Chapter 359

My skin felt particularly firm and bouncy today, as if I had reclaimed all the vital energy drained from me.

A physical relationship full of love, yet entirely bestial, really did wonders for my health.

I wouldn't do it if Miyuki found it exhausting, but since she didn't, we'd have to make a regular habit of it.

Stepping outside after getting ready, I noticed a light drizzle and immediately worried about Miyuki.

She isn't walking in the rain, is she? When she kissed my lips and left early this morning, I had briefly woken up, and I vaguely recalled her holding an umbrella.

Why did she have to guard the school gate today of all days?

No matter how much she liked Student Council work, standing out there on a day like this was a bit much.

She couldn't have gotten enough sleep, either... It made me want to tame the Student Council president to my liking and force them to give Miyuki preferential treatment.

Grabbing the bundled lunchbox Miyuki had left on the dining table, I noticed a sticky note resting on top.

It was a doodle of her chibi character holding out a massive heart.

A broad smile broke across my face. I stuck the note to the wall, slid the glass door open, and stepped outside.

I got into my rain-slicked car and headed for the Academy. The rain had grown a bit heavier on the way.

I spotted Miyuki guarding the main gate in a yellow raincoat that made her look like a little chick.

She noticed me as well. Her face lighting up with joy, she handed her post off to another Student Council member and jogged over to my car.

Whir.

Rolling down the driver's side window, I held out a plum-flavored candy to Miyuki, who had her raincoat hood pulled tightly over her head.

"What's this?"

"Candy."

"Out of nowhere?"

"I bought it on the way. Eat it while you guard the gate."

"I can't eat right now... Can I hold onto it for later?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Miyuki slipped the candy into the uniform pocket beneath her raincoat, then leaned over to inspect the passenger and back seats.

She was checking for anything that violated school rules.

Of course, she wasn't seriously inspecting anything; she was just playing around.

She knew full well that as long as she was around, I wouldn't break the rules.

"Nothing suspicious. You may pass."

Miyuki put on a haughty act, adopting a playfully generous tone.

I let out a soft chuckle and told her to keep up the good work, preparing to take my foot off the brake.

Just then, Miyuki told me to wait a second. She rolled up her raincoat sleeve and reached her hand straight between my legs.

Is she trying to touch me? Out here?

Right as that thought crossed my mind, Miyuki pinched a piece of clear plastic resting on the seat.

"This fell down here."

It was the wrapper from the candy I had eaten on the way over.

When did she even spot that? She had incredibly sharp eyes.

"Did you reach in just to grab that?"

At my disappointed question, Miyuki flashed a bright smile and nodded.

"Yep."

"That's it?"

"That's it. What were you expecting out here?"

She was definitely teasing me on purpose.

She was practically begging me to take her right here. I'd have to drag her off to a secluded spot during break.

Flashing a provocative smile at me as I smacked my lips in disappointment, she spoke up again.

"Did you bring your umbrella?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. You're good to go."

"Unbelievable. Make sure you eat that candy."

Miyuki simply stuck her tongue out playfully instead of replying.

I felt a fresh, youthful flutter in my chest for the first time in a while.

Whenever she showed glimpses of how she acted in our early days like this, it felt like a spring breeze blowing through my heart.

Letting out a lighthearted chuckle, I waved at Miyuki and drove off toward the parking lot.

Later, as I got out of the car and headed straight for the classroom building, the Cell Phone in my pocket buzzed.

Wondering what it was, I checked the screen to find a message from Hiyori.

[Matsuken. I have something to tell you, so buy a Suichu and come to the storage room.]

I could sense a heavy seriousness in her text.

Having 'something to tell me' made my heart pound slightly, but there was always a trope of clichés being shattered at timings exactly like this.

So I decided to lower my expectations.

The storage room Hiyori mentioned was the hideout I had shown her.

She must have been resting there right now.

Since there was still plenty of time before class started, I went to the School Store as Hiyori asked, bought a Suichu, and headed toward the building with the storage room.

Creeeak...

The door swung open with a dreary squeal.

I stepped inside, half-expecting a ghost to pop out, but what I saw left me completely surprised.

The interior had been scrubbed clean.

All the useless junk had been shoved into the corners, and there was barely any dust.

Even the floor was spotless... Did Hiyori clean all this herself?

"You're here?"

She greeted me from the center of the room, having laid out a mat complete with a Blanket and pillow.

Nodding, I looked around the storage room and spoke.

"You cleaned this place?"

"Yep."

"Impressive. Did you do this all by yourself?"

"I did it with a friend."

"A friend?"

"Yeah. When we were on cleaning duty last time, I pretended this room was part of our assigned area and asked them to help."

Wait, that meant this friend also knew about the secret spot I had told her about.

She shared the special spot I had told only her about?

Unforgivable. That was a one-point penalty.

"This is a completely different building. Didn't your friend say anything?"

"Nope."

Clearly, she had roped in some classmate who had a crush on her to do the heavy lifting.

Acting like a sly fox was basically Hiyori's second nature, so I wasn't going to scold her for that, but to think she was cleaning with a guy and not a girl... I couldn't hide my disappointment.

That was an additional one-point penalty. She had better be careful, because something terrible would happen if she hit five points.

"So you told someone else about the spot I showed you?"

"I smoothed everything over while we were cleaning, so don't worry."

"What exactly did you say?"

"I made it sound like a teacher ordered us to do it, and played it off as a one-time cleaning job, so they won't come back."

"And what are you going to do if a teacher catches you in a lie?"

"I won't get caught. Did you bring the Suichu?"

"Yeah."

"Hand it over."

I pulled the long-wrapped Suichu from my pocket and handed it to Hiyori, whose eyes were sparkling like a puppy waiting for a treat.

She gleefully tore open the wrapper.

Clicking my tongue at the sight, I asked.

"So, what did you want to tell me?"

"I just did."

"What?"

"I already said what I needed to say."

"When?"

"I just asked you for the Suichu. That was what I wanted to tell you."

"...Are you kidding me?"

Hiyori giggled at my dumbfounded expression and waved a hand.

"Just kidding. Did you have a good time playing games with Miyuki Hanazawa yesterday?"

Hearing her mention Miyuki made me suddenly curious.

Did Hiyori run into Miyuki when passing through the school gate?

Judging by the fact that she didn't bring it up, she must have either crawled through the gap in the fence or arrived before Miyuki started her shift...

"We played for a bit and then turned it off."

"Oh, really? What did you do after that, then?"

Was she hoping to hear me say we had sex?

She would definitely turn beet red if I actually said it, yet she was trying to act all mischievous.

As I reached out to flick her cowlick while she stared up at me with bright eyes, Hiyori swiftly leaned her upper body back.

"That won't work anymore, you know? Touching this is officially forbidden."

"No way."

"You don't get a choice."

"Why do you get to decide that?"

"Because it's my body?"

It's my body, too. Well, not yet.

Swallowing those words, I quickly swung my hand over Hiyori's head, as she was looking particularly coy today.

Flick.

Unable to react in time, Hiyori allowed me to flick her cowlick before bringing her own hands up to her head a half-beat too late.

"Ah, what are you doing...?! So childish...!"

"You were acting childish first."

"When did I ever?"

"When you told me not to touch your cowlick."

"That isn't even about the Suichu, how is that childish?! Sometimes I really think your mental age is rock bottom."

"That's exactly what I think about you sometimes."

"Oh, really? So you do think about me sometimes?"

She stared up at me, her eyes suddenly shifting as she spoke in a beaming, cheerful tone.

It was a relief that I had gotten used to her sudden, bold advances, so I wasn't as flustered as I used to be.

Actually, rather than a relief, I should say it was a bit of a shame.

Because that fresh, youthful feeling of flirting seemed to be fading away.

"I only think about you when you act like this."

"And when I don't act like this, you don't think about me?"

"Shut up and get up."

"Why?"

"Class is starting soon."

"I'm skipping."

I stood there dumbfounded for a moment by Hiyori's shameless attitude, only snapping back to my senses when she threw herself flat onto the mat.

Her skirt hiked up slightly, revealing her pale white thighs.

Barely holding back the urge to stare, I knitted my brows.

"Are you serious? You're skipping first period?"

"Yep."

"Are you out of your mind?"

"Oh? That's the exact same line from back then."

"What is?"

"When I gave you that in-game item."

I wasn't sure if I should be happy that she remembered my exact words.

Hiyori pulled the Blanket over her body, as if she were seriously getting ready to sleep.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, I grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her.

"Get up."

"Why! I'm going to sleep...!"

"If you really want to sleep, just sleep with your head on your desk in the classroom."

"Sleeping at a desk is uncomfortable."

"Do you think I showed you this place so you could do this?"

"That's exactly why you showed it to me."

She definitely had a point.

Though the most important reason was to prepare a spot for when Hiyori and I would inevitably do that sort of thing here at the Academy.

"Stop whining and get up."

Ignoring my words, she glued her back to the mat. It was both funny and cute.

"Are you really going to sleep?"

"Yep."

"I'm going to take the Blanket and pillow, you know."

"Then I'll report you to the Dean of Students."

"For what?"

"Theft."

"Well, I'm going to report you for skipping class here."

"That's playing dirty."

"You played dirty first. Hurry up and get up."

"No."

Hiyori's whining was a bit excessive today.

Not that I minded it, of course. It felt like she was being clingy, which I actually liked.

But I wanted to guide her down the right path.

Because of that, I couldn't just cater to her stubbornness, and I definitely didn't want her getting real penalty points from the Academy instead of my own personal ones, so I had to get her back to the classroom somehow.

Staring down at her as she buried her face in the pillow, I spoke quietly.

"I can see your panties."

Startled by my words, Hiyori jolted upright.

She quickly checked her Blanket and skirt hem, then tightly clamped her thighs together.

Amused by how she pretended to be so open-minded only to react like this, I quickly grabbed both her hands and pulled her to her feet.

Then, I flashed a grin.

"I'm kidding. Now let's go."

"..."

Hiyori stared at me with a dumbfounded expression, looking as though she'd just been sucker-punched.

But that only lasted a moment. She began to grumble as I pushed her forward by the back.

"Such a boomer..."

Uttering complaints like that with a face that clearly showed she was secretly happy I was taking care of her only made me feel better.

She didn't intentionally provoke me into doing this, did she?

With that brief thought crossing my mind, I wordlessly ushered her out of the storage room.