TSRBIHK Chapter 14

[ T/N – The title, ‘Handshake’ signifies the command where you tell the dog to place it’s second paw in the palm of your hand. There is not a specific word for that term, therefore I am using the human alternative.

P.S. Thank you for your comments, they’re all read and appreciated. I would have upvoted them all if I could. ]

In a shabby apartment room, Chinatsu, who had come to visit me unexpectedly, and I were sitting across from each other, drinking tea together.

Saki-chan was lying down and colouring.

After some conversation, I found out that Chinatsu was a nursery teacher and was 22 years old, two years older than Mika.

Today, since she had just joined the school, hadn’t seen Saki-chan in a week, and she was worried, so she decided to visit.

Maybe it was because I was now Mika.

(Oh, I forgot to check if she went to preschool or kindergarten.)

After taking a sip of my tea, I spoke to the child care worker sitting in front of me.

“I see, so you’re here to check if I’m being cruel to Saki-chan?”

“Yes. Oh? So, have you become an aggressive person? Or have you become an aggressive person at heart?”

“…I’m giving Saki-chan…”

“You don’t have to rephrase yourself. I understand that you’re a bit rough around the edges.”

Even though I didn’t do anything, I got a lot of verbal abuse from the toxic nursery teacher because of Mika.

But even though she hadn’t been there for a week, Saki-chan said, “Ch-check?” when she saw Chinatsu.

She may have seen that I was taking good care of her, as she immediately said,

“I was surprised. I thought that we would definitely have to contact child and that our daycare would have to be pursued for responsibility by the public…”

The reason why she came to my house in such a hurry was because she was very worried about Saki-chan…

I was thinking that Chinatsu was a passionate nursery teacher, but then she said something disturbing.

What kind of reputation does this person, Mika, have in her mind?

“Huh? Was it really that important?”

“It’s obvious. You know what? What did you eat in the morning, Saki-chan?

If you ask her, she says, “Bencho,” then what about at night?

If you ask her, she’s still the same. Furthermore, if she listens to her mom, such a small child has her body trembling. It’s natural to wonder if you’re being violent!”

Hmm, isn’t there something terribly wrong with this person?

Sure, I’m not okay about the lunch thing, but if they ask her about her parents, but she would remember the accident and get scared.

“It’s you, anyways. I’m sure you didn’t cook today, and you’ll probably just pack a lunch anyway. You need to be a better parent. …It smells good, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, it’s almost dinner time, so when I was preparing tea, I prepared dinner as well. I’m going to go finish it.”

“It’s a lie… There’s no way this gal can cook. This is the smell that came from a different house, isn’t it? I’m sure I’m right, aren’t I?!”

“No, it’s from us.”

“Let me have a bite!”

When Chinatsu grabbed me by the arm and shook my body, I felt someone’s stomach growl.

“…Did you hear that?”

“…Chinatsu, would you like to eat a plate, not just a bite? We’re having curry today.”

“…I’ll take,”

“Kari?!”

“Saki, that’s right. Curry.”

“Eat it!”

Saki-chan, who was engrossed in colouring, looked up the moment she heard the word ‘curry.’

There were two shadows following me to the kitchen, as if they couldn’t hold out until dinner was ready.

It was Saki-chan and Chinatsu.

(We’ve got one more kid.)

After stroking Saki-chan’s head for some reason, I went with the flow and did the same for Chinatsu, and she didn’t say anything.

Maybe her appetite won out, but would she be okay with that?

“Kari!”

Saki-chan, who was pacing around my feet as if she couldn’t wait to eat the curry, looked so cute like a cat.

I guessed this meant the two of us were getting along better, right?

“Kari is good!”

“It’s delicious.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Wow, I can’t even cook, how can this gal…”

If it was not authentic, couldn’t anyone at least make curry? Could it be that it came in a box?

“Another!”

(Oh, I can’t believe that Saki-chan just held out her plate and asked for seconds.)

Happy, I smiled and went to the kitchen to plate her curry.