Soaking in a hot spring for too long could cause the blood vessels to dilate, and if overdone, even lead to dizziness from lack of circulation to the brain. Which was why, while the girls were still making a ruckus in the neighboring bath, Haru quickly rose and stepped out of the misty pool.
If he stayed any longer, he couldn't guarantee he would still be able to hold himself back.
Haru slipped into the dark gray yukata provided by the inn, the loose garment wrapping around him entirely. The moment he left the bath, a refreshing lightness spread through him, as if both his spirit and every cell in his body had been thoroughly restored.
Though, there was still a lingering heat within him.
"What a tough 'performance' and this is only the first day."
From a vending machine, he bought himself a chilled bottle of coffee milk. The milk softened the bitterness of the coffee into a smooth sweetness, and after a bath, the taste of that cold drink rose to unprecedented heights.
Glug, glug, glug…
In just a few gulps, he drained the entire bottle. The cool sensation cut through his lingering heat, and Haru let out a long breath of relief, feeling as though he had come back to life. He turned, ready to return to his room.
Tomorrow they had to visit the LiveHouse to prepare for the show. Better to get some sleep early tonight and conserve energy.
"Haru~"
The sound of quick footsteps echoed down the hall. Just as he turned his head, a red-haired girl suddenly collided with him head-on.
"Iku-yo? You're done already?"
"H-Haru, you finished too?"
Kita Ikuyo's already flushed face grew even tenser. She wore a finely patterned yukata in red and white stripes. Even beneath the loose fabric, the delicate curve of her slender waist couldn't be hidden.
Perhaps it was the lingering effect of the hot spring, but her skin now gleamed pale as milk, her flowing crimson hair still carrying a damp luster. Her already delicate face glowed with a tender pink blush.
"I only soaked for a short while before coming out. But you, Ikuyo… Why are you done so fast? Don't girls usually enjoy staying in hot springs longer?"
Haru arched a brow, his eyes sliding over the girl before him.
He had already been in the bath before Ikuyo entered, yet she had come out at almost the exact same time he did. That stirred a faint suspicion in his heart.
"Ahaha~ It's true, I really do love hot springs."
Ikuyo brushed a strand of damp red hair from her ear. Her youthful eyes flickered nervously for a moment, but the hesitation quickly faded. Impulsive as always, she couldn't resist when her heart began to race.
She lifted her head slightly, gaze brimming with emotion as she spoke with rare seriousness.
"But, more than hot springs… I like you, Haru!"
"…Huh?"
A trace of surprise flashed across Haru's face, even the motion of holding his coffee milk stiffened.
Ikuyo's small fists, pressed to her chest, slowly clenched tighter. She lifted her beautiful eyes, shimmering like starlight, as a few strands of her glossy red hair swayed with the vivid ponytail at her side.
In the next instant, she threw herself straight into Haru's arms.
The sudden embrace knocked him back half a step, the glass bottle in his hand almost slipping loose. A faint, refreshing fragrance from the girl filled his nose, and through the thin yukata, he could feel the heat of her skin.
Though it was meant as a girlish, playful pounce, the result was strangely… different.
"…Ikuyo, you nearly sent me flying with that."
Instead of the softness he expected, it felt almost like colliding with a steel plate. Haru guessed her ribs had hit him directly, with nothing there to cushion the impact…
At least when she wore a bra, there would be some shape. But now, under the yukata, nothing.
"So mean! That was your girlfriend's hug, you know?!"
Her tone carried a sudden note of shock. Then, as if something struck her, Ikuyo dropped her gaze down toward her own "armor plate" chest. Beneath the cute red-and-white yukata, there wasn't the slightest curve to be seen.
In an instant, her starry eyes dulled to ash.
"S-So it's true then? Haru… you really prefer girls like Bocchi, with F-cup chests, don't you? Someone like me, with a body even worse than a child's, could never interest you…"
The girl who normally shone brighter than the sun, a super radiant bundle of energy, now looked utterly deflated, like a rose petal shriveling. Her self-mocking words and aura of gloom wrapped around her completely.
She had already been shaken earlier by Bocchi's "bombshell" in the hot spring, and now her thoughts couldn't help but spiral in that direction.
Seeing her like this, Haru could only smile wryly. The brighter a girl seemed, the more dramatically she collapsed when her confidence wavered.
In this situation, bland words of comfort wouldn't work.
"Ikuyo."
Haru's low, resonant voice like the thrum of a bass, cut straight through her haze of inferiority. Startled, she instinctively lifted her head to look at him.
Only once she raised her eyes did Haru's lips curve faintly into a smile. His fingers brushed along the damp tips of her crimson hair, and just as her fluster grew, he tilted her chin upward.
And in that moment of surprise, he kissed her.
"…Mmph!"
Ikuyo's face turned scarlet as her lips were sealed. By the time they parted, all trace of gloom was gone.
In truth, she liked this forceful approach far more than she'd realized…
Haru chuckled at her reaction, then guessed aloud:
"Let me see… you came out early tonight because you were jealous of Nijika, right? You wanted to find me alone?"
"Mmm~!"
Hit right on target, the girl's body jolted. After a moment of silence, she nodded, cheeks burning.
There was no helping it, she was jealous.
"Who told you to barely pay me any attention on this 'training trip'? Then you went off with Nijika-senpai to walk by the lake, just the two of you… I'm your girlfriend too, you know! And now seeing you close with other girls... of course I couldn't hold back anymore!"
Since Haru had already seen through her, the straightforward and sunny Ikuyo wasn't about to keep hiding it. She confessed openly, though her tone carried a sour hint of jealousy.
To drive the point home, she rubbed her soft chin against his chest, her arms boldly circling his waist, clinging like she'd never let go.
Haru looked down at the girl stuck to him like an octopus, his eyes softening with affection.
"My super-cute JK girlfriend Ikuyo is absolutely right. I really did neglect your and Hitori's feelings. As an apology, of course I owe you two some compensation..."
A faint guilt flickered in his expression, but then he grew serious. He met her gaze and asked plainly:
"Ikuyo, is there something you want from me right now?"
"E-Eh? Anything… anything at all?"
Her breathing quickened. Rising on tiptoe, she pressed into his chest, her soft face like pudding against him. Her clear eyes, bright as autumn water, stared into his.
Even if Ryo-senpai caught her sneaking away later, this moment alone would be worth it.
"Of course, so long as it's within reason."
He tapped her forehead lightly with two fingers. That single line brought her back to reality.
By "within reason," he obviously meant ordinary boundaries. With Ikuyo's impulsive nature, if he hadn't clarified, she might well have charged recklessly toward home plate without a second thought.
Not that the warning seemed to restrain her much.
"T-Then… Haru, please give me a super intense kabe-don! Right now!"
At that strange request from his girlfriend, Haru's expression twisted oddly. He eyed her flushed, excited face, sighed inwardly, and finally moved.
He carefully steadied her, then pinned her firmly against the wall.
"Like this?"
"Kyaa! H-Harder! Be rougher! Fiercer!"
Her yukata had already fallen loose where it pressed against the tiled wall, exposing a snow-white shoulder. But Ikuyo only covered her cheeks with her hands, blushing furiously, her voice peaking with exhilaration.
"…Huh?"
Seriously?
Haru hadn't expected Ikuyo to get this excited, especially from his roughness. To think she actually liked being treated without much gentleness… what a peculiar kink. His expression grew subtly complicated.
Excited by being handled roughly, was this like drawing cards every time you lost HP?
"…I-I can't take it anymore!"
"Don't hold back for my sake, Haru…! Be ruthless, punish me!"
Her excitement tipped into feverish intensity, heat rushing through her veins. Her delicate face flushed as though drunk, her breathing ragged and uneven, chest rising and falling as though begging for more.
Her damp, messy red hair clung to her face and neck, the exposed skin glowing pale and luminous. Overcome, she grasped Haru's cheeks, and with hazy eyes, pressed her lips to his again without hesitation.
"Ikuyo."
The simmering, uncontrollable tension of the moment was suddenly shattered, pierced by an icy presence. The voice that drifted into their ears was cold, carrying a chill like a bucket of winter water poured straight over their heads.
Even with her body burning like fire, Kita Ikuyo sobered instantly at the sound of that cold and all-too-familiar tone. Her eyes widened with fear as she looked toward the source.
"R–Ryo-senpai…?"
A sharp gust of cold wind swept past her cheek. Yamada Ryo, clad in a blue-and-white yukata, stood by the vending machine. Her golden eyes, as cold and flat as still water, fixed calmly on them. That look alone was enough to trigger Ikuyo's instincts: fear.
Why… why did Ryo-senpai come out this fast?!
Ikuyo's heated mind cleared in an instant. Only then did she realize how far she had gone, too swept up in excitement. She had nearly pulled Haru into something that crossed the line.
This—this was definitely against the unspoken rule about sneaking off.
"Ryo?"
Haru raised a brow in confusion.
This sudden intrusion from his so-called "ex-wife No. 1" left Ikuyo looking like a guilty mistress caught red-handed. But wasn't she the one who officially had the title of girlfriend?
Was he mixing up memories from simulating too many scenarios?
The irony was sharp: Ikuyo, the rightful girlfriend, now looked like a side chick being caught by the main partner, shrinking back with guilt in front of Ryo, who by all accounts was only supposed to be a "friend."
Ryo gave Ikuyo a single cold glance, then calmly lifted her eyes to Haru.
"Haru. We're about to start a pajama party in the room."
"Do you want to come?"
Haru could sense the hidden frost in her tone. His expression grew subtle as he shook his head. "Forget it. This is a girls' thing, right? I shouldn't intrude. Besides, I was planning to turn in early anyway."
He'd only just gotten together with Nijika. She needed time to process things.
"Is that so?"
Ryo's tone remained flat. After his refusal, she stepped forward. To Ikuyo's horror, she seized her wrist and gently pulled her away from the wall.
"Then, I'll be taking Ikuyo with me."
"W–wait! Ryo-senpai!"
Ikuyo's guilty conscience nearly drove her to tears. She cast Haru a pleading look for rescue, but she knew full well she was in the wrong. She had snuck off on her own, and now all she could wear was that pitiful, bitter face.
Would an apology even save her now?
One fiery red and one icy blue. The two girls, opposites in every way, vanished together down the corridor.
Haru grabbed the bottle of coffee milk he had left sitting on the ping-pong table and drained it in one go.
"..."
Blyat, he had almost lost control back there.
Once Ikuyo got worked up, she completely forgot where she was. Even in the inn's hallway, she had no hesitation charging him head-on. And worse, she'd been so aggressively forward that he nearly gave in right then and there.
"Forget it. I should double-check the live prep instead."
Suppressing the heat still burning in his chest, Haru turned back toward his room.
Sleep wasn't coming easily tonight anyway.
…
The next day.
To avoid fumbling around during the actual performance due to being unfamiliar with the venue, the band needed to rehearse on site before the official live.
So after lunch, Haru led everyone to the location.
The LiveHouse: Moriya.
It was Suwa's most famous live venue, the largest in the area. A single show here could easily fit over a thousand people. A legendary stage.
"Wow…"
Nijika's eyes went wide as she stepped forward in her little shoes. Compared to Tokyo's RiNG, this venue was just as impressive—no, even grander. And compared to Shimokitazawa's STARRY, it was massive, several times the size.
"We're… we're really going to perform somewhere like this? Isn't this the kind of place only really popular bands get to play?"
Even Ikuyo's confidence wavered, her tone laced with nerves.
"In reality, Kessoku Band has already saturated the Shimokitazawa scene. We've even built some name recognition in Tokyo. The only thing holding us back right now is that our CDs and albums aren't fully on sale yet. We're already a known band."
"So relax. There's no need to be too nervous."
Haru's reassurance eased some of the tension. But for Ikuyo, it didn't help much. The sheer sight of the place had hit her too hard. She just stood there, frozen in place like an NPC guard outside an RPG castle gate.
"Hey, Haru, how much do tickets cost for a venue this big?"
"…Would you at least try to be nervous?"
But the blue-haired girl in her flowing dress only smirked, looking smug.
Haru rolled his eyes at Ryo before shrugging. "It's not our rehearsal slot yet. Let's use this free time to look around inside. We can also watch some of the other bands' lives."
"Actually, a well-known band is performing here today. Something with 'Kaze' in the name… but the vocalist is a really strong singer. If I remember right, her name was… Tokotani?"
After all, music is one of the best ways to transfer emotion.
Instead of letting them wander this cavernous LiveHouse, weighed down by nerves, it was better to let them watch a few lives. Just seeing other bands perform might be enough to settle them into the right mindset.
And if not, well… Haru still had other ways.