The horrors of dreams and panties

The early afternoon sun is burning down on my neck as I find myself on the rooftop of my middle school, pacing up and down until Koyori comes stumbling onto the rooftop herself. I vaguely remember her asking me to wait here for her though I don't know what she called me here for.

"You wanted to talk to me, Yori-chan?" I wonder as the girl approaches me.

Koyori's wearing a school uniform, and she looks gorgeous in it. The sailor outfit she sports is held in white and blue colors with a large, orange tie on her chest. As she approaches me, her hands are awkwardly fiddling around with her pleated skirt. A certain nervousness plays around her facial expression, mirroring my own.

It's a rooftop. This is Yori-chan so she's probably unaware of the troupe but still… Could she actually be about to ask me out?

"Yes, you see… "

Blushing, she reaches into her bag, revealing a letter sealed by a heart-shaped sticker.

It's a love letter?!

"This is for you… "

She presses the item into my hands and closes her eyes, her face reddened in obvious shyness. I probably don't look much better right now as the implications of the letter hit me like a punch to the gut. My hands are jittery when I open the paper to inspect it thoroughly.

A drawing?!

I was expecting some kind of message but, instead, there is a drawing inside, carefully painted by my friend. She's drawn the two of us facing each other closely, holding hands in a clearly romantic manner. Both of us are smiling warmly at each other, a gesture that seemingly infects me the moment I take note of it.

This is pretty much a confession, right?

"W-will you go out with me, Kei-kun?"

A certain sense of panic is worsened by my heart rate doubling in the blink of an eye. Even though I knew it was coming, actually hearing such words is an entirely different matter. I thought I was prepared, but I'm not. Not yet.

"Y-you mean l-like a date?!" I blurt out without thinking.

Koyori nods, awkwardly playing around with her ponytail.

"Actually, I - I love you, Keiichi!"

Suddenly she pins me to the wall and…

*

The scenery changes abruptly from the rooftop to the oddly familiar ceiling of my room. The scene is still playing in the backdrop of my mind but, now that I'm aware of it being a mere dream, the kiss she's pressing onto my lips feels but a distant memory of something that never happened.

It had to be a romantic dream. Guess that's just another sign that I have romantic feelings for her.

I stare at the ceiling for a while longer, waiting for my quivering body to return to a state of calmness. The fact that I'm fine with this makes me panic a little, considering that I've barely figured out the root of my feelings for Koyori. I'm not ready for a confession right now, regardless of who confesses their feelings, thus the lingering afterimages create a sense of nervousness that doesn't quite want to leave me alone.

Besides, what the hell, brain! The guy has to do the pinning, not the girl…

This atrocious matter can only keep me occupied for so long, though. The dream moves further and further into the backdrop of my mind, allowing my thoughts to shift toward my adorable roommate.

Right, Koyori… I wonder if she's still asleep?

Feeling fully awake now, I sit up on my bed. My neck cranes over to the back part of the room where Koyori is sleeping on the sofa - or so I thought.

Instead, I'm becoming a witness to something so embarrassing that the confession on the roof pales in comparison. I spot Koyori on the floor though I can't see her full profile. Only parts of her knees and her upper body are visible from my position. She's sitting sideways, her hands doing something I can't see until she rises back to her feet to reveal…

OH GOD NO!

For a brief flash of a second, Koyori's naked butt is exposed before the girl manages to pull her white underpants to its desired position, a cute, yellow ducky now smiling from her hindquarters.

OMG, SHE WAS CHANGING!

Hastily, I turn my eyes away before Koyori can realize that I've seen her. I'm retreating back into a position that suggests a sleeping pose, however, a sudden stingy sensation in my nose thwarts my plan.

Crap, it's a nosebleed!

Just like yesterday, I have to resort to using one-time use handkerchiefs, though this time to plug my nostrils until the worst has passed. Before long, I hear steps coming in my direction.

"Kei-kun, good morning!"

Koyori seems to be in high spirits this morning though it doesn't take long until she takes note of my predicament, panicking as she sees the bloody tissues.

"Oh, you're bleeding, are you okay?!"

"Yeah, just a nosebleed," I grumble while enduring the sensation of hot blood slowly clogging up my nostrils.

Koyori doesn’t associate this with me seeing her, looks like I'm safe for now…

A terrible misconception, as I'm about to find out. Koyori moves into my field of vision to check on me. When my eyes fall on her, fresh blood gushes from my nose.

SHE'S STILL IN HER UNDERWEAR!!!

I literally fall from my bed from the shock, closing my eyes and not daring to open them again.

"Do you have no shame?!" I yell at her from my position on the floor, trying to stop my imagination from running wild.

"Kei-kun doesn't… like it?" the girl questions, failing to hide a certain sense of disappointment from shining through her words.

What?!

"You don't just walk around in your bloody panties in front of other people, there's the bathroom for changing!" I yell at her.

I'm agitated to the point of scolding her as a parent would scold their child. I knew Koyori's innocence would keep her from understanding the odd thing or two but this is borderline below the common sense of an elementary schooler. Koyori is taken aback by my outburst, her voice full of uncertainty when she explains herself.

"Kei-kun has all these pictures of girls in underwear hanging on the walls so Yori-chan thought he might like seeing her like that too… "

Oh, so that's where the wind is blowing from…

The tone in her voice suggests a hint of embarrassment and guilt. I still don't dare to look at her.

God, I'm seriously the worst! Now how to explain to her that she's technically right even though it's still wrong?

"I am a little embarrassed, you know?" she adds shily. At this, I dare to open my eyes after all, briefly seeing a slight blush on her face before developing one of my own. One of her hands is now covering her crotch although her bra continues to be exposed.

"I don't mind you seeing me like this because you're my friend but I wouldn't want you to see me naked…"

Too late, Yori-chan!

"Well, I briefly saw your butt," I admit in an attempt to embarrass her to make the lesson stick, though it doesn't help my bleeding nose either.

"Oopsie… "

That's all she has to say?!

With an audible sigh, I sit back up, replacing the handkerchief as its capacity has been reached. Although Koyori is covering parts of her half-naked body now, I still avoid looking in her direction.

"Then Yori-chan needs to delete your memory of her precious butt!"

Awkwardly, I'm eyeing her as she's casting spells she definitely made up on the spot, wielding an imaginary magic ward and swinging it around madly.

"Stop being silly and get dressed Koyori, seriously…"

I can't help but slip a laugh at her actions. Even the sheer amount of exposed skin gets a little easier to endure as her silliness finally prompts my brain to stop the lewd thinking and start seeing her as my friend Koyori again.

"A-and just for reference, I don't dislike these things but…"

I can't finish the sentence but Koyori's cheerful giggle tells me that she understood. She dashes towards the wardrobe, digging around in its depths before reappearing with two outfits in her hands.

"Well, might as well ask you to help Yori-chan choose her outfit, hehehe."

… She didn't understand it after all…

Koyori, at least, holds these outfits in a way that covers the dangerous areas so I nonverbally agree to aid her in her endeavor. Nodding shyly at her, I take a look.

"So you can't decide between strawberry and sunflower look?"

Koyori affirms with a nod.

"Yori-chan apologizes for making your nose bleed so please pick the cutest clothes for her to wear."

Did she understand that after all?

Making a choice quickly turns out to be impossible. If cuteness is the judging criterion, I'll have to pick them both. Unlike the dress she wore the other day, both outfits consist of a t-shirt with a strawberry or sunflower motif respectively and a skirt in a matching color.

"I like them both," I explain honestly, secretly marveling at her sense of fashion. "Therefore, if you can't decide, just wear one today and the other tomorrow."

Koyori seems to be content with my answer, happily dancing around like usual and choosing the strawberry outfit, promptly moving out of my sight to put it on.

"Alright, I'll see if Mom has some ice to help stop the bleeding.”