Rika's House!
With a soft click, the front door lock turned and the door swung open.
The moment she heard it, the flaxen-haired girl waiting in the hallway immediately rushed over. "Shuya-kun, you're ba—"
"I'm back—"
At the exact same time, the purple-haired, tanned beauty who had just pushed the door open spoke as well.
Both women froze on opposite sides of the entryway.
"Who are you?" "Who are you?"
They asked in perfect unison.
Rika blinked, glanced down at the key in her hand, then back up.
Address correct.
Key worked.
So she definitely hadn't walked into the wrong house.
She had only been away for a little over a year. There was no way Shizuka had secretly sold the place, right?
"You must be Marikawa-sensei's friend," Rei spoke up first, remembering what the tanned beauty had said when she entered. She gave a small polite bow. "Hello, I'm Miyamoto Rei—Shuya's friend. I'm… um, temporarily staying here right now."
"Temporarily staying?"
Rika's eyes narrowed as she gave the flaxen-haired girl a slow, thorough once-over.
Her expression gradually turned ugly.
Shuya's friend? And she's temporarily staying in the house?
That was basically code for "I brought my outside woman home right in front of Shizuka," wasn't it?!
Even though she didn't know Shuya well, Rika knew Shizuka's personality inside and out. She had zero doubt that the little bastard was fully capable of pulling something like this.
After all, in her eyes, Shizuka was the ultimate scatterbrained beauty. If Rika herself weren't a woman, she would have married Shizuka years ago.
Still, Rika didn't explode at Rei. She simply asked coldly, "Where's Shizuka?"
"Marikawa-sensei already went to bed. Do you want me to wake her for you?"
Rei had no idea why the older woman's face had suddenly darkened so much, but she still answered patiently.
Though the thought that Shuya still wasn't back made her feel a little disappointed.
So envious of Marikawa-sensei… How can she sleep so soundly at a time like this?
"No need."
Rika shook her head. She knew exactly where Shizuka's room was, even after more than a year away.
She quickly grabbed a spare pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet, slipped them on, and walked briskly toward Shizuka's bedroom, the clack-clack of her steps echoing on the floor.
Once Rika was gone, Rei returned to the living room, flopped onto the sofa, and let out a long breath.
Wow… she really is scary, Rei thought. Just like you'd expect from Marikawa-sensei's best friend.
Those sharp eyes, that decisive way of moving, plus that healthy, beautiful wheat-colored skin—when she first saw her, Rei had almost thought a wolf queen had walked in.
But on closer look… this older sister was really mature and pretty. She gave off a super reliable feeling.
Rika first checked Shizuka's bedroom.
Not there.
Then she checked her own bedroom.
Still not there.
Finally, her gaze landed on the third room—the one that obviously didn't belong to either of them.
She naturally assumed it was Shuya's room.
Click.
Rika flipped on the light. The sudden bright glare flooded the entire bedroom.
"Rika-chan, you're back~?"
Shizuka, who hadn't fallen completely asleep yet, sat up in bed, rubbing her sleepy eyes and looking toward the door.
The moment she saw it was her best friend, her face lit up with pure joy.
But Rika's expression showed zero happiness.
Even though she had been looking forward to this reunion the entire way home.
Her sharp orange-red eyes locked onto the lump under the blanket beside Shizuka, her face full of displeasure.
That little bastard Shuya… how did he get back faster than me?
Wasn't that flaxen-haired girl outside still waiting for him?
Did he sneak in through the back door or something?
Without a word, Rika grabbed the edge of the blanket and yanked it off in one smooth motion.
Even though she had mentally prepared herself, the moment she saw who was actually in the bed, her eyes still went blank.
"…Who is she?"
Sleeping peacefully beside Shizuka was a purple-haired girl.
"This is Saeko-chan," Shizuka answered cheerfully, completely unaware of the gravity of the situation. "She's also a student at Fujimi Academy."
Yes—the purple-haired girl in the bed wasn't Shuya doing secret night raids. It was Saeko Busujima.
But the moment Rika saw that same shade of purple hair as her own, her mood became even worse than if it had been Shuya.
…I got NTR'd?
That was the first thought that flashed through her mind.
She quickly shook her head and tossed the ridiculous idea away.
She had never been with a man, and her sexual orientation was perfectly normal. Besides, her relationship with Shizuka had never been that kind of relationship.
So… she had become a replacement?
Rika's voice carried a hint of resentment as she asked, "Why are you sleeping together with this girl?"
Even she—Shizuka's best friend—had never slept in the same bed with her.
She had come first, damn it.
Maybe because Shizuka still wasn't fully awake, she answered with complete honesty:
"Because Saeko-chan smells like little Shuya~"
"What do you mean she smells like that little bastard?!"
"Ehehe~"
Shizuka finally realized the situation. Her eyes darted around guiltily and she tried to play dumb.
"Don't tell me…"
Rika didn't finish the sentence, but the fact that Shizuka didn't deny it told her everything she needed to know.
Rika staggered, nearly falling over.
"Rika-chan, are you okay?" Shizuka asked worriedly.
Rika didn't answer.
At that moment, she felt like the sky was collapsing.
How had her precious, innocent best friend been corrupted into this by that little bastard Shuya?!
It hurt. It hurt so much—like she had spent years carefully raising a perfect little cabbage, only for some wild boar to come out of nowhere and devour it.
Shuya… you really deserve to die!!
Rika spun on her heel and stormed out, as if she had made up her mind about something.
"Eh? Rika-chan, where are you going?"
Shizuka reached out, trying to stop her.
"I'm going to get my gun! Then when that little bastard comes back, I'm going to blow his damn head off!!" Rika snarled without turning around.
"Oh, okay~"
Shizuka just said that and went silent again.
She didn't seem worried about either of their safety at all.
In truth, Shizuka knew exactly why her best friend had stayed single all these years.
Rika had always been extremely strong-willed and loved chasing thrills. That was why she had joined a special forces unit and kept taking dangerous secret missions.
Unless a man could completely and overwhelmingly dominate her, she wouldn't even glance at him.
But Shizuka had absolute confidence in Shuya's strength.
If the two of them clashed… maybe when she woke up tomorrow morning, her best friend would already be a new contract partner~
Once she thought of that, the slight sadness she had felt because Shuya still wasn't back disappeared.
Shizuka lay back down, pulled the still-sleeping Saeko into her arms, and squeezed her tight as if trying to merge their bodies. Even in her sleep, Saeko's brows furrowed slightly.
Then Shizuka buried her face against Saeko and took a deep, blissful sniff.
"Ah~ It's little Shuya's scent… hehe (>ω<)"
...
Meanwhile, the moment Shuya saw the brightly lit, mansion-like Takagi residence in the distance—
"Achoo!"
He rubbed his nose, feeling the cool night breeze against his face. "Did I catch a cold?"
He shook his head immediately.
Impossible. He was a Nen user. Even without counting aura, his current physical condition made catching a cold from a little wind laughable.
Yep. Shizuka-nee must be missing me right now.
Shuya came to that conclusion with full confidence.
...
Back at Rika's house.
Rika gripped the cold metal in her hands, her orange-red eyes equally icy as she stared at the front door.
Every few seconds she ground her teeth and muttered under her breath, so quietly only she could hear:
"Kill you… kill you… kill you…"