I was woken by an incredible, humid heat.
I looked over to check the time but found no clock. Instead, I saw an unfamiliar wooden ceiling awash in gentle sunlight.
Oh, right. I clutched my head.
That base physicality had been no dream. It had led right into the next day—today.
“……”
I remembered everything. That’s right, I spent the night at Kurumi’s house.
“Spent the night” hardly summed up what we’d been up to, however.
…Welp, it was done now. Too late for regret.
I decided to get up and turn on the AC before this heat killed me.
I tried to leave the futon, but my abs failed to lift me. I felt heavy. It was slightly hard to breathe. What’s going on? Is something wrong with me?
I moved my neck and inspected myself.
The moment I worked out what was going on, the last shred of grogginess left me, and I was instantly wide-awake.
I’d failed to sit up because Kurumi was sleeping with her head on my bare chest.
“Kurumi. Yo, Kurumi, wake up.”
“Mmm… Hng… Zzz…”
“Yo! Please! Wake up! I can’t move!”
“Yawn… What…? Is it morning?”
Kurumi slowly sat up on the futon, legs akimbo. She ran her fingers through her gray-and-black bob, then blearily rubbed her eyes.
“Mmph. Morning, Natsume.”
“…! …M-morning.”
I successfully sat up myself, but my eyes were now swimming around the room. I couldn’t look directly at Kurumi, mainly because of her…attire.
Kurumi was currently wearing only a dress shirt, and it was quite disheveled. One shoulder was almost entirely exposed, and her thighs were on full display. I could see everything up to just below her you know what.
It was scandalous. This was too much, too early. I had no idea where to look.
…To be fair, though, it was a bit late to be acting like this after last night.
Something else was bothering me, too.
“Kurumi, have you seen my shirt? I swear I was wearing one, but I don’t see it anywhere.”
“Oh, am I wearing it? These shoulders are very loose. This is probably yours.”
“Okay, then. So why are you wearing it?”
“Um. I can’t sleep without something on.”
That’s no reason to steal clothes from the dude sleeping next to you. I could catch a cold!
“Oh? Hey, this shirt smells like you. Sniff, sniff!”
“St-stop that! Don’t smell it! Give it back!”
“Ah-ha-ha! Oh no! Natsume’s trying to undress me!”
Kurumi put her hands over the buttons and huddled up inside my shirt.
What now? I couldn’t exactly take further action. My hands drifted aimlessly for a second, and her grin got meaner.
“Oh? Giving up? Just gonna let me keep your shirt?”
“…Be reasonable.”
“You saw it all last night. Is undressing me yourself too high a bar?”
“…Shush.”
I had just learned that there were things in this world you never got used to. I would probably always find this kind of thing mortifying.
Kurumi cackled for a bit. Then she stood up, still wearing my shirt.
“Welp, I’ve replenished my Natsumelytes, so better get the day rolling.” She stretched her arms out toward the sunny window. “You go wash up. The washroom’s behind the middle door down the hall. Make yourself at home. There’s shampoo and towels if you need them.”
“U-umm. Sure. Thanks.”
“I’ll be making breakfast. Hmm, what should I make?” Kurumi trotted off toward the kitchen.
As she moved, her shirttails danced up, and I caught a glimpse of two pale cheeks.
I did not see any underwear. She’d really just been wearing my shirt.
I pretended I hadn’t seen anything.
…Will I ever get that shirt back?
✦ ✦ ✦
I took a shower and washed my face. When I came back to the living room, I found an appetizing spread waiting.
Kurumi had made scrambled eggs and bacon. There were two rolls set out, with butter and jam at the ready.
I sat down and waited for Kurumi to get out of the shower.
Once we were both at the table, we dug in. Forks in hand, we talked about the food. “Very fluffy,” “I got the expensive eggs,” and so on and so forth.
Halfway through the meal, the topic drifted to our resistance.
“So what are you thinking?” Kurumi asked. “Do you have anything in mind?”
“We can’t do anything half-assed, not if we’re up against Nanaougi.”
“But our first goal must be to remain undetected…which makes everything harder.”
For a minute, the only sound was silverware clacking against plates. It didn’t seem like either of us were ready to make a decision.
“We could wait and see what Nanaougi does, and then do something bigger right after…,” I mused. “But she gets on my nerves, so I’d like to beat her to the punch.”
“Exactly! Our pride is at stake here!”
Still, I didn’t want to get sloppy. Changing the school was still our main goal.
“I guess we’ll just keep an eye on what’s happening at school and try to decide on something as quickly as we can. I think our best option is to react to what’s going on at school and choose something we’d like to do in response.”
“Yeah. A well-timed attack will be even more sensational.” Kurumi nodded, stuffing a roll into one cheek. This made it hard to understand what she was saying, but I seemed to have guessed correctly.
“We’ll have to continue attending summer lessons and keep an eye on Nanaougi, too,” I said.
“Mm, fair enough. Then let’s finish up and get ready.”
Once we cleared our plates, it was time to head to school. We put on our uniforms and pocketed our valuables. Everything was shipshape. As a sidenote, I was not wearing the shirt Kurumi had woken up in, but a fresh one. It was easy to work up a sweat in summer, so I always kept a spare in my backpack.
I’d been saved by my daily efforts at good hygiene. It would not do for me to roll in, wearing a shirt we’d wrinkled up together. Everyone else would smell something going on—literally.
“I’m ready if you are,” said Kurumi. “Got everything?”
“I’m good. Since I ditched in the middle of class, I only brought my phone and wallet.”
“True. Then let’s head out.”
Bags on our shoulders, we moved to the door.
I figured I should probably go first, to give her room to lock up. With that in mind, I put my shoes on and reached for the handle.
“Mm!”
I heard a noise behind me and found Kurumi glaring at me, a pout on her lips.
“What’s that look for?” I asked.
“Come on! Don’t play dumb, Natsume. You’ve gotta give me a goodbye kiss!”
I was not playing dumb. I hadn’t seen this coming at all.
“…Isn’t that for when we’re splitting up? We’re leaving together.”
“What? Don’t go splitting hairs on me. That hardly matters here!”
“No need to bite my head off…”
“Come on, Natsume! Mm!” Fuming, she puckered her lips. She clearly wasn’t going to back down.
Fine! If she’s going to insist, I’ll do it. Even though it’s embarrassing.
“I’m bending over. Go on.”
“Very well. Smooch.”
Kurumi put her hands on my jaw and kissed me lightly on the cheek. I was surprised by the lack of lip contact.
She blushed at me. “Would you rather it was on the lips? I’m afraid that’ll have to wait…until tonight.”
“…Listen to yourself.”
She made it sound like I’d be staying over again. Not that I was opposed to the idea.