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46.34% Roshidere : Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian / Chapter 38: They were floating, man.

Chapter 38: They were floating, man.

"Ah, I feel like a new woman!" Chisaki exclaimed after having washed off the

salt water and suntan lotion. She then excitedly rushed over to the bathtub and

placed her feet in the water, her eyes narrowed with pure bliss.

"Nothing beats a hot bath after a swim in the ocean." She smiled euphorically as she slid

into a large bathtub big enough to fit around six people.

"You can say that again. ♪ It's like I'm at a fancy resort ♪, " Maria agreed, washing her

body off as well. While this was the Kenzaki cottage's bathroom, it wasn't like any ordinary

bathroom. Not only did it have a door that led to the inside, but it also had a door that led

to the outside world, too, letting you wash off right after playing in the ocean. Thanks to

that, everyone was able to rinse off the salt water almost immediately, so they didn't have

to worry about being itchy or feeling gross later.

"There is no better reward after a fight than a warm bath. Ahhh, I feel refreshed already."

"Oh my? A fight? Do you mean with the jellyfish?"

"No, with two sharks."

"You're so wild. ♪"

However, there were "only" three showers, so all five of them couldn't bathe at once and

had to take turns. Chisaki and Maria actually offered to wait so that the first-year students

could go ahead, but they declined—especially Yuki, who claimed that it would take them far

too long to wash off, since they all had really long hair. Chisaki and Maria also figured that

the first-year students would try to rush instead of relaxing if they went before the others,

so they decided to take the lead. Incidentally, the two guys in the group had already quickly

rinsed off in the shower and were done. It was their way of being gentlemen.

"Excuse me? Could we come in?" Yuki's voice echoed from the other side of the door

leading outside.

"Oh, be our guest ♪, " Maria replied, having finished.

"Thank you."

The three first-year students stepped into the room right as Maria descended into the

tub. Each of them removed their bathing suits and placed them on the top rack, where the

soap and the like were.

"…"

Quietly, Yukistared hard at the freshly removed bathing suits, which were of all different

shapes and colors and lying next to bottles of shampoo and body wash.

How…lewd.

There stood an example of an old man in a young gentlewoman's body. After the creep

nonchalantly chose the shower in the middle, she proceeded to stare at Alisa's naked body

out of the corner of her eye.

Whoa…

It was incredible. She could tell Alisa had a nice body when she had clothes on, but

without clothes—phenomenal. Yuki almost audibly gasped at the nude work of art, and her

ladylike mask nearly came off.

Ack! I've got to stop staring, or Masha and Chisaki are going to notice.

Yuki looked forward once more before glancing in the mirror to check if anyone else

was staring…

Wow… They've got some nice goods themselves.

Her eyes instantly locked on their naked bodies in the mirror. Like…if you added their

muscle mass with the amount of fat they had, then divided by two, you would have the perfect

body. They both had extraordinary bodies but in contrasting ways.

It's like one's from a rom-com, and the other's from some adventure-fantasy world…

After Yuki nerdily evaluated Maria's fat-in-all-the-right-places body and Chisaki's

ripped figure, she began drying off her wet hair with a towel, when…

"Lady Yuki, shall I wash your back?" Ayano asked suddenly with her own hair neatly

put up in a hair clip.

"Hmm? I am fine, Ayano…"

"…? Lady Yuki?"

When she casually looked in Ayano's direction and saw her body…

Ah… What a comforting sight…

But that was a thought she kept to herself.

"Ah."

"Hmm?"

Right as Masachika stepped out of the living room and into the hallway to go to the

bathroom, Yuki and Ayano coincidentally left the bathroom at the same time, and their eyes

met. After Yuki promptly checked her surroundings, she handed something in a plastic bag

to Ayano and whispered what seemed to be orders to her. Entrusted with her master's will,

Ayano swiftly but silently peeked inside the living room, then checked the second floor as

well. Once finished, she made an okay gesture with her fingers from above, which

immediately curled Yuki's lips into a genuine grin.

"Bro, bro, bro," she repeated, scuttling over to his side.

"What?"

Masachika got just a bit of a bad feeling in his gut, and he smiled uncomfortably, but he

decided to hear her out. Yuki then stood slightly on her tiptoes and whispered into his ear:

"I just saw some huge tits floating."

"I knew you were going to say something like that!"

He sandwiched his hands around her head after hearing the not-so-unexpected garbage

that spewed from her mouth and prepared to give her the worst noogie of her life, when he

suddenly looked down at her with a serious expression.

"Whose were they?"

"Alya's and Masha's. And they were perfectly shaped, too. I'm talking perfect

hemispheric—?!"

"I didn't ask you to tell me all that."

He grinded the base of his palm against her temples, and she yelled, "Ahhh?! Pretty

unreasonable to ask me only to silence me once I start giving details!"

"You're unbelievable…"

After squeezing his sister's head for five or so seconds, he let go with an exhausted look

on his face.

"Ouch, bro… It was the highlight of my evening and a sight to see, and all I wanted was

to share the joy with you. That's it," she snapped venomously, rubbing her temples.

"'It was the highlight'? I know I shouldn't be saying this, but don't you get the chance

to see stuff like that all the time? Like during school trips?"

"I mean, I do—kind of, but they had these massive knockers that were like nothing I've

ever witnessed before, especially compared with the average Japanese person. It's hard to

describe what made them actually different besides size, but…yeah. They were something

else."

"Are you sure you guys aren't just too skinny? Just spitballing ideas here."

"Those two are just as skinny. They have these tiny waists, but their asses are firm, and

they don't sag, despite their colossal sizes. It has got to be the shape of the pelvis. That's

all I can come up with."

"Okay, I don't care."

But Yuki was staring off into the distance as if she didn't even notice her brother's cold

gaze.

"Grandpa told me a long time ago: Real big breasts are the ones that float in water."

"The hell is wrong with that old man?"

"He also said that hair without hair whorls and boobs that don't change shape when

lying down are fake."

"He just loved cramming useless information into your head, huh?"

"Heh-heh-heh. Don't worry, kid. I can vouch for them: Those two were the real deal.

Genuine and au naturel."

"I don't care."

"Uh-huh. Suuure you don't. Besides, what they had was more beautiful than anything

man-made. But the way they jiggled, their texture—those were real. They looked so soft,

to boot."

She gave him an energetic thumbs-up with an unnecessarily smug grin.

"You had to have been a middle-aged, pervy man in a past life."

He glared at her with a disgusted gaze, but deep down inside, he was thinking, Yeah, you

could say that again… He did get to experience them "firsthand" only a little earlier, after all.

…! Ack. No. Bad, Masachika.

He promptly put the lid back on his memories before he could remember anything else,

but it was already too late. His sister was sharp. Too sharp. And she could read her brother

like a book.

"By the way, my dear brother, did something happen between you and Alya?"

She gazed up at him skeptically.

"What do you mean?"

Masachika tried to play it cool like his life depended on it, looking vaguely curious in

response to her sharp observation.

"A man and a woman wearing nothing but swimsuits…hidden within the dark shadows

of the rocky grotto on the beach. There's no way something wouldn't happen." Yuki nodded

with a knowing grin, her arms crossed.

"Whatever you're imagining, it didn't happen. And there was no grotto. Just a bunch

of rocks out in the open."

"Oh? Then that means that something else—"

"No. Nothing," he denied, cutting his sister off. She still continued to stare with the

most curious of gazes, but she simply replied, "Oh, okay," and easily accepted his response

without question. "By the way, I have some great news for you, bro."

"Hmm?"

"Alya's all alone in the bathtub right now."

"I ain't gonna peep on her."

"I ain't suggestin' ya do."

Yuki looked as if she was overcome with surprise by his reaction while she placed a

hand on her hip.

"Who do you think I am?"

"I think you are my beloved sister, and the most important person in the world to me."

"Ah. ♡ I wuv you, too ♡," she sweetly assured, immediately throwing her arms around

him.

"What is this? A two-panel comic?"

He peeled his sister off him with an exhausted expression as he urged her to finish what

she was saying.

"So…? Go on."

"Mmm… It's simple, really."

Yuki then lowered her already soft voice and cupped her right hand over her mouth,

whispering:

"Wouldn't you like to see Alya right out of the bath?"

"…!"

"Wouldn't you like to see her slightly flushed skin—her somewhat damp hair?"

They were like the devil's whispers. Yuki drew back without even waiting for a response,

then passed by Masachika and patted him on the shoulder.

"But you're free to do whatever you want. Oh, just to let you know: I'll be keeping

Touya busy, and Ayano will be keeping Masha and Chisaki busy, so nobody is going to be

in this vicinity for a while…meaning you're free to do whatever you want."

She left her brother with those words before disappearing into the living room.

Masachika proceeded to look up at the second floor, where he saw Ayano step inside the

room Chisaki and Maria were staying in.

"…"

He stood stock-still in silence for a few seconds, then he started heading to the toilet

once more as originally planned.

Yuki's such a nerd that she lets her imagination run wild sometimes. What am I going

to do with her?

After finishing business, he sighed at his sister's nerdy need to try out every anime trope

possible while they were there.

What was she thinking, though? Of course I'm not going to be like, "Well, don't mind

if I do," just because she arranged all that. Young teenage boys in puberty are shy. Clearly,

they're going to do everything they can to pretend like they're not interested.

Once he washed his hands, he went to the second floor and shook his head with another

sigh.

But, well…

However, the instant he passed the laststep, he froze with a smug grin and turned around.

…as a fellow nerd, it would be wrong of me not to see this event through!

He hid at the top of the staircase and waited for Alisa to arrive so he could pretend to

run into her and say, "Oh, hey. Enjoy your bath?" Could he be blamed, though? He was an

otaku before he was a teenage boy! He couldn't help it!

"Why…? Huh? Why?"

Meanwhile, Alisa, who was alone in the changing room after her bath, was stricken

with panic and bewilderment. The girls had been getting out of the bath in pairs because the

changing room wasn't that big and there was only one hair dryer. Therefore, Alisa stayed,

as she often took relatively long baths, while Yuki and Ayano had left first. But when she

eventually did decide to stand to dry off and change…she was stunned. Before going outside

for a swim, she'd left a plastic bag with a change of clothes in the changing room…which

happened to be absent of any kind of underwear, even though her shorts and shirt were still

there.

"Huh? I brought underwear. I know I put a change of underwear in this bag…didn't I?"

No matter how many times she recalled everything she did, she clearly remembered

putting underwear in the plastic bag. And yet in reality, there was no underwear inside. She

hung on to the sliver of hope that they were somewhere on the floor and searched the changing

room, but she couldn't find them at all.

"I can't believe it… Did I really forget? Did I drop them on the way here? But…"

Wrapped only in a towel and clutching her head, she seemed to have come to the

conclusion that she'd messed up somehow. The fact that she never thought that someone was

pranking her and stole them showed just how innocent she was. Even if she did consider the

possibility, she surely would have immediately rejected the idea, since she was oblivious to

a certain someone's true nature.

"What am I going to do now?"

She could do without the bottom half. It would be uncomfortable, but she'd be able to

bear through it until she got to her room. The problem was the top half. It would be obvious.

It would stick out like a sore thumb. It was only a ten-second jog to her room, but if she

was to run into someone before she got there…especially one of the two guys, she would

die. No exception.

Masachika already saw just a little while ago, but still…!!

The situation reminded her of the accident from earlier, turning her cheeks bright red.

"Mmm…!!"

She slid her hands down her head to cover her face, squeezing her bangs tightly between

her fingers. She'd told Masachika himself not to worry about it anymore, and she had been

working really hard not to think about it, but…it was hopeless the moment she remembered

what happened. Alisa always had her guard up. It was to the point that people might have

considered her uptight or fastidious. She was proud to not rely on others and stand on her

own two feet, so to her, submitting or committing herself to someone was no different from

admitting defeat. Dating, of course, was out of the question.Just imagining herself depending

on, flirting with, and desiring to be loved by someone made her skin crawl.

Her thoughts on the matter had changed recently, but this was how she genuinely felt

only a year ago. That was why she always kept her guard up and would make sure to sternly

reject any man who casually tried to hit on her…which was part of why she almost made it

a habit to let her guard down in front of a certain someone of the opposite sex by whispering

in Russian. It was a thrill like nothing she had ever experienced before, but that was another

story.

At any rate, she wasn't going to let any player touch a single strand of hair on her head,

and if anyone tried, she would relentlessly knock their hand away. Whoever persisted even

after that was slapped. There were never any openings in her guard, just like a real princess.

And yet…

"Mmmmmmaaagrrrrrr!"

…he'd touched her. Not only touched but grabbed. He'd grabbed her bare chest. And to

top it all off, he saw everything. After calmly thinking about it, she realized that he'd also

wrapped his arms around her bare stomach and sat her in his lap. They had to get married

now. He was going to have to dedicate the rest of his life to her to take responsibility for

what he had done.

"Hff! Hff! It was an accident… It was an accident…"

She put a lid on her sense of virtue, stopping herself from obsessively repeating that they

had to get married, but no matter how many times she tried to persuade herself, it was still

something she couldn't let go. If it was some guy whom she didn't know, she would have

punched him until he forgot what happened, then slammed her head on the ground until she

forgot what happened as well.

It was unforgivable. She couldn't let him get away with it…and yet she'd almost

surrendered herself to him when she was in his arms. His muscular arm tightly wrapped

around her stomach, and his hard, large body pressed against her back—her heart had raced

wildly, and she'd had a hard time breathing. That was why she couldn't immediately start

moving again after falling. And there was something surprisingly comforting about being

held from behind—

"No!"

Alisa verbally dismissed her own thoughts. There was no way she would ever open

herself up to someone after that happened. There was no way her heart would ever race just

because someone helped her a little. It wasn't like she was a protagonist in one of those girly

comics Maria loved. She wasn't some weak little princess whose heart easily throbbed

because some guy saved her. She was simply confused due to something unexpected

happening. She panicked. She was confused, she froze, and her heart malfunctioned. That

was it, she believed.

"…Maybe I shouldn't forgive him."

Thinking deeply about it only made her feel her pride and dignity as a woman had been

damaged in some way. She took back what she'd said earlier and began to seriously consider

(physically) erasing Masachika's memories, but that would have to be put on hold. Right

now, she had to think of how she was going to get herself out of this mess. Her predicament

hadn't changed. She still had no underwear, and she was in danger.

"…"

She reset for the time being and started racking her brain for ways to get out of this

unscathed. The safest method would be to wait for one of the other girls to walk by and ask

them to bring her a pair of underwear. She would no longer have to risk having someone catch

her with no bra on, but even that was still pretty embarrassing. It'd be a memory she would

cringe about yearslater, and it would make her look like an idiot. Plus, it would inconvenience

whomever she asked…which meant her only other option was risking it all and running to

her room.

Yuki and Ayano should be in our room already, though, right? But if they're not, I can

change there, and if they are, I can just grab my underwear and change in the half bath, I

guess? It won't be easy…but I don't have any other options!

Regardless of her decision, she was out of time. Someone would surely start to wonder

and check up on her if she waited any longer. Therefore…

"…Let's do this!"

After making up her mind,she put on hershorts and shirt over her bare skin, then quickly

dried her hair before stuffing her towel and bathing suit into the plastic bag.

"…Maybe I could just hide my chest with this?"

Once the thought came to mind, she clutched the bag with both arms, but…it looked

really unnatural. Maybe she could just take the towel out, but now her bikini was clearly

visible through the thin plastic bag, and that was embarrassing as well. Plus, holding a wet

towel against your chest was icky in general. Yep. That was all this was. She didn't just

discover she was an exhibitionist. Not at all. Nope.

"…It'll be okay. I just need to go back to my room without being seen," Alisa muttered

to herself before she lifted the plastic bag with her right hand, slowly opened the sliding

door, and peeked out into the hallway. After making sure there was nobody coming from

each side of the hallway, she suddenly heard Yuki and Touya talking in the living room, and

she mentally celebrated.

Yesss! If Yuki's in the living room, then that means Ayano is there with her! And if the

president is there, then Masachika should be as well… Yes, I can do this!

Alisa dashed out of the changing room, thrilled to discover that her biggest fear was

gone. She prayed that nobody would leave the living room while she climbed the stairs to

the second floor…when she suddenly heard a voice coming from above.

"Oh, Alya. Can I talk with you about something?"

Her head went blank.

"…? Alya…? What's wrong?"

"Noth…ing…"

Masachika casually started to walk down the stairs with his "what a coincidence"

expression, but he almost immediately felt something was wrong when he saw how

uncomfortable Alisa seemed. Her downcast eyes were restlessly wandering about as she

fidgeted with the dirty towel–filled plastic bag in her hands.

She was wearing a plain shirt and simple shorts, which would make some people look

like a bum, and yet it mysteriously looked really fashionable on her. Perhaps she seemed

badass because she didn't care how she looked?

Dammit… Good-looking people can do anything and get away with it…

He keenly felt that, shooting her a questioning look as he descended the stairs, when

all of a sudden…

Hmm?

His eyes were naturally guided up from the plastic bag in her hands, and he froze.

Furrowing his brow, he looked once more…and then a third time…before smoothly

redirecting his gaze and looking straight up into the air. He thereupon screamed in his head

as hard as he could:

Why isn't she wearing a braaaaaaaaa?!

An image of Yuki sticking her tongue out and winking suddenly manifested in his mind.

Even with absolutely zero evidence, he had no doubt it was her doing.

Yukiiiiiiiii!!

His sister's words from earlier suddenly began to play back in his head: "It was the

highlight of my evening and a sight to see, and all I wanted was to share the joy with you.

That's it."

This is not how you share!!

He inwardly shouted with rage again, clenching his teeth with his eyes still looking

straight up. It was seeing him like this when Alisa finally realized that he had noticed.

"Hey."

"Huh? Huh?!"

Grabbing him by the wrist, she suddenly began dragging him to the second floor while

he awkwardly stumbled behind, missing a step or two on the way. She ended up taking him

to the room the first-year girls were staying in.

"Lie down right there."

"…What?"

"Just do it!" she sharply demanded, pointing at the bed.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Masachika jumped. Although he was uncomfortable due to the no-boys-allowed

atmosphere of the room, he timidly climbed into the bed and hesitantly lay down on his

back…when he suddenly heard the door being locked.

"A-Alya?"

"…"

He'd lifted his head and called out to Alisa, who was standing in front of the door, but

she didn't say a word. She turned around, covering her chest with her right arm, and slowly

approached. Without saying a word, she climbed onto the bed and straddled Masachika's

stomach.

"U-uh…?"

"…"

A locked room. Two teenagers of the opposite sex in bed together. While this would

seem like a very lewd situation to most people, there was something ominous about Alisa's

downcast gaze that caused his heart not to race but to shrink with fear.

"Masachika…"

"Y-yes?"

She finally opened her mouth and slowly lifted her head, revealing a threatening half

smirk. Her entire face was illuminated with a burning crimson hue. She looked down at him

with glassy eyes, and only her lips were curling into a stiff smile.

I'm starting to feel a sense of déjà vu. Ohhh, something just like this did happen only a

little earlier today. Ha-ha, he thought, trying to preoccupy his mind as if he was attempting

to escape reality.

"I'm sorry. I want to apologize in advance for what's about to happen," Alisa announced

in between her irregular breathing.

"F-for what—?"

"I know. I understand that it's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong, and I get

that. But I need to vent these emotions that I can't contain any longer. Do you think you

could be that outlet?"

Her voice trembled, making it clear thatshe wasstruggling to suppressthese overflowing

emotions. Masachika briefly looked up at the ceiling…and prepared himself.

"Sure, I've got you. We are partners, after all." Plus, this was my stupid sister's fault.

He gave her the thumbs-up while keeping the last part to himself.

"Thank you," she softly replied before immediately…

"Hmph!"

"Mmm!"

The entire world before his eyes was erased as a pillow covered his face, followed by

suppressed grunts of rage paired with a violent air strike pulverizing said pillow.

"Hmph! Hnnn!"

Two, three—the missiles only continued to drop. She seemed to be slapping the pillow

over his face, but…

…It doesn't really hurt at all.

There wasn't much power behind each slap in spite of how loud her grunts were. She

was probably holding back since she was a guest here, and this wasn't her pillow. Plus, she

was avoiding hitting where Masachika's face was, to boot. The strikes perfectly hit only the

sides of the pillow, so he hardly felt any pain.

"Nnng! Mn!"

"…"

And once he got used to it, he started to focus on Alisa's butt sitting on his stomach.

I-I'm sure there's a fetish for whatever this is called.

Every slap made it jiggle over him, gradually making him feel funny. They say that your

other senses heighten whenever you close your eyes, and it seemed like that was true in this

case. Masachika clenched histeeth under the pillow while Alisa's butt danced on hisstomach

and the bed made an absurdly loud creak.

Gaaaaaah!! Hurry up and finish already!!

He begged for the torture to end but not because it was painful. Perhaps his wishes were

heard. Because after a few seconds went by, the attacks stopped, and only Alisa's frantic

panting could be heard. Silence followed. As Masachika emptied his mind, Alisa pushed

against the creaking bed, climbing off asifshe had finally managed to get her emotions under

control. However, Masachika still didn't move an inch.

"Hey, uh…Masachika? Are you okay?" she called out to him from the edge of the bed.

"…Yeah, perfectly fine," he replied in a voice as if he was suppressing a myriad of

problems. After all, he wasn't exactly "fine," but it was because of a different reason from

what she was thinking. Alisa sounded like she was almost trembling uncomfortably, perhaps

feeling she had overdone it when…

Hmm?

He suddenly felt light pressure pressing down on the pillow around where his nose was,

making him wonder what this never-felt-before sensation could be.

"<I'm sorry.>"

But Alisa immediately removed her hand (?), muttered something in Russian, and took

the pillow off his face. Masachika turned away from the blinding light while slowly sitting

up. After blinking until his eyes adjusted, he looked over at Alisa, who was now holding the

pillow to her chest with an uncomfortable expression.

"I… I'm sorry… I'm okay now."

"O-oh. Well, I'm glad you feel better. Like, uh… It didn't hurt at all, so don't worry

about it, okay?"

"O-oh…"

"Y-yeah… Anyway, I'llsee you later…and I don't care at all,so you don't need to worry

about a thing, either."

"…Okay."

He decided to leave immediately, partly since she seemed so uncomfortable that she was

shaking, and promptly unlocked the door before leaving the room, not once looking back.

"Phew… I'm exhausted." He sighed, closing the door with his hands behind his back…

when he suddenly felt someone watching him, and he reflexively looked to his side.

"Ah…"

"…? Chisaki? What's wrong?"

Masachika wondered about the sight. Chisaki was poking her head out from the

neighboring room, but her gaze slowly wandered toward the ceiling and appeared troubled.

"I, uh… I heard some noise, so…?"

"Some noise…?"

His brow furrowed…and then it hit him. She was talking about the creaking bed, Alisa's

muffled voice, and the sound of a man unlocking the door and leaving once the creaking and

grunting stopped.

"It's not what you think!" he yelled—practically shrieked.

Although he was denying what she was most likely thinking, there was no way he could

tell her that Alisa was actually straddling him while slapping a pillow over hisface. Therefore,

he racked his exhausted brain for anything he could say to clear the misunderstanding other

than the bizarre truth.

"Alya? I'm coming in. ♪"

During Masachika's desperate attempt to explain himself, Maria somehow quietly left

her room and snuck right by him. She opened the door to the first-year students' room and

let herself in before even waiting for a reply. There, she found Alisa curled up on the bed

with a pillow in her arms.

"Oh my. What's wrong? …Did something happen?" she asked, taking a seat on the edge

of the bed. However, Alisa only stuffed her face in her pillow without saying a word. Maria

asked once more:

"Did Kuze do something to you?"

"…"

Alisa still didn't reply but instead looked away as if to say, "I don't want to talk about

it." Maria's expression immediately turned grim, and her fists clenched.

"I want you to tell me if he did anything to you that made you uncomfortable, because

I'll talk to him if you need me to."

"…That's not it," Alisa finally replied, perhaps worried that Masachika would be

unfairly blamed for something if she remained silent. "Masachika didn't do anything wrong.

It's just…"

"Just what?"

"…"

"Hmm?"

Alisa glanced up at her sister, who was gently encouraging her to elaborate, then quickly

looked away and muttered:

"It was all an accident. I made a little mistake…and he ended up seeing something very

embarrassing. That's all."

It was an abstract response, but Maria instinctively understood that her sister was

embarrassed as a woman and not as a perfectionist who'd made a mistake in front ofsomeone.

And that was why Maria spoke with a more cheerful tone and exclaimed:

"Oh, it was an accident… That's great! You're really lucky it was Kuze!"

"Huh…?"

"If it was an accident, then it could have been anyone here, right? It could have been

the student council president."

The instant she said that, Alisa's face twisted with disgust. Maria inwardly laughed a bit

at her easy-to-read reaction and continued:

"It could have been someone you didn't even know, so in a way, you're kind of lucky

it was the guy you're closest with, right?"

"We're not that close…"

"Hmm? You definitely are."

"There just aren't any other guys I get along with, so he wins by default. That's all…,"

muttered Alisa, burying her mouth in her pillow.

"Even then, you still trust him more than any other man, right?" Maria added sweetly.

"…"

"Then everything should be okay. Besides, I believe Kuze is the kind of guy who will

go out of his way to make sure you're comfortable. ♪"

"…I know that."

Alisa finally sat up, seemingly a bit annoyed by Maria's know-it-all way of speaking,

and gave her sister a sharp look.

"I don't want you getting the wrong idea, either. I trust Masachika, and I consider him

a friend, but nothing more."

"Oh my. ♪ Really?"

"Really. So don't let your imagination run wild. Mom's already been acting weirdly

excited, so I don't need any more aggravation."

"Oh, she did meet him during the parent-teacher conference, huh? I remember her being

thrilled that you finally had a male friend."

"She has been grinning every time I've gone over to Masachika's house during summer

break, too…even though it's just to do homework."

"Hmm… But you're all alone with him at his house, right? I don't think people usually

do that unless they're really close."

"That's…! That's because…I've never had any close male friends before, so I'm not

sure how I'm supposed to act…"

Her voice slowly trailed off as she averted her gaze, causing Maria's face to light up

with a smile.

"You're so cute, Alya."

"…! Tsk."

"Just continue being yourself. ♪ Ah! I'm not even going to let Kuze have you!"

"Hey?! Stop!"

Alisa used the pillow to shield herself from her sister's embrace and pushed her back

until Maria eventually slipped off the bed.

"Come on, Alyaaa. What's wrong with a little sisterly love?" Maria pouted after taking

a few steps back.

"We're not kids anymore."

"Hugging and expressing love for family are still important."

"We kiss each other on the cheek whenever we greet. Isn't that enough?"

"Ngh!"

She glared at hersister, but Alisa refused to even glance in her direction—as ifshe didn't

care in the least. After a few seconds went by, Maria looked away as well before briskly

walking to the door.

"Hmph. ♪ If Alya's going to be a jerk, then I'll just have Kuze cheer me up," she

complained, whispering audibly so her sister would hear.

"…Go ahead."

Alisa's eyebrow slightly rose, but she dismissed her sister's so-called threat.

"Okay, I think I will, then," Maria replied childishly asshe left the room. She then leaned

against the door in the empty hallway and whispered:

"…I really am going to have him cheer me up."

She seemed like a completely different person as she looked back over her shoulder. Her

expression was far more mature yet somewhat sorrowful as well. Nevertheless, after but a

briefsigh, her brilliantsmile immediately returned. She opened the door to her room, when…

"I-it's fine. You don't have to lie to me…"

"I'm not. We really—"

"Chisaki? How much longer do you plan on torturing him like that? Alya said nothing

happened. Sigh. You're so dirty, Chisaki. ♪ Get your mind out of the gutter. ♪"

"Wh-what?! Me?!"

And just like that, Maria came to Masachika's rescue with her usual radiant smile.


next chapter

Chapter 39: It’s some kind of (sleeping) prank?

"Kuze, psst. Come here."

After brushing his teeth before bed, Masachika started heading back to his room, when

Maria suddenly stopped him. Turning around, he saw that she was poking her head out from

her room, which she and Chisaki were sharing on the second floor, and waving him over.

"…? You need something?"

"Just come here."

"Huh? But…"

The door opened before he could even express his apprehension, revealing a room not

much different from the one he and Touya were staying in. There was a large bed on each

side with a window in the middle. Under the window stood a small table and two chairs.

"Come in. Hurry."

"Okay…"

Although he was curious why Chisaki wasn't there, he stepped foot into the room as

requested, where…

"…?!"

…he suddenly saw their bathing suits hanging up to dry, causing him to look away in a

panic…but when he saw Maria, he bent backward in surprise once more.

She's in her freakin' pajamas!

And they were summer pajamas, meaning the fabric was really thin. The light cherry

blossom–colored pajamas perfectly outlined her gorgeous body, and while her skin was

hardly exposed, there was something extremely sexy about her vulnerable, cozy attire in a

completely different way from when she was wearing a swimsuit.

I thought people only dressed like this in front of their family or their boyfriend…

At the same time, his eyes unconsciously lowered a little toward her seemingly too-tight

pajama top, when Maria suddenly placed both hands over her chest and twisted her body as

if she was uncomfortable.

"D-don't stare. ♪"

"S-sorry!"

Although he didn't consciously do it for the most part, his action was still ill-mannered

and disrespectful, so he frantically looked up at the ceiling in absolute embarrassment.

"I—I usually wear a sleep bra! But I forgot to pack one…"

"…"

I didn't ask. I didn't even care. And I wish she never came out and told me she wasn't

wearing a bra because I would have never noticed otherwise! How could she be this different

from her sister?! She's a little…off, isn't she?

He really thought she was, and his eyes shifted even farther up toward the ceiling, only

stopping when he could barely see the top of Maria's head.

"So? What did you need me for?"

"So…I was thinking I wanted to give Chisaki and Touya some time alone together,

and…"

"…? Ohhh."

That was when it hit him. Chisaki was currently…in the room he and Touya were

supposed to be staying in.

"So that's what this is about."

It wasn't often they could come to a beach cottage like this, so it was only natural that

two people going out would want some time alone. And if that was the case, then Masachika

wasn't going to bother them.

"All right, I think I'll just crash on the sofa downstairs, then…"

He didn't know whether Chisaki wasstaying in Touya'sroom or Touya in Chisaki's, and

he didn't plan on asking, either. That would be tactless, and that was why he was planning

on sleeping on the sofa in the living room. That way, he could be like, "I saw them talking

last night, but I have no idea what happened after that." That would be what a gentleman and

a sensible friend would do. At least, that was what Masachika was thinking, when…

"Why? What's wrong with sleeping here?"

"Everything," replied Masachika with a straight face, the complete opposite of her casual

suggestion. "Two teenagers of the opposite sex sleeping in the same room? When they aren't

even going out? It would hurt your reputation."

"I don't care. ♪"

"I do," he announced in complete seriousness. Maria blinked a few times in wonder, but

a warm smile soon curled her lips once more.

"Giggle. The fact that you care so much is proof enough that it'll be okay. Don't worry.

I wouldn't suggest doing this if I didn't trust you."

The innocent smile and genuine trust rendered Masachika speechless. Maria then raised

an index finger and continued:

"Besides, people are going to find out about Chisaki's secret meeting with her boyfriend

if they catch you sleeping on the couch in the living room. And I think that would be very

embarrassing for her, too. Things would be awkward between her and all the first-year

students for the rest of the trip."

"Mmm…"

"Even if nobody found you on the couch, you could catch a cold, or maybe you wouldn't

be able to sleep well. You wouldn't be able to enjoy yourself tomorrow if that happened,

and they would probably end up blaming themselves for that. So don't worry about me and

sleep here. ♪"

"…"

Masachika was having a hard time arguing, because she was being uncharacteristically

pushy and eloquent for someone who was usually more of a warm, comforting big-sister

type. But even then, his sense of morals was still making him hesitant, so Maria abruptly

leaned forward and looked up into his eyes.

"Kuze."

"…? Yes?"

As he raised his eyebrows, she tapped a finger against his chest, lowered her tone as if

to say, "Do I have to spell it out for you?" and argued:

"Listen. You are already asleep in this room. Now Chisaki has an excuse to stay in

Touya's room. Got it?"

"…!"

His eyes opened wide in surprise. If he really wanted to help them, then he needed to cut

off their path of retreat as well. That was what Maria was saying, and it was something he

hadn't even considered. Masachika found himself on the verge of being convinced, when…

"…Wait. No, no, no, no."

…he suddenly remembered an extremely important detail and wildly shook his head,

which he'd been about to nod in agreement.

"I get what you're saying, but…! Masha, you have a boyfriend. I don't want anyone to

get the wrong idea and think you're cheating on him."

He promptly declined, using Maria's boyfriend as his reasoning.

"Give me a second," Maria said as she slowly stood up and approached the bed to the

right of the window. She picked up a smartphone off her pillow, typed and scrolled for a few

seconds, then turned it so the screen was facing Masachika.

"There you go."

"…?"

It was a picture of Maria tightly hugging a colossal teddy bear.

"…? That's one big teddy bear, huh?"

As he tilted his head curiously, Maria pointed at the stuffed animal and announced:

"Allow me to introduce you to my boyfriend, Samuel III!"

"...?"

Her totally unexpected confession rendered him speechless, and it took another few

seconds for him to finally comprehend what was said as he unconsciously placed a hand on

his forehead.

"Uh… Uhhh… Wait. So does that mean you were lying about having a boyfriend?"

"Hmm… I suppose you could say that? At any rate, you don't have to worry about a

thing, Kuze."

"…Uh-huh."

His brain couldn't keep up with all the sudden, shocking data, so he remained stock-still

in utter confusion. Amused, Maria took a seat by the window and waved him over.

"Uh… May I sit here?"

"Be my guest. ♪"

He sat, hoping to solve the countless mysteries overloading his mind. Then after taking

a few moments to sort out his thoughts, he asked frankly:

"So, uh… You have been pretending to have a boyfriend to stop guys from hitting on

you? Am I understanding this correctly?"

Maria shifted her gaze to the world outside the window without answering his question.

"The stars are so beautiful tonight."

"Huh? Oh, right. They are, aren't they?"

"Maybe it's because there's less light pollution out here? There are so many."

"Yeah, I guess…"

Masachika looked up at the night sky as well. A brief moment of silence followed until

Maria suddenly muttered:

"I believe in destiny and that I have a soulmate."

He turned in her direction, but she was still gazing at the stars, not even glancing at him.

"Someone who I love from the bottom of my heart… Someone I can give all of myself

to… Someone I want to spend the rest of my life with… I believe there is someone who can

love me just as much as I love them."

"…So you're saying that the guys who hit on you at school aren't that person?"

"Hmm… Yes, that is what I'm saying."

"And why is that?"

"Because you know your soulmate when you see them."

Whoa, she's talking about some pretty wild stuff, Masachika thought as Maria closed

her eyes and placed a hand on her chest.

"It's destiny…so I just know we will be brought together one day."

It was asifshe was praying. She's quite the optimist… Actually, itsounds more like she's

read way too many manga, Masachika thought with a smirk, but there was no way he would

ever make fun of her for it after seeing her pure, devout expression.

"Okay… Well, I really hope you find him."

Although he went with a safe response, he was met with a genuine, mature smile and

gentle gaze, and it took his breath away. Maria's smile faded into curiosity.

"What about you, Kuze?"

"Huh?"

"On the train, we talked about how there was a girl you liked in elementary school, but

you weren't interested in relationships anymore."

"Oh… Yeah, basically."

"And why is that?"

Masachika's lips twisted bitterly as if she were peering into the secrets of his heart, so

he decided to avoid the question like he usually did…but there was something about Maria's

eyes—eyes that forgave all and accepted anyone—that naturally softened his expression.

"…My parents got divorced."

And before he even realized it, he was telling her the truth. He was opening up about his

trauma—which he had never told anyone else about.

"They were in love. They shared that love and had children because of it. But it all ended

in resentment and disgust… They were truly in love at one point, though."

He recalled his mother blaming his father. He frowned reflexively as the repulsive

screaming played back in his mind.

"What was it that bothered my mother so much? I get that my father wasn't home a lot

because he was working, but he was always so kind. He gave up his dreams and devoted

himself to her. And yet…all she ever did was yell at him."

Perhaps they'd tried their best so that their children wouldn't have to see them act that

way, but it was painfully obvious for a smart kid like Masachika that their relationship was

crumbling. Why was his mother so harsh toward his father? What did he do? Masachika's

mind was plagued with these thoughts, but there was no way he could ever ask his mother,

who'd always been so gentle and kind around him. But one day—the day his mother shouted

at him as if she was disgusted by him—that day changed everything. He realized that his

mother was someone who could be showered with love but give back only hate, no matter

how unfair or illogical it may be. He realized she was hopeless, selfish, and cruel.

"It's a waste of time…"

Once he came back to his senses, he realized he was resentfully muttering to himself and

hurriedly shut his mouth. Maria, however, showed neither surprise nor concern but instead

looked at him with her usual all-encompassing gaze.

"What is?" she curiously asked.

"…Love."

Was he encouraged by those eyes or annoyed? Regardless, he sneered cynically as he

spit out the words he had been trying to suppress as if a dam had been broken.

"Continuing to love the same person is impossible. It doesn't matter how hard you try or

how much you devote yourself to them. Once the spark is gone, it's over. When you fall out

of love with someone, there's no way to make things the way they were before. And taking

something like that seriously is a complete waste of time."

Only after the words came out of his mouth did he realize that what he said went so

completely against Maria's beliefs on love, it was asif he wasinsulting her. His gaze dropped

to the floor after he realized how careless he was. Maria then stood from her chair, walked

over to his side…and gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Her soft hair brushed

against his cheek, and she lovingly and tenderly rubbed his head, making Masachika's eyes

widen.

"It's okay… It's okay…"

"…"

He froze within her sudden embrace as she softly continued:

"You must have really loved your mother."

"…!"

"And you really love your father, even now."

"…"

Her extremely sweet voice rendered him powerless, leaving him unable to impulsively

argue back. All he could do was surrender himself to her hug.

"It's okay… You feel such deep hatred because of the deep love you have, and that's

why it's going to be okay."

"…"

"You can love again."

Her boundless loving words surprisingly found their way into Masachika's heart. It felt

as if her caring touch were patting the head of a young Masachika Suou whom he had sealed

away years ago.

"How…?"

How did she know exactly what to say? How could her touch penetrate the walls around

his heart so easily?

Come to think of it, it'd been the same that day as well. As the sun set in the hallway,

she'd rubbed his head and praised him, acknowledging the hard work he had been doing.

It was all he ever wanted to hear from his mother when he was a child. It was all he ever

wanted. He never told anyone that as far as he could remember. In fact, it was something he

never even realized himself until now. And yet this woman heard the cries of his heart and

consoled him as if it was only natural.

"How…? Why do you understand me so well?"

"Hmm? Giggle. I wonder why."

She evaded his straightforward question, then while still holding him in her arms, she

began to pat him on the back like she was comforting a small child.

"H-hey, uh…"

"You can rely on others more, Kuze. You can show weakness."

"…"

"You told me before that you do everything you do for yourself because you're selfish."

"Huh? Oh… Yeah."

"Then be selfish. Be kind to yourself. Spoil yourself. You have my permission."

Tears suddenly began to well in his eyes before he could even emotionally process what

was going on.

Wh-what the…?! No! What's going on?!

The tears streamed down his cheeks one after another despite his confusion.

Why…?! This is so pathetic. I can't believe this is happening.

But ridiculing himself for crying in Maria's arms couldn't stop the tears from

overflowing.

The hell…? I'm such a loser… I feel sick…!

While he clenched his teeth to hold back the tears, Maria continued to rub his head as

she tightly held him in her arms. She gently pressed his face into her shoulder without saying

a word and waited for him to calm. The thought of her pajamas getting dirty didn't even

cross her mind.

Ah… What is this feeling…?

In a slight daze from crying, he found that he was genuinely at ease for the first time in

forever. The warmth from her body touched his heart before slowly spreading throughout his

entire body, bringing him unbelievable comfort. He closed his eyes and prepared to surrender

himself to her…when he suddenly realized that he had already stopped crying, which

simultaneously brought him back to his senses, and he leaned away from Maria in a panic.

"Hey, uh… Like… I'm sorry?" he stammered while rubbing his eyes, but Maria warmly

smiled back at him as she stood from her chair.

"Don't worry about it. ♪ …I am sure you were just due for a little physical contact. ♪"

"Heh… Physical contact, huh?"

As he awkwardly glanced up, she proudly puffed out her chest and added:

"Physical contact is important. Even if you connect with someone emotionally, you're

still going to feel lonely eventually without the touch of another."

"Uh-huh…"

"Of course, it's important to show love through your words and behavior, but that's not

everything. Physical contact is just as important. It's a reminder that someone is there for

you and you for them," she argued with a hand on her chest, naturally causing Masachika

to reflect.

Now that she mentions it, when was the last time I had physical contact with anyone

like this?

The first person to come to mind was his sister, Yuki. Even now, she would constantly

hug him and jump on top of him, but he would usually push her away out of embarrassment,

and never had he eversurrendered himself to her embrace like he just had with Maria. Besides

Yuki…he couldn't think of a single other person he'd had physical contact with.

Wait… Hold on…

There was that girl from his childhood. Perhaps it was because of the culture she was

born into, but he remembered her loving physical contact as well. Even as a child, he could

remember her unashamedly hugging him with the purest smile, and he'd let her, although

he'd been flustered.

It's been that long, huh?

But he was overcome with absolute embarrassment the moment he realized that he

probably was starved for affection, and he began to lower his gaze…when Maria suddenly

drew her face close to his.

"That's why, Kuze…!"

"Huh?! Yes?"

"That's why I think Alya should let me hug her more!"

"…Uh-huh."

He smiled and tilted his head. She placed her hands on her hips, huffing with rage,

making him wonder if he had dreamed up her boundless compassion from only a few

moments ago.

"She doesn't really like it when I kiss her on the cheek, and she won't even let me hug

her. I have so much love that I need to give her!"

"Yeah… Good luck with that."

"Hmph! I'll just have you console me if she's going to be like that!"

"Why me?!"

His eyes were wide with shock as her arms tightened around him before almost

immediately letting him go. She gleefully smiled at him. Although he didn't know why she

was grinning, he stopped caring after gazing at her pure smile until he naturally burst into

laughter.

"Ha-ha-ha! Masha, I honestly don't get you at all."

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?"

"Sometimes, it's like you can read my mind, but other times, I have no idea what you're

even saying."

"Ruuude! You make it sound like I'm an idiot. ♪"

"I didn't mean it like that, but— Ha-ha…!"

As if the pent-up energy had been sapped out of his body, Masachika laughed at his

schoolmate, who would occasionally get upset like a child, and Maria broke into a smile as

well.

"Are you about ready to go to sleep?"

"Yeah… Thanks, Masha."

"No need to thank me. ♪"

Maria waved her hand as if it was nothing while he bowed, then she pointed slowly

toward the bed where her belongings were.

"You can sleep here, Kuze."

"Huh? But I thought that was your bed…?"

"Which is exactly why I want you to use it. Chisaki would probably be uncomfortable

if another guy was sleeping in her bed, right?"

"Oh, good point. Well, then…don't mind if I do…"

Convinced by her argument, he slowly crawled into her bed as Maria closed the curtains

and climbed into the other bed.

"Good night. ♪"

"Good night, Masha."

The feminine voice in the darkness once again reminded him that he was about to sleep

in the same room as a woman, and he started to get restless.

Am I really going to be able to sleep like this…?

He worried, pulling the thin blanket over his body. But perhaps due to the long trip here,

the swimming in the ocean, or from crying so much, he fell into a deep sleep within minutes

of closing his eyes.

…Meanwhile, in the girls' room next door, three first-year students were

having a pajama party at Yuki's request.

"So, Alya, why didn't you want to sleep in the same room as Masha anyway?" Yuki

asked suddenly in the middle of their conversation.

"…Because she'd try to use me as a body pillow." Alisa frowned.

"Huh?"

Both Yuki and Ayano blinked in wonder at the unexpected response.

"…Masha always uses a really big body pillow—well, I guess it's more like a giant

stuffed animal—but anyway, she always hugs it until she falls asleep. But whenever we're

on vacation and she leaves it at home, she sometimes grabs whatever's nearby when she's

half asleep… Even now, whenever we go on family vacations at a traditional inn, she'll

sometimes slide into my futon and…"

"Oh, wow. She might be using Chisaki as a body pillow as we speak, then."

Alisa faintly smirked at Yuki's speculation.

"Most likely. But Chisaki is strong enough to escape if she needs to."

"Giggle. She might even kick her out of the bed."

"I hope so. Then maybe she'll finally learn her lesson and stop using people as body

pillows."

The soft laughter of three high school girls filled the room that night. Another hour

passed before the pajama party came to an end at last, each one of them sound asleep. Little

did they know…that what they were joking about was actually about to happen in the room

next door.

Hmm…?

Masachika woke up to a strange sensation, as if something was crawling up his body.

The hell…?

Keeping his eyes closed, he slowly became conscious of the sensation, much to his

frustration. Something long and slender (arms?) slowly wriggled over his chest and around

his neck as something (legs?) tangled around his legs. That was when Masachika realized

that there was someone to his right who was messing with him, but his half-awake nerd-brain

immediately assumed what was going on.

Oh… It's Yuki.

It was a common trope in anime for a girl to sneak into the protagonist's bed while they

were on a trip somewhere. If it was a training camp for some kind of school club, then a halfasleep girl would wander into the wrong room. If it was a school trip, then everyone would

be gathered in the girls' room, and when a teacher, who was on patrol, came by to check on

them, they would panic and hide in the same bed. These were the most common patterns. At

any rate, a cultured individual such as his sister would be the only one who would ever try

to make something as nerdy as this a reality. If he opened his eyes, she would probably be

smiling and be like, "Good evening. ♡"

"Mmm…mn…"

Masachika moved around in an aggravated manner, still keeping his eyes closed.

Usually, he wouldn't mind entertaining his adorable sister and playing along with her little

games, but he was exhausted due to swimming and the long trip there. He neither had the

energy to do this nor was he in the mood to.

"Mmm… Enough…already…," he mumbled, shuffling his right arm, but when he tried

to use his elbow to push her away, it was suddenly absorbed into something extremely soft.

He tried to push harder, but he couldn't reach his sister's body. It wasn't long before even

moving his arm grew tiresome, and he simply gave up. He then went back to sleep, figuring

she'd eventually get bored and leave…

Early the next morning, Masachika woke to an unfamiliar heat and weight

pressing down on his right side.

"Mmm…"

When he opened his eyes, he saw a ceiling he didn't recognize. However, after a few

moments went by, he remembered he was at the beach cottage and started to roll over…but

something on top of him was preventing him from doing so, and he started to sweat. The

gradually rising temperature in the morning wasn't helping, either.

"Hmm?"

He slowly lifted his head…and froze the moment he saw what was on top of him. Soft

brown hair lay before his eyes like waves over the cherubic face of a young woman, even

cuter than she was beautiful. It was hard to believe that she was older than him. But contrary

to her angelic expression were those two sinister mounds.

"Hff…"

And once he saw those, he lay back down on his pillow and exhaled deeply. He had

finally processed what was going on. He had no idea how it had come to this, but he

completely understood the kind of situation he was in. On his right shoulder was Maria's

head, and on his chest was her right hand. Around hisright elbow, her plump chest rested, and

her legs were intertwined with his. The legs were speculation, however, due to everything

below the chest being hidden under the covers. And while this was also nothing but

speculation, judging by the position of Maria's legs, it seemed his right hand was being held

down by an extremely risqué part of her body around the groin… Was this really what he

thought it was? It was difficult to tell, since he hardly had any feeling in his numb right hand;

she had been lying on it for a long time already.

"So this is what it feels like to be a winner."

That was the conclusion he came to after calmly analyzing the situation: He'd woken

up with an incredibly beautiful woman by his side. He imagined himself as a sexy, muscular

man with chest hair popping out and a cigar in his mouth, a nude, beautiful blond woman

sleeping by his side. In actuality, however, he had a brunette in pajamas by his side, and they

weren't even boyfriend and girlfriend…

Wait! Then what are we doing sleeping together in the same bed?!

The delayed reaction dragged him back to reality, but thatstill didn't help him understand

any better how he got into this mess.

Uh… Maybe it's because I slept in Masha's bed? And she woke up and went to the

bathroom in the middle of the night and accidentally got back in her own bed afterward?

He could speculate all he wanted, but that wasn't going to change anything. Besides, he

could just wake Maria if he wanted to know the reason…

"…"

He bent his head to look up out the window and saw faint light peeking from behind the

closed curtains, letting him know that the sun had just started to rise. It was early enough that

he was hesitant to disturb his comfortably sleeping bedmate, and he worried that it could be

embarrassing for her as well.

Looks like I've got no other choice. Time to do a jailbreak.

Around ten seconds went by before he came to the conclusion that he needed to sneak out

of bed without waking Maria, and he began considering the order. First, he should probably

do something about her head on his shoulder. No matter his method, moving the head would

be the most dangerous, so he had to be extremely careful when sliding his shoulder out.

"Sorry," he apologized softly, then raised his left hand and gently slid it under Maria's

head. Feeling somewhat guilty as he touched her soft, smooth brown hair with the palm of

his hand, he slowly lifted her head, when…

"Mmm…"

"…!!"

…Maria uncomfortably shook her head and escaped his hand. Although it was merely

a two-centimeter drop, her body twitched the moment she hit his shoulder. She slowly lifted

up her head and stared at Masachika with heavy-lidded eyes.

"G-good morning," he greeted her with a tense smile.

"Ku…e…," Maria mumbled in a daze, slurring her speech in an attempt to say his name.

Then she goofily smiled, mouth wide open, for who knows why before dropping her head

straight back down onto his shoulder.

"Mmm… What…are…you…doing here…?"

"That's what I want to ask you."

She cheerfully smiled, rubbing her head against him as if she didn't even hear his calm

response.

"Giggle. Why? ♪ Whyyy? ♪ Why? ♪"

She mumbled it like a song until she slowly ceased moving as if she had found just the

right spot…and promptly fell back asleep.

"You're going back to sleep?!" He frantically whispered, but Maria was already

dreaming. "…Seriously?"

Masachika's body went limp as he slowly realized his efforts had all been for nothing,

because her head was now even more tightly pressed against his body. Maria gracefully went

back to sleep two more times after that until she eventually opened her eyes, which finally

began to focus.

"…Huh?"

"Good morning."

"…! Wh-what?!"

Her eyes frantically wandered as her bed head bounced up and down. She then sat up,

having realized what was going on, and scooted toward the footboard of the bed while pulling

the covers back with her.

"…Stop hiding yourself with the covers. You make it look like you're a boss who got

drunk and accidentally slept with their employee."

It was a situation he could easily imagine with his 2D-obsessed brain, but she didn't

seem to even be able to hear him as her face burned bright red and her eyes widened.

"G-good morning," she stammered in utter shock.

"Yes, good morning."

He returned her delayed greeting. An uncomfortable smile crossed his lips as his eyes

drifted.

"I guess it's my fault for sleeping in your bed, huh? Looks like you accidentally got into

the wrong bed sometime last night."

"Oh, y-yes…"

"It's your first time sleeping here, too, so it's no surprise something like this happened."

"Really…?"

She glanced in his direction…and noticed his pajama top was wet around the chest area

—she froze.

"O-oh… This is…"

Noticing her gaze, he tried to say something, but after a few seconds of remaining

absolutely still, Maria suddenly placed a hand over her mouth. Yes, the wet stain on

Masachika was Maria's drool, which had escaped her mouth the third time she fell back

asleep. She apparently discovered some on the corner of her mouth as well, making her

already red face even redder. She immediately scooted right over to him and covered the

stain with both hands, tears in her eyes.

"No! This isn't what you think! This is not something I usually do!"

"Okay."

"I'm serious! I never drool when I sleep! I need you to believe me! Please!"

"I believe you. I believe you, okay? So please keep your voice down…"

It was like she was clinging to him for help as she looked up into his eyes with a pleading

gaze. Masachika nodded multiple times, telling her that he believed her so she would lower

her voice. After all, it was only the previous day that he learned even the smallest sounds

could be heard from the neighboring room, and he did not want anyone finding out he was

here. Although they would most likely still be asleep this early in the morning, Maria's voice

could wake the first-year students up, and he didn't want to imagine what would happen if

one of them came to check on Maria.

"Mmm… Really?"

"Really. If anything, I consider it a reward, so don't worry about it."

The panic caused the nerd to justslip out of him. After blinking at him for a few moments,

she suddenly frowned and briskly scooted away from him.

"…You're such a pervert."

"Oh, uh… Yep. I'm fine with that."

Although he had no idea how she'd reached this conclusion, he was relieved that she had

calmed down, and his tense muscles instantly relaxed…just as his greatest fear came to life.

"Masha? Good morning. Is everything okay in there?"

Yuki's voice could be heard coming from the other side of the door, following a knock.

Their eyes immediately shot in the direction of the door, and they promptly began to panic.

I have to hide… The closet!

After surveying the room, his eyes locked on the closet at the foot of the bed. He swiftly

bent his legs to stand, when…

"Hide!" Maria simultaneously whispered,standing up to throw the blanket over his head.

Their eyes met on top of the bed as they both leaned forward…and were completely caught

off guard by the other's actions. Masachika, being stopped right as he was about to run, lost

his balance and fell while Maria tried to lean far back to evade him crashing into her, but…

"Ah?!"

"Eek!"

…his head slammed right into her shoulder as he flew forward. And though he managed

to reflexively grab on to the bed and catch himself, he was face-to-face with Maria's shocked

and astonished expression…for he was lying right on top of her while she still tightly gripped

the blanket.

"Ah! I can feel the rom-com waves!"

Yuki immediately sensed something and threw the door open, where she found the two

of them on top of the bed and froze. Her excitement faded. After slowly letting go of the

doorknob, she placed a foot by the door to keep it open as she took out her phone and held

it in front of her face. Click. Once she checked to make sure she'd gotten a good shot, she

gave them the thumbs-up with a firm nod…and then left the room.

""…""

It seemed so natural that they couldn't move for a few seconds after that. Masachika

stared in mute amazement at the door for another few seconds but eventually got off Maria.

"I'm sorry, Masha. Are you okay?"

"Oh, it's fine. And I'm okay, too."

"Thank goodness. Anyway, I think I'll head downstairs first."

"R-right."

After making sure she was all right, he quietly got off the bed, checked that nobody was

in the hallway, and left the room. Once downstairs, he saw his sister cheerfully shaking her

phone with the biggest grin as she escaped to the living room as if to taunt him.

"Hey, wait!"

And he dashed after her like a wild boar.


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