This year, Hiroto Tachibana is a university freshman, already 18 years old and legally an adult.
Marin Kitagawa is also a university freshman, and she has likewise reached 18 years of age.
Marin stepped into the bathroom.
Shortly after, the pitter-patter of flowing water drifted out.
Hiroto sat by the edge of the bed with his back to the bathroom, his hands resting on his knees.
Though raging torrents surged within his heart, his face remained as calm as a placid lake.
It was just that his eyes didn’t seem to belong to him anymore; why did they keep wanting to glance backward?
It wasn’t out of mere lechery.
It was simply that the flower was blooming in its full splendor; if one failed to appreciate it with a glance or two, it would truly seem insensitive to the finer things in life.
The bathroom was entirely transparent.
Inside, Marin felt a bit inhibited, her movements highly constrained.
As the water cascaded down her shoulders, she reached out her hand to grab the body wash, only to pull it back, entirely ill at ease.
Standing beneath the showerhead as the water vapor slowly rose and slightly blurred her vision, she knew with absolute certainty that everything was visible from the outside.
Isn’t this just running away?
She bit her lower lip.
At this point, was there really any need to run away?
”Um…” A voice drifted out from the bathroom, half-drowned out by the sound of rushing water.
“Do you want to join me?”
”…Sure.”
The gentle Hiroto Tachibana naturally wouldn’t refuse Marin Kitagawa’s request.
He stood up, walked toward the bathroom, and pushed open the door.
A wave of water vapor rushed against his face.
Marin stood with her back to him, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Water droplets cascaded down the tips of her hair, splashing into tiny droplets against the tiles.
And then?
And then they were instantly ejected.
Hiroto found himself standing once more at the school stairwell landing.
The hallway was perfectly quiet, and the sunlight streamed in through the window, looking exactly the same as it had before they left.
[Your body will permanently maintain optimal health.]
The system prompt resonated within his mind.
Hiroto stood rooted to the spot.
Having emerged right alongside him, Marin looked down at herself, then lifted her head to glance at Hiroto.
Her lips quivered slightly, but she couldn’t articulate a single word.
Hiroto pulled out his phone to check the time.
8:50 AM.
From the moment they entered to the moment they exited, only twenty minutes had elapsed in the outside world.
”Then…
goodbye,” Marin’s voice was so incredibly soft it was practically inaudible.
“I’m heading back to the classroom first.”
She turned and bolted.
Running at breakneck speed, her backpack bobbed up and down against her back, her shoe soles making rapid, urgent sounds against the hallway floor.
Hiroto stood where he was, watching her figure vanish around the corner of the stairs.
A faint pink hue flushed across Marin’s cheeks.
She tried her hardest to control her mind, desperate not to reminisce.
Yet, she couldn’t control it no matter what.
Stop right there!
Marin shook her head violently, quickening her pace until she practically burst into the classroom.
Yet that vivid imagery in her mind simply could not be wiped away.
Why, just why couldn’t she control it?
And that sensation…
it was practically addictive.
Her heart was thumping at a frantic velocity.
The more she tried to forget, the more vividly she remembered.
She fiercely snapped her head sideways.
Don’t think about it.
Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it.
But her brain completely refused to cooperate.
The more she forbade the thoughts, the clearer the imagery became.
The water had been rushing down, faint mist drifting through the bathroom, hot water showering down from overhead.
She had stood beneath the spray, and his shadow had fallen over her.
It was far too implicit.
This description was entirely too implicit.
But she really couldn’t think about it anymore.
Inside the bathroom, the water cascaded down as the steam billowed upward.
Marin’s fair, flawless skin was faintly discernible amidst the water vapor.
Although Hiroto hadn’t quite reached the point of “scaling the highest peak to dwarf all other mountains,” he had already “taken in the sweeping view of the hills below.”
It was almost excessively implicit.
Not quite daring to look Hiroto directly in the eye, Marin had no choice but to turn her back to him.
Little did she know, happiness had arrived with such absolute suddenness for Hiroto.
But given Hiroto’s level of self-control…
unless he absolutely couldn’t hold back, he wouldn’t break.
Realizing this threshold, Marin whipped her body around.
But she turned far too quickly.
Her foot slipped against the surface.
”Ah—!”
Her knees crashed down onto the slick tiles, water splashing upward and drenching her face entirely.
With her eyes squeezed shut, she heard a voice drift down from above:
”Are you alright?”
Water vapor, bright lights, and thoroughly drenched hair.
Marin didn’t quite dare to lift her head.
The solitary thought dominating her mind was: Since when was this bathroom…
since when was it this massive?
She hadn’t paid much attention to it last time.
But taking a stealthy glance, she discovered that Hiroto’s face was completely devoid of any tension or embarrassment.
His expression was exactly the same as usual, as if an occurrence like this was entirely mundane.
For some inexplicable reason, a surge of irritation welled up in her heart.
Out of sheer spite, the fallen girl attempted to stand back up.
Her fingers gripped the door handle for leverage.
Hiroto was mildly shocked; he hadn’t anticipated her to be this perceptive.
Seeing his reaction, a hint of smugness rose within her heart.
Yet merely gripping it didn’t provide enough structural support to allow her to stand.
If she wished to succeed, there was only one path left.
Though she had never personally experienced it, she had certainly seen it happen.
Despite the immense difficulty, she ultimately managed to execute it.
With her rims slightly reddened, she coughed repeatedly in succession.
Genuinely unable to hold back any longer, she bit her lower lip.
Letting out a few muffled groans, she finally managed to stand upright, yet she remained utterly outmatched.
Finding herself completely overpowered, she naturally didn’t dare to offer any resistance, and the scene once devolved into absolute chaos.
As it turned out, Hiroto harbored no malice whatsoever.
Engaging in combat with her for so long had purely been to hone and refine her capabilities.
Looking back toward Hiroto, she realized she had entirely misjudged his intentions.
Her eyes were completely filled with heart-shaped affection.
Leaning into him, she rested her forehead against his shoulder.
The water continued to shower down, soaking them completely.