Chapter 294: A Thief in the House Is Hard to Guard Against
Early morning, the snow had stopped.
Sakurai Saki opened his eyes at six o'clock.
After realizing the power inside his body wasn't dangerous, he closed his eyes again.
Yesterday he had gone to bed far too late, mainly because Shinomiya Kaguya called his name every ten or so minutes, making it impossible for him to sleep soundly.
When he opened his eyes again it was already eight in the morning.
Normally at Shuchiin, classes began at eight-thirty; if it were a regular day, he would definitely have no time for breakfast, but now it was winter camping so it didn't matter.
Sakurai Saki turned over, ready to get up, but as soon as he moved he discovered his arm was being tightly held by someone.
He turned his head and saw Shinomiya Kaguya hugging his arm, a question mark flashing across his mind.
"Kaguya-san, it's morning."
Shinomiya Kaguya slightly opened her eyes, her face full of drowsy silliness.
Sakurai Saki also noticed that, at this moment, she seemed to have lost some of her usual sharpness.
"Heyo~ Kaguya-san, awake yet?"
"Of course! You idiot!" Shinomiya Kaguya let go of his arm; her body swayed slightly, like a roly-poly doll.
Very strange—right now Kaguya was extremely strange.
Before Sakurai could figure out why, Kaguya suddenly pounced and pushed him down on the bed.
Sakurai Saki lifted his head to see that exquisite face right before his eyes; in those crimson pupils blazed a fire of desire that seemed able to burn everything.
"Kaguya-san, what are you trying to do???"
"Kiss you." At this moment Shinomiya Kaguya was entirely a single-minded pitching machine.
Or rather, when she hadn't slept enough, Kaguya couldn't think much at all.
She liked him, so she wanted to kiss him—perhaps that was all that filled Kaguya's mind right now.
Though it was early morning, there was no unpleasant smell from her mouth; in fact there was a faint fragrance, maybe because she brushed her teeth late last night?
Sakurai Saki, after pondering the state of Kaguya's oral hygiene, finally snapped to attention, looking at the soft cherry-colored lips slowly approaching, and warned, "Kaguya-san, I suggest you think this over a little more carefully."
"A kiss is an intimate act you do with the one you lo—"
"I like you, that's why I want to kiss you." Shinomiya Kaguya's tone was as sweet as if she had just eaten honey, so sweet Sakurai Saki could hardly stand it.
A great wave surged in his heart, leaving him unable to think, even forgetting to push Kaguya away.
'Shinomiya Kaguya likes me? Are you kidding me!!!???'
Sakurai Saki quickly realized that what she said wasn't a lie.
Kaguya wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with utter seriousness.
At first Saki thought she would be clumsy, but unexpectedly Kaguya was astonishingly skilled, as if she had kissed hundreds of boys before.
Her tongue could probably tie a cherry stem with ease.
'Kaguya-san, what the heck are you doing?'
What kind of girl brings out that the very first time she kisses?
The two of them kissed for several minutes before Kaguya finally ended her first experience.
"So this is what a kiss feels like." Kaguya wiped the corner of her mouth, murmuring.
Very ordinary, yet with a wondrous happiness, her heart felt warm.
...
"Don't dwell on it. Now that you've experienced a kiss, can we get up?" Sakurai Saki propped himself up, moving Kaguya off him.
Though he had once said he wanted to be a scumbag in Tokyo, he still had a certain bottom line—even if that bottom line was so thin it was almost nonexistent.
Right now Shinomiya Kaguya's mental state was clearly unusual, and he didn't want to take advantage of the situation.
"Too cold." Kaguya's voice carried a trace of grievance.
"Last night Sakurai-san was obviously so passionate~"
"Last night?"
"Umu, you even touched my chest and my butt." Kaguya tilted her head, looking adorably dazed.
At this moment, Baka-guya didn't know how to lie.
"I'm sorry…"
"It's fine. I'm very happy that you care about my body, even though my chest is small and doesn't have much feminine charm."
As she spoke, Shinomiya Kaguya started to take off her shirt, and Sakurai Saki hurriedly grabbed the hem.
"Kaguya-san, can you stop testing my heart's endurance? A woman's attractiveness has nothing to do with bust size, you don't need to show me! You are very feminine and attractive, I admit that." Sakurai Saki emphasized each word: "Most importantly! I already have a girlfriend, I hope Kaguya-san understands that."
"Last time you even said you liked me."
Sakurai Saki wanted to explain that it was a misunderstanding, but the other party obviously wouldn't believe it—Aho-Baka couldn't understand human words.
"You're often so close with Chika-chan, so why can't I?"
"I…"
Could you not make remarks like Nino, Kaguya-san? Sakurai Saki felt that one Nino was enough, and besides, Nino's bust was much bigger than hers!!
"Do you want to be a mistress?"
"Not exactly impossible." Shinomiya Kaguya gave a self-mocking smile: "After all, I'm just the daughter of a concubine…"
"Don't say that, your mother definitely wouldn't want to hear such words."
"I… have basically never met my mother, only seen her in photos."
Kaguya slipped out of Baka mode.
"Since childhood no one has loved or cared for me. Even if I had died in the snow yesterday, no one would be sad for me…" Disappointment appeared on Kaguya's face.
"No. I would, Shirogane would, Miko too, Chika, Ishigami, Ai-chan… so many, so many people. Don't belittle yourself, Kaguya-san." Sakurai Saki stood up, preparing to wash his face.
The characteristic sentimentality of girls—he didn't have that kind of trouble.
"Do you know? I've never watched fireworks, never danced with anyone at a cultural festival, let alone Christmas. When you invited me to spend New Year's together, I was truly happy. When I heard the news passed on by Nao-san, I was so overjoyed I almost jumped up."
"You probably don't realize, do you? It's those little fragments and surprises in life that have built up all the feelings I have for you. I'm pretty sure I like you, and maybe it's not the kind of liking between friends."
Sakurai Saki turned his head to look at her. Kaguya was sitting on the bed: "Shirogane and I wanted you to have the life of a normal girl, not always be lonely, that's why…"
"What does this have to do with President Shirogane?" Shinomiya Kaguya suddenly lifted her head, raising her voice: "We became friends because of him? Do you think my feelings are that cheap? What kind of joke is this!!"
"Did you take me to see fireworks and visit the shrine just because you pitied me?"
"I… no." Sakurai Saki didn't understand why her emotions suddenly flared so intensely.
Shinomiya Kaguya stepped off the bed and suddenly grabbed Sakurai Saki's collar, her voice firm: "Do you think I need your pity? I'm not your pet! I don't need you to deliberately care for me!"
She didn't need sympathy either!
"I like you, not because of your pity!! Think about that clearly!!"
"Although I don't know what you misunderstood, you should at least let me finish speaking." Sakurai Saki sighed: "At the beginning, when I approached you and pulled you into the student council, it really was because I didn't want you to be lonely, but later taking you to see fireworks, all of that was my own decision."
"Who would pity you? If I didn't consider you a friend, I wouldn't even talk to you, let alone go skiing with you, unlucky enough to encounter a snowstorm."
"Last night I even lost sleep because you kept calling me." Sakurai Saki muttered in complaint.
Hearing his answer, Shinomiya Kaguya slowly released his collar: "Sorry, I misunderstood you…"
"It's okay, you've probably been holding it in for a long time. It's good that you said it."
"Umu…"
After confessing her feelings, Kaguya felt much more at ease, the turmoil in her heart settling.
...
Leaving Yuki-onna Ryokan.
When the two rejoined the class group, everyone noticed that the atmosphere between them was a bit more harmonious.
No one found it strange. After all, going through a snowstorm together— even between two strangers—would be enough to leave a deep impression, let alone Kaguya and Sakurai becoming closer. That was completely normal.
Only Hayasaka Ai detected a slight peculiarity.
She caught a faint unfamiliar scent on Sakurai Saki.
'Damn, the house has been robbed again!'
No matter how many layers of defense you have outside the house, it's hard to guard against someone who comes from within.