Light Novel Chapter 45

小豆梓ルート (Azuki Azusa Ruuto, lit: Azuki Azusa Route) is the forty-fifth chapter of the light novel series of The "Hentai" Prince and the Stony Cat.
==Plot==
Youto feels a sense of dizziness as the world shakes around him. He reflects on how time inevitably moves forward, and how humans are solitary beings at their core, only able to see things from a subjective position, filtered by personal opinion; each person lives in their own world, and two worlds can never become one.
When the dizziness passes, Youto finds himself together with Emi at a university gate, having just sent Tsukushi off to her entrance exam. Azuki Azusa arrives late with a banner, Emi runs away, a chase breaks out, Youto has a misunderstanding with the security guard and gets kicked out of university grounds.
Arriving at the Tsutsukakushi household, they are greeted by Tsukushi who somehow arrived before them. Azusa and Tsukushi argue over superstitions before Tsukushi proposes a skating trip. Tsukiko steps forward to suggest going in early morning on Sunday, because the later they arrive, the more the place will be filled with children.
The track-and-field club has afternoon practice on Saturday, and Mai accepts Tsukushi's invite to skate without hesitation. On the day of the outing, Tsukushi and Mai have an awkward greeting. Tsukushi compliments Mai on her management of the club before giving her headpats.
Azusa tugs on Youto's shirt, calls herself a "newborn foal" and makes a misleading request, "Since this is my first time... please be gentle...", before clarifying that she meant for him to teach her to skate. Tsukiko suggests that "a foal grows up best when you give it harsh treatment," also clinging onto Youto.
Just as Youto is at a loss of what to do, the two girls exchange glances, and Azusa lets go of Youto. On the training course, Tsukiko's skirt gets caught on a nail, causing her to fall into Youto's arms, her clothes being pulled off in the process. Pretending that nothing happened, Tsukiko quickly fixes her clothes and takes out a giant bat to fix the nail sticking out.
Then, Tsukiko begins acting oddly as she speaks of her "original goal" of "protecting the world's peace." She matter-of-factly reflects on her failures on her first and second attempts, but expresses her resolve to succeed this time.
She proceeds to take it upon herself to look for lost children around the rink and return them to their parents. Then, she finds her older sister and pulls her aside for a break. She reminds Tsukushi of their promise to only skate one hour per day and convinces her to go home.
Thus, the group leaves the skating rink for no particular reason. They eat lunch, part ways with Azusa, and spend a relaxing afternoon before taking the bus back home. Walking back to the Tsutsukakushi household from the bus stop, Tsukushi expresses that she wanted to skate some more, but Tsukiko insists that if she skates too much, she will break down from exhaustion. Youto notices something different about Tsukiko — she looks like a soldier fighting against the whole world.
When they arrive at the house, Tsukiko suddenly comes to a halt as if she had planned to. She claims that something really bad has happened, cautioning Youto and Tsukushi of an intruder as she heads for her room. However, the room appears perfectly normal. She suddenly breaks down in panic and confusion, speaking of a supposed ransacking that should have taken place, questioning if she has made a mistake somewhere.
Puzzled, Youto decides to take a look around and finds a notebook marked with a "#2," which appears like the one she used to document Youto's every action, indicating that she had to move on to a second notebook because the first one was filled to the brim. However, before he can read it, Tsukiko swipes the notes from him, asserting that there are good reasons "for Senpai to not know about Senpai," and it's fine "as long as she knows more about Senpai than Senpai."
Feeling that secrets are being kept, Youto takes Tsukiko outside and asks for an explanation for her strange behavior throughout the day, assuring her that there is no need to keep things from him. After a brief hesitation, Tsukiko runs out of willpower to keep silent. She claims that a hooded man should have intruded their house and she wanted to capture her at all costs, wondering where she went wrong.
When asked how she knows about this, Tsukiko claims that she knows about the future, which she has seen through Youto's memories. She elaborates that she knows everything that has ever seen, heard, or done, deducing that she must have subconsciously wished to be the one carrying all of his memories when he handed them over ten years ago.
Tsukiko questions Youto what he would do if he lost something important, but is in a situation where he cannot get it back. Youto answers that he would live with his failure and try not to repeat the mistake. However, Tsukiko expresses that she would try to remake it and take it back no matter what, because she doesn't want to lose anymore. Claiming to have seen the future, she expresses her resolve to change it and keep the world at peace.
She admits that she despises stories with bad endings and finds no value in outcomes that are not emotionally satisfying. She expresses her belief that if a story's resolution is unsatisfactory, it is worth altering — even if it means fundamentally changing its core.
Friday arrives after an uneventful week. Youto, Tsukiko, Tsukushi, and Azusa are having a study session. Recently, Tsukiko has been planning all kinds of activities to keep all of them together, with this study session being one such effort. Azusa invites all of them to participate in a bridal photoshoot for her mother's magazine, though she later tells Youto that she originally intended to invite only him, feeling that they haven't had a lot of alone time.
The photoshoot takes place at a local church, with Tsukushi as bride and Youto as groom. Apparently, some suspicious individual was attempting to spy on the event, prompting the staff to tighten security.
Youto finds Tsukushi donning a beautiful wedding dress in the chapel. She reflects on memories of her late mother, who admired wedding dresses but never had a formal ceremony. She expresses her desire to live a long life surrounded by family.
As the photoshoot is about to begin, Youto encounters the Cat God, possessing Emi's father. The Cat God divulges that Tsukushi has a terminal illness, a hereditary condition linked to the Cat God bloodline. It claims the illness is incurable and will progressively worsen, leading to a tragic end.
Youto easily scares off the Cat God with a kiss before spotting Emi, who has stayed behind after her choir practice at the church. Youto suggests her to sing at the photoshoot, but Emi insists she won't as long as Azuki Azusa is here. Although the evil god is no longer in her body, Emi still feels put off by her, feeling that she has no self and is always searching for something to give herself validation. However, their conversation is interrupted when a staff member rushes in to announce the cancellation of the photoshoot — the bride has collapsed.
Tsukushi is transported to the hospital on an ambulance. Tsukiko suddenly brings up something Youto said before the marathon tournament: "A flower is most beautiful when it knows the time to fall. People are like flowers. They will die without hesitation." Insisting that the topic is important, she emphasizes that people have value without saving others, that flowers can stay flowers, and humans can stay humans.
"I know that Senpai is Senpai. So stop being anybody else, please." Tsukiko repeats these words like a chant. When Youto tries to explain that he simply wants everyone to be happy, Tsukiko suddenly stomps on the ground and lets out a loud scream unlike any sound she has ever made, "Please!"
She emphasizes that every single person has to be included in this happiness that Youto envisions, arguing that one's happiness should not come at the cost of someone else's suffering. She implores him to stop forcing himself, as long as there is someone out there to tell him "don't do it." As a fierce fire burns in Tsukiko's eyes, Youto has no choice but to agree to a promise.
Wandering aimlessly in the rain, Youto has a vague idea for a destination. However, with both Tsukiko's words and Tsukushi's smile fresh in his mind, he is unable to decide which direction to go.
He is found by Azuki Azusa, who offers him an umbrella. He asks Azusa for her thoughts on whether he should be himself, or a hero who saves everyone. Though confused by the question, Azusa suggests him to do what he wants. When Youto adds, "what if someone disagrees?", she answers that either way, she will respect Youto's decision — once Youto sets his mind to something, there is nothing she can do to stop him. However, at the very least, she wants to understand Youto.
Likening Azusa to the swallow in the story of The Happy Prince, Youto invites her to walk with him, as they head for the hill where the cat statue resides.
==Characters==
==Navigation==