Beautiful Barking Tsundere

Chapter 10

Original Author: ひのはら (Hinohara)
Date Submitted to Kakuyomu: 2021/09/15

Her cellphone's alarm slowly wakes Aira from her slumber.
After reaching out her arm and turning off the alarm in her half-asleep state, Aira notices Ema's sleeping face next to her.　

"...Her face is pretty even when sleeping."

Wrapped in the fluffy futon, Ema is sleeping soundly.

Their fingers are still intertwined like they were last night when Aira fell asleep.

Aira gently untangles their hands so as not to wake Ema and then leaves the bed.

She'd like to stay in bed a bit longer, but she has school today so she has to get prepared.

"...Good morning."

Of course, Ema doesn't reply.
Curious, Aira gently pokes Ema's cheek with her finger.

"Ngggh..."

The way her brow furrows and the way she groans as she retreats further into the bed makes her seem just like a child.

The corners of Aira's mouth rise up.

"That was a good night's sleep..."

It has been a while since she slept on a bed, so she's feeling well-rested.
Aira glances over at Ema, who's still asleep.

The reason she wasn't afraid must have been because she wasn't alone.
Since Ema was by her side, she could sleep peacefully.

However, Aira couldn't tell Ema that.

Her stubborn and uncute personality makes it quite hard for her to say things like that honestly.

After washing her face and finishing her skincare routine in the washroom, Aira stares at the area below her collarbone in the washroom mirror.

There, she sees the hickey that Ema's former sex friend left on her yesterday.
She tried her best to not look at it, but she was unable to get it off her mind after seeing it in the mirror.

Her clothes cover her collarbone, just barely hiding the hickey.

She scrubbed the area hard in an attempt to get it off, but that only made the area red.

"...I feel sick."

She considers covering it with a band-aid, but her skin is sensitive and she doesn't want to get a rash.

Even if she hides it with makeup, she'll have to take off her makeup at night.

While she's in low spirits, Ema enters the washroom with a yawn.

It's rare for her to be up this early in the morning.

"Good morning...What's wrong?
"Nothing."

She doesn't want the abundantly experienced Ema to realize how much this hickey bothers her.

After her blunt reply, Ema gently grabs her shoulder.

"...If you don't like that hickey, why not overwrite it?"
"Eh...?"
"I can't erase it for you, but I can put a thicker color over it."

Aira touches her own collarbone, wondering what she should do.

The hickey needs time to disappear and Aira's heart feels heavier every time it comes into view.

If that's the case, she would rather have one put on her by Ema.

Instead of one forced onto her by a stranger, it would be easier to think of the mark as something Ema left as a joke.

After some pondering, Aira nods her head.
In order to make that memory fade away just a little bit, she wants Ema to overwrite it.

"You serious...?"
"Why are you acting surprised?"
"I was just joking..."

Aira's cheeks turn red from embarrassment.

She took Ema's joke at face value and gave her permission to leave a hickey on her.

"...I wasn't really being serious either..."
"It's fine, come here."
"...It's not like I actually want you to leave one."
"...In that case, I want to leave one on you, so come here."

Aira slowly gets closer to Ema and slides the collar of her T-shirt down.
Ema's lips touch the part of her skin where the hickey is.

Ema's lips feel soft against Aira's skin and she can occasionally feel Ema's hot breath.

Aira winces when she feels Ema's tongue against her skin for a brief moment.

"Nn... cough, cough"

She quickly pretends to clear her throat to cover up the strange voice that unwittingly slipped out.
After a few seconds of Ema sucking on her skin, Ema's lips leave.

"That should be enough."

Aira looks down at the hickey, which has become darker than before.

After Ema overwrote it with her own color, it has become more noticeable than before.

The disgust Aira felt a moment ago has mysteriously been wiped away.

Right now, Aira could not possibly figure out why.

After coming home from school, Aira notices something.
Aira's eyes turn to where the sofa had been placed.

The furniture where Aira was attacked has disappeared without a trace.

"Eh..."

In its place is a brand-new sofa.
An indescribable feeling wells up in Aira.

"...Ema."

She must have gone out of her way to replace it so that Aira wouldn't be reminded of that incident.

Since Ema is currently holed up in the room that's off-limits, Aira can't thank her.

Perhaps that's also a part of Ema's thoughtfulness.

Aira stands in front of that room and gently touches the door.

"Ema... Thank you."

She knows that she has to say it to her directly, but this is Aira's limit right now.

A warm feeling fills her chest and her cheeks relax.

Just as she thought, Ema isn't a bad person.