Chapter 21: Aggressive Sanae and Heavyweight Old Eight.
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"Of course you can! Sleeping together is way more fun anyway!" Lala chirped. She enthusiastically jogged over to Sanae's side and pulled her toward the bed, but the moment her eyes locked onto the size of the mattress, she froze awkwardly. Turning back to Kihara, she pouted, "Uh... the bed doesn't look quite big enough for three people..."
"Let's just sleep on the floor then. We've got plenty of spare futons and sheets anyway."
"Hooray!!"
Since this was her very first time sleeping in the same room as a boy, Sanae had fully expected to be too nervous to close her eyes. Yet, listening to the steady rhythm of Kihara's breathing, she drifted into dreamland almost instantly.
In the dead of night, a half-asleep Lala aimlessly tugged off her pajamas and tossed them out of her futon. As fate would have it, they landed squarely on Sanae's face, waking her up.
Sanae sat up, her eyes bleary with sleep. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Lala had somehow crawled into Kihara's futon at some point. Two pale, slender arms were stretched out from beneath the blanket, wrapping securely around his neck. Lala looked exceptionally peaceful and comfortable.
Glancing down at the pajamas that still retained Lala's body heat, Sanae initially intended to wake her up, make her put her clothes back on, and send her back to her own futon.
But just as she moved, her eyes locked with Kihara's. His eyes were wide open and filled with absolute helplessness. Moving his lips silently, he breathed, "It's just a bad sleeping habit of Lala's. You can go back to sleep, no need to wake her."
"Fine then."
Sanae knew firsthand how miserable it felt to be jolted awake in the middle of the night. Folding Lala's pajamas, she set them aside and lay back down. Only this time, she deliberately shimmed a little closer to Kihara's side.
Turning onto her side, she slipped her left hand beneath his blanket, sliding past his arm until her fingers closed gently around his center.
Hiss!
"Shh... It must be exhausting holding it in like this, especially since Lala doesn't understand a thing."
Sanae bit her lower lip bashfully. Truth be told, her knowledge in this department wasn't extensive either. Fortunately, right before she came over, Rinnosuke had happened to return Kaguya's adult manga. She had taken the liberty of skimming through it as a reference, picking up a few little tricks on how to please a boy.
Watching the knot in Kihara's brow gradually unfurl as his breathing hitched and synced to the rhythm of her movements, Sanae felt a smug, intoxicating illusion that she had this beloved boy completely wrapped around her finger.
Driven by a sudden surge of adrenaline, she leaned forward, pressing her crimson lips directly against his ear to murmur, "This is as far as we go for now. If you want to take things a step further, you'll have to take the initiative and ask me out on a proper date."
"It's a deal."
...
Anna Yanami did not sleep well last night. All she knew was that she had a terrible nightmare, though the exact details eluded her. She just had a vague, lingering impression that it involved the color green.
Growl~~
The clock hadn't even struck noon, but her completely empty stomach was already staging a violent protest. The sheer intensity of her hunger made her feel as though she could devour an entire cow single-handedly.
Dragging her lethargic body to the vanity mirror, she grabbed her hairbrush and began tackling the bird's nest of blue hair that resulted from her restless night.
If she were just having breakfast at home, Anna would never go to such lengths to make herself presentable. But today, she was heading over to Kihara's house to scavenge for food, and she absolutely refused to show up looking like a complete slob.
To reward her for pushing through those grueling twenty laps yesterday, Kihara had promised to whip up a massive breakfast feast consisting entirely of her favorite foods. Because of that promise, Anna hadn't touched a single morsel of food since 8:00 PM the previous night. She had even strictly constrained herself to a single bowl of rice for dinner.
Her extreme restraint had nearly led her parents to believe she truly had "made a baby" at Kihara's house and simply lost her appetite as a result.
"I wonder what kind of delicious food blockhead is making for me. It's entirely my fault for having too many favorite dishes; it's practically impossible to guess."
Having sorted her hair, Anna swung her wardrobe doors open, staring thoughtfully at the array of colorful outfits inside.
"It's finally the weekend... I guess instead of a skirt, throwing on some denim jeans would give off a fresh, charming look, right?"
Convinced that her logic was a stroke of absolute genius, she cheerfully pulled out a pair of light-blue cropped jeans and paired them with a casual white T-shirt. However, the moment she slid her legs into the denim and pulled upward, she discovered to her horror that the jeans were firmly wedged against her hips, refusing to budge.
Even when she held her breath until her face turned purple to force them on, the unsightly roll of muffin-top bulging over the waistband nearly delivered a fatal strike to her very soul.
"NOOOOO!!!!"
After letting out a tragic, piercing wail, Anna was forced to accept the cruel, undeniable reality: she had gained weight.
She had purchased these jeans a mere four months ago. In other words, in a span of just four months, she had expanded to the point where she couldn't even squeeze into her own clothes!
"I clearly followed the weight-loss guidelines to a T! If the calories aren't listed, it counts as zero calories! Why on earth am I not losing weight?!"
She was profoundly baffled by this paradox, even beginning to suspect that the dietary rule was a bold-faced lie.
Left with no other choice, Anna abandoned the jeans and opted for a loose, light-purple sundress. This choice not only perfectly camouflaged her weight gain, but also guaranteed her stomach wouldn't be constricted, allowing her to eat to her heart's content.
Since my mood is terrible today, I'll eat extra to build up motivation for tomorrow's diet!
Giving herself one final check in the mirror to confirm she looked like a lively, adorable high school girl who definitely hadn't put on any pounds, Anna clasped her hands behind her back. Humming a cheerful tune, she skipped happily out of her house.
The moment she stepped outside, she spotted a gold-haired girl wearing a pointed witch hat standing at Kihara's front door, hammering away at the doorbell.
"Kihara-bro! You there? You there? You there? You there?" the girl bellowed.
A dark foreboding surged within Anna's chest. She stepped forward to initiate conversation. "Um... excuse me, miss. Are you looking for Kihara?"
"You bet!" Marisa Kirisame turned around, flashing a smile as bright as a summer sun. She swiftly whipped a piece of paper from her pocket, glanced at it, and continued,
"The name's Marisa Kirisame! I'm from England, and I'm Kihara-bro's fan-slash-magic-enthusiast online buddy!"
"Another one?!" Anna muttered under her breath.
"Huh? Did you say something?"
"Ahem... I mean, welcome! Feel free to look for him. I'm Kihara's childhood friend, Anna Yanami."
"Oho~ That guy's living the dream, isn't he? He's even got a childhood friend."
Anna asked, genuinely puzzled, "Did he really never mention me during your online chats?"
"Not really. I mean, it's been about..." Marisa paused, pulling out that highly suspicious cheat sheet to take another look. "About four or five years since we last hit each other up. We don't really talk about real-life stuff."
"Ah, I see..."
As they conversed, the front door swung open from the inside. Sanae stepped out, showing zero surprise at Marisa being the second person to arrive. Instead, she greeted her with a warm smile. "I was wondering why it was so noisy outside. I knew it had to be you, Marisa."
"Yo~ Sanae!"
Their casual familiarity sent a wave of confusion through Anna, but the heavenly aroma wafting from inside the house instantly shattered her train of thought.
"You both arrived at the perfect time. Kihara is just finishing up breakfast, so come on in and eat!"
Marisa snapped her fingers gleefully. "Hitting the jackpot right at mealtime? Talk about lucky, DA☆ZE!"
It wasn't until she was firmly seated at the dining table waiting for the dishes to be served that Anna finally snapped out of it.
Wait a minute, this is bad! Why does it feel like Sanae and Kihara are the actual master and mistress of this house?!
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Thank you for reading.