Chapter 335: Because It’s You, Himekoji
Chapter 335: Because It’s You, Himekoji
“PONG!”
The door closed shut. In the confined space, only Himekoji and Nanami remained.
Himekoji glanced back at the door Nanami had locked, feeling a bit at a loss.
“Aoyama, wh-what are you doing?”
Unconsciously taking a step back, his body pressed against the door.
Wait, did she pull him in here just to beat him up?
That seemed very possible!
Should he fight back later?
That was the question…
“What else would I be doing?”
Nanami had no idea Himekoji’s mind was filled with such messy thoughts. She rolled her eyes at him as though it was nothing and answered casually.
Exactly!
That answer only made Himekoji more certain of his suspicion.
Looked like he was definitely in for a beating!
And she even said she wasn’t angry…
That was probably just a lie to trick him into coming inside!
All women are liars!
Just as Himekoji decided not to waste words and immediately beg for mercy, he suddenly heard a meow.
“Meow!”
Wearing underpants on her head, scarfing a pair in her mouth, and with another pair wrapped around her tail, Hikari, boosted by the triple-underwear power, unexpectedly popped out of Nanami’s closet.
It startled Himekoji.
“Lock the door and… release the cat?!”
“Ah—!! Hikari! Why is it you again?! When will it end?! My last three pieces of underwear!! I hadn’t even worn them yet and you snatched them again!!”
But Nanami looked even more shocked than Himekoji, mixed with considerable shame and anger.
This shocked look seemed genuine. So maybe the “lock door, release cat” thing wasn’t premeditated after all.
Phew, good… Himekoji secretly sighed in relief.
Only then did he have the spare mental energy to notice two specific keywords in Nanami’s words—
“Last three? Not worn them yet?”
If the three stolen underwear were Nanami’s very last possessions, and combined with the fact they hadn’t been worn yet, did that mean…
Himekoji’s gaze instinctively drifted towards a particular area on the girl’s body.
Could it be…?
No way?!
Hadn’t she just put on a new pair after her shower?
The one he’d personally placed outside the bathroom for her?
“What are you looking at?”
Nanami glared at Himekoji, her cheeks flushed.
“N-Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Caught imagining what lay beneath her pajamas, Himekoji felt his own cheeks heat up and stammered his answer.
“Hmph, you think just saying that means I don’t know what thoughts you’re having?”
Nanami wrinkled her nose. Her fierce expression held an unusual sort of cuteness,
“I’ll state it upfront so you don’t get weird ideas: beneath my pajamas is perfectly fine.”
“Haha… Come on, why would I get weird ideas…”
His slightly improper thoughts had been seen through by Nanami in an instant.
Embarrassed, Himekoji scratched the back of his head and forced a couple of dry laughs,
“As I was saying, I definitely did put that underwear outside the bathroom for you, Aoyama.”
“Oh, that underwear? Hikari had already run off with it in her mouth by the time I came out.”
“Huh?”
The information in Nanami’s sentence seemed… substantial?
Himekoji was frozen for another moment, his mouth slightly open as his brain struggled to catch up.
“But you… but you… didn’t you just say beneath your pajamas was fine?”
His eyes couldn’t help but drift back towards Nanami’s sensitive area.
While Nanami’s pajamas were conservative in style, far from anything remotely like ‘sexy’, the fabric was chiffon: thin, light, and slightly sheer.
Himekoji always had sharp eyes. Looking closely now, he actually spotted some rather remarkable clues.
If he stared really hard at that spot… he should usually be able to make out the faint outline of underwear underneath…
He had quite a bit of experience in that regard.
But this time…
There was nothing!
……
“But you… but you… didn’t you just say beneath your pajamas was fine?”
“Well, beneath the pajamas is fine.”
Getting this definite clarification again, Himekoji secretly wiped sweat in his heart. See, I was just overthinking it, he silently reassured himself.
Of course, someone as solemn and proper as Nanami wouldn’t walk around ‘airing it out’ in front of him, right?
However, just as Himekoji finished comforting himself like this, he immediately heard Nanami follow up with an additional explanation—
“Just fine without wearing anything underneath.”
“Huh?”
What kind of twisted statement was that?
In the end, all Himekoji could manage was this stupefied sound.
The next instant, his face flooded with uncomfortable heat. He hastily averted his gaze, not daring to look near that area on Nanami anymore.
“Not wearing, not wearing, not wearing!”
His entire mind was filled with nothing but this thought.
Within the confined space, the temperature seemed to skyrocket. Beads of sweat swiftly formed on Himekoji’s forehead.
Why would Nanami tell him something like this?!
Wouldn’t it have been better if she just said nothing?!
Now he was super hyper-aware of it!
Himekoji felt he could no longer stay calmly in the room alone with the girl.
He wanted to find an excuse to leave.
“No… no underwear? Then I’ll go buy some for you.”
That seemed like a good reason to slip away.
“No need. I’ll go get some myself tomorrow.”
But Nanami refused him without hesitation.
“Then what will you wear tomorrow?”
“The one I washed today should be dry by tomorrow.”
“Oh… okay.”
The atmosphere suddenly grew very delicate. Himekoji didn’t know what to say or do next; he wasn’t even sure where to look.
Just seeing Nanami now made him instantly think of her uncovered form beneath her pajamas.
Himekoji felt utterly hopeless about his own mind, twisted like that of a pervert…
…
Just as the silence was about to become suffocating, it was Aoyama Nanami who shattered it first.
“Alright, let’s begin then.”
She said words Himekoji didn’t understand at all.
“B-Begin? Begin what?”
“Practicing.”
Nanami said this with calm composure.
The redness on her cheeks was probably just from her bath.
“Now? Like this?”
“Yeah. Is there a problem?”
Of course there was a problem! A huge problem! You aren’t wearing any underwear!
He wanted to shout it out, but Himekoji bit it back.
After all, it seemed he was the only one bothered all along by whether or not she was wearing underwear. That made him feel really shallow…
Just no underwear, just no underwear!
Himekoji desperately tried to comfort himself inwardly.
Finally, he managed to calm down a bit.
“N-No problem,” he managed to say.
“Good, then let’s start.”
“Y-Yeah.”
…
He’d lost count of how many practices they had done now. It was enough to memorize the lines smoothly.
Himekoji and Nanami were playing the roles of high school classmates who loved each other.
In their third year of high school, they started dating because the heroine confessed her feelings.
They were living enviable days, sweet and joyful every day.
Walking to school together, passing notes in class, locking eyes, sharing bento, walking home side by side. Sometimes they would go shopping in the next town over, or have dates at the amusement park, kissing on the Ferris Wheel.
Though it was just ordinary, everyday romance, without thrilling twists or major surprises, each description of the emotions within it was so detailed, deep and full of feeling. It felt natural and close to the heart, making people yearn for it—believing such a high school life must be wonderful.
This youth romantic comedy was written by Kasumigaoka.
…
“Haaah… still feels a bit off?”
Just as they progressed to the amusement park date scene, Nanami suddenly put down the script and let out this weak sigh.
“Off? I thought you did really well just now, Nanami…”
This wasn’t flattery; it was Himekoji’s genuine praise.
He could feel Nanami had completely poured her own heart into it.
Was it thanks to that?
Every time they reached the Ferris Wheel scene, Himekoji’s heart would race uncontrollably.
Especially when Nanami said, “Hey, shall we kiss?” his throat would dry up and his cheeks burn, making it almost unbearable.
“Didn’t it feel fake just now? Or maybe too forced?”
Nanami, however, was a perfectionist, extra strict with herself.
“I… can’t really tell, sorry.”
Himekoji was an amateur after all. It was difficult for a layman like him to judge someone professional.
“I performed while trying to grasp the heroine’s feelings… but it’s just guesswork. I’ve never had a boyfriend, and I’ve never been on a date to an amusement park. So I’m not very confident about that aspect.”
“I see…”
Hearing her say this, Himekoji felt like he’d grasped something important and nodded along unconsciously.
“Yeah.”
“So what should we do?”
They both lowered their heads in thought, simultaneously considering a solution.
“Huh!”
Almost immediately after, both Himekoji and Nanami looked up at nearly the same time. Their gazes collided instantly. It seemed Nanami had an idea, and Himekoji had a thought pop into his head too.
“Hmm…”
Yet Himekoji hesitated, unsure if he should say it.
Even if this was all just for practice…
“Um, Himekoji-kun,” Nanami spoke up before he could decide, “Would you like to go on a date at the amusement park?”
Her tone sounded forced, like she was acting a role—unnatural and stiff.
“Um, why the sudden polite speech?”
Instead of answering directly, Himekoji asked her this question first.
“Aren’t you being polite too, Himekoji-kun?”
“Ah, yeah, you got me…”
“Pfft.”
They laughed at the same time.
Because of this small break, the mood between them suddenly felt much lighter.
“How about this Sunday?” Himekoji asked.
He didn’t say Saturday because Saturday had that unavoidable trip to the Hot Spring Inn…
“Okay, it’s settled then.”
“Mm… But, won’t I be a bad reference if I date you?”
Discussing a date so seriously felt incredibly embarrassing. Himekoji said this sarcasm trying to hide his awkwardness.
Besides, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
His personality was worlds apart from the hero in the script.
One was a hateful, perverse villain; the other was a likeable, gentle male lead.
After saying this, Himekoji thought Nanami would brush it off with a word or two, like she always had before, to ease the atmosphere.
But this time was different.
Hearing him, Nanami immediately pursed her lips in apparent displeasure. She looked directly at Himekoji, her expression serious, almost angry.
“Do you really think so?”
“……”
Do I really think so?
That question seized Himekoji’s heart tightly.
Panic surged within him, and he instinctively tried to turn his head away.
Yet Nanami suddenly stood on tiptoe, reached out, and cupped his face in her hands—giving him no escape.
“Of course it can be a reference.”
“……”
Himekoji stared at her blankly, speechless.
“It’s because it’s you, Himekoji-kun, that it’s the most valuable reference.”
“I see…”
His throat felt like it was clogged with sand. Himekoji squeezed out the words, rough and raspy.
…
…