Because Futaba didn't let me say anything else, our conversation ended there. She had already decided, and she's not going to change her mind about it. Furthermore, she knew what she was doing. Even if she called it selfishness, she knew deep down that she was going to betray her boyfriend.
The guilt was something she was determined to carry in order to feel the same pleasure again.
Of course, I could've persuaded her further but… I'm still a bastard who… at some corner of my mind is looking forward to it.
My initial desire to steal someone else's girl while keeping the guy in the dark has been unearthed. It's that same desire that got me mindlessly stealing girls left and right the moment I set my eyes on them being with their beloved. The same desire that started this all.
Will I stop this myself? Honestly, I don't know. I put myself on Futaba's side, to indulge her in her selfishness in the name of helping her.
Will Akane and Fuyu tolerate it? Will Eri? What about my other girls? Since I probably won't be able to hide that kind of arrangement, I'm already expecting a lot of them to have different thoughts from mine.
After all, this is about me pleasuring another girl who… I will claim to have no desire to steal at the moment. From their perspective, it'll be like a betrayal from me. The only ones they can tolerate being with me are those who are in the same situation as they are.
… Am I truly getting better? I feel like I'm becoming worse. And that's probably right.
Because of those swirling thoughts, I ended up not speaking as much for the rest of our journey. Akane and Fuyu noticed it and asked me what was wrong. Naturally, Futaba also noticed it, and I saw a flash of guilt on her face. But only for a moment. She made her bed and she'd lie in it even if it kills her. She would delude herself with the justification of her selfishness and perhaps take advantage of my own indecisiveness regarding her situation.
I have no beef with her boyfriend, but I sure don't have any inkling of friendship with him. That's why… I don't really care about what his reaction will be if he ever finds out. All I'm thinking about is how I can protect that reckless girl from drowning guilt.
Wait… Have I started caring for her more than just a friend? I don't know. It's possibly just my own biased view of favoring only the girls.
At the station before the one near their school, Eri and Futaba's boyfriends joined our group.
Naturally, Futaba went with him and acted normally. And seeing her like that helped me push those thoughts down, shelving them in one corner of my mind.
I'll talk about it with the girls but I can't afford to be occupied by it for the rest of the day, especially when there are important events I have to tend to. Google seaʀᴄh NoveIＦire.net
I'll deal with it when the time comes.
Right. While we didn't agree on our next session yet, I could tell that Futaba wouldn't wait for too long. One day, she might just show up at our door and ask for it…
A while later, after walking them up to their school gate, I hurriedly dashed away before a member of the Newspaper Club caught me again. I don't have time for another interview or gossip. I couldn't even remember the name of that guy again. Maybe if it's a girl, I might've remembered her but no, it's the persistent dude who wanted to make an article about me. Of course, after I gave him the gossip about that glorified cuck ex of Ohori-senpai, he was quiet for a while. But that won't last long. He'll still keep coming at me to get his scoop.
If I weren't so busy with the upcoming Cultural Festival, I might've started harvesting the crops that I planted, which would sweep away all those flies buzzing around my girls. I could leave the crumbs for him to pick up.
After passing through the narrow alley I always used, I met up with Otoha and Hitomi. Ever since that dinner with her family, the restriction on her had already loosened a lot. Hitomi had also stopped getting tailed by Otoha's mother's subordinates.
That's why the girl was now more energetic in going to school and practicing her kendo skills again. Yep. Even though she joined that club in their school, she barely comes to practice because of me. It affected her a lot when I cut her off back before she graduated from middle school. And even after reconnecting with me, her mother's attempt to restrict her became the reason why she couldn't get back to it again.
Now that she was given a position in the Kaneko Family to start helping out and our relationship has been cleared, it's like she got injected with double the dose of motivation.
"Ruki! Next time, let's practice again. I'll bring the shinai to your house. We can use your mini-gym, right? Or maybe we can work on expanding it? There's still space in your backyard, right? Can we build a dojo there?"
Otoha cheerfully said while straddling me inside the backseat of Hitomi's car and showering me with kisses. Despite doing so, her grace as a high-class lady remained. My arms couldn't help but lock around her hips, steadying her on my lap.
Hiitomi parked the car on an obscure corner of the street and moved to the backseat to join us.
"I can also start teaching you our Mihara-style Martial Arts, Ruki. My father approved of it. My grandfather was kept in the dark. Beware. I'll train you three times as much as you train yourself alone."
This… I knew she was trained in martial arts but this was the first time I heard about it being named Mihara-style. I guess that's to be expected from the servant family of the Kaneko.
"Hear that, Ruki? We'll build a dojo behind your house. Let's connect to that mini-gym." Otoha added, her voice bubbling with excitement as she pressed another kiss lips, her arms looping around my neck.
Hitomi, sitting beside us, reached for my cheek and turned my head to her. With a rare smirk, her usually stoic demeanor softening as she leaned for a kiss, her body pressing tighter on my side.
"Hold on, you two," I said after our lips separated, chuckling as I tried to keep up with their refreshing enthusiasm. "A dojo? In my backyard? I'm not sure our neighbors would appreciate the kendo shouts at 6 a.m. And Hitomi, Mihara-style Martial Arts? Are you sure you just don't want to break my bones?"
Otoha let out a subdued giggle as she pinched my lips together, "Oh, come on, Ruki. Your only active neighbor is Akane's parents. We'll put soundproofing in the dojo if you're worried about the noise. Besides, imagine how cool it'd be! Our own training space. We could spar, sweat, and… well, you know… Do more? The other girls will love it too! But of course, our shinai will be personalized." Her tone turned into teasing as she nipped at my earlobe, making my pulse jump.
Meanwhile, Hitomi put on a straight face again and instead of pinching my cheek, she grabbed my hand and fitted her fingers within the gaps before gripping it tightly. "I can break your bones anytime. It is for you. You rely too much on your basic boxing skills. You need one that you can truly rely on."
I raised an eyebrow, glancing between them. "You're both serious about this, huh? Alright, I'll think about it."
Otoha rejoiced by going back to my lips, locking us in a more intimate kiss. As for Hitomi, she simply played with my hand, waiting for me to turn to her. And when I did, she pulled my head to her chest, letting me rest there.
And from there, Otoha cuddled me and I became wrapped in the warmth of these two wonderful women.
Mhm. They noticed the small line on my forehead, possibly caused by my overthinking of Futaba's situation. And this was their way to soothe me.
I stayed with them for at least fifteen minutes, doing everything we could do inside that car while making sure that it wouldn't appear to be shaking outside.
Yep. That was impossible.
In any case, after dropping Otoha at the school gate, Hitomi drove to where I would meet Hifumi before going about her duties while Otoha was at school.