Stealing Spree

After dinner, we ate the ice cream that I bought in the living room while continuing to play that fighting game. Minoru liked that he got a lot of older sisters willing to play with him. And he’s even more satisfied that none of them could beat him at the game.

Of course, when it was my turn, I handed the boy his first loss of the night, causing him to run to Akane and Miwa-nee, telling them that I was cruel to him…

That boy. He’s learning how to use the girls’ fondness for him to his advantage.

Anyway, when the clock ticked close to nine o’clock, Miwa-nee picked up Minoru to put him into bed. Meanwhile, Akane and the girls who would stay overnight started preparing. Akane brought Haruko and Yae upstairs, the three of them wanted to prepare the bed. As for Edel and Hiyori, the two sat quietly on the couch, watching me with Fuyu and Hana as we were about to leave to escort them home.

“Girls, are you good here?” I approached the two girls, who both gently nodded.

Edel was clearly looking like she was holding back from jumping into my arms again, while Hiyori didn’t know whether to pull me down to sit with her or not.

“We… we’ll wait for you here, Ruki.”

“Yes. We will… Uhm… Wanna take a bath together when you return?”

While Edel didn’t specifically say it like Hiyori, the way her eyes lit up told me enough that she’s also thinking the same.

Right. It should be Edel’s second or third time taking a bath with me… Hiyori, on the other hand, we did it most of the time before I cut her off.

While things would always heat up between us, leading us to spend most of our bath time making love, all my girls were also fond of the sensation of just cuddling with me inside the tub as we relaxed together.

That was heaven.

“Mhm. Let’s do that.” I nodded before I leaned down, giving them both a kiss.

Although reluctant to see me go, the two girls waved their hands as I rejoined Fuyu and Hana.

As we walked out the front door, both girls were eerily silent. But well, it’s not that hard to guess the reason why.

One of them looked like she was about to audibly huff while the other was doing her best to continue looking ahead of us instead of sneaking a glance at my side.

They’re jealous. Or rather, they’re probably envious that Edel and Hiyori would be taking a bath with me later.

As we walked out our front gate and into the street, I couldn’t help but tease them a little, just to lighten the mood. “What’s with the long faces, you two? Don’t tell me you’re both sulking because you’re missing out on bath time.”

Fuyu’s head snapped toward me, her cool facade cracking just enough to show a flicker of indignation. “Hmph. Don’t flatter yourself, Ruki-kun. I’m not sulking. I’m just… thinking.”

“Thinking about what?” I pressed on, knowing I wouldn’t be disappointed with her answer.

“… Don’t make me say it, dummy.” Fuyu blushed and turned her head away again.

Hana, on the other hand, didn’t bother hiding her feelings. She grabbed my arm and shot me a sidelong glance. “Shut up. If you’re going to tease us for this. Just do so, as if we’d budge from your teasing, Ruki. I’m not that easy to sway, you know.”

The golden eye hidden behind her fringes peeked a bit and glinted quite magnificently. It’s making me wonder sometimes if there’s magic in it. Because every time I see it, I can’t help but get lost in her beautiful heterochromia.

“Sure, you are.” I softly chuckled as I locked her hand in mine. Her fingers curled slightly before fitting in the gaps. Before she turned her head away, I caught a small smile peeking from her lips.

“I’ll make it up to both of you, promise. Fuyu, you’re staying over soon, right? We’ll have our own time. And Hana, you know I’m not letting you go home without some proper pampering.” I continued.

Fuyu’s lips twitched into a reluctant smile, her eyes softening as she glanced at me. “You’d better keep that promise, Ruki-kun. I’m holding you to it.”

Hana rolled her eyes but her grip on my arm loosened slightly, a sign she was starting to relax. “You’re lucky I’m in a good mood tonight, Ruki. Don’t push it.”

I grinned, giving her a playful nudge with my shoulder. “If there’s something I want to push… maybe it’s the two of you. On a bed.”

The moment I said that, the two girls hit my arm with their foreheads as they both exclaimed, “Pervert!”

With this, we continued on our walk to the station. The street was quiet, save for the faint hum of distant traffic and the occasional rustle of leaves in the breeze. Fuyu copied Hana and clung to my left arm as she matched my pace. However, I couldn’t help but notice that her posture was looking a tad stiff. Maybe it had to do with us having this walk with another girl she had only met tonight.

They’re not that different, honestly. Hana has this habit of not acknowledging those she interacts with. She’s solely focused on me or rather, the ones who could see through her angelic mask.

Of course, in front of my other girls, she’s not really putting up that facade so… what Fuyu saw tonight was her real self.

As for Fuyu… she tended to be more protective of those she cared about. That’s why, rather than acknowledging her feelings for me first, she decided to confront me for Akane’s well-being. Given how she didn’t want me to tell her about all the other girls involved with me, she’s clearly not used to dealing with those she could consider as competition.

It’s another story if they’re on a tennis court though. She’s not going to back down, no matter who her opponent is.

Anyway, it was a delicate balance, navigating their emotions, but I was used to it by now. Each of my girls had their own way of showing affection, jealousy, or need, and I’d learned to read them like an open book.

Since the station they’re getting off at was the same, we found ourselves a cozy corner on the train to spend the few minutes of waiting.

Unlike earlier where I had to leave the other girls at Nami’s house, we walked out of the station together and continued to take the path towards Fuyu’s house.

To ease the suffocating silence, I brought a topic for us to talk about. I asked Fuyu about the solo tennis tournament she’s going to participate in. There was already a date and venue for it but apparently, she had yet to send in her application form. Her reason for that was… she didn’t want to feel the pressure right away, so she’s delaying it until the deadline, which coincidentally lands on the last day of classes before summer vacation.

“Mhm… Do you want a training partner?” I playfully asked.

The girl looked up at me with her eyes narrowed like she already knew I was going to offer myself as her partner, “As if you have that much free time. I’ll be happy if you can spare a day for me.”

“Then… I’ll ensure I can spare a day before that tournament. I gotta pamper my Fuyu so that she can be in perfect condition, right?”

Fuyu pursed her lips as her body shuddered slightly. Clearly, she’s trying to stifle a laugh. “I don’t know if that will work but sure… I’ll be more motivated if I can have you all to myself before the tournament.”

Before I could reply to that, Hana, who was just listening in, let out a scoff, “You haven’t changed, Ruki. You used to motivate me the same way before. And… I hate to admit that I loved every second of it.”

Right. I could recall memories of those times. But it was often more about exams or just graded recitation back in grade school. Since she’s the most popular girl in class and all the teachers are fond of her, she’s always getting called out for it. Whenever we would be together, she’d complain about the hassle of it.

Of course, I told her she should just remove her angelic mask and show them how she truly feels but… she’s as stubborn as a mule.

“Oh? I remembered. So, you’re the girl that Akane told me about before. The one who Ruki-kun got really close to before middle school… Shinohara-san, can I… ask you to tell me more stories about him?”

… This. Somehow, that sparked Fuyu’s interest in our past. But well, her only source was Akane and that girl tends to paint stories about me in a positive light. With Hana, she’ll be able to hear about how I treated her back then.

Well, if it were Chii, that girl would accept it right away. But Hana? Let’s see…

A few seconds of silence later, Hana answered in an almost inaudible tone, “Okay… But not tonight.”