Stealing Spree

A long silence ensued after that declaration from me. My dad, my mom and all the girls watching from the dining room held their breath. They believed that I’m not done yet, after all.

And that’s the correct assumption.

After organizing my thoughts, I once again opened my mouth with the same determination as before.

There’s no reason for me to falter. I had already decided all of this long before they arrived. This was just my way to show my girls how devoted I am to them as well as to inform my parents that I am serious about this.

“I am aware that I look like a fool in your eyes even after the advice you and uncle have given me whenever I will get a chance to talk to you but I don’t care. I want to let you know that my life from now on will only revolve around them, around the girls I came to love. It will be hard and full of difficulties but that’s something we’ll solve by ourselves.”

“Given that I am still living under your roof, all of this will surely look like an ignorant babble from someone who hasn’t seen the outside world yet. However, that’s not enough to discourage me. Dad, mom, it’s presumptuous of me but let me introduce them all to you.”

I paused right after this to look back as my eyes rested on Akane. Even though she’s someone they also watched grow alongside me, I still had to nail in the fact that she’s now someone I planned on living my life with.

Akane understood it and stood up from her seat and went over to my side. Following my example, she sat in seiza as I reintroduced her as not just my childhood friend but my ‘wife’. Just like how we started calling each other ever since she started living with me.

My dad still didn’t say anything but at least, he smiled slightly and nodded at Akane.

Furthermore, my mom eventually sat down next to him after giving Minoru to Miwa-nee who finished serving the tea she brewed for everyone.

“Mother, father, I am of the same mind with Ruki on what he wanted to accomplish in the future… I admit it’s hard to accept that I’m not his only one but this past month where my dream of being with him again has been fulfilled as well as the way he strives on making it up to the years that he, as he said, ‘neglected’ me, I’m more than happy to accompany him with this path he chose.” Akane grabbed my hand as she raised her head to confidently face my parents’ gaze.

“For you to accept my son’s whimsical decision, you’re sacrificing a lot, Akane.”

For the first time, my dad opened his mouth, commenting on Akane’s words.

No matter how one would look at him, he looked like an adult version of me with only a slight difference that I inherited from my mom. He’s carrying himself with more gait than me. Furthermore, with the glasses adorning his face coupled with his buttoned shirt, he looked like a respectable man on all fronts.

Nonetheless, compared to how they acted during the video call earlier, both of my parents were now shrouded in an aura of seriousness, especially my dad.

“It’s not whimsical, father. Ruki thought a lot about his decision. It’s just out of the norm. To fall in love seriously with different women is not unheard of. I may be sacrificing a lot but he’s the same.”

This girl… To say that I’m the same is not fair… It’s entirely different from the sacrifice that she’s making, the sacrifice that they’re making…

I thought of rebutting her but even before I could say anything, Akane tightened her grip on my hand before shaking her head. That gesture was easily understandable so I swallowed my words and nodded at her.

“Is that so? Alright then…”

Like me, my dad obviously cut off himself to say anything more. He’s most likely thinking of holding it until I finished introducing everyone to them.

As for my mom, she chose to not say anything and just watch at my dad’s side.

A few seconds later, Akane stood up and returned to her previous seat.

And like earlier, my gaze rested on someone who then stood up to sit next to me, introducing herself.

“Mother, father. I’m Fujima Yaeko. A year older than Ruki… I believe you’re already aware of who I am so I’ll cut my introduction short. I love Ruki and like Akane, I will stay by his side.”

Yae completed her introduction in one breath. I could see her shoulders moving up and down as she suppressed her nervousness. Due to that, I also reached for her hand and pressed on it to calm her down.

After sizing up Yae, my dad smiled and nodded at her without repeating the question he asked Akane earlier. For sure, from how Yae introduced herself, he already predicted that the girl would just answer the same.

So instead of that, he said words of acknowledgement, “Yes, I am aware of your relationship with him. You’re with him for most of his days in middle school after the first girl, who’s always with him during his first year, graduated.”

As expected, they’re also aware of Nao… But they probably stopped taking note of her because I cut her off soon after she graduated…

With this, I could guess that they’re only keeping tabs on who I was meeting in middle school. Once they graduated or drifted away from me, their eyes would stop looking at the girl…

After Yae, Yua and Aoi finished their introductions while maintaining the same straightforward approach. And just like with Yae and Akane, my dad would say something about them.

For Yua, it’s how I helped resolve that incident with the photographer and how that became the major point in her budding feelings for me.

For Aoi, it’s how the unruly girl changed over time. Her unruliness was at first her way to rebel at me but as days passed, it became her way to subtly convey her growing feelings for me.

Following Aoi, Ria stood up even before I could call for her. The observant girl walked unfalteringly, her face was brimming with confidence along with a polite smile.

As soon as she settled down next to me, the girl opened up with a different line than the first four. “Mother, father, before you say I am still young to decide that I will spend the rest of my life with Dumb-senpai, I’ll respectfully ask you to stop it… I’m young, yes. However, I’m aware of what I’m getting into by walking back into his arms. Dumb-senpai will always be Dumb-senpai but I’m confident that no one else can replace him for me. No one can be that dumb and lovely at the same time.”

Ria then turned her polite smile to a proud one. She’s flaunting how proud she is of me…

And although slightly disrespectful, her words managed to stifle a laugh not just from me but for everyone who heard it.

“Ria, do you really have to emphasize how dumb I am?” I sent a bitter smile towards her. And the answer I received was a pinch on my cheeks and a simple affirmation. “Yes, Dumb-senpai!”