Chapter 214: Doing Homework with Nino
The third day in this other world.
It had begun to drizzle outside. Sakurai Saki loved rainy days—listening to the sound of rain tapping against the window while sleeping was something he found deeply pleasant.
On days like this, the howls of the zombies outside were much quieter.
Inside the living room, the two of them had the AC on, wrapped up in blankets, watching movies.
As expected, summer still calls for the AC and a blanket—that's the real deal! This luxurious wastefulness carried with it a strange mix of guilt and comfort.
"Sakurai-san, why are we watching this kind of movie?" Nakano Nino asked with a shiver.
"Just for fun," Sakurai Saki said, eyes fixed on the TV screen.
They were currently watching a movie on disc. There were plenty of entertainment devices here and lots of DVDs left behind—at least for the next few days, they wouldn't be bored.
"But…"
"What is it?"
"This is a zombie movie," Nino finally complained, unable to hold back: "Why do we have to watch a zombie movie in a world like this? Aren't there enough zombies outside for us to watch already?"
Sakurai Saki looked puzzled. "Don't you think watching a zombie movie in the middle of the apocalypse… is actually pretty interesting?"
Nino shook her head furiously.
All she felt was a chill running down her spine in the middle of summer, so much so that even holding onto Sakurai Saki didn't warm her up.
It could only be said that in an environment as dangerous as this, the affection level between a man and a woman really does rise quickly.
Look, Nino was hugging Sakurai Saki now without even feeling embarrassed anymore.
"Nino, I can't breathe," Sakurai Saki said, trying to pry her arms away from his neck.
"Can we watch something else?" Nino still wouldn't let go, not daring to look up. Right now, she was like a small ostrich, holding tightly onto Sakurai Saki and refusing to release him, though after hearing his words, her grip loosened slightly.
"You really are timid," Sakurai Saki teased. "How cute~"
Sakurai: (ᗜ⩊ᗜ)
Nino: (˶˃⤙˂˶)
"I… I'm just not good with zombies," Nino said stubbornly.
An idea suddenly popped into Sakurai Saki's mind. He suggested, "Then how about we switch to a horror movie? I think this world also has Sadako. We can drink tea while watching Sadako crawl out of an old well. Doesn't that sound fun?"
Nino said nothing—she just tightened her grip.
She was trying to use the delicate hands of a beautiful girl to choke an Esper to death.
"I was wrong, I was wrong—don't be like that, you're too close," Sakurai Saki pleaded.
Nino, if you keep doing this, I won't be able to stop the 'gun from leaving its holster.'
Please, don't press down on Sakurai junior anymore.
Hearing this, Nakano Nino's cheeks flushed. "So you do react to my body, huh?"
Before, she had stood in front of him wearing only underwear, and yet this guy could sit still and do nothing. Now, just from hugging, he couldn't take it anymore?
Back then, Nino had thought maybe he had… orientation issues and wasn't interested in women at all.
But now it seemed that wasn't the case—it was just that, at the time, he didn't see her as a woman.
'Maybe now… he actually has feelings for me?' Thinking that, Nino felt a warm glow in her chest.
After liking him for several months, it would be hard for her to suddenly stop liking him.
Right now, she still felt happy because of Sakurai Saki's attitude.
"I'm just a normal man," Sakurai Saki said irritably.
He made it sound like he was some desireless saint.
"The day before yesterday, and yesterday when I was taking a bath, did you also react?"
Sakurai Saki stayed silent.
Of course he did.
"Sakurai-san, why aren't you saying anything? Embarrassed? How cute~"
(˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)
Nino giggled happily, savoring the rare moment of having the upper hand in a verbal exchange with him.
"Nino, it's just the two of us here," Sakurai Saki reminded her.
"You wouldn't dare do anything to me," Nino said without a hint of worry.
And she guessed right—Sakurai Saki really wouldn't dare.
He had never done anything against a woman's will.
"Alright, I was wrong, stop pressing so close. Let's pick another one for the next movie," Sakurai Saki conceded.
"Hmph hmph~" Nino gave a light hum, clearly in a very good mood.
Nino: ( ꈍ◡ꈍ) hmph~
After that, the two switched to a school romance film, and then finally to a romance drama.
But this last one was a bit much—it was practically turning into a B-rated movie, filled with intimate scenes between a man and a woman.
Nino felt her breathing grow shallow, her mouth dry.
She suspected Sakurai Saki had chosen this movie on purpose.
"Sakurai-san…"
Sitting on his lap, Nino called softly.
"What is it?" Sakurai Saki also sensed something was off about this movie.
"I think… I still like you," Nino said, while shifting her round hips back slightly.
"!!!"
Nino: ( ˶o˶˶o˶) !!
The next moment, Nino's face flushed red—she had only meant to lean against his chest.
"Didn't you say the other day that you were going to start liking someone else?" Sakurai Saki asked awkwardly.
It wasn't like she was unattractive—on the contrary, she was a beauty—so not reacting at all did make him feel a little guilty toward her.
"… I still haven't found anyone yet," Nino said, recalling that feeling from just now and swallowing.
On the TV screen before them—
The male and female leads were kissing, and halfway through, they rolled onto the bed.
["… Oppa~ harder~ aww~ Kimochi~~~"] the female lead panted.
Seeing that, Sakurai Saki immediately felt this wasn't right. He hurriedly got out of the blanket, went to the TV, and turned it off.
"Let's… watch something else."
Watching this kind of thing with a girl… wasn't great.
What's more, Sakurai Saki felt the atmosphere was all wrong—if he got carried away and did something irrational, it wouldn't be good.
"… No need to change it, I want to watch," Nino's voice came softly in the quiet room.
Sakurai's hand paused as he was taking out the disc.
Her words were, essentially, an invitation.
But Sakurai was certain—she would regret it afterward.
When he still didn't move, Nino said softly, "If you feel guilty for how you treated me before, then… make it up to me a little?"
Sakurai Saki walked over to the light switch.
"Don't turn on the light," Nino whispered.
(,,¬﹏¬,,)
…
In the dim room, only the sound of a man and a woman's breathing remained—slightly hurried.
Their eyes met, and the distance between them quickly closed.
"I like you~"
Nino said this as she wrapped her arms around Sakurai Saki's neck and kissed his lips.
After a brief kiss, Nino unbuckled Sakurai Saki's belt, her cheeks red.
"While the mood's good, let's keep going~"
…
The next morning—
Sakurai Saki woke from his sleep, glanced at the cute girl beside him, and reached out to poke her cheek.
"Hn~"
(⸝⸝ᴗ﹏ᴗ⸝⸝) ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
Nino was still asleep. Sakurai looked toward the window.
The rain had stopped.
'Guess I'll cook first.'
He was just about to get up when he realized his arm was tightly wrapped in her embrace, unable to be pulled free.
Looking back, Sakurai saw faint tear stains on Nino's delicate, lovely face.
'Guess I was a bit too rough.'
There had been no protection available here.
Last night, in the middle of doing "homework" with her, he remembered there was no "eraser," and since it was Nino's first time doing this kind of "assignment," her face had been full of pain, a few tears falling after a while.
But later, after doing it for a while, she had also learned the joys of "studying."
As her teacher, Sakurai Saki felt quite satisfied.
'Still early—might as well sleep a bit more.'
Sakurai gave up on getting out of bed and snuggled back into the blankets.