Amidst everyone's busy preparations, time flew by.
With his theme and goals set, Chihaya Tetsuya's design work progressed more and more smoothly. Meanwhile, driven by a mix of emotions, Togawa Sakiko's band activities and fashion design also made considerable strides. On top of that, [MyGO!!!!!] had put the final polish on their new song, and [Summer Zodiac] had practiced their catwalks to a level on par with professional fashion models.
While everyone was moving forward in an orderly fashion, only one person had encountered a problem that could not be easily overcome.
"Ugh, so why won't you agree to join us?"
Chihaya Anon propped her chin on her hands, looking with a puzzled expression at the girl in front of her, who was doing stretches at home in her pajamas.
"Our interests should be completely aligned right now."
"Interests aligned... you mean by creating a fait accompli so that Tetsu won't dare make a move on anyone else?"
Hoshino Ai scoffed.
"I thought Togawa Sakiko would have come up with a better idea. Turns out it's still just forcing yourselves on Tetsu in the end."
"I was surprised too, that the mature and calm Sakiko-san would think of the same kind of idea as you..."
"I wouldn't do something like that anymore."
"Ah, yes, yes~ You already made a fool of yourself once. It's certainly hard to work up the courage a second time."
"What did you say?!"
Faced with Anon's passive-aggressive remark, Ai's expression instantly soured.
In response, Anon just shrugged nonchalantly.
"In any case, I've been convinced. Rather than let my brother get involved with more girls while we wait for him to make up his mind, it's better to claim him early and then slowly cultivate him into a man more faithful to his desires."
"And just who is the one being faithful to their desires here..."
Ai couldn't help but shake her head and retort.
"And, putting Togawa Sakiko aside, that girl named Nagasaki Soyo... I remember her being the more level-headed type. She agreed to such a reckless plan?"
"Well... Soyo might not say it, but she's probably been bottling up a lot, you know?"
Anon said.
"Living under the same roof with the person you like, day in and day out, but not being able to do anything... it's tough for a girl in the prime of her youth. Besides, she's actually pretty repressed underneath it all. Just looking at the style of her underwear, I can tell she's super daring."
"And what about you?"
"Me...? Well, it's not like I'm not interested in that sort of thing, but I'm not that thirsty~"
Anon lifted her chin and said, a little pretentiously.
"I'm his little sister, after all. I have feelings and considerations that take priority over romance."
"Heeh... Is that so?"
Ai looked at Anon's almost boastful expression and narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Then let me ask you a very simple question. If you all really go through with this plan to 'attack' Tetsu, who gets to take his first time?"
"Hah... I thought you were going to ask something serious. Is there really a need to ask such a question?"
Faced with Ai's query, Anon first waved her hand dismissively, then answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Well, of course, it'll be me! I'm his little sister, and I've spent the most time with him!"
"...Hmph."
Hearing this entirely predictable answer, the corners of Ai's mouth lifted in a scornful arc.
"Have you said that to the other two?"
"Nope."
Anon answered with complete frankness.
"They never asked."
"Then I suggest you tell them sooner rather than later. You'll be surprised to find that your supposedly foolproof plan has been full of holes from the very beginning."
Ai said.
"Because I'm sure those two... are coveting Tetsu's first time, just like you."
"Eh..."
Having never considered this carefully before, Anon froze. Then, a perfectly logical question popped into her head.
"But, big brother's first time... can only belong to one person, right?"
"And that's the problem with your plan."
Ai stopped her stretches and sat up straight in a posture that accentuated her bust.
"Even if you're all prepared to share him, Tetsu's 'first time' can ultimately only belong to one person. If you don't solve this problem, on the day you actually make your move, you'll just end up arguing because you can't agree. If you fight too much... you might even make Tetsu reconsider his entire relationship with you all. At this rate, forget succeeding together. To prevent you from fighting again, you might all end up as losers."
"N-no way..."
Anon's mouth fell open, an incredulous sound escaping her lips.
"If the three of us aren't accepted... then wouldn't you be the only one left to take it all?!"
"It's not that simple."
However, Ai shook her head, denying Anon's claim.
"To Tetsu, the four of us each hold a different meaning in his heart, but we're all important beings he can't part with. Even if we can't reach a consensus in bed, he would never easily give up his relationship with us. And to maintain the balance of that relationship forever, he might just eliminate the possibility that causes us to fight... by refusing to be intimate with any of us, and maintaining a purely spiritual romance forever."
"Eh, eh, eh!?"
Anon first let out a cry of alarm, then, remembering she was a guest in someone else's home, quickly covered her mouth.
"N-no, that can't happen!"
Lowering her voice again, Anon protested with great seriousness.
"Even if I don't get his first time, I don't want to lose the chance to be intimate with my brother!"
"So, like I said, your plan needs more thought."
With that, Ai stretched her legs out again and continued with her second set of exercises.
"Alternatively, if the three of you can agree to let me take Tetsu's first time, then I suppose I could join you."
"Ugh, so you want it too... big brother's first time."
After hearing Ai's words, Anon couldn't help but sigh softly.
"No, wait, you've always been the most ambitious one."
Compared to herself, a good girl who was a late bloomer and relatively pure by nature, this one, who had known her feelings at the age of nine and had accumulated a whole seven years of desire since then, was the most dangerous. Just the thought that this girl had been mentally prepared to get pregnant with her brother's child at sixteen, even before they had cleared up their misunderstanding, sent a deep shock of fear through Anon at the moral gap between them.
"It's a good thing you don't want to monopolize my brother anymore."
Anon said with some relief.
"If this were the you from two months ago, you would have definitely tried to find a way to eliminate the three of... us..."
Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly noticed Ai was watching her with a smile.
"Eh? D-don't tell me... you still have that idea, don't you?" Anon, who was trembling under her gaze, couldn't help but ask.
After taking in Anon's cowering appearance, Ai withdrew her gaze, looking quite satisfied.
"As much as I hate to admit it, the three of you have indeed become indispensable to Tetsu. He'd definitely be heartbroken if he lost any one of you."
At this, Ai shot Anon a somewhat reproachful look.
"It was just the two of us until recently. I thought you'd be by his side to guard against others, but not only did you fail to stop those two, you ended up forming an alliance with them."
"Ugh, I couldn't help it..." Anon said pitifully. "Soyo has really done so much for my brother, and he could never just ignore Sakiko-san's problems... No matter how vigilant I was, he would have accepted them in the end anyway. Besides... you're partly to blame for this, too."
"Me?" Ai's brow furrowed. "Why do you say that?"
"If you hadn't faltered that night, or if you had continued to press the attack with me afterwards, the two of us might have been able to claim my brother before they even arrived." Anon said. "Think about it. Ever since that night, have you made a single move on my brother?"
"..."
Faced with Anon's question, Ai was speechless.
It was true. Ever since she had been so easily "counter-attacked" by Tetsuya that night, she hadn't made any proactive moves on him. Although she claimed it was to focus on her modeling and catwalk lessons, no one knew the truth better than she did.
If she had just pulled herself together sooner and struck while the iron was hot with Anon, they might have really been able to win over the already-softened Tetsuya...
But what's impossible is impossible, no matter how much you think about it!
Just thinking about her disgraceful state that day, surrendering so quickly after just a little light rubbing... Ai didn't even dare to imagine what would happen in a real battle.
"Anyway, at your level, you can forget about having my brother all to yourself. Even if I left you alone with him right now, I doubt you could make it to the final step."
Anon propped her chin on her hands again.
While her own poor defense was partly to blame, this girl who had surrendered before the battle even began wasn't entirely innocent. Thinking this, Anon, who had been feeling a little guilty, became a bit more self-righteous.
However, even if she had regained some ground in their little tiff, the actual problem remained unsolved.
"Hey... what if the four of us just let my brother choose? Let him decide the order himself?"
"No good. You'd be forcing Tetsu to rank us. Even if we didn't overthink it, he would definitely feel terrible about it," Ai rejected the idea.
Anon continued. "Then let's just have no one be the first. We can use some other means to make my brother surrender?"
"That sounds plausible, but I doubt we'd be able to hit the brakes when the time comes," Ai said, looking sideways. "Or can you guarantee that the four of us will be able to stay rational while being intimate with Tetsu?"
"...Probably not."
Even a girl as calm as Sakiko-san had already started sneaking kisses while her brother was sleeping... If things really got heated, she couldn't imagine what kind of situation would unfold...
"Ugh... I guess I'll just have to go back and talk to them again."
Ultimately, unable to find a solution, Anon temporarily gave up on persuading Ai. And Ai, whose morale had been severely dampened, stopped teasing Anon and went back to her exercises.
"Speaking of which, I always thought you lived at the agency. I didn't know you had your own place..."
Anon looked around the somewhat empty room.
Other than the most basic living facilities, there were no other signs of life in the home.
"No, wait, rather than a home... this is more like just a place to sleep, right?"
"I used to live at the agency. I only just recently bought this place," Ai said truthfully. "As for its purpose... besides sleeping, it was also on my manager's advice."
"...? What advice?"
"My manager told me that besides home, it would be best to prepare another secret base just for the two of us. She said it would be very convenient once everyone's relationship is established..."
Although Ai didn't understand the reasoning of an experienced person like her manager, she went ahead and did it anyway.
"Though I have no idea where the convenience is."
"Ugh... I don't really get it either."
For these two young people who were still in the theoretical stage, it was still a bit too early to understand such advanced knowledge.
But in any case, even though Anon had failed to persuade Ai, their conversation today had at least made them both realize one thing: Chihaya Tetsuya being devoured was already a foregone conclusion. The only remaining questions were who would get the first time and how exactly they would go about it—preparations built upon an already decided outcome...
—30 days remain until Chihaya Tetsuya's "day of suffering."