Chapter 203: I'm Dreaming, and Coincidentally, So Am I!
What is this woman throwing a tantrum for? At a time like this, however, actions speak louder than words. Hikigaya leaned in practiced ease, going straight for a deep kiss.
"Mwah~" Slurp~
Suzune's eyes widened. The swirling of their tongues felt like an electric current instantly surging through her entire body! Her brain was trembling!!
1 second... 2 seconds... 3 seconds...
110 seconds...
Suzune finally regained her soul. She shoved forward with both hands with such force that she sent Hikigaya tumbling right off the bed!
"Ouch!" Hikigaya landed hard on his back. Fortunately, he had trained; he was both tough and durable.
"Hikigaya!!" Suzune's face was scarlet, and a terrifying, murderous aura surged between her brows. She pointed at him and barked, "You-you-you-you... how dare you do such a thing to me..."
"Such a thing?" Hikigaya looked dazed.
"A morning kiss? Isn't this a daily habit every morning?"
"A m-morning... kiss?!"
Suzune was stunned, frozen like a wooden chicken.
To a young maiden, this term was far too stimulating!
"Is there something wrong?" Hikigaya asked, puzzled.
Suzune remained silent. She wanted to say that everything was wrong, okay?
"Uh, could it be my breath?" Hikigaya exhaled into his palm and took a sniff. "There's no odor..."
Based on his rich experience from previous dreams, whenever he got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, he would brush his teeth again to maintain fresh breath for the morning.
Suzune instinctively swallowed.
There really was no odor... As a blunt and honest person, no matter how psychologically uncomfortable she felt, she couldn't lie and say Hikigaya's kiss was disgusting.
'Wait, this is clearly just a dream. But why does it feel so... real?'
Suzune pinched her own arm, trying to use pain to wake herself up.
"..." Dammit! Why hadn't she returned to reality yet?
"So, about that warm-up exercise... do you want to do it?"
"What warm-up exercise...?"
"Tch~ If you don't want to, then don't. Is there a need to play dumb?" Hikigaya never liked forcing things. Seeing that Suzune truly had no intention of going further, he got up to change his clothes.
Suzune instinctively averted her gaze, but from the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but steal a glance. She muttered to herself: 'Since when did this guy's muscles become so solid? And, that thing is also...' Suzune shook her head vigorously, unable to look directly!
"I'm going to make breakfast. Suzune, go wash your face and wake up properly." Hikigaya walked toward the kitchen with practiced movements.
Once Hikigaya left, Suzune let out a sigh of relief. Brilliant as she was, she had already made a preliminary judgment regarding the current situation.
However, she needed to gather more information to confirm it further.
First, she opened the bedside table to search for items.
"This... this is..." Suzune quickly found a photograph in the drawer.
In the photo, she was wearing a snow-white wedding dress, standing intimately close to Hikigaya in a suit.
Friends and relatives stood on either side; most were offering congratulations. However, a few people cast gazes filled with resentment.
The most prominent was a girl with brownish-blonde hair in the bottom-left corner.
"Kushida Kikyo..." Suzune's eyes flickered. Seeing the other girl's teeth-gritting, "loser dog" face, she felt a faint, inexplicable sense of satisfaction for some reason.
There were several other familiar girls who looked like high school classmates from Advanced Nurturing. Besides the first-years, there seemed to be a few senpais as well.
"This guy... when did he get involved with senpais too?" Suzune's mouth twitched. In the photo, these girls were all looking at Hikigaya with eyes that seemed to carry deep, lingering resentment.
"But who is this person?" Suzune looked at a woman in the photo standing beside her. She was also wearing a wedding dress, but the style suggested she was the bridesmaid. Generally, the bridesmaid is the bride's closest friend. However, she clearly didn't recognize this woman. "Black, long, straight hair... and her appearance is flawless..."
While Suzune was lost in thought staring at the photo, Hikigaya's voice called out from the living room.
"Suzune, come out and eat breakfast."
"..." She really wasn't used to Hikigaya calling her by her first name.
"Well, it's all just a dream anyway..."
Suzune went into the bathroom to wash up. Looking at herself in the mirror, she dazed out again. Short hair. That was the simple, refreshing hairstyle she had liked since she was a child.
Originally, because she heard her brother liked girls with long hair, she grew hers out and kept it that way until now. So, why had her dream-self cut her hair?
"Suzune? Hey, you're taking forever." Hikigaya couldn't help but go back to the room to find her. He found her staring blankly into the mirror at the sink.
"What is it? Stunned by your own peerless beauty?" Hikigaya teased.
"Wh-what peerless beauty... Since when did you learn to be so silver-tongued?"
Suzune's cheeks burned; she found it hard to handle. After all, for a high school girl, the most common praise she heard was "cute" or "pretty." This kind of exaggerated praise was usually reserved for adult women.
"I learned it in a dream," Hikigaya said casually.
"That's nonsense..." Suzune obviously didn't believe him, but she didn't press the matter. "Hi... Hachiman." To fit the setting of the dream, Suzune called him by his name for the first time.
"What's up?"
"I want to ask you a question."
"Ask away."
"Do you... like me with short hair... or long hair...?"
"Is that question really important?"
"It's very important!"
"Hmm~ how should I put it."
Hikigaya thought seriously for a moment and replied, "I want to see a vibrant and multi-faceted Suzune. No matter which Suzune it is, I like them all very much."
'Ugh! So cheesy!'
Hikigaya couldn't help but get goosebumps. His real self could definitely never say something like that!
"..." Suzune reached out to touch her chest, feeling a heartbeat frequency she had never experienced before.
This wonderful feeling was a first for her.
Looking at the exceptionally handsome man in the mirror, Suzune's gaze suddenly turned fervent.
She murmured softly to herself: "It's a dream anyway. It should be fine to cross the line just a little bit, right?"
Hikigaya's heart stirred.
"Suzune, are you finally awake?"
"No, I am dreaming right now."
"What a coincidence, so am I."
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