Ryunosuke escorted Arisu back to her dormitory, but Arisu still clung to his neck, reluctant to let him go. Feeling resigned, he was forced to enter her room to keep her company. Only after two or three hours did he finally emerge.
Please do not misunderstand; the two of them did nothing—after all, they simply couldn't do anything. Ryunosuke only accompanied Arisu for a few hours to chat, drink tea, and the like; nothing more than that.
Ryunosuke returned to his own dormitory. Suzune was still busy preparing dinner for him. It was obvious she had been cooking for quite some time; after all, Ryunosuke had spent two to three hours at Arisu's place, even though their school dismissal time was the same.
Although as the Student Council President Suzune might only be able to come home two hours late, it was clear that Ryunosuke was the one who arrived the latest because Suzune had even finished preparing the food and was waiting for him there.
Ryunosuke felt a bit guilty, but he remained sitting calmly.
Suzune's brow furrowed deeply. She handed a pair of chopsticks to him and asked, "Where have you been? You aren't busy with Student Council work, so why are you only coming home this late?"
Facing Suzune, who had become like a "housewife" managing everything, Ryunosuke told the truth without burden; after all, he hadn't done anything that made him feel guilty.
"I went to Arisu's place to chat, and I didn't realize I had spent so much time there."
Suzune clearly did not believe him. "You two didn't do anything, did you?" she asked suspiciously.
Ryunosuke replied again resignedly. "Even if I wanted to do something, I couldn't, did you forget? Arisu suffers from heart disease."
This fact had actually momentarily slipped from Suzune's memory. In the heat of the moment just now, she had completely forgotten that detail. Realizing this, she was no longer suspicious and began to eat calmly.
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Outside.
The sky was already dark and the rain was still falling, exactly like the mood in Honami's heart right now. Earlier, she had seen Ryunosuke carrying Arisu and walking through the rain. She had momentarily doubted whether she had seen correctly. However, she pinched her own thigh, and the spreading pain proved that her vision earlier was not mistaken.
Honami currently felt very confused. The Ryunosuke she loved seemed to have cheated... Perhaps she had realized it from the beginning. She wasn't stupid; she only wanted to deceive herself.
Honami returned to her dormitory and lay listlessly on the bed. She was even reluctant to change her clothes, which were wet from the rain. She hugged the pillow on her bed with mixed feelings.
What should she do?
If she accepted it, it meant she would have to share Ryunosuke with others, and that was something she could not accept.
By the following day, Honami fell ill with the flu and requested permission to be absent from class.
Himeno also realized something was wrong. Additionally, yesterday Ryunosuke had openly carried Arisu and was seen by all the students; anyone could guess what was happening.
After school hours were over, Himeno curtly called her lover. The phone was answered immediately. She directly opened the conversation with a complaint. "What is wrong with you? How could you be so openly with Sakayanagi like that? How am I supposed to help you hide this from Ichinose? How am I supposed to cover it up?"
On the other end of the phone, there was a brief silence before Ryunosuke's voice was heard. "How... was Honami's reaction?"
Himeno answered curtly, "How else would she react? She didn't come to school today, what do you think?"
Ryunosuke realized the gravity of the situation. "I understand. After school is over, I will go to visit her."
Himeno glanced into the classroom, seeing Chihiro, who also looked worried and wanted to visit Honami. "Go with a calm mind. I will block the unimportant people for you."
After saying that, she hung up the phone and walked over to Chihiro to prevent her from visiting Honami. As one of Ryunosuke's women and a thinking type, Himeno naturally knew what would happen next; she certainly wouldn't let Chihiro interfere.
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On the other side, Ryunosuke also did not attend school on the grounds of illness, and he had arrived in front of the door to Honami's dormitory. He knocked on the door softly.
The door opened immediately, and Honami directly pulled Ryunosuke inside and locked the door tightly.
Before Ryunosuke could react, the two had already fallen onto the soft mattress. Honami propped her body up with both hands on the mattress, staring at him who was beneath her.
(An alluring scent wafted into my senses; it was the scent of Honami's body.)
(Slightly resembling the scent of oranges, perhaps it was the fragrance of her shampoo?)
(But the smell felt like cheap shampoo, considering Honami is a girl who is very thrifty in managing the household.)
(I admit, facing a temptation like this, no man could resist it, including me.)
(After all... Honami is very enchanting.)
Her long, straight, reddish-blonde hair hung down to my ears, making Ryunosuke's ears feel itchy. Honami continued to stare at him from above, her fingertips sliding down to my waist, beginning to unfasten something while speaking softly, "I want to be closer to him... may I?"
It was clear she was asking for Ryunosuke's consent.
(As a couple, doing something like that should be fine, right?), Ryunosuke thought.
Honami's breath felt very close; he could even see the fluttering of her eyelashes. The intimacy of a couple perhaps should indeed happen as naturally as this—her fingertips gently undid the buttons of his shirt, and Ryunosuke had no intention of avoiding it.
Honami secretly "stole" the second button from the shirt. Their breaths began to mingle, the wrinkles in their clothes, and the sound of slightly messy breathing.
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By the following morning, Ryunosuke began buttoning his shirt and prepared to leave, but he realized the second button on his chest was missing; it was obvious that it had been pulled off by Honami.
Honami pretended to still be asleep, while her hand continued to clutch the button.
Ryunosuke said nothing; he only leaned toward the edge of the bed and gently stroked the girl's head.
"I'm sorry... for making you sad. Believe it or not, my love and affection for you are truly sincere."
After uttering those sentences, Ryunosuke left. However, before truly heading out, he spent some time in the kitchen to prepare something. He placed a bowl containing a finished drink along with a spoon on the nightstand beside Honami's bed, only then did he dare to leave and close the door tightly.
Honami slowly opened her eyes, staring at the button in her palm. "If only your heart... belonged to me alone, how wonderful it would be."
Honami slowly sat up. Although she still felt a slight ache in her stomach, she prepared to go to school. She saw the drink Ryunosuke had left for her on the nightstand, which turned out to be brown sugar ginger water to relieve stomach pain.
Ryunosuke knew that Honami's menstrual period had arrived yesterday... that was why he made this drink.
Honami held the bowl with both hands, took a spoonful, blew on it, and after feeling it was cool enough, she began to drink it. The bitter taste in her heart seemed to subside slightly, until her lips curled into a smile.
"So sweet..."
The empty gap in Honami's heart seemed to have been slowly filled once again.