Episode Thirty-Four
The hot shower pouring over my head felt like coming back to life.
The pleasant heat melted away my fatigue.
Glancing at the bathroom shelf, I saw body soap, shampoo, and sponges lined up.
I wonder if it’s alright to use these.
While I hesitated over whether to ask, the bathroom door opened.
“Ibara, would it be alright if I borrowed these things around here—”
I turned around absentmindedly, and my words trailed off.
“Go ahead. Use whatever you like.”
“…Ah, right…”
Come to think of it, I recall feeling the same way the first time I did nude drawing.
That humans possess such a terribly complex, yet beautiful form.
“What?”
“Nothing. Sorry. Ibara-san is just so beautiful, I got lost staring.”
“Shigure-san, you always say things like that…”
“I’m serious.”
“It doesn’t exactly make me happy hearing that when I’m naked. Besides, you’re sexy too, Shigure-san.”
“Sorry, forget what I said earlier.”
“No way.”
Saying that, Ibara was casually watching me.
It was strange. A gaze shouldn’t have any mass, yet I could feel it distinctly. A tingling sensation, like fine hairs being tickled.
Was it because I was naked? I could even perceive exactly where Ibara was looking.
Ah, just now, she looked at my nipples. Pervert.
From there, her gaze descended along the curve of my shoulder, down my upper arm, tickling my side, to my navel. Then, hesitantly, it kept going down, lower and lower.
Honestly, that’s… embarrassing. How much is too much to look, you little adolescent girl.
I turned my back on Ibara.
Honestly, if she kept staring like that, my heart wouldn’t take it.
Was there any topic that might distract her? There was. Just one.
“About Runa, you see…”
As expected, Ibara flinched at that.
I pressed the nozzle of the body soap and worked it into a lather with the sponge.
“True, she was the model for the painting in the closet. And yes, we did live together. But it really wasn’t that sort of thing with her.”
“That sort of thing?”
“Well, you know… like an ex-girlfriend or current girlfriend sort of thing.”
“Hmm.”
Ibara reached around from behind me and took the soap and net.
“Well, I thought so too.”
“Eh?”
“I got all worked up at the time, but thinking about it calmly, it’s impossible you were lovers, right? Because Shigure-san was always sleeping with me. If she was seeing someone, that wouldn’t be possible, would it?”
“Ah… yeah, you’re right.”
She’s absolutely right. She’s so understanding, it’s a relief.
“Oh, by the way, the ex-girlfriend rumours haven’t been cleared up.”
“It was a misunderstanding, I tell you. We lived together, but that was truly all.”
“But you did take her clothes off, didn’t you?”
“The old Runa was really sloppy. If left to her own devices, she’d wear the same clothes for days. So I’d force her to take them off and wash them.”
“Huh.”
“That’s all. Honestly, it wasn’t that kind of relationship. Also, let me just say this one thing.”
“What?”
“Ibara isn’t some replacement for Runa.”
Lathering my body with soap, I declared it firmly.
“Maybe at first, just maybe, I thought that a tiny bit. But not now. Do you believe me?”
“I believe you.”
Ibara replied.
“If Shigure-san says so, I’ll believe you properly. But still, it’s frustrating.”
“Frustrating?”
“Because that person met you before me and lived with you, didn’t they?”
“Well, that’s…”
“That’s what’s frustrating.”
Eeeeh.
But that’s just something you can’t help, isn’t it?
Seven years ago, when I met Runa on the art university campus, Ibara was still in primary school.
“You slept with that person too, didn’t you?”
“Well, yes.”
“Have you ever given that someone a lap pillow?”
“…Well, sort of.”
“What about drying their hair?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Baths? Have you ever bathed together, like we are now?”
“Er, just once.”
“So you have.”
“There was this one day we went out in a massive snowstorm. It was like we’d die if we didn’t get in the bath quickly, so…”
“Just that one time?”
“…Sorry. Actually, there were two or three more times.”
“Hmm. What about this sort of thing?”
Ibara pressed something soft against my back.
“What the—⁉︎”
“What are you imagining? Shigure-san being naughty? It’s just a sponge.”
The soft texture, along with a generous amount of lather, stroked my back. The pressure was just ticklish enough to make my spine tingle.
“Did you two wash each other like this?”
“…We did.”
We’d been playfully washing each other.
What feelings had Runa been hiding back then?
“So, what about hugging?”
Something distinctly different from the sponge touched my back.
A warm, soft sensation, like solidified water, clung to my back.
This…
“I-Ibara⁉︎”
“Did you? Didn’t you?”
“We might have hugged each other playfully, but…”
“You did.”
Ibara wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me close. Firmly, as if asserting something.
Bubbles dripped down my skin, plop, plop.
In a voice so thin it seemed it might vanish any moment, Ibara whispered.
“…Then, what about kissing?”
“No, we didn’t.”
Hot breath touched my neck.
Ibara’s fingertips, resting on my stomach, parted, then entwined again.
“I want to. Let me do the things that person hasn’t done yet.”
“N-no, you can’t.”
“Why?”
“Why…? Well, Ibara, you might be at that age where you’re interested in such things. But just because we’re the same sex, that doesn’t mean it’s okay. Take proper care of yourself. Right?”
“You bloody idiot, Shigure-san!”
“H-huh!”
Ouch!
No way. Did this kid just bite my neck?
“It hurts! Ibara, why did you do that…?”
“Marking. And anyway, Shigure-san was in the wrong just now. Actually, Shigure-san is mostly to blame for everything.”
“Why…?”
“I do care about you.”
Ibara gently pulled away from my back.
Taking the shower nozzle, she rinsed the foam away with warm water.
“Let’s get in the bath. You’ll get cold again.”
†
We sat facing each other in the bath.
Seen straight on, it really was a beautiful body. Pale, smooth skin, floating there.
Not that I’m saying anything specific.
“…It’s warm, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Honestly, I’m really grateful for that.”
“When I caught Shigure-san’s eye just now, I thought my heart would stop. Your face went completely pale.”
“I suppose it was a bit much…”
“It’s work, right? Until morning?”
“Yeah.”
“You won’t be able to sleep until it’s over?”
“…Yeah.”
Oh, right, Ibara exhaled.
He leaned towards me, parting the water’s surface.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“I appreciate the thought, but—”
“Oh. Right… I mean, what kind of work does Shigure-san do?”
“Didn’t I mention? I’m a product packaging designer. Right now I’m working on a new package for a confectionery called ‘Rêve’.”
Ah, could this be a breach of confidentiality?
Ah well.
“‘Rêve’? As in that chocolate ‘Rêve’?”
“Yes. You know it?”
“The one with the princess on it, right? I rather like it, actually. The packaging illustration is cute. It’s going to change, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. They want a more grown-up design. No more princesses, they want to emphasise sophistication and sizzle instead—”
“That’s odd.”
“Eh?”
“Even adults like princesses, don’t they? I had quite a few older fans. Both men and women.”
Ah.
Something clicked into place in my head.
A crucial piece that had been missing from my design all along.
“—It’s the princess.”
“Eh?”
“That’s right. ‘Rêve’ is princess chocolate, so you can’t just erase that.”
Images flooded my mind.
During the concept review stage, the illustration of the princess, the very symbol of the current ‘Rêve’, was completely scrapped.
Too childish.
The policy was set to appeal to women in their twenties and thirties.
But perhaps that was where we went wrong.
Adults love cute, beautiful princesses too.
There’s no need to discard something beloved.
What’s needed is change.
Shift from the current fancy route to a smarter, more contemporary design.
“—I—”
“Eh?”
“Ibara, thank youuu!!”
“Hyah!”
Surrendering to the surging adrenaline, I threw myself into Ibara’s arms.
I hugged her tight as she thrashed about, splashing water everywhere.
“H-hold on, Shigure-san! You’re touching me! You’re touching me everywhere!”
“──Ah, s-sorry. I got carried away.”
“……This person really, truly is……”
Ibara growled, “Grrr.” Like a wolf. Adorable.
“So, about the princess?”
“Ah, well. The current idea just feels lacking somehow. So, I thought I’d add an illustration.”
“For the princess?”
“Yes. A princess with fluffy chestnut hair, wearing a fairy-tale dress.”
Ibara, hearing my words, rested her chin in her hand and pondered.
“──Well then.”
She lifted her face abruptly and said.
“Shall I be your model?”