When I Let My Runaway Senior Stay at My House, Beautiful Seniors Started Gathering Around Me - Chapter 29: Felt Like I Shouldn't Hold Back

Chapter 29: Felt Like I Shouldn’t Hold Back

Fights don’t create anything… nothing at all.

I thought that way because I’d watched the whole argument between the senpais during lunch break. Honestly, I still can’t believe it even now. Utsuho, who fell for me, suddenly said she’d give up the friends-with-benefits spot if I gave her the girlfriend spot instead. Hinata and Arisa pushed back hard against that.

From my side, I figure Utsuho’s words were just a momentary slip, but still… being the guy stuck in the middle of them fighting over me? If I’m being honest, it’s awkward, but it doesn’t feel bad.

“But… I’m kinda worried about Arisa.”

Not about Arisa herself, but about Takuya. I hope nothing else blows up from that. She chewed him out pretty badly, and it sounds like they’re almost cut off from each other now. Still, what if he holds a grudge or something… yeah, I should probably keep an eye on it just in case. Can’t hurt.

“…Anyway, time to head home~”

The truth is, I’d been thinking about lunch break the whole time, so even after the end-of-day homeroom, I hadn’t left the classroom yet. I finally grabbed my bag and was about to walk out when the teacher poked his head in.

“Teacher?”

“Oh, it’s you, Tsubaki… why are you still here?”

“Just at that age where I wanna think about stuff. What about you, teacher?”

“Thinking, huh… oh right. I remembered I have some printouts I need to give to Kanato… but he’s probably already at club by now.”

“Yeah, you’re a bit late… hey, if you want, I can go drop them off for you?”

“You sure?”

I nodded. I’m in the go-home club anyway, so nothing to do. Might as well help the teacher out for once.

“Alright, thanks. I’m counting on you.”

“Got it.”

So, off to Kanato I go. If I don’t feel like calling out to him, I could just slip into the soccer club’s room and shove these into his bag… but if someone mistakes me for a thief, that’d be a pain. Better to just honestly go find Kanato while he’s at practice.

“Ooh, they’re going at it.”

When I got to the field, Kanato was running around kicking the ball. As the next ace in the making, no one could keep up with him… okay, maybe that’s exaggerating, but the way he kept slipping past opponents one after another was seriously impressive and cool.

“…Kinda hard to call out to him right now.”

Right when I was thinking that, my eyes met Rio’s. She was holding a whistle. She quickly said something to the kid next to her and came over.

“Tsubaki-kun, what’s up?”

“Perfect timing, Rio!”

“Huh?”

I held out the printouts the teacher gave me.

“Teacher asked me to pass these to Kanato. Can you give them to him?”

“Oh, that’s it? Sure, no problem♪”

“Thanks.”

After handing them over, I turned to leave, but Rio grabbed the hem of my shirt.

“You’re going already…?”

“Hey, don’t do that kind of thing to me.”

“Ehehe♪”

See? Because you do stuff like that, your boyfriend Kanato is looking over here with a… nah, he wasn’t. He was smiling normally and waving, so I waved back.

“Alright, for real this time, I’m heading home.”

“Yeah! See you later!”

With Rio seeing me off, I left the field behind.

“…Heh heh.”

A little smile slipped out naturally. Lately my days have been way too full, like the happiest days I could ask for. Hanging out with friends like Kanato and Rio is great, of course, but spending time with Hinata and the others is just… I can’t call it anything but the best.

“Everything really changed after I met Hinata…”

When I think back, it all started with Hinata. I ran into her when she had run away from home, and that same day we ended up sleeping together… then because she took a liking to me, everything flipped. Becoming friends with benefits with three senpais… I do wonder if I should be raising both hands in celebration, but at this point, trying to stick to normal common sense feels impossible. Actually, I think choosing that in this situation would be the real mistake.

“…I get why the senpais wouldn’t like it, but the one who hates the idea most is me… if I act all stubborn and hold back, it feels like they’ll slip away somewhere… that’s the vibe I get.”

Maybe because I was lost in thought like that, I ended up walking straight into someone head-on.

“…Boing?”

Instead of something hard, I felt something soft first. With how things have been lately, I realized right away what it was… a girl’s chest! And that scent, that bounciness, that hugging feel!

“Hinata…?”

“Yeah. You were spacing out, huh?”

It was Hinata standing there. She had a candy in her mouth like always, but I was honestly happy to see her. We didn’t have plans to hang out today, but running into her anytime, anywhere still felt nice.

“So, what’s up?”

“…………”

Should I just say it straight? After thinking for a second, I went with honest words.

“Hinata… if you’ve got time, wanna spend it together?”

“Sure.”

Hinata nodded at my question and smoothly stepped up beside me. With a smile that didn’t look like she’d just been fighting with Arisa and Utsuho, she linked arms with me and we started walking.

“I’m happy you said that to me, Tsubaki.”

“…I had some stuff on my mind.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s nothing deep or anything. I was just thinking how happy I am being with you and the others.”

“…Hey Tsubaki, you should realize that kind of line is what creates girls like Utsuho.”

“Nah, this much I wanna say. Being with you makes me happy.”

“…”

Hinata’s cheeks turned red in a really obvious way. Is it bad personality to just wanna stare at an expression like that? Even if it is, I still wanna keep doing it… wait, Hinata!?

“Come over here.”

She took me to the park, in a quiet corner where you could still hear kids playing. Right after she pulled me into a tight hug, she gave me a deep kiss.

“If we weren’t outside right now, I’d be going full throttle.”

“A girl your age really shouldn’t say stuff like that…”

“I don’t think a girl my age is supposed to be like me.”

“…But you still have that cute, girlish charm too.”

“…Hey Tsubaki, you really like me way too much, don’t you?”

“Ahaha… well, yeah, obviously.”

“Got something else on your mind?”

“Yeah…”

I told her the other thing I’d been thinking too.

“I do wonder… if the way things are right now is okay.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“But… I might sound greedy, but I don’t wanna stop the way we interact.”

“Being greedy is fine, isn’t it? We’re the ones who want it anyway.”

“Yeah… I know you say that. But more than anything, if I hold back even a little, I feel like you’ll drift away… like someone will snatch you away in a split second. That thought really sucks.”

That’s right… I don’t want Hinata and the others to go anywhere. The girls I got close to by sleeping together… I feel this possessive urge and I don’t want them to go anywhere. I’m seriously greedy… way too greedy, it’s kinda crazy, but I really don’t want them to leave me.

“You really say it straight, Tsubaki.”

“…………”

“But… hearing you say it like that might make me happy.”

“Hinata…”

“But the same goes both ways, y’know?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want you going anywhere either, and I’d hate it if you weren’t right beside me… so feel honored, Tsubaki. I’m saying I only want you.”

She looked a bit embarrassed, but she never looked away. Stared at by those eyes, I nodded hard… and this time I was the one who kissed Hinata. After that, we just held hands, chatting lazily as we spent the time.

“By the way, Tsubaki.”

“Yeah?”

“Next time… when can you stay over?”

“This week’s fine.”

“I’ll come.”

“Ah, okay.”