After leaving the aquarium, Kirie and Ryosuke ate lunch and then went to a department store attached to the station to pick out Kirie's swimsuit.
Even during lunch, Kirie continued to protest, but in the end, she lost, just as she always did.
"I'm absolutely sure this is sexual harassment..."
Even when they reached the floor with the special exhibition hall, Kirie pouted and said, "What's so fun about picking out my swimsuit?"
"Well, of course it's fun! Besides, we're going to the beach anyway."
"Exactly! And we haven't even decided about that yet—"
It was a one-night trip with classmates.
She'd left her reply hanging.
"Well, if you refuse, that's fine too. We'll just go to the beach together—just the two of us. Or we could go to a pool."
"My parents would never let me—"
"Hmm? No, it's just a day trip. That should be fine, right?"
"Huh— Oh, uh... yeah. If I tell my friends I'm going with you..."
Kirie flushed with embarrassment, realizing she'd jumped to conclusions about staying overnight and had even briefly imagined a solo overnight trip with him. She quickly tried to cover her fluster.
Before she could recover, they arrived at the swimsuit section.
"Ryo-kun, go find your own swimsuit."
"Nah, I just bought one."
"Liar!"
"I'm serious!"
"...You're really coming with me?"
"Don't worry, I won't go into the fitting room with you."
"But..."
"Hey, look at this! It'd look great on you, Kirie!"
"..."
Kirie sighed at Ryosuke's fearless browsing in the women's section.
"You're used to hanging out with older sisters and Marin-chan, aren't you?"
"Well, yeah. If I was this self-conscious, I wouldn't be able to live with two girls."
Suddenly, I remembered my younger sister-in-law.
She's a mysterious, younger, beautiful girl. We're not blood-related, but she has eyes that resemble Ryosuke's.
If she's related to him, her older sister, Manaka, must be stunningly beautiful too.
Anxiety suddenly gripped me.
How did Ryosuke, who grew up surrounded by such beautiful sisters, choose me? How serious is he? Is this just a game, or...
At the same time, I realized I harbored a faint jealousy toward the sisters.
The two of them were closer to Ryosuke than anyone else.
If they weren't family... perhaps they would have been the ones deserving to be by Ryosuke's side, like this.
"Kirie?"
"Mm, no, it's nothing."
"Sorry, did you lose your enthusiasm?"
Seeing Ryosuke's rare anxious expression, Kirie's heart suddenly sped up.
"N-no, not at all—I was just trying to decide which one to pick and got distracted."
She hurriedly rummaged through the swimsuits hanging on the rack. Embarrassed about her inappropriate daydreams of Ryosuke and his older sister-in-law, she flustered even more and nearly dropped a swimsuit from its hanger.
"Ah—"
"Whoa!"
Ryosuke quickly reached out from the side, saving the swimsuit from hitting the floor.
"Th-thank you—"
When she turned around, Ryosuke's face was right next to hers. Her heart skipped a beat.
Whether he noticed her fluster or not, Ryosuke gave her a gentle, wry smile.
"You really never get boring, Kirie."
"What's that supposed to mean...? Are you mocking me?"
"Yeah. A little."
"That's infuriating!"
When she pretended to get angry, Ryosuke chuckled again, and his amusement seemed genuine.
That brief exchange was enough to restore her usual mood.
Yes, her usual—
"..."
She felt strangely unsettled.
Kirie had only started having proper conversations with Ryosuke recently. Yet she felt more herself around him than anyone else.
He teased her, she snapped back, and he casually brushed off her retorts.
"Hey, isn't this cute?"
Perhaps influenced by his sisters, his occasional good taste was also irritating.
"Yeah, but this pattern might clash with my friend's."
"Oh. What about this one, then? It's a bit unconventional."
"Oh, that's this year's trend... Do you think I could pull it off?"
Kirie sometimes felt like she was just shopping with a regular girlfriend, but when she turned around, she'd remember she was with a boy.
...What should I do? Why is this so much fun?
The moment she turned away from Ryosuke, Kirie couldn't help but smile.
*****
Aika Shinohara stared blankly at the ice in her café latte as it clattered and shifted.
But she quickly snapped out of it and turned to her "boyfriend" across from her, nodding and smiling. "Oh, really? That's amazing."
That said, she hadn't really been listening to what he was saying.
He was enthusiastically recounting middle school anecdotes, but Aika's interest remained unengaged.
Her memory was hazy, but she thought this might be the second time she'd heard this story.
Unaware that Aika wasn't paying attention, her companion continued to rant about their former classmates: "That guy is hopeless," "If I were in his shoes, I'd handle it differently," "I think he never thinks things through..." He insisted to Aika that they were all shallow and thoughtless.
The truth was uncertain, but Aika didn't care either way.
There was no point wasting energy on stories about people she didn't know or care about.
What's Ryosuke-kun doing right now...?
She maintained her smile, but her thoughts were wandering elsewhere.
He might be spending time with other girls right now.
Aika wasn't his girlfriend.
She had no right to blame him, and she didn't feel any resentment.
She just wanted him to dote on her whenever they were alone.
To be looked at with those eyes, teased in embarrassing places with that gaze, and scolded for her flaws with those fingers—just that would make her happy.
Even if he didn't love me, just sharing pleasure with him would have been enough.
Yes, even more harshly. Even more humiliatingly—
That's why I wanted to keep up this "relationship" with the man before me.
If this empty time could amplify the joys of our honeymoon, then this much boredom was nothing.
—Even though he has a man, she's still fucking like that.
That mocking voice is still lodged in the back of my mind, refusing to leave.
He doesn't even bother to be jealous, just contemptuous.
Ryosuke-kun, Ryosuke-kun...
By now, he might be laughing with someone else.
He might not be thinking about me at all.
But even then, it was fine.
As long as the next time we met, he would scold me with extra force—
"I'm sorry."
Aika could no longer suppress her overflowing emotions. She interrupted him mid-sentence and excused herself to the restroom. His story seemed to have reached its climax, and she felt a twinge of guilt for cutting him off.
But Aika prioritized her impulse.
The café restroom had three individual stalls.
She chose the one farthest back, pulling her underwear down to her knees, hitching up the hem of her dress, and settling onto the toilet.
Just as I thought... it's so...
In just a fleeting moment, recalling her brief encounter with Ryosuke had left her folds glistening with arousal.
Feeling both ashamed of her lewd desires and overwhelmed by the spine-tingling pleasure, she traced the crevice between her legs with her finger, kneading the soft flesh.
The moment she began, her hips spasmed involuntarily, and she nearly let out a high-pitched gasp.
"Ah—!"
Just in time, she pressed the back of her left hand against her lips, narrowly avoiding drawing attention.
No, no... I can't do this here...
Aika's fingers knew nothing of restraint. She scooped up generous handfuls of her love's proof and slathered it onto her clitoris, tormenting herself at a rapid pace.
"Ah... Ah... Ah!"
A surge of pleasure, like being pierced by lightning, brought tears to her eyes.
She was confident that no one could rival her in the depth and frequency of her masturbation, all fueled by thoughts of him—
No.
If there was an exception, it was...
Aika recalled the younger girl who had taken up residence in Ryosuke's home.
That girl might be tormenting herself even more fiercely than Aika.
Aika knew she could never be Ryosuke's "number one" in any sense of the word.
Still...
He was the first person to teach her about pleasure.
The one who showed her just how lewd she could be.
Thanks to her appearance and reserved demeanor, Aika could say she had been blessed with particularly favorable treatment from men.
Whether their intentions were pure or not, they treated her kindly and respected her wishes.
Though she occasionally faced jealousy from her peers, Aika had generally lived within the bounds of what could be called happy human relationships.
Yet even in that tranquil daily life, she felt a lingering sense of dissatisfaction.
Such a selfish worry... she couldn't possibly confide it to anyone.
She'd just be scolded for being ungrateful, given how fortunate she was.
So Aika resigned herself to the belief that she was happy and shouldn't yearn for anything more.
But then...
Ryosuke saw through her foolish conflict.
Without a word from her, he perceived her weak and foolish parts, and relentlessly berated her for them.
Aah, he's angry after all.
Even as the thought crossed her mind, Aika rejoiced that someone had finally noticed the emotions she hadn't even shared with her family—and that he had, however awkwardly, accepted them.
Once that happened, there was no longer any need for her to offer her body.
Instead, I felt only joy.
It wasn't important.
But that was fine.
That was perfect—
Ryosuke-kun! No, no—don't thrust inside me here! Ah, ah—
When I realized what was happening, my folded middle and ring fingers were buried deep within her honeyed depths.
In Aika's world, it wasn't her date who had invaded the private toilet stall and attacked her—it was Ryosuke.
Instead of scolding her for her indecent state, he brutally thrust his formidable member into her womb.
Ah, ah... Ryosuke-kun, you're ravaging me inside! Ah, no, not there! You know how weak I am there! Stop, stop! Don't grind up there—!
Two fingers repeatedly plunged in and out of her. The slick, honey-drenched folds of her womanhood clung to those fingers, each movement emitting unbearably lewd sounds.
"More, more—Ryosuke-kun, do anything, no matter how cruel—take me however you want...! No, no, he's different—sorry, go see other people!—Get angry, get even angrier! Torment all my flaws! I'll try my best to make you feel good, too—!"
As the pleasure surged endlessly, his fingers moved faster and faster, catapulting Aika to dizzying heights.
"I'm coming, I'm coming, Ryosuke-kun—I'm going to come!"
The toilet seat shook violently as the explosion of vulgar pleasure and raw emotion erupted. At that exact moment, someone entered the bathroom.
It sounded like two people, their youthful voices, close in age, reached Aika's ears.
"Ugh...?!"
Her fingers instinctively stilled, but the orgasmic spasms had already begun.
"~~~~~Ugh... Ugh!!"
Her hips bucked spasmodically, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes, yet Aika somehow managed to swallow her moans, enduring the waves of climax as they washed over her.
This is punishment.
To climax in such a place, and during a date with a boy no less.
Punishment for indulging in such a shameful act.
I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...
Even as sobs welled in her throat, Aika's entire body convulsed, from head to toe, as she savored every last drop of the unexpected pleasure, her cheeks drenched in tears of joy.