465: Girl on The Other Side of The Ocean

"Mm... Oh... Oh——!"

"Don't make such strange noises."

The feet, wrapped in semi-transparent black silk fabric, increased the pressure as they pressed down further.

"Because... after sitting for a whole day, this feels just so comfortable..."

"You're such an embarrassing person."

On an ordinary night, in the reassuring apartment, with a familiar person lying next to her.

Utaha had one foot on the bed, the other foot positioned on the waist of Chisato, who was lying face down. 

She briefly lifted her foot before pressing it down again with force.

Her breathing was rapid, her pretty face slightly flushed. 

The slight exertion was partly due to physical effort, but the situation of having her male companion, with his bare upper body, underfoot caused some chemical reactions in her otherwise calm mind.

When they first returned home, their way of interacting wasn't like this. However, when it came to massages, Utaha's hand strength was difficult to maintain for long. 

After seeing Chisato still wriggling and unsatisfied, she jokingly said, "Why don't you lie down, and I'll try using my feet?" 

This suggestion opened the door to a new world for both of them.

And now, they have arrived at this situation.

Both of them were immersed in a world of indescribable self-satisfaction, a win-win situation.

"Chisato, are you tired lately? I've never seen you like this before."

Utaha remembered very clearly that even during the early days of summer vacation, when she and Eriri moved in together, and they were both exhausted from doing everything, Chisato always seemed energetic, going out each day like an unwearied machine.

"Well... rather than physical exhaustion, it's more like mental fatigue."

Chisato, holding the pillow and lying face down, spoke in a muffled tone, but it was still clear enough to hear.

"I mentioned before about making an MV for the songs we were supposed to finish before the band broke up, right? 

I managed to find the right professionals and locations, and the filming process went smoothly, but I'm still a bit uneasy about leaving the post-production entirely to someone else. 

So, I've been sitting by, supervising. It's been like this for a few days now."

"Even so, you can't do everything yourself. Can't they help out some?"

"They're already really busy with their rehearsals, and they also have to manage their studies. 

Asking them to handle these little tasks on top of everything else would be too much. I have to do it myself."

"Seriously..."

Utaha sighed. It was hard not to feel a little sympathy for him.

Regarding Ikuyo, after the summer festival performance, Chisato had already explained things to her and Eriri. 

They were reluctant but understood that there was no choice.

And then, who knew things would gradually change? 

During the one-on-one tutoring sessions with Ikuyo, Chisato discovered that the other three members of the band weren't doing well academically either.

Teaching one person was the same as teaching a group.

In an effort to prevent academic issues from affecting the band's future music activities, Chisato simply dragged the other three into it. 

After their daily practice and work, he made them attend two to three hours of study sessions.

Only after that did he announce the band's disbandment, and the next day, the schedule would start all over again.

The schedule was extremely packed, and from another perspective, it could be called a mentally exhausting fatigue. 

But despite several attempts to persuade him, Chisato waved it off, acting like nothing was wrong. 

Seeing him overwhelmed yet still carrying on, Utaha and Eriri stopped trying to talk him out of it.

And, in a way, it was a good thing. During this time, Chisato had indeed been moving toward his goals, and as he became consumed by various matters, his methods of involving them had become "gentler." 

Although it still felt like too much at times, at least it was within a bearable range.

"I'll go run a bath for you later. Take a nice soak, and then tonight, just sleep soundly in my arms. Rest well and don't cause any more trouble."

Utaha switched feet and, hearing Chisato's movements gradually slow, softly spoke in a tentative tone.

"Mm..."

Chisato responded with that.

However, in the middle of the night, after going to the kitchen for a drink of water, he couldn't resist reaching out to touch her leg as he looked at Utaha curled up on the bed, sleeping.

Utaha, half-awake and half-asleep, unlocked a strange but fresh experience.

In the latter half of August, there was another important matter.

The thread connecting Chisato and Yukino in a mysterious way finally snapped.

It was Chisato who initiated the apology, explaining that he would be unable to meet with Yukino for the next few days due to a "personal matter," a fact she soon noticed.

She had already made up her mind to close the door and spend the next few days alone in a cat-like form.

But, unexpectedly, things didn't develop as she had anticipated.

She called Chisato to inform him of the situation, and hearing his "surprised" congratulations, she felt relieved, but still, something didn't quite feel right.

Yet, this feeling gradually faded with time.

After that, Chisato didn't come knocking on her door again.

The once-daily meetings no longer took place, and the cups he used, which Yukino had washed, were placed in the cupboard.

From then on, Yukino mostly heard about Chisato from Iroha.

But there was nothing bad about it. Her life had returned to normal.

She no longer worried about turning into a cat at any given moment, nor did she worry about someone wasting her precious red tea.

Every time she made tea for him, it was always drunk after waiting for it to cool slightly, which felt like such a waste. 

After all, it was tea brought from abroad by her father's acquaintance.

But, every time she sat alone on the couch, she always felt a slight, almost imperceptible, sense of melancholy.

Perhaps it was just a lingering feeling about something that had once existed in her life but had disappeared for no apparent reason.

After all, when she turned into a cat, she was rather cute.

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