I'm not going to lie. Seeing Hana still acting the same despite all her blunders these past few days was amusing and charming for me.
She was more than aware that it had no effect on me, yet, for what it's worth, the girl just wouldn't let it go. Perhaps she wanted to be different from the others, the same way Shizu kept holding onto her hopes for the future. Who knows?
In any case, with her understandable reasoning of being overwhelmed by my complex relationship, it was all up to her on how to proceed from that. Forcing her wouldn't really bear any fruit.
Besides, because of what happened a few days ago when I granted her request, Hana placed herself in a position where she's already the same as my girls, albeit only in certain conditions.
And due to that, even if I managed to deflect Kushii's attempt to push the girl to me, I still found myself together with Hana when it was time for us to leave.
The girl followed me in taking out the trash to the incinerator area behind the Administration Building.
As for that gyaru who became listless after being teased, she escaped right away once she finished sweeping and scooping the dirt into the trash can.
To think that a gyaru would be that flustered, their depiction in anime and manga must be wrong, no? They're supposed to be skillful teasers. But then again, against me who's a master of that art, the result was inevitable.
Come tomorrow, I doubt I would change the way I act in front of her. She's Chii's friend and by extension, she's also a friend to me. And with how genuine her reaction earlier was, I expect to think twice before pulling the same thing against me.
Since she's going to their club, Kushii would probably tell Chii and An-rin what happened. And knowing my fake gyaru and her friend, they'd probably laugh at it and turn it into good humor.
Ah. I would be expecting that fake gyaru to message me about it though. You know, to find out if I am interested in her friend.
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On our way to the incinerator area, Hana silently followed half a step behind me. Somehow, instead of acting more forward with her attempts to steal me, she's now acting a little considerate.
Not that I was expecting her to make a move but given that she decided to follow me, seeing her not doing anything was kind of strange or maybe unusual. Unlike the first two days when she's always finding her chance to approach me, she's now waiting for me to be the first to make a move.
But thinking about it, she's probably holding onto that request of hers. To have me treat her the same way I treat my girls.
Yeah. That seems to be the case.
Upon taking the turn that led us in between the two buildings, I paused in my steps and glanced back at the girl.
And sure enough, although she was just keeping up with my steps with her hands clasped in front of her, I caught her staring at my back, looking a little impatient.
Stretching my hand out to her, I asked, "Alright… Princess, will you be comfortable with holding my hand?"
Glancing down at it, Hana's lips naturally curled upwards as she impishly replied, "Heh. Who's your princess? Isn't it Kumiya?"
This girl… To use what happened earlier here. Does she not want me to make a move on her? Anyway, that Kumiya is Kushii.
Let's see, the best response to this should be…
"Is there anyone else here? But if you want me to chase after Kushii then… I'll do it."
I could tease her back but well, I found it a hassle to do so at this moment. Besides, with what little time we have, getting the best of it should be in order.
With her expression remaining the same, Hana shook her head lightly. Then, after a moment's pause, she grabbed my hand, clasped our fingers together and took her place on my side, "I now have no doubt that you're kind of an idiot, Ruki. A lovable idiot."
"With how many times I heard that, I'm already taking that as a compliment. Also having that adjective attached to it, it's even more endearing. Thank you."
Upon saying that, I tightened my grip on her hand to ensure that she was comfortable with it before resuming our walk.
Fortunately, not a lot of students were around in this part of the school. Strolling like this with our connected hands was more than possible. I mean, I could even bring her into one corner and satisfy my desire for her if I wished to.
But this image was kinda bad though. I am holding a trash bag on my right while holding the girl's hand on my left. That's not a usual sight.
Anyway, in response to my words, Hana's genuine smile appeared, albeit only for a moment. If I have to guess, this girl was still skeptical that I was holding up the end of my bargain.
I couldn't really blame her on that when I was always pointing out to her that my girls are on top of my priorities.
A while later, the task to take the trash to the incinerator was done. And while we didn't stay there for long, I used that moment to further prove to her that I'm treating her like my girls. I faced Hana and kissed her again, the same way I kissed her that night in her house.
Although brief, I got to see the same smile again. And I guess that's more than enough to satisfy me.
That's not the case for Hana, though. The girl clearly wanted more but with her silence, I could certainly see that she was afraid of my rejection in case she asked for an extension of my time with her.
Somehow, she was changing too quickly or I was just not used to her being like this. Besides, I asked her to think of another request yet she still has yet to come up with it.
In any case, with my head still focused on satisfying the girl, I brought her somewhere else.
Instead of continuing to the Literature Club which she's also a part of now, we stopped by one of the empty clubrooms.
"Ruki?" Looking around the clubroom, Hana called out my name. After taking in everything, she turned around to face me with her lips stretched into an amused grin, "Is this your way of saying you're going to be mine?"
"Yes. But if you rephrased it into this, 'I'm yours while we're in this room.'"
"Hmm… Okay, that's good enough for me." Compared to earlier when she was almost silent and careful about what she was going to say, Hana became a little livelier now that we were alone.
It's like she took off her mask as well as the restraints she put on herself.
Then, taking a step forward, the girl reached for my hand again as she daringly led me to the nearest chair. She pushed me down on it before taking my lap.
And as her arms crossed behind me, she pushed her lips to my ear and whispered, "Ruki, I'm one step closer to stealing you from them. Am I right?"
Look at this girl, I've given her an inch and she's now taking a mile.
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