Side: Kiriha
A few days had passed since Kiriha had declared that she would invade Koutarou’s life, but as far as Koutarou could tell, nothing had really changed—at least, not on the surface. The worst she’d done was surprise him with expressions of love while no one was looking. Yet somehow everything she did tugged at his heart. That was how Koutarou knew that, despite the fact nothing had changed, something was very, very different.
“Take my special attack, Kabutonga Kick!”
It was obvious even today—Kiriha was casually preparing dinner like always and singing to herself in a soft voice, but that was all it took to rattle Koutarou. Having just entered the apartment, he stood rooted in place and stared at her from the front door. Kiriha, standing just ahead in the hallway kitchen, was the first to notice he’d returned home.
“...Oh? Welcome back, Koutarou.”
“Ah, yeah, thanks.”
“What are you standing around over there for?”
“No reason. I was just thinking about something.”
“I see. Would you like to have a seat in the inner room, then? I’ll get some barley tea for you. It must have been hot outside.”
“Yeah, uh... Sounds good.”
“Coming right up.”
Feeling strangely bashful, Koutarou accepted Kiriha’s proposal and escaped to the inner room.
This is so weird... It’s really throwing me off...
Koutarou sat down at his usual place by the tea table and tried to collect himself. He no longer tried to hide the fact that Kiriha was precious to him, but as precious as she was to him now, he needed to keep a different kind of boundary. He didn’t want to do anything irresponsible.
“...What’s the matter? What are you thinking about?”
Before he knew it, Kiriha was sitting next to him at the table. She’d brought a pitcher of tea and was pouring it into glasses for both of them. It was a simple, everyday gesture, but it looked so incredibly loving and gentle to Koutarou—so much so that he actively had to keep himself from saying anything stupid. But since he no longer needed to keep secrets from her, he decided to answer her question honestly.
“Kiriha-san, you said you’d invade my life, right?”
“Indeed.”
“I was just... realizing that you were serious about it.”
“Then that’s one step forward for me.”
After setting a glass down in front of Koutarou, she turned to him. Her wide eyes were filled with a warm, affectionate look. She’d been caught off guard, and she looked at Koutarou like she was trying to take him all in.
“It’s strange... I mean, I feel like you’d forgive me even if I suddenly started strangling you.”
“I know you would only do that if you truly needed to.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I meant.”
“I see. So... are you going to strangle me?”
Kiriha giggled and pulled her collar down some to expose her neck, all as if to say he was welcome to try.
“Of course not. I’d regret it the rest of my life.”
“Hmm... That would be the ultimate invasion in its own way.”
Kiriha continued to giggle as she put her collar back in place. Her wish was to make room for herself in Koutarou’s life and in his heart. For better or worse, she didn’t particularly care what happened to her along the way.
“Hey, enough with the jokes like that. I have no interest in embracing you once you’ve gone cold.”
“Heehee... In other words, you do as long as I’m warm?”
“H-Hey, that’s not what I meant...”
“No?”
“...”
But if things turned out for the worst, she wouldn’t be able to tease Koutarou anymore. That’s why, parallel to her true wish, Kiriha was hoping for the best possible outcome for both of them.
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