Comic strip: Survival on a deserted island, surrounded by heroines

"Self-taught".

Kasumigaoka Utaha blushed slightly, puffed out her chest confidently, and casually tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Besides, is it really that embarrassing for me to see through you?"

That's what she said, but at this moment she wasn't as calm as she appeared.

It's impossible to hold on to something like that, right?

However, Aoyama-kun was clearly enduring a lot of hardship.

"Don't lose face."

Sensing the changes, Qingshan frowned slightly.

He reached out and stirred some firewood in the campfire, sparks flying and tracing short trails in the air.

"However, your keen observation is putting a bit of pressure on me."

"pressure?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha's hand paused slightly. Had she gripped it too tightly?

Aoyama didn't know what she was thinking, but calmly said, "I'm afraid that one day I might accidentally breathe a little too heavily and you'll interpret it as some strange psychological activity."

Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice sounded exceptionally clear in the night: "Don't worry, I'll only interpret the parts I want to interpret."

After saying this, she pretended to look at the moon in the sky.

Then she gripped that intense heat even tighter.

"..."

The silence lasted for a while, with only the sound of the campfire burning and the rhythm of the waves crashing on the beach remaining.

After a while.

Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly spoke, her tone a few degrees softer than before: "Aoyama-kun, with your underwater breathing ability... when you're underwater... do you even have time to speak?"

Aoyama turned to look at her: "If you talk in the water, water will get in your mouth."

"So you were completely silent underwater?"

"almost."

Kasumigaoka Utaha buried her face in her knees, her voice muffled: "That's a bit of a shame."

Aoyama asked curiously, "What's a pity?"

"It's nothing..."

She raised her head, her crimson profile half-revealed in the firelight, her pupils filled with a hint of restless emotion.

He looked at her profile; in the interplay of firelight and moonlight, her features were both soft and clear.

"Next time I go underwater, I'll try my best to evolve the ability to talk underwater."

"Pfft..." Kasumigaoka Utaha was amused by his words.

Kasumigaoka Utaha had a hint of a smile in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth curved up a little wider. "Aoyama-kun, when you're seriously trying to figure out how to solve this kind of problem, it's like you're telling a corny joke...cute."

Is this considered a compliment?

"you guess."

Qingshan did not ask any further questions.

He shifted his gaze back to the fire in front of him, sensing the different speeds and intensities.

After a while, he felt a little more weight on his shoulders.

Kasumigaoka Utaha moved a few inches closer without anyone noticing, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

Her hair brushed against his neck, carrying a faint fragrance.

I don't know how she managed to stay alive on this deserted island.

"Classmate Qingshan~"

Her voice was so close that he could feel her breath brushing against his ear as she spoke.

"Ok?"

"Wouldn't it be nice if it were just the two of us on this island?"

Qingshan thought for a moment and said, "That's how it is at present."

Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled softly: "If you spoke like that in a typical school romance drama, the female lead would probably call you a blockhead."

However, there was one thing she didn't say.

Aoyama-kun is not made of wood, because he has a piece of burning wood.

"Would you say that?"

She turned her head and nuzzled his shoulder with the tip of her nose: "I won't, because I know you're not made of wood."

Qingshan did not speak.

He raised his hand from his side, went around her back, and placed it on her other shoulder.

The action was taken without hesitation, as if it had been planned long ago.

Kasumigaoka Utaha leaned on his shoulder for a while, then tilted her head slightly to look at him.

The moonlight fell on her face, casting a bright light in her eyes.

“Qingshan, classmate.” Her voice carried a softness and tension that was different from usual. “Your breathing sounds different again.”

"Really?"

"Your breathing paused for a moment just now, though it was very brief, but I felt it." A slight smile appeared on her lips; her method was indeed quite effective.

Aoyama looked down at her: "I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

"Of course you can't hide it from me."

Kasumigaoka Shiu's voice was a little proud, but her red pupils reflected a serious and gentle light, "So Aoyama-san, you stopped breathing because you were nervous?"

"Or is it because...you're thinking about something else?"

Aoyama paused for two seconds, then said, "Everyone's thinking about it."

Kasumigaoka Utaha did not press the matter further.

She buried her face back in his shoulder, as if she had found a very comfortable spot.

A night breeze blew in from the sea, and the flames of the campfire were suppressed for a moment before rising again.

After an unknown amount of time, Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice rang out again, carrying a lightness that couldn't be taken back once spoken: "Aoyama-kun... that's good."

Aoyama paused for a moment, then looked at her seriously.

Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't look up; her face was still buried in the hollow of his shoulder, but a faint pink tinge could be seen on the tips of her ears.

"Are you sure?" Aoyama's voice was a little hoarse.

"Hmm." She nodded, her voice even softer than a mosquito's buzz. "Anyway, it's just you and me on this island... and you're going into that kind of water again tomorrow."

She paused here, as if suppressing some emotion, before continuing, "Something has to be left..."

"Leave some behind?"

"Of course... leave some evidence."

Kasumigaoka Utaha finally raised her head. The firelight illuminated her face, and her expression was as composed as ever, but there was a layer of moisture in the depths of her eyes.

"Prove that you were indeed with me today."

Qingshan stared at her for a long time, so long that even the flames of the campfire dimmed.

Then he reached out and tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear.

Her earlobes were burning hot... Kasumigaoka Utaha turned her head away, her face flushed.

She neither refused nor avoided it.

When Aoyama tried to find safety measures in his backpack, Kasumigaoka Utaha stopped him.

"Qingshan-kun, this is the first time I don't need that kind of thing..."

"..."

The fire in Aoyama's heart ignited instantly.

However, he was not in a hurry, but instead tested the waters back and forth.

Only when the time is right will they be submerged in it.

"Don't be nervous, Kasumigaoka."

"Hmm~"

Kasumigaoka Utaha gritted her teeth, her face flushed.

......

The campfire burned in the night wind, its flames casting shadows on the two figures.

Aoyama turned her around a bit, letting her sit with her back against him, resting his chin on the top of her head.

She could feel his steady, strong heartbeat pounding in his chest, sending it up to her back.

"Aoyama-kun's breathing has changed again." Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice had a slight nasal tone, with a slight rise at the end, "It just got much faster..."

"You noticed that."

"It's hard not to notice, isn't it?"

She tilted her head back, rested it on his shoulder, and turned her face to look at him, a hint of cunning in her red eyes.

Aoyama lowered his head and placed a very light kiss on the top of her head.

"You are Kasumigaoka Utaha."

"I can't hide anything from you."

Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled softly, her voice partially carried away by the sea breeze in the night.

She turned her gaze to the silvery moonlight path on the distant sea, as if looking at something very far away.

"Classmate Qingshan".

"Ok?"

"Your ability to stay underwater for twenty-five minutes is really true?"

"Theoretically it's possible, but in reality it should take longer because the ability to adapt to the environment is also at play."

"Then we'll wait until you come back from underwater..."

She paused for a long time, so long that Qingshan thought she wouldn't continue.

"When I get back, I'll give you even more surprises..."

"Also, you have to hold me like you did today."

Aoyama's arms tightened a little.

"it is good."

His answer was straightforward, as if confirming a long-standing, tacit agreement.

Kasumigaoka Utaha did not say anything more.

She closed her eyes, and her breathing gradually became uneven.

The campfire burned late into the night, and the flames gradually weakened.

"Qingshan... classmate... wait..."

The sound of the tide continued as always, and the sea breeze gradually smoothed out the remaining footprints on the beach.

Aoyama sat in the gradually dimming firelight, one hand around Kasumigaoka Utaha's side, his palm resting on her lower abdomen.

She could feel the warmth of his palm, steady and gentle.

He lowered his head and whispered something in her ear.

Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't open her eyes, but the corners of her mouth curved into an almost imperceptible smile.