Heartbeats and Illusions

"Umm…"

"Senpai, did I hurt you?"

"A little gentler… please."

"Got it…"

After a few more minutes of delicate work, Natsukawa Kanade exhaled a long sigh, finally lifting his hands from Kasumigaoka Utaha's smooth, pale skin.

"Senpai, your body is seriously weak. You keep saying it hurts here, it hurts there—I don't even know where to begin!" he muttered, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

Kasumigaoka, already slipping into a pair of slippers, cast him a smoldering glance. Her half-lidded eyes were brimming with teasing charm, her lips curved into a mischievous smile.

"And yet, isn't it obvious that my dear kouhai was the one being too rough?" she shot back, folding her arms in mock indignation.

Her tone was laced with mischief as she continued, "But I get it. After all, it's your first time doing something like this, isn't it? You must've been so excited you couldn't help but let your hands wander all over, right?"

"Please, senpai, don't deliberately replace the word 'hands' like that!" Kanade snapped, his face growing redder by the second. "Anyone overhearing this might get the wrong idea!"

"Oh?" Kasumigaoka tilted her head with mock innocence, her voice dipping into a playful murmur. "It's just hands, you know. No one would think twice about something so trivial. Unless…" Her lips curled upward as she leaned in slightly. "...Could it be that you were the one imagining something else?"

Her cheeks betrayed her teasing confidence, faintly pink as her heartbeat quickened. The warmth spreading through her wasn't just from her lingering fever; it was something else—something thrilling, exhilarating even.

"Honestly, boys are all the same," she added, flicking her hair back with a practiced ease that masked her own inner turmoil. "Always so eager to turn blue at the slightest provocation."

Kanade stood frozen, her words poking at something deep inside him.

"Oi, don't act like guys are the only ones affected, senpai," he muttered under his breath. "I don't believe for a second that girls don't feel anything at all!"

Kasumigaoka's smirk faltered for the briefest moment before she quickly regained her composure.

"Is that so? I think you're just overthinking things, Kanade-kun," she replied, her voice dripping with mock sympathy.

Kanade couldn't help but sigh inwardly. When they'd been reunited after so long, he'd foolishly hoped their interactions would lean towards normalcy. Instead, she'd escalated things to an entirely new level.

In the past, her sharp tongue and biting remarks were enough to get under his skin, but now? Now she was using physical proximity to throw him off balance. Did she really not realize how dangerous her behavior was? Or worse—did she know exactly what she was doing?

"You don't have to be so shy, junior~," she said, tilting her head with a feigned innocence that only deepened his exasperation. "It's okay to enjoy yourself! I won't think any less of you."

"Don't say things like that so casually!" Kanade retorted, clapping a hand to his forehead. "And for the record, I'm not enjoying myself. Between listening to your endless instructions and trying not to mess up, I'm completely drained!"

He wasn't lying. After discovering there was no actual criminal in the room, his only concern had been Kasumigaoka's health. That's why he'd been so compliant—how could he harbor any inappropriate thoughts when she was sick and bedridden?

But now?

Now, she seemed completely recovered, radiating energy that made her earlier frailty seem like a distant memory.

Kanade sighed again, crossing his arms. "Honestly, senpai, you should be the one worrying about whether you're going to be attacked."

"Senpai, are you feeling better now?" Kanade asked as he wrung out the towel he had just washed, his gaze shifting to the scattered clothes he was diligently folding.

"What about your parents? Did you tell them you were sick?" he continued.

Kasumigaoka-senpai shook her head, her long black hair swaying slightly. "I didn't want to make them worry, so no."

Kanade sighed. "Then you should've told me! If you were alone—" He paused mid-sentence, his eyes landing on a pair of leather shoes neatly placed at the entrance. His brows furrowed. After a moment of hesitation, he added, "...Or maybe you told your boyfriend to come look after you?"

"Haaah? Kouhai," Kasumigaoka shot him a sharp glare, her voice rising indignantly, "don't say such ridiculous things! As if I'd date some pathetic loser who's always turning blue, waddling around like a pig, daydreaming about unrealistic confessions while completely ignoring reality!"

Kanade flinched. "Th-that's going a bit far, don't you think…?"

Her harsh words hit him like kunai to the chest. Though she hadn't directly pointed the finger at him, Kanade couldn't help but feel the sting—especially since, well... he had been one of the unlucky souls whose confessions were rejected by her in the past.

"But... those men's shoes at the entrance…" Kanade began, pointing hesitantly.

"Shoes?" Kasumigaoka blinked and tilted her head slightly, her expression puzzled. After a moment of realization, she smirked. "Kouhai, don't tell me you don't know this much? Are you that sheltered?"

"Uh…" Kanade's expression stiffened as he braced himself for another barrage of her teasing.

"The shoes are there for a very simple reason," she said, her tone suddenly serious. "And I've even got men's shirts and underwear drying on the balcony. It's to create the illusion that a man lives here. That way, certain… yōkai types will think twice before trying anything."

"That's…" Kanade faltered, momentarily stunned. He hadn't considered such a strategy before, but it did make sense. "I didn't expect something like that…"

"See?" Kasumigaoka said with a playful grin. "And here I thought you were sharp, Kanade-kun. Guess I was wrong."

Her teasing tone only made him sigh in exasperation. "So that's why you said I'd mistaken you for having a boyfriend..."

With her signature smirk, Kasumigaoka leaned forward, supporting herself on the bed with her hands. Slowly, she crawled closer, her face inches from Kanade's. Her dark eyes glinted with mischief as her finger trailed up to poke his chest. "First, you were worried I might be in danger. Now, you're worried I might have a boyfriend. Kanade-kun, could it be... you're that concerned about me?"

Her words struck him like a sudden flash of lightning during a summer storm. His heart skipped a beat, and for a fleeting moment, he felt warmth spreading through his chest.

Kasumigaoka, meanwhile, felt something blooming within her as well. It wasn't the teasing satisfaction she usually enjoyed from flustering her kouhai. No, this was different. Her heart fluttered like petals caught in a gentle breeze. For the first time in a long while, she felt genuinely cared for.

Kanade was always there, even when she didn't ask. He hadn't abandoned her. Even now, he was quietly folding her clothes and tidying her room.

"Kanade-kun," she said softly, her tone momentarily losing its teasing edge. "You really are the kind of junior I like the most…"

"Okay, okay, stop spouting nonsense," Kanade interrupted, his voice deadpan. He reached out and flicked her forehead lightly, making her flinch back with a small yelp.

With an expressionless face, he added, "I'm just curious, okay? Curious about what kind of guy could ever win over a noble and refined senpai like Kasumigaoka Utaha. Don't read too much into it."

For a moment, there was silence between them, broken only by the faint sound of the wind outside the window.

"...Baka," Kasumigaoka muttered under her breath, her cheeks dusted with a faint pink.