How It Begins and How It Will Continue
New Daily Life
Yume Irido
“Be back later!” I said as I put on my shoes.
“Hm?” Mom’s head popped out of the living room, curious. “Are you going somewhere, Yume? It’s New Year’s Day.”
“I’m meeting up with a friend.”
I have to say, I’ve gotten really good at lying. I was a straight shooter when I first started living here, but just nine months later, I could lie through my teeth.
“Gotcha. Be safe, okay?”
“Okay,” I replied before nonchalantly leaving the house.
As I stepped outside, the cold wind of January promptly bit into me. I pulled my scarf over my mouth and exited our house’s gate. Then, I waited at the corner, crouching so that I wasn’t visible over the stone wall. After waiting for a bit, I heard footsteps approaching me. As I stood back up, I saw a guy turn the corner and give me a gentle wave.
“Hey.”
“Mm-hmm.”
It was a short greeting, but we had already greeted each other once at home. We were stepsiblings, but we were also a couple. I walked by Mizuto Irido’s side.
“I dunno where people get the energy to go on walks right after the new year starts,” Mizuto said. He looked a little younger than usual with his sour face slightly hidden by his scarf.
“You’re just too much of a homebody,” I retorted.
“No, everybody else is way too active.”
“If everyone was as indolent as you, civilization would collapse.”
“Isn’t that what we have AI and robots for? I’d love for them to hurry up and support civilization so we can be lazy.”
“Where’s your dignity?” I asked, exasperated, as I blew visible air at my cold, red hands.
Mizuto glanced and noticed this. “Why didn’t you wear gloves?”
“Mm...I forgot.”
That’s a lie. I actually have an ulterior motive. I put my hands down and began to bump one of them against the hand that he had tucked away in his pocket. I’d learned this trick from Aso-senpai.
We walked a little bit in silence before he took his warm hand out of his pocket and then wrapped it around my cold one.
“Heh heh...” Giggling a little bit was enough of a reaction from me for now.
I moved close enough that our shoulders touched while feeling the warmth from our entwined hands. Like that, the two of us walked to the shrine. This was how the first day of the year began for me.
First Shrine Visit of the Year Date
Mizuto Irido
When Yume suggested that we make our first trip to the shrine for the year, I honestly hesitated. But we’d been led around by the nose by destiny already, so I decided to turn over a new leaf and try taking a look at what the heavens had in store for us by getting up close and personal.
Whether or not this higher power was reliable enough to grant wishes was up for debate, but I could at least request not to be cursed any further than I had been. That was only natural coming from a nonbeliever, right?
The shrine we were heading to wasn’t the famous one that Yume had gone to late last night with Minami-san and her other friends, but an ordinary one in the neighborhood. There were so many shrines in Kyoto that you’d inevitably run into one if you were doing something as simple as walking your dog. This was the one case in which I found the huge number of shrines convenient.
I’d thought that going in the afternoon would mean fewer people, but I’d been completely off the mark.
“Ugh...” I groaned, disgusted.
“Hey, wipe that expression off your face!”
Saying it was packed would be the understatement of the year. Regardless, Yume dragged me into the crowd.
“Don’t worry. It’s all about how you frame it,” she said. “With this many people around, we won’t have to worry about anybody we know recognizing us.”
“Since when have you been so optimistic?”
“Since today, I guess?” Yume sheepishly giggled.
Oh, I see. She’s excited. It’s not because of the New Year’s atmosphere, but because of our new relationship and the new days to come. Deep down, I probably felt the same. Otherwise, there was no chance I would’ve come out to the shrine with her.
Back when we were together— Wait, I can’t say it like that anymore... Back in middle school, we never went to the shrine together for the first visit of the year. Neither of us liked being in crowds, and there hadn’t been many chances for us to see each other during the winter break in the first place, so we’d never asked each other before now. If I’d gone to the shrine and prayed back then, would we still have broken up?
Urgh. Dammit. I can’t break this habit of thinking about hypotheticals. There was no point rehashing things at this point. We weren’t exes anymore. We were once again an official couple.
When we finally got to the front of the long, snaking line, we put money into the offering box, bowed twice, clapped twice, and bowed once again. This time I prayed that our relationship would be long and problem-free.
I considered praying for Isana’s success as an artist, but from my standpoint, she didn’t need any divine intervention. There’s a saying about how you’re supposed to do your best as a human and leave the rest up to destiny, but if she didn’t want to be hated by a higher power, then she needed to go to a shrine of her own volition.
Relationships are all about luck. As a person who’d been strung along this far by the whims of fate, I could say that for certain. There’s nothing that relies more on luck than your ties with other people. That’s why you probably have to rely on a higher power for them. You have to ask for help protecting your partner. I didn’t exactly enjoy having to prostrate myself to do so, though.
“Let’s go get our fortunes,” Yume said after we finished praying.
We then got into the line for the shrine office. Once we reached the front, we drew our fortunes and exchanged them with the priestess (most likely a part-timer) for papers with divine ordinance written on them.
“Priestesses are cute, aren’t they?” Yume said.
“Sure.”
“Maybe I should work part-time as one next year?”
I inadvertently pictured her in a priestess’s red and white outfit, with her long black hair tied behind her head. “Seems kinda forced.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“That a priestess’s outfit would look too good on you.”
Yume puffed her cheeks. “Why can’t you just be straight with your words from the start?”
“Directly praising you for donning the long black hair priestess look felt too simplistic, so it felt unscrupulous to do so.”
“You sound like an otaku!”
It felt so matter-of-fact that the priestess look would suit her given her hairstyle and visage. However, the look itself didn’t have much of a “wow” factor, so imagining it felt like a waste. Is this because of all the work I’ve been doing with Isana? Hmm, but...it’s not like I don’t want to see her in a priestess’s outfit.
“Well, whatever. Let’s look at our fortunes!” Yume said.
“You’re the one who brought up the topic in the first place.”
We each opened our respective fortunes. I got “small fortune,” whereas she got “uncertain fortune.”
“Not bad I guess...” I said.
“Yeah, not bad...” Yume agreed.
While it would’ve been nice for higher powers to read the room and give us more optimistic fortunes, apparently they didn’t want to just tell us what we wanted to hear.
“By the way, did you know that the most important part of these fortunes is written as a tanka at the top?” I asked.
“Huh? Really?”
Most people’s eyes were drawn to the parts of the fortune that talked about romance, business, and academics and thus they didn’t know that there’s a tanka in the corner of the fortunes. I’d read online that there are dozens of patterns, and they’re supposed to be divine messages.
“So...it’s unreliable information, pretty much?” Yume asked.
“One could say that. Honestly, I mostly brought it up because I realized I’d never noticed them before.”
“True...”
Since I’d actually remembered, I decided to give mine a read. On it, the following was written:
“The ice on the pond
will melt due to the spring breeze
thereby revealing
the blooming flowers above
on the surface of the pond.”
“The ice melted?” Yume asked, peeking at my fortune and smiling triumphantly. “I wonder who that flower’s referring to? Seems like they’re reflected on the surface of the melted pond.”
“Self-absorbed, much?”
Yume giggled cheerfully. Urgh, I know those are the words from the fortune, but for some reason I feel embarrassed. “Show me what yours says!” I grabbed her wrist and brought her fortune closer to me. It read:
“A wind has begun
blowing across the calm sea
creating large waves
that leave those on its surface
a small boat at its mercy.”
“That’s kinda...ominous.”
On a quiet ocean, the waves and wind make noise, which is dangerous for small boats. Or at least that’s what I thought the poem meant. If it was a prediction for this year, then it was very inauspicious. If so, then “uncertain luck” was less lucky than I thought.
Yume looked away from her fortune. “I-It’s just a fortune. Only kids would get shaken up by occult stuff like this.”
“You’re doing a great job acting like you’re not shaken up.” I chuckled and lightly tapped Yume on the shoulder. “Don’t worry—I’ll be on your small boat right there with you.”
Yume’s eyes sprung open and she looked at me. “Are you...trying to act cool?”
“Huh?”
“Answer the question. Were you acting cool because we started dating again? Or did you just get caught up in the atmosphere?”
“Ugh... What? Am I not allowed to act cool sometimes?”
Yume began to genuinely laugh. Let down my guard a bit and this happens immediately! Why did I even try to cheer her up?! But...these kinds of conversations hadn’t happened when we were together in middle school. We dated, and then we broke up. But during that time, we didn’t experience everything there was to being in a relationship. There were still tons of first experiences for us. Thinking about that, I felt like a few waves weren’t a big deal at all.
After tying our fortunes to a tree branch, we started discussing whether we should head back or go somewhere else. That’s when we had an unexpected encounter.
“Huh? Yumechi?”
I turned around to the source of the voice and saw a familiar tall upperclassman of ours and another upperclassman with a childish hairstyle.
Showing Off from the Start of the Year
“You’re visitin’ the shrine too, Yumechi?”
A girl with a childish hairstyle, half down and half in pigtails, clad in a fur-trimmed coat waved at us while tugging a tall guy along. It was Aso-senpai and Hoshibe-senpai.
Upon recognizing me, Hoshibe-senpai said, “Hey.” I politely nodded in response.
“Oh...Aso-senpai...” Yume casually stepped away from me. “Is that what you’re doing here? What a coincidence.”
“Yeah, a lot of people from our school come here. I wanted to come here and see the first sunrise of the year, but Senpai over here said he’d be too sleepy!”
“There’s nothin’ good about comin’ to the shrine on the first of the year. It’s frickin’ cold and packed with people,” Hoshibe-senpai spat. I’m with you there.
Aso-senpai grinned and looked up at Hoshibe-senpai’s face. They had a height difference of about twenty centimeters. “You say that, but aren’t you thrilled to be able to see your adorable girlfriend right at the start of the year?”
“Yeah, yeah. If you consider girls who call you in the middle of the night nonstop ‘adorable.’”
“Rude! I was even thinking of praying for you!”
“For what? I’ve already gotten accepted into college!”
“What the heck am I supposed to pray for, then?!”
It seemed that things had been going well between them ever since the trip. I honestly didn’t really see a difference between how they were acting now and before, though.
“Oh, sorry.” Aso-senpai seemed to finally realize that there were other people here besides them and turned to us. As she did, she tilted her head. “Hm? You’re here with your brother?”
“O-Oh, yeah...” Yume said shakily, looking away.
Aso-senpai knitted her brows further and looked back between the two of us with curiosity. “Don’t tell me...”
Suddenly, Yume grabbed me by the arm. “We have stuff to take care of at home. See ya!” Then she quickly dragged me away to the torii gate.
After we passed through it, Aso-senpai and Hoshibe-senpai were just two more faces in the crowd.
“You sure about that?” I asked, turning to her. I’m pretty sure Aso-senpai helped Yume out. It should be okay to tell her, right?
“Just a little longer...” she mumbled, wrapping her hand around my elbow. “I want to keep you to myself.” Then she looked at me as if she were a begging child. “Can I?”
As soon as I had the misfortune of laying my eyes on the expression she made, my answer was decided. “Yeah, it’s okay.”
“Heh heh. Thanks.”
I had to look away from her bright, innocent smile. After all, it was important to keep one’s eyes forward when walking. Thinking about how she wanted to keep me all to herself, I couldn’t help but remember that there was already someone that we’d told.
Setting Boundaries with My Girl Friend
The second of January was a sunny day, and Isana Higashira was in my room, prostrating herself with snacks as offerings.
Both Yume and I were silent at this surprising—but mostly disturbing—sight. Her head lowered, she looked to Yume and spoke.
“I beseech you to grant me permission to meet with Mizuto-kun this year as well!”
I’d already told her that I was dating Yume, but that was at midnight the other day. Then, she’d posted that picture yesterday evening. Today, she had come to our house with offerings, her face pressed against the floor of our home. I was getting extreme whiplash from how different her actions were between just a couple days ago and now.
“Uh...” Yume took time to both process what was going on and find her words. “Why are you asking this out of the blue? You can get up, okay?”
“Since the two of you are now romantically involved, I believe it’s only proper that I gain your permission to continue meeting with Mizuto-kun. After all, I am a female as well!”
“O-Oh. Okay. So yeah, get up?”
I was sitting in my chair observing this strange meeting. “I’m surprised, Isana. I completely expected you to be all like, ‘We’re just friends, so there’s no problem,’ or something.”
“I wouldn’t put it past myself if this happened half a year ago,” Isana said, her head still on the ground.
Seriously. Get up.
“However, I have become fully aware that you are not merely a friend to me. You’re a friend I’m so fond of that I will eat you up given the opportunity!” she continued.
Oh...okay. Both Yume and I wore awkward expressions.
“Thus, I am certain that Yume-san would not feel comfortable knowing that her boyfriend is meeting with a woman like that! I have enough common sense to understand that!” Isana concluded.
Around the beginning of our friendship, Isana had been the type of person to say things based solely on logic. As long as she wasn’t doing anything that made her feel guilty, she’d thought she wasn’t doing anything wrong. But now, she was actually considering how others felt. This was without doubt proof that she’d grown. Although it was definitely on brand of her not to suggest we stop hanging out altogether.
“I get it, Higashira-san.”
“Huh? So I’ve received your permission?!” Isana asked, finally raising her head, but Yume put up her palm as if to tell her to stop.
“I know what you’re trying to say. I’ve been thinking that we need to have a talk about this, but I’m really happy that you thought about me and showed your sincerity.”
“N-No, this is only to be expected since I will be borrowing your boyfriend...”
“Well, then.” Yume smiled brightly. “Just how often do you plan to meet with him? And where?” Her questions had an indescribable amount of pressure behind them that shut up not only Isana but also me. “Are we talking at school? Outside of school? Here? Or...your house? My answer will vary depending on your answer.”
Though she sounded like she was being understanding, she was totally acting possessively. She had the same thorny aura as a wife staring down the woman her husband’s cheating with. Isana began shaking like a squirrel in the face of a lion.
People’s core personalities don’t change so easily. Whether time’s passed, you’re hanging out with a good friend, or talking about something you’d previously brought up, fundamentally, you’re still the same, especially with things you dislike.
This seemed a little too much to leave on Isana’s shoulders alone, so I jumped in. “Either way, I won’t go over to her place as much.” Both of their eyes turned towards me as I rested my head in my hand on my desk. “We can discuss her art online, anyway. There’s no real reason to meet up in person. I’m sure that after winter break, Isana’s lifestyle habits’ll get a little better too.”
“Huh?” Isana suddenly looked like a kid who’d been abandoned. “S-So, during winter break...”
“You’ll need to do your best on your own.”
“What?!” Isana jumped up with surprise and then curled up, depressed. “I-I can’t... I’ve no idea how to cook. I’m unable to bathe. I’m not even certain where my clothes are located.”
Both Yume and I looked at her, astonished by how she was even alive. It seemed that Isana had begun relying on me a little too much thanks to Natora-san’s hands-off parenting approach. She seemed to have become even more helpless than before.
“This is the perfect opportunity to learn how to live by yourself. You can call me anytime,” I said.
“C-Could you possibly come by every now and then to check on me? Feel free to bring Yume-san as well.”
“All that’ll do is increase the number of caretakers you have from one to two.”
“I’m begging you! I won’t lay a single finger on you! I can’t live life without prepared meals magically appearing before me!”
How pitiful... It was amazing how spoiled a person could become in just a month.
Yume tilted her head as she mulled it over. “Mm... You won’t lay a single finger on him?” Then she shot an accusatory glare at me. “I’m sure you’ll be okay, Higashira-san, but I’m not sure about Mizuto...”
“Wow, is it already breakup o’clock?” We’d only been dating for a day, but we’d already jumped to the stage where she was wondering if she could trust me.
“So...you can hold yourself back?” she asked, shooting me a sharp glare while grabbing Isana by the arm. “You can absolutely say you won’t look at this body with dirty eyes? One hundred percent, you will not look at this body without feeling something?!”
“W-Wait, Yume-san!”
Yume moved behind Isana, wrapped her arms around Isana’s waist, and raised her breasts to emphasize them. There was no hiding how heavy they were. Honestly, it seemed like Yume was getting more turned on than I was. Was the reason Yume couldn’t trust me with Isana because she herself couldn’t trust herself with Isana? My training had paid off because I was able to keep my lust under control. Just as I began to confidently answer her that I could hold myself back, Isana took me completely by surprise.
“Then I’ll prove it!” Isana said while being held by Yume from behind. “I will prove that Mizuto-kun only has eyes for you!”
This is becoming all kinds of messy.
Infidelity Test
For the time being, Isana and I passed time as we normally did. Isana worked at my desk on her tablet while I read a book, checked on her socials, and helped get reference material for her. All the while Yume sat in the corner, observing us.
If I shot Isana even the tiniest lustful glance, Yume would step in. I know it’s only the second day of the year, but still... Don’t you two have anything better to do? How much time does Yume think I’ve spent with Isana in the same room? I stopped seeing her as a girl a long time ago. As I thought that, I moved over to show Isana something.
“Hey, so—”
“Bzzt!” Yume made a sound like a buzzer. Huh? I turned around to see Yume glaring at me. “Strike.”
“H-Huh?! How? All I did was walk up to her. I haven’t even touched her or anything.”
“You were looking at her cleavage over her shoulder.”
“Huh?” Isana’s eyes widened and quickly covered her cleavage with her hand.
It’s true that the collar of Isana’s shirt is loose, but I don’t think I can peek at her chest from over her shoulder. I definitely wasn’t checking out her cleavage.
“I was looking at her tablet. You know, the thing on my desk? I wanted to see her progress!” I said.
“Nuh-uh! Your eyes were definitely on her boobs! Your gaze was all over her cleavage!”
That’s just, like, your opinion, though! But before I could quip back at her with this, she walked over and grabbed Isana’s sweatshirt.
“Higashira-san, cover your cleavage properly! Here!”
Isana groaned as Yume put it on her and pulled up the zipper, stuffing the huge swellings on her chest inside.
“It’s difficult to breathe... Focusing is impossible in this situation...”
“Then can you at least not wear something so worn-out? This is your fault too! You’re always wearing such defenseless clothes! Anyone—not even just Mizuto—would look!”
She’s being a lot more strict than I thought she would be. I didn’t expect our subconscious actions to incur her wrath like this. I understood that since we were trying to get Yume’s permission, we had no choice but to listen to her unreasonable demands to a certain degree, but still...
After closing up Isana’s sweatshirt, Yume returned to her place in the corner. Isana and I exchanged looks and began whispering.
“I blame you, Mizuto-kun! It’s your job to make her feel more comfortable with this...”
“What was I supposed to do in the span of two days?”
“Perhaps if you satisfied her more, she wouldn’t care about me whatsoever.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘satisfy’?”
“Well, of course I mean...” she trailed off, giggling dirtily.
You damn perverted girl. But at any rate, I had to take care of getting Yume to be more comfortable with both me and Isana, so I needed to figure out a solution. And like that, the test continued with Isana’s skin exposure decreased.
“Mizuto-kun, I finished the rough sketch. Could you take a look?”
“Hm? Sure.”
Isana stood up with her tablet and came over and sat next to me on the bed, putting her tablet in between us on both of our thighs.
“Bzzt,” sounded Yume.
“Huh?!” Both of us looked up at our proctor as she declared this.
“You’re too close! Is there a need for your shoulders to be touching to check a drawing?!”
“N-No, but...looking at it together allows the sharing of information to be expedited...” Isana tried to explain.
“There are other ways, aren’t there? You two basically look like a couple when you’re that close!”
Isana groaned, not able to say a word in response. “What should we do, Mizuto-kun? Yume-san’s threshold for what constitutes cheating is much stricter than I envisioned...”
“You’re the one who suggested this.”
“I had no idea all the actions I take without even a second thought could be interpreted as seduction!”
Took you long enough. An entire six months for you to realize that you’ve been inadvertently flirting with me? As much as I wanted to say that out loud, I was already surprisingly numb to her behavior.
“Conversely, if my actions were to be drawn, would it enable me to depict cute couples flirting?” Isana asked.
“I commend you on your ability to so quickly change this situation into something you can use for work, but I’d like you to consider my safety first.”
I understood how Yume felt. If our positions were switched, I’d probably be just as angry as she was. That’s exactly why I’d thought I would go to Isana’s house less often. But even so, if she was being this strict about our interactions, it would put a damper on Isana’s work.
As precious as Yume was to me as my girlfriend, Isana’s work was equally as important. I couldn’t allow myself to neglect either one. Just then, I thought about a guy who tried to balance family and his career. And so, I decided to compromise.
“Isana, put your files on the cloud. I’ll look at them from my phone.”
“Okay... It’s quite annoying to do; however, I suppose I have no choice.”
Let’s try to do this online. Like that, we could at least avoid unnecessary contact while continuing to work in the same room.
Winning the Match
Yume Irido
I silently watched Mizuto and Higashira-san work from my spot against the wall. Though they thought differently, I genuinely didn’t want to get in the way of them working together. I knew that Higashira-san didn’t want to meet up with Mizuto because of any ulterior motives she had. I was also a little worried that acting like an annoying sister-in-law by watching them like a hawk would make Mizuto lose interest in me. But...I couldn’t stop myself.
I’d already learned my lesson in middle school. Because of how irredeemably jealous I’d been, I couldn’t even stand him being nice to another girl. Up until now, I’d been convincing myself that it was okay for him to be with other girls because we’d broken up, but now that we were back together, I could tell I was in trouble. Now that I actually had a reason for not wanting him to be with other girls, I was seeing just how shallow I was.
Most likely, this was a manifestation of my insecurities. If I’d had more confidence in my own beauty, then seeing my boyfriend act a little friendly to other girls wouldn’t have bothered me in the slightest. I would’ve been ready for it. I would’ve totally been able to act like I was the “true wife.” In this situation, usually guys would think that they’re the ones who aren’t being trusted, but I couldn’t trust myself.
The naivete of wanting to be reassured and the logic saying that I should accept their relationship messily swirled around inside me. I was sure he would dote on me as much as I wanted if I simply asked him to, but that would just be retreading middle school.
If I’d really grown, I needed to move on from relying on Mizuto spoiling me. I needed to believe in myself, believe in my boyfriend, and overall be more magnanimous. But...how do I do that?
How was I supposed to conquer these detestable feelings inside me? I stared at my friend, crouched over her tablet. I’d seen the picture she’d posted yesterday too. Did she really accept our relationship and become as untethered to her emotions as the girl in that picture?
I felt like she couldn’t have drawn that picture if the feelings inside her had been darker and messier. But as someone who’d never experienced the acceptance stage, I still found myself slightly skeptical. Suddenly, I felt like testing something.
Only the worst kinds of girls do what I did next. Despite being well aware of that, I wanted to feel reassured. I wanted to know that I wasn’t the only one with these feelings. So with that, I got up and silently moved through the room to sit next to Mizuto on the bed.
His eyes were focused on the book he was reading. I stared at his fragile-looking side profile. I didn’t get as close to him as Higashira-san had. I simply silently sat at the closest distance to him that wouldn’t disturb his reading. While I did, I carefully observed Higashira-san.
For a while, her focus remained glued to her tablet. At one point, maybe during a break of her focus, she glanced over at us and noticed where I was sitting.
How’s she going to react? Is she going to make a sour face? Is she going to pretend she didn’t see anything? Or...
Higashira-san tilted her head slightly, looked up, and began thinking before going back to drawing.
Uh...what kind of reaction was that? I hadn’t anticipated anything like that at all and had absolutely no idea what it meant. I quietly stood up and walked behind Higashira-san. As I peered over her shoulder, I saw drawings of a girl’s various expressions, all arranged in rows.
“Um...Higashira-san, could I ask what you’re working on?” It was so confusing that I couldn’t help but nervously ask.
She continued working while answering me. “I’m searching for an appropriate facial expression for my current emotional state. Simply looking in the mirror unfortunately doesn’t cut it for me. It seems that my facial expressions are slightly difficult to read.”
“Your...current emotional state?”
“Simply put... ‘Look how close they are. I’m so envious! It’s unfair that she gets to do that, but she’d get mad if I attempted the same. But I suppose he is her boyfriend. I suppose there’s not much I can do.’ That emotional state,” Higashira-san said, continuing working. As she drew the next face, she gasped. “Oh, this is quite nice.”
The expression she’d chosen was one where the eyes were slightly narrowed and the mouth was slightly loose—as if they’d given up. There was a tinge of bitterness from the feelings towards the person she liked. All of that was conveyed with a single glance. This must’ve been the expression that Higashira-san wanted to make herself.
“That’s...amazing.” As much as I wanted to apologize, it didn’t feel right, so ultimately what came out were those words. “You’re so good at expressing feelings. I’m jealous.”
Forget about drawings—I couldn’t even express my feelings with words. After all, I couldn’t precisely gauge my own feelings. Higashira-san turned around, a look of confusion on her face.
“It’s almost as if you’re the heartbroken one, Yume-san.”
“Huh?”
“You’re making this face,” she said, pointing with her pen to a sad smile she’d drawn. Then she cleared the page and began doing line art again. “You don’t have to concern yourself with my feelings. You’re able to date the one you love, so you should jump at your happiness without reservation, not paying any heed to me.”
“But...”
“I feel like I’ve been born anew after yesterday,” she said, moving her pen across the screen without hesitation. “My emotions have become a lightning rod. The things I do, achieve, and think have all accumulated in me, and are becoming my strength. No matter how many times Mizuto-kun impressed upon me that I possessed talent, I never really took him seriously. It wasn’t until the moment he told me that the two of you had begun dating that I instinctively understood.” Then, Higashira spoke confidently, as if she were full of resolve. “I possess talent.”
I felt an indescribably intimidating aura radiating from her back. “It’s strange, isn’t it?” she continued. “The moment I was convinced I have talent, the way I viewed the world changed. Everything I see appears to me as reference material. Everything I see and touch, my feelings and other people’s feelings—they all get absorbed into my inner artist. That’s why...you really don’t need to hold back on my account. I, Isana Higashira, might have a broken heart, but your happiness has become my strength.” Higashira-san turned around again and was smiling at me from the bottom of her heart. “Congratulations, Yume-san. I apologize for drawing you earlier.”
Wow, I... “I really can’t win,” I said, smiling.
Though I’d won our match, I’d lost the game. I might have been the one to become Mizuto’s girlfriend, but I still didn’t get the feeling that I’d ever win against Higashira-san. That’s why I couldn’t help but try to scrutinize every last part about them together. After all, it made sense he’d choose to spend time with Higashira-san, since she had me fundamentally beat. And yet...Mizuto had chosen me. I needed to remember this very important and precious fact. I had to admit that this was obsequious and retrogressive of me. By accepting this part of me and by remembering the respect I felt for Higashira-san in this moment, I’d overcome this jealous part of me.
Having My Girlfriend and Girl Friend Be Friendly Is a Problem in and of Itself
Mizuto Irido
With Yume laying off observing us so carefully, I decided to go downstairs for a little breather. When Yume and I got back together, I knew I had to think about her relationship with Isana, but I had never been that worried about it. I lived through that part of our middle school life. With how Yume is now, I should have enough of her trust for her to accept my relationship with Isana.
That being said, I couldn’t let Yume carry all the burden. Though she’d become more rational, her personality and sensitivity hadn’t changed too much. I needed to make sure I didn’t do anything that would be inconsiderate. With this in mind, I returned to my room, but...
“Hm?”
They’re not here? Where’d they go? Isana’s tablet was still on my desk. I doubt they went to the living room with our parents there, so they must’ve gone to Yume’s room. I tilted my head and began walking towards my bed. Just then, someone pushed me forward.
“Whoa!” I twisted my body around while falling to my bed and saw Isana and Yume standing behind me.
From the way they were both grinning, I could tell they were up to no good. They’d been the ones to force me down— No, more precisely, they’d knocked me over. The two of them then proceeded to go on either side of me and press their bodies against my arms. It went without saying that I felt the sensation of their soft bodies, including their breasts and stomachs. If this didn’t have some kind of sexual meaning behind it, then I needed them to redo sex ed.
“Wh-What are you two doing?!” I exclaimed.
Then Yume whispered in my ear. “I know you won’t be swayed by just Higashira-san, but...”
Then Isana blew in my other ear. “How about when it’s the two of us?”
Their giggles echoed around my skull in stereo. Th-These two... They’re using me as their plaything for their own amusement! They’d buried the hatchet and had begun to collude against me!
I had no idea what kind of fun conversation they’d had without me, but they’d definitely gotten carried away. They knew that they couldn’t win when it was just one of them with me, so instead, they were trying to tease me by combining their forces. You two are seriously looking down on me. I’m not gonna fall for this cheap harem fantasy!
“How nice. You have a beautiful girl on either side of you,” Yume said.
“Is it true that girls smell good? Please allow me to use your experience as material I can reference in my work, Mizuto-kun!”
Stop whispering! I had two different types of girls on top of me—the slender body of Yume and the voluptuous body of Isana, and both of them threatened to suck me in. I had no idea where my hands were in relation to their thighs, so I simply gripped the covers of the bed.
Even so, the softness that covered the entirety of both of my arms, accompanied by the so-called feminine scent, was impossible for me to avoid. I couldn’t stop my heart from beating faster. I couldn’t run away from the future awaiting me, being toyed with these two girls. If that was the case, then...
“Don’t get so full of yourselves...”
Then, the two of them cried out in surprise as I launched my counterattack. These past few months, Kawanami had been my personal trainer, so I’d gotten a little stronger. I used my newfound strength to bring the two of them against me and forcefully reverse the situation so they were beneath me and I was on top. My shadow covered the two of them. I could see the surprise on their faces as they looked up at me.
“If this is what you want, I’m not gonna hold back,” I declared coldly. Then, in an attempt to replicate what they’d done to me, I leaned in between the two of them and whispered into their ears. “I’m gonna eat you two whole—every last bit.”
The two of them went completely red and practically fainted. They shrunk their shoulders, as they’d shifted from being the predators to becoming the prey. I moved away from the bed and turned my back to them. As I did, I loudly screamed in my head. I won!
No Holding Back This Time
Yume Irido
It was night by the time Higashira-san went home. I took a bath, dried my hair, and went upstairs in my pajamas. Mizuto was waiting for me at the top of the stairs for some reason. I was a little confused, but I simply passed by him and said, “All yours” as I headed to my room.
Just as I put my hand on my doorknob, I was grabbed from behind. Huh? He wasn’t putting too much force into his embrace, but I could feel his arms wrap around my waist. This was all been so sudden that I was more confused than happy.
“Wh-What’s going on?” I asked, turning around.
Mizuto looked away with embarrassment. “You said it, didn’t you? I’m just...touching you as much as I did Isana.”
Oh. Right. During our sibling meeting, we had talked about that. It was true that he’d touched Higashira-san a good amount while I was watching over them. But at most, he’d touched her shoulder. The most that he’d touched her was when we were pretending to be his harem, and at that time, I’d been touching him too. I hadn’t expected him to care all that much about it, and yet here he was, showing his sincerity to me.
Seriously, Mizuto, you’re so... He was an expert at making girls go weak at the knees. “I don’t know how I feel about guys who think that a simple hug’s enough to fix things,” I said, wanting to tease him a little.
“Urk,” he groaned softly. “Then...what should I do?”
I turned around in his embrace and raised my chin. “Mm!” I shut my eyes as if to tell him to hurry up.
After a short sigh, I felt the soft sensation of his lips on mine. When I opened my eyes again, I saw him looking at me with an exasperated expression.
“Is this really all that different from a hug?” he asked.
“Maybe you should think a little harder about what will fix things,” I said.
“What a pain...”
As I giggled, Mizuto also chuckled a little. We stood there, our foreheads pressed against one another’s for a bit.
“Mizuto-kun?” mom’s voice rang out, making us move away from each other. “Are you gonna take a bath now?”
“Be right there!” Mizuto replied before moving to go down the stairs. As I watched him disappear, I went back into my room.
Wow...I feel so light. My heart... No, my entire body feels as light as a feather. He’d been a lot stronger, less hesitant, and more passionate than he had been in middle school...
“Heh heh...” My lips curled as I fell onto my bed.
We didn’t need to hold back anymore. We didn’t need to be afraid anymore. Even if I got overly possessive, we would actually talk through it this time. That was why...
“Heh heh heh heh heh...”
I curled into a ball on my bed, unable to hold back my giggles.
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