After finishing lunch, Kasumigaoka Utaha went straight to writing her novel.
The afternoon crowd in the café was light, so Shichen stood idle behind the register, killing time on his phone. He wanted to see if he could find any "familiar faces" online—nowadays, the internet was genuinely convenient, and you never knew who might show up on it. All it took were the right keywords.
As for Tohru and Chisato, they were busy experimenting with new recipes. Both of them were keen on cooking, especially after seeing how satisfied Shichen looked whenever he tasted their dishes.
The entire afternoon passed quickly. Once they finished dinner, cleaned the kitchen, and closed up shop, everyone headed upstairs. Shichen followed the three of them and suddenly realized a problem.
Things were different now with Utaha in the mix—he couldn't carry on as before. He had no clue what Tohru and Chisato might do when it was time for bed, and the thought made him slow his footsteps unconsciously.
Kasumigaoka Utaha and the other two had already gone up to the second floor. She turned around, seeing Shichen still only a few steps up from the bottom.
"What are you doing?" she asked, puzzled.
"Just remembered if I locked the door… You guys go on ahead and shower," Shichen said, about to turn around.
"You already locked it. Didn't I watch you do it?" Utaha pointed out.
"Did I? Let me just double-check. Better safe than sorry."
"Suit yourself." Utaha didn't press further. Although she felt something off about Shichen's behavior, she decided not to dwell on it.
But when she reached the door to her new room, she discovered Tohru and Chisato had already entered Shichen's room. Heading over to his open doorway, she saw the two rummaging around in the wardrobe.
"What are you two doing?" she asked.
"Grabbing clothes, obviously. Don't you change into pajamas for bed?" Tohru looked back, returning the question.
"Of course I wear pajamas. But why are you two looking for them in Shichen's room?" Utaha's eyebrows furrowed. She had her suspicions, but she hadn't jumped to the conclusion yet.
"Why else?" Chisato said, pulling out sleepwear and turning to face Utaha with a grin. "Our pajamas are kept here."
"…But this is his room," Utaha pressed, puzzled.
"Doesn't matter," Chisato replied. "We sleep here too."
"…So you two sleep with Shichen every night?"
"Uh-huh," Chisato confirmed cheerily.
"Both of you?"
"One on each side—better than taking turns, right?"
"…Was it always like that from the start?"
"Hehe~" Chisato giggled shyly.
"Tohru, you were okay with this?" Utaha asked.
"What's wrong with it? I can't lie in that other spot anyway, so if it's empty, might as well let her have it," Tohru said matter-of-factly.
"…" Utaha's jaw tightened. She could scarcely believe the audacity of such a statement.
You like Shichen, right? Where's your sense of possessiveness? That's "the other side" of the bed—how can you just give it away?
"How on earth did you end up like this?" she demanded.
"How did I end up like what?" Tohru tilted her head, confused.
"Weren't you super hostile to me before? Why are you so generous to Chisato?"
"Well, over time, I guess."
"Huh?"
"Chisato was right: making Shichen happy is the most important," Tohru concluded.
"So you can't have possibly 'brainwashed' Tohru, huh?" Utaha said to Chisato, recalling her suspicions from earlier.
"Told you already, I did nothing. I said you were the one being narrow-minded," Chisato answered, looking amused.
"…So that's what you meant. But is this really just a matter of being open-minded? Are you both not in your right minds? Didn't Shichen do something to you?" Utaha asked, grasping at straws.
"Tch~ If only Chen-nii would do something. But he doesn't make a move," Chisato huffed unhappily.
"He hasn't done anything?" Utaha blinked in surprise. "So even though you've slept together for days, nothing happened?"
"What else could we be doing!"
"That guy… seriously? Could he be having…'physical problems'?"
"You're the one with a problem!" Shichen suddenly appeared behind Utaha, giving her a light whack on the head.
"When did you get here?" she snapped, startled that she hadn't noticed him approach.
"Right when you started grilling them," Shichen retorted, rolling his eyes. Then, nudging her, he said, "Why are you blocking the doorway? Come in, come in."
"Why are you pushing me in here? You're not planning to make me sleep with you too, are you?" Utaha took a step back and eyed him warily. "I'm not that kind of girl."
"Utaha, neither are we," Chisato cut in. "It's only because of Chen-nii that we're so forward."
"That's right. I couldn't care less about anyone else but Shichen," Tohru agreed.
"…You two sure are quick to profess your devotion," Utaha muttered, rolling her eyes again.
"All right, that's enough," Shichen stepped in. "It's been a busy day. Don't you guys get tired? Let's wash up and get some rest."
Originally, he planned to come up later, but overhearing Utaha's mild acceptance of the situation gave him a chance to jump in. Besides, if his conscience were clear, what did he have to hide? He hadn't done anything inappropriate—certainly not of his own volition. If he was already so uneasy with just two girls, how would he handle more later?
"Rest? And how exactly are we sleeping?" Utaha asked, arms folded. "You want me in your bed too?"
"Not necessarily. You can just sleep in your own room," Shichen suggested. "We don't have any rule forcing you to share my bed."
"Then what about them?"
"Same as always," Tohru said, as if it were obvious.
"Mmhmm," Chisato nodded.
"No way!" Utaha shot down the idea without hesitation.
"Why not?" Tohru looked at her quizzically.
"Why? You two plus Shichen in one bed—how is that normal?"
"But we've been doing this, it's not like it just started."
"…Starting now, each of you goes back to your own room!"
"I refuse—I want to sleep with Chen-dono," Tohru said bluntly.
"Yeah, me too—I'm sleeping with Chen-nii," Chisato chimed in.
"You two—" Utaha had no idea what to do with them. In the end, she turned to Shichen. "Well? What's your decision? Didn't you say you didn't want this?"
Shichen glanced at Tohru and Chisato, who both gave him pitiful puppy-dog eyes.
"…"
Soft-heartedness really was a curse. He didn't know how to handle it.
So here was the question: upset one person or upset two people?
~~~
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