Volume 5 Chapter 15 The Strength to Empathize
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Even though Hibiki-senpai is his girlfriend—that’s what she should be— the Hirose standing right there looked too close, too intimate, with the two high school girls beside him, just like they were a couple.
Akira found himself doubting his own eyes for a moment, and the very next instant, a churning unease swelled deep within his chest. But since their gazes had already met, he couldn’t just pretend he hadn’t seen them.
”Ah, Akira-chan. Hello there. Did you maybe come to look at shoes?” Hirose greeted.
”Yes… I needed to come buy a new pair soon, so…” Akira replied, yet his eyes wandered restlessly. Even as he spoke to Hirose, the presence of the two girls next to him was undeniably and utterly distracting.
”Akira-chan…? …Wait a minute, is that Suruga Akira-senpai!? Eh, it’s the Prince! It’s the Prince!” Aoi burst out excitedly.
”Ah, you’re right. She’s gotten taller and even more handsome, hasn’t she?” Rio mused quietly.
The girls walking with Hirose were Suzukawa Aoi and Kozuka Rio. Akira had been Hibiki’s junior in middle school, and though Aoi and Rio didn’t know her directly, they were also juniors of Hibiki. During their first year, Akira had been a second-year and Hibiki a third-year. And even back then, Akira was already famous; everyone at the school knew of her because they called her The Prince.
”You know me, then?” Akira questioned.
”You didn’t recognize me! I’m Suzukawa Aoi, your junior by one year from the same middle school, yo!” Aoi confessed with a wide grin.
”And I’m Kozuka Rio,” Rio added simply.
”These two are both Hibiki’s juniors,” Hirose explained gently.
”Ah, I see, so that’s how it is,” Akira murmured, a tiny wave of relief washing over her heart upon learning they were from the same school and had a connection to Hibiki.
”Anyway, Senpai, you know the Prince, too?” Aoi inquired curiously.
”Yeah, Hibiki introduced us, you see,” Hirose confirmed.
”So that means… the Prince has some kind of problem she needs help with, too?” Aoi guessed, her eyes twinkling.
”Huh, you can tell?” Akira asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
Aoi just grinned a mischievous, toothy smile—
”If you met through Hibiki-senpai’s introduction, it has to be that, doesn’t it? I’m the same way!” Aoi declared proudly.
”You too, Suzukawa-san?” Akira wondered.
”Just call me Aoi; it’s fine!” she insisted.
”Alright, then Aoi-chan. You also had Hirose-senpai solve a problem for you, right?” Akira realized.
”Yep…” Aoi replied, placing both hands over her chest with a playfully knowing look.
”In my case—well, I can’t talk any more about it because of the ‘Pledge’!” she confessed with a dramatic sigh.
”Haha, it’s fine, Akira-chan already knows everything, so it’s okay. Since Aoi-chan looks like she really wants to say it, I’ll say it for her: she got a breast enlargement,” Hirose chuckled.
”Oh, so that’s what it was…” Akira whispered.
(I see… the images he showed me must have been hers, then. —She really is smiling now. I bet she went through a tough time worrying, just like me, but she managed to brighten up like this.) Akira observed Aoi’s expression, imagining her past struggles.
”And what about you, the other one… Kozuka-san?” Akira redirected.
”You can call me Rio, too. I’m… well, I’m sort of just keeping Aoi company. I know about Senpai’s Gift, though,” Rio explained shyly.
”I see, so you haven’t had a procedure yourself, then?” Akira asked.
”Ah… no… well… maybe…” Rio stammered.
”I thought so. Rio-chan’s skin is incredibly clear, and she’s absolutely a beautiful girl,” Akira complimented warmly.
”W-Wait… Prince, please stop. I’m nothing like that…” Rio protested, blushing furiously.
”Rio, you’re totally blushing!” Aoi teased loudly.
”Aoi, be quiet!” Rio hissed back, her cheeks flushed scarlet from Akira’s compliment. The procedure she had received to soften her naturally sharp gaze had truly transformed her into a cool beauty, one everyone would recognize as stunning now.
”…Well, I came to look at spikes, so you two please enjoy yourselves,” Akira excused herself, starting to walk away.
But Aoi grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
”If you’d like, I can listen to what’s on your mind? You look really troubled, Senpai!” Aoi offered earnestly.
”…How did you know?” Akira wondered.
”Because you have the exact same look I had before my procedure!” Aoi declared with a confident wink.
”Experience speaks, I suppose… well, then I might take you up on that for a bit. It’d be easier to show you anyway. Is the fitting room okay?” Akira suggested, making a huge decision.
”Of course!” Aoi accepted eagerly.
”So, Senpai and Rio, just take your time looking around,!” Aoi called out as she and Akira walked away, leaving Hirose and Rio behind together.
”I was supposed to buy Aoi’s basketball shoes today… well, a little wait is fine, I guess. Senpai’s here anyway,” Hirose sighed.
Here’s the revised text with Akira referred to as she/her:
They had originally come to the sports store to buy Aoi a new pair of basketball shoes. She had, apparently, dragged Hirose along, pestering him to buy them for her. Hirose had plenty of money from his Beauty Dungeon earnings, but was trying to figure out tax issues, and was even preparing to establish a company after consulting with Saori and Kirino.
”Alright, Aoi-chan, text me when you’re done, ne,” Hirose called out.
”Will do!” she shouted back.
As Aoi and Akira headed for the fitting room, Hirose and Rio exchanged glances.
”…We don’t really have anything to do here, so why don’t we go get some ice cream?” Hirose suggested warmly.
”Huh, ice cream!?” Rio gasped.
”Yeah. There’s a gelato shop on the upper floor of this complex. I heard it’s really good,” Hirose offered.
”I-I’ll go!” Rio accepted immediately, her face brightening instantly.
What’s more, this would be the first time she had been alone with Hirose—she could feel a gentle warmth spreading deep inside her heart.
* * *
Meanwhile, Akira and Aoi entered the fitting room. The closed curtain muffled the noise from outside, wrapping them in a private quiet.
”Th-This is how it is…” Akira stammered.
”…It’s huge… The sheer gap between your handsome face and this massive chest is unbelievable,” Aoi whispered, utterly stunned.
The moment Akira removed the special tube top she was wearing, her liberated chest swayed heavily. Its sheer presence filled Aoi’s entire field of vision, making her gasp sharply.
”You’ve been worried because you hate this size, right, Senpai?” Aoi questioned gently.
”That’s right. I can put up with being stared at by other guys. But… because of this chest, my short-distance running times won’t improve… and that, I just can’t forgive…” Akira confessed, her expression deadly serious.
Aoi stared intently at the enormous bust, her mind racing.
(The Prince isn’t trying to find love, unlike I was. …The issue is probably her resistance to a guy, the Senpai, touching her directly…) Aoi mused to herself.
”You already know the details of the procedure, right?” she confirmed.
”Yeah, Hibiki-senpai told me everything,” Akira confirmed.
”Then… why don’t you practice with me?” Aoi proposed suddenly.
”Huh…?” Akira wondered.
Without waiting for an answer, Aoi gently moved behind Akira.
”If you actually let me knead them, you can imagine what the procedure is like. Senpai is a serious person, so he definitely wouldn’t do anything unnecessary. So please relax,” she reassured her.
”…If that’s the case… just for a little bit, then, please go ahead,” Akira conceded.
”Here I go, ne!” Aoi declared.
Aoi reached out her arms without hesitation and wrapped them around Akira’s chest from behind. Then—she slipped her bare hands inside her bra.
”I-Inside, too…!?” Akira gasped, startled.
”Well, the real procedure involves direct contact, right?” Aoi stated matter-of-factly.
”Th-That’s… true, but…” Akira stuttered.
”Just bear with it. You’ll get used to it naturally,” Aoi urged.
(They’re so huge…! What is this?! How does a handsome girl have something this incredible attached to her!? Wow… it’s insane… so soft… are these melons? Watermelons? No, I can’t even describe them!) Aoi screamed internally, but focused intently on massaging her chest with both hands. Naturally, her fingertips brushed against the sensitive tips.
”Ah, Aoi-chan… not there…” Akira moaned sweetly, a soft, involuntary sound escaping her lips.
”Prince, please endure it. The procedure also involves touching there. It was the same for me. …I had a lot of mixed feelings at first, but in the end, I was able to feel happy about it, you know,” Aoi soothed.
”Nngh… ahh… there, hnn…” Akira’s voice broke, unable to hold back the soft sounds.
Yet Aoi didn’t stop, instead putting the honest feelings she had kept hidden deep in her chest into words.
”…I used to have a person I really liked. But he said he preferred girls with big chests. It doesn’t really matter what size your chest is, honestly. Still, I just wanted to feel a little more confident before I confessed to him…” Aoi confessed sincerely.
”Akira, Akira-chan… s-stop it now…” Akira pleaded, her voice thin.
”Ah, I’m sorry… I ended up talking too much,” Aoi apologized immediately.
When she finally let go, Akira collapsed weakly onto the floor, her shoulders heaving with ragged breaths.
”Haa… haah… Hirose-senpai’s must have even more… recoil than this…” Akira managed to pant out.
”I’m not allowed to talk about the details… but just one thing. After the procedure, you definitely get into a flirty mood,” Aoi whispered conspiratorially.
”…Then, Aoi-chan… even though Hibiki-senpai is his girlfriend…?” Akira wondered, trying to process the implications.
”It looks like a strange arrangement, doesn’t it? But Hibiki-senpai accepts it as long as Hirose-senpai is helping all kinds of people. Everyone around those two is genuinely good,” Aoi explained softly.
”I see…” Akira murmured, slowly beginning to understand the strange and supportive atmosphere surrounding Hirose and Hibiki.
Eventually, she caught her breath, staggered to her feet, and quickly changed back into her clothes.
”…Aoi-chan, please stop sniffing my chest. That’s a bit much…” Akira requested, slightly embarrassed.
”Ah… I couldn’t help it! The scent of the Prince’s chest is a family heirloom for any fan!” Aoi declared, unapologetic.
”But you’re not a fan, Aoi-chan?” Akira questioned with a wry smile.
”I pretty much like all cute people!” she retorted, her hands still near her nose, sniffing where she had just been massaging. Akira could only offer a forced smile.
As the two left the fitting room, they quickly rejoined Hirose and the others.
”…Aoi-chan, sorry. Could you lend me Hirose-senpai for a little while? I have something I need to talk to him about,” Akira requested immediately after they met.
”Oh, I guess I have no choice, ne! Okay, I get it!” Aoi conceded with a dramatic flourish.
”Aoi-chan, are you really okay with that?” Hirose asked with concern.
”Well, we still have time today, ne? And Senpai promised he’d buy me shoes, so I’m gonna get the most expensive ones!” Aoi declared with a bright laugh.
”…I mean, I guess it’s fine,” Hirose said, slightly hesitant.
”No, I’m just kidding! I’ll definitely choose the pair that fits my feet best. …But Senpai is so good at spoiling me… I love that part about you, too! heart emoji” she chirped playfully.
Hirose shrugged his shoulders, figuring it was fine, entertained by Aoi’s high spirits.
—Once Akira and Hirose were finally alone, they bought coffee and sat side-by-side on a nearby bench, as there were no private rooms available.
”—Hirose-senpai… what should I do?” Akira asked, her internal conflict laid bare.
”…That’s quite a question to ask,” Hirose admitted, realizing Akira’s heart was deeply troubled. However, he knew the turmoil was due to the intimacy of being touched.
”Actually, just now… Aoi-chan touched my chest. …She called it practice,” Akira confessed.
”…Are you okay?” Hirose asked, his voice full of concern.
”I think I got the experience. But I still can’t take the final step,” Akira explained, her voice low.
”I understand…. But I can’t, absolutely can’t, push you to do it,” Hirose stated firmly. He understood just how risky his own skill was.
”I’d be touching the body of someone I only just met. If I encouraged it, it would just be sexual harassment. That’s why Akira has to decide this for herself,” Hirose stressed gently.
”Senpai…” Akira sighed.
One wrong move, and Hirose could easily be accused. The only reason he’d been safe so far was that every client had willingly desired the procedure.
”—I was confessed to,” Akira revealed unexpectedly.
”Huh…” Hirose looked up, his eyes widening at the sudden revelation.
”Before, I’d only ever been confessed to by girls. But this time, it was a guy… for the very first time,” Akira explained, her eyes fixed on her coffee.
”Oh, really… Someone as charming as Akira must have had guys wanting to ask you out for a long time, ne,” Hirose mused.
He had heard Akira was often surrounded by girls, but seeing the handsome, beautiful, and distinctively feminine Akira in front of him now—he truly was a special person.
”…And that guy knew about my chest, and he said he’d accept all of it, that I didn’t have to hide anything,” Akira continued, her voice barely a whisper.
”But that comment… it ignored the fact that Akira is absolutely devoted to track and field, didn’t it…?” Hirose guessed, hitting the nail on the head.
”Senpai, you understand,” Akira realized, relieved.
”I’ve heard your story directly. I’ve seen all sorts of people, but I completely understand how serious Akira is about running,” Hirose confirmed.
People chasing their dreams—adventurers, idols, models…. Some wanted to continue even after overcoming illnesses.
”It must hurt to have to give up mid-way when you finally have a chance to move forward,” Hirose commented sincerely.
”…Did Senpai ever have to give something up?” Akira asked softly.
”Actually, I really wanted to be an adventurer. I always admired them since I was a kid. But the Skill I got was just ‘Beauty’…” Hirose confessed, a hint of old sadness in his voice.
”So you had no choice but to give up your dream,” Akira concluded.
”Yeah. But for Akira, it’s still too soon to give up. …Ah, I’m not trying to convince you to do it, though!” Hirose quickly interjected, worried he might have sounded pushy.
”Heh, I know,” Akira chuckled softly at Hirose’s hasty denial.
Because Hirose had been forced to abandon his own dream of becoming an adventurer, Akira felt he truly understood the pain of the crossroads she now faced.
”So, talk to Hibiki as many times as you need to, okay? If I can help, I’ll always listen to you, too,” Hirose offered, his support unwavering.
”…Senpai, you really are cool, you know,” Akira observed.
”You can say that looking at this face?” Hirose asked, self-deprecatingly.
”Heh heh, I mean what’s inside, of course,” Akira clarified.
Hirose was shorter than her, and his facial features weren’t exactly ruggedly handsome. Yet, Hirose possessed a genuine kindness and the strength to empathize with others. That was surely what Hibiki had been drawn to.
”…I think I’ll take a little more time to think about it,” Akira decided.
”Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Hirose agreed.
With that, Hirose stood up, messaged Aoi and the others, and started walking away. Akira stood up too, heading toward the spike section, but as she watched Hirose’s retreating back, she whispered softly to herself.
”—If someone like Senpai had confessed to me, I wonder if I would have been happier.”
—
Summary:
The Prince, Akira, runs into Hirose and the lively Aoi and shy Rio at the sports store. She’s conflicted about getting Hirose’s intimate procedure to reduce her chest size for track. Aoi, a former client who got a bust enlargement, offers to give her ‘practice’ in the fitting room to help her understand the contact. Afterwards, Akira finds the courage to talk to the kind Hirose about a recent male confession and her dedication to running, feeling deeply understood.
—
Character Insight:
Akira’s internal world is a battlefield between her athletic ambition and his physical reality, making her vulnerable to Hirose’s genuine kindness. Aoi is a powerhouse of confidence now, using her experience to help Akira, albeit with a playful lack of filter. Rio is nursing a secret crush on Hirose and is excited by their impromptu ice cream date.
—
Behind the Scene:
Hirose is being incredibly cautious about his Gift because he knows how easily it could be interpreted as sexual harassment, highlighting his moral core despite the nature of his power. The conversation on the bench is the true emotional climax, proving the ‘Strength to Empathize’ is Hirose’s real S-Rank ability, not just his Beauty Gift.
Notes:
• Suruga Akira – She used to be the junior high Prince of Track and Field, the kind of runner everyone expected to win before the race even started. Tall and slender with a quietly strong, athletic build, I-cup, short nearly-blonde hair, and a sweet, androgynous face that often had people mistaking her for a boy, she gathered admirers without trying—especially among the girls.
• Rio – A member of the Beauty Committee who previously worked with Hirose and already holds a negative opinion of him, seeing him as a ‘playboy.’ She has short dark hair and is dressed neatly in her school uniform. She is Aoi’s friend and is currently determined to ‘rescue’ her.
• Suzukawa Aoi – 16-year-old, now high-school, ace of basketball club. Have brown bob cut. She overhears Hayato admitting he prefers ‘big boobs,’ causing her deep distress over her A-cup size.
• Kozuka Rio – Aoi’s best friend. She has a neat, precise look with side ponytail black hair and is slightly shorter than average. She was initially friendless, making her connection to Aoi incredibly important. She is highly suspicious of Hirose and what he’s done to change Aoi, viewing him as a threat.
• Kirino – Strikingly beautiful with blue long hair (F, 168cm), Kirino is gifted with ice magic and feels isolated because of her appearance. Hirose’s Beauty skill helps her improve her self-image and social comfort, directly affecting Kirino’s relationship with her family and classmates.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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