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It was too light out to call it nighttime, but too dark to call it twilight. That was the kind of liminal temporality that Nanami and I were walking in.
Pale blue clouds floated through an almost navy sky. Seeing the clouds made me realize they could be far more colorful than the plain white we assumed them to always be.
Was this what people typically called dusk? Everything seemed to be dipped in an eerie color, but that eerie color also seemed to blend perfectly with the lights coming from the surrounding buildings. Red, green, white, yellow, orange, blue... Myriad lights illuminated the sky above us.
“I know these aren’t holiday decorations, but they’re still really pretty,” Nanami said, walking ahead a few steps before twirling to turn toward me. Her coat fluttered with the movement, showing me a glimpse of the shirt she wore underneath.
“Yeah, it’s been a while since I last walked at night, so they’re extra pretty to me now,” I replied.
Her outfit today felt a little different from her usual fashion. On top, she wore a white down coat...or was it a down jacket? Regardless, it was quite long, covering not just her upper body but also a part of her legs. I couldn’t shake the impression that it seemed as long as a dress.
On the bottom she probably had on a miniskirt, since she was showing off a generous amount of her thighs. But since her whole outfit was pretty well concealed by her jacket I wasn’t quite sure. Just how short of a skirt was she wearing, anyway? Maybe it was a pair of very tight—and very short—shorts instead. Either way, Nanami had her thighs on full display.
The reason my eyes were so drawn to them was because she was wearing a pair of very long black boots, with the gap between her boots and her coat none other than her bare thighs. So logically, there was no way not to look there.
I mean, come on, now.
“What’s wrong, Yoshin?”
“Um, uh... Aren’t you cold? Are you okay?” I asked, unable to help myself.
Nanami looked down at herself, her gaze stopping at her thighs. She could probably figure out what I was trying to say. When she looked up, she looked at me and narrowed her eyes, much like the way the class rep often did. Nanami wasn’t glaring at me; in her eyes was simply mild criticism. But her gaze was unwavering.
Why is she picking up such weird habits?! Her stare was so forceful it felt like her eyes were burning sizzling holes through my skin, and I flinched involuntarily.
Nanami then broke into a grin, but her eyes were still narrowed. Her smile looks so creepy...!
“You’re such a perv,” she murmured.
I had nothing to say in response, but in my defense, I felt the situation was beyond my control. My reaction must have satisfied Nanami, though, because she trotted to my side and linked our arms together. Instantly, my arm was enveloped by her soft down coat and the warmth of her body.
I had finally gotten used to walking with Nanami with our arms linked this way, but I never expected that I would be walking around town at night like this.
“Hee hee hee... After boobs and butts, I’ve finally managed to drag Yoshin into the swamp of thighs...”
“This was premeditated?!” I exclaimed.
Did I just hear something mildly terrifying? And what in the world was a swamp of thighs? It sounded like a place I never wanted to leave.
“I learned it from Nao-chan. She said that guys who like boobs and butts will definitely be into thighs too. It’s why today’s outfit is all about the thighs,” Nanami explained.
What is that gyaru senpai teaching Nanami?! Though there’s really no part of Nanami that I don’t like, come to think of it.
“Why are there so many bad influences around you,” I bemoaned.
“Huh? Really? You don’t like this? I’m pretty sure you do,” Nanami declared, leaving me no room for debate. Yes, you are correct. Of course I love outfits like this.
Actually, looking at Nanami again really hammered home what a top-notch outfit this was. Overall, it wasn’t too revealing—just that single area revealed, and all the more titillating for it. Without sacrificing elegance, it managed to minimize the amount of exposed skin while still combining sexiness and cuteness. As an outfit, it was truly well thought-out.
I didn’t know much about fashion, so I knew the way I was thinking of things was pretty basic, but still.
“And? What do you actually think of it?” Nanami asked.
“You look both stylish and pretty. It looks great on you,” I said, then finished with, “To be honest, I love it.”
“Very well,” she said happily.
Maybe because it was our first date in a long while—a date with just the two of us—but Nanami was being very touchy-feely with me. She seemed very happy to press her whole body against mine. Because she squeezed me, though, I also had to brace myself to be able to support her properly.
“If it was snowing we would’ve had a white Christmas, but... I hope it snows after we go home at least,” I remarked.
“True. If it’s gentle that’s fine, but too much and it gets hard to see,” Nanami agreed. “But there’s already some snow on the ground, so maybe we can consider it a white Christmas anyway.”
She was right. Snow was pretty to look at, and people who came from regions where it didn’t snow much especially enjoyed it. When there was too much of it, though, it really became a bother. Today wasn’t so bad, but if it melted partway and then froze over, the ground would be covered with ice.
“Let’s be careful not to slip and get hurt,” I told her.
“If I fall, make sure to catch me. Otherwise, everyone will see my underwear,” Nanami whispered with trepidation.
From her comment I was pretty confident that she was indeed wearing a miniskirt under her coat. Don’t picture it, Yoshin... When wicked thoughts permeated my brain, though, Nanami immediately pinched my cheek.
“How ha high hin hohit,” I let out.
“I can’t understand what you’re saying,” Nanami said, releasing me.
“Now that I think of it, was it really okay to order dinner from my workplace?” I asked.
“Oh, that? Yeah, if anything, I’m super looking forward to it. The food there is so good.”
When I was on break at work, I had the chance to talk with Nanami while she was visiting. That was when I told her about the owner’s proposal. Nanami had gotten very excited and agreed that it was a great idea. We were therefore going back to my workplace after our outing, and then heading to my house from there to have dinner.
There was also another reason for me to make that decision, though.
“Bringing home takeout makes it feel like we’re living together,” Nanami had murmured.
After hearing that, I absolutely had to ask the owner to prepare food for us. I agreed—taking food home together really did seem like we were living together, even more than if we had just eaten together at the restaurant.
The owner seemed really happy when I made the request to him; he told me that he would do his best not to disappoint. I was already looking forward to the meal.
As Nanami and I kept walking and talking, we arrived at our destination so fast that I could have sworn some magic had made the distance shorter than usual.
Just yesterday, we had come here during the day, but at night, the place had an entirely different feel to it.
The sky, which had been that particular mix of light and dark seen only at dusk, had dimmed with the coming of night. The sky was so close to black that the clouds were only barely visible. No stars seemed to be shining either. After the starry sky that we had seen in Hawaii, the astonishing contrast with what was above us now was genuinely shocking to me. I honestly couldn’t even see a single twinkling star in the sky.