As she grasped the doorknob of Hoshimi's bedroom, Kasumigaoka suddenly remembered something. She glanced around and realized she was missing something important.
Releasing the doorknob, she stood in place for a moment, recalling where she had left it. Then she quietly turned and tiptoed downstairs toward the living room.
Moments later, Kasumigaoka reached the living room and found her handbag in the corner of the sofa. She picked it up, rummaging through it until she found a box of Okamoto 003 condoms and clutched it in her hand.
"Phew~" She exhaled lightly, feeling a mix of tension, anticipation, and a bit of frustration as she made her way back to Hoshimi's bedroom.
She took the item with her just in case, as a precaution. After all, they were young, and repeated excitement could be hard to handle. If Hoshimi got too carried away and let his desires cloud his judgment, she'd be glad to have this to help...
Besides, there was another reason she couldn't bring herself to say aloud. These past few days, she had been in her most fertile phase. She couldn't afford to be careless. If anything happened, it would be a big problem.
The college entrance exams were scheduled for January, followed by independent college admission exams in mid-February through March. And now it was June. If something went wrong, she wouldn't be able to take the exams next year! Surely no one would take exams with a pregnant belly, right? That would be too surreal...
"Phew~"
Back at Hoshimi's bedroom door, Kasumigaoka exhaled again, pushing away the chaotic thoughts in her mind.
She raised her delicate hand and carefully, silently, pushed open the door.
Earlier, when she left Hoshimi's room, she hadn't locked it on purpose, just gently closed it. Now, it allowed her to slip back inside without a sound.
Once inside, Kasumigaoka gently closed the door behind her again, leaving it slightly ajar this time, giving herself an escape route if things got tricky later...
The light in Hoshimi's bedroom was very dim, almost to the point where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
This guy always pulled the curtains tight when he slept, and with his dark blackout curtains, not a speck of light made it through.
Scanning the room, she spotted a few faint light sources here and there.
She focused on the small, white glow near the window.
That must be... the computer's power indicator?
The computer desk was right by the window, so that seemed right.
And the faint red light below must be the speaker's indicator?
Using the computer desk as her reference point, she directed her gaze toward the bed against the wall.
With eyes gleaming, she slowly and cautiously approached the sleeping Hoshimi like a thief tiptoeing toward his target.
In a few moments, her knee touched the edge of the bed, confirming she had arrived. She knelt at the bedside and slowly leaned forward, her hands gently gripping the edge.
Sniff~ sniff~
Her nose twitched, like a large dog searching for its owner's scent, trying to locate Hoshimi's exact position.
Sniff~ sniff~
As she sniffed, Kasumigaoka suddenly froze.
The scent of shampoo? That meant Hoshimi's head was right in front of her?
Thinking for a moment, she held her breath and carefully leaned in a bit further.
Hoo~ hoo~
The steady, soft sound of breathing echoed in her ears. Kasumigaoka pricked up her ears, pinpointing Hoshimi's location. With her eyes curving into a smile, she looked gleefully at Hoshimi in the darkness.
"Hoshimi, you're sleeping soundly, aren't you?"
But why didn't you pull me into your dream? Is there someone else in there?
As these thoughts crossed her mind, Kasumigaoka's expression stiffened, and her wine-red eyes filled with frustration.
She wrinkled her nose and, in a quiet voice, whispered in Hoshimi's ear:
"Hoshimi~ Hoshimi~"
She wanted to see how long it would take him to wake up.
If it was under ten seconds, it wouldn't be too bad. That would at least prove that, compared to the third party in his dream, she held more importance in his heart.
But if it took longer than ten seconds... Well, that would be a big problem.
She hadn't traveled all this way to wear a green hat!
"Hoshimi~ Hoshimi~"
She counted silently in her mind, continuing to call his name...
1... 5... 6...
As the numbers grew, a dangerous glint began to appear in Kasumigaoka's eyes...
…
Meanwhile, as Hoshimi was enjoying an extreme version of a rapid water ride with Yukino, his face suddenly changed.
Oh no! Kasumigaoka's calling me near my ear?!
That sneaky writer is even pulling a night ambush?!
No, wait! Could she have sensed something and is testing me?!
"?!!"
Oh crap! I forgot to pull Kasumigaoka into the dream! She must have noticed something wrong because of that!
It's all because of habit! I instinctively pulled Yukino and Kotoko into the dream and completely forgot about Kasumigaoka!
What do I do now?! Kasumigaoka's calling me, so I'll have to wake up soon to face her, but I can't take too long, or I won't be able to explain!
But if I wake up now, how do I explain things to Yukino?
Hoshimi glanced at Yukino, who had her eyes tightly shut from the thrill of the water ride, and his scalp tingled with anxiety.
If I stop now and tell Yukino I need to wake up and step out, she'll definitely get suspicious.
She's already upset that I was late.
If I leave halfway through, that's practically admitting that something's wrong!
No way! I can't explain things to Yukino! But I still have to deal with Kasumigaoka!
What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?!!
Caught in a dilemma, Hoshimi's mind began to race.
Then, in a flash of inspiration, an idea came to him.
He immediately made a decision.
In an instant, the entire dream world froze in place...
The rapid water ride abruptly stopped, the thousands of meters of flowing water ceased, and the splashing droplets on either side of the raft hung suspended in midair. Yukino's flowing hair froze awkwardly in place.
Time had stopped... The dream world had transformed into a still image...
"It really worked..." Hoshimi stared in shock at the completely frozen world.
He had only meant to try, but to his surprise, it had actually worked.
In his dream, he truly had power akin to that of a god...
"Hmm? Wait, something's not right..." Hoshimi had a nagging feeling something was off and transported himself to the 99th layer of his deep dream for contemplation.
In this layer, time flowed much faster, giving him the space to think.
He had frozen time in the dream, but if he woke up, Yukino and Kotoko would leave the dream too, making his efforts pointless!
Unless...
Unless he could maintain the dream while awake. But was that even possible?
Hoshimi found himself perplexed...
===
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