How fast warmth could vanish from a room was something he hadn't grasped until now.
"Caspian… care to explain what's happening here?"
He turned to see Tatsumaki hovering on the balcony, her black dress' four high-cut leg slits rippling upward as she glared at him with folded arms.
Ice shot through his veins as he cursed his bad luck.
"…"
Tatsumaki harrumphed, then enveloped all four women in her emerald-green aura. She dragged them forward until they hovered above the floor, two on each side of him. Repressed moans escaped them as Tatsumaki sealed their lips shut, silencing their protests, except for one.
"What are you doing here?"
"No Fubuki, what are you doing here?"
Caspian peered to his left and glimpsed Fubuki's eyes dashing about.
"I-I came to recruit Caspian into the Blizzard Group."
Tatsumaki scowled. "Still playing around with that ridiculous group of yours? When will you learn it only makes you weak? We'll have a long, private talk later." Without letting Fubuki respond, she sealed her lips shut.
Fubuki's wounded look stabbed at Caspian. However cruel his own words had been, Tatsumaki's carried a genuine weight.
"Tatsumaki, th—"
"If you speak another damn word before I'm finished, don't dream of ever speaking to me again. Understand?"
Caspian nodded.
"Good." Tatsumaki shifted her focus to the woman beside Fubuki, ignoring her sister's distressed state. "Tsk. I remember those udders… speak your name."
Oblivious to the atmosphere, the woman cried out, "It is I, Mosquito Girl! And yo-mmhm."
"I've heard enough."
Tatsumaki's gaze skipped over him and landed on the woman to his right. "Speak."
"Wow. The 2nd Rank S-Class Hero is no joke. Well, I don't mind if you know my name. It's Suiko."
Tatsumaki shot an annoyed glance at Suiko's chest, then her eyes land on the last woman. Her eyes traveled up and down the woman's figure, causing her frown to deepen.
"Your turn."
"I do not appreciate this treatment. I have done nothing wrong. Your jealous tantrum is your own issue. Release me at once, and I can forgive this transgression."
Yuta, why? Caspian braced himself to intervene if Tatsumaki caused Yuta even the slightest pain. She'd only forbidden him from speaking, not moving. Still, he hoped she wouldn't harm any of them. They were innocent.
"Oh? Aren't you the obstinate one?" Tatsumaki motioned with her finger, pulling Yuta toward her.
From his angle, Caspian could only see the full curves of Yuta's backside. But asudden, Yuta, Fubuki, Mosquito Girl, and Suiko dropped to their feet, freed from Tatsumaki's hold.
"I remember now…" Her words trailed off before rising in volume. "Don't any of you dare leave while I'm gone!" she spun in the air and rocketed into the sky, the force of her exit sending a powerful gust through the apartment.
Caspian darted to the bug-catching jar on the kitchen nook, stopping it from toppling. He didn't need the added hassle of replacing it on top of everything else destroyed by her departure.
He pivoted to face the four women, observing their reactions.
"I like her. It's going to be fun breaking her in." Mosquito Girl rubbed her hands together.
Yuta's eyes remained fixed on the balcony. "It is good she listened to me, or I might not have forgiven her."
Suiko repeatedly opened and closed her mouth, savoring the sensation before looking toward Mosquito Girl. "Hah, does your mind ever go anywhere else, you wanton mosquito?"
Fubuki sat hunched on the floor, knees drawn to her chest. The sight crystallized his realization: feelings couldn't be forced. What will be his would naturally be his. What wouldn't be his, no matter how much he forced it, wouldn't become his. No more exploiting his foresight — not when it involved the seven of them.
The resolve stung, but it meant staying away from Wavygyaza too. After today's disaster, he wouldn't subject her to the same pain. If fate tied them together, it would happen. If not, he'd accept it.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the option not to seek her out, but he could change how he handled that situation.
Not wanting to dwell on it, Caspian stepped toward Fubuki and knelt before her.
"Did you come to say 'I told you so?' You were right all along. My sister's shadow is something I can—"
"I apologize. Forget my previous words. I only said what I did because I am terrible at having a proper conversation."
"Neither will I forget your words, nor were you wrong, but I don't wish to discuss it anymore at the moment." Fubuki raised her head, studying him with her narrowed mint-green eyes. "What is your exact relationship with my sister?"
"I am not sure now, but we were a couple."
Fubuki continued, scooting backward until her back pressed against the wall. "The most surprising thing I learned today is the fact that my sister could fall in love with a man. You're pretty special if you could break through her walls. If only I could br—"
"If Tatsumaki can, if I can, then you can definitely break the chains of your past which bind you. If that's something you want. Don't be ashamed of your past or present self. No matter what, there are many who care about you, me included."
Caspian moved to sit beside her. "Maybe we could start over? Considering how bad your first impression of me must be."
"It's time for me to make a few changes in my life... As for starting over? No need, it wasn't so bad." Fubuki closed her eyes and leaned toward him, resting her head on his shoulder.
Something's unnatural about this. Why's it all progressing so smooth and fast for me? I'm no charmer. Forget it, the women here are just built different.
"Now that's surprising to hear. Though I have to ask why aren't you trying to gouge out my eyes while your sister is gone? I mean, not only did I admit my feelings for you, which from your perspective has to sound crazy, but I also am—or was—in a relationship with Tatsumaki, and I feel the same way about her as I do for you, and several others."
"I believed you to be crazy from the start," Fubuki said, still leaning against his shoulder. "As for my sister, that doesn't bother me. Our relationship… there's always been a distance between us. I must be crazy too, because the thought of sharing a man with her doesn't disgust me." She nudged him. "Don't get ahead of yourself. You probably believe I'm already yours and that you will have all of us to yourself."
Am I hearing things? Maybe all of….
Caspian tucked away his thoughts and said, "I didn't say a word."
Fubuki peered up at him, her brows furrowed. "You may not have said anything, but your earlier debauched actions toward me and your interactions with those three peeping toms over there make it pretty easy to guess what you're thinking." As her attention focused ahead, her cheeks twisted a shade of red.
Caspian smiled toward the balcony.
Sure enough, the trio had seen everything. He stifled a laugh as Mosquito Girl gave him two thumbs up.
A comfortable silence sank in as they waited in the calm before the storm, savoring the brief bliss until the inclement weather returned.