Light Novel Chapter 23

バーバラさんのなかのヒト (Baabara-san no Naka no Hito, lit: The Person Inside Barbara-san) is the twenty-third chapter of the light novel series of The "Hentai" Prince and the Stony Cat.
==Plot==
Since the date at the amusement park, Azuki Azusa has become increasingly clingy. She is now a regular presence at the track and field club, acting like Yokodera Youto's personal cheerleader. Her enthusiasm is on full display as she cheers loudly with a megaphone, dances energetically, and brings him snacks. However, her over-the-top devotion also creates discomfort among the other club members, both male and female, who resent the disruption and perceive Yokodera as arrogant.
Feeling the glares of disdain from his peers, Youto knows that he has to address the issue, but struggles to make progress. Interrupting his internal struggle is the vice president of the club, Maimaki Mai. She bluntly points out that the outsider's behavior is killing the motivation of club members, and demands him to let Azusa know. When he hesitates to do so however, Mai turns to directly address Azusa, calling her a bother.
Yokodera initially tries to protect Azusa, worried she might cry from the harsh criticism. Instead, Azusa surprises him by gracefully apologizing, admitting she may have overstepped. Still willing to do anything to make a girl smile, Youto tells Azusa that the vice president has a tendency to say the opposite of what she means, and "translates" what she said to "I want to see you outside of the track-and-field club! ☆ I wanna be so buddy-buddy with Azuki-chan! ♪ Call me DereDere! ♡" Believing him, Azusa immediately brightens, shaking Mai's hand and addressing her as DereDere-san. Dissatisfied but caught off-guard, Mai decides that she can't be bothered anymore and returns to her business.
The clock strikes 5:40, signaling the end of club activities. As Youto gathers the equipments, he spots a shadow lurking in the dimly lit gym shed — the club president, Steel King Tsutsukakushi Tsukushi, sitting alone with her arms wrapped around her knees, lost in thought. As it has been lately, her usual commanding presence is absent, replaced by a quiet and distant demeanor. Yokodera, concerned by her unusual behavior, approaches cautiously and asks if she is feeling unwell.
Tsukushi raises her head slowly, her ponytail gleaming faintly in the dark. Her cryptic response, questioning whether Yokodera would miss her if she went on a faraway adventure, leaves him baffled, though she quickly dismisses her own words. Youto tries to coax her out of the shed, but she resists, joking in a detached and nonsensical manner. Eventually, Yokodera physically helps Tsukushi to her feet, practically carrying her as she leans heavily on him. She deflects his offers to talk, insisting her issues are unrelated to him and brushing off his attempts to help. Her reluctance to open up only deepens Yokodera's unease, as he suspects she is grappling with something serious but feels powerless to intervene.
Later that evening, Yokodera receives an email from Tsukiko requesting a meeting, but he only notices the message hours after it was sent. Realizing he has kept her waiting, he rushes home in a panic and finds her shoes at the entrance, signaling she is already there. As Yokodera hesitates outside his room, he overhears Tsukiko speaking inside. Initially, he thinks she is on the phone, jokingly referencing her "big chest" and proclaiming herself the longest-standing connection in Yokodera's life. However, as he listens further, he realizes she is talking to herself. When he peeks inside, he is shocked to find her wielding a pair of scissors and facing his beloved hugging pillow, Barbara-san. Without hesitation, Tsukiko slashes the pillow open and begins removing its stuffing, muttering grievances about being left alone.
The scene takes a bizarre turn when Yokodera realizes Tsukiko has climbed inside the gutted pillow, hiding herself completely except for her feet, which stick out awkwardly. Attempting to de-escalate the situation, Yokodera tries humor, pretending not to notice her presence and making exaggerated remarks about Barbara-san having "grown legs." However, Tsukiko's twitching feet give her away, and Yokodera teasingly pokes them, eliciting muffled squeals. Finally, unable to endure the embarrassment, Tsukiko bursts out of the pillow and retaliates by biting him in frustration.
After calming down, Tsukiko claims that she has been doing some "cleaning" while Youto was out — Youto's "treasured goods," which Tsukiko had kept details notes of, have been organized into boxes marked with an X, which she intends to throw away. Another box marked with a triangle contains what seems to be Youto's diaries. Standing out among them is a peculiar page that reads "A certain devil's indictment," which seems to contain middle school memories with Emi, though Youto doesn't quite recall any of it.
Reading through this particular diary, Tsukiko realizes there in fact is someone who Youto has known longer than her, and when he casually mentions an upcoming outing with Emi, Tsukiko abruptly leaves, visibly upset but without explaining her feelings, leaving Youto confused and concerned.
Later, Youto begins cleaning up the aftermath of her dramatic visit. As he moves the gutted hugging pillow, he finds an envelope tucked inside it. The envelope is addressed to Tsutsukakushi Tsukiko and her sister, Tsutsukakushi Tsukushi. Yokodera notices that it has already been opened, and its contents, a letter and plane tickets, spill out.
The plane tickets reveal a flight departing from Narita Airport to Rome, scheduled for one week from the current date. They are one-way tickets, implying that the Tsutsukakushi sisters are intended to leave Japan permanently. Though the letter is written in a foreign language, a translated section catches Yokodera's eye. It reads, "Why don't you forget about your duty to your mother? Come home. We'll welcome you." Youto is overcome with shock, struggling to process the implications.
==Characters==
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