Kono Tsumibukaki yoru ni-Chapter 10-Part 3

Well, dear readers, this is the final part of Kono Tsumibukaki yoru ni! I hope you’ve enjoyed it, I ended up liking this story a lot more than I thought I would! I started translating this one, simply because it was the first in the series, but became pretty fond of Kunitaka and Ryou by the end of it. They’re (mostly) a bit more grounded than some of the other characters, anyway I think.

At any rate, this blog will probably be pretty quiet till August/September. I’ve been living in Japan, in Shikoku, for the past three years as a participant on the JET programme, but I’m finishing up here in July, and will be moving to somewhere in Tohoku to start a new job in August, and probably going back to Australia for a few weeks in between, so, busy…

I’ve been translating Setsunasa wa yoru no biyaku, and will start posting that on the same basis once I’m a bit more settled in my new job.  Please look forward to it!

Chapter 10, Part 3

“Let’s start over from the beginning”

In the bedchamber, these were Ryouichirou’s words.

Even though in any case, this would be the last time. Kunitaka took his words in, and silently smiled.

“Even though I couldn’t help but want to touch you, the way I held you was always so cruel. So please, let me start all over again.”

Just out of the bath, their bodies were still somewhat damp, the ryokan’s yukata clinging to their skin. Kunitaka reached out his hand and touched Ryouichirou’s cheek.

“Ryou…”

In a choked voice he called that name, and pressed his lips to Ryouicirou’s forehead.

Just by sitting facing each other, the back of his knees softly ran with sweat, and his body trembled with delight, that this man before his eyes could be made his.

His eyelids, cheeks. His lips, then his jaw, Kunitaka kissed him all over.

When he gently drew his lips away, he was pulled down by Ryouichirou onto the futon. The yukata spread over Kunitaka’s raised knees, baring his legs.

“Master Kunitaka.”

Ryouichirou’s lips touched Kunitaka’s neck and sucked at his skin. His somewhat clumsy fingers slid under the yukata’s fabric and touched Kunitaka’s sensitive skin.

He had the feeling of nectar dripping from his ripened body, making a sound as it fell.

“Ah…”

“Let me hear you louder…your voice…”

The first time they embraced each other, and the times after that, Ryouichirou had been cruel. However, he now was very gentle, handling Kunitaka like a fragile item.

Unable to hold back only clenching the futon, trembling, Kunitaka touched Ryouichirou’s, leaning over him, lower parts.

“…so hot…”

He felt desire, heat quickened by Ryouichirou’s body. Such a joyful thing.

“Master Kunitaka”

If Kunitaka moved his fingers, Ryouichirou’s voice became huskily mixed with agitation. Encouraged, Kunitaka’s fingers became even bolder, pushing under his yukata and directly touching the source of his heat.

“Ah…” It was unbelievably hot, Kunitaka unthinkingly blushed. Even though he had touched Asano’s, now, he was terribly like an inexperienced young girl.

With those words, he lightly bit Kunitaka’s nipples, and Kunitaka’s body twisted.

“Wai- Stop-“

“I want to spoil you”

“nn, oh”

Like that was a signal, Ryouichirou’s fingers moved with licentiousness.

When his wet parts were directly touched Kunitaka couldn’t restrain himself, with only that, his hips bucked. Wanting more pleasure, even so, that he drowned himself in lewd pleasure was shameful.

When he hesitated to show his contrary feelings, with a terribly gentle touch Ryouichirou wrapped his palm around Kunitaka’s penis.

“…Ryou…”

“You’re all wet.”

“No…ah, ah…nnn…ah-“

Under the low light his body was touched, and the wet sounds echoed around the room.

His lips exhaustively savoured Kunitaka’s skin, like that, without any break in regularity it was simply teasing.

“Ryou…”

Even just the thought of dirtying Ryouichirou’s hand was intolerable. Ryouichirou shifted his body, held Kunitaka’s legs in his arms, and buried his face between Kunitaka’s legs.

“Ah…ahh-“

That sensitive part was taken into that mouth, and at the warm sensation of the inside of his mouth, Kunitaka cried out, unable to bear it any longer.

“nn- no- don’t-“

He felt that he would melt, from the parts taken into Ryouichirou’s mouth.

“Please…stop-“

However, his words were contrary.

At only Ryouichirou’s tongue, twining around and sucking on his shaft, his brain when sharply numb.

Wanting more of it, playing with his hair, pressing his head into his crotch, demanding that oral sex.

Even though he know he shouldn’t.

It all came out. He melted. He wanted everything and everything to become nothing.

“If only for now, please become mine”

With those words, he was pushed by the tongue that constricted around his tip. He was so filled with pleasure he didn’t know what to do. Kunitaka’s eyes ran with tears.

“nn- ahh…!”

Even though he knew he mustn’t, he overflowed. From his body, starting to open up, nectar…

It was far too good, unable to hold back thick bodily fluid he shot all of his into Ryouichirou’s mouth , but the afterglow of pleasure did not remain long, his body trembled anxiously. But still, it was insufficient.

“Ryou…do…more…” Driven by animal desires, Kunitaka’s voice held a sexual lustre.

The sound of the footsteps of destruction. However it was still such sweet pleasure.

Everything was destroyed. Taken. Making a sound, letting it all crash down. “Hurry, I want to feel you”

“But, Master Kunitaka…”

“I’m fine…you…I want you…”

When he looked up at Ryouichirou with moist eyes, Ryouichirou gave a small laugh.

“I’m no match for you.”

He nervously spread his raised knees, he remembaring the sensation of himself spreading open. His body again became hot and the nectar started to ooze.

“nn”

Although he understood the essentials of it more than he did his first time, all the same, when Ryouichirou lent over and penetrated him, he was nervous.

“You’re still tight…shall I make you more comfortable first?”

“I’m fine…so- ah-…”

Being thrust into by Ryouichirou, his insides being rubbed by his hard hotness, his own fluids festeringly seeped out.

“ah- fu-“

When his sensitive wall was stimulated, his voice became ragged, his consciousness would fly away at any moment.

“It’s hot…” Ryouichirou whispered in a feverish voice, bringing his lips to Kunitaka’s ear.

“Ahh…ah…Ryou…” he moved his hips lewdly, to invite Ryouichirou in deeper.

“More…come here-“

“Master Kunitaka.” He was deeply driven into by him and even so, that wasn’t enough.

He wanted to feel Ryouichirou, and make him his own.

“Ryou-“

“That’s all of me- everything is yours.”

Ryouichirou’s forehead ran with sweat, cose to Kunitaka. In his eyes, Kunitaka was reflected, controlled by the pain in his heart, when he held Ryouichirou’s neck tight, in that state, Kunitaka’s hips were locked.

“Ah-“

While still connected, this time Ryouichirou shifted, moving so that Kunitaka this time sat on top –at this, Kunitaka’s cheeks coloured.

His pleat, tightly eating Ryouichirou’s, tremblingly wrapped itself around that shaft was impatient, wanting much more intensity.

“Ryou” Kunitaka whispered in an incessantly intoxicated voice, he moved his own hips back and forth as he deeply swallowed Ryouichirou. Here and there brimming over, Ryouichirou grasped his penis in his hand and drew it through his palm.

“Master Kunitaka”

I don’t want to let you go, he heard him whisper.

At just that, Kunitaka was about to disintegrate.

“I’m…already…ah…ahhh…!”

From deep inside white hot, pleasure surged forth, overflowing down his shaft.

“Ryou-“

Burying his face in Ryouichirou’s neck, he tightly dug his nails into his back. Frighteningly, he could not let this body go.

Like this, connected to him like this, like this, he wanted to die.

–

After they’d assiduously wiped their bodies with a damp hand towel, Kunitaka and Ryouichirou crawled into the futon that hadn’t been sullied. He had rarely slept together with Ryouichirou like this, so Kunitaka was happy.

After their deeds, Ryouichirou had always scowled out the window with a bleak face.

“Tomorrow, we will go to the port”

His body still held a warm glow, from their intensely intimate sexual intercourse.

“That’s…”

“I bought a ticket, intending for you to go to Europe via Shanghai. But, if it’s only as far as Shanghai, I can voyage without a passport”

Even if they were being pursued, he intended to make Ryouichirou get on the boat alone.

What would come after that, he hadn’t thought about.

“Although, I don’t think Master Asano will withdraw. He’s hardly going to die from a wound of that extent.”

Ryouichirou’s voice had already returned to a state of calm. It was not a conversation one could think of as a lover’s whispered intimacies, the final farewell was far away. Even so, he’d wanted to ask.

“If that’s the case, I should have finished him off.”

Ryouichirou smiled bitterly at Kunitaka’s regretful declaration.

“Please stop. It’s not like you. I don’t really want to see you kill somebody.”

Taking Kunitaka’s hand, Ryouichirou dropped a kiss on his fingers.

“For the sake of a filthy dog like me, nowhere is there any reason for you to dirty your hands.”

“I’m the filthier one,” he murmured quietly, burying his face into Ryouichirou’s chest. The yukata became all rumpled, but he didn’t care.

“What to do to protect you…I wanted that information, so I slept with Asano.”

With a twitch, Ryouichirou’s body went tense.

“For the sake of the man I love, I was a person not above killing a man, sleeping with another. Everytime I was held by you, I really was in bliss. Being touched by you made me happy.”

Sometimes, he became afraid. Of the size of the violent storm that would sweep through him.

“I’ve stolen everything from you. I’ve stolen you from your lover, your comrades…”

“Lover…? You said that earlier too. What are you talking about?”

“There was a woman coming to your room, wasn’t there?”

“That was one of my comrades in the movement.” He smiled ruefully, and his expression tightened.

“Is that so?”

“Yes”

“If it were only squalid men were coming and going from my room, it would be quite suspicious don’t you think? She was an essential member.”

Ryouichirou bowed his head, and kissed Kunitaka on the forehead.

“The terrible one was me. I’m the bad one, for making you behave like that. I, on the pretext I was bargaining with you, gladly slept with you. And not just that, I tried to use you for my own sake. In order to escape from that man….from Lieutenant Asano.”

At that confession, a sharp pain throbbed in his chest. However, he needed to clarify the things he wanted to ask. What was done couldn’t be undone,but, before that.

“Where did you get to know Asano?”

After a silence, like he was steeling himself, Ryouichirou opened his mouth.

“Ever since I inflicted that injury on you, I decided to not to come close to you. Unknown to you, I tried only to watch over you.” Saying that, he softly stroked the back of Kunitaka’s head, who he held in his arms. That was where that old scar should be.

He had an interest in the socialist movement, but if he held a full fledged connection, it might cause a problem for Kunitaka.

While thinking that, at the time Ryouichirou had started attending meetings, and from time to time, disturbances arose.

The one who’d investigated Ryouichirou when he’d been taken by the military police had been none other than Asano. From Ryouichirou’s testimony, he’d known that his father was a driver for the Seikanji family.

Then, Asano had used the feelings of Ryouichirou, who had begged him not to cause a problem for Kunitaka.

“He threatened that if I did not become a spy for the military police, he would denounce you as a traitor to the country, colluding with the anti-establishment movement.”

“You couldn’t be a spy”

“I could.”

At Ryouichirou’s immediate and unexpected reply, Kunitaka’s eyes went wide.

“Whatever happened, I wanted to protect you. For that sake, I was able to put my life on the line. Become a spy, but, the only thing I couldn’t bear was betraying comrades who believed in me.”

Precisely because Kunitaka knew Ryouichirou’s direct disposition, Kunitaka well understood his feelings.

“The more I think about it, the less I understand. Protecting you, who I had not seen in many years, did that truly have any meaning?”

Ryouichirou’s doubt and bewilderment.

Probably, his feelings had been the same as Kunitaka’s. The Ryouichirou of his memories had always been beautiful.

“Master Kunitaka, do you believe in fate?”

“huh?”

At Ryouichirou’s sudden question, Kunitaka tilted his head to the side.

“I don’t believe in fate. However, for that reason, I thought I would make a test.”

Words such as fate and the like, Kunitaka had never heard them come from Ryouichirou’s mouth. Kunitaka twisted his body to face Ryouichirou.

“That day, at the theatre, I made a bet, as to whether you would remember me or not.”

Ryouichirou’s fingers lightly traced Kunitaka’s eyebrows, and the tip of his nose.

“I didn’t understand anything anymore. Thinking too much of you, I couldn’t tell whether these feelings of mine were just delusions or feelings of love.”

Suppressing his emotions, venturing to speak of it, there was passion in his dispassionate words.

“Therefore, I thought, I would make sure of what I felt, was it you that I loved. Asano had forbidden me from personally making contact with you though.”

Kunitaka remembered his face in profile, with a tranquil expression, like he was praying, from that day in the theatre.

So stern and grave, the countenance of a martyr. Ryouichirou of that time, how much had he resolved himself to come?

At the moment of their chance meeting, how much could he trust his feelings?

It was now he understood. Ryouichirou loved Kunitaka so much, that strong willed man had needed to yield himself to fate.

“If you had forgotten me, or had changed, I intended to use you. In order to forestall Asano, you would become my trump card.

“But”, Ryouichirou continued. “You remembered me. With one glance, you saw through me.” Ryouichirou’s voice took on a tone of sweet reminiscence.

“Of course. There’s no way I could forget you.”

“At least, you had become stained by upper class society, how glad I could be, that were could become enemies. If that happened, I could hate you. I could use you. That was so, but you remained you.

He smiled painfully.

“The world where I could not have you, I wanted to destroy. Due to social status, this society in which I could not love you. Therefore, I couldn’t quit the movement. Just a personal grudge.”

Ay his impassioned confession, Kunitaka chest fluttered. Ryouichirou’s eyes were clear and beautiful.

Even though it was one eye, he could see the truth in his eyes. All the truth that was found in the world.

“Please forgive me, Master Kunitaka.” He murmured in a low voice.

“I should have believed in you. If I had not thought to test you, this would never have happened.”

“Ryou…”

“If you hadn’t changed, I would have disappeared and watched over you from afar. But, the more I met with you, the more it became difficult to part ways. Even though I only knew you suffered like this I couldn’t resolve myself.”

Kunitaka remembered Ryouichirou preparing to clear out of his lodging. How he had felt at that time, while gathering his belongings together.

“I wasn’t suffering. I acted of my own will.  It wasn’t that I was being coerced by anyone, I just…” There, Kunitaka suddenly realised.

“It couldn’t be that…the information I obtained from Asano…was from you?” When Kunitaka asked this in a rough, surprised voice, Ryouichirou nodded.

“It’s as you say.”

If he thought about it, the one who had told Asano about meeting Ryouichirou again was Asano was Kunitaka. Thinking it was for Ryouichirou’s sake, the things he had done, all of them, had only caused pain for Ryouichirou.

Asano, from the start, had had no intention of helping Ryouichirou. On the contrary, despite appearing to have endeavoured on their part, he had only been toying with them.

“Was your arrest at Asano’s instigation?”

“Yes. My arrest was Asano’s instigation. To him, I’d already served my purpose. Probably, the killing of Ootani too, was…”

There, he hesitated to speak, but what he would say next, Kunitaka had a feeling he already knew.

“However, when I was arrested, I suddenly realised if I died, you could be set free. I…couldn’t let go, I loved you too much.” Ryouichirou’s earnest whisper touched his heart.

“But. no matter what means I used, I could understand the feelings of Lieutenant Asano,  trying to obtain you, at least a little. I too took advantage of weakness, and held you.”

“Did he really come acting on his own business, I wonder.”

When he thought of Asano, his mood became dark.

“I don’t think he was lying.”

Having apprehended them, should have called for the reinforcement of the military police here. If he’d done that, people would have raided this ryokan.”

“If this had gotten too big, even he would not have been able to save you. That person doesn’t want you to die.”

No. It would not be decided by Asano.

Kunitaka’s life was Ryouichirou’s. Whether he lived or died, was at Ryouichirou’s wish.

If he said such a thing to the serious Ryouichirou, he would surely feel responsibility, Therefore, he wouldn’t say anything.

“Ah”

At the presence of light through the shoji, Kunitaka softly sat up.

Faintly spreading from the direction of the sea, the sun was rising.

“It’s dawn.”

Would this become the last dawn they would see together?

–

“Looks like we’re a bit early.” Since they’d left the inn, he’d been nervous, he couldn’t talk enough.

When they  drew near the port, the scent of the tide became progressively stronger. He acted more anxious than he needed to be, all the more other people were likely to suspect him.

He had not the least grasp of Asano’s movements, he could only be uneasy. Rather he died sooner. If he lived on, Asano would pursue then to the very end. Asano was that sort of man. And so, if Asano died, Kunitaka would feel no regrets. He would never have thought these feelings of love would fill him with such violence, deceit and self-satisfaction.

As far as he saw when he cautiously looked around the area, there were no military police. However, here, he couldn’t relax and stop paying careful attention.

A foreboding he had.

Though he may be acting on his own, Asano, indubitably, had something or anther trump card laid out.

He was that sort of man.

Nervously thinking on it the whole time, Kunitaka said very little.

Just like one seeking the way, on his face in profile anguish was engraved. That face was fresh, but when Kunitaka thought that is was he who made Ryouichirou’s face make that expression, it only made his chest hurt.

The smell of soot drifted, slipping into the smell of the sea. Coming into a nook of a street of warehouses, Ryouichirou stopped dead in his tracks.

“What is it?!”

The events of yesterday clamoured up in Kunitaka’s heart.

“It’s no good. We can’t go together afterall.”

At this quiet but decisive announcement, Kunitaka’s eyes went wide. These words secretly frightened him.

“Why…? What is it, at this point?”

If we go now, we’ll just make it in time. As someone who is trying to run away, if you decided to capture me, it would become a credit to you, fault would not be able to be found.”

“What idiotic-!” Kunitaka reached out and clung to Ryouichirou’s shirt.

“Making you throw everything away, I can’t do it.”

“It’s fine.”

He knew what the most important thing in this world was.

“Even if I lose everything, as long as you are here, it’s fine.”

“That person- Lieutenant Asano, I can’t imagine he hasn’t taken any measures.”

On that point, Kunitaka agreed. However, was he just going to give up here?

“Even if it’s not at Lieutenant Asano’s investigation, from this point there is a possibility I am being pursued. If you were caught trying to run away with me…”

“I’m fine with that.”

What formed a person’s heart was emotion without reason.

To overthrow convention and system, the thing called passion surpassed everything.

All of a sudden, Ryouichirous name was called, his expression looked taken aback, his body stiffened.

Asano? Or else the military police?

Thinking that, the two of them looked over their shoulders, but what they saw was a young man of slight build, by himself.

“Takahashi…why…are you here?”

The young man Ryouichirou had called Takahashi face was flushed with anger, he glared at them. Tightly clenched, both hands shook, showing his agitation.

“I misjudged you, Narita! You’re a filthy murderer, and now you’re running away!”

Kunitaka had seen this young man before somewhere. He had a feeling it had been at the bookshop Ryouichirou had claimed he worked at.

Ah! That’s right, that night, it was the voice of the man who’d come and told Ryouichirou that Ootani had died.

Kunitaka was relieved he wasn’t military police, but they still had to be on their guard.

“Killing your comrades, making Tanaka commit suicide, running away on your own?!”

Ryouichirou took a step forward to protect Kunitaka behind his height, standing right in front of Takahashi, blocking his way.

“Calm down, Takahashi. Why did you come here?”

“-Asano, he, that military policeman told me. That you are a traitor.”

Ryouichirou stiffened in surprise, Kunitaka noticed.

“In the beginning I didn’t believe it, but he said if I watched out I would soon know. And then…”

There, Takahashi’s words stopped short.

Kunitaka noticed the hesitation in all of Takahashi’s words. Takahashi himself was all confused, he thought.

“Even so, that’s fine, I thought! You being friends with an army officer and whatever else, if you threw yourself into the movement” said Takahashi, staring up at Ryouichirou. “But, I really didn’t think you would run away.”

“You’re doing exactly as you were told by Asano, calm down.”

“I came to bring you back! Kill him, and bring you back! If it weren’t for him, you’d come back to us.”

Takahashi pulled a knie from his pocket, and charged at Kunitaka. However, Ryouichirou cut around Takahashi, and blocked him.

“Ryou!”

“Takahashi, stop!”

Takahashi aimed for the blind spot of Ryouichirou’s left eye, lunging forward with the knife.

“tsu-“

Ryouichirou very nearly dodged, but the knife grazed his cheek, fresh blood mixing with the wind.

“Ryou!”

“I’m fine!”

Holding back Kunitaka who tried to move, Ryouichirou shouted.

Grabbing the hand of Takahashi, who raised the knife overhead, Ryouichirou, at those close quarters, said “Takahashi, if you want to kill him, you will have to kill me. However, I will not allow you to cause any harm to Master Kunitaka”

“shit-“ Takahashi twisted his body, escaping Ryouichirou’s hand, and once again faced off.

Ryouichirou promptly leant forward and without quarter drove his fist into Takahashi’s stomach.

“Gnnn” he groaned, and like that, heartbroken, he fell to the ground.

Ryouichirou picked up the knife that fell from Takahashi’s hand. The young man had lost his wills to fight, and his hands clawed desperately at the road, and he looked up at Ryouichirou with eyes wet with tears.

“What that- Narita!…Why did you abandon us?” Just like a child, the young man sobbed.

“Don’t go…” his voice was heartbroken.

“Everyone understands! There’s no reason you’d kill Ootani! Although, why are you abandoning us…”

His voice broke down into weeping, Kunitaka felt anguished. They believed, and needed Ryouichirou, even trying to write off the fact he’d been a spy.

“Weren’t we comrades?! Weren’t we going to change the country together?!” Just how much Takahashi idolised Ryouichirou could be heard in his pitiful voice.

Kunitaka’s act, how sinful was it?

Trampling love, friendship and trust underfoot, Kunitaka had stolen everything from Ryouichirou.

So that they could continue to live on together, going as far as to make dangerous bets.

Ryouichirou’s gaze was clearly anguished.

He might choose his comrades.

Kunitaka was terrified at the thought. It wasn’t impossible.

“Please, Narita…”

Probably, this was the hand Asano had shown them. Kunitaka intuited this. This young man clearly adored Ryouichirou.

It was neither violence or political power.  The sincerity of Ryouichirou, who suffered a guilty conscience at betraying others, was Asano’s final trump card.

It felt like a long time passed.

“I’m sorry, Takahashi.”

Going down on one knee, he placed his hand on Takahashi’s shoulder. His voice was terribly gentle.

“I have no right to ask for your forgiveness, but please let me apologise for hurting you.”

“There’s no way you can run away!” he yelled in a broken voice.

“Making enemies of the military police, there’s nowhere can you go…”

“Even so, I don’t care,” declared Ryouichirou.

“If it’s with this person, I can go anywhere. Even to the ends of the earth.”

“…”

Even if there’s no end to the road. As long as this person is with me, I have the will to live.”

Takahashi followed Ryouichirou’s line of sight, but didn’t try to get up.

“The one thing I treasure, more than comrades and ideals, is here.”

At those eyes, a look of disappointment and resignation showed in his face. He’d realised Ryouichirou’s firm resolution.

“Rather than thinking I am a weak man who chose a love affair over his comrades and country, forget about me.”

The card played by Asano was cruel. That man knew everything.

The weakness of Kunitaka who couldn’t shoot a friend, the sincerity of Ryouichirou, who couldn’t betray others. However, Asano had miscalculated.

He had forgotten their passion.

“Only I…Asano said that only I could stop you though”

“Takahashi.”

“But I can’t,” he murmured, gasping, “because you’re my friend.”

Looking pained, Ryouichirou’s gaze fell, and he shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Takahashi.”

In the interval of silence, Kunitaka could hear Takahashi’s faint sobbing.

“If you die in vain, I won’t forgive you.” Takahashi murmured, in a quiet, quiet voice. These words made Kunitaka’s chest hurt achingly.

Even so, he’d decided to steal. To plunder everything of Ryouichirou’s.

Even though such frightening egoism would be condemned by another, Kunitaka thought nothing of it.

If he had regrets from the beginning, he wouldn’t have chosen such means.

“I am sorry to keep you waiting.” Said Ryouichirou, holding his rough hand out to Kunitaka.

Just like a magic spell had been cast, Kunitaka naturally laid his hand in Ryouichirou’s.

Even though what lay ahead of them had been a hopeless ending, even so, he didn’t care.

Searching for a future in which they lived together, that was Kunitaka’s only wish. He knew that too was Ryouichirou’s wish.

“Let’s go, Master Kunitaka” his hand enveloped Kunitaka’s, there was strength in his fingers.

There were so many things he wanted to say.

However, he couldn’t put them into words.

Except for just three.

“Ryou…” feeling a flood of emotions, Kunitaka called his name. Ryouichirou’s mouth opened slightly.

Was a ship departing?

A smile floating to his lips, the word he whispered was drowned out by the steam whistle of the ship.

 

 

–

 

 

 

Translation note

 

Except for just three.- In the original text its “Except for just one” but that one word in English is 3-aishiteru- I love you

the word he whispered was drowned out by the steam whistle of the ship.-in the drama cd, this scene is slightly different, and you can hear what Kunitaka said. Not that it was any surprise…