Fumiya Jin's sudden, direct expression really caught Kei Shirogane off guard.
But it also instantly dispelled most of the overwhelming shame and indignation in Kei Shirogane's heart.
After all, she was like a humble, lovesick girl with a secret crush on her idol. It was only natural for her to feel mortified when that secret was suddenly exposed.
But now, her idol was suddenly cupping her cheeks, telling her he'd always thought she was super cute and that these secrets only made her even more adorable... Naturally, that changed everything in an instant.
So, her tense body relaxed considerably. Although still a bit shy, she could now look at Fumiya Jin again.
The crisis was, for the moment, averted... or was it?
"Kei-chan, are you still ignoring me? If so, I'll just have to spill more secrets... ...like, for example, that ultimate plan we just came up with today to capture Landlord-san's heart~"
"We discussed a lot of tactics, didn't we? For instance, the plan you suggested, Kei-chan, about sneaking into his place in your pajamas in the middle of the night for a bedroom ambush. You have a key to his house, after all, so it'd be super convenient."
Kei Shirogane stiffened slightly—What? Moeha was the one who suggested that!
"And also... going over for tea, and when he's not looking, secretly slipping an aphrodisiac into his cup, and when he can't control himself... hehehehe... You're quite the schemer, Kei-chan."
Moeha said that too!! It's like she's rewriting history! Damn it!!!
If Kei Shirogane had any less self-control, she might have actually blurted out a rebuttal.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot. There's one more plan, the most suitable one, and it's one you've already executed, Kei-chan." Moeha's voice continued. "Taking advantage of the rain to go to Landlord-san's place and pretend you forgot your key... But you had your key all along, Kei-chan, you just deliberately put it back in your own mailbox and then pretended you didn't have it, right? But hey, that gave you a perfectly good reason to spend the night at Landlord-san's place. Such a brilliant strategy! Just as expected from Kei-chan, the top student in her year!"
Kei Shirogane: "..."
She instantly turned beet red again, steam practically puffing from her head like a little locomotive.
She hurriedly looked at Fumiya Jin, shaking her head and trying to tell him with her eyes—It's not like that, it's not like that!
But Fumiya Jin was unexpectedly calm.
He maintained a gentle smile, showing no sign of shock or ridicule.
He looked at her gently, nodded slightly, and his face might as well have had the words "I trust you" written on it.
This made Kei Shirogane feel much better instantly.
Right... Fumiya-san is so smart, and he knows me pretty well... He definitely wouldn't believe those ridiculous things came from me, right?
"Huu..." Kei Shirogane let out a small sigh of relief.
Another two minutes passed.
Moeha's voice seemed to have exhausted its bag of tricks, but in the end, she couldn't get a single response out of Kei Shirogane.
The voice finally faded away. The two remained silent for half a minute, and the voice didn't return. It seemed this attack was over for now.
Fumiya Jin signaled for Kei Shirogane to stay quiet, got up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and drew the curtains.
However, the curtains weren't blackout material. Even when drawn, the rose-red moonlight could still dimly filter into the living room. This made Fumiya Jin frown slightly, not quite satisfied, but he still turned and returned to Kei Shirogane's side.
"Did we... finally get through it..." Kei Shirogane breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Don't let your guard down. Before we truly escape this apartment building, this strange phenomenon could pop up again at any time to imitate people we know. We need to get moving," Fumiya Jin said. "However, while we're on the move, it's hard to guarantee we won't run into a situation like the one just now. So, we need a failsafe."
Kei Shirogane thought for a moment and said, "As long as we don't respond to any voice other than each other's, we should be fine, right? That doesn't seem too difficult..."
"Not necessarily. Even our own voices might not be safe," Fumiya Jin reminded her.
"Huh?"
"For example, say I get up and walk towards the entrance, and you follow behind me. If you suddenly hear me call your name, it would be easy for you to respond, wouldn't it?" Fumiya Jin explained. "But what if it wasn't actually me who called out?"
Kei Shirogane paused for a moment. After a brief thought, a chill ran down her spine. "You're right..."
"Once we can't see each other's mouths, it's hard to be certain if the voice is really coming from them. But if we have to constantly watch each other's mouths, it would seriously hinder our movements," Fumiya Jin said.
"Then what should we do?"
Fumiya Jin took the girl's right hand with his left and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You can feel that, right?"
Kei Shirogane paused for a moment. At first, she didn't understand what he meant. "Uh... it's... warm?"
"What else?"
Kei Shirogane thought for a moment. "It's big... very reliable... and makes me feel safe?"
"Who was talking about that," Fumiya Jin said, exasperated. "I mean, you can clearly feel the action of me squeezing your hand, can't you?"
"Ah?"
Kei Shirogane's cheeks flushed. "O-Of course."
"So, this can be our signal," Fumiya Jin said. "If you hear me say something to you, you quickly squeeze my hand twice. Then, if it's really me, I'll squeeze back twice. Only then can you respond to me. Otherwise, you must not speak. Understand?"
"Why twice?" Kei Shirogane asked curiously.
Fumiya Jin didn't answer. Instead, he reached out with his right hand and gently poked Kei Shirogane in the armpit.
"Yah—!" Kei Shirogane's body twitched. "Fumiya-san, what are you doing?"
"Did you notice that you just squeezed my hand once?" Fumiya Jin gestured to their clasped hands.
Kei Shirogane paused. It seemed that was indeed what happened...
"When people encounter anything unexpected, they might tense up and clench their hand subconsciously. So, a single squeeze is too prone to false alarms. Two short, firm squeezes are more reliable," Fumiya Jin explained. "Also, it might be more dangerous outside, so we should use hand signals as much as possible. If the other person isn't looking at you, just give a gentle tug."
Of course, needing two squeezes would naturally slow down communication.
But there was no helping it. In this instance's rules, saying too little was far better than saying the wrong thing.
"I see..."
Kei Shirogane nodded, marveling to herself... Fumiya-san is so thorough. I would never have thought of all this.
"Let's go. We're leaving this house," Fumiya Jin said, looking at her with a calm and serious expression. "We'll probably face a lot of danger ahead, but as long as you hold my hand tightly, I will get you back to reality safely. Okay?"
Hearing this, Kei Shirogane looked into Fumiya Jin's calm and determined eyes, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
It was a feeling like finding a warm, absolutely dependable safe harbor in an endless darkness, amidst an infinite fear of the unknown.
It was as if, just by holding his hand, even if the sky itself were to fall, he would forcefully push it back up.
So cool! The girl's cheeks suddenly grew even redder.
She nodded, about to reply, but then remembered what they had just agreed on. So, she first squeezed Fumiya Jin's hand twice.
Fumiya Jin paused for a second, then squeezed back twice.
"...Okay." The girl nodded obediently.
_____
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