Strike back

"I understand completely!!!" Mirai nodded earnestly, fully agreeing.

"Don't just talk, eat the meat!" Satoru urged.

"Ah, okay!" She nodded repeatedly.

The boiling broth emitted steamy vapor, and the sesame sauce sent from her hometown still had a familiar and intimate taste. 

Through the mist, Mirai looked at him, feeling as if she were in a dream.

There were no other attractive and perfect individuals of the opposite sex in Otaru, Hokkaido. She really wanted to be with him forever - going to school together, having meals together, and discussing interesting things etc...

But he refused to drink sake... Mirai thought that she had given enough hints...

"Do you really not want to have even a little bit? If it's Yagami-kun... I'm willing to do anything for one night..." she blushed and her voice trembled, turning her implicit suggestion into an explicit one.

She was truly willing - even fully prepared! After all, alcohol needed the surge of desire to evaporate faster and make people faint.

There was no young man as handsome and charming as him, who looks like he came out of a manga, in the small city of Otaru, Hokkaido.

"Miyano-san," Satoru put down his chopsticks with a crisp sound against the edge of the bowl, "come here."

He beckoned her with a wave of his hand. They were sitting opposite each other.

The crisis was still not averted. She still hadn't given up on her idea of drugging him.

"Ah, um." Mirai moved to sit beside him, tilting her head up and blinking her eyes as she looked at him.

At close range, she could better appreciate the innate charm of his exquisite features. His sharp eyebrows, starry eyes, and well-defined facial structure were all befitting of a character from a manga. The moon of mid-autumn, the flowers of early spring, and the myriad stars seemed to merge within his cheeks and eyes. She gazed at him with infatuation.

"A bit closer." Satoru hooked his finger.

He could feel his heart pounding, as if dancing on a razor's edge. Panic and anticipation brewed into a different kind of excitement. He could faintly sense the slight trembling of his fingers.

"Does Miyano-san want me to do something to you? One night of spring breeze?" he asked bluntly.

Without mercy, he reached out and unbuttoned two buttons on her chest - one a pale purple, the other responding to the warm yellow light.

"Is deliberately unbuttoning it meant to seduce me?" He lightly poked her chest and sniffed it near his nose.

Mirai stared at him in astonishment, witnessing his skilled maneuvers. Her cheeks flushed with a rosy color, and the shy warmth spread throughout her body. Her body straightened, feeling the pressure of his fingertips. She lightly bit her lip, holding her breath as she watched his fingers move back and forth.

Her bones turned to mush once again.

"I..." she opened her mouth, unsure of what to say.

"What kind of person am I in Miyano-san's eyes? A scumbag? The king of the harem? A lecherous man? Refuse nobody and just jump into bed before discussing anything?" Satoru took advantage of her panic and launched another aggressive attack, his dominance even more pronounced.

Indeed, his charm was enough to be a lethal weapon against her. Her spring-like adorable face made him want to devour her, and her fair and plump appearance resembled a peach in full bloom.

"Miyano-san, do you remember our first interaction?" His tone softened slightly. He didn't expect an answer to the previous question; he was merely building up momentum with consecutive questions.

If he narrowed down and transformed this self-rescue mission from being imprisoned in the basement into a topic of "emotions", "conquest", and "relationships between boys and girls", he wouldn't feel so flustered. 

Starting from his awakened memories and innate talents, he had indeed evolved into a philanderer who had traversed countless flowers, even though he hadn't tasted the flowers firsthand.

"The first time? It was when Yagami-kun invited me to join your group during the joint class..." Mirai replied without hesitation. She remembered it vividly. 

What kind of person was he really? It seemed different from what she had seen and heard. Her mind was in chaos, and she couldn't focus, not even noticing the blush on her exposed skin.

"We've known each other for so long... Have I been acting lecherous, impatient, or like a scumbag?" Satoru raised an eyebrow and continued to question, amazed by her attention.

Mirai fell into his conversational rhythm and pondered for a moment before shaking her head.

"So why did you suddenly invite me to your house and give all those hints?" Satoru dropped the final question and silently looked at her.