Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

Even Wakaba Mu betrayed him, didn't he?

Isn't she standing firmly beside Iruma Hibiki at this moment?

This is what Shoko Toyokawa thought and did.

She subconsciously stepped back and quickly closed the door.

Of course, if everything went well, then Hibiki Iruma and his group would have been rejected.

But the next moment.

Iruma made a noise behind Shiina Ritsuki.

He quickly leaned forward and rushed into the narrow gap before Shiina Riki could react.

It's like being a goalkeeper in football.

It was just like when he first started skateboarding, but he didn't learn how to jump off the board and brake, and he skated very fast, and then he was tripped by a stone on the ground.

He threw his body towards the small gap that could not fit him at all.

Shiina Riki was very close, and she subconsciously, without knowing why, accidentally, and absolutely shouldn't have reached out her hand.

She grasped Iruma Hibiki's fingers, but soon, they slipped away from her hand——

Bang!

There was a huge noise.

In an instant, the situation became extremely complicated.

Hibiki Iruma's arm was pinched by the slamming door, and then Shoko Toyokawa realized what she had done and suddenly let go of the door handle.

Having lost her balance and unable to react due to the pain, Iruma Hibiki was unable to adjust her body posture.

Toyokawa Shoko, who was following behind, also lost her balance because Hibiki Iruma fell on her.

As she fell backwards.

She felt—

Suddenly, Hibiki Iruma hugged her tightly.

One hand hugged her waist.

A hand passed through her neck and touched the back of her head.

In Hibiki Iruma's dream.

This action has actually been practiced hundreds of times.

The title of the exercise is probably [How to save a girl you fall in love with at first sight].

The content of the practice is how to protect the other person when losing balance in the air.

This scene, for Iruma Hibiki.

It was a scene that I had rehearsed in my dreams for sixteen years.

58 Awkward Situation

An awkward atmosphere spread.

Even though we said we were coming together.

Despite making various preparations and even preparing herself to be blamed, Shiina Riki's situation became difficult as Iruma Hibiki hugged Toyokawa Shoko.

Stay or leave?

Or should I speak now?

Do something?

The rotten door creaked in the wind, and as it opened and closed, Toyokawa Shoko fell into a warm embrace.

She didn't know why.

All the pretense of bravado turned into more complicated and terrifying emotions at this moment.

Tears flowed unconsciously.

Want to stop.

look up.

Tears slid down the side of her face and fell to her ears and the back of her head.

She didn't know what to say.

With a hint of worry, but also wanting to rely on the person in front of me.

The desire not to be noticed becomes resistance.

"Why is Hibiki here?"

Toyokawa Shoko asked.

There was a hint of a roar in his tone.

It was like the last cry and show of strength of a wounded beast.

"Because I'm worried about Xiangzi."

……

Toyokawa Shoko was speechless.

Iruma Hibiki wanted to get up.

The current situation doesn't seem like it would be a good time for communication.

If someone saw me...

But now there are other people behind me.

Shiina Riki and Wakaba Mutsu were standing at the door. When Iruma Hibiki fell in, the two of them moved forward slightly and stood together, blocking the turbid light that was shining into the door.

And Iruma Hibiki pressed down on Toyokawa Shoko and hugged her tightly.

At this moment, Shoko Toyokawa's calves were pressed against the dirty floor of the entrance hall, and her knees were at the end of the steps at the entrance hall.

The back of her head was covered by Iruma Hibiki's palm.

The same goes for behind me.

Iruma Hibiki's middle finger just happened to be touching the strap on the back of her bra, hugging her tightly.

The originally comfortable metal buckle there rubbed slightly against Toyokawa Shoko's skin with Iruma Hibiki's movements, causing a slight pain.

But perhaps Toyokawa Shoko has already gotten used to this kind of discomfort in the past few days, and considering the current situation, it is just a trivial matter.

So Shoko Toyokawa did not resist.

even--

The moment Iruma Hibiki looked up.

Shoko Toyokawa is like an octopus.

With suction cups of terrifying suction power, her hands and feet have now become tentacles.

Perhaps she didn't want Hibiki Iruma to see the scene behind her, or perhaps because she was uneasy, Toyokawa Shoko subconsciously hugged Hibiki Iruma back.

First the hands, then the legs.

It wasn't until a soft sound came from behind that Hibiki Iruma completely separated from the warmth in surprise.

I don't know when the door behind me closed. In the pitch-black darkness, Iruma Xiang stood up slightly and felt a little uneasy.

Toyokawa Shoko's breath was very close, as if she was right in front of him. Her warm breath kept blowing on the side of his face, bringing a subtle, lemony scent, just like the fruit-flavored toothpaste he used when he was a child.

"Xiangzi, where is the lamp?"

Hibiki Iruma asked.

He didn't get up.

Worried that his actions would hurt Toyokawa Shoko.

Just after saying that, he made a gesture as if to stand up.

And on the other side of the door.

"Are you leaving?"

Wakaba Mutsu asked Shiina Tatsuki.

It wasn't the wind, it was Tatsuki Shiina who closed the door.

"Ah."

A muffled sound came out of Shiina Riki's mouth.

"It's better to leave them alone for a while now."

Then, I don’t know what kind of mood she was in when she said this.

"Lixi, unhappy?"

Wakaba Mu continued to ask.

She followed behind Shiina Riki obediently, watching Shiina Riki send a text message to Iruma Hibiki -

【We are waiting for you at the nearby convenience store. 】

"Ah, no."

Shiina Riki responded to Wakaba Mutsu.

After a long time, when Shiina Riki arrived at the door of a convenience store where he could sit down, Wakaba Mu suddenly said:

"Li Xi is like Su Shi, he likes Xiang? Yi侕０⒊(二))雨起死玐"

……

For a moment, Shiina Riki stood there in a daze.

"Huh? Who said that?"

"That guy? How could I?!"

The subconscious and fierce rebuttal was because the most fragile love in the overly soft heart was hurt.

"And what's the matter with it being the same as Su Shi?"

……

"Himagi, are you hurt?"

In the darkness, Toyokawa Shoko said this to Iruma Hibiki.

She felt a long-lost sense of security.

Even though I felt terrible all over.

"No, it doesn't hurt at all. Xiangzi, are you okay?"

The distance between us makes it impossible for us to get closer.

Hibiki Iruma struggled to maintain a half-standing posture while being hugged by Shoko Toyokawa.

Shoko Toyokawa's hug is weird.

One hand tightly grasped the clothes on his back, the other hand grasped his chest, and both legs tightly locked one of his feet. In the darkness, the two of them maintained a distance of less than 10 centimeters in such a strange posture.

"It's ok."

"Hiragi, listen to me. Can you just pretend you didn't see anything today and leave? I'm fine. Tomorrow morning... after I pay the phone bill, I'll contact you."

There was a hint of earnestness in Shoko Toyokawa's voice.

That's a plea.

A plea from her heart, thus shattered.

"Xiangzi, I can't pretend I didn't see anything."

Iruma Hibiki said.