Life In The Reverse World

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Bzzz.

As the dishwasher hummed away, Harutaki and Izumi sat side by side on the living room sofa, the evening news playing softly on the TV while each of them scrolled through their phones, replying to messages.

“Hey, Hoshikawa… are you staying over at Chouko’s place tonight?”

Izumi tapped at the virtual keyboard without lifting her head, suddenly asking about his plans for the night.

She sounded casual on the surface, but the faint unease in her voice gave her away completely.

“Mm. With Shihou in that condition, I really can’t relax,” Harutaki replied. “If anything, why don’t you stay here instead, Nogami-san? It’d be more convenient with girls around.”

Harutaki truly had no intention of doing anything inappropriate to Chouko.

Especially not when the girl had only just learned of that kind of ‘bad news’ yesterday.

“I could stay, but…”

‘I just… just hope Izumi can stop him if it comes to that.’

Unbidden, Izumi recalled the private conversation she’d had with Chouko earlier.

Charity, from her, Nogami Izumi?

No. It was sharing. Sharing with her good friend!

More than that, she trusted Harutaki. Trusted this guy who had twice been given the chance to take her and Chouko’s innocence, yet still managed to slam on the brakes at the edge of the cliff. Trusted this idiot dog who cracked lewd, perverted jokes, but treated them with absolute sincerity when it really mattered.

She paused, then shifted her tone, her expression turning arrogant as usual.

“…I can only sleep in my own bed. So you stay here and watch the house for Chouko, you dumb dog. Your owner graciously permits it.”

“Are you sure you’re really okay with that?” Harutaki asked bluntly.

“I said it’s fine already. What do you think you are, Hoshikawa? Don’t get the wrong idea!”

How could it possibly be fine?!

Izumi forced herself to focus on her phone screen, careful not to let the man beside her notice anything off.

If she had a choice, how could she ever lend her doll or her dog to someone else?

But Chouko was her friend. A friend who treated her with genuine sincerity.

If Chouko could make that kind of decision, then hesitating here would just make her look petty and stingy.

Besides… she thought, in the end, Hoshikawa would come back to her anyway. There was nothing to worry about.

“What do I think I am?” Harutaki tilted his head. “Hmm… a shared bike? Any cute girl can hop on for a ride… ow, ow, ow, ow!”

“So anyone can ride you, huh?!”

Izumi threw her phone aside, grabbed Harutaki by the ear, and yanked him down onto the sofa before swinging a leg over his waist.

“I’ll show you ‘anyone can ride’… I’ll show you… you dumb dog, you’d better memorize your owner’s scent properly!”

Leaning her upper body back slightly, she braced her hands on the sofa and lifted one foot, pressing it against the side of Harutaki’s face. The way she ground it down was almost like a young noblewoman crushing grapes in a French estate winery.

Harutaki was completely stunned by the sudden attack. Only when a faintly sour deodorant scent mixed with warmth filled his nose did he realize what was happening.

The slightly rough knit cotton. The firm yet soft flesh of her sole.

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to get athlete’s foot on my face!”

“Who would even have athlete’s foot, you bastard!”

Harutaki’s words only made things worse. Izumi’s lips curled up in an excited grin, an unusual flush spreading across her cheeks as she continued mercilessly grinding away.

“Um…”

Holding a cup of water in one hand and steadying herself on the doorframe with the other, Chouko stepped out to get a drink. When she saw the scene on the living room sofa, she froze for a moment, muttered, “Please, carry on,” and promptly fled back into her room.

“Stop now or I’m fighting back.”

“Hah, like you can do anyth—uwah?!”

Harutaki suddenly grabbed Izumi’s left foot with both hands, his thumbs pressing hard into the Yongquan point on the sole.

In an instant, a mix of pain and unbearable ticklishness exploded through her mind. Izumi jerked as if electrocuted, letting out a strangled cry before her whole body went limp, collapsing onto the far end of the sofa.

…

“The key’s on the shoe cabinet by the entrance. Just use it, Hoshikawa…”

“Got it. I’ll walk Nogami-san to the station and come right back.”

Harutaki patted Chouko’s head to reassure her, then left the bedroom to meet Izumi, who was waiting at the door.

“Don’t you dare take advantage of Chouko while I’m gone!”

“Then is it okay if I take advantage of you?”

“Hmph…”

Izumi crossed her arms, lifting her chin with a rebellious grin.

“I’ll allow you, you perverted dog, to use the scent on your hands and Chouko’s cute face. Sniff and stare all you want, like a side dish to get yourself off. With your small fry abilities, you’ll probably be satisfied pretty easily, right?”

“One day I’ll teach you how scary ‘small fry abilities’ can be.”

After seeing Izumi off at the nearest station, Harutaki stopped by a convenience store on the way back and bought a toothbrush and a towel. It was only four train stops between Chouko’s apartment and his own home, but he really didn’t feel like making an extra trip. Spending 1,369 yen on irreplaceable toiletries seemed easier.

He could just leave them at Chouko’s place afterward. Who knew, maybe he’d end up staying over again someday.

With that joking thought in mind, he walked through the quiet streets at the edge of the port district, tilting his head up toward the starless night sky and letting out a soft breath.

“Haa…”

By the looks of it, Izumi and Chouko’s relationship was even closer than he’d imagined.

Knowing Izumi’s personality, if she hadn’t genuinely considered Chouko a friend, there was no way tonight would have ended with just a bit of face-stomping.

Though, speaking of that…

He lifted his hand to his nose.

Of course, he’d washed his hands and face after getting up from the sofa. All he could smell now was the floral scent of foaming hand soap.

…

Click.

“I’m back.”

Unlocking the door and stepping into the entryway, Harutaki called out out of habit. As he took off his shoes, the inner room door suddenly opened.

“Wel… welcome back.”

Chouko clung to the doorframe, half her face hidden behind dark hair as she peeked out, her voice a little hoarse.

“Didn’t I tell you to get some proper rest?”

Setting the towel and toothbrush down on the table, he walked over and gently pushed her back into bed.

“If I don’t respond, it doesn’t feel like you came home, does it?”

Harutaki really was someone who didn’t know how blessed he was.

She’d always wanted someone who would warmly say “welcome back” when she got home.

Chouko puffed out her cheeks in protest, only for Harutaki to poke the air right out of them with his finger.

“A sense of coming home? You know you looked like a vengeful spirit just now, right?”

As he kneaded her soft, smooth cheeks like dough, shaping her face into all sorts of forms, Harutaki silently confirmed his earlier guess. Shihou truly longed for someone to be by her side.

“I’m not a ghoooost…”

With her cheeks squished, Chouko protested indistinctly, yet showed no resistance at all to his hands on her face.

“Alright, I’ll go brush my teeth and wash up. Borrowing your bathroom’s fine, right? Just a shower, no bath.”

He withdrew his hands at a sensible point, steering the conversation back to business.

“A… a bath would be fine too…”

“That’d be a waste of water with just me. And your cold isn’t better yet, so don’t even think about bathing. I’ll just wipe your face and feet with a towel.”

With that, he turned and left the bedroom for the bathroom, completely unaware that Chouko had already curled herself up deep under the covers.

Wipe… wipe her feet?!

Wiping her face wasn’t a big deal. After all, Harutaki had already kneaded her cheeks without hesitation. But her feet were a different matter…

Though she came from a prestigious Kyoto family with a long history and had received strict etiquette training, she wasn’t particularly conservative. If anything, she could be quite bold and unrestrained.

Still, even though she enjoyed the thrill of breaking rules and defying parental expectations, she was a girl with no romantic experience at all. The thought of someone touching her feet made her nervous.

Just wiping them… just wiping them should be fine, right?

She reassured herself over and over, telling herself that Harutaki would definitely not do anything out of line.

And yet, even with that mental preparation, when she saw Harutaki walk back into the bedroom holding a towel, she shrank up like a skittish kitten, hugging her knees and curling into a small ball under the covers.