Volume 13 Chapter 267 Kohina Yukari, Aren’t You Having A Head foot-toe？
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Seriously! If you’re going to stay over, at least tell me properly,” I grumbled as I hung up the phone. “I ended up worrying for no reason…”
I slipped into his bed, my hair still messy and slightly damp. Going back to my own room felt like too much trouble right now, so… this would do.
Huh? Wait… why was I sleeping in his bed in the first place?
Well, whatever. I couldn’t remember anything before falling asleep, so there wasn’t any point worrying about it.
”Guu…”
I mumbled something without thinking, curling deeper into his blanket. Wrapped up in the futon he always used, I drifted off almost instantly.
’…Hey.’
What now…?
’…Senpai!!’
Ugh, I just got back to sleep! Why are you so loud?
’Kohina-senpai!!’
Ahh—seriously, enough! I can hear you just fine!!
I sat up in bed, annoyed—and Aqua was there, glittering strangely in front of me.
Huh? He looks way too shiny today. I don’t normally say this, but he’s kind of creepy right now…
”Kohina-senpai…” he murmured, reaching out with an oddly radiant hand.
W-what the heck? I turned my head, but his fingers gently brushed my hair.
…Fixing my bedhead? That’s unusually considerate of you.
Honestly, if you’d just come home like a normal person, I wouldn’t have crawled into your futon like this, still half-damp, trying to dry off while I slept!
Aqua softly stroked my hair, blinking slowly behind those ridiculously long lashes, smiling faintly.
”…You had a piece of half-eaten candied sweet potato stuck in your hair,” he said.
What!? No way—wait, seriously!? It really was there?!
Maybe I ate too much at dinner… It was delicious. I blushed without meaning to.
Seeing my reaction, Aqua flipped my hair back with a dramatic flourish.
Hey! That pose is too much today!
You’re usually cool because you’re not trying so hard. When you force it like that, it just makes you look dumb!
”If you like me that much, I’ll hold you,” Aqua said casually.
Wh-what?! Who’s holding who?!
I—I never said I liked you or anything!!
”You don’t have to say it. I can tell,” he said, voice calm. “You really like me, don’t you?”
He stretched out one absurdly long arm and banged it against the wall behind me.
Your arm is way too long!! Is it the same length as your whole body?! Are your bones okay?! Go get checked out!!
”Be honest, Kohina-senpai,” he whispered. “If you admit you like me, I’ll hold you.”
I turned my head away again. Why was it only today I couldn’t shut this guy down properly?!
Are you releasing some weird love-frequency signal from your mouth or something?!
He leaned in, his voice soft and sweet like the taste of that sweet potato from earlier.
”You like it, right? Sweet potatoes?”
What!? No! I don’t like you! And what does that even mean?!
”Oh? You don’t know?” he said with a mischievous grin. “In Toyama dialect, ‘hold’ means to treat someone.”
Only people from Toyama would know that! Why do you know that!?
”See? Just thinking about sweet potatoes gets Kohina-senpai’s heart racing,” he teased.
I do not get excited! And what kind of weird metaphor even is that?! What does “heart racing” have to do with sweet potatoes?! Are you a vegetable?
He rested his head gently on my shoulder.
Wh-what now!? I told you—you have to ask if you want to be spoiled! Don’t just do it all of a sudden!!
”…I’m tired of always acting cool, Kohina-senpai.”
That’s what I’ve been saying! No one’s asking you to keep up a front all the time.
This is your home. You can relax when you’re with us.
You’re way too well-behaved for your age. Honestly, you should let yourself be spoiled more often!
…And then I could—wait, no. That’s not the point!
I shook my head hard.
And then, out of nowhere, Emily-chan popped up, wearing a bright yellow hard hat and a little site manager vest.
”I built the Shirogane Kingdom in a day,” she said.
Not now, Emily-chan. I’m kind of busy here. I’ll play with you later, okay?
…Wait, what? You built the Shirogane Kingdom in one day?
Well, Emily-chan’s super talented, but even for her, that’s… no, that’s not possible!
I gently pushed her face out of view, and Aqua slowly lifted his head again.
”…Kohina-senpai. Even if I’m not popular anymore, would you still accept me?”
Honestly, I never cared about that kind of thing.
None of us—me, Kanon-san, anyone—liked you for being popular.
We liked you because you saved us.
Suddenly, Aqua’s expression turned sharp, flipping into his “Yujin” mode.
”Kohina-paisen… Please be my Naon.”
Hey!! That was the big line and you completely flubbed it!! What was that weird accent?! Are you pretending to be foreign now!?
Also, neither you nor Yujin even says that line! Why are you trying to steal it?!
”…Kohina-senpai, please don’t touch it.”
Touch what!? I didn’t touch anything!!
You’re supposed to say “Don’t be down!” That’s a key phrase! Don’t mess it up!!
”Ah… Kohina-senpai. I’ve got to go.”
Wait, what?! Where are you even going without me?!
Aqua took off running toward the Otomezaki school building.
”Hyahha! I’ll mess up that pretty face of yours!!”
Wait—what the heck!?
Someone up on the school rooftop had a sniper rifle pointed at Aqua’s head!?
But he dodged the shot with a ridiculous kung fu move, like he was stir-frying rice in midair.
What even is this!?
A moment later, the sniper was knocked down by a flying shuriken.
”Ugh! The school gate Kaede destroyed yesterday is still a mess… I gotta fix it fast.”
Not that gate!! And what did she even do during the festival!?
Kaede’s definitely getting chewed out by Kanon-san, Kotono-san, and Ms. Onidzuka later. They’ll probably all have to bow and apologize.
And Aqua may be good at everything, but normal people can’t just fix a school gate like that! Hire a contractor!
”Chiwa-ssu! Yukishiro Emily here, part-timer from the Saint Group!”
Emily-chan!! I told you to wait your turn!!
This is too much. I’m seriously about to lose it.
Wait… something feels weird.
Like the story unraveling in front of me was starting to make less and less sense…
…and then I realized—
Oh. This must be a dream.
* * *
”Mmm… I was sleeping so well… don’t just barge into my dream, you dummy…”
I rubbed my sleepy eyes and rolled over.
Was it morning already…?
Still wrapped in Aqua’s blanket, I sat up slowly.
…I think I just had a really ridiculous dream.
”Ugh.”
His futon was all sweaty and gross now.
Well… whatever. Someone’ll wash it eventually.
I peeled myself out of the blanket I’d been wrapped in, dropped it on the floor, checked myself in the mirror, adjusted the hem of my camisole, and tugged the frilly straps back up over my shoulders.
…Huh? Why am I still just in panties?
I reached into the twisted sheets, digging around until I found my shorts. I must’ve kicked them off in my sleep or something. Happens sometimes.
”Achoo.”
Man, I usually sleep light, so I crank the heat and wear summer pajamas year-round… but maybe it’s time to switch to long sleeves.
While I was thinking that, I glanced at the wall clock in his room.
”Wait—what? It’s already this late!?”
Oh yeah… I promised I’d go to the school festival with him today!
It should be somewhere around here…
I stepped into his walk-in closet and started rooting around behind his clothes for the stuff I’d stashed.
Yeah, sometimes we play games or watch dumb shows together and just crash here. So I started keeping a change of clothes tucked away—just in case.
…Ah, I should probably change my underwear too.
Wait, I think it was… yep. There it is.
”Found it.”
The underwear I lent him the other day.
He was all, “Make sure you wash it properly after using it,” like I needed a reminder.
I stripped off the sweat-soaked pair I had on and swapped them out for the clean ones.
Yep. Much better.
Alright, next—clothes.
”Hmm, this should be fine.”
I gave myself a little spin in front of the mirror.
Since it’s the school festival, I wanted something comfy that I could move around in.
So I went with a white knit top and high-waisted gaucho pants, tied with a ribbon belt.
Emily-chan mentioned playing baseball yesterday, so sneakers seemed smart. And that little floral hairclip Aqua gave me should go great with this.
Only problem now is… this hair.
Ugh, what a mess. I’ll just throw it up with a scrunchie or something.
While digging around earlier, I found one someone left here, so I borrowed it and tied my hair into a ponytail.
”Maybe I should wear my glasses, just in case…”
I used to walk around without a care, totally invisible.
But lately—probably because I’ve been seen with him—people actually say stuff to me.
I don’t hate it or anything, but I don’t wanna get stopped on the way there. It’d be a pain if I was late.
So yeah. Light disguise it is.
”Alright. That should do it.”
No need to bring a bag. As long as I’ve got my wallet…
Card and phone. That’s all I need.
I snuck out of Aqua’s room and caught a taxi straight from the Shirogane Kingdom to Otomezaki High—skipping breakfast, even.
* * *
”Otomezaki, huh? Bet it’s crowded around there today.”
”Yeah, I figured. If traffic’s too heavy, I’ll walk the rest. Just get me as close as you can.”
I’d heard that while the festival was going on at Otomezaki, the shopping district near the station was hosting a big collab event too.
They even had stuff set up for people who couldn’t get festival tickets, just to keep the whole town buzzing.
Honestly… Aqua works way too hard.
…Wait.
Hold up a sec.
I turned toward the familiar voice.
”Customer, something wrong?”
”Wait—why the heck is Emily-chan driving!?”
Is this still a dream!?
I pinched my cheek.
Owwww. Okay, not a dream!
* * *
”Guhaha! So, turns out we blew through the budget for props and set pieces, so I’m putting Shirogane Kingdom citizens to work for quick cash!”
Come on! You should’ve talked to me about that first!
What do you think adults are for?!
Jeez… where do these two even get this from?
Aqua and Emily-chan seriously need to rely on us more.
So yeah. There I was, riding shotgun in a taxi driven by Emily-chan on the way to Otomezaki High.
”Whoa. This is wild. Look at all these people.”
”Even security’s out here directing traffic.”
I didn’t notice yesterday since I came late and left early, but this crowd was way bigger than I expected.
Emily-chan rolled down the window, and a smiling security guard stepped up.
”Excuse me, only authorized vehicles beyond this point… Wait! Emily-sama!? And Kohina Yukari!? Right this way, please~”
Apparently, they recognized her on sight and waved us through.
…So much for the glasses disguise. Ugh.
”We’ve arrived, dear customer~”
”Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Emily-chan.”
I pulled out my phone to pay.
Emily-chan gave me an apologetic look.
”Sorry, we don’t take Pay here.”
Fine. I handed her my credit card.
She frowned even harder.
”We only take cash, actually.”
Geeezzzz!! Who even carries cash anymore!?
As I glared at her, she suddenly narrowed her eyes.
”Hmm… are you trying to stiff me on the fare?”
HEY! It’s not my fault your sketchy setup doesn’t take normal payments!!
Also—look closer! This isn’t even a real taxi!!
It’s just a basic black sedan with a fake sign! I totally got tricked!!
While I was arguing with Emily-chan over nothing, someone familiar walked up holding a signboard.
”Welcome! Welcome to Otomezaki High’s Cultural Festival. For the Shirogane Aqua VIP Tour, now arriving: Kohina Yukari-san!”
I never signed up for some shady-sounding “Aqua Tour”!!
And you—why are you making stupid little props first thing in the morning just for some dumb joke!?
”What are you two doing? Wait—Kohina-senpai, did you seriously try to skip out on the fare?”
Don’t look so smug!!
GEEEZZZ!!
”Well then, Emily, here’s your payment—”
”Thank you very much!!”
Dang it!! Now I owe this guy over some totally pointless nonsense!
I stepped out of the car and watched Emily-chan drive off, feeling… something. Not sure what.
* * *
”Well then, Kohina-senpai. Shall we head in?”
When Aqua smiled at me like that, I turned away in a huff.
Ugh, seriously. Why now?
”…Fine. But get rid of that dumb sign first. You’re in the way, and it’s embarrassing.”
”Uii-ssu.”
Aqua gave a goofy little reply and went to hand the sign off to a nearby staff member.
Sigh… after seeing Dream-Aqua being all sparkly and over-the-top, the real one feels a bit underwhelming.
This whole weird vibe today—it’s your fault.
So you’d better take responsibility, got it?
These 2 still haven’t had sex, even after this.
Also, Kohina-senpai… actually, the Shirogane Kingdom was created by Emily.
And if you understand all the references from the dream scene, you’re reading the Shojou Comic.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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