The Accelerator and the Brake
After savoring a delicious meal right up until evening, Ame offered her farewell.
"It's eight o'clock. You know what I'm going to say, don't you, Noah?"
"Time for good little children to head off to dreamland?"
Meow!
A light poke landed on the back of my hand.
Ame delivered a cat punch and let out a heavy sigh.
"Ugh... How on earth did I end up with a guy like this..."
"But you like it, right? What can you even do about it!"
"Shut up! Damn Noah! Just do what you always do and get it over with!"
Even while cursing me out like there was no tomorrow, her body was completely honest.
She rose onto her tiptoes and spread both arms toward me.
She was striking the perfect pose for a goodbye hug.
"Can't be helped. You're such a hopeless tsundere."
With a heart overflowing with joy, I lowered my own stance to meet her.
Feeling her pale lavender hair tickle my chest, I wrapped my arms around her waist.
I nuzzled my face against her twitching cat ears for a moment, then pulled her even closer with the arms encircling her.
Like hugging an oversized teddy bear, I squeezed with just a hint of real strength.
"Hunyaa... I like this..."
With my other hand, I gently stroked her plump, swishing tail, smoothing it from base to tip.
Normally the spot was so sensitive that she'd melt from a single touch, but tonight was the exception.
Enjoying the fluffy texture, I ran my hand up and down before giving it the tiniest squeeze.
"Huuuu..."
Ame's whole body shivered as she exhaled a deep, throaty sigh.
She opened her mouth against my shoulder and gave me a proper grooming bite, clearly savoring every second.
Success. It looked like this much was still acceptable.
Let's stop here for today.
My observation log on Ame's feline habits was growing richer by the day.
There was still so much I wanted to learn, but there was no reason to rush.
"Yeah. I'll keep hoping for rain."
"You say the same thing to the other personalities. You tell Clear to stay clear and Cloudy to stay cloudy!"
"To me, they're all the same 'Yuri' in the end."
"Hmph... I hate how casually you say things like that."
"You know it loses all persuasive power when your face is that red, right?"
"Shut uuuup~"
Yuri laughed and pressed her face deeper into my chest.
Like a cat marking her territory before leaving, she thoroughly rubbed her scent onto me.
"I had fun today."
She rose onto her tiptoes once more and kissed my cheek.
"....?"
"You sang about wanting a reward, didn't you? S-so... There! This is the reward I'm giving you! No right to refuse!"
Then she buried her face in my chest again and closed her eyes.
When I finally pulled her out of my embrace,
"Ahaha... Hello, Noah? Even I didn't expect Ame to run away like that."
Pink bobbed hair and a shy scratch of the cheek. The original Yuri.
She smiled at me with a slightly dazed expression.
#
Ame had dumped all her feelings on me in one go and then bolted.
Leaving the cleanup to the original personality who appears at night.
Anyone else might have panicked about what to do, but I had already stepped into the territory of simply enjoying it.
I calmly stroked her pink hair and welcomed Yuri.
"Feels like it's been a while since I've seen you like this, Yuri."
"Hehe, it does. Even though we've been having secret meetings through texts every single day."
"How does it feel meeting in person? I'm a handsome guy with zero filters on my profile picture. Same as the real thing, right?"
"You sound like you're at a blind date."
She let out a small laugh and wrapped her arms around my neck.
She was far bolder than on rainy days, and a little more clingy than on cloudy ones.
Looking up at me, she made sure I was clearly reflected in her eyes before asking a slightly mischievous question.
"What about me? Have I changed a lot? Both inside and out!"
How should I answer?
It was true that ever since she'd developed multiple personalities, each one displayed a different charm.
...Even so, the answer had been decided from the start.
"You were the same you when we broke up three years ago, and the same you when we first met ten years ago."
"Oh my, only a childhood friend who's known me forever could say something like that?"
"I'm the type who uses every card he has~"
"It sounds a little like you're just riding the mood♪"
"You answered my question with another question~"
We bumped heads, giggling together.
Our heights had been even when we were little, but now the angle was slightly slanted.
"But... I'm serious, Yuri. You show all kinds of different sides depending on the weather, but the real you inside has always been the same."
"It sounds like the way you look at me hasn't changed at all from the old days."
"Correct. Didn't I tell you the very first time we met? I wanted us to stick together like we used to."
"That's right. You came to me like something straight out of a fairy tale and said it... But."
Yuri placed her finger on my lips.
Her expression looked a little pouty, but her eyes were smiling.
"That was an eighty-point answer. Twenty points deducted for partial credit, student Noah♪"
"As expected from the original personality, you're showing a bit of Cloudy's side too. I appeal the grade, teacher!"
"Hmm~ Fine. Today I'll specially give you the hint right away."
"The service is unusually good today. I didn't even spend any money~"
Yuri smiled brightly, took my hand, and pressed it to her cheek.
Obvious. I can see exactly where this is going.
She'd rub herself all over it and say something sweet. It was one of our classic lovey-dovey patterns.
But today's Yuri apparently decided that wasn't enough.
"....Whoa?!"
The sudden sensation made an all-too-instinctive cry burst from my throat.
"Screaming like a little girl. How adorable♡"
"That's because you did something completely unexpected!"
I quickly yanked my hand back from Yuri and stared at my palm.
My right hand still carried a moist, tingling afterglow.
When I looked up, Yuri was still sticking her tongue out, grinning playfully at me.
Did she just lick my palm...?
To think she'd casually do something even the original cat Ame wouldn't do.
As I stood there frozen in shock, she moved again and licked the back of my hand.
This time slower. Deeper.
The warm yet strangely electric sensation threatened to short-circuit my brain.
"Why are you suddenly doing this! Licking your childhood friend's hand isn't a hint at all!"
"Yeah, it's the decisive hint. At least you have some sense~"
It's only getting more confusing, teacher.
How could lick-lick-lick possibly be a crucial clue?
When I tilted my head like a confused puppy, Yuri took my hand again.
For a second I almost pulled away in case she licked it again, but her eyes stopped me.
This time she simply rubbed my hand against her cheek without licking.
"Up to here it just looks like normal affection."
"You finally realized?"
"Sorry, I still don't get it, Yuri. Can you just tell me the answer?"
"Hehe... My victory this time!"
It's not like we even made a bet.
Still, seeing that delighted expression made it worth it.
"It's simple, Noah. The reason I deducted points from your claim that your view of me hasn't changed is because of this."
"So what is it already!"
"It sounded like you didn't want to take our relationship any further."
....So that's what she meant.
Everything clicked into place.
Yuri wanted to take one more step with me.
Beyond our usual lovey-dovey routine, she wanted to burn with even more affection.
More than holding hands.
Beyond rubbing cheeks.
Kisses, embraces, and even more intoxicating clinginess.
"You're greedy. I think it's plenty sweet even by middle-school standards."
"I'll be a high schooler next year, you know? And three years after that, a university student!"
"Four years. To become an adult, we still have to get through almost fifteen hundred nights."
Until then, we had no choice but to draw the line somewhere.
Both of us. If we let our feelings run wild and accelerated too fast, the crash would only leave deeper scars.
But a kiss in high school should be fine, right?
Quiet, you horny mutt. I have my own plans.
I firmly suppressed the instincts trying to surface and looked at Yuri again.
"You already know, don't you? That I'm not staying at this stage because I actually hate the idea."
"I know... That's why I'm expressing my dissatisfaction this way, Noah."
"You look like you want to cross the line immediately?"
"Yes. This is my honest heart. My desire to become one with you right now."
She pulled her face away from the hand she'd been rubbing against.
As if setting aside those desperate feelings for the moment.
"But the faint trace of reason I have left agrees with you."
"When that reason disappears, I'm expecting a massive affection offensive next~"
Naturally, I felt exactly the same.
My emotions were already overflowing.
Yet I was using that tiny speck of reason to hold back the dam of feelings threatening to burst.
Maintaining a precarious balance by occasionally letting a little leak through the cracks.
We still had four more years to endure before we could break that dam.
For a perfect happy ending, we also had to uphold the virtue of restraint.
"Noah."
"Yeah."
"Unfortunately my willpower is weak. And obviously the same goes for my other personalities♪"
"The next thing you say is sounding pretty scary~"
She smiled and slipped out of my arms.
Then she placed both hands neatly at her navel and gave me a polite bow.
"So I'm asking you. Please step on the brake for me. For me, and for all the other 'me's. We're kids who only have the accelerator, after all."
"Declaring war, huh. Getting hit one-sidedly isn't really my style~"
Even now I already felt like I was drowning in the affection she sent my way.
The difficulty might decrease little by little as time passed, but it was still a reckless request.
Still, what choice did I have?
"Fine, let's do it! If I fail, I'll love-dive straight into the Han River!"
"Hee... You know that's exactly my type of expression right now, don't you?"
It was my father.
He'd said he was coming tomorrow, but had the plane used some kind of insane boost?
In that case, I should head home soon.
It would be my first time seeing him since the regression.
"Talk about perfect timing, Yuri?"
"Right~ But we got to cling to each other plenty today, didn't we?"
"Let's be even more lovey-dovey tomorrow. Of course I'll still hit the brake though~"
Instead of answering, Yuri gestured for me to come closer.
When I lowered my gaze at the motion,
".....!"
A moist sensation touched my forehead.
It was definitely the same feeling as when she'd kissed the back of my hand earlier.
"This is... a reward from the original me. Ame gave you her cheek, right? I poured more sincerity into this one."
"....You're already stepping on the accelerator."
"Hehe. Get home safely, Noah. Thank you for today too!"
I left the house with her seeing me off.
For no particular reason I glanced back once more, and Yuri was still waving at me.
"...Will I really be able to endure four years? My heart's already racing this much?"
I waved back one last time and headed home in high spirits.
