Miko took a deep breath, clutching the door handle tightly with her right hand. Suddenly, she spun around and blurted out, "Want to take a bath together?"
Natsuki, who was almost at the second floor, nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard this.
Take a bath together? Are you crazy? Don't yell stuff like that when your dad's right there!
Natsuki glanced down and spotted Miko, her eyes brimming with tears. It didn't take long for him to piece things together. He headed back downstairs.
Nice save, kid.
As he peered into the bathroom, Natsuki couldn't help but gasp. No wonder the poor girl was on the verge of tears. The sight of that creepy spirit with its multitude of eyes would give anyone the heebie-jeebies.
"You... you can see me?" The spirit's countless eyes swiveled wildly towards Natsuki.
Without a word, Natsuki activated his spirit-repelling aura. An invisible force engulfed the bathroom, causing the many-eyed spirit to shriek. Transparent flames quickly consumed its body, and it vanished with a final scream.
Natsuki gently patted Miko's head. "Let's skip it for today. We can bathe together another time." Taking a bath with someone else's daughter while her dad's around? Talk about awkward!
"I'm heading upstairs," Natsuki said, waving his phone in front of Miko. "Text me if anything weird happens, okay?"
Miko nodded, eyes still watery, clutching the phone tightly as she entered the bathroom.
Natsuki went up to Miko's room and settled down with a book. Thankfully, nothing out of the ordinary occurred.
Half an hour later, the door creaked open. Miko walked in, decked out in her pajamas.
Natsuki turned to look, his vision drawn as if by some inexplicable force. The word "heavy" popped into his mind unbidden.
I've gotta say, my childhood friend's got quite the figure.
If we're using Kaguya as the standard unit of measurement here, Miko's packing at least five Kaguyas!
"Aren't you going to ask for my help?" Natsuki inquired.
Miko's pretty face flushed slightly. She gestured with her chin towards the bed. "You can lie down now."
"Take off your school uniform first. Be careful not to wrinkle it," Miko instructed.
Natsuki removed his uniform. "What about the shirt underneath?"
"Leave that on," Miko said, looking bored. "Just hurry up and lie down. I'm gonna step on you. After this, I've got homework to do and dinner to make... Such a pain."
"Thanks for your hard work, Miko-sama," Natsuki said, folding his uniform and placing it on a nearby chair. He lay down on the floor, turning his head to look at Miko.
Her legs were so pale. Fresh out of the bath, her skin seemed to glow. From his vantage point on the floor, Miko's legs looked even longer and straighter than usual.
As he considered the imminent stomping, Natsuki felt... absolutely nothing. Maybe because he'd been stepped on so much in middle school?
"Ready to start?" Miko asked softly, her right hand covering her chest.
"Go for it," Natsuki replied, lying flat on his back. "Just... take it easy at first, okay?"
"What's with the 'take it easy' stuff?" Miko couldn't help but grumble. "Perverts who like being stepped on usually want it rough, don't they?"
"..."
Miko raised her right foot, her cute round toes curling slightly. She carefully placed her snow-white foot on Natsuki's back, her face tinged pink. "How's that feel?" she asked quietly.
"You're not putting any weight into it," Natsuki complained. "Even a cat steps harder than that."
"That was just one foot," Miko pouted. "Now I'm gonna use both."
Taking a deep breath, Miko carefully stood on Natsuki's back. A strange feeling welled up inside her.
(Natsuki's grown up... his back is so much broader than that summer...)
Pushing those thoughts aside, Miko asked again, "How about now?"
"Hmm..." Natsuki was quiet for a moment. "Hey, Miko? Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Promise you won't hit me first."
Miko frowned suspiciously. "What do you want to ask?"
"Promise first."
"Fine, I promise I won't hit you."
"Okay, here goes..." Natsuki said carefully. "You weigh over 100 kilograms now, right?"
"..."
Miko's pretty face froze. She stomped down hard.
Weight is a taboo subject for girls. Asking about it clearly means you think she's fat!
Can't be helped. Even the laziest person would be furious at that!
Crack
"Ow, ow! It's broken!" Natsuki yelped. "My back's broken!"
"Who cares? We can just scrap it and donate it to charity," Miko retorted.
"How generous of you, Miko-sama. Please, have mercy!"
"..."
After a while of back-stepping, the door suddenly swung open. An elementary school kid poked his head in.
"I heard weird noises downstairs, so I came to check..." The kid's eyes went wide. "Sis, are you playing some kinky games with Natsuki?"
Geez, what are they teaching kids these days?
"It's not like that! You've got it all wrong!" Miko's face turned beet red as she frantically denied it.
Even a couch potato like her gets embarrassed when caught by her little brother.
Natsuki sat up. "Your sister was just stepping on my back."
"No need to explain, I get it," the kid said, closing the door with a knowing look. "Sis, you and Natsuki can keep playing. I won't tell anyone."
Click
The door shut.
Miko tried to rush over and explain, but in her haste, she lost her footing.
Natsuki reacted quickly, catching Miko with his body.
Thud
Miko landed right on top of him, her silky hair cascading down. The pleasant scent of her shampoo and body wash filled Natsuki's nose.
"..."
Their eyes met.
The air suddenly grew still.
The temperature between them quietly rose.
Creak
The door opened again.
"You're too loud," the kid said, poking his head in again. "I'm trying to do homework with my friends. Sis, go to Natsuki's room if you want to keep playing."
"Oh, and one more thing."
"Use protection. Mom will have a fit if you accidentally get pregnant."
Miko's face turned crimson. She quickly sat up, shouting:
"How does an elementary schooler know so much?!"
"What's the big deal?" the kid replied calmly. "Miki from the corner has already had three boyfriends."
Miko: "..."
We really can't underestimate kids these days.
Natsuki thought back to the "100-man defeat mission" from a few days ago. He'd thought Kaguya would easily win 100 games in a row, but she ran into some seriously tough elementary school kids who wiped the floor with her.
"Anyway, it's not what you think," Miko said, taking a deep breath and coming up with an excuse. "Natsuki said his back hurt, so I was just helping him out. That's all."
Natsuki nodded. "You heard your sister. That's what happened."
"Natsuki, you should just date my sister already," Kyosuke sighed, turning to Natsuki. "If you wait any longer, she'll turn into an old maid that nobody wants."
Miko clenched her fists, her eye twitching slightly. "Kyosuke!!"
"..."
Slam
The door closed.
They heard the kid's footsteps thumping down the stairs.
"Let's call it a day," Natsuki said, sitting up and rubbing his back. "Come to my room tomorrow."
"No way," Miko turned away. "Get Kyosuke to step on you tomorrow."
"Kyosuke's too weak. I need your help, Miko-sama."
As Natsuki put his clothes back on, he felt a warm current spreading from his waist to his limbs. The stomping energy was clearly being converted into some kind of bio-energy.
He clenched his right fist. His strength seemed to have increased a bit.
Natsuki was quite pleased. Getting stronger just by lying down – what a bizarre skill!
He went downstairs to the living room and saw Kyosuke sitting with a girl from the neighborhood, doing homework. They looked pretty close.
"Kyosuke's way ahead of you in the romance department," Natsuki muttered to Miko.
Miko's eyes went lazy. She reached out and pinched Natsuki's waist. "You can go home now."
"..."
Natsuki said his goodbyes and headed home.