[TSSIM] Chapter 473: Nozomi's Behavior

"It's so cute, nyaa~!"

Rin spoke with excitement, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the bikini in Homura's hands.

"If Kotori-chan wears this, she's gonna be explosively cute, nyaa~!"

Hearing this, the other girls all nodded in agreement.

Needless to say, this newly made swimsuit looked like it was tailor-made for Kotori.

Once again, they had to admit that Homura was unstoppable when it came to making swimsuits, as no matter the style, he could create them effortlessly.

Meanwhile, as Kotori looked at the bikini-style swimsuit in Homura's hands, she felt overjoyed.

Truly, who wouldn't?

For any girl, knowing that the man she liked had personally made a swimsuit for her was definitely something to be happy about and worth celebrating.

"Aren't you going to try it on?" Homura asked with a smile, handing the swimsuit to Kotori.

"Fufu, you don't actually need to try it on, you know..." Nozomi chimed in, chuckling slyly. "Homura-kun probably knows our bodies better than we do, right? So, even without measuring us, the swimsuit Homura-kun made for us is definitely the perfect fit."

Homura: "..."

"But... you could wear it for Homura-kun to see!" Nozomi added, her grinning face growing brighter. "Not trying it on, but wearing it for Homura-kun—that's different, okay~?"

Hearing this, Kotori's face immediately turned bright red.

She hadn't thought about it that way before—trying it on seemed fine, but after Nozomi said that, her embarrassment had increased tenfold!

"No rush, just take your time." Homura shrugged his shoulders. "I'll work on the others for the time being. If you change together with the others later, maybe it won't feel so embarrassing."

Nozomi: "..."

Now it was Nozomi's turn to look at Homura, completely bewildered.

She had been waiting to see Kotori's shy and conflicted reaction, but if Homura planned to have everyone change together, there wouldn't be anything to be shy about.

Homura grinned at Nozomi, then turned back to Izumi.

"Izumi, let's continue!"

"Um!" Izumi nodded, her small head bobbing as she seriously started spinning the pen again.

Nozomi's eyebrows twitched, seemingly thinking of something.

===

After making two more swimsuits, everyone had dinner before Homura went back to work.

For the entire time, the girls just watched Homura as he made one swimsuit after another, not finding it boring at all.

It couldn't be helped.

Homura's speed was staggeringly fast, and his movements had a certain grace to them that was pleasing to watch, especially Kotori, who got really hooked on watching him work.

For nearly three hours, Homura had made a total of ten swimsuits—truly an astonishing speed!

One of the reasons was actually because, by the time Homura was working on the sixth one, his tailoring skill leveled up, so his speed increased again afterward.

Including the three he made before dinner, he had made a total of thirteen swimsuits.

Homura did a quick count and realized that only Utaha and Megumi hadn't gotten their swimsuits yet, so he decided to take another half hour and make swimsuits for them too.

By then, all the girls finally had their swimsuits, all made by Homura himself.

"So, what do you think? Shouldn't you all try them on and check them out?"

Upon hearing Homura's question, the girls exchanged glances, causing him to get a bad feeling.

"Let's wait until we're on the island and let Homura-kun have a good look then~" Nozomi replied with a big smile. "I mean, if we change now, we'd only get a little time to wear them before we have to take them off again."

"Don't you want to try them on to see if they fit?" Homura asked with a twitching mouth.

"It's fine! We trust you, Homura-kun!"

Homura: "..."

"Heh, fine, I can just imagine it." Homura smiled lightly. "It's not hard for me at all. Otherwise, how do you think I made swimsuits that fit your personalities and figures so perfectly?"

At this, Nozomi wasn't really surprised.

Wasn't that obvious already?

"Still, imagining it isn't as good as actually seeing it, right?" Nozomi countered.

Seeing Nozomi so adamant, Homura rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright, you win. You really won't let me have the upper hand at all, huh..."

"Fufu, Homura-kun's just letting me win~" Nozomi chuckled again, but this chuckle was different from the earlier one.

Earlier, her chuckle was because she had teased Homura, a sly chuckle, but this time, it was because of Homura's affection, a sweet and mischievous chuckle.

Homura shrugged, shook his head with a smile, and then pinched Nozomi's cheek like when he was pinching Nico's.

"Yep, feels just as good." Homura praised.

"Uwah... Nozomi's suddenly acting all feminine. It's kinda hard to get used to..." Nico remarked, her body shuddered.

Nozomi: "..."

Whoosh!

"Kyaaa—!!!"

"You really ask for trouble, Nico..." Homura sighed helplessly.

"Honestly, Nozomi-chan just now really gave off this vibe, you know, like you'd want to hug her or something..." Honoka said with a smile.

"Go ahead then! I'll totally support you, Honoka!" Nico shouted, still trying to wiggle free from Nozomi's grip.

"Oh? Honoka-chan's joining in?" Nozomi asked with a sly grin.

Honoka: "..."

"Ahahaha... you go ahead... I'll just... go busy myself..." Honoka chuckled awkwardly.

Nico: "..."

Seeing their antics, Eli smiled faintly, then sighed lightly.

"Seeing Nozomi like this, it seems she's totally fallen for him, huh..." Eli remarked with a wry smile.

"Yeah, I think so as well..." Maki nodded in agreement. "Maybe... Nozomi's already fallen for him since long ago? It's just that her personality makes it hard to tell if she's joking or being serious..."

Hearing this, the other girls reflected on Nozomi's recent behavior, all nodding in agreement.

It was clear from Nozomi's recent behaviors that she was getting closer and closer to Homura. Although she had initially done it on purpose to tease him, later on, her words and actions were all about showing off how lovey-dovey she was with him.

"If you've already fallen for him, then just move in, dammit! Why stay in that empty room by yourself?!" Nico exclaimed as she continued to struggle, but it was mostly a playful struggle now.

"Fufu, who knows..." Nozomi chuckled softly.

"Maybe... it's because of us?" Hanayo said her speculation. "From the start, Nozomi-chan kept saying... we are one, right? And... something about nine people together..."

Although the last part was almost inaudible, the shy Hanayo actually said it, which was already a huge change.

Girls: "..."

Seeing Muse's members fall silent, Homura sighed lightly.

He knew that Nozomi had moved around a lot since childhood because of her family, and that meant every time she switched schools, she barely had time to make friends before having to leave again.

While Nozomi didn't like this lifestyle, she had always passively accepted it, until she met Eli.

Being just as lonely, Nozomi saw through Eli's protective shell, her cold expression and behavior, at first glance.

Eli's behavior was oddly endearing to Nozomi, and that was when she made up her mind to change, to actively approach Eli and become her friend.

Needless to say, the close relationship between them was not without reason—they were each other's confidantes and, you could even say, each other's first true friends.

Changed by this new outlook, Nozomi didn't want to keep living the life of always moving around, which was why she now lived alone.

Over time, Nozomi noticed that every member of Muse had this incredible passion and so many qualities that drew her in, yet she couldn't bring them together, missing that one crucial opportunity.

It was when Honoka and the others decided to become school idols that the chance finally arrived.