Ishikawa Goemon X Rin - Short Story (Part 3)

That night, after taking a bath later than usual, Rin, wearing pajamas and glasses, tried to open the refrigerator door to take out the ice cream.

"Ojou."

"Oh, Goemon, what's wrong?"

Goemon, who was supposed to be watching a movie on the large monitor alone on the sofa in the living room, was standing right behind Rin.

"Hey, can you stay still for a moment?"

“O-okay…”

When Rin nodded, Goemon gently brushed Rin's bangs away with his fingers, scraped up his own bangs, and placed his forehead in contact with Rin's forehead.

"...!!"

Rin involuntarily backed away as Goemon's handsome eyebrows suddenly drew closer.

"Don't run away."

Goemon wraps his strong arms around Rin's waist and forcibly hugs her.

"Please don't run away."

Rin's body stiffened at Goemon's quiet pleading, and the scream she had uttered withdrew.

Goemon's eyes, framed by his long lashes, are downcast and motionless.

"...As I thought, you have a high fever," said Goemon, releasing his forehead from Rin.

What kind of torture was that? Even when she was finally released, she felt dizzy, and Rin's brain didn't work right away.

"F-fever ... ?"

“You soaked in the hot springs in the garden, even though it’s hot, right?”

“Eh?”

“Ojou, are you being considerate of me?”

“!”

“Hah ...... it won't do you any good if you get all hot. Don't worry about me. If the water's too hot, just dilute it with water.”

"I-I'm sorry."

Goemon has a habit of soaking in hot springs before going to bed.

On this day, for Goemon who hadn't taken a bath yet, she didn't adjust the temperature of the water even though she thought it was a little hot.

"Um, how did you know?"

When Rin came into the living room, Goemon only glanced at her while drinking and didn't even turn around.

Rin, who thought he was concentrating on the movie, was surprised and asked Goemon.

"I'd like to say it's the power of love, but it's just that your footsteps… sounds different than usual."

“......”

Even though it wasn't a 【Powerful Ability】, it was so special that it exceeded Rin's imagination.

"It's the gift of training when I was alive, I guess."

“A-amazing…”

“Well, for now, sit on the sofa and watch a movie. I'll get you some water with ice.”

　　＊＊＊

“――……Ojou”

Rin woke up while sitting on the sofa as Goemon lightly shook her.

"Oh sorry, I must have dozed off."

After drinking Goemon's ice water, Rin seems to have lost consciousness because of her lethargy.

"You're tired from the hot water, and your body is feeling heavy. You should rest in your room."

As Rin tried to get up from the sofa, Goemon, who was in front of her, quickly knelt at Rin's feet.

"... Goemon?"

"Princess, I will escort you to your room."

“Kyaaa!”

Goemon lightly lifted Rin up in a princess's embrace, then went out through the open living room door into the hallway and headed for Rin's room.

"G-Goemon, put me down. Please put me down !"

Rin is dismayed and twists herself in Goemon's arms.

"I can walk by myself without you doing this!"

"If you make a fuss, people will gather, you know?"

“Geuhh!”

Seeing Goemon, who remained calm and unyielding, Rin had no choice but to bite down on her words.

When she was so close to him, she could feel Goemon's body heat, and her heart couldn't stop pounding.

Looking up at Goemon's proud face made her feel angry again――her heart fluttered.

"Yes, we've arrived~"

Goemon entered Rin's room with lights on and slowly put her down on the bed.

“…………”

"Haha, you look tired."

"Who's to blame... Huh?"

Rin noticed that the bedside where she was lying was cold.

"Is this an ice pillow?"

"I just put it down, so it's still cold."

"Did you prepare it?"

"Well, yeah."

To hide his embarrassment, Goemon put the comforter on her.

"Thank you for everything..."

"If you're sleepy, you can go to sleep, and I'll bring you another cold one later."

While saying that, Goemon closed the door and left Rin's room.

　　＊＊＊

"... Oops, did I wake you up?"

Rin woke up in her room with the lights on, and met Goemon in his pajamas.

Her vision was blurry, though, because she had taken off her glasses.

"How are you feeling?"

Goemon sits by Rin's pillow and puts his hand on her lying forehead.

"Good, it looks like your fever is gone now."

Goemon relievedly pulled his hand away and placed the lukewarm ice pillow Rin had been resting her head on on the low table.

"What time is it now?"

"It's past twelve o'clock."

"Goemon, I'm sorry for keeping you up so late."

"Don't apologize, because I did it on my own. By the way…"

“Yes?”

"I've asked Tama to use my room so that I can take care of you tonight."

Come to think of it, there was no soul that always ran up to Rin, meaning that Rin was alone with Goemon.

"...!"

"Ah, no, I don't want to get your hopes up, so I'm going to be honest with you. But that's why, if I get kicked out of here, I don't have anywhere else to go."

"T-that's true…"

"So... can you let me stay here?"

What an unfair man. He must have intended to do this from the beginning.

That's the kind of man, this Goemon - the man who loves Rin to the bone, is like.

"I understand…"

Rin could only nod. There was no way she could refuse.

"Thank you~"

Goemon thanked Rin and turned off the lights in the room with the remote control.

"…… Please excuse me~"

"Come on in."

He squeezed into bed as if pushing Rin against the wall.

He hugs Rin warmly from behind, burying his face in her long black hair and her soft nape.

After that, he fully enjoyed Rin with his whole body, and after a while…

"This is not a dream right…"

Goemon let out a single sentence to Rin.

"Dream?"

"Ever since we were able to live together like this, for some reason, I find that it's a waste to sleep."

"........"

"It's like a dream that I can feel you all the time I'm awake. I want to believe it, but I can't."

The reason why Goemon talks like this is probably because Rin got hot in the hot spring and made Goemon worry.

Rin took Goemon's words seriously.

"...Are you afraid of sleeping?"

".... Yeah……"

In the quiet darkness of the night, Rin could clearly hear Goemon's gasp.

"I also... sometimes think so."

"..."

Rin pretended not to feel Goemon's tears as he hugged her tightly, and gently stroked Goemon's hair over and over again.

　　＊＊＊

"...I wonder if it was a dream."

The next morning, Rin muttered vaguely on the bed.

However, she can feel her loneliness because the cramped bed can now be used spaciously.

　 Goemon had already woken up while Rin was asleep, and next to Rin was an empty space.

As expected of a former ninja, she is strangely impressed that he is skilled at erasing traces.

Rin put on her glasses, tilted her head, and looked around her room, but her spirit had not yet returned.

The ice pillow on the low table is also gone.

"...?"

Rin got up and sat down on the bed with her feet on the floor.

Then she noticed that something had fallen at her feet and she casually picked it up.

It was the unmistakable red flower knot hair ornament that Goemon always wore.

“I will withdraw my previous statement… Hehehe.”

This is a remnant of a dream.

Rin couldn't help but laugh aloud because she couldn't hate the obvious Goemon, who must have left it behind in order not to leave it as a dream.

　　＊＊＊

“Ojou, would you like to have a snack?”

"Yes, I will have it."

In the afternoon of that day, Rin finally got the chance to be alone with Goemon in the living room.

"It looks delicious. Did you make this?"

"That's right, shiratama fruit punch."

On the dining table, in a transparent glass bowl, there were plenty of colorful fruits and shiny rice flour dumplings floating in the sparkling cold soda.

"Hell’s cider and fruit cans were half-finished. I also boiled rice flour dumplings and added them. How are they?"

"Delicious!"

"Haha, if you say so, then it's worth making."

While sitting facing each other, they scooped out sweet syrups and fruits――tangerines, peaches, pineapples, and chewy rice flour dumplings with spoons.

"Ah, Goemon, I have something to give you."

Rin reached into her skirt pocket and handed Goemon the hair ornament she picked up in her room.

"Is this yours? You left it, so here you go."

"Oh, I see... That's why you've been fidgeting every time you see my face since this morning."

Goemon looks refreshed, with a strange look of satisfaction on his face.

"..."

Rin was taken aback. Goemon hadn't worn his hair ornament since this morning.

He knew that Rin would be too shy to pass on the hair ornament in public, and so he had arranged this alone time for her.

Seriously, what an unfair man.

"What's wrong, Ojou?"

"Nothing. Anyways, I have returned it to you."

Rin returned his hair ornament to Goemon, wondering if she was going to be swept away.

While Goemon pretended to receive the hair ornament in front of him, he pulled Rin's hand together with the hair ornament, and passionately kissed Rin's fingertips.

"Ah……"

Rin's finger slightly jumped, and her cheeks were dyed pale red.

"... Now I can say you did."

Goemon puts his hair ornament back in his own hair and looks at Rin, who is shy as she withdraws her hand, and grins.

"Geez! You're always so abrupt...!"

(T/N: KYAAA! CUTE!)

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