Although their tender, melting movements had already stopped for a while, the intoxicating, mind-drowning kisses had clearly drained their strength.
Even Sakura, who had been the one passively receiving them, was still breathing unevenly.
A fine sheen of sweat clung to her forehead and nose, and her slender figure and her pale skin tinted with a tempting blush glistened under the moonlight like smooth, warm porcelain.
Her hands were looped loosely around Kyousuke's neck as she steadied her breathing, trying to make her voice sound calm.
"When we were kids, Kyousuke belonged to me alone. I thought the world would always stay that way."
Her voice was clear and melodic not quite like the enchanting, timeless tone of a shrine maiden telling ancient tales, but carrying a warmth and sincerity that could draw in anyone who listened.
It was the kind of voice that made you feel as though you were stepping into her private inner world a world that was surely vivid, fantastical, and shrouded in mystery.
Who could resist wanting to linger in such a place?
Especially Kyousuke, the shameless rascal who had just stripped this girl bare like a helpless little lamb.
They hadn't gone all the way, but the passionate aftermath between them was something neither could skip.
After all, Sakura had just given him her precious first kiss and not only that.
Her soft lips, her delicate waist, and that alluring, forbidden triangle…
Kyousuke knew full well that despite how composed Sakura seemed in the heat of the moment even teasing Mitsuha and Utaha on the side but inside, she was far from calm.
Her nerves and anxiety were no less than anyone else's, perhaps even more.
She wasn't the bold type.
Compared to Mitsuha, she was timid and even shy type.
Before her shyness, what she felt first was always nervousness… and fear.
She would tense up at the smallest movement, flustered and unsure.
She would worry that she wasn't kissing well enough, her voice trembling like she was about to cry as she asked for his reassurance.
She would shiver when his lips brushed her skin, goosebumps prickling over that soft, delicate flesh…
This was Yamauchi Sakura — the side hidden beneath her careless, almost absurd façade.
A side only the closest person to her… no, only Kyousuke himself had ever seen.
She was just a normal girl — timid, shy, and the type to clutch a boy's shirt tightly during a kiss because she didn't know what else to do.
And for a girl like that, the emptiness that came after intimacy could be just as deep and consuming as the whirlpool of passion itself.
Her fear, her shyness, her unease — they would all be magnified a hundredfold in moments like this.
The words she had just spoken were proof of the changes stirring in her heart right now.
Looking into those amber eyes, still hazy with spring warmth, Kyousuke felt an overwhelming tenderness.
He picked her fallen nightgown up from the floor and gently draped it over her shoulders before pulling her into his arms.
Though her soft, full curves pressed against his chest again, there was no lust in him now.
Joy should be savored in its time — different moments call for different things.
He might often give his conscience a beating, but he was not a beast ruled only by desire.
As Sakura had said before, they had already seen each other naked countless times.
If they had truly thought like typical Japanese high schoolers — believing it shameful to graduate still a virgin — they would have been sleeping together long ago.
They wouldn't be here, breathless and trembling from just a kiss.
Sakura didn't resist at all.
Like flowing water, she leaned into him, her body soft and pliant.
She rested her cheek on his shoulder, her arms slipping naturally around his waist, their hearts beating in quiet harmony.
The night outside was clear and cold, but Sakura could draw endless warmth from his strong, reliable body. And not just warmth for her body — her heart, too, felt calmer, steadier.
Kyousuke stroked her head lightly with one hand, the other moving gently along her back, fingers combing through her silky brown hair.
There was no lust in this touch — it was pure affection.
Perhaps it was an instinct left over from infancy, but humans had no defense against such gentle caresses from the ones dearest to them.
Even a grown adult might still be moved to tears from a mother's hand on their head.
If you don't know what to say to ease the heart of the girl you love — just hold her. Stroke her hair.
Listen to her breathing.
That was what Kyousuke believed, and that was what he was doing now.
As Sakura's breathing gradually lightened, and her heartbeat matched the familiar rhythm of his own, he finally spoke softly:
"We can't stop time from passing. We can't stop the world from moving forward. Just as you and I keep growing, the people and things around us will keep changing. The world will never stay the same."
Her eyes stayed closed, her lashes perfectly still, as if she were asleep.
But he knew she wasn't — her restless eyes beneath the lids betrayed her unease, moving just as they did when she was awake.
Only like this, nestled in his arms, could she truly find peace.
Still, even that thought was tinged with a faint anxiety.
"The world changes. We change. The only thing that never changes… is change itself."
His voice was as gentle as the moonlight itself, as if each word was a cool, clear stream flowing straight into her heart.
"Compared to when I first met you, I've grown taller, stronger, and better at fighting."
The girl in his arms curled her lips into a tiny smile, as if his words had drawn her into a warm memory.
She rubbed her head lightly against his shoulder, like a kitten seeking affection.
"And my feelings for you, Sakura… have grown from friendship into love. A love that, with time and change, has only become even more hopelessly deep."
The tickle of her hair against his neck made his voice turn a little rough.
He could have spoken in more romantic words and take quoted Shakespeare's sonnets in perfect accent if he wished
—but right now, he only wanted to tell her what was most true in his heart.
Strangely, it should have been Sakura who felt the emptiness after passion.
But as he spoke, recalling their past, Kyousuke's own chest tightened with emotion.
Of course, Sakura noticed it immediately.
She nuzzled his neck again, then lifted her face to press a natural, unhurried kiss to his lips — her mouth still flushed and slightly swollen.
Her clear, watery eyes blinked up at him.
Then she shook her head lightly and spoke in a slow, gentle tone:
"Time passes, the world moves forward, and people are always afraid of the unseen future."
Her hands, which had been wrapped around his waist, lifted to cup his face.
She looked straight into his dark eyes — calm yet unwavering — as if she could read the future in them.
He could feel her tension and unease, just as she could feel his tenderness and love.
"I'm not like other people," she said softly. "They're unsure about what job they'll have in the future, which city they'll live in, or who they'll marry. But ever since the third grade, I've had Kyousuke's mark on me. I've known exactly who I would spend my life with."
Her voice was like a spring breeze brushing past his ear, gently stroking Kyousuke's senses.
That tingling warmth ran through his nerves, filling his chest with a bliss so bright it was as if he had been transported to the most dazzling day of spring.
He looked at the girl in his arms—eyebrows arched like distant mountains, eyes smiling like peach blossoms—and leaned down to kiss those cherry lips lightly.
What man could resist such a beautiful confession from such a beautiful girl? At that moment, he felt like the happiest man alive. With a foolish grin, he replied,
"Sakura, I'm really… so happy."
She often said similar things, but somehow tonight felt different.
Sakura smiled, resting one hand lightly on his chest.
The coolness of her palm quickly warmed against him. She pressed her cheek to him, took his hand in her other, and gently caressed each of his fingers before entwining them with her own, arms stretching out slowly.
Then, in that unhurried voice of hers, she continued:
"Most people only realize they're in love when they're about to part. But if love just means separation… what's the point?"
It sounded like she was musing aloud, but she also seemed to be asking herself. Naturally, she gave her own answer:
"Naoka has known you even longer than I have, yet it took Shouko's arrival for her to slowly confess her feelings.
Mitsuha and you traded souls and filled each other's lives with so many words, yet it wasn't until the edge of life and death that she said she loved you.
Utaha hid herself away like a silkworm in its cocoon until Mitsuha's accident pushed her into taking that first step. And Yukino—well, she's hopeless.
Even though she was consumed by longing, she still refused to move forward…"
Yamauchi Sakura listed the names one by one, speaking of each girl's feelings and her shared past with Kyousuke.
Her voice was calm, and for a fleeting moment she resembled Katou Megumi—though without the slyness, replaced instead by a quiet compassion.
And just like she'd said before, she truly did pity them.
But mixed in with that pity was something deeper…
Her voice suddenly grew stronger as she lifted her face.
Cupping Kyousuke's cheeks in both hands, she squished them like she was molding mochi, then stared straight into his eyes and said, her voice brimming with affection:
"Compared to them, I'm ridiculously lucky. From the moment Kyousuke first laid eyes on me, he chose me. And I… I chose the person I loved, the life I wanted, and my future—all at that same moment."
She leaned in, planting a fierce, noisy kiss on him, then shouted boldly:
"I'm so happy~~ I'm practically going to die from happiness~!"
Kyousuke tightened his arm around her slender waist, pulling her closer, and sealed her lips with his own.
He knew she wasn't finished talking—she would have gone on about just how happy she was—but he wouldn't let her.
Tonight, Sakura wasn't her usual silly self.
She was dangerously romantic. And right now, he was the one about to die from happiness.
"Happiness isn't something you should keep saying out loud!"
After a long moment, he finally released her, silver strands of saliva still connecting their lips in a way that made the air between them feel thick and electric.
"Why not~~?" Sakura asked playfully. "Doesn't Kyousuke like hearing it?"
"I do, I like it so much it's killing me," Kyousuke admitted without hesitation.
"Then I should say it even more—until Kyousuke's whole world is overflowing with joy and there's not a speck of sadness left," she giggled.
"But if you keep saying it, the gods will get jealous!" Kyousuke warned, putting on a serious face. "Gods are petty creatures. If they get jealous, they might sneak away and steal your happiness."
"Aww, poor gods. Sounds like they're starved for love~" Sakura laughed, unconcerned. "In that case, I'll share some of my happiness with them. After all, even if I do, Kyousuke will still keep making endless happiness with me, right?"
That made Kyousuke laugh.
"A generous one, aren't you, Sakura-sama?" He couldn't help but recall the memory of her pressing something firm against his lips earlier, the feel of her tongue and softness—unforgettable for a lifetime.
"Of course~~" Sakura scrunched her nose cutely. "If gods really exist, then the one who brought us together must be the hardest-working god in the world. I should go to Izumo Taisha and give them a proper award!"
Kyousuke chuckled at her grand generosity, looking at her as if she were already the supreme deity presiding over the great matchmaking festival at Izumo Taisha.
He gently tugged her slipping clothes back into place.
"So… was that why the kind and generous Sakura-sama let me 'practice' with other people before buying me condoms?" he teased, returning to his earlier question.
"What? Please. I'm definitely the person Kyousuke loves the most in the whole wide world, but I'm not that arrogant!" she pouted, bumping her forehead against his chest.
"I just wanted to see if they could make Kyousuke happy."
"Make me happy?"
"Mm-hmm! If they can't even do that, then they can just stay unlucky forever," Sakura said coldly.
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