After getting out of the bath—
“Right, um… Arisa-san. Please don’t be upset.”
Yuzuru was massaging Arisa’s shoulders.
Arisa, her face faintly flushed, replied—
“…I’m not angry.”
“Really?”
“…I was just surprised.”
After that incident in the bath—
Yuzuru had been hit with the usual “Pervert! Idiot!” type of scolding and promptly kicked out of the bathroom.
He’d been worried she might actually dislike him now, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
“Something similar has happened before, after all.”
“…Well, that’s true.”
It wasn’t the first time she’d seen that.
Though it was the first time while they were both exposed like that.
“That was… unavoidable.”
It wasn’t like he’d had impure thoughts—
well, that wasn’t entirely true, but he hadn’t meant to upset her in any way.
He tried to explain that.
Arisa, however, gave a small nod.
“I know. You’re not that kind of person… that’s why I came to like you.”
“I-I see… that’s good.”
It seemed his more gentlemanly side had earned him points.
Though, admittedly, Yuzuru did put on quite a front in front of her.
(…I should probably avoid acting the same way I do around Soichiro and Sei.)
He made a quiet resolution.
“…You said it was unavoidable, right?”
“Hm? Yeah… I mean, it’s not really something you can control with willpower…”
“You did try to suppress it, didn’t you?”
“Well… of course.”
Did he really try that hard?
He wasn’t sure.
It wasn’t that he desperately wanted to hide it—
but he had felt embarrassed at the idea of her seeing it, and worried she might be put off.
“I see. You tried… but couldn’t help it.”
“Y-yeah.”
Arisa spoke as if confirming something carefully.
Yuzuru, standing behind her and massaging her shoulders, couldn’t see her expression.
(…Where is this going?)
Nothing was more unnerving than not understanding.
Yuzuru braced himself, cautiously gauging her mood.
“And the reason you couldn’t suppress it… was because you saw my body, right?”
“W-well…”
“I won’t get angry.”
Feeling like a child being questioned by a teacher, Yuzuru answered—
“Well… it was a bit stimulating…”
“…A bit? Even though it was only ‘a bit,’ you couldn’t control it?”
Apparently, that was the wrong answer.
Yuzuru hurriedly corrected himself.
“No—not a bit. It was… very… impressive, so I couldn’t.”
“I see. I see.”
Arisa nodded repeatedly.
And only then did Yuzuru realise—
her voice had a slight bounce to it.
“So you’re saying… you couldn’t help it because I was attractive?”
Arisa turned around as she said it.
There was a faint smile on her lips.
“Well… yeah.”
“That can’t be helped then.”
Without even waiting for his reply, she continued—
“You’re not at fault, Yuzuru-san. It was unavoidable, after all.”
“Eh? Well… I suppose…”
As Yuzuru nodded vaguely, Arisa gave him a satisfied smile.
A rather smug one.
“I’ll forgive you.”
He had been forgiven.
It seemed Arisa didn’t view what happened in the bath negatively—
if anything, she saw it positively.
Yuzuru let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Unaware—or perhaps fully aware—of his worries, Arisa continued in a cheerful tone.
“By the way, you said it was impressive earlier.”
“Yeah… I did.”
“Um…”
She hesitated slightly.
Her jade-green eyes averted shyly for a moment—
“Specifically… what part was impressive?”
Her face was bright red as she asked.
She was curious—but clearly embarrassed.
“W-well…”
Even Yuzuru found it embarrassing to say out loud.
But he decided honesty was best.
“…Your chest, for example.”
“My chest…”
As she said it, Arisa placed her hand over her chest.
Just placed it—not squeezing.
But the gesture itself was somehow alluring, making Yuzuru’s heart race.
“Do you prefer… larger ones?”
“Well… yeah, I suppose I like them on the larger side.”
At that, Arisa gave a small smile.
“That reminds me—your matchmaking preference was ‘large chest,’ wasn’t it?”
“…I’d appreciate it if we didn’t revisit that.”
That had been half a joke at the time, not a perfect reflection of his tastes.
“…Anything else?”
“Anything else?”
“What parts of me… you like. Physically.”
“Physically…”
Given the flow of the conversation, she clearly meant her body.
After a moment’s thought, Yuzuru answered—
“Your skin. It’s really fair and beautiful.”
“I see, I see.”
That didn’t seem to surprise her—she was likely aware of it herself.
“And… your legs.”
A slightly more specific answer.
Arisa nodded firmly.
“Your legs… you were staring at them during the pool session, weren’t you?”
“…I wasn’t.”
Ignoring his denial, she pressed on.
“What about them do you like?”
“Uh… well… your thighs?”
“My thighs… because they’re long and slender?”
She glanced down at her legs.
Her loungewear shorts revealed smooth, pale skin.
“No… more like… they look soft.”
“Oh… that’s your perspective.”
She touched her own leg thoughtfully.
To Yuzuru, they were the legs of the girl he loved.
To her, they were just her own—nothing particularly special.
“Anything else?”
“Anything else… well, I like all of you, really—”
“That kind of answer doesn’t count.”
She dismissed it as flattery.
With no choice, Yuzuru went more specific.
“…I like your hips.”
“Y-your hips?”
Her voice rose slightly.
That answer seemed unexpected.
“What’s good about them? …I don’t think they’re particularly ‘beautiful.’”
“It’s not about beautiful or not… just, I think fuller ones are appealing.”
If asked why, Yuzuru couldn’t really explain.
It just was.
“…Do you perhaps prefer chubbier women?”
Arisa tilted her head.
Yuzuru blinked—but then realised:
“Large chest,” “soft thighs,” “full hips”—
it did sound like he preferred a rounder figure overall.
But that wasn’t the case.
“I also like your slim waist.”
“I see… so in other words, you like women with generally good proportions?”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
His preferences were fairly standard.
“…For now, I understand that you really like my… body.”
“…Well, I’m glad that came across.”
It was a slightly misleading way to put it, but she knew that wasn’t all he cared about.
“…Yuzuru-san?”
Arisa sounded confused.
Yuzuru had suddenly wrapped his arms around her from behind.
“W-what is it?”
Her face flushed as she asked.
Yuzuru, equally red, leaned close to her ear.
“Hey.”
His breath brushed against her hair.
“Y-yes…”
Arisa leaned her weight into him.
“…Shall we practise kissing?”
