Komiya Kaho was a cheerful and lively girl.
Every time Kaoru saw her pure, angel-like smile, even he found it impossible to act carelessly around her.
Perhaps because she had been so young back then, the wishes attached to her had been few, nowhere near as intense as Asakura Tōru's.
She had been the type who almost faded into the background.
So much so that even the wishes surrounding her were far more normal than the others.
There were not many strange ones, mostly simple things like wanting a pat on the head, wanting someone to play along with her tokusatsu jokes, or pretending to fight aliens together.
Even so, Kaoru had still failed to maintain a completely proper image as her Producer in front of her. After all, seeing the Producer she admired being stepped on by one of her respected seniors had been far too shocking for her young heart at the time.
If Kaho had not been so innocent back then and had actually understood what she was seeing, she probably would have wanted to run away on the spot.
The little girl from those days was now a high school student. Not only had she grown more mature than before, but perhaps because bad company rubbed off on people, she had also learned a few things she had not understood back then.
"Producer-san, do you like feet?"
Kaho asked with an innocent expression, looking as pure as she had when she was younger.
"No."
Kaoru did not think he counted as someone with that kind of preference. Some people who had that interest were into things he absolutely was not into, so in his mind, he could not be counted among them.
"Really?"
Kaho blinked. "Then what were you doing with Nanase-san earlier?"
"I was just checking her foot. Nothing else."
Kaoru lightly tapped her and said, "You're asking too many questions. Hurry up and get down."
That habitual motion made Kaoru pause slightly.
Kaho had grown. She was no longer the little girl from his memories, and the sense of her weight and presence was different now.
Kaho slowly puffed up her cheeks. Instead of getting down, she shifted restlessly in his arms and held onto him even tighter.
"I don't even mind, so why does Producer-san mind so much? If Producer-san likes girls' feet, there are two right here too!"
As she spoke, her legs kicked lightly as if announcing their existence.
Her white socks disappeared into her black loafers, and Kaoru instinctively pressed down on her leg to stop her from moving around.
"I know. Producer-san definitely likes feet. Rinze, Juri, Hiori-senpai, Asakura-senpai, all of them said Producer-san is a super suspicious foot-lover!"
Kaho sounded especially righteous, and also especially upset. Kaoru seemed willing to mess with everyone except her.
"What is a high school girl doing talking about that so confidently?"
Kaoru said irritably. "And it's not like I like everyone's feet. What if Kaho knocks me out with the smell?"
"No, no! They don't smell!"
Kaho immediately grew anxious. She took care of herself every day, and her socks were breathable too. There was no way there would be any strange smell!
"Is anyone supposed to offer herself up like this?"
Kaoru rubbed her head.
Speaking of which, she was taller than Kei and the others now. Her legs looked long and healthy, giving her a bright, youthful kind of charm.
"Did you grow taller again?"
Kaho giggled and proudly held up two fingers. "One hundred sixty-five centimeters! I grew a whole two centimeters!"
Fine. Kaoru took back what he had just thought. Maybe it had simply been a while since he last saw Kaho, causing him to misjudge her.
Even so, plenty of girls would probably envy her height. Sakayanagi Arisu was only about one hundred fifty centimeters, Karuizawa Kei was one hundred fifty-four, and even Ichinose Honami had not passed one hundred sixty.
That was just how things were in Japan.
Kaoru remembered that some boys were not even one hundred seventy centimeters tall. Kaho could definitely be considered a tall, beautiful girl.
"Praise me! Hurry up and praise me!"
Kaho shook Kaoru, her eyes sparkling. "It's not just my height either. I've grown in other ways too. Does Producer-san want to check?"
Kaoru could already tell that she had grown up a lot compared to before. Beneath her thin vest, the shape of her body had become far more mature than the elementary school girl in his memory.
From twelve to sixteen, Kaho had clearly grown more than most girls her age.
"No checking."
Kaoru tugged lightly at her cheek. "I'm not so shameless that I want to touch every cute girl I see. Have a little faith in your Producer."
"Uu... I definitely have faith in Producer-san... but... but Producer-san reacts to me now!"
Kaho blinked with innocent-looking eyes. "Kaho doesn't understand anything, you know. I don't know why Producer-san gets so tense around Kaho now."
Kaoru was momentarily speechless. At this point, it was almost a conditioned reaction.
After all, his physical condition was stronger than most people's, and he was at an age where his body reacted easily.
Even if he had no such intention, his body sometimes moved ahead on its own.
"Producer-san, what's this?"
Kaho curiously shifted a little, teasing him with a bright, mischievous expression. "Are you hiding something? Is it a Kamen Rider belt?"
Kaoru's face darkened.
He tapped her nose. "Stop moving around. Don't think I won't scold you just because you're acting cute."
This girl had even learned to be sly. She wore the same pure, innocent expression as before while deliberately teasing him.
"Ehehe, I won't move!"
Kaho laughed craftily and rubbed her cheek against Kaoru's chest.
Whether or not it was a Kamen Rider belt did not matter to her. Even if she knew she was doing something naughty, like a bad child, Kaho did not really care.
As long as she could be with Producer-san, that was enough.
She liked the days she spent with him. She missed the life they used to have, but that did not mean she had not grown up.
Kaho had already learned many things.
From the day she joined 283 Production, and especially from the day Producer-san disappeared, the once naïve little girl had become a high school student.
She knew that Producer-san had complicated relationships with girls.
She did not mind.
If Producer-san became close to her one day, she would probably accept it, because she wanted to keep being with him.
If Producer-san did not become close to her that way, she could accept that too. Whether their relationship changed or not was not the most important thing to her. What mattered was whether Producer-san stayed by her side.
Just lying in Producer-san's arms like this was already enough to make Kaho feel satisfied. The teasing from earlier, and the way Producer-san reacted to her, were things she treated as a little game between the two of them.
It was just that before, she liked playing tokusatsu with Producer-san.
Now, there was a tiny bit of grown-up mischief mixed in too.
Kaho did not know whether this counted as serious dependence. In any case, she just wanted to stay with Producer-san.
"Hey, Producer-san, when are you going back?"
"Back to the agency?"
"Everyone is waiting for Producer-san. Without Producer-san, everyone is becoming more and more unhappy."
"..."
"I want Producer-san's grand stage too. We haven't had our grand stage after school yet."
"Okay. I'll make it up to you all someday."
"Rinze cried several times. If you don't go back soon, she'll cry again."
"..."
That felt a little heavy. Kaoru did not know what kind of expression he should make.
He remembered Morino Rinze, that girl who had once told him with complete seriousness that she would follow him for the rest of her life.
What kind of face had he made back then?
Kaoru thought back to the scene when he returned to the agency.
That expressionless young lady had run toward him in small, hurried steps, so fast that even her wooden sandals had slipped off.
If he had not supported her in time, she probably would have fallen badly.
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How many of you still reading this? if there's a lot i will be releasing all my stock chapters.