Chapter Five: “The Princess Wants to Seize the Chance” — Part Twelve

“…What?”

I opened my eyes in shock. Our eyes met, and Senpai wore a look of pure triumph.

“Himena-chan, your face is completely red.”
“…B-because I didn’t think you’d kiss me on the mouth!”
“Why not? You’re my girlfriend, aren’t you.”
“Ugh…!”

Iori-senpai, this is genuinely dangerous for my heart…!
Wait, did that just happen? Did Iori-senpai actually kiss me? On the mouth?!

“Hehe. You’re cute, Himena-chan.”

I do love being called cute by Senpai. Genuinely, it makes me happy. But being on the receiving end constantly doesn’t suit my nature.
Because it was just the two of us right now. I wanted to see Senpai’s cute side too.

“Iori-senpai. As your girlfriend, I should get to kiss you too, right?”

I lifted her chin with one finger and took her lips myself. But this time, I wasn’t going to stop there.

I slid my hand around the back of her head and pulled her in. In that same moment, I pushed my tongue into her mouth.

“Mmh…?!”

A voiceless sound escaped her. I coaxed her tongue, which had retreated, back out, and tangled mine with hers.

So this is what Senpai’s tongue tastes like.
Was it thick? Thin? I had no other tongue to compare it to, so I had no basis for judgment.
But one thing was certain: the compatibility was extraordinary.
Because right now, I felt incredible!!

“Mm, Hi, Himena-cha…”

Senpai kept patting my back repeatedly. That it didn’t hurt at all probably meant either she was being careful, or she felt good too.

I pulled my lips away slowly. A thin, clear thread connected us for a moment.

“Himena-chan, we’re, we’re outside. Do you understand that?”

Her voice was visibly trembling, and under the moonlight her face was deep red.

Adorable.
Too adorable for words.

“…Himena-chan. Are you listening?”
“Iori-senpai.”

I brought my mouth close to her ear. Just a soft breath against it made her whole body flinch.

“You really are incredibly cute, Iori-senpai.”

I whispered it deliberately close to her ear. She bit her lip and looked down.

Could Iori-senpai be holding back a sound?

“Sen-pai.”

I leaned in closer still and let out another slow breath. She glared at me as if in protest, but her eyes had the faintest sheen of tears.

This might actually be dangerous.

“Senpai, are your ears sensitive?”
“…I don’t know.”

She turned her face away, and I breathed against her ear again.

“Ah…!”
“Hey, Iori-senpai. Does it feel good when I do this?”

I whispered it while gently stroking her other ear with my hand. Her whole body shook again.

“…I’m sorry, doing something like this out of nowhere. We’re still in the ‘trial period,’ after all.”

I pulled back a little and gave a small bow of apology. Her face was still red.

“But it felt good, didn’t it, Senpai?”

I stroked the back of her hand softly. Just that alone made her react again.

Is Senpai just extra sensitive to touch right now?

“I love this expression on your face too.”
“…What expression is that.”
“The one that says it feels good, Senpai.”

She looked down and started trying to hide her face behind her hair. Even that was adorable. If anything, the more she tried to hide, the harder my heart raced.

I want to see more of Senpai’s soft side.
The sides she’d never show anyone else, the sides only a girlfriend gets to see, I wanted all of it entirely to myself.

“Senpai. We’re girlfriends, aren’t we. There’s nothing wrong with doing something that feels good.”

I reached out and cupped her cheeks in both hands. Her heated skin felt wonderful.

“But I suppose going any further while we’re still ‘on trial’ would be a problem, wouldn’t it.”

My heart was pounding hard. But I couldn’t use that as a reason to pull back now.
Push, and push, and push some more. That’s the motto of this love of mine!

“Iori-senpai. If you become my real girlfriend, I’ll make you feel even better than this.”

I leaned my face in slowly. She said my name, Himena-chan, but made no move to get away.

Isn’t that basically the same as saying she’s waiting for it?

“I love you, Senpai.”

I kissed her ear, softly, again and again, each one making a small sound.
Senpai stayed still for a while, looking down and letting it happen, but then she suddenly shot to her feet.

“Ti-time to head home now!”

Oh no, what do I do. I want to eat her up right now. In every sense of the word.

“Iori-senpai really is the cutest person in the entire world!”

I threw my arms around her, still deep red, and hugged her with everything I had.

Cool, and yet even more than that, adorable.
Someday, without fail, I’m going to become your real girlfriend.

“Senpai. I’m going to make you my very own princess. I promise.”