Chapter 3: I Can Have You All to Myself

(“How did this happen?”)

As blood seeped out of Kyosuke’s right knee and mixed with the hot shower water, flowing down the drain, he sighed deeply.

“Fujimura!”

“Y-yes!”

Kyosuke’s spine straightened at the sound of the voice from behind the frosted glass.

“W-wait, why are you using polite speech?”

“Ah, no, there’s no particular reason.”

“…Well, whatever. I’ll leave a towel here for you. I’ll be waiting in the room.”

Ayano said, “Take your time,” and left the changing area.

(“Waiting in the room… waiting, huh…”)

The sweet sound of her words invited wicked fantasies to invade his mind. He immediately drenched himself in the shower once more, washing those thoughts away.

This was a room in an apartment building situated about a ten-minute walk from the school—the place where Ayano lived.

After leaving school, Kyosuke had slipped on wet cherry blossom petals just a few minutes after passing through the school gate and had fallen spectacularly. It was the second time that day, and it was so ridiculous that it wasn’t even funny.

His uniform jacket was covered in mud, and his pants were torn at the right knee, leaving a wound that wouldn’t heal for some time.

“My place is nearby, so why don’t you come over and get cleaned up? You can wash your clothes and dry them with a dryer too!”

After some hesitation, Kyosuke finally nodded in agreement to her proposal.

His home wasn’t too far away, but he didn’t have the courage to walk back while advertising that, as a high school student, he had managed to fall face-first, his clothes covered in mud and blood oozing from his knee. More than anything, he couldn’t bring himself to brush off her genuine concern.

(“I wonder if it’s okay for her to invite a guy over so easily… Is that just what popular people do?”)

She was beautiful enough that it wouldn’t be surprising if she had at least one boyfriend.

Her tolerance for the opposite sex must be several times higher than his own.

(“Come to think of it, isn’t this situation usually the other way around?”)

As he dried himself off with a bath towel, Kyosuke sighed.

In manga and novels, it’s common for an injured person to be taken care of by a classmate living alone. But usually, it’s the guy taking care of the girl, and it’s the heroine whose clothes get washed and who borrows clothes.

Feeling slightly ashamed of his pathetic situation, he reached for her tracksuit.

Upon unfolding it, he saw “6th Grade, Class 2, Sasagawa Ayano” written prominently across the chest. It seemed to be from her elementary school days.

“Th-that girl…”

It was true that he was small. His height had stopped increasing, and his shoe size hadn’t changed in a long time.

However, he was confident that he was bigger than Ayano was when she was in elementary school.

Biting his lip in anger, he slipped on the tracksuit.

He would show her how tight and snug it was on him and make her regret treating him like a child.

“…”

The sleeves and hem were too long.

♥

Returning to the living room after placing clothes and bandages in the changing area, Ayano collapsed onto the sofa with a heavy sigh.

(“Wh-what have I done?!”)

She ruffled her hair roughly and squirmed like an inchworm.

Pressing her face into a cushion, she let out a silent scream, flapping her long legs in the air.

(“If I just suddenly invite him over, he’ll get the wrong idea! St-stupid! I’m so stupid!”)

As they walked home together, chatting casually, he suddenly fell.

She had been flustered by the sight of his severe bleeding and had impulsively invited him into her home. But now, she was realizing the carelessness of her actions.

(“What if he thinks I’m experienced and spreads weird rumors about me?”)

An unsettling future crossed her mind.

A girl who lives alone and casually invites a male classmate she isn’t even that close with into her home.

If people started thinking that about her and spread rumors, her high school life would be over. It would be a situation far worse than anything she experienced in middle school.

(“I have to find a way to keep him quiet…”)

One hundred thousand yen, or two hundred thousand yen.

She unconsciously began calculating the amount of money she would need, but the sound of rain and wind rattling the veranda glass snapped her back to reality.

Sitting up, she looked at the open doorway of the living room and the soaking wet folding umbrella left by the entrance.

“Ahh… I’m really an idiot.”

Clenching her teeth, she lightly hit the cushion.

He definitely wouldn’t spread any strange rumors about her. And he wouldn’t accept any money.

“Who’s everyone? Don’t include me without asking.”

He had said that during lunch break today.

That’s right. He was different from everyone else. Nobody else had ever turned down a thank you or rushed back to her in such bad conditions.

It was because he was that kind of person that she impulsively wanted to keep him by her side. She had a strong desire to be with him.

“…Phew.”

She sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

The sound of the shower hadn’t stopped yet.

Her heart was pounding just a little.

“N-no, that’s not it! It’s not like that at all…”

She slapped both cheeks, trying to convince her rapidly beating heart.

This was the thrill of making a new friend. There was absolutely no strange meaning behind it.

“Ugh…”

She hugged the cushion tightly and rubbed her heated cheeks against it. While letting out a growl like an animal, she tried to expel the indescribable feeling that was building inside her.

♠

As Kyosuke emerged from the changing area and opened the living room door, Ayano was sitting cross-legged on the sofa.

A variety of common appliances and furniture filled the slightly more than 10-tatami-sized room. Cute trinkets added a modest touch of color to the room, and an unfamiliar pleasant scent heightened the tension.

“It’s too big for you, huh?”

“Shut up.”

Ayano smirked at Kyosuke, who rolled up his sleeves and hem while walking. As soon as she made a snide remark, her smile grew even wider.

“Why are you standing? Sit down.”

Ayano patted the spot next to her on the sofa.

Feeling awkward about where to look, Kyosuke followed her invitation.

She had taken off her school uniform, now wearing a white T-shirt and denim shorts. It wasn’t a particularly distinctive outfit, but her healthy white skin was exposed under the LED lights, emphasizing her presence.

“Does it hurt? Can you walk home?”

“I think I’ll be fine. It’s not that far.”

As he said this, stroking the adhesive bandage on his knee, Ayano let out a sigh of relief.

There were no words to follow. He wondered if he should bring up a topic of conversation, but as he couldn’t think of anything besides the weather, he remained silent.

“Thanks.”

Following the voice that broke the silence, he looked to his right.

Her deep blue eyes were peering at him. She gently tucked her hair behind her ear with her slender fingers, her mouth curving into a soft smile.

“It’s no big deal about the umbrella. It just happened to be in my bag.”

“But you didn’t have to go all the way back to school.”

“…I just felt like being a good person today.”

“Fujimura, you’re so stubborn. If you had made a big deal out of it, you could have demanded a lot of things from me.”

A lot of things. As those words passed through his ears, various fantasies raced through Kyosuke’s mind.

No, no, he shook his head. He didn’t want that, and she probably didn’t mean it that way either.

“You’re missing out. You should try to get along with everyone.”

“What I do is none of your business, Sasagawa-san.”

“Going shopping together, going to karaoke – it might be fun, you know?”

“I’m telling you, I don’t need that stuff.”

“I see.”

As Ayano murmured that, she leaned her upper body towards him without a moment’s hesitation.

Their gazes intertwined at close range. Their hands, shoulders, and thighs touched, sharing warmth.

“Well, I can have Fujimura all to myself then.”

Though she spoke with a hint of jest, her eyes, filled with a captivating light, were fixed intently on Kyosuke.

Her cheeks flushed, and her hot breath escaped from slightly parted, pale pink lips.

Feeling his heart race, Kyosuke tried to dispel any improper thoughts by picturing his mother’s face.

“…Huh?”

Kyosuke felt something was off.

“Let me check for a moment,” he said and placed his hand on Ayano’s forehead.

Ayano was breathing shallowly, her eyes vacant. Her forehead was damp with sweat, and the temperature he felt with his hand was higher than normal.

(“Come to think of it, she was sneezing earlier.”)

He remembered when they left the entrance. That face with a runny nose and a laugh was still vivid in his mind.

“Are you okay? You seem to have a fever.”

“Eh?”

Ayano put her hand on her forehead, and the color drained from her face in an instant.

“I need to take some medicine.”

She suddenly stood up, but her body wobbled unsteadily.

If she continued like this, she’d hit her head on the TV. Kyosuke reached out, grabbed her arm, and helped her regain her balance.

“Just tell me where the medicine is, and I’ll get it for you.”

“But…”

“Do you want me to just sit back and watch, as you try to get it yourself, while you’re sick and unsteady?”

At his admittedly unfair question, Ayano was at a loss for words.

He made her sit down and first took her temperature with a thermometer. It was exactly 38 degrees Celsius, so it was no wonder she felt unsteady.

“Why did this happen…?”

She sighed as she looked at the thermometer’s reading.

“You’re probably just worn out from your new life. There’s also been a difference in temperature between yesterday and today.”

“But… but Chisa and Kaoruko invited me to go out with them tomorrow. I was so happy…”

He recognized the names. They were undoubtedly the two girls Ayano often talked to in the classroom, the ones who badmouthed others after school.

Why did they invite someone they disliked to hang out? He assumed they just wanted the status of being friends with someone who is a model.

“What should I do…?”

Her voice barely audible, she hugged her knees and shrank into herself.

Ayano, who was taller than him, already working and considered an adult, and able to act cheerfully around many people, now seemed like just an ordinary girl her age.

“For now, eat something, take your medicine, and go to sleep. I’ll let myself out.”

“…Will I be better by tomorrow?”

It would be easy to say she probably would be. Even if it was just to comfort her, if it would help her feel better, he should say it.

It wasn’t his place to interfere in someone else’s friendships.

Even knowing that, the badmouthing still flickered in his mind. It made his skin crawl.

“If it doesn’t work out, I’ll go shopping or karaoke with you. You did say you wanted me all to yourself, didn’t you?”

Kyosuke was aware that he was saying something incredibly embarrassing.

Even so, he didn’t want to give her false hope for tomorrow.

He was aware that it was self-righteous and arrogant, but he believed she should stop hanging out with people who pretend to be friends and laugh behind her back.

“Really…?”

“I’m not skillful enough to lie at a time like this.”

Her lips curled slightly, seemingly reassured. Ayano showed her pinky finger on her left hand. Kyosuke hesitated for a moment before extending his own pinky finger and entwining them, just like they did when they were children.

“Pinky promise.”

“Stop it, it’s embarrassing. We don’t need to sing it.”

“But if we don’t do it properly, it won’t be a promise…”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my promise.”

“If you break it, will you swallow a needle?”

“I’ll swallow it, I’ll swallow anything.”

“…Alright.”

As Kyosuke reassured her, Ayano nodded. She untangled their pinkies, lowered her gaze, and smiled like a young child.

Kyosuke let out a sigh, placing his hand on his chest.

His heart ached from his unfamiliar interaction with a girl. He even made a promise to hang out, feeling dizzy at his own kindness.

“Huh? Hey, wait!”

In just a minute of silence, Ayano had fallen asleep, still sitting on the sofa.

He tried calling out to her, but there was no response, and her face was completely relaxed.

(“Don’t just fall asleep in front of a guy like that…”)

Worried about Ayano’s carelessness, he felt his cheeks grow hot as he looked at the sleeping face of someone of the opposite sex who wasn’t family for the first time.

He grabbed a hoodie from a hanger in the corner of the room and draped it over her body. He thought he should carry her to her bedroom, but he was hesitant to wake her up.

“…Fujimura.”

He was surprised by the sudden call, but it seemed to be sleep talk.

“I’ll have you all to myself… Hehe…”

She smiled and shifted a little, then fell back into a deep sleep.

She looked so adorable that,

“Ah, um… h…”

An incredibly disgusting grin mixed with embarrassment and delight took over his face. He immediately covered it with both hands, shaking his head to chase it away.

(“Am I an idiot?! It’s just sleep talk!!”)

He thrashed around quietly so as not to wake Ayano, stubbed his little toe on the corner of the table in the process, and was in agony. Finally, his wicked thoughts vanished. With a slightly clearer head, he looked at her again.

(“What’s so interesting about having me all to yourself? Is this what ‘normies’ are like? This sense of distance is way too broken…”)

Baffled by the strange behavior of the mysterious creatures called ‘normies,’ he scratched the back of his head.