The first time I met Otsuka-senpai, I only deemed her as an overly curious girl whod jump at any hole just to satisfy her curiosity. Shes pretty laid-back and bubbly. Even if shes a little annoying, I deem it pointless to be mad at her. Shed take a step back as soon as shes satisfied, after all.

But then, she dug a deeper hole for herself by becoming more involved with me by finding out my supposedly secret relationship with Kana. From there, as though she was sailing into a whirlpool in the middle of the ocean, the overly curious girl has been slowly but surely getting swallowed by it. Its only a matter of time before she sinks in without any hope of swimming up.

Senpai, how did you find this place? I asked Otsuka-senpai after taking in our surroundings. The girl was still humming in a great mood as she continued to pull on my hand.

I discovered it, Onoda-kun. What do you think? She swiftly responded with a proud smile on her lips and an expression that begged me to praise her.

Mhm... Its a suitable place. No one can suddenly walk in on us here. Although I expected youll bring me to your cabin.

Eh? Impossible. A lot of girls stayed behind to take a shower.

Ah... Right. I forgot how long the girls take a shower. I mean, I often bathe with Akane and my girls. We were unconcerned about how long it took us to finish. Furthermore, its also happening on our hill. I just didnt pay that much attention since I was with my girls. Those other girls who I ran into simply decided differently.

My bad. That passed over my head. I said as I scratched the back of my head, earning me a sweet-sounding giggle from the girl.

Come on, Onoda-kun. You cant be that silly. Wheres that playful guy who kept on teasing me?

Is that how you view me?

Kinda. Also, youre a dependable junior. And more importantly, perverted.

Otsuka-senpai chuckled in a lively voice as she listed those. But then, at the same time as she mentioned that last trait, the volume of her voice lowered as she stopped in her steps and turned to face me.

Looks like she got triggered on her own by mentioning that. I could sense from the connection of our hands that her body began to rise in temperature. Even without doing anything, shes already this affected by what shes possibly hoping to happen between us here.

Uhm... Were here. Onoda-kun. Lets sit down.

Upon saying that, she gestured for me to take a seat. Before following her eyes, I once again looked around us.

And honestly, this was more than an obscure place. Strangely, its situated inside the woods. It felt as if this was deliberately created for the purpose of being a place to have a secret rendezvous with someone.

This was an open space with small boulders arranged in a square that surrounded an old cherry blossom tree. Its a wild one and not like the ornamental trees that could be seen often. Its already the last week of June, so the flower petals that bloomed had long disappeared and whats left were the newer leaves that replaced it along with some of the fruits it bore. However, those were also close to falling out.

It's quite funny since the superstition of confessing under the cherry blossom tree is still popular. Yet, what were going to do here might not even be in line with that.

Anyway, something like this wasnt present on the other hill. Judging from its vicinity and my guess estimation of how long we walked, this should be close to the haunted manor rather than one of their cabin areas. For sure, if we went southeast from here, we might reach that old shrine where I met Haruko and the other girls yesterday and northeast would be that manor.

From the bridge to this place, it took us more than five minutes of walking. Halfway through that time, we diverted from the original path leading to their gathering area and into a tight, seemingly untrodden path hidden behind a bush and two trees with thick trunks.

If I have to guess, her curiosity played a huge part in finding this place by snooping everywhere yesterday.

As Otsuka-senpai took a seat on one of the boulders, I followed after her, taking the one beside her. She had yet to let go of my hand and most likely, shed keep holding it unless I pointed it out.

Then, as we settled down, an awkward silence immediately followed right after.

The girl didnt know what to say next while I kept my mouth closed and only observed her reaction through my senses.

With her gaze stuck on our joined hands, Otsuka-senpai furtively glanced at me as though she was waiting for me to say something.

At this point, her hands sweat glands had opened up. That connection was becoming moist and with our body heat being transferred to each other, Otsuka-senpai started fidgeting.

So, is the silence making you nervous, senpai? I thought you were excited about this.

I am excited... But Onoda-kun, you cant blame me if I get nervous. You just wont talk and your eyes... it feels like Im already naked in front of you. You could see through me.

Is that what youre worried about? Dont worry, I have yet to strip you off in my head. That much I promise.

That... How shameless!

Shameless? Senpai, dont forget why were here. Youre the one who requested this and Im here to fulfill my promise to you.

I... I know. Give me a moment to set my head straight, okay?

Sure. Take your time... In the meantime, let me wipe this sweaty hand.

Uhm... Sorry about that.

Looking a bit more embarrassed, Otsuka-senpai bit her lips as she watched me raise her hand and wipe it off with my handkerchief. Once done, I stared at her, observing her minute reactions.

To her surprise, I didnt release it. Instead, I restored our initial connection, letting her grasp my hand again.

Otsuka-senpai blinked her eyes a few times before facing my gaze again and slowly, a hint of pink showed on her face.

Wont it get sweaty again?

It will. But senpai, I only said Im going to wipe it off, not take my hand away. Tell me, are you trying to familiarize yourself with this kind of contact with me?

No... Im just satisfying my curiosity.

For what?

Whether this will make my heart race or not. Kana-chan-

senpai, Rumi-senpai, and Mirae-chan are always happy whenever you do this to them.

As I expected, even in this situation, she just couldnt help feeding her curiosity.

I see. Dont you think theres a more direct reason why theyre happy about it?

What? Tell me, Onoda-kun.

And here I thought she already studied a lot about this. Looks like shes still a little ignorant of this kind of thing. Or maybe, its because she hasnt truly experienced it yet that she couldnt make the connection on what she read.

Now, its making me wonder why her friends failed to call her out with her bluff. In terms of innocence, while shes not on par with Misaki, shes halfway there. Even if she already had that experience of watching us make love in the clubroom, its probably not enough unless she experienced it herself. Hence, her interest in me had blown up this much.

Its simple, senpai. Because they love it. Holding the hand of someone you like or love can bring that kind of happiness.

Is that how it is?

Mhm. And I must say. In my eyes, youre also happy about this, senpai. Your head has just suddenly become filled with miscellaneous thoughts. In other words, youre overthinking at this moment.

Right. I might not be a mind reader but her face says it all. Rather than focus on one thing, her head mustve been running on different thoughts at the same time. And its making her confused.

Thats why... I should calm her down first.

Turning my body slightly to her side, I used my free hand to reach for her cheek.

Otsuka-senpai flinched at first but as soon as my palm perfectly cupped her that side of her face, a peaceful expression dawned on her.

As I caressed her slowly with my thumb, I opened my mouth again, Senpai, since were going to act like a couple in front of your friends. What do you think about focusing on that first? Lets set aside your curiosity for now. We have enough time to tackle that later.

W-what? What do you mean? As confusion set in her eyes, Otsuka-senpai narrowed her eyes at me, trying to figure me out.

Lets see... We can start by calling each other by our given name, Karen.

Ru... Ruki?