Catching up to Hifumi and matching her strides, the first few minutes of our walk were spent in an awkward and heavy silence

Obviously, that was my fault. My honest trait ruined it. Reflecting on that scene earlier, I sounded forceful and a little desperate to let her know how I want to stand next to her again. Evidently, Hifumi didnt share the same sentiment.

If I only stuck to wanting to help her carry her books, it probably wouldnt devolve into this kind of situation. Wed be joking at this moment and I would be teasing her like last time when she heated up right away. And then, she would be smiling or laughing instead of having this unusual gloom.

Unfortunately, I made that blunder. Speaking up about whats on my mind and what Im feeling for her sabotaged that kind of possibility.

But do I regret it? Regrettably, I dont. Like I said, better to come out clean now than delude myself that I was only being good to her.

I hoped that shed be as stupidly honest as me.

But thats not what happened, Hifumi isnt stupid like me. Shes the kind of girl who will not easily commit to something shes unsure of. But at the same time, once she commits to something, shes not just going to quit halfway.

The prime example is her due diligence to keep up with being always at the top of her class or school. Even if I dont ask her, she surely took the top spot again this past midterm exam. Moreover, the books that I am carrying at the moment have already been read by her more times than I can count, yet shes still carrying them to refresh her mind and not forget it.

Anyone can imagine how dedicated she is to something

When I stole her back then, she was the one who resisted me the most. But then when I finally succeeded, I remembered how shes the one who stuck close to me most of the time.

Chii only waited for an opportunity. Hana, if I still remember correctly, shes the one creating opportunities for us.

According to Akane, when the topic of our conversation at night went to the first three girls that I stole, while Hana was the one shes the wariest of or in her words, hated the most at that time, Hifumi was the one that was seen the closest to me.

I was unaware but apparently, most of our schoolmates and classmates saw us as a thing because of how I was often seen with her.

It goes to show how nave I was back then

Anyway, ten minutes later, we arrived in a rather bustling neighborhood. There were various establishments around like a convenience store, family restaurants, internet and manga caf, and other businesses that catered to the common populace.

I havent been here before so its still a new sight.

At this point, Hifumi stopped in her steps and turned to me. Looking up to meet my gaze, the girl forced a smile and said, Thank you, here is fine. My house is right over that street.

She then pointed at a street where the convenience store and internet cafe were situated. That place was the most bustling and I could see people walking in and out of it.

Are you sure? I can walk you to your gate

No I don't want you to Hifumi averted her gaze as though she didnt want to complete her sentence.

If I assumed what she meant by that, she probably didnt want to know where shes living currently.

I see I returned a smile, not letting her see that my mind came up with a reason. Shed surely be disappointed if the reason wasnt what I assumed.

I shook my head inwardly to cast that off before handing the books to her. Im going then See you later.

Un See you. Hifumis smile disappeared from her lips. Even if its forced, its a sight to behold.

But now that it disappeared, I somehow found my chest hurts a bit.

Well, I controlled my facial expression and didnt show it to her.

She made a decision. Who am I to appeal to her by showing an expression I never showed her before?

When the girl started walking away from me, I watched her departing back, slightly hoping that shed turn around and run back to me.

However, until she crossed the street and disappeared among the crowd coming into that street, she never looked behind her.

Well, theres no way I would blame her for doing so At least, I should be content that I accomplished what I initially wanted to do by approaching her.

Escorting her home.

Rekindling what we had before might be tricky in the end. No. Not just tricky, it might even be impossible.

Even if Hifumi also had lingering feelings for me, she wouldnt easily dive into it knowing that my change was far from what everyone was expecting.

Furthermore, its only a coincidence that I found her waiting there

Turning around to retrace my steps and go back to my original route, I found my legs heavier than normal.

What is this feeling?

I guess I felt a little lost and defeated. Yet even if I could easily turn that around by chasing after the girl, I chose not to.

Its still her choice, after all.

Fifteen minutes later, I returned to the waiting shed where I found her. My return walk was slower and thats due to my mind wandering off for the most part.

Since I was going to meet another one of my girls, I sat down first to clear my mind. Its bad if I showed up looking like a wet chick, it would just worry Ririka.

While doing so, I pulled up my phone and checked on the messages of my other girls. There were the praises I received from the worried girls who urged me to take the cold medicine. Then theres Nao who sent a video, showcasing to me another one of her crafts. Ririka, who I was going to meet, also sent a photo asking me to choose among the wigs that would fit Yue. And lastly, theres Miho who sent me another record of her piano plays and asked me what I think of it.

Through interacting with them like that, my mood gradually returned to normal and my smile naturally crept up again as I enjoyed every moment I spent with them.

I was about to go when I received another message from someone I didnt expect.

Yep It was from the girl that I probably upset today Hifumi.

Its a simple message that says, Ruki, thanks again. I arrived home safely and I just came out of the bath.

Following that, she sent a sticker that depicted an animated glasses girl bowing her head with her hand joined together in apology.

While soaking in the warm water, I reflected. I feel like Ive been a difficult girl earlier. I shouldve said something, right? You carried my books like the old times, something I wished for to happen again and yet I just had to act like that

Even if her message was in text form, I could feel the concern she was trying to convey to me

Thats why before she could finish typing her next messages, I tapped the call button.

Five seconds later, she accepted it.

As soon as I heard the sound of her breathing on the other side, I beamed a smile and said in a clear voice, Hey, thats not an answer to my confession, right?

Perhaps she didnt expect me to say that, I heard her gasp before a loud clicking of her tongue ensued, Youre as shameless as ever. I see. And here I am worried that I hurt you.

Well, she did. But thats not something I should tell her, right?

Hifumi, who do you think I am? Someone as shameless as me had no time to be hurt Im actually thinking about how I can reach you again You see, I miss you.

Hold up I dont want to hear what youre going to say to me next.

Is that a no?

No, of course not!

You know that answer is confusing, right?

Like I care! But Ruki I miss you too

As soon as her last word reached my ears, the call ended.

That girl She intentionally ended it, running away again.

Yet, even if she did that, hearing her voice again and the words she said in response to mine, my mood was greatly lifted.

Were not yet over