Hozuki Nozomi felt he couldn't wait until the afternoon. After physical education class ended, he asked Hikigaya Hachiman and Hayama Hayato to help return the volleyballs to the storage room. Meanwhile, he asked Eriri Spencer Sawamura to wait for him on the rooftop.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura immediately eyed him with deep suspicion, declaring she wasn't an idiot and would never agree to such a thing. She stated firmly that she would absolutely not be alone with him.
Then.
On the rooftop.
Hozuki Nozomi gently backed Eriri Spencer Sawamura against the wall and proceeded to taste her soft lips. Eriri's face flushed a brilliant crimson, her breathing grew incredibly rapid, and her heart pounded wildly in her chest. She secretly hated herself for being so weak. Why did I still come up here?!
And this scoundrel… hadn't hesitated at all. As soon as he saw her, he immediately started showering her with praise about how cute she was and asked if he could hold her. Naturally, she refused immediately and shot him a look of disdain.
Then, Hozuki Nozomi stopped talking, simply gazing at her with a look of deep affection. Eriri Spencer Sawamura suddenly felt overwhelmingly flustered. Her previously firm resolve instantly softened.
"Alright… I can't do anything with you. Just for a moment! Only a short hug, and your hands need to behave. No funny business!" As she spoke, her cheeks burned with heat.
Having received her reply, Hozuki Nozomi naturally opened his arms and embraced the adorable Eriri Spencer Sawamura.
After holding her for about a minute, Nozomi then leaned pitifully close to her ear. "Eriri-chan… can I kiss you? Just once!"
Eriri Spencer Sawamura's eyes widened as she looked at this insatiable scoundrel in disbelief. She immediately refused sternly. "No! Don't even think about it! I said it was just a hug!"
Hozuki Nozomi: "But we've already hugged. Given our relationship, not kissing doesn't make sense, does it? Utaha-senpai even lets me kiss her."
Eriri Spencer Sawamura immediately felt terrible. "You pervert! You went to that black-stockinged… woman again? And kissed her?"
"Yes. But Utaha-senpai invited me." He looked at her earnestly. "So, Eriri-chan still won't let me kiss her?"
Eriri Spencer Sawamura huffily pushed him away. "If you like her so much, go kiss her! I'm not letting you kiss me!"
Hozuki Nozomi, however, shamelessly backed her against the wall again. "Even if you don't allow it… I'm still going to kiss you!"
And so, that's how things ended up. Eriri Spencer Sawamura's soft body leaned against his, her eyes closed in shame as her lips were claimed. She completely lost the will to resist.
Hozuki Nozomi felt that with a tsundere, being direct was the best approach. He simply wanted to tell Eriri Spencer Sawamura that he liked her and wanted to be close to her. He admitted he was becoming more and more of a scoundrel. But seeing her half-reluctantly leaning in his arms, panting softly, he immediately felt it was all worth it. Let me be a scoundrel then. As long as he could keep her by his side and make her show such a cute expression, he would willingly be despicable and shameless.
Moreover, if Eriri Spencer Sawamura truly hated him, she wouldn't have tacitly allowed it. For a tsundere, you had to listen to the opposite of what she said. When a tsundere girl said 'no,' she often meant 'yes'!
Five minutes later, Hozuki Nozomi held Eriri Spencer Sawamura as they sat on a bench. He looked down at her puffed-up cheeks and gently stroked her golden twin-tails. "What's wrong? Still angry?"
Eriri Spencer Sawamura grabbed his hand and bit down hard. Her delicate, yet surprisingly sharp canines left a neat row of teeth marks on his arm. "Hmph! That's for bullying me. Scumbag! If you bully me again, I'll bite you again!"
"Yes, yes, of course," Hozuki Nozomi smiled, continuing to stroke her hair. "How could I bear to bully you? I've said it before—if Eriri-chan doesn't want to, she can push me away. I would never force you."
"Hmph! You say that so nicely. Didn't you just force a kiss on me? You're so bad! I don't believe you!"
"Uh…" Hozuki Nozomi awkwardly scratched his cheek. "I can't argue with that. But who made Eriri-chan so cute? And during PE class just now, you kept contradicting me. I just wanted to… quiet you down a bit. Aside from that, I'm actually quite gentle, right?"
"Shameless! You're not gentle at all!"
"Really? I'm not gentle?"
"Hmph! You're so rough!"
Hearing this, Hozuki Nozomi immediately put on a serious face. "I think I need to prove my gentleness, then."
Eriri Spencer Sawamura's delicate body trembled. "You… what do you want now?"
Hozuki Nozomi smirked, his palm gently coming to rest on her beautiful leg, sheathed in black over-the-knee socks. "What do you think, Eriri-chan? How do you think someone who likes you as much as I do would treat you?"
"Scumbag! You're bullying me again!"
"Don't call me a scumbag at a time like this. I want to hear Eriri-chan call my name."
The girl's cheeks flushed an even deeper crimson upon hearing his pleading tone. She stammered, unable to get the words out. She was so accustomed to her tsundere persona that she truly couldn't bring herself to yield to him so openly. And… this guy was quite skilled, wasn't he? He was decisive and domineering in his approach. Wouldn't it have been better if he had just been this direct from the start? If he were gentler, she would only feel more embarrassed.
After all, he was already engaged. Being with him, like Kasumigaoka Utaha, made her feel a bit like a cat stealing fish.
Hozuki Nozomi saw her shy expression and recalled the scene from her previous visit to Sakurasou when they had been intimate. He immediately understood her thoughts. So, he stopped pleading and instead adopted a serious, undeniable tone.
"Hurry up. Call my name. Otherwise, a certain honor student is going to be late for her next class."
"Ugh… Pervert! How could you be like this?" Eriri Spencer Sawamura's eyes grew slightly moist. She had worked hard to establish an image as an exemplary, beautiful mixed-race honor student in her classmates' eyes. If she skipped class with him, who knew what kind of rumors would start flying.
"I am like this! Who told Eriri-chan to keep calling me such bad names? Although I don't really mind… I really want to hear you call me something nicer."
"There's really nothing I can do with you…" Eriri Spencer Sawamura sighed in embarrassment, her small face completely flushed. She spoke softly, awkwardly. "No… Nozomi… don't bully me… Are you satisfied now…? Ugh!"
Hozuki Nozomi was certainly satisfied. It really wasn't easy to get Eriri Spencer Sawamura to act spoiled. Gentleness wouldn't work. He had to be a little domineering, a little 'bad,' and not give her any room to retreat into her tsundere shell.
Charmed by her soft voice, Hozuki Nozomi decided to give Eriri Spencer Sawamura a reward. That's right—the reward was naturally another kiss from Mr. Scoundrel.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura struggled symbolically for a moment before acquiescing. Although she had initially been annoyed by Kasumigaoka Utaha's actions, it seemed she herself was even more like a cat stealing fish than Utaha was. After all, she had previously vowed she would never date him. But now… whether they were officially dating or not, the practical difference seemed negligible. She was almost entirely his.