Cherish

Beneath the cherry blossom, there is a corpse. 

If someone were familiar with the literature of this country, they would know that this was the beginning of Motojirou Kajii's short story, Beneath the Cherry Trees.

Yet, fortunately, what was hidden under the box wasn't something as scary as a corpse. 

Instead, what was hidden under the box was a box, to be exact—

"A lonely, big-breasted young housewife who wishes to be comforted..." 

Ishigami murmured the title of the magazine as he saw the picture on the cover of the magazine that pictured a melting gaze of a beautiful and sexy housewife. Her clothes might appear demure and ordinary, yet they were strangely tight, showing the womanly shape of the body that could only be seen on a housewife. The skirt was so short that it showed plump, white, soft thighs.

In that picture, it was clear that the housewife had a blazing desire, a scorching hot body that wished to be comforted as her husband had neglected her, thinking of her as nothing yet as a maid in the house. 

Still, in that picture, she was a woman, a charming one that was ready to be—

Ishigami squeezed his thighs hard, but at the same time, he was curious, so he opened the magazine softly, trying to learn the wonderful culture of this country. 

While he wasn't sure why those husbands neglected their beautiful wives, he didn't mind helping them to comfort their wives, he thought. 

Yet, Tsubame, Iino, and Kobachi were stunned! 

As they never expected, the one that was kept inside the box was porn! 

A housewife type, too! 

Their faces flushed red, watching the magazine before them! 

More importantly, this bastard opened the magazine calmly! 

"Yuu-kun!" 

"Ishigami!" 

However, Kobachi was calm and just watched Ishigami, wondering what he would do. 

Still, under the pressure of three girls, Ishigami, who had opened the magazine, suddenly got angry. "Outrageous! How shameless! How could those seniors bring this type of book!" 

"....." Everyone. 

"I have to report this to Kaichou!" Ishigami appeared indignant, clearly disgusted by those seniors who brought these types of books! 

"You don't have to worry, Iino! I will make sure to erase this box! By the way, you don't have to thank me! This is my duty as a student council member!" 

As he thought so, he couldn't help but think about the stacks of magazines inside this box. They were all treasures... no, they were all trash that made the young generation become idiots due to lust! 

As a member of the student council, he couldn't just close his eyes, pretending that they didn't exist! 

As a student council member, it was his duty to remove them! 

As for Shirogane, Ishigami was sure that Shirogane would be moved by his dedication! 

So, as his determination was set, he was ready to dispose of the box, only he met resistance from the three. 

"No, it's okay. I will keep it," Iino said as she stared at Ishigami speechlessly, but her eyes were as sharp as ever, ready to take away the box forcefully if she had to do. 

"Yeah, just leave this box to Iino-chan, Yuu-kun." Tsubame nodded hurriedly. 

"Or do you want to keep all of them yourselves, Ishigami?" Kobachi asked with a meaningful gaze. 

"....." 

Under the gazes of the three, Ishigami took a deep breath and said righteously, "Please make sure that those things won't be seen by anyone again, Iino." 

"You don't have to worry about that." Iino nodded and agreed with Ishigami's statement, but her eyes were staring at him with doubt and suspicion. 

However, as Ishigami showed a righteous expression, his heart sighed helplessly, and he was so glad that his acting skills were at Level 4, comparable to those of top actors who were known as the best of the best or politicians who deceived their voters. 

Still, while he was disappointed since his act couldn't get him that box that was filled with porn magazines, he decided to give up since he knew that if he really dared to read them, the desire on his body would be overflowing, and it would be impossible to stop, so while it was sad, he knew that this was for the best. 

"Are you disappointed, Ishigami?" Kobachi suddenly asked, causing Iino and Tsubame to look at Ishigami at the same time. 

"No, I am not. There is dust on my eyes, and please don't say something that will cause a misunderstanding to others." 

For the first time, Ishigami learned that Kobachi wasn't as good a girl as he thought he was. 

"Pervert..." 

However, Iino somehow recalled the time Ishigami wiped her tears, caressing her cheek softly with his hand as his eyes stared into her thin, cherry lips. He might appear indignant by the porn magazines, but she knew that this guy was a big pervert! 

Yet... it was good that he was a pervert. 

"Well... Yuu-kun is a boy, after all." 

Regardless, Tsubame was the one who had the most normal reaction since she felt that it was normal for Ishigami to have an interest in those types of books, but she hoped that he would have a normal interest instead of having a housewife fetish. 

"Okay, okay. Enough of this. Let's just finish moving the boxes, or else we will be late." 

Ishigami knew that he didn't have an advantage over the three. If the three decided to tease him at the same time, then he could only succumb, letting his body and heart be ravaged, so he changed their focus. 

As expected, the three knew what they had to do, especially when they might be late. 

However, while he could move those boxes with ease, it was different with Tsubame, Iino, and Kobachi, as their physical ability wasn't that strong, so they needed help, but fortunately, soon, another senior came to help them. 

"Thank you, Senpai. I will treat you to a protein shake at the gym later." 

"...it's fine. You don't have to worry about that." 

The one who helped them was Kazeno, the third-year senior at their school and Ishigami's friend at the nearby gym. 

The two of them often met each other as they went to train together and studied at the same school. 

Unlike Ishigami, Kazeno's build was rather thick, showing his perseverance and a slight obsession with building muscle. 

"Okay, I won't treat you." 

"....." Everyone.

"I was just joking." 

Kazeno looked at his juniors helplessly, feeling a bit of regret for helping him, but then again, he didn't really feel that sad, especially when he saw one of the cute girls among the three. 

Kobachi noticed Kazeno's gaze, but she didn't say anything since she knew that she was beautiful, so she was used to being stared at by others. 

Nevertheless, fortunately, Tsubame and Kazeno knew each other, so there was no need for Ishigami to work as a lubricant in case there was an awkwardness among them. 

"Yuu-kun, are you going to the same gym as Kazeno?" 

"Yes, I happened to meet Senpai there." 

"You aren't doing something strange in the gym, right?" 

Still watching Ishigami and Tsubame, who talked to each other closely, Iino couldn't help but interrupt.

"Something strange? Can you give me an example, Iino?" 

"Pervert!" 

Iino blushed, and she knew that this guy clearly teased her! 

Tsubame watched their interaction, then asked, "You two are rather close." 

"Ha! Who is close to him?!" Iino blushed and quickly refuted, feeling embarrassed, but at the same time, she felt regret for her outburst and quick denial. 

"We just happened to know each other for quite a while." 

Still, unlike Iino, Ishigami answered this question calmly. 

"Ah, I see." Tsubame nodded with a gentle smile and asked, "But are you sure that you go to the gym, Yuu-chan? You don't seem full of muscles." When she said so, she looked at him up and down and even rubbed his arm. 

"....." 

While Ishigami felt speechless by how touchy Tsubame was, he said helplessly, "I have just joined for less than a week." 

In other words, how could she expect him to have a muscular body within that span of time? 

"Hehehe..." Tsubame smiled and apologized. "Sorry, sorry." 

Still, Iino somehow didn't feel comfortable and quickly interrupted their conversation again. 

As the three talked to each other, Kobachi didn't say anything and just silently observed them. 

"They are rather close." 

"Hmm..." 

As Kobachi answered him, Kazeno became excited and continued to talk with her. "But it is good that Tsubame has become cheerful. They suit each other well." 

"Hmm..." 

After that, Kobachi didn't say anything and just silently moved those boxes to another place along with everyone. 

Fortunately, soon, the other members of the Public Moral Committee also came and helped them, and as everyone worked, they soon finished their jobs.

"See you later, Yuu-chan! Let's study again later!" 

"Um, see you later." 

As their grades were different, naturally, Tsubame had to part away from Ishigami, but then, she felt happy and excited, thinking about the evening when she taught him again. 

"It's unexpected that you know him, Tsubame." 

As they were in the same grade, Kazeno walked with Tsubame. 

"Yes, he helped me before." Tsubame smiled sweetly and said, "It is also fun to be with him!" 

"Are you going to date him?" Kazeno couldn't help but ask, which stunned Tsubame. 

"Ah, sorry for reminding you of him." 

Kazeno quickly apologized, realizing that he had reminded Tsubame of her uncomfortable past. 

"No, it's fine. You don't have to worry." 

While Tsubame said so, her heart felt uncomfortable, thinking of her relationship with her past boyfriend. 

"Is that so? I am glad." Kazeno smiled, then said, "But if you are really interested in him, you should move fast since he is rather popular and he might have a girlfriend soon." 

"Huh?" 

Tsubame was stunned as she had never thought about this possibility. No, she had expected this, but she closed her eyes, pretending not to realize the possibility that might exist in the future. 

Their meeting might be short, but when she thought that she might not be able to talk with him like now... she didn't want it, yet when she thought about how a relationship would turn out when one became a boyfriend and a girlfriend... she wasn't ready.

As Tsubame was vexed by her feelings, Iino stared at Ishigami with a complicated gaze, thinking at how close he was to Tsubame. 

'If they are dating...' 

If they were dating, then... 

"What's wrong, Iino?" Kobachi asked. 

"Ah, nothing!" Iino quickly shook her head, then noticed Ishigami glanced at her, which made her glare at him. 

Ishigami only rolled his eyes and looked away from this prickly girl. 

Iino opened her thin lips slightly, then closed them again, feeling an intense regret for not being able to be honest with herself. Deep inside her heart, she knew what she wanted, but... she just couldn't be honest with her feelings. 

"Say, Koba-chan." 

"Hmm?" 

"Do... do you think Ishigami will date Tsubame-senpai?" 

While Iino wanted to deny it, she could tell that the two of them fitted together, and she felt his chance to get Tsubame as a girlfriend was higher than others imagined. 

"No." 

"Eh?" 

Iino was dumbfounded by Kobachi's straightforward answer. "Why?" 

"Well..." 

Kobachi didn't need to answer since when they arrived at the class, someone hugged Ishigami tightly. 

"Yuu!"

Watching Onodera hug Ishigami tightly, Iino opened her mouth and eyes wide. 

"He has a girlfriend now." 

---

Calm before the storm.