"...Mom?!"
Darting a glance at the woman sitting on the sofa, Ruri jumped in fright. Then, her small face quickly flushed red:
"It's already so late, why hasn't Mom gone to sleep yet?"
"Ruri-chan sent me a message earlier saying she was coming back tonight. Before seeing you come home, Mom definitely wouldn't be at ease." Mrs. Gokou's gaze shifted, landing on Sora. She smiled radiantly, "I didn't expect Ruri-chan to bring Mom back an unexpected surprise."
Sora: "..."
Didn't you say your mom would definitely be asleep?
And I end up getting caught red-handed the moment I walk in the door!
Although Sora had a clear conscience, his face felt a bit hot at this moment. But naturally, he wouldn't choose to evade the situation. He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and bowed in greeting:
"Good evening, Auntie. I just escorted Ruri back, I'll be leaving right away..."
"You can't leave." Ruri, with a blushing small face, quickly stepped forward, enduring her embarrassment as she spoke rapidly, "It's already super late, and it's still raining outside. It's not safe for Sora to go back alone, so let Sora stay over, okay?"
Sneaking a boy home and getting caught red-handed by Mom, no matter how you think about it, it's super embarrassing.
But the experience at the subway station just now stuck in her throat like a fishbone. Ruri strongly felt that it was a spacetime singularity, so she absolutely did not want Sora to risk going back alone.
Better safe than sorry.
What if it really is a spacetime singularity?
If Sora suddenly disappeared from this world... I absolutely do not want a future like that!
"Well, since it's Ruri-chan's boyfriend, staying over is naturally not a problem." Mrs. Gokou didn't refuse, but smiled and agreed.
"However, Sora-kun can only sleep in Ruri-chan's room."
"H-He's not my boyfriend..."
Ruri's small face was burning hot as she stammered a shy denial, then lightly gritted her silver teeth and said:
"Sleeping in my room... then he'll sleep in my room."
There weren't many rooms in the house: Mom and Dad had one, Hinata and Tamaki shared one, and then she had her own single room. So there really was no other choice.
The smile on Mrs. Gokou's face grew even more delighted:
"Letting a boy who isn't her boyfriend sleep in her own room, Ruri-chan really gave Mom a big surprise."
Ruri: "..."
Today is a special circumstance, otherwise I definitely wouldn't let Sora stay over!
Unfortunately, Ruri knew very well that no matter how she explained it now, Mom wouldn't listen. She could only try her best to hide it, at least keeping it from Dad and her sisters.
"Phew..."
Mrs. Gokou raised a hand to cover her mouth and yawned, gracefully turning to leave:
"So sleepy, Mom is going back to sleep. I still have to work tomorrow. Ruri-chan, take good care of Sora."
The living room quickly fell silent.
Sora looked at the girl with long black hair, whose pretty face was crimson and who seemed to have steam rising from her head. He said softly:
"Maybe I should just head back?"
"No." Ruri crossed her arms over her chest, her tone serious. "If you go back now, you'll definitely get lost in the spacetime singularity."
Sora was speechless. "I told you not to randomly add settings to the world."
"Since magical girls exist, it's entirely possible that spacetime singularities exist too, right?"
"It's also possible they don't exist."
"It felt so cold and eerie in the subway station back then."
"Could it have been a psychological effect?"
"Ugh—"
Faced with Sora constantly dismantling her arguments, Kuroneko couldn't help but puff out her cheeks and lightly step on Sora's foot:
"This topic ends here... Come with me to the bathroom, you shower first."
"..."
Arriving at the bathroom.
Sora first sent messages to Angel-sama and Sagiri, explaining that he was staying over tonight. Then he took off his clothes and began to wash up.
Halfway through washing, the sound of knocking suddenly echoed.
"Sora, open the door." Ruri's voice sounded from outside. "I brought you one of my dad's pajamas."
"Thanks."
Sora opened the door a crack and reached out to take the pajamas.
"The futon is already laid out." Ruri said quietly outside the door. "Sora, do you mind sleeping on the floor? If you're not used to sleeping on the floor, you can sleep on the bed, and I'll sleep on the floor."
"It's perfectly fine." Sora replied softly. "I don't have trouble sleeping in new places, I can sleep in any environment."
"That's good..."
Ruri quietly breathed a sigh of relief and pursed her pink lips:
"I'll be in the living room. Once Sora finishes showering, I'll take you to the room."
"Thank you for your care, Ruri-sama."
"Hmph~"
"..."
Sora closed the bathroom door and continued washing up.
Before he finished, the sound of knocking suddenly echoed again. This time, the knocking was noticeably more urgent.
"Sora, hurry up and open the door." Ruri's nervous voice sounded lowly outside the door.
"What's wrong?"
"L-Let me in!"
Sora was instantly shocked.
What does 'let me in' mean?
Someone is taking a shower, and you actually want to barge in? If the genders were reversed, it would clearly be an act with ulterior motives!
"Hinata came out of her room." Ruri hurriedly explained. "She's probably coming out to use the restroom. It'll be terrible if Hinata catches us."
Being discovered by Mom is barely acceptable, but if discovered by Hinata, no matter how you think about it, it's super terrible, right?
Kids can't keep secrets. When Hinata plays with her friends, she'll likely boastfully blab about Sora staying over.
"I'm telling you guys, Ruri-nee brought a boy home to stay over in the middle of the night, you absolutely must not tell anyone."
"Have you heard? The eldest daughter of the Gokou family brought her boyfriend home to meet her parents."
"That gloomy eldest daughter of the Gokou family actually got pregnant accidentally, and it reached the point where she couldn't hide it anymore, so she had to bring her boyfriend home..."
"..."
Ruri just imagined it in her head, and she felt so ashamed and indignant she wanted to explode on the spot.
No!
I absolutely do not want such a terrible future!
To avoid social death, I must nip the rumors in the bud at the source, so I absolutely cannot let Hinata discover Sora's presence!
Sora replied in a low voice: "Should I go out and hide?"
"It's too late." Ruri quickly pushed the door open and slipped in. Disregarding her embarrassment, she hurriedly pulled Sora to hide in the corner. "From now on, don't speak, keep quiet."
The Gokou family's restroom was an older style. The restroom and the bathing area were separated by a frosted glass door. As long as the lights were on, one could see the silhouette of someone moving inside the bathroom, so Ruri had to come inside.
Later, when Hinata uses the restroom and sees someone in the bathroom, she will definitely say something. If Sora remains silent, the secret will definitely be exposed, right?
The patter-patter of footsteps soon reached the door, and someone walked into the restroom.
"Who is it?"
Ruri chose to strike first.
"Eh, Ruri-nee is back?" Gokou Hinata's groggy voice rang out. "Wasn't Ruri-nee on a date with Sora-niisan? Why are you in the bathroom?"
"It wasn't a date, I went over to help with something." Ruri quickly corrected her.
"Ruri-nee just likes to say one thing and mean another." Hinata sighed, her tone like a little adult. "If you don't dare to face your true feelings, you'll become a losing heroine in the future."
Ruri angrily gritted her silver teeth: "I have no feelings like that at all, alright!"
"Liar." Hinata retorted.
"The night Ruri-nee came back from the trip, I slept with Ruri-nee, and I clearly heard Ruri-nee calling Onii-chan's name even in her dreams."
Gokou Ruri: "..."