My thoughts, which had been frozen in surprise, began to move again. The first sensation I registered was a distinct, yielding softness. By the time I realized what was happening, I was clinging to Kuro.
It wasn't like I had grabbed her chest with the calculated precision of a rom-com protagonist; my posture was more of a simple, frantic back-hug.
"S-Sorry, Kuro!"
"N-No! Don't worry about it. Did you lose your balance? It's my first time steering a banana boat too, so I must have messed up the controls~"
Kuro’s response to my reflexive apology was suspiciously flat—she was definitely reading from a script.
"It's dangerous if you lose your balance again, so you can just keep holding on like that~"
"Eh? No, I really shouldn't..."
She definitely sounded like she was acting... but before I could dwell on that, I needed to fix my posture. Surprise had dominated my mind until now, but as I regained my composure, my awareness began to drift toward other things.
Specifically, I noticed how smooth and pleasant Kuro’s skin felt. Even through my palms alone, I could tell she was slightly slick from the seawater.
Unlike her usual long coat, Kuro was currently in a swimsuit. Her skin was far more exposed than usual, and as I clung to her from behind, the sensation of her bare skin felt incredibly vivid.
At this rate, things were bound to get awkward. Since the boat seemed stable enough for the moment, I tried to return to my original position—wait, that's weird. My hands won't let go?
What was going on? I could move my hands across her skin, but I couldn't actually pull them away from her.
Was my desire to touch her so strong that I was doing this subconsciously? No, that couldn't be it. She was definitely up to something.
"...Kuro, my hands won't let go."
"E-Ehh? Really? How mysterious. I wonder why? Maybe you just got so startled that you're tensing up! Well, I don't mind, so it's fine for you to stay like that!"
"...No, you're definitely using some kind of magic to keep them there, aren't you?"
"...A-Ah~ the waves are so loud, I can't hear you~"
Kuro really was a terrible liar. She was far too easy to read, which meant she was absolutely behind this. In fact, I suspected that jolt from earlier was intentional too...
Ugh, what was I supposed to do? For now, it seemed she wanted me to keep clinging to her.
It was a surprisingly forceful move for her, but while I was embarrassed, it wasn't like I disliked the contact.
Fortunately, thanks to our height difference, I could still see ahead, and the position wasn't physically taxing. I figured I might as well indulge her rare moment of selfishness.
"—!?"
Just as I decided that, a pair of hands wrapped around my waist from behind. Wait, what? From behind? That meant these were Sieg-san's...
The blood rushed to my head at the sudden pincer attack. My thoughts went blank again as I felt someone press tightly against my back.
"S-Sieg-san!?"
"...I... might lose my balance too... if I don't hold on."
Objection! Considering the massive gap in our physical abilities, there was no way a sway could knock her over while I stayed upright!
"No, no, even so, there's no need to be this close..."
"It is... for safety."
Sieg-san’s voice sounded like she was breathing right into my neck. I couldn't see her face, but she sounded far more sultry than usual.
Moreover, the proximity was insane. With her arms around my waist and her chin resting on my shoulder, almost the entire front of her body was molded against my back.
What on earth was happening? I was hugging Kuro in the front, and I was being hugged by Sieg-san from the back. I was being squeezed by two lovers in swimsuits... a "Sandwich," so to speak. This was a critical situation.
Virtually every part of me was in contact with someone. I didn't need to explain what would happen if I moved even an inch.
The only thing to do was... stay still. Yes, complete immobility. I had to clear my mind, keep my body as rigid as possible, and survive this...
"Oops, I messed up the throttle again~"
"!??!?!"
Augh, did something just rub against my back?! Stop it! Now that I was conscious of it, every little sensation was driving me crazy!
The problem wasn't just my back, but my front too. My hands were stuck to Kuro, but I could still move them.
If I held on too tight, the contact would increase, and I'd end up touching parts that were definitely off-limits. But if I tried to loosen my grip while taking advantage of the fact that I couldn't let go...
"Hyan!? G-Geez, you startled me... Kaito-kun... you're lewd."
"~~~~~~!?"
Kuro’s skin was wet and slippery. My hands were magically fused to her but still capable of movement... and then a perfectly timed, seemingly intentional jolt hit the boat.
This was bad. This was so much worse than I'd imagined. I couldn't move forward or backward. Applying pressure or relaxing it both led to different dangers. Whether I moved or stayed still, the situation only spiraled out of control.
...H-How much longer was this going to last!?
Serious-senpai: "...I feel like the main heroines are actually acting like main heroines for once... I think I'm gonna be sick."
Machina (Barely B): "I see, so this is the Sandwich... Their modest chests actually allow for a more perfect fit. Fufu, even the girls with low Breast Power have their ways of making things work."
Serious-senpai: "And now this one is flexing her chest size at every opportunity. Shouldn't those kinds of comments come from a character who actually has a large chest...?"
Machina (Almost A): "Hmm? Did you say something?"
Serious-senpai: "...No, I didn't say a thing."