"Besides, it was actually pretty exciting to have all that happen in one day."
Indeedit had been one incident after another: first the hidden-camera creep, then a robbery.
"Sumika's right. As long as you're not hurt" Rei Ao added, "Though about that date Was this really a date?"
He gave Fujimiya Sumika a playful look.
"Um"
That was when she realizedthey hadn't actually been on a date at all!
"II don't think it countshaha"
""
Awkward silence fell among the three.
Sawae was fretting. She had come to play wingman and strategist, yet ended up making things a mess for Sumika.
"This time doesn't count," Rei Ao spoke up. "But if there's a next time, and I invite you, Sumikawould you turn me down?"
In truth, it hadn't been "ruined" at all. Rei Ao was someone who took the initiative.
If he was interested, he'd pursue it openly.
"Huh?"
His words left Sumika flustered. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard.
He had called her "Sumika" so intimately
Fujimiya Sumika's heart pounded, her mind going blank.
She forgot to respond until Sawae gave her a nudge in the side and frantically winked at her.
At the same time, she caught a glimpse of Sawae holding up her phone to show a message:
"Act a bit reserved, but agree to it."
""
Though she didn't understand why she needed to pretend to play coy, Sumika followed along anyway.
"Ahem If it's an invitation from you, Rei Ao, I don't really have a reason to say no."
Of course, their little signals and hints weren't lost on Rei Ao. But he merely pretended not to notice and gave a nod. "That's enough for me."
He then offered, "You must be exhausted after all this. Let me take you both home."
"Ohokay."
So Rei Ao hailed a cab and dropped both of them off at Sumika's place.
Sawae said she was going to hang out at her house, so she got out of the taxi, too.
After watching the cab drive off, Sawae couldn't help sighing wistfully, "Sumika, you've found yourself a really great guy!"
"Huh?"
Sumika was left utterly perplexed.
~~~
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Chapter 310: Concert
Shinomiya Residence.
"Ai-chan, you're back."
Kaguya Shinomiya, who had been terribly bored at home, perked up the instant she saw Ai Hayasakawhom she had given a day offreturning.
Ai Hayasaka was both her childhood friend and her personal maid.
"Mhm."
Ai, who had just been lost in thought, reined in her wandering mind and returned to her usual, impassive work demeanor.
Pouting, Kaguya whined, "Ai-chan, I'm so bored. Is there anything fun we can do together?"
The Shinomiya family rules were notoriously strict.
She practically never got to go out. Even if she did leave the house as the Shinomiya family's eldest daughter, she was always accompanied by a driver and bodyguards. She had no freedom at all.
Sometimes, she envied Ai Hayasakaat least Ai could wander around on her own when Kaguya gave her a day off.
No one at their academy, where Kaguya was known as the "Ice Princess" student council president, would ever imagine she could be so cute at home. Or maybe it was only around Ai Hayasaka that she showed this side.
But even faced with such an adorable Kaguya, Ai remained unmoved. She simply felt it was troublesome: she had barely returned from a single day off, and the young mistress was already roping her into something again.
Of course, Ai herself didn't particularly mind being relied upon this wayexcept that being relied on by Lady Kaguya specifically made her feel a deep sense of guilt.
Caught in a swirl of thoughts, Ai Hayasaka proposed, "Do you want to watch a movie in my room?"
"A movie? Sounds good!"
Kaguya's eyes lit up. She wasn't interested in the movie itselfshe just wanted to watch it with Ai Hayasaka. In truth, Kaguya couldn't stand being alone. Having Ai as a "good friend" made her very happy.
"What should we watch?" Kaguya asked.
""
Ai's gaze flickered, her mind drifting back to the phantom-like figure she had briefly glimpsed in the commercial district earlier that afternoon during the chaos. After a moment, she slowly named a film that came to mind:
"Look; Superhumans!"
Meanwhile
After dropping off Sumika Fujimiya and Sawae, Rei Ao still hadn't returned home. Instead, like a master of time management, he headed to Michiru Hyoudou's live band performance just in time.
"Rei Ao-kun, over here."
Megumi Katou, who had arrived earlier, waved him over.
"Sorry, something unexpected happened, so I'm a few minutes late."
"It's not really late. The show hasn't started yet."
It was Hiromi Katou, standing next to Megumi, who spoke.
"They're on stage now," Megumi reminded him.
The crowd fell quiet as Michiru Hyoudou and her band members stepped onto the temporary stage. It was slightly more official than a simple street performance. After scanning her surroundings, Michiru noticed Rei Ao and the two Katou sisters; she smiled.
Rei Ao gave a friendly wave. After acknowledging him with a nod, Michiru slipped into performance mode.
At first, during the warm-up, Hiromi Katou didn't feel much. But as the performance progressed, she grew astonished by this student band's skill.
"Megumi, these are really your classmates? You're all seniorswhy can't you do this kind of thing?"
Despite her surprise, Hiromi's words came off a bit brash.
""
Megumi shot her a look and said flatly, "Sis, you're older than Michirucan you do this?"
"Ahaha I was just kidding."
Hiromi laughed it off. But then she realized something was wrong. Lowering her gaze:
"!!!"
She suddenly felt the world was against her. Right there in her line of sight were Rei Ao and her younger sister holding hands, fingers tightly interlaced. While she stood alone, a "single" enjoying the music, her sister was acting all lovey-dovey with him. Hiromi's earlier cheerful mood vanished, and she felt like she'd just been force-fed a massive serving of PDA.
"Ugh, I really shouldn't have come with you two."
"Big Sis, do you want to give it a try? Rei Ao-kun's hand feels really reassuring."
"Huh?"
Startled, Hiromi glanced at Megumi. Her sister's expression remained unreadably calm. Knowing that Megumi sometimes had a tiny mischievous streak, Hiromi guessed this was payback for that teasing comment just now.
Determined not to let her sister have the last word, Hiromi curved her eyes in a playful grin. "All right, but only if my dear little sister won't mind letting me have Rei Ao-kun for myself~"
""
Megumi's clear eyes flickered, but she said nothingshe simply took action. Under Hiromi's stunned gaze, Megumi took Rei Ao's hand and placed it into Hiromi's, making them clasp hands. Then Megumi tilted her head.
"Is this okay?"
"Huh?"
Hiromi felt the warmth of Rei Ao's hand, larger than hers yet somehow radiating safety. Her brain practically short-circuited.
"M-Megumi, what What are you doing?!"
"Huh?"
Megumi blinked, apparently puzzled. "Isn't this what you wanted, Sis? If you don't like it, you can just let go."
With that, Megumi left Hiromi no chance to respond. She casually walked to Rei Ao's other side and took his other hand. Rei Ao, for his part, wisely chose to remain silent. Megumi's behavior made it seem like she was deliberately pushing him and her sister together, and he had no idea what was going on in her mind. All he knew was that quietly enjoying the moment wasn't hurting anyoneand it wasn't hurting him, either.
""
Hiromi stood there rigid, overwhelmed by awkwardness. What's gotten into my sister? Ever since she joined that group chat, she'd become impossible to readjust like how she was now calmly letting another woman (her sister, no less) hold her boyfriend's hand. Could she have been influenced by the group chat's open-minded atmosphere?
Either way, Hiromi couldn't figure out what to do. Letting go would be awkward; not letting go was even more awkward. She remained frozen, wrestling with herself internally for quite a while until she felt Rei Ao's hand shift. Thinking he was finally about to release her, Hiromi breathed a sigh of reliefcertain lines shouldn't be crossed, after all.
But things didn't go as expected. Rather than letting go, Rei Ao threaded his fingers even more firmly between hers. That subtle, skin-to-skin contact sent a tremor straight through Hiromi's heart, causing her to forget all about pulling away. With their hands now fully intertwined, the comforting warmth made it impossible for her to resist. And what made her even more embarrassed was the way Rei Ao lowered his gaze and smiled at her.
"Ugh!"
At the moment their eyes met, Hiromi felt as though she'd been jolted by electricity. She immediately lowered her head. If anyone could see her face, they would discover that it was bright redflushed all over.
Damn it!
She couldn't handle this overwhelming sense of shame. Hiromi felt her heart hammering faster and harder than the drummer onstage!
~~~
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Chapter 311: Invited back...
Time flew by.
The performance by Michiru Hyoudou's band came to an end.
Yet time felt so long.
Hiromi Kato's heart had been pounding all this while, without stopping.
Her fingers were interlocked with hisa first for someone who's never had a boyfriendand it made her extremely nervous.
Nervous to the point she worried her palms might get sweaty.
In this warm yet anxious tangle of emotions,
She felt the wait for the performance to end was excruciatingly long.
As the crowd dispersed,
At that moment, Rei Ao loosened his grip on the Kato sisters' hands.
""
Well, that was that.
No more agonizing over it.
Yet Hiromi Kato couldn't help gazing at her own hand with lingering reluctance.
Megumi Kato, however, did not miss the subtle changes in her sister's expression.
She had her own little plan in mind for doing what she did.
Though she didn't reveal it just yet.
She only wanted to plant a seed and wait quietly for it to sprout.
"Rei Ao-kun, Kato."
Right then, Michiru Hyoudou came over with her bandmates.
"Thank you for coming to watch our performance."
They all bowed in unison.
"We got to see a wonderful show. You were all amazing."
After praising them, Rei Ao introduced himself.
He also introduced Megumi Kato and Hiromi Kato.
"Since we've all hit it off so well, how about going out to eat together?"
One of the band members suggested with enthusiasm,
And it was immediately met with agreement.
"Sure, I'm actually kinda hungry."
"Rei Ao-kun, you two as wellcome along?"
Michiru Hyoudou rolled her eyes a bit.
Clearly, her friends were excited because of Rei Ao's presence.
But she also thought it sounded fun.
So she offered, "I'll treat you guys. Think of it as thanks for coming to see us."
"I don't mind."
Rei Ao glanced at Megumi and Hiromi. "How about you two?"
Megumi Kato: "I don't mind either."
Having come back to her senses, Hiromi Kato managed to regain her composure and chuckled lightly, "Tomorrow's a day off, so why not indulge a little?"
"Oh!!!"
The girls burst into excited cheers.
"Then let's go!!!"
Dinner was a lively gathering of a big group.
It was too bad that Hiromi Kato, surprisingly, couldn't drink.
Still, Michiru Hyoudou's friends were all quite outgoing and really knew how to liven things up.
The overall atmosphere was fantastic.
Naturally,
There was a fair share of playful teasing.
Like those egging Michiru on about her relationship with Rei Ao, or people jokingly confessing to him without knowing if they were serious or not.
All of which stirred up laughter and chatter.
By the time they wrapped up,
It was already past eight in the evening.
Michiru and her friends took a taxi home together, like they always did.
It's safer with more people, after all.
Still, before they left, Rei Ao reminded them, "Be careful on your way back."
"Hehe, Rei Ao-kun must be worried about Michiru in particular, right~?"
Someone among them teased at that moment.
But it wasn't entirely just teasing:
They genuinely hoped to bring the two of them closer.
Though Michiru had only had juice, her cheeks were as red as if she'd been drinking.
She glared at them,
Then gave Rei Ao a small nod. "We'll be careful."
After a brief hesitation, she hummed in a warm but slightly shy tone, "Andsee you on Monday."
"Oooh~!"
Her friends' eyes lit up at that, cheering and exclaiming all at once.
Michiru's face grew even redder.
Rei Ao only responded with a calm, lighthearted smile, "Yeah, see you on Monday."
They watched the taxi drive away.
Suddenly, a fair arm draped over Rei Ao's shoulders.
It was Hiromi Kato.
She was the only one who had drunk alcohol, and she appeared to be "drunk."
Reeking of booze, she leaned over and asked in his ear, "Hey youdon't tell me you're into that Michiru girl?"
"Just so you know, you'd better not break Megumi's heart. Otherwiseotherwise, you won't get away with it!"
"Sisyou're drunk,"
Megumi Kato sighed nearby, looking helpless.
But she didn't show any intention of pulling her sister away from Rei Ao.
Instead, she made a slightly troubled face.
"Ugh, what should we do? I can't carry her home by myself, and Mom and Dad are both out of town tonight."
""
Rei Ao rolled his eyes.
He mumbled under his breath, "Megumi, you're not exactly whispering to yourselfyou're saying this on purpose for me to hear, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
She made a surprised sound,
But her expression was utterly devoid of anything resembling genuine surprise.
"Did I hint at something to you, Rei Ao-kun?"
"Wow, Megumi, you really are picking up some bad habits."
Rei Ao lamented with mock gravity.
In a righteous tone, he declared, "That's not good, so I'll have to teach you a lesson."
Whoosh!
On the empty street, the three of them disappeared from sight.
At the Kato house
Hiromi Kato felt her body suddenly sink into the plush sofa.
A voice reached her ears.
"Megumi, weren't you acting a little too brazen just now?"
"I have no idea what Rei Ao-kun's talking about."
"Is that so? Then we'll just have to discuss it in depthenough so that you understand."
""
In the darkness,
