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[AI CENSORSHIP BLOCKED THIS CHUNK - RAW ENGLISH RETAINED]

She didn’t seem to have noticed that Amane wasn’t sleeping, and she looked restless.

Amane was awake, but he couldn’t show it. He was sure that she would run away if he got up now, so all he could do was watch her. With a determined expression, Mahiru came over and softly touched his stomach, which almost made him flinch.

She seemed curious as her small hand explored his exposed abdomen.

Every time her soft fingertips ran up and down one of his meager abdominal muscles, a sensation ran slowly up his spine, which he knew he mustn’t let show on his face.

…Th-this isn’t good.

Normally, he didn’t think anything of her facing him straight on and touching him without hesitation, but it was a completely different story when she looked so timid and shy and hesitantly traced her fingers over him with the slightest pressure.

The way she was touching him was almost frustrating; plus, he was ticklish, and it seemed likely to stir up feelings and urges he didn’t want at the moment.

If she was going to do that, it would have saved Amane some grief if she had applied a little more pressure, since that wouldn’t have been such a perplexing sensation. But Mahiru carefully touched him with discretion and caution, intending not to wake Amane from his pretend sleep.

That made it all the more tantalizing.

Honestly, he was delighted to have the girl he liked there touching his body, but the location and timing were all wrong. If she kept going, things would get really out of hand.

So when he grabbed her wrist to stop her from touching him anymore, Mahiru visibly shuddered.

“…As you can imagine, touching me like that puts me in an awkward position.”

Her hand was below his abs, approaching his lower abdomen, so that was really not good. When he restrained her from going any farther, Mahiru froze all over.

Only her mouth and eyes moved. Her eyes went wide in disbelief, and her mouth opened and closed silently.

Mahiru herself probably wasn’t the least bit aware of the danger, but Amane was all too aware and had no option but to stop her.

“It’s okay for you to touch me when I’m awake, but…Mahiru?”

“Y-you were f-faking?”

“Sorry, I was curious to see what you would do.”

Amane’s words caused Mahiru’s cheeks to instantly ignite. Then she yanked her hand out of his and put the blanket over her head.

“…I-I’m sorry. I just, y-your body looked stronger than I remembered, and—”

“If you were curious, you could have just said so, and I would have let you touch me. But…how can I say this…if you touch me too much like you just were… Well, I’m a guy, so it’s not a good idea… I might have a reaction that you wouldn’t like, so I want you to be careful.”

He had narrowly avoided disaster this time, but if she had carried on touching him for just a little while longer, things would have gotten very out of hand.

“I’m grateful that you were kind enough to think of putting a blanket over me. But next time, I’d rather you just put it on and be done with it.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“…Well, did you enjoy yourself?”

Mahiru was too cute, slumped on the floor with a bright-red face, trembling, and Amane asked in spite of his better judgment.

The moment he did, Mahiru rocked back, then battered his stomach with both fists, looking as though she might cry.

“…I was in the wrong, but now you’re just being mean, Amane,” she grumbled.

She stood up and fled the room, taking the blanket with her, and Amane pressed his lips together and closed his eyes, trying to settle his body, which was still feeling somewhat restless.