Sena cried her heart out to me that my clothes were soon drenched from her tears. I listened to everything she had to say to me as I quietly patted and stroked her hair. I remembered that this is something she really likes me doing for her.
It's only been a few months since I cut her off but she started longing for me a week after that. During that time she became that active in the chat group Akane created to fish out news about me from the group.
To think that the girls I only thought of stealing could develop feelings towards me, it's a bit unbelievable. With how narrow my views were, I'm like the worst person to associate with back then. Especially for them which I used some really despicable methods just to steal them. Creating rifts that could make a crack to their relationship with their partner, blackmailing, and a lot more.
Comparing it to how I am doing it now, it's miles apart that the worse I did was using Kana's photo which immediately lost its purpose.
Sena used the time just crying and calming herself down in my embrace. The feeling she was trying to convey was all felt by me.
Really, I thought of just talking to her and tell her everything that happened to me but with her starting , I couldn't start talking. That could wait. I'll slowly tell her about that and about how I also like her.
Being a member of that group, most of them were already accepting of the situation with me. Some of them only thought of maintaining contact but when I started taking them back in, starting from Haruko, they held more discussions about it there.
I asked Akane not to tell me what they were discussing in that chat group but Sena told me what they've agreed together without mentioning the chat group. All of them who responded there were in favor of not forcing themselves on me, they will wait for their turn if that could mean I will still look at them and take them back in.
They all have different reasons for staying and I want to hear all of that from them before giving them the option. There's just really no way for me to divide my time equally to everyone, the only thing I can promise is how I am willing to take them back in and focus on them whenever we're together.
They're all eager to see how I changed and now that Sena's here with me, after calming down, her gaze never left my face. As to what's going on in her mind, I don't know.
We're currently just sitting at my bed while I hold her in my arms.
"Is there something wrong with my face?"
I asked. Because even after a few minutes, she didn't say anything and just continued looking at me like that. Her face was still flawless. Though I've already seen it swollen after a boxing match, she always takes good aftercare for restoring it back.
"Nothing. Just recording your image in my head. If you cut me off again, I'll use your image as my shadow boxing opponent."
Err… You mean punching bag. My image won't be an opponent since I will just be standing in front, not showcasing any moves.
"My Ruki... Ah. You're not only mine, do I have to change that way of calling you?"
"But I'm still yours at this moment, you know?"
"Heh. It seems not everything changed about you. I thought I'll see a different you after hearing everything from them."
"I just got a clear view of things and my feelings about you. Just like how you all came to like me, I'm the same. It sounds unfaithful but this is one of the things I couldn't change."
"We already understand that. You know, we all have our own version of you in our eyes. But one thing is common, we all felt that you greatly cared for us."
"I'm afraid not everyone thought like that."
"My Ruki, don't beat yourself from those who chose to accept being cut off by you. Maybe you did something that earned their hate but I'm sure, like with us, you took care of them in your own way."
Sena tried to comfort me. Her words do make sense but only they can answer if I truly took care of them.
Wherever they are right now, if I meet them again, I'll apologize. But do I really have the right to apologize if I didn't even regret what I did to them?
"You don't need to comfort me, Sena. I'm fully aware of what I did to them."
"For you to start showing this kind of face… It's really not an exaggeration. Though I don't dis, I still want to see your previous self. The guy who no matter what happened has that confident look on his face."
She sat up and started kissing my lips. She's looking for the me who was imprinted in her own memory. The guy who stole her.
I responded to her kisses as I mulled over her words. My previous self was still here but because of the realization and changes that happened these past few days, I might've become a little lost on how I should really act around them.
Who they fell in love with wasn't the changed me but the one who at one point made them fall away from normality. The me who despite countless challenges, never gave up on them.
Thanks to Sena, my head became a bit clearer. I might still be a little lost but the path ahead became a bit clearer now. I shouldn't show them my weak side again. Confidently face what's ahead, be it my future with them and everything that will come right after.
Sena and I never went past our passionate kiss, despite being this close to me, Sena was already satisfied at what I showed her. I also conveyed my feelings for her through our time together. My desire for her was still satisfied even with just this, there's still more time in the future when we will just feel that need to feel each other in a more intimate way
After a while we decided to go back down, she only requested one thing from me, it was to go back to the gym again and train with her. She claimed that her performance was better when there's still me around.
I accepted it and told her that I can only go there at least once a week. I've only registered there for the purpose of stealing her after all. So we'll schedule it through messenger so our time will match. I also offered her that if she wanted she could go here once in a while to train with me in that mini-gym I had.
She happily accepted that suggestion. Because of that, She jumped at me again and we shared another passionate kiss where she kept whispering her affection to me.
When we arrived downstairs, everyone was looking at us, well, except Minoru.
We didn't take too much time so they were probably wondering if we did it or not.
I'm not inclined to answer so after settling Sena down, I took some time to call Kana first. I told her I'll call in to check on her. When she answered, I could feel Kana's joy at hearing my voice. After making sure she's fine, I said goodbye to her after making a promise to not skip club on Monday.
After that, I went to Otoha next.
I asked Mihara-san for permission but since the decision still depended on Otoha, she looked at her. Otoha nodded indicating her willingness to come with me upstairs.
Miwa-nee was still at the kitchen and she only took a glance before going back to what she's doing, Haruko and Akane were alternately fighting Minoru on that game and they're both losing at him, well Haruko purposely let herself be defeated, unlike Akane who seriously play but still lose against the boy.
After bringing Otoha to my room, unlike Sena she didn't immediately cling to me but instead, she looked around it, trying to remember the time she was last here.
"Something changed from your room, Ruki."
With us being alone, Otoha's trouble from talking vanished, only with me will she fully open up. But her actions earlier were all genuine, that's how she acted around others but it's different with me.
"Yep. I wasn't using this room for some time now. And I moved some of my things to our room."
And when we're alone, I never hide things from her. That's my way for her to trust me completely, she believed I would never lie to her. Even after a year that we haven't met each other, that trust she has with me never faded.
"... You always sleep together with Akane now. We never slept together yet, right?"
Otoha fell silent for a moment since her back was facing me, I couldn't see what face she's making right.
"It will be bad if we did, you can't stay the night here and I can't stay the night in your room."
Mihara-san was always with her and she couldn't go to someone else's house. Likewise, I couldn't stay there with her. Her family were always around at night. I could sneak in, yes but I'll probably be hanged if they found me inside her room.
"I always wanted to do that with you, Ruki. Sleeping next to you, waking up next to you. You being the last person I will see at night and the first person I will see come morning…"
"Then let me think of something, I'll make it possible for us."
I went closer to her and this time, I'm the one who initiated, hugging her from the back, I rested my chin on her shoulder. I finally got a glance at her face and it's showing her gentle and satisfied smile from my words and my action right now.
She knew that if I told her that, I would really make it possible.
"One year. Did you also miss me?"
She put her hand over mine as she let herself be comfortable with this position where I'm hugging her from behind.
"I do. I'm sorry for making you cry, Otoha."
I really missed this girl, well, all of them actually. The day I cut her off, Otoha really cried a lot that I thought that would be the end of me interacting with someone of her stature. But now, here we are again, this time I won't make her cry for a second time.
"Uhm… take responsibility."
Like she rehearsed it, Otoha voiced out her thoughts.
Taking responsibility. I already decided to do that for everyone.
"I will introduce you to my grandfather." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⸺fire.net
Otoha said with conviction. Her face turned serious is something she planned.
"Are you sure? It's your grandfather while I'm just a nobody"
That's a head of a noble family, no matter how brave I am, that's someone where words couldn't buy my way out if I offended him.
"Un. I want to change too, with you. It's time for him to finally acknowledge me."
Otoha nodded and explained why she wanted to do that. Looking at her determined face, I finally get to see that this girl finally grew up from her previous state.
"I'm glad. My Otoha finally started to step out of her insecurity."
Her insecurity, being a daughter of a noble house, she thought she wouldn't have a chance at normalcy. That's the real reason why she's finding it hard to talk to others, those who know her family were afraid that they might accidentally offend her so they always talk to her in a respectful tone while those who do not know, they try to get closer but she doesn't know most of what they're talking about so most of the time she only listened and hardly talk.
"It's all thanks to you… When you left my side, I once again fell into the same situation before I got to know you."
"Mihara-san was still there for me but without you, I felt incomplete. There's no one like you, Ruki…"
Otoha turned around to return my hug before initiating a kiss. I could feel her shaking like she used all her strength to say all of this to me. Like Sena, I'm taking her back so whatever she wants me to do, I will do it.
It's just meeting her grandfather. I will be taking her granddaughter for myself, sooner or later I will also have to deal with him so this is for the better.