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Editor: Leo
No?! I’ll…start imagining it…
The main day of the school festival finally arrived at Miou High School. The light music club’s live concert, the theatre club’s afternoon-drama performance, the attractions of the various classes, in midst of these countless events, the most prominent event that everyone had their eyes on was the Love Quest, offering a wonderful prize, as well as being the main ingredient of a popular jinx, born about by the student council themselves.
“For the participants of the Love Quest, the participant entry reception is over here! Another ten minutes left, and the registration is closed!”
The members of the student council were trying their hardest not to lose against the ongoing tumult, straining their voices to the limit. A long line in front of them stretched into the distance. Whether it was the members of the student council, the ones aiming for the prize, the ones aiming to hit off the jinx, or even both of those, they were all brimming with motivation, weirdly enough. Hence, Mitsuki was completely overwhelmed by the unbearable figurative heat of her surroundings.
“Mitsuki, if we’re going to do it, we’ll be aiming for the win, alright? If we get the grand prize, I’ll give Yuki-nee my share, that’s what I promised!”
“……”
Ever since this morning—No, ever since he had agreed to participate in the Love Quest, Yuu was brimming with motivation, while Mitsuki was just quietly standing in his back, clearly not motivated at all.
I did something bad towards Yukina-san. How should I even explain this…Because Hiyori is so selfish? Although that might be the truth, it’s a bit harsh to say…
Turning her back to the energetic Yuuya, Mitsuki let out a long sigh when it happened.
“Ah, there you are. Did you two already finish your entry?”
Suddenly, Yukina’s voice suddenly resounded right next to hear, leaving Mitsuki in panic.
“Yeah we did, but…Wait, Yuki-nee, are you also participating?”
“Yeah, I can’t lose either, right?” Yukina gazed up towards the sky next to Mitsuki, and threw Hiyori a confident smile.
Bleh! Are you trying to obstruct our Love Quest win?! I won’t let you get in between my romance with Onii-chan, okay?!—Hiyori turned towards Yukina and pushed out her tongue.
Invisible sparks ran between the two. Because her grandfather lives at a shinto shrine, Yukina has a strong affinity towards the supernatural, able to see Hiyori floating in mid-air.
Maybe Yukina-san actually knows what’s going on, without me having to tell her?
“Yukina-san…Well, I’m sorry about all of this…”
“No, you don’t have to apologize for anything, Mitsuki-chan.”
Hearing Yukina’s words affirm her assumptions, Mitsuki was relieved. These past few days, she had always been troubled about the fact that Yuuya rejected Yukina’s invitation for her sake. After softly patting the teary-eyed Mitsuki on the head, Yukina muttered.
“It rarely happens that Yuu-kun is being asked to help you, so he’s super motivated. Don’t mind me, and just enjoy yourself, okay? I’ll be giving it my all as well, so let’s have a fair and square battle.”
“Yes…” Mitsuki sniffed.
Yuuya showed no signs of catching any wind of their conversation, and just turned towards Yukina, asking her.
“—And, who are you teaming up with, Yuki-nee?”
Although he was the one that originally declined her invitation, Yuuya showed no ill intent with that, but it made Yukina’s smile crack for a second. The atmosphere grew stiff, but Yuuya himself wasn’t the one that realized that. It was Mitsuki, as she nervously looked between Yuuya, still as relaxed as ever, and Yukina, her eyebrow twitching. As Yukina started cracking her fingers with an ominous sound, Torii’s face appeared behind her back, showing him a thumbs up with a grin.
“Don’t be surprised, okay? It’s me, me! Me, me, me!”
Yuuya’s eyes opened wide as Torii was boasting.
“Torii?! Why are you with Yuki-nee?!”
“Fu fu fu, after you declined Kiritani-senpai’s invitation, the great Me mustered up all the courage I had, and groveled on her feet, inviting her on the Love Quest myself!”
Or so he said with a shit-eating grin, but his words purely contradicted that. Even Mitsuki and Hiyori both showed a rather unpleasant expression towards his words, but Yuuya actually showed amiration with “Torii, you’re a man’s man!” for some reason.
Boys really are weird…
Mitsuki just tilted her head in confusion, while Yukina showed a faint giggle.
“Yuuya, I definitely won’t lose, okay?!”
“Ohhh, now that’s what I like to hear!”
The both boys grinned at each other, as sparks flew. Mitsuki watched that, even more confused than before.
…Somehow…nobody thinks it’s weird that this guy and I are going on this Love Quest…?
Mitsuki had constantly racked her head about this, even the whole last night, so now she felt a bit like an idiot for doing so. She had worried that, by participating in the Love Quest with Yuuya, the people around them would get weird conceptions, creating unfavorable rumours.
Ayaka also immediately believed when I said that I was aiming for the grand prize, and could only team up with him…Is that really all it took?
That’s what I told you. You were just thinking about it too much, Mitsuki! Everyone else is busy dealing with themselves, and it’s the same for you, right?
Being reminded by Hiyori, Mitsuki puffed out her cheeks.
“…That…might be the case…but for the one in a million chance…”
Being too sensitive about things can be a problem as well, right?
Flashing a teasing smile, Hiyori flew down to pinch the tips of Mitsuki’s chest.
“Ah?!”
Her voice was about to leak out, but she barely managed to close off her mouth with her hands. And then, a friend of Yuuya and Torii, Neko, came walking towards them.
“Everyone is gathered here, huh? You sure seem excited.”
“It’s a Love Quest battle after all. Are you not participating, Neko?”
“I’m more of an observer, you could say.”
Throwing these suggestive words into the room, Neko pushed up her glasses with her middle finger. Watching this, Hiyori embraced herself with both her hands, and hit behind Mitsuki’s back.
“Hey…What happened?”
I don’t know…But, this person’s scary. She gives me the creeps.
“Neko-senpai? Back then at the pool, nothing happened, right?”
Yeah…But, today, I can practically feel the tension coming from her. I wonder why?
“Something like Yukina-san’s grandfather gave you?”
No…this time, it feels much more dangerous than back then…Something like a villain that’s throwing around too much of their strength…
“What’s up with that…I don’t get it…”
While Mitsuki and Hiyori were having a secretive talk, Neko kept her usual poker face, just giving them a sidelong glance.
—?! S-See, it almost feels like she can see me!
Hiyori’s shock and fear were directly transmitted towards Mitsuki.
“Well, fight to your heart’s contents. This time, I will give you a proper hindrance. I’m getting excited.”
Still being mysterious as can be, Neko dropped her eyes back down on the book in her hands again, and walked away from that place. Only then, when she passed by Yuuya, she muttered something in his ears.
“……”
Yuuya’s eyes opened wide, as he pulled a wry face.
“S-Somehow, Neko was acting a bit weird just now…What happened?”
“Yuu-kun, what did she say?”
Being asked by both Torii and Yukina consecutively, Yuuya scratched his head as he answered.
“Well…She said stuff like she isn’t going to hold back this time, and to prepare myself…All things that made no sense to me…”
“…This time…Yuu-kun, did you do something to earn yourself Neko-san’s grudges?” Yukina crossed her arms, throwing a stare at Yuuya.
Almost as if she wanted to say that Yuuya had been earning grudges everywhere recently.
“No no no no! I don’t remember anything like that.”
“I can’t really believe you even if you ‘don’t remember’ it. You seem like the type that would never realize that.”
Mitsuki strongly nodded along her words to show agreement.
“This time it’s different, okay? Neko often says weird stuff like that. When I suffered from hypnosis, I feel like she said something odd as well back then.”
“…What’s up with that? Something odd?”
“I don’t really remember what it was…I wonder?” Yuuya put one finger on his forehead, thinking deeply about it.
With Neko’s mysterious words, the sudden declaration of war towards Yuuya, Hiyori had gotten even more terrified of the girl. Sensing this uneasiness in her own chest, Mitsuki’s expression grew cloudy. Although she knew that it must have just been her imagination, now that this anxiety bit itself into her chest, it wouldn’t leave that quickly. Even the words of the student council, reporting that the registration for the Love Quest had closed, didn’t enter Mitsuki’s ears anymore.
The pairs that participated all went to draw cards, being tasked to visit the there written attractions as quickly as possible, and the first five pairs that completed all the tasks would make it to the final round. Written on Yuuya and Mitsuki’s card were the literary club, fortune-telling, and the haunted house. It was the pair’s freedom in which order they wanted to go around these attractions. Finding out the various tasks beforehand, and choosing the quickest and most efficient way would be the key to stand victorious in this Love Quest…apparently.
At first glance, it might seem easy to pull off, but the ones working at the attractions waiting for the pairs all thought of how to best slow down the pairs, making it quite the harsh battle to even stay for the final round.
“Alright! That’s a favorable selection! Since my class did the haunted house, I know about the challenge, so it’ll be easy to get through.”
“………”
Behind Yuuya, who struck a winning pose, Mitsuki had a gloomy expression, as she glared down at the card.
“What’s wrong, Mitsuki? Are you bad with haunted houses?”
“N-No, of course not!”
Getting angrier at him than needed, Yuuya showed a bitter smile, assuming that he hit bulls-eye.
“Then, maybe we should start with the one that’s the least of a hurdle for you?”
“…I don’t know which attraction that is.”
“The easiest one in between those should be the literary club. Apparently it’s about reading a book aloud. Another easy win, right?”
“…Why do you know that much?”
“I researched their tendencies! If I’m doing this, I’m in it for the win after all!”
“Mmm…”
Seeing Mitsuki’s slightly flushed and sour look, Yuuya let out a wholehearted smile.
“Yo, Yuuya! How was it? We’re pretty close, right? Let me see your card!” Torii grinned, as he tried to take a peek at Yuuya’s card.
Besides pairs that were in it for the win, there also existed those pairs that were planning on obstructing the others, so showing someone else your card would bring you to a heavy disadvantage. Hence, Yuuya quickly covered up the card.
“—No can do! We’re doing this fair and square, right?!”
“Tch, I was planning on working together if we had the same stations.”
“No! I can’t believe you!”
“Ouch?!”
As the two of them were glaring at each other, a staff of the student council spoke up.
“Now then, the time to prepare has just run out! Ten seconds until the start of the Love quest, nine, eight, seven…”
With the countdown running low, tension started to fill the atmosphere around them. Meanwhile several of the students were slowly but steady shimmying forwards in order to get a headstart.
“Mitsuki, don’t get separated, okay?”
Yuuya grabbed Mitsuki’s hand, making her face burn up bright red as a shock ran through her body, even making Yuuya twitch in return.
No matter what I do, Mitsuki always gets embarrassed, huh…Makes me feel embarrassed myself…
Even now, Yuuya still hasn’t gotten used to Mitsuki’s reactions. He even started to get weirdly conscious, thinking Her hand really is soft or I can feel her starting to sweat, but he quickly shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts.
“…Three, two, one, zero…Start!”
As a substitute, the student council president used one of those confetti crackers to announce that start of the Love Quest, as all the other students started dashing at full speed. Still holding tight onto Mitsuki’s hand, Yuuya dashed through the crowd of people. At the same time, Mitsuki was bewildered at his raw strength.
The location of the literary club was on the first floor of the old school building in an empty classroom, quite a bit away from the student council office. Yuuya stopped his feet mid-way, and decided to take a different route there, together with Mitsuki.
“This way will be a shortcut—”
Jumping out of the window, the two of them headed towards the old school building. Not just Yuuya, but several other students had the same idea, with one of them being the Torii & Yukina pair. Although they must not have been aiming for the literary club alone, Yuuya couldn’t help but get a bad premonition from this. And of course, this bad premonition didn’t leave unattended. As he matched up his speed with the rather slow Mitsuki, he arrived a bit later at the literary club, with Yukina and Torii already waiting for them.
“Huh?! Yuuya, you two are also having business at the literary club?”
“That’s our phrase!”
Just a coincidence…right?
Neko’s words still were stuck inside Yuuya’s head, as he grew a bit more cautious. The literary club was selling brochures with an anime drawing on it that said “Seal a magic contract with me and become a trap, YO!”. Different from that selling booth, there was a crowd of people in one corner of the classroom itself, and right in the middle of that were two desks put down to face each other, books stacked upon each other, covered.
“It seems like the contestants from the Love Quest have arrived! At our station of the Love Quest, an exciting, heart-throbbing, wild and crazy recitation event! First pair, please come in!”
The club president of the literary club announced this proudly, pointing the Yuuya and Yukina pair towards the desks, intending to have them each other. Meanwhile, the normal guests were giving an applause towards them. Yuuya and the others passed through the crow, and walked towards the club president.
“Mitsuki! You can do it!”
“A-Ayaka?!”
Spotting her friend Ayaka in the midst of that, Mitsuki’s expression grew more cloudy. She looked like she was about to break out in tears. At the same time, Yuuya softly patted her on the shoulder.
“Don’t get nervous. We have to focus—”
“…I can’t do that so easily…”
“Well, agreed on that…But, just try to take it easy.”
“Try to take it easy, you say…” Mitsuki threw Yuuya an angered glare.
Clearly feeling hostility in that, practically screaming at him with “Don’t lump me in together with you!”, Yuuya showed a bitter smile. But, at that moment, Yuuya spotted something, no, someone in the crowd: Neko.
Neko? When did she…?!
The girl herself would just gaze down at her book like usual, but, as if she had realized Yuuya’s confused gaze, she looked up at him, slightly raising up the corners of her mouth. Though Yuuya wanted to hope that it was just a coincidence, after them piling up like this, even he felt like something was off.
“Now then, let me explain the rules to this Love Quest recitation battle. First, we will have you pick one of the ten books that are currently still covered, and will work together to read the three pages indicated by the enemy pair to read them aloud. Then, we will have the audience decide on which group did a better reading, and the one standing on top will receive the proof they have cleared this quest, the the love seal!”
The club president showed around the school emblem with a heart-formed border around it, which earned him voices of admiration in the audience. It seemed like a usual heart-formed border seal, but every year, they tweak it a bit so that you can’t falsify it. Even so, there are pairs that try with trial and error participating every time…That just shows how popular the legend of the Love Quest is.
“Now then, both pairs, please pick out a book for your reading!”
“Mitsuki, just pick one you prefer, okay?”
Being told by Yuuya, Mitsuki felt slightly hesitating, as she randomly picked a book laying on the desk.
“Please check the contents of the books you have chosen!”
Opening up the books to check the title, both Yuuya and Mitsuki’s eyes turned into small dots, the both of them freezing up.
“Wah…Are you serious…?”
“I-It’s not my fault, okay! I didn’t aim for this…”
Next to the groaning Yuuya, Mitsuki grew teary-eyed yet again, as she tried to excuse herself.
“Still…Why this book of all things…”
“I-I don’t know! Also, we definitely can’t read this scene…What should we do…”
“Well, we haven’t decided the pages yet, so it’s not like that scene hasn’t been picked or anything…”
“Don’t emphasize it like that!”
As Mitsuki blew off some steam at Yuuya, Neko just quietly watched them.
“Then, please reveal your titles!”
“We picked ‘Odd Adventure with Jeje’1! What about you?!”
“Um…We have…Well…’The Forbidden Siblings’ Secret’…”
After revealing this barely pronounceable name, the classroom grew noisy.
“Oh my! This has to hurt! Way too much! Of the ten possible books, they pulled the joker! This will surely turn into a harsh battle!”
“……”
Maybe it was their plan all along to put some traps in there, in order to get the audience excited. Either way, Yuuya and Mitsuki were in a pinch now, right at the beginning of the Love Quest no less.
“Now then, both parties, please decide on the passages for the other group!”
“Alright! I’ll definitely get some crazy pages for you…!”
Torii put his hands together while keeping up the index fingers, throwing a ninja gesture over at Yuuya and Mitsuki. Meanwhile, Yukina just shook her head as she watched over him. However, Yuuya and Mitsuki were busy praying that Torii wouldn’t hit that scene.
“Then, let’s have you start at page 200!”
Yuuya panickingly checked the pages that Torii had named.
“?!”
The pages were filled with words that the both of them didn’t know, leaving them in silence.
“Uwaah, this is bad…This is way too gaudy…Also, the kanji themselves are really difficult…”
“…I-I can’t…Definitely can’t…As if I could…” Mitsuki muttered in a husky voice, her face as red as a tomato.
“Hmm…But, giving up is not something we can do…Think you can pull through?”
“No way…Ayaka is here as well…This is way too embarrassing.”
“—Let me think about this.”
With a stern expression, Yuuya went on to check the part they were supposed to read. With a really bad strike of luck, it was right in the middle of the scene which the two of them had feared off, seemingly a climax, as the siblings were locked in a grappe, richly written.
What kind of punishment is this, really…There wasn’t any information on this…Or is this just the taste of the club president of this year?! Oh man…
Although the situation looked grim, Yuuya watched over at Mitsuki’s despairing expression, and yet again dived deeper into his thoughts to frantically search for a way out.
“! I know! Let’s go with this!”
Humans are beings that arrive at the the best ideas when they are driven into a corner. Whispering his idea to Mitsuki, her eyes opened wide, and showed him a hesitant nod.
“Fu fu fu! How about that, Yuuya?! This is your only chance to withdraw!” Torii spoke up from across the table, showing a confident smile.
The book that Torii had chosen was a hot-blooded battle novel. It seemed like Torii had already tried becoming the protagonist.
“As if I would! The pages you have to read…starts from 198!”
“?! What…did you say?! You don’t withdraw…and even give us an exact number?!”
Being left in confusion, Torii went on to check the pages.
“Ugh…Of all the places…The battle of the climax?! Yuuya, you must have read this book before, right?!”
“Of course I did?! As a JeJe fan, this book sounds great after all! And the climax there really sticks with you. You might be able to do it, but what about Yuki-nee, who doesn’t know anything about Je Je?”
“Grrr…!!!”
Now it was Torii who grit his teeth in anguish. Meanwhile, Mitsuki and Yukina crossed eye contact, and just let out a sigh at the two boys next to them getting fired up.
Thus the deciding on the pages came to an end as well, and after a short battle of rock paper scissors, it was decided that Yuuya and Mitsuki would be going first. With stiff movement, and a bright red face, Mitsuki scarcefully started to read the very first line.
“I-I-I…’I2 perfectly saw through your weak spots’, whispered the older brother, as he took off her clothes…a-and then…forcefully p-pushed her down right then and there…”
It was a stiff and desperate reading, and watching a cute girl like Mitsuki say things like that, filled with embarrassment, the audience got even more fired up. Clearing his throat, Yuuya took a peek at the next line he was supposed to read.
“?!”
In response, Mitsuki forcefully pulled her head away. But, dense as always, Yuuya had no idea of this, and approached her even further. Feeling Yuuya so close his breathing reached her, Mitsuki let out a hot sigh, which finally made the boy realize that something was off.
“Hm? What’s wrong, your face is red?”
“N-N-Nothing at all…Just your imagination! Just read your own part!”
Mitsuki averted her face after saying it bluntly to Yuuya, and as he realized her hand was shaking while holding the book, he supported her with his own.
“—?!”
Immediately, a shock ran through Mitsuki’s body, and she pushed her head down as she was unable to bear it. That unexpectedly sweet reaction left Yuuya in confusion.
What’s with that reaction…All I did was touch her hand…
Although he was puzzled at Mitsuki’s act, Yuuya had to focus on his own reading for now.
“‘Don’t, Onii-chan…We are siblings…Ahhhh…’ Miyuki tried her best to resist Yuuji, but he was unable to hold back any longer.”
“Wait, Yuuya, you’re the little sister?! That’s totally wrong! I was so looking forward to hearing this from Mitsuki-chan! Give me back my anticipation! Give me back my romance!”
As Yuuya heightened his voice as best as he could to read the little sister part, Torii couldn’t hold back a retort, as the audience grew noisy again.
Alright! I feel like I got it now! If I make them laugh a bit more, it’ll be our win!
Yuuya focussed all his attention on getting favourable reactions from the audience, and threw Mitsuki a glance. At first, she showed a relieved expression. However, the very next moment, without any warning, as her body twitched heavily, and she pushed down her hands on her chest.
“…M-Mitsuki? You okay?”
Yuuya asked in a worried manner, but Mitsuki just let out a rather seductive breath, smiling carefree.
“Mm…I’m okay. I thought I was the better choice for this, so I switched places~”
Mitsuki’s smile she flashed Yuuya suddenly looked rather bewitching, making his heart skip a beat.
Switched places…? Is it the more honest Mitsuki this time…?
As Yuuya was a bit perplexed and at a loss, the girl whispered.
“Onii-chan, being on the receiving end is great and all, but don’t you think that the attacking portion might fit you better?”
“B-But…are you fine with that? You just kept saying that you can’t, and that you’d die of embarrassment, right?”
“Heh, women are born actresses, you know. It’s okay. I’ll show you how good my acting really is~ So much that it will get your heart racing, Onii-chan~”
As Mitsuki spoke up with a teasing tone again, she started reading the line that Yuuya was about to start.
“‘Ahh?! Onii-chan! I keep telling you that you can’t, but you want me that badly?! Even though we really can’t’, Miyuki twisted and turned her body, but she couldn’t escape from Yuuji’s passionate embrace, as both her body and mind melted away.”
A complete change of recitation came from Mitsuki, leaving Yuuya and the surroundings in complete silence. Yuuya could even see Torii baring his fist in frustration.
“……”
“Come on, Onii-chan. Read the continuation.”
“A-Ahh…”
Being asked to move the story forward with a sweet, enticing voice, Yuuya forced his eyes down on the novel.
“‘Miyuki, you belong to me, and only me. Both your chest, your XXX and XXX, I’ll do whatever I want with them…’”
“‘If it’s Onii-chan…I don’t mind giving it all to you…But, be gentle…okay?’”
“……”
Being gazed at with intoxicated eyes from Mitsuki, Yuuya hesitated.
Wait, this is just acting, why am I panicking like this…
“Yuuji kissed Miyuki. Her soft lips excited him even further. After that, he forced his tongue inside her mouth, giving her a long, deep french kiss. ‘Ahh~ Onii-chan!’, Miyuki exclaimed, as she accepted Yuuji with all she had.”
Being too enticed with her acting, Yuuya’s gaze unconsciously wandered over to Mitsuki’s damplips, only to quickly shake his head back and forth to get back on track, forcing out any indecent fantasies.
What’s going on here…Mitsuki, you’re suddenly way too good at this…
For a second, he doubted if she actually might have said this in all honesty. And, as if she had seen right through Yuuya, Mitsuki brought her body even closer. Something soft pressed against his arm, robbing him of his breath.
“Come on, read the continuation~ Onii-chan?”
Feeling a hot breath in his ear, a shiver ran up his spine. However, he had to focus on his reading.
“‘It’s fine. Just leave it all to me’.”
“‘Okay, I’ll believe you…I’ll hold back, just for you…’”
While speaking, Mitsuki clung to Yuuya’s chest.
“……”
Even if he knew that this was only acting, her erotic voice and actions made his cheeks burn up, and he was left unable to guess that kind of face he was making.
“Onii-chan? Look, I’m doing a pretty good job, right? Are you fantasizing about it?”
Asked by Mitsuki in a quiet voice, Yuuya’s heart almost leaped out of his chest.
“Hey now…Don’t tease me, and focus on the reading.”
“I’m not teasing you though~ I’m always completely serious about this~”
Giving a short pout, Mitsuki continued to read.
Serious…In what way?
Growing more interested in the meaning of her words, Yuuya was unable to focus on the reading himself.
“‘Ah…Mmm…?! O-Onii-chan’s…amazing…! Ahhhhhnnn…!’”
“M-Miyuki t-twists her graceful body in pleasure…as she lets out a coquettish voice…”
While Mitsuki was completely engrossed in her reading, Yuuya was fumbling over the script, trying to keep his act together. Both of them managed to engross a part of the audience in a skillful way. The boys were entranced by Mitsuki’s sudden change in attitude and excellent, almost seductive, way of reading, while the girls were getting excited over the older brother Yuuya, struggling to force out the words. As their live-reading came to an end, a loud and boastful applause filled the classroom. Watching this, Mitsuki showed a satisfied smile, waving at the audience like a queen, even throwing them winks and hand-blown kisses as an extra service.
“…How was it, Onii-chan? I can do it if I want to, right?” Mitsuki licked her lips, and gazed up at Yuuya.
Still under the influence of their reading just now, even a slight gesture like this was enough to bring chaos to Yuuya’s heart.
“E-E-Even if you say that…Well…it was, amazing…or rather, way too unexpected…”
“Then, praise me some more~”
“O-Okay…”
With stiff movement, Yuuya started to softly rub his hand on Mitsuki’s head, which resulted in her letting out a blissful sigh. This careless smile of hers was completely different from her bewitching one just now.
Mitsuki might actually have some acting talent in her…
Normally she would always be cold and absent towards him, but the mysterious Mitsuki that would sometimes turn into a spoiled little sister left a great impression on Yuuya. At the same time, Torii showed a defeated reaction.
“Shit…It’s our loss. Mitsuki-chan…But, no regrets! It was great! Yuuya, we’ll defeat the next pair and be right after you, okay?! Just…go on ahead!”
“Torii?! Are you sure?!”
“I don’t think we can win this anymore after you made me listen to something like this! Ahhh, there’s no way my little sister could be this erotic and perverted3! Shit! Mitsuki-chan is the little sister of little sisters!”
Torii put both his hands together, almost looking like he was praying to Mitsuki.
“No no no, Moa-chan is plenty cute as well, right?”
“You blind?! She’s not cute at all! She’s still wearing bear panties even after she started attending middle school!”
“……”
Yuuya had the urge to retort on several aspects there, but he decided to let Torii’s rant go. Rather, he should be thankful that he didn’t make them waste anymore time in this competition. However, Yukina wouldn’t be so kind. She crossed her arms, clearly not satisfied with this outcome, as she prepared a scolding for Torii, who just decided on everything on his own.
“…Torii-kun. It’s not very manly of you to just withdraw like this, don’t you think?”
“Kiritani-senpai! You’re wrong! I am not a man, I am a man’s man!”
“…I don’t really get it, but I am quite the sore loser, you see.”
Yukina readied her first, flashing a scary smile. However, all Torii could focus on was Yukina’s chest, emphasized as she crossed her arms. Watching this, Yuuya could only let out a dry laugh.
“Well…Leaving the win to them here, and beating them at the next one sounds more of a time save. I honestly really don’t get much about JeJe anyway, so just focus on the next one instead…huh.”
Basically, Yukina allowed Yuuya and Mitsuki to take the win here.
“It’s been decided! The win goes to the ‘Forbidden (Provisional)’ pair!”
After the literary club president’s announcement, everyone present gave them a good round of applause. But, the second they received the heart seal on their card, Mitsuki’s expression changed, as her face burned up in a bright red color.
“Uuu…Uu…this is the worst…Hiyori, you idiot…”
“Mitsuki, what’s wrong?”
Since she had her head hanging low, Yuuya couldn’t quite make out her expression, but he could see her shaking, as she formed fists with her hands. Even as he tried to put one hand on her shoulder, she would just push it away in response.
“Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up! Ahh, I’ll die, I swear I will! I’d be better off dead!”
Holding her head in her arms, she frantically shook her head, and dashed out of the classroom.
“Wah, h-hold on! Mitsuki! Our next event isn’t in that direction!”
All Yuuya was capable off was chase after Mitsuki.
*
“Hiyori you idiot! You went too far again! What were you thinking?! Ayaka saw us…And everyone else as well…Doing something like that…”
Ahahaha, I wanted to get Onii-chan’s heart racing, you know~ But then I got a bit too into it, tehe~ But I’m sure that it worked! Onii-chan’s face was beet red, didn’t you see? We did it, Mitsuki~
“Why are you so happy about it?! Because of you, there will be a different kind of rumour going around tomorrow, you know?! I can’t come to school anymore…!”
Now now, don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s totally fine, you’re just way too serious~
“That just means that you’re way too relaxed about things, Hiyori! I keep telling you that!”
While trying to argue with Hiyori, who had absolutely no ill will with all of this, Hiyori dashed through the hallway of the old school building. However, it didn’t take long for Yuuya to catch up again.
“Mitsuki! W-Wait! We did win, so why are you running away?!”
Close to a vending machine on a passage of the hallway, Yuuya managed to get hold of Mitsuki’s wrist.
“Mm?! Ahh!”
The second she felt Yuuya’s touch, a moan escaped Mitsuki’s snow white throat, to which she hurriedly closed off her mouth. But, remembering that embarrassing and perverted reading from before, the blood started rushing to her head.
“But! Doing something embarrassing like that…It’s impossible! I’m going home! I’ll become a neet! I can’t go to school anymore!”
Mitsuki started to resist heavily as she was about to break in tears, shaking her head left and right. She tried to pull away from Yuuya, but she couldn’t muster up any strength. Meanwhile, he slightly chopped her on the head, speaking up with a troubled expression.
“You really are a crybaby, Mitsuki. Is this really something to cry about?”
“Uuuuuuuu, someone as dense as you would definitely not understand! This happens when someone is actually sensitive, you see!”
“But, we won, so it’s fine, right? We were planning on winning this, right?”
“S-Still…It’s way too embarrassing…I’ll die…Ahhh…”
“It might have been a bit embarrassing sure, but I thought you were pretty amazing. And so did everyone else. About your acting, I mean.”
“……”
Yuuya scratched his head, but Mitsuki wasn’t that delighted by that compliment.
He’s just honestly appreciating it…Not seeing me as someone perverted, someone nasty…He doesn’t think like that at all…Just acting…So carefree
Thinking thus far, Mitsuki was reassured by Yuuya’s words, and felt her storm of emotions slowly calm down. As their eyes met, Mitsuki quickly averted hers, as she stared at the ground.
“…Why are you so…laid-back? Makes me angry…”
“Mitsuki, you’re just worrying about too much, that’s it.”
“You’re just too carefree!”
“Aye aye—”
While Mitsuki kept on complaining, Yuuya just waved his hand at her, proceeding to buy two packs of milk from the vending machine, pushing it against Mitsuki’s cheek.
“—?!”
Mitsuki’s shoulders twitched in surprise, and Yuuya let out a giggle.
“Well, just drink this and calm down a bit, okay?”
Looking at it, it was Mitsuki’s favorite strawberry milk.
“I also have bitter lemon if you want that?”
“…I prefer strawberry…Why even bitter lemon?”
“I see. I heard from Ayaka-chan that you seem to like it.”
“Eh…Ayaka, you liar…I don’t like it at all. I just had no other choice but to buy that since everything else was sold out…”
Watching the tears disappear from Mitsuki’s face, Yuuya was relieved. As the two of them sat down at a nearby bench, they started sipping on their drinks.
“Geh, what is this?! It’s crazy bitter…”
“Of course, it’s bitter lemon after all.”
Mitsuki just calmly stifled Yuuya’s laugh, as she threw him a ‘This is what you get’ expression.
“Yeah, but still…this is a bit tough…Explains why this one’s always left over.”
Yuuya had a disgusted expression on his face as he forced himself to sip up the rest of the bitter lemon milk all at once, to which the plastic pack crumbled up.
“Uuuuu…it’s so bitter inside my mouth…Mitsuki, let me that, I need to wash out my mouth.”
“Eh?!”
Until now, she had been slowly sipping on the strawberry milk, but a second later Mitsuki quickly pushed away the straw from her mouth.
Wait, I already drank from this?! Is he…?!
For a second, Mitsuki was unsure what Yuuya had even talking about, but before she could react in any way, Yuuya already took the pack from her, putting his mouth to it.
“……Ah.”
Mitsuki’s heart skipped a beat, as her eyes narrowed. All she could do was watching Yuuya’s Adam’s apple move up and down as he gulped the milk. Just like him, she held her breath.
Kyaaa~~~ An indirect kiss with Onii-chan!
Watching Hiyori get fired up as she embraced her body with both her hands, Mitsuki could feel her face burn up in a hot fever.
“Uu…”
She tried to open her mouth, trying to say something, but she ended up like a fish, flapping open and closing her mouth. With a half pouting, half angry expression, she just gazed at Yuuya.
“So sweet! Woah, this is the exact opposite…”
“! I-If you’re just going to complain, then give it back!”
Mitsuki succeeded in stealing back the milk pack from Yuuya. However, she hesitated to put back her mouth onto the straw.
An indirect…kiss…Just because Mitsuki said something weird like that…really…
Additionally, that kissing scene from the reading contest flew back into her recent memory. She even unconsciously imagined a kiss with Yuuya, licking her own lips. Her head just went blank, as she stared at Yuuya’s lips.
“It’s fine, I didn’t drink everything, okay?”
“That is not the problem here!”
Yuuya was as dense as ever, earning himself a harsh glare of Mitsuki. However, unlike Mitsuki, Hiyori was in a clearly better mood.
Mitsuki, this is your chance! Your chance, I say! Let’s go for the first kiss as well! We’ll climb up the stairs of adulthood this festival!
“Don’t ask for the impossible…”
Mitsuki threw poison at Hiyori, as Yuuya heard her words.
“Hm, what’s impossible?”
“N-Nothing at all! Nothing!” Mitsuki unconsciously roughened up her voice.
“You’re not going to finish that? If so—”
“I’ll drink it! I’ll drink it okay?!”
In anger, Mitsuki sipped down the entire pack in one go. Again, the sound of the pack crumbling up resounded.
“…Puha…Haaa…haaa…Haaaa…”
Her head was still burning up, her breathing rough. That didn’t change even after she took a deep breath to relax.
I did it…An indirect kiss…
Her heart was beating like crazy, and she didn’t know if it was because of Hiyori’s influence, or her own feelings.
Fufu, Mitsuki…you’re feeling so much just from an indirect kiss with Onii-chan…You end up like this…by imagining all these things…You really are perverted~
“…It’s all…Hiyori’s fault…”
You have a really dirty face right now, you know? Makes me want to tease you a bit~
“Uuu…That’s not…”
Hiyori whispered sweet words of temptation into Mitsuki’s ears, as she was trying her best to hide her own face. However, the as-usual dense Yuuya had no idea what she was doing, or why she was doing it. Instead, he just spoke up, while receiving a harsh death glare from Mitsuki.
“Alright, Mitsuki. This is enough of our break. We have to move to our next station quickly.”
“Uuuu…I can’t…”
But, before Mitsuki got any more chance to complain, her phone in her pocket vibrated. Slightly surprised by that, she had some problems taking it out of the pocket of her skirt, but once she managed to, she saw that it was from Ayaka.
“A mail…’Your acting was amazing! Go, you actress you!’ she says…”
“Ah, from Ayaka-chan?”
“Yeah…”
“See, there was no reason to be so embarrassed about it, right?”
“Uuuuuuuuu! You can’t ever…know that…”
Taking the empty strawberry milk pack from Mitsuki, Yuuya proceeded to throw it into a nearby trash bin. As it landed inside, he struck a cool winning-pose. For some reason, Mitsuki felt her own heart calm a bit while watching that.
“Alright! Let’s keep the momentum going and win this!”
“…Why does it end up like that? Simpleton.”
“Better than just thinking anything’s fine, right?”
“……”
Towards Yuuya’s carefree response, Mitsuki gave a healthy pout, but still loosened her expression.
“Then, let’s go.”
“……Yeah.”
Being pushed on her back by Yuuya, Mitsuki gave a faint nod. At the same time, Hiyori pouted with her lips.
…We were at such a good spot right there…You good-for-nothing.
Mitsuki slightly pushed out her tongue towards Hiyori.
But…it really feels like this could be the day. We did have a good start today…so we might use this…
“?! WW-What are you planning?!”
Nothing at all~
Flashing an almost devilish smile, Hiyori started laughing to herself, sending a shiver down Mitsuki’s back.
…I won’t let it go your way, Hiyori!
Meanwhile, Mitsuki made up her resolve to not get possessed by Hiyori any further than this.
1 Quite clearly a Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure reference
2 The I here is written as omae, the prominently male version of I.
3 Oreimo reference
CClaw Translations 