Yukino fought with every ounce of her strength, but in the end, she failed to escape her sister's clutches. Her hair was ruffled into a chaotic mess by Haruno's teasing hands.
Haruno finally let go, stretching her body with a satisfied hum. Meanwhile, Yukino smoothed her disheveled locks without looking back, her voice low and sharp:
"Sister, you should be careful. Akasaka is not as simple as you imagine."
Responding to Yukino's warning, Haruno appeared completely unbothered.
"The fact that he isn't simple is exactly why I've come to 'steal' him. If he were just some ordinary boy, I wouldn't even bother giving him a second glance."
Haruno stood with her hands on her hips, taking the matter lightly. She recalled the countless men who had fallen to their knees under her charm; with a mere snap of her fingers, they usually bowed to her will. She didn't believe for a second that there was a single man she couldn't conquer.
Seeing her sister's attitude, Yukino let out a long, weary sigh and said nothing more. After all, her sister would only learn her lesson once she actually came face-to-face with the man. Ryunosuke was not someone to be trifled with; as a fellow student at the same school, Yukino knew all too well just how terrifying he could be.
Haruno draped herself over Yukino's back in a hug. "Come on, lead the way for your big sister. I have no idea where this student Akasaka lives."
Haruno tilted her head cutely, coaxing her own sister without a shred of adult dignity. Yukino sighed once more and agreed to show her the way.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
At the School Gate.
A girl wearing a snapback hat that concealed her beautiful silvery-white hair stood at the entrance. The corners of her lips curled into a faint smirk as she stretched.
"Finally made it into this school~"
"I don't know why I kept getting blocked before, but I'm finally in."
"Time to find my cousin and snag a few Yu-Gi-Oh cards from her."
With that, the girl hopped onto a white D-Wheel. That's right—it was a D-Wheel motorcycle from the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's series, designed for Turbo Duels while riding—the exact same white model as Jack Atlas's.
The girl gunned the engine and roared toward the girls' dormitory. Before long, she reached her destination: Morishita Ai's room.
At that moment, Ai was busy playing a console game with Megumi.
Megumi maintained her trademark blank expression, clearly not very enthusiastic. She wasn't much of a gamer by nature; she was only playing because Ai had forced her to join...
Ai, her hands occupied with the controller, heard a knock at the door and told Megumi to open it. Megumi rattled the chain on her wrist with a deadpan look.
"Um... the range isn't long enough. How about you let me go first?"
Ai paused for a second, then stood up to open the door alongside Megumi. She still refused to unlock the handcuffs binding them together. Megumi was left speechless.
Aside from their time in class, every time they returned to the dorm, Ai kept herself locked in with her.
(Is it really necessary to be this wary of me? All the other girls have already 'started their engines'... why am I the only one you're watching this closely?)
Lately, Suzune had been the one "eating well," since she and Ryunosuke were practically joined at the hip 24 hours a day. In the evenings, Suzune even cooked for him, so naturally... well, the readers can guess the rest.
Ai didn't say much and swung the door open, leaving a miserable-looking Megumi standing behind her. As soon as the door opened, Ai saw the one person she least wanted to meet.
The white-haired girl in the hat was just about to chirp, "Long time no see!" but Ai slammed the door shut instantly. The door caught the girl right on the nose, sending her crouching to the floor in pain as she whimpered.
Inside the room, Ai looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"Why is this card-borrowing, never-returning scoundrel here?"
"Don't tell me she wants to borrow more cards?"
"If I recall correctly, this year's Yu-Gi-Oh tournament is about to start. She hasn't even returned the ones she took last time, and now she wants more? In her dreams!"
Ai leaned her full body weight against the door handle, preventing the person outside from forcing their way in. Once the pain subsided, the white-haired girl outside began to panic, throwing her body against the door and shouting:
"It's me, Cousin! Hurry up and open the door! I came to visit you!"
"No way!" Ai yelled back, straining to hold the door. "You haven't even returned the cards from last time, and now you want more!"
"Give me back my Blue-Eyes White Dragon and my Creator of Light!!!"
"Ehh~" The white-haired girl started playing dumb. "When did I ever borrow your cards? Didn't I return them ages ago?"
BAM!
Ai threw the door open in a rage. "When did you return them?! You haven't returned them at all! Crap!"
Ai realized her mistake the moment she opened the door.
Without a word, the white-haired girl slipped inside. This had been her plan all along: provoke her cousin's temper so the door would open, allowing her to get inside and grab the cards.
Her hand began to mischievously reach for the Yu-Gi-Oh collection shelf, but suddenly her wrist was caught by Megumi, who appeared out of nowhere with a vacant expression.
"Um... taking other people's things without permission isn't very nice..."
"GHOOOOOSSST!!!" The white-haired girl shrieked hysterically, her eyes rolling back as she fainted dead away on the spot.
Because Megumi had appeared so suddenly in front of her, she thought she'd seen a spirit and passed out from the shock. Megumi could only sigh; she was used to this by now.
A short while later, the girl woke up. She sat formally on the tatami, scratching her head sheepishly.
"Haha, well, Cousin... you know the Yu-Gi-Oh tournament I'm entering starts soon. Lend me a few more cards~"
She held out her hand expectantly, completely shameless despite her outstanding debts. Yu-Gi-Oh cards were incredibly rare, especially monsters with 3000 ATK or higher; usually, no more than 10 copies of such types existed in the world. Currently, nearly 80% of the rare cards on the market were in Ai's possession. That was exactly why this girl had come to beg.
This white-haired girl was a modern Yu-Gi-Oh player who had won the World Championship title for three consecutive years. Her name was Natsukawa Masuzu.
Megumi served tea for the two of them and sat quietly, sipping her own. Ai also took a sip, ignoring her cousin's pleas.
(The Blue-Eyes I lent her hasn't even come back, and she has the nerve to ask for more? Get lost!)
Seeing her request rejected, Masuzu pouted and looked away. "What's the big deal? I'm your cousin, isn't borrowing a few cards allowed?"
Ai set her teacup down with a loud clack and remarked sharply, "Then when exactly are you going to return my Blue-Eyes White Dragon? The market price for that card is 30 million yen, and there are only four copies in the entire world!"
Masuzu went back to playing dumb. She took off her snapback hat to fan herself. Her long silver hair cascaded beautifully down to her waist, and her blue eyes blinked with cute, mischievous energy.
"Ahaha, it's not that I don't want to return it, I just wanted to play with it for a little while longer~"
"A little while longer? Heh..." Ai let out a cynical laugh, then she slammed the table and stood up, shouting in anger:
"You call that a little while longer?! You borrowed it when we were kids! It's been TEN YEARS!!! When are you actually planning to give it back?!!!"
Masuzu instantly shriveled up and didn't dare make a sound... truth be told, she never had any intention of returning it from the start.