Chapter 304: Not Initiating, Not Refusing
After parting with Ichika, who had suddenly blocked his way, Sakurai Saki headed to the luxury apartment building where the Nakano quintuplets lived.
He pressed the doorbell.
"Hai hai~~ who is it? This is the Nakano residence."
(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)
"Yotsuba, it's me. Hurry and open the door, it's pouring outside." Sakurai Saki, wearing a raincoat, had just parked his bicycle.
Taking the elevator up, Sakurai Saki checked his bag to see if anything had gotten wet.
Luckily, this backpack was nicely waterproof; the review exercises he'd prepared for them weren't wet at all. Yotsuba would definitely jump for joy when she heard this—she loved doing homework so much that every time she worked on it she'd be moved to tears.
Yosuba: .·°(T^T)՞°·.
When the elevator doors opened, Sakurai Saki found Yotsuba standing right in front of him.
"What's this? Did you come out on purpose to greet me?"
"Today is Valentine's Day! Valentine's!" Nakano Yotsuba said as she pulled a few chocolate candies from her pocket. "I didn't prepare anything special, so I can only give you these."
By giving them now, she wouldn't have to face Nino later.
If Nino saw her give chocolate to Sakurai, she would definitely be angry.
The fact that Nino liked Sakurai Saki was basically known by all five sisters, but only Miku clearly understood how fast things had progressed between them—after all, she had personally witnessed Sakurai Saki and Nino kissing at the festival.
"Thanks." Sakurai Saki accepted them without refusing.
He followed Yotsuba into the living room.
"Sakurai-san, good afternoon!" Itsuki nodded slightly in greeting.
Then, when Sakurai Saki came closer, she casually took out a box of chocolate that looked like it was bought from a supermarket.
"For you, here's your chocolate, Sakurai-san."
"Thanks," Sakurai Saki replied mechanically.
He had received so many today that he was almost used to it.
He glanced around. "Where are Miku and Nino?"
"They didn't sleep well last night, so after coming home from school they said they wanted to catch up on sleep. You can go wake them up." Itsuki had barely finished speaking when she saw him actually heading there directly. She hurriedly called out, "Give me the review questions first. The finals are coming; I don't want to embarrass myself this time."
Itsuki had always thought that among the five sisters she counted as smart, but the truth proved… not really. She could only bully Yotsuba and Ichika, who always skipped class.
"They're in my backpack, take them yourself!" Sakurai Saki called back.
Then he prepared to head to Nino's room.
He knocked on her door, but there was no response.
"Nino?"
He spoke as he pushed the door open.
...
"Is it really okay to just let Sakurai-san in like that? Nino is still sleeping," Yotsuba asked Itsuki.
"One side is willing to hit, the other is willing to take it, don't worry about it." Itsuki picked up her pen and lowered her head to the test questions.
So difficult. The questions Sakurai-san made were getting scarier and scarier.
If he became a teacher in the future, he'd definitely be a good one. If he had children, he'd surely teach them well too.
…Wait, what on earth am I thinking?
Shaking off those stray thoughts, Itsuki continued working on the questions.
"Sakurai-san clearly already has a girlfriend, so why doesn't Nino give up?" Yotsuba was very curious.
"Maybe because she hasn't expressed her feelings clearly, so she can't let go? She liked him for months, but then at the sports festival Sakurai-san suddenly confessed to Hayasaka-san. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't be willing to give up either." Itsuki said sympathetically.
Besides, who says having a girlfriend means you can't flirt anymore? The infidelity rate in Japan is as high as 35%! That means in every three married couples, one cheats.
And they aren't even married yet, and Sakurai doesn't seem like the pure type of guy anyway.
'He even kissed me, you probably don't know that, do you?' Itsuki thought to herself.
(Note: wait... i don't remember...)
Even though that kiss was just an accident, it still proved that he wasn't "pure" in love. Behind his girlfriend's back he was intimate with another girl, and he didn't feel at all that he was doing something wrong.
If Hayasaka found out, she'd definitely be furious, right? But Sakurai couldn't possibly be stupid enough to say outright——[I want to start a harem, I want to two-time!]
A stupid guy like that surely doesn't exist.
Yotsuba looked at Nino's closed door, then said:"Nino's so shy, and very tsundere too. Maybe she'll just keep secretly loving him until graduation."
Yotsuba cared quite a lot about her sisters' feelings, but she had no solution either.
'Should I pretend to be Nino and confess in her place?'
Yotsuba thought about it for a few seconds, then immediately dismissed the idea.
…
Inside the room.
"Nino, they're still in the living room…"
Sakurai looked at Nino pressing him down on the bed and tried to persuade her to let go.
"They don't know about our relationship. Anyway, didn't I say I'd treat you to chocolate?" Nakano Nino unwrapped a small piece of chocolate and popped it into her mouth.
Nino: (≖ڡ≖)
Then she leaned down.
Their lips touched.
Soft, carrying a sweet taste.
The piece of chocolate melted beneath their mingled breaths, its rich flavor passing continuously between their lips and teeth.
"Mm~?" Footsteps sounded beside Nino's ear.
The sound echoed right outside the door.
"Pause for a bit," she whispered.
Sakurai wiped the trace of moisture from the corner of Nino's mouth, his eyes full of teasing:
"Didn't you say you were treating me to chocolate?"
"Someone's coming, you idiot!" Nino hurriedly sat up from on top of him, but Sakurai unexpectedly pulled her back down, pressing her onto the bed.
When his face came close again, Nino blushed and said:
"What are you trying to do?"
Someone was outside—what if they got caught!
"I like you, Nino." Sakurai lowered his head and kissed her lips once more.
'Always like this… choosing this exact moment to say such things, how am I supposed to refuse?' Nino wrapped her arms around his neck, responding with deep emotion while silently complaining.
If only he liked only me.
'But right now isn't bad either.'
At least he likes me, that's enough.
…
In the living room.
"So slow. Nino and Sakurai-san, is it because Nino is too lazy to get up and just lying in bed?" Yotsuba wondered.
"Miku? You're up already?" Itsuki looked at Miku coming out of her room and walking down the wooden stairs from the second floor to the living room.
"Umu…" Miku rubbed her eyes.
(っ˕ -｡)ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
She was still drowsy, heavy with the laziness that comes right after waking.
"Sakurai was supposed to wake you, but he went into Nino's room over ten minutes ago and there's still no movement."
The moment Yotsuba finished speaking, the sleepy look on Miku's face vanished!
Σ(°ロ°)
She hurried upstairs.
Then slowly pushed Nino's door open!
"Don't keep going, ha~ they're still… um~ down in the living room."
Breathing heavy.
A bit urgent.
"You say stop, but your body is being very honest."
Miku looked at the two tangled on the bed and asked calmly:
"Nino, Saki-kun, what are you two doing?"
!! ( ˶°ㅁ°) ( ˶°ㅁ°) (≖_≖ )
The next moment, both people on the bed froze.
"Massage." Sakurai acted like nothing happened, put on his jacket and got off the bed.
"That's right. I just happened to feel sore, so I asked Sakurai-san to help massage me a bit." Nino pulled the blanket tight around herself; aside from her flushed face, nothing looked strange.
"Saki-kun, come down with me, everyone's waiting impatiently." Miku hooked her arm around Sakurai's and pulled him out of the room, closing the door behind them.
The next moment.
Thud!
Miku pushed Sakurai hard against Nino's door.
One hand grabbed his tie, forcefully pulling him down.
Then, right there with only a wall between them and Nino, the two began kissing.
The kiss lasted over ten seconds before Miku finally let him go.
Her face bright red, she said:
"Can't let Nino get ahead… I want to, too."
"Sorry."
Sakurai didn't even know why he apologized.
But when a girl is jealous, don't argue—it's useless.
As a scumbag, he had to learn not to refuse, not to take the initiative.
Whether to take responsibility or not depends on conscience; Sakurai is the type who will take responsibility, believe it.