In Gentle Tones of Warmest White | Oumami

Chapter 9

The soft breath against his neck sent a violent shiver down Rantaro's spine. His breath hitched in his throat as he held back a giggle from the ticklish sensation. Ignoring the intense feeling (accompanied by an equally intense blush on his face), Rantaro made his way back to his room, gingerly setting Kokichi down on his bed.

"Thank you~!" Kokichi sang, purple eyes fluttering open in an obnoxious manner. "Y'know, you should give me free rides more often!"

"And what benefit would I reap from that?" Rantaro walked over to his dresser, taking out some random clothes for Kokichi to wear. "It sounds like a parasitic relationship if you ask me."

Kokichi gasped. "Are you calling me a parasite?!" He held a hand up to his chest as he feigned hurt. "I'm at least a leech!" He tone was one of mock distress.

"Wow, you say that as if it's something to be proud of," Rantaro tossed the clothes in his hand to Kokichi, letting out a playful chuckle. "Go rest up for the remainder of the night, you leech." He made his way to the door, resting his hand on the door frame and craning his head back to look at Kokichi. "I'll come back up later tonight, okay?"

The skirt of the infamous princess dress Kokichi was still wearing hid his legs entirely now that he was sitting down, making him look smaller somehow. Rantaro found it cute. He watched with a fond gaze as Kokichi nodded. "Aye, sir!"

Rantaro smiled, turning his head back around and leaving Kokichi alone in his room. He closed the door behind him, his eyes wandering to the door directly across from him.

What was Kokichi doing in the office?

Had he genuinely forgot where his room was?

A sigh left Rantaro's lips. Just how hard had Kokichi stirred up his head? That was probably the last thing he'd need right about now- that concussion was probably still painful to deal with.

Deciding not to ponder on the issue furhter, Rantaro made his way down the stairs and back to his sisters, who were exactly the same as they were when Rantaro had first left.

Itsuki was the only one watching the movie, Hikari was scrolling through her phone, and Airi and Eri had dozed off next to one another.

Rantaro pulled his phone out of his pocket, quickly glancing at the time before he pocketed his phone. "I'm gonna take Airi and Eri to their room." He told his other two sisters.

"Cool," Hikari hummed.

Itsuki merely nodded, not looking away from the movie.

"W-what? No..." Eri mumbled, starting to stir slightly. "I'm awake... I don't want to go back to my room, Taro-nii..." She rubbed her green eyes in a failed attempt to wake herself up.

"Do we have to, Ranty-nii?" Airi asked. "We were having so much fun with everyone..."

"Ouma-kun already went back to my room because he was tired as well." Rantaro told them.

"Really?" Airi tilted her head slightly to the side.

"You should listen to Rantaro-nii." Hikari chimed in, looking up from her phone. "It's not like we're going anywhere. We have plenty of time to hang out tomorrow or something."

A hum of agreement came from Itsuki. She paused the movie, turning to look at her two younger sisters.

"Fine..." Eri grumbled. "But on one condition..!" She tried to sound demanding but failed.

"What is it?" Rantaro asked, a gentle smile on his face.

"You have to... carry us..." Eri's voice trailed off at the end, her eyelids drooping.

"You guys are getting too big for me," Rantaro hadn't actually thought about until now, but they really had grown fast, huh? It was almost as if they were just born the other day. "I can't carry you both up there at the same time."

"Just take trips," Hikari was back on her phone, typing away. "It's not rocket science."

"Actually, you just gave me an idea, Hikari." Rantaro smirked slightly as he watched her thumbs stop. He heard Itsuki chuckle slightly- she probably knew what was coming. "How about you stop texting your girlfriend for a second and help me out?"

Hikari's face lit up in a bright red blush. "K-Kaiya-chan is not my girlfriend!" She exclaimed, sending a quick message before she set her phone down.

"Hm, that's strange..." Rantaro raised a finger to his lips. "I didn't even specify who I was talking about, yet you-"

"Airi-chan!!!" Hikari sang, shooting up from her seat and hurriedly making her way over to her little sister. "Let's go to your room now, okay?"

Airi nodded, giggling slightly along with Eri. Itsuki let out a small whistle, which made Hikari's blush deepen (Rantaro wasn't even sure that was possible in the first place).

Rantaro chuckled as well, turning around and kneeling so he could give Eri a piggyback ride.

As he turned around, he noticed something quickly pass around the corner. He presumed it was a shadow of sorts- he couldn't really tell since it was so brief. But who...?

Rantaro didn't think too much about it. It was probably just Fuyumisa, going about her routine. Eri clambered onto his back, and he made his way up the stairs alongside Hikari and Airi.

The two older siblings set the twins on their respective beds. After saying goodnight, Hikari was quick to leave, probably to go back to texting this so-called "Kaiya-chan" of hers.

Rantaro was a bit more relaxed with his pace, and as he was about to turn off the light, he was interrupted.

"Taro-nii?" Airi called out to her brother.

"Yeah?" He hummed, hand lingering over the light switch.

"Why did you call Koki-chan by his last name?" Airi asked.

"Yeah! Aren't you and Kichi-chan dating?"

Ah. That was right. Kokichi had lied to them and told them they were dating. He had forgot to break the news to them.

He paused for a moment before answering. "Did I?" He asked. Rantaro decided that now wasn't the time to correct them. "My bad. And yes, Kokichi-chan and I are dating. I guess it was just an old habit. Goodnight, girls."

A strange feeling took over Rantaro as he left the room. It felt strange saying Kokichi's first name for a change. The boy would probably never let him hear the end of it if he found out.

Rantaro glanced towards the direction of his bedroom. It was a nice kind of strange, the way his name rolled off of his tongue. A part of him hoped he'd be able to say his name more often.

He lingered for a moment, before shaking the thought from his head and making his way back downstairs to join Itsuki and Hikari and finish the movie.

~1.8k Words

For the fourth time, I'm sorry this chapter is out so late! D: I had 1k words written today, but I ultimately decided that I didn't really like the chapter and decided to rewrite it! On another note, I forgot to say this last time, but last chapter was the official half-way point! Or, official past halfway point. I plan to end this fic at 15 chapters! I'm a little sad it's going to send so soon, but I'm so excited to finish it! Also: Next chapter will be from Kokichi's point of view! I put some of the parts from this chapter's original draft into the next chapter, so I have a bit of a head start! I hope you're looking forward to it just as much as I am!