Sleepover

With Arisa's tournament over, the two of us were headed home together with Satsuki-san at the wheel.

"It's my first time over since you moved, so I'm so looking forward to it! And the maids' cooking too!"

"The maids' cooking is exquisite."

Arisa had really been looking forward to today's sleepover. She'd been bubbling with excitement the whole drive, even hitting it off with Satsuki-san over food.

But once Arisa saw my house, she was going to be shocked. It wasn't the kind of place ordinary people lived in. I might have to tell her about my rank.

A few minutes later, we were nearing home.

"Huh, you moved to a place like this? The houses around here all look super expensive…"

"Y-yeah. They do."

"Well, Shouya's mom is a company president, so maybe this is normal for her…?"

"M-Mom's a company president!?"

My voice came out louder than I meant at the shocking revelation.

"Shouya, you didn't know? … Well, I guess it's no wonder you didn't… Shouya, your mom runs a company that does online clothing sales. Lately she handles all sorts of other goods too."

Online clothing sales, huh… Maybe that's where Karen-onee-chan's love of clothes came from…

"Karen-chan and the others do modeling for the original brand, you know?"

"Huh? … M-modeling?"

"Yep, yep. They carry a lot of clothes aimed at students, so Kaori-san said she's cutting expenses by using daughters who fit the bill."

So my Onee-chans had been doing modeling… Everyone was fashionable, sure, but… I really didn't know anything about my family.

"Thanks. For telling me…"

"Nuh-uh… Shouya, you can learn it all from here on, so don't make that face."

Arisa smiled gently at me and softly squeezed my cheeks.

"Shouya, you've gotta smile… Come on, smiiile!"

Arisa stretched my cheeks upward, pushing the corners of my mouth into a grin.

"Arisa… thanks. I feel better now…"

"Good!"

The two of us were laughing together when we arrived in front of the house.

"Huh…? This is your house?"

Arisa's reaction was the same one I'd had. Honestly, it was the reaction everyone had, so I sympathized.

"Y-yeah… let's go in…"

When I opened the entryway door, Kaede was waiting for us.

"Shouya, Satsuki-san, welcome home! And welcome, Arisa!"

"I'm home."

Usually I was the one already home when Kaede got back, or we came home together, so being greeted by her like this felt fresh.

"S-sorry to intrude…"

Meanwhile, Arisa had been visibly tense ever since she'd seen the outside of the house.

"Arisa, what's wrong?"

"It's just… I didn't think it would be such an amazing house…"

"Fufu ♪ You don't have to be so nervous! Come on, come in, come in!"

Urged on by Kaede, Arisa finally stepped inside.

"I-isn't it way too big? This house…"

After dropping her bags off in Kaede's room, Arisa joined us in exploring the house.

"Yeah… we're probably not even using all of it…"

"Shouya's room even has its own bath and kitchen!"

"Wait, really!?"

Naturally I couldn't show her each person's private room, so we skipped mine.

"By the way, what's the plan for tonight? Arisa, are you sleeping in my room? Or do you want to use a guest room?"

"Since we're doing this, let me sleep in your room, Kaede. It's a sleepover, so let's stay up late! Tomorrow's a day off!"

Kaede and Arisa were already getting excited about the night.

"Ah! Or, do you want to sleep with Shouya in his bed? It's super huge!"

"Th-the, the same bed!?"

Arisa let out a loud yelp at Kaede's suggestion.

"What? We used to sleep together when we were little."

So Kaede said, but at this age I had a feeling it wasn't quite that simple.

"Th-that's true, but… with Shouya the way he is now… that's not happening… and you too, Kaede…"

I had no memory and didn't remember any of that. She probably figured bringing it up would only make things awkward for me.

"Hm? I took a nap with Shouya just the other day, you know? Right?"

A nap? It took me a second to realize she meant when we'd shared a bed at the hotel on our date. The memory came back, and my face flushed a little.

"Huh?! No fair! … I mean, that's not… Shouya, you're allowed to say no, you know! You're so nice you might not be able to, but I can say it for you!"

Arisa really did seem worried about me.

"I'm fine, with Kaede… we're family… and with Arisa too…"

"W-with me too… that means…"

My indirect OK left Arisa bright red.

Arisa was always stepping in to protect me at school too, so I felt I could trust my body with her.

"Okaaay. That's enough～. Dinner's almost ready, so let's head to the living room?"

Arisa looked like she wanted to say something, but Kaede cut the conversation off.

Just as Kaede had said, most of the preparations in the living room were done.

"Arisa-chan, it's been a while! Have you grown taller again?"

"It's been too long! Kaori-san!"

The moment Mom spotted Arisa, she greeted her happily and started comparing heights.

"Now then, that's enough chatter. Shall we eat?"

At Mom's signal we said our "itadakimasu" and everyone started eating at once.

I started with the gratin. The cheese, crisped to a perfect golden-brown, added a nice crunchy accent. Beneath it, the white sauce was loaded with chunky pieces of chicken, fluffy potatoes, slightly crisp onions, and macaroni.

"Mmm! Delicious!"

Arisa was savoring her hamburger with obvious delight.

The juice-filled hamburger had cheese inside, mellowing out the sweet-and-savory demi-glace sauce.

"You eat like this every day…?"

"Today they really went all out because you were coming, but it's always about this good."

I answered Arisa's murmur from beside me.

"Fufu ♪ It makes me so happy to hear that praise from you, Shouya-sama ♪ You always look so happy eating our food, and that makes us happy too ♪"

Yui-san chimed in cheerfully after hearing my words. All I was doing was eating, but… if she was happy, then I was happy too.

"You could eat like this every day if you married Tak-kun～"

"Fufu ♪. If it's Arisa-chan, Mom would welcome you wholeheartedly ♪ Of course, only if you can make Taku-chan fall for you ♪"

Karen-onee-chan and Mom ganged up to tease Arisa.

"Married… to Shouya… heheh ♪"

Arisa let out a strange little giggle, probably daydreaming about married life with me.

"Arisa-onee-chan's making a funny face～"

Her fantasy session went on until Sakura pointed it out.

"Ahem! S-Shouya, what do you think about a girl who eats a lot…? You don't think she's, like, a glutton or something?"

Arisa suddenly stopped eating and looked at me with worry. Out of the corner of my eye, Satsuki-san twitched too, casting a glance over.

"I think girls who eat a lot are great… It's cute, the way they eat…"

The way she stuffed her cheeks like a squirrel, or took huge bites, was adorable. Whether we were sharing lunch or right now, I'd never once thought poorly of Arisa for it.

"Oh, okay then…"

Relieved, Arisa started moving her hand again and went back to eating.

"Satchan! Good for you!"

"…"

Satsuki-san, fidgety until just a moment ago, went bright red when Mei-san teased her.

We finished the delicious food the maids had prepared, and then it was time for baths.

"Hey Shouya, why don't we use the bath in your room? It's getting late, and if we split into two groups, everyone can bathe sooner…"

Kaede had a point. It was a little disappointing that Arisa couldn't use the bigger bath, but it couldn't be helped. The bath in my room was plenty big too. So I led Arisa to my room with Kaede.

"This is Shouya's room… isn't it too big?"

"Yeah… it's more than I can use… and it's a little lonely on my own."

It was about the size of a luxury family home, so compared to the warmth of everyone in the living room, the quiet really stood out.

"Eh～ then you should just say so～. I'd come over anytime! Tell me whenever you get lonely!"

Kaede seized the opening to set up an excuse to come to my room.

"Oh, hey! Why don't we all take a bath together tonight?"

"H-hey, Kaede! That's a bit much…"

Kaede was running a little wild today, and Arisa was flustered. But Kaede's momentum wasn't slowing down.

"Come on. I mean, I've already been naked with Shouya… oh."

Even Kaede seemed to realize mid-sentence that she'd said too much. She'd basically just told Arisa we'd done lewd things.

"S-sorry, Shouya… um…"

"It's okay… if it's Arisa, it's okay."

Kaede had deflated so completely it was hard to believe she'd been so peppy a moment ago.

"Honestly… Shouya, you're too soft! You've gotta come down on her harder than that!"

Arisa was getting angry on my behalf, looking out for me. With her doing the getting-mad for me, I couldn't muster any of my own.

"R-really, it's fine!… But if it were anyone other than Arisa, I wouldn't want it, so… if you'll just be careful…"

""Shouya…""

The two of them murmured my name with admiration.

"So, about the bath… it's like Kaede said, but… um… if Arisa's okay with it, I don't mind."

Kaede really seemed to want the three of us to bathe together, so I wanted to honor the dejected girl's wish. Plus, chances to bathe with a beautiful girl like Arisa didn't come along often.

"Sh-Shouya! Really!? I mean, of course I want to bathe with you too!… But my chest might make you feel uncomfortable…"

Arisa was still self-conscious about her big chest. At school she pressed it against me boldly enough, but maybe naked was different.

"Honestly～ Arisa, you're always going on about that… It's fine! Let's go!"

Energetic again, Kaede tugged Arisa along.

"Okay, we'll go grab our changes of clothes, so you go in first, Shouya! … But don't wash your body yet, okay? ♡"

I did as Kaede said, undressing in the changing room and slipping into the bath. After a while, I heard her and Arisa's voices.

"Kaede… I really can't…"

"Honestly! It's fine! Shouya said so too, right?"

From the other side of the glass door, a still-anxious voice came through.

"Huh… Arisa, did you get even bigger!?"

"D-don't say it…"

I'd been straining to catch the conversation on the other side of the door when it suddenly slid open, and I hurriedly covered my crotch.

"Look, look! Arisa's bra is this big!"

Kaede was wearing what looked like Arisa's yellow bra, but it was way too loose on her. Knowing Kaede's chest size well, I could back-calculate from the slack just how big Arisa's really was.

"K-Kaede!"

Arisa, one arm covering her chest, dragged Kaede out of my line of sight with the other and slammed the door shut.

"Honestly! We're going to be naked anyway, so what's the difference!"

"Th-that's one thing and this is another!"

We were back to hearing the two of them through the door, but since only their underwear was left, Kaede came in soon enough.

"Shouya～, I'm coming in～."

Same beautiful skin as the last time I'd seen her. Today she'd put her hair up in a bun for the bath, something I didn't usually see. After rinsing herself off, she went to step into the tub. When I tried to scoot to the edge, Kaede stopped me.

"Shouya goes in the middle!"

Saying that, Kaede claimed the spot on my left and leaned her shoulder against mine. Up close, Kaede's body was so pure white it was almost dazzling.

"Arisa! Come on in!"

At Kaede's prompting, Arisa entered the bathroom with her hands covering her body.

"S-sorry to intrude…"