The Allure of a Sleeping Pose

The overworked air compressor released a sigh of relief, and I boarded the bus to school. Aside from the regulars, there was no one else on board. That was because my stop was the first one on the route, where the bus began its journey. Looking at the empty seats, I leisurely considered my options before finally choosing a window seat in the third-to-last row.

I chose that seat because the emergency hammer was right beside me. You never knew what kind of accident might happen along the way.

After a rumble, the bus started moving. With nothing else to do, I gazed out at the scenery. If I remembered correctly, this route was a long one. Rather than sit around waiting, I might as well take a nap.

With that thought, I settled into a peaceful frame of mind and drifted off to sleep amid the jolting ride.

Just kidding.

My nap didn't last very long. My alert instincts urged me to wake up quickly. I'd tried to force myself to give in to the sudden urge to sleep, breaking a habit I'd held for a long time, but unfortunately, I'd failed.

In the end, I could only blink my eyes open groggily.

The bus had filled up with passengers, and it was nearly as crowded as it would be during rush hour. Someone had taken the seat beside me: a uniformed girl with pink hair. My first impression of her was that she had a bust that would definitely catch any man's eye.

She was a C cup, and I wouldn't have been surprised if she were a D or even an E.

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?" The girl hurriedly stopped what she was doing. She'd been stuffing a book into her backpack, and I took a closer look at it.

War and Peace.

Come to think of it, it was a pretty interesting book. It mainly expressed the ideals of humanism and universal love. But now wasn't the time to think about that...

"No, I woke up on my own. I slept very well last night, so I should be full of energy. I won't be falling asleep again anytime soon." I explained with a hint of pride, though there wasn't much to be proud of.

"That's good. Come to think of it, I didn't sleep very well last night. With the new school year starting, I couldn't help feeling too restless to fall asleep." She finished what she was doing and continued chatting with me.

The start of a new school year did tend to get students worked up. Maybe they hadn't finished the homework their teacher had assigned before the break, or maybe they were excited to start a new chapter in life and create a brand-new persona for themselves.

"Does the start of the new school year not make you feel anything?" She turned her face toward me and asked.

"Um, what do you mean?" It took me a moment to process her question. Come to think of it, I felt like I'd forgotten something.

"Are you not a new student at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, just like me?"

"...How did you know?"

"You're wearing the same uniform as me, so I figured I was right." She pointed at my clothes, and I followed her gaze.

Right, I was a new student too. I was about to spend the next three years studying there.

"Sorry, that was a stupid question. I must still be groggy from waking up." I pretended to cover for myself by rubbing my temples, clearing my head a little.

"That's understandable. I'm a bit groggy when I wake up, too." She didn't make fun of me. Instead, she was understanding.

For a moment, I felt what it was like to be treated kindly.

"As for how I feel, I don't think I feel much of anything. It's just an ordinary thing, I guess." I returned to her original question.

"Ordinary? Then I guess I'm just overreacting."

"It's different for everyone. Maybe I'm just like that."

"True... Since we're both new students, I'll introduce myself first. My name is Ichinose Honami, and I'm a new student in Class 1-B. I look forward to getting along with you."

Ichinose turned to face me and gave me a sweet smile. It was the kind of smile that would make anyone's heart skip a beat.

Now I could see her face clearly. Her eyes were a pure, clear sky blue, with not a trace of impurity in them. At the same time, I felt the urge to retreat. It wasn't that I hated purity. What I hated was the reflection of myself in those clear eyes.

No matter what I did, I could never wipe away those sins.

But come to think of it, I felt like I'd seen Ichinose somewhere before...

My thoughts churned, though I didn't let any of them show on my face.

"My name is Luomu. I look forward to getting along with you," I replied, nodding.

"Luomu? Are you an exchange student?" Ichinose pressed the index finger of her right hand to her alluring lips, her eyes growing a little unfocused. She was thinking.

Ahhh, I felt like my heart was melting. She was so cute it was almost unfair.

"No, I'm not an exchange student. I know my name sounds a little foreign, but I really am not one."

Though I had no idea where I was from, either. Probably China...

As far back as I could remember, I'd always been alone, living in a place filled with bloodshed. So I had no idea who I was or where I belonged.

"Hmm... Then which class are you in, Luomu?"

"I'm in Class 1-B too," I said, recalling his reminder from before I left.

"You're in Class B too? That's wonderful! I can't believe I've already met a classmate on the bus, someone I'll be spending the next three years with."

She looked delighted and wrapped her hand around my forearm. The sudden movement startled me. The moment she reached out, I'd felt the instinct to pull away, but I forcibly held it back.

Reflexes really were terrifying.

She seemed very sociable. But now that I thought about it, what she'd just said could easily be misunderstood. With that lovable expression and those words, it almost felt like she was confessing her love to me.

I knew that could never happen, but I couldn't stop myself from imagining it anyway. Would I be happy if it did?

The question came from the bottom of my heart.

"I didn't expect it either." To avoid ending the conversation abruptly and leaving a bad impression, I played along.

"Hey, Luomu, which middle school did you go to?"

"Well..." I awkwardly scratched the back of my head.

"Is it something you'd rather not talk about? If so, don't force yourself." She seemed to realize that she'd touched on a taboo subject, and clear regret showed in her eyes.

Ah, she really was kind. She was practically an angel.

That made it easy to follow her lead and bring the conversation to a smooth end.

"It's not that I'd rather not talk about it..."

"Then what is it?"

Oh no. Looking into her eyes, I'd answered without thinking.

"It's just... I don't actually know what my middle school was called." I had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain.

"Huh? You don't know the name of your middle school?"

"I know it's a little strange, but I really don't. We hardly ever mentioned the name of the place where we studied. I might have remembered it at first, but over time, since I never had to use it, I forgot. It's like with piano and tea ceremony."

"Is that so?" She looked at me a little strangely.

"Yeah, that's how it is. I don't remember the name of my middle school, but if you took me to the area, I'd still know my way around."

"Hmm." She nodded, looking a little confused. I felt relieved.

Ichinose was suspicious of my story, but luckily, she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she turned to the subject I'd used as a smokescreen.

"Luomu, have you studied piano and tea ceremony?"

"Yeah, a little." I nodded and didn't deny it.

In modern society, everyone—children and adults alike—learned extra skills. That made people who didn't study them seem extremely abnormal and inferior. I didn't know exactly how society had developed, but no matter what, only those who followed the crowd could be considered normal.

Once I realized that, I stopped being happy with this society.

"I used to want to learn piano too, but for certain reasons, I never got the chance." After she said that, I noticed a flash of sadness cross her face.

"If you want to learn, you can still do it in high school. There are clubs and things like that."

"Yeah, maybe I'll get the chance." Kindness returned to her face, and she nodded at me.

She was so gentle that it felt like she could melt anyone's heart.

And so my three years of barely surviving began on this bus.

The Allure of a Sleeping Beauty

Ichinose was the sort of person who could talk easily with anyone. After that, our conversation jumped from one topic to another. Eventually, she ended it because she wasn't feeling well and wanted to rest for a while.

That conversation had left me mentally and physically exhausted. To be honest, I wasn't good at dealing with someone like Ichinose, and I had no idea what she was thinking. It wasn't only because she was so enthusiastic, but also because she was so kind. Maybe people like them were destined to fail from the start. Unless some miracle happened and they met a benefactor who changed everything, I truly couldn't believe they would ever win.

As for why, I didn't know. I was judging it based on my gut feeling. At least, that was how I understood it.

[She would definitely fail.]

At the same time, she would suffer.

[People feel pain because neither their evil nor their goodness is pure enough.]

If that statement was true, Ichinose would definitely feel pain. She was kind and gentle, and she always considered my feelings when we talked, but unfortunately, none of those qualities were truly pure.

Could pure evil and pure goodness really exist in human beings?

That was obviously impossible...

I tried to answer the question using nothing but my own decade or so of experience. But without any evidence to back me up, I wasted ten minutes concentrating intensely.

With a hint of irritation, I tapped the armrest by the window and stared at the clear blue sky stretching into the distance. The next moment, I felt a heavy pressure on my left shoulder.

Ichinose had rested her head on it.

"..."

Had she already fallen asleep?

I looked at the cute girl with a little helplessness. Her behavior didn't bother me. In fact, I was a little happy about it. But wasn't she being too careless for a girl? Or had just a few minutes of conversation earned me a "harmless" pass in her mind?

If so, my disguise had worked... No, I mean, I was deeply hurt.

I stayed perfectly still, afraid I might wake her.

If only I had a phone. Then I could have taken a picture of her adorable, dreamy sleeping face. Unfortunately, phones were prohibited.

"Phew... phew..."

With her so close, I could even hear her breathing. It was the first time I'd ever had an experience like this. Her chubby cheeks, long eyelashes, high nose, and—her huge breasts.

I hurriedly pulled my gaze away from that massive temptation. I was only an ordinary person; I hadn't evolved the ability to resist my body's natural reactions. To keep myself from getting a tent in my pants, I began to empty my mind and focus on my own battle. This would be a tough challenge.

The bus I was riding was a small one, with only sixteen seats, but the number of passengers had already far exceeded that. Apart from Ichinose and me, everyone around us was an office worker in business suits on their way to work.

In some ways, I really disliked crowded places. It might have been a side effect of reading a certain book. I vaguely remembered a line spoken by the heroine.

[I hate people.]

The first-person narration had let me immerse myself in that character's thoughts so completely that I supposed it was a sort of reading-induced aftereffect.

Outside the bus, the sky was clear and the scenery was refreshing. If the beauty beside me were my girlfriend or partner, I'd be a winner in life.

My calm mood slowly settled in. Just when I thought I could win this battle without much trouble, I was wrong.

The moment I felt a faint dampness on my arm, I should have realized that things weren't as simple as I'd imagined.

At first, I thought it was just a bit of dampness brought on by my emotions. But then I gradually realized something was wrong. The dampness was limited to a particular area, and it kept spreading.

That's right. By the time I came to my senses, it was already too late.

It must have been because of her position. Her head was tilted to the side, and drool had escaped her control, trickling from her alluring red lips and soaking a large patch of my sleeve.

Was she dreaming about food?

"Ah..." I let out a quiet sigh.

This was a problem.

As I wondered what she might be dreaming about, I nervously took a handkerchief from my pocket. I moved extremely slowly throughout the whole process. I didn't want anything to go wrong and wake her up at that moment. If that happened, it would be embarrassing, and she might misunderstand what I was doing.

The worst-case scenario was making her my mortal enemy.

Moving slowly sounded simple enough: just divide the motion into infinitely many infinitesimal steps. But although the body's limbs seemed separate, they were actually part of a whole. Even the slightest tremor could set off the muscles throughout my body and excite my nerves. To avoid that, I managed to hook the handkerchief out using only two fingers.

Once I had it, I slowly wiped the corner of Ichinose's mouth. I was so careful that it was like drinking clean water from a cup with a coin's breadth of space between me and the rim.

Her skin was fair, and her moist red lips glistened. The curve of her neck and head seemed to radiate an indescribable charm.

It really felt like I was being punished.

I tended to the corner of her mouth as carefully as if I were looking after a baby. Suddenly, Ichinose's eyelashes twitched.

Oh no.

I quickly and calmly pulled my hands back, gripping the damp handkerchief tightly. At the same time, I pretended not to notice anything and looked out the window.

"Hmm, hmm~" Ichinose murmured in her sleep and rubbed her plump cheek against my shoulder.

"..."

Had I been worrying for nothing...?