Overloaded With Attributes Chapter 15

Interlude: The Case of Nakatsukasa Shouko, Part 2 

And so, basically in a 'tit-for-tat' spat, I ended up with my new assignment: "Kashiwagi Yuugiri-sama, 15 years old." I read over his personal file, which looked an awful lot like a marriage resume, but...

"'Family: two mothers, one older sister. All three deceased in the accident. No close relatives. Personality: not very sociable...'"

Just seeing that his school of choice was an all-boys' school pretty much confirmed that. Yep. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't see a future where he would accept me as his handler.

"...Would it be more productive to just start looking for my next job right now...?"

There was a time when I, too, seriously thought that.

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Figuring it would be bad taste to barge in right after he woke up, I waited a bit before visiting the hospital. And... I don't know why, but the vibe I got from the attending doctor and the nurse... went beyond a "cold shoulder." I felt... a slight hostility. What was that about?

Well, I was fully expecting to be kicked out after the initial meet-and-greet anyway, so it didn't really matter... It seemed he was in the middle of lunch. I received a briefing on his condition and was then guided to his room by the nurse.

And then—we met. Just as I'd heard, he was a 15-year-old boy. Or rather, a boy you'd have no problem calling a 'bishounen' (a beautiful boy). And his skin... it was so smooth and supple, it would make any normal woman want to run away crying in defeat.

No, never mind his skin, his eyes. They weren't the "way a man looks at a woman." ...This was the first time in my life a member of the opposite sex had looked at me with... such pure, unadulterated curiosity. At that moment, the chains I'd fastened over the door to my heart started to rattle.

...No, no, don't be stupid, Shouko. You can't let your guard down. Fifteen or fifty, a man is a man. My previous assignments taught me that. I steeled myself and gave a prim, proper bow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Nakatsukasa Shouko of GENE, and I have been assigned as your handler, Kashiwagi-sama."

The bare minimum. No emotion. I was being perfectly dry and professional. And in response, he...

"Thank you for the polite introduction. I'm... uh... I... I'm Kashiwagi Yuugiri. Ah, um, as you can see, I'm just a normal kid. You can drop the '-sama'... Please, just call me Yuugiri, if you don't mind."

...He replied, looking... a little embarrassed. ...Eh? Eh? This kid is... cute... NO, that's not it!

The men I know... they just... don't... you know? They don't give polite, well-mannered, "young-lady" type greetings!

It was so sudden, my brain was about to short-circuit in confusion. Shouko! Don't be fooled! He's just putting on an act!

To discuss the future, I had the slightly dim-witted-looking nurse and the sharp-eyed doctor leave the room... Now, I was alone with him.

Wh-What is this? I'm alone in a room with a man... but... ...why is this atmosphere... so... calm?

From there, I was supposed to explain his situation... but I messed up. Horribly. Apparently, he hadn't been told that his family was dead. Saitou... was that her name? Didn't we have a briefing beforehand?! Why didn't that doctor tell me?!

It was a screw-up so bad I couldn't have complained if he'd screamed at me or even hit me. But instead... he smiled and said... "Don't worry about it. Honestly, it's a relief. A weight off my shoulders."

A boy this kind... can't possibly exist in this world, right? Huh? Am I dreaming?? I squeezed my eyes shut and commanded, "Shouko, wake up!" five times, but the "boy (illusion)" sitting in front of me... didn't disappear.

I explained that he had no relatives. That it was dangerous for a male to live alone. And... that I had been dispatched to support his new life.

I explained it all flatly... and he just looked at me apologetically and said, "Thank you." ...At this point, my heart was already so full it was about to burst! ...But... the hard part was next.

Yes. He was a minor, alone, having lost his entire family. For his safety, until he comes of age, he must live with a Protection Officer, regardless of his personal wishes. ...Of course, he has the right to choose who...

But still, he has to live with a strange woman. And I had to be the one to tell this... introverted, anti-social boy... this terrible news. ...Wait, introverted? Him? The file said "not sociable." But... he's talking to me, a perfect stranger, just fine. He's even joking. This is "introverted"? Really?

And as my head was spinning with that, he delivered another blow. ...Eh? "Shouko-oneesan"?! "V-V-V-Visiting wife"?! "C-C-C-Cohabitation"?! It's n-n-n-not cohabitation!

S-Somehow... I feel like I'm being completely played with! I'm a 26-year-old woman! I am not going to get all flustered by what a 15-year-old boy—a prince—is saying! ...Okay, I know. A tsundere woman is just gross. There's no market for that.

I've never been the "popular-with-men" type. I'm tall, I have a mean look in my eyes, and my personality is a pain. There's no way he'd want to live with a woman like me... ...Or so I thought.

"I can't even think of anyone but you, Shouko-oneesan."

"A cool beauty with a model's figure is, like, my favorite thing ever."

...He started making... "incomprehensible testimony," or whatever you'd call it. So, I guess I wasn't dreaming after all. Because I must have died without noticing and been summoned to Heaven.

This boy... he's here to turn my mental state into... "mush," or maybe "a sopping wet mess." I let my guard down, thinking, "Surely it can't get any worse than this?" ...That was a fatal mistake.

I handed him the pamphlets and was breezing through an explanation of GENE's initiatives. He said he had a question. I mean, for what it's worth, I am a graduate of the Imperial University. There's nothing in these "tools of the trade" (pamphlets) that I can't explain... ...Or so I thought.

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