After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back-Chapter 345 - 344: A Scam that Goes with the Flow

"I'm back."

"Welcome home." The stepmother came up and took the grocery basket from Kagura Hikaru, while thankfully saying, "It suddenly started raining outside, but fortunately Mister Hikaru, you brought an umbrella."

"Yep."

Kagura Hikaru, after having shaken the umbrella dry outside, placed it into the corner stand and walked towards the interior of the house.

Komori Ai followed step by step behind him, covering her mouth with her sleeve and looking around.

They had returned to Tokyo from their old home in Wakayama Prefecture.

The Kagura family hadn't been home for over a month, and the house was covered in dust. The stepmother eagerly began cleaning, while Kagura Hikaru was tasked by his father to do the grocery shopping, only to be caught in a sudden downpour halfway through.

Good thing he had noticed the weather was off before heading out and had brought a large umbrella, the same one he bought at the convenience store last time. Otherwise, he and Komori Ai would likely have been drenched.

Entering his room upstairs, the trailing Komori Ai suddenly made a beeline for the bed.

Fortunately, Kagura Hikaru's reflexes were quick, catching her under her arms and holding her midair like lifting a cat.

"No, you can't get on the bed without taking a bath."

Komori Ai frantically struggled and kicked: "Then I want to take a bath!!"

"After dinner," he replied.

"Mmm!" Komori Ai grumbled discontentedly, dragging out her voice like a primary school student, "Fine~~~"

Komori Ai's existence gave Kagura Hikaru the feeling of having an extra child at home.

Not only was her personality brash, but she was also curious about everything.

At the dinner table, she took advantage of her invisibility to others, climbing onto the table to steal food from bowls or peering closely at people with wide eyes.

Every time, Kagura Hikaru had to pull her back down when his parents weren't paying attention and then would slap her thighs under the table as a punishment.

After several pranks, Komori Ai settled down.

Maybe she was just hungry, as she now sat with her bowl, serving herself food.

Her ability not only allowed her to go unnoticed by everyone other than Kagura Hikaru, but also made whatever she touched invisible.

Kagura Hikaru noticed that several times, the hand she extended to pick up food bumped into the stepmother's, who seemed completely unaware.

It seemed the deception wasn't just limited to sight and hearing, but touch, smell, and possibly other senses were affected too.

Even the fact that the food on the table was decreasing went unnoticed, suggesting that not only was the presence ignored in the moment, but any trace left by Komori Ai was considered normal.

If this ability were used for covert operations, it would be incredibly effective.

But Komori Ai chose to use it for mischief at the dinner table.

After dinner, Kagura Hikaru let Komori Ai bathe first, then returned to his room.

Around twenty minutes later, while Kagura Hikaru was reading, he heard a knock at the door. Upon opening it, he found Komori Ai standing naked in front of him.

Her wet hair cascaded down, covering her face, and combined with that innate eerie atmosphere, Kagura Hikaru momentarily thought it was a lolita Sadako coming to find him.

He froze for a few seconds before snapping out of it and hurriedly pulled her into the room.

"Why aren't you wearing clothes?"

"Eh~? Because you didn't give me any!" she replied.

"If you didn't bring any, why didn't you say so!"

"Hmph!"

Kagura Hikaru opened the closet and tossed underwear and pajamas at Komori Ai for her to put on.

He went downstairs to find a towel, then made Komori Ai sit in a chair so he could dry her hair with a towel and blow-dryer.

Because she kept moving around constantly, he had no choice but to give her a pack of snacks to calm her down.

It was exhausting, like gaining a daughter.

Looking down at the whorl in Komori Ai's hair, Kagura Hikaru couldn't help but reflect on when he first brought her home.

Back then, Komori Ai was very thin.

Not the slender thin of a girl, but an unhealthy thin, where the pelvic bones and ribs protruded clearly, with no extra flesh in sight.

To put it harshly, it was a body devoid of feminine charm, one that would only weigh down on someone's heart even if seen without clothes.

Now she was much better, having put on some weight, at least appearing like a normal girl.

As soon as her hair was dry, Komori Ai couldn't wait to jump onto the bed and romp around.

Perhaps she wanted to mark her scent.

Kagura Hikaru entertained some impolite thoughts in the back of his mind.

While Komori Ai played by herself on the bed, Kagura Hikaru didn't pay her much attention and continued reading his book.

Time passed without him noticing, and when he remembered it was time for bed, he discovered that Komori Ai had already taken over and fallen asleep on his bed.

Kagura Hikaru finished freshening up and came back to find her still asleep, so he planned to carry her to the guest room.

Although Komori Ai didn't mind sleeping with Kagura Hikaru, she was, after all, not a real child, and Kagura Hikaru still had some reservations about it. Usually, at home, he would let her sleep in the guest room most of the time.

Unexpectedly, the moment he picked her up, everything spun around him, and the next moment, when he regained consciousness, Kagura Hikaru found himself undressed and lying under the covers with Komori Ai, who rested her head on his arm, sleeping soundly.

It was as if a chunk of memory had been lost.

Looking at the ceiling, he suddenly broke out into a cold sweat on his back.

It was only now that Kagura Hikaru realized that he had made a critical mistake about something.

—He seemed to be unable to completely ignore Komori Ai's abilities.

Blinded by Komori Ai's pitiable side, he had forgotten about her dangerousness.

Thinking back, maybe Komori Ai wanted him to feel this way.

Just as he could read Komori Ai's mind, she was not utterly helpless against him. If she really tried, she could still exert influence over him!

He had been outmaneuvered.

Kagura Hikaru inwardly chuckled ruefully.

Sleepiness crept up on him amid his worries.

The next morning.

A moment before the alarm went off, Kagura Hikaru opened his eyes and reached out to turn off the alarm on his phone.

He got a shock from the temperature outside when he withdrew his hand from under the covers.

It might have been a bit colder due to the rain from the day before.

Suddenly, the blanket moved.

But it wasn't his body that was moving.

"Mmm..."

The thing under the blanket wriggled for a moment, and a cute girl's face poked out from under the covers. Her silky, smooth hair draped over half of her cheek, and a few strands made their way into her mouth.

"Mmmhmm mmmhmm..."

Kagura Hikaru tucked in the blanket for Komori Ai, covering her exposed shoulders.

Of course, she was clothed.

Even though the blue pajamas she wore were actually borrowed from Kagura Hikaru.

He didn't wake Komori Ai, carefully got out of bed, and started dressing, only to turn his head and see her wide awake, staring straight at him.

"...Good morning."

"You have to take responsibility for me!" Komori Ai declared loudly and raised her pink bunny phone, "Otherwise, I'm calling the police!"

His eyelids drooped slowly while Kagura Hikaru watched her vacantly, continuing to dress.

"Come on, say you'll take responsibility for me, say it, say it~!"

Komori Ai jumped out of bed and started tugging at Kagura Hikaru's clothes, pulling them this way and that.

"Oh, what specifically do you mean by responsibility?" Kagura Hikaru asked, tying his tie nonchalantly.

"Family! Be my family, Kagura Hikaru!"

"...I thought you were going to say something else."

"Eh?"

Komori Ai blinked, watching as Kagura Hikaru turned around with a look of resignation, "You can use your 'Lie' on my parents, and then you can officially be a part of my family."

"Is that okay?" Komori Ai tilted her head.

The very person who warned himself not to use his power on the innocent was Kagura Hikaru himself.

Kagura Hikaru fell silent for a moment, "...Just this once as an exception."

Watching Komori Ai cheer "Yay, yay!" and "Family! Family!" as she bounced around on the bed, Kagura Hikaru felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

This was a deception that took advantage of the situation.

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Even if Komori Ai hadn't mentioned it, Kagura Hikaru would have found an opportunity to give her a legitimate identity in this family.

Komori Ai was the 'inheritance' he left to his family.

She would probably be able to stabilize his parents' emotions in the future.

In the prophecy, Kagura Hikaru vaguely guessed why he would jump onto the tracks to end his own life—it was something human effort couldn't stop, futile.

On the way back to Tokyo, he had already accepted this outcome.

How many days were left in his life...

Kagura Hikaru looked out of the window at the sky, indifferent.