Chapter 23: Can You Hear the Signal?

We walked together through the rain.

No umbrella, just the two of us letting the light drizzle soak our skin.

Rio-chan didn’t bring an umbrella either, huh.

...But, well, it’s summer.

This kind of rain actually feels kinda nice.

“Rio.”

“...What is it, Tsubasa-chan?”

But maybe—just maybe—it was the rain’s fault.

Maybe that’s why Rio-chan’s been looking so gloomy this whole time.

She might’ve started feeling sick while walking in the rain.

“Here.”

So, I gently draped a towel over her head.

Just trying to keep her from getting too wet.

She blinked in surprise, then slowly reached up and touched the towel.

“...You look like my dad, fresh out of the bath.”

And finally, she gave me a small smile.

I felt relieved. She’d had that somber look on her face the whole time.

I was happy—happy I could make her smile.

The heavy worry I’d been carrying inside eased just a little.

“Not your dad. I’m Rio.”

“...Yeah. That’s more like Tsubasa-chan.”

We walked together through the rain.

Letting the raindrops fall on us, soaking everything through.

—But our hands, clasped together, stayed firmly connected.

“Come in, Tsubasa-chan.”

“Mm.”

She led me into her apartment.

A decently spacious 2LDK—pretty big for a student living alone.

After taking off my soaked socks at the entrance, she guided me straight to the washroom.

“I’ll get the water heating, okay?”

“Thanks...”

“It’ll be ready soon, so just wait a bit.”

After fiddling with the water heater, Rio-chan grabbed a towel from nearby and gave my head a good, playful rub with it.

I felt like a dog being pampered—like something from the days of the animal protection edicts. It was kind of embarrassing, the way she was doting on me like this. But it also felt... really nice.

...Albino golden retriever, that’s me!

Hmm... maybe not quite right.

My face is way too stiff to be a golden retriever.

As a pet meant for affection, I’d be an absolute failure.

“...Here, let me do yours too.”

“Uh, height difference and all, so I’ll just take the thought. Thanks, Tsubasa-chan.”

I tried to return the favor—wipe her down like a decent human being—but she gently turned me down. Unfortunate.

After we’d both toweled off as best we could, the bath heater’s voice announced that the water was ready.

I figured Rio-chan should go in first, since she didn’t seem to be feeling well...

“Alright then, let’s get in.”

Suddenly, without any warning at all, Rio-chan—started undressing right there.

...Huh?

“Tsubasa-chan, if you don’t take your clothes off, we can’t get in the bath.”

Just like that, she started undressing me too.

My school shirt and skirt slipped to the floor in a blink.

???

“Rio, what are you doing?”

“We’re getting in the bath.”

“No, I mean... we’re getting in together?”

“Yeah. If we wait, we’ll catch a cold.”

There was a different tone to her voice. Something firmer, that wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Before I knew it, my bra and panties were gone, and I was completely bare.

And Rio-chan... was the same.

“...Tsubasa-chan, are you embarrassed?”

“…Hold on.”

I turned away and tried to cover myself, but I guess that only made it more obvious—she saw right through me. The embarrassment kept piling up, and I started worrying if my face had gone completely red.

I mean, come on…

It’s not okay, right? Staring like that.

When we’re changing for gym class, there are other people around and you don’t really focus on it—but when it’s just the two of us, it’s a whole different story…

“We’re both girls, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“But… no panties… it’s… embarrassing…”

Frozen in place, I held a hand towel over my front like a shield.

Even though we’ve changed together a bunch during PE, being alone like this made me feel so self-conscious.

“Hey, Tsubasa-chan.”

Rio-chan met my gaze, even though I’d been doing everything I could to avoid hers. She gently held my head still with both hands so I couldn’t look away.

From this angle, I could see everything above—her perfectly shaped chest, all of it…

“—Are you… aware of me?”

Trapped with no escape, her voice sank into my head.

Aware of her? Of course I was.

That word bounced around in my brain like a pinball. And in a panic, I…

“…Rio, you perv.”

I meant to say something else. I wanted to explain it wasn’t like that—but instead, my mouth blurted it out on its own… calling Rio-chan a perv.

Wait—no, no, that’s not what I meant!

I didn’t think that at all! If anything, I’m the perv here!

I wanted to say sorry for suddenly saying something weird like that. But of all times, now my mouth just wouldn't cooperate.

The awkward silence that followed clung to the air like a fog.

Th-this is bad… What do I do? What am I supposed to do?

While I was frantically scrambling for an answer—

Rio-chan leaned in close, her mouth right beside my ear.

Her breath was warm against my skin.

Something soft and firm brushed lightly against my side.

“…That’s right.”

A voice sweet as melted chocolate slipped straight into my ear.

“Right now, I’m being a little pervy.”

She whispered it with a mischievous smile, and then—gave my earlobe a playful lick.

…A shiver ran through me.

I couldn’t stay calm—something in me started twisting up in strange new feelings.

“You know, Tsubasa-chan…”

I suddenly realized—real breasts, the kind that aren’t flat, are so soft.

And Rio-chan… she smells really nice.

“…I’d be happy if Tsubasa-chan felt that way too.”

She took my hand—and pulled me into the bath with her.

…I couldn’t resist.

That strange anticipation made my chest flutter with nervous excitement.

Today’s Rio-chan… I don’t understand her.

Is she serious? Is she teasing me?

What is she thinking? What does she want?

Is she really feeling okay?

…Why did I even call her a perv just now?

I don’t understand anything anymore. My head’s spinning. I feel like I’m about to short-circuit…

---

Tsubasa-chan is always transparent.

Pale, clear, and shimmering like light itself.

A girl who seems to float above the world—yet barely registers within it. In the classroom, it’s like no one even notices she’s there.

That’s what made her who she was.

Someone perfectly complete on her own. A person unbothered by loneliness. A girl wrapped in a kind of quiet mystery, like she didn’t quite belong to this world.

—But that was the old Tsubasa-chan.

“I’ll rinse your hair now.”

“Mm.”

We were in the bath together. I reached out and touched her body.

First, her white hair—like strands spun from platinum.

It’s the most iconic part of her. When the wind catches it, it looks like wings.

I washed it gently with shampoo and conditioner, taking care with every stroke.

Because this hair holds so much of what makes her her, and I want to protect it.

Then, after her hair…

I moved to the rest of her body.

“Tsubasa-chan, I’m sorry—your back.”

“…It’s fine, if it’s you, Rio.”

I placed my hand on her back and slowly ran it down.

If it’s Rio, she said—and just that made me feel seen. Like I was allowed to exist.

Like I was the only one she needed.

Being with her wasn’t suffocating. It was easy. Comfortable.

And because she let me in… the girl who used to be untouchable was becoming less and less "special."

“There’s a bruise…”

On her snow-white skin—the one and only flaw.

A faint mark of fingernails across her back. Painful to look at—and yet, somehow… precious.

“…Rio?”

“I’ll make it all better, okay? Pain, pain, go away.”

That scar—it’s proof that Tsubasa-chan is human.

If you had to be flawless to be an angel, then maybe… the Tsubasa-chan now is no longer perfect.

“…It doesn’t hurt. I’m fine.”

“Even so.”

Because I was the one who hurt her.

I’m the one who left a mark on her.

So let me take responsibility.

Let me take care of everything that makes up Tsubasa-chan.

“Let me look after you, okay?”

I’ll keep looking after you—so don’t go far.

You have to stay close, or I won’t be able to take care of you.

…And also, Tsubasa-chan.

Look at me.

Don’t turn your eyes away.

“Hey, Tsubasa-chan.”

When the bubbles rinsed off her body, her white skin was left completely bare.

I leaned in, gently pressing my front against her small back.

“R-Rio…?”

And then, I wrapped my arms around her from behind. Tsubasa-chan squirmed slightly in my embrace, fidgeting and twitching.

“I told you, didn’t I? That I’m feeling a little pervy today.”

“I don’t remember.”

The nape of her neck was flushed red.

Probably from the shower heat.

…But maybe it was something else, too.

“I said it, didn’t I? Before we got in the bath.”

“D-don’t remember.”

“Do you remember what you said after that?”

“…Don’t know.”

Tsubasa-chan was obviously lying.

Struggling, trying desperately to act like she didn’t know.

Right now, she was more transparent than usual.

…So I gave in to a little temptation.

Like a cat cuddling up for attention, I rubbed my body gently against her back.

And then—Tsubasa-chan shivered.

“Rio—stop that!”

It was the strongest scolding she could manage, said with all the force she could muster.

From her flustered gestures, I could tell exactly what she was thinking: This is so embarrassing.

…Tsubasa-chan is just too cute.

“You don’t get to say ‘stop’—we’re both girls, remember?”

“…Stop.”

Even so, she shook her head like a little kid refusing something.

But the resistance… it wasn’t as strong as before.

I think my completely unreasonable logic had her cornered.

Still, she wasn’t seriously rejecting me.

She just fidgeted there—no goosebumps, no flinching.

That alone told me enough.

—Tsubasa-chan gets flustered by girls, too.

“You’re blushing, Tsubasa-chan.”

“…I’m not.”

The blush on her neck was deeper than before.

Even though we’re both girls, she was clearly doing her best not to look at me while I was naked.

And when I held her and rubbed up against her, she clenched her fists tightly—like she was trying to endure something.

Like she was holding herself back, with everything she had.

“No, you are blushing. Bright red.”

On her pale skin, the color stood out even more. Just seeing me like this had her honestly embarrassed.

My heart started pounding.

So loud, I was sure she could feel it through my chest, even with her back turned to me.

…Knowing that even a girl could get this flustered made me realize just how bold I was being right now.

“Tsubasa-chan… you’re kind of a perv.”

I leaned in and teased her with a sly whisper in her ear.

She shook her head, hard.

Desperately, like her life depended on it.

“I’m not a perv!”

She was just too adorable like that.

With my heart still racing, I gently placed my hand over her chest.

Her back tensed up with a jolt, and she squirmed even more than before. She must’ve been shocked—getting touched so suddenly like that.

But… I’m sorry.

Let me feel it a little longer.

The rhythm of your heart.

That pounding, pounding sound—so full of feeling.

Hey, Tsubasa-chan.

You feel the same way, don’t you?

—Our hearts are racing together, and neither of us can stop.