Because his reaction had been so strong, the gaze disappeared too quickly.
Sasaki walked around the area but found nothing suspicious or out of place.
However, since he had determined that the person wasn't highly dangerous, there was no need to pursue the matter further.
If she had such strong feelings for him, she would eventually reveal herself.
With nothing else to do, he might as well try to guess who it was.
He didn't remember provoking any girl with this kind of personality.
Running through the list of people he knew in his mind, Sasaki still hadn't figured it out by the time he got home.
However, turning onto the straight road leading to his house, his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar female voice not far away.
"Really? How is your whole family so strong... Uh, I don't mean anything by that, Yuka-nee."
"Tsk~ Koharu, Mom, have you been secretly working out behind my back? How are you stronger than me now? You used to be weaker..."
"And Rinka, with your skinny arms and legs, when did you get so strong? What's going on with you guys?"
"Uh... No, I just woke up feeling like this."
"..."
Raising his gaze, Sasaki's eyes fell on the girls helping Hamasaki move.
Since he had turned the corner and was now facing the back of the van, he could clearly see their fair, exposed thighs.
They were so white they practically glowed.
Quickening his pace with his bag slung over his shoulder, Sasaki walked up to them:
"Hello~ I'm back to help."
Hearing the familiar voice, Yuka, who had been feeling puzzled and frustrated, turned around and pulled the approaching figure into her arms, pressing his neck and ruffling his hair:
"You dare come back? You left early in the morning and only just got back. Speak! Where have you been?"
Tightly held in Yuka's slender but noticeably muscular arms, enjoying the softness of her thin clothes,
Sasaki gently patted her twice, signaling her to ease up, and explained to the other girls who were looking over:
"It was a study group invitation from a classmate. I couldn't refuse."
"But you should've told us! Disappearing early in the morning without a word, we were worried~"
Rolling his eyes, Sasaki asked:
"Yuka-nee, what time did you wake up?"
"..."
Frowning slightly, the girl tightened her grip and said:
"Don't worry about when I woke up. You left without telling us, and now you're trying to justify it?"
Because he had a history of getting into accidents when going out alone, even Kyoka and Koharu sided with Yuka.
The main reason they had moved in with him was to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't get into trouble.
Hmm... Although Kyoka and Koharu felt he had recovered, it was still something to be cautious about.
"Fuyumi~"
Koharu, who had always been very attentive to him, rescued him from Yuka's arms and called out with concern.
Kyoka also cast a worried glance his way.
Swallowing the words "Didn't I reply to your messages?" Sasaki nodded and assured them:
"Got it~ I'll let you know when I go out next time."
"It's a rare day off. I just wanted to let you all rest a bit more."
"..."
Beside her, holding a suitcase, Reina Hamazaki reached out and pulled Sasaki's younger sister, a girl named Rinka Okino, close, whispering to her:
"Why do Yuka and the others react so strongly to Sasaki going out? Has something happened to him before?"
Even though she was only one grade below them... they treated her as if she were a middle schooler.
Being tall doesn't make you special.
Feeling a bit resentful, Rinka Okino, who had learned from Yuka that the person moving next to Fuyumi's house today was his classmate, had been speculating about their relationship.
Now that Reina spoke to her, she smiled and explained:
"Well, because Fuyumi recently..."
After briefly mentioning the car accident, Rinka leaned closer and asked. "Reina, you introduced yourself as my brother's classmate... um... do you really just see him as a classmate? Or do you have other thoughts?"
Seemingly caught off guard by Sasaki's younger sister's direct question, Reina Hamazaki paused, a faint blush appearing on her fair and beautiful face as she casually waved her hand:
"Kids shouldn't worry about such things. It's not even close to happening yet."
"I'm only one grade below you! I'm not a kid!"
Her short twin tails bristled with indignation, but seeing Reina's indifferent expression, Rinka sighed and let it go, instead offering a warning:
"If you want to be with Brother Fuyumi, you should think carefully. There are a lot of people who like him."
Not wanting to create more competition for Otome or find herself a sister-in-law, Rinka gave the playboy a heads-up before saying no more.
Then, she skipped over to Sasaki and told him she was going to the convenience store to find Sister Otome, who was buying groceries.
After Rinka left, Sasaki chatted with the girls and carried the few pieces of luggage into the house.
Inside, two girls wearing headscarves and arm sleeves, dressed like housekeepers, paused their cleaning to greet everyone:
"Thanks for your help. Ruri has prepared some cold drinks to cool off. Come and have some."
Glancing at what Ruri had brought, Reina Hamazaki took a sip:
"Isn't this just lemon water..."
Despite drinking it eagerly, she still complained... Ruri Kurumizaka raised an eyebrow and glanced at her:
"Are you picking a fight on purpose? You drank half of it even though you're complaining."
"Who's complaining? I..."
Ignoring the bickering pair, Sasaki sat by Kyoka's legs, handed her a glass of water, and then asked Yukina Sasaki, who was sitting across from him:
"Yukina, is your foot okay now?"
Suppressing the urge to lift her leg to show him, Yukina Sasaki, aware that the adults were present, responded politely:
"It's fine, it's fine. It was just a sprain, not serious. It healed the next day."
Having learned from Yuka that the three girls moving next door today were Fuyumi's classmates, Kyoka, who had come to help, expressed concern upon hearing that the girl with the same surname as Fuyumi had recently injured her foot:
"How did you get hurt? Did your family take you to see a doctor?"
Earlier in the afternoon, they had already introduced themselves, so Yukina knew that the tall, mature-looking woman in front of her was an important elder to Sasaki. Thus, she responded respectfully:
"No need to trouble my family. It's an old injury from playing sports. Resting is enough. Thank you for your concern, Auntie."
Having a good impression of the three girls, and now that they were living next door and were Fuyumi's classmates, Kyoka thought it would be good to stay in touch to prevent him from being isolated at school.
Although she didn't think the little bad guy who liked to tease her would be ostracized.
But having more friends is always a good thing.
Without the airs or authority of an adult, and since Kyoka ran a cosmetics company, it was easy for her to connect with these young girls.
Coincidentally, Kurumizaka's family also ran a cosmetics company.
Most importantly, Kurumizaka had her own insights in this field. Although Kyoka thought her ideas needed refinement, her approach was good.
This further increased Kyoka's fondness for her, and she also thought it would be good for Yuka and Koharu to stay in touch with her.
Well... it would definitely benefit them when they take over the company in the future.
Kurumizaka Ruri, who was chatting with her, didn't fully grasp the thoughts of the beautiful aunt in front of her, but she could tell that Sasaki's aunt liked her.
A young girl's thoughts are simple. If the adults in the other person's family were so warm toward her, it was hard not to think they might be trying to set her up with Sasaki...
This...
Well... she had just finished cleaning and hadn't showered yet... she needed to change her underwear too... oh, and she didn't have any protection...
Watching her foolish younger brother's classmate blush and glance at him from time to time,
Yuka gritted her teeth very softly and tugged on Kyoka, who was sitting next to her. "Alright, alright, let's not disturb them anymore. They still need to unpack their luggage~"
Seeing Yuka's dissatisfied and resentful expression, Kyoka quickly understood the reason behind it.
Patting her hair with a smile, Kyoka stood up and said to the three girls sitting on the opposite sofa:
"We got so caught up in chatting that we forgot you still have things to do. It's getting late, so we won't disturb you any longer~"
After Kyoka said this, Yuka, sitting beside her, pulled Sasaki up, who hadn't made any move to get up:
"Come on! Are you going to help the girls unpack their suitcases too? Huh?!"
Since Sasaki had already "taken care of" Kyoka and Koharu, there was no need for him to keep his distance from Yuka anymore.
But with everyone watching, Sasaki couldn't exactly resist or make a scene, so he just rolled his eyes and said irritably:
"Alright, alright, I get it. Can you pull me a bit more gently?"
"Are you a girl or something? So delicate. Hurry up!"
Letting the jealous Yuka drag him toward the entrance, Sasaki waved to the three girls who had already stood up:
"We're heading out now~ Feel free to come over and hang out sometime."
"Bye, see you at school tomorrow~"
"Sure~"
Clenching her back teeth, Yuka really wanted to smack her idiot younger brother on the head and angrily say, "Sure what?!"
But with so many people around, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she just tightened her grip and yanked him even harder as they headed home.
After the group left, Reina Hamazaki and the other two girls closed the door and returned to the living room.
Sitting casually on the sofa, Reina crossed her long, well-toned legs and sipped her lemon water. She turned to Yukina Sasaki, who was taking off her apron and sleeves, and said:
"Yukina, Yuka's level of brother-complex is on par with your brother, huh?"
"Sigh~ She can't stand seeing you interact with the opposite sex~ Even though you're all high schoolers and could technically get married already, she still tries to control everything~"
Tossing the disposable sleeves into the trash, Yukina sat cross-legged on the sofa and shook her head:
"With the way he is, he doesn't have the right to control us~"
"If we're comparing, Yuka's definitely stricter. Did you see how red her face got when Kyoka was talking to Ruri earlier?"
Unlike the two of them, who felt some gratitude and respect toward Yuka,
Ruri Kurumizaka hadn't received any favors from Yuka, so her tone was a bit less polite.
Taking off the headscarf she was wearing, Ruri let out a light hum:
"So what? Kyoka really likes me. If I want to get close to Sasaki, even if Yuka gets mad and objects, it won't matter."
Hearing Ruri's possessive tone and attitude toward Sasaki, Yukina straightened up:
"Wait, Ruri, Sasaki was Reina's target first, you know~ If you're trying to steal him, shouldn't you at least ask our little Reina here?"
"Since ancient times, handsome guys belong to those who can win them over. It's not like whoever sees them first gets to claim them. Besides, Reina hasn't even made things official with him yet."
Sitting up straight and clearing her throat, Ruri Kurumizaka raised her eyebrows and smiled sweetly at Reina Hamazaki, who was lounging with her legs crossed and didn't seem fazed by her words:
"Don't worry, Reina. If I end up getting close to Sasaki, I'll make sure to send you videos of us having fun for you to enjoy."
"Ugh, you're so annoying."
Having grown up together, even when they argued fiercely, they rarely held real grudges.
Reina naturally wouldn't overreact to Ruri's attempt to "steal" the guy she had her eye on.
Besides, even if Ruri did end up with Sasaki, Reina could always win him back later. It wasn't that big of a deal.
Taking a sip of her ice-cold lemon water, Reina puffed out her cheeks and said to Ruri, who seemed confident she could win Sasaki over any second:
"Don't get too ahead of yourself. Forget about how Yuka feels for a moment."
"Didn't you see that pink-haired girl when we arrived this afternoon? She's Sasaki's childhood friend. Are you sure you can compete with someone who's been by his side since they were kids?"
"And let's consider the worst-case scenario… we don't even know if Sasaki has a girlfriend or not. You're celebrating halfway through the game, Ruri. Isn't that a bit too arrogant?"
"…"
Clicking her tongue, Ruri muttered:
"They say childhood friends can't beat the ones who come later…"
Halfway through her retort, even she knew her argument wasn't very convincing. Sitting on the single-seat sofa, Ruri turned to Reina and asked:
"Since you're being unusually clear-headed today, Ruri, tell me what you think we should do."
Placing her lemon water on the table, Reina smiled, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks:
"Of course, we should do… what lovers do."
???
Pausing for a moment to make sure she hadn't misheard, Ruri leaned forward in disbelief:
"Hey, hey, dummy Reina, didn't you just say Sasaki might already have a girlfriend? And you're just going to give yourself to him like that?"
"So what? Sooner or later, I'll have to give away my first time anyway. Why not give it to… well, someone I have feelings for?"
Though she was usually bold, as a girl, Reina still felt a bit shy talking about this topic.
But after saying it out loud, it didn't feel like such a big deal, so she continued:
"Besides, the girls at school talk about this all the time. Haven't you ever thought about trying it, Ruri?"
.
.
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