Kamuro's heart, which had been pounding wildly, missed a beat.
Not far behind them, Tomie and the others looked at the purple-haired figure hunched over in the chair and said casually,
"Since someone's already here, let's go somewhere else."
Only after their footsteps had gradually faded away, and no more voices could be heard, did Masumi Kamuro straighten up and pat her chest, still shaken.
"Seriously, if you're afraid of being caught, why pick a place like this? Don't play if you can't handle it, okay?"
Masumi Kamuro shot back irritably,
"You knew perfectly well that this place is usually empty. Who could've guessed Tomie and the others would show up this time? At least they didn't catch us."
Yuki Gyakukai shrugged unconcernedly, reluctantly lifting his head from her soft thigh and tossing the marker back to Kamuro.
"Here. I've written enough, and after something that exciting just happened, it should keep you going for a while."
By then, the outside and inside of Kamuro's entire right leg were covered in crooked tally marks beneath her skirt.
Patting down her skirt, Kamuro stood up too and looked at the spoils on her right leg with a sly grin.
"Looks like you weren't as calm as you pretended to be."
"Who do you think was responsible for all this?"
The two picked up their clothes and headed around the railing, planning to return by the route opposite the one Tomie and the others had taken.
"By the way, why didn't you draw tally marks on my other leg too? I could go straight to Tomie wearing this outfit. Just thinking about it gets me excited!"
"Go ahead, if you've got the guts. If you get caught, I'm not the one who'll be embarrassed."
"You're such an irresponsible man."
The two walked side by side along the railing. The afternoon sun was still strong, and its scorching heat was getting to Kamuro.
"I'm roasting. Walk in front of me and block the sun."
Feeling Kamuro's little hands gripping his shirt and repeatedly pushing him forward,
Yuki Gyakukai turned around in annoyance and tapped her on the head.
"You think you're the only one who's hot? You think I'm not?"
"Tsk, what a clueless man. What's the harm in standing in front of me? I'll reward you later."
"What kind of reward?"
In the sunlight, Yuki's handsome profile was sharply defined, while his thin shirt hinted at the muscles beneath.
The two little hands resting on Yuki's back could faintly feel the beads of sweat slowly running down, dampening his clean white shirt.
Unable to resist the temptation, Masumi Kamuro widened her eyes and swallowed.
"How about I take this outfit you're wearing home and wash it for you?"
"Hey! You greedy little kitten, you want to have your cake and eat it too? Are you planning to take my shirt home and draw a map on it?"
At his teasing, Kamuro clenched a fist and gave him a solid punch.
"Do you think I'm that kind of person? No matter how desperate I am, I wouldn't do it on your clothes!"
As if something had come to mind, Kamuro tilted her head slightly, her gaze growing hazy as she avoided his eyes.
"I can tell..."
After walking Kamuro back to her dorm, Yuki Gyakukai finally returned to his own room.
By then, though, he'd changed all his clothes.
According to Kamuro, she'd return all his clothes tomorrow afternoon.
He didn't really care whether she returned them or not. The important thing was that they didn't smell afterward.
Otherwise, if Tomie noticed, he wouldn't know how to explain it.
Lying on his bed, he picked up his phone, found the group chat he shared with Chihiro Shiramami and Amikura Asako, and started typing.
Yuki Gyakukai: "You two, spread the word. Tomorrow, arrange for everyone to go to the library and study together. Make sure they study for at least two hours."
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Chihiro Shiramami: "Understood."
Amikura Asako: "I'll make sure it gets done!"
Yuki Gyakukai: "You two get things ready first. I'll arrange for Ichinose to help you."
He closed the chat and immediately informed Ichinose of the arrangements, telling her to prepare in advance.
He had to make sure everyone in the class went to the library to study tomorrow.
After finishing all that, he tossed his phone aside and lay down to rest.
Of course, he barely rested at all. No one knew what he was even doing.
Yuki Gyakukai lay on his bed, reaching for his phone now and then to turn on the screen and check the time. Every so often, he checked again.
This time, after keeping his eyes closed for thirty minutes, he finally opened them and checked the time again.
"About time... She should be coming now."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone knocked on the door.
Yuki got up, casually tugged at his somewhat wrinkled clothes, and went to open the door.
A familiar figure stood outside, dressed in blue and white casual clothes. A white beret sat atop her head, and her long black hair fell naturally around her shoulders, with two red cords tied near the ends. Her cool features were as pure and pristine as a snow lotus atop a mountain.
"You took so long to open the door. Do you have some problem with me, pervert?"
Hearing her familiar way of speaking, Yuki Gyakukai glanced at her slightly curving chest with a wistful look.
Apparently noticing his gaze, the girl folded her arms over her chest and warily stepped back.
"I'm sorry, but please don't look at my body with such a vulgar gaze. I feel threatened, both physically and mentally."
"Hey... Um... I mean..."
"Sorry, no. I must decline."
"Can't you let me finish first, Suzune?"
At the key word, Suzune Horikita returned to normal, though her gaze remained as cool as ever.
Rather than remain in the doorway, Suzune Horikita walked inside.
"Fine. What did you want to say? Go ahead."
"I mean, even though I asked you to cosplay as Yukino Yukinoshita and imitate her essence, you don't have to attack me with that sharp tongue every other day."
Looking at Suzune Horikita sitting by the head of the bed, so similar to Yukino Yukinoshita even in her manner, Yuki couldn't help feeling exasperated.
It really didn't matter how alike two people were; they were still different people. She couldn't even imitate the essence of the character.
All right, he had to admit that Suzune Horikita's sharp tongue had been wearing him down lately.
Suzune Horikita's expression turned a little awkward. After all, she'd been enjoying openly insulting Yuki lately.
"Wasn't I doing what you asked? Besides, making a girl play another girl is disrespectful in the first place."
"Is that so? Then I'm sorry."
By now, Suzune Horikita had started moving around the room on her own.
She left the bedside, went over to the computer desk, and very skillfully turned on the computer. Then she started browsing the little programs on it.
"Yuki Gyakukai."
"Hmm?"
"That gal game you sent me last time, Death Hall, wasn't fun. I don't know what your taste is like, but I found it a bit weird."
"And the one before that, Borrowed Love, was somewhat interesting, but only average."
Watching Suzune Horikita continue searching through the games, Yuki's mouth twitched.
He hadn't expected things to turn out this way. He still remembered that, more than twenty days ago, he'd wanted to get revenge.
Under his threats and inducements, he'd directly recommended a famous game about siblings called A Certain Sky to Suzune Horikita.
And so, despite her reluctance, and even after declaring, "One day, a girl just like Yuki Gyakukai will fall in love with gal games,"
Suzune Horikita had finally been led down the right path by him.
The only pity was that, in order to get Suzune Horikita to accept gal games, he'd removed the erotic content from a lot of them.
But now that the time was right, he felt he could corrupt her innocent heart a little.
"Suzune, you can try playing this game called Sylvie."
"OK."
Before you continue