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Rika's house had exactly three bedrooms.
One belonged to Shizuka Marikawa, one to Rika Minami, and the third was the room they had given Shuya after Shizuka picked him up.
But ever since Shuya had claimed Shizuka, she had basically abandoned her own room. Every night she would sneak into his for a "surprise attack." Eventually she stopped pretending altogether, moved all her stuff in, and just lived with him full-time.
The purple-haired Saeko Busujima—who had been brought home yesterday—was currently sleeping in Shizuka's old room.
To keep Yuriko occupied, Shizuka had led her straight into the room she had spent the most time in this past year: Shuya's bedroom.
Rei and Saya, of course, were naturally ushered into Rika's room.
Inside Rika's room right now…
"So, Takagi," Rei said, eyes narrowing dangerously at the pink-haired girl, "didn't Shuya take you home? How come you're back again… and you even brought an extra woman with you?"
"I…"
Saya opened her mouth to explain, but Rei cut her off again. "You're really something else, Takagi. So sneaky!"
"Huh?"
Saya stared at her in confusion. The two of them had been fine earlier—why was Rei suddenly acting like this the second they were alone in the room? And what did she mean by "sneaky"?
Rei crossed her arms, clearly annoyed. "First you waited until Shuya was in a good mood and asked him to take you home, just so you could get some alone time with him. Fine. Then after he dropped you off and met your parents, you came back. Whatever. But pulling the 'buy one, get one free' trick and bringing your sister home too? Sisters? Really?"
"Such brilliant tactics. No wonder everyone at Fujimi calls you a 'genius,' huh, Takagi?"
"Seriously, well played!"
By the end, Rei's tone had turned completely sarcastic.
She wasn't even mad that Saya had tried to steal time with Shuya. They were all playing the same game—nothing wrong with that. Rei herself had joined late.
What actually pissed her off was that this pink-haired glasses girl had gone and brought in a brand-new competitor.
That was the real problem.
"I didn't do that at all!"
Saya looked like she wanted to cry. She hadn't planned any of this! She hadn't even realized she liked Shuya until he pointed it out for her.
And the whole "buy one, get one free" thing?
She wanted to die. She was the "free" one in that deal!
"Hmph!"
Rei snorted, arms still folded, giving Saya the classic "try me" stare.
Even though Saya was a little genius when it came to studying, she was painfully awkward when it came to social stuff.
Pushed by Rei's attitude, Saya finally spilled everything that had happened after Shuya took her home—including the whole crazy story about her mother.
When she finished, Rei's mouth hung open.
Her brain was stuck on repeat: What the hell did she just say?
She didn't understand it, but she was shook.
After processing everything, Rei gave Saya a complicated look.
She had to admit… this pink-haired girl really had insane luck.
If it weren't for that super-smart mom… aunt… uh, big sister of hers, Saya would've been completely out of the running by now.
Looking at it that way, this pink-haired defeated-dog girl wasn't much of a threat at all.
But that older sister of hers… now those tactics were actually scary. She'd only met Shuya once and already gotten herself brought home.
"Now do you get it?" Saya asked, hands on her hips, looking righteous.
Rei nodded on instinct.
Saya puffed out her chest. "Apologize!"
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have misunderstood you."
Once Rei realized Saya was a total defeated-dog type with basically zero threat level, she apologized immediately and sincerely.
"It's fine, really~"
Seeing Rei's honest apology, Saya scratched the back of her head, suddenly embarrassed.
Rei's orange eyes sparkled. She saw an opening.
She immediately took the chance to get closer to Saya now that they had made up. They were the same age, classmates, and they had both witnessed that super-awkward moment when Saeko forced herself on Shuya.
Plus, neither of them really had close friends. One was actively trying to bond, the other had zero guard up. They clicked almost instantly.
And since the one topic they both had the most in common was Shuya, the conversation naturally drifted there.
As for the kind of private girl-talk that happened next… well, you know the kind.
The two of them got more and more into it, quickly reaching the point where they were calling each other by first names.
Until Saya killed the vibe with one sentence.
"So, Rei… you and Shuya…"
Saya asked carefully, "Have you… done it yet?"
"W-what are you even saying?!"
Rei's face exploded into a bright red blush.
"You haven't? But you two seem so close, and he's always playing with your ahoge at school. I just assumed…"
"Stop! Don't say it!"
Rei shoved Saya's shoulder, face burning, desperately trying to change the subject.
Saya suddenly looked puzzled. "Wait, Rei… do you hear that weird sound?"
"Weird sound?"
Seeing Saya's serious expression—and wanting to escape the previous topic—Rei played along and listened.
Sure enough, they could hear something coming from outside. It sounded like a cat in heat… but then it cut off abruptly.
Saya tilted her head. "It stopped. It seemed like it was coming from outside. Want to go check?"
Rei shook her head. "Better not. It's probably just Shuya fighting with Marikawa-sensei's friend. We shouldn't go out and distract him."
Hearing that strange noise had made Rei think of something for a second, but since it stopped so quickly, she dismissed it.
If it really was what she was imagining, then based on what happened with Saeko earlier, there was no way it would end that fast.
She must have been mistaken.
What she didn't know was…
Inside the room where Shizuka and Yuriko were staying…
"Marikawa-sensei, you really are something else."
Yuriko looked at Shizuka, her light-purple eyes sparkling with admiration. "Those are some impressive moves."
She had heard the sounds from outside too, and she knew exactly why they had suddenly disappeared.
Even though she had only just learned basic Nen control and couldn't use Gyo to see aura yet, the massive wave of Nen pouring out of the blonde bombshell in front of her wasn't even trying to hide.
An ordinary person standing this close would have felt something was off. For someone who had just started controlling Nen, it was impossible to miss.
"What are you talking about?"
Shizuka blinked her big golden eyes innocently, tilting her head like she had no idea what Yuriko meant.
If any Nen user who had learned Gyo looked right now, they would see a huge amount of aura flowing out of Shizuka like a river, spreading through the entire house.
It wasn't just blocking sound from reaching their own room—it was completely isolating the room where Rei and Saya were too.
The reason?
Wasn't it obvious?