The golden moon and countless stars adorned the deep blue night sky.
The moonlight flowed quietly.
On the steps in front of the concert hall, Eriri sat on the ground, blinking her curious eyes at him.
"Takashi, how did you find me? Did you hear the address I tried to tell you in the end?"
"No."
Takashi pulled a heat patch from his backpack and handed it to Eriri to stick on the upper left of her abdomen, then turned his head away:
"I saw you repost the Ikebukuro station convention event on Twitter, and your name was on the poster. So I came here."
Looking at the heat patch in her palm, a warm feeling rose from her heart, rippling through her chest.
Ever since Watanabe Takashi found out she had a cold constitution, he'd always kept something like this in his bag.
"When I got to the convention, I found you were already gone."
"So I had to ask around while running all over."
"To find you, I ran myself into a stinky, sweaty mess."
At this point, Takashi gave a bitter smile.
He wasn't lying — he really did search for her that way.
But unlike a headless search, Takashi first called a senior to request footage from the convention entrance cameras and confirmed Eriri's direction before acting.
Even then, it had taken him a long time to find her.
"But still, I managed to find you."
Eriri imagined Watanabe Takashi frantically searching for her all over the city.
A tender emotion stirred within her — an intense, indescribable feeling rising straight from her heart.
She gazed at him, her eyes shining with infinite affection, her eyebrows blooming with unspoken words of love.
"Don't move, let me massage you a bit."
Once Eriri applied the heat patch, Takashi gently rubbed her abdomen with his palm, stimulating her gastrointestinal movement and promoting blood circulation.
He had actually learned this technique from taking care of Hiratsuka Shizuka.
Shizuka drank and smoked; her stomach would hurt from time to time, so Takashi learned this massage method from the school nurse.
It was extremely effective — everyone who tried it praised it.
"This is my first time giving someone a massage. I might not be able to control my strength well. Tell me if it hurts."
In reality, Takashi had already mastered his strength.
But whenever it involved a girl, he always claimed it was his "first time" massaging someone.
The goal was to create the image: I, Takashi, am pure and innocent, clearly an honest, upright guy.
"High-level prey often appears in the guise of a hunter."
That was what a certain seasoned playboy friend once told him.
Takashi's so-called "first time" ≈ a midnight first kiss refreshed every night.
Only an idiot would believe it.
"Okay~"
See!
Right here was a little fool.
Hearing that another "first time" of Takashi's belonged to her, Eriri's heart melted like she'd eaten a strawberry ice cream.
Under the warm yellow lights, the boy's face looked focused, his features clean and slightly youthful, cloaked in a soft veil of gentleness.
The heat transmitted from his strong, fair, art-like hands made Eriri suddenly feel a little shy.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks like the first bloom of a cherry blossom; her ears flushed as red as ripe cherries.
Though she was a doujin artist with her mind often filled with dirty thoughts — drawing tentacles, netorare, hypnosis, and group activities — she was actually a pure romance warrior at heart.
Besides her father, her closest interaction with a boy was still limited to holding hands.
And even that had been with Watanabe Takashi — she had never even held hands with Aki Tomoya.
Thinking of Aki Tomoya made Eriri feel a bit guilty, a wave of remorse making her body shift slightly.
"Did I hurt you?"
The boy's voice was infinitely gentle, pulling Eriri's wandering mind back.
Their eyes met; in the quiet night, his gaze was bright and warm.
At that moment, Eriri really wanted to slap herself. She felt like absolute trash for being with Watanabe Takashi while still thinking about another guy.
"No."
"That's good."
Takashi focused all his attention on massaging Eriri.
And honestly, while massaging, he had no dirty thoughts.
Because frankly, he had already experienced much wilder things today.
For example, that remote control was still sitting in his pocket.
Truthfully, during the photoshoot with Marin earlier, Takashi had been holding back terribly.
As that Bro once said: I'm running really hot right now.
Thankfully, Takashi was a seasoned PUBG player, not a Quark app addict — he knew how to control his "fire."
Also, since they were at a public event, he managed to keep himself in check.
Otherwise, even Takashi himself couldn't guarantee he wouldn't have pushed Marin's head down and told her, Hurry up, open your mouth, it's urgent.
Takashi had strong self-control.
But just because a bulletproof vest could stop bullets didn't mean you should keep shooting at it nonstop, right?
Besides, sometimes, his little brother acted on its own — beyond his control.
After massaging for about ten minutes, Takashi asked,
"How's it feeling? Still hurting?"
Eriri sensed her body, then replied with a hint of grievance:
"Still hurts..."
"There's no helping it. Looks like we'll have to go to the hospital."
Takashi pulled out his phone and booked an appointment for Eriri online.
After finishing, he looked at her again:
"Can you walk?"
Eriri shook her head, her golden hair swaying.
"Hop on."
Takashi crouched down helplessly in front of her.
Eriri smiled, her eyes curving into crescent moons, and practically pounced on him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Takashi supported her slender thighs.
Because she was wearing sportswear, he couldn't feel her skin at all. Minus points.
As for the feeling on his back — well, it was slightly better than flat.
For some reason, Takashi suddenly thought of the petite and also very cute Miss Second Snow — Yukinoshita Yukino — and chuckled.
At that moment, Eriri's gloomy voice sounded:
"You're not thinking about some other girl, are you?"
Takashi was shocked!
Was women's sixth sense always this terrifying?
She guessed it right away!?
"What nonsense are you saying? Would I be that kind of person?"
Takashi first refuted her righteously, then chuckled awkwardly:
"I'm happy because I get to carry you like this."
"Actually, I used to secretly fantasize about a moment like this."
"Now that it's suddenly come true, it feels like I'm dreaming. Eriri, why don't you pinch me?"
"Ah, no, no — if I wake up, it would ruin the rare chance to enjoy this beautiful dream. Better not."
Hearing this reason, Eriri couldn't help but blush and mutter, "Idiot!"
Then she tilted her head and rested her cheek on his broad, sturdy shoulder.
'Phew, close one. Still, it has to be me.'
Takashi praised his own quick wit and S-tier acting skills.
If it had been any other guy, could they have reacted this fast?
"Actually..."
While Takashi was still feeling proud of himself, a soft whisper floated into his ear along with the summer night breeze.
"In the future, we can always be like this."
Takashi stopped smiling.
His long eyelashes trembled slightly, as if gathering all the darkness of the city night.
'But Sawamura, there is no you in my future.'
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