Chapter 16

“I was so surprised. To think that Ryuichi-kun would already be here when I got back.”
“Blame the temptation of a good meal.”

At Ryuichi’s words, Sakie let out a soft giggle.
After that earlier moment, Shizuna had asked to be held, so he simply stayed by her side just as she wished. She hadn’t wanted to let go for the longest time, but thanks to Sakie returning right on cue, Shizuna finally managed to pull herself away from Ryuichi.

Right now, Shizuna was in the bathroom, leaving Ryuichi and Sakie to chat alone while she finished cooking. Sakie had certainly looked surprised at first, but given how she leaned in and kissed Ryuichi the moment Shizuna stepped away, she was clearly happy about it.

“I saw Souhei-kun on my way back. He had a look like he wanted to say something, but I guess I can roughly figure out what’s going on.”
“You’re not going to say anything to him?”
“There’s no need, is there? Everything is up to Shizuna to decide. As long as it isn’t an utterly disastrous choice, I don’t intend to interfere with what she chooses for herself.”

That essentially meant taking Ryuichi’s side over Souhei’s.
Sakie likely wouldn’t find fault with whatever choice Ryuichi made, either. The events of that night had firmly planted those feelings for Ryuichi inside her heart. She certainly wouldn’t smile at someone she disliked, and she definitely wouldn’t initiate a kiss on her own accord.

“Phew, all refreshed♪ Mom, you should go take a bath too, shouldn’t you?”

Just as they were talking, Shizuna returned to the living room.
He had seen plenty of outfits on her across various manga chapters, but the only look Ryuichi had ever laid eyes on in person was her school uniform. Even when they went to the bar earlier, she had been wearing it, making this the very first time he was seeing her in anything else.

“What’s wrong?”

After Sakie left the living room, Ryuichi found himself staring intently at Shizuna.
Fresh out of the bath, her flushed cheeks looked alluring, giving off a completely relaxed, off-duty vibe. The pink-themed pajamas suited her well; while he wouldn’t go so far as to say they were bursting at the seams, her cleavage pushed heavily against the fabric, proudly declaring its presence.

(I thought the same thing with Chisa, but why do women always look so impossibly alluring right after a bath?)

An eternal mystery, Ryuichi chuckled to himself.
The fact that he didn’t feel any embarrassment upon seeing Shizuna like this was simply proof of his extensive experience with women. Having been involved with many partners and grown thoroughly used to seeing them bare, there was no way he would blush over something like this now.

“Do they look… weird on me?”

It seemed Shizuna had assumed he was staring because the pajamas didn’t suit her. Ryuichi let out a wry smile and assured her that wasn’t the case at all.

“I’m pretty used to seeing people in pajamas. Still, I think they look pretty good on you. Honestly, they’re so alluring they make me want to lay a hand on you.”
“R-Really…♪”

There wasn’t a single lie in those words about wanting to touch her.
If it were the Ryuichi of a short while ago, he probably would have shoved her down without a second thought, devoured her lips, and kneaded those voluptuous breasts. He would have plunged straight into the main event as the banquet of pleasure began… He mused privately that it sounded just like a classic erotic manga scenario.

“It’s… a little hot in here, maybe?”
“Really? It’s not even May yet, so it shouldn’t be…” Ryuichi trailed off. “Ah, probably because you just took a bath, huh?”
“That must be it. But it’s hot… Yup, I’m definitely hot!”

With that, Shizuna unbuttoned the top button of her pajamas.
Her bountiful chest spilled forward with an audible visual weight, revealing a shapely, alluring cleavage. Even so, it was a sight Ryuichi was already well accustomed to. Instead of looking away from the stimulating view, he was the type to gaze right at it with a quiet, appreciative breath.

“……!”
“If you’re going to get embarrassed, you shouldn’t do it.”

It seemed Shizuna ended up flustered instead.
From there, Shizuna stepped in to take over the rest of the cooking from Sakie. Ryuichi watched her bustling around the kitchen and quietly smiled, thinking that watching someone cook for you really was a pleasant experience. He tried to slide over and offer a hand, but was shot down instantly.

“I told you, didn’t I? Ryuichi-kun can’t cook, so just go sit down.”
“…Yes.”

He had learned this before: when it came to cooking, he was a total amateur. Consequently, he had no choice but to obey Shizuna quietly. Standing at over six feet tall, he obediently shrank back into his seat once more.

Yet all that lingering frustration completely vanished the moment the dishes were served.

“…This is way too good. You’re a genius, Shizuna.”
“Fufu, thank you, Ryuichi-kun.”

With Sakie back as well and dinner officially finished, Ryuichi dug right in.
Since Sakie had chipped in alongside Shizuna, he made sure to express his thanks to both of them. The two women beamed and thanked him in return, watching affectionately as Ryuichi polished off meal after meal with gusto.

Aside from the promised hamburger steak, there were extra plates like deep-fried chicken karaage and whitefish fry—dishes bound to hit the spot for any growing guy—and Ryuichi ate the lion’s share of it all. Though he paused for breath a few times, Shizuna and Sakie kept pressing more food onto his plate with a cheerful here, have some, leaving him no choice but to keep going.

“…Phew, that was seriously amazing. Best dinner ever, Shizuna.”
“I’m glad. Seeing you enjoy it that much… well, it makes me really happy.”

After dinner, Ryuichi found himself invited into Shizuna’s room. He had originally intended to head straight home afterward, but Shizuna apparently wasn’t ready to let him leave just yet. It wasn’t as if anyone would scold him for staying out late—even if his parents were still alive, they wouldn’t have given him grief over it.

“Still… this is a really nice room.”
“Compared to your place, sure.”
“Hey, don’t compare it to my old garbage dump of a room… Ugh, saying that out loud just makes me depressed.”
“Fufu! It really was filthy, after all!”
“Shut up.”

Looking away from a giggling Shizuna, Ryuichi let his gaze sweep across the room once more.
It was a clean, quintessential girl’s room, devoid of any unnecessary clutter and entirely free of any cramped feeling. Not a single stray hair rested on the carpet, suggesting she kept up a regular cleaning schedule. Well, regular cleaning was supposed to be the norm; the only abnormal one here was Ryuichi, who had neglected it entirely until now.

As Ryuichi finished surveying the room, he finally brought up the main topic. When he turned his eyes to Shizuna sitting right beside him, she gave a nervous little start before meeting his gaze.

“So, why did you invite me into your room? I figure you didn’t just want to chat.”
“…Yeah.”

Shizuna took a deep, deliberate breath before continuing.

“You asked me something earlier, didn’t you? Whether I was a woman you could take.”
“Hm? Ah, right.”
“…I still don’t really understand what romance is, you know.”

Shizuna placed a hand over her chest as she spoke.
She didn’t yet know what love truly meant, which was precisely why she wanted to find out.

“The way I got to know you started purely by chance, but ever since then, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Ryuichi-kun. Every single thing you say throws my heart into complete chaos. I catch myself having lewd thoughts, but even when I do, all I end up doing is thinking about you more. I even felt jealous when I heard about the female college student, and when I found out about you and Mom.”
“…I see.”

She might not understand the concept of romance yet, but the intense affection radiating from her current self was undeniable. Telling her it was just a misunderstanding might technically spare her feelings, but after watching her struggle so desperately to put her heart into words, dismissing it with a single “you’re wrong” would be far too cruel.

“Whether we date or don’t date, whether we’re boyfriend and girlfriend—none of that matters right now. What I want right now is a relationship with Ryuichi-kun. I want to… become a woman who shares that kind of bond with Ryuichi-kun.”
“…Are you serious?”
“Yes, completely serious.”

Shizuna gave a firm, confident nod.
Ryuichi was flattered by her affection, but turning that into an actual romantic relationship was an entirely separate issue. Not that he had any room to talk, but the fact that Shizuna was willing to say something like this made her seem a little unhinged, too—or so it struck him.

“…Man, this is a first for me.”
“A first?”
“Yeah. Until now, I only ever held women for the sake of getting off. It felt good… but this is the first time I’ve had a woman tell me straight to my face that she wants me to hold her, and actually found it hard to reach out right away.”
“…Am I really that unappealing to you?”

It seemed Shizuna had misinterpreted his words as a sign that she lacked charm. Watching her shoulders drop in disappointment, Ryuichi let out a wry smile, reached out, and pulled her close into an embrace.

“Ah♪”
“Won’t you regret this?”
“Never. Absolutely not.”

As she nodded against him, he leaned in and captured her lips.
If that was what Shizuna wanted, he wouldn’t hold back anymore. He would simply devour this fine woman right in front of him… Figuring that he might as well stick to his usual routine, Ryuichi let go of his hesitation.

Heroine, prop, target—he pushed all those labels aside for now and simply lost himself in the moment with her. In a world far removed from love, where they merely consumed one another.

(To think you were such a filthy human being. I’m sure the child carrying your blood will turn out just the same.)
(I couldn’t care less. Sure, I squeezed this brat out of my own womb, but honestly, he’s just a money sink and a total nuisance.)

For a brief second, the voices of his long-forgotten parents echoed in the back of his mind, but focusing on the warmth of Shizuna’s body made them vanish instantly.

“…Just in case.”
“Hm?”
“If you’d turned me down, I was actually planning to put on a crying act and ask why you slept with Mom right away but wouldn’t do it with me.”
“You were going to go that far?”
“Yup… I’m a little scared, but I know my body is being completely honest with me right now.”
“Heh, you really do have a lewd body, don’t you?”
“Don’t say it like that♪”

The exact moment something changed—both Ryuichi and Shizuna understood it without needing words.