Life In The Reverse World

Over her beige sleeveless knit pullover, she wore a loose black silk shirt with dropped shoulders. Beneath her khaki pleated mini skirt, her soft, shapely thighs were half-hidden, half-revealed. Thick-soled Mary Jane shoes exposed slightly fuzzy navy ankle socks, the edge of the fabric contrasting sharply with the pale skin of her calves, making that milky, jade-smooth complexion appear even more radiant.

“Well? How is it?”

Chouko lightly lifted the hem of her skirt and spun once in front of Harutaki. The pleats flared out like a folding fan, lending the simple motion a touch of ballet-like elegance.

But in Harutaki’s eyes, what truly made the gesture captivating was the girl herself.

“Even if it’s the ‘second time,’ I feel just as nervous and just as excited as the ‘first’! It’s amazing!”

The outfit she wore now was the one they had bought together when the three of them—him, her, and Nogami—had gone shopping.

It carried a hint of mature sensuality while still preserving a girl’s youthful innocence and charm. The designer deserved some credit, of course, but Harutaki thought Nogami’s sense of fashion and styling had been even more crucial.

“You’re still a virgin who hasn’t even had a first time, yet you love making dirty jokes. So lame, Harutaki-kun~”

After saying that, Chouko hurried into her bedroom’s private bathroom. Before closing the door, she poked her head out to inform him:

“It’s only eight now. You must’ve gotten up around five to catch the Shinkansen, right? I’ll need some time to wash up and do my makeup. You can nap for a bit~”

“You still need makeup? What a hassle… Aren’t you worried your mom or great-grandmother might come stop us?”

Before he even finished speaking, her muffled, dissatisfied voice drifted out from behind the bathroom door.

“How can I go out without makeup?! You idiot, Harutaki…”

Time was tight. Even counting basic washing up, she wouldn’t be able to spend too long on it.

Strictly speaking, this should be her and Harutaki’s third “date” alone together.

But—

Even if the preparation was rushed, she wanted to treat this upcoming “official” outing as their very first date.

Grabbing a bite and chatting at Starbucks or DUMBO DONUTS didn’t count as a date, okay?

Just like she had always longed for, she wanted an experience like an ordinary girl. A proper, “normal” date. A first time that would be unforgettable and perfect.

O-Of course, she meant their first date.

She had seen girls in her LINE class group chat talk about how their first time was painful and exhausting, complaining that their virgin boyfriends were hopeless and awkward… If that were the case, how could that possibly be unforgettable and perfect?

Unless unforgettable meant unforgettable pain?

When the time came… she, the theoretically experienced Shihou Chouko, would just have to guide that clueless virgin Harutaki properly!

…

Although he had dozed a little on the Shinkansen, Harutaki had spent most of the ride nervously imagining what he would do once he saw Chouko. His “nap” had mostly been pretending to close his eyes while rehearsing scenarios over and over.

So when Chouko said she was going to wash up and put on makeup, he decisively lay down on her bed for a short rest.

An ex-girlfriend once told him she needed thirty minutes to get ready. By the time they left, it was usually an hour later.

While procrastination wasn’t ideal, Harutaki generally didn’t mind if a girl spent extra time on makeup.

After all, the more effort and care she put into preparing, the more it meant she valued the date—and her appearance in front of him. It was almost like saying, “I did this especially for you.”

As he gradually sank into the soft mattress, he didn’t know how long had passed before he faintly heard someone calling his name nearby.

“Harutaki-kun~”

“Harutaki-kun, wake up~”

“Mm… huh?”

When he opened his eyes, instead of the room’s usual subtle, tranquil atmosphere, he saw only dim darkness, as if the world were still half asleep.

Even so, the soft warmth on his lips and the sweet citrus flavor slipping into his mouth made it clear what was blocking his view.

Chu.

“Hehe, well? I’ve always wanted to try a good morning kiss like in TV dramas.”

“Usually, a good morning kiss just means you both get hit by each other’s overnight breath.”

Harutaki deliberately responded in a dry, unromantic tone, shattering her fantasy.

“Ugh… you’re such an idiot! But if you don’t like citrus, I can try a different flavor~”

Grinning mischievously, Chouko grabbed his arm and pulled him upright.

“How about the same strawberry lip balm Izumi uses?”

The same strawberry flavor as Nogami?

Harutaki thought for a moment, then instinctively corrected her.

“Nogami doesn’t match sweet strawberry at all. She uses green apple—”

“Ah-ha!?”

Chouko instantly changed expression, hands on her hips.

“That explains why you were so skilled at kissing before… You already practiced with Izumi, didn’t you!?”

“Cough…”

This is bad.

Why am I still groggy after just a short nap?

“I meant her shampoo and body wash are green apple. You’re overthinking.”

“Hmph?”

“I—I’m still a virgin!”

“How do I know you’re not one of those ‘did everything except the last step’ virgins!”

“My carefully preserved first kiss was stolen by you, Shihou!”

Harutaki protested righteously.

The time Nogami forced one on him about a month ago didn’t count, right? It was barely a peck—and forced!

And Ayaka… that had been “practice.” Just date rehearsal support from his little sister. Not real combat.

At the very least, it was his first kiss of the month.

“Tch. And yet you were so smooth…”

Seeing her still sulking, Harutaki raised his arm and bent his elbow toward his mouth.

“Look, you can practice kissing like this.”

He inhaled dramatically and made an exaggerated “mwah” sound against his arm.

“Pfft… that’s disgusting! Fine, I believe you!”

Chouko burst into laughter, covering her mouth.

“Anyway, even if you kissed Izumi once or twice, it wouldn’t matter. I’m not that petty.”

“Really?”

“You actually have the nerve to consider it!?”

She stomped hard on his foot. Thankfully, his shoe absorbed most of the impact.

“You said it, not me. Come on, let’s hurry before anyone notices—”

Clack.

Before he could finish, the shoji door separating the bedroom from the veranda slid open with a crisp scraping sound.

Both their hearts skipped a beat as they turned toward the doorway—

Nothing.

Then a soft “meow” rose from below, drawing their attention downward.

“Ah… it’s Kinako…”

Chouko crouched down happily as the cat approached with its tail raised high, gently rubbing its head.

“Kinako? That reminds me, Shihou, you haven’t sent me any photos of—”

“N-Not that one! My Twitter alt account ‘Kinako’ is named after soybean powder, not the cat!”

After patting the cat and sending it on its leisurely way, she flushed bright red and shoved Harutaki out of the room from behind.

“Let’s go already! What if Mom or Great-Grandma sees us!”

Wasn’t I waiting for you?

—He wisely kept that to himself.

As they circled the house toward the back of the 5,000-tsubo Shihou Suishoen estate, Harutaki couldn’t help wondering what her mother and unseen great-grandmother were thinking.

He had carefully avoided surveillance cameras when sneaking in, yet it had felt almost too easy. Was someone secretly allowing it?

“Um… how did you get in?” Chouko asked as she followed him.

“When you encounter a wall, you can either go around it, knock it down, or climb over it.”

He pulled out his phone and showed her his LINE chat history with Sato.

Before parting at Tokyo Station, he had added Sato’s account, intending to gather information about the Shihou household. Instead, he had learned something far more interesting.

“A-Ah, Onii…”

“After we separated yesterday, Sato-senpai practically prostrated himself, begging me to rescue you. So I asked about Suishoen. Turns out there’s a so-called ‘secret passage.’”

In reality, it was just an abandoned storage area in a surveillance blind spot at the back of the estate, hidden behind shrubs near the outer wall.

“So dramatic… that’s so like him…”

“He said if he could protect the wish of his childhood friend, he’d do anything.”

Harutaki watched her reaction from the corner of his eye.

“Mm…”

A flicker of loneliness crossed her faintly flushed face before she smiled gently, pure as a white lily.

“…If only we’d realized sooner.”

If only she’d understood from the beginning.

She had once believed BOnii was her only one—the only one who truly understood her heart.

But after meeting Harutaki, she realized Sato’s understanding wasn’t what she’d imagined.

Onii was just Onii. That was enough.

“Expectations are often the gateway to hell,” Harutaki said without turning back.

“So you’d better only place expectations on one person. Yourself.”

“Not even on you?”

He hesitated, then exhaled softly.

“You’re Shihou Chouko. Not Shihou Chouko who belongs to Hoshikawa Harutaki.”

…

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