The Day After I Told My Shut-In Genius Childhood Friend, Who’s Highly Dependent on Me, “I Got Confessed To,” She Showed Me a Hypnosis App - Chapter 9

“…What’s wrong?”

“W-What’s wrong!? That’s not it!”

“…?”

Since we were alone in the club room, Senpai’s behavior suddenly felt strange.

“U-um. What exactly are you doing, Honami-kun…!?”

“Um, I’m just ‘hugging you until we’re satisfied whenever we’re alone’…?”

“H-Hugging… until… satisfied…?”

I watched Senpai, who had gone stiff in my arms. She looked at my face, then at my arms around her, and slowly lifted her head.

“―No way?”

Then she stared at me quietly again.

“…Honami-kun?”

“Yes.”

“…Doesn’t Honami-kun feel anything weird about this situation?”

“Weird?”

What situation was she talking about? Senpai looked a little tense, and her face was red, but that was about it. I was just hugging her because we were alone.

“…Not really.”

“I-I see?”

Her throat moved slightly. And, the corner of her mouth unusually twitched like she was trying not to smile.

“Let’s just double-check. Just to be sure, okay?”

“Haa.”

“You’re just ‘hugging me until we’re satisfied whenever we’re alone,’ right?”

“That’s right.”

“So… that means the hug continues until satisfied, right?”

“Of course…”

Why was she asking such an obvious thing? I tilted my head at her as I was confused.

(Senpai is smirking…?)

We’d just been talking about how she doesn’t show expressions on her face. So why is she grinning like this now?

“A-alright.”

Senpai put her book down and slowly leaned her body into my arms.

“Hehe… then, it’s not weird to do this, right? Honami-kun?”

“It’s not weird… but are you okay? You look kind of happy…?”

“Ehehehe… Ah, I’m fine. Hehehe… see, Honami-kun, you’re not satisfied yet, so the hug shouldn’t end yet.”

“Of course it won’t…”

What’s gotten into her? I always thought Senpai was calm and collected.

(Maybe she gets a little strange when the student council work tires her out…)

I hugged her a bit tighter while trying to comfort her, and she let out a cute little “Kyaa…” as she leaned against me.

Yeah, even Senpai needs to take breaks from work.

◆ “Kirisaka Shino”

After everyone had left, I leaned back in a chair in the empty club room.

No one was here now. I should go home soon, too.

But I just wanted a little more time to savor today by myself.

(I can’t believe… I got to experience something like this.)

When that cute junior suddenly hugged me, I didn’t know what was happening.

I was really surprised.

They wrapped their arms around me from behind and held me close.

It felt like something I had only imagined had actually come true.

(Is someone secretly peeking into my thoughts?)

Not that I had specifically wished to be hugged from behind.

But I definitely wanted to get a little closer to that cute junior.

And having it happen as a hug was perfect.

(…Though I do wonder who came up with this idea.)

The rule of “to hug you until we’re satisfied whenever we’re alone.”

Surely he didn’t make it up himself.

I know he’s not that kind of person.

(Maybe I’ll just watch a little longer.)

If things start going the wrong way, I should stop it.

But if they don’t, then maybe it’s okay.

I am the student council president, and I care about what others think, but I’m not exactly a pure person.

The feeling of wanting to enjoy a little more time with a cute junior is stronger than the voice of reason telling me to stop.

I thought it would be nice to stay perfect and beautiful in front of him.

“―It’s your fault, Honami-kun.”

In the end, it’s always someone like him who shakes me up.

◇

I kept hugging Senpai for a while, and only when it started getting dark did she finally let go.

By that time, in the literature club, there were only I and Senpai left. Everyone else had gone home.

So, it ended up taking quite a long time until she was satisfied.

Senpai seemed a little surprised by how long it took, too, and she apologized.

She’s probably tired from student council work every day. It’s not a problem at all, though.

(Mio might get mad…)

Today, I was supposed to cook dinner at Mio’s house.

I’d bought all the ingredients, but normally I’d be home an hour earlier, and the meal would already be ready by now.

“I’m home…”

I let myself in with the spare key to the quiet Shinonome house.

It’s a two-story house.

All the lights were off, so it was dark inside. Well, the only person living here usually just stays in her room, so it’s kind of a waste to leave the lights on.

When I stepped into the entrance, I noticed Mio sitting alone in the corner of the hallway, knees pulled up to her chest.

“…Eh, Mio? What are you doing there?”

“…Honami?”

“Oh, I’m home.”

“―Honami!”

She suddenly jumped up and hugged me tightly.

“Y-You’re late…! Why didn’t you call me…!”

“Ah… I’m sorry. I just wasn’t free.”

I had actually planned to text her if I’d be late.

But I’d been hugging Kirisaka-senpai, so I couldn’t open my phone.

Looking at the screen while hugging her would be impossible, and I thought it might be rude not to focus on the person in front of me.

“Not free…?”

Hearing that, Mio buried her face in my uniform and sniffed like a little dog.

“…You smell like another girl.”

“Huh?”

“Hey, did Honami—”

She muttered in a muffled voice with her face still buried in my shirt.

“Were you… with another girl?”

“I was… but you could tell by the smell. That’s amazing.”

“…Hm.”

Her voice was so flat it startled me. When I looked at her face, Mio had this expression I’d never seen before, like a mask.

“W-What’s wrong?”

“No… hey, Honami, could it be… someone confessed to you?”

“The person I was just with was someone else.”

“Someone else? Hey… could it be, no way.”

Mio’s eyes widened.

“Y-you didn’t hug anyone, right?”

It was kind of scary.

Her eyes looked almost empty, like her irises had disappeared.

I placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her back a little.

Hugging is normal, so why was she asking like this?

And she’d been acting weird since this morning. I wondered if she was planning some kind of prank.

“Mio.”

“…What?”

“You’ve been acting strange since this morning.”

“…Eh, strange?”

“Are you hiding something again?”

The moment I asked, her eyes darted around like crazy.

“Huh? N-no! I’m not hiding anything! If I were, you could just bury me under the cherry tree!”

“That’s exactly what someone hiding something would say.”

(…She’s definitely hiding something.)

I could tell. Her eyes were moving all over, and her voice was shaking.

But when Mio acts like this, she won’t tell me anything. She can be stubborn like that.

“…Mio?”

“I-I’m not hiding anything.”

She avoided my gaze as she was clearly hiding something.

I let my shoulders drop and sighed. There was no way I’d get an answer.

“…Yes, yes. I’ll make dinner, so move for a bit.”

“…”

She would normally move, but this time she shook her head slowly.

Her arms stayed wrapped around me.

“Mio?”

“…We don’t need to cook today. Let’s order something. Delivery or something.”

Her arms slowly wrapped tighter around my back.

Something was definitely off.

“…Did I make you mad by being late?”

“No, I’m not mad. I’m not mad but.”

Her voice by my ear was lower than usual.

“You were with another girl, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Then, you need to hug me until I’m satisfied.”

I was being hugged, so I couldn’t see Mio’s face.

“…I’ve got homework and stuff, just so you know.”

“I’ll do it for you.”

“…Even the laundry of the clothes you left everywhere?”

“We can do that later?”

But somehow, I felt a chill run down my back.

A quiet voice shook my eardrums.

“―Because I need to overwrite it.”

Her thin arms slid up my back and wrapped around my neck.

“…Overwrite what?”

“Hug me, Honami. Like usual.”

“…Well, I can do that.”

I hugged her as usual.

Mio’s arms squeezed me tightly, making it hard to breathe.

“You have to hug me until I’m satisfied.”

I nodded and hugged her tighter.

Mio’s body was really thin, shut in her room, and living an unhealthy lifestyle. Momose-san and Senpai are thin too, but Mio is even thinner.

…Huh? Why do I even know that about the other two?

While I was thinking that, she whispered in my ear.

“W-were you thinking about another girl just now?”

“…No?”

“Liar.”

She pinched my side as she said it.

Senpai once told me that my thoughts show on my face, but did Mio notice that too?

No, she couldn’t see my face, so maybe she just guessed from my voice.

“Hold me tight even when we sleep.”

“…If that’s what makes you happy.”

…Huh.

I nodded and thought back. Didn’t she refuse this last time…?

Even with the vague memory feeling a little off, I kept hugging her just like she asked.