Chapter 414: Frank
Nakano Ichika had never thought she would encounter a danger level like this.
Bathing together with a man in an outdoor hot spring—was there anything more terrifying than that?
"W-wait, why did you suddenly come in here?" Nakano Ichika suspected Nino had played a trick on her.
These kinds of pranks on sisters—among the quintuplets—seemed like only she could pull off!
"Didn't you call me in to bathe together?"
"..."
I called? I called my ass!
Nakano Ichika quickly understood everything: Nino pretended to be her, tricked Sakurai Saki, then made him come bathe with her!
The voices of the quintuplets were fairly similar; just imitating a bit was enough to fool someone.
Not to mention earlier Sakurai Saki had been reading, his attention wasn't focused on this at all!
'What do I do? Go out now?' Nakano Ichika began thinking of options.
Bathing in a hot spring meant you couldn't wear clothes… she didn't bring a towel either, so the closest thing she could use to cover herself was more than ten meters away!
If she wanted to leave, she would have to move nearly completely naked for over ten meters!
And Sakurai Saki was only a few meters away. At this distance, the steam hid her, and Ichika thought she wouldn't be discovered for a short while, but if it took too long she would definitely be seen!
'Ugh, Nino baka! You're not seriously dragging me into the water with you, right? If you like sensei-chan then keep him to yourself!'
Thinking that, Ichika couldn't help remembering the hug in the snow an hour ago, and her heartbeat sped up.
'No, no! Don't give in that easily! He's a scumbag who already has a girlfriend.'
She shook her head wildly, trying to shake that memory out of her mind.
Then.
Ichika realized Sakurai Saki was walking toward her.
"Nino? Why not saying anything?"
"I soaked too long so I'm a little dizzy… I want to go out." Ichika praised herself in her heart at this moment!
Not only did she answer his question, she even gave a perfect reason to end this mixed bathing situation.
"Really? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I just need to drink some water."
"Alright. I'll take you out, the ground here is slippery, if you're dizzy and fall it'll be dangerous." Sakurai Saki's voice was very serious, he didn't have even a trace of desire.
Or rather—if a man still had desire when a girl was dizzy, that type would be terrifying.
"No need."
Ichika said that and stood up.
Before she could take a few steps, she saw Sakurai Saki's silhouette getting closer and closer.
"With our relationship, you still want to be polite with me? Just accept my concern."
His firm tone made Ichika panic!
If it were Nino, she'd be thrilled right now, but I'm Ichika! Sensei-chan get a grip! No, Ichika, you have to get a grip!
Run, run outside!
Nakano Ichika thought that in her head, but her body didn't move.
Because Sakurai Saki had already gotten close, she had no choice but to quickly crouch down; instantly the hot water covered her body. Ichika used her hands to cover her sensitive parts so they wouldn't be exposed.
They had slept naked together before, but those sensitive areas still made her embarrassed, even though Ichika usually slept naked.
"Why did you suddenly crouch down?"
"I-I… I'm embarrassed, can you not come any closer?" Ichika stared at the silhouette in the steam, slowly backing away until she reached the edge of the spring.
"...Got it, I won't look. Be careful not to slip when you go out."
Sakurai Saki also realized something was strange.
If it really were Nino, she definitely wouldn't be this shy right now.
Eliminating all the wrong possibilities, only one remained: the girl in front of him was Ichika.
'Nino, you're really good at planning things, huh…' Sakurai Saki sighed inwardly.
Then he turned around.
"Thank you…"
Ichika mumbled softly.
After hearing Sakurai Saki's words, she also knew she had been discovered.
"I'm not looking, you go." Sakurai Saki spoke in a calm tone.
He had no intention of taking advantage of the situation.
"Sensei-chan~ do you want to… um, goodbye." Nakano Ichika reflexively intended to tease him a little, but immediately remembered that right now it was easy to "cause trouble for herself," so she carefully stepped out of the hot spring, wrapped a towel around herself, and left.
Sakurai Saki heard the footsteps disappear, he let out a sigh of relief and then lay down in the hot spring.
Ichika just now probably didn't intend to counterattack, right?
Luckily she didn't do that, otherwise if something happened, Sakurai Saki wouldn't know what to do.
...
Finished bathing.
The three gathered in Nino's room to play a board game.
Today's filming was very tiring, but it still wasn't time to sleep yet.
"Red 4."
The game was UNO.
"Blue 4." Ichika played the card, glanced briefly at Sakurai Saki's face then immediately turned away.
That scene earlier was really too embarrassing, even now she still hadn't calmed down.
Therefore, Ichika glanced at Nino.
Facing her gaze, Nino curved the corners of her lips into a smile, without any intention of explaining anything.
"Reverse."
"Blue 9." Ichika played another card.
Right now she was a little angry.
The younger sister she was determined to protect had just "stabbed her in the back." It would be strange if Ichika wasn't angry, but to avoid letting Nino sink even deeper, Ichika still decided to sleep with her tonight.
Halfway through the game, when Ichika went to the bathroom—
Nino leaned close to Sakurai Saki's ear and said: "Tonight, wait for me in this room, I'll sneak out from Ichika's side at midnight."
"The promise from that day on the snow is still valid, right?" Sakurai Saki was quite concerned about this matter.
"Of course it's still valid..."
When Ichika returned, seeing the two sticking close to each other, she spoke up: "Nino, sleep with me tonight, you promised."
"Alright then."
...
In no time, the game ended.
The three were planning to rest, so they left Nino's room.
Ichika led Nino back to her room to sleep, while Sakurai Saki also returned to his room.
Just like that, Nino's room was empty, though a bit of a waste, but it could still be used at midnight?
Time passed slowly.
After Ichika and Nino finished washing up and lay next to each other, this Japanese-style room had a large futon, enough for two people to sleep with room to spare. The heater was on, so it wasn't very cold.
"Ichika, don't kick the blanket at midnight, or else you'll catch a cold tomorrow."
"Nino, don't steal my blanket."
"...If you don't want to sleep with me then let me go, okay?" Nino pouted, acting spoiled.
"Let you go sleep with sensei-chan?"
"Alright. If you don't want to, then forget it." Nino lay down on the futon, lightly patting the empty spot beside her: "Come in."
Ichika sighed internally, she really didn't know what to do in a situation like this.
Forget it, sleep.
Lights off, the room quickly fell silent.
Because Ichika had been cold all day, she felt very sleepy, and soon almost drifted off.
But just as she was about to fall asleep, Nino suddenly reached over and hugged her waist.
As sisters, Ichika of course didn't mind these things, she tried to force herself to continue sleeping.
But Nino's movements were very strange; she would occasionally turn over, or pull the blanket around, in short, she didn't sleep peacefully.
Under Nino's "torture," Ichika couldn't sleep for half an hour.
"Nino, are you asleep?"
No answer.
"Forget it."
Ichika climbed out from the blanket, yawned.
Holding the key, she decided to go sleep in Nino's room.