I really don't want to be reborn.

It seems there was a problem with the water supply pipes, and all the surrounding houses were without water until midnight. Fortunately, the temperature wasn't too high, so Kyosuke Kosaka could still manage.

The sky was overcast; it might rain tonight, or it might rain tomorrow. A fleeting glimpse of light appeared occasionally through the clouds, only to be quickly obscured by the dark clouds again, appearing and disappearing as unpredictably as Shina.

Shino was temporarily called back by her sister. She didn't know the specific reason, but her sister-in-law looked at her strangely at the time, and after she went back temporarily, she also became strange.

It's like when someone just got a cat and got used to spending every day with their cat, until one day the cat suddenly sneaks out to play. That feeling is really upsetting.

He didn't know how he got through those few hours from when he woke up in the morning until noon; he lay on the chair on the balcony with his eyes closed, feeling sleepy.

I dreamt that I fell into the water while swimming, and it felt like a water ghost was dragging me down.

Then a girl jumped into the water with a roar and rescued him. She said a lot of things, but he didn't remember a single word. The only thing he remembered was that she was a girl he liked very much.

Half infatuated, half mad, yawning and drowsy.

do you know?

I woke up in the morning and shouted, but no one answered. I went downstairs to the kitchen to see if the cat was looking for food, and then I went to see if there were any clothes she had changed out of—as usual, I was disappointed.

"Ahhh-"

Kyosuke Kousaka, who was used to being alone, was probably captivated by the little girl's coolness and emotionlessness. Recalling Sinon's cold little face, he hid back under the covers, hugged his pillow, and rubbed against it incessantly.

Do you remember what she was like back then?

She sat down on his lap, and a wave of heat emanated from her body.

Kyosuke Kosaka's expression remained normal, but he felt an inexplicable itch in his heart, a kind of hunger stemming from biological instinct. Touching her hair made him want to touch her cheek, and touching her face made him want to touch other parts of her body—the desire to violate and possess was stronger than ever before.

He would become aroused by girls who were petite and had special social status.

"How disgusting..."

Even he himself feels disgusted with himself.

I wish there were two Kyosuke Kousaka in the world.

One is Kyosuke Kousaka, who is deeply in love and utterly loyal.

One is a despicable scumbag, Kousaka Kyosuke, who sleeps with whomever he pleases.

The clash between his inherent emotional values ​​and his animalistic possessiveness gradually surfaced, allowing his conscious mind to perceive it and his emotions to experience it.

That kind of conflict—knowing you shouldn't think about it, but just being unable to resist—is a man's self-generated energy.

Mathematics is to physics, masturbation is to sex, and Kasumigaoka is to poetry.

...Mr. Feynman is a genius.

Around noon, his phone rang unexpectedly, but it hung up the moment he tried to answer it.

"Hmm, Touma?"

The phone clearly displayed the name "Touma".

He glanced at the white curtains next door, somewhat puzzled that she would call him on her own initiative.

But why did it die so quickly?

Is Touma Kazusa trying to save money by fighting back?

Do you think this is a pager?

He dialed back, but no one answered even after it rang several times.

Did you run into some trouble outside?

He got up, put his phone on the table, and started making lunch.

The water is off today, so I just need to reheat the food I prepared yesterday. I did prepare some water, but I forgot about it last night because I was so engrossed in thinking about something.

Today I'm going to be a dry immortal for a day.

Just as he was about to eat, the phone rang again.

He put down his chopsticks, and the phone stopped ringing again.

"..."

I checked my phone and sure enough, it was Ms. Touma calling again. I called back, but still no one answered.

He sent an email to inquire, but received no reply.

This leads to the conclusion!

That reclusive guy may have encountered some unexpected situation.

"If everything is alright, please let me know you're safe."

He sent that message, but there was no reply, and it showed as read, indicating that her phone had been tampered with.

Kyosuke Kosaka was relieved. If he had been kidnapped or something similar, he would have received a message saying "I'm safe and sound" or "Nothing serious" by now.

Normally, Ms. Touma herself wouldn't speak like that, but a kidnapper who's not thinking straight would stupidly reply like that—why would someone with a brain become a kidnapper with no future?

Despite this assessment, Kosaka was still a little uneasy and started dialing the number repeatedly out of boredom. Finally, the other party answered on the fourth call.

"Hello..."

Touma Kazusa's voice sounded a little tired: "Ugh... What is it?"

"..."

How dare she ask what it is?

It's certain that this is her; only she could say something like that.

"You've called me several times already, and you still ask me what's up?"

"……nothing."

The voice carried a certain consideration, and sounded very calm.

Are you at home now?

"...Okay, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

This sentence means the same thing as "Can you come to my house now?" It carries a rare shyness and embarrassment from Touma Kazusa, and is accompanied by a hint of pain. This tone makes people uneasy.

With all sorts of thoughts swirling in his mind, Kousaka Kyosuke pushed open the door to the Touma family's house. He was about to speak when he stopped himself, and his expression instantly turned comical.

"I see... I see."

The girl, standing awkwardly in the living room, lowered her head and said, "That's it, like this."

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a bizarre thing to do!"

Meeting Kosaka's strange gaze, she looked away, slightly embarrassed, and looked at the front of her right arm.

It was a vase in the living room, a magical prop she had once used as a weapon to threaten him. Now, this prop was still magical, as it had swallowed her right hand.

Judging from the discarded rag next to her, she was cleaning the vase. However, her hand slipped and got stuck inside the vase. The vase wasn't heavy, but it was uncomfortable to hold it for a long time.

"Are you just going to stand there? Can't you sit down?"

Touma's eyes widened: "Don't talk nonsense! I've been sitting for three hours! Get up and relax now—are you mocking me?"

"No, I'm mocking this vase."

"Um……?"

"Poor Flower Vase Sauce, your mouth was stuffed full of your hand."

Infuriated by this statement, the girl with long, straight black hair said with a tense face, "None of this matters now, just pull it out for me!"

He grabbed the vase and tried to pull it open, then glanced at the opening and sighed, "How come your hands are so big?"

Other girls probably wouldn't have their hands stuck, but because Touma has been practicing the piano since she was a child, her hands are not only not as delicate as other girls', but also have a lot of calluses and are relatively large. You could even mistake them for a boy's hands.

"Stand there and don't move!"

"Orange... never mind, I'm just really tired, please hurry up."

The girl, who had been battling wits with the broken vase for more than three hours, looked exhausted. Kousaka Kyosuke gripped the bottom of the vase again and pulled it up with a little force, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain.

"No."

"I can still hold on."

He shook his head: "What if you break a bone somewhere? These hands are probably more important to you than your life, Touma Kazusa, who loves the koto more than anything."

She sighed softly, looking quite disappointed: "I want to smash this vase."

"But there is a high risk of being cut by shards, so I don't recommend this method."

Kyosuke Kosaka sighed as well: "Let's add some soapy water to lubricate it. I'll go to the kitchen first."

"No."

Touma gritted his teeth.

She was indeed notified of the water outage via email, but she was practicing the piano at the time and had no idea about it.

Do I look stupid right now?

"Not really."

One of Kyosuke Kosaka's strengths is that he often says nice things when girls make self-deprecating jokes, whether he means it sincerely or not, he subconsciously maintains his gentlemanly demeanor.

"How about we call Ms. Kudo and ask her to come and help?"

Touma objected: "She'll laugh at me for a year! Please allow me to decline!"

To be precise, it was because he was worried that his mother would laugh at him.

"I'll go outside and take a look first."

Kyosuke went out and arrived at a nearby convenience store, only to find it closed. He then turned his attention to the vending machine next to it.

However, misfortune followed one after another.

In Japan, there is one vending machine for every 23 people on average, but the vending machines next to the convenience store were almost empty, as they were all sold out.

The remaining can of instant ramen looked pitifully at him.

"So you came back with local specialties?"

Although he was glared at by the impatient girl, he handed her a can of food and said, "Have some ramen first. You poor thing, you probably didn't have lunch."