Tokyo: Oreimo

The next day was another peaceful day.

Saori did not skip the banquet despite learning about Ryosuke and Ayano's situation; she still attended.

"Ling Nai."

At the dinner table, Saori mentioned it to the girl with a smile.

"How about I borrow Shi Yuze for a while tonight?"

"Why are you saying that all of a sudden?"

Ling Nai glared at her. "Where that guy wants to go is none of my business, is it?"

It's as if it's her property.

Even so, she was still quite happy.

"Whatever."

Ling Nai glanced at Liang Jie.

"Then it's settled."

Saori turned her head and smiled as she showered.

"Come to my room after you're done tidying up. I want to discuss some company matters with you."

Chapter 292 Tonight, you are not allowed to go back.

Company affairs?

Recently, the only thing that has caught her's attention so much is probably RE, right?

However, RE was completely completed some time ago, so there shouldn't be anything else that needs to be modified.

Ryosuke glanced at Saori and noticed that she had finished eating and was ready to leave.

So without thinking too much, I quickly cleared the dishes, said goodbye to Ling Nai, went out, and pressed the elevator button to go downstairs.

...

When Ryosuke pushed open the door to Saori's apartment, only a floor lamp was lit in the living room.

Warm yellow light bathed the sofa and coffee table, on which lay several printed reports and a half-finished cup of barley tea.

Saori sat on the sofa, holding a pen in her hand, writing something on a report. She had changed into a dark blue loungewear set, her long hair loosely tied over her shoulders, and she wasn't wearing her glasses.

"Sit down." She didn't even look up, the pen scratching softly on the paper.

Ryosuke sat down on the sofa next to her.

The report on the coffee table was a summary of ANIPLEX's revenue for this quarter. He glanced at it and saw that the numbers were impressive. The Blu-ray sales of Steins;Gate and the Blu-ray sales of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya both exceeded expectations, and the pre-order data for RE was also quite considerable.

Ryosuke felt deeply fortunate to have a company that produces saori.

Without this woman, it would have taken me several more years to achieve this.

"The feedback from the demo version on RE is very good."

Saori pushed the report in front of him, "The number of pre-orders has exceeded 20,000. After the official release, it should be able to surpass the first-month performance of White 2."

Ryosuke flipped through the reports and looked at a few pages.

The data was clear, there was nothing to worry about. He turned a few more pages. Saori sat beside him without saying a word, only the occasional sound of her pen gliding across the paper could be heard.

“You’ve already sent this data via email.” Ryosuke presented the report.

"Hmm." Saori put down her pen, picked up her barley tea, and took a sip.

"So, the real topic of discussion tonight isn't company matters, is it?"

Saori put down her teacup, turned her head to look at him, and without the glasses obscuring her eyes, the beauty mark at the corner of her eye was particularly clear under the light.

She did not deny it.

“Ryou is in very good shape lately,” Saori suddenly hummed.

This kind of reaction is quite rare when the two are together.

Sure enough, he was still a little angry.

Ryosuke felt somewhat ashamed.

Are you angry?

"No."

“…”

"You're always like this, so I have to take the initiative."

As she spoke, Saori stood up from her chair, walked over to Ryosuke, curled up her long legs, and sat on Ryosuke's lap.

The soft physical contact made Ryosuke tense up instantly.

"Shy?"

Saori smiled slightly, and used her index finger to lift his chin.

The moonlight outside refracted into the room and fell on her face, making Ryosuke a little dazed.

The woman before him was so beautiful that he couldn't refuse her.

"Shi Yuze, actually, after meeting you, I pretty much knew I had fallen for you, but do you know why I kept using teasing as an excuse?"

"Because I'm afraid that if you really turn around and look at me, I won't know what to do."

“I was pampered growing up, and everyone told me that I would naturally get what I wanted. But you are the only thing I am not sure about.”

"So I tested him with teasing, approached him with work, and used interest as an excuse. It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?"

She walked back to him, looked down at him, and Ryosuke read a certain emotion he had never seen before in her pupils.

Saori said, "Ryou is braver than I imagined. She really dared to accept the challenge and walked openly on campus with you, which made me feel threatened."

She braced herself against the sofa armrests on either side of him, trapping him between the sofa and herself. Her long, wavy hair cascaded down her shoulders, the ends brushing against his arms.

"Ling Nai said it out loud, and you responded to her. Tonight it's my turn."

The force of her kiss was more direct than ever before.

Ryosuke reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her into his arms. Saori's knees were pressed against the edge of the sofa, and she lost her balance, almost falling onto him.

He ran his fingers through her hair and untied the hair tie.

Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders. Saori lowered her head and found his lips again, leading the kiss to a deeper level.

Ryosuke's hand slid from her waist to her back, and through the fabric of her pajamas, he could feel her body temperature rising.

"You are too gentle and don't want to hurt anyone, so you hesitate to make a choice. But if you continue like this, it will be unfair to everyone."

She turned her head away to catch her breath, then brought her lips close to his ear: "Don't feel guilty. No matter what, I will never let you leave me, even if..."

Her fingers unbuttoned the first button of Ryosuke's shirt, and Ryosuke grasped her wrist.

"Have you thought it through?" She lowered her eyes. "Ling Nai won't be interrupting us tonight. If you really push me away, I'll stop."

Ryosuke tightened his grip on her waist, sat up, pulled Saori closer to him, and pressed his forehead against hers.

"sorry."

"We'll apologize later." Saori's voice was low, her breath brushing against his lips. "Right now, you're only allowed to think about me."

She kissed him again, pressing him back onto the sofa with an irresistible force.

His fingers unbuttoned the shirt one button at a time, pressing his lips to it with each button he undid, from his collarbone to his chest, and then to just above his heart.

She pressed her ear against that spot, listening to the heartbeat below.

“You jump very fast,” she said softly, “just like me.”

Ryosuke rolled over and pinned her beneath him, and Saori gasped softly.

A hint of loss of control finally appeared on her usually composed face. Ryosuke lowered his head and left a kiss mark on her neck.

“Saori…” He still retained some rationality.

"Don't speak." Saori's voice trembled, but she was still smiling. "At this point, all we need to do is continue."

She raised her hand and pressed it against the back of Ryosuke's head, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

The floor lamp had been knocked over at some point, and its warm yellow light slanted across the floor and onto the legs of the coffee table, darkening most of the living room. Only a few rays of cold white light from the streetlights outside the window shone through the curtains.

Ryosuke got up to draw the curtains, and Saori hugged him from behind, pressing her cheek against his back, her voice softer than usual.

"Go to the bedroom."

Ryosuke turned around, picked her up in his arms, and Saori wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her lips to the area below his ear, and gently ground her teeth against that small patch of skin.

"Wait a minute." She suddenly pulled a finger away and pointed to the coffee table. "The reports haven't been collected yet."

Ryosuke paused, and Saori chuckled softly, burying her face in his shoulder again. The two walked into the bedroom under the moonlight.

After that, what Ryosuke remembered most clearly was not the streetlights shining through the gaps in the curtains, nor the constant low hum of the air conditioner compressor, but Saori repeatedly calling his name in his ear.

Her legs wrapped around his waist, and her fingers dug into his back.

Her bangs clung to her cheeks, her eyes glistened with a thin sheen of moisture, and a defiant smile lingered on her lips the entire time.

She kept saying "I love you" countless times, as if she was pouring out all the words she had saved up for three years in one night.

Ryosuke looked at his girlfriend, who was usually so composed and elegant, with her blushing cheeks as he pinned her down, and his mind was in turmoil.

Guilt, indebtedness, possessiveness, and pure affection are all swirled together in a vortex of emotions that are hard to discern.

Neither of them spoke afterward. She rested her head on his right arm, her long hair covering half of his chest, her sweaty skin pressed against his skin. He slowly calmed his breathing, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

"Ryosuke." Saori called his name, but he didn't respond. He ran his fingers through her hair, gently combing it, waiting for her to continue.

“I won’t back down,” Saori said, burying her face in his shoulder. Her voice wasn’t trembling or tearful; it was as if she were stating a truth she had pondered for a very long time. “No matter what you choose, I won’t back down, if you can’t let her go…”

She raised her hand, placing her palm on his chest, her fingers slightly curled, the warmth of her palm seeping through his skin.

“I can, the Phoenix Inu family can accept that kind of thing.”

Ryosuke hugged her tighter, pressing her head against his collarbone, his muffled voice coming from below.