Romantic Killer But I Made It Gay

Junta route part 7

As Riri follows them and they resume their argument, Hoshino turns slowly to stare at me, still in shock. I smile nervously.

"I'm not the only one?"

"Nope. Lucky me, right?"

"But...why are you living with a bunch of guys if that demon is trying to set you up with someone?"

Junta and Tsukasa glance worriedly at me but I don't feel embarrassed for some reason. "I'm not interested in girls," I inform her confidently. "But I'm not about to give into that egg either."

"Egg?" Her face twitches into a smile and she whispers to herself, "It's just like Light of Hope!"

"Light of Hope?" The memory of one of the few good yaoi games I've played surfaces in my brain and I happily cry, "You've played it!?"

"It's only the best yaoi game out there!" she returns, catching onto the situation. "You've played it?"

"Of course! The way the love triangle was set up was just like—"

"Like in Romance Flipper!" she finishes my thought perfectly.

"You've played that?"

"Oh, are those video games?" Junta guesses excitedly. "You finally found someone else like you, Haru!" He covers his mouth nervously. "Oh, was that rude?"

"I never knew someone else could be so obsessed with video games," Tsukasa comments and Hoshino winces.

"I am. But that...that egg took them all away. And my chocolate, and my cat! It's made my life miserable! It even set a roach on me! I'm so glad someone else feels the same pain I do!"

I laugh awkwardly. "Actually, it was a long and hard path but I got my favorite things back. Except for my parents, of course. B-But I do know your pain!"

"Oh." She looks a little disappointed but she quickly recovers, looking around me into the living room. "Think they're done fighting? Maybe your demon can convince mine to free me from these chains."

I realize it's been quiet for quite a few seconds and I rush into the room, the others following me. Inside, the two eggs are waiting for us, smiling in a way that worries me.

"Did you come to a decision?" Tsukasa wonders tiredly. Junta edges up to me nervously and I smile up at him.

"Yes! We have!"

When they don't elaborate further, Hoshino snaps, "So? What are you going to do?"

"We're letting this play out," Riri decides and Kiki nods in agreement. "Good luck!"

With that, they disappear in two puffs of yellow smoke, leaving us in silence. Tsukasa looks at me, then notices how close Junta and I are standing and frowns.

"Let's see..." I glance at the pouring rain outside just as a bolt of lightning strikes close. As the sound of thunder ripples through the house, I sigh. "Guess you're staying here tonight," I offer Hoshino.

"Sorry..."

"It's none of our faults," Junta assures her. "Oh, right, I'm Junta Hayami, and this is Haru Mori. Do you know–"

"Tusukasa Kazuki," she finishes, pointing at Tsukasa. "Right?"

He nods, starting into the kitchen. "I'll heat up dinner for us."

"Thanks!" I call after him as he disappears around the corner. Junta and I turn to Hoshino awkwardly, who glances around us at the table, still holding the game of life we were playing. "You wanna play something to pass the time?"
She blinks, as if she didn't realize she was staring. "S-Sure."

We clear the table and get out all the board games my family's gathered over the years. After a few minutes of deciding, we pick a simple deck of cards. Tsukasa returns with dinner and we set out plates, then settle down around the table.

"So..." Hoshino twiddles her thumbs awkwardly. "Do I want to know why I'm in the middle of Light of Hope? I'm betting it's because of that wizard."

"Yeah," Junta laughs lightly, nudging my shoulder as we're both sitting on the couch. Tsukasa is seated on the chair and Hoshino's graciously taken the floor in front of us. "We're Haru's love interests."

I feel my heart do a weird fluttery thing and I avoid his eyes. I can feel Tsukasa watching us so I decide to avoid his eyes as well.

Hoshino nods thoughtfully. "It seems extreme that you have to live together. You weren't...forced to do this, right?"

We all sigh, nodding sadly, and she blanches.

"But we have the choice to move out now," Tsukasa assures her quickly, seeing her horrified expression.

"Oh." She frowns even more thoughtfully. "Then why don't you? Aren't you fighting back against that demon?"

The room is silent. I stare intently at the ground. Hoshino blinks, then flushes bright pink, squeaking, "O-Oh! I-I see...That's—That's great!"

Tsukasa coughs, picking up the deck and dealing our hands. "Shall we?"

I feel my heart sink as I pick up my cards. I barely scan them but I can already tell it's a losing hand.