It had to be said - now, of all moments, with something like this happening out of nowhere, Shikime Natsu found he could no longer quite follow Kushida Kikyou's logic.
For once, today, he had barely troubled her at all. All he'd done was make her go back and change into a maid outfit, then have her tidy up his room a little. Compared with those earlier stunts of "making things bigger and smaller," this was practically gentle to the point of absurdity, wasn't it?
And the result? Kushida Kikyou had gone and done something like this. He hadn't dropped a single hint, hadn't made a single suggestive move.
All he'd said was one little line about how an all-purpose maid's duties didn't stop there - so why on earth had she come over and pressed her handprint down again?
For once, Shikime Natsu genuinely couldn't read her. The old Kushida Kikyou would have walked straight out the door, not walked over to stamp her handprint on him.
He tilted his head a fraction, looking at that small face flushed pink with mortified anger, and for a moment he had no idea what to say.
And Kushida Kikyou, watching him wear that blank, bewildered look, cursed him silently.
This guy - he was still putting on an act, even now! Absolutely infuriating!
He'd laid the trap on purpose. He'd wanted to watch her humiliate herself. And now he was giving her that innocent "I have no idea what you're talking about" face? Who exactly was that performance for?!
Kushida Kikyou ground her teeth, those crimson eyes locked on him, and spoke again.
"Natsu. That's exactly what you were thinking, isn't it?" There was a distinct edge of mockery in her voice as she said it.
"There's no point being a hypocrite about it now."
"I saw through what you were after a long time ago. You don't have to spell it out - it's filthy, obviously."
At this stage, even if she really had misread the situation, there was no way she was going to admit it. Far easier to dump the whole blame onto him. Things had already come this far anyway.
Besides, getting to insult Shikime Natsu openly and to his face felt rather good. Normally he was the one teasing her, the one holding her by the throat. For once the tables had turned - even if the method of turning them was a little off.
Her gaze stayed fixed on him. She wanted to see just how far his temper stretched.
Of course, she knew perfectly well that Shikime Natsu was not someone you pushed around. He smiled sweetly on the surface and was pitch-black underneath. Anyone who genuinely angered him did not end up anywhere pleasant.
But that suited her fine. If he were easy to bully, she wouldn't have given him a second thought. It was precisely that thoroughly nasty streak of his that was somewhat to her taste -
And the moment that thought surfaced, she flung it right back out of her head. To her taste? Nonsense. All of it was fake. Shikime Natsu was nothing more than a tool she intended to use.
Just then, he looked at her with that smile of his again.
"Kikyou, I haven't laid a finger on you today, not once. Apart from asking you to change into a maid outfit, everything else was entirely your own doing, you know~"
Which was, in fact, the truth. Once the tutoring session ended she'd been free to leave. Staying behind to provide maid service had been her own decision.
"All I wanted today was to see Kikyou as a maid. That alone leaves me perfectly satisfied."
She didn't believe a word of it. Satisfied just by looking at the outfit? Was Shikime Natsu the sort of man who could be satisfied that easily? Impossible.
When this guy put on an innocent smile, there was always a scheme buried underneath - and right now she couldn't see the shape of it at all.
Not that she'd mind if he used the misunderstanding as an excuse to do something slightly outrageous to her. If anything, part of her was looking forward to it.
Because a moment ago her head had been full of memories of that night, and she had to admit that ever since losing that sensation, she'd discovered she was rather addicted to it.
It was a feeling she could never reproduce on her own, no matter how she went about it by herself. She was a perfectly normal girl, and normal girls had needs in that department. That was her secret, of course - it simply expressed itself in a different form.
And now, as his hand made contact with her again, ripples spread through her.
That tingling, numbing sensation, like a current running through her body, set every nerve alight.
They were both just hands. So why did his feel nothing like her own? What kind of magic did this man have in his fingers?
"Who knows? You're a harem-obsessed monster, after all. Maybe you would try something on me," she said with a soft snort, those crimson eyes still boring into him.
Shikime Natsu, on the receiving end of that stare, only smiled and answered slowly. "I really am innocent here. If anything... maybe the one actually thinking along those lines is you, Kikyou?"
Her face went rigid at once. She was terrified of letting something show - a blush, for instance.
If he noticed, her standing in his eyes would become extremely awkward. Worse, he might file it away as leverage over her.
"Nonsense! You're talking absolute nonsense!" She denied it flat out. Whatever happened, she could not let that idea take root in his head.
"I'm not talking nonsense at all. I think Kikyou found the massage that night rather comfortable, and would like another one, wouldn't she?"
He had cut straight to the small, secret thought curled up inside her, and her face flooded scarlet in an instant.
Did this guy have mind-reading or something? How could he guess that precisely?
Naturally, she wasn't about to concede. She kept up the stubborn front.
"Give it a rest, Natsu. If you wanted to do that sort of thing to me, why bother with all these roundabout games?" She aimed a look of pure contempt at him - and it had to be said, that particular expression suited her rather well.
And right then she felt his fingers shift again... it felt so good. She felt her grip on herself slipping.
What kind of ridiculous ability was this? One touch and she was already this sensitive?
Her knees went soft under her - and at that exact moment he withdrew his hand and looked at her, smiling brightly again.
"Is that so?"
At that teasing little question her expression wavered. Worse, when he'd pulled his hand back, a wave of loss had washed through her.
It left her hollow, and she couldn't suppress it no matter how she tried. Had he drugged his hands or something?
There was no denying it - that brief, simple touch felt vastly better than anything she managed for herself.
"Although... where Kikyou's concerned, you're not quite worth me throwing away my dignity to set up elaborate little schemes for," he added, still smiling.
She stared at him in disbelief. What was this guy saying?
She was extremely confident in her looks. Add a pair of weapons like hers and a face like an angel's, and the damage output was more than sufficient.
Then again, when she thought about Sakura Airi and Hasebe Haruka, who were always around him, she felt oddly at peace about it. Those two were bigger than her. Foul-play levels of big.
On that front she had genuinely lost. And in terms of her relationship with him, she'd lost there too.
Her expression turned distinctly complicated. She looked ready to say something - but before the words came out, his voice cut in again.
"Still... if Kikyou wants to enjoy a massage one more time... then how about you ask me nicely for it?" He paused, then looked at her, a suggestive glint in those pale golden eyes.
Wonderful. He wanted to flip their positions. The acts themselves were more or less identical, but a moment ago she'd clearly been the one under threat, forced to submit to him.
With this demand of his, everything changed. It would look as though she truly craved it - like some kind of masochist.
No, worse: like a woman starved of satisfaction. Humiliating herself like that was out of the question!
And yet, hearing him say it, something seemed to be quietly guiding her, and the impulse to actually do it took root in her.
Her eyes drifted to those elegant fingers of his, and she swallowed.
Then she remembered that brief touch a moment ago, and her breathing quickened.
Right now it was just the two of them, and that was a rare chance. He was surrounded by so many girls; most of the time he was with them.
And since she was alone with him, whatever happened in this room would stay between the two of them.
Once a bad idea takes hold, it spreads unchecked. Her gaze settled on him.
He still wore that expression of someone enjoying a good show. If she didn't give him something, he would happily sit there watching her squirm forever. Truly, a thoroughly nasty piece of work.
What an enormous bastard this guy was!
But she could feel it - her body really was demanding more, even though this was dangerous territory.
One careless slip and she might hand herself over entirely. And still there was a devil in her chest whispering, coaxing.
Her eyes brimmed with resentment and humiliation, but she spoke anyway, her voice so faint it was barely audible.
"Please..."
Getting that single word out felt like it drained every ounce of strength she had. The girl's face burned, and her gaze dropped to the floor.
"What? I didn't hear you."
He said it without an ounce of mercy. He had heard her - it had simply been too quiet.
She glared murder at him. He had definitely heard. His hearing was excellent and always had been; there was no way she believed he'd missed it.
"Please, Natsu!" A dangerous smile stretched across her face as she looked at him.
"Mm. Since Kikyou is asking me so nicely, I suppose I'll indulge her. Though I never imagined Kikyou was that kind of girl. Still, it's fine - now I understand you a little better."
He laughed softly and walked over to stand in front of her, until their eyes were level.
It had to be said, those words heaped fresh humiliation on her. What did he mean, that kind of girl?
Even if she was, it wasn't something you said out loud at a moment like this. Did this guy not understand even that much?
And then he reached out toward her and began to massage.
Feeling that reassuring, deeply comfortable pressure, she let out a small hum of pure contentment. Every trace of the humiliation evaporated on the spot.
The exhaustion drained out of her body. Those shoulders that carried so much weight every single day suddenly felt as though they carried nothing at all.
The sensation startled her badly enough that she hurried to check - and found everything still there, still the same size. She let out a breath of relief.
She'd been afraid he was playing that bigger-and-smaller trick on her again. Though now that she knew it changed back, the sense of crisis wasn't nearly as sharp as last time.
And then another sensation surged up. Something inside her caught fire, and her body began to tremble faintly.
She felt like she was about to collapse into a heap on the floor; only sheer stubbornness kept her upright.
That strange feeling spread fast, and her whole body started responding - a response that was thoroughly shameful.
But it felt good. That tingling, electric good. The problem being that she seemed to want more.
Looking at his expression, the thought struck her: if it's this guy, then it's fine. She leaned in and nipped gently at the base of his ear.
He'd drawn all these reactions out of her with his massage, so he'd better take proper responsibility for them. Besides... rumor had it Sakayanagi Arisu had handed herself over outright. So surely handing herself over a little too wouldn't hurt?
Kushida Kikyou's head had gone completely hazy.
Things had gotten a little out of hand.
____
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