Late at night.

I quietly opened the front door and stepped inside my house. I had just reported everything that happened without holding anything back over the phone, yet I still felt a bit uneasy.

“You’ve returned. I told you to come before the day ended, and it’s already past 11.”

“Ahaha…”

Kirihouji Nagisa welcomed me from the hallway, taking my handbag and even undressing me.

“First, you should go wash up. Don’t take a shower today; I’ve already filled the bathtub with water, so you can just head straight there.”

“Nagi-chan, is that why you bought the bath salts you rarely use?”

Fufu. “Perhaps. Oh, by the way, until the party tomorrow evening, you are entirely mine. Especially since you’ve committed a sin today… I won’t let you go for even a moment.”

Gulp.

She said it with a smile, but her eyes had an ominous glint, causing me to nod instinctively. Admitting the truth was one thing; knowing that we both committed an affair made it different.

After entering the bathroom, I let down my tied-up hair and lightly washed my face. I neatly placed my clothes and underwear far from the bathtub and decided to reward my body, which suffered from the cold, with warmth.

Although I barely felt the cold since I was with Hina all day, there was nothing that could relax me quite like warm water. The pink bubbles rising from the bath salt caught my eye.

I rarely had the chance to soak in a bathtub, so it felt quite awkward. However, leaning back, I felt all my tiredness melt away.

Maybe I should thank Nagisa for this—

Click.

Should I…?

“Huh, Nagi-chan?!”

Had I really left all my clothes outside? Trying to hide her exposed body with a towel, Nagisa walked confidently toward the bathtub and slowly submerged herself in the water.

“I clearly told you, didn’t I? I won’t let you go for even a moment…”

But even so, she couldn’t help but look away, blushing, while sitting across from me, her neck submerged in water. I wondered if something was bothering her, but then I realized the issue was me.

Her chest, while not comparable to Rion’s paradise, was large enough to be distracting, floating softly above the water.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed as I pressed down slightly with my hand, which made Nagisa swallow unexpectedly before suddenly standing up and coming towards me. Reflexively, I closed my eyes at her revealed form.

“Mika-san, if you don’t open your eyes… I might just gobble you up right here?”

As that alluring yet graceful voice reached my ears, I slowly opened my eyes. Thankfully, what I saw was only Nagisa’s bright red face just above my knees. I decided to ignore the tingling sensation around my chest.

“Um, Nagi-chan… we, um…”

“You’re talking too much for someone who’s done something wrong. This isn’t the future I imagined… But, with you, it seems like it wouldn’t be so bad. If I can’t fix this habit anyway, let’s stake our claim on the most love and share the most firsts. That’s how I see things, Mika-san.”

For the first time, Nagisa’s lips touched my forehead, which was where I usually placed my kisses. Then, she proceeded to place kisses on my nose, my cheeks, and finally, my lips—without any hesitation, she went lower.

As her lips trailed gently down my jawline, I felt her hand brushing down my back, and just as it reached close to my wings—

Heueng…!

After possessing this body, for the first time, an unfamiliar sensation pierced through me. It was so stimulating I almost curled my toes.

“Nagi-chan, I’m—”

“…I kind of expected this. Mika-san, you truly are just a blank canvas. So innocent.”

Chuu.

Nagisa’s lips left an indelible mark on my neck. The school uniform cloak covered my neck somewhat, but this was far from enough to hide it—

“So pure.”

Chuu.

Nagisa’s breath, now closer to the center of my neck, tickled my sensitive skin. I’m sure goosebumps covered my arms by now.

“It’s a clean canvas…”

Chuu…

Hic…

Nagisa took a long suck on the spot where my Adam’s apple lay, burying her face there and inhaling deeply several times. As she stroked my wings, her hand avoided the area near the base, which felt dangerously stimulating.

Fufu. “I might even think you’re more innocent than Atsuko-chan.”

“W-wait, what do you mean, Mari…”

“You seemed strangely clumsy during kisses… Ever since I’ve inhabited this body, Mika-san, you’ve never looked at us in a sexual way. Right? Not even at your… Mika-san’s body.”

“That’s because… it felt like I was committing a sin, so I couldn’t help it…”

“I understand. I completely understand. Honestly, that feeling isn’t unpleasant for me. After all, every line drawn on this clean canvas will bloom into beautiful flowers from my fingertips.”

Nagisa’s wings wrapped around me.

As her nails lightly scratched that earlier spot, I couldn’t help but let out a heated breath. This… this is really dangerous. Just as Nagisa said—

“I’m just letting you know… I’m in the same position, Mika-san.”

—I truly felt I might get devoured like this. Caught in that sense of crisis, our ‘first’ bath continued. Ten minutes passed, then twenty. It wasn’t until thirty full minutes had gone by that we finally managed to wash our hair.

*

Was it a relief or not? I didn’t end up getting devoured by Nagisa in the bathtub, but after being dragged to the bed clad in nothing but a bathrobe, Nagisa vanished somewhere, saying she had to get something.

Surely the clock had already passed twelve. Although my hair and wings were still damp, judging by the atmosphere, Nagisa didn’t seem to be in the mood for any tender drying-off time.

Is it really okay to be like this? In that moment, where I had unconditionally allowed my body and was overwhelmed by the atmosphere, I couldn’t resist at all. But now that I had a chance to escape the crisis, my rationality was slowly returning.

Peeking through the gap of my bathrobe, I saw the marks that Nagisa had left on me. Ruby-red flowers seemed to bloom one by one. Just as Nagisa said, I had never truly felt a proper sexual stimulation in this body before. To a degree, I could say I had somewhat intentionally turned a blind eye to it.

But even without direct stimulation, like this…

In a moment of folly, I rubbed my thighs and suddenly realized my mistake. At this rate, it was more than likely that my future with Nagisa devouring me was all but guaranteed. Having gotten a taste of Nagisa’s touch, my body was in a state of desire far stronger than my reason.

As my thoughts spun wildly, Nagisa returned with something in hand.

“Mika-san… do you realize it’s already turned to a new day while we were washing up?”

“I figured as much. Yes, Merry—”

“Happy birthday, my love.”

“—Christmas…?”

If you could fall in love with someone again after already falling once, I would have hopelessly fallen again for Nagisa’s bright smile.

Or perhaps, I might have already fallen two or three times without realizing it myself.

I never liked Christmas much. Being agnostic, and with my birthday falling on Christmas, it often happened that presents meant for both occasions were lumped together.

And that original birthday of mine was one of the few bits of information Nagisa knew about me.

A few months ago, she had half-jokingly asked for that information, and I had even forgotten I had revealed it to her, considering how busy my life had been with many events unfolding.

I hadn’t completely forgotten my birthday, but I never imagined I would be congratulated like this by Nagisa. Her subtle way of calling me by a nickname rather than my proper name, in honor of me, was truly touching. While I didn’t shed any tears, I felt my eyes getting a bit warm.

“This is such a special day, just the two of us to celebrate, right?”

“…Yeah. I never imagined I would be celebrated like this. Thank you, Nagi-chan.”

“Would you like to open your gift?”

“…Sure.”

I already knew that Nagisa had prepared a Christmas gift for me. This was truly a present to celebrate my birthday, which only she knew about.

As I carefully unwrapped the packaging, Nagisa settled beside me, our legs almost touching.

When I tore off the wrapping and opened the box, the first thing that caught my eye was a letter. Lifting it revealed a white shushu, reminiscent of lilies due to its color combination, and a picture frame about the size of my two outturned palms stacked together.

As I picked up the frame and flipped it over, I found a decoration of lilies and forget-me-nots, featuring a photo of me and Nagisa leaning against each other while sitting on the train. It was the only record of our first meeting, the closest moment we shared.

“Where on earth did you get this?”

“I managed to obtain the original from the mischievous kid who first leaked the photo, after giving him an appropriate reward. Looking back, I was truly a mess that day. It’s somewhat embarrassing to think back on it now.”

“Ahaha… You were the second prettiest person I’ve ever seen that day.”

“Yes, as I’ve said before, the first is myself in the mirror. No wonder everyone treated me like a princess, so I’m not particularly jealous.”

“Hm. If I said your heart is even prettier than anyone in this world?”

“You’d probably accuse me of being someone who’s desperate to hammer a nail into the heart of such a person.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Having achieved nothing, I placed the gift box back on the small table next to the head of the bed. When I went to unfold the letter, Nagisa swiftly snatched it from me and placed it back in the box.

“You can read that later. Right now, I’d like you to focus a little more on me instead of my letter.”

“…Okay.”

I couldn’t bring myself to push away Nagisa as she brought our faces closer while keeping eye contact.

The end of the holy night was accompanied by the fresh lemon flavor of toothpaste.