In the morning, Shichen opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.
This wasn't his room. Last night was the first time he'd ever come in here—his first time sleeping here.
Fully awake, he turned his head to the right. On the inner side of the bed lay a mess of violet hair, and a face that looked pure and innocent in sleep.
Her brows were faintly knit, like she disliked something—but the corners of her lips were curled upward, betraying what she really felt.
Classic saying one thing, feeling another.
Shichen stared at her delicate, beautiful sleeping face, couldn't resist, and leaned in to kiss her lips.
"Mm…"
That was enough to wake her.
Her eyes opened—first dazed, then, once she saw Shichen, her brows snapped together and she fully sobered up. The innocence vanished; her expression sharpened into something stern and imposing.
"You just kissed me," Yatogami Tenka asked coldly.
"I didn't." Shichen shook his head and denied it.
"Don't lie to me! I felt it." Tenka pouted.
"Then why ask?"
"…" Tenka glared at him.
She'd clearly told him not to do this with her anymore—yet last night he still barged into her room.
And the strangest part was that she found she couldn't refuse him. The moment he held her, the moment he kissed her, her strength drained away; she couldn't fight back.
And then the two of them ended up on the bed.
After that, she was completely passive—Shichen coaxing, leading, making her voice shake in ways she couldn't control.
Just remembering it made heat rush up her face. The embarrassment was suffocating, her skin burning—yet she forced her expression to stay flat.
Shichen didn't care about her glare. He leaned down and kissed her again.
"You're kissing me again?!"
"You weren't awake earlier. This one is a proper good-morning kiss," Shichen explained.
"You… freak." Tenka couldn't help snapping.
"How is a good-morning kiss 'freak'?"
"You're the one who keeps joking that I'm your daughter. And then you go and do what you did last night?" Tenka narrowed her eyes at him.
"That was a joke—just messing around. Besides," Shichen teased, "didn't you call me 'Dad' last night?"
"Get lost!" Tenka, red-faced, smacked him.
"Heh. You don't even acknowledge it, so what's the big deal?"
"It's not like there's no difference…" Tenka muttered under her breath.
Shichen heard it perfectly. "Don't tell me you're starting to want to acknowledge our 'father–daughter' thing now?"
"As if!" Tenka's expression twisted. "With things like this between us… how could I?"
"You didn't accept it before. So why are you suddenly reluctant to let it go now?" Shichen pulled her close and asked softly.
Tenka followed her heart, burrowing into his arms, grumbling, "Because I found out what happened between you and Mio…"
"But I'm not your father. At best, I'm a stepdad."
"I was born from Mio's feelings for you… how can you call that a stepdad?"
"If that's how you want to see it, fine. I don't mind."
"Mind your own head—do you even remember what you did last night? I'm still sore."
Last night, Shichen had been way too intense—like he didn't care how she felt at all.
Even though she'd been through this kind of thing before, it still hurt.
"Yeah? Then I'll heal you." Shichen reached out, moving his hands to treat her.
"Wai—"
She didn't even have time to stop him before warmth spread through her and the pain began to fade.
She froze, perfectly still.
Shichen wasn't just healing—his touch lingered, slow and deliberate.
The discomfort vanished in moments, but another sensation rose in its place.
His "technique" was far too practiced. Tenka bit her lip, her eyes turning unfocused.
"S-stop…"
"I'm healing you."
"It's… already healed…" Her voice was weak, almost breathless.
"Let me check?" Shichen leaned in like he was about to verify it.
"No!" Tenka somehow found the strength to shove him away.
"Ha…"
Her strength came rushing back. She let out a long breath and glared at him, cheeks blazing.
Shichen lifted his hand and examined his fingertips, rubbing them together with a thoughtful nod.
"Mm. It's healed."
"You freak!" Tenka hissed, burning hot with humiliation.
"How is healing you 'freak'?" Shichen played dumb.
"That was healing?!" Tenka shot back.
"Didn't I heal you?"
"…I'm done talking to you. Get out. If Tohka finds out, it'll be a problem." She started pushing him toward the door.
"Why are you still scared of her finding out?"
"Because I'm her sister, and I got there first!"
"So what—"
"I care! Go. If you don't, you're not allowed to come again!"
"Huh?" Shichen blinked at her. "So I can come again?"
"I… Whatever. I can't stop you anyway." Tenka looked away, embarrassed.
Truth was, after watching everything from inside him for so long, she'd already accepted… all of him. She couldn't truly refuse him—she was just stubborn because she was shy.
"All right." Shichen nodded. "Then yeah—this really isn't something Tohka should discover."
He got out of bed, pulled on his clothes, and moved to leave. But at the door, he still glanced back.
On the white sheets lay a snow-lotus-like shape framed by violet—no awkwardness at all, just an irresistible contrast.
That was exactly why he'd come to her last night.
Tenka's pride and her denial made her so satisfying to tease.
"Stop looking!" Tenka yanked the blanket up to cover herself.
"Seriously, what's there to be shy about? You saw everything last night," Shichen complained.
"Just go!" Tenka snapped.
"Fine, fine." Shichen sighed and opened the door—
"Shichen?"
A confused voice from outside made Shichen stiffen.
"Tohka?" He looked at the girl standing there, his expression changing instantly.
Why did she show up right now?
"Shichem… why are you in… Tenka's room?" Tohka asked, tilting her head as she glanced toward the inside.
Tenka had already flattened herself under the blanket, playing dead. From the doorway, nothing looked obviously wrong.
"Oh—Tenka got hurt. I came to treat her," Shichen said smoothly.
"I see." Tohka accepted it immediately.
"Then you talk to her. I'll go downstairs." Shichen ruffled her hair and slipped out.
Now it was Tenka's problem.
Honestly, Shichen did want their relationship to be discovered sooner or later…
Tohka watched him leave like he was running away, then walked into the room and approached the bed.
"Tenka, are you okay?"
"Mm?" Tenka pretended to wake up.
"Tohka, why are you here?"
"It's morning—time to get up for school."
"I see… Then turn around. I'm not dressed."
"Okay." Tohka turned her back—
—and saw the floor.
Clothes everywhere. Even underlayers.
And the room had a very distinct, heavy scent in the air.
She remembered clearly: her sister didn't sleep like this.
…
That night, Shichen was still wondering whether he should go see Tenka again when someone knocked on his door.
"Come in."
"Chen."
It was Tohka.
She looked almost identical to her sister, but the vibe was different—one innocent, one severe.
"Tohka? Why are you here?" Shichen asked, surprised.
"I…" Tohka paused at the doorway, then shut the door behind her and walked over, throwing her arms around him.
"Tohka?" Shichen held her automatically.
"Shichen… are you and Tenka hiding something from me?"
"What do you mean?" Shichen played dumb.
"Don't lie. I'm not clueless." Tohka puffed out her cheeks.
"…So?"
"Shichen—why won't you do that with me? Don't you like me?"
"How could that be? I like you a lot," Shichen said softly.
"Then why?"
"…"
"Shichen." Tohka rose on her toes and kissed him first.
Shichen froze, staring at her up close. Her eyes were wide open, lashes trembling, but her gaze was steady—determined.
So he pulled her in and kissed her back.
Before long they ended up on the bed. Shichen looked down at her—beautiful, warm, utterly sincere.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes!" Tohka nodded hard.
"You're not scared?"
"Not scared!"
"Then… don't cry later," Shichen said, voice low.
"Cry?"
Soon enough, Tohka understood what he meant—yet she still couldn't hold it back.
When the sharp sting hit, a choked cry escaped her, and tears spilled over.
It hurt—yet somewhere inside that pain, there was warmth too.
~~~
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