Chapter 232: The Sound of a Painful Heartbeat
Chapter 232: The Sound of a Painful Heartbeat
“I’ll go too.”
Nanami might need help carrying groceries back alone, so accompanying her sounded sensible.
Himekoji thought this as he prepared to leave the room. But turning around, he unexpectedly found Mashiro following him. He could only shake his head and stop walking.
“Shiina, could you at least change clothes first…”
Leaving in Pajamas just wasn’t appropriate.
“Change your clothes properly!”
After instructing her, Himekoji pushed Mashiro back inside and closed the door behind her.
Yet, mere seconds hadn’t passed before Mashiro reopened it from inside.
“Akito, which clothes should I wear?”
She wasn’t wearing pants. Below the knee-length nightgown, her pale and slender legs were exposed.
As she spoke, Mashiro lifted the hem as if ready to strip off the gown.
“Hey! Wait! What’re you doing?!”
Startled, Himekoji spun around, turning his back to her.
Mashiro stared at Himekoji, seemingly confused by his extreme reaction. She tilted her head in bewilderment.
She then glanced down at herself as if realizing something.
After a brief pause, she abruptly retreated half a step.
Pulling the hem back down, Mashiro leaned slightly forward and fixed Himekoji with an upward glance, her expression a mixture of what seemed like bashfulness and pouting.
“Hurry and pick my outfit.”
“Ah? Oh…”
Though momentarily dazed by Mashiro’s unexpected reaction, Himekoji quickly selected a black spaghetti-strap dress from the pile of clothes strewn across the floor.
“Wear this. Then just pair it with any white T-shirt.”
“What about Underwear?”
“Are you wearing some now? Then no need to change.”
“……”
Mashiro stayed silent.
Only after looking away did she shake her head lightly.
Shook her head?
Eh! Wait!
“You… don’t tell me you’ve been bare underneath this whole time?!”
No wonder the earlier sensation against his hand felt so odd!
Absolutely no awareness of personal safety!
While not the first time, Himekoji was once again stunned by Mashiro’s obliviousness.
“Hurry.”
Mashiro urged, her cheeks actually tinted with a rare blush.
“Fine, then just… that black lace one!”
Himekoji randomly pointed at one pair.
“I’m changing now.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t peek.”
“Who would peek?!”
Seriously, please stop undressing in front of me going forward!
Himekoji grumbled silently in his mind.
Throwing those words back, Himekoji turned and practically fled outside, shutting the door firmly behind him.
……
“huff…huff…”
Leaning against the door, Himekoji let out a couple of shaky breaths.
What exactly had just happened?
He’d never seen Mashiro act like that before.
Her pursed lips as if displeased, her averted gaze, her flushed fair skin, soft and pink — the image stubbornly remained etched in his mind.
Could it be…
Could she actually be embarrassed?
No! Impossible!
How could that Shiina Mashiro possibly feel something like shyness?
Didn’t she simply see him as an Owner?
This idiot clearly didn’t grasp that he was an opposite gender presence to her!
His emotions were utterly unsettled.
Trying to calm his racing heart, Himekoji took deep breaths, again and again, until Mashiro emerged.
A full five minutes later, Mashiro finally opened the bedroom door, now fully dressed.
Her clothes were neatly on, even her perpetually disheveled hair was surprisingly tidied.
Recalling the fleeting glimpse of awkwardness Mashiro had shown moments before, Himekoji couldn’t help but stare intently at her face.
“What is it?”
Mashiro sounded puzzled.
“N-Nothing…”
The hint of shyness he thought he saw before had vanished completely from Mashiro herself.
As if it never existed.
That meant… it must have been an illusion earlier?
Yes, definitely an illusion.
This was good.
……
“Hey, Shiina.”
Mashiro tilted her head slightly at Himekoji’s call.
“What is it?”
“Mmm… Congratulations again.”
“Thank you. Congratulations to you too, Akito.”
The conversation made Himekoji feel strangely stiff, and he awkwardly turned his face away.
“Akito.”
“Hmm, what?”
“I want to ask you for a favor.”
“Do you want a gift to celebrate your debut?”
Then, he thought instantly about buying Mashiro a whole shelf of Baumkuchen.
“Call me by my name.”
But the next moment, what came out of the girl’s mouth was completely unrelated to Himekoji’s guess.
Call her by her name?
“Shiina.”
“Not that.”
“Huh?”
Could she be wanting him to say “Mashiro” directly?
This was way too sudden!
But thinking back, Mashiro had always been that kind of abrupt person.
“Is… is this not right?”
“Why?”
Mashiro blinked in confusion.
“I’ve never called girls by their first names.”
Whether it was Kasumigaoka, Nanami, Yuigahama, or Totsuka, Himekoji had only called them by their surnames.
It wasn’t because he didn’t know them well, but because he was scared.
What, you say Totsuka isn’t a girl?
Your way of seeing things is strange and not insightful.
Besides, you haven’t seen it yourself!
…
“You call Akiko by her first name.”
“Because she’s my Imouto.”
“And Eriri.”
“That’s… well, it’s complicated…”
After all, he had started calling her that before he became a Pervert.
“Huh? Wait, how do you know I call Eriri by her first name?”
You two haven’t even met before!
Himekoji suddenly widened his eyes at Mashiro, looking very surprised.
But Mashiro ignored Himekoji’s expression and just went on.
“So, why can’t you call me by my name too?”
“Uh… well…”
Himekoji didn’t know how to answer properly right then.
“It’s too unfair.”
Mashiro puffed out her cheeks slightly, almost like she was acting spoiled.
Wait, when did you learn this forbidden trick? Hey!
Way too cute!
Himekoji couldn’t handle it.
In a fluster, he turned his face away and looked elsewhere.
“O-okay, next time I’ll… I’ll try calling you Mashiro.”
“Now.”
But Mashiro leaned her body forward and didn’t back down at all.
It went beyond not backing down—she was pushing it!
Mashiro, I’m warning you, just stop now!
That’s what Himekoji thought inside, but in reality, he acted totally differently.
Being stared at directly by Mashiro like that, Himekoji felt like something exploded in his head, leaving only a blank, messy thought.
His heart was racing.
To hide his awkwardness and nervousness, Himekoji kept taking deep breaths.
It’s just calling a name, nothing to make a big deal about.
Telling and calming himself like that, he tried hard to keep his voice from shaking.
“Ma… Mashiro.”
He said it softly, almost like muttering.
“Just as I thought.”
Mashiro, who got what she wanted, quietly closed her eyes.
She seemed to be tasting something.
“Just as you thought?”
Himekoji repeated Mashiro’s words without thinking.
Saying it that way, Himekoji really didn’t know what he was talking about.
His heart felt like it couldn’t take it much longer, beating thump thump loudly.
“Can’t say.”
As always, Mashiro’s reply was cold.
What does “can’t say” mean?
But Himekoji didn’t question it.
No, he couldn’t say it.
Because right then, his eyes were captured—
Mashiro, who hadn’t smiled even when her debut was certain, now smiled happily right before Himekoji.
That smile was like the most amazing rainbow drawn across the sky.
Just like that, everything became unimportant and didn’t matter.
At that moment, he just wanted to keep looking at that smile forever.
Himekoji’s heart beat so hard it hurt.
This shouldn’t be happening; it felt like his heart was hit by a big hammer, leaving him lost, scared, and in pain.
…