Just as I thought...
Hayashi Shuichi nodded helplessly to himself. Having lived two lives, he knew better than anyone that the idea of women being "pure" or "disliking perverted topics" was utter nonsense. In his previous life, the behavior of some women on certain websites was far more extreme than that of men. While men mostly looked for standard titillation, women would often dive straight into the bizarre and the depraved.
Narumi had grown up in a hospital, surrounded by a pack of shameless teases—the nurses. They saw how cute he was and, while they didn't mean any harm, they likely spent their days teasing and coddling him like a doll. This was precisely why Narumi, despite being born a boy, had developed a personality that leaned further and further toward the feminine side.
"Do you want to become a real man?" Shuichi asked, patting Narumi's thin shoulder.
"I do!"
Narumi's eyes suddenly sparked with light. He nodded vigorously, his voice still soft but carrying a new layer of determination. "I want to become a man like you, Shuichi-gege. That way, when I grow up, I can protect my mom, my dad, and my big sister!"
"Then stop being so shy all the time, especially in front of other guys," Shuichi said. Without further ado, he reached out and efficiently helped Narumi pull off his shirt.
The little boy's first instinct was to curl inward, crossing his arms over his chest to hide himself. But after seeing Shuichi's casual, unbothered posture, Narumi slowly straightened his back, even though his cheeks were still burning with a deep blush.
"Good job," Shuichi said, ruffling his hair. "Now you're looking like a little man."
"Really?" Narumi asked, his voice full of hope.
"Of course. If you don't believe me, go look in the bathroom mirror," Shuichi laughed.
Narumi actually hopped off the bed and scurried into the bathroom, turning this way and that to examine himself in the mirror. Once he had seen enough, Shuichi tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on. Time to shower."
"Huh?" Narumi's face went red again, his gaze darting around nervously.
"What, shy again?" Shuichi raised an eyebrow, intentionally putting on a disappointed expression. "I thought you wanted to be a man?"
"...I do."
Narumi took a deep breath, summoned his courage, and pulled off his trousers. Meanwhile, Shuichi had already stripped down and hopped into the bathroom. "Hurry up and get in here before you catch a cold."
"...Okay," Narumi mumbled, head bowed as he shuffled into the bathroom one small step at a time.
Half an hour later, Shuichi led the boy back into the main room. "See? Nothing to be shy about, right?"
"Mhm!"
There was a newfound lightness in Narumi's expression. Though his cheeks were still dusted with pink, he no longer averted his gaze. "In the past, when the nurses helped me bathe... it always made me feel really embarrassed..."
"Have you never bathed with your father?" Shuichi asked casually.
Narumi's eyes dimmed instantly. "No... Papa is always very busy with work. He rarely comes to the hospital to see me..."
His voice trailed off until he was practically whispering to himself. Seeing the boy's crestfallen look, Shuichi rubbed his head. "Next time you see Mr. Aso, take the initiative and ask him to bathe with you."
"Is that really okay?" Narumi asked hesitantly.
"Of course it is," Shuichi encouraged him with a smile. "Bathing his son is exactly what a father should do. Mr. Aso will be very happy, especially since he doesn't get much of a chance to take care of you normally."
"I understand, Shuichi-gege," Narumi nodded, his eyes bright with anticipation.
"Alright then," Shuichi said, stretching his arms. "Let's get some sleep. If we rest well tonight, we'll have the energy to have some real fun tomorrow."
With that, he pulled back the covers and lay down comfortably. Narumi carefully climbed into the other bed, pulling his own blanket up to his chin. Soon, the only sound in the room was the faint hum of the air conditioner and the steady rhythm of their breathing.
The next morning, Shuichi was jolted awake by a frantic pounding on the door. In his half-conscious state, he felt something warm and soft beside him.
He snapped his eyes open, only to be met with a delicate, doll-like sleeping face right in front of him.
Shuichi jumped out of bed in a panic, momentarily terrified that he had done something unspeakably wrong.
"Shuichi-gege?" The "girl" woke up from the commotion, rubbing his eyes with a voice thick with sleep.
Oh, right. I forgot. Narumi and I shared a room last night!
The kid probably got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and, in his daze, climbed back into the wrong bed...
Realizing this, Shuichi let out a long sigh of relief.
"Go back to sleep if you're still tired," Shuichi said, patting Narumi's head before walking over to open the hotel room door.
Outside, the group of girls saw him standing there in nothing but his boxers, and the scene immediately descended into chaos.
"Y-You! How can you open the door like that!" Yukiko cried out, covering her eyes but leaving a massive gap between her fingers to peek through.
"What's the difference between this and a pair of swim trunks?" Shuichi asked innocently, spreading his hands. "Aren't you all going to see me in swim trunks at the beach in a little while anyway?"
"Senpai! That is not the same thing at all!" Midori Orikasa's face was completely flushed, looking very much like a boiled shrimp.
Eri Kisaki, who knew Shuichi inside and out by now, stood with her arms crossed. Her cold, elegant face was a mask of exasperation. "Could you please try to have some semblance of an image?"
"Onii-chan," Reiko said, equally unfazed. She curiously peered into the room, showing no signs of shyness. "Where's Narumi? Is he still sleeping?"
"You guys woke him up," Shuichi said, glancing back at Narumi, who was currently rubbing his eyes. "Why are you all up so early? The beach is freezing in the morning."
"We talked it over last night and decided to hit the local sights this morning," Chikage Tomizawa explained. "We heard that the Enoshima Shrine, Chigo-ga-fuchi, and the Shonan coastal views are incredible. Since we're here, we have to see them."
Shuichi didn't actually have much interest in beaches or scenery; he had only come along to help his friends relax. However, when he heard "Shonan Coast," his interest piqued. That was the setting for Slam Dunk!
In his past life, he hadn't been a hardcore otaku, but Slam Dunk was a series he had watched and loved since childhood. Even though the series hadn't even started serialization in this current timeline, that didn't stop Shuichi from wanting to go on an early "Holy Land" pilgrimage.
"Narumi, time to get up!" he turned to call the boy.
Narumi crawled out of bed groggily and began walking toward the bathroom, still rubbing his eyes. When the girls saw him in nothing but his underwear, another round of gasps erupted.
"Y-You... how could you let Narumi..." Chikage's eyes widened, her finger trembling as she pointed at the boy. "Where are his pajamas?"
"It's hot. Why wear pajamas?" Shuichi said dismissively, reaching for a T-shirt on the nightstand and pulling it on.
"But Narumi is..." Chikage started to say, then hesitated.
"He's a boy," Shuichi said firmly, his voice turning serious. "It's precisely because you all keep treating him like a girl that his personality has become so feminine. If this continues, it's going to be very bad for his growth."
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