It had been a week since the last time Shirakawa Natsu attended the festival, and life had more or less returned to normal. Yet, he could feel that something subtle had shifted between him and Hashimoto Arina.
Arina no longer rejected certain gestures of intimacy—like holding hands or letting him brush his fingers against her long, slender legs.
On the Huangmao App, their little red heart meter had climbed back up to ninety-seven.
Unlike before, this time there was no sense of a barrier between them, no invisible river separating them. Without the excuse of "family affection" holding them back, the atmosphere between them was different.
For Natsu, who had already managed to push past so many obstacles, it felt like he was nearly at the finish line. He believed it was only a matter of time before he could finally leave this hospital bed behind.
Today, Shirakawa Natsu was lying on his bed, reading as usual. Since the day he'd crossed into this world, the hospital had been his cage. The details of this reality were slightly different from the one he'd come from, and if he wanted to reintegrate into society without raising suspicion, he needed to understand its culture and common sense thoroughly.
While he was absorbed in study, Mizuishi Kui walked in, carrying a paper bag. She placed it on the bedside table.
"Here, the book you wanted."
"Thanks." Natsu nodded and closed the book he had been reading. It was a volume about ghosts and spirits—religious myths and folklore. Some details differed from those on Earth, but the overall framework wasn't too far off.
Kui glanced at the cover. "What, are you into the occult now?"
"Of course not." Natsu shrugged. "But as a manga artist, it makes sense to understand all kinds of folklore."
"No one likes those old stories anymore." Kui sat down in the nurse's chair with a little sigh. "They're just something grandmothers use to scare kids."
"That's only because the storytelling hasn't kept up with the times." Natsu flipped to a page and pointed at an illustration of a fox in an old-fashioned black-and-white style. "Take this for example—the fox who repays a favor. In these stories, a mountain fox cultivates into a demon. To continue its practice, it has to find the corpse of someone who's died, take the skull, fulfill the person's last wish, and then learn human emotions by imitating them. It lives beside humans like that."
He spread his hands. "It's creepy. It's unfinished. Nobody wants to read this. The modern version should go like this: the male lead saves a little fox, and that fox later transforms into a beautiful girl with animal ears. She wants to repay his kindness, but then discovers he's already married. She snaps, goes dark, and turns every woman around him into stuffed toys. Now that's a story that fits modern otaku tastes."
Kui pursed her lips. "What if it's a male fox?"
"Doesn't matter." Natsu shrugged again. "As long as he looks like a cute girl, there'll be fat guys waving their money around. Some might even find it more exciting."
"You're a terrible cartoonist." Kui snorted.
"By the way," Natsu said, tilting his head, "what's up with Kimura Sakame these days?" He remembered Kui mentioning she'd run into him that night.
Lately, things with Hashimoto Arina had been progressing quickly, but Natsu knew enough to stay cautious. In so many stories, just when the heroine seems "defeated," she suddenly has a revelation, joins forces with the original lover, and the "blonde rival" gets thrown aside. He couldn't afford to be careless.
"That guy's even more popular since his divorce. I heard he's even been getting love letters from boys." Kui shook her head. "Other than that, nothing's really changed."
"Ugh. What an unpleasant guy." Natsu grimaced, imagining two men together.
Kui ignored him, picking up his manuscript and slipping it into an envelope. "By the way, Reaper has been greenlit for an anime. The deal went through at a good price. Congratulations—you've basically achieved financial freedom."
Natsu blinked, then turned toward her in surprise. "Kui… thank you."
He said it sincerely. Without Mizuishi Kui, he couldn't have done anything. Not with this body, not with his "blonde-haired" disadvantages.
"Tch." Kui shrugged. "I'm just doing it for the money. Anyway, I'm off."
She stood to leave.
"Wait." Natsu stopped her, glancing down at the old book in his hand. "Hey… there really aren't monsters in this world, right?"
"Are you half-asleep?" Kui grinned, flashing two sharp canine teeth. "Of course there aren't."
"Right." Natsu smiled faintly and closed the book. "I'm being too sensitive."
After Kui left, Natsu returned to his reading, absorbing information like a sponge. He was so focused he didn't notice when Hashimoto Arina arrived.
"Sorry, Sister Arina, when did you get here?" He quickly closed his book and looked up.
She was holding a bento box, smiling. Dressed in her doctor's uniform without stockings, her long legs were bare. "Heehee, about ten minutes. You were so into that book I didn't want to interrupt."
"Reading isn't as important as Sister Arina." Natsu took the lunch box. Her cooking had improved a lot these past days—still not delicious, but at least edible compared to the disasters from before.
"It's fine." Arina sat on the edge of his bed, then leaned back until she was half-lying down beside him. "You know, Natsu, you look really handsome when you're serious about reading."
"Sister Arina…" He couldn't bring himself to care about the food. He set it aside, leaned down, and kissed her.
Her lips parted slightly in response, but her hand caught his wrist, stopping him from sliding too far up her thigh.
When they finally pulled apart, Arina's cheeks were red. She covered her face with one hand. "As a doctor, and as an adult, I've failed."
"It doesn't matter. As long as we're happy." Natsu kissed her again, slipping his hand beneath her white coat with ease.
The sight of the frail boy pressing down on the mature doctor painted a vivid picture.
But once again, her hand caught his.
"Sister Arina…" Natsu looked her in the eyes.
"I don't actually hate… physical contact with you." She turned her face away, blushing. "But don't be so impatient. And besides… not here, in the hospital."
"Yeah." Natsu leaned back. "We can take our time."
Then he smirked. "But as the price for waiting… let me touch your legs, Sister Arina."
"Brat." Her face flushed even more, and though she grabbed his wrist, her grip was weak. Only when his hand slid higher did she stop him firmly.
Still blushing, she scolded him as a "naughty child," grabbed the bento box, and ran out.
Natsu pulled out the app. Despite Arina saying she hated hospital intimacy and valued "spiritual connection" the most, their love meter ticked up from ninety-eight to ninety-nine.
"Heh. Women." Natsu sneered playfully. The last one percent, he knew exactly how to conquer.
That evening, the two of them strolled across the hospital lawn.
When a pair of young nurses passed by, they waved. "Doctor Hashimoto, you've worked hard today!"
"You too, go home and rest early," Arina replied warmly. Behind her back, her right hand caught Natsu's, stopping his sneaky attempt.
"See you tomorrow, Doctor Hashimoto!" the nurses called before walking away.
Arina turned to glare at Natsu. "Little pervert!"
"Heh." Natsu only grinned, wisely keeping quiet.
Sure enough, she was only pretending to be angry. She tugged him into a corner, crouched down with him, and kissed him again.
When they broke apart, her cheeks were scarlet. "Satisfied?" she whispered. "Kissing my little brother in public… it feels completely different than in private."
The next day at noon, Shirakawa Natsu lay on his bed while Arina sat astride him, straddling his legs. His hands circled her slender waist as they kissed.
"Honestly… how did it turn into this? I only came to deliver lunch." Her face burned, but her eyes never left his.
"I just think Sister Arina is too easy to bully." He laughed. "I can't help wanting to kiss you."
"Pervert." She pressed his hand down onto her bare thigh.
"That's right. And Sister Arina wouldn't know a thing, would she?" Natsu grinned.
"Really…" She gazed down at him, their eyes locking as the atmosphere grew hotter.
This time, it was Arina who leaned in first. She kissed him, pushing him down onto the bed. When she finally lifted her head, her cheeks glowed. "I don't hate it, either."
From his angle, Natsu couldn't help noticing the neckline of her blouse beneath the white coat—the glimpse of cleavage framed by her position.
Arina caught his gaze but didn't shy away. "So impatient? You've been peeking since the day we met. You're such a bad boy."
"Yes." He put a hand on her waist. "But this time, I want a clearer look."
"Just looking. Don't touch." She tried to hold his hand back, but in seconds, every button of her blouse had come undone.
"Black, huh." His eyes widened as he reached out.
Arina quickly grabbed his hand, her voice sharp. "You said just looking!"
"I mean it." Natsu's tone was deadly serious. "You have to trust me, Sister Arina."
Her resistance weakened slightly.
And that was the exact moment a head poked through the hospital bed curtain.
"Sorry, the door wasn't closed. Don't mind me—go ahead."
Mizuishi Kui ducked right back out.