Chapter 41: Little Aftermath
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I was inside the tea house that was located in the backyard, surrounded by ponds and close to the edge of the hill that this resort was built on top of. The scene from here was beautiful, the town below was waking up as the sun had risen, and birds were chirpy all around us.
It was a serene and tranquil atmosphere, where one could get away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. As the sun hung in the eastern sky, the light spilled into the tea house, filling the open space that was four pillars holding a rooftop, with a table in the middle, with its warmth. The small water ponds sparkled in the sunlight, creating a calming and peaceful scene.
The tea house was the perfect place to relax and enjoy a cup of tea, surrounded by nature and in complete harmony with the surrounding environment.
I was doing just that, standing as I faced the town and sipping green tea.
Even my grumpy partner, Mai Senpai, was enjoying this peace, "Any other boy in that situation, and I would have slapped them."
"Well, it worked," I took out my phone and showed her the front page of her Insta. "53k likes in less than an hour, so early in the morning even. Be grateful, lil bunny."
"...Idiot." Mai sipped tea with a small blush on her face as she looked at the screen. "You should have told me about it first... On top of that, we don't know for sure if it expands to reality, or just the screen of the phone, so don't be so arrogant yet."
"We will see soon," I told her, nudging my chin in the direction behind her. "Look."
Mai took my suggestion and turned her head backward. The cup in her hand shook a little as she saw the entire group of kids running towards us, stepping on the stones on the ponds and reaching towards us. Even the director was coming here.
"You two!" It was Morimoto Kengo, the high school third-year music band member, who yelled at her, laughing. "Are you two dating?! Unbelievable, we rarely saw you guys interact, but now this."
Mai blushed further at them, and I noticed Mem-Cho's facial expression twisting in a not-very-pleasant way. I wonder how she felt waking up to that picture after we spent half of the night making out. I figured I should explain things to her later, it's better to clear misunderstandings.
Mai and I talked with the group. Mai was a little taken aback by the sudden attention from everyone, so I decided to clear up any misunderstanding myself.
"No, no, we aren't dating," I waved my hand as I explained. "The weather was just romantic, so..."
While I explained that, I noticed that Sen Kaibara, the first-year guy, was going to Mai and saying something that annoyed me. "Mai Senpai, in that photo it looks like he forcefully kissed you. Are you alright? If there is anything weird going on, you can tell us."
"...." I paused. My smile dropped.
Other than us, the director was nearby too; along with him, I noticed the camera crew already recording this from a distance.
A drama has begun.
* * *
A silence fell when Sen asked Mai that question, and the director backed off from the situation, returning to focus on shooting this instead. The others didn't notice that, and the few that did notice it didn't show it.
Sen Kaibara was the one variable who was not from the original LoveMy cast in canon. He was here to even out the girl-to-boy ratio because there was an extra female cast this time—Mai Senpai.
Sen looked at our faces. "Why are you guys looking at me like that? It really is concerning. The photo looks like he kissed her forcefully; heck, in that clip where he kissed Mem-Cho, it was kind of sudden and out of the blue too. We couldn't hear what conversation they were having, but by their movement, he suddenly held her from behind and kissed her. Now he has seemingly done something similar with another girl, so is it wrong of me to ask her for her safety?"
That is not a bad point if I do say so myself. It is true that I basically forced kissed both of the girls. However...
From the beginning, Sen Kaibara has been a little salty of me. Back when Mem-Cho and I kissed, he was the only guy who had a problem with it. From what I heard about him later, I knew the reason why.
I had replaced a male cast myself. I was told about this at the very beginning. Since I was cast at the very last minute, when the casting was already full, I had to replace one of the male actors. From what I heard, the said actor was a friend of Sen.
No wonder he held resentment towards me, as I had taken his friend's opportunity in an unethical way. I got into this show through the backdoor, whether I liked it or not. That's why, as I was aware it was my fault, I ignored the slight resentment that this guy showed from the beginning.
At this point, however, after we had shot four episodes, his resentment had grown from a mere desire to get back on the guy who took his friend's opportunity, into something more than that.
Jealousy, primarily; which he was covering with a veil of righteousness right now by asking Mei that.
It's true that I kissed Mei suddenly, but I was not a fool. She said it herself— "Any other boy in that situation, and I would have slapped them." I knew that when I pressed my lips on her. This wasn't my 9th life, so I didn't go harassing any random women. It's easy to understand when a girl would mind and when she wouldn't.
No, wait. Even if I did, who the hell is this guy to pretend-play the role of a Boy Scout? Who does he dare think he is to come judge the Venerable One?
"Hey, this..." Mai started, her voice low and uncertain, unsure how to handle this.
I stared at her for a moment. I realized her answer wasn't 'Yes, Aqua was harassing me' even if she did hesitate. Mai only hesitated because she didn't want to start a fight.
Sadly, her hesitation allowed Sen to strike back. "Look how scared you are. Please, Senpai, we are all here. If he threatened you or anything, you can tell us. We have adults here too."
"Hey, brat!" My Mem-Cho snapped just then, she sounded annoyed. "Do you realize what you're doing right now?! Her post is still up, it's even her profile picture. If he forced her, she'd have deleted it by now. You-"
"That is why I'm asking if he threatened her, Mem-Senpai." Sen bit back. "Also, you aren't the best person to take his side. You are always so lovey-dovey with him, your views are biased. Don't be shameless and stay out of this."
"...."
"That's it," how dare this bastard talk to my woman like that? I stepped forward and was just about to grab him by the collar when Mai stepped between us. "...."
"Aqua, calm down. I'll explain to them, you stay out." She looked anxious as she said, scared that I'd seriously hurt the other guy. Even if she had no idea about what kind of powers I had, she had seen me fly, and even without the magical side, I was bigger than him.
She turned to face everyone, "Guys, calm down. This situation isn't that deep. I just wasn't getting enough reach in my Insta, so we planned this to attract clout by taking a seemingly controversial selfie. Besides, do you guys really think someone like Aqua would need to force a girl?"
Everyone looked uncomfortable, especially Sen. Mai looked into his eyes. "There is a reason I chose to do the selfie with him and not you, Sen. Please don't say everything that comes to your mind, when you know all of this will be shown on television. Aqua is a little mischievous, but he is a charming and helpful kouhai. Let's not be jealous."
Sen's facial expression darkened like the dark side of the moon, as he stared to the ground and just nodded. In the distance, the filming team exchanged glances and just shrugged, they got the good clip that they were looking for.
I shook my head and Mem-Cho put an arm on my back, smiling in dark amusement.
* * *
"So that's what's up?" Mem-Cho said as we finished explaining Mai's situation to her.
We were inside the living room right now, sitting across a triangle of sofas. Mem-Cho looked at me and Mai, pondering over our words for a moment.
We told her everything. Mai didn't want to ruin whatever relationship I and Mem-Cho had because of this misunderstanding, so she herself explained everything about her situation and how my actions had just fixed all of it.
Mem-Cho stayed silent for a moment and then locked eyes with me.
"I'm surprised you're bothering to explain at all, thanks." She said, though she still looked a little grumpy.
"Yeah," I replied. Since I have decided to go with the harem route, it'd be difficult to not make my girls feel cheated, but the least I could do was to explain things to them. In particular, today's situation wasn't one where I was chasing a girl, so she deserved the explanation.
"Hmm," Mem-Cho stared at me.
"Um," Mai sounded a little worried as she chimed in between our grumpy chat. "I am sorry, I really didn't know you two were... this close. I should have known better."
"It's not your fault, Mai." Mem-Cho shook her head, staring at me. "He's just like that."
"Should I apologize too?"
Mem frowned at the question. "You would have done it already if you were guilty. But you are not. Which is understandable since you did it to save her. I am not blaming any of you." She sighed, smiling at me. "You did well, Aqua. I'm just feeling... a little unreasonably possessive. Which is stupid of me to do since I already know you have some kind of relationship with that Tsubasa girl too."
Girls were instinctually possessive, modern girls more so. They wouldn't even help a failing friend copy their paper in the exam, let alone share their man. Yet, supernatural circumstances can bypass those rules, that's why Mem-Cho decided to give in to a guy who's much younger than her. Because I am much more powerful than her, surrounded by a veil of mystery and maturity beyond my years. All of this combined helped her make some compromises; it led her to choose me despite me being with Tsubasa too.
It was a bit different, however, if I went on bagging girl after girl into this situation of ours. We need to solidify our relationship, I suppose, because I liked her and I wouldn't mind if she got addicted to me. A harem in this world would be impossible if I didn't fill the girl's head with some things that they'd usually call red flags. Their natural possessiveness can only be overcome with desperation to not lose me.
I don't usually manipulate my lovers, but in the modern world, since I have made the decision already, I had to play some mind games with her.
"Wait," Mai suddenly spoke up, looking very confused. "Are you two not dating? Mem-Cho, you just mentioned another girl. I thought you two were dating but didn't want to reveal it, I was certain you two were a couple based on how you've been acting recently. Especially today, when you are interrogating us about this."
"Ah," Mem-Cho smiled awkwardly. "This is a little... complicated."
"Mem-Cho is mine," I decided to speak up. "Some folks on Twitter might call me out for 'objectifying her', but she belongs to me. She's my woman. That's all there is to it, it matters not if we're dating or not."
Mem froze before her face went bright red, while Mai blinked, blushing a little too.
"W-w-what?! A-aqua, what are you saying i-in front of her?!" Mem-Cho jumped up, throwing fingers at me; I just shrugged. "A-also, it's true, I-I am not an object?"
"Mm-hmm?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "I didn't say you were. I wouldn't have loved you as much as I do if you were an object. I just meant you belong to me, how's that so hard to understand?"
She was about to speak again, but I raised my hands and then activated a new wind technique. I was supposed to learn only one technique per week for better foundation, as the techniques burn through my Qi channels and mend it for easier future use, but I could manage with learning two at a week.
So I decided to learn and use my 2nd Wind technique at Gold rank.
[Gale Grapple: The user can form ethereal tendrils of wind to ensnare and immobilize foes, leaving them vulnerable to follow-up attacks.]
That was the basic description, but I used it in a much less lethal way for now. The ethereal half-transparent tendrils of wind bound Mem-Cho by her waist and pulled her towards me, she gasped and landed on my arms, falling on my lap.
All of this ensued within a few seconds, as she continued looking at me in a flustered manner. "W-what are you doing, Aqua?!"
"Holding my girl, what else?" I held her by the waist. "It can't be that I'm not allowed to?"
"You idiot... Mai is still here..." she said in a low voice, but Mai could hear it. Her long bunny ears weren't for show. Oh, and they were back to black color now.
"I, uh, will leave you two alone," Mai said and stood up, quickly leaving.
Mai didn't particularly show any signs of jealousy even when I leaned in and kissed Mem and groped her ass. She and I didn't share a romantic chemistry, after all. Yet, I noticed a superseded sign of regret from her throughout this session. Understandably so. Naturally, given she lost her first kiss to me—she'd said it was her first—she may have imagined some sort of future with me. Even if just for a brief moment.
Still, she was mature enough to understand and move on.
Not that I planned to let her go.
Even if she was leaving the room for now.
I was curious about her bunny powers, it felt special to my senses. I was curious why the color changed during the night. Broken girls like her needed a strong chest to rest their heads on, luckily for her my chest is broad enough to hold many heads.
For now, I let her go, she quickly left with a small blush and a sigh hidden beneath her breath, while I continued ravaging Memmy, kissing her nape and pinching her waist to help her realize where she really belonged.
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