My mind was in chaos. My head and my body were fighting each other so hard it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this was the biggest turning point in my life.
"I got the chance to date my favorite character, and I’m supposed to let it go?"
"...Hina... maybe..."
"If it’s hard to answer right now... you can answer later."
"Yeah... thanks."
What on earth was that ring, for her to suddenly change this much?
"...When I wore it, nothing happened at all..."
"...Haruta... but this ring doesn’t have a matching pair... where am I supposed to wear it...?"
"...Right, wait a second."
When I brought the ring toward Hina’s hand,
"Let’s see..."
her hand was too small, and there wasn’t a finger it fit.
"Just try it on first. If it doesn’t work, I’ll adjust the size."
I started checking one finger at a time on her left hand. It didn’t fit her thumb, index finger, or middle finger, so I even tried her pinky.
"...Yeah, still doesn’t fit..."
"But... the ring finger... why...?"
"Ah... well..."
Zzzzt
"Do you see it?"
"...?"
What Hina saw was the same ring already on Haruta’s left ring finger.
"It looks like it won’t fit anyway, so try putting it on me..."
"Hm... well, your hand is small, so I guess it still won’t fit, right?"
"N-no! I just... wanted to try putting it on once..."
"Oh... okay, then. Let’s try it."
Swish
"This kind of feels like a wedding..."
"A wedding... I’ve been to so many that I don’t even feel anything anymore."
"Huh...? You’ve been to a lot of weddings?"
"Uh... well... in the past?"
".....I see..."
Then, when I slipped the ring onto Hina’s ring finger,
"Even at a glance, there’s no way this fits... is it really going to go on?"
Kzzzt! Kkrrt!
The ring flashed brightly in Hina’s hand, and then—
"...!? W-wait!"
the ring had shrunk to the proper size and was now fitting perfectly on Hina’s left ring finger.
"...Ah..."
"Th-this is..."
A forced hundred-year vow.
"...Damn it! Hina, I’m sorry for my finger!"
Thud!
Bang!
Haruta put a hand on the desk beside him and, with a knife he’d somehow pulled out from nowhere, pressed it toward his ring finger while apologizing to Hina over and over.
"No! Haruta... I’m fine... actually, I like it..."
"Hina, I think you’re misunderstanding something here... I’m a criminal. A really bad one who’s committed every illegal thing there is, and I’m loaded on top of that."
"It’s okay. To me, you’re just this kind."
"Haa... but if I leave the ring on, should I cover it up?"
"Ah... n-no! I... I want to keep it like this..."
"Haa... I’ll hide it before the Kronos kids start saying something weird again."
"...Still..."
"Well... if you don’t mind, I won’t force you."
"Yeah... Haruta, don’t hide it either... could you just... stay like this...?"
Hina came over and hugged him from the front.
"...Haa... fine. If anything happens, call me right away. And if the Kronos kids say anything, I’ll just split Kronos in half and make it crawl along the ground."
"No... it doesn’t need to go that far..."
"...Right. I don’t even know what this ring is supposed to be, either...? But it’s definitely not a normal ring, so be careful."
"Okay..."
"How long are you going to stay here?"
"Hmm... until Haruta’s fully recovered?"
"Haa... and what hospital is this, anyway?"
"It’s the highest-level ward available in Gehenna... Haruta’s body is in bad shape, and it looks like there may be problems with your internal organs too. I don’t know much medically, so I can’t say for sure... but still..."
"Haruta absolutely has to rest. Sena told me that."
"Oh... yeah, thanks. I’ll rest a little."
"Mm."
When I lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, Hina sat in the chair beside me and looked down at me from above.
"Why...? What? Is there something on my face?"
"...No... heh..."
I wasn’t in that much pain, but I’d learned that when you can rest, you should rest. So I decided to rest as much as I could.
"Haruta... I’m going to change clothes for a bit."
"Huh? Wait, don’t you have to go home today?"
"Haa... I usually work overtime a lot in Gehenna, so I sleep at the Gehenna dorms... or else..."
"The Disciplinary Committee chief’s office? There?"
"Yeah... because I don’t go to Pandemonium Society very often..."
"Once I’m fully recovered, I’m going to break Pandemonium Society first and think later."
"It’s fine. I already work this much all the time."
"..."
After thinking it over for a moment, I reached a conclusion.
"...Hey, wait a second... Hina, don’t tell me..."
"Hm? Why?"
"You’re planning to sleep here?"
"...Mm... I was thinking I’d like to..."
"Haa... fine. I’ll indulge you once."
"Hehe... thank you."
After Hina changed clothes, I saw something familiar.
"By the way, Hina, where did you buy that pajamas set you wear every day?"
"Hm... this? I bought it at the Trinity department store a while back..."
"Ah... that makes sense. I figured it’d be something you’d hardly ever see in Gehenna."
We chatted about random things for a while, then Hina lay down on the bed.
"Wow, this bed is bigger than I expected..."
"Hina, if this bed were any smaller, you wouldn’t even be able to lie down here."
"Mm... true... okay then... good night, Haruta..."
"You too."
- Hina’s POV
"I did it!!!"
I’d originally planned to just stay by his side and leave, but I got a little greedy and asked if we could sleep together. I never thought he’d actually agree.
"...Mm... Hina... you still awake?"
"Y-yeah!? I-I’m still awake..."
"Oh... go to sleep already..."
If I just slept normally in this situation, I’d be the crazier one.
Rustle... rustle
Hina looked at Haruta’s face up close. He was missing one eye, but he was still handsome.
"...See? I told you he was handsome..."
And then Hina’s eyes caught Haruta’s defenseless lips.
"...Come to think of it... you said you’d never done it even once, right...?"
After a moment of hesitation, her gaze fixed on the lips of the sleeping Haruta.
"...Just once... wouldn’t that be okay...?"
Swish
With the faint sound of the blanket moving, she slowly leaned toward Haruta.
"..."
Before long, the distance between them had closed to the point that if she leaned forward just a little more, their lips would touch.
"...Should I... really... just once...?"
Swallowing dryly, she moved forward little by little.
"...Mm... Hina..."
"...!?"
She nearly made a noise in surprise at his sleep-talk, but barely managed to hold it in.
"...Phew..."
Then, after waving a hand in front of Haruta’s eyes a few times and confirming he wasn’t reacting, she leaned in again.
"..."
And then,
"Mmph..."
their lips met. Her first kiss. It was still awkward, but it felt good.
"Mmph... chuup..."
Just the sensation of their tongues touching was enough to drive her crazy, and she kept drawing Haruta’s tongue toward her. When people said the body and mind could go their separate ways, this was probably what they meant.
How much time had passed while she was consumed by desire?
"Mm... hff!?"
She had stayed like that for almost twenty minutes. Then, praying that Haruta wouldn’t wake up, she finally fell asleep.
------------------------------------
"Ugh... what time is it... hm?"
When I touched my lips, they were soaked with saliva.
"Ugh... maybe I slept too well yesterday, ugh!"
As I stretched and sat up, Hina, right beside me, also sat up and stretched at the same time.
"Whoa!? Jeez, you startled me... what? Hina? Why are you next to me...? Weren’t you definitely over there yesterday?"
"Mm... don’t know... let’s sleep a little more..."
"Haa... whatever, I don’t get it... fine, let’s sleep."
My lips were a little numb, but I figured it was probably because I’d fought too hard yesterday, so I went back to sleep.
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