Morning sunlight stread into the room.
Outside, birds chirped faintly, mixed with the occasional honk of a car.
Beep~ Click.
The sound of a code and key unlocking the door echoed as Hayasaka entered Rinji's room in her maid outfit, gently closing the door behind her.
She stood for a mont, watching Rinji curled under his blanket.
Then she walked over and softly shook him.
"Rinji, ti to wake up."
"Mmm…"
Still half-asleep, Rinji frowned, wrapped himself even tighter in his blanket like a cocoon, and went back to sleep.
"Jeez… such a sleepyhead."
Hayasaka smiled warmly and slowly climbed onto the bed. She leaned close to his ear and blew a warm breath.
"Master, do you need a wake-up kiss?"
"Okay, I'm up."
Rinji sat up, resigned, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"What a sha. I wanted to try that Galga wake-up route."
"There are normal ways to wake soone, you know."
He yawned, looking wearily at her face, now inches away.
"It's still early, isn't it?"
"It's already 8 o'clock. Didn't you say you had sothing to do today?"
"Oh right. I did."
Rinji got out of bed.
Still in his pajamas, he turned to find Hayasaka stepping up and grabbing his collar, starting to unbutton his shirt.
"…What are you doing?"
"Helping you change clothes."
"No, no, no—I can handle that myself."
"But that's part of a maid's duties," Hayasaka said seriously. "It's true. You can look it up online."
"…Still, I can at least do this myself."
"Let feel like a real maid, just a little."
Without waiting for another word, Hayasaka had already pulled his shirt off.
After taking off his shirt, Rinji's upper body was completely exposed in front of Hayasaka.
Contrary to how he looked in clothes, his physique wasn't thin at all—his muscles were well-proportioned with refined lines.
The only flaw was a scar on his abdon that looked like it had co from a knife.
Hayasaka stared at Rinji's body for quite a while, her hands pausing.
"…"
"Hayasaka, what are you staring at?"
"I heard you joined IW's combat division at twelve. Looks like you got seriously hurt over there too," Hayasaka murmured, her slender hand gently touching the scar on his abdon.
"Oh, that?" Rinji looked down at the scar and smiled. "That wasn't from the battlefield."
"Huh? It wasn't?"
"Nope. I got that before I even ca to Japan—when I was still under twelve," Rinji explained. "It happened during a fight with my old man."
"…Your relationship with your dad was that bad?"
"No, no, not at all. We were really close. I just wasn't ntally stable back then and would act out sotis. One ti we got into a fight, but I don't even rember what triggered it."
Rubbing the back of his head, Rinji gave an embarrassed laugh.
"My old man gave a non-lethal wound to stop , and I ended up giving him so injuries too. But it wasn't a big deal. That afternoon we still happily went to see a movie."
"What a bizarre father-son relationship."
Hayasaka didn't press further. She simply took out a change of clothes from the wardrobe and helped Rinji put on a shirt.
"Now take your pants off."
"…I can do that myself, seriously."
————————————
As usual, breakfast was cooked by Rinji. After Hayasaka woke up Karura and Fusui, they all sat at the table and ate together.
"Not bad. You two were really well-behaved yesterday. You didn't sneak into my room, so I actually had a good night's sleep," Rinji said while eating.
Fusui: "…"
It wasn't that they didn't want to sneak in—they were stopped.
Karura glanced at the ti on her phone and turned to Rinji. "Rinji, are we heading out together this morning?"
"Yup. You told your clan about today's plans, right?"
"Yep. Grandpa's sending a few people over," Karura smiled. "My mom, dad, and little brother will be here too."
"Great. I'll host them properly while they're in Tokyo."
Hayasaka pricked up her ears, feigning curiosity. "Is this… like eting the parents?"
"Pretty much, though I've already t Karura's great-grandfather," Rinji replied with a smile. "This ti it's mainly about the gift I gave Karura."
That gift—suggested by Ishigami and so chaotic netizens—was a full-paid office building in a pri location in Tokyo.
Rinji figured it was a safe bet as a present. Karura could do whatever she wanted with it—convert it into sothing else, use it for work, or just keep it.
Of course, the building was also packed with weapons—everything from swords and guns to cruise missiles. With gear like that, Karura would be safer during her missions.
The day after he gave her the gift, he told Karura, who happily inford her great-grandfather, Kure Erioh.
Then, the Kure clan contacted Rinji, asking if they could use a floor in the building as a Tokyo base.
Technically, it was a gift for Karura, so Rinji didn't agree right away. He asked Karura how she felt about it.
They eventually decided to give the Kure clan the first floor, while the rest remained under Karura's control.
And so, today was the handover.
"Co to think of it… I haven't t your parents yet," Rinji said, lowering his head in thought. "What are they like?"
It was the first ti eting the parents, so Rinji was understandably nervous.
"They're really nice! I'm sure they'll like you~" Karura said with her usual bright smile.
She knew her family well.
"Alright."
After finishing breakfast, Rinji stood and adjusted his collar.
"Let's go. Don't want to keep them waiting."
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