HeartBeats - Ruka Sarashina (Kanojo, Okarishimasu)

When Ruka turns to confront me, something strange happens. The time around us for, but only for me. The people, the cars, even the wind, everything is still. And then a figure appears before me. It was Prelest, the spirit of illusion. But this time, her appearance is scary, with dark eyes and a threatening aura.

"RYO GET OUT OF HER!" - Pretast says, his voice echoing like thunder.

I feel a shiver through my spine. - "Prelest, what do you want? Why are you here?"

Pretast approaches, his eyes shining intensely. - "I feared you hurt Ruka. You followed her here, and your intentions are clear. You can't keep disturbing her."

"But I don't want to hurt her!" - I try to explain, feeling the despair grow inside me.

Its aggressiveness decreases considerably. - "So tell me, why are you following her?"

"Because she knows something she shouldn't know about my sister. Then I just wanted to talk to her to keep this secret ... that's all." I said as I gestured as much as I could.

Preletast didn't seem to have believed much, just snorted. - "So much ... don't even think about hurting her, heard?!"

I waved my head agreeing. - "I promise!"

Time began to return to normal, as if nothing had happened. - 'What is that thing ... a god?' - I thought to myself.

"You just admitted, didn't you?" - Ruka said. Her face seemed to be showing anger, but she was blushing a lot.

"No! Wait, girl!" - I said trying to dialogue with her.

"Pass well!" Ruka turned furiously toward the subway. His steps were fast.

"WAIT!" - I tried to reach her.

Ruka turned to me again. - "And don't come after ...-"

I quickly reached Ruka and held her. Since I was exhausted, I didn't realize I ended up grabbing any part of the air arsu ... and unfortunately it was right on Ruka's breasts. - "From me ..."

The embarrassing silence hung over both of us. I just crashed, I must have made one of the worst mistakes of my life at that moment. - "Ah ... Ah .." - My brain did not process the moment and the only thing I received back, was a bag right in my face.

"Rascal!" Ruka's strength was impressive, I almost fell to the floor with this blow. -"I-I'm Sorry!"

I could only think of one thing ... - 'It's now that that creature kills me!' - I think of the worst possible scenario.

"False dating, persecution and sexual harassment. You won't even get away with this!" - Ruka said moving away from me.- "And see if it doesn't follow me!"

'Fuck ... I can't let this happen, I just worsens things!' - In a matter of seconds, Ruka had already disappeared from sight.

"Wait, Sarashina-san!" As I chased Ruka, we were coming close to a corridor that led to a huge staircase outside the train station.

Ruka refused to look at me. - "Can you stop following me?!" - said a little angry.

"I also live here ..." - We both walked in silence. It was a little unsettling, but I needed to speak once and for all.

"Listen to me Sarashina-san. You won't tell anyone about it ... are you?" - I said clearly nervous.

"About grabbing my chest or about the rental girlfriend?" She said with a mockery tone.

I stirred one of my fringes a little nervous. - "The two to tell the truth ..." - I said confirming your mockery.

Ruka turned to me, she was still angry at her eyes. But it is still flushed. - "I won't tell anyone! Okay, are you happy?"

I don't know if I should believe it, but I decided to ask something else to confirm my suspicions. - "And how did you find that she was a rental girlfriend?"

She trembled. - "I-This is ... I can't say!" She slowly moved away from me.

'Before she lost her memory about me, she had told me. Why is that now? Maybe because she doesn't trust me, yet ... ' - I thought.

"You don't have to lie to me." - I said without thinking.

Ruka can hear your heart beat. - "Ah! What's yours, ein?!" She said as she blushed hard. The tension between us was palpable, and the intensity of the discussion began to attract curious glances of passers -by.

Ruka, in a moment of frustration, turned abruptly and began to descend the stairs of a near historical building, his evident anger in each hasty step.

However, in a hurry, Ruka did not notice a small object on the way. Her foot slipped and, for a moment that seemed eternal, she lost her balance. I still at the top of the stairs, I saw it all unfold within seconds. - "SARASHINA-SAN!"

My heart nearly stopped as I realized the imminent danger. I ran, trying to reach her, but before I could do anything, time seemed to freeze around me. The world around me completely stopped: the leaves of a nearby tree hung in the air, the sound of conversations and the hubbub of the city instantly silenced. I was still aware of all this, and in the midst of this strange phenomenon, Prelest appeared.

"You're nothing but trouble for me, Ryo..." - Prelest, with a gentle gesture, helped Ryo move through the stopped time, allowing him to reach Ruka before she fell.

"Thank you, Prelest... And I'm sorry again. Ruka is a difficult girl to deal with." - But as he touched Ruka, something even stranger happened. The world around them not only froze, but began to unravel. The people who had previously been watching the discussion disappeared as if they had never existed, the colors faded, and the environment acquired a dark and surreal hue.

I felt a chill down my spine when I realized that they were no longer in the same reality. - "W-What happened?!"

At the end of the stairs, where Ruka had fallen, a figure I had never seen before appeared, but who seemed to belong to another era. He was a tall man, wearing an old-fashioned suit, but wearing a white cloak covered in blood that covered his entire body. His eyes shone with contained malevolence and his smile was cold and calculated. - "Who is he? He doesn't seem to have been affected by the effects of time..."

"Damn it, Ryo... He's a complicated figure. He's the Baron of the Staircase, the entity that haunts this place." - Prelest said.

I, still holding Ruka, felt the weight of the Baron's presence. The Baron began to descend the stairs with a sinister grace, each step echoing unsettlingly in the absolute silence that surrounded them. - "Welcome..." - said the Baron with a voice that seemed to reverberate from all directions. - "You entered the wrong place, and now you must pay the price."

I looked desperately at Prelest, hoping that the supernatural being would intervene again, but Prelest was motionless, watching with an unreadable expression. I knew I had to act, that I could not rely solely on external forces. I pulled Ruka closer, determined to protect her at any cost.

"Who are you? What do you want?" - I shouted, trying to keep my voice steady despite the fear I felt.

The Baron laughed softly, a sound that sent shivers down my spine. - "I am the guardian of this place, a place between time and reality. You stepped into my territory, and now you must face the consequences."

"What now?..." - Ryo felt a wave of panic, but also a growing determination. I could not let the Baron take Ruka or hurt her.

"We are in his territory, Ryo..." - Prelest said. With a determined look, I positioned myself between Ruka and the Baron, ready for anything. The Baron, noticing my courage, stopped for a moment, his eyes assessing me with a perverse curiosity.

"Ryo, use me as a weapon!" - Prelest, with his ethereal glow, jumped at me and began to intertwine around my right arm, slowly transforming into a supernatural-looking sword. The blade emanated a blue light, pulsing with an energy I had never felt before. I held the sword tightly, feeling Prelest's strength fused with his own. - 'What madness is this?!' - I thought.

Without realizing it, I ended up striking a cool pose. - "You won't lay a finger on her!" - an eye and a mouth appeared on my transformed arm. It was Prelest.

"Ryo, the Baron of the stairs is three times stronger than me, if we want to do any damage to him, we'll have to..." - Prelest seemed to hesitate a lot when speaking.

"We'll have to?..." - I continued the sentence.

"We'll have to have more power!" - Prelest hesitated for a moment before answering. - "There is a way to increase our power, but it's risky. You must kiss Ruka."

"Kiss Ruka?" - I repeated, confused and surprised. "How would that help?"

"Ruka has a blue heart in her chest, a source of immense power." - Prelest explained. - "By kissing her, you can access that power. It's a deep and risky connection, but it's our only chance."

I turned to Ruka, who was starting to recover from the shock. Her eyes were still trembling, and he saw the determination mixed with fear in her eyes. - "Ruka, we need to do this... I hope you don't hate me for doing such an act."

I slowly approached Ruka, her hands shaking slightly. Gently placing a hand on her face, and with a deep sigh, I closed my eyes and kissed her. The moment my lips met hers, I felt a surge of energy course through both of them. The blue heart in Ruka's chest glowed brightly, radiating a light that enveloped them both in a cocoon of pure power.

The connection between them strengthened Prelest's blade, which now shone with blinding intensity. I felt a new strength coursing through his body, a power he never imagined possible. - "I think it's possible now!"

Prelest appeared again. - "Are you good at fighting?"

I positioned myself to fight. - "I don't like to show off, but I've never lost a street fight!"

"Interesting," the Baron said finally. - "Few have the courage to face me. Perhaps there is still hope for you."

With those words, the Baron disappeared as mysteriously as he had appeared, leaving me, Prelest and Ruka alone on the dark staircase. - "What?! Was that it?!"

Prelest growled in anger. - "We used Ruka's energy for free!... What the hell..." - The world around us began to slowly recover, the colors returning and the sounds of the city returning, but the encounter with the Baron left an indelible mark on our minds. Prelest disappeared from my arm.

My eyes closed by themselves and I felt something in my mouth, when I opened them, I saw that I was still kissing Ruka.

Since the world returned to normal, Prelest probably put me in a plausible situation so that I wouldn't simply appear "teleporting" somewhere or something.

Ruka quickly opened her eyes, blushing heavily, she felt my lips pressing against hers. I separated from the kiss. - "Are you okay?"

She seemed to be motionless, her face was red. - "I tried to pull you, but I ended up falling on top of you, I hope you didn't get hurt."

Ruka pushed me off her. - "What are you doing?!"

I was visually tired. I looked at her, a little dazed. - "I can't let you get hurt, Sarashina-san..."

She just looked at me, it was a mix of shame and understanding. - "I hope you don't screw her over... Please, she's important to me."

For a moment I saw her face sadden a little. After getting up, I helped Ruka to get up and this time she accepted.

"I trust you, Sarashina-san. See you later..." - I said goodbye.

As I walked away from her, Ruka, still with her back to me, just shouted. - "I'm a rental girlfriend too!"

'I know... You already told me.' - I thought.

A few minutes later...

As I walked through the streets, I saw my sister Aiko, apparently not far away, waiting for me. After I finished walking, she noticed my presence.

"Little sister..."

We went to a nearby restaurant to talk about what happened today.

"Bro, if she works as a rental girlfriend, we need to know which agency she works with!" - Aiko said while fiddling with her cell phone.

I started drinking some tea. - "What are you going to do?!"

"Ah! I found it!" - Aiko found Ruka's information. - "Here, Ruka Sarashina. A cute idol girlfriend... Her agency is in the Tokyo area, right?... I was wondering how she found out, but if she is also a girlfriend for hire, it makes sense that she searched for my name first."

This information raised a flea behind my ear. Is my sister's information also on the internet? - "Huh? So you're famous?" - I asked worriedly.

"I don't know..." - Aiko bent over and put both hands on her face.

"Aiko... You have to be careful. If your information is on the internet, some weirdo might show up and..." - I was interrupted by her.

"I KNOW, I KNOW!... I'm not a child anymore, Ryo.... I can handle myself, don't treat me like you're my father or someone responsible, we're only two years apart." - now she seemed sullen.

"Even so, Aiko..." - I couldn't help but worry about her. Aiko got up from the table and left some money to pay.

"Anyway, I'm going... We have to keep an eye on both of them." - my sister said goodbye to me.

"See you... At least she paid her share." - I said to myself as I looked out the window.

Two days later...

It was the day I was going to college. My days at college were never that exceptional or anything like that. In fact, they were pretty monotonous.

After I entered college, I waited for my friends near a huge square pillar, right in front of the entrance, that's always the meeting point.

I was fiddling with my cell phone while I did that. - "I told those idiots to show up at three in the afternoon..." - While I was typing some messages, I heard some whispers.

They wouldn't stop talking. - "Wow, who's that hottie?! Man, she's so hot." - When I looked up to see who they were talking about, a familiar figure appeared.

A girl wearing a schoolgirl outfit, short black hair, along with a very characteristic blue bow. It was Ruka. She quickly noticed my presence. - "RYO, I FOUND YOU!" - She said while most of the people stared at me.

"Does she know that guy?"

"He looks like he's her boyfriend..."

"How lucky!..."

There was no way I could not blush in that situation, I tried to maintain my composure and stared at her. - "What are you doing, Sarashina-san?"

"Entering the college campus was actually quite easy, maybe people think you study here." - She said proudly. - "But this is just a cosplay."

Many things appeared in my mind, but one of them stood out. - 'This is dangerous... I definitely don't want to meet Prelest again.' - I thought.

"I came here just to see you!" - She said while smiling happily.

'This is clearly a lie... It's a trap!' - I thought. But before I could formulate a word, out of instinct, I turned my face towards the college entrance.

And there he was, Kenji. - 'HE STUDY HERE?!' - I couldn't let him see Ruka here. - "Come here, quickly." - I said to Ruka as I pulled her into a classroom.

After we entered, I quickly closed the door. - "Are you trying to screw me over, girl?! What are you doing here?!" - I said, kind of furious.

Instead of Ruka answering my questions, she just stretched out her arms. - "Hug me..."

...

"Are you making fun of me?!" - I answered her.

"It was 79%, there was very little left." - Ruka said while still stretching out her arms. She didn't seem to be joking.

Suddenly I heard the doorknob opening. Seeing that someone was coming in, I pulled Ruka under the teacher's desk. It was big enough to hide both of us.

My heart was racing. Ruka was practically on my lap, but I was so nervous that I didn't even notice at that moment. At that moment, I felt my hand being slowly pulled.

Ruka had taken my hand and brought it to her body, wrapping it around her in a back-to-back hug. - "What are you doing?" - I whispered to her.

She started fiddling with her cell phone, as if she wanted to test something. I heard the door open and then close again, indicating that the person who was there had left.

I sighed in relief, but I started to hear a beep, it was Ruka's cell phone. I looked at her cell phone, and there was written the percentage "90% bpm. - "I knew it!..." - she said after getting off my lap.

"You almost got me in trouble, Sarashina-san! It would be a big problem if someone caught us together like this..." - I said, lecturing her.

Ruka was extremely blushing and was sweating a little. - "Oh... I'm sorry." - Ruka looked a little embarrassed, but before I could continue my lecture, I felt a strange sensation in the air.

Time seemed to suddenly stop, and the room around us began to change. The walls flickered and transformed, taking on a dark and distorted appearance. Before I could react, a huge monster appeared before us, its sharp claws and eyes shining with a menacing malice.

Ruka seemed oblivious to the situation, looking around without really understanding what was happening. My irritation with her was still fresh, and perhaps that fueled the anger I felt when I saw the monster.

"You have got to be kidding..." - I muttered to myself. Without thinking twice, I stepped forward and punched the monster with all the strength I could muster. To my surprise, the monster simply evaporated, disappearing in a cloud of shadows. I stood there for a moment, perplexed. How had I managed to do that?

It was then that I realized. The energy accumulated by Ruka's kiss. Of course, that had to be it. The power we had shared was still inside me, latent, waiting to be released. I looked at Ruka, who still seemed stuck in time.

Before I could reflect further on what had just happened, Prelest appeared, his ethereal, glowing form floating before me. He looked worried, but there was also determination in his gaze.

"Ryo, time is out of order again." - Prelest said, his voice echoing in my mind. - "To restore the normal flow, you need to kiss Ruka again."

I looked at Prelest, then at Ruka. - "Okay... I hope she doesn't remember this kiss either." - This time the kiss was much shorter.

I moved closer, feeling my heart beat faster in my chest. My gaze fell to her lips, then back to her eyes. Slowly, I lifted my hand and touched her face, my palm resting gently on her cheek. Her face was warm to the touch, and she closed her eyes, leaning slightly into my hand.

With a deep sigh, I leaned forward. Time seemed to slow down, each second stretching out as our faces drew closer. Finally, our lips met. The sensation was immediate and electrifying, as if a current of energy coursed through our bodies.

The kiss started out soft, but quickly grew in intensity. I could feel the energy building, the power that had been dormant within us awakening. It was as if every cell in my body was vibrating in sync with hers. The blue heart on Ruka's chest began to glow brightly, its light enveloping us in a cocoon of pure energy.

I could feel the heat radiating from her body, mingling with mine. The blue light intensified, pulsing in time with our hearts. It was an overwhelming sensation, but at the same time, deeply connected. The world around us began to readjust itself, the distortions fading as time restored itself to its normal flow.

When we finally broke apart, I took a deep breath, still feeling the reverberation of the energy in my body. Ruka slowly opened her eyes, her cheeks flushed, a curious glint in her gaze.

I saw that the world around us was back to normal. The sound of students in the hallway, the birds singing outside, everything went back to normal. Time seemed to have returned to normal and Ruka was red as a tomato. - "R-R-Ryo... Y-You!..." - I interrupted her speech.

"Sarashina-san... Please go away. If you really care about me, you need to go. This will only complicate things for me more and more." - I said as sincerely as possible.

When she didn't say anything, she apparently agreed. After that, I left that room, leaving Ruka alone. - "I'm sorry, Sarashina-san... I can't stay with you." - I said to myself as I touched my scar with my finger.

After a long time, I left college and went to my apartment, but before entering it, I decided to talk to my sister who lives next door to me.

I rang the doorbell and after a while, I heard Aiko speak through the door. - "Who is it?"

"It's me, your brother Ryo." - I said to her.

"What do you want?" - She spoke as dryly as possible.

"I need to talk about something that happened today..." - A few minutes later...

"So that's all that happened?!" - She said without even opening the door for me.

"Yes..." - I said a little irritated, since she hadn't even opened the door yet. And it's obvious that I didn't tell her about the supernatural part of the thing. - "Why don't you open this door so we can talk properly?! I sound like one of those old gossipers..."

"I'm doing something very important right now!" - she shouted on the intercom.

...

"What's wrong? She suddenly went quiet." - Aiko replied worried.

"So, there's something strange about her..." - I said equally worried.

"What do you mean, 'strange'?" - she replied.

With a gesture of concern, with her hand on her chin, very thoughtful. - "It seemed like she had made a decision. She had a serious face." - I answered my sister.

I heard the sound of footsteps approaching me. By instinct, I looked to the side and saw her... Ruka. She had stopped walking and was staring at me with her eyes.

"SARASHINA-SAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" - I screamed, scared. How did she know where I was? I thought. My sister seemed to be scared too, but I can't tell if it was because Ruka was here or because of my scream.

Without the slightest shame on her face, she looked into my eyes and said: "I followed you."

'She doesn't have the nerve to lie about that?!' - I thought, scared.

"Don't tell me that that rental girlfriend lives here?... Wait, are you neighbors?!" - she said, clearly angry. She looked away from me and turned to the floor. - "Why are you so close like that?!"

It was such an unusual situation that I couldn't answer her. I opened my mouth and tried to gesture, but not a single word came out of my mouth.

"NO, NO, NO, I DON'T ACCEPT THIS!" - Ruka looked at me again and showed me her cell phone, she was recording our entire conversation. - "I, Ruka Sarashina, owner of this cell phone. I promise not to tell anyone here and now about your fake relationship, or about Aiko Murata."

.....

We all remained silent.

"But only if you agree to date me, Ryo!" - She opened her eyes and looked me deep into my soul.

She was really determined. By instinct, I remember when she had said she wanted to go out with me before she lost her memory. But the only word my sister and I managed to say was...

"HUH?!"

"Wait a minute, Ruka. Is this some kind of prank?! How did we get to this point?!" - I gestured frantically.

Ruka held her phone tightly - "You passed 90%, you were the first one to do so... That's why I like you!"

Those words hit my heart. I don't know if it was in a good or bad way, but it was certainly something I wasn't expecting.

"Listen here, pay attention, Ryo! I love you!"

'What do you mean she loves me? How true is this love? She doesn't even really know me... This must be Prelest's doing.' - I thought.

I snorted. - "Listen, Sarashina-san... You don't even have a reason to love me."

"I'm serious... Ryo, I was amazed at how much you care about Aiko... If you care so much about a rental girlfriend, then you definitely care a lot... MUCH MORE IF IT'S A REAL GIRLFRIEND!" - She said blushing heavily, for a brief moment, I even saw her "blue ears" fall, as if she were a defenseless rabbit.

'I think I understand...' - I thought. - "But what do you mean, Sarashina-san. Aiko and I are just sis-" - I was interrupted by Ruka.

The girl with the blue ribbons ran to me, getting too close. - "Then go out with me!" - I could see her face all red, she clearly wasn't lying about all this.

I heard my sister's bedroom door open. Her hair was a little disheveled, but nothing out of the ordinary. - "Is it okay to go out like this, Aiko?" - I said to her.

"It doesn't matter, she already knows." - Aiko said, fed up.

"You finally showed up, mercenary." - Ruka said, barbing my sister.

"The manipulator spoke!" - Aiko doesn't take any nonsense lying down. - "Do you have any idea what you're saying? As Ryo himself said, nothing is what it seems... And even if you're telling the truth, you'll only be making things worse!"

Ruka made a sullen face, puffing out her cheeks. - "But it's nothing like that, it's just that Ryo...

GRABBED MY CHEST AND KISSED ME TWICE WITH GREAT TASTES!"

At that moment I turned to stone and died. Before I died, I could feel a disgusted look on my back, it was definitely my sister.

After coming back to life, I turned to Aiko. - "WAIT, I CAN EXPLAIN! IT WAS UNINTENTIONAL!"

All of this was in vain. - "ACCEPTUALLY?! WHAT DOES GRAB A GIRL'S BREASTS AND KISS HER TWICE MEAN?! I KNOW YOU DON'T THINK WITH YOUR HEAD DOWN, SO YOU BETTER EXPLAIN IT TO ME PROPERLY?!"

"I-I...I-I, it's just that..-" - What did I do to deserve this...

Ruka appeared again to plant another seed of evil. - "He grabbed your breasts too, Aiko?!"

"What's up, girl?!" - Even Aiko was startled.

I could see Ruka smiling, as if she had won a Nobel Prize. - "So that means I went further than you."

Ruka began to ramble on about the fateful events. - "He grabbed me out of nowhere, threw me on the ground... And then kissed me in front of everyone."

I felt Aiko's deadly gaze on me again. - "THAT WAS AT VERY DIFFERENT TIMES!" - I tried to justify it.

"Saying it doesn't make it any better, Ryo!" - She's going to kill me.

"And then when I went after him at the university, he pulled me into a room, kissed me and left without saying anything else... It was amazing." - I didn't notice, but she was probably drooling while she said it.

"I'M SURE IT DIDN'T GO LIKE THAT!" - I really tried.

"But you kissed her again, didn't you?!" - but I failed miserably.

"...Y-Yes..." - I was already melting. - "Guys, let's settle this in a private place, how about?" - I started to pull Aiko towards the apartment, Ruka came along.

Before I could say anything, already inside the apartment, Ruka jumped on my arm and grabbed me, like a jealous cat. - "You sit on the other side, no one will touch him!"

Aiko had a face like a pan. - "Whatever... Five minutes, Ruka. Give me five minutes to talk to Ryo!"

"No way!" - Ruka said furiously.

"Sarashina-san, please. We need to talk in private." - I spoke calmly to her.

Her tone changed. - "Okay... If you're asking..." - her mood changed drastically...

Ruka stood up and headed towards the exit. I snorted, clearly tired. - "She's too much for my social battery..."

We were silent for a few seconds. - "I want to ask you something, what do you think of Ruka? Do you like her? Why did you do all that to her? I know you're not a maniac stalker or anything like that, so you can tell me."

"Listen, Aiko... It was a bunch of unfortunate coincidences. When Ruka was about to fall down the stairs, I went after her so she wouldn't get hurt, and we ended up kissing, the same thing happened at university... I don't feel anything for her... But it's been a while since someone said they loved me with such truth in their eyes... I don't know how true it was, but your way of thinking and acting matches your strong way of expressing yourself so naturally, it's kind of... Amazing to tell the truth." - I ended up monologuing alone.

"You're not in love, are you. I know..." - Aiko said. - "But I think it's better if you don't accept it now, what if she blackmails you? Just like... Forget it."

Aiko frowned, clearly dissatisfied with my answer. - "But that's not enough, Ryo. She blackmailed you into dating her. How can you be sure she really likes you? And how do you feel about that?"

I straightened up, feeling the need to clarify my thoughts. - "I know the way it all started wasn't ideal. She may have blackmailed me quite innocently, but at the same time, she showed a vulnerable side of herself... And, over time, I began to see that there's more to her than meets the eye."

Aiko crossed her arms, still reluctant. - "But that doesn't answer my question, Ryo. Do you think Ruka really likes you? Or is she just playing with your feelings?"

I hesitated, thinking about all the interactions I'd had with Ruka. - "Aiko, I can't say for sure what Ruka feels. But I believe there's something genuine in her actions, even if she doesn't know how to express it in the best way. She has her own demons and insecurities, just like the rest of us."

Aiko sighed, uncrossing her arms and resting her elbows on her knees. - "I just want the best for you, Ryo. I don't want you to get hurt or get lost in something that isn't real."

I approached Aiko, gently touching her shoulder. - "I know, Aiko. And I appreciate your concern. But for now, I'm going to follow my instincts and try to understand Ruka better. I'll figure out what's real and what's not. I just need a little more time."

She nodded, although she still looked worried. - "Okay, little brother. Just... be careful. I don't want to see you suffer."

I smiled at her, trying to convey confidence. "I will, Aiko. I promise."

.....

"So, what are you going to do now?" - Aiko asked me.

"I'm going to resolve this situation in the most adult way possible... BY RUNNING AWAY FROM MY RESPONSIBILITIES!" - I ran towards the window and jumped from the first floor to a nearby tree.

I almost lost my balance on the tree branch, but it was powerful. Aiko ran to the window. - "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU IDIOT!"

Ruka heard Aiko's scream and quickly entered the apartment. - "What's going on?" - she ran to the window. - "Are you running away?!"

Before I could answer, the branch that was previously strong broke, making me fall.

"RYO!" - both of them screamed.

"Ouch..." - I fell awkwardly, but I could walk, I walked and walked. I couldn't run.

Obviously, it didn't take long for Ruka to catch up with me. I was walking with the help of some railings that were near a park. - "It hurts..."

"Wait, Ryo!" - I turned around and saw her running towards me. I tried to run away as much as I could, but Ruka jumped on my back and started pulling me.

"Where do you think you're going?!" - I tried to walk, but I no longer had the strength to do so. She grabbed me in an uncomfortable way, I could feel her breasts being pressed against me.

"Are you listening to me, Ryo! I'll do everything I can to make it work." - Ruka said, trying to convince me.

I finally let go of her and said, looking at the floor - "I can't, Ruka! I can't... No, I CAN'T!" - I said, yelling at her.

When I looked into her eyes, they seemed empty, like the time I met her at the bar. She was just standing there looking at me.

I saw a few small drops of tears appearing in her eyes. And then suddenly, I came across a scene that shook me a lot. She was crying, or rather, her eyes were crying.

I realized I had made a mistake. - "W-what's wrong with that? Damn it, I know you like Aiko, but I thought I needed to do this for you to be with me." - she burst into tears.

"Sarashina-san, wait!"

"I'm not asking you to fall in love with me, and it's okay if you want to test it out first... But please... Let me be... your girlfriend!" - she kept crying.

I approached her. - "Sarashina-san, what's up... Okay... I'll accept your test..."

Ruka stopped whining, but she still looked at me with tears in her eyes. - "That's why we're going to do a test to see if we can have a real relationship, then...

I'll be your boyfriend!"

End of Chapter 2