It was a break during the fitness test.
“So, Arisa-san—have you already slept with Takasegawa-kun?”
“—koff!”
At her friend Nagiri Tenka’s question, Arisa promptly spat out the contents of her water bottle.
Coughing violently, she shot Tenka a glare.
Her pale cheeks were tinged red.
“P-please don’t ask something so weird out of nowhere!”
“So, have you?”
The question came again, full of curiosity.
Arisa looked away, hesitating slightly before answering.
“N-no… not yet, but…”
“You’ve even stayed over, and still nothing?”
“Well… um… I thought, as high school students, we should probably keep things platonic for a while…”
Then Arisa puffed out her chest just a little.
“But we have kissed, you know?”
“…That’s not exactly something to brag about.”
Her proud milestone dismissed, Arisa frowned.
Then she let out a small, dismissive huff.
“And what about you, Tenka-san? Have you done anything?”
“Well, no, but…”
“Then I’m ‘ahead.’”
“That’s not really something you measure as up or down…”
“I’ll be waiting at the ‘top.’”
Arisa’s smug expression irritated Tenka.
So, without a word, she poked her lightly in the side.
“H-hey, stop that—ah… hya—why you…!”
Tickled, Arisa grabbed Tenka’s arm and pushed back, flipping their positions.
Tenka was easily pinned down.
“Ghk—this brute strength gorilla—hyah, ahahaha—!”
“You’re just weak, Tenka-san. Honestly, you should—hyan!”
Arisa, who had physically taken the upper hand, suddenly froze.
Someone had grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.
She was rather sensitive there—enough to immobilise her completely.
“Looks like you’re having fun.”
“Let us join in!”
The voices came from behind—Ayaka and Chiharu.
Incidentally, it was Ayaka holding Arisa by the neck.
“N-no, it’s nothing… yes, we’ll leave it at this for now.”
Sensing that she’d soon be outnumbered three-to-one if things continued, Arisa made a swift retreat.
She lived by a simple rule—never fight a battle she couldn’t win.
“So, what were you talking about?”
At Chiharu’s question, both Arisa and Tenka answered at once.
“We were talking about how far Arisa-san has gone with Takasegawa-kun.”
“She made fun of me when I said we’ve kissed. …Even though she hasn’t done anything herself.”
“You were the one who started it by bragging about something trivial.”
“That’s just your imagination.”
“You had this smug look on your face. A proper smirk.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
“Is this an echo?”
“No, it’s Hikari.” Reference to a famous Japanese poem exchange; “kodama deshou ka” (“Is it an echo?”) “iie, dare demo” is altered here for comedic effect/
After listening to both sides, Ayaka and Chiharu nodded in understanding—
—and then sighed in exasperation.
“What a pointless comparison…”
“This is painful… I can’t bear it…”
The two pretended to sob dramatically.
Annoyed, Tenka and Arisa considered snapping back—but thought better of it.
They didn’t fight battles they couldn’t win.
“So, just kissing, huh?”
“I honestly thought you’d already gone all the way.”
“A-all the way…?”
Imagining it, Arisa’s face flushed red.
She could picture herself doing such things with Yuzuru—she had, before—but it never quite felt real.
“Was it at least a deep kiss?”
“N-no… just light ones…”
To her, it had felt like a major step.
But thinking about it calmly, it was actually a very small one.
Even slightly precocious primary schoolers might do something like that.
For a high schooler to boast about it was… admittedly a bit pitiful.
…Even so, she still believed she was ahead of Tenka.
“So what about you two? I mean… how far have you gone?”
Tenka asked Ayaka.
That Ayaka and Chiharu were a so-called lesbian couple—and also had a complicated relationship with Soichiro—was already an established fact.
“Ehh, that’s too embarrassing to say~”
Chiharu replied coyly.
Tenka and Arisa understood immediately.
They were experienced. On a completely different level.
“Just the other day, Chiharu-chan and I filmed ourselves together and sent it to Soichiro-kun—like a mock cheating video letter.”
“Your childhood friend fits real nice.”
Holding Ayaka’s chin, Chiharu said that in a strangely masculine tone.
The sheer level difference left Tenka and Arisa staring, mouths agape.
“…To be clear, we don’t record anything explicit.”
“It was a joke, a joke.”
Despite their antics, they were still daughters of respectable families.
They hurried to clarify that they didn’t leave behind anything that could cause trouble if seen.
“If we did, Soichiro-kun might blackmail us…”
“Wouldn’t want this sent to your parents, now would you?”
“Ghk…”
Ayaka and Chiharu launched into another ridiculous skit.
It was just funny enough that Tenka and Arisa ended up laughing.
…and then immediately regretted laughing at something so stupid.
Annoying… but I laughed anyway…
“…By the way, am I… too reserved?”
In a somewhat serious tone, Arisa asked Ayaka and Chiharu.
They exchanged a glance, thought briefly, and answered.
“Not really… pretty normal, I’d say.”
“Considering you’ve only been together a few months, it’s not slow at all.”
By general standards, she was average.
That was their conclusion.
“Well… more importantly, Takasegawa-kun isn’t the type to get upset about that, right? He’s a gentleman.”
Feeling she might have pushed too far earlier, Tenka added that to reassure her.
But Arisa still didn’t look convinced.
“Well… that’s true, but…”
“What, did Yuzurun say something pushy?”
“That’s a problem. Let’s report him to Yuzurun Mama.”
“Takasegawa-kun, I’m disappointed… I’ll stop buying mechanical pencils from his family company.”
At Ayaka, Chiharu, and Tenka’s comments, Arisa hurriedly shook her head.
“N-no, not at all! It’s the opposite, if anything…”
“…The opposite?”
Ayaka asked.
Arisa nodded slightly.
“It’s just… lately, I feel like Yuzuru-san might be… satisfied with how things are now…”
At her concern, Tenka tilted her head.
“…Is that a problem? If he’s satisfied, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“Well… yes, but… it’s just…”
Arisa trailed off.
But Ayaka and Chiharu quickly picked up on what she meant—and grinned.
“Aha—Arisa-chan… you’re secretly quite naughty, aren’t you?”
“Figures, with a chest like that.”
Instinctively, Arisa covered her chest.
“That has nothing to do with it.”
Hearing this exchange, Tenka finally understood—and smirked.
“Ohh, so you’re not denying the naughty part?”
“…I’m not.”
Pouting slightly, Arisa turned her face away.
Ayaka and Chiharu shifted closer to sit beside her.
“Well then… if you’re the dissatisfied one, why not take the initiative yourself?”
“B-but… that’s embarrassing. What if he thinks I’m improper…?”
“You just need to show a little opening. A light invitation is enough—after that, the guy will take over on his own.”
“…Is that how it works?”
“If he goes too far, just hit him. Yuzurun will back off.”
“I see… I see. Right.”
There was no real basis for it—
But somehow, Arisa felt like she could do this.
