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[X] Pet Chen.

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"Pet me too!" cries Chen excitedly.

For a moment, Vincent hesitates. Somehow, he feels that it would be inappropriate. The girl seems to be looking at him as a "big brother", of sorts, and he doesn't want to betray that trust. In addition, Komachi seems to watching the situation carefully, as if waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. The fact that Keine can come in at any time doesn't improve the situation, either. However, as he tries to think about how he can refuse the nekomata's strange request...

"Please~"

Chen looks up at him with her lively deep orange eyes. He can feel something warm in his chest as he watches her eyes glisten brightly like little gems. Then, she cocks her to the side, letting her soft brown hair sway gently. Her face, at first puzzled, slowly forms an innocent, eager smile. Both of her tails wag happily behind her. He shudders slightly at the sight of this rare moment. There is no way he can resist, even if he wanted to.

"J-Just a little bit, then," whispers Vincent, his voice dry and shaky.

"Yay~" she cries, a huge grin upon her face. She immediately steps forward within his reach.

"Er..."

Vincent takes a quick glance at Komachi. She seems to be watching them with interest. When she notices his gaze, she gives him a small smile, though a little more slowly and carefully than usual. Seems like she won't interrupt them unless he tries to do something stupid.

First, he slowly strikes her hair, not unlike what he just did with Komachi. Chen closes her eyes and smiles as he does so, giggling occasionally when his hands near her ears. Then, he tries ruffling her hair for a little bit. The nekomata opens a single eye at him and frowns, as if feeling a little uncomfortable. He immediately stops ruffling, and instead he strokes with the hair, taking care not to go against its natural direction. Her eyes close once more, and her smile widens.

After a few minutes, Chen lies down on the sofa with her head upon his lap. He carefully scratches behind her ears. To this, she moans quietly with pleasure. They continue like this for a little longer until Vincent realizes that she has fallen asleep.

"..."

With one last smile, he gently places a cushion under her head as he stands up. After making sure that Chen is comfortably curled up, he turns toward Komachi. She seems to be grinning at the both of them.

"How unusual," she whispers. "Chen never warms up to strangers like that. You must have made a strong impression on her yesterday."

"I suppose," he replies.

"I'm surprised you didn't try anything. Even Ran would have difficulty in that situation."

Vincent smiles back at the shinigami.

"I can't hurt Chen," he replies. "She is my little sister, after all."

The moment he says those words, he realizes that he means them.

"But you can hurt yourself in a fit of insanity?" says Komachi. "What happened back there? You were acting very strange."

Komachi looks straight at him, worried.

[ ] Stay silent.
[ ] Change the subject.
[ ] Explain to her now.
[ ] Explain when Keine arrives.
[ ] Explain when Chen wakes up.
[ ] Lie to her. (Specify)
[ ] Custom