i-chan didn't resist it and just grinned as if she was that comfortable with Chii. But with that question thrown at , her eyes sparkled with anticipation, waiting for my response.
Well, this is i-chan we're talking about. She loves being complinted. She's one of those girls who thrive on validation. But truth be told, I haven't interacted with her enough to fully figure her out yet.
Still, she's an adorable little sister type, despite her hyperactive nature. Can anyone really resist that?
"Yeah, she's adorable," I replied as I let out my usual smile and shifted my gaze at her.
She blushed before energetically replying, her eyes widening in excitent, "Ehe... Thank you, senpai! By the way, you looked so cool and handso in those photos you posted! I never thought you were into cosplaying!"
"... What do you an?" I asked, acting confused.
"Oh, co on, senpai! How could I not recognize you? Even with all that makeup, your gaze gave you away. In my eyes, those indifferent yet warm-looking eyes are unmistakable," She said confidently, her finger pointing at my face as if she'd cracked so big secret. "But don't worry, I didn't spill your identity. I just followed that account. I even ssaged you, but you didn't reply. Lucky for , Onii-chan told you were here!"
To my surprise, all three of them nodded in understanding. Chii giggled in amusent while Nami and Hana exchanged glances again before shaking their heads.
Sohow, through these little interactions, those two had started to set aside their differences. I can now imagine Hana becoming friendlier with the other girls, setting aside her already failed plan of stealing from them.
That aside. Did Tadano tell her about ? Or is it because he slipped during their dinner, saying he saw soone unpleasant? And Yui being the smark brat dressed up and peeked out only to be caught by the girls.
Whatever it was, a little different to Ogawa who sent straight to Kazuha-nee's arms, Tadano just indirectly sent this girl here.
Am I worried about her? Not really.
She's aware of my relationship with Nami and despite that, she kept trying to get close to . Even if I tell her that I'm here to escort Hana and Chii without revealing that they're all my girlfriends, she'll probably not find anything wrong with it since Nami is here with us.
Right... There's no need to explain.
"I guess I underestimated how observant you are." I smilingly muttered as I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to play her discovery off casually,
i-chan bead, her chest puffing up with pride at my acknowledgnt before winking playfully, "Of course, handso-senpai! I've got a sharp eye for these things! But don't worry, I won't blow your cover. It'll be our little secret."
"Thanks, i-chan. You're the best." I said before ruffling her hair.
Without dodging my hand, i-chan giggled in satisfaction, savoring that sensation. Perhaps if not for Chii holding her close, she would also jump and cling to .
Hearing this exchange between us, the three girls were both amused and curious at how I easily dealt with the girl or her hyperactiveness.
After spending a little more than five minutes just conversing cheerfully there, we soon decided to cut it off.
Of course, to ensure that she wouldn't pry too much about us, we walked i-chan back inside their property.
I knocked and Tadano answered the door. Upon seeing , his brows twitched at a complicated angle.
Sure enough, he's not amused by my presence. Especially near his sister.
Slowly, with his eyes narrowing by the second, I could sense how he was trying to decide whether to be vocally annoyed or hold it in.
i-chan, completely oblivious to the tension, bounced up to him cheerfully.
"Onii-chan! See. Ruki-senpai walked ho," she declared while beaming with her lively smile, "Isn't he the best?"
Tadano's eyebrows twitched again upon hearing that and his gaze turned into a glare.
I shrugged at him. I'm not that keen on explaining to him.
I an, Walk her ho? We're just next door. It was twenty steps, more or less. If that counted as walking her ho then, I'd applaud i-chan for that amazing classification.
Furthermore, I wasn't alone. Even Nami was still with us making sure that i-chan wouldn't run out in the middle of the night again.
After a while, he settled for a curt nod, clearly not thrilled but unwilling to make a scene in front of i-chan.
"Yeah, thanks man," he muttered, stepping aside to let her in. "Get inside, Yui."
Although his tone didn't co off as amused, i-chan didn't need to be told twice. With one last grin thrown in my direction, she skipped into the house, her bubbly energy leaving a noticeable absence behind.
Once she was out of sight, Tadano turned his full attention to , his eyes narrowing slightly. "I don't know what you're doing here, but stay away from my sister. She's too naive for your gas."
His gaze then shifted to Nami and although his expression llowed out, the tone of his voice remained the sa, "And Nanami, please. Leave Yui out of this... She doesn't need to be exposed to what you're all doing."
"That's not what's happening here, Daiki," Nami's expression faltered, a trace of hurt crossing her face. I could feel the sting in Tadano's words, even if he didn't intend to accuse
her.
True. She just tolerated i-chan's presence around but that didn't an she was also just going to sit by and watch the girl get ensnared in our complicated relationship.
Before Nami could respond, I squeezed her hand reassuringly and spoke up.
"Dude, I get it. I'm not the kind of person you want your sister hanging around with. But don't bla Nami for this. If you want soone to point fingers at, I'm right here."
Perhaps he also didn't know that his words and gaze would co across as accusatory, Tadano's expression twisted into a frown.
He bit his lips and said, “I-I didn't an it like that... I'm not accusing you, Nanami. It's
just..."
"Alright. That's enough. We sent i-chan ho. You can close this door now. If you have
any problem with , talk to about it. I'll be honest with you and tell you that I have never interacted with i-chan on my own initiative. If anything, she's the one who keeps approaching . If you want to control who she interacts with, that's on you, but Tadano, you know it'll be a tough hill to climb to do that."
Tadano's face twisted as he wrestled with his emotions. "...I get it. But can you bla for
being wary of you?"
"Not at all. You're more than justified to feel that way. But don't just get to your own conclusion without finding out the real situation."
With that, I turned around, signaling the end of the conversation, and brought the three girls
with .
Hana and Chii remained quiet since they knew I could handle it already.
As we walked away, I noticed the troubled look on Nami's face. I gently squeezed her hand
again, trying to ease her mind.
"Nami, don't worry about it. He's just being a protective older brother. For sure, he's going to apologize to you tomorrow. You didn't do anything wrong at all. If... in the future, i-chan really does get involved with , it will never be your fault."
Nami sighed softly, her voice barely audible. "...Idiot Ruu. That's not what I'm worried about. I just hate seeing you take the bla for everything."
I gave her a gentle smile. "Co on. Isn't this old news? I've been public enemy number one for guys ever since. Because I'm doing sothing out of the norm, they won't be able to accept the idea that I'm making you all fall in love with . No matter who, what they will first think is that I'm fooling all of you. It's fine. I can handle it, so don't stress about it. And that goes for you two as well."
I also glanced at Hana and Chii, both of whom nodded silently. Although that sounded like I was just being a martyr, that was actually the true state of our situation. And my girls are well aware of it, they just can't accept it so... from ti to ti,
they will feel like they have to do sothing about it.
"I know that, Kii. We'll protect you in so other way." "You're acting tough again, Ruki. I hate that you keep on shouldering this."
Chii had a determined expression as she said that while Hana pouted slightly, clear on her face was her irritation for not being able to do sothing to deflect the hate directed at .
Like Nami, I pulled the two closer, wrapping them in a warm embrace in the middle of the
street.
"I'm the core of our relationship. I can handle this. If I crumble, then I won't be able to protect any of you when it matters. That's my role. But your support ans everything to
."
With that, we continued walking until we reached Nami's house, where I made sure she was calm before saying goodbye.
Afterward, Hana, Chii, and I made our way to the bus stop, the night air cool and quiet as we moved forward together.
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