Chapter 35 By Our Given Names

By Our Given Names

“Naoe-kun, should we get ready to sleep soon?”

After taking a bath, we slipped under the futon together.

I turned off the lights.

“So much happened today…”

“Ah… s-sorry…”

Picking up on my muttering, Kakizaki-san apologized with a guilty look.

“No, don’t apologize! Thanks to today, I can now… well, be with the woman I care about the most…”

“Ahaha… yeah.”

In the darkness, she smiled softly.

“Alright, let’s sleep. Goodnight… eh!?”

For some reason, Kakizaki-san slipped into my futon!?

“I-It’s just… today’s really cold, and staying close like this is warmer…”

“Y-Yeah…”

Bringing her face incredibly close to mine, she whispered.

Ah… she smells like shampoo…

And I…

“Mmm…”

Shared my second kiss of the day with Kakizaki-san.

“Nfufu… Naoe-kun, did you know? You’re the first guy I’ve ever kissed…”

“R-Really? Actually, me too…”

When I told her that shyly, Kakizaki-san’s expression turned to surprise.

“Y-You mean, not even with that childhood friend you were dating…?”

“Haha… no, I’ve never kissed anyone before. The most we did was hold hands…”

But back then, Hiyori had kissed Kazuki casually and looked so ecstatic…!?

“Chu… mmm… pwa…”

“Mph… Kakizaki-san!?”

Suddenly, she sealed my lips with another kiss, catching me off guard.

“Then… I’ll kiss you so much more. So many times that awful childhood friend of yours would be jealous—countless times…”

“Kakizaki-san…”

Ah… I could tell just by looking at her face.

She must’ve been worried about me, knowing I was recalling that incident from the past…

—Squeeze

“Ah…”

“Thank you… I’m so happy because of you.”

“Ahaha… I’m just as happy because of you…”

We held each other close and drifted into sleep.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to come along?”

The next morning, I was walking to university with Kakizaki-san.

Given everything that had happened yesterday, I couldn’t risk leaving her alone. If those idiots harassed her again, or worse, something like yesterday happened and I couldn’t find her… I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

I never want to lose her again.

“Of course. Besides, let’s show those idiots that their petty harassment doesn’t bother us. That no matter what they do, we’re happy together.”

“Ahaha… y-yeah, you’re right…”

And so…

—Squeeze

I held her soft, smooth hand.

Naturally, in a lover’s grip.

“Nfufu… I can’t help it, I’m so happy I can’t stop smiling…”

“Haha, that’s my line.”

Honestly… she’s so adorable, I can’t take my eyes off her. I can barely focus on walking.

“Um, by the way…”

“Hm? What is it?”

Hesitantly, she peeked up at my face.

What’s going on…?

“D-Do you think… I mean, are we… officially dating…?”

With an anxious expression, she asked, her voice trembling.

Seriously, how far does this girl intend to make me fall for her with this overwhelming cuteness…?

“Of course we are! That’s why we’re holding hands and walking together like this!”

“Ah, ahaha! Yeah, you’re right!”

Hearing my response, Kakizaki-san seemed satisfied, her face lighting up with a radiant smile… or so I thought, but now she was fidgeting again.

“T-Then… um… would it be okay if I called you by your given name…?”

“Ah…”

R-Right… Since we’re dating now, it’s only natural for her to call me by my given name…

“O-Of course.”

“Yay…!”

The moment I nodded, Kakizaki-san clenched her fists in front of her chest, making a small victory pose.

Wow… I can’t take it anymore. Now that we’ve shared our feelings, everything about her is unbearably adorable.

“Nfufufu… then, Yuuta-kun!”

“Y-Yeah…”

Hearing her call me by my given name, I couldn’t help but look down, caught between joy and embarrassment.

But then.

“…(staring)”

Um… for some reason, Kakizaki-san was staring at me intently.

“W-What is it?”

“…Since I called your given  name, Yuuta-kun, I’d like you to call mine in return…”

Ah, so that’s what this is about…

B-But that means I have to call her by her given name too…

“Ahem… O-Okay then… Hatsune…-san…”

“Ahaha… no need for the -san, okay?”

Oh, maybe… is she asking me to call her without any honorifics?

“I-If that’s the case, I’d like you to call me without honorifics too!”

“Ah!?”

Haha, that’s my payback.

But then.

“I-It’s fine! Um… Yuuta.”

“Ah!?”

D-Damn it… Hearing my given name called casually by the girl I love is so overwhelmingly heartwarming it’s almost too much to handle…

“I-I’ll try too… Hatsune…”

“Ah!? T-This… this might be dangerous…”

Kakizaki—no, Hatsune—clutched her chest and squirmed, her lips curling into the widest smile imaginable. Yeah, I completely understand that feeling.

And so, exchanging such ridiculous couple-like interactions, we finally arrived at university.

Then.

“Ah! Hatsune-senpai! …Oh, and Naoe-kun too.”

Mushakoji-san ran up to us excitedly.

And I’m just an extra, huh…

“Could I have a moment with you both?”

“Eh? Mikoto, what’s up?”

Following her beckoning gesture, Hatsune and I followed after her.

Well, we still had some time before our lecture, so it wasn’t a problem…

She brought us to an isolated spot behind the campus building.

“So…?”

Hesitantly, I asked Mushakoji-san.

“Fufu… I’ve uncovered the identity of the culprits who were bothering Hatsune-senpai.”

She grinned as she said it, her smile carrying a hint of mischief.