When I called her name, the girl in my arm replied with a discontented grunt.
Long after our conversation ended, she still clung to me. And I too, couldnât bring myself to uncoil the arms that looped her back.
âIsnât this like, the time to let goâŠ?â
She didnât respond this time, letting my brilliant suggestion be in vain.
âHey! Weâre not supposed to⊠like, if anyone seesâŠyeah?â
It might be a bit late, but we were hugging each other, a real, genuine hug. Not that I object to us hugging, it was a natural development of things. I get it that she wanted support after an ordeal with YamabukiâŠ
But, I could no longer ignore her smell, her subsiding sobs, her softness and so on. I have done my best, but after being practically glued to her, this was my limit.
So, letâs not go further.
âM-MinatoâŠseeâŠâ
âDonât wanna.â
âWhy?! Youâre already done crying, right?â
âYes! ButâŠâ She buried her face deeper. âItâs kinda.. Embarrassingâ
ââŠâ
âDonât wanna look at your face⊠nor you looking mineâ
âUh⊠right, me too.â
This was my first time hugging someone outside my family. The same probably goes for herâŠ
So, what kind of face should I be doing when we part.
Smile? Should I smile?
âBut, we canât stay like this foreverâŠâ
âRight, butâŠâ
After the broadcast ruckus, the neighboring residents might come out to see what happened. If they happened to stumble here⊠Disengaging now was for the best.
âC-close your eyes.â
âHm?â
âWe both close our eyes, step back, then turn away immediately. Understood?â
If it was this way, it wouldnât beâ maybe a little embarrassing, but not as much.
âR-right⊠then, at your signal.â
ââKay.â
I felt her nod then I squeezed my eyes shut. I slowly pull my arms away from her. It was an awkward posture, but at the moment, I didnât care.
âYou free now?â
âYup.â
âGood, thenââ
âW-wait!â
Hm?
âIo⊠are your eyes really shut?â
âOf course, why would I lookâŠâ
âP-proof? Right! Let me check!â
âHuhâŠâ What is she⊠âThen youâd see my face! Not fair!â
âThat canât be helped! I need to check!â
âCanât you trust me?!â
âHow can I be sure! Are you planning on watching me!â
âAs if Iâd do it!â
I donât think we can get anywhere with this. I mean, this was a hopeless situation. She should have known that she was asking for too much.
âGive up⊠thereâs no choice but to trust each other.â
She sighed
âDonât sighâ Please donât, your hot breath fell on my neck, andâŠ
âEyes closed?â
âYup, okay, here we go.â
âHnâŠâ She nodded.
Good grief, why are we still in this position?
âBack away at once, then turn around immediately⊠Three, two, one!â
But right after, a thought occurred to me.
Supposedly, she was indeed closing her eyes, then sheâd neve know, right? A glimpse wouldnât hurt.
I donât know why butâ
ââŠâ
Our bodies parted from each other. Before she could turn away, I opened my eyes.
Naturally, I felt guilty.
But
âAhâŠâ
âAh.â
Our eyes met.
Her eyes shot wide, her mouth like a goldfish gulping for air.
âY-y-youâŠ!â
âYou too! Thatâs because you did too! If you donât then this wouldnât happen!â
I quickly said my defense. Because I donât think sheâd listen to me anymore.
âI say donât loooooook!!â
Really, what are we doingâŠ
[TN: Actually, this is one of the four SS (cutscenes), the others are limited to bookstores in Japan, so this is the only one I could get my hands on. If anyone happen to have the others, you can send it to my discord and Iâd gladly translate.]