Yuria’s kiss on my cheek hit me with the force of a physical shock, leaving me completely reeling.
(Her lips... t-t-touched my cheek!?)
In that split second of contact, I had felt her body heat from zero distance—the tickle of her breath, the incredible silkiness of her skin.
Even though it was just a peck on the cheek, for someone like me, it was every bit as stimulating as a real kiss. Despite being in the middle of a play, my brain had completely short-circuited; I couldn't think about anything but the sensation of Yuria’s lips.
I mean, they were just so damn soft.
For a Virgin Gloomy Otaku, even a chaste "cheek kiss" was dangerous levels of stimulation. That one move was enough to send all the blood in my body rushing south. It was a blessing that I was wearing a skirt; otherwise, everyone in the gymnasium would have noticed the very obvious bulge.
(If I’d been playing the Prince in those tight skinny pants, that area would’ve been protruding like crazy. I would have been socially executed right there on stage... That was close. Too close.)
"How are you feeling, Princess?"
"Eh, ah—"
Crap, crap. I was up.
"O-Oh, Prince! Thank you so much. Your kiss... it has awakened me from my slumber."
I managed to push through the rest of the play in a total daze. More than the stage fright, it was the memory of Yuria’s lips that occupied every corner of my mind.
"I-I am grateful for this fateful encounter... and I vow to love you for all eternity."
With that final line, the curtain fell on the morning performance.
☆☆
Once the morning show concluded, we were given free time until the afternoon session.
The cast members quickly changed back into their school uniforms and scattered to enjoy the Cultural Festival. Naturally, I retreated to the gymnasium restroom to shed the dress and return to my normal self.
(Sigh... I never want to expose myself to that kind of shame again. Just one more performance to go. I can do this.)
As I stepped out of the restroom, I found Kuroki and Miyama waiting for me by the entrance.
"Welcome back, Ryouta-kun. Good work out there."
"Ryouta, you were amazing!"
"A-Ah... thanks."
Since the whole experience felt like a fresh addition to my personal "dark history," I couldn't exactly bring myself to be happy about the praise.
"Oh, right, Ryouta-kun. Tanaka-san said she really wants you to stop by her class's Maid Cafe later."
"Sure, that's fine. But where’s Ichinose?"
"Yuria’s behind the gymnasium. A bunch of her fans cornered her for a photo session," Airi explained. "I wanted to take a picture with her too, but there were just too many people."
"I see."
I remembered now—as soon as the play ended, Yuria had been practically kidnapped by a swarm of girls and dragged off somewhere. So she still hadn't managed to break away.
"Ryouta, Ryouta! It looks like Yuria’s going to be tied up for a while, so let's head to the Maid Cafe run by Kanade-chan's class first!"
"E-Er... I need to go put the Snow White Costume away properly. Why don't you two go ahead? I'll catch up in a few minutes."
"Got it! Come on, Rui-chan, let’s go."
"Okay. Don't be too long, Ryouta-kun," Kuroki said, giving me a pointed look.
The two of them headed off toward the main school building. Kuroki definitely had a look in her eyes that suggested she knew something was up. Knowing her, she’d probably realized that Yuria had actually kissed me.
During the scene, Yuria was supposed to position herself so her back was to the audience. From the bleachers, it would have been impossible to see where her lips landed. Even from the wings, she’d leaned in so close that it would have been hard to distinguish a real kiss on the cheek from a staged one.
We’d agreed to just lean in during the rehearsals. No one in the cast expected Yuria to actually go through with it. In fact, none of our classmates had mentioned it afterward; they were all just relieved the first show went off without a hitch.
(But if it's Kuroki... No, I’m probably overthinking it. Still...)
I paced back and forth near the gymnasium, waiting for Yuria to finish up.
A few minutes later, the group of girls who had been surrounding her passed by me.
"Wait, hey, isn't that guy the one who played Snow White?"
"Oh my god, it is! Hey, hey, let us take your picture!"
The group pointed at me and started to close in.
Crap. This was bad. I’d already been humiliated enough on stage; if they took photos of me in my uniform and leaked them alongside the play photos on social media, my life was over.
"Hold it. That's a no-go. Ryouta doesn't do photos."
Suddenly, Yuria—already back in her school uniform—stepped between me and the girls. She was carrying her boots and had the Prince Costume draped over her arm.
"You guys can post as many pictures of me as you want, but Ryouta’s shy. Don't bother him."
"Y-Yes! Sorry!"
At Yuria’s firm warning, the fans—who were surprisingly well-behaved—immediately backed off and left.
"...Honestly, Ryouta. You were looking way too pleased with yourself."
"How did you get that from me being cornered?"
"Because you had this look on your face like you didn't mind being surrounded by girls at all."
"Well, I mean, maybe just a little bit... you know?"
"Don't 'you know' me. Seriously, this is why you're such a..."
Yuria let out an exasperated sigh. I wasn't even sure what she was implying.
"But you were actually pretty good during the play. Once you got into it, your acting felt natural. It made it easier for me to really get into character, too."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, I was actually the one who was super nervous before we went on. Everyone told me later that I had this terrifying look in my eyes right before the curtain rose."
Thinking back, she did have a pretty sharp, intense gaze while we were waiting in the wings.
"And... well, about that kiss."
"...!"
She’d suddenly pivoted to the one topic I didn't want to touch.
"Think of it as... a reward? You were working really hard, but you looked so stiff and nervous that I thought I’d tease you a little. You know?"
"Oh. Was that all it was?"
"Yeah, exactly! So it didn't have any deep meaning or anything... But just curious, were you unhappy that I kissed you?"
How was I supposed to answer that? To a Virgin Gloomy Otaku like me, it wasn't a question of being happy or unhappy.
"Well... I’ve never actually been kissed before, so... honestly, I guess I just got really excited."
"H-Huh? E-Excited!? What the hell are you saying!?"
"Look, you asked for my honest thoughts."
"I-I’m never doing that again! Hmph!"
"Hey, what?"
I’d somehow managed to piss her off. It was her ad-libbed kiss that started this whole mess, so I didn't see why she was the one getting angry.
"Anyway, Yuria, everyone’s already headed to the Maid Cafe run by Tanaka's class. We should probably get going too."
"M-Maid Cafe? A maid cafe, huh..."
"What’s with that reaction? You don't like them?"
"It’s not that I hate them. It’s just... I have some pretty bad memories associated with maid outfits."
"Bad memories?"
"You know that thing Rui started to mention this morning? About last year?"
Was this it? The legendary "Yuria's Cosplay Cafe Incident" that everyone whispered about like it was some great tragedy?
"Tell me everything!"
"What’s with that enthusiasm...? Ugh, fine, whatever."
Yuria let out another heavy sigh and began to explain.
"So, for the cosplay cafe last year, I was supposed to wear a maid outfit. But the skirt on the one I bought online was really short... and my thighs are, well, a little on the large side, right?"
That was an understatement. Everyone knew Yuria had the thickest, most suggestive thighs in the entire school.
"I’d already bought the thing and returning it was a hassle, so I just wore it on the day of the festival. But because of the fit, my thighs were just... out there. This Middle-aged Female Student Guidance Teacher saw me and said it was 'too sexually suggestive.' I was the only one banned from cosplaying, and I had to spend the rest of the day serving people while wearing a boring tracksuit. It was the absolute worst."
"I... I see."
The mystery was finally solved. Essentially, Yuria's thighs were so potent they required an R-rating.
"By the way... any chance you'd consider wearing that outfit again sometime—"
"Do you honestly think I would?"
"Right. Sorry."
Her eyes were suddenly filled with such pure, concentrated murderous intent that I apologized immediately. Scary.
"...Well," she muttered, looking away. "I guess I can understand where you're coming from. If... if you ever come over to my house again... I might consider putting it on for a little bit."
"I'll be there."
"Ugh. That instant response is so creepy."