Arc-2 Ep-26

When I suddenly woke up, what I felt was the sweet smell of milk and a soft touch.

(Nn…… ……Oh, right, I was staying over at Chie-chan’s house.)

Mumbling this with a groggy mind, I lowered my gaze. There, I saw Chie-chan’s hair.

“…Chie-chan, a hugging pillow.”

I couldn’t help but say it out loud. In other words, it seemed that I had been sleeping while holding Chie-chan’s small body as a hugging pillow.

(When did this happen……)

From the memory of getting into bed together until falling asleep, we had just lain side by side normally. Without realizing it, I had apparently made her my hugging pillow.

Well, it was January, so it wasn’t hot, and the warmth of a beautiful girl felt pleasant on my body. I felt like going back to sleep, but before that, I checked the time.

It was fifteen minutes before the scheduled wake-up time, a slightly awkward time.

(I guess it’s okay to wake up now. My left hand is in a bad state anyway.)

My left hand, trapped under Chie-chan’s body, was numb beyond the point of feeling. Even though it’s not my dominant hand, having one hand like this isn’t good.

“Chie-chan. Wake up.”

I lightly tapped her back with my right hand while calling for her to wake up.

“Su…… su……”

“Chie-chan?”

“…Mmm, nn, nn……?”

The girl in my arms made a small sound, lifted her face, and slowly opened her eyes. Her usually unseen, defenseless expression looked cute to me.

“Good morning.”

“…Goo-good morning…….”

As I met her still sleepy eyes, her partially closed lids gradually opened.

“………. Ah, ……Mi-Mikuri-san!?”

Fully conscious now and realizing the situation, she opened her eyes wide and called my name in a flustered way. It’s no wonder she was surprised to find herself being held by someone else upon waking.

“Th-this……?”

“Good morning, Chie-chan. It’s a bit early, but shall we wake up?”

“Y-Yes!”

I withdrew my right hand, which had been resting on her back, and Chie-chan hurriedly got up. Blood flowed back into my freed left hand, restoring the intense numbness.

“Nn…… oh-hup.”

Using momentum, I lifted my upper body and touched the strange-feeling left hand with my right. It seemed it would take a while to fully return to normal.

“Left hand…… is it okay?”

“It’s just a bit numb. It’ll be fine soon.”

Today, we had to go to the production office.

The members of Sistema Solare who weren’t busy with work were gathering, planning to greet the staff for the New Year and listen to the president’s instructions.

Afterward, we intended to do some self-practice to get our bodies moving again after the holiday break. Jumping straight into a high-intensity lesson would be tough.

“…Then, let’s get ready.”

“Yes. Wash our faces, brush our teeth, take a shower, and then have breakfast.”

“That’s right.”

It was the first day of the year to meet our teammates. I wanted to go there feeling clean inside and out.

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

“Happy New Year.”

“…Happy New Year.”

Chie-chan’s father, Tomoyuki, drove us to the production office. After asking where the sixth-generation members’ room was, we went there and found several of them already gathered.

“Happy New Year. Let’s do our best this year too.”

“Happy New Year, best wishes~”

“…Happy New Year. Mikuri-san, Chie-san.”

There were three people in the room.

Leader Shion-san, Yuna-san, and Nozomi-chan, whose mood was hard to read, whether good or bad. Her expression might have been a complicated mixture of meeting me and coming with Chie-chan.

“The other three aren’t here yet?”

“Ichihara-san and Furusawa-san said they would come together from the dormitory.”

“Matsunobe-san seems to be feeling a bit unwell and sent notice she would be absent.”

“Better not to have her pass it on to someone else.”

“Is Matsunobe-san okay?”

“She seemed to have had a cold since the end of last year, but she’s mostly recovered now, Chie-chan.”

“That’s good. She should make it in time for the mini-live.”

Chie-chan looked relieved at Shion-san’s reply, worried about Sayaka-san.

No one had ever missed a mini-live before, so standing on stage without all eight must have been nerve-wracking. Of course, there were predetermined roles and practice, but performing a new composition in front of fans for the first time was understandably tense.

“…Ah, here we are. Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year.”

After chatting for a while, a knock came at the door, and the remaining two entered. Now, all seven sixth-generation members, except Sayaka-san, were present.

“Happy New Year, you two.”

“Happy New Year, best wishes~”

“Happy New Year. Let’s do our best this year too.”

“Likewise, let’s do our best.”

After exchanging New Year greetings, the conversation turned to what everyone had done over the holiday. Naturally, the highlight was that I had a sleepover at Chie-chan’s house.

“How was it? Chie-chan’s house?”

“Ah, just a normal house. Furusawa-san.”

“Yes. Just a completely ordinary, typical household.”

Apart from the ultra-wealthy Nozomi-chan, all seven of us came from regular households. Even with three older brothers, I was only somewhat atypical.

“You stayed didn't stayed over at Kayanuma-san’s house, right? Your father was opposed?”

“Yes……”

“Since there were three young men, huh.”

“…Young men.”

“Having three older brothers, and them still living at home as adults, is probably unusual now.”

I could understand that, but it’s partly because of my cuteness. If I had such an extremely beautiful little sister, I wouldn’t want to leave home either. Especially when our relationship isn’t bad, but close.

“…It’s about time. The president’s instructions.”

“Already? I hope it’s short.”

“Who knows~ Feels like it might be long~”

“The location was in the first-floor lobby, right?”

“Because of the number of people, that’s the only way to handle it in one go.”

“Let’s move quickly.”

“Yesss~”

Most high school and middle school students still had winter break. But as an idols, our holidays were short.