36: A Few Things That Happened in the Hospital Room

[Aki's room was a shared one, but he was the only patient there. The other beds were empty]

[Ten minutes ago, the nurse had brought in some medicine and taken Aki's temperature. She wouldn't be back for another thirty minutes]

[Because it was nighttime, the hospital corridors were almost completely silent, with hardly anyone around, adding to the calm atmosphere]

[You quietly picked up on these details as you excused yourself to use the restroom.] 

[You walked to the door of the hospital room, making sure to open and close it loudly enough to create the illusion that you had left]

[Then, you quietly snuck back behind the curtain on the other side of Tomoya's bed, where Eriri was sitting]

[You listened to the sounds of Tomoya eating, the music playing softly from his phone, and Eriri's light conversation with him.] 

[Without hesitating, you knelt down, gently lifted the curtain, and reached out to grasp Eriri's ankle…]

'There's no way I'm missing out on a moment like this!'

Suzumiya Chisato turned off the hairdryer in his hand and immediately switched to a first-person view.

"...You got sick from overworking? Are you a child? It's so embarrassing not being able to take care of yourself."

"It wasn't that serious; the doctor just overreacted. I could've just gone home and slept it off. No need for hospitalization."

"Stop acting so high and mighty. You're not a professional, so stop questioning the doctor's judgment." 

"Just lie there quietly and don't talk while eating; you're spitting out your food."

"Well, you're the one who keeps talking to me…"

"Shut up!"

"..."

Aki fell silent and obediently continued eating his hospital meal after being scolded by Eriri.

"Huh?!"

Just as Eriri was about to say something else, she suddenly made a strange noise and shivered noticeably.

Aki, of course, noticed this odd behavior.

He looked at Eriri with a puzzled expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ah, nothing! It's nothing at all!"

Eriri answered in a flustered tone, lowering her head. She knew that hand holding her ankle all too well.

"I just suddenly felt a chill. Maybe it's because the air conditioning is too cold here!"

In her panic, she came up with an excuse for her strange reaction, one that could barely be considered plausible.

"I see. Then let's turn up the temperature a bit."

Aki adjusted the air conditioning from his bedside control, raising it by two degrees.

"If it's still cold, let me know."

"Mm…"

Eriri clenched her hands into fists on her lap, her breathing growing heavy as she struggled to maintain her composure.

Within less than a minute, the hand behind the curtain was no longer content with just holding her ankle. 

It moved on to pull off her small boots, and even tugged off her socks.

That warm hand was now playing with her soft, delicate foot.

He was particularly focused on her right big toe, gently scratching it with his fingernail and occasionally massaging it.

'Ugh…'

'This guy, Chisato, is going too far with his pranks.'

'But... it's still within what I can tolerate…'

Eriri glanced over at Tomoya, who was quietly eating after her earlier scolding, with no suspicion on his part. 

This gave her a small sense of relief.

However, she clearly underestimated Chisato's determination to completely break down her shyness tonight.

It wasn't long before that sinful hand began to move up her leg, following the curve of her calf and reaching her thigh.

"Uh... ha..."

"Huh?" Aki gave her a puzzled look for the second time. What was she sighing about?

Eriri clenched her teeth lightly and covered her face with her hands. To cover up her awkwardness, she quickly came up with an excuse.

"Ha… haha, you need to get better soon. The game's about to be released, and we'll finally start making money."

"Uh… right…"

Aki lowered his head, looking a bit confused, and resumed eating.

Eriri's body continued to tremble from the mischievous hands under her skirt, though the movement was subtle, unlike her voice which could easily be noticed.

She shakily picked up her phone and typed out a message. 

[Stop it, Aki will notice!] 

Then she reached back to pass her phone to him.

She felt the grip on her left cheek loosen as he took the phone. But before she could relax, the phone was passed back with a different message.

[Sorry, I just couldn't resist. You're too cute, Eriri.]

Eriri's face flushed bright red as she read the reply, nearly crushing the phone in her hands.

What nonsense was he talking about? 

Had he forgotten their agreement? 

And this—this was too much! 

She could tolerate the teasing on her thighs, but there was one place…

That was absolutely off-limits!

Aki finished eating and set the tray on the bedside table, where a nurse would pick it up later.

"Ak… Aki!"

Eriri tightly clenched her legs together and spoke with a stern tone.

"Hm?"

"You need to take your medicine… and get some rest…"

Eriri grabbed the medicine from the bedside table and handed it to him along with a glass of water.

"Huh? I just finished eating. I was planning to read some manga before sleeping."

"Stop… stop whining, take your medicine, and rest! You can read all the manga you want when you're better!"

Eriri's tone was firm. Given that she usually spoke like this, Aki didn't find it unusual.

After he took his medicine, Eriri plugged in her earphones and handed them to him, replacing the phone's music that had been playing aloud.

"Get some rest. I'll leave once you're asleep."

After watching him close his eyes peacefully, Eriri slowly stood up, pulled the curtain aside, and stepped out.

She had intended to scold Chisato right away.

But when she saw him holding up his hand, with a fine thread of something glittering between his fingers, her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed.

Chisato quickly caught her, led her to another bed in the same ward, and gently pulled the curtain shut.

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