Do I really have a thing for female voice actors?

The girl sat on the edge of the bed, silently watching the focused profile of Tazaki Toru squatting in front of her. Her head was buzzing, as if a Shinkansen bullet train was constantly rushing around in her mind.

The roaring train engine made it almost impossible for her to hear Tazaki Toru's voice.

"Miss Tachibana, Miss Tachibana..."

She then came to her senses and met Tazaki Toru's gentle gaze, suddenly becoming hesitant and stammering.

Tazaki Toru handed the wrung-out towel to Tachibana Rin, but incredibly, Tachibana Rin had the illusion that the towel in her hand was not as hot as her own body temperature.

Speaking of which, he just said that Hina went out to work and wasn't home, right?

In other words, it's just the two of them at home, and they're alone together.

Such a situation is not unusual until now, but today, her drowsy mind is churning with unusually bold thoughts.

The Shinkansen bullet train was buzzing in my head, its speed increasing, and the resulting feeling of weightlessness prompted me to utter those words as if by some strange impulse.

"I... I can't reach his back."

Tazaki Toru was taken aback.

"So what I'm saying is... you, you help me."

Ms. Tachibana's voice grew softer and softer, and Tazaki Toru finally understood what she meant.

Suddenly, various scenes flashed through Tazaki Toru's mind, mostly of the girl in front of him, and how she looked when she was in trouble.

"Miss Tachibana, don't you dislike me?"

"Of course I hate it! Letting you touch my body is something I'd rather die than do."

"But Japanese food isn't home, and I'm feeling really awful, so, so..."

It takes a lot of courage for a girl to say something like that.

We can't embarrass her.

"Yes, I understand. If Miss Tachibana doesn't mind, I'd be happy to oblige."

Upon hearing this, the girl felt a sudden sense of relief, but immediately tried to cover it up by saying, "You! You're not allowed to look!"

I'll try my best.

"What?! You're being so ambiguous."

"If I close my eyes and accidentally hit Ms. Tachibana on the head with the towel, you'll definitely complain about me again. But if I really have ulterior motives and want to see your body, I'll say it to your face."

"What kind of talk is that? It really makes me angry."

Tazaki Toru's words slightly slowed down the speed of the Shinkansen train running in her mind.

Perhaps this was something Tazaki Toru did intentionally, to avoid an ambiguous atmosphere, and that's why he deliberately said things to annoy her.

"Well, excuse me."

Tazaki Toru sat down sideways behind Tachibana Rin, feeling the mattress sink, and a shiver ran through the girl's heart.

Inside the room, a steady stream of warm air from the air conditioner flowed gently from the vents above their heads.

Tazaki Toru didn't urge him, and just waited silently.

The time that enveloped the two of them seemed to suddenly take on a viscous substance, each second feeling as clear as if it were being poured onto their skin.

Rin Tachibana hesitated, then pulled the blanket over herself and slowly unbuttoned her pajamas under the covers.

One, two...

The moment she unbuttoned all the buttons, her drowsy mind suddenly cleared up a little.

She seems to be doing something truly extraordinary.

Even though he knew in his heart that doing this would hurt Aoki Hina, his fingers couldn't stop, picking up the front of his pajamas and gently pulling it down to both sides.

The silk-textured pajamas slid smoothly down her shoulders, and her long black hair fell naturally down her back, like dark clouds covering a snow-capped mountain.

Compared to her short hair when they first met, her hair is now almost waist-length, slightly messy as if she had just woken up, but it gives Tazaki Toru an extremely realistic sense of life.

Before each trip out, she would carefully tidy her appearance, but this time it showed a slightly disheveled reality.

But only Tazaki Toru was able to see it with his own eyes.

Rin Tachibana paused for a while before slightly raising her hands, covering her chest with her left hand and reaching her right hand behind her neck to lift her hair.

His thin, pale back was exposed, with a sickly redness and a few beads of sweat.

In an instant, a cool sensation spread from my back.

Tazaki Toru remained silent, gently applying the wrung-out hot towel to her back.

Rin Tachibana let out a soft groan, remaining unusually quiet as if she were letting his hand do as it pleased.

Tazaki Toru polished her back as if it were a finely carved piece of jade, afraid that if he used too much force, it would cause cracks to appear on her fair and smooth back.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room was heavy, with only their breathing echoing and overlapping.

Rin Tachibana appeared calm on the surface, but her mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts, and she even felt a little relieved.

I'm glad I take good care of myself and never forget to apply body lotion every day to keep my skin smooth.

The underarm hair management is also very good, with not a single extra hair on the entire body.

She could almost feel Toru Tazaki's gaze wandering over her back; her intense shyness made her forget to even breathe on him.

"Tazaki..."

"Ok?"

"Please say something, this is so...so embarrassing."

"Really? I think it's quite unusual that Miss Tachibana is so quiet right now."

"You're not angry with me?"

Why do you say that?

“These past few days, I’ve been ignoring you. Every time you greet me, I rarely respond. When we do talk, my tone is unpleasant.”

She spoke words that sounded like self-reflection, but Toru Tazaki didn't take them to heart.

"I see."

Tazaki Toru submerged the towel in the basin of water and scrubbed it for a while.

"I imagine that Ms. Tachibana must have her own worries. Even I can't always maintain a good state of mind. I often fall into a slump because I can't write melodies that I'm satisfied with."

“During those times, I wish everyone in the world would disappear so as not to interfere with my creative process.”

Rin Tachibana thought that these two things should be completely different in nature.

That's just the kind of man Tazaki Toru is; his comforting words somehow manage to soothe her frustration.

"Tazaki, are you like this with all girls?"

"What do you mean by this?"

Rin Tachibana didn't know what to say, and she heard the gurgling sound of a towel floating into the basin of water.

Tazaki Toru hesitated for a moment, then said in a daze, "If you mean something like this, then Tachibana-san is the first one. To be honest, I'm just pretending to be calm right now."

"Feigning composure? Does that mean you have ulterior motives towards me?"

"It means I'm afraid that Miss Tachibana might suddenly go back on her word and turn against me."

"If you were to turn on me now, kick over the basin of water, and throw a towel in my face without a word, I might really be devastated and become discouraged, feeling that trust between people is indeed extremely fragile."

"Is this the unreasonable image you have of me?"

"I would never throw the towel I used to wipe myself in your face; that would be a reward for you."

Tazaki Toru chuckled, "Miss Tachibana's place is just so interesting."

"Don't underestimate me. Once I make something of myself and gain a lot of fans, you'll know how powerful I am."

Tazaki Toru smiled without saying a word, wiping the girl's back with a warm towel, not missing a single corner.

"Hey, you still haven't answered me. Will you be as gentle to every girl you meet as you are to me?"

She seemed aggressive, eager to hear his answer.

Tazaki Toru's answer may directly determine what he should do in the future.

"Does Miss Tachibana mean that I consider my treatment of you to be a form of kindness?"

"Isn't that right?"

Tazaki Toru slowly shook his head.

“I am not a saint, just an ordinary person. My kindness and goodwill are limited, and I am not patient with everyone.”

"I can only give this small portion to those who are sincere to me."

"I am not happy to deal with everyone. I will treat others the way they treat me."

"Although Miss Tachibana is capricious, she is extremely sincere to me. In all the years we've known each other, you've never done anything that really bothers or gives me a headache."

How could I repay kindness with enmity and treat your little trouble as a major enemy?

"Everyone has times when they want to rely on others. I'm glad that I can be a partner on your side when you need me."

Feeling Tazaki Toru's gentle wiping motion, Tachibana Rin lowered her head and remained silent.

The girl realized that it was her heart that was about to be completely exposed to him, rather than her naked body.

I absolutely cannot let him see my expression right now.

Otherwise, what kind of expression should she use to face Hina Aoki from now on?

I'm sorry, Hina, for all the teasing and jokes I said to you before.

I admit, this man is indeed quite cunning.

Suddenly, she sniffed, trying to make her voice sound confident, and said in a soft hum:

"You're just trying to fool me with nice words. I won't fall for your tricks and be as obedient as Hina."

Tazaki Toru wondered when he had actually lied to Aoki Hina.

However, considering that Tachibana Rin was feeling weak today, Tazaki Tooru decided to hold a grudge against her and quietly wiped away all the sweat from her back.