Hands Under the Moonlight

"Come over, then. Why are you shouting so loudly?"

Noah grumbled inwardly, but his body was more honest than anyone's. After setting down his sword, he practically jogged over to the foot of the wall.

"Coming, bunny!"

He easily leaped onto the five- or six-meter-high wall and sat down half a meter away from Momousagi.

Though tonight's moon was only a crescent, it was exceptionally clear and bright. Its silvery glow spilled across the ground and over Momousagi's shoulders.

Under the moonlight, her gentle yet faintly valiant face was turned quietly toward Noah, enough to make his heart skip a beat.

—As if a peach-pink little rabbit truly had nestled inside his heart, suddenly dropped the little carrot it had been nibbling, and begun wildly thumping and bouncing all over the place.

"Why are you sitting so far away? Move closer."

"I think this is already close enou—"

"Stop talking and move over."

"...Okay."

Noah obediently scooted over.

Momousagi seemed inexplicably forceful tonight. She had always been somewhat like that before, but this felt different somehow.

Momousagi gently unscrewed the medicine bottle. Inside was a thick medicinal liquid that reflected a reddish glow beneath the moonlight. She scooped out some with her slender fingertips, then raised her head and quietly gazed at Noah.

"It might hurt a little. Bear with it."

"Yeah, it's no—hiss!"

Before Noah could finish speaking, her cool fingertips had already pressed against his chest.

The nearly ointment-like semisolid medicine spread across his bruised skin as Momousagi gently rubbed it in with her delicate fingers.

He could not help raising his head and sharply drawing in a breath.

—Whether it was from the burning pain of his wounds, or the faintly strange sensation brought by that coolness seeping into his heart through their intimate contact, he did