Shinji got to work carrying out her orders, while Yuki and I made our way to the drama hall.

  "Hey, Yuki," I said softly as she opened the door to the hall.

  "What?" she replied, stepping inside.

  "I, uh… about earlier. You didn’t have to do that," I said quietly.

  "Hmph! It just makes us even," Yuki scoffed as she walked in.

  "Yeah, yeah, I know—"

  "NGH!" I cried out, only to be muffled by Yuki's back.

  "Hey, why did you sto—" I began before I looked up.

  And there was a good reason why both Yuki and I stopped talking. Because on the other side of that drama hall door stood a particular redhead alongside her two blonde sisters. The two blonde sisters were relatively normal, if you excused the fact that they had glitter on their faces. But the redhead… She had the shiniest dress of them all.

  "Whoa… Arisa, you look—" I started before her eyes landed on me.

  "OH! Souta~ Since my dear big sister Yuki has been tragically sidelined…" she exclaimed, clenching her fist.

  Sarcastically.

  "It seems you and I will have to continue the show without her. I even wore the dress to really get into the spirit."

  "How can anyone bounce back after dealing with their sister's stal-"

  Yuki froze. Her eyes widened for a split second.

  "ARISA, YOU THIEF!" Yuki shouted as she stomped toward Arisa.

  "Oh~ Deary me, big sister, I didn't see you there! I think you should go back and get some rest," Arisa purred.

  "Rest my ass! Why are you wearing my dress?" she demanded, stopping right in front of Arisa.

  "Oh shit…" I murmured, seeing what was about to happen.

  "Come on, Yuki, you've literally gone through a girl's worst nightmare, getting stalked and even attacked. Though that was your own fault. But still, you need to rest." Arisa said, pressing Yuki down into a chair before she could protest.

  "HEY, I HEARD THAT! IT WASN'T MY FAULT! I WAS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO THE STALKER WAS!" She snapped back.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Yeah, yeah, we get it, Yuki. Just sit and let me practice. After all, you know all your lines, don't you?" Arisa teased.

  "Really?" I replied, and though it should be normal to know your lines by now, considering this was literally the final day to practice, little old me didn’t know. But I guess that was because I felt pretty much useless.

  "Hmph! Of course, I know my lines!" Yuki scoffed, finally giving in to Arisa's demands.

  "Good! See, you know them, so you’ve been practising," Arisa said, covering her face slightly. "My my, big sis, you’re really trying hard for this play, aren’t you? You never really do." I swear I’d never seen Yuki's eyes widen faster than in that moment.

  Arisa leaned in ever so slightly, her teasing aura surrounding her as if she were activating her Ultra Teasing Instinct. "Is it perhaps… Because Souta is your prince?"

  Oh shit.

  My brain fully shut down.

  She actually said it. Out loud. In front of everyone.

  I'm gonna die somehow.

  Yuki looked down and… didn’t reply. At least not like the Yuki I knew.

  "Shut it, Arisa," she finally replied.

  "Oh?" Arisa tilted her head slightly. "This is a new reaction," she muttered.

  "Come on, Arisa, leave Yuki alone! Stop teasing her!" Nao chimed in, pulling Arisa back.

  "Sorry, sorry! It's just I thought she was going to be jumping all over me," Arisa said with a smirk.

  "Hey, Souta."

  "AHH!"

  "Oh, sorry. Hey, Reina," I sighed, not realising she had walked up to me.

  "No, I’m sorry. Ummm, are you alright?" she asked, her eyes drifting towards the bandage, not my face.

  "Yeah, yeah. Thanks to my doctors, who are not professionally trained, I think I should live."

  Reina let out a cute laugh as she grabbed my arm.

  "You're funny, Souta. Let's practice before everyone else gets here," she said, pulling me along.

  "Sure," I replied, smiling, hoping it looked convincing.

  ***

  Our practice went… somewhat smoothly, with Arisa doing her best to get as close to me as humanly possible and trying to stir Yuki up. At first, I didn’t understand why Arisa would poke at her sister like that. But watching Yuki chase her around the hall, laughing despite herself, it clicked. Reina and I couldn't help but smile.

  "Arisa sure has a weird way of helping her sister," I chuckled, watching Nao trying to get involved.

  "She sure does. That's her for you. She's been like that ever since we were kids," Reina muttered. We both sat on the floor against the wall. The rest of the crew had already left; it was past 1:30 in the morning, and we only had a few hours before we had to be up again. Then, like a fuse finally sparking, a thought crossed my mind. It was a strange thought but also quite logical, considering my circumstances. It had to do with the sisters, something that had been sitting in the back of my mind for a while now.

  "Reina… you don't mind me asking this?" I started, slowly turning my head toward her.

  "Hm?" she replied, facing me.

  My brow furrowed as I looked into her blue eyes. "You girls, you aren't blood sisters, are you?" I asked. "I only say that because both you and Nao have blonde hair, but Yuki and Arisa have black and red. Surely… Unless your dad, um… Got around?”

  That was the worst way to put it, I knew, but it was just what flew out of my mouth.

  Reina’s eyes widened ever so slightly. Then she smiled, it was small and restrained, before looking forward again. "Um, I don't actually want to talk about that," she said before getting up.

  "…Um, okay?" I replied, watching her smile back at me. "Let's go back to our room. We need to be up early tomorrow," she said, smiling… But it wasn’t the smile she usually gave me.

  "Oh… okay," I replied, not wanting to pry any further and risk upsetting her.

  Maybe they have a shady past. Maybe their father really was the playa that the legendary Issei Hyoudou wanted to be, or maybe their past was something darker, something Reina wasn't comfortable talking to me about.

  I'm not sure, but as bad as this sounds, I was now more curious than ever. It was the one question I wanted to ask for a while, but never got around to it. Not to mention that text message I received from Yuki, well, from her phone, that night, leaving me with questions I wanted answers to but couldn't get.

  "What a typical rom-com situation," I muttered before following Reina.

  ***

  After a slow walk back, we finally reached our room. The sounds of Reina and Nao laughing at the back-and-forth banter between Yuki and Arisa brightened the corridor. Yuki opened the door with a huff, followed closely by Reina and Arisa, leaving Nao and me lingering in the corridor.

  "You coming?" Nao asked just before entering.

  "I'm actually going to get a drink. I'll be right back," I replied before dashing off.

  "Oh. Okay! Don't be too long!" Nao shouted as she closed the door behind her. Truth be told, I wanted something fizzy, but more than that, I wanted a moment alone. Ever since that intense boss fight with Subaru, I hadn’t had a moment to gather my thoughts.

  The hallway to our room was surprisingly quiet, but the closer I got to the vending machine at the front of the building, the more I started to hear chatter.

  "Strange… I thought everyone would have gone back to their rooms by now," I muttered to myself.

  But soon, those mumbled words became clearer.

  "YOU'RE DISGUSTING!"

  "Imagine being that disturbing!"

  "I can’t believe you recorded girls, you disgusting pervert!"

  "Who are they talking to?" I said aloud, walking past the vending machine and turning the corner. The moment my eyes fell on the scene before me, I understood why everyone was so heated. My eyes widened, and flashbacks of the earlier confrontation rushed back. Being escorted away by the police, head down, wrists cuffed, was Subaru…

  Thank you for reading.

  DeadEndYuto!