Evening onsen time.
"Everyone should be free to go to Kagoshima tomorrow, right?"
Kitahara asked while soaking in the onsen.
The girls of band had played all day and tacitly didn't come to soak in the onsen in the evening.
"We're going."
Mutsumi was the first to agree.
Anon's voice was clear as she raised her hand in approval:
"Tomorrow is the last day of summer vacation; it would be a shame to just stay at home doing nothing. Of course, we have to go play."
"Anon-chan makes a lot of sense." Soyo's voice was gentle, "We only have three summer vacations in our entire high school… Sakiko, what do you say?"
Sakiko pursed her lips slightly and raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear:
"Although I went to Kagoshima last time, it was to visit my father, and I didn't really get to play. It wouldn't be bad to go and make up for it tomorrow."
The secret of her and Kitahara going to Kagoshima was now known to everyone, impossible to hide, so she acknowledged it gracefully. Only the secret on the cruise ship could not be told to others.
Tomori whispered, "I want to go too."
"I'll just…"
Taki hesitated for two seconds, preparing to refuse.
Soyo and Tomori had all joined Kitahara's harem. Since she hadn't agreed to be his girlfriend, what identity would she go with?
At this time, she should refuse, right?
"Taki."
Tomori turned to look over, her eyes filled with anticipation.
"…What is it?"
Taki couldn't help but ask.
"I want to travel with Taki." Tomori whispered, "I haven't traveled with Taki yet."
Taki: "…"
Faced with Tomori's direct hit, Taki had no way to refuse and could only stammer out an agreement.
"Th-That's fine then…"
Kitahara's voice was clear:
"Since everyone has agreed, then let's meet at 8:30 AM tomorrow. Any problems?"
"Completely OK."
The girls all indicated no problems.
"Everyone come over at 8:30 AM tomorrow, and I'll prepare breakfast in advance." Kitahara arranged the itinerary, "After breakfast, we'll depart for Kagoshima."
Anon looked over curiously:
"What are we going to do there tomorrow? Should we plan ahead?"
Kitahara said simply:
"You can leave the planning to me."
Anon subconsciously said, "Eh, boyfriend is very confident…"
"Stare—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the girls all turned their heads and stared at Anon.
"Slip of the tongue!"
Anon quickly raised her hand to cover her lips, her pretty face flushed crimson as she frantically explained:
"That was a slip of the tongue just now!"
"…"
Regarding Anon's explanation, the girls' expressions were subtle, and none of them believed her.
Slip of the tongue?
She said it so smoothly just now; there's no way it was a slip of the tongue.
Unfortunately, Kitahara had already started his harem, and the love triangle ended before it even began.
There's no need to say more about what happened next.
After soaking in the onsen, the girls chatted for a while, then gradually went home.
"Taki, your house has a power outage. It must be stuffy and hot when you go back. Why don't you stay at Makoto-kun's house tonight?"
Tomori suggested softly.
"No way."
Taki subconsciously refused, crossing her arms over her chest:
"What if that guy tries something at night?"
Tomori shook her head:
"Makoto-kun wouldn't do something that out of line, unless Taki herself agreed."
Taki: "…"
That's true, but she wouldn't join Perverted Kitahara's harem, so it definitely wouldn't be appropriate to casually stay at a boy's house, right?
Not to mention, she had done such a terrible thing just a few days ago. Although it was Soyo's body, her soul was her own soul!
Go back!
She absolutely had to go back!
"Taki should be more honest. You've already… with Makoto-kun…"
Tomori persuaded in a low voice.
"That wasn't me!" Taki's small face quickly flushed, "If there's nothing else, I'm going back now. Tomori, see you tomorrow."
"…"
Seeing that Taki's mind was made up, Tomori naturally wouldn't continue to persuade her and whispered, "Taki, see you tomorrow."
At the same time.
Kitahara was talking and chatting with Sakiko.
"Sakiko, are you staying at Togawa's villa tonight, or the rental apartment?"
Sakiko replied softly:
"At the rental apartment."
Because of Kitahara, everyone in Togawa now greeted her with smiles, and everyone from top to bottom welcomed her back, but Sakiko didn't want to return to Togawa.
Living independently outside was quite free. If she returned to Togawa, there would inevitably be many more restrictions, for example, if Kitahara secretly came over to play at night, he might be discovered…
Kitahara's eyes lit up, and he whispered, "A typhoon is raging outside, with wind and rain. Sakiko must be scared alone tonight, right?"
Sakiko's pretty face flushed slightly. She naturally understood Kitahara's sinister intentions and glared at him with her bright eyes:
"Kitahara-kun, don't always think about lewd things."
Kitahara said with a righteous expression:
"I'm clearly thinking about Sakiko's safety."
"Hmph~"
Sakiko let out a soft snort, clearly not believing a single word. She raised her hand to tuck a strand of black hair behind her ear, her eyes sparkling as she said, "I'm going back to rest. See you tomorrow~"
Kitahara lowered his voice and said, "I'll come over for 'tea' later."
"..."
Sakiko's footsteps paused slightly, a blush quietly spreading across her earlobes. She didn't refuse, but merely floated away with a flushed face.
As the girls departed one by one, the room quickly grew quiet, with only Tomori remaining on the sofa, unmoving.
"Tomori, aren't you going home tonight?"
Kitahara asked curiously.
"I'll go back a bit later," Tomori looked up, "I want to talk more with Makoto-kun."
Kitahara's gaze softened further. He sat down beside Tomori, then gently wrapped his arm around her, pulling Tomori into his embrace:
"Tomori only wants to talk, not do anything else?"
Tomori's face reddened slightly, her eyes clear and bright:
"I also want kisses."
When Tomori arrived, everyone was essentially already there. With so many people around, Kitahara naturally behaved himself and didn't dare to act rashly.
Now that Tomori actively asked for kisses, Kitahara was naturally impolite. He simply lowered his head and blocked the girl's soft, rosy cherry lips.
A moment later.
"Hoo… hoo…"
Tomori panted, her face flushed, as she lay in Kitahara's arms.
With Hana right beside them, Kitahara didn't go too far. While playing with Tomori's small hand, he softly said:
"Summer vacation is almost over. The club room must have accumulated a lot of dust. After school starts, shall we clean the club room together?"
Tomori's eyes:
"The club room is very small; I can clean it by myself."
Kitahara said gently:
"I want to create memories unique to just the two of us with Tomori. Don't you want to, Tomori?"
Tomori's eyelashes trembled slightly:
"…I do."
"Then after school starts, we'll clean the club room together."
"Okay…"
"The school marathon will be held not long after school starts. Do you have confidence you can finish it, Tomori?"
Kitahara asked softly.
Hearing this question, Tomori, who was usually so calm, showed a hint of panic on her face, uncharacteristically stammering:
"Uh… it should be fine…"
This was a lie.
Actually, there was a big problem.
The school marathon, as the name suggests, is a group activity held after the autumn semester begins, where all teachers and students run along a fixed route. In principle, everyone must participate.
Although Tomori's stamina was slightly better than Hitori's, it was only by a tiny bit. Finishing the entire course would probably be super difficult.
Kitahara said softly:
"I do have a way to help."
"Huh?"
"Tomori can eat Magic Cookie. The Magic Cookie is not only for improving intelligence; improving physical strength is also not a problem."
Hearing Kitahara's method, Tomori was clearly tempted:
"Um… does that count as cheating?"
Kitahara said seriously:
"As long as the equipment can't detect it, it's not cheating."
"…"
As the two were chatting, they suddenly heard a soft bang.
Turning their heads, they saw the bathroom door suddenly pushed open, and a long-haired girl with a panicked expression walked out:
"Pervert Kitahara, you…"
"Taki?"
Tomori's voice followed.
"…Huh?"
Taki's footsteps halted, a hint of guilt and embarrassment flashing across her face.
She had only just said she would draw a clear line with Pervert Kitahara fifteen minutes ago, yet now she had snuck over alone and was caught red-handed by Tomori… How embarrassing! It was truly too embarrassing!
In this instant, Taki even wanted to turn around and flee back, but as soon as she thought of the terrifying crisis that could erupt at any moment, Taki bit her teeth, enduring the heat on her face, and shamefully explained:
"Tomori, don't misunderstand, I have something to ask Kitahara-kun…"
"It's okay," Tomori said softly, "It's best if Taki can face her own feelings."
What feelings?
There's no such thing! She really came over because she had something urgent!
Kitahara asked curiously:
"What do you need me for, Taki?"
"I…"
Taki parted her lips, but the words, once at her mouth, simply couldn't come out.
The reason she came to see Kitahara this time was simple.
After taking a bath and returning just now, her sister, Shiina Maki, had cut her finger on a guitar string and came to borrow a bandage. Taki didn't think much of it and handed over her spare first-aid kit.
Then Taki remembered that there was something in the first-aid kit that absolutely could not be seen by her sister—
A pregnancy test!
And it was the one with two lines!
When Taki had tested it at home, she hadn't just thrown the test kit away. Instead, she had carefully put it away, worried that it might accidentally be discovered, and its hiding place was the small first-aid kit in her room.
Many things had happened since then, especially going to the Love Hotel with Kitahara… In short, too many things had made Taki temporarily forget the existence of the test kit.
After sending out the first-aid kit today, Taki felt like she had forgotten something. After thinking for a while, she finally remembered the test stick she had hidden in the first-aid kit…
Although it was placed at the very bottom, there was still a possibility that her sister might find it.
If her sister saw that two-lined test kit…
Taki just imagined it in her mind and felt like her entire being was about to explode.
No, no, no…
Such a terrible thing, absolutely must not be discovered! Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to clear her name!
Taki had thought about directly going to snatch the first-aid kit back, but her sister was with her mother, and both her sister and mother were extremely curious people. If she rushed over in a hurry, it might instead alert them and expose the secret.
After much thought, Taki remembered the trick she used last time to eavesdrop on her sister's secret: borrowing the Shadow Person Bowtie, and then quietly taking back the test kit.
"I…"
Taki's face flushed, stammering, unable to speak the reason no matter what.
Let alone Tomori being there, even if Tomori wasn't, such an embarrassing thing should absolutely not be known by anyone else!
"It must be something very important," Tomori said softly, "Makoto-kun, go help Taki."
"Okay."
Kitahara agreed and stood up.
Taki breathed a sigh of relief and quickly traveled back to the room with Kitahara.
Due to the power outage, there was only one candle in the room, and the light was quite dim.
"Taki, can you tell me what happened now?"
Kitahara asked softly.
"That's a girl's secret." Taki bit her teeth lightly, of course not revealing the truth. She extended her hand and said, "Quickly lend me the Shadow Person Bowtie."
Kitahara raised an eyebrow curiously:
"You actually want to borrow the bowtie… Is it related to Maki-nee again?"
"Shut up!" Taki's expression was flustered. "Just lend me the bowtie!"
At this moment, Taki finally remembered that she only needed to borrow the bowtie; Kitahara didn't need to come over.
"Looks like I guessed correctly…"
Kitahara clicked his tongue lightly, took out the Shadow Person Bowtie, and handed it to Taki.
"You can go back!"
Taki quickly took the bowtie and pointed her hand at the mirror.
Kitahara shook his head: "No, Taki borrowed the bowtie and didn't say what she was going to do. I'm very worried."
"…Annoying!"
Seeing that Kitahara refused to leave, Taki couldn't care less and said with a flushed face:
"Turn around!"
"…"
Kitahara naturally wouldn't refuse this request. He silently raised both hands and simply turned his body.
"It's so dark, he probably can't see, right?"
Taki let out a soft breath, hesitated for two seconds, then rustled her clothes off behind Kitahara.
Soon after, Taki quickly stripped off her clothes. Under the effect of the bowtie, she seemed to vanish into thin air as if invisible.
"I'm going out first."
Taki's voice rang out of nowhere, softly instructing:
"You stay in the room, don't go out. I can handle the rest myself."
"Understood."
Kitahara made an OK gesture, his gaze fixed on the legal loli in front of him, one hand covering her chest, the other covering her lower abdomen.
That's right, Kitahara saw everything clearly.
He remembered that when Taki used the Shadow Person Bowtie before, he couldn't see anything once she put on the bowtie, but at this moment, even with Taki wearing the bowtie, Kitahara could still see her clearly.
For example, the girl's face, full of blush and shame, her delicate collarbone, her slender waist that could be grasped with one hand, and also…