Click.
As she twisted the key and pushed the door open, a trace of coolness washed over them because the indoor temperature was slightly lower than outside.
Having anticipated the possibility that Fuyumi might come over to her place, Yukari had spent some time recently thoroughly cleaning and organizing the apartment.
Out of courtesy, however, as soon as she stepped into the entryway, she still offered a polite disclaimer.
"I just moved in here not too long ago and haven't had a proper chance to clean up yet, so please don't mind the mess."
Click.
Sasaki followed right behind her into the apartment and closed the door behind him.
Hearing her polite words, he shook his head. "It's fine. If anything, I'm the one intruding."
As he spoke, he looked at her, looking at that genuine, radiant smile of happiness that had been plastered across her face, ever since stepping inside, he felt he really couldn't run away.
Yukari pulled a pair of slippers out from the shoe cabinet and placed them neatly right in front of him.
"I don't have any men's slippers here, so I'm afraid you'll just have to make do and wear mine for now, Fuyumi."
Why is she suddenly giving off this vibe like she wants to take off my shoes and help me change into them?
Because of the height difference, Sasaki lowered his gaze, taking in Yukari's kneeling posture on the floor.
Her knees were pressed closely together, and her full, rounded thighs beneath her short black skirt were tightly aligned.
Because of her kneeling position, the plush curves of her lower body pressed heavily down against her fair, pink-tinged heels, causing the vast majority of the short skirt's fabric to bunch up around her soft, peach-like curves.
This left the expanse of pale skin from her knees all the way up past the middle of her thighs completely exposed to the air.
Immaculate, soft, and thick like marble pillars; it was a completely different kind of beauty from mere slender fragility.
And those delicate hands of hers rested right between those plump thighs as she looked up at him with a gentle smile.
Her posture was soft, submissive, and overwhelmingly demure, practically radiating the traditional gentleness of a classic Yamato Nadeshiko.
Realistically speaking, once she put the slippers down, her job was done... but right now, she...
Seeing her like this, Sasaki knew that if he so much as asked a question, he'd undoubtedly get the exact kind of answer he was imagining.
So, he immediately feigned ignorance of her underlying intentions and naturally untied his shoelaces, replying casually. "As long as Yukari doesn't mind, why would I feel hard done by?"
What?
Although, Yukari wanted to proactively reach out and touch him, she was afraid of startling him... and so she had remained kneeling on the floor, hesitating and doing nothing, simply waiting for him to ask out of curiosity, only for him to...
Feeling a tinge of disappointment at missing the chance to intimately wait on him, she heard his words and hurried to defend herself. "How could I ever mind Fuyumi? I've always—cough."
Now that they were home, the dam of her patience was on the verge of collapsing under the crushing weight of her overwhelming longing.
Yukari was losing her grip on herself more and more.
Before she could even finish her sentence, she nearly blurted out what was truly on her mind.
However, knowing that she couldn't lose patience, she snapped back to her senses, gave a hurried, artificial cough to cut off the words that might have scared him off.
"I've always... always wanted to see you again, Fuyumi. You shouldn't joke about things like that, or I really will get mad."
'The door isn't even locked yet... I need to exercise some restraint with what I say.'
Sensing that Yukari was acting a lot bolder now that they were indoors compared to when they were outside, Sasaki didn't mind in the least.
From the moment he stepped foot across this threshold, he hadn't planned on walking out unscathed.
Today, either he or Yukari was going to draw blood...
Otherwise, leaving an unsubdued yandere wandering around his life was far too dangerous.
Resolving her issue couldn't wait!
So, he acted as though he hadn't noticed anything strange about her slip of the tongue and slipped into the slippers, offering a mild apology.
"Just kidding."
"Aside from your looks, you haven't really changed much, Fuyumi.
You still love teasing people."
With her eyes curving into soft crescents and a light laugh,
Yukari stood up and gestured around the room.
"It's not a big place, so make yourself at home. I'm going to pop into the washroom for a second."
"Sure."
As the tall figure of the young man walked past her, Yukari's hand, which was reaching for the bathroom doorknob, slowed down considerably.
Ensuring he had walked into the living room and couldn't see her anymore, she crept back to the front door and locked every single locking mechanism on it.
The security chain, the deadbolt...
'Should I slap on a couple of padlocks and maybe smear some super glue in the keyhole just to be safe?'
With the sheer number of locks she used, even a professional burglar would take half a day to get through them... but Yukari was so terrified of the duck flying right out of her hands that these kinds of extreme thoughts constantly flared up in her head.
Still, recalling how well-behaved Fuyumi had been ever since they met, she ultimately decided against taking any overly extreme measures.
After quickly washing her hands in the washroom, she walked out into the living room.
The person she had yearned for day and night was currently browsing casually through the bookshelf beside the television set.
Because she had pulled open all the curtains wide that morning, the sunlight streamed straight through the windows, spilling over his frame and kicking up a bright, dazzling halo of golden light.
In that brilliance, the lazy look in his eyes beneath his long eyelashes, the fine, peach-fuzz hairs dusting his jade-white skin; to her, it was all just so incredibly cute and utterly endearing.
Just looking at him, her breathing grew heavier.
Unable to stop herself, Yukari drifted right up behind him, only to snap back to her normal demeanor the split second he glanced sideways at her.
"Does Fuyumi like reading books? What a good boy~"
"If you like them, feel free to read whatever you want. I'm going to go get our big meal ready~"
Hearing her words, Sasaki couldn't help but blink.
To be honest, his interest in reading books was low to begin with.
Now hearing that she was going to start cooking, it immediately went to zero.
No way.
Although Sasaki knew he was a physical anomaly, that didn't mean he could afford to be reckless.
Yanderes didn't think or act like normal girls... and sometimes they didn't know their own strength when lashing out.
Even though Yukari hadn't shown any overt signs of that yet, it paid to be safe.
Just in case she accidentally dumped a lethal dose of sleeping pills into the food, or whipped out some unfamiliar black-tech poison that could flip the table on him—he couldn't let his guard down.
So hearing these words, Sasaki piped up. "I'll help out too. After all, this is our reunion—how can I just let Yukari do all the work alone?"
Not knowing his overly cautious thoughts, Yukari was a bit surprised by words.
However, she immediately fell into a dilemma.
Even though guests shouldn't normally be asked to help in the kitchen, she desperately wanted to be close to him.
After all, cooking together was the absolute best excuse for close physical contact.
Not wanting to refuse outright, yet knowing a direct acceptance might look too eager, Yukari gave a shy, hesitant hum.
"Well... if you insist..."
Noticing she didn't put up much of a fight, Sasaki pressed on with a firm tone. "It's fine. If you make me sit out there all alone, I'll just feel awkward. Let's cook together, and you can let me show off my culinary skills a bit."
With a playful wink at the end of his sentence, he didn't wait for her to smile back.
Instead, he gently placed his hands on her shoulders and pivoted her around.
"Come on, let's go get to work."
The apartment Yukari rented was compact, which meant the kitchen was naturally tiny; cramming two people inside was already a squeeze, let alone trying to cook together.
That meant one person had to prep while the other manned the stove.
At Yukari's strong insistence, Sasaki took on assistant duties: chopping veggies, washing ingredients, and doing the dishes.
Tossing a freshly washed onion between his hands for a moment, Sasaki spoke up.
"Let me handle the onion. I never cry when I cut onions."
Yukari, who had been just about to snatch the onion from his hands, froze mid-motion.
Looking at him as if a child were boasting, a helpless, amused smile tugged at her lips.
"Who on earth cuts onions without crying? If you want to help me out, Fuyumi, you don't have to make up stories like that."
"Alright, stop messing around,
I've got cooking to do."
Sasaki wasn't actually messing around.
Although he hadn't tested it himself, but since Otome never cried when cutting onions nowadays, he figured he wouldn't react to the stuff either.
(For that matter, although it takes a bit of extra time, tossing the onion into the freezer for ten minutes greatly reduces the tears...this has no relation to the story, though.)
So, Sasaki sidestepped Yukari's outstretched hand and shook his head. "No way, let me do it. I really don't cry when I cut onions."
Watching him stubbornly hold onto the onion with both hands like an adorable kid, Yukari instinctively flashed back to when he used to cling tightly to a stuffed toy as a little boy, refusing to let her wash it.
Even after growing up, some things never changed.
Just like a dozen years ago, a wave of helpless, deeply pampered fondness washed over her face.
"Alright then, I'll leave the onion to you, Fuyumi."
As she spoke, she handed over the handle of the kitchen knife she was holding.
Sasaki wrapped his hand around the knife handle and looked down at its gleaming blade, instinctively licking his lips.
Let's just hope this thing only ever cuts vegetables today.
Because the kitchen was cramped, there was no room for them to slip past each other shoulder-to-shoulder.
Once Sasaki took the knife, he had to shuffle sideways toward the cutting board.
Meanwhile, Yukari began inching her way backward out from behind him.
Driven by a few unspoken, secret little impulses in her heart, she didn't bother leaning her upper body back to keep her distance.
Instead, she leaned forward slightly, pressing the soft curves beneath her thin clothing flat against his back without holding anything back.
Just as she predicted, his body instantly stiffened at the contact.
The transmission of touch went both ways...
He became awkward because of her, while she grew burning hot from the press of his solid, broad back.
Not wanting their physical contact to end just yet, Yukari spoke up right before he could say anything.
"Dishonest children are naughty and deserve to be punished, but since you lied to take care of me, I won't punish you."
"But..."
As she stood on tiptoe, her soft, pinkish heels lifting off the slipper soles, Yukari reached out a wet, cool hand and covered Sasaki's eyes.
To prevent him from cutting himself because he couldn't see, her fingers were only slightly parted, as she spoke. "I heard that wearing glasses can prevent tears when cutting onions... Hmm, we don't have swimming goggles at home, so this will have to do for now~"
As she spoke, she moved her fingers, wiping the water from her fingertips around Sasaki's eye sockets.
This method... it won't work, right...
Feeling the delicate, cool touch sliding around his eye sockets, the latter muttered to himself.
She wasn't trying to prevent him from crying; this was just an excuse.
She was lusting after his body, she...
Because he, too, was base enough to lust after her body, Sasaki enjoyed her close attention and gently responded.
"Then... I'll trouble Yukari."
He didn't refuse her...
The thought made Sasaki Yukari narrow her eyes happily, leaning her forehead even more boldly against his sturdy back. "No trouble at all. Fuyumi, be careful, cut slowly, and don't cut your hand~"
"Otherwise, it will be very troublesome."
"..."
"Mm."
As she wished, or rather, as both of them wished, it took Sasaki a long time to cut an onion.
But because of this, Yukari, who was behind him, kept shaking her head, wiping the tears that welled from the corners of her eyes onto his clothes.
"I'm sorry, Fuyumi. I'll wash your clothes later, don't, don't mind it~"
"It's just tears, it's nothing.
They'll dry up and disappear later."
"No! The teacher told you that if your clothes are dirty, you have to wash them. You can't wear dirty clothes!"
"But Yukari is not my teacher anymore."
"So you won't listen anymore?"
"..."
"Let's wash them after we finish cooking..."
"Hey~ Fuyumi is so good~"
Amidst their ambiguous conversation, lunch was prepared.
After Sasaki threw his jacket into the washing machine, he went to the low table in the living room.
Yukari also used the time while he was taking off his clothes to fill the dining table with their culinary achievements.
There was diced chicken with potatoes and onions, grilled fish, fried fish, fried pork cutlets, fried potato cakes, ginger pork slices...
Knowing that he didn't like raw food, the small-to-medium-sized low table had no sashimi, raw fish slices, or similar items.
Placing the napkin dispenser next to the cushion, she noticed her lover approaching as she smiled and waved. "Come quickly and eat, no need to be so polite~"
"Is there anything Fuyumi would like to drink? I'll go get it."
Bending down and sitting cross-legged opposite Yukari, who was about to get up, Sasaki looked at the table full of dishes and casually said. "Hmm, cola."
"Okay~"
After she got up and left,
Sasaki faced the table full of dishes, unsure of which to eat first...
It wasn't a matter of indecision, but rather uncertainty about which dish she might have put something into.
Although they had cooked the meal together, she didn't have many opportunities to add ingredients midway, but he had just gone to take off his clothes.
While one shouldn't be so wary of someone who likes them, still... this was a special situation.
Unable to choose, he chose not to choose. Sasaki sat properly in his seat, waiting for Yukari to return.
It wouldn't take long to get a few drinks.
Sasaki Yukari quickly returned to the living room.
Placing the drinks she held on the table, and seeing that he hadn't touched any of the dishes, she puffed out her cheeks, a little surprised and a little displeased. "Eat! Why aren't you eating? Didn't I just say, don't be polite with me. If you keep this up, I'm going to get angry~"
As she spoke, she handed him the remaining bottle of drink.
Taking the drink, he naturally placed it on the table. Sasaki chuckled.
"Let's eat together. It would be very improper if I ate first."
"You weren't so well-behaved when you were little~"
Teasing him, Yukari picked up the drink next to her, pulled the tab, and raised it to him. "Come on, cheers, to our reunion, to our meeting~"
Seeing him pick up the drink she had given him again, she added silently in her heart.
To our happiness~
Clink~
The clink of the cans was a bit forceful, and the drinks spilled onto both their hands.
Sasaki put down his drink, pulled out a few tissues, and wiped away the drink that had flowed onto his palm.
"Let's eat~"
Honestly... why is he like this...
Seeing that he wasn't proactively picking up food or drinking, Yukari's slender, soft brows raised.
Is he... wary of her?
Or is it out of politeness?
Sensing that his behavior was a bit off, she deliberately extended her chopsticks towards a normal dish to see if he would follow suit.
.
.
.
(End of the Chapter)