Chapter 106: Midterm Exams #2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 106: Midterm Exams #2
“It’s been so long...! Have you been well?”
“Me? Oh, you know... same as always. Sorry for showing up empty-handed.”
“Don’t be silly... You don’t need to bother with gifts. Come on in.”
Welcomed by Midori, I slipped off my shoes with a bright smile.
As I put on the indoor slippers and stepped inside, Miyuki spoke to her mother.
“Mom, I’m taking Matsuda-kun to study, so don’t disturb us.”
“Study? Are you preparing for midterms?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t want any fruit?”
“Fruit? Give it to us now. I’ll take it upstairs.”
“No, why don’t you rest a bit and take your time... It would be nice to chat over a cup of coffee. What do you think, Matsuda-kun?”
She looked at me with a radiant expression, and the more I saw her, the less I understood.
Not Midori, but Wataru.
How did he marry someone like this? No matter how I look at it, Midori is way too good for him...
“I love coffee.”
Was my answer satisfactory?
Midori shot Miyuki a look that said, See?
Miyuki just shook her head from side to side.
“Who’s going to say no when you ask like that... We have to study now, so we need to go up. We can have coffee later... maybe when Matsuda-kun is about to go home.”
Miyuki grabbed my wrist, trying to pull me along.
She wanted to drag me to the second floor, but with her slight strength, she couldn't budge me.
Finally, seeming displeased that I wasn’t moving an inch, she secretly gave my butt a light pinch.
Come to think of it, is this the first time she’s made contact like this in front of her family?
It was too minor a touch to even be called skinship, but still, it was a lot of progress.
I grinned at her resigned expression and spoke to Midori.
“Would it be okay if I just put my bag down first?”
“Yes, of course. But...”
Midori trailed off, crossing her arms.
A knowing look. She seemed convinced that there was something between Miyuki and me.
Well, she was a mother who knew her daughter well. There was no way she wouldn't notice the subtle changes in Miyuki's expression whenever she looked at me.
The fact that Miyuki had just thrown an uncharacteristic tantrum probably helped, too.
Considering Miyuki must have mentioned me to her family more than once, this realization was actually quite late.
Is Midori a little dense, too?
“Oh, why are you looking at me like that...?”
At Miyuki’s startled question, Midori shook her head once.
“It’s nothing. Hurry up and drop off your bag, then come back down.”
Her voice was cheerful. Playful, even.
Did she think it wasn't so bad that her daughter was seeing me?
I suddenly became curious about Midori’s mindset.
Was she conservative about sex, or open-minded?
Miyuki said she was conservative, but judging by her reaction just now, she seemed more likely to be open.
Miyuki, wearing a look of dismay at her mother’s response, led me to her room.
The moment she closed the door, she started nagging me.
“I told you to come right away...! I think Mom’s caught on...”
“And it’s bad if she catches on? Are you ashamed of me?”
“That’s not it... I’m just worried she’ll be suspicious when I say I’m staying at your place from now on...”
“Don’t you think she already knows? She’s your mom, after all.”
“...I don’t know. This is all your fault. I’m not staying out anymore.”
She’s being extra whiny today.
Letting out a chuckle, I bent my knees to meet her gaze.
“I was just happy to see your mother after so long... Besides, I just showed up out of the blue. I should at least greet her properly, right?”
“.....”
“And you were the one who told me to come. So why are you getting annoyed?”
“Ah, I know... I just wanted to be with you sooner... I’m sorry...”
Miyuki apologized meekly.
Now that she was finally being honest, I gently pulled her into a hug and softly stroked her back.
“Are you really not going to come to my place anymore?”
Did my soft voice cheer her up?
Miyuki let out her characteristic little hngg sound, then wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my chest.
“I’ll go...”
I gave her bottom a light pat and took a deep breath.
The rich scent of plum that filled my nose spread through my brain, creating a rush of dopamine that lifted my spirits.
Some things never change in here.
* * *
It seemed Miyuki was determined to get things done today, because she taught me with incredible passion.
She looked like she genuinely wanted me to do well on the midterms.
Thanks to her, I couldn't even think about doing anything else and had no choice but to focus on following her lesson.
After being tutored for such a long time, my body felt stiff.
Stretching my arms out wide, I asked Miyuki for a moment and opened the door to go to the bathroom.
The second-floor hallway was very dark.
I could have turned on the lights, but the faint glow coming up from the bottom of the stairs created a nice mood, so I just walked down the dim hallway to the bathroom.
After finishing my business, I felt it was somehow unfair to go right back into Miyuki’s room.
I’d been studying for nearly three hours without a break. I figured it would be good to take one for myself.
After a few simple stretches, I leaned my arms on the hallway railing and let out a deep breath.
It would have been really refreshing if this were a veranda, but it wasn’t, which was a shame.
I was gazing down at the stairs, where the sound of the TV was faintly audible, lost in thought when—
Creeak...
“Hm...? Matsuda-kun. What are you doing out here?”
As the door opened, I heard Miyuki’s... no, Kana’s quiet voice and snickered to myself.
She pulls this prank every time she sees me.
I’m not falling for it anymore. There’s no love in that disguised voice of yours.
I was about to turn around to chat with Kana and her pathetic little prank when a good idea struck me, and I kept my mouth shut.
Kana poked my back with her finger and asked again.
“I asked what you’re doing out here.”
“Looking.”
Did she think I was properly fooled by my blunt, informal reply without even turning around?
Kana grew a bit bolder and came to my side, peeking her head over the railing.
“What is there to look at? Did a cat get in or something?”
“No. The design of the stairs is pretty.”
“The stair design...? It’s dark, can you even see it properly?”
“I can see it just fine. You look, too. The wood grain is nice.”
“Really? I don’t really see... Eek...?!”
A sudden, flustered gasp escaped Kana’s lips.
It was because I had slid my hand onto the small of her back and pressed down gently on her waist.
She jumped back with a stifled yelp.
“Wh-what are you doing...? Who are you...?”
“What do you mean?”
Acting as if this kind of skinship was perfectly natural, I finally turned to face Kana directly.
Then I spoke in a bewildered tone.
“What, it’s you, sis?”
In response, Kana blinked her large eyes a couple of times, swallowed hard, and stammered.
“Y-Yeah...! It’s me...! What did you just do...?”
“I touched your waist.”
“Exactly...! Why would you touch me there...?!”
I thought you were some kind of vixen since you tease Miyuki so much, but you’re just like her.
Don’t pull pranks like this anymore. Next time, it won’t stop at your waist.
“I thought you were Miyuki. I’m sorry.”
“I-I knew it...! You two...! I knew it...!”
Kana’s face was completely red.
So much so that it was clearly visible even in the dark hallway.
Her teeth were even chattering. She must have been seriously startled.
Watching her reaction, I chuckled inwardly and scratched my head, pretending the situation was awkward.
“Are you okay?”
“.....”
She just stared up at me, dumbfounded.
She was the one who tried to trick me first, so she couldn't really get angry, could she?
By the way, her slender waist felt exactly the same as Miyuki’s.
Her reaction just now, too... Sisters will be sisters, I guess. This is suddenly turning me on.
“If you were offended, I sincerely apologize.”
When I apologized again in a serious tone, Kana’s expression calmed down a little.
She pressed a hand to her chest and said.
“I wasn’t offended... It was my fault, too, so don’t worry about it...”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Wh-why are your hands so big...? No, never mind... I’m going back inside...”
Muttering incoherently, Kana went back into her room without even waiting for my reply.
The door clicked shut and even locked.
I smirked at the firmly closed door and returned to Miyuki’s room.
“I heard voices outside... Were you talking to my sister?”
“Yeah. She came out all of a sudden and started messing with me. Disguising her voice to sound like you.”
“Haaah... Why is it always the same prank...? She’s not an elementary schooler... I don’t know when she’ll ever grow up...”
Miyuki turned her head toward Kana’s room, clicked her tongue, and continued.
“Hurry up and sit down. We have to study.”
“I’m really tired, can’t we stop? We’ve already been at it for three hours.”
“It’s only been three hours. Let’s just finish math for today and then we’ll be done.”
Miyuki patted the chair next to her.
As I let out a deep sigh and obediently sat down, she tried to soothe me.
“It might be annoying now, but you’ll thank me for it later.”
“Who said I was annoyed? Let’s just get started.”
“Okay.”
She giggled, then her expression turned serious as she opened her notebook.
I did the same, focusing all my concentration to keep up with her tutoring.
After putting in this much effort, I have to ace this exam, no matter what.
Miyuki’s tutoring sessions continued beyond that day.
Every other day during the week, and every day on the weekend.
I studied so passionately with Miyuki that my head ached, and just like that, time flew by until it was the day of the midterm exams.