Making breakfast with Natsumi was unexpectedly relaxing. She didn't talk—she just stood nearby, watching him with bright eyes that looked equal parts excited and content.
Maybe just doing something together with someone was what she'd secretly wanted all along.
To Shichen it felt like suddenly having a clingy little daughter at his side… or rather, a little sister he wanted to spoil.
He couldn't help himself and started feeding Natsumi bites. The soup dumplings were the perfect size for one mouthful.
At first she got flustered and refused, but Shichen was very insistent. With no way out, she finally shut her eyes, face red, and accepted.
Her small mouth opened and wrapped around the dumpling. She chewed shyly, cheeks glowing bright red. It was ridiculously cute.
Seeing that bashful, half-resisting look, Shichen got carried away and ended up feeding her a few more.
He nearly filled her up.
Natsumi suddenly realized she was letting herself drown in his pampering. Her pride kicked in and she forced herself to refuse more, then ran off using "going to prepare for the game again" as an excuse.
Being with Shichen, she'd found, really was wonderful. It was fun. It was warm. It felt like happiness.
She couldn't help wondering if this was all some dream, and if she woke up and it turned out to be fake… that would be true despair.
Back in the room Shichen had given her, she flopped onto the bed, mind all tangled up.
That kiss especially—she couldn't forget it no matter how she tried.
Her hand drifted up to her lips, and the moment she pressed her fingers there, the feeling surged back. Her face heated up, her heart started pounding, and she felt both happy and embarrassed, with a hint of annoyance mixed in.
It really wasn't romantic enough!
…Though it wasn't bad, either.
Her thoughts were messy and contradictory, but that was just how a girl's worries tended to be.
When she finally managed to calm herself down, her cheeks were even redder. She could only shake her head hard, trying to fling out all the messy images in her mind.
Then she started to seriously reflect.
Pretending to be Tohka and getting caught had been because Shichen was way too close with Tohka — and she was still a clueless girl.
She needed to pretend to be someone who wasn't that close to him.
But even though she'd just arrived, it was obvious everyone really liked him. Their relationships with him all looked pretty intimate.
They were all Spirits, which meant Shichen treated them all well. Otherwise how could they all like him that much?
And when she thought that she might end up like that too — liked and cherished — she couldn't help looking forward to the future.
Still, she had to finish this game first. She wasn't going to hold back.
Only… if everyone was close to Shichen, then if she pretended to be someone else, wouldn't that mean she'd have to let him take advantage again?
He'd already gotten away with it once. It wasn't like she couldn't accept it again — it did make things feel more "real," harder for him to see through.
But she was worried things might go too far, and that wasn't something she could casually accept.
So she could only pick someone where the risk was lower.
Natsumi's sights narrowed to two people: Yamauchi Sawa and Yoshino.
Sawa wasn't a Spirit. Natsumi figured she and Shichen probably weren't that close… but because Sawa didn't have Spirit mana inside her, unlike Natsumi, the chances of being exposed seemed too high.
That left Yoshino.
She was so tiny—Shichen probably wouldn't do anything too outrageous to her, right?
…Then again, he had done things…
Forget it. It wasn't like Natsumi absolutely couldn't accept it.
Some part of her deep down even kind of looked forward to that feeling again.
…
Once breakfast was ready, everyone got up and gathered around the table.
Natsumi hadn't transformed into anyone else yet; you couldn't start breakfast with an empty chair, even if she was already mostly full.
"Whoa~ What's this? It looks so good!"
Smelling the buns, Tohka lit up, practically drooling.
"These are buns, right? Big ones, and soup dumplings…" Kurumi said, eyeing the plates.
"Mm, yeah, all buns. I realized I never took you to eat them over summer break, so I figured I'd make some today. There's plenty of filling~" Shichen said with a smile.
"Anything you make is delicious! I'm digging in!"
Tohka, of course, was the first to move. She grabbed a big bun, took a bite straight out of it, and somehow half of it vanished into her mouth. Her cheeks puffed out adorably as she smiled in pure bliss.
Watching her enjoy it so much, everyone else picked up their chopsticks and tried one too.
"Mmm! This is so good!"
"As expected of Shichen!"
"Darling! I love you~"
"Natsumi, aren't you eating?" Yoshino, sitting beside her, asked softly.
"Eh? Ah—y-yeah, I'm eating." Natsumi fumbled, surprised Yoshino had initiated conversation with her. She hurriedly picked up a bun and took a bite.
She just wasn't used to it yet. She barely knew anyone and felt like she didn't really fit in.
"It's good, isn't it?" Yoshino asked with a gentle smile.
"Yeah… it's really good…" Natsumi nodded.
She'd already tasted them earlier; of course she knew exactly how good they were.
"That's great. Shichen-nii's cooking is amazing," Yoshino said.
"Shichen-nii… what's your relationship with him?" Natsumi ventured cautiously.
"Eh? Um… I think… we get along pretty well," Yoshino replied, flustered.
"Really? Then… have you two ever kissed?"
"K–Kissed?" Yoshino's whole face went bright red.
"N–No, we haven't…"
She ducked her head, crimson spreading all the way to her ears.
Natsumi found herself thinking Yoshino really was adorable. She already wanted to be friends with her — and this was good news too. It meant she could safely be her stand-in.
"All right, Shichen, we're off to school~"
"Okay, be careful on the way," Shichen said.
After Tohka and the others left, the only ones left at home were Nia, Yoshino, Natsumi — and Shichen.
He didn't have to go in today; there was no P.E. scheduled.
"Hey~ Shichen, come back to my place with me~"
The moment the others were gone, Nia dropped all restraint, clinging to his arm and pressing against him.
Sadly, not that much.
"You want me to help you draw again?" Shichen glanced at her.
"Hehe~"
"Deadline's still a way off. What's the rush?"
"The sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest~"
"If you really thought that way, you wouldn't be stalling every week until the last second."
"Aaah, but this time is different~"
"How so?"
"Because now you're here. If we finish early, we can get to the… fun stuff sooner~"
"…," Shichen pressed a palm to her face and pushed her away.
"Yoshino and the others are still here. Don't talk nonsense."
"Eeh~ Fine."
"…"
Watching quietly from beside Yoshino, Natsumi felt a wave of relief.
Good thing she hadn't picked Nia. Those two were clearly on a whole other (adult) level.
"Hey Natsumi, when are you planning to start?"
Ignoring Nia, Shichen slid in between Yoshino and Natsumi, lifting them both onto his lap, an arm wrapped around each of their slender waists.
"U-Um…" Yoshino squirmed, flustered.
"W–Wait!" Natsumi started struggling immediately.
"W-What are you doing?"
"What's wrong with a little cuddle?" Shichen teased.
"I don't want that! I haven't even joined yet!"
"You will sooner or later."
"…" Natsumi tugged and twisted, but when she realized she wasn't going anywhere, she finally gave up with a huff.
"Unbelievable… You really are a lolicon. I'm heartbroken," Nia said, watching with mock indignation.
"Aren't you the one who wanted to finish early so you could rest? Go draw," Shichen shot back mercilessly.
"What? Shichen, you're already trading the old for the new?!"
"How is this 'trading'? I'm being responsible and supervising you."
"You're so mean! I'm not talking to you for half a day!" Nia fake-sobbed her way out of the room.
"Um… is she going to be okay?" Natsumi couldn't help asking.
"Don't worry, she's just playing around. She likes that stuff," Shichen replied.
"R-Right…"
"Anyway, Natsumi — when are you going to start? I'm waiting to settle that little 'compensation' with you."
He rested his chin on their shoulders, smiling as he asked.
"C–Compensation? I don't want any compensation!" Natsumi's face instantly went red as she remembered what he meant.
"Shichen-nii, what compensation?" Yoshino asked curiously.
"Well~ for Yoshino it's still a bit early to explain," he said, amused.
"Is it…?" Yoshino blinked.
"Come on, Yoshino's not a little kid anymore. She knows more than you think," Yoshinon suddenly chimed in.
"D–Do not!" Yoshino yelped, cheeks blazing as she clamped both hands over the puppet's mouth.
"Ehehe~ Right, right, Yoshino knows plenty~ She even wants Shichen to— mmmph!"
Before Yoshinon could finish, Yoshino, scarlet from ears to neck, slapped a hand over its face.
She looked at Shichen, panicked, unable to explain, just shaking her head frantically.
Shichen only smiled, saying nothing.
Yoshinon was really just voicing what Yoshino kept locked in her heart — which meant she did want him to do something for her.
Made sense. He'd been affectionate with everyone else, but he hadn't done anything quite that intimate with Yoshino yet.
She must have been feeling a little left out.
And come to think of it… Yoshino really wasn't a kid anymore.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— This Fanfic is Completed in Patreon!