Ch. 66.2 - Capacity: 300% Pt2
Clunk.
Rattle.
"Arriving at Tameike-Sannō Station. N-06."
The announcement sounded through the car. Both of them had hoped the crowd might thin a little here, only to find that instead of people leaving, more passengers were forcing their way in.
Swish... swish.
Swish... swish.
The sound of shoes scraping against the subway floor echoed dully. As more passengers crammed into the already crowded car, Harutaki found himself inching closer and closer to Chouko.
At least… there was still a sliver of space between them. They weren’t that close yet,
Just as both of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the same thing, a gentle tap landed on Harutaki’s shoulder.
“Excuse me, could you two move a little closer up front? You’re a couple, right? No need to be so shy.”
“Ah, uh, sorry! My bad, excuse us...”
Harutaki shuffled forward, apologizing awkwardly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chouko lower her head, her cheeks faintly pink.
“We’re... we’re just classmates, actually.”
“Oh? Both single, and you’re taking the train together?”
“Y-Yes.”
He had no idea why the lady asked, but he nodded out of politeness.
“Well then! You might as well confess and make it official! A handsome boy and a pretty girl, what a perfect match!”
Where did this matchmaker auntie come from?!
He could more or less guess what she was thinking. With looks like his and Chouko’s, it wasn’t hard to imagine a stranger mistaking them for a couple. The auntie’s tone was gentle, probably out of good-natured amusement.
“Youth only comes once, kid. Don’t waste your chance.”
With that, she gave him a light shove on the back, pushing him straight against Chouko. A faint, mischievous chuckle followed.
Hey! Auntie, you just wanted an excuse to touch a good-looking high school boy, didn’t you?!
He tried to distract himself with irritation, because otherwise... he was in serious trouble.
The soft warmth pressed against him was anything but “high school girl.”
Her height was about the same as Nogami’s, maybe even a bit slimmer, but her chest...
Sorry, Nogami.
Comparing their figures in this situation was something only a scumbag would do. Like a cheating man weighing whether his wife or mistress felt better, he winced at himself.
“Sorry, Shihou-san, I really can’t do anything about this...”
“I-It’s fine... I won’t blame Hoshikawa-kun for this.”
She tried to duck her head, not wanting him to see her flustered face, but if she did that, wouldn’t she just end up burying her head right into his chest? That’d look exactly like... like cuddling.
Maybe inviting him to the mixer was a mistake after all, she thought, her heart thumping.
If this kept up and Hoshikawa decided to take advantage of the situation, she wouldn’t even have the strength to resist...
But honestly, compared to her embarrassment, he was the one suffering more.
Did anyone truly understand what it meant to be pressed chest-to-chest with a girl whose figure rivaled, no, exceeded, that of most adults, surrounded by a crowd that kept jostling them even closer together?
And then, as if fate were cruelly conspiring against him, his mind wandered back to the private selfie she’d once sent him on Twitter,
That unbelievable photo of her papaya-sized bust, probably G-cup territory,
That very same chest... was now right up against him.
Soft. Warm. Smooth.
He could even recall the tiny beauty mark on her skin, less a flaw, more like an accent.
Stop. Stop thinking about it!
Desire flared. Rationality slipped.
If this went on any longer, he might actually lose control.
He needed to distract himself. Anything.
He took a deep breath, and instantly regretted it.
“NICE & QUICK... mixed fruit herbal body wash?”
“Eek!”
Chouko jumped, trembling slightly as his voice brushed her ear. The fact that he not only recognized her scent but named the brand sent a shock straight through her.
“Hoshikawa-kun, are you some kind of... perverted dog demon?!”
Her mind flashed back to that first café date, when he’d joked about Nogami making him her “dog.”
Wait, did Nogami say that because his sense of smell was actually that sharp?!
No, that couldn’t be. She forced herself to think. Even with a good nose, there was no way he could identify a specific brand unless,
He’d smelled that same scent on another girl.
Of course.
“Unbelievable... comparing me to other girls’ scents? Hoshikawa-kun really is a hopeless scumbag.”
She inhaled pointedly, revenge glittering in her blue-gray eyes. The little beauty mark above her lip tilted upward with her smirk.
“Huh. You’re using Biore The Body, aren’t you? That one’s super popular with girls.”
She’d used that same brand herself before switching to NICE & QUICK after a friend’s recommendation. The light floral scent on him was unmistakable.
“Cough, well, I’ve got three younger sisters, you know that. I borrowed it.”
That wasn’t a lie... just slightly bent.
After using Ayaka’s body wash a few times, he’d asked Miho for product suggestions to make it up to her, and bought this one. Out of curiosity, he tried it once. Then twice. And kept using it ever since.
And now, for some reason, he felt the weird shame of a guy being caught wearing a skirt.
“Hoshikawa-kun must’ve smelled that on other girls too, huh? Let me guess, Nogami-san doesn’t seem like the fruity type, so... Sanada Minako?”
Lifting her chin slightly, Chouko looked up at his sharp, handsome profile, a teasing curve tugging at her lips.
“...You didn’t also compare me to her body, did you?”
“Actually, Nogami-san does use citrus body wash. But this one, yours, I heard about from Shirasagi-senpai.”
No point in hiding it. Evasion would only make him look guilty.
“Liar! There’s no way Shirasagi-senpai would let you close enough to smell her.”
The image of the quiet, elegant upperclassman she’d once seen on campus was hard to square with someone who’d let Hoshikawa that close.
“She said I was the ‘hero who slew the dragon’ and rewarded me with a lap pillow.”
“You’re teasing me again! Always joking!”
She puffed her cheeks and glared at him.
“What kind of ‘hero’ memorizes every girl’s scent? You’re just a shameless womanizer!”
Handsome. Tall. Smart. Always saying dumb things, yet somehow never boring,
If he weren’t such a scumbag, but truly a hero, she wasn’t sure she could’ve resisted falling for him.
But no, scumbag was scumbag. Heroes were something else entirely. Hoshikawa only used clever words to toy with girls’ hearts.
And Shihou Chouko... would only ever love Onii.
The train broadcast chimed, “Arriving at Yotsuya Station”, and the two finally pushed their way out of the crowded car, gulping down fresh air.
Their hearts were still pounding wildly, but at least now, they could pretend it was just from the rush hour crush.