Vol. 2 Chapter 10 – Just the Two of Us

♥

“Ayano, come here for a second.”

“Huh? Ah, hya!”

Kyousuke grabbed my hand and pulled me, shoving me under the long desk in front of the blackboard that had been used for checkout.

Caught off guard, I lost my balance and fell onto my backside and he immediately leaned over me.

“H-hey, what are you suddenly—”

Just as I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, his palm came over me at once. He grabbed my shoulders too, leaving me unable to move.

Feeling his burning body heat against my lips, I stared into his eyes.

With a desperate expression, he whispered,『Quiet』 keeping watch on the student who had just entered the classroom.

“Man, that was rough.”

“Seriously, it was way too busy. Shouldn’t have agreed so easily.”

A familiar male voice. It was a third-year from the fashion club.

I thought everyone had already gone home, but maybe they forgot something.

“But Iori-san really worked hard, it’s amazing. I didn’t expect her to bring Sasagawa-san just to attract customers.”

“Ah, that girl. A real model really is something else. Just standing there in clothes, her aura is totally different.”

“But when she’s that tall, you lose confidence standing next to her. Looking up makes your neck hurt too. I wonder if her boyfriend is even taller.”

“No, apparently not. You know that first-year guy Iori-san brought today? Seems like she’s dating him.”

“The blond one? Huh, I guess they kind of suit each other.”

“No, not him, the shorter one!”

Twitch, Kyousuke’s body trembled.

The grip on my shoulders tightened further, and in the dim light, warmth spread across my cheeks. Unable to keep looking into his eyes, I fidgeted like a small fish separated from its school.

“Huh!? W-what, that guy? That plain-looking one?”

“Yeah, yeah. Apparently someone saw them hanging out at an arcade during summer break.”

“…There were probably other people too and they just happened to be seen alone together, right? I mean, no offense, but they don’t match.”

I could clearly see the strength draining from Kyousuke’s eyes.

As if telling him it’s okay, I gently stroked his head. Grabbing the hair at the back of his head, I slowly pulled him close. The hand that had been covering my mouth moved away, and instead, his forehead pressed against my lips, sealing them.

‘…It’s Kyousuke’s scent.’

Mixed with the scent of shampoo, the oil from his forehead tickled my nose.

A fresh, slightly wild fragrance that gently wrapped around my heart.

I took a shallow breath and stroked his head once more. His uneven breathing brushed against my neck, making it ticklish. My heartbeat quickened, and I worried he might notice that I wasn’t as composed as I seemed.

“I don’t really care who her boyfriend is but if she does have one, maybe I’ll treat Aikawa to a meal or something.”

“Yeah, sounds about right. I mean, that guy—”

The door shut with a sharp bang and the classroom fell silent.

Through the floor, I could feel the footsteps moving farther away.

Dozens of seconds, then minutes of silence passed.

Heat built up between our pressed bodies. A single drop of sweat that had formed on his forehead slipped through the gap of my lips and into my mouth.

Salty.

That simple salty taste made my heart pound painfully hard.

“…I think it’s okay now.”

Saying that, Kyousuke lifted his body.

“Sorry, for doing that so suddenly. Are your clothes dirty?”

“I’m fine, but… hey, why did we hide?”

When I asked the question that had been on my mind all along, Kyousuke hesitated, his mouth fumbling over the words.『It’s just…』he muttered softly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

“I… didn’t want anyone to see you… like that, just now…”

“Huh? Why? Did I look strange or something?”

“No! I-it’s the opposite… um, how do I say this… it felt like something you showed only to me…”

The heat spread from his cheeks to his ears, his face turning red in an instant.

He tried to say something, only to hesitate, starting and stopping, swallowing the words each time.

After more than ten seconds of frustrating silence, Kyousuke took a deep breath and finally forced the words out.

“…I really didn’t want to share you with anyone else. B-because you’re cute…”

Snap, something burst inside my head.

It was a feeling of joy, boiled down and compressed to its absolute limit.

Like a bolt of yellow lightning, an intense emotion shot from the top of my head all the way to my toes.

“W-what’s wrong…?”

Even that simple question now struck Ayano deeply, shaking her from within.

“Kyousuke…”

She forced her expression to hold, as if her face might collapse at any moment.

“You wanted to keep me all to yourself, didn’t you?”

Ayano squeezed the words out, barely keeping her melting voice under control.

After what felt like endless hesitation, Kyousuke gave a small nod.

That made her so, so, so happy. His possessiveness wrapped around her throat, making it hard to breathe.

“…Actually, you know, everyone in the fashion club has already seen me in this outfit.”

“Huh?”

“I had to try it on before going out in front of customers.”

“Ah, yeah… that makes sense. …Sorry, I guess I got the wrong idea.”

There was clear disappointment mixed into his forced smile.

That only made him more precious to her. His cooled, dejected feelings only fueled the fire burning inside Ayano.

“A-actually…”

Carefully weaving her words so he wouldn’t notice her unsteady breathing, she continued.

“There’s still an outfit I haven’t even tried on yet… one I haven’t shown to anyone. Momoka-chan made it as a joke, and it was too embarrassing to wear, so I kept it hidden away.”

Blink, Kyousuke’s eyes widened.

Deep within his pitch-black gaze, the heat that had once faded flickered back to life.

“…D-do you want to see it?”

When she asked, Kyousuke froze with his mouth slightly open.

His lips moved silently, as if gulping air, then he shut them tightly and swallowed with a gulp. At that sound, Ayano felt a warm, damp wave of happiness swell inside her.

“…Yeah.”

Kyousuke nodded as he said it.

Pretending it was nothing, Ayano smiled lightly. 

“Then… it’d be a problem if someone came again, so…Let’s go somewhere… where it’s just the two of us…?”

Gently, she took Kyousuke’s hand.

After a brief pause, he gave a small nod.

♠

We borrowed some clothes from the fashion club’s room and wandered around the school looking for a place with no one around.

The school at night was filled with the lingering excitement of the cultural festival. Slightly sweating, we walked in silence side by side, carrying a feeling akin to guilt, like we were doing something we shouldn’t.

And what we found was the audiovisual room.

No idea who had used it, but the door was left wide open, the key still stuck in the keyhole. It had been abandoned in a pretty careless state. Just in case, we went inside and waited for a while, but no one came at all.

“Then, wait here a bit, okay?”

After Ayano said that, Kyousuke stepped out of the room.

With a click, the door was locked from the inside, and she began changing into the outfit.

‘…Something’s weird about me today.’

Sitting down with his back against the door, he let out a deep sigh.

He had felt relieved knowing Iori was actually a girl, then hid because he didn’t want anyone to see Ayano in her maid outfit, and now he was asking to see something she had been too embarrassed to wear.

Thinking about how he usually was, there was no way he would ever act like this.

Who got close to who was their own business. He would never force someone under a desk without considering their feelings, and if someone said they were embarrassed, he wouldn’t insist on seeing it.

And yet, today was different.

Just like she said, he wanted to keep her all to himself.

‘I need to cool my head a bit…’

He took a bottle of tea from his bag and gulped down about half of it in one go.

The boiling feeling inside his stomach finally settled back to normal.

“You can come in now.”

A muffled voice came through the door.

Kyousuke slowly stood up, slipped into the room, and immediately locked it behind him.

Inside the audiovisual room, the lights were off, and the only illumination came from the moonlight streaming through the window. In the dim darkness, he strained his eyes, but couldn’t find her anywhere, so he called out,『Ayano?』

Rustle.

As if responding to his call, something moved behind the curtain. It seemed she had been hiding inside it. Hesitantly, he approached and quickly pulled it aside—

“Ta-da!”

Bathed in moonlight, Ayano stood there, her cheeks tinged with embarrassment, yet wearing a bright, blooming smile.

“…How is it? Ehehe.”

The moment he saw her, the strength left his knees and he dropped onto his backside. Startled, Ayano’s eyes widened as she reached out her hand.

“Are you okay!?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah… I’m fine, I’m fine…”

Pretending to stay calm, he stood back up and looked at her again. Maybe because of how things had started, he now wore an uncomfortable expression.

“…Did Iori-san really make that?”

“Yeah. She was planning to have me wear it for the cosplay café. …This is pretty crazy, right?”

With a mischievous smile, she hooked a finger into the open neckline and fanned some air inside, almost as if teasing him.

It was a so-called cheongsam, a red fabric like burning desire, embroidered violently with golden thread.

The skirt was long, but the slit ran far beyond normal limits, exposing her right leg from the ankle up through her healthy thigh, all the way to her hipbone without restraint. The fabric clung tightly to her skin, emphasizing every curve of her body, making it impossible not to realize just how good her figure was.

“I hadn’t even tried it on before, so I was worried if it would fit properly, but Momoka-chan is amazing. It’s perfect.”

“Yeah…”

“So? Really, I haven’t shown this to anyone at all. …It’s just for you, Kyousuke… something special.”

“Y-yeah…”

“…Aren’t you happy?”

“It’s not that I’m not happy, but… how do I put this…”

Ayano frowned slightly, looking uneasy.

Kyousuke looked her over once more from head to toe, then let out a small sigh of relief.

“I’m just… glad no one else has seen you like this.”

The moment he said it, a surge of intense embarrassment rushed through him.

The composure he had regained vanished instantly, replaced by a boiling heat spreading through his chest again.

“You mean that in a good way?”

“…Y-yeah.”

“That means I’m that cute?”

“It’s not just that you’re cute… I mean, you are, but more than that…”

“More than that?”

“…I don’t know where to look.”

His gaze was drawn to the smooth sheen of the skin around her hipbone, and for a moment, his face turned slack in a way even he could tell.

He quickly tore his eyes away and cleared his throat, but there was no way Ayano wouldn’t notice. With a knowing look, she smirked and ran her middle finger slowly along her exposed thigh.

“So that means, Kyousuke… y-you got… weird feelings looking at me, didn’t you?”

“…”

“And that’s why you felt relieved knowing no one else saw me.”

With a smug little hum, Ayano curled her lips in satisfaction.

He couldn’t deny it at all, and no words came out. Leaning his weight against the table, he scratched his head weakly.

“…Sorry. I’ve been getting carried away and saying weird things.”

“That’s not true. I’m happy.”

“But still… it’s kind of gross, right? Someone like me showing this kind of… possessiveness. We’re just friends, after all.”

In his mind, the conversation he had heard at school resurfaced.

The words from the third-year in the fashion club echoed in his mind, saying they didn’t match. He had ignored it after being scolded by her before, but now that he looked at himself again, it was true… they really didn’t match.

“Ahh, you said it again! I told you not to!”

At her sharp, anger-filled voice, his back straightened instantly.

“I told you I’d get mad if you badmouthed my friend, didn’t I?”

Ayano closed the distance with quick steps, huffing angrily.

“I only hold hands with Kyousuke.”

“…”

“I only cook meals for Kyousuke too.”

“…Yeah.”

“And this outfit, I wanted to show it because it’s you, Kyousuke. So if you say stuff like ‘someone like me’ to someone who’s special to me, it seriously annoys me.”

“S-sorry…”

“And if it’s about possessiveness, I’m not losing either! When Momoka-chan tried to touch you, I was like,『No!』And when you were crossdressing and surrounded by those upperclass girls, I really hated that too!”

Thinking back, when Momoka had approached him, Ayano had unnaturally stepped in between them. Even when they were handing out flyers, she had cut in as if to hide him.

Not realizing those actions had such meaning, he let out a strained voice,『Y-you were thinking like that?』

“Yeah! Is that bad!?”

“It’s not… bad.”

“Then Kyousuke isn’t bad either! If I’m not bad, then you’re not bad!”

“Is that… how it works…?”

Faced with that logic he didn’t quite understand, Kyousuke frowned.

Ayano clicked her tongue lightly and looked down at him with the expression of a master of assassination techniques.

“…You planning to argue with me?”

“N-no, I’m not!”

“Kyousuke isn’t bad! Now, say it!”

“Yes.”

“That’s too quiet!”

“Yes!”

When he answered in a voice loud enough for a sports club, Ayano crossed her arms and nodded in satisfaction.

He had basically been forced into agreement, but strangely enough, the uneasiness that had been lingering inside him was gone. She had swept it all away somewhere.

“Then that’s the end of this topic! I went through the trouble of getting the courage to wear this, so look properly!”

With a confident expression, she placed her hands on her hips and pushed her ample chest forward.

‘You say that, but…’

Ayano might be used to being looked at, but Kyousuke had no resistance to seeing a real body.

Especially an outfit this revealing, it was, in a sense, bad for the eyes. It wasn’t being used in proper moderation, so it wasn’t functioning as『medicine』at all.

“If it’s now, I’ll even strike some poses, you know?”

In high spirits, she said that and used her flexible body to slowly spin like a ballerina. As she did, the slit flipped open and something that absolutely shouldn’t be seen almost came into view. He instinctively looked away and choked violently.

“H-hey! Think about what you’re wearing! There are things you can and can’t do, you know!?”

“Huh? Like what?”

“Like what— I mean, it totally looks like you’re not wearing any underwear under that!”

“I am.”

“Huh? No, but—”

“Wait, was I not wearing any?”

“Hah!?”

“Hmm, which was it, I wonder?”

With a sly, almost devilish grin, she placed her hand on Kyousuke’s shoulder. Gently rubbing him with the pads of her fingers, she bent forward and brought her lips close to his ear.

“Want to check…?”