic-related incidents, but that's not true.

I do read manga and I do play video games just like anyone else, although I hardly ever buy any because I'm broke. And of course, I hang around with my friend after school when I'm not on shift, and I engage in silly chats during breaks. I'm happy when I get a good mark, and I'm depressed when I get a bad one. Not only do I join my buddies to some karaoke occasionally, I've also played billiard and dart and whatnot with them. And while I haven't had the opportunity yet, I'm also interested in skiing and snowboarding.

I could go on like that, but the point is that I do the same things and have the same interests as any high school student.

Anyway, what I'm really getting at here is... well, I'm not generally uninterested in, um, romance.

So it shouldn't be surprising that I would be a bit sensitive to this kind of thing, right?

◆

When I woke up, I realized that Tokiya had pushed me down.

No, "pushed down" might be an inaccurate expression, because I must have already been asleep and lying by the time it happened.

In that case, what should I label this situation?

His right cheek was softly pressed against mine, his left hand placed on my right, his right leg between my legs, and his body was on mine.

Should I say that he was holding me down? Let's make another quick check...

His right cheek was softly pressed against mine, his left hand placed on my right, his right leg between my legs, and his body was on mine.

Yes, "to hold down" should fit quite nicely. But wait, I thought. He wasn't moving.

"Tokiya?" I called his name, but there was no response. He seemed to be sleeping and was breathing calmly.

Someone who's asleep can hardly hold you down, so this expression might be inaccurate as well. But what should I call this, then? Our bodies were entwined?

Something still feels off. Wasn't there a simple and straightforward expression for this kind of situation? For example—

We were cuddling.

"Cudd...!" I uttered unwittingly in surprise at my own thoughts.

Tokiya and I were cuddl... no, our bodies were entwi... no, he was holding me dow... anyway, we were in that specific situation.

At 08:00 in the evening, in the living room, alone.

At 08:00 in the evening...?

I looked at the clock once again, but the display did read "PM" indeed.

The fact that Tokiya and I were cuddl... no, our bodies were entwi... no, he was holding me dow... anyway, the fact that we were in that specific situation confused me a lot already, but the time was just as startling.

I couldn't remember taking an afternoon nap.

I wondered if I had passed out, but I was unable to confirm that; there was a gap in my memory. Calming myself down, I started tracing my memory.

I had stood up in the morning, changed into my clothes and prepared breakfast. After that, I went to wake up Towako-san, but I was told not to because her latest investigations had reversed her circadian rhythm, which is why I then had breakfast alone. And then...

Right. I noticed that the trash bin was full. Therefore, I filled the trash into a bag.

That's where my memory cut off.

I had been taking breakfast, so it should have been about 08:00 AM.

I looked once more at the clock. It was eight o'clock in the evening. I managed to move my head—I accidentally rubbed my cheek against Tokiya's when I did so, but I tried not to think about it—and took a look out of the window. As expected, it was dark outside; this eliminated the possibility of the clock displaying the wrong time period.

Had I fallen asleep while putting the trash out? Twelve hours even?

This is weird. What's going on...?

I couldn't believe that I had fallen asleep while I was filling a trash bag. Something must have happened then—

"Mhn!" A strange utter escaped my lips as Tokiya's tickling breath found its way into my ear. I hurriedly closed my mouth.

I hope he didn't hear that.

Now that I thought about it, Tokiya and I were cuddl... no, our bodies were entwi... no, he was holding me dow... anyway, we were in that specific situation. On top of that, Tokiya had already been asleep when I'd woken up.

In other words, we had been sleeping together like this.

...But how and why did we end up in this position?

Suddenly, my awareness of the situation jumped up. Not as words, but by feeling his touch and his warmth, I grew aware that his face, his hand, and his body were pressed against mine.

"A-At any rate, I should wake him up."

I tried to push him away from below, but he turned out to be heavier than expected. That reminded me that I'd once read somewhere that sleeping kids were heavy.

Because his position had changed in the process, however, Tokiya started to shift about and, even worse, intertwined the fingers of his right hand with those of my left hand.

It was as though we were holding hands.

"T-Tokiya."

I didn't care about why I had been asleep for twelve hours anymore; this situation was far more urgent.

Anyways, I have to push him away.

However, neither did Tokiya move away, nor could I move him away.

Please, Towako-san, come down here. The moment I thought so, my savior came down the stairs.

"Saki-chaaan, I'm hungry! Is dinner ready?"

"Ah, Towako-san, you've come just at the right moment..." I said, asking for help with my problem—

"Sorry for disturbing!"

But my request was ignored; Towako-san made an about-turn and went back up the stairs.

Huh? Why would she just go away? Huh? Disturbing? What did she mean by "disturbing"?

For once, I shouted at the top of my lungs: "Y-You, you've got the wrong idea!"

After I had somehow managed to stop her, I explained the situation to her and had her move Tokiya away.

"What should I say—that was a surprise! Sure didn't expect to find you two making love!"

"That's a misunderstanding."

She had clearly used a false expression.

I moved my gaze from Towako-san to Tokiya. He was still asleep and wouldn't wake up no matter how much we shook and hit him. Is he that tired?

"By the way, do you happen to know what I've been doing today? I don't remember anything between eight in the morning until now. It seems like I was sleeping, though..."

"Eight in the morning? About the time when you came to wake me up?" Towako-san asked back.

"Yes. The last thing I remember doing is having breakfast and trying to bring out the trash."

"Hm... I also got up just now, you see. Can't help you with that."

"You've been asleep for more than twelve hours?"

"Well, that's an all-nighter for you. The day was over by the time I got out of my bed," Towako-san explained as she tilted her head left and right, cracking her shoulders. Apparently, she was still exhausted. Thinking like that, it might not be that strange that we would sleep for so long, either.

I suppose it's possible to fall asleep for half a day because of exhaustion...?

"Speaking of which, what are you investigating?" I asked.

"Ah, a few things about that Censer."

She was referring to the Relic Tokiya had brought, which allowed anyone who fell asleep while burning incense with it to control their dreams. He received the censer from a girl in his school who had fallen victim to it and decided to entrust Towako-san with it.

"More importantly, I'm hungry."

"Ah, yes. I'll prepare dinner right away. Just let me tidy away the trash before that..."

Because I'd suddenly fallen asleep, the trash bin was turned over and its contents were scattered about on the floor. I didn't have time to bring out the trash, but I wanted to stuff it into a bag at least.

"Oh, I'll take care of that. Into the kitchen with you!" To my surprise, Towako-san offered to help with the housework for once. I gathered that she was starving, not having eaten anything all day.

"Okay, can I ask you to fill the bag, then?"

"Sure!" she replied as she walked toward the trash bin—

Her face suddenly turned stern.

"Towako-san?"

She ran her finger across the floor and scowled at it.

"What's the matter?" I asked, and noticed on a closer look that her finger was covered with dust. "Should I wipe off the dust?"

"It's ashes."

"Ashes?"

"I remember now. Yesterday, Tokiya threw away the remaining ashes inside the Censer into the trash bin." Towako-san dusted off her finger. "You fell asleep when you were emptying this trash bin, correct?"

"Um, yes."

"Didn't that whirl up some ashes?"

"Now that you mention it..."

I remembered being bothered by the dust that was raised when I moved the contents into the bag. Right after that, I suddenly became sleepy—

"Tokiya! Wake up!" Towako-san yelled as she gave him a shake. However, Tokiya showed no signs of waking up. She proceeded to examining his hands; his fingers were covered by ashes like hers. "Maybe there's some side effect to the ashes of that censer. Keep an eye on Tokiya; I'm looking into the matter," she said and went back upstairs.

I gazed after her. I had to leave this matter to her.

While putting a blanket over Tokiya, I pondered over what I should do after that, since I was well rested. I also felt uncomfortable because I hadn't kept the shop that day.

Does this mark the start of the Tsukumodo Antique Shop late night opening?

Suddenly, Tokiya turned over, pushing away the blanket. When I reached out to adjust the blanket for him, he also tried to do the same in his sleep and accidentally grabbed my hand.

I almost pulled my hand back, but I reconsidered.

His hand was bigger than I'd thought; surprisingly hard skin and big fingers made his hand appear very masculine.

I recalled the touch of our intertwined fingers, the weight of his body, his warmth.

Noticing how my face was heating up, I put my hand on my cheek to cool down a bit. Because the feel of Tokiya's hand was still fresh, however, it felt as though his hand was stroking my cheek.

I immediately shake off those strange thoughts by physically shaking my head.

I had been a bit strange ever since that day—by "that day" I mean the day when Tokiya went to the rescue of that girl who had fallen victim to the censer—ever since Tokiya had done a certain thing to me.

However, in a sense, I also thought that there was nothing strange about that.

It may look like I'm always working on some Relic-related incidents or caring about our sales, but that's not true.

At the end of the day, I'm just a teenager girl.

I do have them, too — those moments when you get conscious of the other sex.

◆

I was lying around alone when I woke up.

Well, I always sleep alone, so that was completely normal. What wasn't quite as normal was the fact that I had been sleeping in the living room at the Tsukumodo Antique Shop.

Why didn't I sleep at home? I thought and tried to trace my memories of the previous day.

Right! When I'd come to work in the evening, I'd come across a shocking scene.

The shop was closed.

While you wouldn't find any customers at any time throughout the year, you could be sure that the Tsukumodo Antique Shop wasn't closed on any day in the week, unless there were special circumstances. And I hadn't heard of any.

I entered the shop through the back door and discovered Saki collapsed on the floor in the living room. Her condition and that of the shop immediately linked in my head.

Has she been lying there since before the opening time?

Keeping my blood from running cold with all my might, I rushed into the room and raised her upper body—

Saki was sleeping leisurely; with the usual lack of expression in her face and no sign of pain.

Suddenly, a possible explanation crossed my mind: Towako-san had been investigating the censer I'd brought her the other day; Saki must have been assisting her until late at night.

After I'd let out a deep sigh, I put a blanket over Saki and reluctantly opened the shop.

Before I knew it, it was closing time. Wanting to take my leave, I tried to wake Saki up, but no matter how much I shook and nudged her, she wouldn't open her eyes.

Slowly but surely getting suspicious, I took a look around because I feared that there was a relation to yet another Relic. However, there was nothing special to catch the eye, except maybe for the trash bin who was turned over.

When I grabbed the bin to raise it, I noticed that my hand had gotten dirty. Analyzing the touch and the smell, I found out that it was ashes—the ashes I had thrown away the other day that had been inside the censer.

The censer gave its users absolute control over their dreams, and, more importantly, the incense burnt with it was very sleep-inducing—

I realized that Saki's deep sleep must have been caused by the censer or its ashes.

But that realization had come too late.

I had probably breathed in some when I smelled on the ashes; I was suddenly assaulted by an overwhelming wave of sleepiness I could hardly resist.

During the last moments of consciousness, I had tried to shake Saki awake—

But my thread of consciousness had been cut before I succeeded.

Most likely, I've been sound asleep after that, I thought after ending my flashback.

The clock revealed to me that it was shortly after eight in the morning, which would mean that I had slept for about twelve hours.

"Where's Saki?" I muttered, unable to make out Saki, who had been sleeping here as well.

Wanting to take a look into her room, I went to the stairs, just to run into Towako-san who was coming downstairs carrying an energy drink in one hand.

"Oh, woken up?"

"Towako-san, I was..." She signaled me to stop before I could finish.

"You were charmed to sleep by that censer, no?"

I was an open book to Towako-san, as it seemed.

"Is Saki okay?" I asked.

"I've just taken a look into her room. She's sound asleep."

"All day and night?"

"No, she was awake during the night."

"I see..." Saki had been awake while I was asleep. "Because of the censer, I suppose?"

"To be exact, it's because of the incense burnt with it. Probably some kind of side effect. Give me some more time to find out the details."

"Got it."

"How are you feeling?" Towako-san asked me.

"Normal. In fact, I feel pretty well rested."

"Doesn't surprise me, seeing that you've had a good twelve hours rest. So, what are you going to do?"

"Hm?"

"Classes are starting."

"Shit, I'm late!"

Seems like I had been still half-asleep; cruel reality blew away the cobwebs.

"Drop me a message during each break. Just in case you fall asleep at school."

"Okay, see you!" I replied as I dashed outside. Sure got myself into some trouble again, I thought while I was running to school.

Yes, at the time, I had no idea how severe this incident truly was.

◆

The situation became a bit clearer after a few days.

For one thing, we learned that the ashes of the Censer came with a sleep-inducing side-effect whose sleep could not be interrupted. For another thing, that sleep would always set in at a certain time of the day and last for exactly 12 hours.

In other words, I was asleep from 8 AM until 8 PM and awake from 8 PM until 8 AM. Tokiya, on the other hand, was asleep from 8 PM until 8 AM and awake from 8 AM until 8 PM, meaning that he was asleep just when I was awake and vice versa.

Tokiya could still consider himself happy: He was awake when he had to attend classes and keep the shop. The only real downside he had to deal with was a slightly increased sleep length.

However, I was different. I couldn't work.

I would wake up just when the shop closed and fall asleep when the shop opened its doors. I was upset; I'd even asked Towako-san to provisionally extend the opening time, but in the end, there were no customers at so late an hour.

Of course, I didn't just sit back and do nothing: I tried everything that I could to attract customers nonetheless, starting off by reading "SPECIAL ISSUE: Behind The Scenes - Night Clubs" and "Becoming A Queen Of The Night Made Easy." However, these books were of no use for the Tsukumodo Antique Shop.

To begin with, I wasn't allowed to drink alcohol yet, now was I a queen.

Once, I followed the advice given in "How To Snatch Customers Off The Street At Night" and tried approaching someone on the main street saying "Hey boss, fancy to take a look at one of our hot antiques?" but that person was not an executive. Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to recognize superiors at a glance, and most of all, there were no people that late at night that looked like they would be leading a team.

Anyway.

Being unable to serve any customers had left me stressed and made me realize once again that I'd been born for customer service. I hadn't expected that not being able to work would be so agonizing.

Besides—

I hadn't met Tokiya for days. Not in an awake state, at least...

Somehow I don't like this.

I looked at Tokiya who was lying next to me, sound asleep.

We had decided that Tokiya would be staying here for a while because it was dangerous if he suddenly fell asleep at home when he was alone. We weren't absolutely sure of the sleep cycles yet.

Just bear up with it a little longer, Saki, I told myself, Towako-san is searching for a solution.

"Hah..." I sighed as I poked his nose with my finger.

You could at least make an effort to stay awake once in a while!

◆

The situation became a bit clearer after a few days.

For one thing, we learned that the ashes of the Censer came with a sleep-inducing side-effect whose sleep could not be interrupted. For another thing, that sleep would always set in at a certain time of the day and last for exactly 12 hours.

In other words, I was asleep from 8 PM until 8 AM and awake from 8 AM until 8 PM. Saki, on the other hand, was asleep from 8 AM until 8 PM and awake from 8 PM until 8 AM, meaning that she was asleep just when I was awake and vice versa.

Saki could still consider herself happy: She had a proper excuse to sleep through her shift and was free to do whatever she wanted at night. Well, I didn't know if there was anything she would want to do, though.

However, I was different. I had to go to school and to work.

Even though I could've called in sick if only my sleep cycle would set in during school, I would always wake up at 8 sharp, which was, to top things off, just in time to barely make it to school somehow. Every morning I had to get up in a hurry and run there at full speed. The evenings weren't any better, since work was calling, leaving me with not a single free minute before getting sleepy. Moreover, I had trouble following my buddies at school when they talked about the TV shows they had watched the day before for obvious reasons.

Anyway.

Having no free time for myself had left me stressed and made me realize again how much I loved my liberties. I hadn't expected that spending all time for school, work, and school would be so agonizing.

Besides—

I hadn't met Saki for days. Not in an awake state, at least...

Somehow I don't like this.

I looked at Saki who was lying next to me, sound asleep.

We had decided that Saki would be sleeping in the living room for a while because it was dangerous if she suddenly fell asleep while using the stairs. We weren't absolutely sure of the sleep cycles yet.

You won't have to endure this much longer, I told myself, Towako-san is searching for a solution.

"Hah..." I sighed as I poked Saki's cheeks with my finger.

Geez, try to stay awake once in a while!

◆

After long, Towako-san finally discovered a way to break the sleeping spell that lay on us:

"A kiss will do."

That's what she said.

"......"

"......"

"You want me to try to hit him and fail," I said.

"That'd be a miss."

"You want us to become happy."

"You're looking for bliss."

"That language."

"That'd be Swiss."

"Nothing. Just bup—"

"—kis."

"Sounds about right, doesn't it?"

"No, it doesn't. I'm talking about a smooch, a lip smack," Towako-san repeated.

"An illicitly distilled alcoholic liquor, and a watchmaking brand dedicated solely to children."

"Hooch and Flik Flak. You know some quite obscure stuff, don't you? ...I can see that you're flustered, but please stop with those silly jokes. You're not that type of character."

Yes, it's not typical of me to be so flustered.

However, there was no way I could keep a cool head after hearing something like that. They may say that I have no feelings or that I don't show them, but the odds are that my confusion did show this specific time.

"Well, the only thing that can awake Snow White from her sleep is the Prince's kiss," Towako-san explained.

"That scene was an addition of the movie and does not exist in the original tale by the Grimm Brothers."

"I don't care. The point is that the same thing happened in the past and was solved that way. So come on, get on with it!"

"Y-You can talk..."

"Hey, it's just a kiss—you're past that stage, aren't you?"

"We're not!"

"Even though you were squeezing each other in my shop the other day?"

"But that's because Tokiya...!" Because he suddenly hugged me...

Towako-san had been teasing me with that for days.

"Well, are you too embarrassed when I'm here? You can find me over there."

"No, but..."

I looked at Tokiya—at his lips. My eyes were drawn to that one point.

I felt a blush spread over my cheeks.

That's not typical of me at all.

Recollecting myself, I raised my head, just to find Towako-san broadly grinning at me.

"I-I'm not going to do it," I declared.

"But the spell won't break if you don't."

"But..."

Towako-san held her hand against her mouth and, with an amused smile resembling that of a child who had just received a new toy, she said: "Well, then you'll just have to wait for Tokiya do it for you."