I’m an Introvert, but After Taking Care of the School’s Most Beautiful Girl Who Lives in an Apartment When She Was Sick, She Became Attached to Me and Started Inviting Me Over to Her Place! - Chapter 53

Chapter 53

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『Hey, h-hey…? Just now… Wasn’t there… Something…?』

『Huh? There’s no way something like that is—』

『Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?』

『-!? Hey! What happened!? Answer me!?』

Tap… tap… tap…

『Hah… Hah… Ha— gyaaaaaaaaaaaah!』

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“No, no waaaaaaait! Just now! Just now, just now, it was definitely on screen! That was bad—like, seriously bad!”

“Pfft— ahahahahaha!? W-wait, Suzuya-kun…! I’m going to die laughing…! I can’t… My stomach hurts…! O-okay, okay, I get it now…! This one’s on me…! Pff—kuh kuh kuh kuh…! S-stop making me laugh…!”

“Why are you laughing!? I’m being completely serious here!? And besides! You promised you wouldn’t laugh before we watched it!!”

“I did decide I wouldn’t…! But—but the way you freaked out…! It was way too maiden-like…! Nfufufu…!”

Kaon buried her face into the sofa cushion, her body trembling as she shook with laughter. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes. Her eyebrows bent into worried arcs as she burst out laughing at the sheer extent of Sorato’s terror, curled up beside her with his knees hugged to his chest.

Right. The two of them were currently watching a horror special titled “Summer Terror! The Murder Case Mansion!”—a haunted-spot tour program. Sorato, however, had always been the type to believe in spirits and things like that since he was little. If he watched even once, he’d end up feeling someone’s presence in his room at night, and until middle school he had been so scared that he’d cling to Kanau, who had a higher tolerance for such things, and beg to sleep in the same room with her.

So why was someone that easily frightened watching a horror special while being pushed this far? We needed to rewind time a few minutes earlier…

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“By the way, Sorato-kun, you were wondering why I called you over to my place today, right?”

“Ah, yes… Was it maybe just to drink tea together like this?”

After finishing the cake, the two of them were enjoying tea that was still faintly steaming when Kaon suddenly brought it up. Sorato voiced the guess that had vaguely crossed his mind, but Kaon wagged her raised index finger side to side with a “No-no,” then began rummaging noisily through the storage under the 65-inch TV stand.

“Oh, there it is! Alrighty then, time for the big reveal! The reason I called you here today is… Bam! To watch this!”

“Wha-‘Summer Terror! The Murder Case Mansion’!? Th-that is…!”

Seeing the single DVD clutched in her hand, Sorato reflexively half-stood up from the sofa. The ominous title was decorated in eerie lettering. One of the things Sorato was worst at in this world, second only to his little sister and adult women.

“Hm? It’s the DVD from that horror special they aired the other day.”

“Nooooo!? I seriously can’t handle horror! It’s the thing I’m worst at, aside from my sister and all the beautiful girls of the world!”

“There you go exaggerating again~! …I mean, I’m technically a beautiful girl too, you know… (murmured)”

“Huh? Did you say something?”

“Nope, nothing~! Anyway, we’re watching this!”

“U-eeeeeeeeeh!?”

♢

And now, back to the present. In short, the reason Sorato was trembling like a newborn deer while watching the horror special program was because he couldn’t resist Kaon’s invitation (forced), and had been made to sit obediently on the sofa.

The bright curtains that had let the daylight in were now fully drawn shut, and the only light in the room came from a lamp beside the sofa. The mood was set to the max, further stoking Sorato’s fear. Apparently, Kaon was the type who went all-in on the atmosphere when it came to horror.

“Heeheehee… Seriously…! I never thought I’d get reactions this good…!”

“If I can’t sleep tonight, it’s your fault, Natsuki-san, you know!? …Honestly. Come on, let’s hurry up and play the rest.”

“Huh? You’re still watching with me? Even though you hate it?”

Seeing Sorato take a deep breath, his fear suddenly replaced by determination as he urged her to resume the video she had paused, Kaon tilted her head in confusion. Though she was having fun, a hint of guilt crossed Kaon’s face.

She probably didn’t know how bad I was with scary stuff, and she just wanted to enjoy it together with me.

“Well, I’m absolutely terrible with horror, but I’m starting to get used to it, so I’ll be fine. My sister watches this kind of stuff a lot too, so since it’s a good opportunity, let me keep you company.”

“Really? Even if you say ‘I give up’ halfway through, I’m not letting you escape, okay?”

“That’s exactly what I want.”

She used the remote to resume the video that had been paused.

“Nooooooo—!?”

“H-hii… No, endure it, me…! Today’s mission is to overcome this…!”

The moment it resumed, screams blared from the screen, swallowing Sorato’s confident smile from just moments earlier and squeezing out a thin cry from his lips. Still, unlike before, he gripped the cushion tightly in his hands and didn’t avert his eyes from the screen.

“N-Natsuki-san… How many minutes are left of this…?”

“Hmm~ Let’s see, about ten minutes?”

“Ten minutes… Ten minutes, I absolutely won’t look away…!”

“………………”

Meanwhile, Kaon—unlike Sorato, who was desperately trying to stay glued to the video—didn’t look at the screen at all. Instead, in the dark room, she watched his face from the side, pale and illuminated by the TV’s light.

～・～・～・～・～・～・～

Flawless, healthy-looking skin. Gentle eyes that drooped slightly. A calm way of speaking, and a voice that flipped amusingly when he screamed.

Even when facing something he was bad at, he didn’t look away. When I said I wanted to watch it, he still tried to enjoy it together with me. Even though we were watching horror movies, something that he clearly hated. That honest warmth melted my heart endlessly.

I felt like I could spend an hour, even two, just watching his face like this. I adored him like an older brother, and yet the way I looked at Suzuya-kun felt just like watching over a little brother. But I never imagined he really was an older brother. That was a fact I’d only just learned. Suzuya-kun had a little sister, and just as I’d imagined, he truly played the role of an “older brother.”

Honestly… No wonder he’s so good at handling someone needy like me.

I finally understood the essence of who he was and the reason he could so easily draw out these childish feelings I thought I’d locked away deep inside. He was kind to everyone at his core, the kind of person who made everyone think, “If it’s him, then…”

The truth was, I was needy, and I hated being alone. Even today, I’d wanted to watch this video again after so long but I didn’t want to be alone. That boring reason was why I’d called him over, and I felt guilty about it. But spending time alone with him like this felt comfortable, like I could be my true self.

“J-just now… Something felt really— huh!? Natsuki-san!?”

I gently rested my head on his stiffened shoulder and watched the TV with him. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see his face, but judging by the flustered, flipped tone of his voice, it was probably bright red.

“Whaaat? If you don’t like it, I can move away~?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it, but, you know… Generally speaking, being alone in a room with a girl and doing this is kind of bad, isn’t it…?”

“I don’t know anything about that~ And besides, I already figured out the other day that Suzuya-kun isn’t the kind of person who’d do anything weird.”

“Haa… Good grief. I really can’t say no to you.”

“Ehehe~♪”

When I realized he’d given up on putting distance between us, a smile naturally spilled across my face. I was sure my cheeks were loosened so much right now that I couldn’t show this expression to anyone. If he saw it, he’d definitely ask, “Why are you smiling like that?”

I wished this time, leaning against his shoulder, could last forever. His sun-like scent, his bony frame, and the way his core didn’t budge at all even when I rested my weight against him, as if to say my head was nothing.

Thank goodness… The room is dark.

I silently thanked my past self for dimming the room as much as possible for atmosphere. Because behind the relaxed corners of my mouth, the more I looked at him, the more conscious I became of him, the hotter my cheeks grew. In fact, my cheeks were so hot that they were probably dyed apple-red, just like his.

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