Volume 4 - CH 15

“Sorry, Arisa. I’ve been in there a little too long.”

After getting dressed, Yuzuru left the changing room.

In the meantime, Arisa was sitting on the sofa in the living room for some reason.

“…Arisa?”

“…Fu~e, ah, Yuzuru-san!”

When Yuzuru called out to her again, Arisa raised her voice.

For some reason, her face was flushed.

“Wh-What is it?”

“…no, I’m out of the bath. It’s your turn now, isn’t it?”

“Ye-yeah, that’s right!”

Then Arisa hurriedly set off for the changing room.

Yuzuru grabbed Arisa’s arm and held her back.

“Hey, Arisa.”

“Ye-yes!　What is it!?”

“No, You forgot the towel and a change of clothes.”

Something similar had happened before, but fortunately this time he was able to notice it before Arisa got into the bath.

When Yuzuru pointed it out to her, Arisa nodded her head.

“Th-that’s right. Sorry!”

Arisa hurriedly prepared a change of clothes and a towel before disappearing back into the changing room.

Yuzuru tilted his head involuntarily.

Now, about forty minutes later.

“…I’m done”

Arisa appeared from the changing room, dressed in her nightgown.

Her nightgown was simple shirt pajamas.

Her white skin was faintly blushing, probably due to the improved blood circulation.

Her flaxen hair, which had been dried thoroughly with a hairdryer, swayed smoothly and seemed to shine more than usual.

She sat down in front of Yuzuru.

For some reason, she looked away a little embarrassed.

“What do we do from now on?”

“Eh? Fro-From now on? A-are you going to do something!?”

When Yuzuru casually said this, Arisa seemed to become frightened and her gaze swam unnaturally.

Somehow, that seemed to have been taken in a different meaning… And Yuzuru chuckled.

“No, I was wondering what game we should play…”

“A-ah… That’s what you meant?”

“…What else?”

“…Nothing else.”

Arisa replied with a pouting attitude.

But her face was flushed.

“Since there’s a chance, I’m thinking of playing something other than video games. What do you think?”

“…Yeah I guess so. I’ve heard that it’s not good to look at the TV screen before going to bed. But what are we going to do?”

When playing cards, at least three people are needed.

Surprisingly, there are only a few games that can be played by two people.

“Have you ever played Mahjong, Chess, Go, or Shogi?”

When Yuzuru asked, Arisa quietly shook her head.

But that was to be expected.

“Othello?”

“I have played Othello… That’s a good choice. Let’s play Othello.” (TN: Othello is also called reversi. Feel free to google.)

Fortunately, Arisa seemed to be on board with the idea.

He immediately set up an Othello board …and played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would play first and who would play second.

“Ah, that’s right Yuzuru-san.”

“What’s up?”

“… This is a serious game.”

“I know… I want to win, too.”

Thus, the two began a game of Othello.

The first game was won by Yuzuru…

The second game was won by Arisa.

And the third game…

“Mumumu…”

“Arisa, it’s about time…”

Yuzuru hurried Arisa, who was sitting in front of the game board with her brow wrinkled in thought.

She had already been thinking for five minutes.

“A little more, just a little more…”

However, Arisa repeated “a little more” as if she could not decide on her next move.

Yuzuru couldn’t help but sigh, thinking that hating to lose is indeed a merit and a demerit.

“Then listen while you think.”

“Okay.”

“Tomorrow, as we discussed, will you be okay with going to the pool?”

They had already decided where they would go for fun during Golden Week.

One of them was the swimming pool, where Yuzuru was going to teach Arisa how to swim.

Of course, it would be in an indoor heated pool.

“Yes, it’s fine.”

Arisa replied, and finally placed a piece on the game board.

As Yuzuru’s pieces were being repeatedly flipped at the right places…

“Ah…”

She let out a small voice.

She then looked up at Yuzuru’s face.

“…Can’t we start over?”

“No.”

“…Please …okay?”

” …Even if you say cutely, it’s no good.”

“Yuzuru-san is amazing.”

“No flattery.”

“…cheapskate”

Arisa puffed out her cheeks.

The third game ended in a victory for Yuzuru.

However, Arisa seemed to be in a bad mood, perhaps a little dissatisfied with the result.

“…If Yuzuru hadn’t interfered, I would have won.”

She made a mistake because she was talking to him while she was thinking.

That was Arisa’s argument.

“You sure can say whatever you want after it’s over.”

On the other hand, a win is a win, was Yuzuru’s argument.

“Hmm… Next time, I’m going to get in Yuzuru-san’s way a lot!”

With a joking attitude, Arisa appealed to him while pouting that she was angry.

Yuzuru pokes Arisa’s cheek with his finger.

“H-hey… Please stop.”

“It was my fault. Next time I won’t interfere.”

“That’s not the attitude of someone who’s sorry… Geez!”

Then Yuzuru and Arisa shared a small laugh.

Looking at the clock, the time had already passed ten o’clock.

It’s not exactly late for a high school student, but then again, they had plans to swim in the pool the next day.

“Shall we.. head to sleep?”

As Yuzuru said casually, Arisa shivered.

“Th-that’s right!　…U-um, where should I sleep…?”

“I’ve prepared a futon for you… Of course, if you prefer a bed, I’ll sleep in the futon.”

“N-no, the futon will be fine.”

Arisa nodded her head crisply.

The bedding was decided, so Yuzuru went with Arisa to the spare room.

And As he tried to unroll the futon he had left behind…

He was held back by Arisa.

“Eh? Am I going to sleep here…?”

“Eh? Is there a problem…?”

The spare room is not suitable as a “living room” under the building code.

However, if you look past the details, you can sleep in this room without any problems.

“It’s not that I don’t like it…”

Arisa looked a little uncomfortable.

But Yuzuru didn’t want Arisa to hold back.

If there’s something she doesn’t like, she should be able to tell him.

“No need to hesitate to say what you want.”

“…I thought we would be in the same room. That’s what we did last time.”

The last time this happened was when Arisa stayed at Yuzuru’s apartment due to a sudden lightning storm.

At that time, Arisa slept in the same room as Yuzuru because she was afraid of a sudden blackout.

This time, however, she didn’t have to worry about that.

Even the spare room had its own nightlight.

“Do you want to sleep in the same room…?”

“…Do you not want to, Yuzuru-san?”

His fiancée asked him shyly.

Yuzuru averted his gaze, scratched his cheek, and answered…

“…I don’t mind. Let’s sleep in the same room, shall we?”

“…Yes. Let’s do that.”

Yuzuru and Arisa carried the futon together.

“Just so you know, don’t do anything weird, okay!?”

“I-I know… Please have faith in me.”

“Hmm….”