201 – Ayaka’s Runaway, Reason Cornered

RAW

“I… love you too.”

Ayaka’s words carried such heat that they made Haruto’s ears burn.

With tearful eyes, she stared intently at the person she loved most.

“Haruto…”

Whispering his name, Ayaka tightened her arms around him.

“…Ayaka?”

Held tightly, Haruto noticed that something about her seemed slightly different from usual.

Her moist eyes barely blinked, fixed straight on him without wavering.

They looked sweet and affectionate—yet at the same time, there was a strength in them, as if she had locked onto her target.

“I like you… I love you…”

Murmuring words of love, Ayaka leaned more of her weight onto him.

Half pushed by her, Haruto fell backward onto the bed.

“!?”

“Haruto… I love you so much.”

“H-hey!? Ayaka!?”

He tried to sit up in a panic, but Ayaka climbed on top of him, pinning him down so he couldn’t rise.

Completely overpowered, Haruto lay beneath her.

Her face was flushed as if she had a fever as she leaned closer.

Her legs tangled with his, her arms wrapped around him.

She pressed her body firmly against his and brought her face near.

“A-Ayaka?”

“What is it?”

“Um… maybe we should, just for a second, put a little space between us?”

“No.”

She rejected his suggestion with both words and action, hugging him even tighter.

The more their bodies pressed together, the more an irresistible desire welled up inside Haruto.

With Ayaka clinging to him so closely, he couldn’t even tell whether the pounding heartbeat he felt was his or hers.

“B-but, you know, at this rate there might be some problems—mmph!?”

His words were cut off.

Ayaka’s lips sealed his completely.

After what felt longer than usual, their lips parted by a mere sliver.

“There’s no problem.”

Her heated breath brushed against his lips as she spoke.

“We’re going to be husband and wife.”

“That’s true. But—”

“So we have to have an adult romance.”

“…An adult romance?”

With a dreamy expression, Ayaka spoke the mysterious phrase.

Already flustered, Haruto struggled to process it.

“In moments like this, adults confirm their love.”

“Confirm… their love?”

Did that mean… what he thought it meant?

Her warmth, her weight, the soft, unmistakably feminine feel of her body—everything about her was captivating, and Haruto’s thoughts began to blur.

“Yeah. That’s what it said in the textbook.”

“Textbook?”

A giant question mark floated through his slowing mind.

Textbook? Had she been seriously studying health and physical education before bed?

Before he could sort through his confusion, his lips were captured again.

“Mmh…”

The hot, soft sensation spreading through his mouth gradually weakened his resistance.

“Haruto… hug me tight too?”

“…Okay.”

At her request, he nodded obediently and embraced her—gently, but firmly.

Ayaka rubbed her cheek against his and hugged him back just as tightly.

“I love you, Ayaka.”

“Mm… me too.”

She sealed his lips once more.

With every kiss, Haruto’s reason grew weaker.

And in its place, another desire grew stronger.

Possessiveness.

The small but certain feeling that had sprouted when he saw another boy confess to Ayaka.

Faced with her defenseless figure before him, Haruto felt his heart being overtaken.

“Ayaka…”

He reached out and cupped her cheek.

Seeing how she accepted his touch—accepted all of him—only made that possessiveness swell further.

He wanted to dye her in his own color. To monopolize her gaze.

He wanted her heart and body—everything—to belong to him.

His hand slid from her cheek to the back of her head, while his other arm wrapped around her slender waist.

“I love you.”

Pulling her close and holding her tightly, he spoke.

“I’m happy.”

Accepting it all, Ayaka nestled dreamily against his chest.

“I can feel your heartbeat, Haruto. It’s racing.”

“That’s because you’re so cute.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

She smiled happily, rubbing her cheek against his chest before lifting her face slightly.

Then she pressed a kiss to his neck.

“Want to check my heartbeat too?”

With that, she took his right hand and pressed it against her chest.

His hand was enveloped in enticing softness. Beneath that soft warmth, he felt her strong, rapid heartbeat.

“Well? Can you feel it?”

“…It’s pounding.”

“Yeah. Just like yours.”

She smiled at him, utterly melted.

Seeing her wrapped in happiness made Haruto’s chest pound even harder.

“Ayaka…”

He pulled her close again.

She accepted him without hesitation, running her hands over his cheeks and placing them against his chest as if to confirm his presence.

Someone who loved him. Who accepted him.

Someone who would stay by his side no matter what, who had promised to be with him forever.

Ayaka’s presence swelled inside him, fiercely stimulating his possessiveness.

It was an unbearably sweet temptation.

“Ayaka, I love you.”

Still holding her, Haruto shifted their positions.

“Ah…”

Her upward gaze turned into one looking up at him from below.

He moved over her, looming above.

With that change, a desire for dominance mixed into his possessiveness.

He pinned her arms to the bed and kissed her.

“Mm… Ha-ru-to…”

Their eyes met—her gaze tearful and dazed.

Seeing himself reflected in her eyes filled him with satisfaction.

A sense of omnipotence, as if he controlled everything.

A superiority, as if he had claimed all of her.

And the relentless urge whispering, More. More…

Driven by desires he could no longer control, he sought her hungrily.

“Ayaka… Ayaka…”

He called her name again and again, holding her tight, kissing her repeatedly.

Yet each kiss—

Each embrace—

Did not satisfy him. Instead, his desire only intensified.

Like an unbearable thirst.

He wanted to quench it. To fulfill it.

Following that instinctive craving, he held her and captured her lips once more.

“Ah… nn… Haruto… w-wait…”

“I love you, Ayaka… so much… I love you…”

His thoughts no longer functioned properly. He could only repeat simple words.

There was only one thing in his heart.

I want more of Ayaka.

The feeling kept growing.

But at this rate, it wouldn’t be satisfied.

As if to brush away his frustration, Haruto reached for her clothes.

At that moment, their eyes met at close range.

And Haruto noticed something—a faint tremble in Ayaka’s eyes.

Within her blissfully melted expression.

Deep in her tearful gaze, something flickered.

Anxiety. Or perhaps fear.

A negative emotion inside the girl who was accepting him.

It stood out sharply against the happiness she radiated—even if it was only the faintest sprout buried deep within her heart.

Because she was wrapped in joy and love, that tiny anxiety felt even more pronounced to him.

In that instant, the desire that had ruled Haruto vanished.

Reason seized his entire body.

“—Sorry!”

He immediately released her wrists and pulled away.

“? Haruto?”

Ayaka tilted her head, puzzled by the sudden distance.

It seemed she herself hadn’t even noticed the emotion he had sensed.

“Um… sorry. I suddenly… got carried away…”

Unsure what words to use, he averted his eyes.

Misreading his reaction, Ayaka reached toward him again, trying to close the distance.

“I… if it’s you, Haruto… I want it to be you…”

Her cheeks flushed red as she looked up at him.

His reason wavered.

Desire threatened to move him again.

Startled by the intensity of his own feelings, Haruto desperately resisted her charm.

“I love you too, Ayaka. That’s why… let’s calm down a little.”

He spoke as much to himself as to her.

Ayaka’s happiness—that was what mattered most to him.

As her lover, as her future family, he wanted to maximize her happiness in life.

For that, letting himself be swept away right now wasn’t right.

With that vague but firm conviction, he forced his reason to work at full power.

Fighting against the irresistible girl clinging tightly to him.

“Ayaka… just a little. Let’s put some space between us.”

“No…”

“But like this—”

Just as he struggled to persuade her, they heard a click from outside the room—the sound of a door opening.

Ayaka’s body stiffened instantly.

Footsteps in slippers. The sound of someone going down the stairs.

It seemed Shuichi or Ikue had left the bedroom and gone downstairs to the living room.

The noise from outside their world.

Haruto looked at Ayaka, who had frozen while clinging to him.

Her ears were bright red, her eyes wide in shock.

“…Ayaka?”

“…………Ah! I—I mean… um…”

Her words faltered. Her once rigid body now trembled faintly.

“I—I just… with Haruto… to confirm our love… since we’re engaged… an a-adult… romance…”

Her speech broke apart like a buffering video, disjointed and incoherent.

Overwhelmed by immense embarrassment.

Haruto gently pulled her into a soft embrace.

“Sorry. I was… kind of running wild too. You were just too cute…”

He spoke slowly, trying to calm both her and himself.

“Um, I really do find you irresistible. And someday… but today…”

“Mm… okay…”

Unable to meet his eyes, Ayaka buried her face in his shoulder and nodded repeatedly.

“Then for today… um… g-good night.”

“Yeah… good night.”

Haruto slowly let go of her.

For a brief moment, her arms tightened around him.

But only for a second—then they slipped away.

“See you tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow…”

After giving her a small parting smile, Haruto left the room.

As he closed the door behind him, he thought he heard a faint muffled groan from inside.

“Ahh—…”