Chapter 96: Pupil

Tea time began, and for a while, everyone forgot the reason they had come.

They chatted casually.

Except for Ryo, the other three seemed to welcome Hibiki very much.

Even Hitori curiously asked Hibiki one or two questions.

Indeed, when Hibiki put on an act, she was very cute, didn't seem as foolish as usual, and kept sweetly calling them "Big Sister."

"I heard Hayato-kun say that Hibiki can play the piano?"

"Yes, when I'm free, I help teach lessons at my mom's friend's place."

"Teach lessons!?" "That's amazing, isn't it?"

"But I still can't compare to my brother. This Pervert, he could play decently in just a week."

"I know, I really don't know how Ishikawa-kun's brain works, it's too terrifying."

"Hey, when you say that, don't stare at my head, it's making my scalp tingle!"

"""Hahaha~!"""

The tea party went on for a while.

Hibiki saw that everyone had almost finished eating, so she stood up to clear the dishes.

After finishing, she said, "Then, Big Sisters, please enjoy yourselves. I won't disturb you."

Seeing Hibiki leave because she was worried about disturbing them, the others wanted to say they didn't mind but also felt awkward to ask her to stay. 

They could only look at Ishikawa Hayato, letting him do the persuading.

Ishikawa Hayato hesitated for a moment, then said to Hibiki, who hadn't left yet, "Everyone has almost finished their designs anyway. Why not join us and play for a bit?"

"Can I?" Hibiki turned back in surprise.

"Of course! You're very welcome." "Please definitely stay."

"Then, wait a moment, I'll go tidy up."

Hibiki said, holding the plates and running off happily.

Watching Hibiki leave, Nijika turned back with a smile.

She then immediately said to Ishikawa Hayato,

"Ah~ Hayato-kun's little sister is really cute, I even want to be her big sister."

"I don't mind."

Ishikawa Hayato finished speaking, tilting his head back slightly and spreading his arms, looking as if he was waiting for Nijika to jump into his embrace.

Nijika's eyes instantly lost their color, and she said coldly,

"It has nothing to do with Hayato-kun!"

Kita, from her long-standing perspective of being tormented by Ishikawa Hayato, thought for a moment.

"Speaking of which, Ishikawa-kun, you wouldn't bully Hibiki the same way you bully us, would you?"

Faced with her question, Ishikawa Hayato was astonished. He said,

"How could I!?"

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, they heard him say,

"Little sisters are specifically for bullying. How could it be just to your extent?"

"That's too awful!!"

His words made Nijika, who was also a younger sister, scream in anger.

...

After everyone cleared the things from the square table, Hibiki also ran up, poking her head in from the doorway and saying, "Downstairs is all tidied up. Everyone, come down quickly."

The five people walked from the second floor to the first floor hall.

Ishikawa Hayato noticed that there seemed to be no one else on the first floor, and asked Hibiki, "Where are Mom and Dad?"

Hibiki replied with a smile, "They had something come up and stepped out for a bit."

Ishikawa Hayato was startled. From the way his parents were before, they clearly had no plans to go out.

His little sister could actually manage to send both of them out. It seemed he had to re-evaluate her standing in the family.

The four others also relaxed considerably due to Ishikawa Hayato's parents not being present.

Hibiki walked to the coffee table, took out several board game boxes, displayed them on the table, and asked the five people, "So, what should we play next? Sugoroku, Twister, Monopoly, or Old Maid?"

Ishikawa Hayato had been paying attention to Hitori.

Every time she heard a game, her expression worsened slightly, and when she heard "Old Maid," her eyes instantly lost their color, staring blankly at the ground.

Presumably, Old Maid made her think of a lonely clown that no one needed, causing her emotional damage.

She was probably thinking:

'Old Maid.'

'This is a terrifying game that should be cursed.'

'It is a game for the majority to humiliate the lonely!'

'In the players' hands, all other cards can be paired up, and then released into the pile cheerfully.'

'Only the one Old Maid card is left behind, left out, in the hands of the person who considers themselves unlucky, constantly circulating hands.'

'In every game, it has to bear this curse from beginning to end. No one expects it, no one needs it. Being just one card, it can never find a match no matter how much it searches.'

'It's too scary...'

While the others were pondering what to play, Ishikawa Hayato subtly glanced at the outfits of the several girls beside him and said, "How about King's Game and Twister instead?"

Hearing Ishikawa Hayato say this, the three people other than Hitori thought warily.

Not to mention the inherently malicious King's Game.

Twister...

Although Ryo and Hitori were wearing long pants, Nijika and Kita were wearing skirts, and even Hibiki was wearing a short skirt. They glanced at their own outfits, and their eyes immediately sharpened.

They angrily conveyed messages with their gazes.

"Hibiki is here too, so watch yourself!" "Don't be a Pervert at a time like this!"

Hibiki also realized the problem and silently put away Twister.

Ishikawa Hayato watched the Twister game being put away.

What a shame, he thought.

At this moment, Ryo walked over, looked at the Sugoroku game box, picked it up, and said to everyone,

"Then, how about Sugoroku?"

"That's good."

Although everyone agreed, once the board was unfolded, they found that the game had quite a few traps.

For example, confessing to the player on the nearest square, telling a love story of one's own (with a penalty if there isn't one), or staring into the eyes of any player of the opposite sex for 30 seconds.

Of course, these were only a minority.

Most were minor penalties like adding "meow" to one's speech duringthis game, or drinking a glass of water in one go.

Seeing Hibiki lay out the map and arrange the pieces as if she didn't care, Nijika and the others felt awkward to refuse.

They just felt as if they had fallen into some kind of trap.

The game started without any unacceptable traps. They smoothly passed the first round, and everyone casually made fools of themselves with the small penalties, playing and having fun.

It felt harmonious.

But then came the second round.

"Then it's my turn next."

Kita looked at the subsequent squares, saw no dangerous penalties, and casually threw the dice with relief.

She counted the squares, placed her piece, and looked at the penalty.

"Eh, dancing, really?"

She sighed after seeing it, but her gaze lingered on the others, and soon she stood up as if having made up her mind.

"Then I'll dance a short segment."

She said, taking out her phone, opening music, and playing an electronic song to accompany herself, while walking to the open space in front.

The others curiously watched Kita, who inexplicably seemed a bit serious, and clapped with some anticipation.

Ishikawa Hayato and Nijika even cheered for Kita, shouting, "Kita, go for it!"

Hibiki noticed her brother's expression and also clapped to show her anticipation.

Kita calmly accepted their encouragement, smiling and waiting.

The intro began, she prepared her movements, and then, with Hitori's admiring expression, she gracefully moved to the rhythm.

The dance was K-Pop style, with sharp, energetic movements and a confident, sunny expression, almost like a professional dancer.

In Ishikawa Hayato's view, because the dancer was very cute and her movements were mature and dashing, there was an inexplicable allure.

Just as he wanted to enjoy it more, Kita suddenly stopped.

She turned off the music and said with a smile,

"I'm a little embarrassed."

"It's okay! Kita, keep going!—show us more. You were great!”

Ishikawa Hayato said with a beaming smile.

Kita rolled her eyes at him, returning to her seat with a faint smile.

At this moment, Ryo glanced at Hitori, who was looking at Kita with admiring eyes.

As soon as Kita sat down, Hibiki felt the atmosphere of the game suddenly change.

It seemed Kita's thoughtless action had made someone in the room get serious.

After Kita finished, it was Ishikawa Hayato's turn.

He clearly felt the unusual atmosphere around him and decided to observe the situation first.

He used his unpredictable throwing technique to directly move his piece to an empty area, passing this round.

Next was Hibiki, she landed on a square that required her to add any verbal tic to her sentences.

To lighten the mood, she added a cute 'meow~' to the end of every sentence.

This was met with unanimous approval from everyone except Ishikawa Hayato.

Then it was Ryo's turn.

She rolled the dice, moved a few squares according to the number, and when her piece stopped, she looked at the penalty.

'Maintain eye contact with any opposite-sex player for 30 seconds.'

It said 'any opposite-sex player,' but there was only one opposite-sex person present.

Ryo's expression remained unfazed as she read the penalty on the board.

Nijika, however, seeing the words, quickly lost her smile and said urgently,

"Wait, this is too much. How about we re-roll and get a different penalty?"

"It's fine."

Ryo calmly stood up, walked to the other side of the sofa, and approached Ishikawa Hayato, who had an expression of helplessness mixed with understanding.

Ishikawa Hayato shifted back to make room for Ryo, almost leaning onto Hibiki, but he only managed to squeeze out a space a little more than a hand's width.

Ryo sat down without a care.

Her legs and arms rested directly against Ishikawa Hayato, and her shoulder pressed against his chest.

Ishikawa Hayato could feel the slenderness and warmth of her body.

He could even smell her heart-accelerating scent.

Ryo, seemingly oblivious to his reaction, asked, "Start?"

After her voice fell, Ishikawa Hayato's expression became slightly more serious.

Having been in contact with Ryo for a long time, he knew that only twenty percent of Ryo's inner emotions were reflected on her face.

This meant that while she might only show a hint of shyness on her face, she was actually incredibly nervous inside.

If he were to look at her with any unnecessary expression at this moment, her favorability would plummet completely.

"Mm."

After nodding, he gazed directly into Ryo's golden eyes from an extremely close distance. At this proximity, their vision was almost entirely focused on each other's eyes.

Beside them, Hitori blinked at the scene, then looked away.

Kita glanced at the two with an 'I knew it' expression.

Nijika noticed the reactions from Kita and Hitori but said nothing.

Hibiki, on the other hand, looked at her brother with an admiring gaze, as if to say, 'This guy really has no fear.'