Episode 35 – The Color of The Goddess

“Ichikawa san, I need to talk to you.”

When Komiya kun in front of me opened his mouth like that, I felt a thud.
My heart was pounding fast, and I felt as if the food I had just eaten was rushing up to me.

“Something to talk about?”
“Ah~, hmmm where to start….”

Komiya kun is tight-lipped, perhaps because he is uncomfortable saying it.

No, it calms me down.
If we were to break up, this timing is unnatural.
If he wanted to break up with me, he would have refused to stay over today in the first place, and he would not have surrounded the dinner table in such a way.

“………”

Ahh, what is it? That makes me feel a little more relaxed.
…… So what’s the story?

I don’t have anything to talk about: ……

“Tss ?!”

D-Don’t tell me you’re not going to let me sleep today!
N-No way. No, it can’t be. He is the Komiya kun who is a goofball on the ground.
There is no way he could ever lay a hand on me. …… No, but!
Just if !!
Ah, What should I do? What kind of underwear did I bring today?
Red, blue? Or was it black?
Let’s check back a bit later.

“I-Ichikawa san ?”
“Ugh, what can I do for you?”
“No, You were kind of in a daze all of a sudden, so ……”
“I think so. By the way, what color do you like, Komiya kun?”
“Eh? Color?”
“Yes”
“E~tto, I think blue”
“Blue…I understand”
“…..What’s that?”

The worst-case scenario is that I go back for it.

“Can I talk to you about it?”
“Something to talk about?”
“Yes, I need to talk to you about something.”
“…… that reminds me.”

Careful. I almost went into my own world.

“I mean, when are we going to talk about our relationship?”

I was interrupted by a completely different angle from the one I had been thinking about right before.

“I’m sure you’ve heard that I said I’d do that before, but nothing concrete had been decided, right?　Well, it may be that I’m always unreliable, but …… I didn’t want Ichikawa san to keep feeling bad because of that.”
“……..”

But I was surprised. I never thought he …… Komiya kun would take me so seriously.
He surely doesn’t really want to show off too much.
Nevertheless, I was glad that he thought of me and talked to me about it himself.

“Hopefully, starting next week or so? Well, I’m not going to publicly declare that we are dating, but I thought we could gradually increase the amount of time we spend together at school. So I think I’ll just answer if they ask……..what do you think?”
“….Fufu”
“What are you laughing at, Ichikawa san? I’m pretty serious. ……”

Komiya kun frowned when I laughed.
He has no idea why I am laughing.

“I’m sorry, it’s nothing. Yes, I think that’s a good idea. I’ll leave it to Komiya-kun, shall I?”
“Have you really thought about it?”
“Fufu, I have”

With that, I pulled out my chair and stood up.
I then slowly approached Komiya kun.

“…..Ichikawa sa—-”
“(Thank you)”
“Tssssss!!!”

I then hugged Komiya kun from behind and whispered in his ear.

Komiya kun turned bright red in an easy-to-understand manner. Seeing this, I laughed again, somewhat amused.

“Well, I guess I’ll take a bath, too.”
“Uu~, I-It’s the door on the right as you exit the bathroom hallway.”
“Thanks. Well, I’ll be off then.”
“T-Take care”

Komiya kun, perhaps embarrassed, turned his head away from us and said bluntly, his face red up to his ears.

Chapon (SFX of water)
Naked, I took a shower and then a leisurely soak in the bathtub.

“Haa….’

A sigh flooded my mind.
I submerged my face in the bathtub.

“Maybe I went a little overboard earlier.”

My face lights up as I remember what just happened.

I always remember it after every action and feel ashamed.
I find myself wanting to tease Komiya kun when I see his face, but even if it’s okay at the time, later, when I’m alone, I feel a twinge of embarrassment.

I don’t know how I could have acted so boldly.
But still….

“No, it must be the heat of the bath. It must have been.”

I muttered to myself.

“B-But after this, maybe there’s a …… maybe, right ……?”

The thought of it makes me even hotter.

“…….This is bad. I think I’ll just take a cold shower.”

I get out of the tub and raise the shower lever again.
The setting is not too cold, but just the right temperature to wake up a little heat.

Let’s go up a little later.

◆

Ah~, that was a little bad earlier.
It’s such a thing to have someone whisper in your ear.

“Tsss”

I remember it, and it gets hot again.
Oh no, no, no. I’m going to wake up to a strange habit.

……Oh, I was going to say one more thing. No, two things.
When shall I say it?

I went to the kitchen, took a bottle of mineral water out of the refrigerator and poured it into a glass.
And then I drink it all down in one gulp.

“Buhaaa. OK !”

Once again, I fired myself up.
Tighten back the tension that was once loose.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom first…”

When I get out of the bathroom, I head to the washroom to wash my hands.
Then, after entering the washroom, I realized.

“…….”

A gurgling sound rumbles in my throat.
The silhouette seen through the frosted glass created a sense of tension that was difficult to describe.

“No, if I stand here longer, I’ll be teased again, she will wonder if I’ve come to peek!”

I wash my hands quickly.
Fortunately, Ichikawa san seemed to be taking a shower and did not notice me.

I must be quick before Ichikawa san comes out.

“———–Ts!”

I caught my foot on the basket with Ichikawa san’s change of clothes in it, which she had left on the ground.
It hit me on the knee and it hurt me severely.

“~~~~Ugh !!!”

Suppressing the inaudible voice, I put back the overflowing clothes from the basket.
And in the midst of it all, I find. Red cloth.

“……..Eh?”

I stiffened when I saw it in my hand.

T-This thing….

At that moment, I heard the shower stop.
T-This is bad! I rushed out of the bathroom before Ichikawa san left.

“Haaaa….Ha…”

My heart is beating fast and loud.
I haven’t been exposed? She hasn’t found out, has she? Okay, the rest is to slowly go to the living room!
I was in too much of a hurry and didn’t put Ichikawa san’s underwear back!

Damn. How do I do this? How do I handle this…..

“Haa……Haa….”

My heart is beating fast and loud.
When I turned around, I saw a flaming-faced Ichikawa san staring at me in only a towel.

“Underwear”
“Eh”
“You took my underwear, didn’t you?”

She knew. No good. I can’t think of anything.
If this keeps up, I’m just another underwear thief……!

“T-This is…Y-You’re wrong ! It was never ……”
“You can make excuses later. This outfit…ehem. Come on, give it to me. Of course, don’t look at me.”
“Y-Yes !”

I turn my face away from the entrance so as not to see it in my hand and Ichikawa san in a towel in front of me.
Then the front door opened.

“Youta! I’m here for you. ……aa”

I was staring at the front door, and my eyes met those of Suzu, the person who opened the door.

“Ugh…”

Oh God Why….