Karen seemed completely unaware of the shift in expression on Sousuke's face beside her. She pulled his hand and sat directly on the Sofa next to Keita and Anna.
The distance between the four of them was thus pulled into a range suitable for 'intimate conversation'.
"Hey, Anna,"
Karen turned sideways, her curious eyes shifting between their tightly clasped hands and their faces.
"When exactly did you two start dating? You kept it so secret! We didn't know anything about it!"
As soon as her words fell, Sousuke beside her immediately cast an inquisitive glance, giving him a legitimate reason to continue questioning.
"Yeah, Anna, this is so sudden."
With two pairs of eyes focused on her simultaneously, Anna felt the temperature in the palm held by Imaizumi seemed to rise a few more degrees.
Her uncontrollably accelerating heartbeat made her feel guilty again, and she instinctively wanted to avert her gaze.
Keita She keenly sensed her wavering..
He tightened his grip on her hand slightly, almost imperceptibly.
This was both reassurance and a way to divert Yanami's attention from answering to their intimate contact.
That firm strength reminded her of his earlier instruction—'Leave everything to me.'
Anna took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Turning her face slightly, she spoke in a somewhat shy tone, delivering the prepared line: "Actually... it's, it's not that big a deal. It's just... I always thought Imaizumi-kun was very... special, very much his own person."
She explained haltingly, "And then... seeing how happy you and Karen are, Kusagari, I... I felt I should also muster the courage to go for it..."
As she spoke, Keita could feel a steady stream of energy mixed with 'guilt,' 'nervousness,' and 'effort to perform' coming from her.
So, he used his thumb to stroke the back of her hand, not too lightly, not too heavily.
This action encouraged her to maintain this state.
Anna's heart skipped another beat. She felt her skin's sensitivity had increased a hundredfold under the gaze of the two opposite them.
Even though they had discussed it, Imaizumi-kun was really too bold.
To make such a subtle move right in front of them...
"It's just as Anna says."
Keita smiled, meeting Kusagari and Karen's gazes as he joked, "But, even though Anna is very pretty, for me, she's still in the probationary period. After all, becoming my girlfriend isn't that easy."
These words carried just the right amount of arrogance and a sense of declaring sovereignty.
He wasn't just mounting a psychological defense against Sousuke; he was also applying a new kind of emotional pressure on Yanami, making her produce more complex emotions directed at him.
Sure enough, Sousuke's eyebrows subconsciously furrowed.
He couldn't accurately describe the displeasure in his heart, only instinctively feeling that this man's attitude towards Anna made him very uncomfortable.
So, he also took up the conversation with a casual, joking tone,
"Is that so? Then Imaizumi-kun should get to know Anna better. She sometimes seems careless, but actually thinks a lot in her heart."
This sentence sounded like an introduction from a childhood sweetheart about a friend, but it clearly exposed a sense of superiority—'I know her better than you do.'
Keita smiled, not directly refuting it.
He simply took the opportunity to pull Yanami a bit closer into his embrace, making her almost completely lean against him.
Then, Keita responded in an utterly certain tone: "Don't worry. Anna is my girlfriend. From now on, I'll be with her. I'll get to know her slowly."
This intimate gesture made Yanami's body stiffen, but what followed was a sense of security from being sheltered.
This energy, mixed with'shyness' and'security,' was of extremely high quality.
With one sentence, he blocked Sousuke's claim of 'childhood sweetheart privilege.' Hakamata Kusagari also didn't know what else to say.
"Mhm! Mhm!"
Karen beside them completely failed to detect the hidden clash between the two men. Instead, she nodded emphatically in agreement, a happy smile on her face as she actively joined the conversation.
"Kusagari is really good to me! When I wake up in the morning, he prepares water for me to drink, and he also..."
Just as she was about to enthusiastically share more of their sweet daily routines, Sousuke beside her blushed and hurriedly reached out to cover her mouth.
"Ahem! Karen, those... those overly intimate things shouldn't be discussed in public!"
"Mmmph..."
This little interlude was brief, but it caused Anna's already chilled heart to drop a few more degrees.
So, they had already reached the point of being able to share 'adult topics' like 'post-overnight daily routines'.
The memories she cherished of 'walking to and from school together' seemed so pale and laughable in the face of these genuine lover interactions.
Is this what Imaizumi meant by 'lover status'?
Having never been in love herself, she really didn't know about such things...
Keita once again felt the warm 'energy flow' emanating from Yanami begin to change in quality.
He couldn't help but sigh.
Although Anna's appearance was very much to his liking, he was starting to find this kind of push-and-pull a bit annoying.
Fortunately, he could take advantage of diverting Yanami's attention to collect a bit more interest.
"Alright, alright, just talking is no fun."
Karen quickly adjusted her emotions and enthusiastically pushed the karaoke song selection console towards them. "Imaizumi-kun, Anna, you two should sing a song! Let us hear your duet!"
Keita smiled and gently pushed the console back. "You two sing another one,"
he looked tenderly at Yanami beside him, "Anna and I want to be alone a little longer."
He said this very naturally, exactly like a couple in the throes of passion who didn't want to be disturbed by outsiders.
Anna also cooperatively nodded, showing a very expectant expression for Sousuke and Karen to sing a duet.
Karen immediately showed an 'I understand' expression, smiling as she pulled Sousuke to stand in front of the screen again.
Soon, the lights in the private room dimmed again into an ambiguous atmosphere, and the prelude to another love song began to play melodiously.
Taking advantage of the other two being absorbed in the song, Keita decided to try a somewhat risky action.
He had already verified the energy from'shyness' and 'nervousness'.
What kind of feeling would the energy from another, stronger emotion directed at him—'jealousy' and 'possessiveness'—produce?
Remembering that Anna responded better to a firm hand than a soft one, Keita leaned close to Anna's ear.
His breath carried a hint of deliberate warmth, and his voice was lowered to the extreme, imitating a lover's whisper.
Keita leaned in so close he felt he could almost lick Yanami's earlobe, and said in a tone that was merely stating a fact as a male:
"Anna, do you remember what I told you about 'lover status'?"
"...Mhm."
Anna responded subconsciously. She didn't say that she had just felt a very intuitive sense of what Imaizumi was talking about.
"Look at Himiya-san,"
Keita's gaze fell on the girl in front of the screen who unconsciously looked at Sousuke while singing.
"Right now, she's radiating that kind of charm—sweet and in love—that men find irresistible."
"To be honest,"
he paused, giving Anna time to process, then added, "even I feel a little tempted."
The moment he finished speaking, Keita keenly detected a change in the energy field.
Anna's forcibly suppressed emotions suddenly exploded.
She had just been brutally struck by that couple's'sweet daily life', and now she was hearing her nominal 'boyfriend' praise her love rival with her own ears.
The desire for revenge she had forcefully suppressed, mixed with a strong sense of crisis, was instantly ignited!
The hand she was holding Keita's with slowly, irresistibly tightened.
A spicy, searing energy flow violently surged into Keita's body from the point of contact!
This energy was far more domineering and intense than any previous 'warm flow'.
Like someone who loves spicy food completely disregarding the consequences, there was only one word in his mind: 'exhilarating'.
Moreover, Keita immediately noticed that the progress of his awakened ability had increased by a large chunk.
Before a smile could even appear on Keita's face, he saw Anna turn her head, imitating his earlier action by actively leaning close to his ear, and retorting word by word in a tone laced with clear possessiveness and provocation:
"Stop looking at others all the time."
"Keita! Your girlfriend is right here."