Stealing Spree

For the next hour or so, Kaoru-san took us on a tour around the ward. We didn’t leave the car. She simply drove to some iconic landmarks while avoiding the traffic. Naturally, we didn’t get to see the Imperial Palace up close or walk through the streets of Akihabara.

Even if it’s a school day, the people in the capital will always be bustling thanks to the abundance of tourists from foreign countries.

Chisato-nee-san didn’t accompany us but she said she’ll be seeing us off when we go to the train station. She’s still busy, after all. The recording might have ended but they still have to do a lot of things to produce it for the market. They’ll have a lot of meetings that the singer couldn’t really be bothered to attend. Once they make a decision, they’ll contact Kaoru-san to inform the girls.

While sightseeing, Yue happily acted like a tour guide, telling us about the landmarks we were passing by. She may not be able to always go out in public but Kaoru-san sometimes drives her around just to relax.

Yeah. One's life was going to change when they became a popular celebrity. Yue kept on reminiscing about our time in middle school. Picking out the negatives and only focusing on the positives, Akane and the other three learned about how I became involved with her in detail.

And as always, they had a knowing smile in the end as if they were seeing themselves in her shoes.

Kaoru-san was also interested in listening to her but since she was on the wheels, she could only occasionally glance at us.

I still have no idea what’s in her head. However, from those glances I’ve caught her taking, she’s most likely wondering what kind of love potion I fed Yue.

I’m wondering about that too for all of my girls. There are many sincere and considerate men out there but how many can replicate what I achieved?

Of course, I’m not doubting their reasons but for others who will hear about this in the future, they’ll definitely think I’m a conman who managed to fool everyone.

Soon afterward, Kaoru-san directly drove us to the station.

“Ruki. Come back soon.” Yue said with tears building up in the corner of her eyes.

Since the station was also crowded, she had no choice but to remain in the car.

Likewise, Chisato-nee-san hurried over from where she parked her car to join us.

At the moment, Yue was holding my hand, extremely reluctant to let me step out of the car.

I patted her head and put her in my embrace.

“Sure, I will. I promised you, right? I won’t disappear again. This is just my first visit, not my last.”

“Un. Sorry for being emotional. Next time, I’ll have you stay for a week with me.”

Yue tearfully nodded as she declared that.

After that, we spent another five minutes in the car before my girl calmed down.

Akane and the others had a wry smile upon seeing that but they didn’t interfere. Like with the story of Yue earlier, they knew they’d also act the same if they were in her shoes.

I was honestly tempted to just tell her to come and live with us. However, that would interfere with what she already built up here.

I want to support them, not limit what they can do. That’s how the relationship between us should be.

I want them to chase their dreams while I handle the role of building a home for us. I cannot see myself doing anything else than that in the future. My goal has already been set to ensure that I can spend the rest of my days with them.

After that, I stepped out of the car and faced my big cousin.

Her long, brown hair fluttered in the wind as she stared at me with the same affection as she showed me last night.

Judging from how her entire figure shakes, she’s holding back hugging me. It might be her consideration for my girls or she’s trying not to ruin her image of a big sister in my eyes.

I’m still not sure what to do with her affection. However, at the same time, I don’t dislike it. I already consider her as someone important to me so… we’ll just see what’s in store for us in the future. I don’t have any siblings and although I have encountered some girls who act like I’m their little brother, only with Chisato-nee-san do I feel some sort of familial bond.

It’s warm and fuzzy. But well, it’s still too early to tell…

I ended up loving Miwa-nee. It might not be impossible to do the same for Chisato-nee-san. However, she also has to realize her true feelings.

Of course, I’m only assuming at this point and nothing’s final yet.

“Ruki, don’t forget your big sister, okay? I’ll visit you soon.”

“Can I still forget you?”

“Hehe. Who knows? I’ll keep pestering you so don’t be mad at me.”

“Come on, nee-san. If the Director hears you acting like this, she’ll wonder if you got replaced by someone else.”

“It’s fine. She knows how talkative I am when it comes to my precious cousin.”

“... Well, if you say so.”

As we smiled at each other, I closed the distance between us and hugged her again. It’s a quick one unlike what we shared earlier.

Following that, I checked on Kaoru-san and thanked her for taking care of us and Yue.

And before we walked away to enter the station, I reminded her to follow my suggestions and message me if it was helpful or not.

I took my time drafting a few of those but due to the short time and having not many details about her condition, I could say that those were still experimental.

Maybe on my next visit, I could talk to her at length to figure out what’s the underlying reason for her obsession with perfection.

At the moment, she’s not yet thrilled at that prospect but seeing her looking a little refreshed, I can see a light of hope in her eyes.

-

-

The same as yesterday, we got premium seats, making our trip back home relaxing. We didn’t do anything risky anymore but our flirting was never impacted. I continued to move from seat to seat, making more memories for us.

Upon arriving at our city, Hitomi picked us up again and drove us home.

We dropped Miho and Yua off at their houses. I got to talk with Auntie Misora, just informing her that she might receive a call from Chisato-nee-san in the future.

Yep. We did bring up the music video to her. And as the producer handling the release of the song, she outright accepted that a music video was necessary to better promote it.

After that, I invited Hitomi to rest at our house while we waited for the end of school hours. There was still an hour, after all.

Naturally, I pampered her a lot to thank her for driving us. But at the same time, I listened to her musings regarding Otoha’s situation.

To this day, her mother is still against Otoha picking someone unknown like me. Due to that, every other day, her mother would bring up the name of some guy from an influential family to pique her interest or mention her previous fiance.

She’s just pushing her daughter away from her.

Anyway, with Hitomi and the eccentric old man there looking after her, there’s no way she can pull up some tricks anymore.

An hour later, when Hitomi was about to leave, Akane went with her. She’s going to pick up Fuyu.

The sleepover was decided to be tomorrow but Akane said she’s going to prepare for it today and Fuyu will help her shop.

As for me, I would remain at the house to cook our dinner. Also, my phone was already being bombarded by messages from my girls who were waiting for my message.

It’ll be unfair if I delay contacting them. Besides, there’s also Yue and Chisato-nee-san who are waiting for my update to say that we safely arrived home.

After dealing with tens of messages, replying to them, and also reading their responses, I received a phone call from someone.

Seeing the name of the caller immediately put a smile on my face.

Without further deliberation, I accepted it and put the phone on my ear.

A moment later, Yayoi-san’s gentle voice graced my ear.

“Ruki. Did you arrive home safely? I’ll make dinner. Come by and eat with us if you're not tired from your trip.”

What a rare invitation…

Thinking about it, I couldn’t say this was out of nowhere.

Although she still has no idea about our complex relationship, I informed her about the trip to Tokyo yesterday. Mina also helped me fill in the details.

I might’ve not lied to her but being vague about it probably made her suspect something.

I should clear it up if that’s the case… And also, it’s been a while since I last visited her. I should be a good man for her like I promised.