Peculiar Fetish

"Huh?"

Kamuro Masumi froze, doubting her own ears.

But when Uesugi Hara repeated it immediately, the expression on her face instantly solidified.

The next second, her face displayed undisguised disgust—the kind of look one gives a pile of non-recyclable trash stuck to the ground, cold and devoid of any warmth.

"Disgusting."

The two words were squeezed out from between her teeth, devoid of any extra emotion.

This was probably the normal reaction for any girl hearing such a thing.

Uesugi Hara felt inexplicably "refreshed" by that look, but he hadn't given up the struggle yet. He hurriedly raised his hands to wave them. "It's just looking at your legs, how is that disgusting? And don't get the wrong idea... I just saw something earlier and suddenly wanted to confirm something..."

Before he could finish, he was cut down by a glare from Kamuro Masumi. She took a large step back, as if she needed to be further away to be safe, her lips curling into undisguised contempt. "Stay away from me."

With that, she turned and walked away, her pace so fast it was as if she were avoiding something filthy.

Uesugi Hara hurriedly chased after her for two steps, raising his voice to call her back. "Kamuro, Kamuro! You just promised me!"

Kamuro Masumi spun around abruptly, frowning. "I did promise to help you, but I never said I'd accompany you in your madness!" She looked Uesugi Hara up and down, her eyes full of disbelief. "Which wire in your brain is crossed? How dare you say something like that to a girl in a place like this? Let me tell you, this one sentence alone is more than enough for me to go report you for sexual harassment right now!"

Kamuro Masumi wasn't exactly known for her good temper. Hearing such an outrageous request, she only wanted to get as far away from this deranged person as possible. She shifted her feet to the side, striking a pose ready to leave at any moment.

"Even if you report me, you'd be the one getting arrested," Uesugi Hara muttered under his breath, curling his lip.

"What did you say?" Kamuro Masumi was far enough away that she didn't catch his words; she only saw his lips move and frowned, pressing for an answer.

"Nothing," Uesugi Hara changed his tone, deliberately drawing out his words with a hint of grievance. "I just didn't expect you to go back on your word, Kamuro."

Uesugi Hara used a reverse-psychology tactic on Kamuro Masumi.

It might not have worked on others, but it was highly effective on a girl like Kamuro Masumi, who was a bit foolishly cute.

As expected, she fell for it.

Her brow furrowed even tighter, and the previous anger was now mixed with a bit of awkward hesitation. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she struggled with herself—admitting she was going back on her word would make her look irresponsible, but agreeing to such an absurd request was truly hard to swallow.

"It really is just looking at your legs?" Kamuro Masumi felt a bit ashamed, packing all her inner conflict about whether to believe him or not into that single question, but she finally relented.

"Yeah, yeah!" Uesugi Hara nodded eagerly.

Kamuro Masumi glared at him fiercely and waved her hand as if resigning herself to fate. "Fine, go to that bench over there, and make it quick!" She strode toward the bench, as if staying a second longer would drown her in shame.

The glow of the streetlamp spread around the bench, the warm yellow light washing over the ground and outlining the figure sitting there.

Uesugi Hara's gaze landed on Kamuro Masumi's beautiful legs, and for a moment, he forgot to look away.

Those legs were straight and slender, the skin showing a healthy, fair luster in the light and shadow, with the proportions from calf to thigh perfectly balanced.

Her short skirt barely covered her knees, and the exposed skin was as delicate as fine porcelain. The edge of her long socks left a faint indentation just below her knees, blending the girl's youthful vitality with a slender, aesthetic beauty.

Even though they were just resting quietly, one could almost see the nimble rhythm of them in motion—a lightness hiding a touch of girlish charm, combined with the vigorous energy unique to the young.

Feeling Uesugi Hara's undisguised, burning gaze, Kamuro Masumi became completely uncomfortable. The fire from earlier had vanished, and a thin layer of red climbed onto her cheeks, revealing a rare shyness.

"Hey, have you seen enough yet..." She turned her face away, her voice trembling with a panic she hadn't even realized.

Uesugi Hara finally withdrew his gaze, satisfied, and looked at her reddened earlobes. "Eh? Kamuro, are you blushing?"

Uesugi Hara was a bit surprised. Although they had only met today, from his observations, Kamuro Masumi seemed like the type of girl who was carefree and bold—even her sitting posture was that of a powerhouse.

But right now, with her face turned away, her ears red, and even her speech stuttering, that irrepressible shyness made her look much cuter than her previous aggressive, clawing self.

Kamuro Masumi was choked by the question and spun back to glare at him, her cheeks turning even redder, the flush spreading to her neck. "Who, who is blushing! Stop talking nonsense!" She tugged at her skirt unnaturally.

Uesugi Hara suppressed a laugh and leaned in closer. "Oh? Then why are your ears as red as ripe cherries?"

"That's just the streetlamp reflecting on them!" Kamuro Masumi retorted, stiffening her neck while her eyes drifted elsewhere. "Are you done looking yet? If you're done, get going. I don't have time to sit here and accompany your madness."

"Done, I'm done." Uesugi Hara knew when to stop and agreed accordingly.

The two were silent for a moment.

Uesugi Hara suddenly wiped away his smile, his expression turning serious. "Kamuro, I've discovered a very serious problem."

"Oh." Kamuro Masumi raised an eyebrow, her voice flat. The earlier shyness had long been suppressed, and she sounded completely indifferent.

Uesugi Hara was actually choked by this cold reaction and pressed, "Aren't you curious about what the problem is?"

"Oh, what is it then?" She kept that same lukewarm tone, as if listening to something trivial.

Uesugi Hara stumbled, scratched his head, and said it anyway: "I discovered... I might be a pervert."

Kamuro Masumi stared at him for a moment after hearing this.

Then, she spoke with extreme calm, each word clear: "Actually, you can be more confident and drop the 'might.' You are a pervert. What kind of decent person asks a girl to 'let me look at your legs'?!"

Uesugi Hara was choked again. "I was just asking you to confirm it... and I just like looking at legs, that's all."

He changed the subject, his eyes sweeping toward Kamuro Masumi's pocket, his tone carrying a hint of retaliation. "Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house. You aren't much better yourself. Looking at your technique earlier, it was so practiced, I assume it's not your first time doing this. You didn't steal this beer just to drink it, did you?"

He paused deliberately, as if searching for the right word, then clapped his hands. "Oh, right, is it called 'kleptomania'? Someone like you probably specializes in stealing things minors aren't allowed to buy. Like stealing beer—you do it just to find a thrill in the rule-breaking, right?"

He raised an eyebrow after finishing, his look clearly saying "we're two of a kind."

"Hmph, none of your business." Kamuro Masumi's cheeks burned as her secret was poked, but she remained tough. She turned and walked away abruptly, her footsteps stomping on the ground as if she were competing with someone.

She stopped abruptly after only two steps, turning back to lower her voice in a warning: "I don't want a third person to know about today. If word gets out..." She raised her fist, her knuckles turning white, "weigh the consequences yourself."

Having said that, she reached into her pocket, pulled out that can of ice-cold beer, and tossed it toward Uesugi Hara with a huff: "It's yours, looking at it just annoys me."

The aluminum can traced an arc through the air, and Uesugi Hara reached out and caught it steadily.

He first hid the scorching hot item in his pocket, and by the time he looked up, Kamuro had already walked far away.

That girl, she could have just left, but she had to go and leave such a troublesome thing behind.

Watching her silhouette gradually melt into the night, Uesugi Hara couldn't help but mimic her tone from a moment ago, pinching his voice and drawing out the syllables while clenching his fist and gesturing twice: "Weigh the consequences yourself~"

He laughed at himself first, shaking his head with a soft chuckle: "Tch, who are you trying to scare?"

The evening breeze swept past, carrying the light from the convenience store, and he touched the can of beer in his pocket, feeling a bit of a headache—how was he supposed to deal with this thing?