The Case Of Yokozawa Takafumi Vol 6

Chapter 7

Hiyori was just the tiniest bit dressed up today, sporting the new dress she'd had her grandmother buy her and a scrunchie binding her hair that had been a gift from Yokozawa. The three of them were driving, with Kirishima at the wheel and Yokozawa and Hiyori in the back, to the Ward Hall.

"You were up pretty early this morning; did you get enough sleep?"

"I went to bed early last night, so I'm fine! What about you, Oniichan? Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, thanks to you—I slept like a log." Perhaps it was just all of the exhaustion and fatigue finally catching up with them, but both Yokozawa and Kirishima had slept past the time they'd intended to wake. When they'd finally risen, the laundry had already been hung out to dry and breakfast was on the table. Yokozawa had protested that she should have woken them, but she'd returned that, "Well you looked tired, so I wanted you to have a good night's rest," and his chest had clenched in admiration.

"Oh yeah—that trick you taught me worked wonders, Oniichan!"

"'Trick'? Oh that." He'd simply told her that if she made sure to hit her pillow the same number of times as the hour she wanted to wake at, then she'd be sure to wake up at precisely that time. It was a little something his own grandmother had taught him as a child. He now recalled teaching the trick to Hiyori after she'd grown worried she wouldn't be able to wake up on time on days she needed to be up early for important events.

"I haven't overslept once whenever I've done that! And I taught it to all my friends too, and they said it really works!"

"That's great, then." It was probably just a form of self-suggestion, but if it worked, then it worked.

"What're you two talking about?" Kirishima called back from the driver's seat, evidently curious as to their conversation.

"I was just telling Oniichan that the trick he taught me really works!"

"Trick? Well isn't that just adorable."

"I just taught her something my grandmother taught me as a kid. It's not like I still do it myself." He didn't want Kirishima thinking he still relied on childish charms like that.

"Huh? You don't?"

"Adults can wake up properly on their own, so they don't need it." He couldn't just blurt out to Hiyori that he refused to use such childish tricks at his age, so he passed it off as a matter of physical maturity. In truth, he'd just gotten used to waking up thanks to his trusty alarm clock.

"So how does this trick work, exactly?" Kirishima asked, and Yokozawa felt a strange sense of foreboding on the heels of the question. But he couldn't stop Hiyori from responding, so preparing himself not to overreact no matter what Kirishima came back with, he forced himself to remain calm.

"Well, you just slap your pillow the same number of times as the hour you want to wake up. If you wanna wake up at 6, then you hit it 6 times; if it's 7, then 7 times. And you really do just pop awake at that exact moment!"

"Wow, that does sound useful. Maybe I'll give it a shot next time."

"Yeah, you oughta! It really works!"

"I'll try it out tonight, then." Yokozawa couldn't bear the grinning leer Kirishima shot him through the rearview mirror, but he knew he'd be on the losing side if he let himself show any reaction right now.

"Eyes forward when you're driving."

"I'm facing forward. I'm just wondering why you never told meabout your amazingly effective little trick."