Jealousy
The instructor announced that our synchronization rate had risen during today’s practical training.
As a pilot, that was objectively a good thing. It meant my skills had improved.
But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to feel purely happy about it.
Yuzuki stood under the hot spray, head tilted back, and let out a long, heavy sigh.
Steam clung to her cheeks, mingling with her heated breaths. Water dripped steadily from the ends of her hair.
Even though the Coupling session had ended, the fever burning inside her body refused to cool.
Why? Why had she crumbled so easily, surrendering herself like that?
The trembling, the body heat, the ragged breaths pressed against her skin… they still lingered, seeping into every pore.
Along with the shame came a distant, intoxicating shiver that made her feel filthy, yet she could no longer reject it.
The symptoms were getting worse. Especially this time, in more ways than one…
At that realization, Yuzuki quietly exhaled.
She was ashamed of how she had felt while pressed against her brother. No matter how hard she tried to forget, the memory of that sensation remained like lingering embers, tightening around her heart again and again.
“Haa… what’s wrong with me, seriously…”
The moan that caught in her throat dissolved into the sound of running water. The heat that had risen all the way to the tips of her ears showed no sign of fading.
Something was missing.
The heat that only continued to build without release made Yuzuki’s fingertips slowly drift downward, toward the lower part of her body.
The moment they brushed against her most intimate place, her body shuddered once. Then she surrendered completely to instinct.
Complicated feelings of confusion, self-loathing, and uncontrollable desire surged over her all at once.
This was no longer a mere side effect of training or piloting.
It felt as though something deep inside her body was clinging to her, sticky and thick, making it hard even to breathe.
She wanted to deny herself, but the more she did, the stronger the mixture of shame and pleasure grew, until she wanted to give up on everything.
I had expected this to some degree… but ngh…
Was it because her heart had been a wall?
What little restraint she had managed to keep was completely shattered that day. No, it had gone beyond shattering; it had twisted into something strange.
That was why she couldn’t hold back during today’s Coupling, and why the synchronization rate had come out higher than last time. Because she had changed too much.
“Ha… Yuto…”
Her fingers slipped into the cleft, slowly delving deeper inside.
The stimulation was too intense. Just imagining it made her heart ache with how good it felt…
Her entire body had become so sensitive that even the water pouring from the showerhead felt like a caress. How long had she been standing there, barely suppressing her moans under the spray?
—Yuzuki. You’ve been in the shower forever. When are you coming out?
A friend’s voice called from beyond the shower room door. Yuzuki, who had been mindlessly repeating the motion, flinched and froze in place.
It felt like her mind had stopped, the way a child caught doing something bad would freeze.
Her heart plummeted. The heat that had pooled in her lower belly cooled instantly.
Her whole body trembled so violently she couldn’t even breathe. The realization of what she had just been doing crashed over her.
Shame, guilt, and the terror of nearly being caught all rose up her throat at once.
—Yuzuki?
“…Ah. Yeah! I-I’ll be done… soon!”
—Really? Hurry up, then. Your brother’s waiting for you.
“Okay…”
This wasn’t even her house, yet in a moment of selfish indulgence she had completely forgotten.
While she had been lost in her own heat, her brother had been waiting for her, drenched in sweat.
The moment she realized that, her face burned again and her heart twisted with guilt. Yuzuki hurriedly turned off the shower.
2.
“…She’s taking forever.”
This was exactly the kind of inconvenience I hated. Since every facility at Dracore Academy was designed exclusively for female students, being the only male here created all sorts of problems.
Right now, for example, I had to wait until all the girls were done using the showers.
I couldn’t even change out of my sweat-soaked clothes, so I was still stuck wearing my pilot suit.
If I had my way, I’d ask them to build a completely separate male facility, but there was no way they’d go through such a massive construction project just for one person. Honestly, even I could see how ridiculous that request would be.
While I was killing time like that, waiting endlessly, I suddenly felt a light presence behind me.
At first I didn’t know what it was, but it quickly approached. Then two soft palms covered my eyes. From those fingertips, I caught the faint scent of something sweet and the lukewarm warmth of skin.
What the…?
My body twitched in surprise.
“Who am I?”
A playful voice, barely holding back laughter, brushed against my ear.
It was Luna.
What on earth was she thinking, pulling a prank like this?
Because Luna had pressed herself tightly against my back, I could feel her breath on the nape of my neck.
And then… the sensation of her breasts. They were far softer and larger than I had imagined, transmitting clearly through my back.
It felt as if she had deliberately pressed them against me. The distinct, soft curves made my mind go completely blank for a moment.
Her chest… damn, it’s incredible.
An embarrassing yet unavoidable thought rose unbidden. I tried to ignore it, but the warmth and scent from behind kept drawing my attention back to that soft pressure.
“What? Did you seriously forget my name? Who am I, huh?”
The palms that had been resting lightly over my eyes began to press down harder.
It was starting to hurt, so I reluctantly gave her the answer she wanted.
“…Sakuragi. Happy now?”
“Aww, Yuto. Don’t call me by my last name. Use my first name. It makes me feel distant.”
“…”
Yuto? Since when did she start calling me by my first name?
Honestly, were we even close enough to be on a first-name basis?
“Come on, hurry.”
“…Why are you doing this?”
“Hurry.”
It didn’t seem like she would stop, so I finally gave in.
“…Luna.”
“Good. That’s it. From now on, call me that. No unnecessary last names.”
With a satisfied voice, the hands covering my eyes slowly withdrew.
At the same time, the soft pressure that had been glued to my back disappeared, leaving me strangely disappointed.
I rubbed my eyelids a few times as if dust had gotten in them, then turned around to look at Luna.
She was staring at me with sparkling red eyes, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. The smile was so pure it almost looked like a grade-schooler’s.
…What is this feeling?
For some reason, Luna’s attitude carried a strange hint of affection. We had only spent a single day together, yet it felt like the inexplicable distance between us had vanished.
No, even when we had parted that day, it hadn’t been this obvious, right?
While I was lost in that question, Luna slowly scanned my body as if appraising me and asked,
“Anyway, are you okay? Your body, I mean.”
“Ah… yeah, I’m fine now.”
From this incident, I had learned that Yuto’s body was surprisingly resilient.
It probably recovered faster than the average person.
“Hmm… that’s good. When I found you there that day, I was really surprised, you know?”
“…What?”
For a moment, I couldn’t understand what Luna was talking about and tilted my head in confusion.
What did she mean by “that day”?
My reaction must have amused her, because the corners of Luna’s mouth curved up softly.
“Want me to tell you a secret?”
“…What is it?”
“When you were attacked by an Outer, the one who saved you in a Dracore was me.”
“…?”
It took me a beat to process it, and then genuine shock hit me.
“So… you were the one inside the Dracore back then?”
“Ding-dong-dang~”
Luna wiggled her finger playfully, making a cute “correct” gesture.
From the way she was acting, it was clear she had been looking forward to telling me this story all day.
Still, the revelation was shocking. I pulled myself together.
“…Thank you. I survived because of you.”
“Of course you should thank me.”
Luna put both hands on her hips and puffed out her chest with a smug expression. Then she grinned at me again.
“But you’re not thinking of just saying ‘thanks’ with words, are you?”
“…Huh?”
“Come on, who am I?”
“…Luna.”
“Wrong.”
“…Sakuragi Luna?”
“Aww, you’re really bad at this.”
Luna scrunched up her face in mock disappointment for a moment, then placed a hand over her own chest with an extremely proud expression.
“I’m the one who saved your life. Right?”
“…Yeah, that’s true.”
I couldn’t keep up with the flow Luna was directing. My head was spinning so much it felt hazy.
So what exactly did Luna want?
Was she asking for some kind of reward because she had saved my life?
While I was thinking that, Luna suddenly held something out to me.
When I looked down, I saw she was holding a smartphone.
“…Why are you giving me your phone?”
“Give me your number.”
“……?”
“That way I can demand a proper reward as your lifesaver.”
“…Can’t you just say it with words?”
“Hey now, are you talking back to me? Who am I?”
“…My lifesaver.”
I let out a small sigh and, resigning myself to the situation, entered my number into Luna’s phone.
She immediately dialed it to confirm, then nodded in satisfaction.
“Good. I just called you, so make sure you save my number later. Got it? I’ll check.”
“Understood.”
Well, getting Luna’s contact information wasn’t a bad thing. The process had been a bit chaotic, but I could call it a decent gain.
As I was convincing myself of that, Luna smiled with upturned lips and said,
“You know, I like you.”
“…Like what?”
“The way you desperately tried to save your little sister. Anyway, you looked pretty cool back then. Should I say manly? If it had been me, I probably would’ve fallen for you on the spot.”
“……”
Only then did I understand. The reason behind the inexplicable goodwill I had felt from Luna.
It must have been because my desperate attempt to rescue Yuzuki that day had left a strong impression.
Without meaning to, I had apparently earned some serious points with her.
“Well, this is something I mentioned last time too…”
Before I knew it, Luna’s face had drawn dangerously close.
“…Are you really not interested in Coupling with me?”
Her voice was low, soft, and seductive.
I instinctively stepped back, worried we might actually collide, and felt a wall against my back.
Luna closed the distance again, slowly.
“We might actually have surprisingly good chemistry. Don’t you think?”
She called it a suggestion, but her eyes were clearly demanding an answer. There was a strange pressure that made it hard to breathe.
I stared into Luna’s red eyes for a moment, then carefully spoke.
“Our classes are different to begin with, aren’t they? So even if you say that—”
“What are you talking about?”
Luna blinked and tilted her head, then gave a mischievous smile.
“I’m in the same A-class as you now.”
“What? I didn’t see you in the classroom this morning. And during training just now…”
“That’s because I just finished transferring in. When they asked which class I wanted, I said A-class.”
“……”
At Luna’s bold answer, I was momentarily speechless.
…She transferred into our class?
Was this another change caused by me?
The fact that Luna had transferred into A-class instead of B-class was so sudden that my mind went blank for a second.
Did that mean I would have to deal with all of Luna’s chaos from now on?
Just thinking about it made my head spin.
“So? Are you going to do it or not?”
“Like my father said before, Coupling with you is dangerous—”
“What are you two talking about so intimately? Let me join in.”
Before I could finish, a familiar voice cut in.
When I turned my head, I saw Yuzuki approaching, her gaze shifting between Luna and me.
She must have just finished showering; her hair was still damp, and her cheeks were faintly flushed.
A strangely gentle smile rested on Yuzuki’s face as she walked toward us with steady steps.
It was the polite, refined expression she always maintained at the academy—the one that earned her the nickname “Young Lady.”
Somehow, that smile felt even colder.
It was as if she was deliberately maintaining perfect etiquette so that no unnecessary rumors would spread in this moment.
Yuzuki stopped, looked at Luna, and spoke in a graceful voice.
“Oh, by the way, who are you? I don’t think I’ve seen your face around the academy before.”