Ch 25

POV Kei Shimabukuro

I am going on a date with Ha chan. La-la-la. My mind felt on cloud nine as I skipped along the way to our meeting point. That\'s right. Ha chan and I are going on date today. I was not even able to sleep properly last night because I was so excited for today.

I was already at the park we had decided to meet up at 10:15. Arriving 45 minutes earlier is not unusual for your first date, right? It took me a whole hour to just get ready for today. Choosing clothes and applying make up sure takes time, doesn\'t it? I bet Ha chan will be stunned when he sees me.

As I was fantasizing about Ha chan and myself, someone tapped my shoulder.

"Kei chan sorry. Did you have to wait for long?"

"Not at all. I just arrived here myself. Moreover, it\'s still 10:40."

How cute. Ha chan also arrived early. Does he also feel the same as me?

"Then let\'s go pick a gift for Hiwari san then."

His words were like a cold splash of water on my face. In the end it\'s all because of Hiwari san. He didn\'t even notice the clothes into which I put so much effort in.

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POV Shinji Makoto

When I saw Nishikawa and Shimabukuro enter the mall, I hurriedly stuffed the food down my throat and started following them. If they entered a shop, I would just stand outside at a distance so they couldn\'t notice me.

Looking at the atmosphere around them, it seems like Shimabukuro san is already mad about something. It was apparent from looking at them. Usually, she would be chatting happily with Nishikawa, but now she is barely speaking to him. It\'s kind of amazing how Nishikawa is not able to notice anything. I almost feel sorry for her.

When I see these sort of situations, I always wonder the same thing. Is it worth pursuing the person you love even if he clearly doesn\'t feel that way about you? The same kind of thing happened with Amano. Even though he clearly rejected his childhood friend she still likes him. Like what must be done so that people realize that there\'s no point in going any further? I bet if these people try to find other people, they can easily find a fulfilling relationship. Why are they all stuck on the same person?

Leaning on the wall and lost in my thoughts, as I was on the verge of attaining nirvana, Nishikawa and Shimabukuro came out of the store they were in. I hurriedly turned my body, hoping they wouldn\'t see me. Thankfully they didn\'t notice me and continued to the next store.

Interestingly after following them for a while, I noticed a woman in a hoodie, wearing a mask, who was going in the same shops as Nishikawa and Shimabukuro were right after they did. Is she also following those two? But that does not seem likely. How did she know that they were going together? And the time and place? The only way would be to know one of them personally.

So suspicious. She is staring at Shimabukuro as if she wants to butcher her. Is she an acquaintance of Nishikawa\'s? By any chance is this another competitor? Or is she just an obstacle. Just wondering about her identity wouldn\'t do me any good. I should just ask her directly.

I walked up to her and cleared my throat.

"Cough cough."

She turned her head towards me.

"Umm… Do I know you from somewhere?" I asked her with a smile.

"No. I have never seen you in my life."

Aah. Why is she so cold? Did no one teach her to be polite? "Do you want to have coffee together?" I asked her, pointing to a Café across the floor.

"No. I came with my boyfriend."

Hmm? Why mention your boyfriend suddenly? And it\'s obvious to me that you came alone.

Only then I realized that my words could be perceived as if I was hitting on her. I hurriedly waved my hands.

"No no, I am not hitting on you, I just need to talk to you about something." Damn, how do I explain?

"If you don\'t leave, I will shout loudly now."

"Wait wait wait wait. Don\'t shout. I just wanted to ask you one question. Just one. I promise you can go after."

Maybe she finally believed my words because of my frantic actions. After a bit of silence she said, "Go on, then. What is the question?"

"Wait. I need two questions. First, what is your name?"

She looked at me coldly and said, "I don\'t give my name to random weird strangers on the street."

This girl\'s tongue has some serious thorns. Would it kill her to talk without insults?

"Haah." I sighed. I should just ask her straight.

"Why are you umm… following Nishikawa and Shimabukuro?"

Upon hearing my words her demeanour changed from indifferent to bloodthirsty.

"How do you know onii chan and that bitch?"

Onii chan? So, she is his sister. That explains how she knew everything about their plans. But damn. What did Shimabukuro do to this girl for her to call her a bitch?

"You should answer before me. I asked first afterall."

She didn\'t reply and just glared at me.

"So… can we talk properly? I mean. We can talk while following them together if you want. Since we both have questions, how about we ask one question at a time, turn-wise?" She kept glaring at me. "You can even go first."

After contemplating for a few seconds, she nodded slightly.

We walked a bit in silence, before she asked me again, "How do you know my brother."

"Ah, that. I am his classmate. Shimabukuro san is also in the same class."

Her expression turned even worse when she heard my words. Now it\'s my turn to ask. To be honest I proposed this turn-wise minigame because I know of a way to cheat. I can ask her two questions that seem to be one. This way I can ask her double the information while telling her half the answers.

"You\'re Nishikawa\'s sister, right? Why are you stalking him?"

"Yes, I am his sister. And I am not stalking him, I am just following him so that nothing bad happens to him."

Sure, sure, and I am Bill Gates. Goddamn, woman. You should at least have the self-consciousness to know what you are doing is creepy.

"Why are you here?" She asked me.

"Oh, that. I came with my friends but when I saw you following Nishikawa and Shimabukuro, I left them and started following you." I answered nervously. There is no way I am going to tell her what I was actually doing without knowing everything about her motives. On another note, look at my perfect response. I feel like I have gotten better at spontaneously lying from before. I don\'t even know if that is a positive or negative. Anyways it\'s my turn to ask.

"Do you not like Shimabukuro san?"

Upon saying her name I could feel the bloodlust in the air around imouto chan.

"That girl is a nuisance. Because of her nii chan is changing. He went with her to the amusement park and was even talking about buying her a gift."

S-scary. She is definitely having a misunderstanding. It seems she doesn\'t know about Hiwari san yet. I don\'t know how she will react when she hears that her brother is in love with another girl.

"But isn\'t Nishikawa better now? He is not as gloomy anymore, and even has more confidence than before. The people in class are also more friendly with him now."

"Who needs friends and lovers? I can support him for all his life if he wants. Why do you think I work so hard at school?"

This is bad, isn\'t it? Her head is completely cracked. If Shimabukuro is tsundere with a few crazy tendencies, then this girl is a full yandere.

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POV Haruto Nishikawa

"Ha chan did you decide what to choose?" Kei chan asked me from beside me.

"No. Not yet. Nothing seems to fit. I\'m sorry for wasting your time like this." I really did feel apologetic for taking her time on a day off. But choosing a gift is really hard. We had already visited multiple stores already, however, I couldn\'t decide on anything concrete. Kei chan did give me multiple suggestions, like small accessories, or some stuffed toy, but none of them fit the image of Hiwari san.

As I was deeply thinking about the gift Kei chan asked me in a small voice, "Do you really feel sorry for wasting my time?"

Huh? Is she mad for taking so long? I knew I should have just chosen the gift on my own.

I bowed down 90 degrees to apologize to her, "Sorry, Kei chan. I should just have come here alone. There was no need for me to bring you with me."

After looking at my face in silence fir a while she finally spoke up, "Then shouldn\'t you compensate me?"

"Of course, what do you want me to do for you?"

"Then let\'s go watch a movie right now."

What? That\'s it? Seeing the look of confusion on my face she continued.

"Obviously. Since you made me waste my time you should compensate by making me have a good time. Let\'s enjoy for a few hours, okay? We can go back to gift shopping later. Sometimes, all you need is a break."

"Then let\'s go. We can have lunch together after the movie as well." I suggested.. I definitely needed to at least treat her for the favour she has shown me.