Kamuro Masumi's Choice

When Kazehara Tetsu returned to the dormitory, it was already getting dark.

The hallway of the Dormitory Building was exceptionally quiet. Only Kazehara Tetsu's footsteps echoed through the empty space.

He stopped just as he was nearing his room.

Leaning against the wall beside his door was a slender figure.

She wore the same school uniform as he did, and her long purple hair shone brightly beneath the lights.

She stood with her arms folded across her chest, head bowed as if she were looking at her toes.

Kamuro Masumi.

Hearing his footsteps, she slowly raised her head and looked straight at Kazehara Tetsu.

"Looks like I didn't come back too late."

There wasn't the slightest trace of surprise on Kazehara Tetsu's face. He walked up to the door, took his key card from his pocket, and prepared to open it.

His tone was as casual as if he were greeting a friend he'd arranged to meet.

"How did you know my room was here?"

He lightly swiped the key card over the door's sensor. The lock clicked open.

"I just had to ask a Class A student who lives on this floor for your room number."

Kamuro Masumi sounded as if she were merely stating a fact.

She straightened away from the wall, her movements a little stiff. It seemed she had been waiting for some time.

Kazehara Tetsu pushed the door open and switched on the light, illuminating the room.

"Come in." He stepped aside to make room.

Kamuro Masumi didn't hesitate. She walked past him, and a scent mingling the fresh fragrance of shampoo with the sweet scent of a young woman brushed past Kazehara Tetsu's nose.

She entered the room without looking around, then stopped beside him.

Kazehara Tetsu closed the door. The lock's automatic click sounded especially clear in the quiet room.

He took off his jacket and tossed it casually onto a chair, then leaned against the wall and regarded the silent Kamuro Masumi with interest.

"Not bad, Kamuro. Coming alone to the boys' dormitory this late at night, then entering a boy's room."

His voice held a hint of teasing. "Aren't you afraid something might... happen?"

Kamuro Masumi finally reacted, lifting her eyes.

There was none of the nervousness Kazehara Tetsu had expected in them, only calm—and something like resolve.

"I came here to repay you."

Her voice remained steady, but the hand at her side was clenched so tightly that her knuckles had turned faintly white.

"Repay me?"

Kazehara Tetsu raised an eyebrow. "Oh... How are you planning to pay back those two hundred thousand Points? In installments? I won't charge interest."

"The Points... I'll pay you back."

Kamuro Masumi's lips moved. "I can't give it all to you in a short time... But I won't be a single Point short."

Kazehara Tetsu spread his hands. "So you came here to sign a promissory note first?"

Kamuro Masumi didn't answer.

She took a deep breath, as if gathering all her strength, then...

Under Kazehara Tetsu's gaze, she lifted a hand and undid the top button of her School Uniform Shirt.

The smile on Kazehara Tetsu's face didn't change, but his gaze darkened slightly.

Her fingers trembled a little, but she didn't stop.

The second button, the third... As she undid them one by one, the shirt fell open, revealing the pure white underwear beneath.

She continued. Once she had undone every button, she began to slip the shirt from her shoulders.

"Wait."

Just as the shirt was about to slide off her shoulders, Kazehara Tetsu spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, but Kamuro Masumi immediately froze.

She looked up, a trace of confusion finally appearing in her eyes.

Kazehara Tetsu walked slowly up to her. They were close enough to feel each other's breath.

He didn't look at the skin she had exposed. His gaze stayed fixed on her eyes.

"Let me ask you something, Kamuro."

His tone grew serious. "Are you doing this simply because you want to 'repay' me for helping you resolve the theft, treating it as a transaction? Or do you... actually feel something for me beyond 'gratitude'?"

Kamuro Masumi's body trembled.

His question had opened the heart she had wrapped in coldness and resolve.

A transaction, or feelings?

She couldn't tell herself.

All she knew was that this man had pulled her out of the abyss.

And that he had told her, Your secret is safe with me.

In her heart, there had long been a complex emotion she had never experienced before, a mixture of comfort, dependence, and a kind of unhealthy infatuation.

She looked into Kazehara Tetsu's eyes. He seemed to genuinely care about her answer.

"...Both."

Only after a long while did she force the words out. Her voice was faint, but unusually clear.

"I'll pay back the Points. But that will take time." Her eyes lowered to her open shirt, and a hint of self-mockery entered her voice. "And right now, the only thing I can offer you immediately, something that might have some value to you... is this. It's the fastest and most effective way to repay you."

Her words were full of cold, practical logic.

But that "both" revealed the genuine feelings beneath it, feelings she couldn't hide.

Kazehara Tetsu fell silent for a moment.

Then he smiled.

It was a genuine smile, filled with pleasure and satisfaction.

This was the answer he wanted.

A soul completely conquered was far more interesting than a body offered in a transaction.

He said nothing more. Instead, he reached out and gently tilted Kamuro Masumi's chin up with his fingertip, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"Since that's the case... let's see just how sincere this 'repayment' of yours is."

With that, he lowered his head and kissed her cold lips.

Kamuro Masumi's body stiffened at once. She had never been so intimate with a boy before, and her mind went completely blank.

Kazehara Tetsu's lips still carried a faint smell of coffee.

His kiss wasn't gentle. It was fiercely possessive, his tongue prying her teeth apart and plunging in to take whatever it wanted.

"Mm..."

A whimper escaped Kamuro Masumi's throat. She instinctively tried to retreat, but her back was against the door, leaving her nowhere to go.

At some point, Kazehara Tetsu had wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her tightly against him.

The kiss lasted a long time. By the time Kamuro Masumi felt as if the air had been sucked from her lungs, Kazehara Tetsu finally pulled away, still wanting more.

A thin strand of saliva connected them, barely visible in the light.

Kamuro Masumi gasped for air, her cheeks flushed an unnatural red.

"It's not too late to change your mind," he whispered in her ear.

Kamuro Masumi didn't speak. She simply closed her eyes, then opened them again.

She lifted her arms and wrapped them around Kazehara Tetsu's neck, answering him with her actions.

From tonight on, Kamuro Masumi belonged to Kazehara Tetsu alone.