章 78: Work Things out
This was the most scared Kouji had ever been in a long while. Which was on a list of things that included believing he was going to get run over by a truck. Those two girls were dangerous and he tried his best to avoid doing anything that would tick them off. Sadly, that had come to an end today.
"So…" Himawari finally spoke up. He held his breath as she talked. "…What have you two been up to?" Her gaze pierce through his heart.
"Well, you see we had some fun with cards and video games." He tried to explain himself, taking advantage of the truth to retain believably. "It was cool. Just a pair of friends hanging out together."
"I confessed to him." Waa said plainly to them. Kouji was knocked speechless at how bold she was being about it. "And we kissed."
"I see." She responded rather quietly.
"Come on." Teru was a bit more upset at the news. "I know we try to hide it, but I know you had an idea about what's going on." It seemed that she had overstepped the line of being fair to the girls. The line where one doesn't try to steal someone that their friend is into.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't just sit on the sidelines anymore." She replied. "Should anyone really just let someone they like be taken?"
"I can respect the argument." Said Himawari. "Even if I don't like it." After all, they do say all's fair in love and war. Right now, Kouji felt like they were teetering on the brink of war, rather than love. "And what about you?" She turned her attention to Kouji. "You've gotten awfully quiet over there."
"…" He was speechless. The boy had no idea on how to respond to this situation. His heart was racing, his cheeks burned like they were on fire. It was like the spotlight shone on him and all eyes stared in anticipation for his next action, his next words. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault." He hung his head down in shame. "If I wasn't so indecisive, none of this would be happening."
Indeed that would be true. If Kouji had simply accepted Himawari's confession, as it was before anyone else. Then he could've just rejected Teru and Waa. There would be some pain to it, but that would've been acceptable to everyone. They would've understood and wouldn't have felt lead on. Now it was too late for that.
"Kouji…" Himawari put a hand over his shoulder. "We all understand that it can't be easy." Considering how she'd feel If rejected, the girl knew that he didn't want to hurt anyone. But that was just a given with how things turned out.
"Yeah, if only there was a way to make this easier." Teru commented. He was relieved that neither of them were angry with what had happened with Waa. That still didn't solve his new problem now that said girl added herself to the mix. However, she did have a way to contribute towards a solution.
"You know, it doesn't have to be that hard." Waa spoke up. "We don't need to wait until he decides to make a choice."
"What do you mean?" He asked, bewildered on what could possibly be an option.
"I mean we all like you. So how about we all date you at the same time?" That sounded crazy to him. Being in a relationship with all of them at the same time? That seemed like an impossible thing to do. "How else are you going to figure out your feelings if you don't at least give us all a shot?"
"I don't know…" He responded, looking over to the other girls with unease. "Is that really something you all can accept?"
"I think I can manage." Himawari's answer shocked him. Was this the same girl he talked with earlier today? Because that was farthest thing he'd ever expect from her.
"Same here." Teru's short response didn't help him in gaining clarity on their sudden change.
"Did I miss something?" He said. "Because you two are acting really weird."
"We've discussed our grievances like proper women." Himawari replied to his inquiry.
"Yeah, we decided to stop being so catty because of you." Teru continued on. "Of course, doesn't look like that stops her from talking like she's smarter than me."
"It doesn't hurt to use the language we're taught." The two of them got into a bit of banter as they finalized this agreement. The four of them walked back to their hotel room, which gave Waa and Kouji ample time to talk.
"I'm surprised you came up with that idea." He said to her, wondering if their arrangement really was the best they could come up with. "Are you really fine if they're intimate with me?"
"I assume we're way past that by now." That much was obvious to her. "But yes. And don't think we're all just going to accept being a part of your harem forever. Those two certainly aren't the type to just share, and I'm not planning on losing either." Though, the main reason she brought this up as a plan was that she did have some doubt in her ability to compete. They were practically idols at school, while she was considered the class weirdo. That's why she needed this more than anyone.
"I understand that." He replied to her as they reached their room.
"Great, well I'm going to go get ready for bed." Said Waa, as she walked towards the bathroom. Kouji grabbed her arm, stopping the girl in her tracks.
"Nuhuhuh, it's your fault that I went through everything I did today. So I'm going first." He brushed her off and entered before she had the chance to counter. Not that she had to strength to, since the girl was very tiny compared to him.
What she said about this harem deal was going to stick on his mind for a long time. It stayed with him even as he washed himself in the bathroom when they returned. He really needed this cleaning after the long and arduous day he just went through.
"A harem huh?" When he was finished, Kouji took a long while to look at himself in the mirror. So he had one of those types of deals. Something that the boy believed only existed in fiction. How was he supposed to balance something like that? Should he keep it a secret? Or, would it be better to be open about their arrangement?
No, Himawari and Teru certainly would want to keep it a secret. They had too much pride to be known as side girls to the one boy that went to their school. Waa might not have cared, but that girl never cared about appearances anyway. It was a little weird to consider her a part of his affection. A girl that most boys would likely never consider in their lives.
This certainly was an interesting position to be in. Kouji wondered how he was going to handle this new role he was given. Not to mention that Yuma and Anastasia were still part of the group. How was he going to avoid them to make all this work?
"Uh, Kouji?" A gentle knock on the bathroom door drew his attention. It was Waa and she was getting impatient with him. "Are you going to be done soon? I haven't went since before we got on the train, and I really gotta go." He couldn't see her beyond that door, but the girl was doing a little bit of an immature dance in front of the others.
"I just finished." He opened the door, to which he pushed right past him to reach the most important destination in her mind. She pushed him out and quickly closed the door, but didn't slam it so as to not wake the other pair of girls.
He was exhausted after a day like today. So the first thing the boy did as he entered their room was to plop his body right to bed. This was very much needed in his mind. What wasn't needed would be the next person to get into bed with him.
"H-Himawari?" He was a bit shocked to see her laying right next to him. They were face to face with a short distance separating them.
"You couldn't have expected all us girls to share one bed, did you?"
"Right, sorry." He forgot that he was going to take a chair to sleep on so they could have both bed. "I'll get out now." His effort on leaving the bed was met with her taking a hand and pushing him back down.
"I think you misunderstand." She said. "I'd like to sleep with you… Well, next to you." In the near darkness, he couldn't see her face all that well. But it was easy to imagine it growing in redness as she admitted this to him.
"Same here." Teru said as she laid down behind him. Now the boy felt a little trapped by these two girls. Especially when Teru took an arm and wrapped herself over him, not allowing any escape. "And you better not tell anyone about this."
"But what about Yuma and Anastasia?" How were they to hide it when two of the people they want to keep it a secret from were sleeping in this same room?
"We'll just get up before they do." Himawari figured she was an early riser. "Besides even if they do catch us, we'll just say we were being nice and let you sleep in a comfy bed instead of the chair."
This was when Waa had finished relieving herself in the bathroom. She opened the door, and without even a second thought, leaped up onto the bed they were laying in. The girl landed right on top of Kouji with the subtly of a wreaking ball. It was a good thing she was relatively lighter than anyone else her age.
"I see we all had the same idea." She chuckled when she saw the other two girls.
"Well I can't sleep if you're going to lay on me like this." He can live with the arrangement here, but that was the line for him. "So can you please just pick a side?"
"Fine with me." Waa slide off of him and towards his back. This led to her getting between him and Teru, much to the latter's chagrin.
"Hey, why'd you pick this side?" She asked with irritation in her voice. "Go lay with Himawari."
"I get a little more space from you than Himawari." A small giggle indicated the small little joke she threw at her.
"Why you…" The jab about her chest size was not well received.
"Come on, let's just get some sleep." Kouji was really tired, and this could all be dealt with later. The girls agreed with him, and it felt like they all inched a little closer to him as they headed to sleep.
It was a little difficult for him to fall asleep amid his surroundings. This was a weird arrangement to have all the girls be considered 'his'. More so that they were okay with it.
For now, at least.
All of this would be coming to an end eventually. That would be when he'd resolve to make his decision. Until that day came, he was going to have to enjoy this newfound peace.
Slowly, he began to drift off to sleep. Mere moments before his mind entered that darkness, he felt the gentle lips from a kiss on his cheeks.
"Sweet… Dreams."
Those were the last words he heard as he drifted off to his slumber.
クリエイターの想い 
bigbear51
bigbear51 We did it. I finally reached the end of the fourth volume. Thanks so much for the comments and sticking with this story so far. It means a lot to me and encourages me to keep up with the story.
Of course I say that, but given the plans I have for December. This might be the last chapter of 2020. We'll see, but I have bright hopes for this story when things really get picking up.
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