Vol. 2 – Interlude: To Do It or Not (Asahi Hikaru’s Case) (2)

“…Eh? P-pill…? S-Silent Pill…?” (Reiya)

“Um… low-dose birth control pills… they’re hormones that regulate female hormones… quite a few athletes take them to stabilize performance during competitions… I’ve been taking them for a while…” (Hikaru)

I was starting to not understand what I was saying anymore.

Um, um… why had things become like this anyway…

First, Reiya-kun had that… meaning he was planning to use it now…

And the partner would be… naturally me, right… since I’m Reiya-kun’s girlfriend…

“H-heh… d-does that… not affect your body…?” (Reiya)

…Eh!? Why is he going along with this conversation!?

“Hmm… it’s a medication where compatibility varies, some people get headaches or blood clots, but I’m fine. Almost no side effects…” (Hikaru)

W-why am I answering normally too…!?

I was confused that the topic I’d brought up was continuing.

“H-heh… i-is that so… t-that’s good…” (Reiya)

“S-sorry… suddenly talking about weird stuff… maybe I lacked delicacy… I got too excited earlier and my head’s still fuzzy…” (Hikaru)

I tried to redirect the conversation with improvised excuses.

My head being fuzzy was true, but I knew that wasn’t the reason.

But saying the real reason would mean we could only move forward, which was a bit scary.

“N-no… I probably should have known… it’s important regarding Hikaru’s body…” (Reiya)

“But what do you mean it’s not needed…?” (Reiya)

“Well… the main purpose is what I said, but… um… it also has very high contraceptive effectiveness… more than… that…” (Hikaru)

I said while pointing at what he’d gripped in his hand.

I couldn’t understand what those words meant with my current mental state.

I just vaguely thought I was probably saying something incredible.

“I-I see…” (Reiya)

“Yeah… that’s right…” (Hikaru)

“I-I didn’t know…” (Reiya)

“I… just happened to know… just happened to…” (Hikaru)

We fell silent while holding hands.

Awkward. Really awkward.

This makes it seem like I want to do that without him wearing it…

But Reiya-kun was the one who brought it… ah, then!

A brilliant idea popped into my head.

I just need to hit the ball back to his court!!

“So… what will you do?” (Hikaru)

If I left the decision to him—

“Should we… have sex?” (Hikaru)

Somehow… didn’t that become even more lewd…?

I mean, this makes it even harder to back down…

“T-that means… me and Hikaru… right?” (Reiya)

My body naturally nodded in response to his words.

This… there’s no backing down now…

If Reiya-kun says he wants to here, I’ll have to do it…

We’re going to have sex…? Now, here…?

Of course it’s not like I never thought about such things when we started dating, and I figured we’d do it someday…

Honestly, I’m curious if you ask me…

My mental preparation… well, it’s not like I’m completely unprepared…

I steadily prepared myself for if he said ‘I want to.’

“What about Hikaru…? What do you think…?” (Reiya)

“M-me? Asking me is… unfair, isn’t it?” (Hikaru)

“No, but… that kind of thing requires both people’s consent…” (Reiya)

“Ugh…” (Hikaru)

The ball I thought I’d hit back came back to me again, scrambling my thoughts.

I’d thought such things were distant world events I only heard about from more advanced people, not relevant to me.

But now was different.

I’d gotten my first boyfriend, became intimately close, kissed lots.

The ‘love’ I thought couldn’t get any bigger kept growing daily.

That large heat accumulated in my body rose from my lungs to my throat—

“Of course… I’d want to do it with Reiya-kun…” (Hikaru)

In embarrassment that made my heart feel like it would fly out, I put my honest feelings into words.

I want to do it with Reiya-kun.

I want to give my most precious first time to my beloved.

“…So, what about Reiya-kun?” (Hikaru)

In embarrassment that could kill me, I hit the ball back once more—

“…Of course, I want to. I definitely want to do it with Hikaru too.” (Reiya)

He voiced the same feelings.

“Mm… good to be honest…” (Hikaru)

Saying that was nothing but hiding embarrassment.

I’m really going to do it now…

My heart was pounding with emotions I couldn’t tell were embarrassment or happiness.

Wait, doing it means I have to show him my naked body…

What should I do… I wonder if there’s anything weird about my body…

My underwear… shouldn’t I have worn something cuter instead of sleepwear…

As various worries popped into my head causing panic—

“But I think it’s still different for now…” (Reiya)

Reiya-kun said that somewhat solemnly.

“Eh? W-well… doing it here with everyone around would be awkward… next time, in Reiya-kun’s room would be…” (Hikaru)

Come to think of it, doing it now with everyone so close would be bad…

Even if they’re absorbed in karaoke, someone might come check on us.

So if I just endure a little and do it normally at Reiya-kun’s house…

B-but… wouldn’t the neighbors hear voices there…

I wonder if I’d make sounds…

I heard girls don’t really on their first time… if I endure it…

But if Reiya-kun touches me, I’d definitely make sounds… even imagining it now makes my body feel strange…

“T-that’s true too, but… if we’re going to do it, there are various things to consider…” (Reiya)

“Things to consider…?” (Hikaru)

I wonder what… things to consider…

M-maybe…! He has special preferences that need preparation…!?

Come to think of it, both books I retrieved from his room were cosplay-like…

Maybe I can’t do it without wearing those kinds of outfits…

“You know, like… the possibility of pregnancy…? But Hikaru still has her career ahead… if that happened, we’d need major revisions to future plans…” (Reiya)

Completely different worries from mine came from his mouth.

Ah, that’s what he meant… my face got hot with embarrassment at my strange misunderstanding.

“Hmm… that’s true, but… wouldn’t it be okay if we’re careful? Like I said, I’m already on it…” (Hikaru)

“But that’s not 100% either, right? Honestly, I want to do it like crazy…! I want to do it right now, as many times as possible…! But if there’s even a tiny risk that only Hikaru would bear… I think it’s still too early for us…” (Reiya)

He spoke with his lips pressed in a straight line, seeming to endure greatly.

I thought he didn’t need to think that far… but I was really happy that he was seriously considering our future together.

Conversely, I was a bit embarrassed that I’d only been thinking about sexual things.

“So… if anything happens… could you wait until I can support Hikaru’s life too…?” (Reiya)

“Meaning, after graduating high school… going through four years of university, and getting a job…?” (Hikaru)

I was happy he’d think seriously, but ‘isn’t that far?’ showed on my face.

But then he continued with words I never expected.

“No, actually I’m… making a game right now. With Taiju-san and others…” (Reiya)

“Eh!? A game!! Really!?” (Hikaru)

“Y-yeah… seriously for a while now… I couldn’t tell Hikaru because there wasn’t a good timing…” (Hikaru)

He looked sorry as he apologized to me, but that didn’t matter anymore.

“What kind!? Action!? Shooting!? Or simulation!?” (Hikaru)

Completely different excitement from before filled my heart at once.

“N-no… turn-based combat roguelike…” (Reiya)

“StS-type!? The kind you can play infinitely!!” (Hikaru)

I could roughly imagine what kind of game it was with just that, feeling strongly how much he’d influenced me.

“Something like that… not deck-building but a game where you build parties based on classic RPGs…” (Reiya)

“Eh~! Sounds super interesting…! When can I play it!?” (Hikaru)

“The specific date isn’t decided yet… but we’re talking about making it playable by year-end and releasing it as early access to gauge player reactions.” (Reiya)

“Eh!? It’ll be distributed on Stream and such by year-end!?” (Hikaru)

“Yeah, distributed as a product… people will pay money to play it.” (Reiya)

“Eh~, amazing~! I’m looking forward to it~! It’s like I got another reason to live~!” (Hikaru)

“So, back to what we were talking about…” (Reiya)

He continued with strong will in his usually sleepy eyes.

“When that’s released and sells properly as a product… and people who buy it enjoy it, I’m thinking of deciding my future path. Taiju-san and others are pretty eager, saying let’s keep working together…” (Reiya)

“Yeah! That’s the best! I think Reiya-kun can definitely do it!” (Hikaru)

I answered immediately without hesitation.

I didn’t have any particular basis, but I thought so.

Because if that really happened, it would be incredibly wonderful and make me incredibly happy.

“So, at that time… how about it? Doing it…” (Reiya)

“At that time… doing it…? Ah…!” (Hikaru)

Remembering the main topic I’d almost forgotten, heat returned to my face.

“At that time, if anything happens… I think I’d have confidence I could support Hikaru too… is thinking like this too heavy?” (Reiya)

“Yeah… that’s super heavy…” (Hikaru)

“Ugh… y-yeah… it is heavy…” (Reiya)

“But that’s why I like you even more now.” (Hikaru)

My internal love gauge had exceeded its limit and shot beyond sight.

So that whatever kind of person I was, we could always have fun together.

The words he gave me that day weren’t just for that moment—they were continuing.

Before, now, and forever into the future…

He was treasuring that promise above all else.

He must want to have sex too, but he’s incredibly clumsy.

But that’s why it had to be this person for me, I remembered again.

“M-more… eh? W-what do you mean…?” (Reiya)

“Because that was almost like a proposal.” (Hikaru)

“Eh!? W-was it…?” (Reiya)

At my joke, he made a strange sound and panicked.

“Yeah. Because you meant when Reiya-kun can support me… right?” (Hikaru)

“N-no… I hadn’t put that much meaning into it yet…” (Reiya)

“No good~! I already received it as a proposal so you can’t take it back now~!” (Hikaru)

Too happy in various ways, I acted silly to hide my grinning face.

“Eh… well… if Hikaru received it that way, that’s fine…” (Reiya)

“Yeah! I will! But Reiya-kun, you did something regrettable~…” (Hikaru)

“R-regrettable…?” (Reiya)

“Because if you’d said you wanted to have sex now, I would have let you.” (Hikaru)

“Ugh… when you put it that way, I do feel like I did something regrettable…” (Reiya)

“Really. It’s like missing a once-only time-limited event in a long RPG.” (Hikaru)

“But Hikaru’s future is much more important to me than that…” (Reiya)

“…Really unfair… that’s definitely a proposal…” (Hikaru)

Really impossible… why does he unconsciously attack my weak points…

This is harder for me to endure…

“Eh…? D-did you say something…?” (Reiya)

“Nothing! I mean, can you really endure until then~?” (Hikaru)

“W-well… I have to endure…” (Reiya)

“But if you make me wait too long, I might change my mind and say never mind~…” (Hikaru)

“Eh!? That would be… quite problematic…” (Reiya)

“Then you’d better work hard to finish it quickly.” (Hikaru)

Honestly, I think I’m the one who can’t endure.

I really want to kiss him now, and if I did, I probably couldn’t stop what came next.

“Yes… I’ll do my best to fulfill the promise as soon as possible…” (Reiya)

“Reiya-kun’s perverted…” (Hikaru)

“Eh!? W-why does it become that!?” (Reiya)

But I respected my beloved’s big decision and held back my impulses.

Praying strongly in my heart that time would come as soon as possible…