Makoto worked through a full professional routine and completely relaxed Nino.
From her shoulders to her back, then to the girl's beautiful legs, and finally, Makoto casually took off her little socks—which she half-heartedly objected to before agreeing.
It was during this foot massage that Nino became overwhelmed with a mix of comfort and embarrassment.
Long story short: it felt amazing—but maybe a bit too amazing.
Even after Makoto stood up, Nino remained lying on the bed, her expression full of shame.
She couldn't help it—there was a tiny bit of... dampness under her skirt.
Hold it in. Keep a straight face!
Absolutely must not let him find out.
Nino kept telling herself that.
"Nino, I'm heading out now," Makoto said just then.
Nino immediately opened her eyes, turned her head, and—despite the embarrassment—asked, "What should I do next?"
She still remembered the plan to prank Ichika.
Originally, she and Ichika had teamed up to prank Makoto, but now that he had figured it out, she couldn't continue the plan.
Fortunately, she was really interested in Makoto's suggestion.
"You don't have to do anything—just lie here. Remember, if you want the prank to succeed, you must stay calm," Makoto said, already prepared.
Nino asked with suspicion, "Stay calm? Got it... but I really just need to lie here?"
Makoto lowered his voice. "You just need to lie here. Ichika will lose her cool all on her own."
"?"
Nino didn't get what he meant at first.
Then Makoto opened the door and walked out. She heard Ichika's deliberately composed voice: "You two done with the tour?"
Then Makoto: "Tour's done."
"What about her? Why hasn't she come out yet?"
"She's lying down inside... Hey, where are you going?"
Accompanied by Makoto's feigned surprise, Nino heard a flurry of hurried footsteps.
The next second, Ichika appeared at the bedroom door.
When she saw Nino lying sideways on the bed, she was completely stunned.
For a moment, it was like the sky had fallen.
Looking at that expression on her face, Nino couldn't hold it in—she burst out laughing. "Pfft, hahaha! What kind of face is that?"
Just like Makoto had said, Ichika instantly lost her composure on the spot.
But before she could say anything, Itsuki's voice came from behind: "Why are you just standing at the door? What's wrong with Nino?"
Itsuki also came over.
She saw Nino lying on the bed and paused for a second too.
Nino remembered what Makoto had said—stay calm.
She slowly sat up and yawned. "What's wrong with you two?"
Itsuki was visibly shocked. "Why are you on Fushimi's bed?"
When Ichika heard the word 'bed', her beautiful face completely fell.
Cue small furious face.jpg
Nino lazily replied, "He said I've been overworked lately and my muscles were tight, so he gave me a little massage."
She rubbed her neck as she spoke, unconsciously revealing a happy expression. "Gotta admit, it felt really good."
"Oh, so it was just a massage," Itsuki realized.
Still, she offered a reminder: "Nino, you should get down. What kind of girl lies on a boy's bed like that?"
Nino: "Call me Ichika."
Itsuki: "?"
This time, Ichika reacted: "Wait... You mean, he didn't realize you were pretending to be me?"
"That's right." Nino found her expression quite amusing.
Ichika, however, didn't find it amusing at all.
She bit her lip, her pale little hands clenching into tight fists.
That kind of treatment should've been mine!
It should have been mine!
Why did I even suggest we do this role-switching prank?
I'm such an idiot!
Ichika was genuinely frustrated.
She hadn't even experienced that kind of pampering herself, and now Nino had beaten her to it.
Even though she could tell from Nino's demeanor that nothing had really happened between her and Makoto...
She could still clearly see that satisfied, blissful expression on Nino's face.
"Is he really that good at massages?" Ichika couldn't help asking.
Nino immediately perked up.
"He's amazing. I seriously think he learned from a professional. There's no way he could be that good otherwise."
"Seriously?" Itsuki's curiosity was piqued too.
"I swear I'm not lying. If you don't believe me, Itsuki, you could ask him to give you a massage sometime. You're friends with him anyway. As for Ichika, though…"
Nino couldn't resist laughing again, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she looked teasingly at the sulking Ichika.
"Right now, I'm Ichika, and you're Nino. So you can't ask him."
Ichika completely lost her cool.
She took a deep breath, a radiant smile spreading across her face. "So what you're saying is, I still have to pretend to be you, huh?"
Just as Nino was about to reply, Ichika smiled even more sweetly and said, "Do you believe I won't go to him right now, take off my thigh-highs, and show him your legs?"
Itsuki widened her eyes: What kind of game are you two even playing...?
"What are you talking about? Who's showing me legs?" Makoto's voice came from behind them.
The three girls immediately straightened up like obedient children.
Nino quickly climbed down as well. Seeing Makoto wiping his hands with a tissue, she suddenly blushed, remembering that he had just given her a foot massage.
Makoto noticed and explained, "Don't worry, there's no smell. I was just about to start cooking, so I washed my hands first."
He was telling the truth—Nino's "cuisine" indeed had no smell. The two of them had also agreed to keep the prank on Ichika going, so nothing could be revealed yet.
This was the essence of a scentless contract.
But Nino didn't think of it that way.
You jerk, don't say that kind of thing out loud!
Still basking in her recent triumph, she blushed again.
Makoto turned to Ichika and Itsuki. "It's almost dinner time. Why don't you two stay for dinner?"
"Then we'll take you up on that," Ichika replied quickly—she had been planning to anyway.
Too many things had gone off script; she needed to figure out a way to recover the situation.
Seeing Ichika speak first, Itsuki followed with a polite "Thank you."
The four returned to the living room. Makoto tied on an apron and glanced at the three girls sitting quietly on the couch, feeling a bit amused.
Right now, other than Itsuki, who was still focused on the schedule, the other two were clearly distracted.
Ichika was stewing over how the prank had completely backfired.
Nino, meanwhile, was torn between embarrassment—There's no way my feet smell!—and the nagging thought that maybe she should go home and change her underwear.
But Makoto's combo attack wasn't done yet.
He turned to Ichika and said, "Nino, I heard your cooking is really good. Want to help me out?"
Ichika pointed at her own face, completely bewildered. "Huh? Me?"
Her expression looked as if she'd just been told to go defeat the legendary monk and his disciples.
Itsuki secretly gave her a look: Maybe it's time to end this impersonation game?
But Ichika shook her head and stood up. "Got it, I'll help."
Although the prank had gone south, the fact that Makoto thought she was Nino and invited her into the kitchen wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
After all, being in the kitchen meant… you could sneak a taste.
What exactly she'd be sneaking, though—she wasn't quite sure.
As the two entered the kitchen, Itsuki muttered, "Ichika actually went with him. Is she even going to be any help?"
Nino curled her lips, popped a cookie into her mouth, and said, "She's the one trying to show off—it's none of my business…"
She paused, swallowed the cookie, and smiled proudly.
"This round of the prank? I'm the MVP. She just rode my coattails to an effortless win—look at her, didn't lift a finger."
Itsuki rolled her eyes. "Do you still care about that? Aren't you worried this might all end badly?"
"What's there to end badly? The prank was Ichika's idea. If she's no help in the kitchen, it's her own embarrassment."
Nino was completely unconcerned.
Just then, Itsuki posed a new question: "If Ichika's cooking can't help Makoto, then why did she still go with him? Why not just come clean about the prank?"
Nino was stunned.
Yeah.
Why?
Right then, the doorbell rang.
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Ichika: It should have been me!! (Insert Yugi Meme)
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