245 Your hand is so soft, just rubbing against it ❤
Droplets of water fell to the ground, sliding down her smooth, jade-like skin.
Yor stepped out of the bathtub, her long, beautiful legs stretching out as she gazed at the misty mirror, looking at her own face, which still had a lingering flush.
She had been thinking of continuing to soak in the bathtub, relaxing and letting her mind calm down.
But unexpectedly, the strange feeling in her heart didn't fade away with the water droplets; instead, it grew stronger.
No matter how many deep breaths she took or how many times she thought about her past as a killer, she couldn't calm her mind.
Now, Hikigaya Hachiman was in a state of deep sleep, and no matter what she did, he wouldn't notice.
How many people can stay awake and aware in such a state?
It's impossible to do so!
Looking at her own curvaceous figure in the mirror, Yor's heart grew even hotter.
"Hachiman did such a terrible thing to me in that underground room... I'm just getting revenge now! That's all, just revenge!"
Yor muttered to herself, and her hand unconsciously reached up to touch her own chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
After wiping herself dry, she carelessly put on a loose sleep shirt and walked towards Hachiman's room, hugging her own bare arms.
Her eyes were dazed, and her expression was a mix of shyness and embarrassment, like a young girl in love.
Finally, she steeled herself and turned the door handle.
Under the moonlight, Hachiman lay peacefully in bed, his face serene, with the blanket that Yor had covered him with earlier.
For a moment, Yor was mesmerized by the sight.
Why did she have such a special, unprecedented feeling towards this guy, who had used her life as leverage and taken away her freedom?
Yor didn't understand.
But now wasn't the time to think about that.
She knew her brother's personality; he would have a nearly obsessive reaction to anything related to himself.
In this situation, if she didn't deepen her understanding of Hachiman, she would eventually be discovered.
To hide her killer identity from her brother, it was essential to get closer to Hachiman!
Yor convinced herself.
"You're not wrong, Yor!"
Remembering the strange scene she had witnessed through the door, with Yumeko and Hachiman, Yor's face grew even redder.
That kind of thing was absolutely not allowed, but another kind of thing... might be worth trying.
With this determination, Yor, who had no internal defenses, came to the bed and straddled Hachiman, sitting on top of him in a duck-like position.
Looking down at Hachiman's peaceful face, Yor felt a mix of relief and slight resentment.
If Hachiman were to suddenly wake up now... that would be the ultimate pleasure.
But that must not be allowed to happen.
It's better this way, even if it's not the most thrilling experience, at least it's safe and stable.
Yor began to fantasize in her mind, wondering if she should make Hachiman a cup of red tea every night.
After all, the effects of the sleep-inducing tea would wear off, leaving him feeling refreshed and energized.
A nameless flame was burning in Yor's chest, and she couldn't help but lean down, feeling Hachiman's breath on her skin.
"Just once, just once is fine!!"
Yor quickly pecked at Hachiman's cheek, like a chicken pecking at grain.
"Why not... come back for more?"
Yor soon convinced herself again.
She reached out and lifted Hachiman's messy bangs, her breathing becoming rapid.
"He's so handsome."
The unique, unripe beauty of a 16- or 17-year-old boy, with delicate features that still showed a hint of dignity even in his sleep... The combination of these two things fueled Yor's wild heart.
A sense of guilt grew in Yor's heart, as if she was defiling a pure and innocent boy.
She warned herself that this was just revenge, just like what she had done in the underground room that day.
Yes, the underground room!
Yor gradually remembered what had happened in the underground room, and her hand seemed to move of its own accord, parting Hachiman's tightly closed lips. She trembled as she raised her white, slender fingers...
"Hachiman's hands are so long", "So much whiter than mine", "So soft", "He smells so good"
"Just taking a look won't hurt, right?"
"Is this really okay?"
"Just a little touch, not going in."
.
.
.
The wind outside blew gently, the trees swayed, and the clouds moved, blocking the annoying moonlight.
That night, Yuri didn't sleep well.
He kept hearing a disturbing sound that seemed familiar yet strange, and it was really annoying.
That night, Hachiman didn't sleep well either.
He seemed to have had a long dream.
In the dream, Hachiman was wearing a red monk's robe, standing on top of a Buddha statue.
Below the statue, a female demon was summoning wind and rain, flooding the golden mountain, making his precious robe wet and sticky.
"Hmm..." Hachiman slowly opened his eyes, seeing the familiar ceiling.
He subconsciously touched his waist.
Fortunately, he didn't feel any pain or discomfort, and he let out a sigh of relief. It seemed he had misunderstood Yor.
It wasn't surprising that he had overthought things, given the situation the day before.
If it was Yumeko, he might have had to deal with something again.
"But what's going on here?"
Hachiman rubbed his thumb against his index and middle fingers.
Perhaps it was because he spent a lot of time typing, but his sense of touch was more sensitive than usual.
He usually avoided touching fruits like oranges, lychees, or grapes that were prone to bursting, because the sticky feeling would bother him, and he would wash his hands with water to get rid of it.
But now, he felt that same sticky sensation on his fingers.
Even though it was very faint, Hachiman had still detected it.
He brought his fingers to his nose and sniffed, smelling a faint, sweet fragrance. He then subconsciously licked his fingers, feeling the sweet, sticky taste...
"Could it be...?"
"Did I eat fruit before falling asleep last night?"
Hachiman was a bit puzzled.
Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided not to think about it.
He lazily stretched and got out of bed, opening the door to wash up.
As an excellent student, he would wake up naturally according to his biological clock, even after drinking the sleep-inducing tea.
"Good morning, Yor-san."
"Good morning, Hachiman-kun."
Yor's face was red, as if she had done something wrong.
She glanced at Hachiman, who was washing his face with a towel, with a subtle, secretive gaze.
The water from the faucet kept flowing, and it wasn't until her sleeves got wet that she came back to her senses.
Her face grew even redder.
246 Just Like Being Locked ❤ X Advancing from the Negative to Zero
"What a great sleep~"
Just as the vague emotions brewing in Miss Yor's beautiful eyes were about to crystallize into visible ripples, a messy-haired Yuri stretched lazily and walked out of the room.
Because he had slept in Miss Yor's bed, he felt as if he had returned to his childhood and had an exceptionally sweet sleep.
"Morning, Sis."
"Yuri, that's too rude of you!"
Miss Yor carried a tray and brought instant breakfast porridge, which she had prepared with hot water, to the table.
"You should greet Hikigaya-kun properly."
"Hmph, that guy…"
The stubborn Yuri didn't want to admit defeat just like that.
Crossing his arms, he turned his head to the side reluctantly and said, "As for Hikigaya, I'll secretly investigate you. If I find out you're deceiving my sister's feelings, I won't forgive you."
"Be my guest."
Hikigaya wasn't particularly bothered by Yuri's attitude.
The fact that he declared his intentions so openly meant he had no hidden agenda, which actually made him the easiest type to deal with.
Of course, maybe it was also because, at the moment, Hikigaya's role was that of a "brother-in-law," so Yuri wouldn't truly take on the role of an Interpol agent against him.
Hikigaya took a sip of milk and asked curiously, "Mr. Yuri, I heard from Yor that you're with Interpol. I don't have a problem with that, but you — using your precious vacation to investigate me — is that really okay?"
"Interpol's daily workload must be pretty heavy, right?"
"No," Yuri answered bluntly. "Investigating you is just a side job. Actually, I…"
Yuri paused mid-sentence.
But considering Hikigaya was now his brother-in-law — half a family member — and also still a current high school student, he figured it wouldn't hurt to share this, and so he continued:
"You can't tell anyone this."
"In fact, I came to Japan with two missions.
One is to track down a killer who usually operates in Europe but has suddenly appeared in Japan.
The other is to investigate a local Tokyo crime syndicate — they've been involved in multiple cross-border kidnapping operations and have long been a target of our Interpol task force."
Still, Hikigaya was only "half" family.
The intel Yuri gave him was clearly less than what he told Yor — like a consolation gift for his temporary brother-in-law, a little something to satisfy his curiosity.
"Anyway, since you and my sister are living in Tokyo, be careful."
Yuri seriously took out his phone and opened a social app to show his QR code. "Add me as a friend, I'll send you my number later."
"If you ever run into real trouble, call me. As an Interpol agent, I do have a few contacts in the Tokyo area."
Hikigaya looked at him in surprise, then naturally pulled out his phone to scan the code.
Yuri added, "Don't get the wrong idea. I just don't want my sister to be hurt.
You, as a man… you know what I mean.
Don't go looking for trouble, but when it really comes to it, don't be afraid of it either."
Hikigaya felt extremely conflicted inside.
He didn't know much about underground organizations, but the way Yuri described that assassin… really sounded like Miss Yor.
Seriously, this guy is a seasoned Interpol agent, yet got totally duped by his own sister?
If anyone ever causes trouble for me, it might just be one of your Tokyo "contacts" investigating your own sister…
Hikigaya recalled when he had looked up "Yuri Briar" on Wikipedia — there was an actual page dedicated to him.
A properly listed Interpol officer in the real world… and a complete siscon in private life.
Silently roasting him in his mind, Hikigaya saved Yuri's contact under Yor's group in his phone.
At that moment, his contact group looked like this:
Yuri ↓ Yor Honebami Miroslava
Maybe Yuri would never realize that the very target of his mission was already peacefully sitting in Hikigaya's contact list.
Even so, Hikigaya carefully saved the contact information Yuri gave him.
Whether he'd use it or not was another matter. But the fact that Yuri was willing to share his Tokyo network with him was a clear sign of goodwill.
And Hikigaya always returned goodwill with goodwill.
.
.
.
"Thanks."
After a quick breakfast, Hikigaya declined Miss Yor's offer to see him off.
Leaving the siblings to catch up in the house, he walked alone toward school.
And Yumeko was already waiting early at the station.
The moment she saw Hikigaya, her face lit up with a radiant smile as she approached him: "Hachiman~ How did things go yesterday?"
Hearing Yumeko's voice — so strikingly similar to Miss Yor's — made Hikigaya feel a little uncomfortable.
They both call me the same way…
If someone blindfolded Hikigaya with a black ribbon right now, and both girls stood beside him and spoke, he wasn't entirely confident he could tell them apart.
If he had to force a distinction—
Yor's more subdued voice had a touch of mature allure, unique to grown women.
Yumeko, though she had welcomed him many times with that voice, couldn't fully mask her youth — her voice still carried the freshness of a young girl.
Oh, almost forgot — Yukinoshita's voice is also really similar to theirs!
And hers is even more youthful.
If all three of them spoke while he was blindfolded… he'd probably only be able to distinguish them by touch.
'Large, medium, small…!'
Hikigaya drifted into a pointless daydream, but quickly extinguished that indecent thought.
Seriously, these past few days I've been corrupted by Yumeko.
What the hell am I even thinking…?
'Pardon me, I've offended you.' Hikigaya silently apologized in his heart to Yukinoshita Yukino and Miss Yor.
"It's okay. I managed to get past Yor's brother, somehow," Hikigaya said after some hesitation. "But he did say he's going to investigate me for a while. If he finds out I'm involved with other girls… he won't let it slide."
"But this morning I had Miss Yor hold him back, so there's nothing to worry about today."
"Eh? That's no fun." Yumeko's lips curled up.
She wasn't keen on sharing her boyfriend with Miss Yor, of course—but if this meant they couldn't act intimately in public…
That might not be so bad?!
It was like… being locked up with a chastity lock!!
Yumeko's face instinctively flushed, she pressed her thighs together, and her walking pace gradually slowed down.
Hachiman noticed the abnormality and felt a chill in his chest.
'This girl Yumeko… what kind of weird fantasy did she spiral into this time?!'
Now that he understood Yumeko's peculiar fetish, a lot of her strange behaviors made sense.
With Hachiman's intellect, it wasn't hard to deduce her train of thought from those small gestures.
"So from now on, when we go to and from school, Hachiman has to pretend not to know me~" Yumeko softly parted her pink lips, a misty breath escaping from her mouth.
"Yeah… I promised Miss Yor. So during this period, I'm sorry, Yumeko.
But it shouldn't take too long—after all, her younger brother is an Interpol officer.
He can't possibly waste too much time just investigating me."
"It's okay~ As long as it's that kind of thing, Hachiman, you never need to hold back~"
Yumeko finally stopped walking.
Even for her, this sort of twisted play was something she had never tried before.
In fact… aside from the metaphorical chastity lock in her mind, she was even thinking about approaching Miss Yor in private and asking her to literally lock her up—until the surveillance ended.
If that happened… then the twisted desires she'd been storing up would erupt like a volcano and give her the ultimate climax.
Just thinking about it made Yumeko feel ecstatic.
She had to stop walking. If she kept going, she might collapse from excessive moisture before even reaching the classroom.
So now, she had to change the topic to force her attention elsewhere.
After a moment of thought, she said: "Hachiman, yesterday Miroslava-neesan contacted me."
"Oh? What for?"
It had been days since Honebami Miroslava had made an appearance.
And now she was reaching out to Yumeko?
If it involved those two, Hachiman could only think of one thing—something had happened inside the Hundred Devouring family.
"Trouble is coming," Yumeko said calmly, her deep snake-like eyes gazing toward the slightly overcast sky, as if she were narrating something completely unrelated to herself.
"Yesterday, the Hundred Devouring family held an internal meeting."
"The main topic of the meeting was… the family head position of Kirari-sama~"
Tsshh.
Hachiman's eyes narrowed slightly.
If that was the issue, then he wasn't sleepy anymore.
After all, his long-term goal was exactly the position of the Hundred Devouring family head.
To achieve that goal, Momobami Kirari had to remain seated in that position.
If she were removed before he got the chance to challenge her…
"Looks like Hachiman is pretty interested in this~" Yumeko teased.
"Of course I am… this is something I have to care about," Hachiman exhaled deeply. "So, what was the outcome?"
"The outcome is… trouble's coming."
Hachiman froze for a moment before he quickly realized what she meant: "Someone's coming to Hyakkaou Academy."
"Mhm."
"This was something Kirari-sama personally proposed~ All major branches of the Hundred Devouring family who could attend the meeting will send their most outstanding children—around seventeen years old—to transfer to Hyakkaou Academy."
"According to the academy's rules, they'll engage in gambling with the position of family head as the wager.
The final victor will become the new head of the Hundred Devouring family.
As for those who lose… they'll become Kirari-sama's vassals.
The best from each family branch will be devoured by her."
Even someone like Yumeko, who didn't usually care much about internal family politics, couldn't help but lick her lips in excitement.
"Maybe after this, all the branch families will fall into decline, and Kirari-sama will accomplish something no one in the family ever has—completely swallowing the branches."
"Ha… well, that certainly sounds like something President Momobami would do."
Even putting the family head seat on the table as a gambling chip—if the ancestors of the Momobami family knew, who knows what they'd think.
"So that means Honebami Miroslava is transferring to Hyakkaou Academy too?"
"Maybe. After all, Miroslava-neesan has always been raised as the heir of the Honebami clan."
'Ah… what a pain.'
Just thinking about that woman made Hachiman's head hurt.
That woman had always tried to provoke him into getting angry and taking sadistic action against her.
Once she arrives at the school, who knows what kind of chaos she'll bring.
They already had one sadist, Juraku-senpai…
Maybe… once she gets here, he should just have Juraku-senpai deal with her.
A woman like that won't rest until she's experienced pain from him—so the only way is to redirect her attention.
And Juraku Sachiko was undoubtedly the perfect candidate.
Hachiman's gaze drifted far off, as if he were peering through time and space, sitting face to face with Kirari Momobami herself in the center of a screen, clad in elegant robes.
"President Momobami, you use the family head seat as bait to lure in the best of the branches for gambling.
And then you use that same position to bait me into taking the hook—so I'd gamble with all the student council executives and then take on a final gamble with nothing but that title at stake…"
"You calculated that I'd challenge the branch families for the family head seat..."
"Even knowing it's a pit of fire ahead, it still makes people want to jump in."
To that, Momobami Kirari simply offered a faint smile, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly, saying nothing.
If Hachiman lost, he wouldn't have to pay any penalty—but he'd be forever cut off from supreme power.
But if he won, he'd have to withstand the full assault from the branches on Kirari's behalf.
She had factored his resolve into the equation completely.
Becoming the family head as an outsider, solely because he was Momobami Kirari's consort, would undoubtedly enrage all the branches.
If Hachiman won the struggle against the branches, everyone would cheer, and he'd rise to the peak of life.
But if he lost… the fury of the branches would tear him apart, using him—a commoner who brought shame to the Momobami name—as a sacrifice to restore their dignity.
And because the position of family head would change hands, the gambling system itself would be abolished. Meaning no more second chances.
"So… when are they arriving?" Hachiman muttered like he was asking himself, "Probably after I finish my gamble with the president."
"But Kirari… if you want to make me your pawn, then be prepared for a reversal."
Becoming the head of the Hundred Devouring family—such a chance was right in front of him. There was absolutely no way Hachiman would back down!
Even if the path ahead was hell, he was ready to step into it alone.
"I avoid fights when I can—but I never run away."
"Just one more step! Right now, my status is still 'below zero,' but if I can win this last gamble with the student council execs, I'll go from 'negative' to 'zero'—and then launch the full-scale assault!"