Light Novel Chapter 26

横寺くんの胸のなか (Yokodera-kun no Mune no Naka, lit: Inside Yokodera-kun's Heart) is the twenty-sixth chapter of the light novel series of The "Hentai" Prince and the Stony Cat.
==Plot==
The next morning, Tsukiko had originally planned to cook a healthy homemade meal for the young Youto, but they are forced to settle for convenience store food again as Tsukasa's kitchen lacked basic amenities.
The boy then excitedly shows Tsukiko and Youto to a pillar carved with height markings, an effort by Tsukasa to document the little Youto's growth, which according to the boy, matters a great deal to her. However, unease builds as Youto recalls Tsukushi's words from the future, who instead claimed that this exact pillar was where her mother measured her height.
A car horn sounds three times in front of the mansion as a groggy Tsukasa enters the banquet hall, having overslept. Excited to learn that Tsukasa has guests, the boy drags Youto outside while Tsukiko stays behind to take care of her mother. Exiting the vehicle is one young girl around the same age as little Youto, wearing a sweater and a mini skirt, her hair bound in a ponytail. With a confident gaze, she exudes the aura of a king. She declares that they would've driven off had they come out any later, and questions what the owner of the house is doing.
Youto subconsciously whispers her name, Tsutsukakushi Tsukushi. Realizing that she is one of Tsukasa's daughters, little Youto introduces himself and "Toyo T Azukiella" to Tsukushi. Tsukushi questions "Toyo"'s origins, but sharply dismissing his response of "Narnia" as a childish joke, which catches Youto off guard as such lies would have worked on the present-day Tsukushi.
Tsukushi commands them to bring out the owner of the house, asserting that she has a right to know if she "broke her promise." She goes on to elaborate that they had flown across the seas to come here after the custody wars, yet she did not come to see them at their hotel, which she takes as a statement of ignorance and indifference towards her daughters. Youto's attempts to make up excuses for Tsukasa are quickly shut down as she continues to blab on in big words.
As she speaks, Youto notices a tendency for her to trip on foreign words. Youto makes her repeat some difficult words after him, causing her to bite her tongue. Youto apologizes and pats her on the head, but she would take this as an indecent act of mockery. As Youto continues teasing her, she picks up a rock from the ground and throws it at him, but he dodges it. Youto asks if her mother never taught her to not throw things rocks people, but realizes that he's stepped on a landmine as the girl vehemently asserts that she has no mother — the woman who "threw away" her children has no right to be called that.
The little Tsukushi continues throwing stones at Youto, accidentally striking Tsukasa in the head as she steps out of the house behind Youto. Wiping blood off her face with a sigh, she affirms her daughter's words, admitting that she's unqualified to be called her mother. With that, little Tsukushi's motivation to vent her anger is lost. Under conflicted feelings between blaming her mother and apologizing for hurting her, she runs off back into the car, swearing that they'll never meet again.
With a faint laugh, Tsukasa remarks that her child has really grown. Without attempting to chase or stop her daughter, she simply continues to blame herself. Little Youto asks her if she's really okay with this, but she remains indifferent. Suddenly, Tsukiko interrupts to confront her mother, bluntly stating that she is a failure. She reasons that a mother should treasure her daughter more than anything in the world, and if she does, she should be able to hold her, rub her head, and tell her how much she loves her.
Tsukasa sinks deep into a depressed stupor afterwards. However, in the afternoon, she returns to the banquet hall in her hedgehog costume, carrying cans of beer. Little Youto immediately panics and tries to stop her from drinking as per her doctor's orders, which leads to a chaotic struggle between all four people, ending with Tsukiko covered in beer sprayed out from a can as it was finally opened.
Some time later, Tsukasa has downed many cans and is forcing the little Youto to try on girl's clothing with his hair now styled like a girl's. She complaining about her husband's parents: they thought that marrying in high school was bad influence, eventually leading to an elopement, which was when things started going downhill. Meanwhile, Tsukiko has also gotten drunk from licking some beer off her face. Mistaking him for the young Youto, she believes he has grown up to be a fine man. She pushes Youto down on the tatami mat, snuggles inside his jersey, sniffs him from under his clothes, before emerging out Youto's collar. Youto tries to bring her back to her senses, but to no avail as she begins falling asleep, her incoherent words fading.
It would take some effort for Youto to remove the drunken kitten from inside his jersey. Setting down little Youto next to Tsukiko, Tsukasa runs her fingers through Tsukiko's hair, restyling her single tail into two buns. She whispers "thanks for earlier" to the girl, and when questioned by Youto, she explains that what she said at the gate felt like her own daughter getting mad at her. As she continues to skillfully change Tsukiko's hairstyle, the girl's expression grows more comfortable every time her mother's fingers runs through her hair. The sight is one of an everyday mother and child.
Tsukasa remarks that she would have loved to raise a child of her own, but not without acknowledging that it is too late now. Frustrated by her attitude, Youto asks why she can't take them back. She answers that her choice was wrong from the very beginning, and tries to end the conversation. However, Youto decides that he won't back down anymore.
Tsukasa poses a question to Youto: "If you had to choose between the most important thing to you and something you can’t throw away no matter what, which would you choose?" Youto answers that even if the whole world turns against him, he would choose both of them. Tsukasa confesses that she had the same answer when she refused to choose between her daughters and her lineage. She stayed behind to try to resolve succession problems, which she now deems to be the wrong choice as it led to her eventual separation from her daughters.
Tsukasa confesses that she should have chosen what was more important to her from the very beginning instead of clinging onto both, and urges Youto to think about his choice as well before learning his arrogance the hard way. She then questions Youto what he's living for, but he deflects the question back at her. She tells Youto that everything is too late, and she doesn't have any time left, as she suddenly collapses. Youto touches her forehead to find it scorching hot.
Tsukasa's doctor comes and leaves after Youto finds his number written on a note next to Tsukasa's futon. She is having her usual fever and is fine for now. Gripping his knees tightly, the young Youto voices his frustration that he can't do anything for Tsukasa as a child. Tsukasa mutters the names of Tsukushi and Tsukiko, and a harsh reality dawns on the little Youto — he cannot be a replacement for Tsukasa's daughters no matter how hard he tries.
Turning to his older self, little Youto confesses that he was actually really happy when Tsukushi said she'd never come back, finding it unfair that she's able to call Tsukasa mother despite not having made any memories with her. He shakes as he questions whether he's not good enough, and why Tsukasa is still having dreams of her daughters, eventually admitting that he actually hates Tsukushi. He quickly apologizes though, realizing that Tsukasa would be disappointed in him. However, Youto assures him that it's fine, quoting Oscar Wilde: "Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man."
There is only one thing that Youto can do next — following his intuition, he takes a bus to a train station near a red-light district, and calls a certain hotel in the area on a public phone, successfully having his call connected to the room that Tsutsukakushi Tsukushi is in. He requests her to come meet their mother one more time, but Tsukushi tells him that there is only a few minutes left before they move out and set off for Italy. Despite this, he assures Tsukushi that a few minutes is enough and tells her to wait in front of the hotel, as he sprints at full speed towards the hotel to pick her up and transport her to the Tsutsukakushi estate, making full use of his training under the future Steel King. He picks up Tsukushi in front of the hotel and shoves her into a nearby taxi. Only after they set off for the estate does Youto notice another miniature girl clinging onto Tsukushi, having followed her into the car — her younger sister.
At the mansion's entrance, the younger Tsukiko immediately storms in as she smells the scent of food while Tsukushi feels reserved of even entering, concerned that she would be a bother to her mother. Meanwhile, the older Tsukiko appears and reports that her younger self has been eating the food she's cooking.
Getting an idea, Youto asks Tsukiko to take him where Tsukasa stored her clothes, and returns with all the girl's clothes that Tsukasa had bought after seeing them on a fashion magazine, convincing the girl that her mother has always dreamed of seeing them again. Thus, the little Tsukushi finally steps into the house and walks towards the banquet hall. However, she is overcome with shock when she sees her mother lying in the sickbed. She asks if her condition was due to the rock she threw, and when assured by Youto that it wasn't, she asks if she will recover soon — a question that freezes Youto in place as reality dawns on him. As he knows from the future, Tsukasa doesn't have much time left.
Tsukushi grows increasingly desperate and restless as Youto struggles to respond. She swears that she will take care of her mother day in and day out, and when she recovers, they will live together again, as was the point of their visit back to Japan. She laments the fact that they haven't been able to make any memories since she was three, expressing her longing for her praise, her scolding, her cooking, and her teaching. She promises that she will correct any mistakes she made and would do anything if it means having memories with her mother.
Hearing this, the little Youto speaks up, calling Tsukushi a crybaby. He voices his unreserved hate towards Tsukushi, criticizing her arrogance, which leads to a children's quarrel. Despite this however, he follows with a declaration that he would save Tsukushi, because Auntie Tsukasa is the most important person in the entire world. He mentions a cat god that supposedly watches over this house, which has the power to take away something you don't want and give it to someone else who needs it. He announces that he will give his memories with Tsukasa to Tsukushi as he no longer needs them, boasting about how amazing these memories were. When asked what would happen to him, he states that he'd probably be a bit lonely, but it is fine since he doesn't care about the past. More important, he says, he could never allow Auntie Tsukasa to cry.
The boy pulls out the hair band that Tsukasa tied his hair with, setting it above Tsukushi's palm. The hair band floats into Tsukushi's hand by some mysterious force, as if to symbolize the passing of memories. Thus, the young Youto loses his memories. Since he said that the past wasn't important to him, the cat god's power would take anything that resembled memories away from him, including ones made in the future. From this point on, even if he were to find someone important whom he treasures from the bottom of his heart, he would only remember those who he contacted on a daily basis. Once they vanish from his surroundings, that would mark the end.
Witnessing this, Tsukiko is unable to bear such an ending. She protests and attempts to run towards the young boy, but Youto stops him — the past has already been decided, and if she changes it now, the agony and determination that his past self carried would be all for nothing. The world begins to distort and warp, the scene around them melting away — Youto has silently wished to the cat god to return to their original world.
The final part of the chapter is what seems to be an illusion witnessed by Youto before returning to the present. Tsukasa, suddenly sits up, declaring that she's not dead yet. Seeing her awake, little Youto pushes Tsukushi forward, and she falls into her mother's bosom. Tsukasa proceeds to pat Tsukushi on the head while little Youto watches with a smile. He suggests inviting the grandparents over next time, and for Tsukasa to visit Italy when she gets better. He wishes to the cat god that when Tsukasa's daughters grow up, they can all go to Italy.
The miniature Tsukiko also enters the room with a sneeze. Tsukasa panics slightly as she helps her blow her nose, before shoving her into a nearby jersey that Youto had taken off. The jersey had Youto's scent on it, so the miniature Tsukiko proceeds to bury her face in it and sniff as a child would, before soon falling asleep.
Tsukushi comments on her sister's lack of knowledge, but Tsukasa gently chops her on the head, telling her to treasure her little sister more. She continues to lecture her about treasuring her friends and refraining from speaking rudely or throwing rocks at people. The little Youto watches from a distance, remarking that families sure are nice, but Tsukasa invites him to join in as well, asserting him to be a part of this family. They prepare to have lunch, noticing the aroma of a meal that someone has prepared.
The banquet hall is illuminated with a kind light as the cheerful voices grow distant, marking the end of their time leap.
==Characters==
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