Still Her Protector (Romantic)

If they were reverting around each other, that meant you had to jump right back into your old protector role. Your promise to her a decade earlier was still in full effect. If he ever directed a joke at her expense, you raised your voice to dissuade him. {if Male = true}The venom on your face made the warning abundantly clear{endif}{if Female = true}The way your chest puffed made the warning abundantly clear{endif}. After a few such interventions, he seemed to get the message. Then it was back to his new, more respectful disposition.

You later went to Kaori and suggested she not return to any more meetups with him. You really had thought he’d turned over a new leaf. However, if that was how they were around each other, it was better for them to stay apart.

Kaori protested vehemently. To your surprise, she insisted that she had actually been enjoying herself. The entire thing had been nostalgic, and she happily agreed with your earlier assessment that he was a changed man.

The obvious counter-argument was her skittish behavior. To Kaori though, that was just an echo of her highschool defense mechanisms. An old habit triggered by his proximity. She insisted that once she got used to him, she wouldn’t react the same way. She just had to teach herself that he was a safe person.

“Besides…Hehe. Being near him brings back a lot of old memories. Like…like how cool you were back then when you saved me from all the bullies back then…”{if **** = true}

(****) Later, when you found yourself wishing you held strong to your refusals, you returned to that line. Maybe she wouldn’t be in such danger if you really were as stalwart as you’d been back then.{endif}