Wonderful feeling

Now, with her intended words being spoken by him, the girl, unable to discern any kind of emotion from his tone, blinked and asked nervously:

"How did you know?"

"Well, I knew from my first day at school. You're so pretty, and you're quite popular in class. I just had to ask any guy in class to find out some things about you."

"And I also know his name is Yuuta Yamano."

Hearing that name suddenly, Natsuha's eyes widened in shock.

While she was surprised that Sasaki knew she had a boyfriend before, it wasn't unexpected.

As he said, it was easy for anyone paying attention to her to learn about it from the members of the Aikido club.

But the name Yuuta Yamano was only known to those close to her.

If Sasaki had been her classmate since the first year, hearing him say that name wouldn't be too surprising.

But he had only been back at school for a little over a week… How could he possibly know?

Looking at her with her mouth slightly open and in disbelief, Sasaki leaned down and tasted her lips, already devoid of any lip balm, and smiled as he said:

"What a dummy~ Look at your phone."

Hearing his words, the girl quickly took out her pink-cased smartphone from her bag; unlocked it with her fingerprint and checked her call history.

There were nearly thirty missed calls from the contact labeled [Yuuta Yamano], yet no call notifications.

"You did this…"

"Don't you remember?"

"When you were doing things, your phone kept ringing, so I asked you to unlock it with your fingerprint and then blocked him."

"I don't know what happened between you two, but since you're with me now, I didn't want our time together to be interrupted by him."

"Hmm... But if you have other thoughts, I wouldn't mind."

"Bad guy..."

Not wanting to discuss such terrible things with Sasaki right now, Natsuha, hearing no sign of jealousy in his tone, asked carefully,

"You, you don't think that I am a frivolous girl because I am someone else's lover in the afternoon and I am with you in the evening, right?"

Hearing this, Sasaki looked at her strangely:

"What are you talking about? I know exactly what kind of girl you are. Otherwise, how could I be responsible for you?"

"Don't think I'm a playboy, the kind of person who doesn't care and will accept anyone who comes to me."

"The girls I like are all very nice, otherwise I wouldn't want to take care of them for the rest of my life."

Though she felt anger at Sasaki's 'I am a playboy, I am proud of it, and I just want to give them a home' attitude, Natsuha was genuinely happy that he trusted her.

Despite only knowing each other for a week...

But Yuuta...

Shaking her head to clear out any unwelcome thoughts, the girl leaned against Sasaki's chest, patted his chest, asked him to put away his annoying frivolous face, and said slowly:

"You must be very curious about why I ended up like that today. It all started with..."

'No, I'm not curious at all.'

'No one knows the whole story better than I do.'

Listening to her recounting the events from her perspective, Sasaki muttered to himself.

He felt like a bird perched on the top of a tree, quietly listening to a bug recount how it flew into a spider's web.

Although he had already caught both the 'bug' and the 'big spider', he still regretted that he could not personally deal with that yellow hair.

Having him beaten by Nogami and the others without much consequence, only to be taken away by an ambulance to Fujitsubaki, seemed too lenient.

'I'll make it up to her next time I see her.'

As he thought about this, Sasaki felt a slight tap on his waist from Natsuha's small hand.

Looking down, he saw the girl frowning slightly, looking anxiously at him.

Realizing his momentary distraction had scared her, making her think he was upset about the situation, Sasaki thought for a moment and then said:

"Even though I have blocked him on your phone, it's better to talk this through, right?"

"You two are childhood friends, and he knows where you live. If things get messy with Aunt Chiakko, it won't look good."

Although there was no sign of dissatisfaction in Sasaki's tone, Natsuha knew this was her best chance to make a clear statement.

If she didn't cut ties decisively now, it might give Sasaki the impression that she was still hesitating and unwilling to let go.

Nodding, she immediately called Yuuta Yamano.

The phone rang only for a short while before the boy's voice came through.

"Hello? Is that you, Natsuha? Where are you? Are you okay? I'll come to find you!"

However, taking a deep breath, Natsuha ignored his words and said firmly:

"Don't call me again. I'm afraid Sasaki will misunderstand."

"S-Sasaki? Didn't you say you didn't have anything with him?"

"You didn't believe me, did you? That's it, there's nothing left to say between us. Don't call again."

"No! Don't—"

Beep—

"Ugh~"

After hanging up, the girl let out a sigh.

Just as she was about to say something, Sasaki spoke up:

"It must hurt inside, right? After all, he's been your childhood friend."

"No, I—"

"Don't worry about me getting mad. I'm not that narrow-minded."

"Just say it. You'll feel better once it's out. You're not alone anymore;

So, you don't have to keep it in your heart. You can say anything to me."

Because Sasaki had given her enough trust before, Natsuha didn't think he was fishing for information.

So, mouthing the words carefully, she began to explain her feelings softly.

After all, Yamano Yuuta was her childhood friend and lover.

Realizing what kind of person he was, Natsuha's not breaking down crying was already a sign of her strength.

Of course, the influence of the drug she'd been given also played a big part.

The physical and emotional turmoil overshadowed her heartbreak over him.

Though her heartache was overshadowed, his actions were etched in her memory.

He hadn't shown her an ounce of trust—not even a sliver of doubt before he drugged her.

And then there was his cowardice and incompetence in the face of those scoundrels.

In the past, Natsuha could still use his gentleness and kindness to justify his weakness..

But with his gentleness gone, she could only feel the proper disdain for his cowardice.

She shuddered to think what might have happened if that girl hadn't helped her.

Thinking of the terrifying consequences, Natsuha clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

There was no love left for Yamano Yuuta in her heart.

Seeing her biting her lip and clenching her fists, Sasaki kissed her smooth neck, and reassured her

softly;

"It's okay, don't think about it anymore. I'll take care of you and Aunt Chiakko from now on."

"Okay~"

Though she still couldn't quite accept his infidelity, in all other aspects, Sasaki was a perfect boyfriend.

Ignoring the fact that he had other girlfriends, Natsuha realized she really liked the feeling of being with him.

Especially this feeling of having a heart-to-heart talk with each other made her feel that there were no barriers between them.

This feeling was as beautiful, if not more so, than their physical intimacy.

The joy in her heart was beyond words, and for the first time she truly experienced the beauty of love.

Not wanting to ruin the wonderful atmosphere, Natsuha, though curious about his other girlfriends, decided not to ask right now.

They would meet eventually.

For now, she didn't want to think about things that would make her angry...

Comforting herself with these thoughts, the girl nestled in Sasaki's embrace, exchanging small talk about school, club activities, and little events at home.

Despite slowing their pace, it wasn't long after entering the residential area that they arrived at her home.

"So... I'm going in now?"

Standing at the entrance of her house, the dark and silent night around her put on a mask for Shinomiya Natsuha, whose cheeks were flushed red as if she was expecting something.

Though her face was well hidden in the dark, her sweet, slightly trembling voice gave her thoughts away.

She clearly wanted more but felt shy now that she was dressed.

Seeing this, Sasaki chuckled inwardly.

Then stepped forward, holding her firmly by the waist, and leaned down slowly.

With her wish about to come true, Natsuha tilted her head up eagerly.

"Mmm~?"

Since they were in a residential area, both of them exercised restraint.

So, after three minutes of passionate kissing, Sasaki was the first to break the heated connection, a thin string of saliva still linking them.

Meeting her now watery, pink eyes, the boy tightened his grip on her waist, pulled her closer and teased:

"Natsuha, you really like these warm kisses, don't you?"

Gulp~

After clearing her throat, the girl was a little embarrassed to see him teasing her with a smile, so she punched him a few times in shame and asked back:

"Don't you like it?"

"Of course I do. Please, let's do it even more intensely!"

"That depends on your behavior."

Though she didn't want to admit it, Natsuha did enjoy getting intimate with Sasaki.

In addition, their relationship was, as he said, that of lovers.

So this time she did not hide her feeling, and agreed to Sasaki's request in a low voice and cryptic words.

Knowing that if they continued talking, they'd end up sticking together even longer, Natsuha stepped back from Sasaki's embrace and waved:

"It's getting late, so... see you later."

"Yeah~"

Watching her enter the house, Sasaki took out his phone and checked the time.

21:36.

Before heading to the hotel with Natsuha, he had already informed Otome Rinka, Sisters Yuuka, Koharu, and the others.

Thus, he hadn't received any calls from them.

According to their messages, today both Sisters Yuuka and Koharu were at home, so Otome hadn't come over to cook but stayed home with Rinka to keep their parents company.

At this time, the two sisters were probably lounging on the couch watching TV.

As for Aunt Kyouka, her vague message suggested she wouldn't be home until around ten.

Whether she came back or not depended on her work situation.

If busy, she might not even return for several days.

Thinking this over, Sasaki, in no hurry to return home, opened the LINE app, opened the chat box with Nogami, and edited a message to let Yamano see the sinister news of society.

Since that guy had come looking for Natsuha, his parents should be aware of his whereabouts.

Even if they didn't know, it wouldn't be hard to find out.

Therefore, although he couldn't directly take him to meet with the "ladies" but could teach him a lesson to deter him from coming to Tokyo again.

If he didn't take the hint, he could join Kirishima and Masaru Oga's company.

....