"Sister-in-law, please forget what I said!"
Akashi was practically begging now. He was so afraid if Ren would execute him if he knew his dear wife got to hear what he had said on the phone.
Screw his damn mouth for being too excited!
"Tell me, you have found Fujioka Masami? And what about the man you said before? Is he the mastermind behind all this?" Tsubaki calmly repeated her questions. She stirred the porridge inside the pot. It was almost done.
"No, I mean..."
After accidentally picked up the call, Tsubaki got to hear the information Akashi wanted to relay to Ren. She had been pestering him for answers and he was already close to crumbling under her pressure.
It wasn't like she intentionally trying to pry the information from him. Since it involved her, she had a right to know, right?
"Don't worry, Akashi," Tsubaki suppressed the giggle in her voice. Even though they had never met properly, she had seen his photo before. This friend of her husband was a goofy man. Of course, he would be in a panic after speaking out of turns. "If he wanted to get mad at you, I'd use my beauty trap to silence him. What do you say?"
Akashi in the other line, "...."
"Alright..." Although a bit reluctant, he finally gave up. "I'll tell you. But, I can't tell you all about it, okay? And don't forget to shield me once he gets mad!"
"Okay!" Tsubaki readily agreed.
Thus, Akashi began telling Tsubaki what he had found recently. He didn't dive deeper into details since he still wanted to take precautions against his death flags but Tsubaki still got his meaning.
"So, I think that even though we suspect Nakamura Sumire is your biological mother, we couldn't deny the fact that this Fujioka Masami has a greater connection in all this. While Ms. Nakamura seems like she never existed on Earth, we found traces of Fujioka Masami. So, I hope we could find Ms. Nakamura next through this leads."
"Ren told you about Kanako's memory, right?" Tsubaki turned off the stove. The porridge had already been cooked properly. The delicious smell of the chicken and corn porridge spread in the air. She smiled as she remembered the man sleeping upstairs.
"From the way she reacted, I know she's not lying. But, it must be something from her recent or ongoing memory. If Ms. Fujioka has really been missing, by calculating Kanako's age, it's impossible for her to know anything about Fujioka Masami. Especially since Mrs. Esumi is so perverse when she asked about it."
"You want to say she's still around, right?" It wasn't that hard for Akashi to catch the meaning behind her words since he too had the same guess.
"Yes," Tsubaki confirmed Akashi's assumption. "Or, it was someone else who used the name but she too was related in this."
"Argh!"
Akashi suddenly yelled out loud, almost shocking Tsubaki in the process. She could hear the sound of banging from her end of the line. Did Akashi bang his head against something?
"Why? Does my new assumption bring you stress?" Tsubaki laughed lightly.
This was their first conversation with each other but she didn't feel awkward. Maybe because Akashi reminded her of Takuma? Their personalities were almost the same.
"Sister-in-law, I hope you would compensate me with anything once this is done," Akashi was shamelessly whining to Tsubaki like a child, despite he was the older one between them. "I've never been tortured like this before. Your husband is a tyrant!"
Tsubaki was bewildered. In the end, she laughed freely.
"Alright, alright. I'll ask Hibiki to send some of my cakes to you, is that okay?" Ren once said Akashi loved eating junk food so she knew he wouldn't say no to sweet treats.
"Yes! I want that!"
"But, before that," Tsubaki recalled something that went missing from their conversation. "You haven't told me who's the man you mentioned earlier. Care to tell?"
"About that..." Akashi gulped, he thought this matter had finished but she still remembered the tiny detail he had mentioned during his call. "Could you spare me this question? I think your dear husband would really kill me if I tell you."
"Okay, I won't make things hard for you," Tsubaki knew Akashi had already told her everything she could know so she shouldn't continue pestering him. She understood whoever that man was, only Ren could reveal it to her. "I want to go and wake Ren up. Thank you for your time."
"Alright! And... don't forget to use your beauty trap if he got mad over me, okay? I could even help you with that!"
Tsubaki was speechless. Akashi was really afraid of Ren. What did her husband ever do to the poor guy?
Without hearing the answer, Akashi had hung up on her. She lowered down the phone from her ear, she felt incredulous as she stared at the black screen.
Since there was nothing else she could do, Tsubaki decided to just wait and see. She brought out a bowl from the cabinet and poured the porridge into it. This porridge smelled so good! Tsubaki reached out for the chopped cilantro and green onions from the kitchen island. She used them as garnishes. Before she brought the bowl upstairs, she didn't forget to add a few drops of soy sauce.
Tsubaki placed the bowl on a tray together with a cup of hot ginger and honey tea. Since the bowl and cup were hot, she carefully minded her steps while heading upstairs. The door was left ajar so she entered with ease. Ren was still sleeping, his posture hadn't changed. The cat toy was still accompanying him.
A smile curved up faintly on her face. Tsubaki put down the tray on the bedside table before she sat on the edge of the bed, facing her husband. She silently looked at his features softened under the moonlight penetrated through the glass walls. Tsubaki slowly extended her hand, she brushed his bangs away from his forehead.
His temperature was still high and his complexion was undeniably haggard.
He had overexerted himself in these few weeks and mostly for her. Tsubaki felt bad for making him like this but at the same time, she was so touched.
Came hell or high water, he would brace everything for her.
Tsubaki let out a sigh. Some times, she felt like she didn't deserve his love.
"How could you be so nice to me?"
Only the sound of his steady breathing answered her.
She rose from the bed and headed to the bathroom. Tsubaki filled a bowl with cool water before she took two clean washcloths from the cabinet over the sink. She wanted to help cooled him down even for a little. As she placed the wet washcloth on his forehead, Ren stirred slightly in his sleep. Tsubaki took the other washcloth and began to wipe his arms and neck.
After she felt that the porridge had cooled down for a bit, Tsubaki stopped cooling him down. She began to wake him up. The folded washcloth on his forehead returned into the bowl. She leaned over and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Darling, wake up. The porridge is ready," Her soft voice drifted over the quiet room. Her touch was light, she was afraid of startling him. "Hubby, get up."
She succeeded after a few attempts. Ren opened his eyes. His view was blurry and the objects overlapped one another, making him felt dizzy. He rubbed his eyes, he could still feel the high temperature of his skin. After a few moments, his sight returned to normal. He could see her in front of him.
She was smiling.
It was so dazzling that it took his breath away.
"Have you woken up properly?" There was a hint of laughter in her voice as Tsubaki looked at him who was still in a daze. She stood up and began to help him to sit up. "You need to eat first, darling. You can't continue sleeping with an empty stomach."
Ren propped up on his elbows. His eyes landed on the cat toy lying beside him.
Did I sleep with this thing?
Tsubaki straightened the pillows against the headboard, letting Ren lean back comfortably. She had even placed a small pillow behind his lower back. From just seeing how listless he moved, she knew his muscle pain was acting up.
"I hope you don't mind I cooked chicken and corn porridge," Tsubaki took the bowl and put it down on a rotating table she stationed to face her husband. She lifted up the lid, revealing the contents inside the bowl. "I have never seen you ate this before."
Once Ren gaze into the porridge, a fond smile suddenly appeared on his face. Despite his lackluster energy, he looked so radiant. A trace of longing gleamed in his eyes. He raised his head, staring at Tsubaki who was stirring the porridge. The steam rose to the air, creating a smoke-like barrier in front of her face.
"I've eaten this before." His voice was so soft and dreamy, unlike his usual deep one. "You have cooked it for me once when I caught a fever, like today."
Tsubaki's hand stiffened, she looked at his smiling face. There was a deep longing in the bottomless pools of his eyes.
"I... did?"
Ren nodded. He reached out a hand, his calloused fingers touched her soft skin. Her eyes fluttered under his touch.
"You did."