Haru stared at the long string of messages sent by Haruno and finally understood—what really piqued her interest was his orange tabby cat. Helping Mrs. Yukinoshita deliver something was merely an excuse.

He returned to the pet store, where the shop owner, a woman, was enjoying some downtime, leaning on the counter and staring at him with a barely contained eagerness.

Her intentions were painfully easy to read, so Haru preemptively stated his age: "Nee-san, I'm a student."

"I know that," she replied with a smile. "So what?"

…She wasn't even fazed by him being a minor?

Haru quickly shifted his attention to the orange tabby Megumi was admiring. He extended a hand and said with mock-serious contemplation, "Since I'm just a student, could you give me this cat for free?"

The store owner blinked: "???"

After finally shaking off the overly eager shop owner, Haru turned to Megumi and asked, "Have you decided?"

Megumi replied calmly, "I sent photos to my classmate—she's still thinking it over."

"This kitten's really cute."

"Mhm. I think so too. We'll see if she likes it."

Her tone remained calm, almost emotionless, like she was talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

At first, Haru thought nothing of it.

But after spending more time with her in the shop, he noticed something strange. Every time he said a certain cat looked cute, she would snap a photo and send it off.

Eventually, Haru couldn't help but ask, "Why are you sending so many photos? Didn't your friend just want an orange tabby?"

Megumi kept her head down, eyes on her phone. "I think all of these kittens are adorable. Maybe she'll change her mind."

Haru went quiet for a moment, then tested the waters: "This friend you're talking about… is it actually you?"

"Hmm?"

Megumi turned her head slowly, looking at him with a face of innocent confusion. "Why would you ask that, Amamiya-kun?"

He gave a casual shrug, smiling. "Just curious."

Her long lashes fluttered as she blinked. "Do you want me to show you our chat log?"

"No need, I really was just asking," Haru waved it off immediately.

"You're turning me down so fast. Are you worried I'll get mad because you don't trust me? Don't worry—I'm not mad."

With that, she cheerfully raised her phone screen for him to see.

Haru said no, but his eyes darted across the messages in a flash.

Just like she said, there was indeed a classmate saved as "Hanako" who had asked Megumi to pick out an orange tabby.

But… he didn't see the part Megumi had mentioned earlier—"My friend wants an orange cat."

Instead, the messages only said: "I hope I can find a kitten as obedient as the one in your video."

Haru didn't think too hard about it. Orange or not, it didn't matter. If Megumi really wanted to help her friend find a cat, he could lend a hand and help train it too.

After all, training cats was a breeze for him now.

Give him 30 minutes, and he could teach a kitten to use the litter box, sit, stand, and even roll over on command.

As he was thinking about that, he didn't notice the subtle change in Megumi's expression the moment she turned away.

Once she confirmed her back was to Haru and he couldn't see her phone again, her fingers flew over the screen.

Megumi: "Thanks for going along with me."

Hanako: "No big deal! But why'd you want me to send that message anyway? Super strict parents, and you wanted to stay out longer?"

Megumi: "I do want to stay out a bit longer."

Hanako: "Haha, knew it. I've done that before too. We're classmates, so if you ever want to pull this again, just let me know—I can even call and act it out."

Megumi: "Thanks, Hanako."

Putting her phone away, Megumi went back to looking at cats. But her gaze often flicked toward Haru.

Noticing he was still right beside her made her quietly happy.

Haru's sudden question earlier had caught her off guard for just a second.

Thankfully, she'd kept her cool.

Truth be told, when she said to Haru that time:

"The more you show me of yourself, the harder it is for me to walk away…"

—she'd gotten it backwards.

He didn't need to show her anything more. She would stay by his side, no matter what.

Megumi knew perfectly well—Haru, Yukino, Utaha… they were all sharp.

If she wasn't careful, she'd get exposed fast.

My entire life feels like walking on thin ice.

And she knew full-on lies never worked.

For example, today—she had openly invited Haru out in front of Yukino and Utaha.

And her classmate really had seen the cat video she posted, and had shown genuine envy, even expressing a desire for such a well-behaved cat.

But that classmate's family didn't allow pets, so all she could do was say, "I wish I could have one too."

Half-truths are always the safest lies.

Megumi turned to Haru and asked, "Can you train any breed of cat?"

"Pretty much," Haru replied with confidence.

She nodded. "Then I know which kind to recommend to Hanako."

There was nothing wrong with the statement. She was here to help a classmate pick a kitten, so offering a recommendation was perfectly reasonable.

Haru's suspicions were completely dispelled.

He figured maybe he'd just been overly suspicious because Megumi had outplayed him a few times, and maybe she just had that natural knack for keeping him on his toes.

A few minutes later, Haruno messaged him saying she had arrived nearby.

Haru told Megumi and went outside to wait.

Soon, a familiar black car came into view.

The door opened and Haruno stepped out from the passenger seat. Spotting him, she immediately beamed and walked over, her perfume lightly wafting in the breeze.

"You've got the stuff Aunt Yukinoshita sent?" Haru asked, eyeing the bag in her hand.

"Yup. All fancy sweets. Super expensive. I'd never splurge on these myself." She winked at him playfully.

Haru took the bag and muttered a quick thanks.

Haruno moved closer, smiling mischievously. "So… what should I call you today?"

Haru blinked. "What do you mean?"

Leaning in, lips parted in a teasing smile, she whispered, "We had a deal, remember? If you pulled it off, I'd call you Onii-chan~"

That one word sent shivers down his spine. He instinctively raised a hand and backed up with a rapid-fire protest: "Stop. Haruno-nee, please. I'm scared."

Her laughter bubbled out immediately. "Aww, that reaction is too cute. What, now that I'm keeping my promise, you can't handle it?"

"I thought you were joking," Haru said honestly.

"I wasn't," she said sweetly. "I made a bet—and I'm owning up to it."

Then she added, "But of course, I'll only call you that in private… like today."

Haru rubbed his arms like he had goosebumps. "One more word and I'm calling the cops."

Haruno loved that expression—disgust mixed with panic. It was better than any movie reaction.

That line from the movie popped into her head:"The more you resist, the more excited I get."

Her eyes sparkled. "Honestly, I wanted to call you that last time. But then I thought, since you only carried me up the clock tower and didn't actually send me flying into the sky… it didn't quite count."

Haru thought to himself: I could've launched you to the sky. Spiral trajectory and all. But you'd probably faint.

Haruno went on, "Even if you didn't technically meet all the conditions, we've known each other forever. I've always really liked you, so… I'm willing to keep my promise."

"Seriously, no. I really don't need it," Haru insisted. "I can't accept it."

Seeing him squirm, Haruno fluttered her lashes and cooed, "Onii-chan~"

Haru got goosebumps again.

But this time, Haruno's smile froze.

Because behind him, unnoticed until now, stood a short-haired girl.

Megumi Kato.

Her usually unreadable expression was—shock.

Megumi: Did I eat too many mushrooms or something? What the hell did I just hear?

Haruno quickly schooled her features into calm, but inside she was screaming: Oh no—busted!

Haru turned around, saw both girls' faces, and burst out laughing. "See, Haruno-nee? I told you to quit it. Now look—you've been caught red-handed."

Megumi's voice was a bit stiff. "A… joke?"

"Of course," Haru nodded. "She's always teased me like this since we were kids. I always saw through it."

Megumi seemed to be musing aloud. "I guess… Miss Haruno and her sister are completely different people."

Haruno coughed lightly and smiled. "Did you used to think we were the same?"

"I always thought both of you were calm, clever, and beautiful," Megumi said sweetly.

Haruno relaxed, returning the smile. "Thank you. But yeah, we're not alike."

"Exactly," Megumi agreed. "I mean, I really can't imagine Yukinoshita ever calling Amamiya-kun Onii-chan."

Haruno: "..."

Haru was dying inside—but also laughing.

The sister backstabbing drama was giving him a headache.

But Haruno being put in her place? Delightful.

Still… there was something about Megumi's tone.

It almost sounded like… disapproval?

Haru glanced at her with a silent question in his eyes: You mad?

Megumi's face stayed composed: I'm not mad.

~~~~~~~~~~

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