“What did you like about him?”
“Kousaka is always so selfless and generous, and he’s kind and dependable… I didn’t expect to fall in love at a time like this, but it happened before I realized it.”
“……”
The story of our “relationship” was developing more and more despite the awkward air in the room.
Although Tsukishiro was using what had actually happened as the basis of her story, Haruka and the others had to be confused, suddenly hearing it told like this. If I’d been able to use my phone, I would’ve quietly sent them a message to explain…
“Kousaka, why’d you agree to start dating Tsukishiro?” Kamiji suddenly asked.
“…What?!”
The story had moved right along while I’d been distracting myself.
“What do you mean, why…?”
“Well, this dorm is filled with pretty girls, right? So tell us what made you decide to go for Tsukishiro.”
“W-well…”
Six pairs of eyes focused on me as I stalled for an answer. Among them, Haruka, Lisa, and Ichinose all shot me a quiet glare.
Tsukishiro was the only one whose eyes shone expectantly.
“…I was drawn to Tsukishiro’s strong sense of responsibility, like the way she sacrifices her sleep to guard the gates so she can help anyone who comes to us for help.”
“Huh. I guess you’re both serious, so maybe you were attracted as like-minded souls.” Kamiji took a sip of her whiskey and soda, then continued. “You sound like strangers, though, the way you call each other Kousaka and Tsukishiro. Why don’t you try calling each other by your first names?”
“Kamiji, will you please stop messing with us?” I asked.
“What’s wrong with it? It’s super fun to tease high school couples,” she said merrily. She was pretty drunk…
There was nothing else for it; we had to get Kamiji off our backs. So Tsukishiro and I braced ourselves and looked each other in the eyes.
“…Mai.”
“…Yuuma.”
Oh, damn. That was actually really nice.
“—Yuuma, can I talk to you for a minute? I’m sure you don’t mind. And even if you do, come anyway.”
Haruka had been listening silently to our exchange, but it looked like her patience had reached its limit. Without waiting for me to answer, she grabbed me by the neck and dragged me out of the cafeteria. I almost fell but somehow managed to stay on my feet.
Once we’d left the room, Haruka headed for the rooftop without a word, where she slammed me against a wall.
“What’s the deal with you being in a relationship with Tsukishiro?!”
“…Kamiji saw us kissing…”
“You mean you kissed her again?!”
“Calm down, Haruka. You know I have to kiss her once every six hours.”
“Yeah, but… Aaargh…”
“I couldn’t tell her about the zombification, so I explained that Tsukishiro and I were seeing each other.”
“Urgh…”
“Oh, also, she thinks you’re a home-wrecker who’s trying to steal me away from my girlfriend.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!!”
“Tsukishiro and I are stumped as to what to do about it.”
“…You might not have been, but Tsukishiro sure looked like she was enjoying it…,” Haruka said, glaring at me. I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Tsukishiro? Of course she wasn’t.”
“Oh, I know I’m right. She looked utterly satisfied, playing boyfriend-girlfriend with you.”
“Boyfriend-girlfriend…?”
“She was on a roll when Kamiji grilled her. Even though that’s what I want to do: Tell the whole world about us…!!”
“You really want to tell everyone that badly…?”
“Of course I do!! I want people to ask me how I fell in love with you, then spend about five hours telling them about all the memories we shared when we were in grade school!!”
“Please don’t. Simply put, that would just cause more problems.”
“It’s the story of our bond—”
“Don’t give it an embarrassing title like that.”
“You’re my boyfriend… Who’s more important to you, Yuuma: me or Tsukishiro?”
“Hey, it isn’t like I chose Tsukishiro. I had to cover up the fact that she might turn into a zombie…”
“You said you’d protect me forever.”
“Yeah, but I also have to protect the others…,” I explained as Haruka crossed her arms and shot daggers at me.
“Oh, so it’s like that, huh? Well, it looks like I’ll need to physically teach you a lesson about our relationship.”
“Wh-what…?!”
All the unreasonable things Haruka had said and done to date whirled around in my mind… The time she forced me sit and told me to “shake.” When she made me wear a collar and put me in a cage.
Just what in the world is it going to be this time…?
I trembled in fear, but for some reason, Haruka looked bashful.
“…Yuuta, I’ll let you fondle my boobs.”
“—For real?”
I couldn’t believe it.
Well, I guess she had told me that she would physically (mainly through my hands) teach me about our relationship (as boyfriend and girlfriend), but still…!!
“Aren’t you getting kind of desperate?” I asked.
“Of course not… Didn’t we talk about this sort of thing just this morning?”
“Yeah, but…”
“You’re so indecisive. Don’t you want to fondle my boobs?”
“Of course I do.”
Having admitted how I felt, I lowered my gaze to her alluring breasts hidden beneath her blouse. We had slept in the same bed and been in close contact when we shared the drum bath, but I’d only ever touched them once with both hands. After we had to postpone this morning, I never imagined she’d let me touch her boobs at a time like this…!!
Seeing me drooling, Haruka blushed and gave a word of warning:
“I’ll kill you if you touch Tsukishiro’s breasts.”
“I swear I won’t lay a finger on any woman’s breasts except yours,” I declared. It was a reflexive response that came from the very marrow of my bones, and Haruka nodded in satisfaction.
“All right, I believe you.”
The moment her words reached my eardrums, I couldn’t help but clench my fists.
“By the way…you’ll let me see them again, right?” I asked. Without realizing, I’d started breathing heavily through my nose.
But Haruka’s reply wasn’t what I expected.
“Of course not.”
“—Huh? You won’t?”
“No way… It’s deathly embarrassing for a girl to have someone look at her breasts.”
“…Uh, so let me get this straight. It’s okay for me to touch them, but you won’t let me see them? What sort of weird logic is that…?”
“That’s just the way it is… You don’t look happy about it.”
“Oh, I’m perfectly fine. It’s enough you’re letting me touch them.”
It was a bit of a lie. Sure, I was content she was letting me rub her boobs, but I would’ve been even happier to feast my eyes on them.
Haruka seemed to have read my mind. She clammed up for a moment, then turned bright red.
“…How’s this, then? I’ll let you put your hand inside my shirt.”
“—?!”
“But not inside my bra… Can you promise you won’t do that?”
“S-sure…!!”
“O-okay, then… Go ahead…”
“……”
Crouching down, I pulled out the hem of her shirt as gently as I could.
I swallowed a lump in my throat.
“…You’re sure?”
“If you’re going to do it, could you hurry up?”
Haruka glared at me. I remembered her saying once that she also felt embarrassed waiting for me to do something…
Excited with anticipation, I slipped my hands inside her shirt. My fingertips touched the smooth skin of her stomach and exposed her adorable belly button. I couldn’t imagine a more tantalizing sight.
My hands slowly moved up along her skin—and the tip of my middle finger came across a strangely textured fabric.
So this is how a bra feels…!!
Moved beyond words, I wrapped my hands around the entirety of the cups. My index finger was in direct contact with Haruka’s skin, but I figured it was okay since it wasn’t inside the cup.
Thus, I settled on a position for my hands—then moved them around.
“—Ahh! Mm…!”