Hiiro (3)
“I’m sorry.”
A small, whispering voice. Thirteen’s body swayed unsteadily. Moving aside the towel I had been wiping his head with, I held the sleeping figure. Placing his head on my lap and patting his chest, the breathing quickly became deep.
“I thought so.”
Hitachimaru, who was standing by the bedside, muttered.
“This one has a cute face, doesn’t he?”
“His situation down there is terrible. Covered in scars from the forced entry. Marks of tearing. The shape of the orifice is a bit deformed as well. It’s worse than the scars that healed all over the body without treatment.”
“Is washing his body a signal to do it? There’s no other reason to wash, huh… I’m starting to feel sick to my stomach.”
Fuh~ as if holding something back, Hitachimaru exhaled. Then he murmured.
“Ikumatsu takes a great care of him. He always comes during his sleep, changes his diapers, and carefully wipes him down.”
“Ikumatsu does?”
“He’s his caregiver. When he first came, he was shivering after I told him that this was a Combat Doll, so I had to stand by with a gun. But after changing his diaper, he looked sad and told me to call him anytime. Since then, he’s been taking care of him without giving in to anyone because everyone else is scared.”
“I see.”
He must have seen those terrible scars. How much strain did they put on this small body?
“… Is it possible that Thirteen is incredibly happy right now?”
Even after regaining mobility, he doesn’t get out of bed except for going to the bathroom, rolling around in the futon. He never gets tired of rubbing his face against the blanket, looking entranced.
He eats anything and everything with relish, even if it’s just water, porridge, and rice gruel. The candy was a masterpiece, according to him. It was so sticky around his mouth, it was tough cleaning him up. After eating the candy, Hitachimaru approached and kept checking his pockets. What did he eat to become so big? No, he hasn’t grown, has he?
“I was thinking that maybe we should give him a name?”
“He’s just a number, after all. Thirteen.”
“How about Naruhito? Meaning, becoming a human.”
“You’re good at this, Your Highness. He’s like a stray cat, so I thought you might name him Tama or something.”
“That would work too.”
As I moved Naruhito onto the bed from my lap, he shook his head. Come to think of it, he likes to snuggle up. Is he sleeping like this today?
As Hitachimaru took off his military uniform, he scratched his head and turned on his heel.
“I’m going to take a shower. I’ll sleep on the sofa, so please get a blanket ready.”