Tokisaki Kurumi had a great figure. She wasn't exactly tall, but her curves were perfect—slim waist, perky hips, long legs.
Her skin was flawless and pale, like fine jade—smooth and delicate, with no visible veins, no pores, no stray hairs.
It had that milky sheen that caught the light, drawing Shichen's eyes toward her.
At that moment, Kurumi's hands didn't stop moving. Her arms went behind her back, and with a light snap—
The pink straps slid off her shoulders, down along her arms, revealing even more of the roundness of her upper curves.
Kurumi hesitated for a second, glancing over at Shichen and Sawa. She saw her best friend's smirking expression, the look of someone who clearly didn't think she had the courage to follow through.
How could she stand that?
Stealing a march on her was one thing—actually taunting her afterward, like she was too timid to act?
No way she could swallow that.
Kurumi moved quickly, slipping off her underwear and tossing it into the laundry basket by the door.
Shichen's eyelids twitched twice.
He was thirsty. He suddenly craved strawberry milk pudding.
"That's it?" Sawa snorted when Kurumi glared back at her triumphantly, and kept provoking her.
"Of course that's not it."
Fueled by indignation, Kurumi didn't even feel how hot her face had become. Her cheeks were already flushed bright red.
She bent down, hooked her fingers into the last layer at her hips, lifted a foot, and slid the final piece of fabric off.
Facing Shichen.
He had an unobstructed view of everything.
Today really was a visual feast.
He hadn't expected to see Kurumi as she'd been at birth—at least not today—but here they were.
And all thanks to Sawa.
Of course, Shichen knew Sawa was goading Kurumi—for his sake, yes, but also for hers.
For him, that much went without saying. As if he'd not had ideas about Kurumi—Sawa helping him was only natural.
As for Kurumi, Sawa honestly couldn't stand watching her anymore. Her best friend was just too hopeless—constantly flustered and shy.
Some people had already "cleared the final stage," and she was still stuck in the early-days-of-dating embarrassment. How was that acceptable?
She wasn't a little girl anymore; what was she still being so reserved for?
To give her best friend a push, Sawa had no choice but to do this.
She did feel a bit guilty, though—getting there first really did make her feel bad.
Originally, she'd just planned to sip the soup and nibble a bit of meat after Kurumi went first.
But Shichen had helped her become a Spirit, fulfilling her long-held wish.
The mood had been perfect, her emotions were at their peak—it was impossible to hold back.
She didn't regret it. All she could do now was make up for it and help her best friend catch up.
"How about now?" Kurumi casually tossed the last scrap of fabric aside and stood up straight.
Flawless. The word flashed across Shichen's mind instantly.
"Sawa, what do you think?" Sawa teased, turning the question toward him.
"She looks amazing. Burned into my memory already," Shichen replied honestly, giving Kurumi a big thumbs up.
"Uu…" That was when Kurumi finally snapped back to herself. Her entire body took on a cherry-blossom hue.
What had she just done?
How had she gone from heated impulse to being totally naked?!
But now she felt too embarrassed to back out.
What was she supposed to do?
"Hehe~ Kurumi, what are you spacing out for? Come get in," Sawa said with a smile.
"Ah… r-right…"
Trying her best to act calm, Kurumi walked to the edge of the tub—then froze.
From above, she could see the two of them looking up at her. From their angle, wasn't everything below the waterline clearly visible?
Of course, she could see everything on their side too—she just wasn't in the headspace for that.
"What are you hesitating for?" Sawa prodded again.
"I-I'm not."
Kurumi lifted her leg and stepped into the tub.
Her friend's words were just enough to push down her embarrassment with sheer stubbornness.
Shichen stared without blinking. The "one-line skyline" in that brief step was truly one of the greatest views on earth.
Plip—
Splash—
With the sound of water, Kurumi stepped into the tub, passing in front of the two of them and sitting down on the other side of Shichen.
Three people in the bath made things a little cramped. Their skin touched naturally, and they could clearly feel each other's warmth.
Kurumi's body heat was unusually high—Shichen could feel it even through the hot water.
So she was really nervous.
But it made sense; going from just a kiss to suddenly bathing together was a massive jump. Not being flustered would've been stranger.
And Kurumi was the type who embarrassed easily by nature.
"How's the water?" Shichen asked quietly, careful not to spook her.
"F-fine…" Kurumi stammered.
She didn't have the headspace to feel the water temperature. Her mind had gone completely blank—she had no idea where to look or what to do.
The warmth from Shichen's arm against her side and his leg brushing hers made her so tense she didn't dare move.
"That's good," Shichen said, and slid an arm naturally around her waist.
Slim, smooth—and softly yielding.
Kurumi's body went rigid at once; she almost jumped up, but somehow forced herself to stay put.
Sawa glanced at her friend's nervous expression and chuckled, but didn't say anything else to tease her.
She leaned against Shichen herself, savoring the perfection of the moment.
Happiness settled into her like warm water.
Shichen sat there with an arm around each of their waists, saying nothing, making no extra moves, just enjoying the warmth and comfort of soaking with them.
Kurumi gradually started to relax, her mind finally calming down.
She realized… this felt pretty nice.
But only for a while.
It wasn't long before Shichen got restless again; his hands started to wander upwards of their own accord.
And soon enough, each found its target.
Kurumi bit her lip at once, suppressing any sound—she absolutely didn't want Sawa to notice.
Sawa, on the other hand, felt the exact same thing, but she didn't mind at all and let Shichen freely enjoy himself.
And so Shichen experienced a very pure kind of bliss, right up until the water cooled completely.
After the bath, the three of them returned to the living room to watch TV.
One of them, however, was clearly not all there—gazing off into space, cheeks still pink.
That definitely wasn't just leftover heat from the bath.
The whole thing had been far too intense for her; she'd never imagined things would progress this fast.
Then again… was it really that fast?
Her best friend had already jumped straight to the final step.
Sawa, legs swinging as she watched TV and hummed to herself, was visibly in a very good mood.
"Come to think of it, how come you two don't have a cat?" Shichen, uninterested in what was on TV, changed the subject.
"A cat… Shichen, how did you know I like cats?" Kurumi immediately perked up.
"I know everything about you," Shichen said with a smile.
"Uu…" Kurumi blushed again.
"They don't allow pets in this building," Sawa answered instead.
"Really? Then move," Shichen said. "Come live somewhere that does."
"We just chose this place for convenience back then—we never planned to settle long-term. But now… we could think about it," Sawa said, winking at Kurumi.
"Shichen, can you keep cats at your place?" Kurumi asked.
"Sure… Are you two planning to move in with us?"
"What else did you think?" Sawa shot back.
"Then I can only say: welcome aboard."
"Hehe~ that's more like it."
"It's getting late. Let's sleep early. Kurumi still has school tomorrow," Shichen reminded her.
"Ugh, school isn't that big a deal… but it is getting late… By the way, Shichen, where are you sleeping tonight?" Sawa suddenly asked, smile full of mischief.
"Where am I sleeping?" Shichen realized he hadn't thought about that part.
Kurumi stared at Sawa, waiting to hear what she'd say.
"Heh~ Three options," Sawa said. "One, you sleep on the couch. Two, you sleep with me. Three, you sleep with Kurumi. The first one's out."
"Why?"
"You came all the way here; how could I let you sleep on the couch? Besides, what's our relationship again?"
"Then I'll just sleep with you," Shichen said.
"No way!" Kurumi blurted.
"Oh? Do you have an opinion, Kurumi?" Sawa asked, amused.
"If you two sleep together, you'll definitely do bad things. If you're too noisy, how am I supposed to sleep?" Kurumi complained.
"No worries, Shichen can put up a soundproof barrier," Sawa replied smoothly.
"That makes it even worse!"
"Why?"
"You already… need to rest," Kurumi huffed, face red.
"I don't need to rest. I feel great, full of energy," Sawa said, curling an arm to show off her very unimpressive biceps.
"That's just because Shichen healed you. You still need to rest. Can't you control yourself a little?" Kurumi scolded.
"Aww~ So Kurumi does care about me. Fine, I'll give Shichen to you tonight."
"Eh?" Kurumi froze.
"Eh what? If he's not sleeping with me, that only leaves you, doesn't it?"
"…" Kurumi opened and closed her mouth, then looked helplessly at Shichen.
"What do you think, Shichen?" Sawa asked, smiling.
"I don't mind," Shichen said with a shrug. "Either way is fine."
"Then it's decided."
"…"
So they each went back to their rooms, and Shichen followed Kurumi into hers.
This time, there were no spare clothes laid out on the bed.
Her room had a faint, pleasant fragrance, the same scent that clung to Kurumi herself.
"Um…" Kurumi stood by the bed, glancing at him, then away, hesitating.
"Let's just sleep," Shichen said.
"O-Okay…"
They both got into bed, lying down. Shichen took the outside, Kurumi the inside, a small gap between them.
She closed her eyes, face burning, lying stiff as a board, not daring to move.
Shichen turned his head to look at her and chuckled softly. Shy girls really were adorable.
He rolled over to face her, extended an arm, and gently pulled her into his embrace.
"Kurumi, can I hold you? Just holding you."
"You're already holding me…"
~~~
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