https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9531ga/93/
Episode 10: Warmth in the Cot
“Ah ha! So this is where you were Yuri! Are you safe!?”
The curtains were thrown aside with a strange cry like something out of a period drama, and I flinched upon seeing that Honoka, Saki, and Yuzuriha were here.
“Ah, yeah. I’m….all right?”
Nothing about this is all right. My heart is pounding, and my legs underneath the sheets are asphalt on a midsummer’s day. Couple that with Ranko’s body heat, and it’s only getting worse.
In that moment, Ranko started moving around. I tried moving myself along with her to not arouse any suspicion, but it’s going to look unnatural no matter what I try. And sure enough, Saki tilted her head to the side with a suspicious look.
“….Why is your comforter so puffy?”
“And it feels like it’s winter with the comforter all the way up to your neck like that—”
“W-Well, I started feeling cold after getting wet in the rain like that, so I covered myself with a couple blankets to warm myself up!”
“Yu-chan’s face is a bright red.”
“I-I might have started getting a fever then. I’ll have to ask the nurse to take my temperature when she gets here.”
“The thermometer….is right here! We should check you for any funny business right now!”
“No! I-I’m fine! I should wait….!”
“Hmm….”
“Oh ho ho.”
Saki and Honoka weren’t buying it. Have they already figured out that Ranko is under here…..?
In that moment, Yuzuriha raised her hand with an innocent, expressionless face.
“I’m cold too, so I’ll join you…..okay?”
“You, You can’t! I’m not feeling well!”
“But….”
“Sorry. Maybe next time…..?”
I was wondering what she had to say about all this…..but it was way, way cuter than anything I could’ve thought up.
“Ahh—! You’re going to turn down Yuzurin even when she’s directly asking you to spoil her!? How cold of you! You’re being selfish asking to stay all snuggled up by yourself!”
“Who’s going to be fine with being taken advantage of when they’re not feeling well!?”
While I was putting a little too much strength in batting off Honoka’s weird pursuit, Yuzuriha came over to my side and grabbed the hand I was using to hold the side of the bed.
“Promise….”
I was forced to accept a pinky promise with her. Did she plan on climbing on top of me? It feels like I just made a weird promise.
“I just noticed, but where’s Ran-chan~? She didn’t leave Yuri-chan behind did she~?”
“You’re right! Where could she have gone……!”
“How terrible of her~ It would’ve been fine for her to stick around a little longer~”
“I-I know! Makes me feel lonely!”
I was feeling so anxious that I wasn’t thinking about a single thing I was saying. But all that froze to a halt when I felt a soft breeze brush against my stomach. That was followed by a warm, soft touch next to my belly button…..
“Hiiiii!”
“What’s wrong Yu-chan?”
“N-Nothing! It was just a, kind of weird sneeze!”
I tried covering up my squeal with a cute sneeze…..but, ngh……how much are you going to kiss my stomach!
Ah! And she’s even started licking me!
While I was trying to hold back the ticklish laughter rising from my stomach, Honoka watched questioningly on as Saki’s eyes became even more suspicious….damn, at this rate, it’s only a matter of time before…..
“Is this…..Yuriha-chan’s blazer?”
But then, I was rescued through an unexpected source. Yuzuriha had lifted the curtains of the bed next to me, and all three of the girls turned their attention that way.
“Oh that! I was just letting it dry out!”
Saki immediately picked it up as soon as I had said that much. She patted it down a little before looking it up and down.
“That’s no good~ You can’t just leave your blazer and skirt lying around like this. They’ll get wrinkled. Ahh! And your blouse is positively filthy!”
As Saki smoothed out my uniform, she began thinking about what to do with my muddy blouse.
For the moment at least, their focus has been diverted…..
But unfortunately, all of this was just leading to Saki laying her eyes on a small self on the other side of the curtain. She reached out her hand,
“Huh? There’s a uniform over here too――――?”
“Ahhh!!! Thank you so much for your help Saki! I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have you straighten out my clothes so they don’t get any wrinkles! I love you! I love you a ton!”
“Eh, ehehehe. You’re welcome~”
I forced my way through with a bunch of insincere compliments like a cheating husband.
But under no circumstances can I let her touch those clothes. That’s Ranko’s uniform. It’s got her name embroidered on the inside for anyone who happens to find it. If Saki sees that, she’s going to immediately realize that Ranko took off her clothes. And if she puts even a second of thought into where Ranko might be at this very moment…..!
“Saki has always been so thoughtful and reliable. I’d love to have her as a mother!”
Ugh! Why would I use that to change the subject…..!
“You know, she really is just like a mom! That’s hilarious!”
But Honoka rode my careless train of thought forward.
“Eh! I’m not that old!”
Naturally Saki started getting mad at my and Honoka’s words. Please accept my apologies Cute Mother Saki.
“Saki-chan…..Mama….”
“Yes! Picture it! Saki-chan Mama running her own snack bar. A beauty like an 80’s model. But, but, but! She’s 38 years old and single! With a growing worry that her jokes are all outdated!”
“How strangely realistic….”
“I-I’m not old~!”
“That isn’t really what she’s saying though?”
With as focused in as she is about that, I wonder if Saki’s worried her taste in clothes are outdated. But those kind of small flaws just make her cuter, so I welcome them. It looks like Honoka would relentlessly bully her over it though.
More importantly, I’ve managed to bring myself in the clear by diverting attention away from Ranko’s clothes. At least until Honoka’s sudden look my way caused a growing sense of foreboding in the pit of my stomach.
“I just realized! If all this is Yuriha’s uniform, that means she’s just in her underwear beneath that blanket! This is our chance to see her uncensored underwear!”
“U-Uueeeeee――!?”
“True. She always changes her clothes when nobody is around, so I would enjoy the chance to take a proper look.”
“I’ll take…..a photo…..”
“Y-You’re wrong…..stop! Saki, you were there for my conversation with Ranko! I’m wearing a tracksuit under here……”
“Now! Burn the sight of Yuriha’s bra and panties into your eyes!”
“There’s no escaping this time~”
“Shutter chance…..”
“Hiiiii!!!!”
They aren’t listening to anything I’m saying! I held onto my blanket for dear life as two sets of evil, sinister hands reached towards me. And why is Yuzuriha carrying around the digital camera for our club……!?
“Won’t you give up~!?”
“Saki-chaso, let’s do this together!”
“O~kay!”
“When did you two become so good at working together!?”
“On my mark! Ready. Set.”
Honoka had begun her sick countdown. Is this, really how it ends…..?
“Go!”
“Go~!”
“Noooooo!!!”
With my scream echoing in the room, the blanket I held onto so dearly was mercilessly pried from my grasp…..
…………………………………………..Huh? It’s quiet.
I had covered my face with my hands, but after a second of nobody saying anything past, I dared to peek through the cracks of my fingers. All three of their expressions had morphed from sick pleasure to utter disappointment.
There’s no way I can properly explain this. Accepting the end, I gave up and looked down at towards my waist.
And there she was, naked and with her arms around me………..wait, what?
“What is this!? Nobody told me anything about you wearing a tracksuit!”
“Well…..I tried telling you before, but uh……”
“……boring”
“I’m disappointed in you Yuriha-chan…..”
“Aren’t you two being terrible!?”
Yuzuriha slumped her shoulders while overdramatically shaking her head in exasperation…..and meanwhile, Saki looked truly bored. She might’ve been looking for something different here after all.
But more to the point, somehow, Ranko had disappeared.
♠
“Take care of yourself~”
“Goodbye for now”
“See…..soon…..”
The bell rang, and the three girls said their farewells while leaving the nurse’s office. A moment later, and Ranko appeared, sighing while only wearing her underwear. She also still had her shoes on which made an extremely unbalanced look.
“This is really cold. I’ll need to think about the timing when we do this next.”
“When and where were you hiding…..?”
Not giving any attention to a possible ‘next time’, I asked what I was most curious about while trying to avoid staring at Ranko’s perfectly shaped body.
“When everyone was distracted by your uniform. I took the chance to slip out from the covers and hid under the bed.”
“I see…..if you’re cold, hurry up and get dressed.”
“Don’t worry. It’ll just take a minute.”
Ranko picked up her folded uniform and threw them on with the grace of a ballerina. It only took a literal minute before she was back to her usual self.
I picked up and held my own dirty uniform. It was dry on the outside, but I could tell how clammy it would feel to actually wear it. I’ll just hang it up on a hanger for now. I might end up needing Ranko’s tracksuit for the rest of the day.
“I’ll come down when second period starts. I’m still feeling a little cold.”
“Okay then. Make sure you get some rest.”
Ranko took a few steps towards the door while talking to me, draping the towel she had let me use over her arm. But just before leaving, she stopped and while turning her back to me, she glanced towards one corner of the room,
“The towel used to wipe down a naked Yuriha in my hand…..and my jersey wrapped all around her body….. Fufufu…..I can’t wait to get them back…..”
and she quietly muttered something along those lines to herself.
“What’d you say?”
“No it’s nothing. Just lie down.”
“Yeah, okay. Thanks”
I gave her a smile when she turned to look at me again. She waited until I had laid back down before putting her hand on the door and slowly leaving the nurse’s office. As the room finally fell silent, I still had her final mutterings rolling around in my head.
I pretended not to hear her, but of course I picked up on every little thing she said. I think she got intoxicated off the situation. It’s a great help that she talks to herself so much because it means I can regularly hear what she’s really thinking…..like how she really is a perverted lesbian!
Those last words of hers were extremely perverted, and I can’t imagine what she intends to do with this jersey once I give it back to her….but even if she’s spending each of her nights attacking me in her imagination, it’s not like I have any ground to judge someone for their personal delusions, so I’ll just let it go. I’ll be honest, the fact that she’s a beautiful girl doesn’t hurt.
If she were a boy instead…..just the thought makes my hair stand on end. Even if the guy was my boyfriend, finding out he was doing something like that would make me feel nauseous, and even his death wouldn’t be enough for me to forgive him. Let’s end the hypothetical there.
Like I thought, a guy is unnecessary.
Experimental Translations 