After deciding to give up, I became popular

Smaller memories are naturally blurry, but since middle school, whether in a daze or otherwise, he's been living alone, only occasionally returning home. Now he feels like his understanding of his own family is almost less than his girlfriend's?

"Suddenly hearing about my parents makes me feel a bit complicated... but they're already married, right? It's too early for us though... or, uh... if you want to touch, it's better to wait until we're relaxing in the bathtub." Kanade Natsukawa became somewhat hesitant.

Mainly because right now... if it's slippery, his hand might slip somewhere else, so he thought it would be safer in the bath. However, Mahiru, after hearing this, squeezed out a response: "I, I understand..."

Her tone was as firm as if she had made a resolution.

This, in turn, made Kanade Natsukawa confused.

Eh? Did he say something strange? This question floated in Kanade Natsukawa's mind, but before it could turn into a wave of embarrassment, he heard Mahiru emphasize, "I'm going to do skincare, please turn around!" Unable to resist her momentum, Kanade Natsukawa obediently turned back.

Peeking through the mirror, he saw that the color of the ears peeking out from between the angel girl's hair was bright red. If he pointed it out, he'd reveal that he'd unintentionally seen something, so Kanade Natsukawa pretended not to notice and stood back-to-back with her, feeling embarrassed while washing the parts he had missed.

Kanade Natsukawa knew that girls were different from him and that skincare took a lot of time, so he went to soak in the bath first, only to find that she, already done with her skincare, was constantly peeking at him, leaving Kanade Natsukawa at a loss.

He didn't quite understand what she wanted to do, but she was definitely very concerned about his earlier statement about touching in the bathtub... In fact, Mahiru's gaze seemed to be conveying something.

But it wasn't a wary look at all, it was something much more complex.

Just as Kanade Natsukawa was troubled by the incomprehensible meaning within, those caramel-colored eyes suddenly looked at him, then shifted uncertainly.

"Plea-please... where... where should I sit?"

Hearing the question "where," Kanade Natsukawa suddenly froze, then blinked inexplicably.

Come to think of it, this apartment was the kind of residence suitable for one to two people, so the bathtub was spacious enough that even if two people were to bathe together, as long as they were a little mindful of their feet, it would only feel a little cramped. Kanade Natsukawa also expected Mahiru to come in with him, so he didn't stretch out his legs, and there should be extra space.

Even so, she still asked... this should be attributed to his slip of the tongue earlier.

"Th-there's still space here... you can sit wherever you want." Kanade Natsukawa pointed to the area in front of him.

Although he was the one who said those words earlier, Kanade Natsukawa couldn't bring himself to say, "Then sit in my lap," and could only leave it to Mahiru's discretion.

Then he saw her purse her lips slightly, put on a straight face, and without much thought, slowly put her feet into the bathtub.

Only then did Kanade Natsukawa see a patch of snow-white skin completely untouched by the sun, followed by flaxen hair cascading down like a waterfall into his eyes.

And when Kanade Natsukawa reacted and made an "uh" sound of thought, Mahiru had already taken a seat between his legs.

"..."

Rea... really? And it was so natural? Kanade Natsukawa suddenly felt that she had been planning this all along, and thinking about it carefully, it seemed that the situation today had been unfolding under the angel girl's lead...

Indeed, although he initially said she could sit anywhere, he didn't expect her to actually sit next to him, so he was momentarily stunned in surprise. Mahiru didn't seem to notice his wavering, and like she was entrusting her entire weight to Kanade Natsukawa, she leaned directly against him.

Her hair was tied up, so the feeling of her skin was directly transmitted to Kanade Natsukawa, causing him to involuntarily become excited.

"You were the one who said I could sit anywhere, right?" The angel girl turned her head to ask Kanade Natsukawa, with a seemingly polite but actually quite smug smile on her face, even though her cheeks were a little red.

That's how she is, she occasionally likes to do little things like this, even though she always ends up embarrassing herself, but she's stubbornly strong.

However, Kanade Natsukawa's own face and body weren't calm enough to point this out, so he couldn't retort and exhausted all his strength just to answer, "Ye-yeah."

"Then there's no problem, right?" The angel girl affirmed as if to encourage herself, and then nudged him hard with the back of her head.

Although it didn't hurt at all, it made him feel itchy both mentally and physically, so Kanade Natsukawa gently touched her shoulder, trying to stop her.

Shiina Mahiru's body suddenly trembled violently, and the sound of splashing water echoed in the narrow bathroom.

"It's better to stay a little further away..." The angel girl's voice trembled a little, "No, I'm not disgusted... uh... guu..."

Kanade Natsukawa suddenly became interested, finding her reaction really amusing.

"Didn't you say I could touch you?" Although he had only touched her slightly.

"That's true..." The angel girl hesitated.

Her words and actions had been strange since just now, and Kanade Natsukawa wasn't unaware of her feelings. He smiled gently and slowly reached out to wrap his arms around her body.

Mahiru's body stiffened noticeably, so Kanade Natsukawa gently hugged her, hoping she would just stay still.

"Can you not move around for a bit, Angel-san?"

Although he knew she would calm down even without saying it, just in case, Kanade Natsukawa gently whispered a reminder in her ear, causing her body to tremble again before finally stopping... or rather, eventually turning into a docile posture curled up in his arms.

Kanade Natsukawa was glad that she could cooperate and calm down, but with this, it was conceivable that both of them would be too embarrassed to get close properly.

Although he wouldn't have touched her without hesitation in this situation anyway.

He felt more hesitant about intimate contact than he did at the swimming pool, but it couldn't be helped in this state.

After all, it was a completely private space, and they were only close because both understood the risks involved. How could Kanade Natsukawa not care?

And in order to avoid various reactions, Kanade Natsukawa paid close attention while gently tightening his arms around her as usual, pulling her into his embrace.

The scent of shampoo, stronger than usual, shook his brain in an instant, but not enough to loosen his rationality. He used this touch to ease Mahiru's tense body.

He would never touch her torso, but rather surround her whole body with his arms. This way of hugging seemed sufficient to alleviate her unnecessary tension.

Mahiru rested her head on Kanade Natsukawa's arm, and after a moment of silence, exhaled.

Then, in the quiet bathroom, the sound of their breathing was particularly clear.

The two silently listened to the sound of water droplets falling on the surface of the hot water, creating ripples, while slowly warming each other's bodies from the inside.

Extra: KISS Preview (Angel Edition)

"Um... Kanade, don't you find it unpleasant?" They hadn't been talking specifically, just snuggling together, quietly enjoying the comfort of soaking in the hot water, but the angel suddenly spoke, "I myself feel that sometimes, things either don't go as planned, or what I want to do doesn't meet expectations."

"Uh..." Kanade Natsukawa didn't react for a moment, "Oh! Are you talking about this? -- The fact that you want to try hard, but in the end, you lose to embarrassment."

"How could I find it unpleasant? After all, I clearly know that it's based on the fact that you like me very much."

"It's enough to know that, why do you have to say it out loud!" The angel girl looked very shy.

"..." Kanade Natsukawa just smiled, finding her truly adorable, always getting fidgety in strange places.

"Really, since you know, what's wrong with cooperating with me a little..." Mahiru murmured, her voice becoming smaller and smaller, filled with shyness, and then she curled up in his arms again.

Kanade Natsukawa wasn't so dense that he couldn't guess what Mahiru actually wanted to say and what she was hoping for, but once he indulged his desires and impulses to demand, it would be more than she imagined... so Kanade Natsukawa decided it was best to have controlled contact with her.

"Actually, it's because I don't have the confidence to control myself, so if you tease me too much, I'll be in trouble too." Kanade Natsukawa's expression was very sincere.

"Although you say that... you've looked very composed since just now, right?" Mahiru's expression was somewhat suspicious.

"That's not true." Kanade Natsukawa shook his head in rebuttal, "Otherwise... get a little closer, and then check it out yourself?"

If she really put her ear close to listen to his heartbeat, she would definitely hear his undisguised throbbing, "thump thump" non-stop, like muffled thunder.

Hearing Kanade Natsukawa say this, Mahiru hesitated, then changed to a face-to-face position, putting her ear against his well-toned chest.

Kanade Natsukawa's expression was well-disguised now, and the redness on his face could be explained by being in the hot water, but the only thing that couldn't be hidden was his heartbeat, and that thing couldn't be controlled by the brain.

So, the angel girl blinked and looked up after hearing the faster than usual heartbeat.

"It's so loud..."

"So I told you, I'm not composed at all." Kanade Natsukawa shrugged slightly.

After all, in this situation, with his girlfriend's permission and acceptance, he was taking a bath with his first and only girlfriend. Of course, he wanted to touch her, and even wanted to go all out and strip off those thin clothes.

The reason he didn't do that was because he didn't want to hurt Mahiru and also had to consider future events. Doing it now wasn't a wise move.

"...I thought you were used to it, so you were so calm and composed."

"How could that be? Not only do I want to touch you, but I also want to do many other things, I'm just enduring it." Kanade Natsukawa shook his head, as if his girlfriend had some misunderstanding about him.

"Ma-many things..." Mahiru probably imagined something, and her face suddenly turned red.

Kanade Natsukawa bared his teeth and then touched her head, and she became obedient again, letting him do as he pleased.

She wouldn't be shy and reject this way of touching, Kanade Natsukawa thought, while slowly providing head pats and then gradually gently stroking the angel's cheeks along the contours, even playfully tickling her twice with his fingertips.

Mahiru narrowed her eyes in satisfaction, like a cat, seemingly feeling very comfortable, then closed her eyes again, as if entrusting herself completely to him.

That attitude was out of trust in Kanade Natsukawa, and while sweet, it was also very sexy and tempting.

Kanade Natsukawa bit his lip and then gently lifted her chin with his fingers... but then immediately let go.

"Huh?"

"If I kiss you here, I can already see the consequences of you getting dizzy from the heat." Kanade Natsukawa explained.

Actually, he really wanted to kiss her freely right now, but if it was in this state, it would definitely make her dizzy, right? And... the most important thing was that he himself would also feel very uncomfortable.

Because they weren't very familiar with deep kisses, they would probably sink into it endlessly to the point where even reason would melt and collapse, so based on the judgment that it was dangerous for both body and reason, he chose to stop.

However, Mahiru, after hearing his explanation, showed a very disappointed expression.

"...Is that so?"

It seemed she was clearly expecting something, and that obvious attitude made Kanade Natsukawa couldn't help but smile, and then he was immediately lightly patted on the chest by Mahiru. He had no choice but to put away his smile and slowly rubbed his thumb across those lips, gently circling them.

If he couldn't do the main event... then he'd collect a little interest, right?

Those smooth, moist lips were only slightly touched by his fingers, and it seemed she was somewhat unable to control herself. He could feel that, both above and below the water, Mahiru's body was trembling slightly.

"Feeling regretful?" Kanade Natsukawa teased.

"Mean..." The angel girl didn't answer him.

Perhaps because she felt teased, she entered a subtle sulking mode, and after patting Kanade Natsukawa's chest once again, she turned around and sat between Kanade Natsukawa's legs again. Kanade Natsukawa also knew that she wasn't really sulking, but it wouldn't be good to treat this behavior of covering up shyness as a joke or let it go, so Kanade Natsukawa sincerely apologized and said "I'm sorry," and then slowly wrapped his arms around her.

Because she would be shy no matter what, and there was the problem of instinctual reactions, Kanade Natsukawa was originally a little hesitant, but at this moment he had no choice but to shake off those thoughts and gently put his hand around her stomach in what could be said to be a slow movement, bringing their bodies closer together for a tighter embrace.

With almost no covering on her back, their skin was tightly overlapped, and Mahiru's body swayed.

Although it was easy to understand why she was trembling, there was no way around this, and besides, Kanade Natsukawa understood that Mahiru was here because she understood his situation.

"So warm."

"......Mmm."

"Let's stay like this for a little longer, okay?" Kanade Natsukawa said softly, implying that he wouldn't do anything untoward.

He did indeed hold her gently the entire time, which allowed her to relax and surrender completely.

Her acceptance made Kanade Natsukawa breathe a sigh of relief. He gently stroked her slender stomach, causing the person in his arms to squirm as if ticklish.

Even without the effect of the water, it was smooth with a great feel, without excess fat, yet with the softness unique to women, which felt incredible.

Although she didn't seem to dislike it, being touched on the abdomen seemed to make the angel-like woman feel complicated. She subtly tapped Kanade Natsukawa's arm in protest, but it wasn't a real rejection, and soon turned into a gentle caress.

Mahiru retaliated in a small way on Kanade Natsukawa's arm, then with a "whoosh" sound, she simply leaned all her weight on Kanade Natsukawa and gently looked back at him.

"Kanade."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Um... about what happened just now."

"Just now?"

"That... the kissing... thing."

Although Kanade Natsukawa wasn't really in a position to criticize others, Mahiru didn't seem very good at saying things directly, so she even sounded a bit stuttering.

"What about it?"

"Af, after the bath, you're going to do... that's what... you mean?"

Kanade Natsukawa couldn't help but hug Mahiru tightly, who was saying such adorable things. He buried his face in her shoulder, and Mahiru immediately started patting Kanade Natsukawa's arm in a flustered manner.

"Wh, what's wrong all of a sudden?"

"Nothing, I just think what you said is so cute... well, since our wishes align, please be prepared after the bath, okay?" Kanade Natsukawa rubbed against her shoulder a couple of times.

His girlfriend was just too cute! It constantly filled him with the desire to bully her mercilessly.

"Eh? Ugh... Pr, pretend I didn't ask!" The angel-like girl was a little frightened.

She was very clear that once Kanade got motivated, she would be defeated, so she started to run away, but Kanade Natsukawa gently held her, not letting her escape.

"I don't want to."

"Guh... you're bullying me."

"I am indeed bullying you," Kanade Natsukawa nodded. "But since I'm bullying my own girlfriend, no one can say anything about it, right?"