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"M-Mom?!"😳
Ruri immediately looked toward the woman sitting on the sofa, startled out of her wits. Her face instantly turned bright red.
"It's already this late. Why are you still awake?"
"You texted me saying you were coming home tonight, didn't you? Of course I'd worry until I saw you get back safely." Mrs. Goko's gaze shifted toward Blake, her smile growing amused. "Though I didn't expect you to bring home such an interesting surprise."😏
Blake: "…"
Wasn't she supposed to already be asleep?!
They got caught the instant they walked through the door!
Even though Blake had nothing to hide, his face still felt a little hot. Still, he didn't try to avoid the situation. Taking a breath, he stepped forward and bowed politely.
"Good evening, ma'am. I just walked Ruri home. I'll be leaving right away…"
"He can't leave." Red-faced, Ruri quickly stepped forward and blurted out in embarrassment, "It's super late already, and it's raining outside. It's not safe for Blake to go home alone, so… can he stay over tonight?"
Sneaking a boy into the house late at night only to get caught by her mother on the spot was mortifying beyond belief.
But the events at the subway station still bothered her deeply. Ruri couldn't shake the feeling that it really had been some kind of spacetime singularity, and because of that, she absolutely didn't want Blake risking the trip home alone.
No matter how unlikely it seemed, what if it really was dangerous?
If Blake suddenly vanished from this world…
No. She refused to accept a future like that.
"Well, since he's Little Ruri's boyfriend, of course staying over is fine." Mrs. Goko smiled warmly instead of refusing. "Though Mr. Blake will have to sleep in Little Ruri's room."
"H-He's not my boyfriend…"👉👈
Ruri's face burned hotter as she stammered out a denial. Then, biting her lip, she muttered:
"If it's my room… then it's my room."
There really wasn't another choice anyway. Her parents had one room, Hinata and Tamaki shared another, and she had her own room alone.
Mrs. Goko's smile widened further.
"Letting a boy who's 'not your boyfriend' sleep in your room… Mommy's quite surprised, Little Ruri."
Ruri: "…"
This was a special situation! Otherwise she never would've let Blake stay over!
Unfortunately, she knew perfectly well that no amount of explaining would convince her mother now. At this point, all she could do was try to keep it secret from her father and sisters.
"Fuwaah…" Mrs. Goko covered her mouth elegantly as she yawned, then turned to leave. "I'm sleepy, so I'm heading to bed first. I still have work tomorrow. Take good care of Blake, Little Ruri."
The living room quickly fell silent.
Blake looked toward the black-haired girl whose face was so red it practically looked like steam was rising from her head.
"Maybe I should just go home after all?"
"No." Ruri crossed her arms firmly. "If you go back now, you'll definitely get lost inside the spacetime singularity."
"I told you to stop adding weird lore to reality."
"If magical girls exist, then spacetime singularities can totally exist too, right?"
"Or maybe they don't."
"But the subway station felt really cold."
"Couldn't that just have been psychological?"
"Ugh—"
Faced with Blake constantly ruining the mood, Kuroneko puffed up her cheeks and lightly stomped on his foot.
"This conversation is over… come to the bathroom first. You should shower."
"…"
After arriving at the bathroom, Blake first sent messages to the angel and Sagiri explaining that he'd be staying over for the night, then started washing up after taking off his clothes.
Halfway through, there came a knock at the door.
"Blake, open the door for a second." Ruri's voice came softly from outside. "I brought one of Dad's pajamas for you."
"Thanks."
Blake cracked the door open slightly and reached out to take the pajamas.
"I already laid out the bedding," Ruri whispered outside the door. "You're okay sleeping on the floor, right? If you're not used to it, you can take the bed instead. I can sleep on the floor."
"I'm totally fine." Blake answered softly. "I'm not picky about where I sleep."
"That's good…"
Ruri quietly let out a relieved breath and pressed her lips together.
"I'll be in the living room. Once you finish showering, I'll take you to my room."
"Thank you for taking care of me, Lady Ruri."
"Hmph~"
"…"
Blake closed the bathroom door again and continued bathing.
But before he finished, another knock suddenly sounded out, this time much more urgent.
"Blake, hurry and open the door." Ruri's nervous voice came from outside in a low whisper.
"What happened?"
"L-Let me in!"
Blake froze in shock.
What did she mean, let her in?
Someone was literally in the middle of taking a shower, and she still wanted to come inside. If their genders were reversed, this would absolutely count as suspicious behavior!
"Hinata came out of her room." Ruri hurriedly explained. "She's probably going to the bathroom. If she sees us, we're doomed."
Getting caught by her mother had been barely manageable.
But if Hinata found out, that would be a complete disaster.
Kids couldn't keep secrets. There was a good chance Hinata would proudly tell her friends about Blake staying over while they were playing together.
"I'm telling you, my sister Ruri brought a boy home in the middle of the night! But you absolutely can't tell anyone!"
"Did you hear? The oldest daughter of the Goko family brought her boyfriend home to meet the parents."
"No, no, actually the gloomy eldest daughter of the Goko family got pregnant unexpectedly, and now she has no choice but to bring the boyfriend home because she can't hide it anymore…"
"…"
Just imagining that scenario in her head was enough to make Ruri want to explode from sheer embarrassment.
No way!
She absolutely refused to let such a horrifying future happen!
To avoid dying of embarrassment, they had to kill the rumor at the source. Which meant Hinata absolutely could not find out that Blake was here!
"I should go hide somewhere?" Blake whispered.🤫
"Too late." Goko Ruri slipped into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Forgetting all about being shy, she hurriedly pulled Blake into the corner. "From now on, don't talk. Stay quiet."
The Goko family bathroom was old-fashioned. The bath and toilet area were separated by a frosted glass door, and once the light was on, silhouettes inside the bath could easily be seen through it.
That was why Ruri had no choice but to come in.
When Hinata came to use the bathroom, she'd definitely say something if she noticed someone inside the bath area. And if Blake stayed silent the whole time, wouldn't that make things even more suspicious?
Light footsteps quickly approached the door.
Someone entered the bathroom.
"Who's there?"
Ruri struck first.
"Huh? Sis Ruri's back already?" Hinata's sleepy voice sounded from outside. "Weren't you on a date with Mr. Blake? Why are you in the bath?"
"It wasn't a date. I just went to help him with something," Ruri corrected immediately.
"Sis Ruri really loves saying the opposite of what she means." Hinata sighed like a little adult. "If you can't be honest with your feelings, you'll end up a losing heroine someday."
"There are no feelings to be honest about!" Ruri protested, cheeks burning.
"You're lying." Hinata clicked her tongue. "The night you came back from the trip, I slept with you, remember? You were talking in your sleep and calling Blake's name the whole time."
Ruri: "..."
"....."