Chapter 402

Swoosh!

It was pouring outside.

The sky had grown dark, and it was surprisingly chilly for midsummer.

That dampened the usual excitement of the first day of vacation, but only for the other students. Not for me.

I liked rainy days.

Smelling the earthy scent of wet ground and listening to the distinct patter of rain always gave me a sense of peace.

"Don't cause any trouble during vacation, everyone."

With that final warning from our homeroom teacher—delivered right after the principal's televised speech—our vacation officially began.

"Guys, don't leave just yet. Make sure you grab a newsletter from the front before you go."

Blinded by their excitement, a few students completely tuned out Miyuki's instructions and tried to bolt for the door.

However, their escape was thwarted by the massive frame blocking the back door.

"Newsletter."

Standing in the doorway with a blank expression, I pointed toward the teacher's desk. The students flinched and awkwardly scratched their heads.

"Ah, sorry."

They had nothing to be sorry for.

I was only doing this to save Miyuki the annoyance of students calling or texting her later because they forgot to grab one.

"Here's the newsletter."

"Pass."

Maintaining a stern expression like a bouncer, I only stepped aside for those holding the newsletter. A few students giggled, glancing back and forth between Miyuki and me.

They must have found it funny to see me acting as Miyuki's loyal henchman.

Since everyone already seemed to know about our relationship, I figured I could just hand out our future wedding invitations to every single one of them—except for one specific person.

Right on cue, Tetsuya approached me alongside one of his friends.

"You look like you're on the Student Council. Why don't you try applying?"

His tone carried a faint hint of sarcasm. I really couldn't stand his voice.

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"Not at all."

Shrugging, Tetsuya held up his newsletter for me to see.

I snorted at his ridiculous display and stepped aside.

"Have a good vacation. See you if you come cheer at the national tournament."

Tetsuya brushed past me as he tossed those words over his shoulder.

Despite the thorns in his tone, he was surprisingly leaving without causing a scene.

I thought he would at least bump my shoulder on his way out, but I supposed he was too scared to try it.

"Sure."

With that arrogant reply, I didn't even bother looking at Tetsuya. I continued my role as gatekeeper until the classroom emptied out, then helped Miyuki tidy up the place.

While I was silently straightening the rows of desks and chairs, she suddenly stopped in front of a desk by the window and waved me over.

"Matsuda-kun, come here for a second..."

I approached her. Confirming that it was my seat, she curled her lips into a smile.

"Do you remember this seat?"

How could I not?

Facing each other with the desk between us—the exact same setup as right now—we had shared a kiss straight out of a romantic comedy.

Just as I sometimes smiled to myself thinking about it before I fell asleep, Miyuki had clearly just recalled that very moment.

"I remember."

"Yeah? Unlike today, it was bright and sunny back then... right?"

"Right."

"But the weather right now isn't too bad, either."

With those words, Miyuki leaned close just as I opened my mouth to reply.

A soft sensation pressed against my lips.

Miyuki's unique, sweet plum scent faintly drifted through the air.

Unlike last time, she didn't shyly ask me to close my eyes. It was a complete surprise attack of affection.

Yet, the feeling it brought was incredibly similar to what I'd felt back then.

It was fresh and innocent. It felt as though this feeling would remain exactly the same in the past, present, and future.

*

While Miyuki headed to the Student Council Room to handle some remaining work, I stood at the building's entrance and watched the pouring rain, waiting for Hiyori to arrive after she asked to meet me briefly.

The rain was coming down so heavily it looked as if a hole had opened up in the sky, making me wonder if the monsoon season had officially begun.

As I killed time with those thoughts, I heard someone approaching from behind.

"Matsumatsu."

I turned my head to see Hiyori calling out to me in a slurred, unusual tone.

I blinked a couple of times and noticed that one of her cheeks was slightly puffed out.

"What's wrong?"

"Whath wrong?"

"What's up with your cheek? It's a little swollen."

"I bith my thongue."

So that was why.

I let out a chuckle of disbelief.

"Let me see."

"Aahh..."

Hiyori opened her mouth wide without hesitation, pressing her tongue against her lower lip to give me a better look.

My eyebrows twitched when I saw how swollen both sides of her tongue were.

"What were you doing to end up like this?"

"Eathing thandy..."

"While eating candy?"

"Yeah."

"How on earth were you eating to get like this over a piece of jelly candy?"

"Dunno."

It was ridiculous how she used her swollen tongue as an excuse to drop all honorifics and speak informally in a cute voice.

It was clear proof that she was actually enjoying the sound of her own slurred speech.

As I pondered how to tease Hiyori in return, a great idea crossed my mind.

"Let me see again."

Hiyori had been patting her closed cheek as if applying makeup. When I gestured with my chin, she opened her mouth just like before, completely unsuspecting.

"Aahh..."

Taking that opportunity, I grabbed Hiyori's cheeks and jawline with both hands and slipped my thumb straight into her mouth.

"Hweh!?"

Startled, she let out a bizarre gasp. I began to gently prod the inside of her mouth, carefully avoiding the swollen spots.

"No canker sores in here."

I acted as if I were calmly examining her tongue.

"Uuu...??"

Her tongue rippled like a wave every time my thumb brushed against it.

I could feel my hands, still firmly cupping her cheeks, growing hotter in direct proportion to Hiyori's rising body temperature.

As an added bonus, she grabbed tightly onto my wrists.

I took my time playing with Hiyori's tongue as she put on such a cute display. Finally, I pulled my thumb out of her mouth and brought it right up to my own lips.

Then, I brazenly sucked on my finger right in front of her.

"Uwaa...! W-What are you doing...!"

Suddenly subjected to and forced to witness such an erotic act, she raised her voice.

It was hilarious how her slurred voice completely vanished and her normal tone returned the moment she was flustered. I shamelessly answered.

"You were eating Strawberry Milk flavored candy."

"..."

She stood there with her mouth hanging wide open, unable to utter a single word, likely never expecting me to pull a stunt like that. She looked adorable.

Taking out a small disposable tissue that I always carried in my pocket, I wiped my hand as I observed Hiyori's reaction.

She was still staring at me with a completely blank expression.

My declaration of war—which strongly hinted at a rapid development in our relationship—might have been a bit too much for her to handle.

Hiyori looked as though she would stay frozen like that forever, but she finally snapped out of it when Miho came walking down the stairs with a large bag slung over her shoulder.

"Hello, sunbae-nim. Have a great vacation."

The polite Miho bowed her head in greeting.

Hiyori suddenly snatched Miho's arm and dragged her away before I could even return the greeting.

She scampered away as if she were fleeing for her life, barely even bothering to open her umbrella. Watching her run off made me feel a bit worried.

Was she going to get completely soaked in the rain? What if she caught a cold?

If that happened, I'd just have to bring her over to my house, let her sleep over for the night, and nurse her back to health.

*

[I saw it.]

After dropping Miyuki off at her house and returning home to take a shower, I tilted my head in confusion when I saw a message from Renka on my Cell Phone.

[What did you see?]

[I saw you sexually harassing that blonde junior from last time.]

Where on earth could she have seen that?

It was raining way too hard to see inside from the outside, so that was impossible...

She must have seen us while coming downstairs to head home, or maybe on her way back from stopping by the faculty office.

[Were you on the first floor? You should have come over. I would have given you a ride home. You didn't get caught in the rain, did you?]

[Don't pretend to be nice. You're an irredeemable piece of Trash.]

[Why?]

[Why? Are you trying to say you aren't Trash after pulling a stunt like that?]

[What exactly did I do?]

[Don't try to fish for an answer. You're nothing but Trash.]

She kept cursing me out and calling me Trash, and it suddenly turned me on.

Miyuki wasn't sleeping over at my house tonight, and the blood was already rushing to my lower half...

With things like this, there was no way I couldn't pay Renka's house a visit.

I figured I'd go over to discipline Renka and make a good impression on her parents while I was at it.

My mind made up, I opened the closet where I kept my going-out clothes.

I picked out a neat shirt and a pair of pants, sending Renka a reply at the same time.

[Where are you right now? Outside?]

[What's it to you?]

[Just answer me.]

[I'm at home.]

[Then can I come over to the President's house today?]

[What?]

Bzzzt—!

A call came through from Renka immediately.

She seemed thoroughly shocked that I wanted to visit her house.

"Hello."

"What are you talking about? You're coming to my house?"

I smirked at the sheer panic in her voice and replied.

"Yes."

"Are you crazy? No way!"

"Why not?"

"Why would you just invite yourself over...! Stop joking around..."

"We aren't exactly strangers, are we? Anyway, I want to head over right now. Can I?"

"What are you saying...! I'm busy...!"

"Busy doing what?"

"No... I just..."

If she truly hated the idea of me coming over, she would have flat-out rejected me and stubbornly insisted I stay away.

In that sense, her hesitation was basically an invitation.

Reading Renka's true feelings, I spoke up.

"Are your parents home?"

"No...? D-Don't get any weird ideas! I'll kill you!?"

I had just asked a simple question, but she was already reading all sorts of implications into it.

She constantly cursed at me, calling me a perverted bastard and the like, but in reality, she was way worse.

"I'm heading out now. Can you come out to meet me?"

"R-Right now...? No... Not right now... Just, call me in an hour or something...!"

It only took a moment of thought to figure out why she was specifically giving me a timeframe.

She didn't want to show me her room—a veritable Pandora's box overflowing with hardcore otaku merchandise.

Come to think of it, Chinami must have visited Renka's house quite often. How on earth did she not know that Renka was a massive otaku?

Did Renka strictly forbid her from going inside the room?

Even so, when they were having meals with her parents or hanging out, surely Renka's mother or father would have mentioned it in passing... It was a mystery.

I figured I'd just chalk it up to Chinami being too innocent and pure to catch on.

Deciding to settle for that comfortable conclusion, I spoke up again.

"I'm incredibly bored right now, so I'm going to head over. It should take me about thirty minutes to get there. Fifty, if there's traffic."

"...Really?"

Giving her a generous timeframe immediately brought a hopeful tone back to her voice. It was both funny and absurd.

I chuckled at her blatant honesty—which always leaked out no matter how hard she tried to hide it—and changed my clothes the second I hung up the phone.

Based on our phone call, it seemed Renka had already accepted my tour of her room as a foregone conclusion. If that was the case, it was only proper for me to get there as quickly as possible.

Determined to make her lay everything bare for me to see, I stepped outside into the unrelenting rain.