Chapter 146 - Selfish

"Ara, did you already know about Koharu?"

Suzuki Ara snapped out of her reverie upon hearing Midori's question. She looked at each curious gaze directed at her before nodding.

"I was the one who told Big Brother Kaze to expose her actually after getting Midori's message," she said. "Big Brother Kaze, Ryuu, and my brother filled me in on the details last night."

However, Ara had no idea what happened to Okada Koharu after Kazehaya Gin ordered people to kick her out.

"The principal and the teachers went to Koharu's house. They delivered her there and the adults told her parents about what happened."

Oh?

"Did you know what happened there?"Ara was curious.

The Okada couple had no idea about their adopted daughter's real nature. They must have been shocked.

Rin and Miharu exchanged looks before telling Ara what they knew. "Well, auntie and uncle were surprised of course. They were actually shocked. Koharu was totally fighting like a banshee when she was escorted home and had to be restrained because she wanted to come back here to see Kou-san."

"The nutjob finally showed her true colors, huh?"Sonoda commented in disgust.

He didn't know what happened after Koharu was kicked out of the Cedar Palace either as Midori didn't tell him. The reason why Rin and Miharu knew must be because they were really close to Koharu and her adoptive parents had called them to ask.

"Rin tell them," Miharu urged.

It looked like there was something else that happened.

"Koharu ran away from home crazy that night," Rin informed them. "But she returned the next morning calm and eerily back to normal."

"Do you think she will still do something after being exposed like that?"

"She must be plotting something," Midori commented. "She was like that with me before the car accident. She was hostile then she was suddenly nice like nothing happened."

The others agreed. Dangerous. Okada Koharu's at her most dangerous state. With everything out in the open, she had nothing to lose.

"Well, it's not like she can do anything to us now that we know what she's capable of," Sonoda said as he turned to his girlfriend. "I will continue escorting Midori just in case."

He then turned to Rin and Miharu. "How about you two?"

"Do we need protection?" Miharu asked. "I don't think Koharu will do anything to us since we're not her love rivals."

Well… they did have a point, but still…

"Remember what happened to me? I was not her love rival before but she still sabotaged my car to get to Midori," Ara reminded them. "Since you two didn't take her side, in her mind you took mine, and there's a big possibility she'll do something to you too."

Rin and Miharu looked thoughtful for a while, their faces pale and they swallowed hard, realizing the crux of the situation they were in.

"Ara is right. Maybe I can ask my brother to pick us up from school," Rin suggested to Miharu, who readily agreed. Miharu was an only child so she did not have any siblings to rely on.

"I'll take you guys home," Ara offered, surprising the two, but they eventually declined.

"You can't Ara. You have to take care of your own safety. If you take me and Rin home, who will take you home?"

"I'll be alright," Ara assured them but they were not convinced.

"Suzuki, even if you're a lot stronger than me, there's no saying what can happen. You still even don't know who her accomplice is. What makes you think you'll be prepared for an attack?" Sonoda turned to Midori then to the others. "I think it's best to ask your fiancé or your brother for help this time. Now that you're married, it's rude and stupid not to ask for help."

When Ara raised a brow at him, he explained. "Don't give me that look, Suzuki. It's not about being a guy okay? Gender pride has nothing to do with it. But my mom told me that when you're married, it's not about just you anymore. You have to think about your spouse too. Yes, you are strong, but strength alone doesn't keep you away from danger. How do you think Homura would feel if his wife gets into trouble when it would have been easy for him to assign protection on you?"

Well…

Ara was thoughtful. Sonoda was right. Also, the lecture didn't end there.

"I think Hiroaki has a point," Midori agreed after a while, before turning to her boyfriend with pride. "Oh my God, I didn't think your brain has some other functions too," she teased, making them chuckle.

"I'm not entirely stupid you know," Sonoda huffed in mocked hurt. He nevertheless turned to Ara with a serious expression. "Suzuki, not letting the person you love know about your problem is not protecting them. It's disrespect to their feelings for you. Instead of thinking that you did not tell them because you don't want to burden them, it will come out more as you don't trust them."

Oh…

Ara felt like slapping herself. She and Ryuu had just talked about cause and effect earlier when she had selfishly followed her whim. She had thought she had finally understood, but here she was thinking only about herself again. She wondered when her vision would widen and become more mature in her thinking.

Of course, there was no question that she could handle Koharu and her minions. She was a demigod. It would take the whole country's artillery to take her down. Then again, she was also going to be a wife soon. She was already keeping a huge secret from Kou, she shouldn't keep more. Besides, she was the one who demanded they'd tell each other their thoughts. It was awful of her to keep this issue with Koharu from him. She was contradicting herself.

Oh well…

"Then I'll ask Kou if he can also give Miharu and Rin security while we still haven't settled the issue with Koharu."

Everyone smiled at her announcement. Sonoda gave her a thumb's up. "That's better!"

Ara couldn't help but smile at the athlete. Who would have thought he's not just a muscle-head? He practically just prevented a possible cause for argument between her and the Koutaishidenka. "I'll ask to give you one too."