radicalducati Chapter 24 Night's Embrace
Chapter 24 Night's Embrace
"Even if you say that, I won't let you go to Beijing before you finish high school. I've already promised your mother."
With a calm expression, Rito wiped the water off his face and turned to look at her. As a former fan, he had of course considered dating his idol, but to be honest, she wasn't his type at that time. Plus, it was the early days of the group's formation, and neither the timing nor the circumstances were on his side, so it was only natural for him to refuse.
The rain outside the window slanted against the glass, forming winding streaks that flowed down. Nana had already guessed this outcome, and her expression didn't change much. She casually brushed aside the topic and leaned back on his shoulder.
"Do you want me to sit sideways? Don't you like to lean on other people's backs?"
After a moment of silence, Rito suddenly spoke.
"Here we go again," Nanase shook her head. "Kubo-san, you always act like you know me so well, but we've barely even met that many times, haven't we? Don't you think that's unfair?"
Rito turned his head to look, and saw the girl looking out the window, her profile appearing exceptionally soft in the dim light. She didn't look at him, as if what she had just said was merely an illusion of the rainy night.
There is no such thing as fairness in this world.
He muttered something, feeling cold and wet all over, and suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, so he coughed softly.
Nana noticed his condition, felt a little apologetic, bit her lip, and reached out to unbutton his collar.
"What, some kind of unspoken rule?"
Li Ren chuckled and grabbed her hand, saying in a reversible manner.
Nana rolled her eyes, didn't argue with him, stood up, rummaged through her bag, found a large T-shirt, and handed it to him.
"Arigato, but Nanasai, have you ever thought that if you hadn't stopped me ten minutes ago, I would probably be changing clothes at the hotel by now?"
Rito smiled and accepted the original T-shirt from Nana Sai. To avoid looking like a pervert, he forced himself not to take a deep breath and turned around to put it on. While expressing his gratitude, he couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.
"Okay, I'll let you go in a bit."
Nana waved her hand impatiently, strode up to him, put one arm around the back of his neck, and tiptoed closer.
Looking at the girl so close to him, Rito raised an eyebrow.
"Have you thought this through? Once you've done it, you can't back out, okay?"
"So verbose!"
The girl gave a coquettish scolding and kissed him without any hesitation.
Just then, a muffled clap of thunder rolled past the window, and a pale purple lightning bolt cleaved through the thick curtain of rain, instantly illuminating the entire dance studio and revealing Nishino Nanase's face in perfect detail. Rito felt the faint scent of citrus shampoo lingering in the girl's hair, mixed with the lingering scent of sweat after training, and the smell of damp earth and grass drifting in from outside the window, all rushing into his breath.
The light flashed and disappeared in an instant, and the girl's kiss didn't last long either. Nana Sai didn't seem to enjoy it; she just took the action as a signal. After it ended, she turned around, covered her face with her clothes, and softly said, "You can go now."
Rito touched his damp lips, took a deep breath, and hugged her from behind. Nana had lifted half of her clothes, so his hands could directly touch her delicate skin. The damp chill of the air made him want to hug her tighter.
"I was lying to you just now."
"What?"
"I told you that once you've done something, you can't regret it, but that was a lie. From the moment I met Nana, you haven't had a chance to regret it."
The girl's body suddenly trembled, whether from excitement or cold, it was hard to tell. The rain was still falling, and the sound of it tapping on the glass was the only noise in the classroom. Neither of them spoke, only their slightly rapid breathing mingled with the sound of the rain outside the window.
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Half an hour later, Rito, holding an umbrella, escorted Nana to her doorstep. Although both of them knew that there was another umbrella safely lying in the girl's bag, they tacitly did not mention it. The umbrella was not big enough, only covering one and a half of the person. Rito's short-sleeved shirt, which he had just changed into, was soaked again in the blink of an eye.
"Nana's home." Nana wasn't sure if her mother would still be awake, so she didn't let Rito take her upstairs.
"Okay, then I'm leaving." Rito nodded, his attitude towards her unchanged despite what had happened before. Nanasai wrinkled her nose but didn't say anything. She left under his umbrella and walked straight into the dark building entrance until the motion sensor light came on.
Another ten minutes or so later, Rito found a place to stay at the nearest hotel for the night. Hot water gushed from the showerhead, washing over his tired body from head to toe, and taking away all the scent left by the girl. After washing up, he put on his pajamas, went to the window, and gazed into the distance.
"I never expected that my first kiss would be considered an achievement, and with such a generous reward. Am I misunderstanding something? Is this some kind of visual novel game instead of a celebrity training system?"
While searching for traces of the Nanasai family in the darkness, Rito slowly released his right hand, revealing the crystal-clear sphere inside. A look of bewilderment appeared on his face, and for the first time, he began to doubt the purpose of the system that had brought him here.
"If second base counts, then what about third base? Home plate? There's a reward for the first time, but what about the fifth and tenth? Thinking about it this way, no wonder I always feel like the number of draws in the center position pool isn't enough, and all I get are from the regular pool. Is this how you get the center position?"
Touching his chin, the man suddenly had a bold guess. He glanced at the crystal ball in his hand, narrowed his eyes slightly, and with a slight exertion of his fingers, the ball dissipated into a gentle light. Then, a face he was very familiar with slowly materialized in mid-air.
(Nogizaka first-year student, known as the face of Nogizaka)
"Mai Shiraishi, it's been a long time."
Looking at Shiraishi Mai's beautiful face, which represents an era, Rito's mood couldn't help but improve. Nogizaka's glory certainly belongs to every member who contributed to it, but if you had to choose a representative, without a doubt, Shiraishi Mai would be the only one who deserves the title. Nogizaka without her always feels a bit lonely.
"This time, it will be tough for you to start as a second-generation member and lead everyone from the front. Try relying on someone else this time."
The scene in mid-air dimmed over time, and the figure turned into white light, shooting straight out of the window and flying towards Gunma Prefecture. Rito put away his smile, lay heavily on the bed, stared at the minimalist ceiling, and was already looking forward to the day when he would meet Nogizaka46's number one in another world.