(Words: 2244)
...
Katase Shouya was struggling right now.
He was in extreme discomfort.
After Coach Tougou instructed him to follow Akane, he had been tailing her the whole time.
At first, Shouya assumed that Akane, who was trying to avoid the coach, would hide somewhere on campus until everyone else left before going back to the locker room to change.
But his assumption was shattered when she walked straight out of the school.
He didn't give it much thought, believing she was simply hungry and wanted to grab something to eat while she waited.
Her stop at the street vendor to buy some oden confirmed his theory.
Just as he was about to approach her and ask why she was avoiding him, a boy he had only seen a few times, but who had been on his mind frequently lately, walked up to his girlfriend.
"..."
When Katase Shouya saw Sasaki standing with his girlfriend, his first instinct was to believe that she had broken their agreement.
However, Akane's reaction showed him that it was just a chance meeting between them.
Just as he started to feel relieved, he saw Sasaki pay for her food.
"…"
Had their relationship become this close?
Every time he and Akane had gone out to buy something, they had always split the bill evenly.
But Sasaki just went ahead and paid for her… and she accepted it…
His chest tightened with a mix of jealousy and pain.
Watching them walk away together, he followed.
Because he was wearing the school's baseball club uniform, Katase Shouya couldn't follow too closely without attracting attention, which meant he couldn't overhear their conversation.
He had to rely on their facial expressions and body language to gauge the depth of their relationship.
To his relief, they didn't seem to have any overly intimate contact even when they reached the park.
While their joyful expressions were somewhat painful for him to witness, they were still within a tolerable range.
And because he was genuinely curious about their relationship, Katase Shouya didn't reveal himself.
So, he hid in the distance, at the corner of the street, watching as his girlfriend displayed emotions he had never seen in response to another guy's words—happiness, anger, sadness, joy.
His initial feelings of jealousy and anger turned into a deep, painful curiosity about just how far their relationship would go.
As if the universe was responding to his thoughts, he saw his girlfriend feed another guy… She fed him!
While Sasaki paying for her could be rationalized, feeding another guy was a step too far.
Such an action between a boy and a girl implies an extremely close relationship at the very least.
They had only met the previous Friday, right? How could…
Gripping his chest in agony, Katase Shouya felt like he could barely breathe.
When he finally regained his composure, he overheard a fragment of their conversation for the first time.
It was his girlfriend's voice.
"I'm not dirty!"
Before he could process what that meant, he saw his girlfriend follow Sasaki to the shopping district.
"…"
Piecing together her previous statement, a terrifying realization dawned on him.
With his mind screaming, "It can't be true, it can't be true," Katase Shouya continued to follow.
Then, he watched in disbelief as his girlfriend and Sasaki entered a women's clothing store.
He stood outside, helplessly watching as that boy picked out some incredibly revealing outfits for his girlfriend.
He even turned to ask Nanao's opinion…
Seeing this, Shouya desperately hoped that she would react by slapping him… but she only… shyly lowered her head…
"…"
With his gaze dull and lifeless, Katase Shouya's perception of his girlfriend began to shift.
He stood there, feeling like an empty shell, watching them enter a hotel together.
…
..
The warm glow of the lights spilt across the room as Sasaki slightly parted the curtains, peering through the narrow gap to observe Katase Shouya across the street, looking as if his soul had been drained.
Seeing this, Sasaki shook his head in quiet disbelief.
Despite being in a relationship with Akane Nanao, even if it was just a tentative one, this guy was now watching his girlfriend enter a hotel with another guy, yet all he could muster was the defeated look of a loser.
With such a demeanour, how could he possibly stand up to someone as manipulative as Tougou?
If things were allowed to develop as they did, even without Sasaki, his outcome would not have changed in the slightest.
At least, his intervention helped the girl, whose life might've turned into hell because of him.
He felt no pity for someone so spineless, so he cast only a fleeting glance before turning his attention away.
His eyes shifted left, focusing on another figure across the street, not far from where Katase Shouya stood.
This person was dressed in ordinary casual clothes, with a baseball cap pulled low, obscuring his face.
However, Sasaki could tell from the man's athletic build that he was involved in sports.
Given that this man had been trailing Shouya, he could easily guess his identity: Tougou.
Judging by his clenched fists and the tension in his posture, Tougou was seething with anger, trying to hold it back.
It was clear that his mood was far from pleasant.
It wasn't hard to imagine why.
After all, he had invested considerable effort into pursuing Nanao, only to see her walk into a hotel with some other guy who had seemingly come out of nowhere.
Anyone would be fuming in his shoes.
And considering how things were playing out if Tougou didn't take some action soon, he might lose his chance with Nanao for good.
Given his current state—restraining his fury yet not leaving—Sasaki could pretty much guess what was going through his mind.
It wasn't difficult to deduce.
From Tougou's perspective, Nanao entering a hotel with another guy right in front of Shouya was an undeniable fact.
If he didn't want to lose her, his best bet was to try and salvage Katase Shouya's relationship with her.
Nanao was unaware that Shouya had witnessed her "cheating."
Therefore, as long as he didn't confront her, their relationship could technically continue.
Only by maintaining their relationship could Tougou keep his access to Nanao.
If their relationship broke down, and she left the baseball club, all of his previous efforts would be for nothing.
So Tougou was now not only trying to contain his anger towards Sasaki, but he was also keeping a close eye on Katase Shouya, ensuring he didn't act impulsively and ruin everything.
If this guy confronted Nanao and she responded with a blunt "Let's break up," then Tougou would be left just as heartbroken as Shouya.
Thus, under no circumstances would he allow Shouya to interfere.
Instead, he'd likely try to comfort him later, suggesting that it was all a misunderstanding.
The idea of a "guy" like Tougou playing the role of a guardian, trying to console the "warrior of pure love," created a bizarre sense of irony that Sasaki found deeply amusing.
It was worth noting that throughout this situation with Akane Nanao, he had never actively tried to sabotage her relationship with Katase Shouya.
In fact, he'd done nothing but help her.
In Sasaki's mind, he could still somewhat claim the title of a "warrior of pure love."
The way things had unfolded was due to Katase Shouya's own suspicions and actions, he had nothing to do with it.
Well… considering his confession to Nanao, perhaps the title of "warrior of pure love" should come with the prefix "false."
Reflecting on all this, Sasaki couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he glanced once more at Tougou, who was anxiously keeping an eye on Shouya, worried he might act rashly.
Life is indeed full of ironies.
The one who truly wanted to disrupt the relationship between Shouya and Nanao, Tougou, ended up being the person most invested in keeping them together.
On the other hand, Sasaki, who had been diligently helping the girl patch up her relationship, inadvertently became the force that tore them apart.
It's... complicated, to say the least.
After drawing the curtains, Sasaki threw aside his black coat and took off the white shirt underneath, revealing an upper body that was as artistic and powerful as a Greek statue.
His muscles were smooth and natural, lacking the bulky, rigid look of someone who spends too much time in the gym.
After a quick stretch, he removed his shoes and lay down on the bed, sending messages to Momo, Natsuha, and Yukiha while waiting for Nanao to finish her shower.
As for whether Tougou downstairs might deviate from the plan or try something underhanded, Sasaki was confident that as long as that guy had any designs on Nanao, he wouldn't allow their relationship to fall apart publicly.
Tougou would likely do everything in his power to maintain the relationship between his star player and Nanao.
And as for Katase Shouya, with his most trusted coach offering guidance, and considering how he had restrained himself from barging in up to this point, he was certain he would keep this incident to himself, perhaps only occasionally casting a complicated look at Nanao.
Well... according to Nanao's thoughts, she would probably take this look as Katase realizing that something was wrong with Tougou and feeling guilty towards her.
For Sasaki, this was a delightful misunderstanding.
Time passed slowly as he gradually put the situation downstairs out of his mind and focused on his phone, until...
Click—
The soft sound of water flowing in the shower ceased at some point, replaced by the clear and distinct sound of a doorknob turning.
Hearing the sound, Sasaki set his phone aside and turned his head toward the bathroom.
Warm, fragrant steam billowed out from the slowly widening gap in the bathroom door, rolling into the room like a tidal wave.
Before the steam could spread further, a slender figure dressed in a short-sleeved top and skirt, with a white towel in hand, appeared before Sasaki's eyes, wiping down her damp hair.
The oversized light grey t-shirt, which would have looked large even on him.
It was such a short-sleeved shirt that could be used as a nightgown for a girl, about 1.6 meters tall, but when worn by Akane Nanao, it seemed to fit perfectly.
The main reason for this, of course, was the two extra large soft balls hanging at her chest.
Fresh from the shower, no matter how thoroughly she had dried herself, the steam from the bathroom and the moisture still lingering on her skin caused the large t-shirt to cling to her body slightly.
Though it didn't stick to her completely, it certainly wasn't as loose and comfortable as usual, making her already plump chest seem even larger.
As a result, despite her height difference from Sasaki, Nanao looked like she was wearing the right size shirt—except for the slightly loose neckline that revealed her collarbone, gleaming with a soft sheen, and the deep, inviting valley below it.
Sasaki's eyes instinctively dropped to the noticeable, plush curves before he stood up and took the towel from her hand, gently drying her still-dripping hair.
"Why didn't you dry your hair before coming out?"
Unused to having her hair touched by a guy, the girl instinctively tried to pull the towel back.
But after a light tap on the back of her hand, she relented, letting him continue.
The sweet and stuffy feeling in her heart made Akane Nanao, who was at a loss, respond to him in a sullen tone.
"It was too stuffy inside, I couldn't breathe."
Lowering his gaze slightly, Sasaki noticed the bottle of water, which seemed quite heavy, and nodded in understanding.
She had shoulder-length hair, which was easier to dry than long hair.
After using three towels to get her hair mostly dry, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her to the large mirror in front of the sink.
He then grabbed the hairdryer hanging on the wall, adjusted it to the right temperature, and began gently drying her hair.
The hair of a beautiful girl is always fragrant, and Nanao's freshly washed, soft chestnut hair was no exception.
As Sasaki ran the hairdryer over it, the hair dried and fluffed up, becoming silky and smooth to the touch, with no roughness or split ends from the heat.
A faint mix of lavender and milky scents wafted from her hair, a scent that was... quite intoxicating.
Sasaki had noticed this subtle milk-like scent on other well-endowed girls like Natsuha, Yukiha, Momo, Otome and the others.
It made him wonder if there was a connection...
As his thoughts wandered, his gaze fell on the wide neckline of Nanao's shirt reflected in the mirror.
What should have been a casual, modest t-shirt was transformed by her vulgar figure into something resembling a low-cut top.
Under the overhead light, her delicate collarbone gleamed with a striking whiteness.
A bold thought crossed Sasaki's mind, and while she was dazed enough to could realize it, he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to the smooth, warm skin of her collarbone.
Pop—
"Eep—!"
The cool, soft sensation of his lips against her warm skin sent a shiver through her spine, snapping her out of her daze.
Startled, she quickly pushed his head away, her voice a mix of shock and anger.
"What are you doing!?"