“Sigh… I figured this might be it,” Tsubaki muttered, exhaling deeply. She had noticed the way Akeno had been looking at her boyfriend. She was familiar with that gaze—after all, it was the sa way she and Yasaka looked at him.
Soone who was completely in love.
When Kousuke had woken her up, saying he had sothing important to tell her, she hadn’t expected it to be about another girl falling for him. Especially not Akeno, considering they hardly interacted outside of club matters—at least, as far as she knew. Yet sohow, even that little interaction had been enough to charm Rias's Queen.
'Maybe I should lock him up sowhere. Sowhere untouched by sunlight, away from everyone—maybe then he’d belong solely to .’
Her eyes briefly flickered with sothing dark as she stared at Kousuke, who visibly trembled under her gaze. Yasaka let out a lodious chuckle, seeming to take the news far more calmly—at least outwardly. That illusion, however, was betrayed by how tightly her arms wrapped around his.
“Looks like our little charr has too much charm,” Yasaka said with a smirk. “What say you, Your Honour?”
“…We should chain him in the basent or sothing,” Tsubaki replied flatly.
“Hold on, don’t go full yandere—I an, that’s hot, but still!”
“A fair judgnt, Your Honour. And luckily, my basent’s unused. A little cleaning should do.”
“…Chat, I think I’m cooked,” Kousuke muttered, staring into the distance in defeat. “Please inform my family they need to delete my browsing history.”
“…Who are you talking to?”
“My nonexistent viewers. Right, chat?” He pointed dramatically at the air beside him.
“Enough joking around,” Tsubaki said with a sigh. “Tell what you think of her.”
“Before I say anything, let explain myself. Issei’s propaganda has been a bad influence on ,” Kousuke muttered.
“Issei’s propaganda? You an his dream of becoming a Harem King?” Tsubaki asked, raising a brow.
“Oh my, dreaming of sothing like that in this day and age… As expected of the Red Dragon Emperor’s host,” Yasaka chuckled.
“Yes, ma’am.” Kousuke gave a sheepish salute before his gaze dropped to the floor. He went quiet for a mont, then said, “If it were the old , I’d be satisfied with just one girlfriend. I an, I was just a normal high schooler…”
“But I’ve changed. Maybe I’m a scumbag, but I’ve gotten a little greedy,” he admitted, looking up to et their eyes. “I wanted to monopolize both of you… and yesterday, when Akeno confessed to , I was honestly over the moon.”
“It felt like… after everything I went through in the Other World—all that suffering—it’s like maybe I deserve a little selfishness.”
He hesitated, then added, “Of course, I wouldn’t accept just any confession. I’m not that much of a scumbag—you can trust on that.”
He raised both hands, gently caressing their cheeks. “I’m sorry. If you want to leave because of this, I won’t complain. I understand how difficult this is—”
“You liar. Your eyes look like you’d fall apart if we left you,” Tsubaki said, tightening her grip on his hand against her cheek. She could feel it—how much it would truly hurt him if she did exactly that.
For once, he looked like a normal high schooler. Not so otherworldly warrior who had defeated a failed half-dragon with ease.
“Mmh… You’re such a bad liar,” Yasaka added softly. As the oldest one here, she had a different perspective on polyamory. So long as Kousuke truly loved her—and her daughter—she could accept it.
But things might not be so simple for Tsubaki.
Tsubaki sat in silence, her gaze lowering, eyes cast in shadow beneath her bangs. She wasn't angry—at least, not in the way Kousuke feared. But her heart was tight with a storm of emotions she didn’t know how to put into words.
“I know I’m not perfect,” she finally said, her voice low. “I can be cold. I get jealous easily. And maybe I’m a little too used to keeping everything under control.”
Kousuke remained quiet, watching her, letting her speak.
“But when I fell for you… I thought it would be just you and .” Her voice trembled just slightly. “I imagined a simple love. Sothing that would be mine and only mine, after everything I’ve been through. I wanted to be selfish, too.”
She looked up at him then, her eyes shimring with unspoken emotion. “But now I realize… I’m not the only one who sees you the way I do. And I hate that it hurts.”
Kousuke gently cupped her face, brushing his thumb across her cheek. “Tsubaki… I don’t love you any less because soone else loves too. That’s not how love works for .”
She didn’t pull away, even as fresh heat rose to her cheeks.
“I didn’t expect this. I didn’t plan for it. But being with you… with Yasaka… it made realize sothing,” he continued, his tone softer than she’d ever heard it. “When I was in the Other World, I didn’t think I deserved anything. I fought. I suffered. I lost so many people.”
His voice cracked faintly, but he kept going.
“Now, every ti I wake up next to you… hearing your laughter at my jokes… or catching you smiling at when you think I’m not looking… it feels like I’m alive. Like I’m finally allowed to want sothing.”
He pressed his forehead to hers.
“I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to lose you.”
Tsubaki’s breath caught in her throat. Her hands clenched his shirt, fingers trembling.
“You’re really not fair sotis,” she whispered. “Saying all the right things like that…”
“I an every word.”
A long silence fell between them, broken only by the soft hum of morning outside the windows. Finally, she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, leaning into his touch.
“I’m scared,” she admitted. “But… I still love you. And if loving you ans learning to accept this part of you too…” She opened her eyes again and t his gaze, calm and resolute now.
“Then I’ll try.”
Kousuke stared at her, stunned. Then he smiled—not his usual teasing grin, but sothing gentler. Warr.
“Thank you.”
Tsubaki flushed and quickly looked away. “But don’t think this ans you’re off the hook. If you ever make cry over this—just once—I’ll ask Yasaka for her unused basent and chain you up.”
Yasaka giggled behind them. “I’ll have my subordinates clean the basent just in case.”
“You two are scaring now,” Kousuke murmured, though there was a smile on his face. “But if we ever cross that bridge one day, then maybe I do deserve that treatnt.”
“…However, please be gentle.” This earned him a jab to the ribs. Tsubaki rolled her eyes, but there was no malice in it. She rested her head against his shoulder with a tired sigh. “Idiot.”
But this ti, she didn’t let go of his hand.
Reviews
All reviews (0)