"By the way, what does Takamine-kun's girlfriend look like?" Kaguya asked curiously.
"Just a sec."
Ai pulled out her phone and opened Rinji's post, showing the photo to Kaguya.
It was a close selfie of Karura clinging to Rinji's arm.
"Black sclera? That should be…"
"Yes," Ai said. "She's from the Kure clan, 500 kiloters from Tokyo. Years ago, the Shinomiya family commissioned them to assassinate Rinji."
"Eh? Why didn't I know that?"
"Because the Shinomiya main family doesn't tell you everything. I only found out by hacking into the family server back then," Ai said, staring at the girl in the photo. "Now that I think about it, Rinji really might've been tricked."
"Whether or not that's just you trying to comfort yourself… weren't you just too shocked earlier to consider this possibility?"
"Kaguya-sama, please don't say anymore."
"Okay."
"In any case, I need to start planning before Rinji returns." Ai bit her thumbnail. "We finally beca friends, and now at this critical mont, it all falls apart."
"Let ask sothing, Ai."
Kaguya cautiously raised her hand.
"If you'd confessed during the fireworks festival when it was just the two of you, would things have turned out differently?"
"…"
Ai didn't say a word, but the slight trembling of her shoulders said it all.
"You regret it, don't you."
"…"
"The kind of regret that makes you want to dig a ti machine out of a drawer?"
"Shouldn't you be worrying about yourself, Kaguya-sama!?"
Ai turned to shout at her.
"Eh…"
"I was trying not to think about it, and you bring it up!? You should be thinking about what to do if the president gets stolen by another girl!"
"Eh… Why would you even say sothing like that?"
After Hayasaka Ai landed a critical blow on Shinomiya Kaguya, Kaguya imdiately returned the favor.
Today's match: both maid and mistress ended in mutual destruction.
---
"Ahh… As expected of my great-granddaughter. So adorable~~"
Back aboard the S.S. Kengan, after a night of partying and rest, only a few hours remained before they reached the battlefield.
Kure Erioh was sitting on a bench on the deck, browsing his phone, surrounded by a few vigilant mbers of the Kure Clan.
On his screen was the photo Karura had posted on Twitter yesterday.
"I want to keep this photo forever…"
Looking at the full-of-life Karura in the photo, the old man's aged face practically lted with love—he was clearly a great-granddaughter simp.
"But still!"
His face suddenly tightened, his aura intensifying.
Pointing at the blonde boy standing beside Karura in the photo, he bellowed, "That brat next to her ruins the whole shot! He's such an eyesore!"
Spinning around, Erioh glared at the stoic mbers of his clan.
"Which one of you knows Photoshop? Get rid of this annoying blonde brat."
"Grandpa, you're really sothing else…" Kure Reiichi sighed and pulled out his phone. "Send it to ."
"Alright."
Erioh forwarded the photo of Rinji and Karura to him. Reiichi opened up a photo editing app, then stared at the image a bit helplessly.
The two of them took up 90% of the picture, and they were clinging tightly to each other. Editing this would be tough…
"Hmm… huh? Got it."
He seed to realize sothing, picked up the stylus, and made a few strokes. Then he zood out and looked at the image with satisfaction.
"Grandpa, how's this?"
"Hmm? Let see."
As he took the phone, Erioh's tightly knit brows suddenly relaxed, his mouth curling into a creepy—but actually very joyful—smile.
"Nice, nice. That's much better to look at."
In truth, Reiichi didn't delete Rinji at all. He just used the brush tool to lengthen his hair and added a slight blush to his cheeks.
"Mhm, mhm, very good. Nothing wrong with two girls having fun together. It's great that Garuda's made a friend her age."
Reiichi: "…"
Well, as long as the old man's happy.
"Speaking of which, where's Karura?"
"Oh, she went to look for Takamine Rinji the mont she got up."
Crack!
Erioh crushed the phone in his hand.
"That damn brat!!!"
"Grandpa… that was my phone."
…
Elsewhere.
"Rinji~"
Karura, now wearing a high school uniform she got from who-knows-where, threw herself into Rinji's arms the second she saw him.
Karura was incredibly clingy. Even if Rinji didn't co looking for her, she'd always rush to be by his side.
'So cute.'
That was the word that ca to Rinji's mind instinctively as she nuzzled into his chest.
Just earlier, he had gone through and returned all his missed calls. Momo had called quite early. He'd also spoken to Kei Shirogane, who only said she had sothing to talk about when he got back—no signs of anger. As for Ai… her tone had felt strangely subtle.
Buzz~
"Hmm?"
Hearing his phone vibrate in his pocket, Rinji kept one arm wrapped around the snuggly Karura while answering with the other.
"Aunt Kaya?"
He didn't think much of it and answered the call.
"Hello? Aunt Kaya?"
"Rinji, congrats on getting a girlfriend," Kaya Sagara said over the phone. "Now I can finally stop worrying."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because soone can finally keep you in check. Ask her when she's transferring to Shuchiin—I can help arrange it."
"Uh… she has to want to transfer first." Rinji chuckled.
Though he wanted to attend the sa school as Karura, he still wanted to respect her choice.
"That's fine too… Oh, one more thing."
"What?"
"You're a high schooler now—don't forget to finish your sumr howork."
"…"
Rinji felt his heart seize.
It was already well into sumr break… and he hadn't touched a single page.
[Note: A lot of readers are getting suspicious with how much gay shit is appearing in the fic. But don't worry, the author stated that he will reduce the Mc's interaction with Miyuki and the author just really wants to highlight the original setting of Kaguya-sama Love Is War and the dynamic between Miyuki and Kaguya hence he decided to write in that direction.]
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