Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 23

Hot Springs Among Men. And Then, the Reunion.

“A hot spring?”

“Yeah, yeah. You didn’t know? Recently, a nice place opened up behind the school. It’s the start of a new semester, so I thought it wouldn’t be too bad to get hyped up just us guys, after such a long time.”

That day after school, when all the other students had already gone home, I received an unexpected invitation from Yuuya.

In his hand were two tickets stacked together. On the white paper seemed to be the name of the shop, and right next to it was written “For gentlemen only!”

It seemed like just a normal hot spring establishment from the looks of it.

“You haven’t been talked into something weird again, have you?”

“What do you mean weird? You make it sound so bad.”

“I’m talking about the Pleasure Restaurant incident. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about handing over that indecent invitation to Rio.”

“Ah, right… that. Sorry about that, man. But seriously, there’s nothing like that this time.”

Yuuya put his palms together in front of his face like it was some sort of apology.

I was too exasperated to even bother scolding him.

“Seriously. And this, it’s a men-only invitation, huh… it’s only good for today?”

“That’s right. The fuss has finally settled down, and you could use a break too, right? Wouldn’t it be nice to just relax for a change?”

“Yeah, you might be right.”

I honestly nodded to Yuuya’s rare thoughtful suggestion.

Fortunately, we had time until “the promised hour.” I left the classroom with Yuuya, a light bag slung over my shoulder.

“…By the way, have you heard anything… about her?”

Yuuya asked me that question when we reached the shoe lockers. He had a serious look that wasn’t like him.

“I checked last week, but I haven’t heard that anyone did anything to her. She seems to have a few friends, so I think Hina is managing in her own way.”

“I see. That’s good, then.”

Yuuya looked relieved at my words. Asking a friend, who’s not even a boyfriend, about the well-being of his sister connected by blood must seem like a strange scene from the outside.

“You never change, do you? But then again, you and your sister come to school together, and you don’t talk about this stuff?”

“Come on, you don’t normally interfere that much. And besides, you know. She wouldn’t want it known that her own brother… was bullying her.”

“I see… that makes sense.”

Yuuya nodded up and down with a silly smile at my words.

“So, with that said, I’m counting on you from now on, best friend!”

“Leave it to me, servant. Since there’s a late fee, you’re treating me tonight, right?”

“Of course! So go ahead and keep working hard in those life-threatening situations! Best friend!”

Despite my insults and unreasonable demands, the way he smoothly avoided the most dangerous path with a dazzling smile, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of respect.

But, it can’t be helped.

We may treat each other roughly on a regular basis, but he’s a brother who cares about his sister at heart.

Hina, who was shy in middle school, was approached by the boys around her.

That was the trigger for her to become the target of bullying by the girls.

That’s why he had me step in to save his sister—

◆

We arrived at the open-air bath built behind the school, just as Yuuya had said.

The place was newly built recently, and inside were various facilities like a water seat, jet bath, electric bath, steam sauna, and stone sauna.

Above all, the view from the school’s backyard was breathtakingly beautiful, a sight I wouldn’t think I’d be used to seeing, perfectly capturing the beauty unique to the countryside.

With a sigh, I soaked in the hot water. I felt old, but at the same time, it seemed as though all the fatigue and worries were being washed away.

“Buh… uhihihihi… this is nice, just a little more, just a little more.”

“…”

“Ah! Covered the important parts with a towel! Just a little more, just let it down—yeah! Nice!”

“Haa…”

Well, if only this peeping pervert wasn’t here.

“Hey, handsome guy over there (). I know it’s pointless to stop you, so just a word of advice, keep it moderate? You never know when other customers will come in.”

“Hey, hey, you think this Saotome Yuuya would make such a blunder? Well, even if that happens, I won’t stop. No! A true voyeur, when cornered, powers up even more!”

“Are modern voyeurs some kind of warrior race?”

Since it was summer and the sun was still up, the open-air bath was all ours to use. Yuuya, taking advantage of that, fitted a small telescope into the slight gap in the fence connecting the men’s and women’s baths, and didn’t hesitate to use a small camera, showing his resourcefulness in unnecessary places.

He’s quite handsome, being Hina’s brother and all, but this is probably the biggest reason why he can’t get a girlfriend.

“Kukuku… It’s a shame there’s only one, but she’s a top-notch beauty. She looks a bit younger than us, but those breasts are sinful—Uhyaa!! I’m gonna die!!”

“Alright, then bleed out and go peacefully.”

As a model peeping tom, Yuuya haplessly bled from the nose. He’s a man who’s thoroughly happy to his core.

That aside, I decided to soak in the jet bath again. The bubbles gushing out from the holes in the bath slowly soothed my tired body.

The view from the open-air bath was so pleasant that it made me forget the season.

“Haah… haah… hey, Minato, you gotta see this. That girl’s seriously amazing, really amazing.”

“No, I’ll pass…”

Yuuya was so excited, he could barely speak. Why on earth do I have to peek next to a man who’s in ecstasy?

Of course, as a healthy young man, I’m curious about the bare skin of a woman that this pervert is so thrilled about, but my priority is to enjoy this elegant moment.

That’s when it happened. Suddenly, an incredible noise resounded inside the open-air bath—

“Hih…?”

Yuuya let out a small scream. I, too, looked towards the source of the noise, wondering what was happening.

Thud! Thud! The fence in front of me shook as if there was a ferocious beast or a rampaging bear behind it. The resounding noise. And then, the moment came in the blink of an eye.

“Hyaahh!!”

Yuuya screamed pathetically and retreated from the spot.

It was clearly an extraordinary situation, and I focused my gaze.

Like an avalanche, the material of the fence sank into the hot water. In the open-air bath, where the fence separating the sexes had disappeared, I could see a figure walking through the steam.

“It’s not admirable to peep at people’s bare skin.”

With those words, the steam gradually began to clear.

What appeared was a single girl.

“Ooh…”

I couldn’t help but mutter such a voice.

Surprisingly, there were no clothes on her, not even underwear… she was literally naked.

“(I mean, sunglasses in the bath…?)”

This is not the time to be pointing out that she should at least wrap a towel around herself if she’s going to go this far, with everything on display…

“Hey, isn’t this the moment for a true voyeur to power up when cornered?”

“Ah, hahaha… hey, Minato, we’re best friends, right?”

“That’s what you think. To me, you’re just a servant.”

“Best friends are supposed to help each other out when one is in trouble, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s right. Minato wouldn’t ignore his best friend in trouble, right? So, with that said, I’ll leave the rest to you—gupah!”

After throwing a dodgeball of the world’s most self-serving conversation, I grabbed Yuuya, who was trying to escape, by the nape of his neck and threw him into the open-air bath in front of me.

As the water splashed up, I turned my back.

“Alright, then do your best.”

“Babahababa… babebabe—!!”

Ignoring Yuuya’s desperate struggle in the bath, I tried to leave the scene.

“Minato…? Could it be, you’re Kurogane Minato?”

Amid the irritating sound of water made by the pervert, I halted at that softly spoken phrase.

Tilting my head slightly, there stood the naked girl who seemed to have spoken those words.

She had short hair just long enough to barely cover her ears, a bit short for a girl, and a youthful face that was apparent even behind sunglasses.

As Yuuya had said, if judging solely by first impressions, she appeared about our age or perhaps a bit younger. To some, she might even pass for a middle schooler.

My gaze shifted to her figure.

Despite initially feeling that way due to her facial features, the youthful appearance was contrasted by a chest that seemed to be at least an E-cup, fitting the term ‘gap’ quite appropriately.

Most of all, I didn’t have the leisure to enjoy that right now.

“What, have you forgotten the face of your own brother after all these years? Despite being doted on so much.”

“…You never change, do you?”

She took off her sunglasses. There was no astonishment or shock on her face.

Was it fate, a capricious god’s mischief, or perhaps a cunning plan by the person herself?

Before me stood my real sister—the one who had disappeared after our real parents had left us with our uncle and aunt—Kurogane Sumire…