Soft.
Fragrant.
And big.
"—So basically, those bitches never planned to pay me back in the first place, right?!"
"I'm seriously pissed off. When they borrowed money, they begged and swore they'd definitely return it. But the moment they heard they could delay repayment, they all looked relieved—like they couldn't even be bothered to pretend anymore!"
'Kikyo is the best,' 'I should've borrowed from Kikyo from the start'—in the end, don't they just see me as a sucker? This is unbearable!"
"If Ichinose is so great, then go borrow from Ichinose! Why come whining to me?! Why don't you pay me back first and then go borrow from her?! Is it because you're scared she'll make you sign a contract?! Or because you think you have to repay her, but with me you don't?!"
"And those idiots who like 'cold guys' are all sluts too! They go into heat the moment they see a man!"
Cursing nonstop, Kushida Kikyo tightened her grip around Asakusa Tōru.
The more she cursed, the more violently her chest rose and fell.
The tighter she hugged him, the closer her body pressed against his.
As if venting still wasn't enough, she opened her mouth, showed her white teeth, and bit down hard on his shoulder.
Her lips and teeth closed together, leaving a faint mark.
It didn't hurt at all, but Asakusa still protested.
"Hey, biting is crossing the line."
"Don't worry about it." She snorted softly, then turned around and leaned her back against his chest.
Raising her pale neck proudly, she grabbed his hand and pressed it down again.
"At worst, I'll compensate you."
Asakusa: "...?"
That familiar sensation returned to his palm—closer and fuller than last time, filling his hand completely.
"Are you in heat?" he asked casually, rubbing her without hesitation as he accepted the 'compensation.'
"You're the one in heat!" She slammed her head back against him in dissatisfaction, then grabbed his other free hand and bit it again.
Bite. Release. Then she gently rubbed the mark she'd left.
After hesitating for a moment, she muttered,
"...Just treat it as an exchange. A reward for behaving yourself these past few days."
"Always worrying about whether you'll accidentally touch something is too troublesome."
She wasn't suppressing anything.
And she definitely wasn't in heat.
It was just that, after going home these past few days, she couldn't understand how this guy had really managed to do nothing.
His self-control was ridiculous!
Her feelings were complicated.
She didn't want things to seriously develop into something more.
But she also didn't want to stay in this half-hearted, half-finished state forever.
If she thought about it carefully, aside from being a bit insane, this guy was actually top-tier material even in this school.
If something really happened, it wasn't even clear who would be at a disadvantage.
...Anyway, she just wanted to test whether he was the real deal.
She'd charm him senseless!
"I see." Asakusa nodded thoughtfully.
So, Kushida Kikyo's heart had officially become an explorable area.
It had gone from a limited-time trial to an open-access zone.
In his ears, he almost heard an imaginary system message:
Ding dong! A new explorable area has been unlocked!
"Should I say thank you?" He blinked.
Feeling the sudden rise in temperature, Kushida's heart skipped a beat.
She didn't curse this time. Instead, she muttered softly,
"...You should kneel down and thank Miss Kushida for her generosity."
Had she… given in too much?
W-Wait, wasn't this moving way too fast?!
Wasn't this kind of speed abnormal?!
She only wanted to test him—she didn't mean for things to escalate this quickly!
A-At least there's still fabric in the way...
"Alright, I'll set a timer. Let's be quiet for a while."
Asakusa let go, took out his personal terminal, set an alarm, and casually tossed it aside.
After more than a week of daily 'cuddling sessions,' they'd summarized a few things that needed improvement.
First was posture.
Sitting side by side and leaning together was too restrictive. One of them always had to bend slightly, which was fine for a short time, but uncomfortable in the long run.
To fix this, Kushida started sitting on his lap.
That increased the contact area and also made it easier for him to lie back and rest.
Of course, sometimes they didn't need to be that close.
A little distance was necessary too.
So positions like this—her back against his chest—came into use.
She could curl up inside his arms, lazily replying to her "friends'" messages.
And when she was unhappy, she could curse them out right in front of him.
Besides posture, the other issue was time.
Cuddling had a purpose.
Relieve stress.
Relax.
Vent emotions.
But after emotional highs and lows like a roller coaster, people got tired.
At least, Kushida did.
She'd already fallen asleep accidentally several times.
Sleeping itself wasn't a problem. In fact, she slept better here than in her own dorm. Every time she woke up, she felt refreshed.
The problem was—
She couldn't keep disappearing for no reason.
She was Kushida Kikyo—the girl with the most friends in Advanced Nurturing High School.
She could reply late.
She could apologize afterward and make up excuses.
But she couldn't vanish at the same time every afternoon after school.
That was when messages were most active.
All the day's emotions and complaints flooded toward her.
At noon, she could claim she was napping.
In the afternoon, she couldn't.
And if she got too immersed in this feeling, she'd miss the safest time to leave.
If someone ever saw her walking out of Asakusa's room—
She'd be done for.
So setting an alarm was necessary.
Whether it was to remind herself that time was precious, or to draw a clear boundary between dependence and reality…
When the alarm rang, it was time to tidy herself and her emotions.
"Mm."
Leaning against the headboard, holding Kushida in his arms, Asakusa took out his diary in front of her.
[Today's Diary Plot Index: B]
Time to write.
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