"Alright, it was fun anyway... even if it was only about 15 minutes" Yuuji tried to cheer Lala up when he saw her disappointed expression.
"But..."
"Don't worry, it was fun" Yuuji interrupted her, "anyway, with that settled, it's time to go"
"Already?" Lala said, surprised.
"We're leaving already? But what about the ghost? I want to know more about the ghost" said Mío.
"That's right, that's right" Risa nodded along with her friend.
"It's just another person, just... well, dead" Yuuji said indifferently, "why would I care?"
"Right, Yuuji has been acting so different lately that I forgot that's what his personality is like" Risa complained.
"What's wrong with my personality?" Yuuji looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"...Nothing" Risa excused herself, "anyway, I want to learn more about the ghost, so I'm staying"
"Alright, have fun" Yuuji shrugged before looking at Rito, "what about you, Rito?"
"I'm leaving! Definitely!" Rito said immediately.
"Alright then, let's go" Yuuji agreed before using the Third Arm Sash to wrap up the unconscious Yui and lift her into the air, carrying her.
"She... will she be okay?" Rito asked, watching the strange sight of Yui wrapped like a mummy, except instead of bandages it was a completely black sash.
"I have full control over it, it's loose enough for her to breathe and move, don't worry" Yuuji replied before leaving the place, followed by Lala and Rito.
"Yuuji, Lala, Rito, goodbye. Come visit me again if you want" Oshizu said goodbye with a kind of warmth you wouldn't expect from a ghost.
"Goodbye, we will if there's a chance"
"Oshizu, I'll definitely come back!"
"G-goodbye"
...
The way back was even shorter than the way there, so within minutes, they were already outside.
Curiously, even though they had spent less than an hour inside the old school building, by the time they came out it was already sunset, with the sun dipping below the horizon and painting the sky in its characteristic orange.
"Mona, tell some guards to protect them on their way," Yuuji told Mona after realizing that by the time Risa and Mío leave, it would probably already be night.
[Right away, master]
"Rito, are you coming with us?"
"Well, we're going to the same place" Rito said awkwardly, if he could he'd rather go somewhere else to avoid feeling like a third wheel, but since they were heading the same way, there was no avoiding it.
"Well, if you want to waste time, here" Yuuji said as he handed Yui over, the committee member's body fell into Rito's arms, and he caught her easily.
"W-what? Kotegawa?"
"Yeah, you know where she lives, right? Can you take her home?"
'Even though I have no idea why he would know that, protagonists are supposed to know where heroines live, right?' that was Yuuji's extremely illogical thought as he handed Yui over to Rito.
"W-well, I do. But is it okay if it's me?" Rito admitted.
'As expected, I wasn't wrong'
"I'm sure she'd rather be carried normally instead of being carried by a floating cloth. And you're probably the only trustworthy guy in this world" Yuuji explained.
"T-the only one? Isn't that an exaggeration?... no, wait! Why doesn't Lala go? She's..."
"Impossible, Lala is coming with me" Yuuji interrupted.
"...Fine" Rito gave in, seeing it wasn't really up for discussion.
With his new task, Rito literally headed off in the opposite direction, leaving only Yuuji and Lala standing there.
"Mona..."
[Handling it]
"Alright, with that..." Yuuji smiled in satisfaction before turning to Lala, "why don't you tell me what you wanted to say while we walk home?"
"Eh? You noticed?" Lala was surprised.
"Well, sometimes you're very easy to read, you know?"
"Hehehe, I guess" Lala said while scratching her cheek a bit embarrassed as they walked.
"Well, Yuuji, I wanted to ask you if... if..."
"'If'?"
"This... well... do you think we're close?" Lala asked after hesitating several times.
"After my parents, you're the person I'm closest to" Yuuji nodded.
"Really? Great!" Lala smiled, satisfied, "and what do you think about Rito?"
"I like him. He's pretty clumsy, but he's a good person. The kind of person you'd want as a friend"
"And... umm... don't you think he's too close to me?"
"Not really, I'd say you're normal friends"
"I-I see... well, you're right, but... even so, don't you feel even a little jealous of how close we are?" Lala brought her index finger and thumb close together to gesture something small while looking at Yuuji with hope.
'Jealous of Rito? He's probably the last person on Earth I'd distrust. It doesn't even bother me that... ah, I see where this is going' Yuuji suddenly realized.
Even so, hoping he was wrong, he didn't say it out loud.
"Why would I feel jealous of him?"
"Well, maybe, because we live together?" Lala asked.
"Not really, like I said, I trust Rito"
"But even if you trust him, I'm someone who doesn't understand Earth's customs, I might do something strange without knowing"
"Didn't Mikan already teach you everything you should know? That's why I said you were a bit perverted, if you keep doing it then it's not just innocence anymore" Yuuji joked.
"I'm not still doing that!" Lala exclaimed, turning red.
"See? Then it's fine"
"Ah, I messed up" Lala muttered to herself, though Yuuji heard her anyway.
"But what about Rito? You know, he has really bad luck and always falls into embarrassing positions with girls. Maybe he'll do perverted things to me by accident"
"I don't think so, lately Rito hasn't been falling that much, right? It seems like his 'condition' is improving" Yuuji said like a doctor proud of his patient's recovery.
"But that's only because you help him at school, right? You can't do that at home too"
"..."
"You can't, right?"
"..."
"Yuuji, why aren't you answering? Could it be that you..."
"Lala, you're going in circles, let's get to the point and tell me what you want" Yuuji skillfully changed the subject.
"W-well. To solve those problems I mentioned..."
"They're already solved"
"*Cough cough*... like I said, to solve those problems... how about I live with you?" Lala finally said, ignoring his words.
"...about that"
"...does it bother you?" Lala asked, anticipating rejection.
"It's not that, it doesn't bother me, it would make me happy, very happy, really...extremely" Yuuji told her immediately.
"Then we can?!" Lala's mood instantly improved.
"W-well, about that..."
"So it does bother you"
"It's not... arghhh! Fine, you can do it" Yuuji gave in.
'I really hope I don't regret this' he thought to himself as he watched Lala's sad expression instantly disappear before she jumped toward him with open arms.
Yuuji raised his arms to catch her as usual, but to his surprise, although her body stopped, this time her face didn't.
She leaned in with the excitement of someone who had known from the start what she was going to do and kissed him.
After a few seconds, Lala finally pulled away, looking at the surprised Yuuji, who remained with his eyes wide open.
"You..."
"Surprised?" she said, both excited and nervous at Yuuji's reaction.
"...thank you"
"Thank you? Who reacts with 'thank you' to a kiss?" Lala complained.
"Yeah, sorry, that was my first kiss"
"Mine too, and I didn't ask for permission"
"At this point you're just making fun of me," Yuuji said, embarrassed by his own reaction, and Lala smiled teasingly.
"Hehe"
"Let's go home" Yuuji ignored it and started walking toward his house, with Lala practically bouncing with happiness beside him.
...
"We're back"
"Welcome back" Yami said as she came out to greet him following local customs, but when she saw Lala she frowned, "...are you going to do perverted things?"
"O-of course not"
"Where are you getting those ideas? Don't say nonsense" Yuuji said, lightly tapping Yami on the forehead.
"Why else would you bring your girlfriend to your house?"
"I'm living here from now on!" Lala exclaimed excitedly before calming down and bowing to Yami, "Yami, it's a pleasure"
Yami immediately turned her gaze toward Yuuji, her eyes wide in disbelief.
"That's right" Yuuji nodded, "why are you so surprised?"
"It's just... today I already got parents and a brother, and now a sister too, aren't I amazing?" she said with a proud smile.
"You are" Yuuji agreed while observing Yami.
'Incredible, I had never seen this side of her personality in the anime. That's why I need to make an effort to get to know them instead of relying on the anime'
"Waaah! A smiling Yami, how cute!"
Unlike the 'subtle' Yuuji, even though with her abilities Yami can detect any change, no matter how small, in her expression, Lala immediately exclaimed her surprise.
She ran toward her and hugged her excitedly.
Contrary to what Yuuji expected, Yami didn't dodge or ignore her, instead she raised a hand and gently patted her head.
"Welcome, sister"
"Yamiiii!" Lala reacted even more exaggeratedly, making Yami finally frown and forcefully free herself.
"Ah, sorry" Lala immediately reacted.
"So, what are you doing? You're acting strange" Yuuji asked.
"I told Mikan about my situation and asked for advice, she's teaching me how to be a good sister" Yami explained.
"That's true. Patting my head is something Mikan does before sighing and starting to clean up my messes" Lala nodded.
"You shouldn't be proud of that, you know?" Yuuji sighed, "by the way, did you tell anyone about this?"
"Ah!" Lala realized, "Um, Yuuji, let's postpone me moving in with you until tomorrow, hahaha. I love you, bye bye" she said embarrassed before running away.
"Big brother, what kind of weird girl did you get as a girlfriend?"
'You're not one to talk' Yuuji thought as he watched Yami say things that didn't match her personality at all.
______________________________________
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)