"Hoshino, how are you feeling right now?"
Hoshino Ai looked up, her gaze landing on Hayato. She seemed somewhat embarrassed, struggling to find the words.
"Tell the truth, say how you really feel. Don't be shy about it."
Hoshino Ai struggled for a long moment, her hands gripping the bedding so tightly her knuckles went white. Finally, she broke through her inner restraints and forced the words out.
"Ummm... I want... I want to... sleep with Hayato-kun..."
Her voice came out barely above a whisper.
"I want... Hayato-kun..."
Those two sentences made Hoshino Ai's current state painfully clear.
"Don't be embarrassed. I'm the same. I also want to have 'skinship' with you right now. But as I said before, this is the effect of the sounds next door working on us. We can't fall into the trap."
"Mm."
Actually, the instant Hayato spoke, Hoshino Ai almost wanted to jump up from the bed and rush over to him.
"It's just, I feel... if this continues, the impulse will get more and more... serious. How about... Hayato-kun, you... knock me out instead!"
That was one possible method. But in this death game hotel instance, if Hoshino Ai lost conscious control, would she truly fall asleep peacefully, or would her body start following pure instinct without restraint?
With consciousness, she could still fight her body's reactions. Without consciousness, her body would probably be completely unleashed, acting on base desire alone.
"One to ten. The higher the number, the stronger the impulse you're feeling. What do you think you're at right now?"
"Five or six... I think!"
Hoshino Ai gave an estimated number, her voice uncertain.
Hayato felt he was hovering around the same level.
maybe....?
"I have a theory. I'm going to test it right now."
Under Hoshino Ai's confused gaze, Hayato walked step by step toward the bathroom, his movements deliberate.
The bathroom? What for?
Suddenly, Hoshino Ai thought of something and stood up quickly from the bed.
"Hayato-kun, you think bathing is the key to... removing our... state?"
"Yeah."
From what he could tell, the dark red shower water hadn't had any negative effect whatsoever when it touched Hoshino Ai earlier. Yet the rules specifically mentioned bathing and even linked it to "health", there had to be a reason.
Rule 8: For the sake of your health, we recommend bathing before resting.
Splash...
Hayato turned on the showerhead. Dark red liquid continuously sprayed out in thick streams.
The clean white bathroom slowly filled with the dark red eerie liquid, pooling on the tile.
Just as Hayato was about to reach his hand out, Hoshino Ai spoke up first.
"I'll go first, Hayato-kun. I touched the water once before, so let me test it first!"
After saying that, she actively walked toward him with determined steps.
Hayato didn't refuse and made room for her. Faced with Hoshino Ai's effort and initiative, he gave the girl the opportunity she wanted.
The instant they passed each other in the narrow bathroom doorway, Hoshino Ai's heartbeat suddenly accelerated wildly, throbbing endlessly against her ribs. A certain impulse kept spreading through her body like fire. She forced herself to reach out and touch the liquid spraying from the showerhead.
One second passed.
Five seconds.
"No change. The impulse hasn't... weakened at all."
It was even continuing to increase, getting worse.
"Could it be... we have to actually bathe? Not just touch it?"
As the questioning words left her mouth, Hoshino Ai's hands moved to the buttons of her clothes, preparing to remove them. But Hayato walked in closer, came to the girl's side, and reached his hand directly toward the water spraying from the showerhead.
"Let me try first."
The dark red water hit Hayato's right hand, flowing down his arm in thin streams.
Within three seconds, the impulsive desire subsided rapidly, diminishing by roughly seventy to eighty percent and restoring his clarity of mind.
"Showering is the key, but both people need to shower. Maybe even shower together."
A 'love hotel' requiring couples to shower together wasn't an impossible hidden rule to imagine.
Hayato breathed a sigh of relief, tension leaving his shoulders.
"I'm much better, too. Hayato-kun, you're amazing for figuring it out."
But this praise didn't make Hayato happy at all. He'd discovered it too late, they'd been suffering for over an hour when the solution had been right here. But at least he'd found a way to deal with it now.
Hayato grabbed a towel to dry his right hand, the fabric rough against his skin. Hayato turned around to look at Hoshino Ai, his pupils constricting sharply.
Time stop activated!
Bzzt...
Everything fell into a frozen state.
Hayato's expression turned deadly serious. Even his breathing had quickened, coming in short bursts.
Why?
When?
What rule was triggered?
Hayato stared at the girl before him.
Right now, patches of dark gray mottle Hoshino Ai's delicate face like spreading rot. Her eyes also held more dullness, the light in them dimmed.
Hayato moved closer and observed carefully, confirming he wasn't seeing things or hallucinating.
The current Hoshino Ai looked exactly like the first-floor lobby's female staff member after her grotesque transformation.
Swoosh!
Hayato removed Hoshino Ai's clothes quickly, checking her body. On the girl's snow-white skin, he found patches of light dark gray discoloration spreading across her torso and arms.
Without a doubt, Hoshino Ai had been infected by something.
But when was she infected? Hayato placed his suspicion squarely on the liquid from the showerhead, the first time it touched her skin.
Which means in two more hours, I'll also reach Hoshino Ai's current infection level?
There were still six hours until the 6 AM checkout time. To hold out until 6 AM in this condition, Hayato didn't think the difficulty would be small at all.
Focus. Stay calm. There had to be a way.
Hayato stood there contemplating in the frozen world, his mind racing through possibilities.
Meanwhile, Hoshino Ai in the time stop state couldn't see Hayato behind her, but her thoughts were in complete disarray.
Why did he suddenly activate time stop?!
Could the supernatural influence still be there, making Hayato unable to hold back anymore? Did he decide to use time stop to resolve his desires without me being able to resist?
Uuugh.
I don't want to lose my first time like this!
At least, at least it should be on a bed! Not standing in a bathroom!
Thinking this, Hoshino Ai suddenly realized the time stop had already ended. She'd regained her freedom of movement.
The next moment, she turned around quickly and saw Hayato standing in the shadows cast by the bathroom doorway, his face unclear in the dim light.
"Hayato-kun, um... at least, at least... give me a little mental preparation time... okay..."
Her voice came out small and nervous.
Hoshino Ai watched as Hayato took a step closer, emerging from the shadows.
The moment the bathroom light illuminated his face fully, Hoshino Ai's eyes widened in horror.
Patches of dark gray covered parts of Hayato's face.
Hayato-kun is infected, too!