Episode One Hundred and Seven
How long had we been like that?
Twice as long as our usual hugs, no, perhaps three times as long.
Just as I thought it was about time to pull away, my back was grabbed.
“…Ibara?”
“Not yet.”
Speaking briefly, she rubbed her forehead against my collarbone.
Her breath was damp.
Beneath that clingy gesture, I sensed a heat that wouldn’t be satisfied so easily, sending a shiver down my spine.
Somehow, I understood without needing to ask.
“…Um, Ibara. Could it be—”
“No. Don’t say it.”
“You… want to do naughty things?”
She lifted her face from my chest, glaring at me with a bright red face. The edges of her eyes were moist.
“I told you not to say it.”
“S-sorry.”
“…Ugh… Why is it always me…”
“Well, I suppose it’s because you’re young…”
When I said that, looking away, she glared at me fiercely.
“So were you naughty too, Shigure-san, when you were in high school?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“That’s unfair. You make me feel embarrassed, then play dumb yourself. You coward, Shigure-san.”
Well, is that really necessary?
“…Even if you say that, I was… well, normal, I suppose…”
“Normal?”
“Normal is normal, I tell you!”
“Normal, like this, for example?”
Ibara’s lips pressed against the nape of my neck.
A wet, slurping sound followed.
“When you’re close to someone you like, your heart races—”
“Yaaah—”
“The back of your head gets all hot and fuzzy, your chest tightens, breathing gets hard, and you want to touch them and be touched? Is that normal?”
“I-I don’t know. I’ve only seen it in pictures, never lived that kind of youth…”
“Good.”
Her tongue tickled my skin, flicking back and forth.
“Even though I asked, I was about to get really jealous.”
“I-Ibara, stop that. It tickles.”
“No.”
Her tongue traced my collarbone.
As if checking the shape of the bone, its hardness.
“When I’m with Shigure-san, I feel safe and incredibly calm, yet at the same time, my heart races just as much and I want to touch you. I wonder if I’m just really lustful. What do you think, Shigure-san?”
What on earth are you asking?
That thought crossed my mind as flashbacks of Ibara’s past actions played in my head.
Including her current self, happily sucking on my skin.
“Well… I can’t exactly deny that…”
“So I am, then.”
“But I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”
“Well, if Shigure-san’s okay with it, then it’s fine.”
What does that mean?
Before I could ask, Ibara’s palm slipped beneath my clothes.
“Because, you see. The only one who bothers me about being naughty, or makes me happy about it, is you, Shigure-san, right?”
Her fingertips sent a chill through me as they stroked my side, and I nearly cried out. I held back, pressing her hand down.
Looking up at me with puppy-dog eyes, Ibara tilted her head. That ‘please’ look.
Cunning.
Cunning and cute.
But.
“No?”
“No.”
That night on the trip, I couldn’t accept Ibara’s fingertips.
The attraction was undeniable, yet guilt and ethics held my body back.
Repeating the same act now would surely yield the same result.
That would wound Ibara’s heart, not mine.
Yet I couldn’t touch Ibara’s body either. If I did, I’d never forgive myself.
So it’s on hold. But still.
“Grrr…”
“Don’t growl.”
“But…”
“No need to rush. I’ll be right here.”
“…I know. But—”
With eyes lowered, I recalled our earlier exchange.
About Ibara’s parents. About the loneliness and solitude she’d felt all this time.
My chest ached sharply.
It seemed contradictory, but I wanted to do anything for her. Anything I could manage.
So I blurted it out.
“…Just a little bit, then. It’s alright.”
“Eh?”
“Well, I mean… my chest… or something. Ibara, you like them, don’t you? If we don’t go all the way, just a little bit…”
Even though I’d brought it up myself, my voice trailed off.
What on earth was I saying?
“Sorry, forget what I just said.”
“I like them, I like them, I like them so much! Right after Shigure-san, I like them super much!”
“Eh?”
“I can touch them⁉︎”
“Y-yeah, I guess…”
What does “I like them after you” even mean?
But, being made this happy somehow makes me feel pleased too.
I’d let her touch them a few times before, but still, my fingers trembled the moment I undid the hook.
“Eh?”
Ibara let out a small gasp.
“What?”
“It’s not over clothes.”
“Is over okay?”
After saying it, I felt like, what am I saying? It’s too late now.
“No. Directly is better.”
“I see… Ah, the lights. Shall I turn them off?”
“Eh, no. I’d rather they stay on.”
“It’s embarrassing, so no.”
I switched off the lights with the remote and lifted the hem of my knitted jumper up to just above my navel.
I could feel Ibara’s gaze so intensely it felt like it might pierce right through me.
“Shigure-san, lift it up properly.”
“No.”
“Eh? Then what was the point of turning off the lights?”
“It’s a mood thing.”
“Why have you been using polite language all this time?”
I pulled up the hem of my top, creating space between the fabric and my stomach.
I felt a gaze so intense it hurt. Somehow, my throat had gone completely dry.
“Right then, I’ll touch you.”
“You don’t need to announce every little thing…”
Smoothly, fingers slipped beneath my clothes.
Stroking around my navel, tracing my hips and spine, moving steadily upwards.
The moment the cold fingertips touched, I bit back a voice that threatened to escape.
Ibara leaned her weight onto me.
Pinned down, I felt the softness of the memory foam pillow beneath my back.
Ibara straddled my thigh, pressing herself ever so slightly beneath my skirt.
Then, she began to move her fingers.
In the darkened room, half-collapsed upon me, a beautiful girl was passionately kneading my breasts.
“Hah… ha…”
Her ragged breaths and rough movements revealed a desire so intense it made me dizzy.
She was trying so desperately that I felt like teasing her just a little.
“Ibara, you really do like them, don’t you? My breasts.”
“Eh…”
Thinking she’d been scolded, her fingertips stopped.
I stroked the back of her hand through her clothes, implying it wasn’t that.
As if asking if it was alright, her hand slowly started moving again. Honest little thing.
“Somehow, it’s cute, like a baby.”
“What was that?”
She seemed displeased, glaring at me with a sulky expression.
“I’m not a child.”
“But you look incredibly desperate.”
“…You can afford to be so smug now, but not for long.”
“Eh? But——kyah!”
She pulled up my top, and a rather adorable squeal escaped me, one that even I found a bit embarrassing.
“Oh……”
Ibara stared intently at my chest.
“Wh-what?”
“I’m saying they’re beautiful.”
Her fingers brushed the hem.
“They are really, really beautiful, Shigure-san.”
“But yours are more—”
“No. Mine are the most beautiful. Yours are mine.”
There was no time to stop her. Swiftly, she pressed her lips to the tip.
A lukewarm sensation licked the tip. Caught between her lips, a sweet, wet sound echoed.
This time, I couldn’t stifle my voice.
“Hang on, that’s cheating!”
“But I’m a baby, aren’t I?”
“That’s not what I meant, mmph!”
I pressed my palm over her mouth.
Even at the inn, she hadn’t gone this far.
The unfamiliar sensation became unbearable, and I forcibly pulled her away.
Even then, she pressed her lips back towards mine, as if reluctant to let go. Now, now, now.
“Honestly…!”
With no other choice, I grabbed both her ears and sealed her lips.
Instantly, her tongue parted my front teeth and slipped inside.
Small yet hot and slick, it desperately traced the contours of my mouth.
In that ravenous tongue, I sensed a more desperate urgency than usual. Was she anxious after all?
I wanted to say “It’s alright,” but with my lips sealed, no sound came out.
To offer even a little reassurance, I matched the soothing rhythm of her tongue. Had I done it properly? Did it get through?
Eventually, Ibara released my lips and buried her face in my chest.
Soon, gentle snores reached my ears.
Good. If she can sleep, she’ll be alright. That’s what I thought.
──Ibara vanished a week later.