A kiss shouldn't be a big deal, especially for couples. However, if someone did it with multiple people in quick succession, that's where it would be considered a problem. Or rather, people would find it scandalous because it's against what was accepted as the norm.
I mean, it's already lucky that Nami and Hana kissing me two days ago didn't get blown up that much. Only the fact that the transfer student kissed me escaped into the wide sea of gossip and became the hottest topic resulting in Momoiro-senpai, Kawakami-senpai and Nazuna coming to find and talk to me with concern about their respective friend in a relationship with me.
Now that it happened again and I did it to not just one but five girls, one could expect it to become the top among the juicy rumors for the day once again.
And given that I wouldn't be here at school for the rest of the day, I couldn't help but worry about the chaos that I would be leaving behind.
Perhaps noticing that, as soon as I finished kissing Saki who also took advantage of the moment by prolonging what should've been a simple peck, Nami stood up and dragged me out of our classroom.
Yeah. Before everyone could erupt at the absurdity of what they witnessed, the main heroine already made her move to prevent it from blowing out of proportion.
Furthermore, the other girls, especially those who also timely realized what was about to happen if I remained there, threw us a glance before standing up to stop anyone from following us. In short, while Nami would remove me from the premises, they're going to be the ones to calm the situation down.
As to how they would do that, I could only think about one scenario. Admitting to everyone that they're fine with the level of intimacy I'm having with them.
Although it's also possible that they could just simply go all out and confess the true nature of our relationship, they're well aware of the impact it would make.
And so, by only admitting that small part, they neither denied nor confirmed if I'm really dating all of them, all at once.
Where did I see that?
Of course, they adapted it from the same method I was using.
Well, that's just my assumption but it's probably not going to be that far off. As I was being taken away by Nami, there was no way to find that out.
Around two minutes later, Nami and I soon arrived at the empty room near the stairs and the bathroom.
It's that one room where a lot of things transpired between me and my girls.
The room where I proposed to Nami to make me her fake boyfriend.
The room where Hina tried to frame me with her scheme.
The room where Himeko confronted me.
The room where I confessed to Satsuki as soon as I remembered my feelings of love.
And lastly, the room where Aya experienced her first blowjob.
Yeah. It remained the same empty room with nothing else in it but the old utility locker.
"Ruu, can I scold you? Uh. No. I better not. It's unproductive and it won't help at all." Nami started the door closed behind us. Looking at the slight frown on her face as though she was trying her hardest to come up with a solution, it was no doubt that I had just given her a headache.
"You can scold me. I mean, I spontaneously decided to do that. You shouldn't coddle me, right? If I did something wrong, point it out."
"Idiot Ruu. What's there to point out when you already realized what you did? I get it. All of us wanted to stop pretending we were just close friends in public. However, we're also aware that if that happens, it'll be like opening Pandora's box. It cannot be contained and most likely will bring us more problems than solutions."
As Nami presented what was on her mind, she clung to me, her grip tightening on my uniform. If I had to guess, this girl, or perhaps not only her, everyone in that room must be thinking that if something happens, it will be their fault.
Such a mindset was unacceptable. Because in the first place, I considered all of that before doing it.
"It'll be fine," I said, grabbing her trembling hands and lifting them close to my lips. After kissing the back of her hands, I repeated my words which made the girl react dumbfoundedly.
"What do you mean by it will be fine? Ruu! You know it. This won't die down at all. Aren't you worried that by being this high key, it will affect us? Satsuki and the others might've been doing something to mitigate it at the moment but it won't solve our situation."
She's right. And I'm well aware of that. There will be no end to people inquiring about the state of our relationship. Nonetheless, when I said that it'll be fine, I mean it.
"Yes, I'm worried. But Nami, am I someone who will do things without giving them a proper thought first? Kissing all of you is just the start."
"That's… What do you mean by it's just the start? Are you planning something else?"
"Mhm. Like you said, we opened pandora's box. It's something out of the norm to see someone getting into multiple relationships openly. Sure, people will think how absurd it is to play with all of you. Most people will hate me and some will try to persuade you to stop associating with me. Maybe someone will also raise this to the teachers to ask them to revoke my position or suspend me…" I trailed my voice there before pausing for a moment.
Nami, whose expression gradually scrunched up from how incredulous the possibilities I listed, took that moment to open her mouth, worry apparent in her voice, "Ruu… don't say that. We'll prevent this from getting out of our classroom."
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Sensing the hint of desperation in her voice, I placed my hand on her head and patted it until she calmed down. Once that happened, I continued, "Unfortunately, there's no preventing that, Nami. Listen, let me continue, alright? Those I listed are only possibilities. What's certain is that… I shamelessly kissed all of you. I'm sure everyone will focus on that point."
"And since none of you hated it, they cannot simply fault all of you about it. Everything will be blamed on me whether we like it or not. What I'm going to do is to act entirely the same as before… If someone's going to confront me about it, I'm not going to run away."
Although she was already relaxed, what I said brought back the frown on her face, "I don't get it… Ruu, if you act entirely the same, you'll just gather more animosity. Even those who are fond of you might flip their views and call you out. Kana-senpai, Rae-chan, Satsuki. Those who know about your relationship with them will surely come and attack you."
"Mhm? That's exactly my intention, Nami. I don't care about the others. You know it. There's nothing more important to me than ascertaining your happiness. People can hate me for all I care, and that will actually save me the trouble of interacting with them through an amiable mask. But then again, if it's those people who truly care about you, I'll speak to them honestly and convince them."
"Ruu, I cannot see that as a solution… What if you can't convince them? And what if you really get stripped of your position and suspended that even Shizu-nee cannot overturn? What then? Will we only be watching on the sidelines while you're being crucified by the public?"
Should I tell her? Well, there's no other choice. Besides, it's not something I will keep from them anyway.
"That won't happen. I have the power on my side."
Although I said that like a chuunibyou, I mean it.
The power truly is on my side.
And as for what I'm talking about.
It's that… The reward that I will be getting after this trip with Eguchi-sensei.
Although I wasn't sure if it was truly going to be reliable… that's what I considered when I decided to act crazy right there by kissing all of them.
"Ruu, for once, that doesn't suit you. That's too lame for a fantasy character you can bring. 'Power on your side'? Please elaborate."
Nami's voice was still a little serious but because of my act, she was actually restraining herself from laughing.
"Alright. I'm talking about Hayashi-sensei's reward for her task. When I finish it, she said she is going to overlook my relationships with all of you. If someone raises a complaint, she's going to step up for us."
There's a saying 'don't count your eggs before they hatch'. And the meaning of it could be applied here. It's still up in the air whether Hayashi-sensei would honor it or even if she did, I am aware of the limit of what a director or owner of the school can do.
More importantly, since it's about the morality of the students of the school, it's probably impossible to strong-arm everyone to accept it as the norm.
And that's why I didn't forget to put another layer beneath it.
"If that's not enough, I'll be working on it myself. Quelling the rumors and letting it disappear from most of the students' minds."
After saying that, I intently stared into Nami's eyes to check her reaction.
As I expected, she's still a little skeptical about it. "… Ruu, I will sound pessimistic here but all of that might not work. Can't we just have them accept the reality of our situation?"
"Nami, that's the one thing that won't really work easily unless it becomes something accepted as the norm in our society…"
Right. After all that talking about a plan to make things acceptable, I'm still aware of that one point.
But hey, can't we be the pioneer for it? What a laughable notion that is.
In any case, that's how this talk ended. Still, nothing's certain yet except the fact that I kissed all of them.
Before going to the Administration Building to wait inside Eguchi-sensei's office, I decided to go back with Nami to check and help the girls calm the situation down.