Chapter 7

After rubbing one out,  I came downstairs just as Yuina’s mom came home.

“Welcome back.”

“I’m home~~. I bought some cake, so have it with Yuina.”

After receiving the cake from her, I grabbed a fork and headed straight back upstairs. I knocked on Yuina’s door, and after a flurry of noises from inside, her slightly panicked voice responded.

“H-Hang on!”

“Yuina’s mom brought some cake and said to eat it together.”

“Got it. I’m opening up now.”

She opened the door. Her hair was messy and her forehead was slightly sweaty. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were darting around. Something clearly felt off, so I looked at her suspiciously.

“What were you doing?”

“Just some exercise.”

She said, avoiding my eyes, and let me into her room. Nothing seemed strange inside, so I thought maybe I imagined it. But then Yuina squeezed her thighs together and squirmed awkwardly.

“If we’re eating cake, I should go wash my hands.”

Suddenly, she stood up and lost her balance, falling toward me. I instinctively reached out to catch her. That’s when I noticed something sticky on her fingers — like some kind of viscous fluid.

“Yuina. Your hands are all sticky.”

“Eep!?”

She turned bright red and looked away.

Seeing her reaction, I immediately put two and two together — the panicked response, the sticky fingers…

“You were doing it by yourself, weren’t you?”

“Why would you say that!?”

Yuina started lightly punching me in the chest.

To think she was doing the same thing I had just done… Knowing she touches herself stirred something in me. I accidentally started imagining the scene. Shaking my head to get the image out, I said:

“Sorry, I was just surprised.”

“You have zero tact! I’m gonna go wash up. You divide the cake, okay?”

With that, Yuina hurried out. Left alone in her room, my mind wandered toward dangerous thoughts. Good thing I’d already taken care of myself. If I hadn’t, things might’ve escalated.

I took a deep breath and did as she asked, cutting the shortcake with strawberries into two portions.

After a short while, Yuina returned.

“Thanks for waiting.”

She sat across from me, eyes gleaming as she pierced the cake with a fork. She cut a bite-sized piece and savored it slowly.

“Delish!”

“Yeah, it’s really tasty.”

I nodded while stuffing my mouth with cake. I noticed she was eating the sponge first, leaving the strawberry.

“You don’t like strawberries?”

“I’m the kind who saves the best for last.”

“Then want mine?”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Here.”

I forked my strawberry and placed it on her plate.

“Thanks! I love you, Hotaka!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I brushed it off with a smile.

Another new side of her — turns out Yuina loves strawberries. We never used to talk about this kind of stuff. As sex-friends, our relationship was shallow and transactional. But now, living as siblings, our daily lives are constantly revealing new layers. Maybe this is what becoming a family really means.

“By the way, just curious… what do girls usually think about when, you know, they do it alone?”

“Ugh, why are you bringing that up again? You know that would be sexual harassment if it were anyone else.”

She said that, but smiled mischievously, resting her finger on her chin while thinking.

“I guess… most girls probably think about someone they like.”

“You like someone? Didn’t you say you got rejected?”

“I did. But liking someone isn’t a bad thing, right?”

Unrequited love isn’t wrong, that’s true. So she’s still holding on… which makes me wonder — who is it?

“Is it someone I know?”

“That’s a secret. I can’t tell you that easily.”

Fair enough. If I had a crush, I wouldn’t go announcing it either. Not that I’d fall for anyone. Dating a girl is messy and leads to betrayal. Being sex-friends is easier. If we weren’t siblings now, I’d have kept things going with Yuina. I liked being with her, and she wanted me.

“Still, I wonder what kind of guy someone like you would fall for.”

I said, and she looked up at me from beneath her lashes, putting her finger to her lips.

“Who knows~?”

She smiled and reached for the strawberry she’d saved.

“Remember when we were still FWBs, and we used to hang out at your place?”

“Yeah. My dad was always away for work, so it was convenient to have girl over.”

“You acted all serious when we first met, but look at you now.”

“I’m still a guy, you know. I have a strong sex drive.”

“I know.”

Yuina chuckled, then stretched and lay down.

“Who’d have thought we’d end up living here together?”

“Yeah… we even did it in this room back then.”

This room Yuina uses now was a spare room, it used to be my mom’s, and there was a bed. I didn’t want anyone snooping in my room, so when we were at my place, I used this one.

“Do you remember the first time we did it here?”

“Yeah. You said you wanted to take control and climbed on top of me.”

“Right? It was kind of fun. Looking down on you from above was… weirdly addictive.”

We tried a lot of things while we were together. It was fun — full of curiosity and experimentation. A bit sad that it’s over.

“I’m still up for it, you know.”

She slid closer and leaned into me.

“I’m not doing it. We can’t risk our parents finding out.”

“Then we just have to make sure they don’t.”

She gave me those pleading eyes. I stroked her head and whispered:

“You never know when we’ll slip up. So let’s stop this. I’m already doing my best to hold back.”

“You’re holding back, Hotaka?”

“Obviously. I said I’ve got a strong drive, didn’t I?”

“Hmm. That kinda makes me happy. Then I won’t stop. I’ll keep tempting you.”

She kissed my cheek suddenly and pulled back.

My heart thumped loudly. That kind of thing from a girl like Yuina was lethal. I gave her a playful chop on the head.

“Anyway, have you thought about the election?”

“Sort of, but I haven’t come up with any good ideas yet.”

Well, it’s not surprising. This is probably the first time she’s even considered such a thing.

“Want to brainstorm now?”

“You’ll help me?”

“I’m running for vice president, remember?”

The school favorites for the election are the Kuze and Madarame pair. It’s about how far Yuina, with her idol-like popularity, can catch up. I’ve already secured her a guest spot on the lunchtime broadcast, which should boost her visibility.

What’s left is to come up with solid campaign promises for her speech.

“Our school has a high deviation score. Maybe we could focus on improving grades?”

“What if we hold a student council–led study session?”

A study group, huh? Could work.

“My idea is to support low-performing students like me and raise the average scores. If it’s group-based, even kids who hate studying might join.”

A good idea. Especially with Yuina promoting it. Guys would jump at the chance to study with her. Worth including as a promise.

“Sounds good. You could say in your speech, ‘The vice president will teach!’”

“You mean you, Hotaka? Why?”

“Because people will flock to learn from someone who’s top of the class.”

“Wait…..who’s top of the class?”

“Me?”

“…Huh?”

Yuina stared blankly, then shouted in surprise.

“Whaaat!? You’re number one!?”

“Keep your voice down. Didn’t I tell you?”

“No way! I knew you were smart, but not that smart!”

“I don’t really go around bragging. I don’t like standing out.”

So for the speech, we’ll mention that top student Hotaka Anjou will be tutoring. That should work.

“How about promising to redesign the uniforms too?”

“Yeah, that could be a hit. Now it’s just about how well I do during the lunchtime program.”

Yuina pumped herself up. I wasn’t too worried. She has presence and natural charisma. The program will go well.

All that’s left is to support her from behind as VP — and to find out what campaign promises Kuze and Madarame will bring to the table.

Once they hear Yuina on the broadcast, they’ll probably react. We’d better prepare.

As I organized my thoughts, I took out my phone and messaged Ikki to get things going.