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============
A leisurely kapoong sound echoed.
In the private open-air bath, free-flowing hot water trickled. Overlapping that sound, the rush of the shower hit my eardrums.
"It's kind of our first time in a bath like this together, isn't it?"
"...Indeed."
After Iroha dragged me out of the room, everything happened quickly. Rushed because we only had thirty minutes left, I stripped in the changing room, and now I was washing my body before getting into the bath. Of course, each of us was washing our own bodies.
"Senpai?"
"What is it?"
I was washing my body, looking straight at the mirror only. I tried to avoid looking at Iroha.
It was unavoidable that Iroha's naked body kept entering my peripheral vision, and frankly, I had seen her perfectly in the changing room, but I instinctively understood that I should avoid looking shamelessly in this situation.
Even soâ
"No, you just won't make eye contact with me at all~"
Iroha, looking at me from the corner of her eye, directed that reproachful remark at me. No way I can look over there, you idiot...
It was still bright outside, and the setting sun cast its rays on our washing area. If I were to look at Iroha's naked body in such a unique situation, my worldly desires would explode into a huge frenzy. Yet, I lacked the time and resolve to get "hustling" in a place like this. Well, it's fine if I lack it.
"Well, you... shouldn't stare at someone when they're washing their body, right?"
"I just said you weren't making eye contact, why does your mind go there~? Do you want to stare~?"
Her teasing voice tickled my ears, and I choked on my words. If I didn't stay sharp, I'd slip up like this so easily.
"Well, I'm watching you, though."
"...!"
Iroha's face, as she said that, grew larger in the corner of my vision. The moment I started, and looked at Irohaâ
"Wap!"
I was splashed with shower water in the face.
"You...! What are you doing?"
"Ahahaha!"
Iroha's body, laughing gleefully, had only her important parts hidden by the sunlight that shone in at a perfect angle. What kind of directing was that? Was the god of romantic comedies living in this ryokan?
"Come on, let's go in."
"Ah..."
Prompted by Iroha, we rinsed off the soap from our bodies and headed to the bath. The open-air bath, made by laying out stones as large as a person's torso, felt majestic, befitting a long-established ryokan.
As I dipped into the tub with a chapu, I involuntarily let out a "Fuhahaa." I had walked a lot, after all, and the journey to get here was long, so it seemed my body had felt it.
"Haa~ I feel reborn~"
When I inadvertently looked at Iroha, drawn by her pleasant voice, only the upper half of her chest was visible; her body was submerged in the water. Of course, this was proper etiquette, so she wasn't wearing a bath towel like in a commercial.
But really, Iroha-san... doesn't she have a little more modesty? Well, it wasn't our first time bathing together, and maybe I was just overreacting.
"..."
"..."
After that, there was no more conversation, and the kapoong sound of the shishi-odoshi (deer scarer) rang out again.
Ah, this is nice... So tasteful...
"You've been quiet for a while now."
As I enjoyed my internal self-talk, Iroha glanced at me. You notice things like this so quickly, don't you...?
"I just can't find a topic befitting an open-air bath."
"Why the sudden polite speech...? Well, it's fine."
Iroha sighed in exasperation, then took a breath and closed the distance between us. She pressed her arm tightly against mine and looked up at my face.
Her adorably flushed cheeks, her wet eyelashes. Her familiar bare face didn't feel childish at all; in fact, the curve of her lips made her seem almost alluring.
"Mmm...!"
And, for just a moment.
A soft sensation spread across my chest and lips, conveying a warmth hotter than the hot spring itself.
"...No, why?"
"Fufu. Because we hadn't kissed yet today."
Iroha pulled back from me slightly and gave me the cutest smile. Ah, so that peck on the cheek earlier didn't count.
Then she briefly shifted her gaze from my face to the bathtub, looked back at me... and then looked at the bathtub again.
"Mmm... Is this also a benefit of the hot spring?"
Heyyyyyy!
Don't get hard, Little Hachiman, I was trying to hold back! "Hey, brother, my name is Big Hachiman now," shut up and calm down.
I silently submerged my face in the bathtub and blew bubbles. Iroha watched, giggling.
"Senpai, you're cute..."
Cute? No, I'm ferocious. That's what my incorrigible worldly desires are.
I'm an idiot! A blockhead! Hachiman...
â---------
Stepping outside in geta (wooden clogs), the thongs dug into the skin between my swollen, bath-softened toes.
Karakara, my unfamiliar footwear clattered as I walked a short distance, and soon the embankment came into view. Approaching it and resting my arms on it, the sea was right before my eyes.
It's nice, I thought.
I thought that as the sea breeze blew against me. The May wind felt just right on my flushed body, and I even found myself humming.
A trip with Senpai and the others. Honestly, I'd always yearned for it a little.
Since I wasn't in the same grade, of course, I didn't go on the school trip with them. According to Yui-senpai, they also had something like a summer training camp during summer vacation, but naturally, I wasn't there for that. I knew it couldn't be helped since it was before our relationship deepened, but hearing those stories always made me feel a bit envious.
"Isshiki-san."
Karokoro, I heard footsteps nearby, then a familiar voice called my name. I looked in the direction of the voice, and Yukino-senpai, dressed in a yukata, was walking towards me.
"Are you also enjoying the cool air after the bath?"
"Yes, something like that."
"Enjoying the cool air after the bath," that sounds so much like Yukino-senpai. As I thought that, Yukino-senpai placed her hand on the embankment, mimicking me.
After that, there was no more conversation. It wasn't that there was no topic; rather, I had something I needed to talk about. But it was an unexpectedly opportune moment, and I wasn't mentally prepared yet.
"It's beautiful."
Suddenly, I heard that voice and looked at Yukino-senpai.
Her long, lustrous hair fluttered in the sea breeze. The sparkling sunlight reflected in her narrowed eyes, making me feel as if I had wandered into a movie scene.
The word "beautiful" was probably reserved for someone like Yukino-senpai. Perhaps it was because someone like her was so close that I couldn't feel completely confident about Senpai. That irresponsible thought floated through my mind, and I spoke, as if to dispel it.
"Yukino-senpai."
My voice came out harder than I expected. Captured by Yukino-senpai's gaze, I seemed to have such a serious expression that it worried even myself.
"I've always felt a sense of guilt."
I think those were sudden words. Even for such an abrupt topic that could make her frown, Yukino-senpai's expression didn't change.
"Knowing that both Yukino-senpai and Yui-senpai liked Senpai, I wondered if it was okay for me to go for him myself."
I thought it was such a clumsy explanation, enough to make me want to criticize myself.
Perhaps that's why I phrased it that way, because I hesitated to be direct. But Yukino-senpai nodded, as if to say she understood everything, and urged me to continue.
"Honestly, even now, there are times I think that. I wonder if it's really best for me to be with Senpai."
Even if I spoke so openly, I thought Yukino-senpai would be troubled.
Because there was no right answer or resolution prepared for this topic. If she said, "You still have feelings, don't you?", I wouldn't know how to respond.
"I feel the same way."
But what came back was an unexpected reply.
"I've been thinking the same thing ever since Yui and I became lovers. I wondered if I... if only we could be happy."
Yukino-senpai returned her gaze to the sea and exhaled softly.
I don't understand same-sex relationships. But if that sense of guilt was the same, then I felt like I understood what she wanted to say.
"Being with Yui is truly a happy thing. But when I thought about Hikigaya-kun... I felt as though I had excluded him from the circle he was supposed to be in."
Ah, I knew it. I had known that since high school.
The three of them were special, bound by an incredibly precious and strong bond. Recognizing that filled my heart with an inexplicable sense of loneliness. It was a feeling I had experienced many times in high school.
"That's why back then, when you said you wanted to be with Hikigaya-kun, I was secretly relieved."
"Back then"âthat brought to mind a scene from an autumn day. The day we met Yukino-senpai and the others at Kasai Rinkai Park, and I told them to give me permission to be with Senpai.
"It's very selfish, isn't it? I thought, 'Finally, the time has come to tell them, the time has come when I can be happy with Yui without any reservations.'"
Honestly, it was surprising.
The Yukino-senpai in my mind was a dangerous, glass-like presence who only showed her noble and beautiful side.
I think whatever bound Yukino-senpai must have been so strong that she couldn't have endured it without speaking. It must have been something she desired just as much as I desired to be with Senpai.
"So, you don't have to feel any restraint at all."
The eyes looking at me smiled fleetingly, and my chest felt a little tight.
But once Yukino-senpai's message permeated my heart, I could look straight ahead again.
"...Yes!"
I blamed my teary eyes on the sea breeze and answered briefly.
â--------
"It's quite sentimental to have the opportunity to drink sake with Isshiki-san like this,"
said Yukinoshita, smiling before the colorful dishes.
"It really is, isn't it? With Hikki too."
Yuigahama said happily as she poured sake.
"No, no, it's the same for me. Time flies, doesn't it?"
Iroha, with a strangely cheerful face, received the sake.
It was about an hour ago that we had been shown to a private dining room and indulged in exquisite seafood dishes.
...Yes, after an hour, people get drunk.
"Yukino-senpaiii...! I, I really admire you, and if anything, I really like youuu...!"
"Fufufu... You're cute when you're drunk too."
The scene changed to our guest room. Iroha was clinging to Yukinoshita, almost in tears.
In hindsight, we should have stopped drinking after dinner when we were already tipsy. Things went awry after we bought sake at the souvenir shop, but it was also my fault for not stopping it.
"But I like Yui-senpai too, so I... I knew that...!"
"Yes. I like Yui too. I understand."
As I wondered if I should finally peel Iroha off Yukinoshita, I took a sip from my ochoko (sake cup).
I thought it was sinful that the sake here was too delicious. I had heard there was a lot of good sake on the Sea of Japan side, and indeed, even someone not used to drinking would keep drinking this.
"Hey, your girlfriend's cheating."
"Eh~? If you say that, Hikki's girlfriend is too, then?"
Yuigahama laughed merrily as she poured her own sake, then downed her cup. She seemed to hold her liquor well, drinking quickly. However, her cheeks were already red, so she probably wasn't incredibly strong either.
That's why, or rather... Yuigahama-san, your bare legs have been showing too much from your yukata since earlier... And I think you should fix the front of your yukata too. Universal cleavage gravity is at work.
"Yukino-n's fine~ She'd never cheat."
That was some serious confidence. I looked back at Iroha's group again, and the annoying clinging was still going on. No, Yukinoshita didn't look entirely displeased, so maybe that's an exaggeration.
But you know, Iroha-san... please stop pulling on her yukata. See, her bra straps are showing. No matter where I look, I have nowhere to avert my gaze.
"Ugh~ What are you staring at?"
Noticing my gaze, Iroha shuffled over to me.
Because she crawled over on all fours, her bra was completely visible. Today it was an orange front-hook one. Once you get used to them, back-hook ones are easier to unfasten than front-hook onesâno, Hachiman, you're staring too much just because she's your girlfriend!
"That's enough already. Your face is bright red."
"Eh~... That's not something you say while drinking."
Saying that, Iroha refilled my ochoko with sake. The fact that my hand kept reaching for the cup suggested I might be pretty drunk too.
"Yukino-n~ Iroha-chan's being unfair~"
"Oh my. Yui, you're really cute when you're drunk."
Before I knew it, Yuigahama had moved next to Yukinoshita and was clinging to her instead of Iroha. Yukinoshita wrapped an arm around Yuigahama contentedly, stroking her hair, which had come undone from its bun.
It was all a chaotic mess, but I found myself thinking it was kind of nice, so I was pretty hopeless too.
With a deep sigh of resignation, I downed the sake Iroha had poured for me.