I Accidentally Built a Harem of Girls Who All Hate Each Other

My trip to the brightly-lit, twenty-four-hour convenience store felt like a scene from a spy movie. Every person I passed on the street was a potential agent of Reina's. The cheerful chime of the store's entrance bell sounded like an alarm, announcing my presence to the world.

I navigated the aisles with feigned nonchalance, grabbing a basket and filling it with plausible deniability. A bottle of soda. A bag of chips. A new notebook. And then, the mission-critical items. I lingered in the pet food aisle, my heart thumping, feeling as conspicuous as a man in a trench coat buying a single, unmarked key.

I grabbed a bag of kitten-formulated dry food, a few cans of wet food for the mother, and a pack of flimsy, disposable plastic bowls. At the checkout, the bored-looking college student behind the counter didn't even blink. He scanned my items with robotic efficiency.

"Having a party?" he grunted, nodding at the chips.

"Something like that," I mumbled, my hands clammy as I handed him the money. The receipt felt like a signed confession. I shoved everything into a plastic bag and scurried out of the store, my mission a success.

By the time I got back, darkness had fully settled over the neighborhood. The world was quiet, draped in shadows that were now our allies. I slipped into my backyard and crept to the hedge separating my property from Yui's.

A faint light from her kitchen cast a soft glow on the lawn. As if on cue, she emerged from her back door, moving with a newfound stealthy grace. She was carrying a cardboard box lined with what looked like a soft, old sweatshirt.

We met at the hedge, two co-conspirators exchanging a look of grim determination under the pale light of the moon.

"Got the supplies," I whispered, holding up the plastic bag.

"Got the nest," she whispered back. "Coast is clear. My parents are watching a historical drama. They won't be out for at least two hours."

"My dad's glued to his blueprints," I confirmed. "We're clear."

"Okay," she breathed, taking charge. "Like we planned. I'll place the nest. You prepare the food. I'll keep watch while you put it down."

It was a simple plan, but my nerves were shot. We moved like shadows, crossing her lawn and approaching the back porch. Yui gently slid the cardboard box into the dark space, placing it a few feet from the feline family. The mother cat watched her with wary but tired eyes, too weak to be truly alarmed. She seemed to understand, on some primal level, that we were there to help.

While she did that, I knelt on the grass, my back to the porch, and opened the cat food. I filled one of the flimsy bowls with dry kitten food and another with water. The smell of the wet food was surprisingly strong as I peeled back the lid.

"Okay, ready," I whispered.

"Go," she urged, her eyes scanning the windows of our two houses. "Quickly."

I crawled to the edge of the porch and slid the bowls of food and water inside, placing them near the box. The mother cat immediately perked up, her nose twitching. She let out a soft meow and cautiously approached the offering, sniffing it before starting to eat with a hunger that made my heart ache.

Phase One was complete. We retreated back to the relative safety of the hedge, our hearts pounding with a mixture of adrenaline and success.

"We did it," Yui breathed, a triumphant smile on her face. "We're officially cat-conspirators."

"Secret agent cat-burglars," I added, a tired but genuine smile on my own face. "I think we need code names."

"I'm 'Angel'," she declared instantly. "You can be... 'Noodle'."

"Noodle?" I deadpanned. "Why do I have to be Noodle?"

"Because your brain is a tangled, complicated mess, but you're ultimately good," she said, bumping my shoulder playfully.

The gesture was so simple, so normal, so us, that it almost brought tears to my eyes. The ice hadn't just thawed; it had completely melted away, washed out by the flood of our shared secret. In that moment, standing in the dark, we weren't a boy and a jealous girl. We were Kaito and Yui again. Best friends. Partners in crime. Noodle and Angel.

The warm, fuzzy feeling lasted for all of thirty seconds.

It was shattered by the buzz of my phone.

We both froze, the playful atmosphere evaporating instantly. Slowly, I pulled the phone from my pocket. It was a message from a number I didn't recognize. My blood ran cold.

Unknown Number: I trust you arrived home safely. I have acquired your number from the student council emergency contact list for... supervisory purposes. Ensure your phone is on and charged at all times. - R.K.

It was Reina. Of course it was Reina. She had my number now. She had a direct, electronic leash into my life.

I showed the screen to Yui. Her playful smile vanished, replaced by a cold, hard glare. "She's unbelievable," she hissed. "She can't even let you have an evening in peace."

"She said she needed to be able to supervise me," I sighed, feeling the weight of my sentence settle back onto my shoulders.

"Right," Yui said, her eyes narrowing. "Well, two can play at that game." Before I could ask what she meant, she took my phone, her fingers flying across the screen. She saved Reina's number under the contact name "The Warden," then sent herself a text from my phone so she would have my number on her own device.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Leveling the playing field," she said, handing my phone back. "From now on, anything she sends you, you forward to me. We analyze it together. No more secrets. We are the command center for Operation Fluffball. She doesn't make a move without us knowing."

Just then, my phone lit up with a new message. From Yui's own number.

Yui: This is Angel. Noodle, do you copy? The package has been delivered. Awaiting your report. Over.

I looked at her, my eyebrow raised. She just grinned, a fierce, determined glint in her eye.

"We have to stay in character," she whispered.

I couldn't help but smile. This was Yui's way of fighting back. Not with anger or tears, but with a ridiculous, over-the-top secret agent game that was, in its own way, a declaration that she was back in my corner, ready to fight.

I trudged back to my house, feeling a strange mixture of dread and elation. My life was more complicated than ever. I was now caught between two powerful, determined girls, one who was my warden and the other who had just appointed herself as my secret agent handler.

Later that night, as I lay in bed, staring at my ceiling, my phone buzzed one last time. It was from The Warden.

The Warden: I have analyzed today's data. Your interactions with Fujii-sensei and the subsequent reaction from Hamasaki-san have introduced new complexities. Your social circle is becoming dangerously volatile. Behave accordingly. This is your first and only warning.

I sighed, my head throbbing. My life had become a series of warnings.

With a sense of grim duty, I forwarded the message to Angel.

Her reply came back almost instantly.

Angel: Message received. The Warden is attempting psychological intimidation. Standard procedure. Ignore her. She has no idea we have assets on the ground. Go to sleep, Noodle. We have a long day of espionage ahead of us tomorrow. Angel out.

I turned off my phone, a small, weary smile on my face. My life was a complete and utter catastrophe. But for the first time in days, as I drifted off to sleep, I felt like I might just have a fighting chance. Because I had an Angel on my side.

An Angel who was very, very good at holding a grudge. And that, I decided, was a powerful asset indeed.