[TSSIM] Chapter 480: I Promise I Won't Abandon You for the Rest of My Life

"Rin, if you keep saying stuff like that, Hanayo's gonna stay red-faced forever, you know..."

Homura spoke with a sigh, then pondered.

'It's not just Hanayo being anxious... Rin's acting the same way too... it's her own kind of frustration, right? She's anxious for Hanayo.'

Rin knew Hanayo's weaknesses all too well—whenever Hanayo faced something new, she would always back off.

In the original work, it was very obvious that Hanayo joined Muse because Rin had pushed her to do it. As for Maki, that had been more of a rivalry with Rin, but regardless, Rin was still the main factor that had made them join Muse.

It was the same this time, but when it came to feelings, Hanayo clearly couldn't back away.

As a result, seeing Hanayo's hesitation, Rin started pushing her forward, just like in the original work.

Needless to say, Rin wasn't about to give Hanayo the chance to back out.

"I know, I know~"

Saying this, Rin jumped down from Homura's back.

Homura shrugged, convinced that his guess was right.

Soon, Rin crouched down next to Hanayo.

"Kayo-chin… Rin only has one question for you." Rin said with a surprisingly serious expression, though her tone was as energetic as always.

Hanayo took her hand away from her ear and quietly listened to what Rin had to say.

"Kayo-chin, do you like Homura-kun? No thinking! Just answer!"

"Like!" Hanayo answered instinctively, then froze.

Clearly, she hadn't even had time to think when Rin's question made her blurt out the answer.

Needless to say, it was a sign of how much Hanayo trusted Rin. If anyone else had asked Hanayo the same question and told her not to think, she would still have thought before answering.

"Mm! If you like him, you can't back down, Kayo-chin!" Rin smiled happily. "Moving forward is the thing you should do, nyaa~!"

Hearing this, Hanayo sniffled, then embraced Rin.

"Rin-chan, thank you..."

"Kayo-chin, you're my best friend—there's no need to thank me, nyaa..." Rin responded shyly.

Returning to her usual self, Rin was feeling a little embarrassed now.

'Cute.' Homura thought, nodding with a smile as he watched Rin's behavior.

Hanayo stood up, looked at Rin's smiling face, and gathered her courage to approach Homura again.

"Homura-kun…"

Hanayo took a deep breath and lifted her head, gazing at Homura.

Homura felt that, at this moment, her eyes held everything.

"From now on... please take care of me..." Hanayo said nervously while blushing before closing her eyes.

Homura let out a breath, then made a serious expression.

"I know... If that's your decision, I promise I won't abandon you for the rest of my life."

He couldn't guarantee devotion, but what he could do for her was never leave her.

A girl who could still sincerely like him and want to be with him, despite knowing his circumstances—he would have no excuse but to love her.

Homura gently pulled Hanayo in front of him into his arms and lowered his head, meeting her lips with his.

"Isn't this great, Kayo-chin… Now we can be together forever, nyaa..." Rin muttered happily, almost in tears.

Truly, only the girls around Homura could still be so happy in such a moment.

===

"Mm… Mmhh…"

After a while, Homura and Hanayo parted their lips.

Hanayo's lashes fluttered, but she was too shy to open her eyes.

Seeing Hanayo's cute behavior, Homura smiled and patted her head, planting a kiss on her forehead.

Feeling the kiss on her forehead, Hanayo shyly opened her eyes, cupped her face, and felt her cheeks burning.

"Ahh... you kissed me first…" Hanayo muttered, looking completely smitten.

"Nyaa~!"

Rin suddenly jumped on Hanayo, embracing her.

"Kayo-chin, you're so cute, nyaa~! I really like this Kayo-chin!"

Rin hugged Hanayo tightly and started nuzzling her.

Seeing this, Homura almost joined in, but if he did, he understood that tonight would never end.

In the end, he could only smile and watch the sweet scene in silence.

'Umu, they are so cute.'

With such a thought, Homura folded his arms and nodded solemnly.

===

With Hanayo gone, only Homura and Rin were left, walking down the road, holding hands.

"Childhood friends, huh... it's really unbelievable..." Homura remarked with a sigh. "And you, Rin, having Hanayo as both a childhood friend and a best friend—it's even rarer."

"Heehee, what can I say? Kayo-chin's been someone I can always rely on since we were little~" Rin replied while chuckling. "But now that you mentioned it, aren't Honoka-chan, Kotori-chan, and Umi-chan kind of the same?"

"Yeah, they all grew up together…" Homura nodded while gazing at the night sky.

"Grew up together... They're not plants, nyaa~" Rin joked, then asked with a curious expression. "Homura-kun, don't you have childhood friends too?"

"Me?" Homura raised his eyebrows, then smiled. "I'm different from you girls. I mean, yeah, I'm childhood friends with Eriri and Mugi, but it's not like you and Hanayo. Our families aren't that close and we couldn't see each other all the time. But while our chances to hang out weren't as frequent as yours, we're still close. Otherwise, we wouldn't be called childhood friends."

" Oh..." Rin nodded. "If you said that, does that mean Saori-chan, Chika-chan, and Kaguya-chan aren't Homura-kun's childhood friends?"

"Hmm... not really..."

Homura shook his head and started to reminisce.

"When I met Saori, she was around Sagiri's age. When I met Chika and Kaguya, they were around Elf's age. At that point, you wouldn't really call them childhood friends, right?"

"From the outside, it might seem like we were all in the same circle, knowing each other from early on, but even if you know each other early, most people in the same circle don't necessarily end up hanging out together."

"So, being able to play together since childhood and still stay close as you grow up... that's a really special kind of bond—a bond called childhood friends."

"Mhm, Rin always liked Kayo-chin the most!" Rin exclaimed cheerfully. "I still remember when I was little—the boys always made fun of me, and the girls didn't want to hang out with me because I looked like a boy. Back then, the only one who stayed by my side was Kayo-chin."

Upon hearing this, Homura squeezed Rin's hand.

"But now, you've got everyone."

"...Um, now Rin has everyone, and Homura-kun too..." Rin looked up, meeting Homura's gaze. "Everyone and you, Homura-kun, really changed everything for me..."

"Everyone changed you, and you changed everyone too—it's a mutual change." Homura gently touched Rin's face. "So, let's keep moving forward like this, alright?"

As the atmosphere grew warm, Rin couldn't help but close her eyes, and...

===

After an unknown amount of time, Homura and Rin finally parted their lips.

"I'm really looking forward to the trip..."

Gently leaning into Homura's embrace, Rin spoke in a soft voice.

"Yeah, but you nine need to take care of things properly tomorrow." Homura said, patting her head. "That way, we can enjoy more and feel more at ease when the time comes."

"Don't worry, Homura-kun! We've got it covered, no problem!" Rin said confidently, crossing her arms.

"I trust you all, of course." Homura smiled lightly.

"Yosh! I'm pumped now!" Rin nodded vigorously. "Homura-kun, I'm heading home! Bye, nyaa~!"

"If you need me, just call." Homura said, shaking his phone.

Rin waved cheerfully at him before turning around and jogging home.

Homura stood still for a moment, then, after Rin's figure vanished, turned and left.

On his way home, Homura reflected on the things that had just happened when, suddenly, he noticed something that made his expression look a bit strange.

"Hmm... it's like every time the second years speed up, the third and first years immediately overtake them?"

He remembered how, last time, when Honoka and the others had just entered the hugging stage, Nozomi had immediately kissed his cheek.

Meanwhile, after Honoka and the others had finally kissed his cheek earlier, Nico and Hanayo overtook them by kissing his mouth directly.

Aside from Nico, who had done that because she was stubborn and unwilling to lose, the rest of them, including him, had just let things develop naturally, going with the flow.

Somehow, it had all progressed to this point on its own.

It was just that aside from Nozomi, Nico, and Hanayo, Honoka and the others had taken their time, letting things develop slowly.

Nozomi, Nico, and Hanayo, however, seemed to have taken a shortcut, as if directly teleporting to the finish line.