The next Sunday, Masaya was resting in his room when there was a knock on the door.
"Coming."
When he opened it, Rise and Chiho were standing there.
"Oh. Hey, girls. What's up?"
"Ruriko-san baked some bread this morning. Do you want to have tea in the Rose Garden with us, Masaya?" Chiho asked.
Masaya grinned. "Sure, sounds fun. Just give me a second."
Leaving the door open, Masaya picked up both of his phones and placed them in his pocket before changing his shirt to a plain white one. Once ready, he went with the girls.
Arriving at the garden, Masaya was interested to see not only Ruriko, but also Ritsuko and Konomi.
"Hey, everyone," Masaya greeted when they arrived.
"Salutations," Ritsuko returned politely.
"Salutations!" Konomi greeted him more excitedly.
"Salutations, Masaya-san," Ruriko greeted.
All three girls blushed when they noticed the way Masaya's shirt stretched over his chest.
Masaya sat at the table with Rise and Chiho, then looked over the food.
"Wow… this looks amazing. Ruriko-san, you made this all yourself?"
"Yes. I am glad you appreciate it," Ruriko smiled.
"Well, itadakimasu," Masaya said, reaching for one of the baguettes and taking a bite. "… Umph… wonderful. Nice and warm, and the buttery taste inside only makes it greater."
Ruriko beamed at his praise.
The next few minutes were spent eating in friendly company, until Masaya noted a little discrepancy.
"Hey, where are Mitsuki-san and Ayaka-san? Shouldn't they be here?"
"I emailed both, but Mitsuki-sama declined. Sister did not answer," Ritsuko explained.
"Odd," Masaya shrugged, serving himself a bit more tea.
Sometime later, as they were starting to be done with the food, Chiho asked Rise a question.
"Hey, Rise-san, I've been wondering…" When they attention was on her, Chiho continued. "Why integration? There are a lot of ways to raise money. So why choose that?"
The table went silent, the attention having shifted to Rise. The rest of the table had to admit that they were also curious.
Rise, for her part, blushed and looked down momentarily. When she looked back up, she was looking at Masaya with shifty eyes.
"Um… Masaya-san, I'm sorry to ask this, but could you leave the table? This is… a little embarrassing..."
Masaya laughed and stood calmly. "No worries, I can understand that look on your face. Girl talk, am I right?"
Rise laughed sheepishly and nodded.
"I was about done anyways. I'll be back in my room if you need me." With that, Masaya said goodbye to the girls and walked away with a bit of a skip in his step. Ever since he had been told about the results of the Vote (for which he had been in too much pain to pay attention), he had felt much happier knowing that the girls had warmed up to him so much.
On his way to his room, Masaya ran into one of the people that he had asked for a little while ago.
"Oh, Ayaka-san," Masaya greeted when he saw her approach.
"Salutations, Masaya-kun," Ayaka greeted with a grin, almost immediately latching onto his arm. "Were you looking for me?"
Masaya raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Not particularly, but I was wondering where you were. I was just in the Rose Garden with our friends, and they were wondering where you were too."
"Oh, so that's what that message was about?" Ayaka said as if coming to a realisation.
"Huh?"
At Masaya's confusion, Ayaka pulled out her phone and showed him the last message she had received, from Ritsuko, no less.
'Rose Garden. Starting now.'
Masaya stared at the screen for a few moments, then looked away and snickered. "Wow… that's hilarious."
"Isn't it?" Ayaka laughed. "Her messages are so hard to understand sometimes."
After getting their laughter under control, Ayaka began to tug Masaya in another direction. "Actually, Masaya-kun, I was hoping you would help me with something."
"Hmm?" Masaya regarded her with a curious eye.
"Since the pool is opening up tomorrow, the swimming club has to clean it up. With it being such a long time since it last opened, it's gathered a lot of grime. The swimming club hates to clean it up, though, because it's such a hard job."
"I think I see where this is going," Masaya muttered in deadpan.
"Yep!" Ayaka chirped. "I thought that we, as in the White Lily Society, could clean it up and bring up our reputation a bit, don't you think?"
Masaya thought it over and shrugged. "Sure, why not? I don't have anything else to do for the day."
"Yay!" Ayaka cheered and began to pull Masaya faster. "Come on, I told them I wouldn't be long."
Masaya chuckled as he followed behind the girl.
Once they arrived, there was an awkward quiet moment as the girls inside the pool, all in swimsuits, stared at Ayaka and Masaya, who was looking uninterested and had crossed his arms, though it was mostly an act. If he was seen acting lewdly, it would reflect poorly on him, but he couldn't deny that the sight of the girls in swimsuits stirred a part of him he thought he had largely repressed.
Regardless, the girls still screamed in embarrassment, throwing whatever they had nearby at the young man. Masaya easily dodged the flying brushes, and even caught three in his hands, before the girls ran out of things to throw, berated Ayaka for bringing Masaya, and then left in a hurry.
"Oops… there they go…" Ayaka said, watching the girls run into the changing room.
Masaya sighed and shook his head. "Maybe this was a bad idea."
"Nonsense, Masaya-kun," Ayaka said with a wink. "I'll go get the other girls, and we can start working."
"I'm guessing they're still in the Rose Garden," Masaya said. Truthfully, he knew perfectly well where they were, as the GPS tracking system in his chip told him that the girls, who all had their phones on them, were still gathered there.
"Wait for me, okay?" Ayaka said with puppy dog eyes. "Don't go anywhere."
Masaya laughed and made shooing motions. "Go get them, girl. I'll be here."
"Good!" With that, Ayaka turned and jogged off.
…
Back in the Rose Garden, the girls were all looking at Rise expectantly.
"Well, there's a few reasons why I chose to push for integration, but the main one is… a bit personal."
Following that cryptic sentence, Rise explained about what happened to her on the day the Tsurugigaoka Murder-Arson happened at a nearby shrine. She explained how she had met a boy beforehand when she had gotten lost on her way back home, and the boy had selflessly led her back to her home. She wasn't sure how he knew where she lived, until he explained that the Rousenin household was well known, so he had a basic idea. Unfortunately, she had never told him her actual name, instead using the title she had back then, Lis Branche. When she described the boy, who she said was her first love, one of their group was in for a massive shock.
'A young boy who was wearing a Keihan Bulldogs cap because the barber had accidentally cut all his hair off.'
To Sagisawa Chiho, only one person fit that description, but she refused to believe it.
Masaya had agreed to go with her to the festival… but he had called it off at the last minute. Could this young man really have been the same boy? No! He couldn't be!
She hardly listened to when Rise got to the part about the festival, but when Rise's tone suddenly became serious, she focused once again. Rise explained that the boy, who she had affectionately nicknamed Chien due to the baseball cap, had been with her for a while, enjoying the festival, when the fire started. They had tried to get out, but the murderer had focused on them when he or she found them, so it was difficult to escape. And when it seemed like the murderer was going to get them, Chien had selflessly jumped in front of her and taken the blow for her, which distracted the killer enough that she could escape. She had hated herself for running like a coward, but it was true that they were out of danger.
Unfortunately, she had never seen him again. She had visited the hospital where the victims were taken many times, but she hadn't seen him.
"I always hoped to meet him again…" Rise said forlornly.
Chiho gasped a little, though none of the other girls noticed.
That was a good point. It was understandable that Rise wouldn't recognise Masaya, if it really was him, due to the large changes that Masaya had gone through. But why hadn't Masaya recognised Rise?
Chiho knew that she was grasping at straws, but it was still a fair point.
"That day was when I knew that men shouldn't be discounted. There are only two genders in the world, and one of them shouldn't be segregated from the other. That is my reason, Chiho-san."
"I-I see," Chiho responded a little shakily, still in shock over the revelations.
"I see, then…" Ruriko began. "That explains it! Rise-san, you didn't want to be caught between your first love and Masaya-san, were you?"
"H-Huh?! Wait, that's… That's not…!" Rise spluttered incoherently at Ruriko's words.
"Isn't it? But I was so sure that was why you asked Masaya-san to leave," Ruriko said innocently.
"No… not at all… it's just an embarrassing story, is all…" Rise said, flustered. "A-and do not say I am caught between them… that's r-ridiculous…"
"Oh, so you do not feel that way about Masaya-san? That makes me very happy!" Ruriko cheered.
"… I didn't say that," Rise responded dully.
"Oh… I am sorry," Ruriko responded with a smile.
"A-Anyways, that was then. This is now." With those words, Rise closed the subject, just as another person approached the group.
"Salutations, everyone," Ayaka said as she approached.
"Oh, Sister," Ritsuko said when she saw who it was. "You're very late."
"No thanks to you," Ayaka responded playfully. "You should really be a little more descriptive with your emails, Ritsuko."
"Should I? I was sure I put all the necessary information in it," Ritsuko said, puzzled.
"You still need to learn to send emails properly," Ayaka sighed. "But, anyways, I came for another reason. How about the White Lilies take on some community service?"
…
Back at the pool, Masaya was currently in a pair of black shorts with white, side stripes, scrubbing away at the pool. Once Ayaka was out of sight, he had quickly run back to his room and gotten the shorts, then ran back, making it back with more than enough time to spare. After making sure no one was nearby, he had quickly changed, then picked up one of the long brushes and gotten to work.
"Masaya-kun!"
The call of his name drew his attention, and he turned, only to come to a startling sight: each of the group that had been at the Rose Garden, standing in a little group, and all in swimsuits.
Masaya blinked, momentarily stunned by the image. A cry of indignation from one of the members drew him back to the living world.
"Ayaka-sama! You never said that Masaya-sama would be here!" Konomi cried out, immediately jumping in front of Ritsuko to block her from Masaya's view.
"What? Come on, he's part of the White Lily Society, of course he should take part," Ayaka said succinctly.
Konomi groaned a little, then blushed when she realised that Masaya was likely looking at her as well.
Masaya quickly got his reaction under control before the girls noticed and walked to the edge of the pool, effortlessly pulling himself up. Once he was standing tall, it was the girls' turn to stare, as the shorts Masaya was wearing started at his lower hips, denoting a v-cut on his lower abdomen, and only came down to his knees. It was quite the image, and the robotic parts that extended from his pants leg didn't take away from it in the slightest. Instead, much like the way his arms were, it only showed another part of Masaya's bravery and will to live.
"You're finally back," Masaya commented, approaching the group, his feet making little 'clink' sounds when they met the concrete. "I thought I'd have to do the whole pool on my own."
"No way, I'm not that cruel," Ayaka said. Then, she suddenly took a pose, her breasts being pushed to the forefront. "So, Masaya-kun… how does this look make you feel?"
Masaya raised an eyebrow, half at Ayaka's boldness and half at the reactions of the other girls. Each one was slightly glaring at Ayaka, but it seemed like the kind of competitive glaring, as if Ayaka had started a race without them.
'This is an interesting little development,' Masaya thought.
"Well, you certainly look hot," Masaya said with a chuckle.
"Oh? Thank you," Ayaka smirked, approaching him with a swing of her hips that drew Masaya's eyes. "Do you like it?"
"I can't say I dislike it, that's for sure," Masaya smirked, approaching as well. Then, when she was close enough, he reached out and poked her forehead, making her take a step back with a little mewl of disapproval. "Stop it. I don't want arguments when we should be working together."
Ayaka made an odd sound of displeasure, but shook it off. Meanwhile, Masaya looked around, taking in the image a little more fully. If he had to put them in groups, which he never actually liked to do, Ayaka and Ruriko were definitely the curviest of the group. Their bodies were filled in nicely, and their breasts were comparably similar in size. Meanwhile, Chiho and Rise were smaller, but no worse. Their figure was leaner, making for a good balance of hips and breasts. Finally, there were Ritsuko and Konomi, who were both small-chested, but with their small frames and cute looks, it went well.
The girls quailed a little under Masaya's gaze, realising he was studying them, but before anyone could call him out on it, the young man turned away, his back to them.
"Come on, we don't have all day," Masaya said, jumping back into the pool. He stepped forward and picked up his brush, all the while intently listening to what was happening behind him.
"He was definitely looking at us… that way…" Rise's whisper sounded both embarrassed and… pleased?
"That pervert…" Chiho muttered, but it didn't seem to carry any real weight.
"Masaya-san…" Ruriko's moan, for that was what it was, made Masaya get goose bumps all over his chest.
Ritsuko didn't really say anything, but when Masaya turned, he could see that she was lightly blushing.
Konomi just looked a little outraged, but was also blushing, hotly.
Ayaka was still in the same position, gazing at Masaya with unreadable eyes.
"Well? This place isn't going to clean itself," Masaya called out, starting to brush once again.
The girls joined him moments later.
…
It took about an hour and a half, but with their teamwork, it was quickly taken care of.
With the supervision of Sister Mishima, the pool was filled, the water sparkling under the falling sun.
"Wow… that looks refreshing," Masaya said wistfully. "It's too bad I can't go in."
"What are you talking about, Masaya-kun?" Ayaka said incredulously.
Masaya glanced at her in askance.
"You contributed to the cleaning! Of course you should get to enjoy it!"
"Oh… neat," Masaya said with a little smile.
Everyone was set to jump in, but before they could, a yell rent the air.
Masaya immediately turned to the source, his training shining through. "Ruriko-san? What's the matter?!"
Ruriko shakily pointed to the fence that closed off the pool, where Masaya saw a shadowy figure bolt away. His teeth immediately clenched, holding back a growl.
An intruder.
"I'll get him!" Konomi yelled, starting to run off, but a hand grabbed the back of her swimsuit, holding her back. When she looked, she was startled to see an expression of pure anger on Masaya's face.
He said only three words.
"No. He's mine."
Then, before anyone could say anything, he ran forward and jumped, easily clearing the fence, then bolted as soon as his feet hit the ground on the other side.
The man was certainly fast, but he was no match for Masaya's speed. Masaya easily caught up with the man, then outran him and stopped in front of him, blocking his way.
"What?!" the intruder yelped, stopping. Once he realised what had happened, he growled and pulled out a knife. "Get out of my way!"
Masaya stared at him impassively.
"I said, get out of my way!"
No response.
The intruder yelled out and thrust the knife, but his stab went way off when Masaya's hand came up and impacted against his wrist, sending his arm flying up but leaving his body rushing forward. Before the man could say anything, his vision was filled with black as Masaya's fist approached his face, then pain exploded on his face when the fist connected with his cheek and sent him flying back.
The man yelled out in pain and held his impacted cheek, having landed on his behind. He looked up, and the yell became a whimper when he saw Masaya standing over him, the sun just behind him, casting him in an almost angelic light.
This angel, however, had little mercy.
Masaya's hand snaked out and grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck, pulling him up effortlessly. Masaya then brought the man close to his face, staring into his scared eyes.
"You listen to me, and listen to me well. I don't take kindly to perverts that want to make my friends part of their sick fantasies. So if I ever see you again, you can be sure that I'm going to be much less merciful."
Masaya released the man and let him drop to the ground, then picked up the man's camera and crushed it with his hand.
The man simply whimpered pitifully.
Masaya turned when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching, gazing at the Gardiane as they ran to the scene.
"He's all yours," Masaya said, turning and walking away.
"Wait, Okonogi Masaya," the captain called out, making Masaya stop and turn back. "We need your statement about this."
"Ruriko-san saw him, I chased after him, and he pulled out a knife and tried to stab me. I punched him in the face, then gave him a warning about staying away from my friends and crushed his camera. Is that good enough?"
The captain blinked at the succinct explanation, but nodded and waved at him. With a sigh, Masaya walked back to the pool, where the girls were waiting.
"Masaya-san!" Ruriko cried out when she spotted him. The group approached and peppered him with questions immediately.
"Hey, quit it!" Masaya yelled out, making them back off. "One by one, jeez… The Gardiane have him in custody right now, don't worry."
"Really, Masaya-san? No word on how you stopped him and caught him?" a voice said from behind him.
Masaya sighed, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "I should have known you'd seen that, Tamie-san."
"Hehe, of course I did," Tamie responded smugly. Without another word, she pulled up her camera and turned the screen towards us. "Check it out!"
The girls crowded around, Masaya looking over Chiho's shoulder. Tamie had taken a perfect snapshot of the moment when he had picked up the man and was talking to him face to face. On one side of the picture was Masaya, whose eyes were narrowed and looked completely unforgiving, along with his mouth set in a tight scowl. On the other side was the perpetrator, who was staring at Masaya with pure fear and whose mouth was open in shock.
"Wow…" Rise and Chiho said together.
"Amazing," the busty duo, as Masaya began affectionately calling them, said.
"How brave…" Konomi said, awestruck.
Ritsuko simply gazed at it with wide eyes.
"Masaya-san was quite amazing, too," Tamie gushed. "The man pulled out a knife and yelled at Masaya to move, but Masaya stood firm, and then the man went to stab him!" She imitated the stab, complete with a little whoosh. "But Masaya hit the man's wrist faster than I could see, then decked him on the cheek!" She pretended to punch herself, imitating Masaya's actions. "And the man fell back and Masaya walked up to him, looking all cool, and picked him up! What did you say to him, anyway?"
The rest of the girls looked at Masaya, waiting for his answer. Masaya crossed his arms and looked away with a small smile. "I just warned him against perving on my friends. That's something I can't stand."
The girls looked at him with a little awe, which Masaya had to admit he liked.
"But enough about that," he said, turning back to the girls with a smirk. "Shouldn't we be taking a dip right now?"
"Speaking of that, Masaya-san, I've been wondering," Rise asked, looking him up and down. "Wouldn't your mechanical parts malfunction if you jumped in?"
"Oh, not at all. My company made sure the parts were waterproof. Otherwise, I would always need to wear protective clothing in case of rain, don't you think?"
The girls nodded in understanding, then looked at Sister Mishima, who had been watching their interactions with an amused expression.
"Well, Sister, can we go in?" Ayaka asked.
"By all means, I approve of it," Mishima smiled.
Masaya smiled, then fell backwards, startling the girls until they heard the splash. They ran forward and looked inside, spotting Masaya swimming away and breaking the surface about halfway down the pool.
"Come on in! Water's cold!" Masaya grinned evilly.
The girls now seemed much more apprehensive.
...
The rest of the days went by in a boring manner for Masaya. The days blurred together, and without much to do, Masaya found himself spending more and more time in the company of at least one of his friends.
It was about a month later that Masaya decided he had spent long enough holding a secret in. There was only one girl that he had been less than truthful with, and with how long they had spent together, he figured that she had a right to know.
So one Saturday, as the White Lily Society was disbanding for the day, Masaya stood and said, "Rise-san, could we talk... in private?"
The rest of the girls stared at the duo suspiciously, while Rise looked at Masaya with curiosity.
Once the rest of the girls were gone, Masaya walked around the table and stood in front of Rise, who watched him apprehensively.
"Rise..." The lack of honorific only denoted how personal this talk likely was. "There's... something I haven't told you. When I saw you back in Tsurugigaoka, I was sure of it, but I felt that it wasn't the best time to say it, especially with what you'd told me afterwards, in my apartment. That, and my insecurities held me back from admitting it. But now... I feel that I've held onto this for too long. You deserve to know."
"Know what, Masaya-san?" Rise asked, her voice a little shaky.
Masaya took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do. Withdrawing his shades, he looked right into her eyes and said, "The Tsurugigaoka Shrine Murder-Arson. You were almost killed there by the assailant, Lis Branche."
Rise's face paled. "H-How do you know that? Were you...?"
"Listening in to your girl talk? No, I wasn't. But I had a hunch about what it was about," Masaya said softly. "I know... because I was there... with you."
Rise's eyes widened, and her pupils shrank. Her breathing suddenly became laboured. "T-Then... You are..."
"Yes," Masaya nodded. "I am Okonogi Masaya, the then boy who you nicknamed... Chien."
Rise stared at Masaya, a million emotions flying through her eyes. Masaya maintained the eye connection, trying to show her through his eyes that yes, he was the young man that had taken a slash to the back for her in the middle of an arson.
Then, suddenly, Rise ran around him, confusing him momentarily. When he felt her hands attempt to lift the back of his shirt upwards, he understood and lifted it himself, laying his back bare for her to see.
Rise gasped as she beheld the long, diagonal scar that she had seen before but never connected with anything. When she first saw it, in Masaya's apartment, she had inferred that he had gotten it from one of his missions, like the other three or four scars that littered his back. But no... this diagonal scar had appeared on his body long before he was augmented.
This scar, more than anything proved to Rise the truth.
The young, funny boy who had been her first love... the selfless boy who had taken a slash to the back for her...
That boy had grown and become this powerful, selfless man in front of her.
That boy was Okonogi Masaya.
The man in question simply stood there, waiting with bated breath for any reaction from the girl. He could hear her breath become shorter by the minute until it stopped outright, then, a moment later, he felt her hand land on the scar and trace it, sending tingles through his body. The hand withdrew, and Rise's body took its place, her arms wrapping around his torso as she finally let the floodgates of her eyes loose and cried.
"M-Masaya-san! It really is you! Oh, I'm so glad!" Rise cried, her body shaking with sobs.
Masaya smiled softly and carefully pried her arms from his body, turning around and hugging her properly. Rise, now being able to bury her face into Masaya's chest, did just that and let loose the feeling of love and sadness she had held onto for nearly eight years, completely drenching Masaya's shirt. Masaya simply smiled and held her, stroking her hair softly. If he were still able to cry, he would have let loose too.
Eventually, as Rise's tears began to dry up, Masaya moved closer to a chair in order to sit her down so they could talk properly. However, after having lost him for such a long time, Rise was in no way letting go of him, so he ended up sitting on the chair, with Rise on his lap. Rise blushed at the position, but every time Masaya made to move away, her grip would tighten significantly, so he decided to let it be.
With Rise sitting sideways on his lap, her arms around his neck, Masaya had to force down his natural reaction. It was a very intimate moment, and while he felt a little awkward, he also felt happy that Rise trusted him enough to allow this.
"H-How long have you known?" Rise asked, her crying leaving behind a little stutter.
"Ever since my accident," Masaya responded, his hand still tracing her long hair. "I guess the trauma of the arson made me forget it, because when I first saw the scar, I had no idea how I'd gotten it. But the explosion later on must have broken that. While I was undergoing my therapy to get used to my limbs, I just woke up one morning with my mind on that day. I was confused at first, but after looking it up, I realised I really had been caught in the event. Afterwards, my mind naturally went to you, wondering how you were and if you had managed to escape safely."
Rise smiled and sniffled, then frowned and looked up at Masaya. "Wait. If you knew about it for so long, why haven't you said anything until now?"
Masaya looked away. "To be honest... when I first saw you, in the city, I wasn't sure if it was you or not. I didn't want to get my hopes up only to have them dashed. It was only after a few minutes of studying how you acted and your looks that I realised you really were Lis Branche. But by that point, we were in my apartment and I was about to show you my body for the first time."
The words that Masaya had spoken came back to her, along with the world-weary facial expression he'd had at that moment.
'Don't run when you see what I mean.'
"So, when you asked me not to run..." Rise began.
Masaya nodded. "I didn't know how I would handle the rejection of the girl who I'd jumped in front of a blade for, but I know it wouldn't have gone well. I'm just glad that didn't happen."
"No matter what happened to your body, I could never reject you," Rise said firmly, tightening her hold on his neck. "Even if I was meeting you for the first time."
Masaya held her tighter as well. "You know, I fully believe you. Your nature is something I can't help but love about you."
Rise blushed and made an 'eep' noise, digging her face into his neck to escape his smirking visage. When she heard him sigh, though, she looked at him once again.
"What's the matter?"
"Well… there's someone else who I need to explain the situation to… and she's not going to be happy about it, that's for sure."
"Who?"
"Chiho."
"Chiho-san?" Rise asked with confusion. "Why?"
"Because… do you remember how, when you asked me to go to the festival, how I hesitated slightly before agreeing?"
Rise nodded, slightly confused, but then the pieces clicked in her mind and she gasped.
"You don't mean…?"
Masaya nodded shamefully. "Yeah. Chiho had asked me first, and I had agreed. But then… when I met you, all thoughts of Chiho went out the window. I know what you're going to ask," Masaya said, holding up a hand to cut her question short, "And trust me when I say that I myself don't know why I chose you over Chiho. I could say that I knew I could go other times with Chiho, or that I felt that I might not ever meet you again, but I don't know if those would be lies because, truthfully, I don't remember my reasoning. In the end, I did blow Chiho off, and that's one thing I've never forgiven myself for and don't think she might forgive. But regardless, I do plan to apologise."
Rise nodded. "You definitely should." A moment later, however, she drew herself closer to him and smiled in bliss. "But that can wait a little, can't it?"
Masaya raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Of all times, you choose now to be a little selfish?"
"Oh, shush," Rise chided him good-naturedly, and both of them laughed.
…
A few minutes later, Chiho entered the room, having received a message from Masaya to come meet him there.
"Masaya?" Chiho called out.
"Here," he responded, leaning against the table and looking out the window, arms crossed. At a corner of the room, Rise was standing with her arms behind her.
"What did you call me for?" Chiho asked, and though she tried to mask it, Masaya still heard the tone of uncertainty and sadness in it.
Masaya sighed and turned around, showing Chiho his face. Chiho was surprised when she saw his eyes tilted in sadness.
"I asked you to come here… so that I could apologise."
Chiho reeled back in shock. "Apologise? For what?"
Masaya walked up to her, arms still crossed. "I'm sure you know for what, Chiho. I know what Rise talked to you about some time ago before we cleaned the pool. And you are a very smart girl. I know you connected the dots."
Chiho gasped, stepping back a little when she remember that, and at the same time realising that she was right.
Chien was Masaya.
"No… no, no, no… It can't be…"
Masaya walked with her until her back was to the wall, sadness on his face the entire time. "It is, Chiho. And I know it won't cut it, but…"
Here, Masaya fell to his knees, surprising both Chiho and Rise. His head was bowed low, and his voice lowered a bit, but it was filled with pure regret. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry for what I did. I should have never done that, and I'm being completely honest with you when I say that I don't know why I did it. But I did, and though at the time I didn't know or understand the repercussions of it, I do now, and I can't express to you how sorry I am."
Both girls stared down at Masaya, neither being able to figure out what to say. In the end, Chiho was the first to react, falling to her knees in front of him and, to his surprise, slapping him right on the cheek, making his head tilt to the side, as she still didn't have the strength to topple him. However, that slap hurt more emotionally than physically.
"You idiot… Yes, I felt bad because you did that… but in the end, that day ended in disaster, so it was probably for the best that we didn't go."
"But it still hurt… didn't it?" Masaya asked with a sigh.
"Yeah… I'm not going to deny that… but that was a long time ago, and back then you were a much bigger idiot than you are now. The fact that you remembered and want to apologise is enough to me, Masaya. Just please… don't hurt me like that again, okay?"
Masaya smiled tenderly and brought her into his arms, drawing a little gasp from Chiho. "Thank you, Chiho. Thank you so much. And I promise, I'll do my best to not hurt you."
"Can you make that promise physically as well? Because I can't breathe!" Chiho gasped.
"Oh!" Masaya let her go and jumped back a little, rubbing the back of his head as Chiho gasped for air. "Hehe, sorry."
A quiet laugh from the corner drew their attention to Rise, who was giggling into her hand. "You two are so fun to watch."
"Oh yeah?" Chiho asked challengingly. "I bet you wouldn't last three seconds into a Masaya bear hug!"
Masaya's head snapped to Chiho's direction, confusion clear on his face. Where the hell had that come from?
"Can too!" Rise responded heatedly, immediately taking up the challenge. "You could hardly last two seconds with a simple hug!"
"Hey, he was hugging my neck, and besides, he wasn't controlling his strength!"
"She's right, you know," Masaya added.
"You shush!" Rise exclaimed at him. "Very well! Masaya-san, come over here and bear hug me! I will show you I can do it!"
Masaya stood up and dusted off his pants, helping Chiho off the floor as well. Then, he winked at his childhood friend and walked over to where Rise was, in a corner of the room. Halfway there, his eyes began to become half-lidded, his mouth turned into a small, yet confident smirk, and his walking became more seductive, and at the same time, more cautious, like a hunter stalking its prey. Noticing all of this, Rise gulped and blushed, taking a step back and realising that she was in a corner, so there was nowhere to go. She looked up with wide eyes, her pupils dilating slightly and her breathing becoming laboured. What she didn't realise was that Masaya had used one of his augmentations, a pheromone releaser, to alter her hormones. Along with her own attraction to him, the pheromones were affecting her nerves and reactions.
As soon as he was in front of her, he pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her waist. Rise gasped as she was suddenly pressed against his body, and by instinct, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes becoming half-lidded due to the proximity.
"Masaya-san…" she murmured, moving forward a little.
What Masaya didn't realise was that his released pheromones were also affecting Chiho, as just watching this was getting the girl a little turned on. The little possessive part of her brain was shut up temporarily as she watched her childhood friend slowly approach and seduce Rousenin Rise, his predatory facial expression sending shivers up her spine. She could feel herself becoming aroused, and even though she tried to contain it, her lower lips began to moisten up slightly.
Rise was much worse off, as she was the full receiver of the pheromones and Masaya's seductive look. Her knickers were already soaked, and unfortunately, she couldn't control that.
Masaya was, unfortunately, slightly oblivious to this, as he was a little too focused on his plan. He placed his face closer to Rise's, and whispered, "Hey, Rise?"
"Y-Yes?" Rise whispered back, her voice breathy.
"Anaconda squeeze."
"Wha-? ACK!"
Rise made a strangled noise between a gasp and a choking noise as Masaya suddenly raised his arms to her stomach level and significantly tightened his grip, making the air to her lungs be cut off sharply. She gasped and strained to hold on, remembering the declaration she had made to Chiho, who was currently banging the table and laughing at Rise's facial expression. Masaya himself was grinning like a buffoon, thoroughly enjoying teasing Rise this way.
After about half a minute, and as he watched Rise's face slowly turn blue, Masaya realised that her pride wouldn't allow her to give up. As such, he stopped squeezing her, whereupon she let out an explosive breath, then collapsed against his arms, her body bending backwards and her eyes wide, with her face slowly regaining colour.
"Oops, I think I broke her," Masaya chortled, making Chiho splutter in an effort to keep her laughter in. Masaya then put on a thinking expression before smiling almost evilly and picking Rise up enough that he was able to march her over to where Chiho was standing, who watched as he held Rise up by her back and shoulders. "Hey, Chiho."
"What?"
Masaya smirked suggestively and simply said, "Sandwich."
With Rise being still out of it, she didn't quite catch the meaning behind that, but Chiho, still being under the effects of the pheromones, immediately got it and blushed crimson at the images that flew through her head. However, she wasn't one to pass up messing with others, good-naturedly of course, so she nodded with a similar evil grin and approached the duo, wrapping her arms around Rise. Masaya, being the biggest of the three, wrapped his arms around both Rise and Chiho, an action that finally made Rise pay attention.
"Hey, what are you two-! Argh!"
Rise's speech was once again cut short as Chiho squeezed the living daylights out of her, followed by Masaya squeezing both of them. Chiho's face went from happiness to shock as she realised that Masaya was now strong enough to squeeze both of them without problems, and her breathing was being cut short as well. This made her arms slacken, which gave Rise some more breathing room, but she was still being squeezed between Masaya's chest and Chiho's body, a position which made her blush as images raced through her head.
Finally, Masaya decided they'd had enough and loosened his arms, letting both girls go. Their legs weak, the girls stumbled to the table and leaned against it, catching their breaths.
"Well, this has been fun, and enlightening, but I need to get going," Masaya said as he looked at the clock on the wall. He walked to the door and waved over his shoulder at the girls. "Catch you two later!"
With that, he opened the door, looked at them over his shoulder, winked, tapped his nose, and then left, shocking both girls.
A minute passed filled with silence, which was then broken by Chiho's awkward laughter as she turned to Rise.
"He knew, didn't he?"
Rise sighed and looked down. "Yes, I am fairly sure that's what he meant."
"But I don't think he knew, though," Chiho said vaguely.
"What do you mean?" Rise asked.
"Come on, Rise-san. I doubt he knew what that meant. Otherwise, don't you think he'd have made a move on one of us?" Chiho asked.
Rise thought this over momentarily, then shook her head. "I am not so sure. I doubt he would make a move on one of us when both of us are here, and you know how he is with his loved ones, Chiho-san. He would never want to hurt us, even if unintentionally. I think that mindset is holding him back from pursuing what he wants."
"The question is, what does he want?" Chiho asked as she looked at the door.
"I am still not sure. He may have given us his history, but his true feelings are quite well hidden," Rise said with a frown. "And I am afraid that is something he has conditioned himself to do."
Chiho continued looking at the door, sadness on her face. "I wish we could help him."
"We can, Chiho-san," Rise smiled at her consolingly. "We just need to give him time. The type of isolation Masaya-san has been through is the kind that just can't be fixed in a short time."
Chiho nodded in agreement, then laughed suddenly, startling Rise. She moved away from the table, stretching her legs a little, then looked at Rise and nodded towards the door. "Come on, let's go back. We both need to change, right?"
Rise laughed along with her and went along.
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