The next day.
Eriri: "ARE YOU GUYS CHILDREN!?!?!?"
Early that morning, Eriri and Megumi had rushed to school to scrub their desks, all the while cursing Rin and Utaha for their childish behavior.
If they hadn't noticed the photos, their classmates would have thought they were being bullied come Monday.
While Eriri and Megumi were complaining, Utaha was catching up on sleep at home. As for Rin... he was currently at the studio with Nanami, Mashiro, and Rita.
In the studio, aside from Sahodo who was diligently drawing, everyone was either absent or slacking off. Shihali and the others were doujin artists without weekly deadlines, so slacking was the norm... though they'd regret it when the actual deadline loomed.
After a few brief introductions, Rin led the girls to the yard to sit under a parasol.
"So this is your manga studio." Rita looked around with curiosity. She wasn't impressed by the building—her family studio in England was much larger—but she was fascinated by the people.
"It seems to be filled entirely with cute girls." Rita winked at Rin, her voice dripping with teasing.
"Yep." Rin kept a perfectly straight face. "A complete coincidence."
Rita nearly burst out laughing. Coincidence? Every single person in the circle just happens to be a top-tier beauty?
Suspicious. Extremely suspicious!
Rita glanced at Nanami, who seemed surprisingly unbothered. She wanted to say something, but if Rin's own girlfriend was fine with it, she—an outsider—had no room to talk.
"Rita, do you want to join?" Mashiro asked on Rin's behalf. As a childhood friend of ten years, she really wanted to draw manga with Rita.
"Sure." Rita agreed without hesitation. Joining a circle meant nothing to her; if Mashiro was here, she was here. She didn't care if the other girls were involved with Rin.
She looked between Rin and Mashiro.
"By the way... Mashiro and I shouldn't keep bothering you. Once I find an apartment in a few days, we'll move—"
SLAM!
Before Rita could finish, Nanami slammed her hand on the table and stood up, her face turning instant scarlet.
"N-No! You can't!"
"Eh...?" Rita looked at the "red-temperature" Nanami in confusion. She never expected an objection from her.
Is she actually addicted to taking care of Mashiro? It's such a hassle.
I don't get it.
And if we stay here, it won't be convenient for her to be intimate with her boyfriend at night, right?
That was Rita's logic. She didn't know the real reason.
The real reason was that over the last few days, Mashiro had been making Nanami do some incredibly embarrassing things!
Like masturbating for "research" or acting as a nude model... Since Nanami was Rin's girlfriend, it was fine if he saw, but if Rita stayed, it would be too humiliating!
And if Rita stayed, she and Mashiro would be in the way of Rin and Nanami's "private time"...
Nanami snapped out of her panic and realized she had overreacted. She pursed her lips and sat back down.
"I... I just mean... Rita, aren't you starting your own manga? Being a rookie artist takes a lot of energy... I'm perfectly fine, it's no trouble at all. Leave Mashiro to me until you've officially made your debut. Yes, that's it."
Nanami spoke at a million miles an hour with her head down, looking incredibly guilty.
"Oh?" Rita was stunned. Nanami is such a good person! I can't believe she's being so considerate of my schedule! She even factored in my drawing time!
"It's fine, really." Rita waved her hand with a warm smile. Since Nanami was being so thoughtful, she couldn't let her take all the burden.
"I'll have a much easier time than you, Nanami. You have school, that... galgame project, your voice acting drills, AND Mashiro. That's too much. I don't have school; I can draw during the day and take care of her easily!"
"I..." Nanami's lips trembled.
Rin looked at the blushing Nanami and stifled a laugh. Nanami was just jealous that her "pet" was being taken away.
Though they hadn't known each other long, their experience as "rod-sharing sisters" had bonded them. Their relationship transcended friendship; it was closer to family.
Actually, they were less like sisters and more like a mother and daughter.
Rita taking Mashiro away would make Nanami's life easier, but Nanami felt like Mashiro was being stolen from her side.
But she couldn't say "Let Mashiro stay with me" out loud, and she certainly couldn't tell Rita about the parties... at least not yet.
Nanami gently kicked Rin under the table and shot him a pleading look.
Magic Ito-emon! Do something! Or Mashiro is gone!
"Ahem." Rin cleared his throat.
Nanami's eyes lit up. Is he going to turn Rita into a "sister" too? That would solve everything. Nanami trusted Rin's methods; Rita would be one of them in no time.
As Nanami relaxed, Rin spoke.
"Nanami is just jealous because she thinks you're stealing Mashiro from her."
"YOU-YOU-YOU-YOU! WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!!!" A beet-red Nanami instinctively punched Rin's shoulder, but her tiny fist had zero impact.
Nanami never expected her "Magic Ito-emon" would just blunt-force the truth out like that.
"Eh? Is that it?" Rita suppressed a giggle. "It seems Mashiro found a truly great friend here... Miss Aoyama, you're actually jealous? That's so cute~"
"Mmh." Mashiro nodded seriously. "Nanami is cute!"
"Nanami is the cutest~" Rin chimed in, holding back a laugh.
"St-Stop it." With nowhere to run, Nanami covered her face. But her ears were glowing red, fully exposed to Rin's view. So cute~
Even during the parties, Nanami's ears never got this red. Rin felt she was about to look for a way to leave the planet.
"Ahem." Rin cleared his throat again. "In that case... why don't Rita and Nanami have a competition? The winner gets the right to take care of Mashiro!"