The Other Shore

Her vision was shrouded in darkness, and the "enemy's" attack made it hard for her to breathe. To avoid accidentally hurting Shizuka Marikawa, Kurumi reached out and fumbled for the airhead's shoulders in the darkness.

"Mm!~" Shizuka Marikawa let out a soft moan, and Kurumi's eye twitched unnaturally. Her hands had accidentally pressed below the airhead's shoulders!

Not having the time to care about that, Kurumi felt the sensation against her palms. If it had been anyone else, their thoughts would have started to wander. She gave a slight push forward.

"Whew~" Kurumi finally saw the light again. The oxygen in the air quickly replenished her nearly oxygen-starved brain.

Seeing the stark contrast between her own little hands and the airhead's outrageously endowed chest, she could not help muttering, "Those are probably even bigger than Miku Izayoi's."

Shizuka Marikawa did not care about Kurumi's small hands. Instead, she was more interested in what Kurumi had just said. Her face flushed as she hugged Kurumi from behind the sofa. "Hey~ Mi-chan, what did you just say? Can you tell Teacher Shizuka?~"

"Have you been drinking?" Kurumi narrowed her wine-red eyes. She wanted to reclaim the upper hand. She still was not quite used to people speaking to her like that.

"I... I only had a little bit~" As she spoke, Shizuka Marikawa let out a burp. A faintly bitter scent of malt drifted beneath Kurumi's nose. She waved a hand in front of her face in distaste. She hated that smell.

"I'll help you to the bedroom so you can rest." Kurumi was somewhat speechless. Then she remembered that the girls here had all had more or less some alcohol. I just hope nothing goes wrong. It could trip us up anywhere...

Before Kurumi could even finish her sentence, Shizuka Marikawa actually closed her eyes right in front of her, her body tilting slightly forward before she suddenly snapped awake, only for her eyes to slowly drift shut again. "Mi... Mi-chan~"

Thud—

With nothing supporting her body, she crashed straight onto the sofa. Kurumi calmly sidestepped, picked up a cup from the coffee table, and took a sip of water. She looked utterly at ease.

Walking behind the sofa, Kurumi saw the thigh Shizuka Marikawa had exposed due to her position. Are all the clothes they left behind too small for her?

Lowering her head to look at her own fairly curvaceous body, she muttered softly, "What a sad story. Still, being like that must be quite inconvenient too..."

Although Shizuka Marikawa weighed far more than the average tall girl, Kurumi easily picked her up. Carrying her on her back? Wouldn't that have looked a little ridiculous?

Looking at Shizuka Marikawa, whose body was abnormally mature while her mind was like that of a child, Kurumi could not help rolling her eyes. She truly could not understand the recruitment standards of Japan's so-called "police special forces."

Someone like the girl Kurumi held in her arms would probably happily help count the money after being sold off. It seemed her friend had protected her quite thoroughly.

Kurumi and Shizuka Marikawa's bodies formed a stark contrast. Beside her, Kurumi looked petite, especially since she was carrying her in a princess hold. From the side, the sight was even more striking.

There was not a trace of defined muscle on her jade-white arms. Instead, they appeared all the more soft and graceful.

Like naturally carved jade, she brought peace to the heart just by looking at her. Anyone who did not know her would never imagine that this fairy who seemed untouched by the mortal world was even more dangerous than a demon that tempted souls into ruin.

She was like a red spider lily, "guiding" people's souls onward when they were lost, and like a poppy so deeply beloved even by the gods that, with a single breath of its scent, one would willingly submit to her command.

Kurumi tossed Shizuka Marikawa directly onto the bed, casually draped a blanket over her, and ignored Takagi Saya, who was sleeping soundly beside her. Then she headed downstairs...

At that moment, Hirono Toda was still standing guard outside on the balcony, while Komuro Takashi had returned indoors and run into his childhood friend.

Miyamoto Rei, wearing nothing but pajamas, was naturally a tremendous shock to Komuro Takashi, who was in the middle of puberty!

"Takashi? Where are you going? Don't tell me you're planning a nighttime raid on Teacher Shizuka?"

Watching Miyamoto Rei narrow her eyes, Komuro Takashi instantly imagined that scene because of his childhood friend's words. Under Miyamoto Rei's gaze, his face turned bright red. "N-no, of course not. I was just a little thirsty."

"Mm?~ Really? I'm not so sure about that." Miyamoto Rei leaned slightly forward, puffing out her cheeks as she looked at Komuro Takashi.

He could be said to be suffering and enjoying himself at the same time. He suffered because he did not know how to answer and was afraid of making Rei angry. Yet he was happy because the fragrance coming from Rei was truly alluring!

"Hm?~ Why are there three Takashis?"

"Huh?" Komuro Takashi raised his head and looked closely at Miyamoto Rei. Only then did he notice that the flush on her face was abnormal. He had thought it was from her bath, but then he caught a familiar scent from her mouth and realized that she had been drinking.

As the alcohol hit her, Miyamoto Rei became emotional and suddenly fell to the floor. Komuro Takashi hurried to help her up, only to hear her complaints.

"I'm tired, so I drank a little at Teacher Shizuka's suggestion... It hasn't even been a day, and everything's already a mess. I can't contact Dad either, and Hisashi is dead..."

She covered her face with both hands, tears running down between her palms before splashing onto the floor. Hearing the girl he had always liked talking about her ex-boyfriend again, even though he and Hisashi had been friends too, left a bitter taste in his heart. His expression darkened, and he said nothing more...

"Takashi! Takashi, listen to me!" Miyamoto Rei had barely calmed down before she started drunkenly ranting again. Komuro Takashi felt helpless. How had he ended up with a childhood friend like this? But most pitifully of all, he truly loved her...

"That's why Hisashi was so gentle... That's why... when I was sad, Hisashi would listen to me pour my heart out..." Komuro Takashi sat beside her in silence. Was it really appropriate to talk about another man in front of a man?

"...Even about why I repeated a year. But Takashi, you only ever got angry. You never considered how I felt... Sometimes, you're just unbearably boring!"

Komuro Takashi did not want to keep discussing this topic. In an even tone, he said, "If I could be funny, I'd go become an entertainer... Don't expect me to go along with everything you want. I have my own circumstances too."

Miyamoto Rei was still not fully clear-headed. She muttered in complaint, "That's exactly why I got along so well with Hisashi."

"Shut up!" Komuro Takashi stood and roared, "Every chance you get, you compare me to Hisashi. Is that fun? I'm not him! Why don't you compare yourself with Tokisaki Senpai?! And Hisashi is already dead! After he turned into a zombie, I was the one who killed him! ..."

His voice gradually lowered. "We're still alive, and we have to keep living! We have to face reality! ..."

As Komuro Takashi spoke, Miyamoto Rei grabbed the corner of his clothes. The two fell silent and slowly leaned against each other...

Kurumi, who had gone downstairs in search of food, happened to run into Busujima Saeko, who was preparing something to eat. Dressed in a plain white nightgown, with her purple hair tied into a high ponytail, she had a unique charm.

"Mm~ That looks quite lovely."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Though she was not sure what Kurumi meant, Busujima Saeko still gave her a healing smile like that of a Yamato nadeshiko. Her beautiful eyes curved into crescent moons.

Bang!—

A gunshot rang out beyond the apartment, shattering the tranquility of the night...