Dreaming

(Words: 2440)

.....

In Otome's room, at her house.

A calm, serene male voice, sounding somewhat detached from worldly desires, drifted out through the warmly lit glass window.

"Otome-sensei, how is it?"

"..."

Uncertain of what Sasaki meant by "how," Sakuragi Otome pursed her lips, looked down at the test paper, and said nothing.

Receiving no response, Sasaki let his hand caress her well-proportioned legs, wrapped in black stockings.

The stockings she wore today were very sheer, with a bright sheen, feeling delicate and smooth to the touch but with average elasticity, giving the impression that a slight force could tear them.

So Sasaki applied a little more pressure.

Rip—

The sound was naturally smooth, a bit intoxicating as it tickled the ears.

The visual effect of the delicate threads tightening around her legs as the stockings tore was also quite captivating.

Unlike the seductive allure of intact stockings, torn stockings had a kind of broken beauty that made one want to ravish them.

So, while Otome was seriously reviewing the test paper, Sasaki, who had nothing better to do, kept tearing apart the brand-new stockings she had just bought.

Knowing that if the stockings weren't torn now, they would eventually tear anyway.

Sakuragi Otome did not stop his actions.

Having been intimate with him so many times, she was well aware of her lover's preferences.

Since she had put on the stockings, she never expected them to come off undamaged.

After all, the stockings were just a free gift with the clothes she bought, so it didn't matter if they got torn.

Her slender, fair fingers held a red pen as she marked Sasaki's test paper.

The round glasses she wore for decoration were tossed aside.

Her pink hair cascaded naturally down her back like a waterfall.

Aside from the slightly messy hair on both sides that affected her overall look a bit, Otome still very much looked the part of a teacher.

Especially when she had just been under the table, her eyes watery, mouth open to show off her hard work—it was incredibly enticing.

The more he thought about it, the itchier Sasaki's heart became.

He leaned forward, pressing his abdomen against Otome's back, resting his head on her soft, fragrant shoulder, and asked in a slightly rough voice:

"Otome~ Haven't you finished checking yet?"

"..."

Both men and women have desires.

While Sasaki wanted to have ber right now, how could the equally youthful and energetic Sakuragi Otome not have thoughts of her own?

The desire that had been suppressed by her focus on correcting the test after rewarding her lover was now rekindled by his affectionate and tender inquiry.

Feeling her heart heat up, Sakuragi Otome swayed her pencil skirt a little, her voice warm as she comforted him, "Just a little more, Fuyumi, wait a moment."

From Otome's words, it seemed like she was almost done checking the paper.

So Sasaki could now openly disrupt her.

"Actually, doing it like this works too..."

Flipping her pencil skirt up to her waist, Sasaki tore open the bottom of her stockings...

?!

"What is this~Hmm it seems Otome had already prepared herself."

After an intense session, Sasaki held Otome tightly by the waist, biting her now flushed and burning ear, teasing her in a soft voice.

"Can't... can't we wait a bit longer?"

Her soft, sweaty hand tightly gripped the red pen.

The sound that Sakuragi Otome hummed out was full of helplessness.

"I'll do my thing, and you do yours, okay? We won't interfere with each other~"

"How, how could there be no interference~"

"That's because Otome hasn't trained enough; you need to practice more~"

Tossing aside her unbuttoned shirt, Sasaki shook his head and said, Hurry up and finish correcting the test~ Once you're done, it'll be my turn to tutor Sakuragi-san~"

"Sakuragi-san's grades are really unsatisfactory; a thorough lesson until dawn is what's needed."

"Ugh~~~"

Well… Sakuragi-san's grades might not be great.

But she's certainly eager to learn.

Thanks to Sasaki's occasional spot checks during this time, there had been significant progress.

And after seeing the satisfied expression on her lover's face, Sakuragi Otome felt slightly relieved about the potential backstabbing from little Rinka.

How could a younger sister overshadow her older sister...

That would be outrageous.

...…

......

As summer approached, the days began to brighten especially early.

Upon opening his eyes, seeing the face of the one he loved in the soft morning light filtering through the window was undoubtedly a joyful moment.

Sakuragi Otome's long, soft pink hair lay scattered, partially covering her delicate, rosy side profile.

Her usually clear and gentle blue eyes were tightly shut under her slightly furrowed, pale eyebrows.

Her long, thick eyelashes, like small fans, cast a faint shadow over her face.

Due to the exhaustion from the previous night, Otome was in a deep sleep, her soft and rosy face glowing with a natural, pearl-like sheen that made one want to reach out and touch it.

Seeing her asleep with her small mouth slightly opening and closing, Sasaki reached out to brush away the few strands of hair caught in her mouth and leaned in closer.

The two were already holding each other, face-to-face with just a palm's width between them.

So, his sudden movement and the rustling sound of skin against fabric caused Otome to murmur and flutter her eyelids.

"Mm~?"

Her dazed eyes, like dust-covered gems, appeared somewhat dull as she stared blankly at her lover's energized face for a moment before Sasaki's gradually more mischievous hands began to awaken her hazy consciousness.

Perhaps she hadn't fully woken up yet.

Or maybe the lingering affection from the previous night hadn't faded.

Sakuragi Otome didn't shyly swat away Sasaki's hands as she usually did during the day.

Instead, she stretched lazily, arched her body slightly, and allowed her warm softness to spill into his hands.

After finishing her stretch, a slightly more awake Otome blinked her eyes that were still filled with love, and stared at Sasaki without a word.

The two silently watched each other, feeling each other's warm breath while seeing themselves in the other's eyes.

It was unclear how long they stared at each other—half a minute?

A minute? Three minutes? Or maybe longer…

They didn't care about the time.

They allowed the affection that had just cooled in their hearts to reignite in their eyes, transmitting it to the other, igniting each other's bodies.

The love conveyed by the other made their breaths gradually heat up, becoming scorching as they slowly moved closer.

Afterward, their love for each other entwined like a braided cord, inseparable.

After a simple morning exercise.

The two, like a newlywed couple, dressed each other, brushed their teeth, washed their faces, and cuddled while cooking together in the kitchen.

So when Okino Rinka came downstairs, yawning and rubbing her eyes, the scene she saw was the two of them hugging each other, with what seemed like little hearts floating around them.

"..."

Already used to it, and having gotten her share of affection last night, Okino Rinka wasn't envious.

She yawned again and silently sat down at the dining table, waiting for breakfast.

The three of them hadn't yet shared a bed together.

Although Sakuragi Otome was well aware of the relationship between the three of them, she couldn't be overly affectionate with her lover in front of Rinka before everything was out in the open.

So after gently nudging her lover, signaling him to tone it down a bit, she focused seriously on making breakfast.

Breakfast was simple, as usual, and after eating together, the three of them headed to school.

In the morning, the time spent exercising with Otome caused a slight delay.

So by the time Sasaki arrived at the classroom, it was almost full.

Listening to the mixed, somewhat chaotic conversations of his classmates, he slung his bag over his shoulder and walked to the back of the classroom.

"Pervert!"

"Shameless rogue!"

!?

Hearing the familiar whispered insults, Sasaki paused and glanced sideways at the twin-tailed girl sitting in front of him, her crimson eyes glaring at him with a look as if she were seeing a pest.

He knew Yasui Sara was still upset about him browsing through women's lingerie on a shopping app during class yesterday.

Sasaki opened his mouth, wanting to explain himself again.

But after thinking about it, he realized there wasn't much he could say.

He couldn't exactly claim he was searching for study materials online and accidentally went astray, could he…

Shaking his head silently, he reached into his pocket and pulled out two small, round objects.

As Yasui Sara's eyes widened in disbelief, Sasaki tossed the objects into the back of her collar.

Whoa?!!

The sensation was sharp, a bit poky, cold, and slippery.

Startled and confused, the girl, who couldn't guess what Sasaki had thrown into her clothes, straightened her back in a panic as her slender fingers pulled at the hem of her shirt, shaking it vigorously.

But whatever Sasaki had tossed inside seemed to be stuck in her bra, refusing to budge no matter how much she shook her shirt.

Glancing at the boy, who was already seated and grinning at her misfortune, Yasui Sara gritted her teeth angrily, reaching under her shirt to retrieve whatever he had used to tease her.

She had expected him to have thrown some sort of plastic bug or toy to scare her as payback for scolding him all day yesterday.

But the familiar feel of the object in her hand made her blink in confusion.

When she opened her hand, she found two plastic-wrapped strawberry candies, her favorite, quietly lying in her palm.

Baffled as to why he would give her candy after she had scolded him, Yasui Sara raised her cute, fair face in confusion.

However, without offering any explanation, the boy merely smiled at her and turned back to prepare the books he needed for class.

Seeing him ignore her confusion, Yasui Sara puffed out her soft, pale cheeks in dissatisfaction, wanting to ask him about it.

But she hesitated, fearing that showing too much interest would make it seem like she cared a lot about Sasaki.

After a moment of indecision, Yasui Sara, now feeling deflated, slumped over her desk.

Propping his face with his left hand,

Sasaki noticed her dejected posture and couldn't help but press his lips together in a silent laugh.

If she wanted to ask, she should just ask. It wasn't a big deal...

But then again, if she could be more straightforward, things might have progressed between her and Miwa.

In that sense, her lack of openness wasn't entirely a bad thing.

Sasaki cast a sideways glance at Miwa Itsuki, who was sleeping on his desk.

Then, with a flick of his finger, he sent a small paper ball flying toward Yasui Sara's soft cheek.

Feeling the sudden sting on her cheek, the girl first frowned in confusion and displeasure, but after realizing what had happened, she relaxed her expression and carefully took the paper ball into her hand.

She glanced at her still-sleeping childhood friend and then unwrapped the paper ball, rubbing it between her palms.

Inside, she found a small note.

[What's wrong? Why are you so out of it this morning?]

Still puzzled by his lack of explanation, the verbally reserved Yasui Sara pursed her lips before writing back a simple reply.

[Nothing, just didn't sleep well last night…]

Sasaki was different from Miwa Itsuki.

If it had been the oblivious Miwa, he would have taken her words at face value and gone back to whatever he was doing.

But Sasaki knew exactly what was bothering Yasui Sara, so he wasn't about to just respond with a simple "get some rest."

Putting down his pen, he tossed the freshly written paper ball over to her.

Even though this way of chatting by tossing paper balls was a bit odd and far less convenient than texting on their phones, neither of them disliked the physical interaction it involved.

So, up until now, neither of them had suggested, "Why don't we just chat on our phones?"

They didn't find anything wrong with this sneaky, back-and-forth exchange of paper notes.

Yasui Sara caught the paper ball Sasaki had thrown into the middle of her textbook and glanced at it.

[ Really? But if you were so tired, why were you so lively when you were scolding me earlier~ I'm not buying it, just saying you didn't sleep well… Could it be…?]

[Could it be that you were thinking about me all night, Sara?]

Crrk—

After reading Sasaki's message, Yasui Sara quickly lowered her head, instinctively crumpling the unfolded note back into a ball.

From the strands of hair falling beside her face, one could faintly see the blush on her cheeks, as vivid as fresh rouge.

It was clear that Sasaki had hit the nail on the head.

As the saying goes, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night.

After sneaking a peek at what he had been browsing yesterday, Yasui Sara had been quietly scolding him non-stop.

The more she scolded, the deeper the impression it left.

Naturally, this increased the likelihood of dreaming about it later that night.

Unfortunately for Yasui Sara, an excellent student with top grades, the things Sasaki had been looking at were far too advanced for her, leaving a deep impression.

So, last night, she had her first dream about a boy…

But that wasn't the main point… The main point was that, at Sasaki's request in the dream, she obediently wore all sorts of embarrassing outfits.

This was why, bright and early, before Sasaki even had a chance to sit down, she had already scolded him.

'How dare he… how dare he bully her like that in a dream… making her wear shameful clothes, say shameful things, and… and all of it focused on Itsuki…'

As the unpleasant memories resurfaced, Yasui Sara lifted her blushing face, biting her lip lightly, scrunching her delicate nose, and gave Sasaki a fierce glare before slumping over her desk, refusing to acknowledge him any further.

Seeing her reaction, Sasaki's eyes also widened slightly.

He had only been teasing her casually…

While he had a good relationship with Yasui Sara, he didn't think it was so strong that she'd actually dream about him.

But given her current behavior…

Even though he didn't know the exact details, it was clear to Sasaki that she had indeed dreamed about him last night.

With nothing better to do, he wrote another note, continuing to tease the embarrassed and angry Yasui.

.

.

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