Cool, damp, soft, followed by a taste of fruit and alcohol.
If he could still feel the moral wiggle room for escape when she had kissed his cheek before, then at this very moment, as his mind gradually connected this unfamiliar sensation to the lips pressed against his, there was no room left to run.
He was kissing Sakiko.
Not the affection between family members, nor a clever excuse to fend her off, but a genuine act of intimacy that belonged only to lovers.
The successive stimulation of his senses thoroughly ignited Chihaya Tetsuya's instincts and thoughts. And just as his rational mind was gradually adapting to this pleasant sensation, a sudden, searing heat that broke past his lips brought his thoughts to a screeching halt once more.
As that soft and fiery touch met his tongue, Tetsuya felt his entire brain boil from the sudden invasion. The clumsy intruder, lacking experience, was now tentatively exploring this space filled with temptation and sweetness.
But it was precisely this intense stimulation that allowed his nearly-shattered rationality to issue one final warning.
"No—"
Tetsuya forcefully turned his head away and said in an incredibly serious tone.
"We can't go any further, Sakiko."
"...Why?"
Forcefully stopped, Togawa Sakiko asked with a dejected look on her face.
"Is kissing me that repulsive to you...?"
"It's not because of that."
Tetsuya shook his head.
"If it were the usual, calm you, I would gladly respond to your feelings. But not now. I don't want you to do something out of a momentary impulse that you'll likely regret."
"I won't regret it!"
Sakiko said with a pout.
"This is what I've always wanted to do the most! I've just been holding back all this time!"
"Then what was the reason for holding back?"
Tetsuya pressed her.
"Don't forget, according to your own plan, once you do this, then the others will have a reason to do the same thing... Do you really want the situation to develop into something so unmanageable?"
"I don't know!"
Faced with his persuasion, Sakiko had no intention of listening to a single word.
"I don't want to hear anything right now!"
"..."
Hearing this, Tetsuya instantly realized that the current Sakiko simply did not possess the rationality or intellect to understand his words.
For the Togawa Sakiko who was always composed and dignified, this unreasonable, tantrum-like behavior was her complete opposite.
"So a person's personality even changes when they're drunk..."
Tetsuya said with a wry smile.
"If you can still remember this when you're sober, you'll definitely be too ashamed to face anyone."
"I don't care!"
Sakiko threw off the covers again and clung to Tetsuya with all her limbs, just like a koala.
"Even I have a breaking point! Why can Hoshino Ai be so brazenly intimate with you? Why can Chihaya Anon act spoiled with you under the guise of being your sister? Why does Soyo have such a wonderful mother to smooth everything over for her! It's not fair! I like you too, Tetsuya-kun! I was the first one who wanted to become your strength, but in the end, I'm the only one who hasn't been able to do anything!"
Towards the end, her aggrieved tone was even tinged with a sob.
"Why... was I born into the Togawa family... Why couldn't I have met you as a more ordinary person? I want to be clingy with you without any worries, just like them. I want to help you without causing you any trouble, just like them..."
"..."
Hearing this, Tetsuya's hands, which had been about to push her away, stopped in mid-air.
Due to her special family background and experiences, Sakiko had long since learned to accept her misfortune and to silently endure whatever happened with a strong heart.
But that didn't change the fact that she was merely a sixteen-year-old girl.
Her heart also held the same aspirations and innocence that a girl her age should have. Perhaps the harshness of reality had already forced her to give up the right to dream, but the endurance that had been ingrained deep into her soul would eventually reach its limit.
She must have been holding these words in her heart for a very long time, right? If it weren't for the alcohol, she probably would have never revealed such a vulnerable side of herself to him.
But besides this vulnerability, Tetsuya also learned something very important from her words, a fact he had long overlooked. To this day, Sakiko still believed that compared to the other girls, she had provided him with no help at all...
"I thought you would understand these things even if I didn't say them, but it seems that's not the case."
Tetsuya no longer resisted her entanglement. Instead, he pulled her into an embrace.
"I don't know how much of this you can take in right now, but from now on, whenever you want to hear it, I will repeat it as many times as you want—I was able to get this far entirely because you were by my side, Sakiko."
"!"
Hearing this, Sakiko's expression froze. Tetsuya continued.
"Remember when I first started working on performance outfit design? Without your help, I never could have completed that exclusive outfit. And if I hadn't completed that job, I likely would have missed the chance to properly reconnect with Ai, and my designs wouldn't be getting recognition from the entire industry like they are now."
"And then, if you hadn't contacted me, I never would have had the chance to learn about your past, and I wouldn't have been able to resolve Soyo's inner turmoil. Anon might have even fallen back into the shadow of her failed study abroad experience because of her bandmates drifting apart."
"It's the same now. You're the one who composed the song that made this live show go viral. You're the one who helped Uika and Mutsumi find their next goals and direction. And you're the one who made me realize... what a terrible man I really am."
"Terrible?"
Sakiko repeated the word, confused.
"Why would you say that about yourself?"
"Because when I found out you were trying to use me as 'bait' to maintain the team's stability, my first thought wasn't resistance. It was that I could use that reason to blatantly avoid responding to your feelings and just unilaterally enjoy your affection."
Tetsuya shook his head.
"But, that's not right. Whether it's the pleasure I feel when you're close to me, or the urges I've been desperately suppressing, these all stem from my own desires. I'm not just simply responding to you. The truth is... I've always had improper thoughts about you all, too."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"...Let's just say I'm drunk too. In any case, since this whole story started because of you, then... there's probably nothing wrong with you becoming the first 'victim'."
With that, under Sakiko's bewildered gaze, Chihaya Tetsuya leaned down and proactively pressed his lips against hers.