On Sunday, I went ahead and got my driver’s license.
Since I didn’t have an appointnt, it took the whole day to finish, but the process itself was simple enough.
When I finally got ho, a LINE ssage popped up from Kotoha. She sent a sticker of a rabbit peeking shyly over an edge.
[Are you ho?]
[Just ca ho.]
[Dinner at my house?]
[Okay.]
After changing into sothing comfortable, I crossed the short distance between our houses and knocked on the Minase door.
“Souta-kun. Welco!”
Kotoha greeted with her usual brightness, her smile lighting up her whole face. Perhaps it was because we’d beco more intimate, but just seeing her expression filled with joy now.
Kotoha was soone I truly loved.
Inside, Hikari was in the kitchen. She carried the sa motherly charm as always, greeting with a warm smile.
“I’ve been seeing you so often, it’s like you live here.”
“This is my vacation ho.”
“A vacation ho 10 steps away?”
“Well, it feels like a vacation when I co here.”
“Ufufu.”
My interactions with Hikari had beco smoother lately, though no real progress yet. I knew she was soone I needed to have a real, heartfelt talk with before we could grow closer.
That night’s dinner was curry. Comfort food at its finest. The savory fragrance filled the room, wrapping us in holiness. Sharing a al like this, laughter weaving between bites, it felt less like I was a guest and more like we were a family.
If only Hiyori could be here too.
By the way, I loved Hikari’s cooking. It was my favorite thing in the world.
As we ate, Kotoha slipped her hand under the table and grasped mine, her expression blissful.
I laced my fingers with hers and held them gently.
I had already decided on the next step of Kotoha’s sensitivity training. With handholding, I would split it into two patterns: gentle and affectionate when we were being couple-like, firm and forceful when things turned lewd. Little subconscious cues like this would slowly teach her body to associate the mood with the type of touch.
“Souta-kun. Do you want to go to my room?”
“Sure. To study, right?”
“Y-yeah.”
We both knew it wasn’t to study.
“I’ll bring you so fruits later,” Hikari said with a cheerful hum.
“Thank you, Hikari-san. Should I help you cut up the peaches?”
“No, no. It’s okay. Just relax and focus on studying.”
We went upstairs to Kotoha’s room.
It was clean, girly, and unmistakably hers. The faint fragrance of her filled the air, sweet and soft, and just one whiff was enough to send blood rushing through .
Her desk was neatly organized, notes and doodles pinned to the wall. Little reminders, sketches, even her latest track tis. On the floor was a low desk for studying, and her bed was made with a pink comforter.
Bookshelves lined with shojo manga and textbooks stood against the wall, decorated with small knickknacks and frad polaroid pictures. Most of them were of us when we were kids. Looking at them reminded how deeply our lives were tied together. In my case, it was even deeper. I’ve had known her across two lifetis.
“I haven’t been here in a long ti.”
“Right?”
After my parents’ deaths in junior high, I had isolated myself, and we grew more distant. But before then, we were inseparable. We would enter each other’s houses without hesitation.
I rembered tis when my parents weren’t ho so I’d co to her ho and Hikari would cut fruit for us as I watched TV. Other tis, I’d return ho to find Kotoha already in my room, waiting for .
“I’ll co by more often. Like back in the old days.”
“Yeah!”
I scanned her bookshelf and pulled out a familiar children’s book.
“You still have this? This is so nostalgic.”
“I love this story. We used to sit and read it together.”
“I rember. I couldn’t read so of the words, so you had to teach .”
“Hehe. Right?” She looked proud.
I sat cross-legged on the floor with the book.
“Do you want to read it again together?”
“Souta-kun wants to read a children’s book~” Thɪs chapter is updated by novel[f]ire
“Let have my fun.”
“Okay~”
After teasing , Kotoha joined on the floor. She hesitated for a mont before shyly scooting closer and leaning her head against my shoulder. Cute.
I began to read aloud, line by line.
It was even more nostalgic than I expected. The simple, heartwarming story of a pig and an elephant becoming friends carried back to a ti I had nearly forgotten.
A ti when everything was warm and colorful.
When my parents were still alive.
When we had big family dinners and Kotoha read this story to as we snuggled under a blanket.
The mory filled with a bittersweet warmth. It was a strange sensation. Like touching a part of myself I had lost.
Now, in this second life, I was nothing more than a husk carrying regrets. And yet, there were still three things that could stir my heart back to life: Kotoha, Hikari, and Hiyori.
That’s why I love them.
Spoiler
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