73. The tail end of 17, and 2nd year. (1)

I proposed focusing on studying until her grades recovered, and Aki accepted.

For the next few weeks, Aki showed a level of dedication that even surprised me. Even when I suggested going to eat something sweet, which she loved, she softly refused, saying, ‘Later, I’m studying right now….’

“Since there’s no extremum, h(x) is greater than 0, and g(x) is also greater than 0, and h(x) is g(x)-4x-1, so…. Ah. Like this….”

“…….”

Aki could be a girl who studied so earnestly like this?

I’ve been hanging out with Aki for about 11 years, counting by the year, and I can honestly say that this is the first time I’ve seen her expression so completely devoid of smiles.

If I could go back to myself a few weeks ago and say, ‘Aki has a habit of slightly pursing her lips when she concentrates,’ I probably wouldn’t believe it, would I?

You’d say I’d never seen Aki concentrate, so what nonsense was I spouting, and was I sure I really saw that.

“a squared + b squared is…. 5.”

The answer Aki wrote down with her mechanical pencil was 5.

The same answer I had finished checking about 5 minutes ago. I nodded to signify she was correct.

“Yeah, that’s right. Good job.”

“Ah, really? Thank goodness….”

Aki, who had been waiting for my words with a slightly nervous air, slumped her shoulders.

It seemed the problem’s difficulty, being from a practice exam meant for a grade above, had truly taken its toll. The moment she heard the answer was correct, the tension drained right out of her.

“Aki, should we finish going over the wrong answers, up to question 30?”

“No, I want to rest for a bit. My head really hurts right now…”

“Ah, is that so? Understood. Then rest up for a bit.”

I can be a bit… Spartan, when I’m teaching someone something. But Aki had worked so hard that even *I* told her to rest without argument.

It’s true, she’d almost finished two years’ worth of practice exams for the grade above, all while sitting right there, and even went through the wrong answers.

“Want me to get you something to drink?”

“Yeah, some cool water would be great…”

Most people would be a little exhausted and take a break halfway through, but Aki had said she was going to finish it, that the real thing would be even harder, and pushed herself as far as her stamina would allow. She deserved to sigh deeply and catch her breath.

‘I’ll let Aki rest…’

I should get on with my own work.

I opened our refrigerator and got the bottled water Aki had requested, then sat down and gathered up the exam papers. And once again, I looked over the questions we had just gone through.

We already went over the wrong answers, but I plan to do it again. When studying, the key is to confirm *why* you got a problem wrong, accurately understand the concept, and *then* move on.

“Uju~chan isn’t resting?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Even though you were with *atasi* the whole time I was studying, you’re okay…?”

Aki stares intently at me.

Then, as if a little bored, she shakes her head back and forth.

‘What’s wrong with her?’

Curious, I glanced over and saw her with her arms crossed, elbows on the desk, chest resting on her arms, pouting.

“Uju~chan, aren’t you a little *too*… vigorous?”

“…Isn’t ‘stamina’ the usual way to put it?”

“It’s basically the same thing. Either way, it means you’re sturdy…”

I don’t know why she’s glancing at my lower half while saying something like that.

Well, actually, I have a vague idea.

I decided that since studying is done with your butt, that’s probably what she meant, and continued checking the wrong answers.

“Uju~chan.”

“What?”

“Did *atasi* study hard today?”

“Hmm…. Yeah? You worked hard.”

Aki leaned her upper body forward, just a touch.

“I worked so hard, shouldn’t I get a reward?”

“A reward? What, like what kind?”

Did she mean for me to buy her something sugary to replenish all that sugar she used? I could certainly do that much.

I just looked at her silently, prompting her to speak, and Aki tapped her own lips.

“Give me a k*ss.”

“……”

A pause.

Without realizing it, my hands stopped moving.

‘She’s asking for a k*ss as a reward…?’

Did I hear wrong…?

“What did you just say?”

“I said, give me a k*ss. As a reward.”

“……Are you serious?”

“Yup, one hundred percent serious.”

Aki nodded her head firmly.

It was then I finally understood that Aki wasn’t making this request as a joke.

Ah, well.

Of course, it’s just a k*ss.

No, actually, it’s not like skinship that I can call like ‘just’ something.

Anyway, I could give Aki a k*ss anytime she wanted. Even if it wasn’t under the pretense of a reward.

“Then… close your eyes.”

“Like this?”

Aki closed her eyes obediently.

“……Yeah, that’s it.”

It’s the perfect angle for a k*ss.

I braced my hands on the desk and leaned my body toward Aki, who was sitting in the chair opposite me.

My gaze drifted down, lingering on Aki’s exceptionally long eyelashes, on her lips, so smooth and moisturized with tint.

Slightly.

Our lips met, just a soft touch before separating, a light k*ss.

I could, of course, make it more intense, but doing so would likely distract us both from our studies. I exercised restraint.

“Satisfied?”

“Mmm, too weak…”

Aki pouted, her lips forming a discontented curve.

“Compared to our usual k*sses, that was barely a sliver.”

“What are you talking about? I made that one plenty intense.”

“Lies. Even our first k*ss at the baseball field was more passionate than that!”

Aki sprang up from her seat.

“Do it again, but properly this time.”

“But you only asked for a k*ss, not *how* to do it, right? So, this was a proper one…”

“…Tsk!”

As if telling me to be quiet, Aki clicked her tongue and walked towards me, positioning herself behind my back.

I was about to ask why she was going behind me when asking for a k*ss, but in that instant, I felt a soft sensation.

Aki wrapped her arms around me from behind, a sudden embrace.

“I’ll stay like this until you give me a *real* one.”

“…….”

Hmm.

This is… nice?

Perhaps it was the soft, yielding, plump, and pillowy something I felt, even through my uniform, but contrary to Aki’s intent to torment me, I felt nothing but happiness.

The sensation was so pleasant, I wished I could stay like this forever if I had the chance.

“…What? Why are you smiling?”

“Because I like it, isn’t that why I’m smiling…?”

“Why do you like it when I’m teasing you, Uju-chan, are you a pervert…?!”

Why do I like it? Well, because what she’s doing isn’t actually teasing me.

This isn’t torment; it’s a reward—a special, smile-inducing reward. I probably would’ve felt the same if the roles were reversed, too.

I chuckled, giving her free rein to do as she pleased, and Aki’s eyebrows twitched, displeased by my reaction.

“…No, this won’t do.”

Aki slowly released her hold on me.

The cozy sensation that had been pressing against my body vanished.

‘Ah, that’s a shame…’

Maybe I should have just *pretended* to be troubled. I unconsciously smacked my lips and glanced back over my shoulder.

Aki was quietly looking down at me, lost in thought.

“Why, what are you gonna do now? …Huh.”

Aki started to wedge her lower body between the desk and mine.

I was momentarily fl*stered, but I held my balance, knowing that moving abruptly would send us both tumbling.

As a result, Aki managed to climb onto my lap without any trouble, sitting sideways rather than facing me.

“There, isn’t this…uncomfortable?”

“A little…uncomfortable.”

Not that my body was uncomfortable, but I didn’t know where to look.

If I looked up, there was Aki’s face staring intently down at me, and if I looked down, there was that soft, pillowy *thing*, asserting its presence with enough force to make me think, ‘Is it really okay for it to be this big…?’

What’s more, because of our position, the side was brushing lightly, ever so lightly, against me.

“If you don’t k*ss me, I’m going to keep sitting like this so Uju~chan can’t study.”

“Hmm, I think I can still study in this position?”

I hadn’t meant to tease Aki, not really. Apart from certain body parts, Aki was very slender, so holding her wasn’t uncomfortable at all.

I supported Aki with my left arm, and stretched my right arm towards the desk, took hold of a mechanical pencil, and solved a problem as if to show off.

“There, see?”

“……”

“Why?”

“Hmph.”

Aki turned her head away sharply.

‘Uh oh, is she sulking?’

Having learned my lesson from experience, I knew I shouldn’t tease her any further, so I quickly put down the pencil and hugged Aki with both arms.

“Sorry, I was just joking. Can I k*ss you?”

“Hmph, no way…!”

“Just once, I’ll only do it once. Okay? I really only mean once.”

“……Hmph.”

Using the slightly childish tone that Aki only heard when she was pouting, a tone I’d never dare use in front of anyone else, I pleaded with her, and Aki’s expression seemed to soften a little.

Seizing the moment, I quickly leaned in and k*ssed her on the cheek.

“Can I do a little more?”

“But you said you’d only do it once…?”

“Suddenly, I just… wanted more.”

“…Fine, do as you please.”

Perhaps Aki, deep down, had been hoping for this. She offered her cheek without much resistance.

This time, I changed my aim, pretending to k*ss her there, my hand on her cheek, then at the last moment, pressed my lips to hers.

“Ah…”

Aki was surprised by the sudden theft of her lips, but.

As I gently took her hand, kneading it softly, she relaxed, starting to lean her weight into me.

“…Mmm.”

“…”

“…Mmm, mmm.”

“…”

“…Hnnn.”

Our joined lips parted.

Not having prepared for the k*ss, she was out of breath. Aki’s cheeks were flushed a darling shade of red.

Seeing that sight, I wanted to k*ss her again, but I held back with every ounce of restraint, offering a small smile instead.

Truthfully, if I pushed any further, I doubted I could resist.

“That was a little more intense, wasn’t it?”

“Well, it was slightly lacking… I’ll let it slide for now, though.”

“…Pfft.”

Even her bluffing is cute. My girlfriend is just adorable .

I don’t know why just looking at her makes a smile bloom on my face…

“…Uju~chan.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“About that cosplay outfit I mentioned last week…”

“Cosplay? Ah, the bunny girl one?”

“Mhmm, that. It arrived just yesterday, actually? But there’s a slight problem.”

“A problem? What kind of problem?”

“The way it goes on… there’s a zipper on the side of the corset that you pull up to secure it, but… it’s so tight in the front and back that the zipper won’t budge.”

“Oh? You think it’s just too small?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Hesitantly, hesitantly.

Aki lingered a long while, then whispered small.

“It, it doesn’t fit… because my chest is too big.”

“……Ah.”

“I tried to force it up, but when I pulled and pulled… there was this huge sound, like a *pop*, and the zipper went flying into the air. Like some kind of missile….”

“…….”

I’d often heard Aki’s friends joking with her, ‘Hey, Aki, at this rate your uniform buttons are gonna go flying!’

So, zippers really could burst off because of a chest.

I, flabbergasted by Aki’s formidable physique in so many ways, could only gape, unable to find my words.

“S-so, I think I need to buy something else… is there anything you want to look at, specifically?”

“Hmm, I don’t know…”

It’s difficult to answer when asked so suddenly.

Normally, you’d browse through the site, thinking, ‘Aki would look so pretty in this~,’ and choose something that way.

“If it’s hard to choose now, maybe we can look together after studying…?”

“……Should we?”

“Yeah, let’s. …Ah, but.

Aki gently grasped my uniform shirt.

“The fee is… upfront….”

“…….”

I could pay that fee any amount.

With a heart overflowing with joy, I k*ssed Aki.

* * *

……Like this, spending a sweet and blissful time, without neglecting our studies, a truly fulfilling time we were having.

One month, two months, and three months passed, and we became second-year students.

When the class assignments for March were announced.

“Ah, Uju~chan. We’re in the same class…?!”

“……Oh, really?”

I realized that for the first time in seventeen, no, eighteen years of life, we were in the same class.