Nanao Akane fully supported Shinomiya Natsuha's idea of curbing Sasaki's womanizing tendencies.
But their method...
It wasn't that it was bad, it's just a bit... complicated.
To be honest, Akane had no idea how long Natsuha had been with Sasaki to be so nonchalant about this.
But for someone like her, who had just become his girlfriend and crossed that line with him, this was a bit...too fast.
It wasn't that she was opposed to this idea.
After all, the person involved was the boy she liked, and the other girls were in the same boat, no one had the right to judge.
Her hesitation stemmed purely from a girl's natural modesty and shyness.
Natsuha understood this perfectly.
After all, she had been the same way just this morning, until those two wore her down with their persistence.
And when it came to such group activities, there was no middle ground—only zero or infinity.
Once that line was crossed, the mindset of "it's not like it's my first time" would take over, making it easier to accept.
Just like how she was now persuading Nanao.
Looking at the girl's flustered hesitation, Natsuha decided she needed to deliver the final push.
Smoothing her skirt over her hips, she shifted closer until their shoulders touched and whispered.
"I know you're shy, Akane. I was too at first. But every second we hesitate is another chance for him to find another girl."
"Do you really want to end up taking turns like a cafeteria line every time you're with him?"
Hearing this, Nanao couldn't help but blink a little. "That... might be exaggerating a little?"
Natsuha shook her head. "I guarantee he's with someone else right now."
"B-But... Sasaki is the library assistant for Building 1. He's supposed to be organizing books, he's probably too busy for that..."
Most school libraries only had one or two student assistants, and at their age, few were willing to bury themselves in books all day.
So Akane Nanao assumed their school followed the norm—one assistant per building, usually a teacher with lighter workloads.
Meaning Sasaki should be too occupied to flirt...
However, Natsuha sighed. "He skipped library duty today. Got permission to leave early for a hospital check-up."
"But that doesn't mean—"
"Him going to the hospital and him being with a girl aren't mutually exclusive."
Pulling out her phone, Natsuha tapped Sasaki's contact, saved as
"Fuyumi" and smirked.
"Want proof? Let's call him."
With that, her thumb pressed dial.
Ring~
The wait was short.
Within seconds, a familiar, slightly muffled voice answered.
"Yo~ Natsuha?"
On the other end, Sasaki's words were slightly slurred, likely from the milk carton he'd just popped open at a vending machine.
The faint sound of lapping water, like a puppy drinking, and an indistinct creaking noise were barely audible beneath his voice.
Most people wouldn't notice anything unusual.
Sasaki himself thought his performance was flawless.
But to the two girls already suspicious of him, those subtle anomalies were damning evidence of his infidelity.
Natsuha had only intended to let Nanao hear another girl's voice on the call... She never expected this.
So this was his "hospital check-up"? Checking someone else's "body"?
Thinking about what he was doing, her face flushed with anger, but with Akane Nanao present, Natsuha couldn't lose her temper.
Instead, she analyzed the background noise while keeping her tone light.
"Hey, Fuyumi."
"Your side's pretty noisy. Have you already left the hospital?"
Hearing her voice, Sasaki tilted his head to pin the phone between his ear and shoulder, while restraining a certain squirming beauty, who was wriggling her waist like a fish out of water as he replied:
"Is it? Must be the car window... Better now?"
'Car window. How... romantic.'
Her lips pursed sourly, though she wasn't sure why she felt so irritated. "Yeah, gone."
"How'd the check-up go? Everything okay?"
"Perfect. If there were issues, I wouldn't have been able to handle lunch."
Sasaki said this with no hidden meaning. He was just casually mentioning the most physically strenuous thing he had done recently, and wanted to express how healthy he was through his relaxed posture.
But he didn't know that these words were also a sore spot for a certain older sister.
It would have been fine before, after all, she hadn't confirmed her relationship with him, but when she thought about that day, she felt an indescribable heat and shame in her heart.
Now? It felt like a slap to the face, humiliation.
The memory of cowering in that cramped storage room while he—
Gritting her teeth, Hyoudou, who'd been obediently planting love bites on his collarbone, suddenly sank her teeth in, transforming the pink marks into a neat ring of indents.
"Tch—!"
Not knowing what her "sister", whom she had never met before, was up to, Shinomiya Natsuha instinctively asked upon hearing her boyfriend's sudden hiss. "What happened?"
"N-Nothing! The driver braked suddenly, startled me, that's all."
'Driver braking? Yeah right!'
After a beat of silence, Natsuha said pointedly:
"Fuyumi... your voice sounds weird... kinda like at noon today—"
To be honest, her intention was to hint that she knew and they shouldn't push it.
But to Hyoudou Tomoe's ears, it almost sounded like taunting.
'You're bringing up noon NOW?!'
'You were part of what humiliated me! Now the tables have turned!'
With vengeful glee, Hyoudou squirmed like a snake emerging from hibernation—
"..."
Clueless about her sudden excitement, Sasaki hastily clamped a hand over her mouth before telling Natsuha.
"Nah... Natsuha, I'm almost home.
We'll talk tonight, 'kay?"
*Click.*
The abrupt hang-up left Natsuha flushed and breathless, though only partly from anger.
The rest was from imagining exactly what he'd do after ending the call.
Not knowing the actual reason for her anger, Nanao Akane patted her back soothingly: "It's okay. If we work together, we can rein him in."
Unable to explain her blush, Natsuha steadied her breathing and pocketed her phone. "So... you're in?"
How could Akane not be angry and upset after being hit by Natsuha's words and now hearing the sounds... People can do anything when they are angry, just let go of their shyness and reserve and have a threesome... It's no big deal, everyone is the same.
*If everyone's in the same boat... maybe it's not so bad?*
Nodding firmly, she muttered: "Someone has to discipline him."
.
.
.
Back in the warmth of the car, thick with their mingled scents—
Hyoudou lounged against Sasaki's chest, tracing idle patterns on his damp forehead with fingertips pink as cherry blossoms.
"So?"
"You were amazing~"
"??"
Not what she meant.
With only the top button of her blouse still fastened, Hyoudou wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as she asked flatly:
"I meant—how did it feel, talking to your girlfriend on the phone?"
"..."
A wrong answer here would ruin his plans for freshly laundered sheets tonight.
So instead of replying, Sasaki pressed soft kisses to her eyelids, the bridge of her nose, then finally her slightly chapped lips.
Only when she'd melted against him did he murmur.
"A phone call's just talking. But you, Tomoe... you're nothing like the you I first met."
Distracted by his words, Hyoudou nearly forgot her grievance and wanted to explain herself to him. "That's because—mmph!"
He silenced her with another kiss, only pulling away when she weakly thumped his chest.
"I know~ And I love this side of you."
Her blouse rose and fell rapidly as she got kissed so hard that she slumped against him with a huff, thoroughly disarmed.
Time flew.
Before they knew it, club activities had ended, with students now streaming out of the gates.
'How is it 5:30 already?'
The school ended at 3:00 pm, however, he and Tomoe had been inside the car since the second class in the afternoon, so they spent like four hours.
To be honest, he didn't know what happened.
His mind was just blank and his little Sasaki was dominating everything.
No wonder she collapsed against him.
Finally experiencing the pleasure of sex, after years of loneliness, fueled her sexual desires but even then, under his inhuman physique, she finally couldn't stand it.
Well...thinking about what they had been doing inside the car for past few hours, Sasaki mentally scolded himself for a while, then reached out and pinched the soft waist of the person in his arms.
"Let's head home... Oh, do you still want to confront Nemoto and teach him a lesson? If not, I need to wash these pants before someone notices the... stains."
The way he said home sent warmth bubbling through her.
Unable to resist his warm whispers, Hyoudou straightened her neck, wrapped her arms around her neck, and bent forward to kiss the bite marks she'd left earlier.
At this moment, she was feeling guilty for hurting him by biting him.
"Nemoto... no, I can't stand the sight of him right now."
Then, blinking: "Wait, why wash your pants? They're fine—"
"And how am I supposed to explain the stains after they dry...?"
The rising embarrassment blended with the lingering rosy hue on Hyoudou Tomoe's face, making her delicate features even more captivating than the fiery sunset outside.
Teased by Sasaki yet unable to retort, Hyoudou pursed her lips, her cheeks puffing up adorably like a squirrel's.
"It's not my fault... I couldn't help it..."
Gently pushing her back slightly, Sasaki began buttoning her blouse with a smirk.
"I don't accept apologies this half-hearted."
Knowing he'd already thought up another way to torment her, and that she wouldn't refuse, Hyoudou didn't bother protesting.
"Then... how do you want me to apologize?"
"The most sincere apology requires dogeza. So when we get home, fold your clothes neatly, set them aside, and prostrate yourself properly to apologize."
"Oh, and... back facing me, please~"
"..."
What kind of apology is that?!
As her face burned in embarassment, Hyoudou briefly considered refusing.
But the thought of being alone with him at home, behind closed doors, where they could do anything they wanted... well, anything went then.
A woman who'd tasted pleasure wasn't as easily flustered as an innocent girl.
She was quite the moment, but after an hour of rest, she felt like she could handle it.
.
.
.
6:00 PM — Nearly 7:00 PM
The sky hadn't fully darkened yet, but neon lights already painted the city in vibrant colors.
Exiting a convenience store, Sakashiro Kurumi glanced at the snacks and beer in her hand, her eyes curving into pleased crescents.
After making sure that she had enough food to last through the drinks, she hummed and strode briskly toward Hyoudou's apartment.
Their homes weren't far apart, and Kurumi's pace was quick.
Within five minutes, she stood outside Hyoudou's door.
Just as she raised her hand to knock on the door, her delicate ears twitched.
A faint sound from inside made her pause.
Slowly lowering her hand, Kurumi's cheeks pinked as she murmured:
"Ara ara~ How ruthless. Still going at it this late? Don't overdo it, you two~"
Taking a steadying breath, she tried the doorknob.
Click.
As expected.
In their enthusiasm, they'd forgotten to lock up.
As her eyes glinted with mischief, Kurumi slipped inside soundlessly, the bags in her hand barely rustling.
The moment she stepped in, the scent of Hyoudou's perfume, mixed with something distinctly her, wafted over, making Kurumi inhale deeply.
"..."
Beneath Hyoudou's usual fragrance lingered another aroma: warm, damp, and... thick.
The kind that prickled the throat and prickled the skin.
And woven through it, unmistakably, was Sasaki's scent.
So intoxicating....
Swallowing hard, Kurumi dumped her groceries on the entryway table and tiptoed towards the bedroom, following the scent.