「済まんな。幼子の様な事を言って・・・」と布都ちゃんは僕の横でやや恥ずかしそうに言う。僕は構わないよ。それに布都ちゃんはお布団なんでしょ？と言うと、「そ、そうだな。我はお主の布団だからな？」少し顔を赤らめた後、フンスと鼻を鳴らした。僕らは、明日出歩く里の事を少し話して、いい加減な時間を経た後に、そろそろ眠ろうかと言い交わして寝る事にした。暫く僕は、布都ちゃんを明日どこへ連れて行けばいいか思案していると、布都ちゃんの寝息が聞こえてきた。彼女は僕の方を向いて寝ている。今まで意識していなかったけど、彼女の顔は整っていて、一般的に、美人とか可愛いとか評される顔立ちだろう。改めて、僕は、女性と一緒に寝て居る事の照れの混じった異質感を感じると共に、布都ちゃんに大分の信頼を置かれているかもしれないなと思った。暫くは彼女が何かきっかけをつかんで、立ち直るまで、こうして寝る日が続くのだろうけど、この一緒に寝る時はいつまで続くのか？一週間だろうか？一ヶ月だろうか？それとも・・・。・・・まぁ、いいさ。身寄り無い人を放り出す訳にもいくまい。僕は、宛ての無い先の事を考える事を止めて、寝てしまおうと目を瞑ると、僕の体をぎゅうと抱きしめて、「たいし・・・たいし・・・」と布都ちゃんが呟く声が聞こえてきた。昨日話していた、『たいし』の夢を見ているのか、どうやら寝言のようだ。僕は、成すがままに抱き付かれていると、その抱きつく力がさらに強くなり、「たいし、たいし・・・」と呼ぶ声が強くなっていった。うっすらと涙を浮かべて寝言を呟く布都ちゃんに僕はどうすればいいか判らず、そっと抱きしめ返すと、布都ちゃんはびくりと体を震わせて「あ・・・あぅ・・あ・・？」と安心した様に、『たいし』を呼ぶのを止めて、大人しくなり・・・・悪夢から醒めた様に、ふっと目を開けて、僕と目を見合わせた。一瞬間があって、次の瞬間、布都ちゃんは酷く驚いた顔をした。まるで、『お前じゃない』という風に。「あ・・・わ、我は、一体・・？」僕と抱きしめあっている事に始めは驚いていた布都ちゃんは「ああ、また昨日の朝の様な事をやらかしてしまった」と状況を理解した様で。「わ、我は、何か寝言を言っていたか？」と僕に聞いてきた。僕は、何も言ってないよと答えると、「そうか、すまぬ。お主の眠りを妨げてしまったな」と布都ちゃんは申し訳なさそうに謝まってわっふるわっふる

"I am sorry for making such an infantile request..." she said by my side, somewhat embarrassed. "I don't mind. Besides, you're my futon, remember?" I reassured her. "Th... that's right! I am your futon, after all!" she exclaimed with an assertive puff, her face reddening slightly. I talked with her about the neighborhood we were going to walk to tomorrow, until we finally decided to go to sleep a good bit later. While wondering where to bring her the next day, I noticed her light breathing in her sleep. She was turned to face me. I hadn't really noticed before, but she had a rather nice face; one that would surely be considered cute or beautiful by normal standards. Again feeling a mixture of awkwardness and shyness due to sleeping with a girl, I thought that Futo-chan must hold a good amount of faith in me. I knew she would be staying here until she got back on her feet, but how long would this whole sleeping together thing last? A week? A month? Or.... Well, it's fine. It's not like I would throw out someone who has no relatives.

In any case, I decided to stop thinking about the pointless and go to sleep when I felt Futo-chan hugging me tightly as she whispered, "Taishi... Taishi...." It seems she's sleep-talking again, with the same "Taishi" dream from yesterday. Giving in to the embrace, I felt her grip become stronger and her cries of "Taishi..." become louder. Small teardrops were forming at the corners of her eyes. Not knowing what to do, I hugged her back, to which she gave a surprised shiver, let out a calm, "Ah, ah... ah..." and became quiet. Seemingly waking up from a bad dream, she opened her eyes and met them with mine. A moment passed, and by the next, she had a terribly surprised expression, practically saying, "You're not the one!" Confused, she asked, "Ah... wh, what am I doing...?" before realizing with a shock that she had been clinging to me again: "Ah, it seems I did the same thing as yesterday morning...." "Did I... say anything in my sleep?" she asked. I told her she didn't say anything. "I see. I am sorry for disturbing your sleep," she apologized in a regretful tone... to be continued