[Protagonist available for contract!]
[Name: Fuuka Watase]
[Personality: Lively and cheerful, emotionally rich, values family]
[Hobby: Swimming]
[Introduction: Beautiful girl with a competitive spirit. Second daughter and youngest in her family. Reliable and resourceful person, deeply loved by those around her. Star of the swim club, but with deplorable academic grades. Due to her mother's marriage, she recently transferred to Tokyo First High School.]
While he checked her information, the girl's pleasant voice rang out again.
"Akane-senpai, I'm so glad you're still here!" Fuuka was panting slightly from the run, but the smile she gave Akane was so bright it seemed to generate its own electricity, while little fangs peeked between her lips, giving her an adorable, feline touch. "I forgot my cup by the pool, so I came to grab it before they lock up."
Saying this, she leaned to the side, getting ready to head into the aquatic center.
"Wait!"
But Akane blocked her path.
Her heart was pounding a mile a minute.
The remnants of everything they'd done floating on the surface like irrefutable evidence.
If Fuuka went in there, her reputation would sink to the bottom of the pool along with what little was left of her dignity.
"Huh?" Fuuka looked at her, confused. "Senpai?"
"Um... I'll go get Fuuka's cup!" The words came out at machine gun speed. "I forgot something inside too, so it's on my way. Fuuka, you stay here and chat with Jin-kun for a bit!"
Without waiting for an answer, she spun around and disappeared into the aquatic center at a speed that would have impressed the track club.
'I have to clean up before she sees it!'
"..."
Fuuka blinked, staring at the door her senpai had just vanished through.
'That's weird... Akane-senpai is acting a little strange today.'
She scratched her cheek with her index finger, puzzled.
Then she shrugged, and turned toward the boy Akane had left her with as company.
And froze.
The sunset light hit Jin's face. The amber of the setting sun lit up his features from an angle that sharpened his jawline, softened his eyes, and made his still slightly damp hair gleam.
Fuuka felt something in her chest.
Like her heart had stumbled for a second and then kept beating like nothing happened, but the echo of that stumble lingered.
'...Huh?'
She blinked her big blue eyes, processing her body's unexpected reaction.
'It must be from the running,' she told herself, even though she hadn't run that much.
Shaking her head, she recovered her smile and extended her hand toward him.
"Hi, senpai! My name is Watase Fuuka, but you can call me Fuuka."
Having seen everything, Jin laughed briefly as he shook her small, delicate hand, but let go of it instantly.
"Jin. And drop the senpai, just call me Jin or Jin-kun."
"Jin-kun, then!"
She accepted without ceremony, then curiosity sparkled in her eyes like a puppy's. "So, Jin-kun... what's your relationship with Akane-senpai?"
"She's my girlfriend."
'I knew it...'
Fuuka nodded to herself.
It was obvious... The way Akane-senpai had come out with him, both their hair wet, the blush her senpai still had on her cheeks... you didn't need to be a detective.
But for some reason, a strange feeling pricked her chest. Something that felt like disappointment.
Still, adjusting her emotions quickly, her smile returned to full power and she started chatting with Jin enthusiastically.
Because even if the guy in front of her already had an owner... who didn't enjoy chatting with a handsome guy who also had a nice voice?
The conversation flowed with surprising ease. Fuuka talked a lot, gestured with her hands, and had the ability to jump from one topic to another with an energy that would have exhausted anyone who wasn't Jin.
Between anecdotes, Jin learned she had completed her transfer paperwork last weekend.
"Have you settled in since you got here?"
"Mmm..."
Fuuka scrunched her nose. The gesture compressed her adorable face, giving her a childish look.
"The classes are super hard! At my old school I already barely scraped by, and here the level is something else... The teacher asked me to analyze a poem last week and I wrote that the author was sad because it was raining."
"And it wasn't that?"
"According to her, no."
Jin laughed. "Are your grades really that bad?"
"Hehe..." Fuuka stuck out her tongue, embarrassed but not trying to hide it. "Studying just isn't my thing."
"Well, if you need help you can always come find me. I give private lessons."
"REALLY?!"
Fuuka's eyes opened so wide they looked like blue saucers. She took half a step forward with the excitement of a castaway spotting land, but the next second she slammed on the brakes and waved her hands.
"No no no, that would be way too much trouble for Jin-kun!" Her gaze drifted toward the aquatic center door, where Akane had disappeared. "Besides... Akane-senpai..."
"Don't worry about that. Akane cares about you a lot, anyone can see it." Jin pulled his phone from his pocket. "Besides, senpai are supposed to help their kouhai, right? If there's something you don't understand, don't hesitate to ask me. Here's my number."
He showed her the screen with his contact, and Fuuka pulled out her own phone with trembling hands. They exchanged numbers in seconds, and when the transfer was complete, she pressed the phone against her chest.
The device sank between her breasts, which despite being covered by the loose uniform, had enough volume to swallow the entire phone.
"That's awesome! Thank you so much, Jin-kun!"
She smiled so hard her eyes curved into half moons, and two dimples appeared on her cheeks. The little fangs peeked out again, and her whole face radiated a happiness so genuine and overflowing that it was contagious.
And as she looked at him, a thought crossed her mind.
'He's like onee-chan...'
Not in physical appearance. Her older sister looked nothing like Jin. But there was something in the way he'd offered to help, just like that, so naturally, without making her feel like a burden or a bother, that reminded her of the only person who had always treated her exactly that way.
The same warmth. The same quiet kindness that didn't ask for anything in return.
'They're the same kind of person... one of the good ones.'
The thought warmed her chest, and the smile she already had turned a little softer.
At that moment, Akane came out of the aquatic center. Her hair was a bit more disheveled than before, her cheeks still flushed, and she was holding a cup covered in cartoon stickers that looked very kawaii.
"Here you go, Fuuka!" She handed the cup over with a smile that radiated calmness and absolutely no guilt whatsoever. "It was by the window."
"Thanks, Akane-senpai!"
Fuuka received it with both hands, checked that it was fine, and tucked it into her bag.
"Don't mention it." Akane smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "Well, Jin-kun and I are heading out. Fuuka, you go home early too, okay? It's getting dark."
As she spoke, her hand laced around Jin's arm naturally. Her fingers hooked onto his forearm and she pressed against his side possessively.
"Mm, take care, senpais~"
Fuuka waved energetically. She stayed there, watching them walk away down the campus path, their silhouettes cut against the orange sky.
They looked good together...
A gentle breeze blew through the campus trees, dragging dry leaves across the pavement and tousling Fuuka's red hair.
When the two figures disappeared, she lowered her gaze to her phone. The screen still showed the freshly saved contact.
"Jin-kun ♪"
She stared at the name for a moment. The breeze swept red strands across her face, but she didn't brush them away.
"And this is only the first time we've met..." she murmured, caressing the screen with the pad of her thumb.
...
Meanwhile, outside the school.
"I'm telling you, I almost died!"
Akane was shaking Jin's arm back and forth desperately.
"Those things in the pool...! Those... the stains... if Fuuka had seen them...!"
Jin let her vent, walking beside her with a mischievous smile he wasn't making the slightest effort to hide.
"If she sees it, let her see it."
"How is that okay?!" Akane hit him on the arm with a punch that wouldn't have hurt a mosquito. "It's all your fault...!"
"My fault?" Jin raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Because I remember perfectly well that a certain someone sent me a photo. And if my memory isn't failing me, that same someone wrote that she was 'all alone' at the pool. And also, I believe that same someone said that in the water it felt so much more--"
"IDIOT!! SHUT UP!!"
Akane's face turned so red she could've directed traffic. She shoved him with both hands on his chest, but she had no strength, and Jin, taking advantage of the momentum, wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him in a move that left her trapped.
"Let me go...!"
"Don't wanna."
"Jin-kun...!"
"Akane."
"What?"
"It felt so much more, what? Finish the sentence."
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!"
Their shadows merged into one under the setting sun. Hers thrashed trying to escape. His held her effortlessly.
And between pushes that didn't push, insults that didn't insult, and laughter that wrapped around them both like a warm blanket, Jin walked Akane to the door of her house.
They said goodbye with a quick kiss that Akane stole before shutting the door, and then pretended it never happened.
...
A while later, Jin arrived at his own house.
"I'm home!"
His voice echoed in the entryway along with the sound of the door closing. He kicked off his shoes, switched to his slippers, and went in.
The living room greeted him with a homey warmth that contrasted with everything he'd been doing.
Life had its contrasts.
On the sofa, sunk between the cushions with the attitude of a cat that had found the best sunbeam, was Nina.
She had a book open on her lap that she clearly wasn't reading, because her attention was on the TV playing some program at low volume. Her legs were crossed carelessly, and the athletic shorts she was wearing were so short that the skin of her thighs, smooth and dazzling under the lamplight, was exposed almost entirely.
Waves of aroma rolled in from the kitchen that made his stomach growl. Something was frying with garlic, something else was simmering with spices, and above it all, Yuna's voice hummed an off key but cheerful melody that mixed with the clatter of the spatula against the pan.
"Jin-kun~"
Adjusting her glasses that had slipped down, Nina patted the empty space on the sofa next to her.
Jin quickly dropped down beside her and instantly, Nina's soft scent filled his nose.
"Jin-kun, hang on just a little longer, dinner will be ready in a sec~!"
Yuna's voice came from the kitchen, accompanied by the sound of something being flipped in the pan.
"Got it!"
After responding, only then did Jin realize something.
"Nina, Mira's not here?"
"Huh?" Nina looked at him with genuine surprise. She held up her phone and waved it in front of him. "Mom left on a business trip. Didn't she tell you?"
Jin blinked.
He whipped out his phone at full speed and checked his messages.
(Jin-chan, Mama is going on a business trip for a week~ I'm leaving Yuna and Nina in your care. I hope to hear good news when I get back! 😉)
"Mm, yeah she did send one." Jin locked the screen and set the phone on the table. "I was pretty busy today, so I didn't see it."
"I see..."
Nina turned her attention back to the TV. Or so it seemed.
Because her eyes weren't watching the screen. They were fixed on some point in front of her, unfocused, while the tips of her fingers absentmindedly twirled a strand of hair around her index finger.
Over and over.
Twisting it, letting it go, and twisting it again.
She was thinking about a message.
(Nina, okaa-san is going away for a week. Use this time to make Jin-chan yours~ PS: Remember to be protected!🙈)
'MOM!... Seriously saying this kind of stuff again...!'
She felt her cheeks start to burn.
_____
Thank you for reading! 🙏
A cute new girl arrives, and a whole week alone with the sisters just began! 😏
Things are about to get really interesting! Leave a comment and please support the novel with your Power Stones! ✍️
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