Bonus Short Stories
Side: Sanae
Sanae clinging to Koutarou was an old habit from her days as a ghost. She’d grown so accustomed to the practice that she kept it up even after getting her body back. She even did it at school, so everyone had come to accept it as standard Sanae behavior. In fact, a teacher had just walked past while she was on Koutarou’s back, but hadn’t said a word.
“Say, Sanae...”
“Hmm?”
“Thinking about it, there’s no real point in you clinging to me anymore, is there?”
“How rude. Of course there is.”
“There is?”
“Like I said, of course! Yours truly, Sanae-chan, is sharing some of her overflowing love with you.”
“Oh, right. Of course.”
“That’s what I said!”
Back when she was a ghost, Sanae clung to Koutarou to replenish her energy and share his senses (primarily so she could enjoy the taste of food). There were bona fide reasons for it. But now that Sanae had energy and senses of her own, those reasons were moot. Now, she was simply doing it because she wanted to.
“But what do you think about me doing this, Koutarou?”
“Hmm. Well, you’ve been doing it for almost two years, so I guess I don’t really think about it anymore.”
“Think about it a little, will you? It’s thanks to me doing this every day that your circulation’s improved and you don’t get stiff shoulders, right?”
“Yeah, that’s true. I’m not even sore after playing baseball anymore.”
Before anyone knew it, Sanae clinging to Koutarou was the norm. And they were okay with that. Neither Sanae nor Koutarou saw a reason to change it. In fact, Koutarou was sure it’d feel a little lonely if she stopped doing it... not that would admit that.
“By the way, Sanae, there’s something I’ve been wondering about.”
“Whazzat?”
“Whenever you’re on my back, you get lighter, right? How does that work?”
“I can’t say that I approve of you asking about a girl’s weight.”
“Come on. That’s not what I mean.”
Koutarou passed through the school gates with Sanae still on his back. He didn’t have his part-time job today, so they were headed home together. As they went, the lowering sun cast one long shadow behind them.
“Oh fine... The truth is that I’m secretly using my maiden powers to lift myself.”
“I see. I thought you borrowed some device from Clan or something.”
“You should pull your own weight, you know?”
“You say some pretty insightful stuff every now and then.”
“Don’t I?”
Despite the fact that he was carrying someone, Koutarou didn’t feel weighed down at all. He could feel the increased momentum when he turned, but it was like she was barely there otherwise. The reason, as it turned out, was Sanae’s psychic powers.
“But isn’t that a lot of work? I mean, you weight four―”
“Stooooop!”
“Mhgm!”
“I’ll squeeze harder if you say one more word!”
“Mmm, mmph!”
“Good. I forgive you.”
“Phew! All I meant to ask is... isn’t it hard to be lifting someone up all the time?”
“It is, but I’m used to it.”
“You’re wasting a bunch of psychic power on something so trivial.”
“But I don’t want you to think that I’m heavy.”
“I’m a guy. You’re not heavy to me.”
When Sanae was clinging to Koutarou, the most prominent thing he could feel was her body heat. He’d felt nothing when she was a ghost, but her warm body was unmistakably there now. It reinforced the idea that she was right there with him, and the warm feelings that generated were in turn conveyed to Sanae.
“So what would happen if you pushed harder?”
“Huh?”
“Would you be able to lift even me if you used more of your maiden powers?”
“Ooh, that sounds fun. Here goes!”
“Wh-Whoa! I’m floating!”
Their reciprocation was the reason their relationship had grown since Sanae’s ghostly days. Really, all she needed was be at his side, but neither of them knew that. And so the antics between them would continue for some time yet.
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