"You're seriously not in your safe period?"
"I'm not."
"W-What?!"
After double and triple checking, Kawasaki was finally forced to accept a cruel reality—today, Kasumigaoka was on her dangerous day.
No doubt about it.
There was definitely a chance she could get pregnant!
"H-Hikigaya!"
Flushed and flustered, Kawasaki gave Hikigaya a reproachful glare.
"How could you be so careless?!"
"S-Sorry…"
Hikigaya was awkward and embarrassed.
He couldn't make sense of it either!
He'd used Okamoto-brand—top-of-the-line stuff—but somehow, this time, it had failed… Was it his fault? Or did he just get a bad batch?
Or maybe—
Hikigaya instinctively turned his gaze toward Kasumigaoka.
Noticing his look, Kasumigaoka shot him an annoyed glance. "Aren't you getting a little suspicious there, Air-kun? What, you think I sabotaged it?"
"Well, you did help me yourself, senpai… cough."
"…Huh? What did you just say?!"
Kawasaki's whole body jolted. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Kasumigaoka.
"You personally…?"
"Hehe. Well, it's more fun that way~"
Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, Kasumigaoka smiled, completely unfazed.
"You…"
Kawasaki bit her lip, words stuck in her throat. Was Hikigaya really not getting addicted to this woman? Kasumigaoka was way too seductive!
"Ugh… Anyway, what do we do now? If we don't come up with something fast, this could blow up into something serious!"
Casting another reproachful glance at Hikigaya, Kawasaki let out a sigh. She couldn't really bring herself to scold him too harshly—what was done was done. What mattered now was figuring out the next step.
"Well, it is what it is. If it turns out I'm pregnant, I'll just take a break from school and go home to raise the baby~ No biggie, right, Air-kun~?"
Scooting a little closer, Kasumigaoka leaned in toward Hikigaya. A soft, sweet fragrance drifted from her hair, enveloping him like a spell.
"N-No way!"
Seeing this, Kawasaki, who sat on Hikigaya's other side, grabbed his arm and glared daggers at Kasumigaoka.
"Kasumigaoka-san, please have some decency! Hikigaya has a girlfriend! His girlfriend is Yukinoshita, and only Yukinoshita should be the one to have his children! Don't you dare cross that line!"
As she spoke—
Kawasaki nervously glanced at Kasumigaoka's stomach.
No matter what happened, she could not let it start growing!
"Well, what if I am pregnant? Then what?" Kasumigaoka shrugged.
"Then you'll have to get rid of it!" Kawasaki snapped.
"…Huh?"
Kasumigaoka gave a snort.
"Get rid of it? That's my baby. My flesh and blood. You think you can just say 'get rid of it' like it's nothing? If it were you, would you be so quick to say that about your own child?"
"I—"
Kawasaki's mouth opened, then shut. Her face flushed red.
"I would never get pregnant with Hikigaya's child! I'm not going to have Yukinoshita's baby for her! I'd make damn sure Hikigaya took precautions!"
"And what if an accident happens, just like with me? Air-kun's gotten pretty strong lately, you know~" Kasumigaoka teased.
"Then I'd just… I'd just stop him before the last step! I'd make him… make him…"
"Oh? But where's the fun in that? That'd just leave a boy disappointed. Do you want to let Air-kun down?"
"I—"
Kawasaki's cheeks were blazing red.
There was no question.
When it came to trading barbs with Kasumigaoka, Kawasaki never came out ahead.
"Uh, okay, can we not fight about this right now?"
Stuck between two increasingly combative girls, Hikigaya let out a long sigh and tried to mediate.
"Ahem… We're not even sure there's a baby yet, right? It's not like you get pregnant just like that. Sometimes it takes a whole week, even with bad luck."
"A-A whole week?!"
Both girls turned even redder.
"Uh, anyway, let's not dwell on this. Lunch break's almost over. We should get moving."
Hikigaya stood up quickly and gave them a reminder.
"Ugh!"
At that moment, Kasumigaoka inhaled sharply and immediately wrapped both arms around Hikigaya's.
"Air-kun, you know what I'm asking~ Help me out a little~"
"…Huh?"
Kawasaki rolled her eyes.
"What's your problem now? Can't walk?"
"I, uh… cramped up just now." Kasumigaoka winked at her.
"…?!"
Kawasaki froze, then blushed fiercely.
"Air-kun~ Help me, please~"
Kasumigaoka kept purring, gently shaking his arm like a spoiled cat.
Hikigaya winced. In the end, he gave in and nodded.
"Wait!"
Before Hikigaya could reach out to help, Kawasaki lunged forward and grabbed hold of Kasumigaoka.
"I'll do it. Hikigaya, don't touch her!"
"…Kawasaki, are you sure?"
"I practice karate. Holding you up is no problem."
Kawasaki clutched Kasumigaoka's arm firmly. Kasumigaoka gritted her teeth and squirmed a bit, but after a few seconds of struggling, she gave up and let Kawasaki take over.
And so—
The three of them headed downstairs.
Hikigaya led the way.
Kawasaki helped Kasumigaoka along behind him.
"…Why didn't you come in and help me earlier?" Kasumigaoka leaned in close to Kawasaki and whispered.
"I… I told you, it's not right," Kawasaki muttered, face red.
"Not right? Heh. Do you even know how intense Air-kun's gotten these days? One person isn't nearly enough for him… If we teamed up, it'd be way more efficient."
"No way…"
"If you'd come in, you could've stopped me from getting pregnant, too. Think about it—you'd be there to keep watch. Supervise a little. Doesn't that sound good?"
"S-Supervise, huh…"
Kawasaki paused for a moment. But after thinking it over, she still shook her head frantically.
"N-No, I can't!"
"Oh, Kawasaki~ If a girl keeps turning a boy down like that, he might start having… issues, you know. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for Air-kun. What do you say?"
Kasumigaoka's lips curled up in a smile, her voice full of sweet temptation.
"Let's do it together, alright? Or… do you want Air-kun's health to suffer?"
"Hikigaya's health—n-no way! I can't let that happen!" Kawasaki looked horrified.
"Then it's settled. We'll do it together."
"B-But… three people at once is so indecent…" Kawasaki's voice trembled.
"It's not indecent at all! Come on, I'll go first, and you follow. I'll take the lead~"
The two girls whispered and slowed their pace.
Meanwhile, Hikigaya had already returned to the classroom ahead of them.
But—
Just before entering the room—
Hikigaya noticed something unexpected: Yukinoshita and Katou were standing by the door, chatting and laughing like old friends.
"...When did they start getting along?"
Seeing his girlfriend so chummy with Katou, a chill ran down Hikigaya's spine.
He had a really bad feeling about this.