x
The room fell silent for a few seconds.
Suzuran bit her lip.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwg3ndiWKjQ
She knew she shouldn’t say it.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRggwgMr4Z
But still, in a voice barely above a whisper, she asked:
“Then… can I touch your arm muscles?”
She said it quietly, not quite a joke, not quite a confession—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TQOE0S7A6
just a small nudge to see how close she was allowed to get.
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Kouichi turned slightly, his gaze landing on her.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2IJydyP8C
For just a moment, something flickered in his eyes—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VQqTLMVat
but he didn’t reply right away.
Seeing his silence, she hurried on, her voice picking up speed and pitch like she was afraid he’d misunderstand… or worse, say no.
“It’s for the exam! Really! Everyone’s practicing palpation in class—biceps, deltoids, triceps… I have to pass too!”
Her face was already red, but she held her ground,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72b7PNma1b
trying her best to look confident.
Kouichi stared at her—stubborn, flustered, determined.
Finally, his gaze softened.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2G9FxLatkk
A breath escaped his lips, almost a sigh.
“…Fine. Left arm.”
The words were quiet, calm. But they were permission.
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He rolled up his left sleeve, exposing the clean lines of his forearm and biceps—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzONy4kGLMX
firm, defined, composed—just like him.
“Ten minutes. Palpation only.”
His tone was as cool as ever, as he added:
“No laughing. No daydreaming. No weird thoughts.”
Suzuran's eyes lit up.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOAlAgSKEy
She nodded furiously, like a kid who just got permission to pet a very fancy dog.
“I swear—study mode only!”
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She carefully reached out, her fingertips brushing his arm.
The moment her fingers touched skin, she froze.
“…Ugh.”
A breathy, involuntary sound escaped her.
This wasn’t like anything in the textbook!
No one ever said muscles could feel like this—so springy, so firm, so…17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8WlwsZP0H
temptingly real.
She had expected something hard and static.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwX9pSQr8mY
But instead—there was warmth. Depth.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4WcfoFvCK
A weight that made her want to touch again.
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Her eyes focused, hands trembling slightly,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlOqgI9ioN
trying desperately to maintain her “I’m being professional” façade.
Kouichi said nothing.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcg384eJQg
He just lowered his gaze and watched—without pulling away.
He let her touch him.
But it was as if he were silently saying—
You can touch me like this.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqBAjDKgoT
But only like this.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50cG5Mu0Ud
Only from this distance.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19Chbbx3cK
She glanced at him again.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxlNn9Fwi9
Still calmly seated beside her, editing her report without so much as a blink.
As if nothing had happened.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvrlHB5Uth
As if her little emotional derailment was part of the routine.
He didn’t scold her.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZYyladynT
Didn’t dodge her.
He simply… carried on.
And somehow, that made her feel—
Maybe it was because he was always so steady…17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnH8PScnMG1
that she could inch a little closer each time.
She took a breath.
Then, carefully, she cradled his hand in both of hers.
That hand.
The one that had shot across her chest that day when he hit the brakes.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdq4yyx62p7
The one that had thrown her whole heart into chaos.
Her fingers trembled slightly as they slid slowly over each of his knuckles—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEZw5xoLgR
like she was holding something precious, too fragile to grip tightly.
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It was a very quiet hand.
The joints defined, calluses soft at the creases,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjtlsk3kM5
fingertips warm and calm.
As her fingertips brushed his index finger,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3RgHoyZ5o
she felt the veins beneath his skin—subtle, winding, like strands of strength coiled under a surface of warmth.
So cool…17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZg96W57yN
She thought, and immediately her cheeks flushed hotter.
Her heart stumbled up into her throat.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4I7Wo3wWEq
Her gaze followed the path of her own fingers—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaj9WHeI1Ow
from the web between thumb and forefinger,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIWILCTtp9
to the back of his hand,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKqxBwKtO6
down to the long, slender bones of his wrist.
There was something addictive in the quiet complexity of it all.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UcZXgoe7x
Something that pulled at her, soft and slow and impossible to stop.
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And then—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifb1eStF9O
her fingers moved again.
Not consciously.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2JXs0NZM4
As if her body had decided on its own.
She slowly, almost soundlessly—
interlaced her fingers with his.
One finger.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyNpwMG8JZ
Then another.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJouillUY6
And another.
Until their hands fit together—perfectly.
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Ten fingers. Intertwined.
She froze.
She hadn’t said a word.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpD0lrAhDkh
But her body had confessed everything.
There was no way to explain this as "studying."17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZq1W6fLt5O
This wasn’t about anatomy.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUJCbHno4y
This was… the way lovers hold hands.
She stared down at their joined fingers,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRKL5FRU02
her palm burning from his warmth.
And somewhere in her heart, a soft voice whispered:
If only I could stay like this.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmaAgQT2Rj
Not just for palpation.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9l3L7mOvEK
Not just for ten minutes.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9axYcQ1a2
But forever.
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She bit her lower lip.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhAsytZTHN
Too afraid to look up.
Because what she feared most…17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJ25v2HVL1
wasn’t rejection.
It was the possibility—
that in his eyes,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5ouGdstV6
she might see a tiny flicker of indulgent gentleness.
The kind of look that would make her17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0tffdGoN3
lose all ability to pull away.
The kind of look17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡar3E6iQbDP
that would make her fall even deeper.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlB0H22Fi1
“…My lady,”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LUclsTSqy
His voice was low, the calm she always knew.
But this time—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUyKDA7I2A
there was a faint huskiness to it, like he’d just pushed something down.
“Are you sure this part… is covered in the textbook?”
Suzuran snapped back to reality.
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She looked down—
Her right hand, still holding his left.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5GDk2sd2N
Their fingers laced tight.
Like lovers.
Like a secret promise in the middle of an ordinary afternoon.
Her heart dropped.
“I—I…”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpIUkYJM6y
She couldn’t even finish.
Her face had turned red to the roots of her hair.
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What. Just. Happened?!
She meant to feel his tendons. Just the hand. Just for class!
But somehow—her fingers had just slipped into his without her noticing?!
She yanked her hand back in a panic—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuu7OS5aagM
but fumbled halfway, making it seem more like she didn’t want to let go.
Kouichi didn’t release her immediately.
He simply watched her.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfm9kB0aha
Quietly.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzciD36qKGA
As she panicked like a kid caught sneaking cookies before dinner.
Her lips moved, but no words came out.
And then—finally, he spoke.
“…Time’s up.”
His voice was calm as ever. Composed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNLpw3ApzL
As if absolutely nothing had happened.
But only he knew—
That for one second,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iGGO1SVwI
his fingers had gently squeezed back.
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“I-I was just checking your muscle tone! That’s all!”
“Mm. Got it.”
He calmly pulled his hand away—unhurried, smooth.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbiPMaikS1k
But there was still a faint warmth left behind in her palm.
He paused for a second.
Then added, as if it were a matter-of-fact follow-up:
“So… would you like to check any other muscle groups?”
“…What?”
“For example—pectoralis major, biceps brachii, wrist flexors…”
“Wait a second.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TIQcorF2a
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
Her brain raced through the names he just listed:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQhfuKrvc3
Pectoralis major, biceps, wrist flexors…
Every one of them…
were the muscles you use when you hold someone close.
“Wait—are you saying… I should test them by having you hug me? For accuracy?”
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Kouichi didn’t reply.
He just turned and gave her a look—expression neutral, eyes steady.
Suzuran, meanwhile, lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Yes! Yes yes yes!! Obviously!!”
“….”
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Without a word, he slowly raised a hand…17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJIwy8jbJE
and pressed it flat against her face.
“Idiot.”
Tone completely deadpan.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpVImmEl2W
As if stating “Your book is upside down.”
Suzuran’s face exploded red.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMzMHnqXLx
“Wh—Hey!!”
“I was kidding,”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLgxvlKM4I
Kouichi muttered, calmly returning to her report.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGSEtOOztP
His voice dry as ever.
“I didn’t think you’d actually take it seriously.”
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZyqf51Glje
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“No wonder your etiquette grades are so borderline…17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp70eWcOTpw
You’ve probably been reading shoujo manga under the desk instead.”
“Hey—!”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXp0DK4T6tx
She exploded, grabbing a pillow and rolling back and forth in outrage.
“You can’t say stuff like that in that tone!!17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLxOniDLIO
Don’t forget who your master is!”
Kouichi shot her a glance and deadpanned:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbM87oWh27
“You were the one who took it the wrong way.”
“I did not! It’s called hands-on learning, thank you very much.”
“Mm. Real dedication. I’m impressed.”
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He nodded with mock sincerity, then looked back down to continue writing comments, like he was grading some kind of midterm paper.
But in that moment—
facing away from her—
his lips twitched17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFAE8UbDIo
into a small, unmistakable smile.
