"So, what did Mom want to talk to you about?" Ayano asked. "Just about school and stuff." I lied. "Yeah, she asked the same thing about us, too," Yan-kun said. 

"But I don't see the point of her in sending us to the mall. There's nothing here that interests me."

"Maybe you could find an outfit you could model for Taro." I said, sarcastically. Yan-kun blushed at my comment. "That's... actually not a bad idea." He mumbled. 

"I was only kidding." I said with a sweat drop. "Why don't we get something to eat, like ice cream or something?" Ayano suggested. 

"Good idea." I agreed. We went to the food court and bought ourselves some ice cream. "What are you thinking about, Ayano?" I asked, noticing she was blushing with a smile on her face. 

"She's probably fantasizing about her and Budo sharing a milkshake together," Yan-kun said. "I'm actually really excited to see Dad soon."

"Yeah, it'll be nice to have the whole family back together." I replied. "I think there's an arcade here. You guys wanna go check it out?" He asked. 

"I was kind of hoping to check out that new pet store to pet the animals." Ayano said. "But I wanted to go buy some sweets." I complained.

"Okay, looks like we've got a bit of a delimma," Yan-kun said, and me and Ayano nodded our heads in agreement.

"Hmm... Okay, I've got it! We'll go to the places we want to go, and when we're finished, we'll back here in the food court. What do you say?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Ayano agreed. "No complaints here." I said. "Then, it's decided." Yan-kun said.

When we were finished with our ice creams, we left to our own destination. I taste-tested some sweets while I did some looking around. 

Then, I bought some candy, mostly ones that contained chocolate. I also bought enough for Mom and my siblings. After I was finished, I headed back to the food court. 

I was almost there until I spotted Nemesis-kun with Saki. I hid behind a wall as I watched them. Why is she talking to him?

I watched as the two of them chatted and Nemesis-kun chuckled at something she said. I gripped the bag of candy in my hand as I watched them. 

I couldn't stand seeing them together. I was about to go over to them until a hand grabbed my shoulder from behind, causing me to turn around.

"Hey, Amaya. How ya been?" Osano asked. "Hey. What are you doing here?" I asked. "Just doing some browsing." He answered.

"Are you heading this way? Can we talk?" Osano asked. "Um..." I looked back towards Nemesis-kun and Saki as they were walking away together. 

"Come on, there's something I wanna show you." Osano said as he grabbed my hand. He dragged me away, taking me to some other part of the mall. 

"They just opened up this new haunted house. Wanna try it out?" Osano asked. "I guess so." I said, shrugging my shoulders. 

Although, I really wanted to go back to Nemesis-kun. Osano led us inside the haunted house, leading down a hall of scary stuff. 

Ghost sounds echoed around us as holographic projections of ghouls loomed over us.

I was unfazed by any of this because I don't get scared easily. I was too distracted to be scared since I was thinking about Saki and Nemesis-kun. 

"I-I-If you're scared, you c-can h-h-hold my hand." Osano stuttered. "I'm okay." I said as we continued to walk down the hall.

'He's obviously frightened by this. Why did he choose to come here if he knew he was afraid?' I thought. When we exited the haunted house, Osano had his hands on his knees as he panting and shaking. 

"That was nothing! I wasn't scared!" He said. "Mm-hm," I replied. "Osano, you're shaking. Let's sit down for a bit," 

We sat down on a bench and I rubbed his back for comfort. "Feel better?" I asked him. "Yeah. Thanks." He replied, smiling slightly. "Next time, let's try something not so scary." I suggested.

"Were you scared?"

"No, but you obviously were."

"Was not!"

"Sure. Whatever you say."

I leaned back on the bench as I wondered why Saki and Nemesis-kun were together. Did they bump into each other as a coincidence? 

They must have. I mean, they've had to, right? "Amaya?" Osano said, making me look at him. "Are you... seeing anyone?" 

"Yes." I answered. "Who?" He asked. "A boy from Class 3-1." I said. 

"Taro Yamada?"

"No, no. Nemesis-kun, the new student."

"Him?!"

"Uh-huh."

"Oh... I'm happy for you. But just out of curiosity, what do you like about him?"

"He makes me feel... happy," I said. "And I can't bear the thought of him being with someone else. I don't want him to be taken from me... That's why I will eliminate anyone who tries to steal Nemesis-kun from me." 

"Hahaha! You're joking, right? You sound like you acutally want to kill them, Amaya!" Osano laughed.

 "Right..." I agreed, but I was serious. "I need to meet with siblings now. Goodbye, Osano."

"Huh? Wait! So soon?! Can't you stay a bit longer?" Osano asked. "I can't." I said, standing up from the bench. "Was it something I said?" He asked. 

"No. I just have to go home now. I'll see you later." I said before walking away. I rendezvoused with Yan-kun and Ayano at the food court, then we headed home. 

"Mom, we're home!" Ayano called. We took our shoes off by the door, then entered the living room. "Mom?" Yan-kun called, but the living room was empty. 

"Where is she?" I asked. "Here, she left a note." Ayano said as she picked up a small slip of paper on the coffee table.

Yan-kun and I huddled by Ayano so we could see what the note said. 

"Angels, I had to step out for a while. I'll be back soon. With all my love, Mom."

"Strange. Where do you think she went off to?" Ayano asked. "Probably on a dinner date with Dad. We were at the mall for a long time." Yan-kun stated.

"Since she's out, I'm heading out for a bit myself." I said. "Going to pay your lover a visit?" Yan-kun teased. "Yep." I answered, then left the house.

Nemesis-kun texted me the address of his new house a few months again, but I've never been there before. This is my first time. 

Once I was there, I knocked on his door. I waited a few seconds before Nemesis-kun answered it. "Hey, Amaya. I didn't know you were coming." He said. 

"I wanted to surprise you." I said, hugging him, in which he hugged me back. "Come inside." Nemesis-kun said before leading me inside the house.

"Where are your parents?" I asked as he closed the front door. "They're at work and won't be home until later on tonight." He answered. 

"Oh, okay." I said. "Would you like something to drink?" Nemesis-kun offered. "I'm okay." I said, having a seat on the couch. 

"What's with that look on your face? You look like something's bothering you." Nemesis-kun noticed. "I'm okay... You just have a really nice house." I commented. 

"Thanks. Now, tell me what's really bothering you." He said, seeing right through me. I sighed and decided to come clean. "I saw you at the mall today with Saki." I mentioned. 

"Oh, yeah?"

I nodded my head. "What were you two doing?"

"Just talking."

"You walked away with her."

"She wanted to show me something. I tried to let her down easy, but she insisted,"

I looked down at my lap, feeling ridiculous about bringing it up. "What's the matter? You don't trust me?" Nemesis-kun asked, sitting beside me.

"It's not that. I'm just afraid... you'll be taken from me." I admitted.

"Amaya, you have nothing to worry about. I'd never choose another girl over you," He said, bring me closer to him. "Look at me," 

He gently took the sides of my face and made me look at him. "I love you, and that's never going to change." Nemesis-kun said. 

"I love you, too." I said, back. He kissed my forehead before hugging me to his chest. I hugged him back as I thought about what Mom said. 

"If you want to keep your Senpai close to you, you'll have to eliminate those who will get in the way."

She's right. I have to make sure nobody tries to take him from me. Starting with Musume.