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Chapter 44: Damn You!
Rika Minami's house!
Click. The lock disengaged, and the front door swung open.
Hearing the sound, Rei hurried toward the entryway. "Suyan, you're back—"
"Shizuka, I'm back—"
The greeting from the purple-haired, dark-skinned woman entering the house overlapped perfectly with Rei's.
Standing at opposite ends of the hallway, Rei and Rika both froze.
"Who are you?" "Who are you?"
They asked the exact same question at the exact same time.
Rika blinked, glancing down at the keys in her hand.
The address was right.
The key had unlocked the door.
So she definitely hadn't walked into the wrong house.
She had only been gone for a little over a year. Surely Shizuka hadn't secretly sold her house, right?
"Are you a friend of Miss Marikawa's?"
Rei was the first to recover. Remembering what the woman had said as she walked in, Rei politely introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Rei Miyamoto. I'm a friend of Suyan's. Right now, um... right now I'm temporarily staying here."
"Temporarily staying?"
Hearing Rei's words, Rika carefully scrutinized the flaxen-haired girl.
Her expression darkened considerably.
That bastard's friend? And she's staying in my house?
He had literally brought another woman home right under Shizuka's nose!
Even though she barely knew Suyan, Rika knew Shizuka. And she had zero doubts that a guy could easily pull something like this off right in front of the airheaded nurse without her even realizing it.
In her eyes, Shizuka was a tragic, beautiful idiot who was far too trusting.
If Rika were a man, she would have married Shizuka herself in a heartbeat.
However, Rika didn't take her anger out on Rei. She just asked coldly, "Where's Shizuka? Where is she?"
"Miss Marikawa is already asleep. Do you want me to go wake her up for you?"
Rei didn't understand why the woman's expression had suddenly turned so hostile, but she maintained her polite demeanor.
However, realizing Suyan hadn't returned with her, Rei felt a pang of disappointment.
I really envy Miss Marikawa. How can she be so relaxed that she's already fast asleep?
"No need."
Rika shook her head. Even after a year away, she knew exactly where Shizuka's bedroom was.
She quickly pulled a pair of spare slippers from the shoe cabinet and swapped them for her boots.
Smack, smack, smack. Her slippers slapped against the hardwood floor as she marched aggressively toward Shizuka's room.
Seeing Rika storm off, Rei retreated to the living room and sank onto the sofa, letting out a long breath.
Miss Marikawa's friend is really intimidating.
Her sharp eyes, her decisive movements, and that gorgeous tan skin... when she first walked in, Rei almost thought an alpha wolf had invaded the house.
But looking closer, she had to admit the older woman was incredibly mature, beautiful, and gave off a very reliable aura.
Rika first checked Shizuka's bedroom. Empty.
Then she checked her own bedroom. Also empty.
Finally, she glared at the remaining bedroom.
She naturally assumed it was Suyan's room.
Click!
Rika violently flipped the light switch, flooding the dark room with blinding light.
"Rika-chan, you're back!"
The sudden, harsh light roused Shizuka from her sleep. She sat up in bed, rubbing her groggy eyes.
When she squinted toward the door and realized it was her best friend, a bright, genuine smile spread across her face.
However, Rika did not share her enthusiasm.
Even though she had been looking forward to this reunion, her face was a mask of pure fury.
Rika glared at the lump huddled beneath the blankets next to Shizuka.
That bastard Suyan beat me back here?
Wasn't that girl in the living room just waiting for him?
Is he sneaking around behind her back too?!
Without a word, Rika marched up to the bed and violently ripped the blanket away.
Even though she had mentally prepared herself to see Suyan, the sight of the person actually lying there completely short-circuited her brain.
"Who the hell is this?!"
Staring at the purple-haired girl sleeping soundly beside Shizuka, Rika blurted out in shock.
"Oh, this is Saeko."
Completely oblivious to the sheer gravity of the situation, Shizuka answered happily. "She's also a student at Fujimi Academy."
Yes, the person in the bed wasn't Suyan. It was Saeko Busujima.
But seeing a girl with purple hair lying in Shizuka's bed made Rika feel infinitely worse than if it had been Suyan.
Was I just cheated on?
That was the first thought that flashed through her mind.
But she quickly shook her head, banishing the thought.
Even though she had never been with a man, she was strictly straight, and her relationship with Shizuka had never been romantic.
Wait. So I've been replaced?!
Rika looked at Shizuka with deep, palpable resentment. "Why are you sleeping with this kid?"
Even Rika, her absolute best friend in the world, had never shared a bed with Shizuka like this!
I was here first!
Still half-asleep, Shizuka offered an explanation that only made things worse. "Because Saeko smells like Little Suyan."
"What do you mean, she smells like him?!" Rika demanded.
"Ehehe~"
Shizuka finally realized her mistake. Her eyes darted away, completely avoiding Rika's gaze as she tried her classic deflection tactic.
"Don't tell me..."
Rika didn't finish the sentence. Looking at Shizuka's guilty expression, she knew exactly what had happened. She had guessed it with near-perfect accuracy.
Rika stumbled backward, nearly collapsing to the floor.
"Rika-chan, are you okay?" Shizuka asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
Rika didn't answer.
At that moment, she felt like her entire world was collapsing.
How had her sweet, innocent, incredibly naive best friend been corrupted this thoroughly by that bastard Suyan?!
It felt like she had spent years carefully cultivating a pristine, beautiful garden, only for a wild boar to completely trample it the second she turned her back.
Suyan, damn you!
Rika spun on her heel and marched toward the door, a look of absolute, lethal determination on her face.
"Wait, Rika-chan, where are you going?"
Shizuka reached out a hand, trying to stop her.
"I'm going to get my gun. And when that bastard gets back, I am going to blow his fucking brains out!!" Rika snarled, not even looking back.
"Oh. Okay."
Shizuka simply dropped her hand and said nothing more.
She didn't seem the least bit worried about Suyan or Rika's safety.
In truth, Shizuka knew exactly why her best friend was still single.
Rika was fiercely competitive and constantly sought out adrenaline.
It was the exact reason she had joined a specialized tactical unit and constantly took on the most dangerous, high-risk missions available.
Unless a man could completely and utterly overpower her in every conceivable way, Rika would never give him the time of day.
But Shizuka had absolute faith in Suyan's strength.
If those two clashed, who knows? Maybe when Shizuka woke up tomorrow morning, her best friend would have become one of Suyan's Contracted partners!
Comforted by that thought, the lingering sadness of Suyan not being home vanished entirely.
She lay back down and wrapped her arms tightly around the sleeping Saeko, squeezing her so hard she was practically trying to merge their bodies. The tight embrace caused the purple-haired girl to frown slightly in her sleep.
Shizuka buried her face in Saeko's neck, taking a deep, greedy sniff. Her expression melted into pure bliss. "Ah~ It's Little Suyan's scent. Hehe. (>ω<)"
Meanwhile, just as Suyan spotted the massive, brightly lit Takagi estate in the distance...
"Achoo!"
Suyan rubbed his nose, shivering slightly in the cool night wind. "Did I catch a cold?"
He immediately shook his head, dismissing the thought.
Impossible. He was a Nen user. Even without actively using his aura to protect himself, his baseline physical stats were way too high to catch a cold from a slight breeze.
Yeah, Shizuka must be thinking about me.
Satisfied with his conclusion, he focused back on the road.
Meanwhile, back at Rika Minami's house.
Rika sat in the dark, gripping the cold steel of a sniper rifle, her eyes locked dead on the front door.
Every few seconds, she ground her teeth together and muttered under her breath, a mantra of pure malice: "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you."
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