Somehow, those three guys were birds of a feather. They're all interested in someone close to them but all those times where my existence still hadn't intruded their circle, no one confessed to whoever they liked.

Today, it ended up with me being the center of the women's attention and the three of them following like ugly ducklings at our tail.

I had no qualms with the silent guy but if he really had the hots for Saki, he shouldn't have followed Ogawa or Tadano's example. What did he get now? Saki confessed her interest in me and me being me, I accepted it.

What's wrong with confessing? I always confessed straightforwardly. Telling the girls I wanted to steal them from their boyfriends. And despite their mixed reactions, I would push through.

Honestly, rejection back then was only fueling my desire to steal the girl.

For those three, they're probably too afraid of being rejected. Or they're all thinking about that so-called harmony of their group.

What do they want then? Friends forever?

Haa... Well, I wouldn't understand the true dynamics of friendship since I could be considered a loner if my relationship with those I stole weren't counted.

If one of them confessed and got turned down then shouldn't it be fine? If they're really good friends, rejection wouldn't end up with them drifting apart. Unless that rejection was something they took seriously then that's on them.

But they're all still too young. Most of them hadn't felt the feeling of love or being loved yet. It's more of mutual interest to each other.

Well, of course, that couldn't be applied to me and my relationship with my girls.

In any case, I already began my plan to make Izumi and Arisa-senpai. As for Saki, although she gave me the reason why she's interested in me… I still couldn't decide whether I would let her know what kind of relationship she would be entering by associating with me.

Like she said, she's a simple girl who had just grabbed the opportunity presented in front of her.

Nonetheless, the fear she showed earlier was genuine. She's afraid that others would know about what she's doing behind her friends' backs.

Ah. She recovered quickly anyway. When Hina asked her if she would come with us, she energetically agreed.

-

-

Before going back to pick up Aya, I went to the convenience store to buy something for Satsuki.

I received her message that they would extend their practice today for an hour. This weekend, there will be another practice match for their team.

Thinking about it, watching their match was probably a good place to bring Himeko with.

However, Satsuki might be mad at me for bringing a date along. Well, I'll ask her first if it's fine.

Or maybe after our date ended, I could run to meet Satsuki.

Either way, my part-time job would also start this weekend so it's time to properly note my schedule.

After buying a drink and a sandwich for Satsuki which was probably unnecessary but I still did, I messaged her to meet me at that side door.

Seeing her sweaty and kind of ragged appearance as well as her basketball jersey that was sticking to her skin due to her sweat, the first thing that entered my mind was how sexy she looked. Moreover, her plump thighs were exposed for my eyes to feast on.

If not for considering that Eguchi-sensei and her teammates were waiting for her, I would've held her and stopped her from going back to practice.

In the end, because I took too long being mesmerized by her figure, I got reprimanded by the foul-mouthed girl for staring too much that she ended up becoming embarrassed.

Well, she was happy how I was admiring her figure. Even if I already saw her naked multiple times, I wouldn't get tired of her.

After I handed her what I bought, Satsuki thanked me and pulled me in for a short kiss that was filled with her action before going back to her practice.

As I was going back to the clubroom to pick Aya up, Satsuki sent me a message that was filled with her thoughts that she was too embarrassed to say in front of me.

That girl, even if I already changed her to become honest with her feelings, there were still things she would be embarrassed about. And this made that girl too lovely.

Now I'm actually thankful to be able to remember how it feels to love and to be loved…

Even if it's still twisted in a lot of ways, we'll make a place for ourselves.

-

-

When I arrived at the Book Club, Haruko and the others were also preparing to leave.

So before I left with Aya, I got to properly bid Haruko, Himeko and Mina take care.

Well, I didn't push it to also walk with them since Itou and the other three were there.

With our walk towards the station, Aya was enthusiastically continuing her narration of what happened in the book she was reading.

Before we knew it, we had already arrived at the station and that made her somewhat dejected. Sending her up to her platform, I told her how I was looking forward to hearing more about the book which made the dejected girl brighten up once more.

-

-

"Onoda-chi."

Sitting at one of the benches near the entrance of the station while fiddling with her phone, Chii waved upon seeing me going back from Aya's platform.

With her pink-dyed wavy hair that was put up in a high ponytail and her uniform wherein two of her buttons were undone, despite looking like a gyaru, the girl was gathering the men's attention because of how alluring she appeared.

We actually already saw her when I entered with Aya. When our gazes met earlier, she just nodded at me, wordlessly telling me to do what I had to do first before going to her.

"Let's go?"

I asked when I approached her.

That simple question that I directed to her immediately gathered envious glares around us and it was heightened when Chii answered with a clear elation in her voice.

Although our talk went from a lighthearted to serious tone earlier, this girl's mood was back to how it always was. Whether it was a mask or not, I don't know. She also became great at acting after all.

As always, those envious glares weren't enough for me to flinch and stop approaching her.

Because the time already coincided with the office worker's time to sign off from their work, the train cars were already filled.

Instead of vying for a seat, I looked for a corner where I could let Chii rest her back while guiding her by hand.

With the sea of people inside, it's easy to lose her in the crowd.

Well, that's the excuse. In all honesty, I only wanted to hold onto her, taking advantage of this time where she's my only focus.

When I found a corner for us, I ended up standing in front of her rather than next to her. It's the most ideal position for me to continue observing the girl who changed herself because of her love and hate for me.

Unlike before when I only satisfied my unstoppable desire, I now have this new desire to get to know Chizuru. Both her gyaru persona and what she's hiding beneath it.