Awkward situation. That’s the only thing I can think of right now.
But why is Himari here!?
“Tachibana-san?” - Hotaru asked, and just like me, he was surprised.
“Hey, Hirose-kun. You know, I noticed that you weren’t acting like your usual self today, so I went to your house to bring you these takoyaki... After all, if you’re feeling down, you can at least feel bad with a full belly, right?” - Her voice was clearly trembling.
“Tachibana...” - Hotaru couldn’t say anything.
“So... you two are dating? Hehe... well, I guess I can only congratulate you.” - Himari said.
“Thank you, Tachibana-san.” - Erina nee-san said without any hesitation.
As for Hotaru, I wonder what he will do now.
“Thank you, Tachibana-san. And sorry for making you worry.” - So this is his choice.
Tachibana-san was smiling, but her tears couldn’t stop overflowing. She tried to wipe them away with her hands, but it was useless. The more she wiped, the more tears came out.
“I’ll be going now... sob... sob... See you tomorrow... sob...”
Then she started running.
“Hotaru-kun, won’t you try to go after her?” - Erina nee-san asked.
Why? Is... is she being sarcastic?
“I already decided to go out with you. I can’t go after her.” - Hotaru said.
“I see... You really are a wonderful man!”
I don’t know what happened between those two, and it’s not my place to tell them how they should handle their relationship. After all, if these two love each other, then I can only support them.
But there’s only one thing that I want to say...
Or actually, do.
“Hotaru... grit your teeth.”
“Okay.”
“HOTARU! TOMOKI!? What are you doing!?” - Erina nee-san screamed.
I ignored her and walked toward Hotaru.
“Can you guess why I did this?”
“...Because I hurt her feelings... I don’t have any excuses.” - Hotaru replied.
“Hurt!? No, Hotaru. You TOYED with her feelings.”
“Wait, no! You’re wrong, Tomoki! I just decided to stay with Morikawa nee-san.”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that you toyed with her. You spent time with her, and more than that, you knew how she felt about you... After all, I told you about her feelings because I trusted you. What happened, Hotaru? Weren’t you the one who said you would stay by Himari’s side no matter what? Everything you told me was a lie!? Are you really the Hotaru I know!?”
“...” - Hotaru remained silent.
“Hey! Answer me!” - I couldn’t contain my anger.
“It’s... my fault...” - Erina nee-san mumbled, but I could hear her.
“What?” - I asked.
“Hotaru-kun, please, go after Tachibana-san. If you like her, then there’s nothing stopping you aside from yourself.”
“But nee-san, are you really okay with this? You said that you love me. I can’t understand.”
“I love you, and not only me, but that girl too. It’s just... we’re so desperate because you and my little brother have the same stubbornness. You don’t need to think too hard. You just need to spend your time with the two of us... No, let me rephrase that. You just need to allow us to spend our time with you.”
Hotaru suddenly slapped his own cheek, realizing what he needed to do.
“That won’t do, Morikawa nee-san. I’ll make sure to care for all of you with everything I’ve got. It’s a promise.”
“Fufu~, see? That’s why we fell in love with you. Now... go after her.”
Hotaru nodded and went after Himari as fast as possible.
Now only Erina nee-san and I were left in the park.
“Tomoki-kun, why did you hit him? Aren’t you supposed to be his best friend?”
“That’s why I punched him. Because there’s no way I would just let my best friend turn into a scumbag. I admit that what I did wasn’t the right choice, but even so, there’s no chance I would allow him to become one.”
“Then hit me...”
“Huh!?”
“Yeah. Hit me!”
“Why!?”
“Because I’m the one who deserves to be punched, not him! Because he... he... sob... in the very end, decided to be with her.” - Erina nee-san suddenly started crying.
“Can you tell me what happened earlier this morning?”
Then she started explaining everything to me.
It seems Hotaru went to the park because he was worried about her rather than because he had feelings for her. Since she noticed that, she felt that if she didn’t try anything, she would lose him forever.
So she took a risk.
Since I told her that he saw her as a beautiful woman and had even considered dating her, she decided to get closer to him and see if she could seduce him. If he pushed her away, then that would mean it was hopeless and there was nothing she could do.
But he didn’t.
He simply warned her that she shouldn’t get too close to a man that easily.
So she became bolder. She started pressing herself closer to him and slowly moved her lips toward his.
And so they kissed.
She even added that things got a little intense between them, but I asked her to spare me the details.
“See? I deserve to be punished, not him... After all, I was aware of his feelings.”
“Okay, I got it, Erina nee-san. Look, what you did isn’t something to be praised, and I don’t even know how things will go from now on. I don’t even know if I should apologize to Himari since I encouraged her to go after Hotaru without any worries after asking about his intentions. I can only hope that everything will be okay.”
“Sorry, Tomoki-kun. You must be disappointed in me.”
To be fair, I kind of am.
For me, she’s a strong woman who would get over this and just move on like she did the last time.
But at the same time, I was aware of how painful it was for her, and how difficult it must be for her since we’re in this kind of world.
That’s why I can’t bring myself to be mad at her.
“~Sigh~ I would say that you exceeded my expectations. I mean, you actually used the honey trap move.” - I tried to lighten her mood.
“...Or, in a sense... I kind of... committed a crime.”
“Well, let’s stop thinking about this for now. So... should we wait here or...?”
“Oh! You can go back. I’ll wait here just in case.”
“Sorry, I would wait with you, but I kind of need to use the restroom.”
And so I headed back home.
But on the way, I saw something that kind of surprised me.
I mean, I just realized that I was walking along the same path that Himari had run down.
Well, if you think about it, Himari’s car should be nearby, around Hotaru’s house after all.
Yep, they were kissing.
Kind of fast, if I must say. Already kissing...
Well, I guess I don’t need to worry about my sister, Himari, or Hotaru anymore, right?
Actually, it’s a huge relief.
From now on, Hotaru will be the one who has to deal with all this.
Good luck, my friend.
Because I’m gonna take at least a nap after everything I’ve been through.
By the way, Hotaru...
Did you notice that Aunt Kanae is right beside you?
“HO-TA-RU!? What the hell are you TWO doing!?”
Let’s go to the restroom.
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