Even Makoto Nishikado, a transmigrator blessed with something close to omniscience, short-circuited when he heard Ichinose Chizuru say that.
What... what was he supposed to do with that?
Well, might as well go another round.
She wasn't even charging him for it.
And so the banging against the wall resumed, barely half an hour after it had finally stopped, leaving the three members of the Yukinoshita household stunned all over again.
Seriously? Again?
Another hour passed.
Mrs. Yukinoshita silently pulled a five-thousand-yen note from her wallet and handed it to Haruno.
"Go pay her."
Haruno took the bill with a look of utter exasperation and headed for the master bedroom, arriving just in time to see Ichinose Chizuru wobble out on unsteady legs.
"Um... please, take this."
Haruno held out the money, wincing with awkwardness.
But Chizuru waved her off. No need.
Then she limped out the door, a look of deep, blissful satisfaction plastered across her face.
Haruno stared at her retreating figure, completely lost.
She's turning down money? Since when does that happen?
Mrs. Yukinoshita arranged for a car to take Chizuru home.
The girl had serviced Makoto enough times by now that she practically counted as an acquaintance, and while Mrs. Yukinoshita was ruthless in business, her heart wasn't carved from stone.
Watching the girl hobble away every single time had stirred something resembling pity.
Half an hour later.
Chizuru, now in her "Mizuhara Chizuru" persona, walked into a coffee shop.
The same one where she'd first met Kinoshita Kazuya two weeks ago.
She settled into a seat, lost in thought, and drew glances from half the men in the room.
Say what you will, the girl's looks were devastating. How else could she have strung that simp along for hundreds of chapters?
Before long, Kazuya walked in and spotted her immediately, tucked away in the corner.
Their last date had been cut short by Mrs. Yukinoshita's interference, but that hadn't dimmed his obsession one bit. If anything, his tissue consumption had gone up noticeably since.
So here he was, courage screwed to the sticking point, placing another booking.
This time, though, Mizuhara Chizuru had messaged him repeatedly beforehand: rental girlfriends do not allow physical contact. She hoped he'd remember that.
Kazuya agreed without hesitation. He didn't see any issue.
In fact, it only made him admire her more. Working in this industry, yet keeping herself so pure. Noble, even.
When she saw him enter, Chizuru's instinct was to stand and greet him. But the moment she shifted her weight, she abandoned the idea and stayed firmly seated, extending a hand instead.
"It's been a while, Kinoshita. Please, sit."
Standing was simply not an option right now.
One wrong move and things would... leak.
Kazuya gazed at her radiant smile, his expression melting into something dopey, a single thought echoing through his mind:
To be that beautiful and yet so innocent? That's completely unfair!
Girls like this actually exist...
Another two weeks passed.
The Yukinoshita estate.
Under the stunned gazes of the three Yukinoshitas, a sphere of spiraling blue energy coalesced in Makoto's palm.
He slammed it into the ornamental rock formation in the courtyard.
Rasengan!
The rock exploded into dust.
"Incredible!" Mr. Yukinoshita blurted.
During the time Makoto had been living under his roof like a cuckoo in the nest, the man had considered calling the police more than once.
But as Makoto's power grew more and more absurd with each passing day, that notion quietly died.
He'd thought the abilities Makoto had shown before were already outrageous. And yet every training session brought something new.
Mrs. Yukinoshita's smile widened, edging toward fanatical.
Her gamble was paying off. With Makoto in their corner, the Yukinoshita family wouldn't just rival the Kashiwazaki or Nakano clans. Even the Suzukis and the Shinomiyas wouldn't be a threat.
"I'm heading out for a bit," Makoto said, turning to the three of them.
The color drained from Mrs. Yukinoshita's face. Her voice pitched higher than anyone had ever heard it. "Makoto, have we done something to displease you?"
Haruno and her father exchanged a glance. Their wife and mother had faced down titans like Shinomiya Gan'an and Suzuki Shiro without so much as a flinch. This... this was new.
Makoto laughed at her panic. "Relax. I just haven't been back to see Airi and the others in a while."
Relief flooded Mrs. Yukinoshita's expression.
She'd investigated his background, of course. She knew his ties to the Akizuki family ran deep.
As long as he wasn't leaving for good, she could breathe.
Still, a thread of worry lingered. Her research had also turned up the fact that the two Akizuki sisters were close to him.
Especially the blonde one, Akizuki Airi. If it came down to a competition with her own daughter...
That was a contest with no guaranteed winner.
...
Ever since founding the Service Club, Yukinoshita Yukino had spent her after-school hours wandering the city streets.
She was trying her luck. Hoping to run into Makoto.
It was, admittedly, a desperate strategy.
"If only I had more people helping..." she murmured to herself as she walked.
The old Yukino, who firmly believed that 'only the weak need to flock together,' would never have entertained such a thought.
But now, for the first time, she'd stepped outside her ivory tower and hit a wall. A small one, granted, but a wall nonetheless.
As the sky darkened, she decided today was another bust and turned toward her apartment.
Then she saw him.
Across the street. A familiar silhouette.
Her eyes went wide.
Makoto!
What shocked her was that he wasn't even using a Transformation Jutsu. He was walking down the street in plain sight, wearing his own face, bold as anything.
Granted, it was evening, the streets were thin with pedestrians, and the murder had been a month ago now. Public interest had cooled. Otherwise, someone would have recognized him already.
Yukino was about to cross the road and make her move when a voice, long absent, echoed through every player's mind.
[Reincarnation Game, preparing to launch.]
[Instance World: Naruto]
[Instance Mission: Survive the Konoha Crush.]
[Countdown: 9... 8... 7...]
Yukino froze, her expression blank.
Makoto's face split into a wild grin.
Across the city, Akizuki Airi at home, Hikigaya Hachiman mid-conversation with his sister, Ichinose Chizuru desperately stalling Kazuya on a date, Sawamura Eriri debating Galgame with Aki Tomoya and the others... every player stopped dead.
But this time, the voice didn't reach only them.
It reached Akizuki Marina, standing right beside Airi.
The three Yukinoshitas, still waiting for Makoto to return.
Eriri's companions in that conversation: Kasumigaoka Utaha, Kato Megumi, and the rest.
_____________________________
*The Bonus Chapter*