Stealing Spree

After calming down her older cousin who continued to bawl her eyes out from being reminded of her ex, Eimi took the apron from her and continued what she was doing in the kitchen.

On the other hand, she passed me her cousin to sit her down at one of the chairs around the dinner table.

Well, I didn’t know how to talk to her when tears still continued to drip from her eyes so after sitting her down, I continued unpacking their grocery bag and arranged it neatly.

After around 10 minutes, Eimi went back from the kitchen and prepared the table for us to eat.

Looking at the karaage that was paired with a red saucy dip and inhaling its mouth-watering aroma, the crying girl on the seat stopped and picked one without waiting for the rice to be served.

As she bit into it, the girl’s tears once again flowed out but there’s an undeniable smile on her lips as she savored the taste of the deep-fried chicken.

“Thank you for being invented, Nikaido-family special karaage!” With both of her hands on her cheeks, the girl continued munching on it.

“Are you baffled with how easily she changed her mood?” Eimi placed a bowl of rice in front of me before sitting at the chair next to me. She’s actually staring at her cousin who’s now savoring every bite of the karaage.

The thought of her ex who she cried for earlier was now completely erased.

“A bit. It seems that I really need to try this.”

“Un, then here, Ruki.”

Picking a piece of karaage on her chopsticks, Eimi dipped it in the red sauce before putting it before my mouth.

With her expectant eyes, I smiled at her before opening my mouth to take a bite.

As soon as I did… I instantly understood her cousin’s change of mood.

The sauce, the crunchy and juicy texture of the karaage instantly filled my mouth. It’s truly different from what we could buy or what we could make at home. I guess they had some special recipe from it.

Well, I’m not a gourmet so I can only describe it normally. However, it’s truly delicious that I immediately followed up for another bite.

Although Eimi was surprised by what I did, she seemed to enjoy watching me eat the karaage they kept on boasting to me.

“What do you think, boyfriend-kun? It’s good, right?”

At the side, the crying girl suddenly said in a boasting tone as she put more karaage at the bowl of rice in front of me.

“It is heavenly, onee-san. You even forgot why you’re crying. Thank you for letting me have a taste of this.” I then turned to the girl feeding me using her chopsticks. “I guess I have another reason to visit again next time.”

Eimi was overjoyed upon hearing what I said.

Well, even without this karaage, I would still go back here for this girl. But still, I appreciate the kind welcome her cousin showed me. Although she’s kind of annoying with her remarks and the way she reacted, I could feel that she accepted me for Eimi.

After a while, we began eating in earnest.

And during it, we began talking about things. This time, there were no more arguments or teasing from the two cousins.

Moreover, I found out why Eimi’s cousin was so hung up with her ex. He was stolen by someone she thought was her friend.

“Stolen, huh? Why don’t you steal him back, onee-san?”

Moving from the dinner table to the living room, I decided to stay for a few more minutes to continue chatting with them.

At the moment, Eimi and I were sticking close to each other on a single sofa while her cousin was seated across from us.

Well, after we reached some understanding at the dinner table, she stopped making snide remarks about our closeness. However, she still couldn’t look straight at us or she would become too envious.

Eimi had her head resting on my shoulder as she silently listened to our conversation.

“He willingly let himself be stolen, boyfriend-kun. I will just look desperate for him.”

“But you love him, right?”

“Love? I don’t know. I enjoyed his company. But after thinking about it… I am just aggrieved that someone dared to take what’s mine. That bitch… If I see her at the college I’ll pull her hair off her head!” Complete with the gesture of grasping something and yanking it forcefully, Anzu-nee appeared more adorable than scary.

At my side, Eimi also couldn’t help but giggle upon seeing it.

“Stop laughing at me, Eimi! Don’t be too smug now that you got this sweet guy of yours. Do you want me to steal him from you?” As if she remembered something, Anzu-nee suddenly turned her head to me and began tapping the free space next to her. “Oh. Now that I think about it, you’re my type of guy, boyfriend-kun. Why don’t you hop onto this side?”

Well, I know she’s not serious with what she said but it’s probably the first time someone said something like this to me.

Right. This is also the first time I introduced myself as a proper boyfriend to a girl’s relative so I guess this is a new experience. Obviously, Itou and Akane’s parents aren’t counted.

“I appreciate the offer but… I don’t want to see my Eimi sad, onee-san. Well, if I see that ex of yours outside, leave it to me to get back at him for you.”

“Heh… Looks like my little Eimi landed on a jackpot… Visit us again, alright?”

“Naturally. Next time I will like to see Eimi’s room.”

“Huh? Why wait next time? Go there now. This is your chance. If you come next time with her parents here, you will not have the chance to do so.”

Perhaps she didn’t expect that our conversation would reach up to here, Eimi suddenly roused from my shoulder and shouted her cousin’s name.

“Anzu-nee!”

With the same teasing smile as earlier, the little girl answered. “What? I’m only the kind older sister helping my cute little Eimi. Go on, lovebirds. My eyes need rest.”

She waved her hand before letting her body flop down on the sofa and closed her eyes. It was still sore from the crying she did earlier after all. And perhaps, she couldn’t stand seeing us flirting again.

“Well then, shall we?”

“Ruki… I forgot to clean my room.” Eimi tried to make an excuse but I already had a response for that.

“Then I will help you clean it.”

“Alright, stop flirting there and just go. Tsk.” The little girl clicked her tongue and waved her hand once more, preventing Eimi from responding.

“Thank you, onee-san. I owe you one.”

After saying that, I stood up from the sofa and pulled Eimi with me. With my arms enclosing her body from behind, the girl reluctantly began walking towards her room that was located on the second floor.

Well, I didn’t plan to go this far but since there’s a chance to visit her room, why not take it? I still have time before my other plans for today.

When we reached the stairs and began ascending it, Eimi grumbled something. “You’re getting along well with Anzu-nee.”

It’s not jealousy but she’s probably worried about what the girl said earlier about stealing me and me being her type.

“That’s a good thing, am I right? This way, she can help us next time I visit you.”

To ease her worry, I gave her good reasoning before tightening my arms around her, making us stop halfway through the stairs.

Using my hand to turn her head to me, I reached in for a kiss which the girl lovingly welcomed.

After savoring that kiss, we continued upwards and reached before a door with a normal sign that read ‘Eimi’.

“I honestly haven’t cleaned up yet, do you really want to see my room?” With her hand on the knob, Eimi once again asked.

“I told you I will help you clean it. If you permitted, of course. And if you’re worried that I will do something, I promise here that I will not. Just wanna see my Eimi’s room. I can see it through our video call but visiting it physically will surely be another experience.”

“Stop being so convincing…” Eimi resignedly sighed as she twisted the knob open. “Here… Come in, Ruki…” With her voice carrying a hint of embarrassment, she slowly pushed the door open.

Before my eyes, the girl’s room filled my vision. Contrary to what she’s saying, everything was neatly arranged.

“Hmm, I see you lied to me, Eimi.”

As we both entered her room, I silently closed the door behind me before I let my eyes take in the sight of her room.

The first thing I noticed was her bedside table. Atop it, two identical books were placed as a decoration next to a picture frame.

My memory was immediately tickled as her story about the book I placed on her desk filled my mind.

“Those books…” I said as I slowly walked towards her bedside table. However, I was even more surprised upon seeing the photo that was inside the frame… “Eimi, is this from that time?”

The person in the photo was none other than the two of us, standing next to each other. I was lazily looking straight at the camera while the girl was shyly smiling.

It was a photo taken from our class’ Cultural Festival during our third year in middle school.

“Yes… Like I told you, I am already attracted to you even from back then.” Eimi’s head was lowered as she answered in a low voice.

She’s embarrassed and this was probably why she was somewhat against letting me in her room.

Upon seeing her like that, I turned around and walked back to where I left her near her door. Pulling her into my embrace, I whispered into her ears, “Thank you, Eimi. For liking a hateful guy like me. And sorry for not noticing any of it.”