Fujiwara Chise's Scheme (2)
Fujiwara Chise.
On the surface she looked like a kind, innocent heiress — but that was nothing more than a bluff. In truth, she had been trained since childhood as an expert in intrigue.
Every “secret” she had gone out of her way to spill — things ordinary people wouldn’t even know — had been in service of a plan.
Don’t touch my girlfriend.
—phrased as roundabout as humanly possible, so no one would notice!
Around this time, though, Chise found herself thinking, Was that a bit too aggressive?
Yuria was crumpled at the far end of the sofa. Whenever her eyes met Chise’s, she looked away at once, or covered her chest. She looked exactly like a frail girl trapped in front of a pervert.
Whatever misunderstanding she was under, it was a good omen.
After all—
…Today is a rare day.
Chise grinned foolishly at Noah, who slept with the soft breaths of an angel. It was a day that arrived once a month without fail, but it had been a long time since Noah had been this listless. More often she simply grew more depressed than usual, and her words dried up almost completely.
In other words, this was a golden opportunity that might never come again. Chise wanted to have her all to herself — even if it meant pushing things a little.
“Mm.”
“Ah. You’re awake?”
“Yeah……”
Noah sat up in an awkward heap. Still half-asleep, she leaned against Chise’s shoulder, slipped her arm between Chise’s breasts, and hugged her tight.
If only time could stop like this forever.
Happiness flooded through Chise’s whole body. She wrapped an arm around Noah’s waist, and they leaned into each other. They did this on ordinary days too, but doing it while Noah was this unguarded made her heart pound all the harder.
She concealed monstrous strength, but she was still a high school girl. Honestly, looking only at appearances, Noah seemed far more delicate than Chise. Her muscles were soft, her frame small, her arms and legs slender.
Chise gazed at her in a daze — and stopped at her lips.
She swallowed.
They were small. Those moist pink lips called up an emotion any human would naturally feel.
…I want to kiss her.
Love between women. It went against every social convention. No matter how much they touched, no matter how much affection she craved, there was a high chance Noah would only ever accept it as friendship.
Chise would have been satisfied as a friend, too. But give a person a seat and they’ll want to lie down. People always want something a little better.
She wanted to imprint it. Not as her closest friend — as a romantic partner.
Chise had turned the problem over in her mind more times than she could count, and she had arrived at one answer.
A kiss.
Even among close girls, kissing was rare. Wouldn’t even the oblivious Noah feel something then? That was why Chise wanted to kiss her.
Stealing her lips in this state wouldn’t have been hard. She was completely unguarded, after all. But Chise did not want to act like Suzuki. She knew that once Noah came back to herself, most of the memories would vanish — but you never knew. If Noah found out she had been kissed by force, she would be hated for it.
Noah has to kiss me. Of her own accord.
Just imagining it made her legs go weak. Was that even possible?
Maybe I should just… now…?
Reason was screaming that she shouldn’t. But with Noah gazing up at her from so close, that cute face tipped toward hers, it was almost impossible to endure. She wanted to devour her right then and there.
“Ahem.”
Yuria cleared her throat, apparently unable to bear the atmosphere. Chise looked over. She was crumpled in the opposite corner, her cheeks flushed.
“H-haha. With Minamoto-senpai in this state, we won’t be able to do any proper activities today. I-I’ll just go to my part-time job.”
…Well. It seems she understood my story well enough.
Honestly, the urge to monopolize Noah was overwhelming. But she felt a little bad at the thought that Yuria might feel left out.
Anyway, once we get to the dorm, we’ll be alone.
Noah was the sort of person who only slept at set times. If she took a nap, she stayed up later by exactly that amount. Knowing this, of course, Chise thought—
…Put her to sleep?
Noah in her current state was basically a baby. Putting her to sleep wouldn’t be hard.
…Then I kill time with Ichinose, and we go back to the dorm.
Not only could she have Noah all to herself at the dorm. The air of the small hours had a way of making all sorts of things possible.
Maybe today…
She swallowed. The thing she had longed for for so long might actually happen.
Calculations complete, Chise spoke with a benevolent smile.
“Ichinose. Don’t just sit there awkwardly — come over here.”
“Y-yes? W-who was sitting there awkwardly?”
Yuria rattled her cake plate with a sullen face. Something about hearing that earlier conversation had made her feel even more distant, which was why she’d been about to flee to her part-time job. But she could feel Chise making an effort to include her.
W-well. I guess I have no choice.
“Want to play a game, Ichinose?”
“…A game?”
“Yeah.”
“B-but Minamoto-senpai is—”
Chise stroked Noah as she spoke.
“That’s exactly why we can. She never allows it normally.”
“That’s true… isn’t it? If it were Minamoto-senpai…”
Yuria was already hearing phantom voices.
I don’t play games for girls like that.
Or—
If you’ve got time for that, why not train your body? If I were a scrub like Itchi, I don’t think I could sleep.
“…I’ll think about it.”
“Hm?”
“I-I’ve got a lot built up against Minamoto-senpai, you know.”
Yuria loosened her hands, staring at Noah with blazing eyes.
“This might be the perfect chance for revenge.”
“Hmm…… but in Ichinose’s case, isn’t that just reaping what you sow?”
“Reaping what I sow?! Do you know how it feels, senpai, to have insults flying at you just for standing still?!”
Chise spoke with a dreamy look.
“That’s… a reward, isn’t it?”
She looked a little embarrassed. The corner of Yuria’s mouth twitched.
“…Please don’t learn weird things from Suzuki-senpai.”
“Th-that’s a bit harsh, Ichinose. I’m not that far gone.”
Chise was genuinely worried!
“Yes. Sorry about that.”
Yuria answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world!
“Anyway! A game sounds good. And since it’s a game, there will be penalties, right?”
Her joints popped. Yuria looked down at Noah with a sudden chill — though, judging by how she’d drawn a gun in an instant earlier, her reaction speed was still intact.
Tug. Tug.
…Noah pulled on Chise’s clothes and spoke like a child.
“Chise. Candy. Candy.”
“Now, now. No, Noah-chan. You haven’t brushed your teeth.”
……A sniffle.
“…!”
“!!!”
Chise gasped as she jammed a candy into Noah’s mouth. The speed was unbelievable. Fortunately, she managed to stop the tears from falling.
Yuria thought, W-well, Minamoto-senpai isn’t in her right mind right now. She’s basically at toddler level.
“Fujiwara-senpai. What kind of game are we playing?”
Chise let out a breath of relief.
“Do you know the truth game?”
“Truth game…?”
“Yeah. The person who’s pointed at has to answer whatever they’re asked — honestly.”
Yuria glanced at Noah with a troubled face.
“With Minamoto-senpai in that state, a game like this is a bit……”
“It’s the opposite, Ichinose. Noah in moe-mode becomes honest. We could just ask her outright, actually.”
Chise spoke with elegant composure as she moved the tea aside.
“But that wouldn’t be fair, would it? So this is for Noah’s sake.”
“Excuse me…?”
Looking at Noah swaying without rhythm, as if she were drunk, it did seem to check out.
“Th-that sounds good. But… then there’s no penalty, is there?”
“Do we really need a penalty…?”
“Of course we do? It’s a game! I heard that a game without penalties is a life sentence.”
It wasn’t just a joke. Yuria seemed to genuinely believe it. Chise laughed, a little awkwardly.
“Ichinose, you’ve never played games with friends, have you?”
“…”
Yuria’s soul vacated her body. Then it came right back. This time she had a pretext.
“Hah. You think I’d join in some childish game like that? I have no interest, thank you.”
“I’ve been curious about this for a while. Ichinose, you sometimes talk like a young lady from thirty years ago. Maybe that’s why you don’t have friends?”
“…”
Yuria’s face went the color of dirt.
“Just kidding.”
Chise smiled kindly.
That hurt even more!
Yuria trembled inwardly. She’s landing hits like it’s nothing!
Then she caught sight of something, snickered, and recovered her composure.
“Fine. If Fujiwara-senpai is going to come at me like that, I have a few ideas of my own.”
“Hm? Whatever do you mean.”
“Shall we start the game?”
Yuria beamed. She was copying Chise’s smile.
“Alright. Ichinose. We’ll pass the right to ask to the left.”
“Yes. That’s fair. But Fujiwara-senpai, I still think we should set a penalty.”
“Hmm… a penalty might be difficult?”
“No. I have an effective method.”
“Oh?”
Yuria raised her index finger.
“There are cases where someone can’t answer a question, right?”
Chise had never even considered that possibility. She didn’t particularly have anything to hide, and no reason to hide it. So she nodded without thinking. There was no chance she would be the one taking a penalty.
“If that’s all right, then yes. I’m fine with it. Noah too, right?”
“Yeah. Noah’s fine with it.”
She’s speaking in the third person!
Yuria could not believe that Noah, of all people, was talking like that. She cleared her throat anyway.
“I’ll start.”
Chise nodded without a thought.
Yuria sprang up from her seat with a triumphant smile and pointed at Chise.
“Fujiwara-senpai—!”
“Y-yeah.”
The over-the-top reaction made her tense. What on earth is she about to ask…?
“You like Minamoto-senpai, don’t you!”
It felt like Chise’s heart dropped. Her breathing quickened, and her face went crimson in an instant.
Bullseye. A super bullseye, at that.
C-calm down, Fujiwara. Ichinose asked if you like her. Liking her as a friend is only natural.
However—
Chise was serious about Noah. So even though she understood it logically, she couldn’t get the words out.
It was an old feeling. The reason Chise, who stood closer to Noah than anyone, had never been able to say it until now was, in the end, that she was afraid of being rejected. Given Noah’s personality, being turned away even once would be the end. And it was woman to woman, wasn’t it? She would definitely be displeased.
Just imagining Noah saying something like that to her made her heart feel like it was crumbling—
Like it was.
Chise couldn’t say it.
That she liked her.
“S-senpai? I-I’m sorry. I went a bit too far with the joke…?”
Yuria grasped the situation too late, but she couldn’t stop the tears dripping from Chise’s eyes. Chise shook her head and wiped them away.
“N-no. It’s just. …Why am I like this.”
Noah, beside her, gently wiped Chise’s cheek. Chise flinched and looked at her.
“Does Chise like me?”
Noah asked with hazy eyes. Chise lowered her head. A warm touch reached her. She lifted her gaze — and before she knew it, Noah was holding her close. Noah whispered against her ear.
"...!"
A peck. Something soft brushed her cheek.
Chise’s heart pounded wildly. She looked at Noah with eyes half-lost to reason.
And then—
The clubroom door rattled open.
It was Suzuki.
“S-senpai, why are you here…”
Suzuki sniffed.
“I smelled blood. Ah. So it was the young lady’s menstrual blood.”
“…”
“…”
Silence stretched. Suzuki tilted his head at a diagonal, then said something outrageous.
“…Could you give me the used sanitary pads instead of throwing them away.”
Yuria looked at Suzuki as if he were an insect.
“The worst…… That’s disgusting.”
Yuria, who somehow already had a taser in her hand, fired without hesitation.