Published at 23rd of September 2024 2:04 pm

Chapter 2188: Where the blame lies

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Mei-chan didn't resist it and just grinned as if she was that comfortable with Chii. But with that question thrown at me, her eyes sparkled with anticipation, waiting for my response.

Well, this is Mei-chan we're talking about. She loves being complimented. 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 excitement, "Ehe... Thank you, senpai! By the way, you looked so cool and handsome in those photos you posted! I never thought you were into cosplaying!"

"... What do you mean?" I asked, acting confused.

"Oh, come 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 some big secret. "But don't worry, I didn't spill your identity. I just followed that account. I even messaged you, but you didn't reply. Lucky for me, Onii-chan told me you were here!"

.

To my surprise, all three of them nodded in understanding. Chii giggled in amusement while Nami and Hana exchanged glances again before shaking their heads.

Somehow, 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 me from them.

That aside. Did Tadano tell her about me? Or is it because he slipped during their dinner, saying he saw someone unpleasant? And Yumei 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 me 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 me. 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,

Mei-chan beamed, her chest puffing up with pride at my acknowledgment before winking playfully, "Of course, handsome-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, Mei-chan. You're the best." I said before ruffling her hair.

Without dodging my hand, Mei-chan giggled in satisfaction, savoring that sensation. Perhaps if not for Chii holding her close, she would also jump and cling to me.

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 Mei-chan back inside their property.

I knocked and Tadano answered the door. Upon seeing me, 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.

Mei-chan, completely oblivious to the tension, bounced up to him cheerfully.

"Onii-chan! See. Ruki-senpai walked me home," 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 mean, Walk her home? We're just next door. It was twenty steps, more or less. If that counted as walking her home then, I'd applaud Mei-chan for that amazing classification.

Furthermore, I wasn't alone. Even Nami was still with us making sure that Mei-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 Mei-chan.

"Yeah, thanks man," he muttered, stepping aside to let her in. "Get inside, Yumei."

Although his tone didn't come off as amused, Mei-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 me, 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 games."

His gaze then shifted to Nami and although his expression mellowed out, the tone of his voice remained the same, "And Nanami, please. Leave Yumei 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 Mei-chan's presence around me but that didn't mean 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 blame Nami for this. If you want someone to point fingers at, I'm right here."

Perhaps he also didn't know that his words and gaze would come across as accusatory, Tadano's expression twisted into a frown.

He bit his lips and said, “I-I didn't mean it like that... I'm not accusing you, Nanami. It's

just..."

"Alright. That's enough. We sent Mei-chan home. You can close this door now. If you have

any problem with me, talk to me about it. I'll be honest with you and tell you that I have never interacted with Mei-chan on my own initiative. If anything, she's the one who keeps approaching me. 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 blame me 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 me.

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, Mei-chan really does get involved with me, 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 blame for everything."

I gave her a gentle smile. "Come on. Isn't this old news? I've been public enemy number one for guys ever since. Because I'm doing something out of the norm, they won't be able to accept the idea that I'm making you all fall in love with me. 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 time to time,

they will feel like they have to do something about it.

"I know that, Kii. We'll protect you in some 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 something to deflect the hate directed at me.

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 means everything to

me."

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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