Volume 1 - CH 2.7

◆７【But She’s Got Dad’s Stuff All Over Her】

As soon as I entered the house, I turned on the bathroom heater and decided to let Takarai take a warm shower to warm up.

“Nagumo-kun is wet too, aren’t you?”

Takarai was reluctant as she stood in the washroom.

“Thanks to you, I’m not too wet from the rain. I just need to change my clothes and I’ll be fine.”

“But I don’t want Nagumo-kun to catch a cold because of me. So why don’t we go in together?”

“Okay now, Takarai-san, go warm up in the bathtub. I’ll be waiting in the living room after I change.”

“You don’t understand me at all…”

Takarai looked unhappy, but of course she was just joking and didn’t persist.

“What should I do to change my clothes?”

“Oh…”

I was so focused on not letting Takarai catch a cold that I completely forgot.

It’s the last thing I want to forget.

I guess it would be appropriate to lend her the clothes of Tsumugi, who’s the same gender as her, but they won’t fit.

“Can I borrow some of Nagumo-kun’s clothes?

I don’t mind if I lend her some of mine, but… ah, that reminds me.

“I’ve got some of my dad’s goods that I haven’t opened yet, they’re in XL, but they should be fine for a big person.”

“What’s your dad’s goods? That’s funny.”

She’s right. It’s a weird word, I realized.

“My dad’s fan goods T-shirts. It’s for the fans who go to the games to cheer him on, but it’s not that weird of a design.”

“I don’t care what it is, as long as I can wear it. But underneath…”

“It has those. It has sweatpants, so use those. They’re unopened, too.”

“Your dad’s fan goods are amazing. Does it have towels and stuff?”

“Yes, it does. They’re rather standard.”

I was thinking of having her use the bath towels at home, but a girl would be using it, so I think it would be better if they were unused. I’ll get it with the others.

“It has everything. There’s even socks, too.”

“Yeah, it does. They’re free size, so I think even girls can wear them too.”

“…It doesn’t have pants, does it?”

Takarai said with a slight look of fear on her face.

“As expected, there were… It’s the one that was just released. It’s a pair of boxer shorts that resembles a game costume.”

“Hmm, my underwear doesn’t look like it’s too wet.”

Then that’s fine. You don’t want to dry your underwear in someone else’s house, I’m pretty sure.

“You would like to have a bag to take your clothes home in, right? I have a tote bag that you can’t see inside from the outside.”

“That’s one of your father’s fan goods too, isn’t it?”

“…No, it’s the one with the logo of the organization on it.”

“Hee~, so that’s the difference, huh?”

“Oi, stop smiling. Somehow, I’m getting frustrated.”

Aside from feeling strangely defeated, it would be best to give Takarai a bath as soon as possible.

“Wait for me. I’ll go get them. I’ll leave a change of clothes around there, so you can warm up there for a while.”

I closed the door to the washroom/dressing room and headed upstairs to finish changing in my room.

There were several empty rooms on the second floor besides mine and Tsumugi’s.

When this house was built, I was already living alone with my father, so obviously there were a lot of rooms, but perhaps my father was preparing a place for Ayaka-san to live with Tsumugi when she had trouble making ends meet. My father and Ayaka-san were close as siblings, so it’s not surprising that he was thinking about that.

One of the empty rooms was used as a storage room for my father’s related merchs.

It was a place to keep the merchs that were sent to me as samples. It was a little museum of sorts, with DVDs, tournament pamphlets, figures based on my father, and costumes and gowns he used in matches.

As I pulled out the things I needed, I saw a reply from Tsumugi on my messaging app.

[You don’t need to bring an umbrella.]

[It’s going to stop soon, I’ll be at school.]

It was a typical message from Tsumugi, who had a friend at school who was staying in the rain with her.

According to the weather report on TV, it would clear up in another thirty minutes, so that was fine.

As I went downstairs, I suddenly felt unsettled.

This means that I’ll be alone with Takarai for a while, right?

I had assumed that I was going to pick up Tsumugi, so I had completely forgotten that this was going to happen.

I was having trouble even walking straight, so I said, “I’ll just put my arm in. If you’re there, tell me,” I warned as I reached my arm through the crack in the bathroom door and put down my change of clothes, closing my eyes.

After a while of fidgeting in the living room and fiddling with my phone, Takarai came out.

“Thanks for the bath and change of clothes.”

“Are you okay now?”

“I’m fine now. I got warm enough in the shower, and you turned on the heater in the bathroom, didn’t you? I took my time warming up while I reapplied my makeup.”

“That’s good.”

“Besides, it’s the time of year when you’re wearing this much clothing.”

Takarai was not only wearing a T-shirt, but also a black hoodie of the same color as her sweatpants. Both the top and bottom had a gold logo on them that looked a little like something you’d see in the kitchen. This hoodie was also my father’s merchandise. When I realized that we were going to be alone, I hurriedly pulled out an extra one. The less exposure she had, the less conscious I would have to be.

Yet, Takarai sits right next to me.

There’s a couch across the way… but it doesn’t make sense if she’s sitting this close to me.

Even though it was not originally intended to be fashionable, Takarai did a good job of dressing up in clothes that were too big and had an unattractive silhouette. Perhaps it was the color of her hair, but she could have looked like a holiday yankee. The large size of the dress made her look more delicate and huggable.

“Where’s Tsumugi-chan?”

“She’s waiting at school until it stops.”

By the time I answered, Takarai was holding my hand.

The fresh smell of the bath water made me even more nervous than usual. Her hair, freshly washed and moist, looked shiny and dazzling to me now. I couldn’t help but think about the fact that Takarai had stripped naked in the same bathroom I use every day.

“But is it really going to stop?”

Takarai looked worriedly outside, but it was still raining hard behind the window, and it didn’t look like it would stop in the next few minutes.

“I should probably contact Tsumugi again.”

I sent another message to Tsumugi, hoping that maybe she was feeling lonely because the rain didn’t seem to stop.

The reply came quickly.

[Don’t worry~. I’m having fun.]

And to prove it, she sent me a picture of herself and her classmates having fun in the classroom after school.

To prove it, she also sent me a photo of her and her classmates having fun 

“…I don’t see any boys. Good!”

“’Good!’ Is not what you should say!”

Takarai pinched my cheek lightly with a dumbfounded expression.

“If you keep nagging her, it will have the opposite effect.”

“I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to stand it… if Tsumugi was waving around with the boys.”

“Don’t be so sure about that.”

“No, but… …Oh, I got another message from Tsumugi.”

[Shin-nii, you’re with Yua-san, right?]

“How did she know?”

“Because I sent it to her, telling her I’m with Nagumo-kun.”

“You’ve been fiddling with your phone for a while now, and that’s why you’re here…”

[I’m not going home for a while.]

[Have fun making out with Yua-san while you can.]

“She completely misunderstood me. What’s with the stamp? It’s a cat character that hides its face while saying “kyaa~”. What is Tsumugi imagining with this…?”

“Isn’t that the part where you’ve already done what you had to do?”

Takarai, unashamed of her language, held up her phone and pointed the camera at herself.

“There’s no way Tsumugi knows anything about sex, come on.”

“No, no, she’s in middle school, you know? It’s normal.”

I have no idea what goes on in a girls-only community.

Since Takarai, who is right in the middle of the community, said so, it must be true.

“Ah~”

I have no choice but to admit the truth and roll my back.

I felt a soft weight on my back.

“Since Tsumugi-chan is paying attention to us, why don’t we make out?”

Takarai covered my back from the side.

I noticed something strange.

I couldn’t help but notice that the softness of her arms were different from usual because she was hugging me for some reason.

“…Hey, Takarai-san.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to ask this…”

“Tell me. I’m curious~.”

“You know, it feels kind of, that uhh, soft… I guess?”

“Oh, that’s because I’m not wearing a bra.”

I was at a loss for words.

“The bra was a little wet. I decided to take it home and dry it off. If you lend me your hoodie, you won’t be able to see it~.”

I didn’t think that I would be cornered for making her wear heavy clothes so that I wouldn’t have to think about Takarai as much as possible…

Or rather, this person is just too careless.

Takarai did not retreat from the top of me, but remained attached to my back. In fact, she bobbed up and down like she was playing with a balance ball.

“What does Takarai-san want with me?”

I tried to keep my voice down, but I was hysterical.

“I just want to flirt.

“You’re already way beyond flirting. I’m not sure what would happen to me if I were to be stuck like this close to you.”

I’m also a man. I’m not used to the opposite sex.

If the situation continues, there is no guarantee that my sexual desire will explode and attack Takarai at any time.

Well, I don’t have any image of that happening to me at all, but I was worried because you never know when your sexual desire will go out of control.

“Hee~. I wonder what will happen to me.”

Takarai grabbed me by both shoulders and pulled me down so that I was lying on the sofa.

I was wrapped up by Takarai lying on the sofa.

“Oi, what are you doing?”

I was confused and embarrassed.

“Because Nagumo-kun got cold from the rain, right?”

Takarai’s voice echoed in my ears, sounding extremely happy. It was very close.

“I’m sorry that I’m the only one who got to use the shower, so I thought I’d share the warmth with you.”

Takarai’s arms are crossed over my chest.

The back of my head was resting on a top quality pillow.

“I don’t want Nagumo-kun to catch a cold.”

Even though Takarai was super close to me, I didn’t attack her, I was just so overwhelmed by her actions that I just stayed in her arms for a while.

“Or rather, Nagumo-kun, you’re so comfortable to hold.”

Takarai said, yawning behind me.

It’s strange to say that I’m comfortable to hug when I’m not well-fleshed, but I’m feeling much more comfortable than Takarai as I’m “laying on” Takarai, who has exquisite flesh.

“The weight of Nagumo-kun slightly squeezing me feels really good. I think I could take a nap like this.”

“Stop it. Don’t go to sleep. If you’re going to sleep, let me go first.”

If I don’t, I’ll never be able to forget the feeling of Takarai. What will Takarai do if I become unable to live without her?

“No way. I’m already sleepy…”

Takarai’s voice already had a hint of slumber in it.

“Wait. Please wait before you sleep. How are you going to explain this to Tsumugi if she sees this scene?”

Although we were both clothed, the fact that we were in close contact with each other when Tsumugi wasn’t around might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

“Right. It might still be a bit stimulating for Tsumugi-chan…”

No, it’s stimulating enough even for me (16 years old), so can you please refrain from doing that?

“But for me, I think it’s time to start mingling with Nagumo-kun, not just holding our hands together, but doing something else too…”

Takarai’s consciousness is falling into a slumbering swamp.

“Suu~…”

“She seriously fell asleep…”

The fact that Takarai is sleeping peacefully under such circumstances suggests that she may be very tired.

She lives alone and, unlike me, has an active school life, so her fatigue must be great.

To be honest, I’m embarrassed to say the least, but as a way of thanking… Tsumugi for her kindness, it might not be a bad choice to leave her like this…

Maybe even for me.

In order to distract myself, I started up an app on my phone for a subscription site and watched an action movie with guns, blood, and violence, but I couldn’t concentrate because I was too worried about Takarai’s touch, the scent of body soap that I wasn’t used to smelling, and my sleep breathing.

Takarai woke up just before Tsumugi came home.

“Good morning.”

Takarai said in my ear.

“O-Oh. It’s evening now, though?”

Takarai’s slumbering voice gave me a sense of her private side.

“Oh, you were watching something, weren’t you? Just you alone?”

“Takarai-san was asleep, so I was free.”

As Takarai sat up, I sat up as well. Takarai was sitting on the back of the couch with her shoulders hunched over and her legs bent, and she was attached to my back.

“If you were free, you could have just woken me up.”

“I can’t wake you up when you’re sleeping so comfortably.”

Perhaps it was because she had just woken up from sleep, but Takarai was very defenseless and sweet to me.

“Oh, my body hurts a little because Nagumo-kun was on top of me.”

“Is it my fault?”

And don’t use the wrong word. It was my back that I was pressing against you. It wasn’t the front of my body. It’s very important to know which side of my body, the front or the back, is grounded to Takarai’s body. In terms of disgustingness, that is.

“Come on, get away from me, Tsumugi is coming back soon.”

Now that I was up, I didn’t need to worry about Takarai anymore, so I pulled her up off the couch.

Takarai said she was going to make dinner, and was standing in the kitchen when Tsumugi came home.

“Shin-nii, how did it go with Yua-san?”

Tsumugi looked satisfied, as if it had been a perfect arrangement.

“…Apart from nothing?”

“Mou~, Shin-nii, you wasted your chance.”

Tsumugi was pouting, but when she found Takarai standing in the kitchen, her mood improved as she felt that this dinner was a ‘hit’. [TLN: ‘hit’ here probably means something that Tsumugi wanted.]

“Yua-san, you want Shin-nii to be more aggressive, right?”

She started to ask Takarai, implicitly asking her about that.

“Hmm~, it’s Nagumo-kun, there’s no point in getting impatient.”

Takarai’s answer, while pulling on her arm, seemed to convince Tsumugi to some extent.

“Ahh~, even though it was a good opportunity. Still, you have it hard, don’t you, Yua-san?”

“That’s true. But that’s one of the good things about Nagumo-kun.”

Takarai didn’t mention that she had been doing something close to the flirting that Tsumugi wanted until she came back. It wouldn’t have been surprising if she didn’t mind saying it, given her character.

Maybe Takarai also felt embarrassed when she thought back on it.

Even though we were both clothed, the fact that we overlapped each other on the couch was a hell of an event from my point of view.

The fact that neither Takarai nor I had revealed this fact to Tsumugi, and kept it a secret, made me very nervous.