About half an hour later.
The tightly closed door opened.
Three gyarus, carrying big bags, walked in.
"Phew~ So exhausting, shopping this long," Yukina sighed.
"Because we bought so many things, all these new clothes and new toys, it'll definitely make Hikari-kun more interested in Ruri," Ruri said with a smile.
"Mm, this trip wasn't for nothing. We need to buy more stuff, play more tricks, only then can the three of us attract Hikari-kun more. Otherwise later he might only think about Akane and Natsuha and that would be trouble…", Reina nodded.
"By the way, where's Hikari-kun? He doesn't seem to be in the living room…", Yukina looked around the somewhat messy living room after turning on the light, puzzled.
"Could he be in his room waiting to surprise Ruri?", Ruri was also very puzzled.
"Sniff… there's a weird smell in the house, this scent… seems kind of familiar…", Reina twitched her nose a few times.
"Yukina, didn't you open the window to air things out before you went out today?", Ruri turned her head to ask.
"I did. The party smelled so bad afterwards, I opened the window before leaving, and I didn't forget the air purifier either," Yukina said innocently.
"Let's find where Hikari-kun is first," Reina had already taken off her shoes and went inside to check.
Yukina and Ruri put down the bags in their hands and started searching everywhere.
Soon, the three of them found some traces.
"Eh, there are a bunch of empty beer cans here…", Yukina shook the empty can in her hand.
"Hikari-kun's shirt and pants are by the sofa too!", Ruri picked up the clothes that smelled of Hikari and took a deep sniff, looking blissful.
"Besides Hikari-kun's clothes, there's a skirt here too, whose is this?", Reina asked, receiving no answer, but she didn't worry about it much.
"Never mind, I guess Hikari-kun is showering in the bathroom. Let's go in and surprise him," Reina noticed thin wisps of steam coming from the bathroom and wanted to slip in quickly to surprise Hikari.
She tossed the skirt onto the sofa in a rush, then, ignoring the other two who were still taking off clothes, charged toward the bathroom.
'Whoosh!'
Reina flung open the bathroom door, but froze on the spot.
"AHHH!"
Reina suddenly screamed.
Hearing the shout, Yukina and Ruri hurried over to the bathroom.
"What's wrong, Reina-chan?"
"Isn't Hikari-kun in the bathroom?"
Yukina and Ruri came up beside Reina, asking as they peered into the bathroom.
When they fully saw the scene inside, both of them were stunned.
"Ah?"
In the spacious bath pool, Hikari was indeed lazily soaking in the water, but he wasn't alone, there was another unexpected guest.
This uninvited guest was cozily leaning against Hikari, long flowing hair floating on the water's surface, a mature, delicate, rosy face, sixty to seventy percent similar to Reina, but noticeably more mature.
This beautiful long-haired onee-san was none other than the three gyarus' well-known, Hamazaki Risa.
"Ri… Risa-nee?", Yukina stared at Hamazaki Risa who was in the bath with Hikari, stunned.
"Sis, what are you doing here?", Reina loudly pointed at Hamazaki Risa and demanded.
"Nya?", Caught red-handed, Hamazaki Risa's pupils narrowed; she looked innocently at the three gyarus and let out a cat-like mew.
Faced with Risa's act of pretending not to understand human speech like a cat, the three gyarus showed no mercy.
Reina: "You, how can you be soaking in the bath naked with Hikari-kun?"
Yukina: "And leaning in his arms, what the heck is going on?"
Ruri: "Risa-nee, you… actually dared to seduce Hikari-kun?"
Reina: "Sis, you actually made a move on my boyfriend?"
"Nya~ Nya~ Nya~", Hamazaki Risa curled up in Hikari's arms, her furry mouth pressed against his chest, claws tugging at his shoulders, popping her head out from over his shoulder to meow, still trying to play cute and get away with it.
Yukina looked helpless, "Ah~ we were just outside talking about Risa-nee, and when we came in we saw this scene…"
Ruri, looking at Risa hanging all over Hikari, was considerably annoyed, "Risa-nee, Ruri told you clearly before, right? So how did this happen? Have you not evolved into a monkey that understands human speech or what?"
Reina: "You actually went after my sister's boyfriend, you sl*t, that's too much!"
Seeing the three gyarus getting angrier and angrier, Hamazaki Risa had to honestly climb out of Hikari's arms and stop pretending to be clueless.
"Nya hahaha~ actually it's not entirely my fault. If you want to blame someone, blame the three of you for making so much noise from morning till afternoon today and making me so pent-up I had no choice, nya," Hamazaki Risa scratched her head and forced a sheepish smile.
Ah… this woman has given up trying to save face.
The three gyarus exchanged a glance and came to the same conclusion.
"Anyway, this whole thing is because the three of you made the biggest noise first and bothered the neighbor, so it's your fault, meow," Hamazaki Risa continued.
Reina couldn't help swearing, "Shameless, shameless, shameless! Sis, you are really shameless!"
And having just awkwardly admitted it a moment before, Hamazaki Risa now totally let loose.
Not only did she admit everything, she grabbed Hikari's neck and smiled sweetly, "Can't help it, since Reina and you three dared to keep such a delicious thing at home all by yourselves, what's that different from putting honey into an ant nest? You're basically inviting crime!"
"Hikari-kun is way too charming, I couldn't possibly resist."
"Speaking of which… I want another go."
As she said that, Hamazaki Risa's long, lovely legs wound themselves around Hikari's waist again.
"Huh? What did you say, you sl*t going after your sister's man!", Reina's eyes widened with fury as she made a move to rush into the bath.
"So scary~ Hikari-kun, I'm so afraid~", Hamazaki Risa pretended to tremble while holding Hikari tightly.
Then she turned to threaten, "By the way, is it really okay for you to say things like that to me? Rei-Reina, have you forgotten whose house you usually live in? When you had fights with dad and mom and ran away from home, when you were feeling down, when you wanted sister gatherings…"
"Who took you in then?"
Reina was momentarily at a loss for words, "Ugh… um…"
But as Reina and Yukina stammered, feeling a bit guilty standing there, a figure suddenly rushed toward the bath.
"Risa-nee, those words you said just now don't seem to work on Ruri at all," Ruri stood with hands on hips in front of Hamazaki Risa, looking down at her with a beaming smile.
Hamazaki Risa instantly started sweating cold, "Th-that's of course, those words weren't meant for Miss Ruri-sama nya!"
Under the pressure Ruri brought, Hamazaki Risa tightened her hold on Hikari's limbs a little.
"Risa-nee, don't hug Hikari-kun so tightly! Also, pay me back the rent discount I gave you before! I'm not joking!", Ruri pried Hamazaki Risa's hands away and pouted slightly.
"W-wait, Miss Ruri, please, please spare me this time. My body can't live anywhere else, I can't live without you guys!", Hamazaki Risa continued to whine and beg.
"You mean you can't live without Hikari-kun, right? No way! Pay the rent now!", Ruri mercilessly called her out.
"Milady…", Hamazaki Risa shivered slightly, "I know, there's a pitifully thick wall between us now."
Watching the melodramatic mature onee-san perform, young, pretty Ruri stood with hands on hips, coldly observing.
Hikari, who had been comfortably soaking and enjoying the warmth while watching the three gyarus and Hamazaki Risa's farce, stretched and spoke at the right moment, "Ruri-chan, give Risa-nee some time to pay it back. After all, she only just started working. If you're in a hurry, I can front the rent to her for now."
"Eh? No, no! Why would I take Hikari-kun's money!", Hearing Hikari speak, Ruri quickly shook her head and smiled.
She resumed a stern face and turned to Hamazaki Risa, "Since Hikari-kun spoke up for you, the rent thing can wait for now."
"Thanks, Ruri-chan!", Hamazaki Risa, being sensible, hugged Ruri, mainly loosening her hold on Hikari.
With Hikari smoothing things over, the conflict ended without escalating.
Hikari glanced at the still-slightly-angry gyarus and reminded them, "You should put your clothes in the washing machine first."
Hearing him, Ruri, Reina, and Yukina looked down and realized they still had bits of clothing hanging on.
Mainly because when they heard the commotion, the three of them rushed into the bathroom too hastily and hadn't finished taking off their clothes properly.
After Hikari's reminder, the three gyarus obediently left the bath to do as he said.
———
Seeing Ruri and the other two leave, Hamazaki Risa finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She gratefully hugged Hikari again and smiled, "Fortunately we played enough before they came back. Let's go out~"
Hikari nodded, "Yeah, let's go. Risa-nee, think about how you'll explain it to them."
Hamazaki Risa looked unconcerned, "I'll go out and explain it to them. Worst case, I'll kneel and apologize…"
Saying that, Hamazaki Risa stood up from the bath, ready to leave the bathroom.
But at that moment, a figure suddenly rushed in from outside and knocked Hamazaki Risa back into the bath.
"Hmph! If you wash, we'll wash together!"
The two struggled up from the water, and Hikari saw it was Reina who had just barged in; the two sisters' hair was soaking wet.
Although they were hugging, there was a slight spark in their eyes.
"Ruri's here, Hikari-kun~", Ruri called softly and dove into the bath, grabbing one of Hikari's arms.
"Hikari-kun, Yukina also wants to wash together~", Yukina stepped into the bath and grabbed another of his arms.
"Uh… Hikari-kun, I want in too!", After roughhousing with her sister Hamazaki Risa, Reina returned to find both of Hikari's arms already taken; she hesitated for a few seconds, then grabbed his last arm.
With the three gyarus joining, the bath pool was a bit crowded but still spacious enough for five people.
Because there were more people, the atmosphere grew lively.
Under the three gyarus' liveliness, they splashed, played, and even launched a water fight.
Inside and outside the bath, they had a grand battle.
Ruri's place was brightly lit all night.
———
Night deepened, faint moonlight fell on the corridor and windows of the peaceful apartment's left-side unit.
Natsuha curled up on a comfortable big bed.
She looked at the moonlight outside, then at the silhouette lying on the bed where Hikari usually lay.
This voluptuous, mature, well-proportioned figure seemed to notice Natsuha's gaze and turned.
It was a face seven or eight tenths similar to Natsuha's, clearly indicating a blood relationship.
But unlike young Shinomiya Natsuha, this was a beautiful woman matured by time.
Yet that mature fair face bore no traces of age and was just as pretty as Natsuha, perhaps Natsuha inherited this beauty from the woman.
"Natsuha-chan, still not sleeping?", the middle-aged beauty asked, looking at Shinomiya Natsuha.
"Going to sleep soon. Mom, I'm a bit unused to you sleeping beside me," Shinomiya Natsuha said casually to her mother.
"Aren't you thinking about that little boyfriend of yours~", the middle-aged beauty smiled and looked at Natsuha.
"Ah, I told you already, it's because you're sleeping beside me that I can't sleep!", Shinomiya Natsuha complained.
"You better be!", The middle-aged beauty poked Natsuha on the head with a finger at her tone of displeasure.
Shinomiya Natsuha didn't resist, just turned her head to the ceiling.
"Tell me more carefully, what kind of person is that boy?", the middle-aged beauty asked.
"I've told you how many times already, Mom, aren't you tired of hearing it? He's a good person, a good person, a good person! He's the best, cutest, most perfect man I've ever seen!", Shinomiya Natsuha said impatiently.
"You see, you get worked up again. I only said a couple things and you get anxious…", The middle-aged beauty pouted childishly, staring at Natsuha's face, almost identical to her younger self, with displeasure.
"Mom, tomorrow when you meet Hikari-kun, you won't scold him, right?", Shinomiya Natsuha suddenly asked with some worry.
"Hmph! Depends on how he behaves!", the middle-aged beauty replied gruffly.
"You can't scold him, no matter what, don't scold him!", Shinomiya Natsuha said seriously.
"You child… not even married yet and you're already sticking your elbows out?", The middle-aged beauty couldn't help pinching Natsuha's arm.
Shinomiya Natsuha winced in pain but, instead of pinching back as usual, silently endured it, planning to use that behavior to get her mother to agree.
Seeing Natsuha stay quiet even as she pinched her, the beauty suddenly let go and turned away without a word.
She no longer responded to Natsuha's questions and didn't urge her to sleep.
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