.
"You don't know about it because I haven't ntioned it before but Kazuya's marriage was arranged before he was born." Aya's declaration was a like lightning that struck Kaguya. This was the first ti that he had heard about this.
"Judging by your expression, it seems like you understand why I am concerned" Aya sighed after seeing the pale expression on her friend's face. She didn't know that Kaguya was shocked because he knew that it wasn't i she was talking about because he had already been born before Kyouko t i.
"A-are you sure about this?" Kaguya couldn't help but ask.
"I wouldn't be this concerned if I wasn't. Unfortunately, this is the reason why my grandfather was initially against pursuing him. He was present when the engagent was decided after all." Aya answered as she observed the different expressions that her friend was making. This made her feel a little touched since Kaguya rarely made any expressions yet she was now showing a lot of emotion because of the difficult problem she now presented. Aya believed that her friend was trying her best to think of a solution for her.
In reality, Kazuya didn't know what to think at the mont. Various thoughts entered through his mind as he realized that he had dug himself a hole when he decided to use that thod to reject Stockton Kurumi. Anyone in his grandfather's circle would have assud that he accepted the engagent that was set by them once they hear about what happened.
Kuronuma Komori was already inford by Aya so it was only a matter of ti before their whole circle learned about it. He suddenly regretted announcing what was supposed to be vague agreent between his mother and i. This secret agreent between the old n just made things a lot more complicated because it didn't seem like Kyouko knew about the arrangents his troubleso grandfather made for him in advance.
"First things first, do you know who Kouzuki Kazuya was arranged to marry?" Kazuya tried to calm himself. There was no turning back ti so the only thing he could do now was to find out everything that he could so that he can figure out a way to deal with the hole he just dug himself.
"That's the problem. His fiancé has always been beside him. I've spent too much ti with my plans because I didn't think that such an engagent would push through in this day and age. Kazuya gave off the impression that he wasn't interested in such things yet but it turns out that he didn't put his mind into it because he already made up his mind" Aya couldn't help but feel sorry for herself and bitterly smiled.
"You an… he's engaged to Shiroyuki Tomoyo?" this ca as another surprise because Jirou never ntioned such a thing to him. The doubts he had about Jirou being overly supportive of him was now cleared up. He was already seen as his future grandson so Jirou spared no effort in helping him in whatever he needed help with.
Kazuya always found it strange that Jirou had been such a supportive figure when they got to know each other. He had always been lenient no matter what absurd thing Kazuya did and always defended him even if he didn't agree with his way of doing things. Aya's revelation cleared up the doubts he had for a long ti. It wasn't the close ties of their families that made him responsible for taking care of Kazuya, it was a grandfather doting on his future grandson!
"Yes, he is engaged to the Shiroyuki girl I was talking to you about last ti. She has already taken over the female division in the middle school level and I have been considered soone from the past. This is especially because of my loss to Akabane Nanami who I heard was thanking Kazuya for all her improvents" she said with a sullen expression.
"I see…" he was starting to think of ways to get out of such an engagent. He assud that Tomoyo was in the sa position that he was in and was not aware of the engagent as well. Kazuya didn't even think that the robot girl he slowly raised would conspire against him especially since it involved both their fates. They did get along well and have been close throughout the years, but he treated her as a friend that he had a large amount of trust towards.
"To be honest… I feel betrayed." Aya leaned on the table in low spirits. "Here I am working as best as I can for him but he goes and trains Akabane Nanami and had her ruin the undefeated streak I was supposed to have before graduating.
"(? Betray her?)" he scoffed at her in his mind. "He didn't betray you. You were just too busy with your plan and neglected training. This made Akabane Nanami catch up and defeat you after years of being under your shadow." Kaguya didn't try to sugarcoat his words as he defended his alter ego.
"You of all people know how busy our schedules were…" Aya felt wronged that Kaguya didn't take her side. Then again, this friend had always been like this and wasn't afraid of telling her if she was wrong. "Akabane Nanami wasn't supposed to catch up. I paid attention to her progress and estimated that she wouldn't be able to catch up even if I stopped training. I didn't expect her to try and seduce Kazuya… that thieving cat" she grumbled.
"Seduce?" Kaguya shook her head helplessly. "(Looks like this girl is still naïve as ever.)"
"There's are a few things that you should know. Though Kazuya and Shiroyuki Tomoyo may have been betrothed to each other before they were born, it was Shiroyuki Jirou who drew the short end of the stick amongst all those who had granddaughters that was close to his age." Aya told the story of how they were engaged. She knew the story from Komori because it was used as the catalyst so that they could convince Kou to switch the engagent over to Aya instead.
"What a troubleso bunch of old guys" Kaguya couldn't help but put a palm on her face. Who would have thought that these bunch of respected old n were like kids whenever they were gathered together.
"That's not all, Akabane Nanami's grandfather had the sa idea as my grandfather and has been pushing grandpa Kou to accept the engagent between the two of them. Don't you think that's too shaless of them?" Aya didn't miss the chance to badmouth them.
"(Aren't you guys doing the sa thing?)" was what Kazuya thought. Kouzuki Kou had always been a troubleso person but he didn't expect that he already gave trouble for his own grandson before he was even born. Kyouko was most likely not aware of this which was why he never heard of it before.
Kazuya was a little thankful towards Aya. He wouldn't have known these things if it weren't for her. His identity as Kazuno Kaguya finally gave him sothing that didn't involve what they had planned for it. This information wouldn't have been available to Kouzuki Kazuya because from his perspective, his grandfather was taking advantage of the situation and enjoying being fought over by his friends.
He understood how Kouzuki Kou thought. He was silently taking revenge for his friends who didn't want to agree to a betrothnt before they found out how capable Kazuya was in this lifeti. This was what was holding the old man back from informing them or announcing it officially which gave Kazuya a little ti to think of counterasures for this.
Though he initially thought of this as a troubleso chore, he was starting to find a couple of advantages when taking on a girl's identity. Combining his experiences with what Matsumoto taught him about won, he was slowly finding won to be a good source of information in which a boy or male like him would have to go through a lot to find out.
"Did he use the Kouzuki clan's promise?" this was probably the most important point.
"Do you think we would have made a move if they did? Even I would have lost hope if the engagent was sealed with the Kouzuki clan's promise" this was what Aya was feeling unsure about. Kouzuki Kou may not have used the unbreakable promise in the na of the Kouzuki clan but she wasn't sure if Kazuya did.
"What do you plan to do?" Kaguya asked curiously. Aya was a prideful girl so he hoped that she would back down quietly.
"I'm going to just start the plan and show myself in front of him after my concert!" she declared as if she had just decided. This startled Kazuya because this was exactly what he was afraid of. This girl just made a rash decision that will make his situation even more precarious.
"Don't be stupid and impulsive" Kaguya tried to remain indifferent and scolded. "You will be given the sa treatnt Stockton Kurumi was given if you recklessly go through with your plan." He had no choice but to try and convince this girl to keep quiet.
"What do you think I should do then? Let them quietly get married without even trying!?" Aya was clearly agitated. Though Kazuya wanted to answer with a simple yes, he already knew that this girl was not going to listen.
If there was one thing he learned about this girl after spending ti with her as Kazuno Kaguya, it was that she was not as bad as he thought. Although she had quite a unique way of thinking, she was but a stubborn girl who seed to have taken an interest towards a boy.
Though he was not an experienced person when it ca to relationships, he believed he wasn't dense. Kurumi was attached to him because of her obsession when they were friends. Although he had no mories of the ti spent between them in their childhood, comparing the current one and the one from his previous life, he judged that what happened between them was nothing serious enough that would cause the princess to chase him around like she did now.
From Kazuya's point of view, Aya was very similar to the spoiled princess of Stockton International. The difference between them was the starting point. Aya imdiately felt a bond between them because of the secret they instantly shared with each other. She steadily grew fonder of him as ti passed by in which she observed and watched him grow into the impressive person that he was today. Adding the fact that she felt highly competitive over the Shiroyuki Tomoyo who she had lost to in the past.
Both girls were used to getting what they wanted and they most likely grew attached to him because of his rejection towards them. Kazuya was aware of this and he put more importance towards Aya's feelings because although he didn't have a choice, he got to know her and her feelings more while he was playing the role of Kazuno Kaguya. Comparing her to what he assud was Kurumi's obsession towards him, although this girl's initial approach towards him was strange, she truly had developed feelings towards him that now had nothing to do with why she paid attention to him in the first place.
"(These girls really have a way of making realize how pathetic I was in my previous life…)" he couldn't help but feel a little pity towards the old version of himself. Aya would have never noticed him because of his inability to use mana and Kurumi would have remained the curious girl that would pop up to disrupt his daily life.
"(Wait a minute…)" a sudden thought popped up in his mind. If his hunch was correct, not only would he have gotten a lot of answers in this life, Kazuya would also have solved a mystery that bugged him from his previous one.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Aya was growing impatient. The Kaguya she knew, although was supposed to be younger than her had opinions about the matters she tried to discuss. She was afraid to hear that she had to give up on her plans after all the effort and sacrifices she made.
"I'm thinking about the consequences if you hastily implent your plan. Don't forget, although you are extrely popular, the power and advantages of being engaged to a person such as Stockton Kurumi outweighs a relationship with you." He tried to calm Aya down. He didn't want to be badmouthed by her fans when he rejected her and the Kouzuki Corporation would suffer in the aftermath of it all.
"Then what are you thinking about?" Aya urged to get an answer.
"I've been thinking about what happened. Although I'm not sure, I think Kouzuki Kazuya was bluffing. You said that there have been a lot of students he had rejected yet this was the first ti that he had ntioned that he already had a fiancé." He didn't want to reveal what he had done but it was better than letting this girl recklessly pursue in in the eyes of the public.
"Are you saying that he lied?" Aya was startled. This was almost the sa conclusion that her grandfather made earlier.
"From your stories of him, I think he had no other choice. He could have ntioned this so-called engagent when he first received a confession or even the ones that followed after that yet it was only after Stockton Kurumi showed her stubbornness to continue pursuing him that he had no choice but to cut off her intentions." Aya's eyes instantly lit up after hearing what her best friend had to say. She didn't find it strange and it was as if Kaguya knew what was going through Kazuya's mind.
"Actually… my grandfather said the sa thing…" Aya narrated her earlier conversation with Komori.
"(Damn… looks like they were on to )" Kazuya felt like he was going to have a headache. Kouzuki Kou really had many ways of making trouble for him.
"Thank you Kaguya." Aya couldn't help but give this friend of hers a hug after seeing that she was still thinking about the matter. "I'll tell you imdiately after I get news from grandpa" she kissed Kaguya's cheek.
This made Kaguya extrely embarrassed. Not only did he let Aya approach him while he was deep in thought, his hormones seed to have responded to this attractive girl's scent. He could only struggle free as Aya giggled after seeing this anti-social friend of hers reacted.
"I have one thing I am curious about." He imdiately decided to change the topic. "Is Shiroyuki Tomoyo aware of the arrangent between her and Kouzuki Kazuya?"
"She is. That girl has been aware of it from when I first fought her in the competition." Aya saw a bit of surprise coming from Kaguya so she decided to give a little more detail. "My grandfather told that Shiroyuki Jirou already introduced her to their group when their family hosted a gathering." Aya sighed. "Do you know what she told when we faced each other in a match?"
"What did she say?"
"She was only in second grade at the ti but her declaration still left with an impression." Aya shrugged her shoulders.
"??" Kazuya was a little confused. Tomoyo shouldn't have talked to Aya who was a complete stranger at that ti.
"Her words were, 'Kazuya is mine'."
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