Chapter 1286 Helping Her Prepare

“Mom! You know it. His sincerity and determination to bring that girl back to school won her over. See how she acted? I doubt she’s still bothered by the rejection that caused her to hole up in this house.”

Answering her mother’s question to me, Miura-senpai ended that with a wink directed at me.

Yeah. She saved me from that.

Following it, she then urged me to check on Komoe upstairs.

Well, not to peek at her changing but to wait for the girl outside her room. And because of that convincing answer, their mother seconded it.

However, she also dropped a reminder for me, “I’ll be leaving Komoe in your care, Onoda-kun. I just hope that you know what you’re doing. Don’t get her hopes up if you won’t follow through with it.”

In short, I should stop being too good at Komoe if I don’t want her to fall for me. Even though she was trying to pair them up with me, Auntie was aware that there was a low chance for it to happen. She didn’t want the girl to suffer another heartbreak.

Uh. Maybe not another. She’s not in love with that guy anyway. She just felt too embarrassed to see him again after being rejected to be his friend.

“Mhm. Auntie can rest easy. If it reaches that point, we’ll talk about it between us and we’ll resolve it in a way that none of us will get hurt.”

After thinking for a moment, I could only come up with that kind of response. Rather than owning it up all to myself, I put it in a way that also shows my consideration and respect for the girl.

Hearing that, Auntie Miura put on a pleased smile. On the side, Miura-senpai was fiercely staring at me, a meaningful expression on her face.

Leaving the mother and daughter there, I made my way upstairs. Since this wasn’t the first time, I quickly reached Komoe’s room.

I knocked on the door lightly and called out to the girl. “Komoe, they sent me here to wait for you. Call me when you need help.”

A moment later, the activity inside the room grew louder. And instead of an answer, the girl’s door opened.

Looking at her, she’s already out of her pajamas. However, her top was still unbuttoned. She’s covering her chest with her arm because the bra that she put on looked a little loose.

Not because it was too big but because it was too tight for her. Most likely, she grew out of that size and she’s now having trouble clipping it behind.

“I… I need help with this, Ruki… Can you lock it?” While trying her best not to look flustered, the girl's gaze landed on me.

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Is she doing this intentionally? Aren’t most girls experts in wearing them even if they’re three sizes lower than their actual size?

I mean, although there were times when I would help my girls wear their clothes back after doing it, I’d seen how they could wear them by themselves. It’s either they’re too flexible to reach for their back or they would lock it beforehand and wear it like they would a shirt.

Before replying to her, I released a small sigh. Whether intentional or not, she shouldn’t be doing this in front of a man.

“Komoe, didn’t I tell you not to appear this defenseless? You’re a girl. You should treasure yourself better.”

“Y-you said to call for you if I needed help… Moreover, it’s you, Ruki. I won’t ask for any other guy’s help. I trust that you won’t take advantage of me.” The girl stuttered a bit and shamefully lowered her head. I guess she’s reflecting on it as well.

Should I tell her that I was holding on to my perverted tendencies every time we were together?

No. That would just make this even more awkward for us.

“Alright, you win. Turn around then. I’ll help you.”

“Heh… I know I can count on you.”

“Girl, did I just hear you giggling?”

“No? But I’m happy. You made my day, Ruki. I think I can go back to school without worrying a lot.”

Obviously, she lied about not giggling but her next words saved her. There’s no way I could still call her out for it now that she declared that.

“That’s great to hear.”

I smiled back at her and stepped forward, entering her room.

Komoe turned around instantly, showing me her back. To give me access to her back, she slid her unbuttoned uniform down to her arm. Following that, she pulled her long hair to the side, showing me her nape and the entirety of her back.

I reached for both ends of her bra and pulled them to their limit. Since it was starting to tighten in front of her, Komoe let out a small groan or moan, whatever it was.

Given that I was using a lot of my strength in pulling it together, there’s no doubt that this bra shouldn’t be worn by her anymore.

I let go of it and covered her back again by pulling her uniform back.

Noticing that I stopped, Komoe glanced behind, her expression a mix of pain and shame. “No good?”

“Yeah. It’s either you’ve grown in that part or you gained weight by cooping up in this house for too long.”

“It’s the former! I’m still slim, right? I’m not fat!”

“Of course, you are… So, what are you going to do now?”

Since I was unaware of her before getting tasked to get her back to school, I naturally had no idea about her body build.

She’s not skinny, that’s true. But remembering my first visit here, she’s already like this so… she might be right that it’s the former. Her chest had grown bigger.

“Uhm… I’ll take it off and go without it.”

“No, that’s not an option at all. Let’s go and ask your older sister. She’s bigger but she must’ve some that would fit you.” Hearing her absurd answer, I couldn’t help but flick her forehead. And before she could cry in pain for it, I continued with a suggestion.

Instead of reacting to my suggestion, the girl focused on another point, “Ruki, you already measured my sister’s size?”

“This girl, of course not. It’s easy to see if I compare the two of you.”

Acting like she got hurt by an imaginable blade from my answer, the girl then drooped her shoulder in defeat. “Ouch… Uhm. Okay, let me borrow from nee-san.”

Seeing that, I gave her forehead another flick, stopping her from overthinking.

Somehow, the girl acting like this was draining my energy. It’s kinda making me deliberate whether to drop my too-gentlemanly act and treat her normally. However, with the possibility that the girl might love that change, I better not, right?

Anyway, with our next course of action decided, I had her stay in her room while I went downstairs to ask for Miura-senpai.

Luckily, I didn’t need to explain it to her in detail. She quickly went to her room and brought back a bra for her little sister to wear. She nagged at Komoe though. Saying, “I’ll tell mom about this. You decide whether you want her to buy you new pairs or you’ll get them yourself.”

Komoe, utterly defeated by it, could only nod at her older sister.

This time, she didn’t need my help anymore so… Miura-senpai and I waited for the girl outside her room.

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A few minutes later, Komoe finished preparing for school. And after informing their mother about the girl’s problem and how she wanted it solved, the three of us – Miura-senpai too – began our walk down the road to our school. Understanding that it would be bad for her to cling to me in public, Komoe could only clutch the hem of my uniform, like a lost child needing a guide. On the other hand, Miura-senpai was behaving normally. She would occasionally glance at me though. Whenever I would catch her, she would smile in response.

Anyway, noticing that Komoe had no trouble walking alongside us, I started reminding her of what to do once we arrived at school.

“Remember, Komoe. Enter your classroom without minding everyone’s gazes. If they started asking you questions, just make up an excuse. Something like, you went on a vacation.”

“If they tried to provoke you because of what happened, just wave it off and act oblivious. if they started mocking or teasing you for taking a long break from school, just ignore or smile at it. No matter what they say, it doesn’t matter to you. You’re your own person.”

Continuing on, I listed everything I could think of. Naturally, I wasn’t confident that she would be able to follow it right to the tee. What was important was for the girl to be able to attend classes again without breaking down from feeling humiliated or embarrassed by her classmates.

And to end it, I remembered that that girl was in the same class as her. I could ask her for help with this, reducing the load on my shoulder.

“Also, you know Watanabe in your class, right? She’s from the Student Council as well. She’ll also help you not to become isolated by everyone.”

Finishing all that, I glanced at Komoe to check whether she understood it or not. Luckily, her overthinking habit didn’t kick in this time. She gave me a positive response. “Un. I won’t disappoint you, Ruki. I’ll do my best.”

The girl energetically pumped her fist, a showing of her renewed courage.

Upon seeing that, Miura-senpai and I proudly patted the girl’s head.