Chapter 412: Resolve
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 412: Resolve
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“What’s that?”
That was the question from Hiyori’s mother as she greeted her daughter at the door.
Noticing her mother’s gaze fixed on the bag in her hand, Hiyori answered calmly.
“It’s my workout clothes, they need washing.”
“Oh? Put them in the washing machine, then.”
“Okay.”
Though she said that, Hiyori had no intention of putting the bag’s contents in the washing machine.
They were soaked with the evidence of her excitement from today’s heart-fluttering encounter with Matsuda-senpai.
If her mom saw this, she’d definitely notice and, out of concern for her daughter, start nagging her about being careful with sexual activities.
It would be embarrassing if she got caught, so she absolutely had to hand-wash them.
“Have you eaten?”
“I ate before I came home.”
“Don’t go grabbing snacks later saying you’re hungry.”
She was nagging me just like Matsuda-senpai did.
In a way, my mom and Matsuda are kind of similar.
“I know.”
Answering obediently, Hiyori returned to her room and flopped onto her bed, landing face down.
Just a moment... I’ll just close my eyes for two minutes, then go take a shower and do the laundry.
As she blew a hot breath onto the bedsheet, the door clicked open.
“Sis.”
Her younger brother had come in.
I tell him to knock dozens of times a day, but this kid just doesn’t listen.
Matsuda-senpai also told me to listen to him...
I guess it runs in the family.
“Get lost.”
To his sister’s cold tone, delivered without even turning her head, the younger brother boldly expressed his refusal.
“No.”
“You want a beating?”
“No. Let me borrow your game console.”
“What game console...! Aren't you leaving? I'm going to tell Mom you do nothing but play games all day.”
“That’s so cheap.”
Why does the way my brother talks feel just like Matsuda-senpai?
If they ever met, I wonder if my brother would really take a liking to Matsuda-senpai.
“I’ll lend it to you later, so go for now. I need to take a shower.”
“Okay.”
“You know what you have to do in return, right?”
“I’ll log into Animal Forest, pick the fruit, and log off.”
And for some reason, it felt like my roles with Matsuda-senpai had been switched...
Maybe being bossy once in a while isn't so bad...?
“Fine. Come back when I call you after my shower.”
“Okay.”
“I was going to play today, but I'm making a special exception for you, so bring me some water too.”
“But you said you're going to shower?”
“So? Why do I have to bring you water?”
“Because I’ll drink it after my shower. And grab some snacks from the kitchen and put them on my bed.”
“Aren't you going to brush your teeth?”
“Of course I am.”
“They say eating snacks after brushing makes your teeth rot faster.”
“Don’t talk back, just bring it. Or you're not getting the console.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll get it.”
To a little kid, a game console was a matter of life and death.
Hiyori, having used this to her advantage to boss her brother around, headed to the bathroom with the bag, a satisfied look on her face.
She turned on the water to fill the tub and upended the bag. Her underwear and Matsuda-senpai’s shorts fell onto the cold bathroom floor.
Seeing them, a blush crept up under Hiyori’s eyes, and her heart began to pound.
Something huge had happened today.
In the car, she’d been overcome by Matsuda-senpai’s bold kiss, and without even realizing it, she’d gotten swept away and aroused.
As if that wasn’t enough, back at his house, Matsuda-senpai’s fingers had touched a very, very sensitive and important area.
Both in the car and at his house, for the first time in her life, she had felt a tingling pleasure... down there.
If she had stayed any longer, it would have been truly dangerous.
When Matsumatsu pressed firmly against her crotch, her brain had lit up in a good way. If she hadn’t said she was going home and just stayed there, she wouldn’t have been able to maintain her reason.
She would have been completely swept away by his lead after that.
‘He could have at least given me a warning...!’
To spring that kind of surprise move on me when I wasn't even ready.
He usually seems to put up with my whining, but if you peel back the layers, he's incredibly sly.
The same goes for when he asked me to stay the night.
It must have been a suggestion made with that kind of purpose in mind.
Even though he’s seeing Hanazawa-senpai, he’s a total player.
Of course, I’m bad too for resolving to steal Matsuda-senpai from Hanazawa-senpai, but well... I don’t really care that much.
People are selfish by nature. You have to be bold to win the fight.
“Sheesh...”
She could count on one hand the number of times she’d done laundry by herself.
Matsumatsu, who made me go through all this trouble... I’ll get him back for today.
As Hiyori steeled her resolve for revenge, she paused while soaking the shorts and underwear in water.
“Ah, right.”
I didn’t bring the special detergent for underwear when I came in.
It should be in the master bedroom... Should I go get it now?
No. I can just use body wash as a temporary fix, dry them in my room, and then secretly put them in the hand-wash laundry basket.
Then Mom will wash them with the rest of the laundry.
The shorts, too.
Having decided on the easy way out, Hiyori stripped off all her clothes and picked up the body wash.
Then she squeezed a huge glob of it onto the panties and shorts.
After finishing the hand-washing, which she considered quite thorough, Hiyori casually hung the two items on the towel rack and slipped into the full bathtub.
The warmth enveloped her in an instant.
A languid expression naturally came over her face as she soaked in the tub for a long time, mulling over the day’s events.
The heat rising from the hot water made her face flush slightly, and her body grew heavy with pleasant fatigue.
It was incredibly comfortable. But amidst that comfort, a slight excitement began to bloom.
It was because she kept thinking about what happened with Matsuda.
Is it because it's the first time I've felt that tingling sensation?
It was seriously addictive. So much so that she grew curious about what would have happened if she had stayed at Matsuda-senpai’s house.
As she entertained such thoughts, she flinched when she realized her hand was unconsciously covering the space between her legs.
“So annoying...”
She spat out the word, converting the slightly anxious, yearning feeling in her heart into irritation.
She sank her nose below the water, exhaled, and stared blankly at the bubbles rising to the surface, when—
Click.
“Sis.”
The bathroom door opened a crack, and she scowled upon seeing her brother’s face peeking through the gap.
“What are you doing, barging in? And I told you to knock, didn't I? Do you have a death wish?”
“Sorry. But why are you taking so long to shower?”
“Because I want to.”
“The game console.”
“I said I'll give it to you after my shower.”
“Okay. You have to give it to me.”
“I said I know. Get out.”
Her brother nodded, gave Hiyori one last lingering look, and was about to close the door.
Just then, she had a good idea and called out to him.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Can you bring me my phone?”
“Then give me the console.”
“If you bring it, I'll tell you where the console is. My phone should be on the bed.”
At that, Hiyori’s brother’s face lit up, and he returned with the phone in less than a minute.
Hiyori checked the phone her brother had carefully placed on the bathroom floor and gave a satisfied smile.
“Open the closet in my room, and you'll see a drawer at the bottom, right? It's in the bottom right of that.”
“Hiding it is so cheap.”
“Cheap? Apologize.”
“No.”
“Or I'm taking it back when I'm done showering.”
“Sorry.”
“Did you bring the snacks?”
“Yeah.”
“And the water?”
“Yeah.”
“Now go. And close the door.”
“Thanks, Sis.”
He was probably only saying thanks because he was afraid she’d take the console away, but it was better than nothing.
After her innocent brother left, Hiyori clicked her tongue and got back into the tub with her phone.
Then, she sent a message to Matsuda.
[Matsumatsu.]
[Hey.]
[Hey.]
[Hey.]
[Hey.]
[Asahina Hiyori has sent you an advance payment.]
She spammed him.
A reply came back immediately.
[What are you doing?]
He must be lying down watching TV or something.
[Chatting. I sent you a gift, isn't it a bit shameless not to check it?]
[I just picked up my phone, what are you talking about. And you made a typo. You should have written 'gift,' not 'advance payment.']
[Oh, you're right. What are you up to, senpai?]
[Just lying down.]
Didn’t he say Hanazawa-senpai wasn’t coming over today?
Imagining Matsumatsu all alone in the dark living room made her feel a little sorry for him.
[Aren't you bored?]
[A little.]
Hiyori paused as she was about to type, ‘Should I come over?’
It was because she suddenly remembered Matsuda-senpai asking her to stay the night.
Why was she suddenly feeling embarrassed? Her body felt like it was getting hotter, too.
[I'll bring your clothes back the day after tomorrow or in three days.]
[Alright. What are you doing?]
[Taking a shower.]
[Oh yeah? Send a picture.]
I knew he’d say that.
Matsumatsu... he’s surprisingly easy to read.
[A nude picture?]
[Yeah.]
[No way.]
[Fine then.]
He gives up fast.
Could he be thinking it doesn’t matter since he’ll see it in person later?
If he thinks of me as a fish already caught, he’s gravely mistaken.
I won’t be that easy.
But because of the steamy things that happened earlier, all these strange fantasies kept popping into my head.
And the thrilling feeling that came with those fantasies wasn’t bad, so there was a part of her that was starting to feel a little... just a little, expectant.
She wanted to call Matsuda-senpai, but that seemed like a bad idea today.
If she heard his voice, she’d obviously just keep having lewd thoughts.
So, I'll just chat with him a little.
No. If I seem too eager, Matsumatsu might think I’m easy.
I need to play some push and pull... what should I do?
She was always the one giving advice when her friends talked about their love lives, but now that it was her turn, her mind went blank.
From now on, I shouldn’t pretend to know everything. A person has to be humble.
While Hiyori was stuck, not knowing what to do, another message arrived from Matsuda.
[I'm hungry, want to eat together?]
Relieved, she quickly tapped the screen.
[You mean meet up and eat?]
[No. At our own homes.]
[How can we eat together if we're at our own homes?]
[We're eating at the same time, so it's like eating together.]
[Are you an idiot?]
[Not as much as the person who ranked 35th.]
[Hey, why are you bringing up my test rank! That's so cheap.]
The conversation was fun.
It always was, but especially so today.
Should I say my heart was fluttering a little? Suddenly, I feel like I can do anything.
Tomorrow, Matsumatsu will probably meet up with Hanazawa-senpai, right?
Should I cancel my plans with my friends, crash their date, and ruin it?
Imagining all sorts of sabotage schemes, she continued to exchange messages with Matsuda for a long while before finally getting out of the tub.