Us, down here in Hokkaido.
In the room Kozan had arranged for us.
Akari, our JK little sister, said she wanted to do it with me, but you could tell she was nervous.
I couldn’t just leave her like that.
“Everyone, would you give Akari and me some alone time?”
The girls, starting with Roshia, agreed without a fuss.
Her older sister, Nana, kept glancing over at her little sister repeatedly.
Whether she was worried about her nervous sibling or not, her half-sister, Midoriko, stopped her as she tried to rush over. “Big bro, take your time.”
“Yeah, I know. Nana, too.”
Looking at my face, Nana’s expression shifted completely. It felt good knowing she trusted me.
Since the hotel had plenty of rooms, everyone moved off to those.
And just like that, Akari and I were left alone.
“L, Li… in the living room…?! Karin-chan, that’s just… ugh! That’s way too perverted!”
…She was still trying to put up a front.
Just like old times. Pushing herself too hard, straining for height she doesn’t have, ending up eating pavement.
Seeing her take on that same look as the Akari from my past, part of me felt relieved.
Because when we reunited, she was so pretty it felt like a different person entirely, making it impossible to connect the dots to the Ina Akari in my memories.
But right now, this girl is exactly the adorable former student I knew. “Akari. Come here.” “! A, um, w-wait…” “Nobody’s looking. Come on.” “U, um… y-yes…”
She dropped the tough attitude for a moment, nodding weakly as Akari approached me.
I pulled Akari into my arms as she sat on the sofa, squeezing her tight.
Akari flinched, her body going rigid. “A… ah, ah… u…” “…It’s okay. It’s fine, Akari.” “Eh…?” “I’m not gonna do anything today. Promise.”
I took Akari’s white, soft hand in mine.
…It was cold as ice. She was nervous. Not pretending; really.
“Wh-Why…? It’s because I’m not charming enough…?”
Akari’s voice was on the verge of disappearing. She must think she’s been rejected. I didn’t want her to misunderstand like that.
“It’s not like that at all. You’re beautiful and charming.”
“Then… why? Why won’t you have sex with me?”
She asked, petulant as a child.
She still had that old Akari vibe to her, and it was comforting. “Because you’re precious to me.”
Physically mature as she might be, Akari’s heart was still that of a child.
Even if she toughed it out with words about sex and such, this girl hadn’t yet made the resolve to accept a man.
That’s what I thought. That’s why I wasn’t ready to do anything yet. “So that’s how it is.”
”…Nah. Akari-chan has seen it all. She goes hard on guys, after all.”
“You said the same thing when you were in elementary school.”
Ah~… Her ears turned crimson.
She really does have that cute side to her.
「I find you attractive. But what matters more to me is having you. That’s why I don’t want to force myself on you while you’re this tense and stiff.» 「Mm…」
Akari clings to me, pressing herself tight against my body.
「…Rusiatou, are you treating me like a child?」
She didn’t want me to, probably. But, well… on that point… it’s useless to lie about it.
What I feel toward this girl in this moment isn’t the eroticism I feel for Akari.
「Yeah, I’m treating you like a child. It seems like your defense is unexpectedly low, huh?」
「Ny~…! Iakarin-chan allocates her stats to attack over defense…~」 「Yeah, I know that.」
Whether in games or in reality, this is just the kind of person she is.
「You don’t have to force it, right? Let’s take it slow and steady.」
「But… Rusiatou, I lost to Ichika.」 「There’s no such thing as winning or losing here.」
「It’s a loss, though! Ah! This, this is so frustrating!」
Akari wiggles her legs in agitation. I squeeze them gently, and she smiles softly, her expression softening.
”……Akarin, keep this a secret.” “What do you mean, ‘this’?”
“I-I mean… how I went on that trip with my boyfriend but couldn’t get it in me to have sex! Don’t tell anyone! You’re not allowed to say such a… lame thing out loud!”
The fact that she was so worried about something like that really proved she was still just a kid. “I got it.”
“Is it really a secret, okay? Especially from the people at my part-time job.”
“The people at your… Oh, the café?”
Akari worked at a cafe in front of the station.
She probably acts all grown up and mature over there. You could tell just by watching how she usually acts. “Yeah, yeah.” “It’s an absolute secret!”
“I know, I know. You’re such a kid.”
“I’m not a kid~ ……I’m a big sister, after all!”