Natsukawa carried Ibuki Mio in a bridal carry, taking a side path toward the dormitory building.
At this hour, most students had gone to the gym for the club information session, but a few scattered students still saw Natsukawa's strange behavior.
Fortunately, Natsukawa was thick-skinned enough to carry Ibuki Mio into the dorm elevator without batting an eye.
"That guy's really bold!"
"Are they going back to his room? I'm so jealous..."
After all, they didn't know the situation with the two of them, couldn't see Ibuki's face, and didn't believe students at Advanced Nurturing would do anything that broke the law. So all they could do was entertain some dirty, envious thoughts.
Natsukawa brought Ibuki Mio back to his dorm room and laid her on the soft sofa he had bought earlier.
Then he prepared some coffee and sat at the table on the other side of the room to read while waiting for her to wake up.
After all, Natsukawa wouldn't take advantage of someone in a vulnerable position. That would be against the law.
Of course, she was the first girl to enter his room. He believed that would matter a great deal to her and advance his progress in winning her over.
A little while later, at a sound, Ibuki Mio's brows creased slightly, showing signs of waking.
Natsukawa immediately put down his book and crouched beside the sofa, lowering his head to look at her with feigned concern.
Ibuki Mio slowly opened her eyes and saw Natsukawa's face right in front of her, so clear.
Having just woken up, Ibuki Mio was dazed, and the back of her neck still ached faintly. Wasn't I fighting Ryuuen? Oh, right. I lost consciousness after one hit.
It's soft underneath me. Where am I? Why is Natsukawa's face so close to mine?
For a moment, Ibuki Mio even forgot to breathe.
Natsukawa's gentle, concerned voice reached her.
"Are you all right?"
It wasn't until Natsukawa placed his hand on her cheek and she heard his puzzled voice.
"Strange, why isn't she blinking? Did that hit knock her stupid?"
Ibuki instantly snapped out of it and shrieked, hurriedly springing up and crouching against the sofa with both arms over her chest.
"Ah! Y-you! What were you just doing? You didn't do anything weird to me, did you?"
Ibuki glanced over her clothes and saw that everything was in place. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief, though she still watched Natsukawa warily, her face red.
Natsukawa smiled.
"Ibuki, you're finally awake. Ryuuen knocked you out, remember? I brought you back here. I was worried about you, so I stayed right beside you."
Ibuki Mio's face was flushed. Unused to the flustered feeling inside her, she retorted quietly.
"Of course I remember! Huh?!! Where is this?!"
Looking around the unfamiliar room, Ibuki suddenly remembered that Natsukawa had touched her face. Imagining it made the cheek he had touched feel faintly hot even now.
Ibuki Mio covered her cheek with one hand, blushing as she stammered.
"Y-you...!"
Natsukawa smiled and answered her earlier question.
"This is my room. Sorry, Ibuki. You passed out, and I was so worried about you that I brought you back here!"
"But don't worry. I definitely didn't do anything weird!"
Ibuki Mio snorted. You just touched my face. What do you mean, you didn't do anything weird?
But then she thought that he had only done it because he was too worried about her. Besides, her clothes were all in place, and nothing was wrong. She would just choose to forget about it.
Before she could think much more about it, Natsukawa handed Ibuki Mio the steaming coffee. Since it had been sitting for a while, its temperature was just right.
"Ibuki, have some coffee I made earlier. I added milk and sugar. I didn't know what you liked to drink, so please make do with this."
Perhaps because she was leaning against the soft sofa, Ibuki gradually relaxed. Still sitting with her legs tucked up against the sofa, she took the coffee Natsukawa offered in both hands and sipped it.
That was fairly thoughtful. Mm, the sweetness and temperature are just right, too.
Only then did Ibuki curiously examine Natsukawa's dorm room.
This setup... He really knows how to enjoy himself. There's a punching bag, a bookshelf, a sofa, and a huge mirror. He must have spent quite a few points.
Seeing that she had relaxed and begun looking around the room, Natsukawa continued gently.
"Sorry, Ibuki! I brought you to my dorm room without asking. Please don't be angry with me, okay? Besides, this is the first time I've brought a girl into my room."
Hm? I'm the first girl to enter Natsukawa's room?
Seeing how worried Natsukawa looked, Ibuki Mio softened a little. He must have made that choice because he was so worried about her.
Besides, ever since she woke up, he had been looking after her and asking whether she was all right. Wouldn't it be too cold of her to give him only a brief reply?
Affection Rating +5
Though a faint flush was still visible on her face, Ibuki Mio's voice finally returned to normal, her tone quiet and detached.
"Hmph! Natsukawa, I'll forgive you this time. But don't bring me back to your room without asking next time!"
Natsukawa pretended to be delighted.
"Thank you for forgiving me! I'm glad you're not angry, Ibuki."
"Hm, there's going to be a next time? Don't worry, Ibuki. Next time, I definitely won't bring you back to my room without asking! I should take you to the school infirmary instead."
Ibuki Mio felt a little irritated, but remembering that she had just told him she wasn't angry, she could only glare fiercely at Natsukawa as she replied.
"You nasty jerk! Natsukawa, do you really think I'll get knocked out again? Don't underestimate me!"
Ibuki Mio took another sip of coffee and continued.
"If it weren't for your coffee, I'd definitely give you a good beating!"
Playing along, Natsukawa acted surprised and frightened.
"Wow, you're so scary, Ibuki! I misspoke. Please forgive me. With your skills, Ibuki, you definitely won't get knocked out again. You only let your guard down this time."
Ibuki Mio saw through Natsukawa's exaggerated expression. He clearly didn't believe she would hit him. With her temper, she definitely would have hit any other classmate!
Ibuki didn't know what to do with Natsukawa. He had looked after her, too. Although she was a little annoyed that he wasn't afraid of her, this feeling of talking like friends wasn't bad.
Ibuki Mio replied with prickly pride.
"That's more like it!"
Only then did Ibuki Mio stretch out her legs, leaning back as she chatted.
"You really know how to enjoy yourself! This sofa must have cost quite a few points."
Natsukawa smiled.
"Ibuki, do you like it? If you do, you can come relax in my room whenever you want."
Ibuki Mio spluttered in irritation.
"Jerk! Y-you... Who would want to come to your room?!"
Ding! Affection Rating +5
Then Ibuki Mio spoke again, sounding surprised.
"But I didn't expect you to even have a punching bag here, Natsukawa. I'd like to try that!"
Natsukawa smiled.
"I work out sometimes, too."
Then Ibuki Mio got up and walked over to the punching bag in Natsukawa's dorm room.
Seeing Ibuki's interest in the punching bag, Natsukawa took the boxing gloves off the rack and offered them to her.
"Ibuki, do you need these?"
He had originally intended this punching bag to be something Kushida Kikyo could vent on in the future. He hadn't expected someone else to be the first to use it...
Ibuki replied flatly.
"No!"
"Hmph! That damn Ryuuen! Next time, you won't knock me out with a sneak attack!"
Then Ibuki Mio kicked the punching bag as though venting her frustration.
A faint blush crossed Ibuki Mio's face as she spoke smugly.
"Well? Now you know how strong I am."
She hadn't expected that, just after regaining her former cool demeanor, she would accidentally let him see her lose her composure again.
"How about this, Natsukawa? I'll teach you to box!"
"No, just have fun on your own."
"No! You're not afraid of me at all, and you're so rude to me. I'll let you experience my strength!"
"Fine."
"Ibuki, you jerk! How did you miss the punching bag? You didn't hit me on purpose, did you?"
"Hehe, of course not! All right, watch carefully how I hit the bag!"
"By the way, Ibuki, you're actually kind of cute."
"Damn it, cute?! Don't talk nonsense! Or I'll spar with you! I'll let you feel my fists!"
"Fine, I just said it offhand. Don't read too much into it."
"Hey, Ibuki, why did you kick me?!"
"I'm training your reflexes! I'll poke you, too."
"Damn it, you petty woman! You're obviously using this chance to get revenge!"
"Jerk!"
And so their roughhousing carried them onto the sofa.
Ding! Affection Rating +10 Current Affection Rating: 70
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