The Next Day

After Rin and Akane had their private conversation and a silent war had initiated between the two of them, both girls were determined to win you over. Though Akane was in it to cement the love between you and her, Rin was doing this for the sake of making you come to your senses about this dangerous relationship and to also figure out her own feelings towards you. Today was Saturday, meaning no classes, and a chance for either of them to get closer to you. Rin had planned to take you out somewhere for a date today and had just woken up as she got out of bed and walked out of her room in just a pair of short sleeping shorts and a black tank-top. Making it to your room, Akane turned the handle and pushed the door open expecting to see you in bed, but instead was met with an empty room and a fixed bed. The raven haired sister was a bit surprised and the sound of footsteps walking along the tile floor caught her attention as she turned down the hall and saw your father walk up from the stairs.

"Oh? Akane, you're awake." Your father said as he was dressed in a more casual style of clothing, being a maroon colored dress shirt and a pair of grey suit pants. "Hm? Did you need Y/N for something?" He asked.

"Ah, I was going to ask him to help me buy somethings I need." Akane said as she felt awkward now that her plans had hit a roadblock.

"You just missed him. Rin came to pick him up and the two of them went for a run. They usually do this on the weekends but since Y/N's injury he wasn't able to for a bit." Your father said as Akane's eyes dilated a bit in reaction to hearing you were with Rin. "They should be back within the hour or before lunch at the very least. If you'd like, I can grab the car and we can go--." Your father was interrupted when Akane suddenly hurried over towards him.

"You said he was with Rin?" Akane asked as your father was caught off guard by her sudden mood change.

"Y-Yeah..." Your father said before Akane quickly walked pass him and entered her room with haste as she slammed the door, leaving him stunned. "Did something happen between them?" He muttered in confusion.

Akane becoming desperate and erratic drove her to act irrationally as she quickly got ready and changed into some workout clothes. Your sister walked out of the front gates of your home wearing a black sports top under a red track suit jacket and black tights with black and white shoes. Akane tied her hair up in a pony tail and popped her collar before running down the road in search of you two. The raven haired girl ran a quarter mile and made it to the small shopping center near your home as she desperately looked around for you, but was met with failure. Just as she was jogging down a sidewalk, the automatic doors of a convenience store opened and Akane gasped and came to a stop when she saw her older sister, Lily, walk out of the convenience store with two bags in hand.

"L-Lily...!" Akane said in surprise as her older sister turned her head and had a surprised smile on her face.

"Eh? Akane?" Lily walked up to her younger sister as she looked her up and down. "I thought you stopped working out because it was too tiring? Did you have a change of heart? I'm so glad to see that." She said withe excitement.

"N-No, this is..." Akane didn't know how to explain her reasonings for looking like this and being out on a run, but decided to try her luck with her sister. "Hey, did you see Y/N?" She asked as Lily was perplexed.

"Y/N? Oh, I saw him and Rin head over to the park just over that way." Lily said while pointing down the road, but was surprised when Akane took off running. "E-Eh?! Wait! Akane?!" She called out in confusion before sighing heavily. "I was going to ask for help with these snacks..." She said sadly while holding up two bags of snacks and drinks.

Akane was gasping while running down the sidewalk before finally crossing a road and making it to the park that her sister was talking about. Having not run for a long time, Akane's chest was rising and falling in big motions as she turned her head constantly in an attempt to try and find you. Noticing the path for joggers to take so they could avoid anyone taking calm strolls through the park, Akane assumed that you and Rin took this path and set her feet on the trail to try and catch up with you both. Your step sister ran and ran along the trail in search of you both, but for about fifteen minutes she found no sign of either you or Rin. Akane was about to do a full lap around the park and end up back at the beginning as she couldn't keep up the pace and slowed down before stopping with her hands on her knees, gasping for air. Akane wiped some beads of sweat off of her forehead before walking over to the small metal hand railing at was lined along the trail and leaned against it to try and relax. With her head tilted up, your sister was unable to see anything around her as the sound of footsteps walking towards her grew louder and louder before stopping right in front of her.

"Hmmm? I didn't expect you to be the runner type." Akane heard as she tilted her head down and saw Rin standing in front of her. "Though, from the looks of how tired you seem, you must have been out of the game for a while." She said as Akane was surprised to see the threat to hers and your relationship right in front of her.

Rin was wearing a pair of running shorts with a green sports top underneath a purple running jacket and some purple running shoes. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail also as she had her jacket only zipped up to an inch above her belly.

"Rin..." Akane muttered as Rin walked over and put one leg on the railing as she reached out towards it to stretch her muscles.

"I assume you ran into Lily-san on your way here and that's how you knew where we were? We walked her to the store before coming here." Rin said as she switched legs to stretch out the other muscles.

"Where's Y/N?" Akane asked in wonder.

"Hm? Oh, he went back home early. His leg still flares up with pain right now so he's cutting some time out of his workouts to recover. We usually keep going for about another hour, but I agreed that he should be taking it easy." Rin explained as she set her foot down and turned to see Akane was stunned from hearing what she said. "Why don't you join me? I could use a running partner--!" Rin was cut off when Akane suddenly walked pass her and headed to exit the park as your childhood friend watched her leave. "...I guess I should've expected that." Rin muttered to herself before the sound of footsteps grew closer behind her.

"Rin, I got the waters." Rin turned around to see you walk up and hold out a bottle of water for her to take.

You were wearing some dark blue basketball shorts, black running shoes, and a white t-shirt for comfort as a small towel was wrapped around your neck to catch any sweat.

"I'm sorry, Akane. I can't let something like a forbidden relationship risk his image. He's worked so hard to become such an amazing person. I won't let anything ruin that for him..." Rin thought as she took the bottle from you with a smile. "Thanks, Y/N." She said to you as she suddenly linked her arm with yours and got close to the point your shoulders were rubbing against one another. "Let's walk the rest of the way. I'm kinda tired." Rin said as you were confused by her sudden clinginess.

"Huh? Y-Yeah..." You said as the two of you walked off.

Meanwhile back at the house, Akane threw down her jacket on the floor in frustration as she hunched over her bed and clenched the sheets tightly as her pupils were dilated and her shoulders trembled with anger.

"What's with her? Why is she doing this? If you liked him before you should've said something sooner! You lost your chance!" Akane thought as her grip on her sheets tightened even further.

"Akane? Are you back already?" Akane heard Lily outside of her room as the dark haired sister turned to the door, but remained silent. "Is she asleep...?" Lily muttered as the sound of feet walking across the floor grew farther and farther.

"...What am I doing?" Akane said to herself as she fell back onto her bed and stared up at the blank ceiling above her as she remembered her first conversation with Rin.

"Y/N's probably the most liked guy in our school, and I can totally see why. He's honest, fun to be around, has good looks, is a really smart person, and hard working. People try to be around him and see if some of his traits will rub off on them. To be honest, I had a small crush on him after learning more and more about him." Rin laughed as Akane was more surprised at hearing this statement.

"What happened? Do you still feel that way?" Akane asked as the light turned green and you all began to cross the street.

"Who knows? It's been quite some time, and I never confessed about it, but I don't think those feelings are there anymore either. Being around Y/N so much, instead of looking at him as a man, I saw him as a twin I'd never had. We're so close that he knows almost everything about me, and I know everything about him, and we love to tease and mess with each other. Then, when we hit lows in our lives, I always know I can count on him being there for me, and I wouldn't think twice about being there for him when he's down." Rin's words echoed within Akane's mind as she slowly trailed her hand upward and touched her lips with two fingers.

"Me and Y/N have been doing such things for a while, but I still don't know enough about him to truly say I love him..." Akane thought as she curled up in bed and tucked her knees to her chest as a few strands of hair fell in front of her face. "Rin, on the other hand, knows everything about him and they're comfortable around each other to the point where he can be undressed and she's fine with it. It's probably the same vice versa if she's ever been undressed in front of him. At a glance, Y/N and Rin are a picture perfect couple, while I'm the one who decided to become dependent on him emotionally and coerce him to love me. But..." Her grip on her clothes tightened as a tear welled at the corner of her eye. "...I wanna know him more, too. I wanna love him like a regular girl, too..." She thought as she shut her eyes tight and curled up in bed.

Whilst Akane was trying to get a hold of herself and handle her emotions, you and Rin were finished with your running session and went out for lunch at a cozy family restaurant that was fancied by most in the area. You two were sat across one another in a booth next to the windows of the restaurant as you both took this time to rest and relax with some nice refreshing juice from the drink bar. While you were sipping on your drink, Rin struck up a conversation.

"Hey, Y/N..." Rin called for your attention as you turned your gaze towards her while your lips were still pursed around your straw. "Go out with me." She said with a calm smile as your eyes widened in shock and the juice went down the wrong pipe, making you gag and cough. "Ahaha! What's with that reaction? Did I make your heart race just now~?" She giggled as you gasped for air and turned back to her.

"Agh...! W-What was that?" You asked as you placed a hand on your throat to try and soothe the pain.

"That was a joke. A joke. Now I know you still see me as a woman." Rin said while playfully sipping her juice and crossing her legs underneath the table.

"Jeez...You can say some of the most outlandish things." You said with a pout as you leaned your head against one of your arms on the table.

"What if I was serious?" Rin asked as you looked at her with confusion. "If I was serious about that, what would you say?" She asked as you pondered for a moment.

"I..." You trailed off as Rin maintained a calm look, but on the inside her heart rate was beginning to increase. "...I'd have to think about it. I don't want to give some half-baked answer to anyone who has feelings for me." You said to her.

"Hmmm, how adult-like of you." Rin commented on your behavior.

"What brought this question on?" You asked in slight frustration of her making you react in such a way.

"Do you like anyone?" Rin asked as she placed her cup down and looked at you while you seemed confused. "You understand the position you're in, right? Everyone at school knows what kind of person you are and it pulls them in and makes them want to be your friend. However, for girls it's different. They're attracted to your qualities and hope for a chance to get with you. You're smart, good looking, hard working, kind and funny. The perfect package for anyone in our school. The only thing that everyone is wondering though is what kind of person do you like? What's your type? What makes Y/N attracted to someone? That's the question everyone has on their mind." Rin said as you turned your head to stare outside at the people passing by.

"I didn't ask for any of that..." You muttered in a tone that Rin was still able to hear.

"You may not have asked for it, but it's what you got. I've had so many girls come up to me to try and set them up with you, and to be honest it's been getting on my nerves." Rin said while picking up her plastic glass of juice and swirling the liquid inside around with small hand movements.

"Sorry." You apologized to her.

"Apology not accepted." Rin said playfully.

"Hey..." You gently kicked her on the shin as she giggled.

"Is there anyone you like?" Rin asked as you tensed up at this question and Rin was quick to notice. "Oho? So there is?" She asked.

"I never said there was." You responded as she tilted her head to you.

"Then you don't want a girlfriend? Oh, is it possible you're into guys?" Rin said in a teasing manner.

"Hey, stop that. Why are you asking all these questions?" You asked in confusion of what was going on with Rin.

"I'm just curious. My childhood friend is good looking, loaded with cash, a great guy and hard working. He has all these girls swooning over him, yet you haven't shown interest in any one. Don't you want a family?" Rin asked you.

"Of course. I just don't have any interest in relationships right now and wanna focus on getting into a good university. Relationships are a pain, especially when you don't know the person too well." You explained to her as she raised her brow.

"Then, if you knew the person well enough, would you date them?" Rin asked as the server brought over your food and set the plates down in front of you two.

"Hmm...I guess." You said as you picked up your knife and fork and went to dig in on the hamburg steak you ordered.

"Then...Why don't you go out with me?" Rin asked as you froze with your food inches away from your mouth as you both sat there for a few moments in silence.

"What did you say?" You asked in confusion.

"I said do you wanna go out with me?" Rin repeated without hesitation as you were left speechless by her. "We've known each other for a long time. We've been through so much and I can't see myself with anyone else. I'll admit it. I was in love with you before, but I wasn't sure of my feelings and didn't want to be unsure of things. However, I'm sure of my feelings now. I'm in love with you, Y/N, and I'm going to chase after you with everything I've got." Rin declared with no hesitation, no unsureness, and all her love and care.

"Rin..." You muttered in complete shock.

"What do you think? Was I super cool saying all that?" Rin asked as you were unsure of how to respond. "You don't have to tell me your answer right now. I know this was a lot to drop on you all of a sudden..." She said as she pulled out her wallet and got up from her seat. "...Though, if I see any girl trying to approach you, I'll be there to establish where they stand before me." She said before leaning down next to you as you glanced your eyes over to her while she had her mouth close to your ear. "...Even if they're your beloved sisters." She whispered before giving you a kiss on the cheek as you were left stunned from that last part as she left and walked to the counter. "I'll cover the table over there." You heard her say to the cashier as you lowered your hands and sat in silence.

After hearing everything Rin said, your heart grew confused along with your thoughts of Rin as your entire view of her became shaken. With her sudden confession of love, everything the two of you had done up until now became confusing and you began to question the relationship you two would have moving forward. Realizing how serious she is and that she's a young woman who's looking for your love, you became more aware of the situation she put you in as your heart began to race a bit. However, one thing ran through your head now, what were you going to do now that your childhood best friend and your new step-sister were aiming to claim your heart for themselves?