The next day.
Arisa arrived at Yuzuru’s house carrying a paper bag.
“Thank you for having me again today.”
“…Yeah.”
As Yuzuru welcomed her in, he couldn’t help but catch his breath.
With autumn deepening and the weather turning colder… Arisa was dressed more warmly than usual.
Specifically… she was wearing a very cosy-looking knitted sweater.
The cream-coloured sweater clung closely to her body, accentuating her beautiful figure.
As a result, her ample chest was impossible to ignore. …Not that he minded—it was a feast for the eyes.
That said, while her upper half looked warm, her lower half seemed a bit chilly.
Unusually for her, she was wearing a miniskirt.
Her long, elegant legs—wrapped in glossy black tights—peeked out from beneath the short hem.
They were quite slender compared to girls their age.
But not overly thin—there was a softness to them, a healthy fullness that made them look incredibly supple.
Feeling his heart beat a little faster, Yuzuru ushered Arisa inside.
“Um, Yuzuru-san… apparently it’s Halloween around this time, so… I made some sweets.”
With that, Arisa took out a cutely wrapped plastic cup from her paper bag.
It looked like pudding.
“I made pumpkin pudding. I hope it suits your taste.”
“Thanks, Arisa.”
Yuzuru accepted it with gratitude.
Arisa gave a small, wry smile.
“Actually, yesterday I received sweets from Ayaka-san, Chiharu-san, Tenka-san, and Ryouzenji-san.”
“So those four gave you some too, huh.”
Ayaka and Chiharu made sense, but it was a little surprising that Tenka and Hijiri had gone out of their way to give Arisa sweets.
Though, while Tenka was a bit of an unknown, Hijiri—despite appearances—wasn’t actually bad at socialising, so it wasn’t that strange.
“You got some too, Yuzuru-san?”
“Yeah. Ayaka-chan and Chiharu-chan demanding sweets is a yearly tradition.”
They liked events like this.
Yuzuru didn’t dislike them either, so he went along with it every year.
“I see… I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I hadn’t prepared anything.”
“Well, that’s normal, really.”
He didn’t know how it was overseas…
But in Japan, Halloween was mostly treated as a costume event.
Exchanging sweets wasn’t unusual, but neither was not preparing anything at all.
“But I felt a bit bad about it.”
It didn’t seem like full-blown guilt…
But it was clearly on her mind.
“Ayaka-chan and Chiharu-chan didn’t say anything to you beforehand, right? They probably didn’t want to force you.”
“Is that so?”
“Those two won’t push people too far, when it comes down to it.”
More accurately, they knew who they could and couldn’t push.
They were less reserved with Yuzuru than with Arisa, and they caused Soichiro no end of trouble.
Of course, both Yuzuru and Soichiro allowed it.
Because the girls never crossed the line.
“If you feel bad about it and want to give them something, you could always do it next year.”
“You’re right… If I force a return gift, it might just make them feel bad too.”
It seemed she’d settled on preparing something next year.
That said, Yuzuru only understood the feelings of his childhood friends Ayaka and Chiharu, and his friend Hijiri.
He didn’t know Tenka well enough yet.
Still, she had seemed similar to Hijiri—just giving something out of courtesy… so she probably wasn’t expecting anything in return.
Probably.
Now then, having received pudding from Arisa, Yuzuru went to fetch something from the fridge.
It was a box from his usual patisserie.
The difference this time… was that the design on the box was Halloween-themed.
“Well, I always prepare something anyway, so calling this a return gift feels a bit odd, but…”
He set the box on the table and opened it for Arisa.
She peered inside—and her eyes widened in surprise.
“I know this! Girls in my class were talking about it.”
“Talking about it?”
“It’s limited quantity—you have to line up to buy it, right!?”
She spoke with a hint of excitement.
Yuzuru nodded.
“Yeah. I got up early this morning and queued for it.”
What he’d bought was a limited-edition Halloween cake.
Only during this season, his favourite patisserie sold a special pumpkin cake.
(Maybe Arisa will make something for Halloween.)
Thinking that, he’d gone the extra mile to get it.
“Th-this feels… a bit much. Mine’s just homemade pudding by an amateur…”
“If anything, I’d rather you praise me than apologise.”
If you’re going to feel bad, at least acknowledge the effort.
He said it half-jokingly.
Arisa narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Then… shall I give you a ‘good boy’ pat?”
“Eh!?”
Yuzuru let out an involuntary, strange sound.
Arisa’s cheeks flushed faintly as she let out a soft laugh.
“You’re the one who said you wanted praise, Yuzuru-san.”
“Well, yes, but…”
“If I ask for permission first, it’s alright for me to pat your head, isn’t it?”
He had said something like that.
And since he’d patted Arisa’s head plenty of times before, he couldn’t exactly argue if she said it was unfair otherwise.
“I don’t think patting my head would be all that interesting.”
“It is for me.”
With that, Arisa sat down properly in seiza.
Then she lightly patted her thighs—covered in those soft-looking tights.
“Eh? No, wait…”
“It’s my way of thanking you. Ayaka-san said men like this sort of thing… do you not?”
“…I don’t dislike it.”
Seeing the elegant curve of her legs, Yuzuru swallowed unconsciously.
Honestly—he liked it. A lot.
Even knowing it probably wasn’t a good idea, he gave in to temptation and rested his head on her lap.
Immediately, something soft entered his field of vision.
A generous, full shape—like ripe fruit—tilted upward, defying gravity.
Realising his self-control might not hold, Yuzuru turned his head to the side.
That, however, proved to be a mistake.
Because his cheek felt the softness of her thighs more directly than the back of his head ever could.
The firm base of muscle, the soft layer of flesh over it, and the slightly illicit sensation of the tights—all pressed against his face.
On top of that, the closeness of her skin to his nose didn’t help.
The faint scent of soap, mixed with a trace of sweat, steadily eroded his composure.
“Thank you for lining up so early… for my sake.”
As she said that, Arisa began gently stroking his head.
Her fingers ran through his hair, brushing against his ears and nape, sending shivers through his body.
“Ah… yeah, no, I can’t take this.”
“Ah!”
Feeling his self-control slipping, Yuzuru quickly rolled away from her lap.
Arisa let out a slightly disappointed sound.
“I haven’t patted you enough yet.”
“I’ve had enough.”
At his reply, Arisa pouted slightly.
“You let me pat you, and then run away once you’re satisfied… that’s not a trait you need to share with a cat, you know.”
“I wasn’t trying to act like a cat in the first place.”
She was the one who’d asked to do it.
Yuzuru couldn’t help but feel a little unconvinced.
