79 [79] The Venerable One’s Girlfriend Situation

Chapter 79: The Venerable One's Girlfriend Situation

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[Third Person Point of View]

The next day came, and the actors were told to roam the neighborhood and have fun. Shooting will begin near the evening, and it will be aired Live. So they were told to relax for now.

Mai Sakurajima was planning to do just that, relax and get this day over with. She was feeling… quite bitter since yesterday, but she didn't want to care.

However, her plan was trampled over when a cheerful Aquamarine invited her for a walk. Normally, he'd spend his time with Mem-Cho, so Mai was curious about what he wanted.

She accepted his offer, and they began sightseeing in the area.

"American culture is indeed different,"

"That's true,"

She was fascinated by the society here, in California. The different mix of races was uncommon in Japan, so it was new to her. Aqua didn't seem very fazed, though. She supposed he must have visited many kinds of countries already since he seemed to be from a rich family.

But in truth, Aqua had simply lived on planets where thousands of different races – actual different races, and not just groups divided by mere skin color – lived in harmony. This was backwater compared to that, so it didn't even register to him.

After walking around for half an hour, the two of them stopped to grab a drink. They were near a vending machine; Aqua went to grab a can of soda for both of them.

"Coke?"

"Pepsi."

He fetched her a Pepsi while getting a Coke for himself. They sat down on a bench and began chatting.

"So…" Mai trailed off as she took a sip. "What is your angle, Aqua?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you spending time with me?"

He looked at her at that odd question. What did she mean-? Just as he wondered, he immediately realized what she meant.

"You are asking why I'm spending time with you when I'm going to choose Mem in the evening, anyway?" he asked, but she didn't even reply. 

"...." She just took another sip, but her silence was an answer enough.

Naturally, Mei felt bitter. She lost her first kiss to this kid, and then she kissed him by herself in the last episode. So she felt a bit defeated when she heard moans coming from Mem-Cho's bedroom two nights ago.

Even though she fought for his heart, he chose another girl. It's obvious he'd choose Mem-Cho in the evening since the two of them slept together. Naturally, she felt very frustrated by this. Though she told herself it was fine since she hadn't known Aqua for that long anyway… even if he was some kind of hero, a savior to her.

Whatever the case may be, Mai accepted that Aqua chose Mem-Cho over her. She had no complaints, it was his choice... But, how did he have the audacity to invite her on a walk right after that incident?

Mai was frowning at him now; she didn't bother to hide her hostility at this point.

"Sorry, Mem-Cho and I are, uh, not like that. We did sleep together but…" he said while Mai frowned. "Anyways, that is not an issue. I just wanted to take a walk with you, I didn't have any grand idea behind it. Relax. Let's return after looking around for a bit more."

Mai stared at him. With an internal shake of the head, she finished her drink and nodded.

She was grateful to him for what he did for her, but…

'This guy is weird,' Mai noted. 'It's better to avoid him after LoveMy ends. Punk.'

The decision was made.

* * *

[First Person Point of View]

The bunny girl probably thinks I'm weird by now. That's what I wanted her to think of me, as it's better than being heartbroken twice in a row by the same guy.

If I hadn't had this chat with her today, then she'd have received a massive hit to her self-esteem in the evening. She thought I'd choose Mem-Cho in the evening, but when she would see me choose Akane instead, it would make her wonder what was wrong with her. Her self-esteem was not that good to begin with, that's why she fell into that magical situation to begin with, but now that it was recovering, I didn't want to damage it again.

So while Mai might think that I'm a very disgusting and gross playboy when I choose Akane, she wouldn't question her own self-worth. She'd rather praise herself for being smart enough to not get swayed by me, and therefore forcing me to choose Akane instead of her. That's good.

"Ah, teenage romance mind games," I ate chips as I mumbled to myself, staring into the distance from this rooftop.

Truthfully, there was a 50-50 chance of me choosing Mai over Akane. Though the logic I gave Mem-Cho about availability was true, I could compromise it if things came down to that. I developed more with Mai than with Akane. But…

The little bunny just had to eavesdrop that night.

Now there was no way to twirl the route and end up with her at this point. So the only chance left was Akane, anyway.

I… didn't like Akane that much. She was kind of gloomy without any real reason. But hopefully, just like what happened in the canon universe, she would regain her confidence after this show ended. This type of reality show wasn't her forte, so she was like that. But I hope she would be fun enough to spend time with, otherwise, I might just end up fake dating her instead.

To begin with, I was pulled into this show because Ai insisted I needed a girlfriend and I agreed. Because that'd give me a big excuse to be free and leave the house any time I want. The situation changed and made it so that I couldn't just choose anyone, or else I'd just have chosen Mem-Cho, but the fundamentals are the same. So it wouldn't matter much if this girlfriend I get ended up being just for show.

"Hmm," I finished my snacks and tossed the packet into the air. The wind carried it away from this skyscraper as I stared down at the world. "I hope Akane doesn't end up being a waste of time."

I was sure she wouldn't. Even if she didn't work out as a girlfriend material, the Book in her soul and as an extension herself will be valuable to the sect.

I'll consider this a business investment.

* * *

[Third Person Point of View]

When evening came, Episode 8 aired to the whole world. 

In the Hoshino household, Ai sat in front of the TV with Ruby, Tsubasa, and Asia. They treated this like a movie as they ate popcorn and watched the show.

Around the 40-minute mark, the episode took an advertisement break. They knew that after the break would end, it would show live footage instead. The last twenty minutes of the show would be live, while the first forty were pre-recorded.

"Yuki is ending up with Nobuyuki, I am sure about that," Ruby said when the break began, taking a second to stretch her arms.

"That's the easy one. I think Kengo will end up with that Hawaiian girl, Alice. But I'm blank about the others." Tsubasa said.

Ai was frowning at the TV while the two young girls chatted, Asia occasionally said her opinion too.

"Mama?" Noticing Ai's frown, Ruby said. "What's wrong? You look mad."

"I'll beat that brat up when he returns," Ai said with a frown, opening her phone and going to Twitter to confirm a suspicion. On Twitter, people were swarming on a stream of the episode. "Look, they're all talking about it. Why is Aqua doing this? He was all touchy with Mem-Cho, and at the same time he's been acting flirty with the other two girls too."

"Oh…" Ruby tilted her head. "Yeah, that's annoying for me too, but… Aunty Miyako said it's just acting so it's fine."

"...."

Ai went silent and Tsubasa looked away, as if unsure about what Ruby just said.

Asia nodded, "I think Ruby-san is right. I was baffled by the display of vulgarity as well, but Aqua-san isn't like that in reality. It's just acting, no need to get mad."

'Acting, they say…' Ai kept frowning.

If anyone, she knew what acting was. Her son was peculiar at times like this. Few of his actions in this show felt like "acting" in her eyes. It was true that he showed a very different character than what he was in real life, but Ai wasn't sure. Instead of an act, it felt like he had been hiding this side of himself until now.

A prime proof of that was their current relationship. Before he went to this show, he never saw her in a romantic way, but now he did. It's as if… the show awakened something in him.

Ai had a guess - about a bad possibility - about what was going on.

Genetics. As the son of Hikaru Kamiki, Aqua must have inherited this from his father. Did going to that show awaken his slumbering playboy side…?

Ai hated playboys. Hikaru was the main reason behind that, and now Aqua… was walking that exact path.

She clenched her fists, 'If he were to do something stupid like choosing more than one girlfriend… I don't know what I'll do to him when he returns.'

She hated Hikaru, and Aqua was walking that path. But that didn't mean Ai hated Aqua. Her son was… different, he was much better than that man. So it's not as if she would get seriously mad at him if he did something foolish, but she would take intensive actions to discipline him.

Soon, the ad break ended and the episode continued. It was on Live TV.

* * *

[First Person Point of View]

The first episode began in a park. The last episode would end in a park too.

It was evening, the sky was orange as the sun was setting and we were in the woods. Muir Woods National Monument Park was a forest turner park. It was still a forest but with a paved path within it.

The actors and actresses were hanging out in a pair, for the most part. I was too, as I was with Akane, sitting on a bench.

None of us had seen the episode, so she didn't know what I did with Mem-Cho. If she knew that I was kissing Mem all over and dragged her to a secluded room when it was raining, then perhaps she might have been more reluctant right now.

"Yeah… it's been a fun month."

Our hands were intertwined. Akane was leaning her back on the bench relaxingly and staring at the sky. She seemed lost in the peacefulness of the situation.

"Despite the hiccups earlier, I'm glad I got to meet you… and the others." She said, "I got introduced to a whole new side of the world this month. Both in Fuji, and also in Hawaii. Life feels new all of a sudden."

"Don't get lost in the supernatural aspect, it's not always good," I said, just making small talk. "It's more dangerous than it is worth for most people."

"But you're not most people," Akane said and tightened her hand on mine. Instead of looking at the sky, she looked into my eyes. "I will be fine… if you're with me."

That was clearly a confession. She didn't realize that when she said it, but she did a moment later. But she just smiled still, a small blush growing on her face as she waited for my reply.

"...." I reached out a hand and placed it under her ear. She looked at me as our faces closed. Akane gulped and closed her eyes, accepting me as I kissed her.

This was our first kiss. While I had kissed the other two a few times, this was the first time I kissed Akane on the lips.

I yanked her by the waist at one point in the kiss, pulling her to sit on my lap. Then I leaned into her and kissed her deeply. At that point, I noticed many eyes on us, and obviously the cameras too.

Still, we didn't stop kissing. I'd have loved to touch her while kissing, but I didn't have any reason to show the entire world more intimate things than this with my partner.

When the kiss finally ended, Akane was a blushing mess as she quickly wiped her lips with her sleeve and her eyes refused to look anywhere else. 

'She's cute,' I suddenly noted. She was a traditional type of girl, with modern problems in her life. I suppose she seemed bland to me compared to Mem-Cho and Mai since they had magical problems in their life. But Akane isn't that bad…

"Nice~" suddenly, a voice announced. It was Sumi Yuki, the girl who had proudly announced that she wouldn't mind kissing in the show if it were with me. We didn't have any development after that, but now she was clapping with a happy smile. "Do we have this season's couple confirmed? I don't think this is another of your play kisses, Aqua, since the episode is so close to its end."

Akane was blushing, but she still smiled, looking at the ground. Naturally, since I kissed her at the pivotal moment when she confessed to me, it meant I accepted her confession. All I needed to do was smile and nod at Yuki's question.

But,

Someone spoke over me.

"Ye-"

"It's another of his play kisses," Mem said as she stepped forward. "He's not dating Akane. He's going out with me instead."

"...."

Silence stretched in the area as I looked at the devil girl who shot me a smirk.

What the fuck is she doing right now?

I should have known that spending time with a haughty Battle Goddess, and a snake, might influence her badly.

"I mean no disrespect," Another person stepped forward. I began to sweat as Mai Senpai was frowning at me and Akane. It seems I had underestimated what she'd feel when I would choose Akane over her, it was enough for her to step up in this mess of a situation. "But I think this idiot and I are in love. If you suddenly claim that you are going to date him, I'll have a few objections."

Love? What is she talking about–? Ugh, this girl was just pissed at me and wanted to mess up my situation when she saw an opportunity.

Why are women like this?

"Y-you two…" Akane chimed between the two girls' hateful gazes, and though she stuttered at first, her expression was as serious as it could be. "While I understand why you want to have him, he clearly just accepted my confession. The camera caught it, I'm sure. So there is no need to continue this useless conversation when he has made his choice already."

"You just kissed him for the first time, why are you talking as if you know him well?" Mem-Cho turned to Akane with her arms crossed. 

Dammit, what is she doing? I thought she understood and agreed with my words.

Fuck Quetzalcoatl, what did that old bitch put in her head?

Mem-Cho stared at Akane, who lowered her head as she had nothing to retort with. "That's what I thought. Aqua, do you like me? Don't lie, I'll take it seriously."

I calmed down. I didn't think Mem-Cho was the type to act too possessively even if Quetzalcoatl poisoned her mind. For now, I had to play along with whatever she was saying.

My blue eyes met hers and oddly, I didn't find any hesitation behind her gaze. She was fully prepared for this and was also ready to pay the price for messing up with my plan. 

I nodded, "I like you." In Japan, we rarely say 'I love you' as it's an extremely serious term, so only married couples say it. Saying I liked her was enough.

"...!" Akane turned to me in shock. "Then why did you accept my confession?!"

Everyone other than us four was silent. The camera crew exchanged glances and looked unsure what to do. This situation has never occurred in the show before. 

Sure, there were cases of love triangles and the one who lost the game crying in the end, but there has never been this kind of direct confrontation. By three girls, no less.

I looked at Akane, "I like you too."

"This guy is insane," Mai gawked at me with those words. "Idiot. Bastard. Why did you accept my kiss in Hawaii if you liked two other girls?"

"I…" I sighed. A situation like this could not be saved. Not when I was on Live TV. So I decided to go with the flow and at least put it out there for a future encounter. "I like you too. I like all three of you."

"...."

"...."

"...."

I ended up doing what I promised myself not to. Whatever their reaction to this would be, I knew a troublesome few months waited for me.

'Never trust a snake,' I piled another case against that Feathered Serpent bitch.

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