Ch 34 - A Normal Day...Right? Pt. 2

"Hah…nothing but a good date in a mall, am I right, Mel?" I asked as I put my hand around her waist.

"Un! Shiro-kun!"

We both giggled while looking at each other.

"Hrrmph! Mel-chan!" The girl said as she pulled Mel by her right hand, getting her out of my right arm's reach.

"O-Oh...well, I guess you girls have your fun. As long as Mel's happy." I said to the both of them and giggled.

"Don't worry. Come with us, Shiro-kun!~" She said with a wink.

I looked at her and raised my cheeks a bit to let her know I'm smiling.

'...Hehe. All according to keikaku. And keikaku is the icing on the cake!' I thought as I grinned like a devil in the inside.

How did it lead up to this point? Well...just a quick rewind to what happened this morning until now.

~March 13, 2021 5:20 AM~

If you remembered what Cube, aka the horniest fucking holoauthor, did for April Fools, then yeah, you might've known that I had a wet dream, even though the date clearly said "APRIL 1", and I did my usual routine. Exercise, and then take breakfast. I also discussed with Mel for a bit, and also tried to pull some strings and begged a few Hololivers to help in the process too. Specifically, the Gen 1 members.

"Aight, this is what I'm planning…" I said.

"First things first, Mel and the girl would rendezvous at a spot. It's either at a mall, or another spot where they would've gone at a date. Nonetheless, once Mel meets up with her ALONG with me, the girl would wonder why I'm there, which Mel would then respond to me being her 'boyfriend'."

"Wait a minute, why're you acting as her boyfriend?" Choco asked.

"It'll be clarified as I explain the plan. Anyway, continuing on…"

"Because this girl loves Mel like I love Ayame, she'd naturally get pissed and stuff. I heard from Mel that she once tried to pin her down in bed and copped a feel. So I was thinking that, in this date, she'll do anything to do something similar again. Because I'm there as a third party, she can't do anything as long as I act the 'clingy boyfriend' role."

"I'll adapt accordingly to any changes in the plan, but one thing I bet she'll most probably do is to take a taxi to the mall. That's where you all will secretly rendezvous. Make sure you all go to your respective floors. Matsuri as the first floor watcher, Aki as the second, Fubuki as the third, and Choco being the 4th."

"Because it's their date and not me and Mel's, she'll try to spend as much time with Mel as possible while also making sure my distance from Mel is as far as it can get. I'm thinking that there will be a moment she'll pull something sneaky up her sleeve and go somewhere private. The only private rooms there would be are the dressing rooms and the bathrooms. The cinema can work, but I can just cling near to Mel, so...besides, I can see their movements even though it's very dark in a cinema."

"If that happens, I'll take a quick picture of it, and blackmail her back. Done....but let's assume that doesn't go to plan. Let's say she played it safe and went through the whole date safe. Mel will then lead us to a private place, and once that happens, around the middle of chatting with the girl, Choco will put her phone on mute but call Mel's phone, leading to Mel making an excuse to leave me and the girl alone. That'll also be the time where I confront the girl and brainwash her into leaving Mel alone."

"Hmm...got a question." Fubuki said.

"Yeah?"

"W-Why are we here to listen to your plan if we're not as involved as you?"

"Because you 4 are there to help me figure out where they are in the unlikely case I'll lose sight of them. You all will be scattered accordingly, from 1st floor to 4th floor. I'll invite you all, including Mel, in a LINE group chat after this, and we'll coordinate accordingly. I'll also text you all depending on which floor we're in. You all will do your best in acting natural while also tailing them, okay?"

"Alright...I guess if Mel trusts Shiro-kun on this one, then I'll trust you too!" Fubuki said.

"Heh. Nice."

"I also want to help Mel-chan too! Even if it's a bit!" Matsuri said.

"Of course! Mel is our genmate! If it means stopping something really serious, then I think that should be prioritized more!" Aki said.

"And of course, it's because it's Mel, okay? As long as she'll be fine, right?" Choco said.

"I'm not an idiot. I got an IQ of 1." I kept a straight face.

They all held in their giggles, but to no avail, came out as a little snicker.

"W-What?" Fubuki said.

"Nothing. Anyway...dress up, everybody. We're about to commence Operation: Save Mel! Privates, follow my orders, and Mel is guaranteed to go back to a normal streaming life without any nuisances in the way."

"Ryoukai, General Shiro!" Everybody except Mel said and saluted.

'...WRONG. FUCKING. HAND. YOU FUCKS.' I thought in my mind and committed die when I saw them not only saluting with their left hands in unison, but even putting it under the brow. UNDER THE BROW.

"...Y-Yeah." I let out though while shivering a lot.

"Everybody…" Mel said.

"Oh?" We all said as we faced her.

"...I'm very sorry for dragging you all into this...and especially Shiro-kun."

"I thought that she'd go away from just going on a date, but...after thinking of what Shiro-kun said, and especially thinking about it myself...I-I...I realized that...maybe I do need help. I realized that problems like these requires help from others…" She continued.

She looked at each one of us.

"Everybody, let's do our part and stop this! I know Shiro-kun's plan will work today! He saved me from the past, he'll do it again!"

She then looked at me and gave a smile.

"You did promise to help me and protect me to make sure nothing bad will happen, right?"

"Heh. Of course. I don't back down from my words."

And so, we dressed. I did meet some Hololivers as we went out, and uh...damn, "#SOUNDCLOUDRAPPER" was talked a lot by them, wondering whose moan it was...Welp, once Calli knows about it, I'm dead.

So we took a taxi, and drove there. The Gen 1 gladly spied from a distance, while it was go time for Mel and me.

"Hmm...where is she...? ...oh? Ah, Mel-chan!" She said as she waved at Mel.

"...Wait a minute-" She said as she made eye contact with me.

To not make it too suspicious, I changed my usual black mask with a navy blue mask. Slight difference, but anything to keep my identity a secret.

I wore a dark-blue short-sleeved hoodie shirt with the sleeves being light-blue, and some light-colored pants, while Mel wore a white top with a short yellow skirt. A very simple outfit. I expected something a bit fancier, but...I guess Mel's makeup is what makes her whole appearance stand out. Gotta admit, me and her do look like a couple. Nice one, Mel!

"Um...Mel-chan?" She asked with her left eyebrow slightly twitching.

"Hm? What is it?~" Mel said in a very happy tone.

"...Who's that guy?" She asked as she pointed at me.

"Oh? Ah, him? This is my boyfriend, Shiro! Introduce yourself, please!" She said.

"My name is Ishijin Shiro. You probably might know me as the recent Holostar member. Pleasure to meet you. I hope you'll keep my identity a secret though. I usually tell this to people I trust, and if Mel trusts you, then I do too." I giggled.

'Well, not like you could even dox me, bitch.' I thought in my mind as I deadpanned.

"..." She kept staring at the both of us, as if she's looking at a complicated math problem that your local university teacher writes on the blackboard.

"...A-Are you two really boyfriend and girlfriend?" The girl asked.

"Un! Me and him have been dating for about 3 months!"

"Yeah...I first met her when I bumped into her at the convenience store for being clumsy...she was so beautiful, and she still is." I chuckled.

"Besides, I can't really leave my girlfriend alone! Mel's too precious! What if someone steals her away from me?~" I said.

"...Well! If that's the case, let's go and proceed with our date, Mel-chan! I was thinking of going to an eatery somewhere, but...since your boyfriend is here, maybe us three can do something fun at the mall!"

She faced forward where her back faced us, and I smirked underneath my mask.

'I bet she's thinking along the lines of "GODDAMMIT! THAT 'BOYFRIEND' OF HERS INTERFERRED WITH MY PLAN!' or something.'

If that's the case, most probably, she wanted to go somewhere quiet with her to cop a feel or something. But...going to the mall? Heh, that's convenient.

"Mel, let's go." I said as I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

"Un! Let's go, Shiro-kun!~" She said in a very cutesy tone. This girl knows how to act. Heh.

I went to LINE, went to our group chat, and typed "Mooru ike (Go to the mall)."

'I'll trust they'll do their job. Besides, I literally gave them 50,000 yen that they had to share. They better not spend it unwisely.' I thought.

And so, we did. We all sat at the back, and, just as a "fuck you" to the girl, I put my hand on Mel's hand.

"Ah…I love you so much, Mel." I said with a smile.

"...Mel?" I asked as I looked at her.

She looked straight down while sort of glancing at me.

"Y-Yeah...I love you too, Shiro-kun." She said.

'...Oh? Is she flustered?' I widened my eyes a bit.

I know me and her don't know much about each other, and especially 'cause this is just an act, but...Mel, if you act too suspicious right now, this plan will fail! Our 'relationship' is the winning condition, and if it gets blown, we're triple fucked!

...but despite her being flustered, she grabbed my hand back, making me both blush a bit and also widen my eyes. My heart also skipped a beat.

'...Heh, nice.' I thought.

Well, as long as this act stays up, that girl can't do anything but just fall right into my hands.

…

…

…

And so, that's how I came up to this point, where we finally arrived at the mall.

"1st Floor." I messaged Matsuri through LINE.

Me, Mel, and the girl started walking around the mall.

"Where do you two wanna go?" I asked.

"Hmm...I don't know." They both said.

"Well...you two wanna go drink something? I'm okay without drinking, since uh...I can't show my face too much for reasons."

"Oh? Will you buy me a vanilla milkshake?!" Mel asked.

"Mhmm. This one's on me, Mel." I patted her head.

"I'll also put it on my tab too if you also wanna have a milkshake...?" I lowered my head a bit to signal the other girl to tell her name.

"...Ameko. The 'rain' and 'child' kanji. But I'll pay for it on my own!" She said.

"Alright...hey, let's go there! I see a vacant seat, so we can talk and you two can drink. Let's go!" I said.

"Un!" Mel said.

"U-Un." Ameko said.

And so...we went there, ordered stuff for Mel and Ameko, and…

"..." Ameko was sitting in front of us while me and Mel were sitting beside each other.

"I wish you could taste this milkshake though, Shiro-kun.~" Mel said.

"I would, Mel, but...you do know I can't really take my mask off in public cause of my face, you know?"

"Yeah...but you look rather okay though. Are you sure?"

"Trust me. Though…" I said as I put my face against her hair while putting my hand around her waist, which then I did a little kiss.

"Thank you for the offer, Mel. Sasuga girlfriend of mine." I chuckled.

…Oh no.

"...Y-Yeah...I-I'm lucky to have a v-very nice boyfriend." Mel said.

Ameko groaned even more and slurped on her straw a bit stronger, making a bit of noise from it. It was noticeable enough that me and Mel looked at her.

"Er...you okay?" I sweat dropped.

"Yeah, you seem a bit tense, Ameko-chan." Mel sweat dropped.

"I'm fine!" She said as she slurped harder.

"O-Okay…" We sweat dropped.

We proceeded to go around the mall, shopping and whatnot, and we went up to the department store...since there were more clothes for women in the 2nd floor, I typed in advance on LINE to Aki, "2nd floor, department store."

Mel, me, and Ameko went to the girls' clothes section, and they started picking out clothes.

"How's this, Mel-chan?" Ameko showed a certain dress where it's white all over, but there's a lot of red embroidery on it, giving it a stylish look.

"Ah, that looks really beautiful! What about this?" Mel said, showing a simple dark blue dress.

"That'd look so good on you!" Ameko said.

'Heh...it seems they're doing fine for now…'

I glanced around the vicinity, and I finally saw a half-elf girl from the distance. I perked my head up a bit, and she waved. I nodded in response and looked back at the two girls.

"Hey! Let's go try these new outfits! Shiro-san, you think it's okay if me and Mel-chan try these out in the dressing room?"

That sentence that came out sent a quick shock down me and Mel's spines. I instantly squinted my eyes and thought of a lot of things in my head. One of them being…

'Oh? She said that so naturally, had I not been attentive, I would've left Mel jeopardized and molested secretly…'

"Ah, is that so? Mel, I think those dresses look so good on you! How about you two go to the dressing room?" I said while pointing my face towards it, which was a bit to my left.

"...Okay!" She said.

She's nervous, but most of all, afraid. I can sense it...but I'm gonna let her know what I'm planning.

"Though…" I said as I went up to Mel.

"Oh? Ah!-"

"Mel, I wanna hug you for a bit, since you two might take a while in the dressing room!" I said as I hugged her and put my head around her neck.

"E-Eh?~ Shiro-kun, it tickles!" She said as she giggled a bit.

"Hehe...hey." I whispered the last word.

I didn't hear anything coming from Mel, but I can tell her body shifted a bit, so I know she heard me.

"Don't worry...I got good ears...I won't let anything happen to you, precious girlfriend." I whispered before finally letting go.

"Ah...Mel, you're so cute." I giggled.

They both looked at me. One with a bit of an angry frown, and the other just still bamboozled.

"You girls go and play dress-up. I'll wait." I said.

"...Well, if he says so, let's go, Mel-chan!" Ameko said.

"Un!" Mel replied, and they both went to the dressing room.

…

…

'...Now.' I thought as I spedwalk while also making sure my feet weren't scraping against the ground.

The closest hoodie that's for men is about two pillars away. I need to get it, come back, and observe quickly as I pull this emergency action plan to make sure Mel won't have to be groped or touched.

I got the hoodie, went back in the same manner, and then I sneaked while listening closely to the women's dressing room.

'...So far, nothing much.' I thought.

It took a couple seconds to get this hoodie, but no sound at all from them? Strange...Is she going passive right now?

"...Oh?" I mumbled to myself.

Is that heavy breathing I heard? I don't know...but I will admit, I heard a bit of a thump on the wall...I don't want Mel to get touched, but I also don't want to be overreacting...but if I go closer, I'll be noticed.

'...Fuck it.' I thought.

"Mel! Sorry to disturb you, but can you come here for a bit?" I asked.

"...Oh? Coming, Shiro-kun!" She said as she went out of the dressing room, and then ran up to me.

"What is it?" She said as she slightly panted. Her dress looked organized, but...that panting is weird.

"Oh...you think this hoodie looks good on me?" I asked.

"Yeah! Actually, the hoodie matches your personality, if I'll be honest!" She giggled.

I looked back to see a grumpy Ameko with her pouting and her arms crossed.

'Serves ya right, bitch.' I thought.

"Oh...did I disturb your session at the wrong time?" I asked both of them.

"Nope!" Mel said.

"...Not really." Ameko said.

Mel tapped me by the chest two times, and I went "Oh?"

She did a little finger motions by contracting her index and middle finger quickly, letting me duck for a bit to get to her level, and she said these two words to my ears.

"Thank you."

She stepped away and giggled, making me stand straight again and look back at her.

'...Heh. I guess she really was being touched by Ameko. Good thing I saved her.' I thought.

"Hmph! Well, these dresses were already good. I guess I'll go to the cashier and buy them!" Ameko said.

"Me too! Shiro-kun, mind holding our bags for us?"

"I don't mind. Boyfriends are supposed to help their girlfriends after all." I giggled.

"Lemme just return this hoodie! On second thought, I think I'll save some money for another time!"

'...Yeah, I remember that this was the most annoying thing to do going out with a girl. The only girls I was not annoyed with by the slightest when I carried their bags was my mom and my 2nd ex. But to do this for Mel, who's just acting, and for this yandere bitch...I'll admit, this might be a bit troublesome for me.' I thought.

But we went out the department store, and we put the baggage in the baggage counter so that we can pick it up for later.

"You two up for a movie or something?"

"Sure!" Mel said.

"Yeah, I guess." Ameko replied.

"Wanna go to the bathroom first before we go?" I asked.

"Sure! (Sure.)" They both said.

"Mel-chan! Let's go!" Ameko said.

'Oh god, not again.' I thought.

"Hey, Shiro-kun! There's a necklace shop there! Let's go check it out for a moment!" Mel said.

'Phew. Quick wits, vampire girl.' I breathed out in my mind.

"Ah, really? I mean, if you want to, then sure!" I said.

"Sorry, Ameko-chan! Please go in the bathroom first before us! I can't really turn Mel's offer down, you know?" I said as me and Mel went off into the distance. When I saw her face, she literally pouted instantly and steam went out of her ears. Heh, another catastrophe avoided.

"...Phew. That was a close one." Mel said as we entered the said necklace shop.

"Yeah...I was about to do it, but hey, you beat me to it, huh?" I chuckled.

"I mean, I'm your girlfriend after all." She giggled.

…And just after she said that, she turned beet red, and steam went out of her ears as she looked away while shivering.

"Y-You okay?" I asked.

"I-I'm fine! N-Nothing's wrong with me!" She giggled nervously.

…Oh, it's because she said THAT.

"...Well, we can drop the act for a while. It's not like Ameko's around us right now." I said as I looked back at the bathroom that was a bit far away from the shop.

"Yeah...say, Shiro-kun."

"Hmm?"

"...Are you really willing to go through the whole day just trying to act as my boyfriend to keep her away?" She asked.

"Yeah...Mel, being forced to do something, especially if it's to control your life, is not good. That's why I'm here to stop it."

"...I'm glad...but now that I think about it...I'm very sorry for dragging not only my genmates, but even you, somebody I just know since a week ago, and not only that, we never even got to know each other that much...and to think we gotta put this act up to get rid of her? It's just…"

"...I know, Mel, but…it's okay. Once this is done, you can go back with your other genmates...hell, you don't even need to care about me anymore, 'cause in the end...all that matters is that everybody lives a peaceful life…"

"...I see." She chuckled.

"As expected of an army guy, huh?"

"Yeah…" I smiled.

"As expected of an army guy…"

We went back to the bathroom after some time, seeing a pouting Ameko with her arms crossed, and Mel went into the bathroom first. Once she came back, I went in, and...once I came out, they obediently waited for me here. Good thing she didn't do anything to Mel.

We finally went to the third floor, obviously texting Fubuki that I'm at the 3rd floor at the Cinema, and we watched a movie. An action movie.

"Woah! The moves are so slick! Damn, this is actual realistic movement! This ain't showbiz!" I chuckled.

"Mel, can you believe it? The stuntmen did really well in training the actors for this-...oh?"

"...So much blood…" They both hugged each other as they shivered.

"...Ah, I forgot some girls can't really take gore." I giggled nervously.

The movie finally ended, and uh...although the movie was absolutely awesome, with a good story, good action, and really likable characters, the two girls…

"T-The movie was k-k-kinda awesome…" They said.

"Ah...well, it's approaching lunchtime. Let's go have some lunch at the food court, ey?"

"Y-Yeah…" They both said, still shivering from the movie.

We went to the food court, which was at the 4th floor, and the two, being the usual girls themselves, ordered ALL MEAT. And because we're all Asians, of course we gotta order a lot of rice, and of course, because it's lunchtime, and we're eating in public...

I had to take out my mask for the 2nd time, showing everybody, especially Mel and Ameko.

"Mmm...!!! It's so good!" Mel said.

"Beef with black pepper sauce is the best...!" Ameko said.

"Haha...you girls seem really happy with that." I said.

"Wanna try some? It's really tasty!" Mel said.

"No thanks...I'm good." I said as I got a bit of my vegetables, got some meat, and then a big spoonful of rice.

"Really...? But chicken meat with some sauce is really tasty."

"I know...but I think I'll stick with this, thank you." I said as I swallowed my food.

"Besides, this salad as a side dish is rather tasty enough, so it's okay." I continued as I got another spoonful of vegetables, meat, and rice.

"I mean…I guess that makes sense, seeing you have a lot of meat and vegetables on your plate. Not to mention, you got quite a lot of rice on your plate." Mel sweat dropped.

"Yeah. I worked out this morning, you know? Can't skip my schedule."

"Well...as expected of a hard working boyfriend." She giggled.

"Hrrmph...!" Ameko pouted more.

"Oh? What's wrong?" I asked.

"Hmph! Nothing!"

"Really? You can talk with one of us if you want to."

"I forgot what I was gonna ask!" She said as she chewed WITHOUT closing her mouth like she's a hydraulic press.

"Hey, isn't she rather loud while chewing?" A woman within the food court said.

"Don't point your fingers, it's rude manners!" Another woman said.

"I-Is she even a woman?" A man said.

"O-Oi, the people are staring at us. Please close your mouth when you chew, Ameko." I sweat dropped.

And so, we finished lunch, and we kept roaming around the mall.

We played some games in the arcade, with me and Mel mostly playing together, adding to Ameko's pouting, and other things like shopping, going around, buying a couple stuff, and then came to a certain shop with rings...

"Look, Ameko-chan! This ring is beautiful!" Mel said.

"Eh? What about this one? Don't you think this is good too?" Ameko said.

"Ooh...! That's really beautiful!" Mel said.

The ring Ameko was pointing at stood out more than the others. It shone bright in almost all angles, and it had a pretty red gem at the top.

"Eh...? What's this, girls?" I asked.

"Hmm...it looks rather a bit expensive though." Ameko said.

"Even if we combine our money, I doubt we can even buy it if it's this beautiful…" Mel sighed.

"...Hey, how much does this ring cost?" I asked the girl behind the counter.

"OI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Mel said as she and Ameko both snapped their necks at me.

"This ring costs 6,000 yen sir."

"Ah, so it's just those casual rings, and not an engagement or marriage ring, huh?" I said.

"Yes! Are one of these girls your fiancee, perhaps, sir?"

"Ah, no. This is my girlfriend. She's a lovely woman." I said as I put my hand around Mel.

"H-Hey!" Mel said as she groaned a bit and blushed.

"This girl, on the other hand, is her friend. Third-wheeling us." I deadpanned while smiling devilishly inside.

"...Hrmph! I'm not a third-wheel! You just happened to butt in!" Ameko crossed her arms.

"However...is it okay if I buy 2 of these?" I asked.

"Sure, sir! I bet it'd look lovely for both you and your girlfriend."

"Ah, although it would...it's not really for me."

"...Oh?" The three girls said.

…

…

…

"Hmm hmm! It looks good on the two of you!" I said while crossing my arms.

"Yeah, but…" They both looked at the rings and back to me.

"W-Why did you do it for the both of us, and not you?" Mel asked.

"Well...you two love each other, right? As friends?" I asked.

"...Eh?" They both blinked twice.

"When you both started a friendship, you must've been good friends down along the line. Made memories, shared laughs, and all that stuff that friends do. Think of it as a bond that keeps you two together." I said.

Mel kept on looking at me, still flabbergasted from my logic. When I saw Ameko though...she looked down, with her eyes being overshadowed by her hair.

'...Hopefully I can execute this plan well.' I thought.

I looked around for a quick glimpse, seeing if I could see any iconic hair color within the crowd, and...Thank the Lord, I saw a white haired girl within the crowd, then saw the other 3 hair colors, seeing them look back at me. I sighed in relief, seeing that they haven't lost track of us.

'I need to finish this within this day…'

For the last activity we'd do in the mall, they took a quick snack, and we got all our baggage, riding a taxi towards a little spot where people can hang out while looking down at the city. It was Mel who suggested it.

This would serve as the perfect spot where I can get some alone time with the girl.

"You know...I sometimes go here when I have the chance, and when I do, it takes away a lot of stress from my brain, and I feel at ease." Mel said.

"Hah...I can see why. This place is relaxing…" Ameko said.

"I agree...the wind is breezy, you can see the whole city from below, and more importantly…" I leaned against the bars as the wind stroked my hair and face.

I smiled and chuckled as I looked down at the traffic and all the people walking down the streets.

"You can see everybody going through their normal lives. Not caring about anything in the world except their own life, their families, friends, and just living in the comfort of their homes...such a beautiful thing to see everyday." I chuckled.

"...Yeah…" Mel said.

"Say, Ameko-chan, you ever get a chance like this? Going somewhere or doing something to relieve some tension once in a while?" I asked.

"I do...but I usually just stay at home, going on social media."

"You prolly need to go out more. Going outside isn't bad once in a while...then again, I ain't forcing you if you love staying inside more. Most people nowadays are introverts. I'm just your run-of-the-mill ambivert normie." I chuckled.

"...BZZ. BZZ." Mel's phone rung. That was a signal that the way this plan will end...is all up to my abilities. I won't fail you now, Mel!

"Oh? Ah, I got a call from a friend. Wait here, please. I gotta take it! H-Hello...? Un, what's up?" Mel said as she went off in the distance.

I looked back, and saw Choco "going through social media" on her phone, along with the other 3 chatting with each other. What sneaky actresses.

"Ah...don't you think Mel is the most precious creature in this world? I love her to bits."

"Yeah…" Ameko said.

'Aight...I'm just gonna say my lines, tell her to leave Mel alone, and that's it-'

"Hey, Shiro-san." She started the conversation.

'...Oh? Getting the initiative, huh?' I thought.

"What is it?"

"...You're part of Holostars, right? Ishijin Shiro, the newest member? The one who went trending in Twitter for about a day or two?"

"Yeah...what about it?"

"Well…" She said as I heard a flash from her phone.

"...Oh?"

"...I'm giving you a chance to run away right now and leave me and Mel-chan to our own devices...leave us alone, and I won't dox your real identity." She said while slightly squinting.

"...Heh." I looked down from where we were, looking back at the city thriving, not caring about anything in the world and just going through their daily lives while shit's going down where I'm standing at.

"Do it...I know you can't even dox me."

"Oh, you think I won't do it?"

"Yeah. Heh."

"Oh, just you watch, mister…"

"...C'mon. I got all day." I checked my left hand's nails.

'...Oh man, I really gotta cut my nails when I get back home.' I thought.

"...There!" She said as she showed her phone to me.

"...Where is it? Where's the post?" I asked as I looked at her screen.

"Eh? ...Wait, what?!"

"I told you. You can't dox me. Nor can you dox Mel. Hell, you can't do shit right now."

"W-W-Why?! What did you do to my phone?!"

"...Heh. You see...normally, I would've messed with your phone by giving it a virus...but if I did that, then interfered with your date, which is today, you'd get suspicious...so instead, I just made fake websites, so when you would log in, not only would the posts not be valid anymore, but...your images would just be 1 kilobyte in terms of space...and by that, I mean EVERYTHING in your gallery is just 1 kilobyte. Even your videos."

"...T-Turn it back please! I-I'm sorry-"

"Could give a FUCK about your apology!" I said as I stopped leaning against the bars.

"ERK!-" She shrieked as she stepped back.

"...Do you have any fucking idea what you did to Mel? Are you that obsessed, you're willing to control her life to the point where you're literally gonna turn Mel broke? Do you have any fucking idea that what you're doing can get you in jail? Huh?! Do you know that what you're doing isn't love?!"

"...Shut up."

"Oh? Say it louder. I dare you-"

"SHUT UP!" She growled.

"...You're lucky there's not a lot of people here-"

"SHUT UP! YOUR MOUTH IS TOO NOISY! I JUST WANTED TO GO ON A DATE WITH MEL-CHAN! I HAD TO DO WHATEVER IN MY POWER TO AT LEAST HAVE SOME SORT OF CONTACT WITH HER BEFORE WE WOULD THEN DEPART FROM EACH OTHER FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG, BUT THEN YOU CAME IN AND BUTTED IN THE DATE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DISTRAUGHT I AM?!"

"And do you have any damn idea about Mel's feelings? I saw the messages. Is that how you show your 'love' for Mel?"

"...Um…" She snapped out for a bit and paused.

"...When you love a person, what's the first thing you fall in love with?"

"Um...personality?"

"Well, to me, it seems you're after her boobs." I scoffed.

"...You remember the ring I bought for you two?"

"Y-Yeah...I mean, it's on my hand right now-"

"You can always throw a damn 6,000 yen piece of trash away. Hell, you can fuck up a car that costs 2 million dollars, and that can always be bought back…but all it takes is one simple fuck-up, and you just destroyed a person's whole life. A life is priceless. So priceless, it has the ability to make a million more priceless lives proud...and once you take that life away, it can never be bought back. Same goes for relationships."

"...You're essentially killing Mel, you know? Don't you love her?" I continued.

"...I do-"

"Then why are you doing this? Forcing her to do things she doesn't like...? You know you can always ask her kindly. Going this far for your obsession is too much."

"You wouldn't understand what it's like to fall in love!"

"..."

"Think about it! Everyday, I think about her, from day till night! The loneliness! It's too much to bear! I just want...I just want somebody to be with me! From bed, to going outside, to playing together! You would never understand, you virgin asshole!"

"...I don't understand, huh...? Heh. Funny you say I don't understand what it's like to fall in love."

"E-Eh?"

"I had two girlfriends before...I know damn well what it's like to fall in love. I broke up with my 2nd girlfriend 'cause what you're showing is exactly the reason why I broke up with her...one time, she became too obsessive of me, she was willing to make me her sex slave." I chuckled.

She widened her eyes.

"I know what happened in the dressing room. You copped a feel on Mel. Imagine you two being girlfriends. You think you won't wind up the same situation as me? Please, I know it all too well…"

I walked up to her and grabbed her shoulder.

"P-Please don't hurt me-"

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know if you finally understand my goddamn point."

"..." She kept silent for a while.

"Please reconsider what you're doing right now. I can tell your feelings are obsession, not love. If it was love, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. Hell, if it was love, you would've actually talked it out with Mel first before this 'date' happened…not to mention, to blackmail someone can legitimately get you in jail. You wouldn't want Mel to send a screenshot of it to the police, right?"

"...Hai."

"...You understand now? Do you see the damage you have done?"

"Yes...I'm sorry...I won't do this again...I'm also sorry for attempting to dox you."

"I appreciate the apology, but I'm the wrong person you should be apologizing to."

"E-Eh?"

"Sigh...MEL! IT'S TIME TO DROP THE ACT!" I shouted.

"...E-Eh?" She said as Mel came out from a tree, and the other 4 genmates of hers finally went up to us.

"You see, Ameko. You may or may not have seen through it already, but in case you still haven't. This was all staged."

"Ameko-chan...I'm glad you learned your lesson." Mel said.

"Mel-chan…" Ameko said as she went and wrapped her arms around Mel.

"I-I'm very sorry...I finally realized I was being toxic and used you for my own benefits...!" She said as she shivered and started crying.

"...It's okay. You're forgiven. Just please don't do this again, okay?"

"Okay…"

I smiled a bit underneath my mask.

'Hah...that was good. I finally convinced a crazy bitch and made her mature just a bit more.'

"Um...I'm also sorry. I-I assume you're Mel-chan's friends…?" Ameko said as she wiped her eyes and looked at the others.

"Yes...but if you won't do it again, then we forgive you too!" Fubuki said.

"Um…" Ameko said as she faced me.

"Don't apologize to me. I'm not too fond of apologies. I'm more of an 'actions speak louder than words' type of guy."

"Ah...sorry." She said as the others sweat dropped.

"Besides, you already apologized to me earlier."

"Yeah...and I guess…" She said as she took the ring out of her left ring finger and showed it to me.

"Oh?"

"You can have this instead. I don't think I deserve it after manipulating Mel-chan for my own benefit and also you having to buy this for me."

"...I appreciate the offer, but-" I said as I put my hand against hers, and pushed it.

"Oh?"

"Keep it. It's your only reminder left between you and Mel's relationship. Mel, you're okay with this, right?"

"Yeah...besides, it reminds us of back when we were younger, huh, Ameko-chan?"

"Yeah…" She giggled.

"Heh. See? Just keep it. Besides, a measly 6 thousand yen is nothing for me." I shrugged.

"You don't care about your money enough…" They all sweat dropped.

"Damn, our date's done, right? I think we should all go home. Besides, I gotta work with a friend of mine 'cause I promised her I'd work with her today, and I have a stream to do this evening, which is a Valorant stream."

"A-Ah, I'll also go home, but...Shiro-san?" Ameko said.

"Hmm? What?"

"...M-My gallery…? Everything is 1 kilobyte, right?"

"Ah yeah...I was gonna restore it back to normal, but...since we're still here, I'll give you one condition in return for putting it back to normal."

"Oh? What is it?" Ameko asked as they all looked at me.

"If you pull this shit again, I'll make your life worse than what damage would've been done to Mel that you'd rather kill yourself than to live on with shame, okay?"

"...Uh...will you answer anytime now?" I asked, looking at the now-shivering girls.

"S-Shiro-kun (Shiro-san) is rather scary." They all said.

"Well, enough playing around. I'll do it as soon as possible, Ameko-chan. I'll get you a taxi with Uber."

"U-Um...I think I'll do it myself instead."

"Nah, too late, I just called for one right now. It's on me, since you might've almost spent your whole wallet on buying things for yourself out of spite."

"Ah! Now that you mention it, I only have about a thousand yen left in my wallet!"

"Fricking idiot. You girls don't know how to value money anymore." I chopped her head.

"OUCH!" She screamed.

And so, we sent her a taxi, and the taxi finally picked her up, sending her to her destination. We all waved bye at her, and we sat at a nearby bench where we would wait for our taxi, which is about 5 minutes.

"Sigh...finally, I can fucking relax." I mumbled in English to myself as I sat to the most left of the bench while the girls were talking with each other.

'Although I'm beat, as long as Mel can finally relax and a big weight is off her shoulders, I feel contented…' I thought and closed my eyes.

"Hey, Shiro-kun!" Matsuri said, who was sitting beside me. I also heard the girls stop speaking, so I'm guessing they're all looking at me.

"Hmm?"

"You had two girlfriends, right?"

"Yes, and that's the end of the conversation. I'd rather not talk about them right now." I said.

"Hmph! Party pooper!" Matsuri said.

"Ugh, why? Why do you wanna know?"

"I mean...I thought you were like a lonely loser virgin, but apparently, you had two girlfriends, huh?" Matsuri elbowed me while smugging.

"Who cares, anyway? Girls nowadays are fucking sluts. I'd rather matsurbate to 2D girls than to invest in a relationship that I know I can't maintain."

'...I guess I do gotta give more time to assess my feelings for Subaru. Maybe I was just lusting over her? Who knows...but I guess I'll give it some time.' I thought.

"Eh? But you'll forever stay a virgin loser." Matsuri elbowed me more.

"H-Hey...M-Matsuri-chan, I think you're taking the teasing too far." Fubuki sweat dropped.

"Ah! Sorry!-"

"You know...that doesn't seem like a bad idea, honestly. I'd rather die a virgin than to have sex with a girl that doesn't even love me." I chuckled.

The girls were just left there, staring at me with their mouth slightly open from my unexpected answer as we kept waiting for the taxi.