Two outcasts who look down on each other share an innocent first kiss. - Chapter 13

After we successfully reached the summit, took a group photo, and descended back to our bungalows, the schedule for our mountain retreat was nearly complete.

All that’s left is one more night—and tomorrow, we head home.

And the situation with Hashiyama? …I guess that’s “resolved.” Kind of. So yeah—whew.

What should I do over summer break?

There are games I’ve been meaning to play, and anime I want to catch up on. Now that I can talk to Hashiyama again, maybe we can play something co-op together.

As I lay on the bungalow bed thinking about all that, suddenly—out of nowhere—a beautiful face slid into my field of vision.

“Sumino-san?”

Whoa—scared me. Thought I was hallucinating for a second.

Shirakawa-san leaned over me, her voice as graceful as a character straight out of an Aizawa Ema drama.

“Are you coming to the bath tonight?”

How kind can one person be?

Even though I turned her down yesterday, she still came to ask again.

Meanwhile, the other group member standing behind her (not Midoriya-san) had this look like, “You should just let her be.”

But me? I’m the girl whose default setting is “no.”

So in situations like this, I’m programmed to automatically decline and—

“…Y-yeah. I’ll go.”

—Wait, what?

The word of acceptance just slipped right out of my mouth, and I surprised even myself.

If I were to sum up my impression of Shirakawa Hikari’s naked body, it’d be:

This is what a woman should look like.

Her skin—smooth and pale like untouched porcelain… Her figure—slender yet curvy in all the right places… And despite her slim build, she actually had surprisingly big b00bs. That’s a huge bonus.

If I were a guy, I’d want to lose my virginity to Shirakawa-san.

…Well, maybe not. She’s so perfect, I’d probably get nervous and shut down.

“I’m so tired—”

“Whoa, your nails look amazing!”

As laughter and light chatter bounced off the brightly lit tiles, I turned my back to all that radiant beauty, quickly tossed my clothes into the woven laundry basket, and tried to disappear.

Nope. Nope, nope, nope.

I used to think being slim and having a decent chest was my one tiny source of pride, but after seeing that, I realized I’m not “slim”—I’m just scrawny. And my chest? Not even worth mentioning. Plus, I’m short and stubby. There’s nothing to be proud of.

What does she even eat to get a body like that? Mermaid meat?

I clutched a towel in front of me, hurried into the bath area in quick, sticky steps.

A wave of steam wrapped around my body as the sound of running water echoed all around.

I spotted an empty stool and quickly sat down, turning on the shower—then jerked with surprise at the cold spray.

Yep… bathing with other people really isn’t for me.

Things I normally don’t care about suddenly feel 10 times more obvious.

Mostly my own flimsy-looking body, though… I wonder if guys feel the same—like, are they self-conscious about their muscles or… y’know, that size?

I lathered my hair with shampoo, scrubbing away as I pondered.

And yet… somehow…

I get the feeling I’ll start becoming self-conscious around Hashiyama, too. Not just in the bath, but in general…

Ahh, is that gonna be a problem? He doesn’t really have a frame of reference, right? Oh wait, he does have a sister… and she’s pretty cute, too… What kind of genetics is that family working with?

Being constantly aware of things but not knowing how to stop being aware… that’s the curse of someone like me, cut off from social cues and outside input.

Maybe I should just ask… Ask Shirakawa-san, like, “How do you become that insanely pretty?” No way. I could never.

Lost in all these useless thoughts, I finished washing my hair and body at lightning speed, like always.

Normally, I’d hop into the tub for a quick one-minute soak and then be done—but…

This time, I wiped the foggy mirror in front of me and looked at the reflection staring back.

Especially the mess of hair I’d barely taken care of.

…Maybe I’ll actually use conditioner today.

When I was little, Mom used to nag me about it. But I always found it annoying and skipped it. That’s probably why it’s so frizzy now.

I found a bottle of conditioner, pumped it three times into my palm, and gently worked it into my hair.

Huh…

This kind of thing… it makes me feel like a girl.

Taking care of my hair like this—yeah, I guess I really am a girl, after all.

Feeling oddly emotional, I rinsed the conditioner out and stood from the stool, towel in front of me again, and tiptoed to the bathtub.

“Ugh, Akamatsu is so annoying—”

“Ahh, yeah, yeah…”

I lowered myself into the hot water, drifting toward the edge of the bath to distance myself from the girls chatting in the center.

Fuuuuu…

As the warmth soaked into my shoulders, it felt like the fatigue from hiking melted away.

I was going to leave after a minute, but… maybe I’ll stay a little longer.

I battled a wave of drowsiness from the relaxing heat.

Suddenly, the sound of splashing water came closer.

A pair of wet thighs and a crotch appeared before my eyes.

Huh?

I looked up to find Midoriya-san—Shirakawa-san’s friend—staring down at me, completely expressionless.

W-What?

I froze, confused—and honestly kind of scared.

Why is she just… standing there in the bath!?

“I mean… it’s not like I can say, ‘Could you please not point your crotch at my face,’ right?”

So I just curled up in the water, trying to make myself smaller.

About ten seconds passed before Midoriya-san tilted her head like a little bird and finally bent her knees to sink into the bath, meeting my eye level.

“Hey, Sumino-san,”

“Y-Yes…?”

She completely ignored my awkward tone and reached out with a wet hand, brushing aside my bangs.

“You don’t do anything, do you? Like shaping your eyebrows or putting on lashes.”

“Well… yeah, not really…”

I mean, I doubt anyone wears fake lashes in the bath, but okay…

“Why not~? I think you’d actually be really cute if you just made a bit more effort.”

“W-Wait… seriously…?”

“Ooh, someone sounds interested~”

Crap.

Because it was such a timely topic for me, I accidentally answered like I was kinda hoping it was true.

Midoriya-san grinned like she’d caught something juicy.

“What’s this? You wanna be cute? Is there someone you wanna impress? Come on, tell me~! I’m so curious!”

“N-No, it’s not like that… really…”

Oh nooo. She’s that type. The shipper type!

Is this the same energy she used to push Shirakawa-san last night?! Totally makes sense now.

As she leaned in closer, full of energy, I was flailing with a mix of “uhh” and “ahh,” not knowing how to respond—when a voice rescued me:

“Don’t tease Sumino-san like that.”

Shirakawa-san had entered the bath and come to my rescue.

Goddess. Literal goddess.

Midoriya-san turned around with a slight pout.

“What~? I wasn’t teasing! It’s called girl talk!”

“Didn’t look like girl talk.”

“Aw, come on, it totally was. Right, Sumino-san?”

Midoriya-san turned back to me with a heavy dose of peer pressure in her gaze.

I felt like I was about to get steamrolled—but before I could be crushed by it, my goddess intervened once more.

“She’s clearly uncomfortable. Come on, let’s go.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it~ Just give me one sec!”

As Shirakawa-san pulled her away by the arm, Midoriya-san leaned in close to me and whispered softly:

“(I’ll teach you how to shape your brows later, so you’d better tell me who you like, okay?)”

Getting fashion tips from Midoriya-san… actually kind of a big deal.

She might be a bit clueless and chaotic, but she’s definitely one of the more stylish girls in class. The fact that she can stand next to Shirakawa-san without being overshadowed says a lot.

But still…

I don’t really want to tell anyone about me and him. It’s not something I want to share.

Not that it’s like, romantic or anything. Not like that. Really.

“(T-Then… I’ll figure it out myself…)”

It was the only thing I could say.

Midoriya-san blinked at me, surprised.

“You’re more stubborn than I thought! Fine! I’ll teach you for free—dang, you drive a hard bargain!”

With that, she marched off toward Shirakawa-san, splashing water behind her, but not before tossing a final line over her shoulder:

“Wait for me at the bungalow after this!”

W-Whoa…

I think that was the most I’ve talked to the girls in my class in a long time…

Though… can I even count that as a conversation?

I don’t know…

Somehow, I’d ended up staying in the bath way longer than usual. My head was starting to feel a little fuzzy.

I slowly slid along the edge of the tub and climbed out of the water.

As I dried off, I could hear Midoriya-san and Shirakawa-san chatting behind me.

“So, it went well?”

“Yeah, more or less… we’re supposed to meet tonight…”

“Oooh, nice~! I’ll cover for you!”

…Looks like things are moving forward on their end too.

Well… not that it has anything to do with me.