Chapter 26: You Ambushed Asano Nao.
[Unexpectedly, Asano Nao has adapted quite well to your presence, thanks in large part to the groundwork you've laid over the past six months. But another reason is that Asano Nao never leaves the house.]
[This homebody's domain isn't the entire Asano household, but her small bedroom. Except for cooking and mealtimes, she basically doesn't step out of her room.]
[To your astonishment, even though you've moved into the Asano household, you only see this homebody three times a day.]
Wow! I didn't expect you to be this much of a shut-in! You don't even come out to the living room!
Minami Yuuki turned his head to look at Asano Nao sitting at the dining table.
Asano Nao had her head down, looking like a student caught daydreaming in class, hastily pretending to be attentive.
She was holding her phone, her thumb rapidly scrolling as if she was seriously browsing messages.
But the phone screen was dark, not even on.
Minami Yuuki chuckled softly, making Asano Nao aware of her blunder. She frantically went to press the power button, but her hand slipped, and the phone fell under the table.
She hurried to pick it up, bumping her head on the table in the process.
Messed up again.
She held her head, feeling despondent.
Minami Yuuki put one foot on the floor, about to get up and check on Asano Nao's injury. That thud sounded pretty loud.
Just as he was about to rise, he suppressed the thought.
If he went over now, it would only make Asano Nao more nervous, possibly causing her to flee upstairs in embarrassment. If she escaped, he wouldn't see her again until dinner.
Judging by her reaction, her head should be fine; the table was wooden, not stone.
Continuing to lie on the sofa, Minami Yuuki looked at the simulator panel.
[Moreover, due to that intimate moment, if you keep your gaze on her too long or mention suggestive topics, Asano Nao would quickly run away and hide upstairs. Your time together has actually decreased.]
[You think this can't go on, so one morning, you press the handle of Asano Nao's bedroom door.]
[The handle clicks, stopping your progress. Asano Nao had locked the door. You thought you'd already breached her lair, but it turns out she has a lair within a lair.]
[Facing Asano Nao's second line of defense, you choose...]
[1. Knock and call out; 2. Ambush outside; 3. Break in; 4. Free simulation]
What to choose?
Knock and call out? Given Asano Nao's personality, she'd probably choose to stay shut in.
Ambush outside? This seems feasible; there's no bathroom in the room, so she has to come out eventually.
Break in? This action is a bit too forceful, might scare the indoor little rabbit.
These considerations come from thinking about the situation itself. Minami Yuuki steps back and thinks from an overall perspective.
From knocking to breaking in, it's a range from gentle to forceful approaches. Does Asano Nao need gentle treatment or firm action right now?
Impossible to judge.
So go for the middle ground. If points are assigned, knocking and breaking in might gain or lose points, while ambushing would likely be neutral.
Minami Yuuki clicked on the second option.
[You decide to ambush Asano Nao. You stomp downstairs, making her think you left, then quietly tiptoe back up, standing by her door.]
[Half an hour later, the door opens, and Asano Nao peeks out, tiptoeing to the bathroom.]
[You hide by the stairs, and Asano Nao doesn't notice you. You wait for the sound of running water, then enter her bedroom.]
[As the toilet flushes, Asano Nao quickly washes her hands and runs back to her room.]
Memory scene appears.
Asano Nao grabbed the door handle, slipped inside, and used her body's momentum to close the door behind her.
Perfect!
She scored herself full marks for her maneuver.
After locking the door, she felt completely at ease, even a bit thrilled.
She knew Yuuki-kun wanted to pull her out of her bedroom, but she just couldn't do it. Wide, bright spaces made her anxious; only this small, dark room brought her peace.
She felt a bit worried too, wondering if this would anger Yuuki-kun.
But what she couldn't do, she couldn't do. She was already trying hard to come downstairs for three or four hours a day!
She opened the shrine, placing her hands together in prayer.
Oh God Yuuki, please make sure Yuuki-kun doesn't mind!
After praying to the photo and items in the shrine for a while, her chest suddenly felt warm. She thought of the hug and kiss from that day.
Today's worship ends here.
She took the photo from the shrine and climbed onto her bed.
The room was dark, with only a small automatic sensor light in the shrine casting a dim glow, outlining the room's items.
Asano Nao lay on the bed, glancing to the side with confusion.
Did she put a large plush toy on the bed? Why was there a big shadow inside the bed? Was it the quilt? But the quilt was under her body.
The shadow remained still. She reached out and touched the head of the shadow.
She felt something furry, like hair, and as her hand moved down, she touched a tall nose and firm shoulders.
"..."
Picking up her phone, she turned on the screen, shining its light on the shadow.
In the screen's dim glow, Minami Yuuki's face emitted a soft light.
Asano Nao's heart skipped a beat. She quickly turned off the phone screen and quietly, very slowly, began to turn away, planning to escape the bed, the room.
Her futile attempt was useless; Minami Yuuki pressed her shoulder.
"Where's sister going? Stay and keep me company," he said.
"I was wrong! I'll go out right now!" Asano Nao covered her face with a pillow, too scared to look at Minami Yuuki.
She was actually in bed with Yuuki-kun!
And she hadn't noticed the boy at all, even took out a photo to use!
Did Yuuki-kun notice? It was so dark, surely he didn't see!
She slowly moved the pillow aside, peeking through a gap at Minami Yuuki, who was putting the photo back in place.
He noticed!
"Let's go, sister." Minami Yuuki smiled, and in the shrine's dim light, that smile looked particularly sinister.
His words were even more sinister: "If sister stays downstairs for a week, I'll forget what just happened. Sister doesn't want me to remember, right?"
"Can it be less?" Asano Nao shrank back.
"Of course." Minami Yuuki came to her, holding her hand. "Sister can reduce the days with other efforts."
Asano Nao looked at the boy's shadowy jaw in the darkness, blushing.
"My hand." She lightly tugged at her hand.
"To prevent sister from escaping, so I won't let go."
[You hid in the dark corner of the bedroom, found evidence of Asano Nao's misdeeds, and used it to coerce her, forcing her out of the dark, cramped room into the bright, spacious living room, by your side.]
[Initially tense, Asano Nao relaxed when she saw you engrossed in your music theory studies.]
[During study breaks, you'd chat with Asano Nao, not forgetting to tease her with some couple banter. She'd always blush and lower her head, and you loved seeing her shy.]
[Occasionally, you'd claim studying was hard and you were worried, asking Asano Nao for comforting kisses. She was getting more and more skilled at it.]