Life In The Reverse World

“Cage seam, cage seam~”

“The bird inside the cage~”

…Mm…

“Always longing to fly away~”

So annoying…

“On the night before the break of dawn~”

“Ugh…”

Chouko had gone to bed late thanks to insomnia, so when she was shaken awake now, she was still drifting somewhere between dream and reality.

Which bastard is this annoying!? Ruining someone’s sleep this early in the morning?

She had finally, finally been about to take the last step with Harutaki in her dream… Even if they could only meet like that now, in dreams, someone still had to go and completely wreck it.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she forced her heavy lids open and looked toward the source of the voice.

And then she saw something unbelievable.

Why was Harutaki lying right beside her?

“Mm… huh…? Ah!?”

She let out a string of meaningless syllables, her mind lagging behind.

You’ve got to be kidding.

This is Shihou Suishoen. This is Kyoto!

A dream… she must still be dreaming…

“Phew…”

She let out a small sigh of relief. Looks like her earlier dream hadn’t actually been interrupted. Just… a strange little detour.

Then… shall we continue?

With that thought, she lifted the heavy blanket that felt far too real and turned over, reaching out both arms toward Harutaki.

“Mm…”

The familiar scent of soap. The strong male warmth. The comfort of his embrace… and a tongue just as naughty and shameless as Harutaki-kun himself…

Eh?

She froze again.

The next instant, the sensation of suffocation flooded her mind. It felt as if she’d turned into a tiny boat tossed across a stormy sea at night, wave after wave crashing over her, rocking not just her body but her heart as well.

“Mm… mmm!”

S-She’s going to suffocate!

Why can’t I breathe even in a dream!?

Only after she clenched her fist and thumped against that solid chest did she finally get a moment to gasp for air.

“Haa… haa…”

Panting hard, Chouko stared wide-eyed with her pale golden eyes at the boy in front of her.

He was smiling at her.

“Ha-Harutaki-kun?”

“Ahem. The signal’s a little weak. This is the Harutaki Apollo-1 Manned Lunar Spacecraft.”

Apollo 1 blew up, you know!?

Couldn’t you at least use something luckier, like Apollo 11!?

She grumbled inwardly. Harutaki was as always, making his stupid jokes.

“Princess Shihou Kaguya, as promised, I’ve come to the Moon Palace to find you.”

“Mm…”

Chouko puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. She wanted to question him.

Why are you only coming now?

Why didn’t you come last night?

Why choose this exact moment… the morning after she’d drowned in grief, loneliness, disappointment, despair… the moment she’d just been having such a sweet pink dream?

But—

The instant she remembered what the two of them had just been doing in that dream, her cheeks flushed a cherry-blossom pink. The resentment and grievance in her heart deflated along with the air she’d been holding in her mouth.

“Pff!”

Harutaki wasn’t fast enough. He got sprayed right in the face.

Yes. He could now confirm something important.

Even a beautiful girl has a bit of morning breath before brushing her teeth.

“Sorry, wrong person. Are you some kind of alpaca princess!?”

He complained while fishing tissues out of his pocket, thinking what a strange and innovative form of welcome this was.

But before he could wipe his face, he felt something warm and slightly rough against his cheek.

It was strangely familiar.

Like the cat he used to keep, who loved licking him awake in the mornings with its coarse pink tongue.

“I did wash my face in the Shinkansen restroom, but… ah—”

Chouko bit down on his cheek with an “ahm.”

He pushed her away and was about to complain when he realized she was simply sitting there in a duck-like posture on the bed, grinning foolishly at him.

“You didn’t catch a fever overnight and get even dumber, did you?”

She ignored that completely and asked in an excited tone:

“Did Great-Grandmother and Mom let you come?”

“I came on my own.”

The smile on her adorable face collapsed instantly.

She lunged at him, grabbing the collar of his jacket and shaking him hard.

“You idiot! Moron! Scumbag! How did you get in— no, how dare you sneak in here!?”

After venting for a bit, she dropped back onto the bed weakly and muttered a half-hearted warning.

“Y-You should hurry and leave before anyone notices… Hurry up and go… I… mm…”

In the end, she completely went limp in his arms.

“What do you think I came here for?”

“To sightsee in Kyoto?”

“To tour the Leibnitz Mountains on the Moon?”

Harutaki raised a brow and reached out with his free hand.

If she was still trying to act tough, he wouldn’t be polite.

“Ha-Harutaki-kun…”

“I heard there are moon rabbits in the Moon Palace—”

“…Do you want to?”

“—so—”

Wait. What did she just say?

He cut off mid-sentence and looked down at her in surprise.

Her slightly curved eyes resembled a crescent moon in winter, close to the sun, glowing with beautiful, noble gold.

“According to common sense, shouldn’t you scream, slap me, clutch your chest and call me a shameless pervert?”

“But you didn’t act according to common sense either, did you?”

Chouko couldn’t help curling her lips in a smile. She rolled over and wrapped her arms around his waist, rubbing her head against him like a pampered cat.

Harutaki had been enduring things before.

Wasn’t she the same?

But the weight of responsibility had kept them from being honest with each other.

“Even if I really want to… what if your mom or great-grandmother barges in right after we take our pants off?”

Harutaki pulled his arm out from under her head and peeled her off like sticky candy. Seeing her pink lips pout in dissatisfaction, he lightly patted her frizzed-up hair.

“Hurry up and get ready. Let’s go out and play before anyone comes to drag us back.”

“B-Back to Tokyo?”

The sudden sparkle in her eyes, overflowing with expectation, made him sigh inwardly.

“I have to return you tonight.”

“Then… then you…?”

He put one hand on his hip, the other on his forehead, flicked up his bangs, and struck a dramatic pose.

“I, Phantom Thief Harutaki, am a gentleman with principles. I only steal the ‘true thing’ that I need.”

“But my great-grandmother can call in the SAT, you know. They’re not as dumb as the police in anime.”

“Then I’ll just take you hostage.”

He jumped off the soft bed and, along with Chouko still in her pajamas, lifted her down like a kitten.

“Go change. And don’t wear a skirt.”

“Hmph…”

Seemingly dissatisfied at being treated like a child, Chouko stomped her bare pale feet over to the wardrobe and began unbuttoning her top right in front of him, pulling the two sides apart—

“Hey!? Shihou, you pervert—”

“Hehe, Harutaki-kun, please close your fingers properly~”

She glanced back and met his deep violet eyes peeking between his fingers.

Hmph. As expected, I’m plenty tempting to Harutaki. Not inferior to Izumi at all!

But when she thought of her good friend, guilt welled up heavily in her heart.

They had agreed to let Harutaki and Izumi date. To let him take care of that awkward girl who couldn’t express herself and struggled to be accepted.

Yet… before the starting gun even fired, she had already secretly dashed past the starting line.

Even if this was a race without a referee, she still couldn’t accept Harutaki’s tenderness without guilt.

But… but…

Sorry, Izumi. Let me enjoy this just a little first.

Apologizing inwardly, she quickly picked out the outfit she had bought during her date with Harutaki-kun.

Mm. This pairing looks nice too.

Then she opened the lower drawer and picked up the pair of tights she’d bought but never dared to try on.

“Phantom Thief Harutaki-kun, besides me, aren’t you going to swipe anything else while you’re at it?”

“Taking this little lamb is enough…”

Harutaki glanced back. The moment he saw the white cotton fabric adorned with a pink ribbon at the front, he immediately turned away and focused on the crimson vase in the corner instead.

He gently ran his fingers over it.

It felt strangely like touching a girl’s skin.

Nice texture.

With that thought, he started rubbing it more enthusiastically, like petting a cat.

“That vase was a gift I got when I was little. Supposedly it wards off evil and brings good luck.”

“It does feel like a good piece.”

Harutaki nodded.

“Pretty ordinary. About a hundred million yen or so.”

Clunk.

His hand trembled. He hurriedly set the vase back down in its original spot.

“Hehe, I’ve smashed several similar ones before. You’re so lame, Harutaki~”

“I don’t even know where to start complaining about that.”

Guessing she’d finished changing, he turned around—

And froze the instant he saw her.

Even almost dropping a hundred-million-yen vase hadn’t made his heart race this fast.

“D-Don’t look…”

Chouko ducked behind the wardrobe door, her voice trembling close to tears.

“I-I bought these tights a long time ago… They seem a bit small…”

You gained weight, didn’t you?

He absolutely did not dare say that.

All he could do was offer a solemn prayer of gratitude.

“Thank you for the feast.”

Because the sight of her thighs, pressed tight and indented by the edges of black tights, was absolutely magnificent.