Fujiwara Chiya massaged Shirayuki's shoulders, his fingers working into the girl's muscles.
The two of them let out comfortable sighs at the same time.
In the past, two bodies had allowed them to share the burden, preventing exhaustion from piling up too much on one side. But now, every task had fallen onto Shirayuki alone, and Chiya could not even help from the sidelines.
The only thing he could do was help her relax after a long day.
His thumbs pressed against her slender neck, and the girl narrowed her eyes in bliss.
Chiya's technique was no worse than a professional massage shop. In fact, it was even better, because he knew exactly where to press to feel the best.
After laying Shirayuki flat on the bed, Fujiwara Chiya prepared to give her a full-body massage. He held the girl's foot and gently stretched it backward. With a series of soft cracks, Shirayuki's body went limp and relaxed.
As his palms continued working along her body, a warm current seemed to flow through her. A hot, tingling sensation spread from her skin, travelling through her entire body like a wave.
A dazed smile appeared on Shirayuki's face, and she sank into the pillow.
This feeling was simply too good.
He had become her personal utility tool.
This was the proper way to use two bodies. Living in separate rooms and keeping distance from each other was utterly foolish.
Chiya was for Shirayuki to use.
And Shirayuki was for Chiya to use.
Fujiwara Chiya gently turned Shirayuki's toes, then took out a handkerchief and cleaned between them. Recently, Shirayuki had been so busy that she barely wanted to wash up properly. Chiya had been the one taking care of everything beside her, helping her wash her feet, comb her hair, and keep herself presentable.
Although not a single necessary thing was skipped, her heart felt strangely at ease.
What should I eat later?
Lying comfortably on the bed, Shirayuki thought about food.
The cafeteria served Western food. The staples were bread and mashed potatoes. After eating that for so long, Shirayuki had begun to miss food from home.
Ramen, sushi, sashimi, rice…
She wanted to eat those so badly.
While being looked after, Shirayuki thought about food. Influenced by her, Chiya unconsciously started drooling too. A drop slipped from the corner of his mouth and landed on Shirayuki's foot.
"Yah!"
Feeling the damp touch, Shirayuki could not help crying out.
Turning around, she saw Chiya with a blank expression on his face.
That face, thinking only about food, looked truly stupid.
You're someone who has appeared on Paris television now. Pay attention to your image!
Shirayuki lectured herself, then lifted her pale foot and pressed it against the man's face, tugging lightly at his cheek with her toes.
The touch of those clear, delicate toes was even softer than fingers, and the pressure was just right. When she pulled at his face, it felt strangely comfortable.
If it were someone else, they might already be angry.
But she would not.
Shirayuki turned around and held the man's face between her feet, kneading it into all kinds of shapes.
What's this?
I'm not worse than Rice.
Her feet were pretty flexible too.
Shirayuki felt inexplicably proud.
Just as she was becoming more and more absorbed and was about to try something more interesting with Chiya, the alarm rang.
Before she knew it, it was already noon.
People always said happy time passed quickly. She felt as if she had only just come to the room, yet an entire morning had already gone by.
She had said she was going to quit her addiction, but with how much pressure she had been under lately, she had no choice but to come to Chiya to relax. Her friends would not do these things for her.
So this was unavoidable.
She had been forced to come to Chiya's room.
She had not been tempted by the hormones.
After hugging the blanket and smelling it for a while, Shirayuki stood up and straightened her clothes.
She needed to go find Rice Shower.
The two had agreed to have lunch together. Shirayuki had even specially prepared dessert, one that Fujiwara Chiya had made for Rice Shower before, which she had liked very much.
If Rice Shower ate this, would she faintly sense Shirayuki's identity?
With that thought in mind, Shirayuki went to the cafeteria. She saw Rice Shower waiting for her in a quiet little corner.
After greeting her, Shirayuki sat down and handed the dessert to her.
"What's this?"
"For you."
Looking at Shirayuki's smiling face, Rice Shower took a bite.
"!"
This taste!
Rice Shower knew it very well.
It was the same dessert flavour she had tasted from Onii-sama.
Why could Shirayuki make it too?
Rice Shower looked at the white-haired girl in shock.
Very quickly, she understood Shirayuki's purpose.
She's showing off, isn't she?
You can perfectly reproduce Onii-sama's cooking, so you came to show off to Rice.
Rice Shower knew that Shirayuki's room had been empty that morning. The student dormitory kitchen had not been used either. That meant there was only one place where she could have cooked.
Onii-sama's dorm.
Shirayuki had made this there.
While preventing Rice from getting close to Onii-sama, she had secretly gone to find him herself.
Then she came here with his cooking to show off.
Rice Shower puffed out her cheeks in secret.
She was so angry.
So angry that she wanted to cling to Fujiwara Chiya right in front of Shirayuki, to show Shirayuki how much her Onii-sama liked her.
Shirayuki's show of superiority was completely useless!
Of course, although she thought that in her heart, Rice Shower still smiled on the surface.
She would not get angry at Shirayuki. No matter what, Shirayuki was still Onii-sama's relative.
Her bad-girl side was only for Fujiwara Chiya.
And the kind of bad girl Rice Shower wanted to be was not the kind who caused trouble for him. She would not make his training difficult, nor would she create conflict within the team.
Her "badness" only belonged to the moments between them, to playful little acts that ultimately made both her Onii-sama and herself happy.
Arguing with others was not something Rice Shower would do. She would not create useless trouble for Fujiwara Chiya.
Unless someone became intimate with Fujiwara Chiya right in front of her.
In that case, Rice Shower definitely would not endure it.
She would have to take her share too.
As she ate Shirayuki's dessert, Rice Shower also placed the small lunch box she had brought onto the table.
"Shirayuki-san, please try this too. Rice made it."
"Oh? Rice brought something too?"
Shirayuki's eyes lit up. She opened the container and tried one.
"It's delicious!"
Fujiwara Chiya did not like overly sweet things, and Rice Shower knew that. So she had been constantly improving the flavour until she finally made the dessert Fujiwara Chiya liked best.
It was the one Shirayuki was eating now.
"It's good, right, Shirayuki-san?"
"It's good. Very good!"
"Hehe."
Rice Shower could not help lifting her nose proudly.
So what if Shirayuki could imitate Onii-sama's flavour?
Rice could make the thing Onii-sama liked most!
A true partner, a true wife, knew the other person's preferences.
Could Shirayuki do that?
She could not.
Rice Shower could hardly wait to see Shirayuki's unwilling expression when Onii-sama praised her dessert.
Unfortunately, she had originally made it for Fujiwara Chiya, but because she got competitive, she had given it to Shirayuki instead.
What a waste.
Shirayuki really got lucky.
"Ah, the flavour is just right."
Shirayuki licked her lips, satisfied.
Rice even prepared dessert for me.
It seemed Rice did not dislike me as much as I thought.
Just as Shirayuki prepared to take another step closer to Rice Shower, Treve came running over in small, quick steps.