Nanami, with her head lowered, hadn't realized Hoshimi's true intentions. She pressed her legs together and smoothed out the wrinkles on her casual pants, speaking in a barely audible voice, "I'm ready, Hoshimi-kun, please lie down."
"..." Hoshimi chuckled silently.
Sometimes, Nanami could be quite slow on the uptake.
No, maybe his thoughts were just moving too quickly. After all, there was no way Nanami could have guessed where his mind had wandered just moments ago.
"Alright, here I come." With a faint smile, Hoshimi lay down on the bed, resting his head gently on Nanami's soft, springy thighs.
"Hoshimi-kun, I'll start now..." Nanami, her face flushed, picked up the ear-cleaning tool and slowly leaned forward.
"..." Hoshimi said nothing, contentedly enjoying the utmost gentleness of Nanami's ear-cleaning service.
Breathing in the scent of Nanami, Hoshimi's thoughts began to drift.
Why had he just thought about making a move on Nanami? And why had he actually said it out loud?
Lately, it felt like his desires were becoming harder and harder to control... Why was that?
It must be... because of Yukino, right? Blame Yukino for indulging him, for bringing the "wolf" that was once confined to dreams into reality.
Ah~ Who would've thought that he'd actually be led astray by Yukino. How absurd...
"Heh~" Hoshimi's lips curled up, his faint smile gradually deepening, taking on an ambiguous flavor.
"..." Seeing Hoshimi's smile deepen, Nanami's body inexplicably started to feel warm.
Hoshimi-kun seems to be in a really good mood... Is it because of the ear-cleaning?
Hmm~ I shouldn't lose focus. If I accidentally hurt Hoshimi-kun, that would be bad...
Nanami reined in her wandering thoughts and refocused on the task at hand.
After a long while, the ear-cleaning session was over.
Hoshimi sat up and stretched lazily, feeling quite comfortable.
Then, turning his head, he looked at Nanami, whose eyes were slightly misty, and asked, "Nanami, do you want me to walk you to the station?"
"No need, Hoshimi-kun, you don't have to trouble yourself. I'll go by myself," Nanami said, her cheeks flushing as if about to catch fire, waving her hands hurriedly.
"Really? Well, I'll walk you anyway." It was as if Hoshimi hadn't heard her response. He stood up and began putting on his outdoor clothes.
"Eh?" Nanami was stunned, quickly saying, "Hoshimi-kun, there's really no need, I can go back on my own."
Before Nanami could finish, Hoshimi had already put on his coat and was standing at the bedroom door, turning back to look at her. "Nanami, what are you standing there for? Let's go."
"Ugh~~" Nanami bit her lip, feeling helpless as she had no choice but to follow Hoshimi's lead.
Sometimes, Hoshimi-kun's self-centeredness left her with no options...
...
After seeing Nanami off, Hoshimi returned home, took a shower, and then headed straight to Yukino's place.
Click---!
As the door opened, Hoshimi beamed, "Yukino, let's take a bath together!"
Yukino's earlobes reddened, and she angrily shoved Hoshimi's chest, "Get lost!"
This jerk! He hadn't come to her place all weekend, nor had he contacted her.
Now, showing up on Sunday night, his first request was to "bath together." What did he take her for?!
"Hehe~ I'm coming in~" Hoshimi squeezed through the door with a grin.
He shut and locked the door behind him, then quickly, in a surprise move, scooped Yukino up in a "princess carry."
"Hoshimi! What are you doing!" Yukino, instinctively wrapping her arms around Hoshimi's neck, questioned him in a flustered voice.
"Of course, we're going to bath~" Hoshimi carried Yukino, who wasn't really struggling, straight toward the bathroom.
"Wait! We can bath together, but there have to be ground rules!" Yukino grabbed onto the bathroom doorframe with one hand.
Seeing Yukino's resolute stance, Hoshimi knew that these "rules" were non-negotiable. He put her down and smiled, "Alright~ Yukino, say them. I'll listen."
"Hmph!" Yukino clenched her tiny fists and gave Hoshimi's chest a couple of light punches.
Hoshimi took them with a smile, making no effort to resist.
Seeing that Hoshimi still wore that playful grin, Yukino spoke irritably, "First, Hoshimi, you must go back to your own place tonight. You can't stay over."
"Second, we can't bath for more than an hour. Staying in the water too long isn't good for your health."
"And third..." Yukino bit her lip, tugged at Hoshimi's collar, and, with a somewhat menacing tone, said, "Third! No pushing my head down! If you do, you'll pay!"
Hoshimi blinked. "Got it. I understand. I promise to follow all the rules."
"Hmph!" Yukino let go of Hoshimi's collar and turned toward the bedroom.
"Eh?" Hoshimi quickly grabbed Yukino's wrist. "Yukino, where are you going? The bathroom is this way."
"I'm going to get pajamas and towels! You're not going to dry yourself off later? Or are you planning to walk out naked?"
"Oh, I see. Alright, Yukino, go ahead." Hoshimi let go of Yukino's wrist and waited quietly by the bathroom door.
Before long, the two, now with towels and pajamas prepared, entered the bathroom together.
...
In the steam-filled bathroom.
"Hoshimi, what were you doing this weekend?"
"I was playing games."
"Games?"
"Yeah, a fighting game called [AtaFami]. It's pretty fun. I ended up playing it for two whole days."
"..."
"Huh? Yukino, why aren't you saying anything? You're not jealous of a game, are you?"
"Get lost, who'd be jealous of a game? I just don't have the energy to scold you. All you do is play games. What a waste of your talents."
"Well~ why should I work hard? I have money, I have a girlfriend. What else would I strive for? To become a god?"
"..."
"Alright, alright, I won't say any more, Yukino. Let's talk about something else. Oh, by the way, Yukino, you should eat more papaya. You're really a bit..."
"Hoshimi! Kiyokawa! Go die already!"
Splash---!
Splash---!
The sound of water echoed as night deepened...
...
The next day, Monday, 12:05 p.m.
Kasumigaoka took out her phone and opened various Q&A websites, checking the answers one by one.
"I found it! It's the uniform from Chiba Municipal Sobu High School. Here's a picture, exactly the same!"
"That's the Sobu High uniform. I asked my classmate, and he confirmed it."
"It's Sobu High in Chiba. Here's the address..."
"It's Chiba Municipal Sobu High in Chiba City..."
As the answers all pointed to the same place, Kasumigaoka's lips curled up, and her wine-red eyes glinted with a radiant light.
"Hoshimi, I've found you!"
===
[30 Bonus Chapters: https://www.patreon.com/cherryblooming]