YNoMH? (BL)

Off Air 6.1

Off Air – Story 6.1

Story 6: Other Short Stories – Part 1

Author's Note: This is a collection of stories that I've written for blogs and other media. I like playing around with short, little story ideas, and so I had a great time writing these. Whenever Tatsuki makes an appearance, he tends to steal all the punchlines, and so in "Side Profiles and Irises,"[1] Kunieda-san gets to exact his revenge on him.

Translator Note: This part contains all of the ficlets written for Volume 1 

Who Is the Child Still Up At Night?[2]

Kei appeared to have fallen fast asleep. So that the wheels didn't squeak, Ushio quietly pushed his chair back to get up, heading over to squat in front of him. Kei must have been exhausted. He did look a little worn out, but even his sleeping face was as beautiful. Ushio studied his face for a while before going back to his desk. He picked up a memo pad and started sketching.

...Oh, oh, it's looking pretty good.

Ushio nodded to himself, happy with the results, and then started to add a new drawing off in the margin.

Glasses and a facemask. The Kei on the piece of paper transformed into someone who looked both like Kunieda Kei and yet didn't—someone different and mysterious who Ushio knew. He took a long look at the Kei over on the sofa and compared the two.

This has to be the reason. There's no other way to explain it. Why didn't I realize it earlier?

Ushio was half annoyed with himself and half amazed at how incredible the transformation was.

What would happen if he were to wake Kei right now and tell him that he knows? Which one of him would appear? What reaction would he get? He had a strong urge mixed with curiosity to wake him, but Kei was so exhausted that he was sleeping soundly on this uncomfortable sofa that Ushio didn't want to pressure him even more than he already was.

What if Kei and Owari were entirely separate personalities? That both of them weren't aware of a changeover between them? So far they had seemed like independent people—the possibility wasn't zero. If so, could he have a mental disorder? He once saw a documentary where someone had multiple personalities, and after a long, long period of counseling, the person was slowly able to integrate them. The personalities didn't disappear; they seemed to be mixed together, but the subject had seemed like a brand-new person. Would Kei need to have the same treatment?

"...It would be a shame," Ushio couldn't help saying to himself.

He didn't want either of them to disappear; he'd feel sad if something were to happen to either one of them. He liked the Kei who was the perfect honors student, but who was stubborn about showing any of his weaknesses, and he liked the Owari who was foul-mouthed, rebellious, and rude, but whose feelings were easily hurt.

If Kei was feeling constricted by his job as an announcer, Ushio wanted to tell that he should quit. Especially if he came all the way here, unable to handle the pressure and stress from it. He could stay here forever as Owari if he wanted to.

Ushio approached Kei once again. He didn't appear to be waking any time soon. It looked like he could sleep all the way until tomorrow night's (well, today's now) broadcast. He should just let him sleep.

There was the sound of something falling over at Ushio's feet. It was Kei's bag. Did something inside cause it to tip over? He bent down to pick it back up and caught a glance of the beat-up accent dictionary inside the open compartment.