Noon— At the dining table.
"Speaking of which, has the second volume of your Love Metronome been approved yet?"
Kasumigaoka Touji, spooning the last bite of omurice into his mouth, glanced curiously at Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"Nope," Utaha replied, casually sipping the leftover sea bream and tofu miso soup from breakfast. "The editor had a few notes. Some parts of the plot need revisions."
"Revisions, huh..."
Touji wasn't too surprised.
This was pretty standard in the publishing world in Japan. Even well-known authors like Haruki Murakami had to go through round after round of edits before anything went to print.
That's why Touji never considered becoming a light novel author himself. Too much revision hell!
But being a reader?
He loved that.
Especially if he could be the first to read Utaha's work.
"Let me take a look after you're done revising, okay?"
"Hmm, I guess I can let you read it," Utaha said, glancing at him with narrowed eyes. "As long as you don't go 'oh oh oh' and 'tsk tsk tsk' like last time. That was super annoying."
Touji looked genuinely wronged.
"You're not even gonna let me react with feeling? That's harsh, Utaha-chan! You're too domineering!"
"Ewww, gross~!"
Utaha rubbed her arms dramatically, pretending to get goosebumps. Then, with a faux-regretful sigh, she added:
"I should've recorded that just now and sent it to Mom and Dad. They'd never believe how creepy you can act."
Touji pouted. "You're getting less and less fun to tease these past couple of days. Are you secretly lonely 'cause Mom and Dad aren't around?"
Utaha paused.
She was only sixteen, even if she acted like a calm, composed onee-san most of the time. It wouldn't be strange if she felt a little off, now that their parents had temporarily moved to Hokkaido.
But they'd only been gone one day, and besides—he was still here with her.
She quickly masked any softness that might've flickered in her expression with a mischievous smirk.
"I just think it's time our dear, serious, well-behaved Touji-kun showed our parents another side of him. One they've never seen before."
"Thanks a lot," Touji said dryly. Then with exaggerated flair, he quoted: "Listen to me... Thank you~ because of you..."
"Please don't use the name of 'thanks' to try and grope my leg."
Utaha deadpanned as she gently swatted his hand away.
... ...
Time passed, and afternoon light streamed softly through the windows.
The quiet residential street, paired with the warm sunshine, made everything feel unusually peaceful.
Second floor, Kasumigaoka Utaha's bedroom—
"Done!"
Utaha's voice rang out, full of satisfaction.
Touji looked up from his phone, where he had been scrolling Twitter from his cozy beanbag chair. He turned just in time to catch Utaha stretching like a cat.
"Hnngh~!"
Her arms lifted above her head, and her posture accentuated the perfect S-curve of her figure.
She turned to him with a faint smirk. "Looks good, right?"
"Amazing," Touji nodded seriously. "Encore performance, please."
Utaha rolled her eyes at him, then leaned lazily against the back of her chair. Resting her cheek on one hand and crossing her legs with the elegance of a queen, she stared down at Kasumigaoka Touji with that signature half-lidded gaze.
"Touji-kun, I'm bestowing upon you the great honor of giving your lovely onee-san a shoulder massage."
"Tch, at least say 'please' or 'I beg you,' Utaha-chan," Kasumigaoka Touji huffed, reclining even deeper into the beanbag chair. "That tone makes it sound like you're doing me a favor."
"Hmph, if it were a chest massage, I wouldn't mind your tone," he added with a cheeky grin.
"Baka!" Kasumigaoka Utaha clicked her tongue and puffed out her chest dramatically. "You're not even trying to hide it anymore, huh? Is your onee-san's body that tempting to you?"
"I mean, I'm a teenage boy smack in the middle of puberty. What were you expecting?" Touji responded nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow.
"Ugh, you're so honest it's almost annoying..."
Suddenly, she noticed him getting up.
"Eh? Wait, what are you doing now?"
"Didn't you say you wanted a massage? I need you to handle the camera for my stream later, so this is your payment."
He moved behind her chair and placed his hands gently on her slender shoulders. The moment his fingers began to knead with practiced ease, a soft gasp slipped from her lips.
"Mmm..."
Realizing her own reaction, Utaha clamped her mouth shut and awkwardly muttered, "...Okay." It was her agreement to the stream deal, though mostly an excuse to mask her flustered expression.
She closed her eyes, surrendering herself to the warm rhythm of his fingers. Her tense muscles gradually relaxed, her legs slowly uncrossing and falling limply to the floor as her posture slumped from comfort.
The sunlight pouring through the window cast a warm glow on the scene—
Kasumigaoka Utaha tilted her head slightly and cracked open one of her wine-red eyes, locking eyes with Touji's.
"You know, even though this isn't the first time... your massage skills are amazing, as always."
"There's more where that came from. Want to try the premium version?"
Touji smirked down at her, his fingers still expertly working at her shoulders.
"Hah? What are you planni—"
Before she could finish her thought, he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
Her burgundy eyes widened in surprise, but her heart thudded even louder.
Before he could retreat, Utaha instinctively reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down closer.
Their lips brushed.
It wasn't the smoothest kiss. A little awkward. A little off-angle. But it was warm.
The kind of kiss only two idiots dancing around their feelings could pull off.
A kiss that most ordinary people would never even think to attempt—
And somehow, it fit them perfectly.
...