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“Ah there you are, Kou and Miyuki. Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

Hijiri and Hinagiku, having finished washing their bodies and hair, also made their way to the outdoor hot spring. As soon as they spotted Kou and Miyuki, they quickly entered the water and sat down near them.

“You were there for a while, huh?”
“Mhm, I also wanted to take care of Hinagiku~”
“I didn’t expect her to be so good at washing my back…”

Hinagiku spoke as if it had been a heavenly experience, then let out a sigh and rested her head on Hijiri’s shoulder. Kou had been surprised by that in the past as well, but for some reason, she now felt a twinge of jealousy hearing that someone else had experienced it too.

“…Kou?”
“Oh, sorry, it’s nothing.”
“..?”

Hijiri noticed Kou’s reaction, causing Kou to shake her head, trying to dispel those feelings, leaving Hijiri confused. Eventually, the girls started chatting and ended up standing, which left their upper bodies exposed above the water, once again creating a restless environment for Kou.

“By the way…I can’t stop thinking about it…” After a bit, Hinagiku said that and looked at Kou, who was nervously trying to look away. “But your skin is so pretty…”

“Y-Yeah, I was thinking that too!”
“…Wha-?!”

Hinagiku clung onto Kou’s body and took a closer look at her skin. Miyuki also approached her, having waited for a chance to do it. That left Kou unsure of how to react, having both of them so close to her.

Kou’s skin was extremely clear, something unusual for a Japanese person, as albinism was a rare condition. On top of that, she had also inherited Amari’s body shape, which placed her hips relatively higher on her body compared to a Japanese person, making her stand out even more when naked.

“C-Can I touch it?”
“M-Me too..!”
“Umm…well, I guess you can…”

It was impossible for Kou to say no, seeing Hinagiku and Miyuki look at her with twinkling eyes.

“Thank you very much!”
“Yayy!”

The two girls quickly clung closer to Kou, making her stiffen up.

“Eheheh, it’s so soft, and it smells nice too…”
“R-Really..?”

Hinagiku quickly wrapped Kou’s arm around herself, reclining her back and head on Kou’s chest.

Kou had to mentally repeat to herself that Hinagiku was still in elementary school, regardless of how she looked or acted, and did her best to stop thinking about the soft rear she could feel against her thighs.

On the other side…

“W-Well, if I may…” Miyuki was a bit more hesitant, carefully taking Kou’s other arm and examining it.

“Mmh-”

The way they prodded and lightly pinched her skin made Kou start to feel ticklish, almost forcing a strange sound out of her mouth, so she had to bite her lips and avert her gaze from them.

“Woahh… It almost feels like a baby’s skin…”
“I know, it’s so nice. But her skin is also really delicate and gets bruised easily, so washing her takes a lot of work~”
“Then why do you sound happy about that…”
“Because it’s more rewarding to get it all nice and clean!”

Kou stared at Hijiri for a moment, not fully understanding what the point of that was.

“How did I end up like this…” Kou turned to look at the distant night sky, with two young girls holding onto her and her childhood friend praising her constantly.

And so the girls continued talking happily with each other.

“Ah… Hey, is it you guys over there?” A voice suddenly rang from the other side of the wall separating the women and men’s sides.
“Oh, is that you, Subaru?”
“Yeah, it’s me, Hijiri. Ryunosuke is also here.”

Subaru replied positively from the other side.

“Ah, you’re there papa?”
“Yes, Miyuki. I hope you haven’t been causing any trouble for Kou or Hijiri, right?”
“I’d never do that!”
“Hahyu?!”

Miyuki pouted in response to Ryunosuke, and hugged Kou’s right arm more tightly. That made Kou’s arm push into something soft, producing a weird yelp in response. Kou really had to use all her willpower not to scream at the increased contact between her and the girls.

This is bad, especially bad for my sanity..!

Kou still had not built a tolerance towards so much skinship with other girls, so her heart continued to accelerate and pump more blood to her head, starting to make her feel dizzy.

“By the way, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask.”
“Ah… What is it?”

Seemingly oblivious to Kou’s plight, Hinagiku looked up from within her arms and spoke to her.

“I’ve noticed you two seem really close, but exactly what kind of relationship do you have with Hijiri?”
“With…Hijiri…”

Amidst her dwindling sanity, Kou did her best to express the words that came to her mind.

“She’s…someone very…very important to me. Yeah.”
“Huh? Kou?”

Hijiri replied with a bit of bewilderment, though Kou could not understand why.

“Wait, does that mean you’re lovers?!”
“Hey, Miyuki?!”

Things took a sudden turn to romantic discussion, and Miyuki’s eyes started to twinkle at the thought of a forbidden love between two girls. But her straightforward question made even Hijiri flustered.

By then, Kou had also lost all capacity of rational thought, her mind thrown into a feverish delirium so not even her knew what she was saying.

“I mean…I’ve always…since long ago…”
“Huh? Wait, Kou? Are you okay? Here, how many fingers am I holding up?!”

As Hijiri rushed to check on Kou, her consciousness faded to black completely. She had tried to communicate something before that happened, but that just turned into incoherent mutterings that were never registered in her memory.

…
……
………

The refreshing breeze of air conditioning caressed her cheek and bangs, gently rousing Kou from her deep sleep.

“Mmm…”
“Ah, are you awake..?”
“…Hijiri?”

It took Kou a while to reply, mostly because Hijiri’s face was obscured by two large mounts.

They were currently in the room assigned to Kou, on top of a couch. Kou was wearing a loosely tied yukata, and was lying down.

“I think you stayed in the hot spring for too long and ended up passing out, do you remember?”
“Ahh…yeah.”

Her whole body felt heavy. Hijiri gave her a cup of water, and Kou slowly drank it while she recalled what had happened.

“The person in charge of the hot springs got really mad, saying that we should’ve been more careful since it’s easy to get dizzy there.”
“Oh yeah…I think there was a warning about that somewhere…”

There had been a sign in the changing room warning that the water was heavy in minerals there.

“You should say thanks to Subaru too when you can. He carried you all the way here after we put some clothes on you.”
“O-Okay…”

Hijiri’s stern voice made Kou feel a bit down.

She also realized that she had been sleeping on Hijiri’s lap ever since they got back from the hot springs, but she was so drained of energy that she had no option but to remain resting her head on those soft thighs.

After some silence, Hijiri began to gently comb Kou’s hair with her fingers, and Kou realized that something was off about Hijiri.

“…Hey, are you okay? Your face is really red.”
“I-I-I’m fine, okay?!”

Kou began to worry that Hijiri had also stayed in the water for too long. But contrary to her worries, Hijiri awkwardly looked away and tried to stammer a response.

“Umm…I mean, it was right before you passed out, so you probably don’t remember what you said… That’s a bit of a relief, but also a bit of a shame…”
“…???”

Hijiri placed her hands on her reddened cheeks while mumbling something, but Kou could only stare in puzzlement.