← The Studious Boy and the Secret Account Girl
Volume 3
Chapter 42: A Night Alone Together
Chapter 42: A Night Alone Together
They walked through the rain together, he let her into his apartment, and she took a bath. After dinner, Matsurika seduced—no, provoked him. He was saved by a phone call from his stepsister, who he usually found annoying. He poured out his heart to Matsurika about keeping his distance from his family, and she gave him a push.
—A lot happened.
Leaning back into the sofa cushions and thinking back, it hadn’t even been half a day since they’d left school. And yet, with all these emotional ups and downs, the mental fatigue was seriously bad.
“Kariya-kun, would you like a refill?”
Matsurika, who had been sitting beside him, rose smoothly and grabbed the empty glass from the table. Tsutomu admired her shapely white legs peeking out from the hem of her dress shirt as he said, “Please.”
“Got it.”
The sight of the school idol heading toward the kitchen after that one word looked strangely natural. Tsutomu had never invited anyone of the opposite sex into this apartment—in fact, he’d never even invited anyone of the same sex. Having someone other than himself here should have been an abnormal situation, but there was no sense of wrongness at all. Matsurika, too, opened the fridge as if completely at home, took out the barley tea, poured it into the glass, and returned to the living room. Her bra-less chest bounced with each step. It was too much of a feast for the eyes.
“Hey, what do you usually do around this time, Kariya-kun?”
“Hm?”
Tsutomu checked the clock—it was nearly nine. Thanks to the call with his stepsister and the conversation with Matsurika, quite a bit of time had passed.
“Let’s see… around this time I’m usually studying.”
“Wow, so diligent.”
“Is there anything else to do?”
“Ehh, watch TV, talk with friends?”
“Neither of those has much to do with me.”
“Mmm, that’s so like you, Kariya-kun.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Do I have to say?”
“…No, it’s fine.”
He brought the glass to his lips, and cold barley tea flowed in. Maybe because they’d been talking so much, he was awfully thirsty. The pre-made barley tea tasted far better than usual. Matsurika had sat down on the floor rather than the sofa. The way she sat with her bottom flat on the floor was strangely alluring.
“Is living alone hard?”
“Where did that come from all of a sudden?”
Her sudden question caught him off guard. It had nothing to do with the flow of conversation up to now.
“I’m a high school student too, you know. It wouldn’t be strange if I were interested in living alone, right?”
“…I suppose that’s true.”
“It is true. So, what’s it like?”
She asked with an air of genuine curiosity. She’d done a lot for him today, and it wasn’t like he had anything to hide.
“Well, it’s hard, if you call it hard. You have to do everything yourself, and if you put things off, the work just piles up.”
On top of school studies, there was his part-time job. Adding housework to that wasn’t easy. If he got sick, the situation would deteriorate all at once. The fact that he couldn’t expect help from anyone also raised the difficulty level.
“Hmm. Hey, do you think I could do it?”
“Hard to say…”
He crossed his arms and thought about it. Matsurika was a perfect girl—sharp mind, beautiful face, outstanding athletic ability. That was the general image she had at school. But none of those strengths were particularly useful when it came to living alone. If she already did cooking, laundry, cleaning, and the rest of the housework regularly, she’d probably be fine, but…
“What do you do at home, Tachibana?”
“…I leave almost everything to Tome-san—I mean, the housekeeper.”
“Housekeeper? Now I’m the one asking something forward, but is your family well-off?”
You don’t hear about ordinary families employing housekeepers. Tsutomu’s stepfather and stepsister apparently lived in a way that could be called upper-class without exaggeration, but she’d never said a word about it. Which meant… the Tachibana family was of a considerably high rank. He had no memory of ever hearing anything about her family situation in relation to Matsurika.
“Uh… well, I guess we’re on the wealthier side.”
Her tone was oddly vague. Her gaze wandered in the air. Neither were gestures typical of her.
—This is probably something she doesn’t want touched.
For Tsutomu too, today was special—he normally didn’t talk about his family. Topics involving privacy weren’t the kind of thing you brought up casually with people. So he didn’t intend to press her on it.
“I think you’d manage somehow.”
“Think so?”
“If I can manage it, there’s no way you can’t, Tachibana.”
“The fact that you’re using yourself as the standard is vaguely unsettling.”
“Then don’t ask me.”
“That’s true too… yawn”
Matsurika smiled softly, then let out a small yawn. It still seemed early to sleep, but after a march through the rain and then a serious talk. On top of that, just being in a boy’s room of the same age was probably draining in itself. Matsurika was a girl of that age too. It wouldn’t be strange if she were worn out in both body and spirit. Tsutomu also felt a subtle fatigue. The exhaustion must have been accumulating without his noticing.
“It’s early, but maybe we should turn in.”
“Mmm… I might like to talk a little longer.”
“We can talk anytime, can’t we?”
Tsutomu held up his smartphone to show her. Matsurika puffed out her cheeks slightly, yawned once more, and reluctantly nodded.
“Well then—ah.”
He started to get up lightly, and a strange sound slipped out. At this point, he’d hit upon a problem he’d never even considered.
“What’s wrong, Kariya-kun?”
“…I don’t have any bedding.”
“Huh?”
Matsurika tilted her head in puzzlement. Tsutomu had never intended to invite anyone into this room in the first place. So he hadn’t prepared any futon for guests. There was only one bed, in Tsutomu’s room. The only other place that looked sleepable was… the living room sofa he’d been sitting on until now.
“I’ll sleep on the sofa. You use the bed, Tachibana.”
“Why would you do that? I’m the one intruding, so you should sleep in the bed, Kariya-kun.”
“I can’t make a girl sleep on the sofa in this situation!”
“Mmm…”
The calm atmosphere vanished in an instant, and the two of them glared at each other. Tsutomu had no intention of giving in. She was a guest—and a girl, at that. He couldn’t treat her roughly. Matsurika seemed to have understood that, and after a brief resistance, she reluctantly conceded.
“By the way, what about sleeping together?”
“Is that okay? I don’t know what might happen.”
“Sorry, I’d get pregnant, so no.”
“…Well, I wouldn’t do anything. Probably.”
“I wish you’d said that with certainty.”
When she glared at him with half-lidded eyes, Tsutomu felt a wave of unfairness fill his chest. He was going to share a bed with a beautiful girl his age, her attractive body covered only by a thin dress shirt (and panties). He didn’t have enough confidence in himself to assert that he could stay still and do nothing.
—I’m not weird. Is there any guy who could stay calm in this situation?
He kept that complaint to himself. He’d never really had this kind of dirty talk with other guys, so he couldn’t shake the question of “what if.”
“Well then, sorry to intrude, but I’ll borrow the bed.”
“Don’t worry about it. Also, lock the door.”
“Hey, are you really sure? Like, I wake up in the morning and my virginity’s gone—that kind of development isn’t going to happen, right?”
“That’s why I’m telling you to lock the door!”
“…What do you think would happen if I deliberately left it unlocked?”
“I can’t guarantee anything.”
“So blunt… I’ll lock it, then.”
“Please do.”
Matsurika stepped backward into Tsutomu’s bedroom. Before long, the door closed, and he heard the sound of the lock clicking. He let out a single sigh at the complicated feeling—half relieved, half disappointed.
—Time to sleep.
He turned off the living room light and placed his glasses on the table. He lay down on the sofa and closed his eyes.
“She’s a virgin, huh.”
That mutter, despite being quiet, echoed far too loudly. Tsutomu instinctively looked at his bedroom door. If Matsurika had heard that, all sorts of things would be bad. There was no reaction, so he felt relieved. He sank back into the sofa.
Considering Matsurika’s relationship history—going through boyfriend after boyfriend—it was surprising. But thinking that way also felt like an insult to her. In the darkness filled with the sound of rain and wind, closing his eyes brought Matsurika’s naked form floating up behind his eyelids. He hadn’t seen all of it, but a considerable portion was burned into his vision. Her soft-looking limbs. Her smooth skin. Her fragrant scent and body heat. With all five senses, replaying it was easy. The phantom of Matsurika twisting her body and the memory of her sweet, melting voice gnawed at his reason. His body naturally grew hot, and combined with the high humidity, it was unbearably hard to sleep.
—Is she sleeping properly?
Thinking of the girl who must be lying in the bed in his room only accelerated his impure thoughts. He strained his ears, but no sound came from his room. She was probably asleep. Not that he could check anyway, since the door was locked. He shook his head to drive away the lewd fantasies. Even so, Tsutomu was a healthy high school boy. Lust, once ignited, didn’t disappear so easily. Knowing Matsurika was just one wall away, he couldn’t even relieve himself. Tormented by restless thoughts, time passed, and before he knew it, his consciousness dissolved into the darkness.