Oh no!
Even someone as thick-skinned as Nagasaki Soyo was instantly thrown into a panic.
She'd been so nervous when she came in that she forgot to lock the door, and now she was practically entangled with Haru in an extremely compromising position. If someone walked in, it'd be obvious at a glance.
At the exact moment her mind went blank, Haru, who had quickly recovered from his shock, scooped her up without a word and carried her toward the wardrobe.
There was no time to think. In a panic, Soyo-san yanked open the wardrobe door and dove inside.
Click!
Just as the wardrobe door closed, the room door opened in sync, and a small pink head peeked in from the doorway.
Haru's hand was still resting on the wardrobe door. His heart was pounding in his chest, but he forced his expression into a calm, composed mask and stared at the unexpected intruder with a strange look in his eyes.
"Well? What are you up to?"
In a flash, Haru returned to his cool demeanor, as if he had expected her arrival all along.
"Eh?! So you weren't asleep after all, Haru?"
"I was. But your knocking woke me up."
Seeing Chihaya Anon's cute, slightly clueless smile, Haru felt his racing heart finally start to settle.
That was close, way too close. Soyo and Anon almost ran into each other!
Those two were oil and water, completely incompatible. If Anon-san caught sight of Soyo in that... questionable situation, she'd absolutely blow up on the spot.
And if that turned into a shouting match, they might even wake up the girls sleeping deeply downstairs. If that happened, things would get very ugly.
"Hehe, sorry~"
The pink-haired girl poked out her tongue as she apologized softly. Her fair cheeks were tinged with a faint nervous blush, but she still slipped into the room and quietly shut the wooden door behind her.
Once she confirmed it was just her and Haru in the room, she gave him a playful little smile and whispered, "Haru, can I come in?"
"...You're already in, aren't you?"
Haru rolled his eyes at Anon's habit of doing things first and asking permission later. His usually unreadable black eyes flicked subtly toward the wardrobe.
Surprisingly, Soyo-san was staying completely still. Not a sound, not even a rustle, had come from her hiding place since this started.
So far, so good.
Judging by Pinky's clueless expression, she hadn't noticed that Soyo wasn't in the bed. As long as she didn't get the urge to go rummaging through the wardrobe, they might just make it through this.
"Don't sweat the details! I really am sorry for waking you up, but I just couldn't sleep!"
"Haru, do you think… you could talk with me for a bit?"
Talk, huh? More like you've got one thing on your mind, and it's not conversation.
Though he was mentally rolling his eyes, Haru didn't have it in him to turn down his pink-haired girlfriend's request. With a small sigh of mock surrender, he said, "Fine. Come sit."
"Yay~!"
With a small cheer, the pink one clenched her tiny fists and blushed as she walked toward Haru.
From the moment she stepped into the dimly lit room, her heart had been pounding faster. Her cheeks glowing red, Chihaya Anon moved stiffly, like a crab, before finally sitting beside Haru. They were so close, their thin pajamas practically touching, it felt like they could sense each other's body heat through the fabric.
Anon, who had been a bundle of nerves just moments ago, suddenly grew eerily calm.
Did I really pull it off?
A moment alone with no one to interrupt, and at such a suggestive time of night, in a setting ripe with implication!
If everything went smoothly, then next would probably be...
Seeing the red-faced pink girl go quiet, Haru raised an eyebrow and asked softly, "So then, Anon-san, what did you want to talk about?"
"Ahaha~ Honestly, I don't really have anything specific in mind! I just wanted to be near you and talk, you know? As long as I'm with you, Haru, it doesn't matter what we talk about."
Her usually cheerful voice trembled ever so slightly.
Resting against him, Anon tilted her head up to look at him. Her ears were burning red, even in the dim light, and she looked so beautiful, like some mystical fairy out of a dream.
It didn't matter what they talked about.
The implication, naturally, was that it didn't matter what they did, either.
For someone to say something like that, it was blatantly obvious what was going on in Anon-san's little head. If there happened to be a "Yes/No" couple's pillow on the bed right now, she'd absolutely be hugging the "Yes" side to her chest.
Haru slowly lowered his gaze and muttered, his black eyes deep as a void, "...I think I've figured it out. When it comes to being lewd, you're definitely the worst offender."
"Ha?! Who are you calling lewd?!"
Anon's cheeks flushed crimson the instant Haru called her out. She grabbed his collar and gave him a fierce chomp.
Her little fangs gleamed in defiance, showing just how offended she was. Even with her thick skin, she couldn't deny it.
After all, she could fool others, but she couldn't fool herself.
Her brain was constantly swimming in a sea of pink fantasies. There was no way she wasn't lewd.
Her face burning red, Anon furrowed her brows and, realizing they were alone in the room, finally gave up pretending. She stopped wearing that mask of restraint.
Like Reiner and Bertholdt giving up their cover, she burst out in a mix of shame and frustration.
"That's right!"
"You caught me, okay?! So what if I'm that kind of girl?! What, are you gonna hate me now just because I think that way? Besides, don't think I don't know… you're a total perv too, Haru!"
What the hell? Since when did the pink one learn how to counterattack?!
She'd flipped the accusation right back on him, and Haru couldn't exactly argue. After all, if he was serious about building a harem, there was no way he wasn't a perv.
His face froze mid-rebuttal, but just as he was about to say something, Anon-san, who had just been blushing furiously, suddenly got aggressive.
"I've already laid it all out there!"
"Don't tell me you're one of those guys with dirty thoughts but no guts to act on them?"
In the blink of an eye, the pink-haired girl began acting smug. She pursed her cherry lips and looked up at Kazami Haru with a glint of soft, watery light in her lowered silver-gray eyes. Her already flushed, burning cheeks only served to accentuate her charm. Even her ears and neck were now flushed a vivid red.
Click~
He was standing at attention. Everywhere.
Provoked like that, Haru narrowed his eyes slightly. His reason was hanging by a thread.
Meanwhile, hidden inside the wardrobe, Nagasaki Soyo sucked in a sharp breath. Her eyes trembled as she peered through the crack at the scene unfolding outside. This humiliating betrayal playing out right in front of her eyes had ignited a blaze of fury. She was almost at her limit.
That vixen!
"Eep?!"
Anon let out a startled, breathy gasp as she was suddenly pushed down onto the bed.
But she didn't resist in the slightest. Her flushed face merely turned to the side, eyes locking onto Haru's with heated intensity. Her breathing grew ragged in time with her pounding heart. Even though it was already autumn, her whole body was heating up fast.
Her body went limp on the spot…
Guess she really was the weak one here. Even this much, and she was already waving the white flag.
A mix of nervousness and anticipation flickered in Anon's eyes, but her words were still sharp and challenging.
"I'm always the one initiating our kisses. Harumi... you think you'd even dare go further?"
As soon as she said it, she held her breath and gently closed her eyes, as if fully expecting what would happen next.
That vulnerable, inviting look on her face nearly snapped Haru's last thread of restraint. Fortunately, he remembered there was still a certain Soyo-san hiding in the wardrobe. He reached out with a blank expression and gave Anon's cheek a firm pinch.
Haru held back, but Soyo certainly wasn't going to.
Watching her beloved husband struggle to stay calm, Soyo's breathing grew heavier. There was no way she could just sit there and let herself be cheated on like this.
No way in hell.
Thump thump~
Just as she was about to charge out with a frosty glare, a soft and unexpected knock broke the silence of the room.
All three froze on the spot.
Still caught in the steamy atmosphere, the pink-haired menace bolted upright in panic. Her silver-gray eyes darted wildly as she looked to Haru, silently pleading for direction.
Haru's gaze flicked to the door lock, as if remembering something vital. Anon followed his eyes, and that's when it hit her, she hadn't locked the door!
If whoever was out there just barged in… Anon didn't even want to imagine what might happen next.
Drawing on experience from earlier, Haru suddenly leaned in close and whispered in her ear.
"Anon, just hide somewhere for now."
Anon nodded furiously, her panicked gaze sweeping the room.
Just as Haru reached down to shove her under the bed, the pink-haired whirlwind pulled off a backward roll, sprang to her feet, and without waiting for his cue, swiftly opened the wardrobe and dove inside in the blink of an eye.
"..."
Haru's expression froze as he stared at the wardrobe. He didn't even know what to say anymore.
Anon, finally able to breathe inside the cramped wardrobe, turned her head and immediately locked eyes with Nagasaki Soyo's deadpan stare.
The moment she saw her, Anon's eyes widened in shock.
She instantly realized why Soyo was here, and her lips twitched in fury. Still, she lowered her voice, hissing in disbelief, "Soyorin! Why the hell are you here?! Wait, did you sneak in?!"
"...You're one to talk! You pink-haired homewrecker!"
Already fuming, Soyo remembered the way Anon had just acted with Haru and snapped. She shoved the girl to the side, and Anon, not one to be outdone, retaliated by grabbing Soyo's cheek.
Two rivals, locked in a cramped wardrobe, started grappling without mercy.
It wasn't until Haru coughed softly and opened the door that they finally, barely, managed to quiet down.
Still, one question burned in both their minds.
Who's the new intruder?
That thought hit them at the exact same time, and a soft, timid voice drifted in from outside the wardrobe.
"Sorry… I couldn't really sleep…"
The voice was soft, slightly hoarse, and unmistakably familiar. Both girls inside the wardrobe instantly recognized it.
The third girlfriend in this house, Takamatsu Tomori.
No one had expected her to show up in the middle of the night, of all people.
And now… all three girlfriends were gathered in this one small room?
Haru felt a migraine brewing. He took a deep breath to steel himself and adjusted his expression.
Standing at the door was the little penguin herself, timidly raising her head. Dressed in a thin pair of pajamas and hugging a pillow to her chest, she looked especially delicate and heart-meltingly adorable.
Forget everything else, once he saw that little penguin, he couldn't think straight anymore.
"It's cold tonight, Tomori. Come in, quick."
His voice was instantly gentle and warm. The two girls hidden in the wardrobe froze, exchanging glances as they both sensed the same thing.
An odd sense of mutual sympathy was beginning to fill the air between them.
Tomori, dressed in her checkered sleepwear, nodded shyly and stepped inside. Haru immediately shut the door and locked it. No way Ultraman was gonna fumble three times in a row.
After the last two near-disasters, his heart couldn't take much more. No way he was forgetting something as crucial as locking the door again.
The little penguin looked around curiously as she stepped in, then blushed and slowly sat down on the bed.
Worried she might catch a chill, Haru took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. The nervous penguin gradually began to relax.
"S-sorry… I probably woke you up, huh?"
"I wasn't asleep anyway. And besides, I wouldn't mind if you interrupted me more often. If there's ever anything you want to talk about, just come find me."
With a smile, Haru reached out to gently comb through her soft, pale gray hair. Tomori's lips curled into a quiet smile under his touch.
She had spent so much time tending to everyone else's relationships, there hadn't been many chances to be alone with Haru. Of course she longed for more of his warmth.
Haru was like the sun itself.
As long as she stayed by his side, she'd never stop moving forward again.
Tomori basked in her boyfriend's head pats, her eyes soft and dazed like a small animal. She slowly raised her arms in a shy little gesture asking for a hug.
It was so adorable that Haru couldn't resist. It was like being hit with a Geass spell. His body moved on its own before his brain even had time to think.
"...So warm."
The little penguin mumbled softly as she nuzzled into his chest.
She was the comfiest type of girl to hug, like a human marshmallow. Petite, warm, and snuggly, she felt like a living space heater.
If he could cuddle with her as a pillow, Haru might just get the best sleep of his life.
But even as she enjoyed the hug and head pats, Tomori hadn't forgotten her true goal.
She hadn't come here because she couldn't sleep.
Wakaba Mutsumi had asked her—no, tasked her to come find Haru tonight no matter what.
If things went well, she was even supposed to seal the deal with him.
If Soyo knew this, she'd immediately realize this was Mutsumi's parting move. Even if she wasn't physically here, Mutsumi wasn't about to leave Soyo unchecked.
Mutsumi understood all too well, there was no way Soyo would pass up a night like this.
Even if Tomori couldn't seal the deal, she had to at least sabotage Soyo's plan.
Haru had no idea what kind of war was raging in that little penguin brain right now. As he held her close, he noticed the pillow she brought with her.
He made a quiet, thoughtful remark.
"Come to think of it, you brought a pillow. Were you planning to sleep here with me?"
"...S-sorry! Was that... not okay?"
Tomori hugged the pillow tighter to her chest, burying her flaming red face into it like she was possessed.
She didn't know how to react anymore. What would Haru say? What if he thought she was being too much?
She'd woken him up and barged in, just to sleep beside him.
No matter how you looked at it, she was being a pretty selfish girl…
"..."
Haru stared at the trembling little penguin in his arms. She looked so guilty, so fragile, he just couldn't bring himself to say no.
But he couldn't say yes either.
Not with two jealous girlfriends hiding in the wardrobe.
If he agreed to let Tomori sleep over, those two ticking time bombs were bound to explode.
Bang bang!
A much louder knock suddenly echoed at the door.
Another one?!
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