Tyrone and John faced each other as they sat on the sofa in the living room.

For some reason, John kept his distance from Tyrone by sitting near the edge of the sofa. Meanwhile, Tyrone sat on the other side as he showed a worried expression.

The sisters who watched television earlier already disappeared after they wordlessly walked upstairs together.

"Did... Something happen? What's with the silent treatment from your sisters?"

Tyrone asked John worriedly as he opened the small luggage he carried. Then, he took out a stack of papers from within it.

John glanced at the papers Tyrone held and then replied,

"It's nothing much. We just had a small fight. That's all."

"Really? If you say so," said Tyrone while shrugging his shoulders, he then continued saying, "By the way, I know that you wanna know why I came, but read this first."

Tyrone gave the papers to John. He accepted it without hesitation.

"Sigh... I'm not so surprised anymore, but I still worry," said John as he read the papers from top to bottom.

A few seconds later, John crumpled the papers he held into a ball.

"Dammit, not again!" yelled John as he threw the crumpled papers on the floor and then stomped on it while frowning.

"Oh... Good thing those were the backup copies. Anyways, John, please treat me well. I'm your newest house mate."

Tyrone smiled as he extended his hands towards John.

"Awe! How am I gonna explain this to my parents when they get back?"

"Don't worry. We already called your parents and they said that it's fine."

After jerking for a moment when he heard that even his parents knew of their situation, John hesitantly shook Tyrone's extended hand.

"Tch! Welcome to our house then. Please keep a distance of at least 1 meter away from me, starting right now."

<><><><><><><><>

The next day...

"Mhhmm... Ah, I'm awake now..."

John rubbed his eyes as he sat up on the sofa.

"Sniff, sniff... Hm? Someone's cooking? Did I wake up earlier than usual?"

He stood up and followed the aromatic scent all the way to the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen, he heard the sounds of hot oil frying something.

Since he just woke up, he could not focus his muddy mind. He even walked around with eyes closed most of the time.

"...Hi. You girls are cooking this early again?" said John while trying to keep his sleepy eyes open as he wobbled around while facing the ground.

"Hey, Johnni. Are you usually up this early?"

Wait, that doesn't sound anything like my sisters...

John thought that as he became alert and opened his eyes wide upon hearing the deep male voice coming from the kitchen.

When he looked around, he saw the muscular figure of Tyrone trying to cook near the stove while wearing an apron.

After that, the morning proceeded without incident and everyone inside the house silently ate their breakfast at the dining table. Yes, silently.

Then, everyone went to their respective schools.

After the sisters went out of the house first, John and the remaining people formed a group and walked silently to their school together. However, someone from the neighborhood shouted, "Hey John! You've brought another man home, I see!", but John ultimately decided to ignore it.

As they walked on the way, John finally broke the silence and said,

"Tyrone, not to be rude, but, could we all keep some distance from each other? I really want to walk alone right now."

Hearing this, Tyrone glanced a bit towards Elssie's direction before replying to John,

"...You should have heard of this from Ivan already, right? I can't leave any of you alone. Some kidnappers might appear all of a sudden. Like that one," said Tyrone while pointing at a random bystander far away from them.

A bunch of uniformed men attempted to approach the bystander. In response, the bystander prepared to run away, but shortly before he could, one of the uniformed men took out a gun and shot the bystander with it. They did not even make a noise. The next moment, the uniformed men threw the body of the said bystander into a van.

What the!? They just killed a man in plain sight!

John looked at Tyrone as he waited for an explanation.

"Hm? Oh, don't worry. That person's not dead. Our deployed guards use tranquilizer so we can still interrogate them afterwards," said Tyrone in a nonchalant manner as if nothing wrong happened.

"That's not the issue here! What do you mean 'kidnappers'? And why is everyone else just looking away as if nothing happened!?" replied John while pointing at where the bystander previously stood.

The next moment, John heard the sound of a closing window. He reflexively took a look at the source.

"Look! That grandma that lives on that house over there totally saw that happen! I bet she's calling the police right about now!" said John while pointing at the window that just recently closed.

"Don't worry. That won't happen," replied Tyrone while giving a thumbs-up as he reassured John. However, this made John worry for the Grandma's safety instead.

Suddenly, a memory of his conversation with Ivan flashed inside John's mind. About how all of them got placed under surveillance.

"Whoa! Then what about my sisters!? Kidnappers are after them too?"

"Relax, they have their own guardians secretly assigned to them."

John breathed as sigh of relief after he heard Tyrone's reply. At this moment, a nearby girl decided to butt in on their conversation.

"What are you guys talking about just now?" asked Elssie while holding Chloe's arms as they walked together closely.

John looked at Elssie and gave a sigh before replying with,

"Sigh... It's nothing. Listen, can you girls go on ahead?"

"Oh? Okay. See you at school. Hey, Chloe, let's walk faster!" said Elssie as she increased her walking pace while dragging Chloe along.

"A-ah? S-slow down! Please don't hold my arms like that!"

"Ohohoho~ Just follow me obediently like usual! Now, lets run!"

After confirming that the girls were already at the distance, John and Tyrone stopped walking.

Although it was my order, why didn't you stop them? So much for not leaving any of us alone.

John thought that as he internally criticized Tyrone.

However, John did not worry about the safety of the girls anymore after seeing some uniformed men secretly following them from a distance. He deduced that those men were allies upon seeing Tyrone's calm reaction.

Next, they looked at each other.

Deciding to start up a conversation, Tyrone said,

"...Y'know, I think you should prevent yourself from physically coming into contact with mentally unstable girls next time."

"Why? And what do you mean by saying that?"

"Nothing, just a random thought. Let's walk slowly. There are still a lot of important details for you to know, in case you didn't know them already."

The two of them began walking slowly just as Tyrone replied.

"So, you're probably gonna tell me why you're not with Ivan and the rest, right?" asked John as he moved three inches away from Tyrone.

"Oh, that's good. You catch on quick. Naturally, I can't tell you the important details, but I can tell you that they're currently out of the country and will probably be back here within a week."

"Is that so? Well, I guess I'll leave it at that then. Also, can you tell me more about these 'kidnappers'?"

"Oh, that? Didn't Ivan already tell you?" asked Tyrone as he kicked a nearby stone along the path they walked.

"Our last conversation got interrupted by a conveniently inconvenient phone call, so no," said John while trying to keep his distance away from Tyrone who slowly closed the gap between them bit by bit.

"Oh, is that so? Well, I'll tell you so listen to me. I'll keep it short," replied Tyrone as he quickly shortened his distance with John while using the conversation as an excuse.

John gulped, but due to Tyrone getting close, not due to the anticipation of what he would say.

"Remember the fat guy who chopped Chloe up back then? Apparently, he was Elssie's father."

John stopped in his tracks while showing a shocked face. In response, Tyrone also stopped walking.

Tyrone expected that reaction, so he continued,

"Now that he's fallen, or should I say, locked up behind bars while being carefully guarded by 'us', his Rivals and Enemies in business could no longer reach him, so they wanted to take out their anger on his daughter instead."

"Wait, wait, wait! What does this have to do with me and my sisters? Aren't they just targeting Girl numb-- err, Elssie? Why would they try to kidnap us as well?" replied John while showing an annoyed look.

In truth, he is currently considering to give up Elssie to the enemies just so everything would be in peace... But he quickly gave up on the idea.

Wait, why am I thinking like that!? What is wrong with me lately?

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Oh, that? That's because you kept Elssie in your house. 'Everyone who helped her is an accomplice now', that's how the enemies see it. Hahaha! Also, because of all this, that Elssie girl has nothing on her," said Tyrone as he laughed in response to John's question.

So it's you guys who are at fault here, huh? Well, in the end, we still accepted some money for Girl number one to stay at the house. Some burned-to-ashes money, that is.

"You don't have to get so worried, John. This is all according to Madam's plans. In truth, we're just using you and your house as a bait to lure out some of the bad underground syndicates. But even that is only a side-job for us."

John did not understand most of Tyrone's words. No, he did not want to understand. He wanted to remain oblivious to the danger all of them currently faced.

After that, John decided to keep silent until they reach school.

He already knew that nothing good would come of it if he tried to scold them for their actions or even try to understand them, so he decided not to pursue the matter any further.

And just like that, they reached the school safely.

<><><><><><><><>

Upon reaching the classroom, John immediately encountered a hostile Jason.

"Why are you so mad all of a sudden? Did I do something wrong to you?" asked John towards Jason who directed a malicious look at him.

Of course, John already considered the possibility of Jason finally snapping just like all the other males inside his class, but he thought that it would be impossible for the usually easy-going Jason.

The next moment, Tyrone showed up from the side.

"Oh, so you brought a buddy to protect you, eh? Just wait till you two get separated from each other," said Jason while glancing at Tyrone who stood beside John. The dangerous words caused Tyrone to be concerned, but he did not take it too seriously.

John decided to ignore the angry classmate and move on. Both he and Tyrone went to their respective seats. Meanwhile the seats of Ivan and three others remain vacant.

This way, the class proceeded with no problems.

A few hours later...

John looked at the time on his phone.

May 12, 2032. Wednesday. 12:02 PM

Still sitting in his chair, John looked over his shoulder and decided to speak to Tyrone who sat far behind him.

"Hey, Tyrone! I'm concerned about something, so let's go eat lunch together," said John while showing a worried look.

"Alright. Let me call the two girls first," replied Tyrone as he waved his hand towards a particular direction.

You can't call them over just by doing that... What the!? They're coming over here? Did they practice doing this before?

While thinking that, John watched the two girls, Elssie and Chloe, approach Tyrone. The girls spoke to Tyrone for a bit before the latter stood up and went over to John's location.

"We're ready, John. How about we go to the canteen?"

"Alright, but you didn't have to bring those two with us."

John looked behind Tyrone and he saw the two girls blushing while they glanced at him. Also, he did not notice, but every other girl inside the classroom did the same.

After that, they proceeded to the school canteen together.

They picked a four-sided table and then quietly ate their food.

Just as John and Tyrone finished eating theirs, John decided to strike up a conversation while waiting for the girls.

"Hey, Ty. Can you stick around with me for today? I feel that something bad will happen if that Jason spots me walking all by myself," said John while looking around the place restlessly.

"Why? What's wrong, Johnni? Care to tell me the reason? Although, I noticed him acting strangely earlier too."

"Yeah. I just feel that he's acting different today. And when did I allow you to call me Johnni?"

"Heheh, sorry."

Tyrone shrugged his shoulders while showing a carefree smile at John. He then observed the two girls who just silently ate while staring at them.

The girls reacted to Tyrone watching them.

"Munch, munch... What? Munch, munch," asked Elssie as she paused her movements right before inelegantly placing a spoon inside her mouth. Meanwhile, Chloe silently gave a questioning look towards Tyrone as if saying, "Is there something on my face?"

"Hmm... Chloe, come with me for a bit, only after you finish your meal. Don't worry, it won't take long. We'll come back to John later." said Tyrone while placing an elbow on the table.

After Chloe heard Tyrone say that, she stopped eating for a moment and then looked at John, looked at Tyrone, looked at John again, then gave a nod to Tyrone afterwards, before continuing to eat her food.

A few minutes later, Chloe finally finished eating. She went away with Tyrone, leaving John behind together with the girl who still kept eating her meal.

John calmly observed Elssie eat while resting his chin on the table.

"...Can you eat faster?"

"Ohohoho~ You can't force a lady to-- gekh! Cough! Cough!"

"Oh no! Don't talk while you're still eating! Water! Here's water!"

John immediately handed Elssie his unfinished bottle of water while panicking. She accepted it without hesitation.

"Gulp, gulp. Ahhh... Thanks."

"Phew! Don't do that again," said John as he slumped down on his chair.

"......"

"Hey."

".....?"

"Can you stop staring at that bottle and start finishing your food now?"

"......"

"Give me that."

John suddenly snatched the empty bottle away from Elssie's grasp.

"Aahh! Nooo..."

Elssie tried to reach for the bottle from the other side of the table but John extended the bottle away from her. This almost caused her long blonde hair to touch the food on the table.

"Sigh... Leaving you and the other girls aside, don't you think Girl num-- Chloe, is acting really weird? By weird, I mean crazily obsessed weird," asked John while holding the bottle up in the air.

"Reeaacchh-- Guh! Huh? What do you mean? She seems normal to me. Although I literally only ever see her talk when you are nearby. Is that strange?" replied Elssie while still desperately reaching for the bottle.

Hearing this, John gave a sigh before accurately throwing the empty bottle at the trash bin from a few meters away. Elssie made a sulking expression afterwards and then proceeded to eat her meal again.

"Sigh... This one's no help at all. Now eat faster or I'll leave you here," said John as he stood up. This prompted Elssie to rapidly consume her meal, which resulted in her choking once again a moment later.

<><><><><><><><>

Another few hours later, the school lessons finally finished without any trouble happening. Although, Jason still kept eyeing John from afar.

Lots of students walked through the school gate together. This included John, Tyrone, and the two girls they live together with.

"John. When we get back home, I'm going to show you a video," said Tyrone with a calm look as he showed his phone to John.

John gave an uninterested look as he casually replied with,

"...Oh, we'll watch with that? It better not be a 'video for mature audiences'. Anyway, I'm bored. Let's go to an amusement park today for a change."

"Is that so? Alright. Since Ivan and my three other buddies aren't here, I guess I could do something like this every once in a while. I'll just give a call to 'the guys' to double our security in case it's crowded."

Tyrone nodded to John in agreement. He then faced the two girls beside them and asked,

"Miss Elssie, Chloe, are you girls fine with this? We'll go to an amusement park right now."

"Ohohoho~ Why not? Sounds like fun!" replied Elssie while covering her mouth with the back of her hand. Meanwhile, Chloe just nodded silently with a blank look on her face.  

However, as they conversed about this, they did not notice Jason who blended himself within the crowd as he stared at them from a few meters away.

"Wherever you go, I'll follow you... Except for when you're entering your house."

Jason muttered to himself. However, this attracted attention from the people around him, which caused them to back away from him.

Luckily for Jason, John and the three others did not notice. Although, Jason also did not notice the gazes of some men in uniformed suits staring at him from afar.

One of the uniformed men took out a mini-radio and spoke to it,

"This is security unit number 22, requesting other units to keep an eye on that strange kid at my 3 o'clock."

Of course, Jason did not hear that nor did he realize that the men in suits considered him as a suspicious person.