Chapter 35: Tickled Again by My Beautiful Underclassman Manager.

“Kana, wake up.”

Takumi placed his hands on Kana’s shoulders and shook her back and forth.

From his previous experience, he knew all too well that he couldn’t let her slide into a deep sleep. However, it seemed that not only did Kana sleep deeply, but the speed at which she fell into that slumber was incredibly fast. Even as he rocked her, her red hair only fluttered silkily; even as he patted her cheeks, she only let out a few incoherent mumbles. There wasn’t the slightest sign of her waking up.

“Hmm…”

Now he was in a bind. The first solution that came to mind was to tickle her—the very thing she had (presumably) planned to do to him—but he hesitated.

(It’s one thing for Kana to do it to me, but me doing it to her is probably a bad idea…)

Standards regarding sexual harassment had become increasingly strict in recent years. He didn’t actually think Kana would sue him for a bit of tickling to wake her up, but he feared it might make her feel uncomfortable. He had previously blurted out that he’d tickle her back if she said or did anything too risky, but he hadn’t had the slightest intention of actually following through.

“…I guess it has to be this, then.”

Takumi prepared a glass of water and a bath towel. He laid Kana flat on her back on the sofa and tucked the towel beneath her, covering the area from her head to her back. First, he tried pressing the cold glass against her cheek.

“Nng…”

She showed a hint of resistance, but her eyelids remained tightly shut.

“I have no choice. Brace yourself, Kana.”

He leaned over to keep the towel from slipping. This inevitably forced him into a position where he was looming directly over her face, but there was no helping it. He trickled a few drops of water onto her face.

“Whoa?!”

Kana’s body jolted, and her eyes snapped wide open. Takumi let out a sigh of relief. Surprisingly, just a few drops were incredibly effective.

“Good morning, Kana.”

“G-Good morning…?!”

Kana was in a visible state of fluster. Having achieved his goal, Takumi pulled back, ending the position that had essentially left him straddling her.

Kana’s ruby-colored eyes darted between Takumi and the glass in his hand.

“D-Did I… fall asleep again?”

“During just a brief moment of silence. You wouldn’t wake up at all, so I splashed some water on you. Sorry.”

“Ah, n-no, it’s my fault! I’m so sorry!”

Kana bowed her head vigorously. Blushing and averting her gaze, she whispered, “Um, I knew I wasn’t supposed to sleep, but… Senpai, the way you were stroking my head felt so good…”

“I’m honored, but really, sleeping in a guy’s apartment when he lives alone isn’t a great habit.”

“Yes… I’m sorry…”

Kana looked completely dejected. Takumi let out a little chuckle.

“You don’t have to reflect on it that hard. I’ll forgive you if we call it even and cancel your ‘mischief time.’”

“Eh…”

Her face froze as if a ‘CLANG’ sound effect had echoed through the room. She looked significantly more shocked than Takumi had anticipated.

(I’ve never seen a face that fits the word ‘speechless’ so perfectly.)

Takumi couldn’t help but laugh.

“T-Takumi-senpai. D-Did you just say… you’re canceling my mischief time to call it even?”

“Well, yeah. Honestly, I think I’m being pretty generous here.”

“T-That might be true, but… then how am I supposed to deal with this surging impulse?!”

Kana’s hands actually began to tremble. Takumi gave a dry laugh.

“Why are you having withdrawal symptoms?”

“B-Because I’ve been looking forward to this for so long! Just a little! Please let me do just a little! Like, just a tiny poke-poke!”

Kana jabbed her index finger forward a few times to emphasize her point.

“Nope. If anything, that sounds like it’d be even more ticklish.”

“T-Then, I’ll be really gentle! I’ll just touch you! I-I mean, while it goes without saying that this whole affair is entirely my fault, I believe Takumi-senpai bears a small fraction of the blame as well!”

“Setting aside why you’re talking like a rookie detective, what’s your reasoning?”

“B-Because you’re way too good at petting my head! And it’s your fault for making this space so relaxing!”

“I see… So, I should turn this into a space where you feel more of a sense of danger?”

Takumi let a smirk play on his lips as he slowly began to close the distance between them.

“Heh…? N-No, that’s not really what I meant—”

“I’m joking.”

Takumi stopped and laughed heartily.

“You’re surprisingly easy to fool, Kana.”

“Ah… Y-You were teasing me?!”

Kana’s cheeks, which were already flushed, turned a shade of red that would make a ripe strawberry look pale.

“Yeah, sorry. Tell you what—as an apology, as long as you don’t go overboard, I’ll let you have your way for a little bit.”

“Senpai…!”

Kana looked genuinely moved. It wasn’t that Takumi wanted to be messed with, but he felt a lingering sense of guilt for calling her by her last name earlier when she so clearly wanted to be called by her first. Regardless of her falling asleep, Takumi felt he deserved a bit of a ‘penalty’ to clear his own conscience, which is why he had teased her.

(This time, I’m going to maintain my composure.)

Takumi braced himself with the same intensity he brought to a soccer match.

“Okay, here I go! Now then, Senpai, please sit right there and look the other way.”

Kana pointed at the sofa and then toward the opposite direction from her.

“Eh? Why?”

“I-It’s a little embarrassing from the front.”

Kana gave a bashful smile.

“In that case, we don’t have to do this at all, you know?”

“No! Absolutely not! This is a punishment!”

“Just so you know, if you go full throttle like last time, I’m going to grab your wrists and pin you down, okay?”

“…That actually sounds kind of nice.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Don’t look at me like I’m a creep! It was a joke, obviously! I don’t like pain… though, I wouldn’t mind seeing a slightly rougher side of you, Senpai.”

“That’s a tall order,” Takumi muttered with a wry smile.

“Takumi-senpai, have you ever been in a fight?”

“I’ve had verbal arguments a few times, but I don’t recall ever getting physical.”

“Does that mean I can go full throttle?”

“Code of Hammurabi.”

“…Ham?”

Apparently, she didn’t know it.

“Not ham. The Code of Hammurabi. It’s like a rulebook created by a guy named Hammurabi. There’s a famous phrase in it: ‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ If you’re prepared to have me go full throttle on you in return, then by all means, go ahead.”

Takumi flashed a predatory grin at Kana.

“I… I’ll pass on that.”

Her cheek twitched. It had been a complete bluff on Takumi’s part, but the effect was perfect.

“Very well.”

“Okay… here I go.”

Kana gently slid her fingers along Takumi’s flank.

“How is it, Takumi-senpai?”

“Ngh… I’m perfectly fine.”

“That’s a lie. Your muscles are twitching.”

“That method of judging is… gah… unfair…!”

“Wow, this is fun! They’re jumping all over the place!”

Kana let out a delighted squeal.

“Urgh… K-Kana… that’s enough, isn’t it…?”

“Ehh, I guess it can’t be helped—”

Kana made a show of looking dissatisfied, but she stopped moving her fingers.

“—Then, I’ll just touch you normally.”

“What do you mean, ‘normally’?”

“I mean touching you without the tickling. You actually have quite a bit of muscle, Senpai.”

Kana pressed her finger against Takumi’s abdominals.

(People at school let others touch their muscles all the time, and it’s not particularly ticklish, so I guess this is fine.)

Though there was a sense of bashfulness, Kana looked like she was having so much fun that Takumi decided to allow it.

“I do make an effort to train, after all.”

“I see. Is that why you didn’t grow very tall?”

“If that were the case, you’d be ripped, Kana… Ow, ow, ow.”

When Takumi countered her sarcasm with his own, she pinched him in silence.

“It’s fine! For a girl, being small can be a status symbol!”

“That’s true. I’d probably be intimidated if you were any bigger.”

“It would make it harder for you to pat my head, wouldn’t it?”

“Exactly… wait, don’t make me sound like some head-patting pervert.”

“Isn’t that fine? A perverted gentleman.”

“It’s not fine.”

Even as they traded quips, Kana’s fingers were incessantly pressing and stroking Takumi’s muscles. She let out a voice that sounded strangely sultry.

“Senpai… you’re so hard…”

“You’re definitely doing that on purpose, aren’t you?”

“I mean, I maintain enough to not be embarrassed in a bikini, but I never get this hard.”

“Isn’t that just the biological difference between men and women? We both have different kinds of appeal.”

“True. Do you like girls with a lot of muscle, Senpai?”

“Hmm, I wonder. If they were too bulky, it might be a bit much.”

“Oh, then I might be just right. Want to feel?”

“Kana.”

Takumi spun around to face her.

“Eh?”

“That’s a Yellow Card. Regardless of how you feel, it’s not right for me to go around touching your body like that.”

“Ah, yes. Sorry.”

Kana bowed her head obediently. She didn’t seem dissatisfied with the ruling.

“You really are a bit of a mischief-maker, Kana.”

“Eh? Does that mean I’m cute?”

“See, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

“There’s no doubt about it, then.”

Kana and Takumi looked at each other and burst into laughter.

***

Night fell. Just as Takumi had finished his dinner, his phone buzzed with an incoming message. It was from Kana.

—Are you free tomorrow night?