"––––––Even I... like Hikigaya-kun."
A small confession, heard from the closeness of her chest.
Even soone as dense as could tell these words weren't ant in a friendly way.
This wasn't entirely unexpected. I'd always pretended not to notice, but sowhere deep down, I'd had an inkling.
That she held feelings for .
"I like you. I really, truly like you. So much that I can't help it."
She pulled her face away from my chest, turning toward with flushed cheeks and eyes glistening with tears. Her expression carried a sorrowful, bewitching allure that could captivate anyone who saw it.
"I love how kind and cool you are. I've always... been thinking about you."
She crawled closer, inching her way up from my chest.
Biting her lip slightly, she drew near.
"I love you... I really do. More than anyone else."
Words she would never normally say—Hiyori whispered them right into my ear. A shiver ran down my spine, and I reflexively covered my ears. But then, she sat atop , gazing down at from above.
"The thought of you being taken by another girl... I can't stand it. Won't you... make your number one?"
"..."
Her wavering, anxious eyes locked onto mine, and for a mont, my thoughts froze.
What was I supposed to say to her?
I knew full well that I wasn't cut out for romance. This was the first ti a girl had ever confessed to . Part of was honestly happy about it—that much was true.
I found her attractive. I was drawn to her. But at the sa ti, a single thought surfaced in my mind.
If, back at the start of the school year, Hiyori had confessed to the sa way she just did now––––––
...I would've accepted without hesitation.
Without any of this doubt, without even pretending to struggle.
No, even if it hadn't been Hiyori—whether it was a girl in my grade or another—if any girl had confessed to , I probably would've gone along with it.
––––––As a textbook. To learn what love was.
I didn't understand romance.
I didn't know love.
I didn't understand relationships between n and won.
I didn't know the sha or pleasure that ca with it, or anything of the sort.
The from before would've accepted Hiyori's confession without a second thought and beco her boyfriend.
But now was different.
I had... expectations for Hiyori.
A new hope I'd never even considered before. After all the ti I'd spent with her, I'd begun wishing for sothing more from her.
That's why, in response to her confession, I had to make my own judgnt.
Not as a pawn, not as a textbook—but as myself, facing Shiina Hiyori, a girl who had laid her heart bare. The most honest words I could muster right now.
"...I'm really happy about how you feel, Hiyori."
"..."
Her face twisted in anguish.
The words I'd chosen could easily be taken as rejection.
"...So it's true, then? You... like Sakayanagi-san?"
"No. That's not it."
"Then who...? Matsushita-san? Ibuki-san?"
"It's not like that, Hiyori."
Her hands clenched tightly around my clothes as she looked down, her expression a mix of sorrow and despair.
"This might sound strange, but... my emotions are shallow. I've never been in love before. I've never liked anyone that way."
It was the truth.
I knew nothing. I'd never known.
"That's why... I don't know how to answer you, Hiyori. I don't know what's right or wrong."
There had to have been a better way to phrase it, but for so reason, all that ca out were these half-hearted excuses. I couldn't help but feel a little disgusted with myself.
"This might just sound like a convenient excuse, but... because of my own issues, I can't return your feelings right now. If I accepted them here, I wouldn't be able to face you with my real feelings."
If possible, I wanted to genuinely co to like Hiyori.
This was my honest thought—yet at the sa ti, it wasn't.
Because part of wished for it, while another part knew it was impossible.
"..."
Hiyori clung to again, pressing down as she embraced from above.
"Can I... ask you sothing?"
"...Sure."
Once again, her clear, beautiful voice whispered right into my ear.
"Do you... find attractive?"
"...Of course. To —to anyone—Hiyori is incredibly attractive."
"Would it bother you... if I kept loving you from now on?"
"Not at all. Your feelings make genuinely happy. It's just... my own weakness getting in the way."
She wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing our bodies together.
Her clothes were thin, and I could feel every soft curve of hers against —but she didn't seem to mind.
"I don't think... I could ever like any other guy. I can't imagine anyone more wonderful than you."
"That's... really flattering."
"So... I'll work hard to make you like too. From now on, I'll be even more forward with my feelings!"
...Honestly, Hiyori had already been plenty forward before. If she turned it up even further, what was going to happen?
For just a second, a lewd thought flashed through my mind—but I shook my head violently, as if trying to cast it away.
.....
Before I knew it, Hiyori—who had been using my arm as a pillow—started poking my shoulder lightly.
"What's up?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I just... felt a little hesitant for a second."
She flashed a radiant smile, so bright that I had to look away.
"Why are you avoiding my eyes? I want you to look at ."
Hiyori tugged at my shirt, her grip a little firr than usual. Maybe the confession earlier had given her more confidence.
Resigned, I turned my gaze back to her, and she relaxed her cheeks happily. It was still hard to believe that such an adorable girl could have feelings for soone like .
"Hehe... It's kind of strange, isn't it? Just lying here together like this already makes so happy."
She murmured this as she snuggled closer, pressing against my chest.
"That much?"
"That much. Being like this... makes want to stay with you forever."
Her cheerful tone was unmistakable.
"...Say, Hikigaya-kun, do you prefer won with bigger chests too?"
She glanced down at her own chest, her voice tinged with disappointnt.
"...What brought this up?"
"I overheard you talking with Ishizaki-kun and the others about... that before. It's been on my mind ever since."
"Ah... right, that happened."
I distinctly rember the sharp glares from the girls in class that day.
"Well, I guess so guys might find bigger breasts more attractive, but not everyone cares. I don't."
"...You looked a little happy when Matsushita-san linked arms with you the other day, didn't you?"
Her gaze turned accusing, and I faltered.
"N-No, that was just... a natural reaction. Unavoidable, really."
Hiyori's glare intensified, as if she'd caught a cheating boyfriend red-handed.
"Hikigaya-kun, you're such a pervert."
"That's unfair."
"It's not unfair at all! You're the one with bad habits, Hikigaya-kun! It's all your fault for charming so many girls. Everything is your fault!"
She huffed and turned away.
Her harsh judgnt felt unreasonable, but I held my tongue, knowing anything I said now would only make her sulk more.
Pouting, Hiyori lifted her face from my chest, and our eyes inevitably t—causing her cheeks to flush deeply. It seed her sense of sha was still intact.
"...Hikigaya-kun, I think... I might be a little greedy."
Keeping her gaze locked on mine, she slowly leaned closer.
Her expression was a mix of vulnerability and shyness, her lips slightly pursed.
Anticipating what she wanted, I closed the distance as well... and our lips t.
At first, it was just a simple, chaste kiss. The brief contact lasted only a mont before I pulled back, but Hiyori—her eyes half-lidded—imdiately leaned in again.
"Mmm... More... I want more..."
This ti, she didn't let our lips part.
We stayed like that for a while, but as a healthy high school boy, a re kiss wasn't enough to satisfy .
"Sorry."
With that brief warning, I slipped my tongue into her mouth.
"Nngh—!"
The deeper kiss sent heat rushing through my body. At first, Hiyori seed startled, but soon she was actively tangling her tongue with mine.
"It feels... good... More..."
Even when we broke apart, she chased after my lips, kissing again and again.
Her expression—flushed, intoxicated, and more seductive than I'd ever seen—was impossible to look away from.
"I love you... Love you... I love you so much..."
Between whispered confessions, her heated gaze never left .
Responding to her relentless kisses, I wrapped my arms around her, fingers threading through her long, beautiful silver hair.
Our feverish embrace didn't end until we were both completely satisfied.
.....
"Did she fall asleep...?"
I gently stroked Hiyori's head as she clung to my arm, her breathing steady and rhythmic in sleep.
Being confessed to by Hiyori... made happy.
It was still sothing uncertain, but maybe I was starting to understand just a little.
"..."
I gave Hiyori an honest answer because it was her. If I said sothing irresponsible here, I wouldn't be able to face her properly ever again.
There were other girls I had expectations for too, which was why I couldn't just accept Hiyori's confession.
I knew it was dishonest. But responding to her feelings when my own were still unclear would be even more disrespectful to her.
"...Ayanokouji would have accepted it, wouldn't he?"
If it were Ayanokouji, he probably would have accepted the confession just to learn what love was.
To be honest, the sa thought had crossed my mind too.
But I realized that approach wouldn't work. So maybe I just chose a different thod instead.
"...Unknown caller?"
My phone suddenly rang.
It was 1 AM - who would call at this hour, let alone from a private number?
I could ignore it, but if it was so kind of ergency, answering might be better.
I picked up the phone and pressed accept.
"Hachiman Yagami."
Any drowsiness I felt vanished at those words. My guard went up as I focused completely.
They knew my old surna - was this soone from the White Room? The voice sounded male, but they could be disguising it.
More importantly right now - why contact at this mont? I needed to find out.
"Who are you? How do you know ?"
No response ca.
Just silence stretching for dozens of seconds.
"I'm neither friend nor foe to you or Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."
With those final words, the call ended.
"..."
Knowing both my old na and Ayanokouji's full na ant they definitely knew about the White Room - and in considerable depth.
But they didn't feel like a White Room student to . I couldn't imagine them doing sothing so reckless.
Which ant...
"Could they be a classmate?"
Either way, their identity remained unknown. They claid to be neutral - neither ally nor enemy - but there was no way to verify that.
"Mmm... Hachiman...kun...?"
Maybe because I'd been staring at my phone so long, Hiyori woke up beside .
"Is it... morning already?"
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she let out a small yawn.
"Still night. Sorry for waking you."
"Fufu... Hachiman-kun, you're such a night owl~"
Still half-asleep, she had this soft, dreamy aura about her that I couldn't ignore.
"You can go back to sleep. I'm turning in too."
"Is that so... Then let's do a goodnight chu~, okay?"
Bringing her drowsy face close, she suddenly moved in for a kiss.
"Chu~"
With arms spread wide and eyes closed, she puckered her lips toward .
Earlier, caught up in the mont, we'd ended up in a pretty deep kiss... but doing it again now felt different. It made nervous.
Despite my embarrassnt, I t her lips with mine.
"Ehehe... I love doing chu~ with Hachiman-kun."
With that sweet, shy murmur, she flopped back onto the bed and returned to dreamland.
Needless to say, I ended up losing quite a bit of sleep that night.
=================================
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