Chapter 277: Want to Touch Her Hair
Chapter 277: Want to Touch Her Hair
Clink!
The sound of the handcuffs locking was sharp and clear.
That precise sound – Himekoji had heard it countless times today.
Once bitten, twice shy. He instantly thought the trouble was coming his way again. Instinctively, he braced himself to resist.
Then, he lifted his hands—
Only to find his own wrists were already securely cuffed. There wasn’t really any need for a second pair.
It took him a moment of stunned silence before he slightly grasped the situation.
Maybe…
He’d gained a “cellmate”?
The person Yukinoshita handcuffed wasn’t him! It was someone else!
Adding the clue that his swimming trunks hadn’t been forcibly removed yet…
The identity of this other newly handcuffed person was probably obvious.
“Akiko?”
Himekoji called out his sister’s name.
But the girl pointedly ignored him. Her face instantly puffed up with indignation as she glared at “Officer Yukinoshita”.
“Wow! Yukino sis! Where did you even pull that thing out from?!”
Hearing that confirmed it one hundred percent—
His new “cellmate” was definitely Akiko…
Akiko struggled a little while she yelled, causing the metal rings around her wrists to clink against each other.
Hmm…
Looking at it this way, the two siblings really were quite the pitiful pair.
Thoroughly shameful for the Himekoji family.
With just two sets of handcuffs, Yukinoshita had literally everyone under her control…
Ding!
As if sensing Himekoji’s inner frustration, the System chose that exact moment to intervene!
[Mission Triggered!]
Assert Husband Authority!
Use the handcuffs to counter Yukinoshita! Make her understand who is the true dominant one in this game!
“Exactly what I was thinking!”
Consciously ignoring the mission’s name, Himekoji secretly clenched his fist in excitement.
He hadn’t really seen anything about rewards or such, but it didn’t matter. He was going to do this!
Rewards? Pfft, completely unimportant!
…
“What are you spacing out for? Hurry up! We’re waiting for you to finish so we can go to sleep.”
Himekoji was inexplicably grinning down at the body wash bottle in his hands. Yukinoshita couldn’t resist giving him a slight nudge with her foot, urging him on.
“Ah! Right, right, right.”
Yukinoshita’s voice seemed to have a calming, clarifying effect, snapping Himekoji out of his daydream.
Thinking he shouldn’t startle the snake he hoped to catch, Himekoji put on a facade of obedience and nodded earnestly.
He saved the tough talk strictly for his mind—
Just you wait. You’ll be begging for mercy later! Fool!
…
By the time Himekoji finished his bath, he was clean. But Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, and Akiko were thoroughly soaked from head to toe.
“Seriously! How can you take a shower properly wearing clothes?!”
The handcuffed prisoner, Akiko, had been ready to fully undress for a lovely mixed bath with her Onii-chan earlier. Unfortunately, Yukinoshita had ruined those plans.
Naturally, she couldn’t help complaining about it now.
“Of course we have to wear clothes. Because someone here… doesn’t dare to take their clothes off?”
This time, Himekoji solidified his position, siding firmly with Akiko.
He muttered this quietly under his breath, showing solidarity with his sister.
“What did you say?”
Yukinoshita’s hearing proved surprisingly sharp.
“N-No! I didn’t say anyth—“
Just as Himekoji floundered in awkwardness, his “cellmate” Akiko fearlessly stepped up to draw attention and rescue him—
“Yukino sis! Please unlock my handcuffs now! I’m soaking wet and sticky! I need to go shower!”
Out of the four, only Yuigahama and Himekoji had actually showered so far.
“No need. I need to bathe as well. I can just wash you.”
Though her words were directed at Akiko, Yukinoshita instead shot Himekoji a look.
It was as if she was directly refuting Himekoji’s earlier insinuation—
Who doesn’t dare to take their clothes off?
“Eh?! Are you going to bathe together with Akiko, Yukino-chan?”
Yuigahama was first startled, then immediately looked deeply regretful.
If only she’d known! She wouldn’t have rushed to shower earlier!
“Yes. It’s more convenient this way.”
After all, there was only one bathroom. Taking turns meant someone would always end up waiting.
Plus, more importantly… Yukinoshita had no intention of unlocking Akiko’s handcuffs.
Otherwise, she had a distinct feeling something bizarre would happen once everyone else was asleep.
“Take your time then. I’m going to sleep first.”
Himekoji crawled back into his hospital bed, aiming to rest early. He wanted to build a time gap with Yukinoshita.
He planned to wake up after Yukinoshita was sound asleep.
And then…
Hehehe…
Payback would be sweet! Grudges would be settled! Score settled!
…
But, oh, how lovely ideals often were! Reality, however, proved painfully bony!
When Himekoji finally managed to wake himself up deep in the middle of the night with his formidable inner alarm clock, he tragically discovered—
He got himself handcuffed to the bed again!
Totally unable to move his hands or feet!
Just how crazy was this Yukinoshita? Couldn’t even let him off the hook after he fell asleep!
How was he supposed to get revenge like this?
[Ding!]
[Don’t rush. There’s plenty of time. This task is a lifelong thing.]
At least the System jumped in to comfort him at the right moment.
Huh? Wait, hold on…
Lifelong?
The System was telling him this was a lifelong task?
This counts as comfort?!
This was practically a horror story!
Himekoji angrily jerked his body, trying to see if he could break free of the handcuffs.
But when he moved, he bumped into something.
“What was that?”
[Ding!]
[Generating Image!]
The System answered him —
It was Yukinoshita.
Yukinoshita, her waterfall of black hair flowing around her as she rested her head near Himekoji’s hospital bed, was fast asleep.
She fainted a little, looking peaceful and beautiful.
More than that, one of Yukinoshita’s hands, even in sleep, seemed to hold onto the hem of Himekoji’s clothes tightly, as if with some unspoken anxiety.
Just that single action suddenly gave Himekoji an illusion – like a delicate and dependent little bird clinging to someone.
Although he knew perfectly well that such a description didn’t fit Yukinoshita’s image at all.
…
Late at night, deep and quiet.
In the hospital room, Himekoji was the only one awake.
Yukinoshita slept soundly at the edge of his bed, incredibly close.
Himekoji really wanted, right at that moment, to reach out and gently touch Yukinoshita’s hair.
Sadly, he couldn’t.
Even if his hands hadn’t been bound by the handcuffs, it would still have been impossible.
The image the System projected into Himekoji’s mind was so vivid, so real it felt unreal.
So, was the person giving him this feeling of a delicate little bird really Yukinoshita?
Himekoji scrutinized the girl in the mental picture. The very next moment, he finally had his answer.
The person sleeping soundly by the hospital bed was indeed Yukinoshita.
Because—
There were no curves visible in her open collar.
…
He woke up during the deep night, unsure of the exact hour, then fell back asleep again at some other unknown late hour.
Himekoji’s revenge, without a doubt, had failed.
He slept straight through until noon the next day, waking up groggily.
First thing, he got startled by the loud noise coming from within the hospital room.