An overly intense fragrance can actually become off-putting.
But... fortunately, the scent that clung to Tsukiyomi Fuya did not fall into that category.
Perhaps it was thanks to the boost from Su Yuzu's Favorability toward Tsukiyomi Fuya; perhaps it was because Tsukiyomi Fuya's own looks were simply too beautiful, too alluring; or perhaps... it was because the fragrance on Tsukiyomi Fuya did not come from anything external, but was a bodily scent that had brewed all on its own.
Though rich and cloyingly sweet, it never grew tiresome—on the contrary, it was like a soft, sugary balm, the kind that made one want to put out the tip of one's tongue and lick a little taste.
Tsukiyomi Fuya lowered her head and gazed at the girl in her arms.
The burning tips of her ears were trembling.
Outside, the sky was slowly growing light.
Tsukiyomi Fuya could sense that the stars had already slipped quietly away, leaving only the Morning Star shining at the edge of the sky.
The sun was about to rise.
She gently steadied the girl's shoulder.
It was completely unlike what she had imagined... where the girl, flushed crimson with bashfulness, would burrow into the covers, slip off the dress she was wearing and hand it over, and then... be left with nothing at all to cover or shield herself.
Beneath her open-front nightgown, Yuzu still wore a little thin-strapped camisole.
It could only just barely contain the girl's lovely curves, but the upside was that she slept more soundly this way, free and unconstrained.
That was what a girl's sleepwear ought to be.
Last night, while she kept watch over Yuzu and coaxed the girl to sleep with the stars she conjured up from her fingertips, she had discovered that her hand was already being held tight in the girl's grip.
Tsukiyomi Fuya, who cherished Yuzu so, did not choose to pry her hand away by force; instead, with an almost Doting fondness, she chose to let Yuzu keep hold of her hand.
She could feel the girl's reassurance and ease.
Looking at the girl's shrinking, curled-up sleeping posture, she could sense the unease the girl hid deep within her heart.
Yuzu... was a girl with very little sense of security.
Originally, Tsukiyomi Fuya had only meant to lean against the bed, dozing draped over its edge, watching over the girl until dawn.
But what Tsukiyomi Fuya hadn't quite anticipated was that the girl's sleeping posture was unexpectedly not very well-behaved.
At first it was just her hand that the girl had caught hold of, but later... her arm was hugged deeper and deeper by Yuzu.
By the very end, her entire forearm was nearly clutched within the girl's embrace, leaving Tsukiyomi Fuya with no way at all to stay draped over the edge of the bed. Her whole body could only twist into a strange and strenuous pose, half of her suspended in midair, surrendering her arm to the girl's hold.
And then... Su Yuzu held on even tighter.
True, with Tsukiyomi Fuya's bodily flexibility and suppleness, holding such a pose was no problem at all.
But... even a Fifth Sequence Tsukiyomi Fuya would still feel her body grow sore and weary.
Having coaxed the girl like this through the whole night, Tsukiyomi Fuya figured that tomorrow she probably wouldn't be able to get a lick of work done.
Looking at the girl's adorable little figure—neck tucked in, arms wrapped tightly around her own.
She gently breathed in that fresh fragrance on the girl, like a citrus fruit, yet sweeter and more refreshingly delightful still.
Just like her name—
Yuzu.
Though not the kind of big pomelo.
But rather the juice-rich, age-old fruit of the Rutaceae family used as a spice—the one that ought to be called the fragrant citron.
After mulling it over for a moment, Tsukiyomi Fuya turned onto her side and climbed onto the bed.
The observatory, which existed as a sort of mobile base vehicle, still had very limited interior space; every inch was precious, needed to house a great many instruments and lenses.
So... the area of Tsukiyomi Fuya's boudoir was, in fact, also quite small.
No more than the size of an ordinary attic.
Naturally, the bed was very narrow as well. It wasn't even as large as an ordinary single bed—it was narrower still.
It was only because Yuzu had far too little sense of security that her body curled up into a tight ball whenever she slept.
Had it been someone like the little rabbit—who slept rather restlessly and liked to sprawl out spread-eagle, in the shape of the character 'big'—then Tsukiyomi Fuya probably wouldn't even have been able to squeeze in beside the girl at all.
Tsukiyomi Fuya cautiously climbed onto the bed.
Her movements were as light as she could make them, for fear of disturbing the girl's dreams.
At the same time... so that the girl could sleep a little more comfortably, and so that her posture clutching that arm could be a little more comfortable too, Tsukiyomi Fuya carefully let nearly half her body hang off the side of the bed.
But—
Even this pose was already far more comfortable than that earlier strange, contorted one—the sort of high-difficulty posture that would only ever turn up in a yoga class.
As it happened... before Tsukiyomi Fuya could even catch her breath, the girl let go of the hand that had been clutching her arm.
But the bad news was... the girl's slender, long legs simply twined right around her.
At the same time, the hand that had been hugging Tsukiyomi Fuya's arm also, of its own accord, fisted into the already soft and flimsy silk dress on Tsukiyomi Fuya's body.
Yuzu vividly and graphically demonstrated to Tsukiyomi Fuya exactly what it meant to 'give an inch and take a mile.'
But... Tsukiyomi Fuya looked at the girl's serene sleeping face and breathed in the fresh, sweet fragrance threaded through the girl's hair.
She didn't really mind it, though.
Yuzu did have a habit of clutching something while she slept.
It had been the same back when she was temporarily lodging at Ms. Unohana's home.
Every morning when Unohana Chiyo woke, she could feel herself being clung to for dear life by the girl, as though Yuzu were hugging a body pillow.
Thankfully,
apart from liking to hold onto something, Yuzu had no other bad habits or unpleasant quirks.
So Unohana Chiyo didn't mind.
In fact... she rather liked it.
But——
With Tsukiyomi Fuya it was an entirely different matter.
For Su Yuzu, the scent on Tsukiyomi Fuya-senpai was simply too sweet.
So sweet it was like a soft cake slathered all over with honey, set right there before her.
The tips of her ears trembling... her gaze went hazy for a single instant, and Tsukiyomi Fuya steadied the girl's shoulder.
She had woken very early.
Whether it was because she had already slept through yesterday's daytime, or for some other reason, she couldn't say.
By the time Tsukiyomi Fuya awoke.
Outside, the sky was slowly growing light.
And between her and the girl... it had also turned into a tableau of Tsukiyomi Fuya cradling the girl in her arms, the girl's whole body entwined around her.
Tsukiyomi Fuya subconsciously held Yuzu tighter.
She felt the heartbeat of the girl in her arms suddenly begin to climb.
From its originally steady, gentle rhythm, it quickened—thump, thump, thump.
"Oh no..." Tsukiyomi Fuya's very first thought was, of all things, that her own restlessness had stirred the girl awake.
The faintly hazy eyes blinked.
To Tsukiyomi Fuya, those beautiful crimson eyes were as eye-catching as Antares.
The loneliest first-magnitude star in all the sky.
"Awake now?" Tsukiyomi Fuya forced herself to stay composed, putting on an air as though she knew nothing at all.
The girl, who still seemed a little dazed, stared blankly for a long while before lightly nodding and nuzzling into Tsukiyomi Fuya's embrace.
The girl's soft breathing made even Tsukiyomi Fuya feel as though she were about to melt clean away from the sheer cuteness.
Seizing the moment, she gathered the girl up in her arms and rose. "Yuzu..."
"Sleep a little longer."
"I'll go and get breakfast ready for you, Yuzu."
"Okay," Yuzu answered instinctively.
She watched Tsukiyomi Fuya's hurried, retreating figure; watched the black gauzy veil the woman had left behind on the floor.
Yuzu instinctively licked her lips.
It seemed a little... sweet...?
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