Cote : I Just Want to Grant Your Wish!

For a girl, a first kiss carries extraordinary significance.

Though it's merely the meeting of mucous membranes, the first time one kisses, even if the setting isn't romantic, there should at least be a heart-pounding partner to share it with.

Nanase Tsubasa knew she was overthinking.

Life never went exactly as one wished.

Sometimes, even if you hate cilantro, you have to force yourself to eat it, carefully savoring the bitterness and resentment in your heart.

Only by doing so could she remember her place.

Her breathing grew rapid, as if something were obstructing her chest, leaving her gasping for air.

Her heart pounded painfully, a stifled and difficult throb. It was miserable—unbearably miserable.

As Kaoru lifted her chin, she was forced to look at his face.

His eyes, so close they seemed to touch, were like dark gems, faintly reflecting her figure.

The man's breath was searingly hot, as if he would kiss her down at any moment.

The girl's eyelashes trembled slightly.

Strands of hair fell from her shoulders. Beneath her slender neck, her full, firm chest rose and fell irregularly with her breathing.

The hands she'd originally meant to use to push him away were now stiffly clutching her own skirt.

I can't refuse. This is fine. The mission will be complete just like this. It's just the meeting of mucous membranes—lips touching lips, teeth touching teeth. Something as simple as this, I can easily do. It's no big deal. Others have done better than me. Do they lose anything just by kissing?

Nanase Tsubasa kept repeating these affirmations to herself, yet her heart felt oppressively heavy, as if each beat dragged a thousand-pound shackle. It was too suffocating, almost strangling her.

Though she was breathing, she couldn't feel the oxygen.

The closer she looked at Kaoru's face, the more her heart tightened.

The distance between them was too small, so close she couldn't catch her breath.

No... I can't... This is too much...

Reason was powerless against her body's instinctive reaction.

Even though she desperately wanted to complete the mission, waves of aversion and disgust continued to surge from deep within.

Once again, she was struck by the crushing realization that she simply couldn't do it, couldn't suppress her feelings. She was a failed tool.

"May I kiss you?"

Feeling the man's breath suddenly draw closer, Nanase Tsubasa flinched.

She reflexively turned her face away, squeezed her eyes shut, and pushed hard against his chest.

After a few moments, she realized she hadn't pushed Kaoru away, nor had he made any further move.

A flicker of confusion crossed her mind.

Nanase Tsubasa slowly opened her eyes, only to see Kaoru extending his index finger. Before she could flinch away, he pressed the pad of his finger against her lips.

In an instant, Nanase Tsubasa froze.

"Don't look at me like that. A kiss doesn't always have to be with the mouth."

Kaoru smiled faintly. "Think about it—kissing someone you dislike, someone you have no feelings for... In the end, it's just an exchange of mucous membranes and saliva. The very thought is physically nauseating. You'd probably gag the moment you touched, because if you don't like someone, you just don't."

The next moment, his finger left her lips, leaving her mind in a haze of confusion.

"That reaction of yours was way too innocent. If you hated the idea of kissing me, you should have refused from the start."

Nanase Tsubasa stared blankly for a moment, then her cheeks gradually flushed crimson.

"President, if you keep this up, I'm really going to report you for harassment!" she gritted out. "This is such a cruel joke! I won't forgive you even if you apologize!"

"Is it my fault again? I only asked if you'd dated before. You're the one who just stood there without moving."

Kaoru's face remained completely unblushing and his heart beat steadily. "A girl standing still, not saying a word, with her eyes closed... That's common knowledge: she's asking for a kiss. I just thought you wanted to experience what a first kiss feels like."

Nanase Tsubasa felt the veins in her forehead throbbing. This guy is talking complete nonsense! When was I ever asking for a kiss?

"I've never dated anyone, and I will never ask anyone for a kiss in the future!" She declared this so vehemently that, after speaking, she found a sudden, liberating lightness wash over her entire body, as if a weight had been lifted.

If Kaoru dared to even stick out a finger now, I'd bite it off!

"So, kissing is out. Can I touch your thigh instead?" Kaoru asked, seizing the opportunity.

Nanase Tsubasa's face darkened. "President, don't force me to hit you."

"Weren't you okay with that before?" Kaoru asked in genuine surprise. "Can your boundaries really rise back up?"

His words were just awful. What do you mean, 'rise back up'? She never intended to let him touch her thighs in the first place. It was just that a few days ago, she'd been temporarily possessed, so she had...

"I think the President, as my senior, should be setting a good example for his juniors," Nanase Tsubasa said expressionlessly.

"Rather than being a good example for juniors, I think juniors should listen to their senior's orders and obey them without question."

Kaoru flipped through the novel from earlier. "You actually read it quite well. It felt like ASMR—specifically from an 'adult-oriented' streamer."

"Please be serious. I... I would never do something like that," Nanase Tsubasa said, averting her gaze, her ears tinged red.

"After I told you I was going to 'quid pro quo' you, how am I supposed to be serious?" Kaoru chuckled wryly. "Even you know that my love for you is the love of a pervert. Am I supposed to pretend to be a proper gentleman now?"

"Isn't pretending to be a proper gentleman better?" Nanase Tsubasa countered. "At least... at least we could communicate normally."

"Aren't we communicating right now?" Kaoru gave her a curious look. "I admit I can be a real handful sometimes, but I think talking like this is much more relaxed. You know I'm a lecher, and I know you know. There's no need for us to pretend. You can hate me, you can scold me openly, instead of forcing yourself to act polite and swallow your pride. That would be way too exhausting."

"You... you're just twisting the truth," Nanase Tsubasa said. She felt something was wrong, yet his words seemed to make perfect sense. A strange feeling stirred in her heart, and suddenly, she found herself speechless.

"I don't know if it's twisted logic," Kaoru said as he casually shoved the novel back onto the shelf, "but I do know you hated me just now."

"For me, nothing is more thrilling than forcing a girl who hates me to submit. So, you're welcome to keep hating me."

Nanase Tsubasa's gaze was incredibly conflicted. This guy is so strange.

"Is your kink forcing girls to do things?"

"If I forced you, Tsubasa, would you have kissed me just now?"

"No... no..."

"Exactly. Because you wouldn't, that's why I like you."

Kaoru turned to look at her. "If you just gave in, I'd find it boring. Without any boundaries, you'd just be a simple doll—not even a person, just a cup."

Nanase Tsubasa found herself flustered, a faint blush spreading across her face.

She didn't know if it was because he had suddenly confessed his liking for her, or because of the... "cup."

After a moment, the girl suddenly spoke. "A doll is more convenient. Someone who can't do anything is of no use. Dolls are obedient; they fulfill their Master's every demand. Compared to someone who refuses, a doll who only obeys orders is far more valuable."

Though a doll could be manipulated at will, it meant someone needed her.

Her existence would be validated, allowing her to continue surviving.

This was her life—to be nothing more than a convenient doll, her sole value being her ability to satisfy her Master's every whim.

It had been this way for a long time, and her future would simply continue in this same pattern.

Nanase Tsubasa pressed her lips together, staring motionless at Kaoru. She had made a mistake. She should have kissed him.

As a qualified tool, she should have kissed him.

However, Kaoru looked at her for a long moment before speaking. "Nanase-san, you're too cute to just be a doll. What a waste."

Nanase Tsubasa froze.

The words she had prepared died in her throat.

Something was blocking her speech, yet it wasn't the same suffocating pressure as before. Instead, it was a feeling she couldn't quite name.

Does he... know who I am?

A sudden wave of panic washed over her, an instinctive fear of failing her mission. But then, a sense of relief flooded her, as if a weight had been lifted.

A strange, pleasant sensation coursed through her entire body.

Just as she expected Kaoru to confess something, he pulled out another book.

"By the way, Nanase-san, do you read light novels? I think this one's pretty good. I've read it before."

Nanase Tsubasa instinctively took the book he offered. But after a single glance at the cover, her face flushed crimson, and she glared at him.

"Pervert! I can't believe you'd show a girl something like this! How many times do I have to call you a pervert before you're satisfied, Mr. President?!"

The title of the light novel Kaoru had handed her was I Accidentally Broke a Girl in the Library, so I Decided to Build a School-Wide Harem.

That evening, Nanase Tsubasa returned to her room. Recalling the afternoon's events at the library, she felt a mixture of shame and anger.

She truly couldn't understand how anyone could be such an openly candid pervert.

...

Still, Nanase Tsubasa reported today's events to Tsukishiro.

She had no choice but to report them.

As the school's acting chairman, Tsukishiro could check the entire campus surveillance system at any time; Nanase Tsubasa stood no chance of concealing anything from him.

After all, he was the employer who had raised her, the man who had single-handedly forged her into his perfect tool.

Yet, inexplicably, she found herself omitting the detail about Kaoru's attempt to kiss her, as well as their subsequent conversation.

"So, you've made no progress at all?" Tsukishiro's voice over the phone held a hint of displeasure.

"Nanase, you are my most prized child. This mission should be simple for you. Are you still hesitating because of your supposed 'first time'?"

Nanase Tsubasa's heart trembled slightly.

She feigned composure as she replied, "Please rest assured, I will complete the mission. However, it seems the president enjoys pressuring girls. Being too eager might sicken him. I will gradually awaken the desires in his heart and make him surrender to them."

As she spoke, her palm sweated against the phone.

"Hehehe, most men are just like that. I didn't consider it thoroughly enough."

Tsukishiro didn't doubt her insight. "But we don't have much time now. Ayanokoji is no longer our target. If we don't hurry, we'll miss the most critical moment in history."

Nanase Tsubasa was slightly taken aback.

She hadn't expected Tsukishiro to say something like that. Was it an evaluation of Kaoru?

"May I ask... why is the President so important?"

Nanase Tsubasa suddenly thought of something and quickly added, "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to pry into your plans. I just want to understand more about the target... It might help me complete the mission better..."

Silence fell on the other end of the line. Her heart pounded with anxiety.

Reason told her she had been too impulsive, but she also had a perfectly valid excuse.

Tsukishiro had given her no information this time, which was completely unlike any of her previous missions.

It was only natural for her to want some intel on her target.

With no information at all, approaching a target blindly was a daunting task. It was only natural that Nanase Tsubasa would ask a few questions.

After a long pause, Tsukishiro's voice finally came through the line.

"When you've made progress, I'll tell you. Until then, do not harbor any ill will toward him, and do not reveal the relationship between us. If he discovers anything, this was an individual action you took on your own—that you were simply curious about him and that's why you approached him. Do you understand, Nanase?"

"I understand."

"That's my good girl."

After he hung up, Nanase Tsubasa realized her back was drenched in sweat.

Even though Tsukishiro still hadn't given her any information, she could tell from his words that her usually confident boss was extremely wary of Kaoru... No, "fearful" was a better word.

He was approaching, greedily desiring something, yet terrified that getting too close would bring down a thunderous rage and leave him with no place to be buried.

That was why Tsukishiro refused to share any information with her, choosing instead to have her simply get close to Kaoru—even if her motives were anything but simple.

Nanase Tsubasa's feelings grew more complicated. Tsukishiro was afraid. Wasn't she afraid too?

To Tsukishiro, she was likely nothing more than a disposable pawn—the inevitable fate of a tool.

Nanase Tsubasa lay in bed, her thoughts drifting back to the words Kaoru had said to her today. Did he really think she was that cute?

No, he's probably said that to hundreds of other girls.

He was a total scumbag, yet she was the one who had to proactively approach him.

Her original plan had been to simply extract information about Kiyotaka Ayanokoji—she had been so puzzled as to why the two of them had even formed an alliance in the first place.

Just then, a certain image flashed through her mind. Her cheeks flushed crimson as she hugged her pillow, burying her face deep into it.

What am I thinking? I definitely can't let him kiss me.

But if I don't let him, how am I supposed to complete this mission?

Nanase Tsubasa couldn't stop picturing Kaoru actually kissing her.

She imagined the soft touch on her lips, a sudden bloom of tingly warmth and a gentle itch that caused her eyes to flutter shut.

She would keep her lips pressed tight, yet wouldn't hate the gentle contact, melting into the sensation as her once-stiff legs slowly relaxed.

Her hands, still gripping the pillow, would be clinging to him, half-resisting, half-inviting.

But the sensation was only her own fingers.

Mimicking the way Kaoru had tapped her lips today, she used her own fingertips to touch them.

She was just kissing her own fingers, yet she was imagining it was him.

Her breath came short and shallow. At a moment like this, some rogue would likely seize the opportunity to wrap his arms around her waist, perhaps even stroking her breasts—the way it was described in so many books.

So Nanase Tsubasa squeezed her pillow, her gaze turning hazy as if she were resisting someone's advances.

Yet, the pillow she held so tight kept rubbing against her body, and her girlhood sensitivity left her stifling a groan, desperate to let out a sound.

Her fair-skinned, smooth thighs twisted unconsciously, the skin between them rubbing together—a sensation Nanase Tsubasa had never felt before.

How strange, she thought.

Though she didn't know what this was, she knew all too well that she was doing something bad.

The mere thought made her shame explode.

Yet, whenever she remembered her mission—that this was inevitable, a matter of when, not if—she would bite her lip and refuse to stop.

Flashes of everything Kaoru had done to her in his office flickered across her mind. The lingering memories in her body gradually awakened.

His fingers had caressed her ankle, stroking it gently before tracing the path of her black stockings up to her calf.

He had massaged the back of her leg, and its soft, elastic skin had submitted to his every whim.

The way it yielded under his light pressure, its smooth and delicate texture so irresistible, had left him wanting more.

Just as Tsubasa thought he would spend an eternity savoring her leg, his palm reached for her thigh.

The exposed skin immediately broke out in a light dusting of pink goosebumps.

This was the absolute territory between her skirt and over-the-knee socks—a place a young maiden should fiercely guard, yet here she was, letting him do as he pleased.

"Ugh..."

Even though she knew it was just her imagination, Nanase Tsubasa's face was already flushed.

It was as if she could truly feel him playing with her, leaving her both ashamed and hopelessly enthralled.

I'm just completing a mission, she told herself over and over. I'm just getting a head start on how it feels to do something bad.

After what felt like forever, Nanase Tsubasa sat there panting, staring blankly at her own fingers.

Soon, her face turned a deep crimson.

What was I just doing? Why was I thinking about Kaoru Mitoma?