He reached out and touched her flushed cheek, his thumb gently stroking her soft skin. "You were always meant to be like this."
His words seemed to break some taboo. Kubo Takako suddenly leaned in, her warm lips pressing hard against his.
The kiss tasted of whiskey's intensity, of long-suppressed longing, and of cautious exploration.
Kageyama Sora froze for a moment, then wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, returning her passionate kiss.
In the private room, their shadows tangled on the wall. As their breathing grew heavier, their heartbeats became ever clearer in the silence.
The air was charged with desire. They lost themselves in the kiss, forgetting the outside world, forgetting the differences in their positions and ages. All they could feel was the warmth and thrill of each other's lips.
Sometimes, people's emotions really could cross all kinds of boundaries.
For instance, Kageyama Sora had never imagined in his life that he would end up kissing Fukuji Mihoko's coach in a bar after they both let themselves go.
Kubo Takako's nails dug into the back of Kageyama Sora's shirt. The rustle of fabric mingled with their ragged breathing, filling the sealed private room.
Kageyama Sora turned and pinned her against the velvet wall. The warm lamplight skimmed her reddened eyes, and her lashes flickered, scattering tiny flecks of gold.
She tugged open the buttons at his collar. The faint clink of metal hitting the floor made them both flinch, only for a deeper kiss to swallow the moment.
"Wait..." Kageyama Sora panted and turned his head away, his Adam's apple brushing her moist lips.
Kubo Takako bit his jaw, her fingertips tracing down his waist and following the curve of the dip there through the fabric.
"Now you want to stop?" She chuckled, her voice wrapped in desire. "Too late. You didn't think this big sister would let you go, did you?"
The air in the private room grew hotter, and the sandalwood scent turned heady in the heat of their desire.
She caught his wrist, interrupting his attempt to loosen his tie. Kubo Takako used the leverage to turn them around and pin him to the sofa. His black suit slipped from his shoulder, revealing a winding silver tattoo by his collarbone—one she'd gotten back when she was a delinquent.
Of course, Kubo Takako would never admit she'd been a delinquent. She just thought of it as a rebellious phase that belonged to her alone.
She straddled his lap. As she leaned down, her golden hair fell around them like a private curtain. Her lips brushed his burning earlobe. "Want to find out how a grown-up big sister differs from those little girls?"
What a bold thing to say. Kageyama Sora felt his blood rush at the words.
Before he could answer, she bit his throat. The light touch of her tongue made Kageyama Sora's arms tighten around her.
The leather sofa creaked faintly as he reached back and tugged at the hem of her shirt. When his cool fingertips touched her lower back,
Kubo Takako shuddered, her teeth sinking harder into his shoulder.
The taste of blood spread between their teeth, only making them more reckless.
What a crazy thing to do, and yet it made the blood rush to their heads.
Kageyama Sora rolled over and pressed her into the cushions. Somehow, his tie had wound around her wrist.
Kubo Takako arched her neck. Beads of sweat gathered in the hollow of her collarbone, gleaming like pearls in the shifting light.
"Untie me." She shook her bound wrist, her eyes torn between defiance and desire. "Or are you scared?"
Those words completely set Kageyama Sora's restraint ablaze.
As he yanked at his tie, the lamp wobbled, distorting the light and shadows across their entwined bodies.
Kubo Takako's high heels had somehow been kicked off. Barefoot, she hooked a leg around his calf, her nails leaving faint scratches on the back of his neck.
When Kageyama Sora's lips brushed her chest, she arched her back sharply, tangling her fingers in his hair as a stifled sound escaped her throat.
Outside the private room, a server's cart suddenly rattled past. The sound of its metal wheels made them both go still.
Kubo Takako bit her lower lip, her moist eyes fixed on the face so close to hers. Her hurried breaths washed over Kageyama Sora's face. He covered her mouth with one hand, while his other hand caressed her waist. When his fingertip grazed the edge of her lingerie, he felt her shudder violently beneath his palm.
"Shh..." He chuckled against her ear, his warm breath making Kubo Takako go limp.
When the footsteps outside finally faded, they looked at each other and sank once more into the vortex of losing control.
The rustle of clothing, ragged breathing, and intimate murmurs wove a web of desire around them in the private room, trapping them with no way back.
Side Story: If Line—Kubo Takako
The footsteps outside the private room hung over them like the sword of Damocles. The cart's wheels rolled closer and closer across the floor.
The lamplight flickered as it swayed, breaking their overlapping shadows into scattered patches of light that rippled across the velvet wall.
The air was so thick with desire it seemed almost liquid, mingling with the scent of sandalwood and arousal. Every breath came with a scorching tremor.
Their nervousness was understandable. They hadn't paid, and no one knew there was anyone in the private room.
Kubo Takako's nails dug deep into Kageyama Sora's shoulder, the muscles beneath her fingertips hard as stone.
Her tilted-back neck exposed a slender vein that throbbed with her racing heartbeat. Her warm breath brushed his ear. "Don't make a sound..."
Before she could finish, metal clanged in the corridor. She jolted, her legs instinctively tightening around his waist.
Kageyama Sora pressed his palm firmly over her mouth. He could feel her rapid breathing, the damp heat seeping between his fingers and scorching his skin.
He buried his nose in her sweat-damp golden hair. The scent of mint mixed with whiskey shot straight to his head, but he fought to keep control as his reason began to crumble.
The woman beneath him was tense with nerves, her curves outlined in the shifting light, her shirt half-slipped from her shoulder. She was close to setting his last shred of self-control alight.
"Click—" The footsteps paused briefly outside the private room. The tentative sound of the lock turning made them both hold their breath.
Kubo Takako's pupils contracted. Her lashes brushed the back of Kageyama Sora's hand, and her eyes silently pleaded for help, desire swirling within them.
Even someone as bold as her would get nervous when she heard someone coming.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he pressed her trembling body deeper into the sofa, his fingertips following the dip of her waist. It was both reassurance and a wordless warning: whoever made a sound first would lose this game of desire.
When the footsteps finally faded, the stifling silence burst like a popped balloon, and they both let out ragged breaths.
Just as Kageyama Sora thought the interruption would bring things to an early end,
Kubo Takako pulled the tie from around her wrist and hooked an arm around his neck, drawing him close.
Desire and drunkenness swirled in her eyes. She bit his lips with almost savage hunger, and the instant her tongue slipped inside, a low, hoarse sound escaped Kageyama Sora's throat.
The edge of the sofa dug painfully into Kubo Takako's lower back, but the warmth of Kageyama Sora's hand against her made her forget the pain.
His fingertips traced up her spine. The precise way he unclasped her lingerie made her breath catch.
The moment the fabric slipped away, the room's suggestive light wrapped around her pale skin, flowing like a honey-colored river over her curves.
"So you'd already..." she panted, trying to tease him, but the rest of her words crumbled into a broken gasp as he kissed her collarbone.
Kageyama Sora's kisses traveled down her neck, leaving a trail of faint bite marks.
When his lips found the cinnabar mole on her chest, Kubo Takako grabbed his hair. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. Her bare feet, her high heels long since kicked away, restlessly brushed against his tense calves.
"Don't..." She wanted to tell him not to be so rough, but when his tongue made her shiver, she swallowed the words, letting out a muffled whimper instead.
The air in the private room felt so thick it could be wrung out. Beneath the swaying lamplight, their tangled shadows twisted across the wall.
Kubo Takako fumbled with the remaining buttons of Kageyama Sora's shirt. When her fingertips grazed his firm abs, she felt his body tremble.
She seized her chance to turn the tables. Her golden hair spilled down like a waterfall, veiling their entwined faces.
"Now it's my turn."
Clothes were tossed carelessly to the floor, one after another, amid the faint sound of fabric tearing.
The silver tattoo on Kubo Takako's collarbone appeared and vanished with her movements, seeming to mock their lost control.
As she leaned over him, her hair brushed Kageyama Sora's chest. The ticklish touch, mingled with desire, shot straight to his heart.
When she took his Adam's apple between her lips and ran her hands down his waist, Kageyama Sora finally lost the last of his restraint. He rolled over and pinned her to the sofa again. The movement made the whole sofa creak as if it could no longer bear their weight.
"Still want to tease me?" Kageyama Sora's hoarse voice was thick with desire. He pinned her wrists above her head, his heated gaze sweeping over her flushed cheeks, swollen lips, and kiss-marked neck.
Kubo Takako raised her hips in defiance and pressed a knee against his inner thigh. The challenge in her eyes was veiled by a haze of desire. "If you've got the nerve, don't stop."
Those words lit the last fuse.
Kageyama Sora lowered his head and bit her lower lip, his tongue parting her teeth and claiming her mouth. At the same time, his hand had already slipped between their pressed bodies.
Kubo Takako's body tensed in an instant, then gradually softened beneath his soothing kisses. Her nails dug deep into his back, and the sounds rising from her throat grew louder, echoing through the cramped private room. Together with the rustling clothes and the warm, damp sounds of their bodies pressed together, they composed a breathlessly intimate melody.
The tie twisted into a contorted snake between their fingers, its cool leather seeping into their palms.
The lamplight suddenly shattered into a thousand stars, and the tattoo on Kubo Takako's collarbone seemed to writhe.
Kageyama Sora heard himself swallow, like a downpour battering a dry riverbed.
The first time.
Blood.
Kageyama Sora was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Kubo Takako to be... so innocent.
Her wildness and abandon had caught him completely off guard, and the suddenness of it had caused her some pain.
But fortunately, he still had time to make it up to her.
"Don't stop..."
Amid their fierce entanglement, her voice drifted from far away, then seemed to burst right beside his ear.
The instant her shirt buttons popped free, time split in two.
The roughness of the velvet wall against his back stood in absurd contrast to the softness of her lips and tongue.
Kageyama Sora felt himself fall into a scorching fog, every sense magnified without limit. The sandalwood suddenly smelled sharp, mingling with the sweet, rain-soaked scent lingering in her hair. The sound of fabric tearing struck like thunder, yet could not drown out their interwoven heartbeats. And the sting of her nails dragging across his back became a signpost to ecstasy.
The private room became the center of the universe, the lamp its only sun.
They moved back and forth across the border between light and shadow, each moment of closeness like a missing piece in their lives finally finding its place.
Kubo Takako's voice, still laced with whiskey, turned into desire made tangible in the air.
Kageyama Sora looked into her eyes. There were storms and oceans there, along with a vulnerability and wildness he had never seen before.
When the moment finally swept over him like a wave, Kageyama Sora felt himself become countless tiny specks of dust, scattering through the warm air of the private room.
All his restraint, struggle, and hesitation vanished in that instant.
A Perfect Match
When there were too many players who relied on data, a match became... rather boring for the audience.
They mostly just defended, defended, and defended. That made it difficult to win, and there were no flashy wins or dramatic comebacks.
But... with Haramura Nodoka winning again,
the commentator's words were like a pebble, sending ripples across an apparently calm lake.
[Right now, Kiyosumi High School's Haramura Nodoka is in first place, and none of the other players have won a hand yet. This is very close to a perfect match.]
[The final hand of the first half is beginning. Can Haramura Nodoka pull off a perfect match?!]
It was true that data-driven players didn't make for particularly dramatic matches, but they were strong on defense.
Still... the prospect of a perfect match was enough to get everyone excited. People were all wondering whether Haramura Nodoka could keep this miracle going.
As Haramura Nodoka stroked her penguin to cheer herself on, Ryumonbuchi Toka's thoughts erupted once more. "A perfect match? There's no way I'm letting Haramura Nodoka have that. This joke has gone far enough!"
It was all happening inside her head, but anyone who knew her even a little could tell that Ryumonbuchi Toka was already on the verge of a full-blown mental spiral.
Kageyama Sora sat in Ryumonbuchi High School's lounge, with Amae Koromo in his arms for some reason. He mused, "Is Toka paying too much attention to Nodoka? She's giving her all her attention."
He adjusted the name he'd used, just in case it stirred up trouble. Kageyama Sora knew everyone wouldn't be that petty, but it was better to be cautious.
Kunihiro Hajime gave an awkward laugh. "There's not much she can do about it. Toka gets like this sometimes."
The match outside continued.
Ryumonbuchi Toka chose to go for a ready hand. No riichi, no extra options—she was acting as though she could break the perfect match simply by winning quickly.
Inoue Jun grew serious. "Right now, everyone's attention is on Haramura Nodoka, as if this were her personal showcase."
Kunihiro Hajime was calm about it, without a hint of resentment. "A perfect match is what everyone's hoping for, isn't it?"
Inoue Jun scoffed and glanced at Kageyama Sora with a teasing look. "Heh. Guys like girls like Haramura Nodoka, right?"
Kunihiro Hajime immediately turned her gaze to Kageyama Sora too. "Is that right?"
Even Amae Koromo, who was acting as Kageyama Sora's human pillow, pouted and asked, "Is that right?!"
Faced with everyone's questions, Kageyama Sora had wanted to dodge the issue. But he couldn't bring himself to lie, so all he managed was, "...Y-yeah, I guess so?"
Amae Koromo narrowed her eyes, wrapped her arms around her knees, and sulked. "Koromo's mad. There's no making it up to her."
Kageyama Sora could only try to soothe her. "Koromo's the cutest..."
But Amae Koromo was hard to appease this time. "Sora just likes girls with big...! He does, definitely!"
Of course, what happened in the lounge was just a little aside. The match was still underway.
Before you continue