Right now, Yukigami Nahiro needed to go to the hospital, but first, she needed a change of clothes.
Less than two hundred meters from the school gate was a shopping street.
As Riku carried Yukigami Nahiro, her hands clung tightly to the fabric of his chest, using it to shield her torn clothes.
Arriving at the shopping street, Riku's gaze swept across the entire avenue.
His eyes finally landed on a women's clothing shop nearby.
Riku carried Yukigami Nahiro inside.
"Irasshaimase!"
Once inside, Riku's eyes scanned the racks. Based on Yukigami Nahiro's figure, he grabbed a top and a towel directly from a hanger.
He casually pulled out his bank card, which held his savings from years of part-time work, and handed it to the sales clerk.
"Payment."
Leaving it at that, Riku carried Yukigami Nahiro into the fitting room.
"W-Wait, sir..."
The clerk didn't even have time to call out to Riku before he and Yukigami Nahiro had already entered.
Inside the single-person fitting room.
The two of them felt extremely cramped in there.
In the quiet environment, the atmosphere turned somewhat intimate instead.
Riku could even feel Yukigami Nahiro's breathing starting to quicken.
Whether it was because of the fever or something else,
both of their breaths were a little ragged.
Riku set Yukigami Nahiro down. The fitting room had a small bench.
Yukigami Nahiro sat down; her head was level with Riku's waist.
"I'll help you change."
Riku's voice was surprisingly gentle.
Yukigami Nahiro said nothing. Her hands, clasped protectively over her chest, slowly loosened. This was tacit agreement.
She didn't have any strength left in her body.~
Riku reached out and began to undo the buttons of her torn clothes, one by one.
With each button he unfastened, Riku swallowed hard.
Yukigami Nahiro had long since squeezed her eyes shut.
When the buttons were halfway undone, the lace-adorned, fair skin beneath was exposed before Riku's eyes.
Seeing it so close, Riku's heart pounded wildly in his chest.
At the same time, his mouth felt parched, like ants were crawling on his back.
Under Riku's burning gaze,
Yukigami Nahiro let out a couple of soft whimpers.
After helping remove her rain-soaked top, Riku discarded the tattered clothes.
He picked up the towel from the fitting room and started to dry Yukigami Nahiro's body.
Even through the towel, as he wiped her slightly sweaty skin, Riku could almost feel the silkiness of it.
At that moment, that damn narrator's voice echoed in his mind once more.
"A cramped fitting room. Perfect spot. Super thrilling. All you have to do is corner her, slowly undo her clothes, press your hands down on her head little by little..."
A vein pulsed in Riku's temple.
He was already struggling badly.
Now his breathing became even more labored.
Unable to help himself, he leaned down, slowly drawing closer to Yukigami Nahiro.
As Riku approached,
Yukigami Nahiro hesitated, scooting her body back a little.
Then, as he leaned in, Riku gently bit down.
Yukigami Nahiro flinched like a startled rabbit, her whole body trembling, her eyelashes fluttering incessantly.
Riku grew bolder.
His hands started to wander more freely.
He was slowly getting into the zone.
Yukigami Nahiro let out a low whimper and whispered softly.
"Here... we can't..."
Here we can't...
Riku stopped what he was doing.
Just then, he noticed that despite his actions, Yukigami Nahiro's affection hadn't dropped.
In fact, it had increased by 1 point.
But why only one point?
Neighbor Mrs. Yamashita had gained five points just from a simple word of concern.
Now Yukigami Nahiro's affection: 31 points.
Riku slowly straightened up.
He'd really gotten carried away by Yukigami Nahiro's body just now.
That was way too dangerous!
If they got caught here, regardless of whether she was willing or not, it'd be straight to jail for him!
Having shed her torn blouse, Yukigami Nahiro slowly looked up from the bench.
Her eyes, glistening with unshed tears, looked at Riku.
She spoke timidly.
"The clothes..."
Riku snapped back to reality.
He handed the top he'd picked out to Yukigami Nahiro.
She was just too beautiful.
*"She didn't refuse. Take her home, give her some fever reducers. Don't you want to try inserting a 38.7-degree human thermometer..."*
Damn narrator!
He'd almost lost control again because of that voice!
He could have held back on his own.
"Hold back? Why hold back? Doing something special in a thrilling place can easily win over this fallen girl..."
Hah~
Riku let out a deep breath. Then he turned his back to Yukigami Nahiro.
"Hurry up and change."
Yukigami Nahiro softly hummed in acknowledgment.
That sound was very gentle. It seemed like gratitude for Riku's help, or perhaps like she'd found something interesting in her otherwise colorless world.
After a few minutes passed, Riku was about to ask Yukigami Nahiro if she was done when—
Suddenly, his hand was grabbed, and his body was turned to face her.
Yukigami Nahiro's face was now as red as an apple.
She placed Riku's hand on her chest.
The soft sensation made Riku's heart, which had just calmed down, stir with excitement again.
"Hayanui-kun... if you want to do it, anytime is fine. But it has to be in a room."
Yukigami Nahiro finished speaking and lowered her head.
Anytime is fine!
And yet, Riku watched as the affection above Yukigami Nahiro's head actually dropped by 5 points.
Yukigami Nahiro Affection: 26
What the hell?
Saying the gentlest things while dropping the most affection points!
The affection he'd just barely gained was gone before he could even enjoy it...
Lost in thought, the Yukigami Nahiro before him suddenly collapsed.
Riku quickly caught her. Touching her forehead, it was burning even more than before.
"A girl who's passed out. Strike while the iron's hot..."
"Get lost!"
Riku carried Yukigami Nahiro out of the fitting room.
The clerk handed his card back to him.
"Sir, your total comes to 15,000 yen. Here's your receipt."
[15,000 yen spent on Yukigami Nahiro. 150,000 yen rebated.]
The phone in Riku's pocket chimed with a notification of the incoming transfer.
So the cashback was real.
Glancing down at that moment,
Yukigami Nahiro's status bar had a new red marker.
[High Fever]
...
Fifteen minutes later,
Riku had Yukigami Nahiro admitted to the hospital.
Soon, a doctor arranged a room for her, got her hooked up to an IV, and started treatment to bring the fever down.
Since they didn't know if her body would have any other reactions, someone needed to watch over her while the fever broke.
Riku decided to skip class for the day and stay with her.
He leaned against the bedside. After the intense emotional rollercoaster earlier, relaxing now made Riku feel incredibly tired.
He dozed off, lying beside Yukigami Nahiro's hospital bed.
Not long after, Yukigami Nahiro opened her eyes.
Seeing the plain, white ceiling, she briefly thought Riku had taken her home and done something to her.
After all, in the fitting room, he'd seemed so impatient.
But it didn't matter. Hayanui Riku wasn't a bad choice.
At the very least, the moment he appeared at the club room door, a tiny bit of color had entered Yukigami Nahiro's world.
Just a tiny bit, though.
She still couldn't muster any interest in this world.
But when Yukigami Nahiro turned her head to look around, she realized this wasn't Hayanui Riku's place or some love hotel.
"A hospital?"
The strong smell of alcohol and disinfectant told her she was in a hospital.
Yukigami Nahiro looked outside. The sky had already darkened.
How long had she been asleep? It was already night?
That's when Yukigami Nahiro noticed Riku, slumped by the bedside.
"Has he been waiting here all this time?"
A small smile touched Yukigami Nahiro's lips. She raised her hand, slowly reaching towards Riku's hair, and gently touched it.
Just as her hand made contact, Riku stirred slightly.
Yukigami Nahiro snatched her hand back instantly, like a little girl caught doing something wrong, her face flushing as she turned her head away.
Riku yawned, stretched, and looked at Yukigami Nahiro with sleepy eyes.
"Yukigami Nahiro, you're awake. Feeling better?"
Yukigami Nahiro, shyly, turned her head further away and softly hummed in affirmation.
Riku noticed her cheeks were still a bit flushed. Instinctively, he got up and reached out to touch her forehead.
"The fever's broken. You're not hot anymore."
Riku muttered to himself.
But at that moment, Yukigami Nahiro's eyes, glistening again, met his.
A large, red heart floated up above Yukigami Nahiro's head.
Yukigami Nahiro Affection +20.
Yukigami Nahiro Affection: 46. (Someone she's somewhat interested in.)