Episode Twenty-Two: It’s My Own Tongue, So How Do I Lick It?
I’d had Yui-san in my room before, but this was the first time I’d ever set foot in hers.
A little tense, I followed her tall frame inside.
“Haven’t opened this since graduation, probably.”
Stepping through the door, her soft scent surrounded me, and I breathed it in, deep.
Inside, a single large bed and a desk, arranged just as simply and tidily as I’d expected.
Yui-san reached into the closet. Pulling out a thick, blue-covered book, she nodded toward the bed — sit — and I did, and she settled down right beside me.
The blue cover bore the name of a prestigious girls’ university’s affiliated high school, printed in gold letters.
She’d have entered expecting internal promotion to the university proper — so why had she taken the exams for a national university instead? She’s clearly sharp, but she never struck me as the diligent, hit-the-books type.
I opened the stiff cover.
“…Is this actually fun for you? Looking at a yearbook?”
“It’s fun. What class were you in, Yui-san?”
“Um, third year I think I was in class two.”
I flipped to find the right page. Among the roughly forty girls’ portrait photos, Yui-san jumped out at me instantly.
“Wow, so cute! But also, kind of a delinquent vibe…”
For a girls’ school, there was one girl in the whole lineup wearing an earring. Her features, her whole polished, effortless presence, stood out enough from everyone else that I recognized her at a glance.
“My grades were fine, so nobody really said anything about it.”
I looked over the other girls one by one, hunting for Yui-san’s type — someone with a cute, cat-like face.
Naturally, for a school full of well-raised girls, everyone looked clean-cut and lovely. My confidence chipped away, bit by bit, with every face I passed.
“…What are you looking so intently for?”
“Was there anyone in here you liked, Yui-san?”
I stared straight into her eyes, sitting beside me. I didn’t know if she’d actually tell me, and figured she might just deflect again, but I couldn’t help asking.
“…No, there wasn’t.”
“Then, what class was your ex in…?”
At that, Yui-san seemed to catch onto what I was really after, and let out a small, amused laugh.
“Was that your real goal? You wanted to see my ex?”
She leaned in close, peering at me, and, a little embarrassed, I looked away.
“Don’t hold out on me. Just tell me.”
“Sorry, but she’s not in here.”
“Hmm… so not a classmate, then. Upperclassman? Underclassman? What kind of person was your ex…?”
Since the person I was looking for wasn’t in here, I closed the yearbook with a small snap. Yui-san smiled, troubled. I could tell she didn’t want to talk about it. So I just stayed quiet, waiting for her answer.
“Hmm… do I really have to say?”
“Then I’ll tell you about my ex-boyfriend too, so spill it.”
“Eh, no thanks. I really don’t want to hear about your ex-boyfriend.”
Yui-san answered so instantly that I couldn’t help laughing. I reached over and took her hand gently. I know a trick that works well in moments like this.
“C’mon, Yui-san, please. Tell me.”
Yui-san’s kind, and she’s weak to a woman asking nicely. Maybe it’s a little calculated of me, but I really wanted to know.
“Ugh… what would you even do with that information?”
“I just want to know. Please, Yui-san?”
At that, Yui-san sighed, resigned.
“She was a university student. Four years older. We dated from my first year of high school through my third.”
A university student? Four years older? Which meant sixteen-year-old Yui-san had dated a twenty-year-old woman?
“…That’s a crime.”
“Knew you’d say that. That’s exactly why I didn’t want to tell you.”
“How do you even meet someone like that?”
“She was my tutor…”
“So you’re saying you made a move on your own teacher?”
“…Shouldn’t that be phrased the other way? The teacher made a move on the student?”
“Knowing you, you’re the one who came on to her first, aren’t you?”
“Fine, think whatever you want…”
Yui-san looked away, uncomfortable. She must have really not wanted to say it, letting her shoulders drop with a heavy sigh.
“So you had a thing for older women, Yui-san…”
Age is a wall I can’t get around, no matter what. I’m two years younger than her, and compared to her ex, six years younger.
“I never really cared about age specifically.”
“I see…”
Still, a high school girl dating her own tutor, same-sex — that’s not a story you hear every day. If Yui-san had held back this much just to tell me, she’d probably never told anyone before. To avoid causing her trouble, I imagine.
“What’s she doing now, your ex?”
“If she didn’t quit, probably teaching somewhere. We broke up right before graduation, and I haven’t been in touch since, so I don’t really know.”
She’d told me before that she was the one who got dumped. That the fault was on her end too.
Once she graduated high school and became a proper university student, she should have been free of a relationship that had to stay secret. So why did they break up?
The more I ask, the less I actually understand.
Having lived with her this long, I know this much — Yui-san would make the perfect girlfriend for someone. …Setting aside her terrible track record with women, anyway.
“…Are you still hung up on her, even now?”
“No way. That was years ago.”
“Why did you break up?”
“Hmm… want to know?”
“I want to know. More about you, Yui-san.”
At that, Yui-san smiled, gentle. Her arm reached out, suddenly, touching my cheek.
“…I’ll tell you eventually. That’s enough on this topic for today.”
Deep black eyes held me in place, cautioning. It felt like she was telling me not to push any further than this.
I wanted to leap straight past the line she’d drawn, right now, but she wasn’t going to let me.
She’s always saying she likes me. Always calling me cute. Dissatisfied, I pouted, just slightly, and looked down.
“…Then, one last question. Was she cuter than me? That girl.”
I heard Yui-san laugh, soft. Why are you laughing, I started to complain, lifting my face, and found her eyes watching me, calm, still — and yet somehow it stirred up my heart mercilessly all the same.
“Not at all. You’re cuter, Kanata.”
The hand at my cheek slid to the back of my neck. I realized, too late, that I’d been pinned in place, unable to pull away, and her face closed the distance, our lips meeting naturally.
Light, just a brief touch, over in an instant, and at this close range, our eyes met, and Yui-san smiled, narrowing her eyes.
“…Why did you kiss me?”
“Isn’t it natural, wanting to kiss someone once you think they’re cute?”
Is that how it works? I don’t know. But being kissed like this, in Yui-san’s own room, on her own bed, I couldn’t help but feel a little too aware of it.
“…By that logic, doesn’t that mean you don’t normally think I’m cute?”
Especially not lately, it felt like. It’s been half a month since I bit her. And in all that time, not a single kiss.
I know full well I’d just said something needlessly difficult.
“I always want to kiss you. I’ve just been holding back. My tongue’s been sore lately, thanks to a certain someone biting it.”
Her black eyes, staring straight at me, held a faintly wicked glint. Yui-san’s kind, but sometimes she can be genuinely mean.
“…It was barely a scratch. That kind of injury’s nothing. Cuts inside your mouth heal fast if you just lick them.”
Honestly, I felt terrible about it. This was pure embarrassment talking. I’d apologized properly for hurting her — she could at least let me get away with a little backtalk.
“It’s my own tongue, so how do I lick it? If you’re going to say that, why don’t you lick it for me, Kanata?”
Lick — what, exactly? Her tongue? Stunned by such an outrageous thing to say, I froze.
“…It’s already healed by now, isn’t it?”
“Nope, still hurts.”
The hand on my shoulder pressed down, firm. My body, easily overbalanced, sank without resistance into the bed, into her scent.
“W-wait, Yui-san…!”
There’s no way a half-month-old scratch hasn’t healed by now, I started to say, but the distance, far closer than I’d expected, caught the words in my throat, and I swallowed, hard.
My heart hammered, fast, pounding. Pinned beneath her, her necklace swayed in front of my eyes. Just like that dream. Why did I have to remember that, of all times, right now.
Heat rushed straight to my face.
Her hand traced gently over my cheek, her thumb brushing my lips. In the hushed room, only the faint rustle of fabric broke the silence.
My breath quickened, my chest rising and rising. Please don’t notice how nervous I am, I thought, looking up at her, and found eyes gazing back at me like something precious. Was that just my own misreading of it?
Looked at like that, I couldn’t refuse her, not at all.
“…Don’t bite this time.”
Her thumb pressed lightly between my lips, parting them, slipping inside. Then her face drew close.
We’re not dating. This isn’t something I should let happen. I already know it’ll leave my heart in pieces all over again.
I should be refusing. And yet my hands could do nothing but grip the front of her sweater. No different, really, from clinging to her.
Through the small gap of my open mouth, her thumb withdrew, and in its place, her sweet tongue slipped in, smooth and wet.
“Mm, mm…”
The instant our tongues tangled, soft, sliding against each other, my hips lifted, unbidden. My head went hazy. Why — this wasn’t even my first kiss with her, and yet wave after wave of some indescribable feeling kept crashing over me.
A wet sound echoed through the hushed room. Struggling for breath, I tried to push her tongue back, only for it to be drawn in, sucked, gently, and I thought, I can’t take this anymore.
I couldn’t breathe. Something in me was about to give out. With the last scraps of reason I had, I pushed at her shoulder. At that, she gave my lip one final lick, and pulled back, easy as anything.
“…T-too long. I thought… I might die.”
Gasping, shoulders heaving, I fought to drag air back into my lungs. Yui-san wiped my wet lips with her thumb and smiled, satisfied.
“Thanks. Seems like the cut healed, thanks to you.”
She said it, sticking out her tongue to show me — not a single mark on it — and I slapped her shoulder as hard as I could.
Arms crossed over my mouth to keep her from kissing me again, I glared up at her.
“…You just wanted to kiss me, didn’t you.”
At that, Yui-san laughed. She didn’t seem to have any intention of going further, so, a little relieved, I pushed myself upright.
Somehow, it felt like I’d been thoroughly played, one more time. Yui-san’s always like this. I let out a small sigh.
“…Fine, that’s enough. The whole ex thing is ancient history anyway…”
“Exactly. Besides, right now, you’re the one I like most. Isn’t that enough?”
I started to say that’s not enough at all, and bit it back. Arguing further wouldn’t get me anywhere. I already know, by now, there’s no winning against Yui-san in a war of words.
“…Just make sure you think about what you actually want for your birthday, okay?”
“Ah, yeah, I already know what I want.”
“Eh, what is it?”
“I’ll tell you the night of. You don’t need to prepare anything.”
“Why the night of…?”
If she tells me on the day itself, I won’t be able to actually get it to her in time, I thought. Confused, I tilted my head, but Yui-san just said, it’s fine, trust me, in that coaxing tone, so I gave in and nodded, reluctant.
“There’s a dinner that day, so I’ll probably be back around nine. So wait for me at home.”
“Got it…”
I really can’t quite tell what she’s plotting. Alright, let’s head back, Yui-san said, standing, and I stood too, following after her.
Ah, I wish I could have stayed curled up in Yui-san’s room a little longer, I thought, swallowing the feeling down as I headed toward the living room.
Well, I can curl up on the sofa just as well. It’s fine, either way.
As long as Yui-san’s there, the place doesn’t really matter at all.
Notes:
- Major backstory reveal: Yui’s ex was her private tutor, four years older, dating from her first year of high school through graduation — resolves the “high school” mystery seeded since Episode 6, though the actual reason they broke up is deliberately withheld again (“I’ll tell you eventually”).\
- No content requiring a censor mark — the kiss escalates further than any prior scene (an extended, mutual tongue-kiss, rendered faithfully per your standing instruction) but stays within kissing.\
- Yui’s birthday-gift teasing (“tell you the night of, don’t prepare anything”) is clearly being set up as a turning point for Episode 23 onward — flagging as the thread to watch.
Episode Twenty-Three — 「いつから私、結衣さんのものになったんですか？」(“Since When Did I Become Yours, Yui-san?”) — whenever you’re ready.