If Kosaka Kyosuke Had a Saber Face

Oh, it's time to turn around. Twist your waist first, and then move your legs in the same direction...

Ah, it really is Xiaojing, but why is it so serious...

It's not the usual listlessness, nor the usual indifference, but... the seriousness that feels like thinking about something important and about to put it into practice, frowning...

But... do I still have time to think about this?Cough cough cough... I must be ugly now, right?The appearance of crying bitterly, in Xiao Jing's eyes, what kind of appearance do I have?

"... Kirino."

Xiao Jing, who walked from the unlit entrance to the bright living room, seemed to have peeled off a layer of woven shadows.He slid his eyes past me, there was only a slight pause in the middle, and then he called Kirino on the other side softly.I don't know if it's an illusion, just like I don't know how to face him, he seems to have the same shyness towards me.

But I felt as if I had been let go, I held my trembling palms stiffly, buried my face in them, and the moist feeling surged on my cheeks and palms.

... How cowardly, me.

Just passively waiting for the trial...

I covered the light in front of my eyes with the palm of my hand. In the dark field of vision that was transformed into a colorful halo reflected by gasoline floating on the water under the sun, the sofa under my buttocks visibly shook, as if suddenly unloaded. Part of the burden has gone.

It was Kirino who stood up.

I heard her hurried footsteps, and then stopped abruptly at the place where Xiao Jing was in my impression.

There was a vague sound of two chests closing together, and there was also a faint, rustling sound. I don't know if it was the friction sound of clothes and clothes or palms and hair.

He threw himself into Xiao Jing's arms...

...It would be great if I could do the same.

The second hand "tick-tock-tick" shook twice.

No voice, silence.There seemed to be a faint breathing sound, but I didn't know if it was mine.Depression, let me feel the depression of heart pacing, but it is like a moment of tranquility before the storm, making me pray that I can stay for a while longer.

"It's okay... Kirino, it's okay..."

A very soft voice came over, probably Xiao Jing whispered in Kirino's ear.

After a while, as if something was over, normal voices echoed in the living room.

"Tong Nao, go to the kitchen and stay with your sister Xue Nai for a while. I have something to tell...she."

This [her] refers to me?

"…Um."

After a short while, Kirino's obedient nasal voice sounded.

I heard the sound of slippers slapping the floor gradually moving to the kitchen side, and then the sound of multiple footsteps partially overlapping but slightly misplaced.

In addition, the texture of the footsteps seems to have changed, as if it is a little clearer.Probably because of the wooden floor in the living room and the ceramic tile in the kitchen.

The sound gradually faded away, and then there was a beep, followed by the roar of the range hood.

This roar, which resembled the inhalation of a giant beast, seemed to separate the kitchen where Kirino and Yukinoshita-san lived and this living room into two worlds that did not interfere with each other.

So... should I hold my head up?

After hesitating for a moment, I could feel my trembling. I withdrew my hands, pulled my head up with my neck, and opened my eyelids.

The glare of the light made me weep again.After a while, I slowly got used to it.

Xiao Jing in front of him stood upright, not the hunchbacked manner in his impression at all, it seemed that the serious things in his heart formed a skeleton to support him, forcing him to not relax at all.

I parted my lips.

"..."

Tried to speak but couldn't make a sound.

...is my voice already this hoarse?Or, what should I say?

Fortunately, I saw Xiao Jing speak.

The words are: "Say, you like me."

…What's the meaning?

I don't know if my brain has been numb from stimulation, I can't understand the meaning of this sentence at all.

...But, just follow Xiaojing.

So, I struggled to tear open the throat that felt stuck together, and said hoarsely:

"'you like me'……?"

What exactly is this trying to express?

Almost before I finished speaking, Xiao Jing pursed his lips, did I say something wrong?It's me... did I get it wrong?

He explained again, and his tone was calmer than I expected: "That's not what I meant. I mean, um..."

He was thinking about his words, not looking like he was struggling with how to make me understand him, but trying to construct a more euphemistic expression.

In the end, he simply raised his head and told me that he had failed. He said: "I'll just say it, please say 'I, like, like, you' to me."

"I like you……"

……Eh?Isn't this a confession?