Chapter 25: Am I being too much of a show-off these days?

I thought to myself.

Am I acting out too much these days?

The reason that suddenly crossed my mind was because, no matter how much my ice cream was being held hostage, the image of myself going “Ehehe, please touch my tummy, Lily-boo~” like some kind of dimwit got burned into my brain.

I kicked at my blanket furiously as I began to recall everything I’d done since entering school.

It started with getting beaten up by Dana, then the top student of the year randomly approaching me, trying to pee herself or whatever, a sweet girl showing up and making me get a nosebleed, getting treated like a frail beauty, getting beaten up again for sexually harassing Dana, getting tangled up with Alicia, rolling around holding hands with Serena, ignoring a love letter disguised as harassment, witnessing Ruby and Citry kiss, getting caught by Serena, whining about wanting to have s*x, getting overwhelmed with lust and having lewd fantasies…

I decided to stop thinking there.

Whether it was going to a hotel with Alicia and proudly declaring myself a masochist, or spitting out then eating Serena’s cookie again, or teasing Dana by calling her “Princess” and then hugging her—whatever the case, recalling any more of these things would’ve completely destroyed what little remained of my human dignity.

“I-I really have been acting out too much…!”

I swear, I think I was doing fine on the first day of school. How did things end up like this?

A month ago, I was just a quiet onlooker who secretly enjoyed watching girls get entangled in yuri-esque ways. Where did that version of me go?

Dana, Alicia, Serena.

It’s not just one or two—three girls are coming after me all at once, so it’s hard not to think that I’m the problem here.

And lately, things have gotten even messier, with a weird mix of tension among the three of them. Well, Serena didn’t exactly fight, but still…

Honestly, a girl like Serena is the most dangerous.

She shows up with that gentle smile, numbs my brain that’s weak to anything pretty, clings to my hand and squeezes the hell out of it, keeps calling me cute over and over again, aaaaaahh…

More than anything, the increased physical contact is the real issue.

Once Serena broke the barrier, Alicia started groping all over me like she’d been waiting for the chance.

Eventually, I ended up allowing my belly to be touched…

But like, what’s so fun about touching someone’s stomach anyway?

I rolled up my shirt and lightly touched the area below my belly button, but as expected, I didn’t really feel anything.

Sure, that soft bulge unique to girls is kinda fun to touch, but Alicia doesn’t even grope—it’s more like she just taps at it, which feels totally different.

Why does she keep trying to touch me every chance she gets?

“Hmmm.”

No matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure it out.

So I decided to focus on a more practical problem.

If I’m the issue—if all this is happening because I’ve been acting out too much—then the solution is simple. I just need to stop acting out.

Maybe my attitude itself was the root of it all.

At the start of the semester, when everyone was awkwardly trying to figure out who to be friends with, I went around like “I don’t care about friends, haha,” which might’ve ironically piqued some girls’ interest.

Then, despite acting all aloof like some enlightened hermit, I’d flinch and squeal like a cat seeing a snake the moment someone poked me—so of course they got interested.

Ah. That’s it. I was too reactive.

I should’ve just stayed silent or ignored them when someone talked to me.

I’m glad I finally realized it now.

So from today on, I decided I’d just ignore whatever anyone said to me.

…

…

…

“Lily. Can I touch your boobs?”

“……”

“I’m gonna touch them, okay?”

“Noooooooooooo—!”

“Ah. Finally.”

I swear I was trying to ignore her, but come on, h-how can I stay silent when someone says they’re gonna touch my boobs…!

No, I did ignore her. I ignored her for a good while!

When Alicia asked if I was okay first thing in the morning, I didn’t say a word.

I just sat by the window and stared desperately at the withered cherry tree, didn’t reply to anything Dana, Alicia, or Serena said next to me, and kept my mouth shut.

But then why—why did it come to this…?

At some point, they should’ve gotten annoyed and walked away.

I was making it blatantly obvious I was ignoring them, for god’s sake.

They could’ve just gone and played among themselves…

—Today Lily feels like a doll.

That was what Alicia said, after staring down at me with a “hmm” when I didn’t respond to anything she said.

And after that, well…

They really started treating me like a doll.

They were touching me all over.

Serena grabbed my hand like always and even interlaced our fingers.

Alicia started off just poking me, but then… I-I can’t even bring myself to say it.

Thanks to that, my whole body’s a mess.

I got touched so much that my uniform’s all wrinkled, especially around my belly—it’s so creased it probably needs to be ironed again.

Only Dana acted like she didn’t care—she glanced once and turned her head away.

I was honestly so thankful. Relatively speaking, of course.

Ah. She really is my friend.

…It’d be nice if she helped me though.

But ever since that fight, she’s been avoiding talking to Alicia too, so I can’t really blame her.

One funny thing I noticed—Alicia keeps checking Dana’s reactions.

It’s like she’s saying, “You’re not even bothered?” while fussing over me, watching for any signs of a reaction…

…Huh?

Shit.

My yuri-sensing circuits lit up like a bonfire.

I-Is this… could it be?

She’s trying to make her jealous? No, wait… Alicia and Dana aren’t that close yet, right?

Okay, let’s think about it differently.

She has a crush on her, but they ended up fighting, and now it’s awkward to talk directly, so instead, she messes with her crush’s friend—me—acting all touchy and casual, trying to get noticed and stir up some emotion…

“…”

That’s… kind of sweet…

A relationship that starts with a misunderstanding? Come to think of it, I totally forgot, but they’re both hot as hell…!

Cupid Lily is on the move!

If that’s really the case—if there’s even the tiniest possibility—I’m willing to sacrifice myself however needed.

It’s not like I wear out or anything. What’s the big deal if they touch me a little?

It’s not like I’ll end up being with them anyway…!

Yeah, go ahead and touch… touch…

But, wait, not there, uh, ah, I-I don’t like that. W-where do you think you’re touching?

“Hyaaa?!”

…

…

…

The price of forgetting that I was fantasizing about boobs… was nothing short of catastrophic.

“I-I’m sorry… I don’t like this kind of stuff…”

Well, it almost was catastrophic.

I couldn’t take it anymore, so while sobbing, I blurted out, “Sorry for ignoring you, it’s just, well, I didn’t mean for it to turn out like this…” and they ended up forgiving me…

I apologized while trembling like some yuri girl who’d just been violated.

Sorry, Dana. I ruined your le@sbian life. But still, if you’d just shown a little more interest, even reacted just once, I wouldn’t have had to go through all this.

I mean, yes, okay, it was my fault. A hundred percent my fault. I should have endured to the bitter end and helped push you and Alicia together.

But when someone actually tries to grope your boobs, what the hell are you supposed to do?!

Ugh. I’ve been violated. Lily-boy’s body’s been defiled. By a blooming yuri beauty, no less.

I’m garbage. The embodiment of your average disgusting TS girl.

I’m no different from those sickos who act all innocent while seductively thrusting their bodies at others, using their cute girl skin to lure people in and live out their creepy desires, all while hiding a rotten, perverted male inside.

If that’s how it is…!

Let’s just die. Set this body ablaze and atone.

Confess my sins to the Yuri Goddess and disappear from this world. Become a star in the sky and spend eternity watching yuri girls rub b○obs together…

I stumbled home from school like a soulless husk…

…

…

…

But today’s trials weren’t over yet.

What am I, Heracles? How many trials do I have to endure…?!

GUWAAAAAH.

I’ve been violated enough, haven’t I? What more do you want from me?

I felt a crushing sense of dread when I saw Serena waving at me from down the alley on the way home.

Stop. That’s enough…

“Lily. Come over here.”

“….”

“There’s a cat!”

“A c-cat?”

And sure enough, there was.

In the corner of the alley, a white cat was meowing anxiously, stuck up in a tree so high that falling would definitely hurt.

Serena must’ve seen it on her way home and was now trying to figure out how to help it.

“W-What should we do…?”

“…I dunno?”

Like I could come up with some brilliant idea just because she asked me.

Climb the tree and save it? Not a chance. Don’t underestimate this body’s athleticism. One glance at these uselessly oversized boobs should tell you how impossible that is.

My deliberation didn’t last long.

Someone else will probably come along and save it.

That someone just isn’t me. I’d only be in the way here, wasting time.

More importantly, being with Serena is dangerous.

I was about to slip away quietly when…

The cat jumped.

At me. In a straight line. Completely fearless.

And landed on my face.

Well, “landed” is the wrong word. It wasn’t graceful at all.

More like a splat. Or a smack. That’s more accurate.

“Lily?!”

“KUWAAGH, IT HURTS, DAMN IT! This freaking cat…!”

Right in the face, I swear.

At least the cat looked fine… thank god for that.

“I guess it liked you.”

“…Hmph.”

It was tiny enough to still be called a kitten, so I didn’t get seriously hurt. If it had been any bigger, I might’ve broken a bone in my face.

But why did it sit on my chest? Just because it’s soft and squishy doesn’t mean it’s a cushion.

Somehow, I ended up holding the cat between my boobs.

What a cheeky little thing. Then again… looking closely, it was kind of cute.

When I started petting it absentmindedly, it looked up at me with adoring eyes, meowing like it was trying to be cute.

I kind of… liked it.

As I sat there for a moment like that,

I noticed Serena fidgeting awkwardly.

She kept glancing between the cat and me, pouting like she was really annoyed, and then her face suddenly turned bright red. I have no idea what she imagined, but…

What now?

Seriously, what?

“Lily, do you… like cats?”

“Hmm? I guess.”

If I had to pick between like or dislike, I’d say I like them…?

“…”

“S-say something.”

“…Actually, um, at my house…”

“Huh?”

“…We have a cat too…”

I blinked slowly in silence.

I couldn’t bring myself to say, “So what?” to such a sweet girl.

Then Serena, fidgeting and taking a deep breath like she was preparing herself,

Finally said it.

“Do you… want to come over and see it?”

Wait, what?