Part-2 Ch-04 Ep-02

 After that, around noon, I headed to Maki’s house.

I worked on my summer vacation assignments, helped Maki’s mother with household chores, went shopping with them, assisted with preparing dinner, and the three of us ate together around the table. Before I realized it, night had fallen.

With a soft patan, the sound of the door closing behind me echoed. The moment we entered Maki’s room, an awkward silence settled between us.

It was probably nothing more than my own imagination, something only I was aware of, because the room’s owner, Maki, immediately dove onto her bed and began rolling around.

“Marii~~”

Rolling across the bed, Maki called out to me.

“Yeah?” I replied, pretending to stay calm as I hugged a nearby cushion and sat down on the floor. I was trying to remember how we used to act when it was just the two of us.

“Hehe, it’s been a while. Want to take a bath together?”

“Eh?”

Maki often gets strange ideas when we’re alone.

Normally, I would have immediately shut it down with something like, “No, it’d be way too cramped,” but my reaction lagged.

I would rather not describe what crossed my mind during that brief pause. I wanted to slam my head against the wall. Seeing me freeze up, Maki seemed surprised as well.

“Ah… sorry. Forget I said that. It was just a joke.”

She ended up being considerate instead.

“Ah, Maki. You should go first.”

“No, you’re the guest. Mari should go first.”

At her insistence, I accepted and decided to bathe first.

“Then, I’ll go ahead.”

“Yeah.”

Leaving Maki waving behind me, I stepped out of the room. The awkwardness only lasted at the beginning. By the time I came back from the bath, the earlier discomfort between us had vanished.

We played games together, talked endlessly, and lost track of time. Before we knew it, it was past midnight.

Since we were going to the open campus tomorrow, we decided it was time to sleep. Just as I stood up and said, “Then I’ll go ask your mom for a futon,”

My pajama hem was tugged lightly from the side with a kun. She looked up at me, and my heart jumped with a doki. That alone was already pushing me toward my limit, but then she said, “Let’s sleep together in my bed tonight,” and it felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest.

“Isn’t there a futon?”

“There is, but… it’s been a while, and I want to sleep together.”

“No, um, we’re not kids anymore, and if we sleep in the same bed, it’ll be really cramped.”

“That’s the point.”

“That’s not the point.”

Even after that, Maki stubbornly refused to back down. In the end, I reluctantly agreed, saying, “…As long as you don’t do anything weird.”

“Lately I’ve been thinking, but in your mind, don’t I come off as some kind of indiscriminate pervert?”

“Why don’t you reflect on your actions so far before saying that?”

As we talked, though, it started to feel silly to stay so tense. We’re going to the open campus tomorrow, so let’s just sleep. With that thought, I pushed Maki toward the edge of the bed and slipped in beside her.

We turned off the lights, pulled the blanket over ourselves, exchanged “Good night,” and closed our eyes. In the quiet darkness, I took a few steady breaths and thought that, surprisingly, I might be able to fall asleep. Just as I was about to drift off—

—Goron.

—Goron.

—Goron goron.

The repeated vibrations from tossing and turning, along with the rustling of the blanket, pulled my consciousness back. Since we were under the same blanket in the same bed, the movement transmitted directly, making it impossible to ignore.

“Maki, what’s wrong? Can’t sleep?”

“It seems I can’t.”

Maki had turned toward me, and she clearly didn’t look sleepy.

“I feel kind of stifled.”

“Is that a complaint about me taking up half the bed?”

“No, it’s not that. Starting today, um, I’m wearing a night bra…”

For a moment, I tilted my head, then remembered. It was something meant to prevent the chest from losing its shape during sleep.

“Oh, so you’re wearing something like that.”

“I bought it recently and tried it for the first time today. I’m not used to it, so it feels strange. Ah, want to see?”

As she said that, she started shifting around and unbuttoning the front of her pajamas.

No no no no.

My heart, which had finally calmed down, began pounding violently again.

“Here, look.”

“Wow, it really is cute… though it’s dark, so I can’t see very well. Wa, wait. Don’t show any more. Don’t come closer.”

“Eh? Show… I’m just showing it. I’m not doing anything.”

“It’s not okay.”

As I turned my face away with all my might, Maki, for some reason, closed the distance even further.

“Lately, I’ve been thinking.”

“What?”

The voice I forced out sounded shrill, and I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. I could feel my averted face burning hot. Thank goodness it’s dark, I thought.

“Somehow, Mari, you’ve been acting strange.”

You’re the strange one, I cursed inwardly at my childhood friend who was leaning toward me with her pajamas undone. But I had no composure left to say it aloud.

And somehow, the distance between us kept shrinking. Panicking, I tried to retreat from the approaching Maki and ended up falling off the bed. With a dosun, a dull thud echoed through the room.

“Are you okay⁉”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. So I’ll just sleep on the floor like this tonight…”

“No, sleeping directly on the floor without a futon is bad. Come back here.”

“Absolutely not…”

“Eh, I’ll apologize, so…”

As she said that, Maki grabbed my hand.

“Wa, you’re strong! Strong, strong, strong! Waa—n! Maki’s mom—!”

Just as I half-seriously cried out for help.

“Hey, you two, what time do you think it is…?”

“Ah.”

Just like last Christmas, we were making noise in the room. And just like last year, Maki’s angry mother came to check on us.

But unlike last year, the scene in the room now was Maki on all fours with her pajamas largely unbuttoned in the darkness, and me underneath her, pinned by the arms and completely cornered.

“Ah… am I interrupting something?”

“Auntie, help!”

Seeing that the door might close again, I hurriedly called out.

“Ah, you’re asking for help. R-Right. Of course… um…”

Maki’s mother looked confused as she tried to process the situation. Meanwhile, at her mother’s appearance, Maki suddenly snapped back to her senses and sat properly on the bed.

She had clearly realized she had gone too far. As if she understood what was going on, Maki’s mother’s expression grew stern. She took a deep breath, then another. With her eyes closed, she rubbed the wrinkle between her brows.

“Maki-chan, do you remember the promise you made with Mommy when you became a high school student? The rules about inviting Mari-chan over?”

Eh, there was such a promise? 

When I looked at Maki, she muttered weakly, “…Don’t do things Mari dislikes. Don’t do dangerous things.”

After that, she was lectured for a while, and Maki properly buttoned her pajamas.

Her mother then offered, “Shall I prepare a futon in another room?” but I couldn’t bring myself to leave my dejected childhood friend alone at the edge of my vision. In the end, we decided to sleep separately, with me on a futon and Maki in her bed, both in the same room.

This time, I could hear Maki’s steady breathing as she slept, and I closed my eyes as well. As soon as I did, the earlier scene resurfaced in my mind.

—Goron.

—Goron.

—Goron goron.

I tossed and turned several times.

Maybe I should have slept in a different room after all. Regretting it, I spent yet another sleepless night. That was everything that happened up until yesterday.