"I'm truly sorry…"
"I said it's fine already."
In a deserted alley, in the dead of night, still feeling a chill.
I was steadily walking on the asphalt, with Iroha Isshiki on my back.
"Well, you know… I should have stopped you more firmly."
"…Saying that now is unfair…"
The voice whispered in my ear was strangely ticklish. More than ticklish, this situation was dangerous. Too dangerous.
To properly describe the situation I was thrown into, which was "take responsibility and see me home," I was in the middle of escorting a drunk junior home. In other words, the typical "wolf in sheep's clothing" scenario.
Of course, I had no intention of doing anything like that… But the softness of her chest I inevitably felt against my back was something I couldn't do anything about, regardless of my intentions.
"Ah, there it is."
Isshiki suddenly said that, and I stopped, looking up at the building next to us.
It was dark, so I couldn't tell clearly, but it looked like a six-story apartment building. Its grand appearance made me nervous, wondering if she lived with her family.
"My room is on the second floor."
"…Right."
Passing through the automatic door at the entrance, Isshiki held her card over the card reader next to the keypad. Entering the lobby and reaching the elevator, she pressed the upward-pointing triangle button. The elevator, which seemed to have been stopped there already, opened its doors.
After about ten seconds, we emerged onto the second-floor hallway, and I followed Isshiki's guidance. When we reached the front of her room, Isshiki, having gotten off my back, shakily inserted the key into the keyhole.
"Come in."
"Oh, okay…"
And Isshiki, as if she couldn't stand on her own, grabbed my arm. Reluctantly, I stepped into the genkan, and the sweet scent of aroma wafted into my nostrils.
Taking off my shoes, I stood in the hallway leading from the entrance. To the right, a bathroom, a toilet-like room, and another room. Ignoring those, I entered the dead-end living-dining-kitchen and sat Isshiki down on the sofa.
"…You live in a pretty nice place."
"Eh…? Oh, Dad chose it for me, saying the city is dangerous."
I see. I don't know how much it cost, but perhaps this is one aspect of how much trouble girls can be.
"…For now, should you lie down? You look tired."
"No, I'm fine."
Isshiki said that and walked past me. It seemed she had recovered enough to walk on her own.
Then, patam, the door to the changing room closed. No more sounds could be heard from there. In fact, if sounds were heard, that would be bad.
…Wait, can I go home now? But I'd be in trouble if she suddenly collapsed in that state. Trouble in many ways.
Thinking this, standing in front of the changing room for too long seemed foolish, so I walked down the hallway and opened a door. Feeling my way, I turned on the light, and it seemed the innermost room was the living-dining-kitchen.
"Still living in a nice place, huh, oh, wow, hmm," I thought, waiting, when I heard a muffled kachan. A few minutes later, Isshiki appeared in the living room in her pajamas.
"......"
For some reason, her face was still covered by both hands.
"…What are you doing?"
"B-Because…"
Her hesitant posture was utterly unlike the usual Isshiki. Especially since starting university, her straightforward attitude had been prominent, so I felt this even more strongly.
"Um… I'm bare-faced right now."
"…I see."
That explained everything. Well, for a girl her age, showing her bare face to the opposite sex would be a high hurdle.
—However.
When she showed me such a vulnerable state, impure thoughts couldn't help but sprout. After all, I had been at Isshiki's mercy until now.
Unable to resist the idea that had popped into my head, I faced Isshiki, who was still standing at the entrance of the living room.
"So what if you're bare-faced?"
With exaggerated deliberateness, I said that and placed my hand on Isshiki's shoulder. Isshiki's small shoulder trembled with a bikku.
…Eh, what was that? Such a genuine reaction. At this point, I can't back down, can I?
Lashing my wavering resolve, I grabbed Isshiki's arm.
"W-What is it? I'm absolutely not letting you see! My bare face, Senpai!"
"When you say that, it just makes me want to see it more…"
What's with this girl, is she pulling a Dachou Club trick? I thought, as I put more force into grabbing Isshiki's arm. Isshiki resisted. However, a frail girl could not possibly match the strength of an average guy.
"—!"
Isshiki's face, suddenly revealed, was…
As fresh and childlike as she had been in high school.
Rosy cheeks, well-defined features. Her moist eyes even held fear, giving her the impression of a small animal.
"…"
Huh?
Somehow, it was different from what I expected. Both her reaction and her appearance were completely different, but still—
"…What, you're just normally cute."
That was my honest impression.
I was disappointed that it wasn't some kind of funny, story-worthy development. Why was she so reluctant to show her bare face? Was she being sarcastic to other no-makeup-no-good girls?
However, she herself seemed to have no such intention whatsoever.
"—!"
Isshiki let out a silent scream and left the living room.
…Oh crap, I messed up big time…
Reluctantly following her, I saw a half-open door, as if it had been slammed shut, beckoning from the hallway. Kon-kon-kon, I knocked on the door, which was only open about thirty degrees, but no reply came.
"Ah… I'm sorry about that. I might have been a bit drunk too."
"…"
There was no reply. There was only the dim light and Isshiki hunched over on the bed. And silence.
Reluctantly, I sat down with my back against the bed where Isshiki was slumped. This was going to take a while for her to get over.
"…"
"…"
A silent period continued between us.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes…
If she intended to forgive me, Isshiki would say something. The fact that she wasn't meant that there would be no compromise here and now.
"…I'm going home today."
That was probably the best course of action. I had no intention of staying overnight anyway, so it was going to happen eventually. When we met again at university, she would either complain endlessly or, conversely, say nothing and make things incredibly awkward. How painful.
"…Wait, please."
The moment I was about to stand up.
Isshiki, still with her face buried, firmly gripped my shirt.
"I might suddenly feel sick, so please stay by my side."
I thought it was an excuse like "I'm going to take a day off because I'm scheduled to feel unwell," but in reality, that was a genuine concern. If she were to choke to death while vomiting in her sleep, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
"Alright. If you feel even a little sick, tell me right away."
"Okay. …Thank you."
After that, silence descended upon the elegant apartment room.
Only the sound of our breathing could be heard. After a while, I wondered if she was asleep and looked towards Isshiki, and our eyes met immediately, as she seemed to have been looking at me.
"Do you want to sleep in the bed with me, Senpai? I don't have any futons for guests."
A faint, testing smile was contained in Isshiki's face as she said that. I couldn't humor every word from a drunk person.
"Of course I'm not sleeping with you…"
"Is that so?"
As I leaned my back against the bed frame, Isshiki said, as if responding to an already obvious answer.
After a while, I heard her peaceful, soft breathing. When I looked back, I saw Isshiki's completely relaxed sleeping face—and quickly averted my gaze.
"That's bad for my heart…"
In many ways, truly.
I mumbled that towards the ceiling and sighed.
—-------------
someone moved, and I woke up.
My usual bedroom. A pure white ceiling.
There was my usual morning, but only a sense of unease, so I lifted my head and looked around the room.
"Oh, you're awake?"
And then, our eyes met.
"—!"
In that instant, I lost my words. At the same time, my mind started spinning like an accelerator pedal had been floored.
What did I do yesterday? I participated in a mixer out of spite, and Senpai was there, and then…
Ah, I really messed up this time.
"What is it… I thought about leaving midway, but there were no trains, and I was worried."
Perhaps thinking that my silence was implicitly blaming him, Senpai said that awkwardly.
Could it be, that…
He really took what I said seriously and stayed by my side the whole time?
Eh, what is that? I love it.
No, not that.
Why didn't you make a move?!
Not that either.
"Um… I'm sorry. I caused you a lot of trouble."
I got down from the bed and sat in seiza, then bowed my head.
What I needed to do now was apologize for causing so much trouble.
"No, if nothing happened, then it's fine. I'm sorry I couldn't stop you properly either."
Saying that, Senpai, for some reason, also bowed his head to me.
He's a block of responsibility, isn't he? I love it.
…No, that's not what's important right now.
"Um! Please have breakfast before you go."
As a small token of apology, or rather, to make up for my blunder, I suggested that.
And also, I genuinely wanted to. The situation of having breakfast with Senpai, bathed in the morning sun stretching from the bottom of the curtain, felt too much like a couple and was too wonderful.
Am I a maiden?
I am a maiden, probably.
"No, I really need to go now. If I eat, I'll probably fall asleep on the train ride back."
"…That's true too."
As Senpai stood up saying that, I felt my spirits plummet.
But I'm not the kind of person to be discouraged by this. As we walked together towards the entrance, I spoke to Senpai's back as he put on his shoes.
"Senpai."
Senpai, having finished putting on his shoes, stood up and turned to face me. The step at my genkan isn't very high, so my eyes were perfectly level with his.
"Please come play again, okay?"
I said that with my head tilted, adding my usual smile. I expected him to say something like, "No, I didn't come to play," or "No, I won't come."
But instead.
Perhaps it was the strange high from being up all night, but Senpai, with dark circles under his eyes, smiled.
"If the opportunity arises, I intend to consider it positively."
"That's something someone who has absolutely no intention of coming would say!"
With a satisfied look at my retort, Senpai said, "See ya," and left the genkan.
The door closed with a patam, and I plopped down onto the floor.
Oh, seriously, he's so unfair. That part of him, really.
Thinking that, I continued to stare at the entrance door that wouldn't open—
================
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