Chapter 800

Chapter 800: Chapter 800

August was already over, yet the summer heat showed no sign of giving up.

Sunlight poured across the campus, and plenty of girls were still walking around in pleated skirts, their bare legs bright with youthful energy—to Kaoru’s hopelessly biased eyes, the sort of sight that looked capable of adding a hundred years to a man’s lifespan.

He sat inside his car with nothing better to do than stare at the red-brick building in the distance, one of Hitotsubashi University’s most recognizable landmarks and a structure steeped in history.

Students occasionally passed by and noticed the luxury car, but most merely glanced at it with mild curiosity before continuing on their way.

Hitotsubashi had existed for well over a century and ranked among Japan’s elite universities, with its business programs in particular producing graduates sometimes jokingly described as a professional aristocracy.

Many of the students studying there already came from privileged backgrounds, and even those who did not were likely headed toward influential careers.

A single expensive car was hardly enough to cause a scene.

Kaoru had just as little interest in them. Tokyo University and Keio had plenty of these so-called elites too. As far as he was concerned, they could fight it out among themselves before anyone started claiming superiority.

After waiting a little longer, he finally spotted a suspicious-looking girl hurrying across campus as though she were trying to avoid being seen.

She rushed straight toward his car.

Thump!

The passenger door opened, her bag landed on the seat first, and then she scrambled inside before slamming the door shut behind her.

"Did the business faculty teach you to climb into cars like a monkey?"

Kaoru stared at her.

The girl was, of course, Tachibana Akane.

She had barely settled into the passenger seat before his comment made her expression stiffen.

"You’re the monkey!"

Akane huffed.

"I was avoiding people. If they saw you, I’d be in trouble!"

"What exactly is there to be embarrassed about? Is your boyfriend some kind of dark secret?"

"It’s humiliating!"

Akane covered her face.

"What kind of boyfriend has hundreds of girlfriends? I can barely gossip with Mochizuki-chan and the others anymore without feeling guilty."

"I do not have hundreds."

Kaoru answered without the slightest shame.

"And if none of us announces the details, who’s going to know? I’ve already met Mochizuki-senpai and the others before, and they didn’t think anything was strange. If you suddenly start sneaking around me, they’re more likely to assume our relationship is falling apart."

Akane considered that.

Annoyingly enough, he had a point.

Then another possibility suddenly occurred to her, and her entire posture became guarded.

"Wait."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"You haven’t started targeting them too, have you?"

They were several of the friends Akane had made at university. They were attractive, they were single, and Kaoru’s romantic history gave her absolutely no reason to relax.

"I’m not interested in them."

Kaoru saw that she clearly did not believe him, so he reached over and lightly squeezed her knee.

"I already have all of you. Why would I start chasing random people?"

Akane had dressed lightly for the lingering summer heat. Her white short-sleeved blouse left her arms bare, a small ribbon sat at the collar, and a black pleated skirt emphasized her narrow waist. She was not especially voluptuous, but the outfit suited her slim figure, while her bare legs were left uncovered apart from a pair of black ankle socks.

She had apparently run most of the way to the car, because her skin still carried a trace of warmth when Kaoru touched her.

Akane did not particularly mind her boyfriend getting handsy. In her view, being affectionate with someone you were dating was perfectly normal.

She simply still suspected he was lying.

"I don’t believe you."

Akane pouted.

"Hana-chan told me everything. Apparently you’re such a shameless old pervert that even cute underclassmen aren’t safe from you."

Ever since Kaoru brought her to 283 Production, Akane had exchanged contact information with several of the idols, and they had apparently begun sharing information about him behind his back.

Kaoru had no idea what exactly they discussed, but Akane had recently developed a habit of calling him an "old pervert," probably because their apparent age relationship had completely reversed.

For the longest time, Akane had believed Kaoru was her younger schoolmate and had even felt slightly embarrassed about dating him, worried people might accuse her of preying on a younger boy.

Then she learned the truth.

She was the perfectly respectable young university student.

Kaoru was the shameless older man hiding behind a younger face.

"I don’t go after every underclassman."

Kaoru gently rubbed her knee.

"They at least have to be as cute as Akane before I’m interested."

Then he smiled.

"Next time I’ll introduce you properly to Tsubasa and Ichika."

Akane wanted to stay angry, but his touch made that increasingly difficult, and she quickly caught his hand before his teasing went any further.

"That’s enough."

Her face was already turning red.

"If you keep touching me, we’re going to have a problem."

Kaoru gave her an amused look.

Akane bit her lip and turned away, deciding that ignoring the pervert was safer than arguing with him.

"Want to go to an amusement park?"

The question instantly captured her attention.

"An amusement park?"

Her eyes lit up.

"Yes! I don’t have any classes this afternoon!"

Some people might consider amusement parks childish.

Akane considered those people idiots.

Amusement parks had roller coasters, rides, food, games, souvenirs, haunted houses—what exactly was childish about having fun?

Besides, the two of them had already visited most of the classic date spots together, including an aquarium, the beach, a shrine, and a zoo.

"Then we’ll stay until tonight."

Kaoru smiled.

Akane’s ears turned red.

She understood the implication perfectly well.

Even so, she merely glared at him rather than objecting.

They were dating.

Going out together was normal. Spending an entire day together was normal. Even if Kaoru had simply taken her back somewhere private instead of bringing her sightseeing, Akane doubted she would have been angry.

A date was a date.

As long as she was with him, the location hardly mattered.

While Kaoru started the car and the university scenery began sliding past the windows, Akane found herself thinking once again about how ridiculous her boyfriend’s life actually was.

He was absurdly wealthy.

No wonder he had been able to become a Producer so casually. He had probably gotten bored with normal life and decided tormenting pretty girls would make a good hobby.

Akane snorted to herself.

She could practically picture him back at 283 Production, loading idols into some absurdly long Rolls-Royce while a chauffeur drove them around and Kaoru sat in the back teasing whichever unfortunate girl had fallen into his hands that day.

The more she imagined it, the more embarrassed she became.

’What am I even thinking?’

Apparently dating a pervert had corrupted her too.

If Kaoru had never existed, Akane probably would have had nothing but a positive impression of idols. Who disliked beautiful girls?

Besides, Hana and the others had treated her warmly.

Akane had initially felt jealous and wary around them, but after spending some time with Hana’s gentle smile and easygoing personality, that hostility had quietly turned into friendship.

Thinking about it now, maybe Akane herself was being greedy.

She called Kaoru over whenever she missed him and constantly wanted him to spend time with her, even though she knew perfectly well how many other people were waiting for him.

"Mm. Open your mouth."

Something cool touched Kaoru’s lips.

He had no idea what Akane was holding, but he obediently opened his mouth and immediately tasted something sweet.

"Candy?"

"No."

Akane looked faintly guilty.

"It’s a reward."

Greedy or not, she had decided she did not care.

She was not an idiot.

Just like Kei, Akane would happily cling to Kaoru every day if she had the chance.

...

No matter the season, amusement parks always seemed packed with people, and the voices of excited children could be heard everywhere.

Akane initially assumed they would have to queue like everybody else and had already started marching toward the lines when Kaoru caught her hand.

A short while later, she learned something wonderful.

They did not have to queue.

There was a VIP route.

"Rich people are shameless."

Akane looked absolutely delighted as she said it, making it impossible to tell whether she was criticizing the system or celebrating her newfound privilege.

Kaoru carried her bag while following her onto the roller coaster.

The moment the ride started climbing, Akane turned toward him.

"We’re not going to fall, right?"

"No."

"Really? This thing is ridiculously high. If we fall from here, we’re definitely going to look horrible afterward."

As the coaster slowly climbed, Akane began rambling more and more wildly. The children sitting behind them gradually started listening, their faces becoming increasingly nervous.

Then the cars reached the top.

The track plunged.

Akane screamed.

The children behind them screamed too.

Kaoru nearly jumped from the noise alone, only to realize Akane had wrapped both arms around him at some point. Despite sounding terrified, she never closed her eyes. She stared straight ahead through the rushing wind and screamed with obvious delight all the way down.

When the coaster finally stopped, Akane was still clinging to him, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

"Oh no."

She stared ahead breathlessly.

"That was amazing."

Her heart was still pounding, and when she tried to stand, her legs nearly betrayed her.

Naturally, she immediately wanted to ride it again.

And then again.

After that came the pirate ship, bumper cars, drop tower, water coaster, water slides, and haunted house.

Kaoru discovered for the first time that Akane possessed terrifying endurance when fun was involved. Even he was starting to feel tired, whereas she merely looked slightly flushed and out of breath.

"Look! Fox ears!"

Inside one of the merchandise stores, Akane found a pair of white fox ears and immediately put them on before turning toward Kaoru with a playful blink.

There were certain gestures only a genuinely cute girl could get away with.

That was one of them.

"They suit you."

Kaoru immediately pulled out his phone.

"Don’t move. I’m taking pictures."

Complimenting a girl by saying she looked cute could always be dismissed as empty flattery.

Pulling out a phone and immediately taking photographs was harder to fake.

Akane clearly understood the distinction.

"Hehe. Fine, if you insist."

Despite pretending to indulge him reluctantly, she immediately began posing.

Kaoru was good with a camera. He had spent years photographing idols, and when the subject was already attractive, all he needed was a decent angle before the pictures started looking professionally composed.

Akane inspected the results with great satisfaction.

Then, without asking, she changed his phone wallpaper to one of the pictures.

Now Kaoru would have to see her every day.

Still, that was not enough.

The moment Akane spotted a photo booth, she dragged Kaoru toward it, and the two proceeded to take several strips of pictures together.

"Keep these properly."

Akane handed him his copies.

"You’re not allowed to lose them."

"I’ll keep them for the rest of my life."

Kaoru solemnly tucked them into his wallet.

Akane’s cheeks immediately warmed.

She was embarrassed.

She was also extremely pleased.

"Mm. You’re bullying me again."

She gave him a light punch.

Kaoru had absolutely no idea how promising to preserve photographs counted as bullying, but fortunately Akane’s attention had already moved elsewhere.

"Let’s get ice cream!"

She had been watching a nearby cart for several minutes. Rather than ordinary cones, this shop decorated its ice cream with little animal designs, and Akane had clearly decided resistance was impossible.

She caught Kaoru’s hand and practically dragged him over.

They bought two different flavors.

Akane tasted hers first, frowned thoughtfully, then turned toward Kaoru.

"What flavor did you get? Let me try."

Kaoru held the cone toward her.

Akane leaned forward, delicately tasted a little, and spent several seconds considering her verdict.

"Hmm..."

Which flavor was better?

After agonizing over the problem, Akane arrived at the most obvious solution.

She would simply eat both.

Feeling slightly guilty about monopolizing Kaoru’s ice cream, she offered her own cone toward him.

"You can have one bite."

Then she narrowed her eyes.

"Only one. Don’t eat too much."

Kaoru laughed and took a small bite.

Akane immediately brightened.

"Good?"

"Good."

Satisfied, she returned to alternating between both flavors, declaring that this arrangement allowed each of them to enjoy twice as much variety.

By then, the afternoon had already begun fading toward evening.

"Wait!"

Akane suddenly remembered something.

"We still haven’t ridden the Ferris wheel!"

Her eyes sparkled.

"We can take pictures from the top. Sunset pictures!"

Kaoru looked toward the enormous wheel in the distance.

Come to think of it, he had never actually ridden one before.

When they arrived, the crowd had thinned considerably, and Akane quickly secured a cabin for the two of them.

"Hey, old pervert. Look over here!"

Kaoru turned.

Akane had already wrapped herself around his arm, her face nearly touching his while she held her phone high enough to frame both of them.

Click.

Only then did Kaoru realize she had taken a selfie.

"No, no, that’s terrible."

Akane frowned at the picture.

"Smile properly!"

Kaoru thought for a moment, raised a peace sign, and smiled brightly.

Strangely, Akane froze.

"N-no. That one doesn’t count. Do something else."

Her finger immediately pressed the shutter anyway.

"You literally just took it."

"It doesn’t count!"

Akane turned her face away.

"I want to put one on Instagram. Hana-chan and the others might see it, so I refuse to post an ugly picture."

Kaoru noticed her ears had turned red.

He did not understand why.

Still, he obediently agreed to take another one.

"Just do it again."

Akane lifted her phone.

The instant she pressed the shutter, Kaoru wrapped one arm around her waist, leaned over, and kissed her cheek.

"Wah!"

Akane’s entire face turned red.

"Why did you kiss me?!"

"Was I not allowed to?"

"O-of course not! They’ll think I’m provoking them!"

She stopped abruptly.

Then she lowered her head and started fiddling with her phone.

Kaoru stared at her.

Apparently a single cheek kiss now qualified as psychological warfare between girlfriends.

"Fine! No kissing, no weird smiling, nothing!"

Akane began making up rules as she went.

"Can I hold you?"

Kaoru asked.

She considered that carefully.

A hug probably would not start a war with the idols. Akane wanted to make her relationship clear, not antagonize everyone on the other side.

"Only a little."

So Kaoru held her while they took another set of photos, this time acceptable for Instagram.

Akane relaxed afterward, then secretly returned to the earlier picture.

She genuinely had not realized how handsome Kaoru looked when he smiled naturally.

’Well... I suppose he was famous enough to end up in the news as a genius composer.’

She huffed quietly to herself.

Handsome or not, he was still her boyfriend now.

The thought filled Akane with a tiny burst of pride.

When she looked up, she found Kaoru already watching her.

"What are you looking at?!"

She hurriedly hid her phone.

"My ridiculously cute girlfriend."

Kaoru answered without shame.

Akane blushed.

Then, as if retaliating against him, she suddenly leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"That’s payback."

Kaoru blinked, then smiled.

"That doesn’t count. Do it again."

This time he kissed her properly.

Akane had kissed him plenty of times before, but there was something especially intimate about being alone together in the gently moving cabin, the city stretching beneath them as the evening light softened outside.

Their lips met slowly, without hurry, both of them lingering in the warmth of the moment as though trying to memorize it.

Akane’s hands gradually caught the front of his clothes, and when they finally separated, her breathing was noticeably uneven.

"Kaoru..."

Her voice had become very soft.

Kaoru noticed how red her cheeks were.

"Want another?"

He whispered near her ear.

"If we keep going, though, we’re probably going to stop behaving."

Akane bit her lip.

She knew exactly what he meant.

She also really wanted to keep kissing him.

They had not been apart for that long, yet during the separation she had constantly found herself thinking about him, wishing he would come over, wishing she could hold him, and occasionally becoming embarrassed by just how much she missed physical closeness.

"One more."

Akane spoke quietly, as though negotiating with herself.

"Just one."

Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again.

Perhaps because they were completely alone, without Kei, Hana, or anyone else nearby, Akane found herself relaxing more than usual. There was no audience to worry about and no one whose feelings she had to consider for these few minutes.

She could simply be Kaoru’s girlfriend.

Unfortunately, "one more" gradually became several.

By the time Akane finally pulled away, she was flushed from head to toe and had become acutely aware that Kaoru was having just as much difficulty stopping as she was.

"We should wait until we get back."

Kaoru took a slow breath.

"You’ve gotten dangerously good at tempting me. I’m going to have to get revenge tonight."

Akane’s face burned.

She knew perfectly well that attraction did not create some immediate emergency that needed to be "fixed," and ordinarily she would have been happy to tease him and make him wait.

Then she glanced outside.

The Ferris wheel had only just reached its highest point.

There were still more than ten minutes before they returned to the ground.

Akane looked back at him.

"W-we could stay close until then."

She shifted onto his lap, face hot enough that she was certain Kaoru could feel it.

"We’re dating. This is normal."

Kaoru paused, then gently held her waist.

"We’re also in public."

Akane noticed that he was neither scolding her nor blindly following his impulses, and for some reason that made her chest feel strangely warm.

"But... you don’t come see me that often."

Her voice became quieter.

"I wanted to make you happy."

Kaoru stroked her hair.

"I care more about whether Akane is comfortable."

He glanced toward the windows.

"And I definitely don’t want anyone seeing you in a situation you’d regret afterward."

Akane immediately became uncertain.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Kaoru realized at once that he had phrased it badly. If he made her feel rejected after she had worked up the courage to be affectionate, he would only embarrass her.

"No."

He smiled.

"I’m just offended that Akane apparently thinks she could overwhelm me in ten minutes."

That worked instantly.

Akane froze.

Then her competitive streak took over.

"Don’t underestimate me!"

She puffed out her cheeks.

"A small fry like you would lose in minutes."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow.

A while later, Akane was curled against him with her face buried against his chest, refusing to look up.

Kaoru sighed.

"So much for all that stamina I was praising earlier."

"T-that doesn’t count!"

Akane protested without moving.

"When we get back, I’m getting revenge."

Kaoru wisely decided not to argue.

By the time the Ferris wheel began descending toward the station, Akane had recovered enough to sit properly again, though she remained unusually quiet and occasionally rested a hand against her stomach with a thoughtful expression.

Then, seemingly unable to stop herself, she murmured, "You know... if something unexpected ever happened..."

Kaoru looked toward her.

Akane’s face was bright red.

She did not understand anything about the wish machine or the strange rules surrounding Kaoru’s abilities. She was simply thinking about ordinary possibilities and what their relationship might eventually become.

"If we ever had a baby," she whispered, "what would we do?"

"If that happened, we’d get married."

Kaoru answered without hesitation.

There were more complicated truths he could have explained, but at that moment, a straightforward promise felt far more important.

Akane became even redder.

"Who said I wanted to marry you?"

Despite the protest, she immediately wrapped both arms tightly around his.

The corners of her mouth refused to stay down.

’Hmph.’

Privately, Akane was already convinced of one thing.

She was definitely going to be first.