Chapter 14: Hiyori-san is Small, but Her Presence is Large
“H-hug…?”
“That’s right. It means I’ll hold you tight,” Hiyori-san said with a mischievous laugh to me, as I’d parroted her words once again.
Hearing that voice, laced with sweetness, warmth, and just a hint of dangerous allure, my face flushed red, and I started shaking my head from side to side.
“N-No! There’s no need for you to do something like that! A-And when I said I wanted to lean on you, I didn’t mean it in that way—”
“No need to be embarrassed, right? Besides, there’s no one else here but us.”
“Th-That’s not the issue…!!”
Squeezing tight, embracing, hugging… There are many ways to say it, but the scene that comes to mind when I hear those words is always the same.
I imagined myself hugging a girl, and just as I was about to reject it as something utterly impossible… Hiyori-san paid no mind to my words and closed the distance.
“Too bad, but I’ve already decided I’m going to spoil Yusuke-kun. So just give up and let yourself be hugged~~.”
“W-w-w…wha?!”
Hiyori-san knelt on the bench, as if to get onto my thighs.
She drew closer, so close her hips were practically against my abs, and then leaned in, resting her upper body against mine. Bringing her face so near our lips almost touched, she said with a smile,
“Ahaha! In this position, our height difference doesn’t even matter, does it! Having Yusuke-kun’s face so much closer than usual… it feels kinda new!”
I’m over 180cm tall, and Hiyori-san is 148cm. That’s a difference of more than 30cm between us. Usually, even when we stood next to each other, that height difference created more distance than I would have thought.
But, right now… with her sitting on my lap, the height difference that usually exists between us has disappeared.
My face grew even redder as Hiyori-san stared directly at me from an unprecedentedly close distance. And in the midst of that, she wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Come on, Yusuke, don’t be shy.”
“Ah, um…”
Hiyori-san’s free hand softly touched my cheek.
Hearing her say that, laughing so joyfully and happily, I hesitantly wrapped my own hands around Hiyori-san’s waist and back, putting just a tiny bit of strength into it.
“Nn…! Mm, this is nice. Well then, it’s time for the long-awaited… Hug!”
“Ah…!?”
As she said that, Hiyori-san pushed my cheek, making my face tilt.
She pushed her small face into the space that had opened up, rested her chin on my left shoulder, and then, putting strength into her arms, she embraced me, gently yet firmly.
“Fufu…! You’re so big… I was supposed to be hugging you, Yusuke-kun, but it feels like I’m the one being completely enveloped by you.”
Even if our posture could compensate for the height difference, it couldn’t bridge the gap in our builds.
Hiyori-san’s small body fit perfectly within my arms, and just as she said, it probably looked like I was embracing her tightly.
But… in my heart, it was the complete opposite.
It felt as if I were the one being embraced by this small girl, not even 150cm tall, and entrusting my everything to her.
“Ehehe…! Yusuke-kun, don’t move, okay?”
“Ghk…?!”
Hiyori-san, who had pulled her body away just a tiny bit, whispered those words, her voice tinged with a suggestive air.
She pressed against the back of my head, drawing me towards her. And as I offered no resistance, she guided me into her bosom, just as she pleased.
As she gently cradled my head, I felt a fluffy softness and warmth, and narrowed my eyes.
Feeling a warmth, as if I were being bathed in soft sunlight, I gradually surrendered myself to that pleasant drowsiness.
“There, there… Yusuke-kun, you’re so admirable, aren’t you? Working hard for your mother and little brother. You’re a really good kid. And, you’re so very kind. Even though I was just a classmate, you worried about me so much… and supported me by my side, didn’t you? Thank you. I’m truly grateful.”
“Hiyori-san…”
“So, you know… when you want to be pampered, it’s okay to be pampered as much as you like, alright? Don’t force yourself to bottle up your troubles and those hazy, unsettling feelings, okay? If things get tough, I’ll always be here to give you a biiig Hug like this… I will. There, relax. For now, just entrust every~thing to me…!”
“…”
Every time she gently stroked my head, every time she whispered in a sweet voice by my ear, every time I felt a warmth and softness that seemed to soothe my heart… I strongly felt that Hiyori-san was enveloping my entire being.
Even though she’s so small, she accepted all of me, big as I am, and held me tight… Each time her 100% pure kindness seeped into my heart, the peace I felt grew stronger.
Honestly, naturally, from the bottom of my heart… I could feel that I was happy.
To be loved so dearly, to be appreciated so much, to be held like this. While thinking that perhaps I was experiencing the happiest time in the world, I let my heart sink into drowsiness and Hiyori-san.
Being held and enveloped by her like this was a truly peaceful moment.
The troublesome invitation from Tanuma (Teacher), the gloominess in my heart, the fatigue I’d been carrying… Feeling them all slowly melt away and vanish like ice placed in the sun, I had no idea how much time had passed.
Before I knew it, the warning bell heralding the approaching end of lunch break was ringing.
Hearing that, I opened my eyes. As I looked up, Hiyori-san, a gentle smile on her face, said,
“…Looks like our time’s up, huh?”
“Ah, yeah… We should probably head back to the classroom soon…”
“Fufufu…! You’re making a face like you’re reluctant to part, you know? Did you want me to hug you just a little bit longer?”
“Ugh…”
Hiyori-san is right. I’m reluctant for this moment to end, and I can’t bring myself to remove my arms from around her back and waist.
Still, telling myself I couldn’t make things awkward for Hiyori-san, I disciplined myself and released her. When I did, Hiyori-san smiled, looking pleased, and said:
“Somehow, a little… No, I’m actually quite happy. And it looks like you’re far more pleased about this than I expected, Yusuke-kun.”
“…Embarrassing as it is to admit, I felt incredibly relaxed…”
“Aha! You’re just so adorable, honestly…!!”
The warmth, the softness, the sense of security… all of it soothed my heart.
Telling her my actual feelings would probably sound creepy, and in any case, I was far too embarrassed to say anything of the sort. All I could do, my face flushing red, was thank Hiyori-san.
“…Thank you, really. It was sudden and took me by surprise, but thanks to you, I feel much more refreshed.”
“Fufufu! Don’t worry about it! This is like a reward for Yusuke-kun for working so hard, and a little something to show my thanks for all your help, you see!”
Following Hiyori-san, who stood up from the bench as she spoke, I also took a deep breath before getting up.
As I gave a wry smile to myself, thinking I’d received enough energy to get me through not just the afternoon classes but for about the next month, Hiyori-san snapped her fingers. With an expression that seemed to say, ‘What a waste,’ she opened her mouth to speak.
“Aw, darn it~… This situation, it was the perfect chance to naturally say that line guys everywhere dream of: ‘Are you okay? Want me to rub your boobs?’~! I totally should’ve gone with that~!”
“Ahaha! If you’d actually said it like that, I think I would’ve been a lot more desperate in turning you down.”
“I know. If you were the kind of guy who’d casually take me up on an offer like that, I wouldn’t be doing this kind of thing with you in the first place, after all.”
Does this mean… she trusts me? Is it okay for me to think that?
I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that I was just being played in the palm of her hand—she was ‘big’ in so many senses of the word—but I was genuinely happy that she’d flash me a smile like this, one that mixed warmth, playfulness, and trust.
“Ah, but, I was a little worried, you know! I was worried that when you hugged me, Yusuke-kun, you might take advantage of the moment to grab a handful of my butt~?! After all, Yusuke-kun, you’re a butt-loving alien from Planet Butt, aren’t you!”
“Would you stop with that dishonorable nickname!? And I mean, I’m telling you I wouldn’t do something like that!!”
By the time we entered the school building from the rooftop and were heading down the stairs, we had returned to our usual way of interacting.
However… in my heart, a feeling was also emerging—I wasn’t sure if I could still call my relationship with Hiyori-san a mere friendship.
I’d never had a girlfriend in my entire life up to this point, but… I’m pretty sure one doesn’t share a hug like that with someone who’s merely a female friend.
If that’s the case… then what, I wonder, would be a fitting description for this relationship of ours, which began after I witnessed her being cheated on in the worst possible way and dumped by her boyfriend?
As I pondered such things, I gazed at the smile of Hiyori-san—who I’d come to feel so much closer to than before our hug—and I, too, found myself smiling.
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I might post 4 chapters tomorrow.
Since this is a short chapter with Yusuke’s PoV Chapter 2 & Hiyori’s PoV Chapter 2 (plus a little bit of comeuppance), I’m thinking I might just post them all at once.