In Tokyo: They are heavily dependent on me

Chapter 126. You Who Were Deceived

Kobayashi's room hadn't changed much since my last visit.

The desk was piled with neatly arranged books and cosmetics whose names I didn't know, and the curtains and the plush toys on the bed were all the kind of cute things that girls wouldn't refuse.

There was no special cleaning done because of other people's arrival; everything in the room was just as it was.

Sleeping, putting on makeup, and going through the same unchanging routine in this cozy and lovely room—that is her life.

"I have a feeling... I'm getting closer to Kobayashi-kun."

Lying on the bed, Xun wearily squeezed out these words.

"Hmm? Did Hoshino-san just say something?"

"No...it's nothing serious, just a feeling."

"Don't do anything behind my back."

No, it won't happen.

Xiaolin found the air conditioner remote under her pillow, turned it on, and listened to the 'whooshing' sound of the air conditioner. The icy touch quickly enveloped her whole body.

We're ready to sleep together.

There was only one pillow, so the two of them would squeeze together to sleep. Watching Kobayashi take off her pajamas with her back to her, Kaoru's lips parted slightly, but she ultimately didn't say anything.

"Hoshino-san, let's be honest with each other too. It'll be more comfortable to sleep with your clothes off."

Kobayashi said those words in an incredibly seductive tone.

She had never been this proactive before.

"No...no need, Kobayashi, you should go to sleep first. I don't plan to sleep for the time being."

"No, I don't want to sleep alone."

Kobayashi said these words in a resistant tone, then lowered his head and showed a thoughtful expression.

Suddenly she realized something and went outside alone.

Kaoru heard the sound of the refrigerator being opened.

When he came back in, Kobayashi handed him a can of beer.

"Since you can't sleep, Hoshino-kun, why don't you have a drink together?"

"But you've already washed up, haven't you?"

"It doesn't matter, we can just do it again later, right?"

"In that case... okay."

Xun took the beer she offered.

Kobayashi seemed to really enjoy the taste stimulation from alcohol. He opened a beer with a "click" using his manicured fingernail, brought it to his cheek, and took a sip.

"Ah...that feels so good...beer is definitely the best..."

Liquid slid down the corner of her mouth and gathered on her collarbone, forming a puddle.

She swirled her beer in a sexy pose, her face flushed slightly from the alcohol as she leaned closer, peering at Kaoru's face from below.

"Hey, Hoshino-kun, come drink with me. It's lonely drinking alone."

"Let's drink the nuptial wine!"

Even if you have a very low alcohol tolerance and can't even finish a can of beer, you won't get drunk.

However, now even her eyes have become glazed over, giving the impression that Kobayashi is completely drunk.

"Um."

Under those circumstances, Kaoru gave up thinking.

He opened the beer in his hand, crossed his arm with Kobayashi's outstretched arm, and intimately fed Kobayashi the beer from his hand.

"Hmm... Hoshino-kun, that's great."

Kobayashi leaned against Kaoru, completely losing his balance, looking like he was too drunk to be rational.

"By the way... you seem to have developed a real fondness for drinking lately."

Kaoru watched as Kobayashi kept chugging beer into his mouth.

It was clear that Kobayashi's body, stimulated by alcohol, was more supple than usual, and her sexiness was enough to drive men crazy.

Moreover, she was completely open and honest with him at this time, and under such circumstances, her body had already begun to undergo subtle changes.

Fortunately, Kobayashi, engrossed in alcohol, didn't notice, which was truly a stroke of luck.

"Yeah, I wasn't interested in alcohol before, but ever since I fell for Hoshino-kun, I've become addicted to it without even realizing it."

The beer in her hand was quickly finished. Xiaolin tilted her head back and made a downward tilting motion, swallowing the last drop of alcohol.

"When I'm home alone, I wonder if Hoshino is on a date with another girl. What should I do if Hoshino only has eyes for that girl and not for me? I get lonely thinking about it, and by the time I realize it, I'm already drunk."

"Now that I have Hoshino-san... and heard such an important promise, it all feels like a dream."

Xiaolin's body nestled against him, the softness of her arm being squeezed and deformed through the fabric.

"I will always love you, Hoshino-kun. Things that were only in my imagination before have now become reality. I'm so happy. I'm so happy now that I won't have any regrets even if I die."

"That's too heavy a word; it's better not to say it."

"They just can't control themselves... Please understand."

"Never mind, let's go to sleep."

The pointless conversation came to an end.

Kaoru lay on her side on the edge of the bed, curled up with her back to her.

Behind him, Kobayashi, whose body was pressed against Kaoru's back, showed no intention of settling down. His fingers kept stroking Kaoru's back, repeatedly drawing heart patterns on it.

It was past midnight.

If she didn't go to sleep soon, she wouldn't be able to get up tomorrow. She would need to spend time dealing with the work at the ramen shop tomorrow, so Kaoru prepared herself to go to sleep.

"No, you have to go to sleep now and don't move around."

After those words were spoken, Kobayashi behind him indeed fell silent.

However, this moment did not last long.

Soon, unable to contain herself any longer, she pressed her body against him again, even bringing her lips to her mouth and exhaling hot breath.

"Hoshino-kun... please hold me... I'll feel lonely if I'm left alone in the back... I'll feel abandoned... and I won't be able to stop crying..."

As she spoke, Xiaolin's voice actually started to tremble with tears.

We cannot stand idly by and watch what is happening before our eyes.

Influenced by this thought, Kaoru turned around in her direction and embraced her beautiful body, which remained completely open and honest.

Kobayashi, who was being held, began to breathe greedily, as if trying to remember the scent of her body.

"Ah... I've fantasized about this countless times... Because I can't touch her, I can only recall Hoshino-san's scent and voice over and over in my mind. I never want to face that kind of pain again. I've already gained everything, and if I lose it again, I will definitely die..."

"That kind of thing doesn't exist at all, and you're overthinking it."

"Hey, Hoshino-kun, when humans are enjoying happiness, they can't help but think about what would happen if they lost that happiness. Everyone is like that, you know. We are all pessimistic creatures, and I'm no exception."

Xiaolin, curled up and nestled in his arms, looked utterly helpless, like a wounded animal that no longer trusted humans, his body trembling uncontrollably.

It's pitiful and tragic.

That's the kind of impression that Xiaolin gives off now.

"I envy Minakami-san. She can enjoy the care from the person I like the most without any worries. It's really scary to watch those things happen again and again and be powerless to change it. Even though I can lie in Hoshino-san's arms and enjoy warmth now, my jealousy of Minakami-san hasn't changed. I hate her so much. So... in order to stop me from suffering like before, it's time to make a choice now."

"I have to choose between myself and Mizukami. I absolutely, absolutely can't keep running away like before."

Kobayashi raised his face as if relieved, his eyes, which reflected a faint light like glass beads, calmly gazing at Kaoru's face.

At this moment, Kaoru had an incredibly accurate premonition.

If Kobayashi were to say "I choose Mizukami" right now, she would definitely lose her mind and cry out of despair the next second. She might even run out of the house and not come back all night. In the end, with nowhere to go, she would end up staying at the home of a strange man.

In the end, it will develop into the outcome she least wants to face: losing faith in everything, she will be completely trapped in the quagmire called love, and at that time she may do something terrible.

The student from the water was not there.

What we need to do now is to steer everything in the right direction.

So, he had to make a decision next.

Even if it goes against my conscience.

"I... I still like Kobayashi-kun more."

As soon as he finished speaking, feelings of shame flooded his mind, forcing him to look away from the innocent face in front of him.

After a brief period of stunned silence.

Tears welled up in Kobayashi's eyes. She started crying without warning and began to clumsily wipe away her tears with her hands, mumbling "[Hoshino-san], [Hoshino-san]" incoherently.

Unable to speak clearly, she began to cry incessantly, and her clothes, which had just been dried, were quickly soaked. Xun, who didn't know what to say, hugged her and patted her back like a comforting child.

"I...I'm so happy...so blissful...to hear Hoshino-kun make this decision...I'm so happy I could die...I feel like I'm floating...I've already cried so much...but in the end I still couldn't control my emotions...It's so embarrassing of me to do this...I love you...Hoshino-kun...let's get married...please say yes...!"

Kobayashi suddenly started talking at length, leaving everyone wondering how to give a satisfactory reply.

In the instant Kaoru hesitated, Kobayashi lifted her tear-streaked face and forcefully sniffed.

"Hoshino-kun...can't you say yes?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she sniffled and showed signs of crying again.

He's really turned into a crybaby...

She's the kind of person you just can't bear to refuse.

"Okay, I promise you, let's get married after we finish university."

Kaoru gently kissed her forehead, and Kobayashi happily lifted her face, nodding vigorously.

"Okay! It's a promise, right? After I graduate from university, I'll marry Hoshino-kun! It's a promise, and I absolutely can't break it! Hmm... let's just do it that way!"

Kaoru Kobayashi extended her little finger, and knowing exactly what she was thinking, Kaoru gently hooked her little finger in the same gesture.

"A liar will have to swallow a thousand needles."

"Feeding...that's too cruel..."

Finally, their thumbs touched each other very hard.

------------

"You lost, Minami-kun."

The poor figure was huddled in a wardrobe that could barely fit one person.

Hoshino fell into a deep sleep shortly afterward, and as long as he didn't make too much noise, he wouldn't be aware that such a scene was still unfolding in the room.

Because she couldn't stand the special treatment that her classmate Mizukami was receiving, she investigated and found out that [Hoshino Kaoru was on dates with three girls at the same time on the day of the fireworks festival], and it was indeed she who exposed this.

Because Hoshino-kun is very gentle.

A scene from several years ago, when Xiaolin was still in junior high school, flashed through his mind.

That day, she carried a schoolbag that had been thrown into the trash can countless times, wore shoes with holes cut into them, and cried alone on the rooftop after school, hugging her knees.

Even so, the nightmare continued. The demon smiled mockingly as she was soaked to the bone. It was a cold winter day, and as she walked home with her head down, she stumbled into that warm embrace before her body was completely frozen.

"Ah... I'm sorry... I've caused you trouble..."

Even if you are treated unfairly, an apology can solve everything.

That was her prevailing thought at that time.

Spending time alone in areas where the sun cannot reach.

"Why not try to resist?"

"Those guys who don't respect others deserve to be beaten to a pulp."

In that cold winter.

She lifted her face.

"My name is Kaoru, Hoshino Kaoru. I can't change your current situation, and I can't make reality develop the way you want it to. But I won't ignore those who want to change the status quo but can't. If they continue to do those things with impunity, I'll face everything with the resolve to kill them. If you can do that, I'm willing to entrust my back to you. Let me take care of those troublesome guys."

—That dazzling light shone into her life.

That kind-hearted Hoshino-san, when she saw herself embarking on that wrong path, would stand up and correct her without hesitation, and that has never changed.

It's the same now.

"Hoshino and I have always been on the same page. I'm definitely the strongest when I'm with him. Mizukami can only be my foil."

Interlace your fingers in front of your chest.

A victor's smile appeared on Xiaolin's face.

"Hoshino-kun chose me. According to our promise, Mizukami-kun will have to leave his side forever after this semester ends. I can't let you take Hoshino-kun away again. This kind of thing absolutely, absolutely cannot happen. Our love is one of a kind."

A brief silence.

The young lady, sitting in the wardrobe, raised her face.

He gazed at Kobayashi's face with an expression that bordered on pity.

"You're so pitiful, Kobayashi, being deceived."

"They're just like... stray dogs."