The next day was a busy time for Asakura and his team. They all left early in the morning and only returned to the inn at dusk. After visiting two of the nearby villages, the entire group was exhausted. Therefore, the moment they returned only food and rest was on their mind. Even Rintarou, who’s stamina was by far the best out of everyone else’s, was looking thoroughly spent.
“Keita, I’m beat! That last slope was my archnemesis.” Rintarou whined, while plastering himself against Keita’s back like a sticky note.
“Stop exaggerating. Honestly, sometimes I even wonder if you really are over 8 years old.”
Keita tried to swat him away, but this sticky note was too stubborn to budge. Rintarou continued to be glued to him even after they entered the inn’s small restaurant.
Growing exceedingly annoyed, Asakura shifted his eyes and refused to acknowledge that slimy creature called Kurosawa Rintarou. He even kept his distance from Keita, afraid that he might unwittingly start an argument. But, everyone seemed too tired to even breathe, let alone quarrel. They had dinner in relative silence, with only Kota speaking from time to time.
As soon as they finished, Keita and Rintarou excused themselves, heading straight for their room without looking back. That left the others to fend for themselves.
“Should we go take a bath?” Kota asked Asakura the moment they were left alone.
“Only if you promise to behave.”
“Eh?! When have I ever misbehaved?” Kota inquired incredulously.
“I don’t even want to answer that question. Simply thinking about it is giving me a headache.”
Kota opened his mouth, ready to retort, but before he got a chance to say anything, his phone rang.
“Tsk!” he clicked his tongue. “Why won’t they leave me alone?! I am having a nice, relaxing trip and they keep harassing me with calls about meetings and whatnot.”
“Well, that’s too bad.” Asakura grinned, taking this chance to escape from having to spend time with Kota. “If it’s work, you shouldn’t ignore it. Otherwise, it will become a hassle when you return to the company. I’ll go ahead and take a bath.”
With that, he clapped Kota’s shoulder and left without feeling the slightest bit of remorse.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Traitor!” Kota threw after him vengefully.
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At this time, Kyosuke was waist-deep in the water while nagging at Sato. The latter was leaning back against the side of the pool, massaging his shoulders while listening to his friend’s irksome rant. It was quite lucky that his temper was pretty mild, otherwise he would have blown his top off by now.
“Things have already settled down so there’s no need for you to hide anymore.” Kyosuke spoke fervently.
“I’m not hiding…”
“The hell you aren’t! That’s precisely what you’re doing.”
“Kyosuke, you’re being unreasonable. You know it hasn’t been easy to find a new project. And due to that matter… I have already caused so much trouble for Director Kyota.”
“But that wasn’t your fault! It was…”
“I know that.” Sato interjected firmly.
He brushed a hand over his eyes, applying a little bit of pressure. It was a headache to deal with this now, but he knew Kyosuke wouldn’t stop bringing up the subject if he didn’t explain properly. Therefore, a moment later he opened his eyes and spoke in an even tone.
“That time, I didn’t do anything wrong. Director Kyota knows that as well. The fact that he supported me and believed in my version of the story was what helped me continue to stay in this industry. Still, I don’t want to cause any more trouble. Until the dust settles I’ll stay low and keep my distance from any unnecessary publicity.”
“The dust has already settled. It’s now become a wide desert, bigger than Gobi. Only you choose to remain hidden between the sands. What are you?! A Bedouin?!”
Kyosuke flapped his arms, splashing water all around him. His hair was sticking up and he looked like an enraged soaked pigeon. The image made Sato want to laugh.
“What nonsense are you saying?” he eventually chuckled, leaning away from his hyperactive friend.
“I’m serious! I want you to come back! I want to be able to act together with you again!” Kyosuke raised his voice in a loud cry.
“Stop yowling like a wild beast, would you?! You’ll disturb the other guests.” Sato chided, splashing his friend with water.
“There’s no one else here but us.”
“That’s not right. There is still another outdoor bath next to this one. See?” Sato pointed towards a thick screen made of bamboo wood.
Sure enough, just like Sato said, on the other side of the wooden screen there was another outdoor pool.
Asakura had just entered the hot water when a strange yowl came from behind him, giving him a start. He turned his head around, but could only see the thick wooden screen. His eyebrows twitched in apprehension but no other loud sounds came from that direction.
Setting aside his wild fantasies about wild beasts roaming the mountain, Asakura dipped his body into the pool. As soon as the hot water enveloped him, he felt all his muscles gradually relax. All the tiredness and stress accumulated in the last few months were sucked away by the healing powers of the onsen.
He leaned back, propping his shoulders against the side of the pool and closed his eyes. He managed to take a few deep breaths before the peaceful surroundings were once again disturbed by someone.
Another person entered the water and was getting closer to the place where Asakura was sitting. Even with his eyes still closed Asakura could hear that person’s breaths and movements as he advanced through the hot water. As if he had a premonition regarding the identity of the newcomer, he squeezed his eyes shut even more, refusing to move from his spot.
“Asakura-san, I see you’re here as well.” A very familiar voice spoke, suddenly breaking the silence.
The direct call of his name made it difficult for Asakura to continue pretending not to have heard. Thus, he could only open his eyes and face Rintarou’s wide smile.
“Kurosawa-kun.” He breathed out wearily.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
Rintarou said that, but before Asakura could open his mouth to reply, he already took a seat next to the other man. However, he was careful to leave at least a meter between them so as to not make it too uncomfortable.
After they were both soaking in the hot water, silence descended once more. The sounds from the other side of the wooden screen had also stopped in the meantime.
The two remained like this for some time, each with his own thoughts. While Asakura was trying hard not to imagine what Keita and Rintarou had been doing in their room until now, the simple-minded Rintarou only thought of how nice and relaxing the water felt.
It was a long while before the quietness was broken again. This time it was Asakura who spoke first.
“How come Keita is not with you?” he asked as casually as he could. After all, there was nothing wrong with him asking about that person.
“Oh, he is still tired so I left him to rest. He’ll be taking a bath later.”
Silence again. Asakura cursed the heavens for making Rintarou come here when he was the last person he wanted to see. Having to witness Rintarou being lovey-dovey with Keita for the duration of their trip was uncomfortable enough. Now, having to take a bath with either one of them, especially with his former rival, was beyond unbearable.
However, he considered himself to be an adult, a rational creature. Therefore, he had to act like one, appearing composed and unaffected. If anything were to happen, he was sure Keita would feel uncomfortable. Especially if he found out that Asakura quarreled with his lover.
While Asakura was stressing about the present situation, Rintarou seemed to be quite calm. His clear and bright eyes settled on the other man’s face with natural ease. It gave one the impression of being stared at by a curious dog and that pissed Asakura off even further.
What the hell did Keita see in this stupid looking person?!
Realizing that he might not be able to contain his calm demeanor for much longer, Asakura finally decided to leave. He had been soaking for long enough anyway, and he could always come back later.
But before he could make his escape, Rintarou opened his mouth to speak.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapters so far. And also, I noticed some of you have begun liking Asakura and wish for his happy end 
This makes me so very, very happy. While writing him in Whispers, Asakura became a very special character to me, one of my favorites actually. So, I was very excited to write his story and give him another chance I hope you will continue rooting for him See you in the next update!
What is he going to say ?
Thank you for the chapter 💜
Hmm, I wonder what? 😁🤭🤫
I wonder what Rintarou would say. By the way I chose WHISPER OF THE HEART for the CG discord member 10k celebration 🙃
It’s a secret until next time 🤫
Oh my… R-Really? 😳😳😳 I… I am overwhelmed. I don’t know what to say except for thank you so very much! 🥰 I am so very happy and honored to know that! I hope you will be able to win and be given the chance to choose the prize that you wish for ❤
Ooh in my excitement I forgot to ask, what will you be doing for the event? Have you already decided?
I’m so very curious to know 🤭
I dont remember if I disliked Asakura. I know I didn’t agree with him waiting so long before trying to confess and then being a bit pushy about it…
but I do like him and wish he and Sato-kun will heal and be happy!
thanks for the chapter <3
ps. I would not be okay with my “love rival” being all in my face. so Asakura has infinitely more patience than me,
For me he was a remarkable character. I just saw him so vividly and his story came so easily that he became special 🤭
But yes, he didn’t go about things in a healthy manner, so he is given another chance now. Hopefully he will do the right things this time around 😁
<333 Glad you’re enjoying it.
Oh yes 😂 Making Kurosawa act this way… I don’t even know what was in my head 😂😂😂 But honestly I saw him acting this way… his personality is special 😂
Asakura is a saint 😂 I wouldn’t have been happy with such a rival either
I’m late to the party but I loved whispers and am loving this as well so thank you so much <3
Asakura is amazing for staying calm in that situation (°◡°;)
Thank you for the chapter 🥰
yes, I guess he really is the patient type, though he doesn’t quite look the part at first glance 🤣
Thanks for reading! 🧡
I dodnt rly dislike sakura in whispers. He just seemed like a clingy stalkerish creep that popped out of no where bc we had no back story for him. Although it added to the mystery a lite bit, it also came off a bit unexpected. As a softy, I want everyone to be happy and laugh in life so I never wanted him to be sad and alone after not bein chosen by Keith. I’m ok with kota being a single dog for life tho; the troll deserves it. Teeheeee
Keita*