Hajime.
Chiaki's best friend.
He'd confessed to her. He liked her.
Chiaki didn't know what to do. On the one hand, she could see a relationship working out with him, but on the other…this felt different from Mahiru. If she said yes and they started dating, what if Hajime wouldn't end up liking Chiaki as a partner and they broke up…would their friendship even survive? The idea of losing him was terrifying.
She'd spent the entire next day thinking about it, so much so that when she'd been called up to the front of the class to do a problem, she hadn't realized she wasn't covering herself up until she was at the board. She heard a few whispers from her classmates, but her resolve hardened at that moment, and she did the problem, then turned back around, flashing her body to everyone before walking back to her seat and sitting down.
She was done with covering up.
But after that moment passed, she was back to thinking about Hajime. Even by the time the day ended, she still hadn't been able to decide what she wanted to do, fear gripping her chest like a vice.
For now, she started making her way back down the halls, this time alone, since Mahiru wanted to introduce Hiyoko to a friend she had in the reserve course. She said she also wanted to introduce Chiaki to her at some point as well, which Chiaki was thankful for. Any friend of Mahiru's would be a friend of hers as well.
She could see people were giving her much more attention compared to before she finally exposed herself, but she did her best to ignore it, as she always did. She was sure she'd had enough nip slips—given how large her chest was and how hard it was to constantly stay covered up—that everyone already knew what they looked like. And as long as no one was diving under her legs to get a picture, then she wasn't too bothered.
She kept walking until she headed to the bench, even though she still didn't have an answer for Hajime yet. Thankfully, he wasn't there, but Tenko was. As the girl waved at Chiaki, the gamer felt her body relax as she walked over and sat down. "Hey, back again?"
"Of course, I've got a lifetime of questions for Hajime!" Tenko said excitedly, and instantly, Chiaki stiffened up again, which Tenko seemed to notice. She frowned. "What's wrong?"
"I-It's nothing," Chiaki assured her, but Tenko shook her head.
"I can tell it's not nothing," Tenko said and then sighed. "It's about Hajime, isn't it?" Chiaki's eyes went wide. "I might've…overheard a bit."
"O-Oh," Chiaki said, putting her hands in her lap as she stared down at them. "I see."
"Chiaki…I…have something to admit," Tenko said carefully.
"What is it?" Tenko took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Th-The truth is…I…think I have a crush on Hajime."
The answer hit Chiaki like a sack of bricks, and at that moment, her mind was almost instantly made up. She reached out and grabbed Tenko's hands, startling the girl. "You have to tell him."
"Wh-What?"
"If you tell him, he'll be able to consider whether he'd rather be with you or with me. You should tell him now before he expects an answer from me so he can think about it," Chiaki explained. Tenko stared at her for a bit before she shook her head and pulled her hands away.
"N-No, I'm not admitting to it because I…because I want to tell him, I'm saying it because…I felt it needed to be said." Chiaki tilted her head.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I don't intend to take Hajime away from you," she explained. "Hajime has been the first man other than my Master that I've been able to truly connect with, and I think that's why I have a crush on him. If that's even what this is, I'm not even sure myself, since I've never been this close to a man before." She sighed. "It's…I'm sorting through a lot of things right now, but I just wanted to get it off my chest, in the hopes it would help me come to understand it better, that's all."
"But-"
"Besides, he'd pick you. He's known you for longer and I've seen the way he's talked about you, looked at you. He likes you a lot," Tenko said as she smiled at the girl. "I wouldn't want to take that away."
"Tenko…" Chiaki said softly and reached over to grab her hand again. "Thank you. I…I promise you'll find someone else, someday."
"You really think so?" Tenko asked, unconvinced.
"There's a lot of good guys out there, you just have to find the right one. It'll be hard, for sure, but…you'll find him," Chiaki assured him. "I would…hug you if I wasn't…you know…"
"Right, right, it's fine," Tenko said with a laugh. "I…still have a lot of things to think over." She glanced over Chiaki's shoulder and smiled, nodding to herself before setting her gaze back on Chiaki. "And for you…good luck." With that, she stood, leaving Chiaki with a confused look.
"Good luck? For what?" she asked, but Tenko was already leaving. Chiaki stood as well and heard someone clear their throat behind her. She turned and found…Hajime.
"Hey," he said. "Sorry I'm late, Natsumi was making a fuss about cleaning the classroom and I had to stay behind to help."
"O-Oh, it's fine, I was just…Tenko and I were…" Chiaki glanced back, but the girl was still gone. She faced Hajime again and cleared her own throat. "H-Hi."
"Hi," Hajime said with a nervous laugh. "So…did you…?"
"I-I did. I've…come to an answer." Chiaki said as she began to walk towards him. She saw his eyes glance at her bouncing chest as she took each step towards him, and finally stopped right in front of him. She had to look up at him with how much taller he was than her, and she gently grabbed his hands, holding them tightly within her own. "I am…worried that if things didn't work out, we wouldn't be friends anymore."
"Of course we would. At least, I'd want to try to," he assured her as he brushed his thumb over her knuckle. She let out a shaky breath.
"Yes. I do want to try being your girlfriend," she finally said, and a wide, beaming smile appeared across his face. Before she could react, he pulled her into a hug, a tight one that left her chest squished against his, though Chiaki assumed he probably wasn't focusing on that right now. So instead, she hugged him back, nuzzling her face into his warm, inviting chest.
Chiaki wasn't sure how long the two sat there like that, but once it was done and they pulled away, she cleared her throat again. "So…what now?"
"Well…now we go on a date sometime," he answered. "Doesn't have to be right away, but…"
"I'd like that," she said, and he smiled.
"For now though…we can just play video games if that's what you want," he offered, and she nodded. They both walked back to the bench and sat down as Hajime pulled out two consoles since he'd clearly seen she hadn't brought his own. She flashed him an appreciative smile as the two selected a game and started playing.
And eventually, they started to slide closer to one another, until their bodies were touching.
His arm bumped her boob but at this point, neither of them seemed to care.
"MAHIRU!"
The cry came from behind her, and the girl stopped in her tracks, sighing as she, Sato, and Hiyoko all turned to find Kazuichi sprinting towards them. She faced him fully as he stopped in front of her, panting, and after taking a moment to recover he straightened before they looked at one another.
"How did you find me?" Mahiru asked quietly, being the first to speak.
"Someone said they overheard you saying you were going to the reserve course. I've been looking for a while," he answered. "Look, I know you've been avoiding me, but can we please just talk about this?" Mahiru looked away, her grip on herself growing tighter.
"I…I…" she flustered, and Hiyoko stepped up next to her.
"Are you bothering her? If she doesn't want you around, leave her alone!" Hiyoko cried. Sato moved up to her other side.
"I don't know who you are, but if Mahiru doesn't want to talk to you, then I'm not going to let you talk to her," she said. Kazuichi raised his hands and opened his mouth to speak, but Mahiru sighed.
"Can we…er…be alone for a bit?" she asked gently. Sato and Hiyoko both gave her a look of concern, receiving a nod of reassurance in return. After a moment passed, they nodded and the two pulled away, moving down the hall and out of earshot. Now alone, Mahiru sighed. "I'm…I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize, I just wanted to know if it was something with me," he said. She shook her head.
"No…it's not you. It's just…I've never…dated someone before, or even kissed someone, and I never thought it would be you and I just…I was worried about…if it could even work between us," she haphazardly explained.
"Well, we won't know unless we try, right?" he asked. "And it's not like we were close friends before, so if it doesn't work out, we won't miss out on anything or ruin any big friendship."
"That's true, but…"
"Mahiru," Kazuichi said as he gently grabbed her arms, and she found it surprising that she didn't jump. "You are the first person I've felt a genuine connection with since meeting Miss Sonia, and I don't want to give that up. I want to give it a try. So…can we? Please?" Mahiru stared up at him, looking into his beautiful lavender eyes. His expression was genuine, and it made her heart race in her chest. It was then that she realized he hadn't once looked at her body, only at her face.
Before she could stop herself, she leaned in and kissed him. His eyes went wide, but his surprise only lasted a moment before he kissed her back, his lips full of warmth and passion. Mahiru became so distracted that she almost moved her arms to caress his face. She managed to hold herself back as he instead did it to her, his warm, strong hand holding her face and pulling her further into the kiss. At that moment, she felt at peace. It finally felt like she was doing the right thing.
So when they pulled away, it almost felt like a disappointment. Her face was flushed and her heart wouldn't stop beating at a mile a minute. It didn't help when Kazuichi flashed her a smile.
"So is that a yes?" he asked. She laughed before another thought crossed her mind.
"Hiyoko won't like it."
"Then we don't have to tell her," he offered, and her eyes went wide.
"You…really…?"
"If you don't want to tell anyone right away, then that's fine by me. All I need is to know that we're together, whether in secret or not. Then, whenever you're ready to tell her, you can," he offered and placed his hands on her waist, where she still didn't jump.
"Thank you," she said before giving him a smile, which he returned in kind.
"Guys!"
As they heard Hiyoko quickly rushing back towards them, Kazuichi let go of her hips just as she rounded the corner. She eyed the two suspiciously, especially Kazuichi, but said nothing. "What is it?" Mahiru asked.
"Sato left to go after this one girl she saw heading outside. She said 'She looks like she's on a mission' and she was curious where she was going, so she told me not to wait up," Hiyoko informed them, and Mahiru frowned. She had a feeling she knew who Sato had gone after, but if that girl was as terrible as she seemed, why would she actively chase after her? To catch her doing something? Either way, Mahiru briefly wondered if they should try and follow, but she eventually decided against it.
"Let her be, I guess," she said as she turned back to Kazuichi. "Thank you for the…um…talk," she said.
"Right, right, no problem," he said, and then his eyes widened. "Oh, mind if I get your phone number so we can…discuss it more later?" Mahiru nodded and glanced at Hiyoko, who narrowed her eyes at Kazuichi as she walked over and opened Mahiru's bag for her, since even if she was now dating the man, Mahiru certainly didn't want to show herself off to him…yet.
Hiyoko pulled out Mahiru's phone and Kazuichi quickly took it after Mahiru unlocked it for him, he put his number in for her, and handed it back to Hiyoko to put it back in the bag. "Then I'll talk to you later," Mahiru said with a slight bow.
"Can't wait for it," Kazuichi agreed, and with that Mahiru and Hiyoko left, though the latter gave Kazuichi one last suspicious glare before leaving. He sighed to himself as he found himself staring after them…
And found himself looking at her incredible ass for the first time.
Chiaki yawned as she closed her game console, looking up at the darkening sky. "That was fun," she said.
"It was. It felt…different, but in a good way," *he surmised, and she nodded in agreement as she stood. Her chest jiggled with the movement, and Hajime gulped, which made Chiaki giggle.
"I'll keep telling you, it's okay to look," she said as she stood in front of him, leaving him eye-level with her chest. He had to take a deep breath before he let himself look at them in all their beauty. The little black mole on her right breast by itself was enough to make him instantly hard.
"S-Since we're dating now…am I allowed to…touch?" he asked hesitantly, and was happy when she didn't immediately tell him off for it. She put a hand to her chin and after a few moments, she smiled.
"Maybe next time, okay?" she offered, and he let out a breath, nodding. He then noticed her cheeks flushing. "I-I would like…another hug, though." Hajime smiled wide.
"Of course," he said and stood. As soon as his arms opened, she was wrapped around him. It took his breath away to feel her large and soft chest pressed against his, even through his clothes. But even then, he was more focused on just how warm she was, how soft her skin was as he wrapped his arms around her bare back, and held her even closer. She buried her face in his chest, and her gentle breathing was soothing. His smile grew wider, and he didn't know how much time actually passed before she pulled away, and the two shyly grinned at one another before Chiaki turned, and waved as she left. Hajime allowed himself to stare at her swaying hips and ass as she walked back towards the school. He let out a sigh as she disappeared from sight.
He was truly a lucky man.
"Hey, Hajime~!"
The man turned to find Natsumi was currently making her way towards him. Instantly, some of the warmth he'd felt before fizzled out, but he still maintained a friendly smile as she approached. "Hey, what's up?"
"You're out pretty late, but I figured I'd find you here," the girl said as she sat down on the bench. "What're you doing?"
"I was playing games with Chiaki. She just left," he responded, and her smile immediately faded, leaving her pouting.
"Right. I see. Well," She shook her head, seemingly to clear her thoughts as her smile came back to her face. "I was wondering if you would go out to eat with me sometime!" Hajime frowned.
"You mean like a date?" he asked.
"If you want to call it that."
"You're asking me out?"
"Yep! Is that such a shock? You are actually a somewhat decent guy, so I felt like hey, why not?" Natsumi said. She had assumed Hajime would almost immediately say yes, but as she saw him rubbing his neck, her smile fell again. "What is it?"
"I…uh…don't think it would be right of me to accept if it's being treated as a date," he said.
"Why not?" Natsumi asked as dread crept down her spine.
"W-Well…Chiaki and I…we just…started dating," he explained, his face red. Natsumi's eyes went wide as she felt something in her shatter. She felt awash with a mixture of sadness, disappointment, and anger. She faked her best smile, even as she felt herself twitching.
"I-I see. I…I'm very…happy for you two, then. Sorry for…bringing it up," she said, gripping the bench so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"Y-Yeah. Sorry," he apologized. Natsumi fumed. How could that naked bitch have won him over so fast? Was he really just that horny for her body? Maybe if Natsumi went nude, then he'd dump her ass and come crawling to her?
Natsumi was so full of anger that she didn't even stop to consider the ramifications of being permanently nude. The anger kept swirling as she thought about ways she could humiliate Chiaki, or get them to break up. Something must've shown on her face, but Hajime spoke up again. "Ah, are you okay?"
"Fine, I'm perfectly fine," she lied. "I just-"
"Natsumi!"
The two of them looked up to see Sato was making her way over to them. "I knew you were up to something! You better not be bothering him!"
"Hey, what I do is my business! What, are you my stalker or something?" Natsumi asked in a huff.
"What if I was? Would that bother you~?" Sato asked with narrowed eyes, and she almost cackled as she saw the girl's face turn red.
"Y-You are such…a…a…!" Natsumi tried, but nothing would come.
"Beautiful bombshell? Why yes thank you, but that's not important right now," Sato continued, which only frustrated Natsumi more. She looked over at Hajime. "Everything good?"
"Yeah, we're good," he said. Sato nodded, and looked down at the fuming Natsumi.
"Come on, it's getting dark, let's go, unless you want me to escort you all the way back home, or even stay the night to make sure you don't leave~?" Natsumi got to her feet, face beet red.
"ST-STOP TEASING, YOU LITTLE…!" Natsumi seemed like she was about to shout some mighty profanity, but a glance at Hajime stopped her, and she stormed past Sato, making an effort to shove into her as she walked away. Sato simply laughed and gave Hajime a nod before she, too, left and caught up to her classmate, who didn't appear pleased by her presence. Yet as Hajime watched them leave, and saw them fighting, he couldn't help but smile to himself.
"They're kind of cute together, huh?"