"…"
After a brief silence, Ruri avoided Reina's gaze, her cheeks slightly red as she said:
"Ugh~ Fine, I admit it. I've thought about it too, okay? Stop looking at me like that."
Getting the confirmation she wanted, Reina smiled:
"See? If you've thought about it, then there's no need to hesitate."
"If he has a girlfriend, after it's over, if he doesn't want to continue anything with us, then we'll just be normal friends and never bring it up again."
"But if he can't let us go, then we'll compete fairly with that pink-haired girl. If she can't keep her boyfriend, even if it's not us, it'll be someone else. She'll just have to blame herself for not being charming enough~"
"Well… of course, that's if he has a girlfriend. If he doesn't, even better. We'll just enter the stage of competing based on our own abilities."
Listening to her, Ruri nodded in agreement, then looked at Reina with a strange expression:
"Are you really Reina? I can't believe such a decisive and shameless plan came from you, of all people."
"Hey, hey! Don't look down on me."
Sitting on the left side of the sofa, Yukina Sasaki, who had been quietly listening to their discussion, stretched out her long, smooth legs from under her hot pants and lightly kicked Reina, who was bickering with Ruri:
"Hey, why didn't you ask for my opinion before including me in this? I never agreed to any of this~"
Swatting Yukina's foot away, Reina gave her a puzzled look:
"Huh? You don't have feelings for Sasaki? You looked so comfortable and… *ahem*… excited when he was massaging your feet earlier. Are you saying you're just going to sit back and watch us 'have fun' with him?"
"I never expected Yukina to have a cuckold fetish. This is the first time I've discovered that~"
"Remember, when you're eavesdropping outside the door, don't make any noise, okay~"
Yukina was just a little annoyed and curious about why Reina hadn't asked for her opinion, but she hadn't said she wouldn't agree.
Hearing Reina pin this strange attribute on her, she raised her delicate eyebrows and fired back:
"What are you even talking about? What nonsense are you spouting? You're the one with the cuckold fetish!"
"You…"
Clap clap—
Ruri clapped her hands, cutting off the two before their conversation could derail further as she looked at them with a helpless expression:
"Ugh~ Are you two some kind of uncivilized monkeys? How did we end up talking about something so weird?"
After teasing them, she looked up and asked: "So, Yukina, what's your answer?"
Leaning back on the sofa, the girl lowered her eyelids and shrugged, looking resigned:
"Of course, I'm in. The three of us are living here together. You two get to have fun with him while I just watch? Be a decent person, okay?"
Though she had hesitated earlier, once Yukina made up her mind, she became firm and decisive.
After getting her answer, Ruri nodded:
"Since we're all in agreement, the next step is to discuss when to execute the plan."
"Mm… Before that, we need to decide whether we're going one by one or working together as a team."
"Of course, we should work together. Going one by one would take too much time. Besides, that pink-haired girl isn't any worse than us. If we don't give Sasaki a real shock, our chances of winning him over aren't great."
As soon as Ruri finished speaking, Reina gave her opinion.
When she saw the girl named Otome Sakuragi, she immediately felt that she was a strong opponent.
Although Otome was slightly shorter than them, that was the only flaw she could find.
In terms of looks, she was just as good as them. In terms of figure, strictly speaking, Otome's chest might even be a bit bigger.
Plus, she had the advantage of being Sasaki's childhood friend…
Also, she went out earlier to buy groceries at the convenience store, right?
That means she can cook, so her personality probably isn't bad either.
Facing such an unbeatable opponent, if they didn't stick together, how could they possibly win Sasaki over?
Agreeing with Reina's words, Ruri nodded slightly and turned to Yukina:
"That's a good point. What do you think, Yukina?"
The first time… and it's a threesome?
To be honest, Yukina was a bit shy about it.
But since her two friends had no objections, and she herself… well, maybe from the moment she agreed, she didn't really have a choice, so, Yukina reluctantly nodded:
"Let's do it that way, then. What about the timing?"
After pondering for a moment, Ruri said:
"If the three of us are going to do it together, the time after school during club activities probably won't be enough. Plus, doing it at the club wouldn't be very comfortable, and cleaning up would be a hassle."
"If we do it at home… Yuka and Sasaki's childhood friend might come and cause trouble… But Yuka's a college student, so she doesn't have time to be at home every day. And that childhood friend can't be guarding Sasaki all the time either."
"Hmm, Ruri's idea is that it doesn't matter whether it's at home or outside. The important thing is that no one disturbs us, so we need to figure out their schedules in advance."
Yukina, sitting nearby, offered her opinion:
"If that's the case… then let's tentatively set the time for a day off. It'll be easier to keep track of their movements during free time. But what if there's no opportunity? Do we just keep waiting?"
Remembering what Sasaki had said to Yuka earlier while helping them move their luggage, Reina chimed in:
"We can have Sasaki tell his family that he's going to a study group organized by his classmates. That way, even if Yuka is at home, he can still come out."
"But it's best to do it when Yuka and the others aren't home. Since Sasaki was in a car accident, they seem really nervous about him going out alone."
"That's a good idea, but if it's a study group, that pink-haired girl could still tag along, right?" Ruri raised a question.
"Well…"
Since this was the first time for the three of them, they needed to consider every aspect to avoid leaving any bad memories.
Hearing Ruri's question, both Reina and Yukina fell into deep thought.
After sorting through her thoughts for a while, Ruri realized that they didn't know much about Sasaki's family, so any plan they came up with now would feel imperfect and unsuitable.
If that's the case, why not just throw the problem to Sasaki himself?
If Sasaki wants to go out alone, the methods he comes up with himself will definitely be better than the excuses and timing they're trying to come up with for him now.
Realizing this, Ruri Kurumizaka took out her phone and sent Sasaki a message.
[Hey there, Sasaki~] 15:45 「Unread」
Because of Yuka's presence, Ruri didn't directly ask Sasaki if he was free next weekend. Instead, she started with a casual greeting.
After waiting two or three minutes, the message still showed as "unread," and Sasaki was at home…
'Thinking about how Yuka had left in a huff, I think she might be giving Sasaki a hard time right now.'
…Ruri guessed correctly.
Yuka was indeed giving Sasaki a hard time.
After Sasaki returned home, before he could even sit on the sofa and chat with Kyoka, he was dragged into Yuka's room by her, who was visibly angry.
.
.
.
In Yuka's room at the moment.
As soon as Sasaki entered, he lazily lay down on the bed, seemingly oblivious to the girl's bad mood.
His behavior only made Yuka even more annoyed.
With her hands on her hips, just above the small strip of slender, toned waist exposed by her black crop top, she frowned and said to Sasaki:
"Who said you could lie on my bed? Get up!"
Sprawled out on the bed, Sasaki replied lazily. "What's yours is mine, right? Do we really need to draw such a line? Or are you saying you're tired of me?"
Although she was unhappy with Sasaki's earlier behavior at the neighbors' house, his words still made Yuka quite happy.
So, after letting out a light hum to show she was still displeased, she didn't tell Sasaki to get off her bed again. Instead, she climbed onto the bed and straddled him.
Her long, smooth legs, clad in light blue denim shorts, bent at a 90-degree angle, with her knees, tinged with a faint pink, resting on either side of his hips.
Her small, soft hands pressed into the bed on either side of his head as Yuka looked down at her foolish younger brother's flickering eyes, which seemed shy and unsure, and said in a neutral tone. "You seemed pretty happy earlier~"
Tachibana Yuka was tall for a girl, even by male standards.
Her arms were naturally long too.
So, with her arms fully extended and propped on the bed, there shouldn't have been any contact between them under normal circumstances.
But…
Feeling the faint warmth of her chest brushing against his with each breath, and the large expanse of smooth, pale skin visible just a glance downward… Sasaki's breathing grew heavier. After a moment of unsure where to look, he turned his gaze to the side and asked:
"Happy? Not really…"
After a small rebuttal, he muttered softly. "Though I'm pretty happy now."
His voice was quiet, but in the silent room, it was enough for Yuka to vaguely hear.
Noticing her stupid younger brother's lingering gaze on her collarbone and his soft muttering, her anger and dissatisfaction with him instantly dissipated by more than half.
Realizing that she still had a strong hold over this idiot, and that it hadn't diminished because of the three little thieves next door, Yuka began to subtly bend her arms and sway her body slightly, saying:
"Not happy? Then why didn't you move at all when I said we were leaving earlier?"
"…"
'You can't accuse me of not wanting to leave just because I was slow to get up.'
That's the logic, but you can't say it like that… If Sasaki said that, she could easily retort with, "So you're saying it's my fault?" and leave him speechless.
After "taking care of" Kyoka and Koharu, Sasaki no longer needed to keep his distance from her, so there was no point in arguing with her about this…
At the end of the day, she was just jealous, and the best way to handle that was to give her more affection.
Thinking about it, Sasaki's hands naturally slid around Yuka's slender, smooth waist,
In her surprised gaze, her gently kissed her cheek and asked:
"Sister Yuka, are you jealous?"
Being held by the boy she liked and even kissed by him… Yuka's sharp, fierce eyebrows gradually softened, and a faint blush spread across her porcelain-like cheeks.
Not resisting the embrace she had been longing for, she relaxed her body under his gentle pull and leaned fully onto him.
Enjoying the warmth that seemed to melt her through their thin clothing,
Her arms, soft as noodles, wrapped around Sasaki's neck as she lowered her head, pressing her cheek against his, and whispered softly:
"Mhm~"
Seeing her admit it, Sasaki gently stroked her long, ink-black hair and said in a soft, happy voice:
"Sister Yuka, you're actually jealous because of me… Is it…"
Teasingly, he didn't finish the sentence, instead, he just played with her heartstrings, tempting her to confess her feelings.
After waiting a moment and not hearing her stupid younger brother continue, Yuka guessed he might not believe she could like him, especially since she usually didn't treat him very kindly…
Looking for reasons within herself and not wanting to miss this rare opportunity where he was being proactive, she tightened her arms around his neck, pressed against him, and whispered into his ear.
"Yes~ I…"
*Knock knock~*
"Sister Yuka, is Fuyumi in there?"
The sudden voice of Otome outside the door nearly made Yuka choke.
The confession that was on the tip of her tongue felt like a fishbone stuck in her throat, making her want to cry.
The frustration, resentment, and anger toward Otome made her grit her teeth involuntarily…
"Sister Yuka, that hurts~"
Sasaki had been close to many girls and had heard them say "it hurts" to him, but this was the first time he was the one saying it.
But there was no helping it.
No matter how thick-skinned he was, his ears were still sensitive.
"Huh? Fuyumi, what did you say?"
Hearing Fuyumi's voice from inside the room but not catching what he said, Otome, who had come up to ask what he wanted for dinner, asked curiously.
"Nothing, nothing, I'll open the door."
Responding to Otome outside the door,
Sasaki patted Yuka, who was still clinging to him, looking both aggrieved and deflated, and said:
"Sister Yuka…"
Not wanting to let go of this opportunity, not wanting to open the door for Otome,
But Yuka was now filled with frustration.
The mood was ruined, and no matter how unwilling she was, she couldn't salvage the moment.
She wanted to vent, to get angry, to yell, to throw things.
But she couldn't scare this idiot, or risk losing the little affection he had for her.
So, in the end, she lifted herself off him, sat on the edge of the bed, and waved her hand irritably.
Having already "taken care of" Kyoka and Koharu, winning over Yuka was only a matter of time.
Sasaki didn't show any particular emotion about Otome's interruption… In fact, he even felt a bit relieved.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with confessing to Yuka when the mood was right.
But in his ideal scenario, the right time to confess to her would be when she found out about his relationship with Kyoka or Koharu.
After all, only then would she reluctantly accept it… Well…
.
.
.