Chapter 2058: Crazy (2)
Akane and Fuyu were still together in my former room. But as soon as I showed up to the door. Akane pulled me in and then closed the door for us.
Before we could say anything, my silly wife's voice echoed from outside, "Don't mind me,
I'm not helping here. I remember I still have to prepare our bed. Come and join me after you're done here."
Whether she was talking to me or both of us, I had no idea. But Fuyu and I stared at that door for at most a minute before we looked at each other and laughed.
"Onoda-kun, she's been so mischievous lately. Help me discipline her."
"Sure. Leave it to me."
If it's just disciplining her, I have a lot of experience with that, no?
Shortly after that, our gazes met and our laughter immediately died down. With the tension rising in the air, the girl lowered her head and tapped the place beside her.
"... Won't you sit down?"
"I will. I just thought it was inappropriate to do so without your permission."
I smiled and approached her.
Fuyu lifted her hand and grabbed my wrist, pulling me down next to her.
"What are you saying? This is your house. And also, I heard that this was your former room before you moved in with Akane there. I don't have the right to issue permission."
She sounded a little flustered there. And yet, her eyes seemed to be smiling. She had a lengthy talk with Akane about me, huh? So, her consideration was already broken by that silly girl.
"I see. She told you that as well, huh?"
"Y-yeah... I think I get it now." Fuyu paused for a moment, maybe trying to come up with a better delivery of her thoughts, "All those times during our middle school, you kept pushing Akane away. But when you changed your mind and accepted her again, you never pulled out any stops on making it up for her."
"That's the least I can do. I'm still trying to make up for it."
Not just to Akane but to everyone who chose to stay with me. I hurt a lot of them, after all. Yae, Miyako, Nao, Yue... And even though I didn't really hurt Nami and the others, I put them in this complex situation with me. That's something I also have to make up for.
"Y-yeah. I can see that. She's truly special to you. Akane is the same. She only has you in her eyes. No one can replace you in her heart."
Fuyu smiled bitterly there. Most likely, she's remembering what she witnessed when following Akane. She felt bad for her friend. That's also the reason why it was hard for her to come to terms with her feelings for me. Because for her, Akane deserved to be happy.
"I spent a lot of time wondering what exactly happened between you two. And I never managed to come up with an answer. You never stopped seeing other girls and yet, you never touched Akane and you even protected her secretly..."
"How did you know that?"
Alright. That's news to me. I thought she wouldn't know about that. Hell, even I was unaware that I was secretly protecting her. This girl...
"What happened after that?"
"I took them all in. At least, those who are still waiting for me."
"They're crazy. Akane is crazy. Why did they still choose to be with you after all that?"
"I'm also asking them that question. They have their own answer to it. All I can do is accept
them and be better for them."
"Be better? Then why are you..."
"Go on. You don't have to hold back."
"Ugh. Why are you still falling in love with other girls?"
"Because I'm still broken. I may have changed from the past but it's not a complete reverse. My desire simply changed from stealing their affection to gaining the affection of the girls I
fell in love with."
"You're crazy, Onoda-kun... This is so... heavy."
"Mhm... You're free to interpret it however you want but this is the reality of me... Sorry, you
even offered me your precious kiss."
"Shut up. I'm not regretting that one. I also fell for you. That's a fact. But this is just..."
Fuyu sighed again and the heaviness of her heart could be clearly felt. Really, I'm such a
scumbag to put her through this.
"Onoda-kun, can I even see you if you're busy with everyone else?"
"I'll come running if you call for me."
"What if we all call for you?"
"Then, I'll make sure to come to all of you, no matter how long it takes."
"... You're really crazy."
"Mhm... That's the least I can do for all of you. If I can't even manage that, how can I treat you
all fairly?"
Fuyu didn't say anything after that, she just stared at me with a complicated expression. Then gradually, she reached for my face as though she was trying to see how stressed I was and comforting me through her gentle caresses...