Anna’s support

While Tomoe finished the research, the three girls finally reached the apartment. Anna walked in first amazed by how big the place really is.

It was basically a proper house and not the tiny studio apartment most students live in.

"You two live here? Even my own apartment is smaller than this." Anna felt envious of Ayame and Kasumi having so much space to themselves.

"Well thanks to Kasumi we were able to get this room, but honestly feels too big." Ayame didn't know what to do with the space, so she didn't think it was impressive as Anna makes it out to be.

"Still though, better having the extra room just in case." Anna could use the extra room in her apartment as it has gotten more cluttered over time.

"..." Kasumi's apartment was at least 4x the size of this one, so to her, it was more cozy than spacious, but for Anna's sake she stayed quiet

"Well anyway here it is." Ayame wasn't sure what to do since they were still adapting and hadn't really had the chance to set up anything for guests.

"Hmmm, I won't stay for too long, but in the meantime do have any video games we could play? May as well enjoy ourselves before I have to go." Anna could easily tell they did not have a console, but she still wondered if they had one just put away.

"Good idea, but I don't think we ever got one." Kasumi did have one at home, but she wasn't going to go back there just in case one of her father's minions was there. Despite her being relatively strong for her age, many of Sebath's minions were stronger.

"We should order one, but we wouldn't be able to play tonight." Ayame became rather fond of the idea as it would be a good way to spend time with friends.

"It isn't too late so I can run to a games store. It may not look like it, but I consider myself a connoisseur when it comes to this." Kasumi pushed up imaginary glasses feeling prideful in her knowledge. However, when she learnt it was during the time that Sebath locked Kasumi in her own room for a few months. So without much to do the only thing she could do was play games by herself.

"Really?" Ayame didn't expect it since she thought Kasumi wouldn't have the time, but after thinking about it for a moment she realised that Kasumi was rather tech-savvy so it wasn't a stretch that she was familiar with video games.

'I guess being forced to be a shut-in allows you to do things.' Ayame felt bad since she knew the kind of situation Kasumi lived through, but at the same time grateful since Kasmui's knowledge is quite handy.

"Yep, so sit tight I'll be back." Kasumi was eager to enjoy a hidden hobby, so she didn't want to pass up on this opportunity.

"Alright, stay safe and be back soon." Ayame waved off Kasumi as she was already halfway out the door.

"Be back soon." Kasumi left the apartment slightly rushing as it was around 4 pm so places would be closing soon.

"Heh." Anna didn't expect her suggestion would lead to her and Ayame being alone, but it was exactly what she wanted. Anna didn't intend to get some alone time right now, but with Kasumi out of the way, it would allow her to get the scoop on what was going on between the two.

Anna's first destination would be the bedroom since if they are sleeping together then it will tell her everything.

"What's with that mischievous grin?" Ayame saw Anna heading towards the bedroom which only tipped Ayame off that Anna planned something.

Anna quickly stood up straight as her plans were ruined, but it was no surprise that it didn't work.

"Aww you caught me, I just wanted to find out if you two are dating." Anna instantly told the truth to Ayame which surprisingly was an effective way of gaining knowledge since her face turned bright red.

'Damn it, Anna already knows something is up…. I should just tell her.' Ayame already wanted to seek out advice from Anna and with Kasumi out now was a good time.

"Grrr, I can tell you that we are not, but there is something I should tell you." After speaking Ayame second-guessed herself worried that Anna was actually trying to blackmail, but that sounded ridiculous.

"OH! Okay, I'm all ears." Anna quickly sat down on the couch like she was an obedient dog.

Ayame sat at Anna's side and took a deep breath thinking over what to say. It wasn't an easy thing to say as she expected it to shock Anna especially since Ayame's response to Kasumi was please wait, I need more time.

"Kasumi did end up confessing to me, but I said I wasn't ready please give me some more time." In one breath Ayame explained the situation and Anna's face was stunned. She expected something spicy, but not a genuine confession.

"I don't know what to do or how I feel. I hardly know Kasumi and I feel like a bunch of steps have been skipped. There should be an order of operations you know?" Ayame was terribly confused about herself and how she should be reacting. There wasn't much she should go off other than manga, but the reliability of manga is debatable.

"Hmm, this is indeed a tricky situation. It seems like your heart wants to, but your brain is unable to make any logical sense." Anna wanted to try to contextualise Ayame's feelings since understanding them makes it easier to handle them.

"I don't think so? My heart doesn't really say anything about wanting to date." Ayame didn't quite understand what Anna meant.

*Facepalm* "No you idiot, of course it can't say anything. Does your heart beat fast when close to Kasumi or do you feel a sense of comfort like when you go to bed after being out all day?" Anna got a better picture of Ayame's understanding of her feelings so it was no wonder she ended up needing more time before answering the confession.

"Oh… I guess I feel safe and my heart goes a little faster and my thoughts tend to wander AND I find myself wanting to always be by her side, but that's normal right?" Ayame was surprisingly dense leaving Anna shocked as she would have thought Ayame would be better at recognising feelings with all the romance she has read.

'I thought all that yuri manga in her room would have given her a clue about her feelings, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Actually, it makes sense, usually, the one that gets confessed is the dense one.' Anna connected the dots as to why Ayame was so dense, explaining that all the romance books she read made her go backwards.

"You do know that's exactly the kind of stuff that says you are in love, not some weird phenomenon." Anna tried to be straightforward, but the look on Ayame's face said it flew right over her head.

"Are you sure?" Ayame felt stumped, she wanted to trust Anna's words, but a part of her was scared.

"Yes, I am not trying to trick you, but from what it sounds like you are in love. However, I am not saying you should say yes. You are still confused so we need to untangle this web before we move forward." It finally clicked in Anna's head what to do which she felt was the most logical step.

Anna tried thinking about what she would do and tried to get a sense of how Ayame is feeling. However, to Anna, it felt so simple to deal with the situation.

'Hmm, when you are in the spotlight it is easy to forget how to think so I should cut her some slack.' Anna understood it probably wasn't as simple as thinking since a million things are most likely rushing through Ayame's head. Scenarios are playing out and things she should say cloud her mind distracting Ayame to think properly.

"I didn't expect that kind of answer." Ayame nodded her head slightly approving of what Anna said. It wasn't too straight forward and it allowed her to figure out these feelings which is what she wanted.

"However, saying that I straight up love her is a bit of a shock." Ayame saw love in a more black-and-white sense, so hearing that she does have feelings seemed like an extreme way to put it.

"Well frankly it's a little more tricky than yes and no, you may not realise it, but from what I can tell, your heart yearns for Kasumi for what she gives. What we need to figure out is whether Kasumi is the right person for you in the long run. I don't want to lose a friend because she walked the dark path."

"Not to say Kasumi is a bad person, but it's always good to know who they really are as a person before jumping in." Anna tried to lay out the framework of what they needed to figure out before Ayame should say yes.

They are Kitsune so this very well could be their lifelong partner, so it is even more important to fully understand each other.

"From what I hear from my dad you are stuck forever with who you chose and many young kitsune get together without realising the ramifications of committing to such a future." Anna wasn't sure how true it was, but she believed it since she was being forced to marry into a family for the security of her family's future.

"I see, thank you Anna so much for your advice. I didn't expect you to be that good at all this love stuff." Ayame was on board with the idea as she always loved gathering information. It was her favourite part of the jobs she gets, so this plan perfectly aligned with it.

"Haha, I'm just trying to think this through logically and also no need to thank me, just make sure to keep me updated." Anna felt embarrassed that she did a good job since she really didn't have much experience.

"Of cour-."

*Bang* "I'm back!" Kasumi came barging back with a box in one hand and a bag in the other. Without having a free hand she kicked open the door causing a loud bang to echo in the apartment.

Both Anna and Ayame jumped almost getting scared to death by the noise.