The fat sizzled under the heat of the oil, releasing warm white steam laced with the aroma of rice. A pile of chopped green onions sat on the cutting board, and Ito Rin estimated the time until his girlfriend got home before tossing the drained vegetables into the pot.
Ito Rin, 24 years old. Not a student, but a transmigrator.
In his previous life, he'd hit the jackpot... or rather, the jackpot had hit him. When Ito Rin woke up, he found himself in this world. After twenty utterly ordinary years, life threw him a massive curveball.
It wasn't a system awakening. Instead, his parents, along with the neighbors next door—good friends of the family—were preparing to form some kind of "forget-the-kids" duo when they, too, got smashed by that same cruel luck from his past life.
At the time, Ito Rin was in university, and the Hoshizuki sisters—one in university, the other in junior high—were completely stunned.
Treatment drained most of both families' savings, and they even had to borrow more. In the end, it was all for naught. To make ends meet, Ito Rin had no choice but to dive headfirst into the industry... though not the kind where you're selling yourself on the streets, of course.
In his previous life, Ito Rin had been a manga artist specializing in wholesome romance stories, steering clear of the edgier, more adult-oriented side of comics. But desperation forced his hand—he started drawing more provocative manga to pay the bills.
Sure, playing it too safe wouldn't get him far, but pushing boundaries got the cash flowing quick.
"I'm home~"
The crisp, youthful voice of a girl in the prime of her adolescence drifted into his ears. Ito Rin knew it was his girlfriend and her little sister returning.
The twin sisters appeared at the entrance, identical in appearance but with subtle differences in the lush swell of their busts.
Hoshizuki Kaede and Hoshizuki Suzu—his childhood sweetheart girlfriend and her younger sister.
Their shoulder-length blue hair was neat and tidy, and their plump, far-more-voluptuous-than-average breasts strained against their white short-sleeved shirts, the fabric clinging to every curve and begging to be freed. The blue plaid pleated skirts cinched at the hems, accentuating their slender waists, while the socks on their legs below were the easiest way for most people to tell them apart.
The older sister, Hoshizuki Kaede, wore black thigh-high socks, while the younger, Hoshizuki Suzu, had on black pantyhose.
If it were up to Ito Rin, though, there was another way to distinguish them: the mole on Kaede's left breast was a tantalizing tease, Suzu's on the right a mirror-image temptation. Kaede's boobs were a bit smaller, pert and firm, while Suzu's were just a tad fuller, soft and inviting.
Ito Rin had fantasized about "mixing them up" like some manga protagonist, accidentally sparking the affections of both sisters and living out a life of left-and-right embraces, hands roaming over those delicious curves.
But... manga was manga, and reality was reality.
Ito Rin was a pure love specialist, after all!
Yet right now, the reality staring him in the face was even more absurd than any comic.
Ito Rin poked his head out from the kitchen and, seeing only Kaede and Suzu at the entrance, gave Kaede a strange look.
"No one else?"
"Who else were you hoping for?"
Lately, Kaede had been bringing her female classmates home all the time, leaving Ito Rin to entertain them while she hid away.
Did she trust her boyfriend that much?
To be fair, as her boyfriend, Ito Rin did give her plenty of reasons to feel secure. Ever since they started dating, he'd consciously kept his distance from other women—including Suzu, whom he'd grown up with. His intimate moments with Kaede were limited to hand-holding and kisses; nothing that crossed the line.
It wasn't that Ito Rin didn't crave more—he was a man, after all. But if he let the little brother call the shots over the big brother, then who was really in charge!?
"Wash your hands quick, then come help me serve the rice."
Their dinner for three was simple: a fried fish drizzled with soy sauce whose aroma had been awakened by hot oil, a bowl of bone broth left over from yesterday, and some stir-fried greens.
Plain and straightforward, yet packed with flavor.
As they ate, Kaede casually brought it up.
"How's the manga coming along lately?"
"Not bad."
Ito Rin hadn't told them about his shift to spicier material; he'd just said he was drawing manga.
Kaede and Suzu didn't press for details.
As a manga artist dipping into more adult themes, Ito Rin was still that pure love specialist, churning out wholesome romance tales. But according to his editor, those kinds of stories weren't selling well lately, and his weren't exactly breaking records anyway.
The editor suggested he try something a bit more stimulating, so Ito Rin gave it a shot with a few volumes. No dice—they didn't click.
More than the manga, though, Ito Rin was focused on Kaede.
She'd been acting way too weird lately.
After dinner, while Kaede was clearing the table and tidying the kitchen, Ito Rin pulled Suzu aside. He glanced toward the kitchen and lowered his voice. "Do you know what's up with Kaede lately? She's been... off, you know?"
"She says she's just bringing friends over to hang out, but then she ducks out and leaves me to chat with them. Has something happened to her?"
Suzu looked like she'd been expecting the question.
"After dinner, wait for my signal."
Ito Rin wanted to pry more, but if Suzu said that much, he had to rein in his curiosity.
Once dinner was cleared and the dishes put away, Kaede and Suzu headed home. Before leaving, Suzu shot him a meaningful glance.
They'd barely been gone ten minutes when Ito Rin's phone buzzed with a message from Suzu.
[Come quick.]
The Hoshizuki home was right next door to his—two standalone houses packed close together. From his second-floor room, Ito Rin could climb straight over to Suzu's window.
As for why not Kaede's room... well, back when they were kids and sorting rooms, Kaede—being her tsundere self—had insisted she didn't want to be that close to him. She regretted it now, but she was too embarrassed to ask Suzu to swap.
"Shh!"
Suzu was already waiting in her room. She pressed a finger to her lips in a hush gesture, then led him to the room next door—Kaede's.
Both sisters' rooms were minimalist: no flashy decorations, just a bed, a desk with a computer, a cabinet for odds and ends, and a built-in wardrobe closet.
Ito Rin opened his mouth to speak, but Suzu shushed him again, pointing at the wardrobe.
The closet?
Curious, Ito Rin slid it open.
The built-in wardrobe had decent space: seasonal bedding at the bottom, Kaede's various uniforms and casual clothes hanging above. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Just as confusion set in, Suzu shoved him inside. The stuffy air carried the scent of laundry detergent mixed with Kaede's faint, lingering fragrance.
Right on cue, familiar footsteps approached from the hallway... Kaede was back.
Suzu's face showed no trace of panic. She slipped in after him, pulling the door shut but leaving a thin crack to peer into Kaede's room.
The closet was roomy enough for one, but cramming in two was a tight squeeze. Their legs tangled as they shifted for space; Suzu's lush, slightly fuller breasts pressed firmly against his chest, the soft warmth sending jolts through him. The air was thick with the ambiguous scent of a girl in her prime, her warm breaths tickling his lips with every exhale, stirring forbidden urges.
Ito Rin wanted to say something, but the footsteps outside were closing in. Through the sliver of door, he could see his girlfriend's figure.
Here he was, Kaede's boyfriend, hiding in a cramped closet with her little sister... If they got caught, no explanation on earth would save them.
And... well, Ito Rin was a red-blooded man. The body heat and soft give of an adolescent girl made his heart race despite himself, his body reacting to the intimate press of her curves.
To keep certain unfortunate reactions at bay, he forced his focus outward.
But... what was happening outside was even worse.
Kaede, back in her room, flopped onto the bed clutching her phone, eyes glued to the screen. Her fingers deftly undid the buttons of her uniform skirt, slender tips trailing down her flat stomach, dipping lower into forbidden territory.
Seductive gasps escaped her cherry lips, her eyes misting over with lust as the pure white fabric of her bra grew damp, clinging to her heaving breasts and outlining every swollen nipple. Her slim waist arched like a bow, her stockinged feet bowing back in ecstasy, toes curling tight inside the black thigh-highs as waves of pleasure built. And then... from those murmuring lips slipped—
Ito Rin's name.
PLZ THROW POWERSTONES.