The first word that came out of Hiyori's mouth when she arrived at the room was my name. Well, all of them called my name anyway but the way she did it this time…
"What is it, Hiyori? Did something happen?"
I walked towards her and closed the door that she forgot to close. Being in close proximity with her again, Hiyori's shoulder shrunk down and started trembling slightly.
Soon afterwards, her arms circled to my back as she tightly held onto me.
This girl… she's not earlier. Did she get scared of Miyako?
"T-that girl… she kept shouting that you're a bad guy. She held my shoulders and shook me to agree to her."
Ah. It's really Miyako. And due to this girl's nature which couldn't really open up to another, she got scared of that girl who hated me to the core.
I wonder what she's doing there at the moment. I couldn't help but get worried but knowing Akane and Yae, those two would surely handle her. I just don't know how they would handle her.
"I see. But aren't I a bad guy? She's just stating the truth."
"N-no you're not. Uhm. Yes, you are bad at first but when I got to know you… I found out that you're even cooler than those male idols that are too fake. Even their attitudes are fake and are just for the purpose of selling themselves to their fans."
See. She also admitted that I was bad. Well, that shouldn't be a past tense but for her, even before I cut her off, I already became her replacement for her male idols. Due to that, she stopped idolizing them and switched to girl idol groups.
"Hiyori, you see, everyone has different ways they view another person, right? For that girl, I'm the worst. So her reaction was just normal. You don't have to agree with her. Both of you have different opinions, right?"
"Y-you're right. I shouldn't become biased again."
"Well, enough about her, I will also talk to her later so… let's focus on you. Are you still refusing to open up to another?"
I pulled her from me and grabbed her hand before leading her to the table.
Before Hiyori arrived, I already wiped the table clean of the traces of what I did with Miho. But for sure, the smell still lingers. However, with Hiyori sticking close to me, she's sniffing the scent left on my clothes instead. There's a lot of scent in this uniform, starting from Yua to everyone in that room except Akane and Yae.
"Uhm… I… I opened up to them."
When we reached the table, I leaned onto it while Hiyori hugged me again with only her free hand as she snuggled to my chest. And only after she was satisfied did she answer me, albeit stuttering a little.
Like the others, she also integrated herself with that group chat Akane made. At least, that's progress.
"I see. I'm happy to hear that. We gotta start somewhere, right?"
I smiled at her and patted her head. In response to that, Hiyori giggled cutely.
However, it didn't last long. Hiyori lifted her head and shook her head.
"But that's my limit, Ruki… I couldn't see the point of opening up to others."
"What will you do if you meet your idols? Will you just freeze there if they're offering you a handshake?"
"I already answered that before… They wouldn't go out of their way to know me personally. That's why I know I will be able to interact with them as their fan."
"What about your aspiration to become one of them?"
Even if she doesn't always say it, she had that thought deep inside her mind. That's why she was always happy fangirling over those idol groups. Not just because she likes them but she also wanted to be like them.
"Eh? I told you it will not work for me… I'm this shy and I will not be able to... Uhh… Ruki! Hwawawa~"
Hiyori suddenly heated up and in the end, she almost shouted my name and let out those cute noises which didn't have any meaning.
Well, it did have a meaning. Only when she couldn't process any more thoughts will she do that.
"Ah. You overheated again… There there. Let me cool your head down."
I patted her head once more and gently caressed it until she calmed down.
"Don't say that. I intentionally did that to see how far you progressed without me."
Right. Among all of them, it's the hardest to talk to this girl as she often overheated from too much talking and thinking.
"… I'm stuck at a standstill."
"You're not. You bonded with Akane and the others, right? I guess that's already good enough."
"Alright, I will not force you again. By the way, you have something to tell me, right?"
"… Later. I'm waiting for this day to come again, let me recharge my Ruki Energy."
This girl, she's still on about that Energy… I guess apart from some changes in her which finally made her interact with others aside from me or those really closest to her, she's still the same Hiyori who often overheated from having to think and talk too much.
I already remembered my moments with her… I stole her from her childhood friend who also couldn't interact with her properly or more like, he stopped making an effort to interact with her properly after he managed to have her say yes when he asked her out.
When I first saw them before, that guy was too pleased to have her as his girlfriend but that's not really the case for her. She's more embarrassed and often asks him to stop bringing her with him. She's more comfortable being alone with that guy than having to interact with that guy's friends. His friends who kept on bugging her about the hows and whys in their relationship.
They're all outspoken so oftentimes, she would be left tongue-tied and overheated not knowing what to do or say. Additionally, that boyfriend of hers never looked at what's happening to her as he was too consumed by the idea that he got her as his girlfriend.
Still, she also somehow liked the guy. They're together ever since they're young after all. She could put up with him at first but when I started interacting with her, she started comparing that guy to me and after that, her favorite male idols to me.
In the end, she ended up liking me more than them. However, she became more of my fan than one of my girls.
Of course, I didn't let it stay that way. Hiyori was often overjoyed just by seeing me. Like how she was often overjoyed upon seeing a show of her favorite girl group. Since I was just there and I could reach her, I often took her in my arms and spent the time with her like that. Asking her questions and letting her share what's on her mind. That's how I got to know her impression of her boyfriend and the male idols she liked before.
At that point, I still hadn't conquered her and she still often gets pulled by her boyfriend to hang out with them. So one time, I asked her if she wanted to go to a Karaoke Box with me… I have no skill in singing but for her… I sang the requests she made, even if it's out of tune.
Well, in the end, she idolized me more. I failed during that karaoke but I took her home with me after that.
Like someone who arrived at the house of their favorite celebrity, Hiyori explored the house in fervent interest.
Also, at that time, my Mom and Dad are at home. Since I wanted to steal her completely, I introduced her as my girlfriend which became the starting point of how I successfully stole her.
At that time, my parents probably already knew that she's just one of the girls I'm trying to steal. But they still interacted with her normally. And at that dining table, she overheated from their questions at least five times which made the couple laugh heartily.
I still remembered that after I switched on a different target, my parents asked me about her. But yeah, since I'm already focused on that new target, the answer I came up with was that we broke up.
Later that day though, I went to see her. Hiyori neither uttered any grievances nor any change on how she treated me even after I neglected her for days. Due to that, I spent that day with her rather than with my new target.
"I'm fully recharged! Welcome back... I missed you a lot, Ruki."
A few minutes of silence later, Hiyori lifted her head once more, the smile on her face was her most beautiful once I've seen today but the tears which dripped down from her eyes made me feel a slight stabbing pain.
"I understood why you have to cut me off back then that's why I didn't say anything. Now that you're back… Let me say the thing I failed to tell you. I've fallen in love with you, my cold-hearted idol, Onoda Ruki. And it never ended."
She then pulled up her phone and opened her gallery folder, in it were pictures of me and it numbered more than a hundred. And well, those pictures were something I've already seen before.
"I asked Akane and the others a favor… Whenever they would get a new picture of you, I asked them to send it to me as well. Just seeing you in this was enough to fuel my desire to meet you again."