Its not cheating. Im simply comforting you. You looked like you needed a hug after venting all that out. Say, isnt this more effective than mere words? I shamelessly replied to her protest, pulling her even closer by the second.

Soon, she became fully enclosed within my embrace. Although she was protesting like she wanted to escape, she never resisted my pull. As the back of her head firmly settled on my left shoulder, she raised her head, giving me the view of her current expression.

With her narrowed eyes and slanted eyebrows, the girl was puffing her cheeks as she kept fuming through her nose. Not gonna lie, shes like a small animal that was upset about being picked up by her owner but obedient enough not to struggle.

... It is effective. But thats not the point here, Onoda-kun! She eventually replied, blowing out more indignant noise. Ugh. Why does this feel comfortable?

A hug will always be comfortable. Its only bad if youre repulsed by the one giving you the hug.

Although that question wasnt directed to me but to herself, I still answered it for her.

Did that guy never comfort you like this? I continued, flinging our topic back to her distant friend.

Of course, he didnt. Isnt this too much? Even if weve been friends for a long time.

She evaded my eyes when she mentioned that. Most likely, that made her recall that even though theyd been close friends, theyd never been as close to each other like this.

But well, something like that should be common. While its impossible for friends of different genders to develop skinship like hugging each other, its quite rare. Besides, I was the one who was not normal. Ive built up experience that something like this wasnt going to faze me, especially if Im embracing someone Im comfortable with.

It is. But this is just how it works for me. Even if its shameless on my part, seeing that its working, Ill do it anytime.

That... Thats not going to fly with everyone.

I know... I only do this if I deem it necessary. In which case, thats what I feel when looking at you. If you pushed me away the moment I enclosed my arms around you, I wouldnt try it a second time and respect your boundaries. And since were on this topic, you can still push me away. Dont worry about what will I feel about that. In the first place, I didnt warn you about this.

Sachi pursed her lips together, perhaps not knowing how to answer right away. Before long, the tension on her shoulder gradually faded and her breathing normalized. The slight agitation that she felt calmed down. No doubt. Thats an indication that shes not going to push me away.

A few seconds of silence passed. Within that duration, we could only hear the sound of our breathing as well as the rustling of the trees.

Then, as she finished rearranging her thoughts, I heard Sachi whisper, her voice a mix of elation, relief, and satisfaction.

This isnt what I was expecting when I asked to hang with you, Onoda-kun. I thought we were just going to have a great time teasing each other. I may have wanted to know more about you. Its funny because it became the other way around...

Well, I kind of steered us in this direction. I apologize.

Dont be. I think I needed that. My chest felt lighter now. I ended up venting all those negative feelings to you and yet, you never budged and listened to me.

Mhm. You confided in me. Think about it, our relationship is not one-sided anymore. You found out about my secret and you told me about yours. I may not be that much help when it comes to resolving your issues with him. But if you need a chest to lean on and ears to listen to your complaints, look for me.

Our connection started with her finding clues about me. First with that incident in the shower room and then calling me out to confirm my connection with my girls. I thought she was going to use that to sabotage us. But that never happened.

Its not easy to get ahold of you, Onoda-kun. Remember the last time I messaged you? You never read it until I called you. Sachi stifled her laughter as she brought up that one instance in the past.

Yeah. Thats my bad.

Its fine. I was with my friends but... its not as comfortable since they brought along other people. I tried inviting you to not be left out...

Other people? So, they brought a date?

If I recall correctly, I hid from them on the train. She was with her friends back then. Did they meet up with another group? Maybe boys from another school. Alright, so it was a mixer. Ive never been into one but well, its quite common for high schoolers and college students nowadays. Since she invited me and I didnt show up... it must have been awkward for her. But then again, she didnt even tell me the details.

Yes... And it was awful. One of the guys was so full of himself. Ugh. Forget it, I dont want to recall that day again.

Sachi sighed, venting out the anger she felt from it. I guess hes that obnoxious to make her rage like this.

If you want, I can come with you next time. I wont leave your message to gather dust anymore.

She shook her head, turning down my suggestion, No... its fine. Im not cut out for that kind of event. Ive never been on a date before. All I did was hang out with him.

Having recalled his distant friend again, Sachi became gloomy. But this time, she immediately recovered as she pushed those thoughts out of her head.

Following that, she held onto my arms enclosed around her, squeezing them tightly.

I prefer this, Onoda-kun. Spending time somewhere quiet with you. Its already noisy enough during volleyball practice and matches, I dont like another rowdy event like that where its like a competition on whose ego is the biggest.

Damn. That sounded awful. Its not always like that, right? They must have invited idiots who thought they were appealing that way.

Alright, then lets hang out again like this. I can always give you a hug.

No. No. No. It cant always be like this! Lets hang out normally!

Hearing my words, Sachi immediately reacted right away. Her face turned red again from embarrassment.

I laughed at her reaction which in turn made the girl puff up her cheeks.

Setting aside everything else and only focusing on our current situation, we spent our remaining time just teasing each other.

That fulfilled her expectations. Of course, she completely lost against me. Only some of my girls could defeat me in this area.

See you later, Onoda-kun.

Mhm. Tell Rae, Ill come and visit her soon.

Sure. Ill also tell her how you cuddled me all this time.

Heh. Go ahead. She wont be jealous. Shell just ask me to do the same.

Geez. Theres still no opening in your defense. Shaking her head while laughing, Sachi waved her hand and started her sneaky return to their camp.

Like earlier, I watched her from behind, just making sure she wouldnt suddenly trip or fall over.

I fulfilled my promise to her today. I guess I wont need to be troubled by her presence anymore, right? Or am I jinxing it again? Well see.

In any case, with only a few minutes left before our next activity, I started making my way back to our cabin area.

As luck would have it, I ran into Ayas group. Theyre also on their way back from somewhere. As soon as Aya spotted me, my adorable cinnamon roll hopped and skipped into my arms. Satsuki followed behind but she let the girl have her moment with me.

As for the other girls with them, they just looked at what was happening. But then, noticing the direction where I was coming from, Misumi teased me about it.

Of course, with how shameless I was, I honestly told them that I tried to sneak in again and that I failed this time.

That made them laugh and I got the obligatory Idiot call from Satsuki.

Following that, Shimura stepped forward, telling me about where they went. Shes that enthusiastic about it.

Aya helped her out and together, they made me feel like I was walking alongside them, experiencing those moments.

Mhm. Even though I failed to spend time with them, seeing the delight in their eyes was more than enough for me.

After separating from their group, I was a little hopeful to also run into Hana and Chii along with the two gyarus.

Too bad, we probably missed each other. They already returned while I was still inside the woods with Sachi.