Chapter 8: When Hearts Touch

Chapter 8: When Hearts Touch

Chapter 8:

When Hearts Touch

W HEN OUR HOLIDAY aboard the luxury cruise ship was over, we got on a bus that brought us back to the Advanced Nurturing High School. Afterward, I spent my days going back and forth between the dorms and Keyaki Mall. I felt like I was spending my time in such a carefree way that even I would say I was being lazy and self-indulgent.

Since I had arrived at this school, the number of people I spent time with had increased to a level that couldn’t even begin to compare to what I’d had last year. I had things going on now that, if you’d told me about it last year, I wouldn’t have believed you. Besides the members of the Ayanokouji Group and Sudou and Ike—the guys I made friends with from my early days at school—there were now people outside of my own class, like Ishizaki and Hiyori, that I spoke to. And, eventually, I’d even started having conversations with some people from Ichinose’s class too.

And also…

“ Sigh , I guess summer vacation really ends today, huh?” muttered Kei with a melancholy air. She sat down on the bed, falling into it with a poof as she hit the mattress.

My girlfriend, Karuizawa Kei, and I were regularly having secret dates for the time being, since we were planning to make our relationship public once the second semester started. That meant that today was the last secret date before we were going to do so. Even though the time we were spending together right now was kind of dull, it was by no means unpleasant. If we were just friends who had known each other for a brief time, then we might have felt rushed into having a conversation, or we might have been feeling a little awkward about this situation.

“So, starting tomorrow, it’ll be okay for me to tell people about my relationship with you… I’m kinda nervous,” said Kei.

“There’s no need to force yourself to tell people,” I said. “I’m not going to take responsibility even if you lose status though.”

“I’m definitely telling people. Besides, if something happens, you’ll protect me, Kiyotaka, so I’ll be fine. Right?”

She said it jokingly, but those were unmistakably her true feelings. By attaching itself to a strong host, a parasite was able to protect itself. I took the last sip of my coffee and then sat down next to Kei. I took her delicate hand in mine, and she gently squeezed mine back. She looked over at me shyly.

“Kei.”

At that moment, I pressed my mouth against her soft lips.

“K-Kiyotaka…”

“Surprised?”

“Y-yeah, I was surprised. C-couldn’t you have given me…like, a little advance warning or something?”

Rather than words, I answered her question with action. I grabbed her shoulder gently and pulled her in close.

“Mm…!”

A second kiss. The instant our lips met, Kei’s shoulders jerked up slightly, and I could tell she was surprised. I quickly pulled away from her lips, and though she looked relieved, I could also see in her eyes that she seemed reluctant to have stopped.

“…You got me with another sneak attack,” she said.

“Really? I thought it was relatively normal,” I replied.

The only way for me to learn the correct timing was to repeat it over and over again.

“At least, I still hadn’t gotten my feelings ready for it…”

“In that case, do you feel ready for it this time?” I asked.

“Huh? …Yeah…” Kei nodded.

She closed her eyes and gestured like she was ready, so I kissed her again. The previous two kisses only lasted for about a second, but this time was different. It was longer, about five, ten seconds. Little by little, we began to move our lips, kissing repeatedly, like little birds pecking. As time flowed around us, it felt like everything had stopped except Kei and me… It was our final day of summer vacation as second-year high school students. Kei and I learned more about kissing and we had taken things one step higher—together.

The first half of the curriculum of romantic love was over, and we were now entering into the second half. From now on, we were going to spend our days at school with our heads held high as lovers. By doing so, though, we might find ourselves wrapped up in no small amount of trouble. Nevertheless, the two of us would take each other’s hand and face the difficulties ahead. Slowly but surely, we’d take it step by step, just as the seasons changed from summer to fall and from fall to winter.

The relationship between us would, eventually, feel indispensable to us; in time, as it was colored by our emotions, we would come to feel we could not do without it. Even as I tasted Kei’s lips over and over, my thoughts automatically drifted to what was to come. Before long, when the season of farewells approached, this romance would enter its final phase—it was obvious that an extremely difficult ordeal lay ahead.

When Karuizawa Kei was cut off from her host, she would have to stand up and face forward on her own. And that was the most important part of this curriculum about romantic love.