"You kept me up all night, Sorata." Mashiro grumbled as she wobbled like a bowling pin.
Aoyama half-smiled at that callback.
"Seriously...," she comforted. "Playing video games until dawn again?"
U-Unless...no way, Kanda-kun's not that bold. Is he?
"Mashiro was hogging the bed again," Sorata replied. "We really need to get a bigger bed."
"N-No!"
Aoyama looked visibly uncomfortable from the thought of her friends sleeping together. 'Sleeping together', as in just that. Sleeping.
"I uh...I mean, why doesn't Mashiro sleep in her own bed?," she offered. "Don't want you making any weird noises at night now do we-"
"Relinquish the thought!," Sorata gasped.
"Sorata."
"Mashiro?"
Mashiro stopped walking and looked down, clutching her chest.
"My chest feels tight again."
"Mashiro!"
Fearing the worst, Sorata checked her forehead for a sign of a fever.
"Are you okay? Where are we? How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Let's have sex."
"GGAAAHHH!"
Somewhere in the artistic genius's train of thought, the mention of her caregiver buying a larger bed for the two of them led to 'lewd' ideas. A romantic dinner date, a stroll through the park and the finishing touch...them staying up until five am. And not from playing video games.
Aoyama covered her blushing face and whimpered, while an embarrassed Sorata turned around and began fast walking, Mashiro right behind him.
"Sorata?"
There was a moment of unbearable silence between the trio.
"Sorataa...?"
"Y-Yeah...?"
"...let's have-"
"What've you been teachin' her, Kanda-kun...?!," Aoyama loudly whispered. "Do I need to get sensei involved in this?!"
"Sorata has been teaching me the male form," Mashiro said nonchalantly.
"Why you...you...you perverted-"
"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!," Sorata yelled.
"WHAT'S IT LIKE THEN?! YOU TWO BUYIN' A BIGGER BED SO YOU CAN DO IT?!"
"NO! OUT OF CONTEXT! OUT OF CONTEXT!"
While the two bickered on like a married couple, Mashiro noticed the convenience store they always pass by to her right, and strolled in for a baumkuchen. She was lost in a train of thought, confused as to why her friends were embarrassed at her request, and unconsciously opened her favorite snack accidentally.
"Oh," Mashiro inhaled at the realization.
"Oh! Shiina-san!," a voice from behind the register called out. "Long time no see!"
"Hina-senpai," Mashiro said while still looking at the baumkuchen. She could recognize her voice from their times in art class. "Can I eat this baumkuchen?"
"No money huh?," she replied understandingly.
"Hm." Mashiro nodded. "I'll pay you back. I'll paint on you."
"I...You mean paint for me?"
"No. Paint on you."
Mashiro quickly left the store leaving Hina-senpai confused, but still glad she met her kouhai ever since she graduated. Unlike many other students in her class, she didn't feel inferior or underachieved when compared to the genius's works, and she strived to learn more about art from Mashiro. One of the reasons the two had developed a friendship; Hina-senpai actually talked to her.
When Mashiro finally caught up to her two friends, they were waiting on a bench - their previous argument now devolved into simple insults about one another.
"Well, your hair looks funny."
"Your pores look funny."
"Pores?"
"Pores."
"...am I supposed to feel offended?"
"Look closer Kanda-kun. You could never be this perfect."
Aoyama pointed at her cheeks, and they were promptly pinched by Sorata, while Mashiro pinched the other.
"Ah! Mashiro, there you are. Come on, we're gonna be late for school," Sorata said, letting go of Aoyama.
"Sorata."
"Hm?"
"Baumkuchen."
"Ah, arigato-"
She pulled the baked good away from Sorata's hand just as he was about to grab it.
"I'll trade it with you for sex."
"A prostitute?!," both Sorata and Aoyama exclaimed.
Sorata sighed and grabbed the artist's hand.
"Come on," he said. "Let's talk about this after school. We're gonna be late."
At around nine pm, when good boys and girls have finished their work, and artist prodigies have finished their manga; around that time is when Mashiro Shiina would typically sit cross-legged on her caretaker's bed, staring intently at the back of his head. Much to his discomfort, of course.
"Umm...Shiina-san?," Sorata started.
"Mashiro."
"Gomen, Mashiro."
(When at school, make sure to refer to her as Shiina-san.)
"What is it?"
Sorata closed the web-programming page on his computer and swivelled on his chair to meet her eyes.
"It's getting pretty late..."
"Hm."
"And I just finished my work..."
"Hm hm."
"...would you mind giving me a moment? Go brush your teeth or something?"
Mashiro narrowed her eyes.
"Sorata no baka."
"I don't understand."
"There is a girl sitting on your bed."
"And...?"
"Sorata-kun does not need to have sex with himself today."
"W-what are you even talking about Mashiro?," Sorata whimpered. He could feel himself getting flustered by the second.
"Sorata-kun was going to read sex stuff by himself," Mashiro stated confidently, as if she were interrogating someone.
"You are completely mistaken...!," he whispered as loud as he could without waking Ryuunosuke up.
There was a singular light hanging from the ceiling, between the two parties. A: the interrogator, and B: the accused. Mashiro stood up, huffing to herself and crossing her arms. She turned around and paced across the concrete room with a one-way mirror, lost in thought, as if she were looking for answers.
Eureka! She found an answer. She slammed her hands down on the metal table. Here goes.
"Have sex with me then. I'll give you a baumkuchen."
"IS MY LIFE AN ANIME?!," Sorata yelled, his face beet red.
"Oi! Shut up in there!," Ryuunosuke could be heard yelling while banging his wall.
"Gomenasai!," Sorata yelled back.
He turned off his computer and sat on the bed.
"Is this inspiration for a new manga?," Sorata inquired.
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because..."
Mashiro leaned her head on Sorata's chest, letting her hair cover her embarrassed state.
"I...I don't know. You and Aoyama get flustered and embarrassed when I bring it up. So it must be important...right?"
Sorata gave an understanding smile. "Yeah...I guess so. But s-se...its a very personal thing to do! And something only l-lovers do..!"
Mashiro looked up at Sorata.
"Do...do you really want to do it with me...?," he mumbled, looking somewhat ashamed of himself. "A beautiful, bright, genius girl deserves better..."
Mashiro smiled.
He called me beautiful. ! Sorata-kun called me beautiful! I'm...I'm so glad...
"Sorata," Mashiro whispered. "I understand. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's okay to be curious about these kind of things."
Mashiro smiled brightly at the person sitting next to her.
My chest feels tight again.
"*Ahem! Anyway...if you're so curious, maybe you can look at hentai manga or something like that."
"Hentai?"
"Ummmm...yeah. Hentai. It's like...manga. Of people. Doing the sex."
Mashiro had never been so intrigued in her life. She felt the need- no, more like an obligation to find out more about this 'hentai'.
"God! Why did I say that...! Aoyama's gonna kill me!"
After Sorata finished helping Mashiro brush her teeth (speaking of which, she had managed to put toothpaste on the brush this time, after many weeks of practice!) the two finally went to bed, Sorata in the futon and Mashiro in his bed. As usual. Mashiro preferred it as it smelt like Sorata, of course. However, despite the sleep deprivation from yesterday's episode, Mashiro laid wide awake in bed, her heart pumping wildly as she thought about what Sorata said. She needed to look further into this.
That night she made a plan.
