"Yeah."
Ryuu nodded.
That was it.
No further words, no elaboration.
And for some reason, that frustrated Kaguya.
She pursed her lips slightly before speaking.
"Ryuu-kun, do you really have nothing else to say?"
Hearing her question, Ryuu casually placed his wine glass aside.
A Shinomiya servant, trained to be invisible, immediately stepped forward, took the glass, and vanished without a word.
Now, with nothing between them, Ryuu looked at the girl before him—the elegant, poised eldest daughter of the Shinomiya family.
"You don't even want to admit the truth to yourself," he said. "So what's left to say?"
Kaguya felt her throat tighten.
"Or," Ryuu continued, his sharp eyes locking onto hers, "do you think everything I said before was nonsense?"
Kaguya's composure wavered for a fraction of a second.
"I—!"
She stopped.
A heartbeat later, she took a slow breath and replied, far softer than before—
"...That wasn't my intention."
Even she didn't fully understand what had come over her just now.
That brief lapse—the way she nearly forgot her own etiquette, her own composure.
This was unacceptable.
Ryuu was someone her father respected. Someone the Shinomiya family wished to appease.
She couldn't afford to appear weak in front of him.
Her hand curled slightly at her side.
What is wrong with me?
Ryuu waved a hand dismissively.
"No need to apologize."
Then, a smirk played on his lips.
"I'd hate for you to think I'm so petty."
Kaguya blinked.
That wasn't the reaction she expected.
"And besides," Ryuu continued, leaning slightly closer, "I just didn't expect you, Kaguya... to be so happy with the word 'kind' in your heart, while resisting it so strongly on the outside."
Kaguya felt her heart skip a beat.
That word again.
Kind.
The moment it left his lips, that strange, foreign warmth rose in her chest once more.
But she immediately fought it down.
No.
She was Shinomiya Kaguya.
She had no need for such fleeting emotions.
And yet…
She hesitated.
Happiness…?
Was that really what this feeling was?
Kaguya's mind flickered back—
To moments with Chika Fujiwara, with Ai Hayasaka.
To the rare times she let her guard down.
To laughter, to warmth, to something other than cold calculation.
Was that… happiness?
But no.
She couldn't accept it.
She wouldn't accept it.
Not now.
Not in front of him.
"So now you're denying happiness too?"
Ryuu's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.
Kaguya's head snapped up.
His expression was calm, unreadable.
"You ever heard of a persona, Kaguya?"
"Persona…?"
Of course she knew the term.
A psychological mask—a fabricated self that people construct to navigate society.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Was he implying that she was hiding behind one?
Ridiculous.
There was no way someone like him could see through—
"Kaguya," Ryuu's voice turned cool, knowing, "you underestimate sorcerers too much."
Her breath caught.
"Or maybe," he continued, smirking, "you're just ignorant or maybe a retard."
Kaguya's fists clenched.
That word.
Ignorant.
It stung more than she expected.
"You don't understand what a sorcerer truly represents," Ryuu went on. "And even less—you don't understand me."
His Mangekyō Sharingan flared.
A crimson glow flickered within his irises.
"And I," he said smoothly, "don't say things I don't mean."
...
For the first time, Kaguya hesitated.
The weight of his words, combined with that piercing gaze, made her feel—
Exposed.
"...Then, are you saying you can see into my heart?"
Her voice came out quieter than intended.
Ryuu's eyes glinted.
"I don't just see, Kaguya."
His voice was a whisper, yet absolute.
"I make you see it too."
The world shifted.
Suddenly—
Kaguya wasn't standing in the banquet hall anymore.
She was somewhere else.
A hazy realm, where memories flickered like a film reel before her eyes.
Her childhood.
Her father's harsh voice.
Her mother's distant warmth.
The lessons drilled into her—
Perfection. Calculation. Control.
She watched her younger self, stiff and composed, scolding another child for folding an origami crane incorrectly.
"You need to be more serious."
The girl had burst into tears.
Years later, a similar scenario played out—
Only this time, the boy slapped her.
"I am serious! But I just can't do it! You wouldn't understand, Shinomiya!"
Her own voice, in that moment—
Cold.
Distant.
Completely unaware of how she made others feel.
And then, junior high.
People came and went.
Those who tried to befriend her were cut down by her words before they got too close.
Over time—
They stopped coming at all.
She watched it all unfold.
How she had built a wall, little by little.
How she had driven people away, not because she hated them—
But because she was afraid.
Afraid of hurting them.
Afraid of being hurt in return.
And so, she had embraced loneliness.
Accepted it.
Made it her armor.
---
In reality, only a second had passed.
But as her gaze returned to Ryuu's, she felt… different.
Something had shifted inside her.
She was silent.
For the first time in a long time—
She was truly looking inward.
"Now that you've seen your heart," Ryuu said smoothly, "maybe you can finally be honest."
Kaguya exhaled.
She wasn't ready to fully admit it, but…
She couldn't deny it anymore either.
"...Perhaps," she murmured, "you're right."
But her voice was soft.
Not cold.
Not distant.
Just uncertain.
Like someone who had just woken up from a long, long dream.
"But even so," she continued, regaining some of her composure, "I don't think someone like me deserves to be called gentle."
Ryuu chuckled.
"What you think is your own problem."
He turned, stepping past her with a smirk.
"I just find it rare—and interesting."
Kaguya stiffened.
Was he—playing with her?
Her mood shifted dangerously.
But before she could say anything—
A cheerful, familiar voice rang out behind them.
"Kaguya-chan! Happy birthday!"
Fujiwara Chika had arrived.
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