"What a surprise. I didn't expect to see you here the moment I arrived home, Ryuichi-kun."
"I just couldn't resist Shizuna's invitation for dinner."
Sakie let out a giggle at Ryuichi's words.
Last time, Shizuna had asked Ryuichi for a hug and he did as she asked. She didn't pull away from him for a while, but thanks to Sakie who seemingly came back at just the right time, Shizuna pulled away from Ryuichi.
She was currently taking a bath, and Ryuichi was talking with Sakie, who was in the middle of cooking. Sakie had certainly been surprised, but she must have been happy as well, because she kissed Ryuichi as soon as Shizuna was gone.
"I saw Sohei-kun on my way home. He looked like he still had something to say, so I could more or less tell what happened."
"You didn't say anything to him?"
"I don't think I have to. It's all Shizuna's decision, and I won't deny what she's decided unless it's a very bad one."
That meant that basically, she would rather side with Ryuichi rather than Sohei. She likely wouldn't say anything against Ryuichi no matter what choice he made. That was just how much the events of that night had instilled in her feelings for Ryuichi. She would never smile at someone she disliked, much less kiss them herself.
"Phew, I feel refreshed ♪! Are you gonna head in the bath too, Mom?"
As they were conversing, Shizuna came back from her bath. He had seen her in many outfits in the manga, but for what it's worth, Ryuichi had actually only ever seen her in her uniform in this world. She'd been in her uniform too when they went to the bar the other day, so this was his first time seeing her in something other than a uniform.
"What's the matter?"
After Sakie left the living room, Ryuichi started staring at Shizuna intently. Her flushed cheeks were sexy, as she had just finished her bath, and Shizuna now looked totally relaxed in her casual wear. The pink-toned pajamas suited her, and her breasts, though not to the point of bursting, were violently asserting their fullness.
Man, I thought this when Chisa was here too, but why do women look so sexy after taking a bath?
Ryuichi laughed and brushed it off as a matter that would be an eternal mystery. The fact that he wasn't embarrassed to see Shizuna like this was simply a sign of his extensive experience with women. He had had relations with countless women before and was used to seeing them naked, so there was no way he would be embarrassed by something like this after all this time.
"Do I look…weird?"
Shizuna, however, seemed to think the reason she was being stared at was because it didn't suit her. Ryuichi chuckled, saying that was not true.
"I was just taking in the sight of you in your pajamas. Oh, but I think you look really good in them. You look so sexy, I'm tempted to push you down right now."
"I-I see… ♪"
Ryuichi wasn't lying when he said that. The previous Ryuichi would have pushed her down without question, devoured her lips, and squeezed her bountiful breasts. Then, he would rush straight into sex, where a night of pleasure would ensue… It almost feels like the plot of an erotic manga, Ryuichi secretly thought to himself.
"Wow… It's pretty hot in here, isn't it?"
"Really? It ain't even May, though… Or maybe you're just hot cos you're fresh out of the bath?"
"Maybe. But it's still hot… Yup, definitely a little too hot!"
With that, Shizuna unbuttoned one of the buttons on her pajamas. He could almost hear a boing sound effect as her ample bosom was exposed, revealing a well-shaped cleavage. However, Ryuichi was familiar with the sight. Instead of looking away from the exciting sight, he stared at it with all his might.
"…Urk."
"Don't do it in the first place if you're only going to get embarrassed."
It seemed that his staring had made her the one who got embarrassed instead.
Shizuna then started cooking, seemingly taking over from Sakie. Ryuichi smiled, thinking that it was quite enjoyable to watch someone cooking like this. Ryuichi wanted to help out, too, and tried to stand next to her, but was promptly turned down.
"I told you last time, didn't I? You can't cook, Ryuichi-kun, so sit."
"…Okay."
As evident from previous occasions, Ryuichi was below average when it came to cooking. Therefore, he had no choice but to follow Shizuna's words. It was another day where he, who had a much larger body than Shizuna, shrank back a little.
However, such frustrations of his were blown away by the finished meal sitting before him.
"…Holy crap this looks amazing. You're seriously a genius, Shizuna."
"Fufu, thank you, Ryuichi-kun."
Soon, Sakie returned, having finished her cooking as well, so Ryuichi's dinner was bumped up into a feast in no time. Since both Sakie and Shizuna had cooked the food, he remembered to thank not only Shizuna, but Sakie as well. Both of them happily returned his words of thanks and smiled at Ryuichi as he proceeded to eat his fill.
In addition to the promised Hamburg steak, there were also fried chicken and fried white fish, both of which were said to be favorites of boys, yet despite the large amount of food, Ryuichi devoured almost all of them. There were times when his hand stopped moving halfway through, but each time it did, Shizuna and Sakie would offer him something to eat, so Ryuichi had no opportunity for breaks.
"…Phew, that was seriously good, Shizuna. Hands down the best meal I've ever had."
"Glad to hear it. Seeing you enjoy the food so much…well, makes me really happy, too."
After dinner, Ryuichi was visiting Shizuna in her room. He had planned on leaving immediately afterwards, but apparently Shizuna didn't want to let Ryuichi go home yet. There was no one to scold Ryuichi if he came home late…and besides, even if his parents were still alive, they wouldn't get angry at him.
"I have to say, though; your room's pretty neat."
"Compared to yours, sure."
"Don't bring up my old trash-filled room… Just remembering it is making me sad."
"Fufu! It was truly a disaster in there, wasn't it?"
"Shut up, you."
Ryuichi removed his gaze from Shizuna, who started giggling, and looked around her room again.
The room was very clean, as one would expect from a girl, and there wasn't a single unnecessary thing inside, leaving the room feeling wide and spacious. The fact that he couldn't find even a strand of hair on the carpet suggested that the room was cleaned on a regular basis. Well, cleaning should be done on a regular basis, anyways; Ryuichi was just the weird one for not having done so before.
Once Ryuichi finished his survey of her room, he got straight to the point. Turning toward Shizuna, who was sitting down next to him, he looked at her, and her body jumped with a start as their eyes met.
"So, why did you call me to your room? You said you only wanted to talk, but I'm sure that's not all there is to it."
"…Yeah."
Shizuna took a deep breath before continuing.
"You remember how I asked you about whether I was a woman you'd sleep with or not, right?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah."
"…You see, I still don't really know what love is."
Shizuna put her hand on her chest as she spoke, and continued by saying she didn't understand what love was, which was why she wanted to learn more about it.
"It was by chance that I got to know you Ryuichi-kun, but from that moment on, you have always been on my mind. Every word you say flusters my heart. I think about all kinds of lewd things, but every time I do, you always come to my mind, Ryuichi-kun. I get jealous when I hear about you and my mother, as well as the college girl."
"…I see."
Whether it was love or not was still up for debate, but Shizuna was certainly feeling a very strong feeling of liking for Ryuichi right now. It might do her some good if Ryuichi told her that she was only misunderstanding her feelings, but he felt it'd be cruel to deny her feelings when she was trying so hard to convey them to him.
"I'm not asking to go out with you, nor am I saying I want us to be a couple right now. For now, all I want is some sort of relationship with you, Ryuichi-kun. I…want to be one of those girls you have relations with, Ryuichi-kun."
"…Are you serious?"
"Yes, I am very serious."
Shizuna nodded confidently. For Ryuichi, Shizuna's goodwill was gratifying, but whether that meant they could actually become lovers was a different story. Ryuichi wasn't in a place to comment about others himself, but still, he felt that Shizuna was also quite crazy for saying those kinds of words…
"…You know, this is a first for me."
"A first?"
"Yeah. Up until now, I've only fucked women for the sake of fucking them. For pleasure, basically… But this is the first time I've had so much trouble taking a woman up on their offer after they've clearly told me to my face that they want to be fucked by me."
"…Am I that unattractive to you?"
Apparently, Shizuna took Ryuichi's words to mean that she was unattractive herself. Ryuichi laughed at the dejected look in the corner of her eye and grabbed her arm as he pulled her close to him.
"Ah. ♪"
"You sure you won't regret this?"
"I'm sure. One hundred percent."
When she nodded, he brought his face close to hers and took her lips. If that's what Shizuna says, then Ryuichi had nothing more to say. All he had to do now was to eat up the beauty in front of him… Thus, Ryuichi immediately shifted gears and moved on as if it was business as usual.
He put all the 'heroine' and 'NTR' thoughts behind him and immersed himself in their own world, far from love, where all they cared about was pleasure.
"I never would've thought you'd turn out to be such a dirty human being. I'm sure the child who inherits your blood will be just like you."
"Personally, I don't know anything about that 'inheriting' stuff. All I have to say is: Yes, I did give birth to you, but to be honest, you're such a waste of money and a pain in the ass."
For a moment, the voices of his two parents, who he'd almost completely forgotten, came back to him, but Ryuichi could only think about Shizuna's body and thus, the voices faded back into obscurity.
"…You know…"
"Yeah?"
"If you'd refused, I would've faked some tears and asked why you'd done it so readily with my mother and not me."
"That's how desperate you were?"
"Yes… My heart was a little scared, but my body was very honest."
"Hehe, what a naughty body you have."
"Don't say it out loud. ♪"
Naturally, both Ryuichi and Shizuna knew that this was the moment something changed between them.
Afterword:
For the sake of the story and the characters, I couldn't just conveniently write the story as: "I like you, please go out with me," "Okay, sure," "Alright, let's get down to it."