Matsuri’s expression, which had been locked with mine, twisted into disgust in an instant. And I knew exactly why.
Standing there was Murakami—Matsuri’s ex.
“H-hey, long time no see.”
“Not long enough, I’d say. More like, could you not talk to me?”
“Tch… damn, that’s cold for an ex, isn’t it?”
“You being my boyfriend is straight-up black history for me. I have zero business with you… so vanish.”
Her words cut sharper than any blade.
The soft smile from earlier was gone, replaced by undisguised hostility in her eyes as she glared at Murakami.
(…I can’t use Partner right now, but no matter what, I’ll protect Matsuri.)
I didn’t know—or care—why he’d approached her.
If he tried anything, I’d just shield her like I did before.
“Dammit… you again?”
Realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere with Matsuri, Murakami turned his glare to me.
“Sorry for the ‘again.’ Like Matsuri said, we’re in the middle of a fun outing, so do us a favor and scram.”
I figured that much was fair game, but Murakami’s face twisted in obvious irritation as he clicked his tongue.
Sure, he still had that flashy, attention-grabbing look, but given the scandal of him running around naked outside was still fresh, I was amazed he had the nerve to even talk to Matsuri after all this time.
“Like he said, I’m having way more fun right now. More than I ever did with you—I’m genuinely happy, smiling from the heart.”
“Tch… so you’d rather be with some guy like him than your childhood friend?”
“Don’t call him ‘some guy.'”
Matsuri’s tone never softened, her words pushing him away.
Even after being shut down this hard, Murakami’s stubborn pride kept him rooted in place, glaring—mostly at me.
“Hey, Matsuri, I—”
He tried again, but his words died mid-sentence.
Because Matsuri, sitting beside me, suddenly pressed herself against my arm, hugging it tight against her chest.
“Matsuri…!?”
Not just hugging my arm—she rested her head lightly on my shoulder, then glanced up at me with an expression so bewitchingly sweet it made my heart skip.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes slightly glazed—so lewdly adorable I couldn’t help but stare.
“Hey, Matsuri, what’re you—”
“Ugh… seriously.”
She shot Murakami a glare as he reached out, probably to pull her away.
He froze mid-motion, and Matsuri scoffed before turning back to me with that same meltingly sweet look, making my pulse race again.
“Listen, I couldn’t care less about you. You could never make me look like this, could you?”
“Wha—!?”
“Looking back, I never made this face when we were together. Honestly, I’m glad I never let my guard down around you—because that’s how I got to meet him.”
With that, she clung to me even tighter.
The force of her embrace—arms wrapped firmly around my back—made Murakami’s face contort in frustration before he finally turned and stormed off.
“…Matsuri, he’s gone.”
“Yeah… ehehe, sorry, Kai.”
“Nah, it’s fine… but you really got me there.”
“I’m all flustered too. Wanna check for yourself?”
“H-huh!?”
Hands-on boob-squeezing is for hypnosis only, okay!?
Not that I could say that out loud. Instead, Matsuri stuck her tongue out playfully, clearly pleased with herself.
“Ahem! That was kinda sudden, though.”
“Mhm… but I think it’s fine now. Sure, we might run into him again, but after that display, showing his face would just be pathetic.”
Murakami’s parting glare had held a hint of resignation, so maybe she was right.
“Still, I’d hate it if something happened… If—”
“I know, okay? If anything comes up, I’ll talk to you… I’ve already learned my lesson about worrying you by keeping things to myself.”
“Don’t hold back, got it? I’ll always have your back.”
“Mhm!”
Well, running into Murakami was an unexpected hiccup, but it was still a great time.
As we started talking about heading back, I decided to walk Matsuri home.
“Aww, it’s already over…”
“We did walk around a lot.”
“Yeah… would’ve been even better without him showing up.”
“Ahaha…”
Her genuinely disgusted face made me laugh awkwardly.
Under the glow of the setting sun, our conversation never faltered on the way to her place—
talking about today’s “Handsome guy incident,” our after-school impressions… Notably, Murakami never came up. In fact, it almost felt like Matsuri had already forgotten about him entirely, despite it happening just moments ago.
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“Alright, Kai, this is good.”
“Oh… yeah. Today was fun. Seriously, thanks.”
“Nah, I had fun too. So, feeling better now?”
“Way better. If hanging out with you didn’t cheer me up, I’d be hopeless.”
“Hehe, damn right~! You got to go on a date with a beauty like me, after all!”
Yeah, no kidding—I could’ve sworn she was divine.
“Well, see you later!”
“Yeah! Later!”
And with that, we parted ways.
I stayed alert in case Murakami tried anything, but nothing happened, and I made it home safely… only to find my sister just arriving at the doorstep.
“Oh, Kai.”
“Hey, sis.”
“……………”
“…What?”
She suddenly glared, making me freeze.
Bracing for an attack, I watched as she smirked and cracked her knuckles—seriously, stop that, it’s scary!
“I-I didn’t do anything!?”
“Oh really? For some reason, I feel like you said something rude today.”
My heart skipped.
“Attacking me over that’s not fair! For the record, I freaking love you, sis!? Like I’d badmouth you behind your back—if I’ve got something to say, I’ll say it to your face!”
“O-oh… wait, that last part was unnecessary, you idiot!”
In the end, my red-faced sister just lightly smacked me.
Honestly, getting off with just that was a win… If she found out I’d called her “tiny,” things would’ve gotten messy.
“…Oh, right. Hey, sis.”
“What?”
“Wanna hit up that leisure facility next week?”
“Leisure facility… Oh, with Matsuri and Saika?”
“Yeah. They mentioned wanting to go since it just opened, even though it’s summer break.”
“Ooh! I’m totally in! I’ll clear my schedule!”
Nice—sis is locked in.
“Also, one more person. A junior who’s friends with Matsuri and Saika.”
“Ohh, I’m curious about her… But Kai, you’ve really been meeting a lot of girls lately, huh?”
“W-well, yeah…”
I pulled out my phone to text Matsuri, only to remember the battery was dead.
After rushing to my room to plug it in, I sent her a message as soon as it had enough charge.
“Hey, Partner… feels like it’s been forever.”
Technically, I’d activated it this morning, but with no memory of it, the gap felt huge.
Even though I didn’t need to use it now, I booted up Partner, staring at the familiar eerie pink screen as I kept talking.
“I really get now why I shouldn’t hypnotize myself… Using it for lewd stuff is one thing, but messing with my life—like for studying—is a no-go. Was that, like, a message from you, Partner?”
No response, of course.
With a wry smile, I pulled up the relationship chart.
“No changes… right?”
The positions of Matsuri, Saika, and Emu’s names, along with the pink threads, were unchanged. But upon closer inspection, I spotted a stubbornly wriggling black thread.
“What’s this…?”
Then again, the pink thread from Matsuri was obliterating it outright, so no black thread ever reached my name.
“This persistence… reminds me of Murakami earlier, trying to get to Matsuri.”
The thought flickered through my mind, but it was quickly overwritten by memories of my time with Matsuri.
“Man… today was the best.”
An after-school date with Matsuri… I had a feeling I’d sleep well tonight.
Unable to suppress my stupid, lovestruck grin, I let it stretch across my face.
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