After school, I transported the students from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to their workplaces, and I was on my way back to the official residence with Kiriha.
Director Sayuri told us to move in while we could, since Shisae, who was always sent last, would be an hour late due to school business.
“Are you sure all you need to pack is one wardrobe and a travel bag?”
“Yes, I’m a typical modern girl.”
That was really all I teleported from her room.
That said, mine wasn’t much different in terms of the amount of luggage I carried.
As of 2040 A.D., thanks to devices, the Japanese were said to carry half as much luggage as they did 20 years ago.
Books, notebooks, documents, photos, and videos were all held as data in the device.
Computers, telephones, TVs, and game consoles no longer existed, and it was now common practice to apply vision correction to small objects displayed in a room so that they appear to be reflected in the MR image of the object in that location.
The only luggage carried would be furniture, clothes, tableware, and appliances.
Since furniture and appliances were already provided, our luggage would be even smaller.
“Then I’ll be getting my own room ready.”
As she unpacked her travel bag and took out her toothbrush, shampoo, and other personal items, I was about to leave the room.
“Un, by the way, about the bed, we have a big room, so why don’t we put the bed in honey’s room next to my bed?”
“Where am I going to sleep if you take my bed?”
“Eh, are you going to pretend you don’t know what’s going on here? I’m inviting you to sleep with me.”
I tried to be a little more assertive with Kiriha, who was smirking and happily relaxing her mouth.
“W-well, if you say things like that, I’m really going to attack you.”
“Not again. You don’t have the guts, honey, but you’re cute nonetheless.”
“I do it when I have to!”
“Ehh, then go ahead.”
Kiriha collapsed to rest her back on the bed and folded her arms and legs to create a waiting posture.
“Come now, come here, honey.”
“!?”
—In the space of a second, reason and instinct fought a thousand battles in my head, and while reason won on thin ice, instinct still did not declare defeat.
I walked over to the bed to [admonish] her, and I sat down.
But in order to face her lying on her back, I had to cover her.
This was an act that could not be helped, gazing into the other’s eyes in a gentlemanly manner.
But then I faced a certain problem.
Kiriha’s long, soft, flaxen hair was spread out in a fan shape, making it impossible for me to reach under her armpits or on either side of her face.
I was too afraid to touch such beautiful hair.
What should I do? I observed her to try to find a solution and admired her beauty.
The more I looked at her, the more beautiful Kiriha was.
Shiny flaxen hair.
Her golden eyes, framed by long eyelashes, shone like jewels.
Fresh white skin overflowing with vitality.
Her ample breasts exude a sense of receptivity and her slender shoulders and waist that make you want to protect them.
If I could treat her as I desire, I would be unstoppable and bottomless in my depravity.
She was a near narcotic lure for a man.
“…..”
That was why I felt I should not touch her.
It was not reasonable to touch her when I had only known her for two days and was not sure whether my affection for her was lust or carnal desire.
Besides, I had something to do first, so I suppressed my desire.
Perhaps deciding that my conflicted feelings had scared her off, Kiriha put her hands on the bed with a satisfied look on her face and raised her upper body.
“You can’t do anything after all. But don’t worry. I like you because you’re naughty but also chicken-like. Besides, if we get married, I’ll force you to give me your first honey. Ishishi.” +
“Hey, Kiriha, want to make friends with me?”
Kiriha blinked in amazement, then pouted in boredom.
“You want to talk about it again? Fine, I don’t care about friends, as long as I have my honey, that’s all that matters.”
“I’m glad you say that, but there’s a difference between being in love with someone and being friends with them.”
“Because I’m a solo person. Even when it comes to video games, I’m always a solo player, and I’ve always liked playing alone.” +
“Yes, one can have fun on one’s own. But one cannot live alone.”
I felt it keenly in the fall of my ninth-grade year when I was falsely accused of a crime I did not commit by sheer force of numbers.
If only there had been someone to defend me then if only I had had a friend.
I couldn’t help thinking that.
“I’m not alone. I have Honey, right?”
“I’m just saying you need more than just me on your side.”
“I’m not. You never know when a stranger might betray you. On the other hand, honey is crazy about my body, so he won’t betray me, right?”
–Eh.
“What do you mean?”
When I asked with cold disappointment, Kiriha also smiled coldly.
“I know you love my body, don’t you? You weren’t afraid of me with my poisonous needle. You lusted after me. So, as long as I let you do naughty things to me, you’ll never betray me.”
Kiriha’s voice was even maddening as she accelerated her tongue and her eyes glittered with radiant light.
“That’s why I can trust you. I’m not alone!”
“I’m not only here for your body!”
When I yelled at her, Kiriha’s pupils contracted and she slumped down as if she had lost her life.
“Lie……honey, don’t you like me?”
“……that, I don’t know.”
I thought Kiriha was a good girl. If I had to choose whether I like her or not, I would say I love her.
But I really didn’t know if that was a romantic feeling between a man and a woman.
“But it’s true that I’m worried about you…….”
After saying this, I spoke of short but intense memory, as if I were chewing on it.
“When I first saw her, I thought she had beautiful flaxen hair and honey-colored eyes. I was attracted by your looks, that’s for sure. But after that, I was happy that you protected me from Bando and called me a person of character even though I was an outcast and had no special qualities. There are a few people in this world who say things like that about me.”
Kiriha rolled her eyes a little and looked embarrassed.
“Then, when I saw Kiriha standing in the kitchen wearing an apron, I thought, “This is the kind of thing I like”. I was healed by the taste of Kiriha’s cooking. We had just gotten to know each other, but I thought it would be fun to be with Kiriha. When I thought that Kiriha might be alone for a long time, I became very worried and wanted to help her. I wanted to help her because Kiriha is not like anyone else. Because I too …… have been alone for a long time.”
“Eh?”
“I was a “loner” in elementary and middle school. I didn’t fit in with everyone. I thought I was a solo person, but…..I wasn’t.”
When I remember that time now, it was really painful, and my heart was filled with miserable thoughts.
“In the fall of junior high school, Bando and the others had made the first move toward me, but the guys got me to apologize to them because they were all on the same side of the mouth with one another. But this is just part of the story. I think it will be hard to have no one to rely on or to have no one on your side in the future, even after you grow up. Besides, what if we get married and I die first?”
“No! Don’t die!”
Kiriha grabbed onto my shoulder with tears in her eyes like a little girl about to be abandoned by her mother.
When she did that, it was even harder for me to realize that her love was real and that her life was so trapped that she was that dependent on me.
“You never know what life is like. I can’t make any promises. But I enjoy being with Uchimine, Shisae, Koimai, Arima, and Yamami. I feel like this is what friends are for. I’ve always pretended to be a solo person, but now I realized I like being with them.”
I grabbed her hand that gripped my shoulder and spoke kind words to her as if to soothe her.
“That’s why I don’t want Kiriha to have a hard time. I wanted Kiriha to be happy. I want her to keep smiling for a long, long time. I love Kiriha’s smile!”
At the end, I ended up with a lot of power and emotion.
Then Kiriha’s face flushed and gradually reddened, tears spilling from her eyes.
“Honey…I love you!”
Kiriha embraced me with such force that she head-butted me on my chest.
Surprised by her intense sweetness, like a lost little girl reunited with her mother, I felt something melt deep in my chest.
It must have been the guardedness and precautions I had developed during my life as a solo person.
Kiriha was cute. Not in appearance, but in existence.
It might be frivolous of me to feel this way after only two days of meeting her.
But even so, I had fallen in love with this girl, Harikiri Kiriha.
I held her back and let her warmth heal me, but her tears did not stop.
“But I’m sorry, honey. Honey worries about me a lot, but I’m still scared…….”
She buried her face in my chest, and although I couldn’t see her crying face, I could feel her fear painfully through the heat in her tearful voice.
“When I first entered elementary school, everyone said I looked like a fairy when they saw me flying in the sky. But from that day on, my hair and eyes gradually changed color, and when they found out that I had the ability to fly like a bee, they started to tease me. They said I was scary. They also told me that I had to kill pests and that if they made Needle Fog angry, I would sting them, so they shouldn’t get involved with me. They call me “poison woman,” “insect woman,” and “vermin woman”. I don’t want to, I don’t want to anymore. I don’t want to be treated like that anymore.”
Shivering weakly in my arms, she did not have the strength she had when she overpowered Bando.
Her figure was much more miserable and battered than mine when I was forced to apologize in the ninth grade.
I wanted to help her. I wanted to take away her anxiety.
–But what can I do?
A guarantee that everyone would never betray Kiriha. What could be done about such a thing?
How could I guarantee that they won’t be afraid of Kiriha’s Hornet, which replicates the bee’s ability?
Then it hit me. No, I remembered.
“I understand, Kiriha. I’ll prove it to you. I’ll prove to you that they won’t be scared of you.”
“Eh?”
I raise my jeweled, tear-stained face and smile at her, telling her to leave it to me.