Five minutes later.
Rai Hikaru glanced at the slumped figure beside him—the once‑proud Shizunomiya Natsuka now melted into the seat like a puddle of cream—and realized that his Silver Tongue skill was far more powerful than he'd imagined.
For someone whose only "romantic experience" this lifetime had been that stolen kiss from Ms. Mira back when he was a child, Rai had just handled himself… surprisingly well.
He'd kept steady rhythm from start to finish, controlled the tempo completely, and left Natsuka breathless and dazed.
Then again, it helped that the girl who—in his memory—was supposed to be rather bold and forward had turned out to be awkwardly innocent. No experience whatsoever.
When his eyes slid toward her again, Natsuka blushed instantly and turned her face away, flustered beyond measure.
Her whole body glowed pink; her pale skin was heated and supple, her cheeks red as apples.
She lay limp against the seatback, mind tangled in static, barely able to think straight.
Why… why didn't I say no? she thought. Usually, she'd have slapped him, or at least yelled at him for being indecent. But when Rai had asked her to "kiss him," something in her had short‑circuited. Her brain stopped working, and her body had moved on its own.
And it hadn't just been a tiny, polite kiss, either—it had turned into her first real kiss.
Was it because he was that handsome?
Did she… actually like him?
No, impossible! She couldn't possibly like that infuriating guy!
Her thoughts spun wildly. She liked someone else—her childhood friend, Yuta Yamano. He was supposed to be her destined one.
Yes, Yuta! He was the one she liked!
So why… why did kissing Rai feel so good?
Her lips still tingled just remembering it. That heat, that dizzy sweetness—it had felt… addictive.
Yuta, I'm sorry… it just felt too good. Too good, she whimpered inwardly.
Why was it so good?! How can anyone be that good at kissing... I can't stop remembering it…
Mortified, Natsuka buried her face in her hands.
Rai studied her silently, then asked, "That was your first kiss, wasn't it?"
She jumped, clutching the hem of her skirt and stammered, "O‑of course it was! I was the vice‑captain of the discipline committee—you think I'd ever do something that… indecent?!"
Rai stared at her, expression unreadable.
Bold words for someone who'd visibly enjoyed herself so much a few minutes ago—eyes rolling back and everything.
No way she's innocent enough to claim that with a straight face, he thought dryly. Women really are born liars.
Natsuka must have realized it too, because remembering how she'd wrapped her arms around him earlier made her face glow even redder. She dropped her gaze, flustered into silence.
"So," Rai continued after a moment, "you and Yuta Yamano—you're childhood friends, right? Don't you two have some kind of promise or something? You sure this won't be… a problem?"
Her lips trembled. "I… I only did it to repay you for saving me! That's all!"
"And besides," she muttered, voice barely audible now, "you're the one who asked for the kiss first."
Rai said nothing, just watched her quietly.
Which only made her more nervous. Her pulse thundered in her ears, her face hotter than ever. She knew her excuse made no sense. She'd been the one who jumped him, after all.
Desperate to save face, she blurted, "T‑then think of it as… um, practice! Yeah, practice for Yuta!"
"Practice?" Rai repeated.
"Y‑yeah! I mean, Yuta and I don't have any relationship experience, not like you—so I was just, you know, training for future dating situations!" she said, nodding too fast to be convincing.
Rai nodded softly, pretending to accept it. "Then that's fine."
He hid a smirk. Classic main heroine logic—calling first base "practice." Well, sorry, Yuta, your pure‑hearted childhood friend volunteered herself. I was just testing a skill… so no hard feelings, brother.
By the time their taxi reached the academy, the middle‑aged female driver was giving them a strange, knowing look in the mirror. Rai exited first without a word.
Behind him, Natsuka—still red‑faced—hurried to pay the fare and climbed out quickly.
The school gate loomed before them, firmly shut. Rai sighed.
Given the morning's detour—first the fight with Kaede Masaru, then the chaos with Yukino Shinto and that sleazy apartment manager—of course they'd missed the start of the day.
Forget homeroom; the first period was probably already halfway done.
Natsuka stared blankly at the closed gate, panic flickering across her face.
"R‑Rai‑kun, what do we do now?!"
Despite all the risqué thoughts running through her head lately, she was fundamentally a straight‑laced honors student. The idea of being locked out for the first time in her life left her completely lost.
Running home wasn't safe either—if the teachers called her parents, she'd be in serious trouble.
"Follow me," Rai said simply.
He led her around the side of the complex to a stretch of the outer wall—a "shorter" section, though it still stood over three meters high.
Before she could even ask how they were supposed to get over it, Rai lightly bent his knees and sprang upward. His hands caught the edge, and with two precise steps along the wall's surface, he vaulted cleanly up.
He crouched on top with easy grace. "See? Easy."
"Wh‑what about me?!" Natsuka called, looking up at him with wide, uncertain eyes.
"Take my hand," Rai said, reaching down.
Almost automatically, she grabbed it.
In one smooth pull, she was suddenly hauled up—and before she fully realized what had happened, she was standing precariously atop the wall beside him.
Then Rai dropped down effortlessly to the ground below.
"Ahh!" Natsuka gasped, staring at how far down it looked. Her stomach twisted. Even though the height wasn't that bad, looking from above made it seem terrifying.
She'd never done anything like climbing walls before; her legs trembled so hard she almost lost her balance.
"Don't scream. You want the security guards to catch us?" Rai hissed up at her. He looked up, deadpan, noting how she was clutching her skirt with both hands. Thank God she didn't actually wet herself.
"You… you went down first! What about me?!" she cried helplessly.
"Jump," he said flatly.
"I—I can't!"
"I'll catch you. Now hurry up," Rai said, voice firm and impatient.
"…O‑okay!"
Something about his tone—steady, unshakable—filled her with confidence. Rai Hikaru might be irritating, but right now he felt… reliable. So she squeezed her eyes shut and leapt.
To her, it felt like soaring—an Olympic‑level jump, impossibly long.
To Rai, it looked more like someone dropping a turnip.
He still caught her smoothly.
And just like that, a soft, fragrant warmth landed against his chest.
Natsuka's slender frame trembled in his arms, her scent sweet and dizzying. Maybe it was fear, but the moment he caught her, she clung to him—arms and legs wrapping tight around him like a little octopus, refusing to let go.
The posture was… to put it mildly, compromising.
Rai exhaled slowly, looking down at the girl squeezed to him. Seriously. What kind of position is this supposed to be…?