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Under the same starry sky—far away in Tokyo.
Inside a dimly lit kendo dojo, the low hum of a phone's vibration shattered the silence. Seated in the middle of the polished floor, Busujima Saeko, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, slowly opened them.
Reaching down, she felt for the phone beside her, unlocked it, and glanced at the message on-screen. Her brows furrowed slightly as she murmured aloud.
"Kuoh Academy and Saikai Academy on Itogami Island are merging? Starting next semester, we'll have to attend classes on Itogami? And we're supposed to first report to Kyoto before taking a ship there?"
A sigh escaped her lips. "Seriously... why make it so complicated?"
Shaking her head, she straightened up, slipped the phone into her palm, and walked toward the exit.
"Whatever. I'll head to Kyoto tomorrow."
❁❁❁❁
By the time Bokue returned to Itogami Island, it was already past nine in the evening.
At the top of the Keystone Gate, the old academy building was filled with laughter and rising steam.
The girls had gathered once again for their nightly bath.
And this time, it wasn't just Rias, Akeno, and Koneko soaking in the large square bath—even Kuroka had been dragged in to join them.
The walls were lined with pale wooden panels, the air thick with steam. Rias, as usual, occupied the center spot against the far end of the bath, her arms resting lazily along the edge while the surface of the water rose around her like a halo of mist.
Without a towel to hide behind—because everyone here was a girl—she sat comfortably, her legs crossed beneath the water, the proud curves of her body glinting faintly in the light.
Around her were Akeno, Naruse Mio, and Kuroka herself—each in varying states of ease. A few others, like Koneko, Maria, and Asia, looked smaller by comparison... a cruel story of genetics and cup sizes.
In theory, so many girls bathing together should've made for a cheerful, noisy atmosphere.
Instead, the entire room was dead silent.
The tension in the air was thick enough to cut. It was the kind of quiet that usually came right before a volcanic eruption.
Akeno, smiling faintly as always, didn't seem to mind.
Kuroka, eyes closed, leaned back against the wall, perfectly calm, even as Rias's crimson gaze bored straight into her.
Rias was the first to speak, her voice slicing through the silence.
"Hey, Kuroka. There's something I've been meaning to ask you since this morning."
Kuroka's golden eyes flicked open, one brow rising lazily. "Oh? You could've just asked, nya~. I'm not stopping you."
"Then I'll ask."
Rias's voice dropped a degree colder. "Did you... and Bokue... do something in here last night after we finished bathing?"
Kuroka blinked. "Hmm? Oh, that? Probably, yeah."
She twirled a strand of her long black hair around her finger, her tone completely casual. "To be honest, I don't really remember. I might've fallen asleep midway. When I woke up this morning, everything after that was kinda fuzzy."
"..."
"..."
You've got to be kidding me!
Forgot how you fell asleep? Rias almost snapped her own fan in half.
That was as good as a confession!
She took a sharp breath. "If your memory's that fuzzy, then let me remind you. You two drained the bath last night—or at least you tried to. Because this morning, the entire drainage system was completely clogged!"
"Eh~? Really?" Kuroka replied without a shred of surprise. Twirling her hair again, she hummed innocently. "Then I guess my Bokue really outdid himself, huh? So powerful he managed to clog a whole drain."
"I'm not asking how strong he is!" Rias's voice rose an octave. "I'm asking why you didn't call us!"
It wasn't just the "crime" of stealing Bokue for herself—it was the arrogance afterwards that burned even more.
Even Koneko, normally neutral when it came to sisterly squabbles, finally muttered in a low voice. "Big Sis... hogging all the fun alone... not good."
"W-Well..." Kuroka scratched her cheek, ears twitching nervously. She could ignore Rias all she wanted, but her little sister? That was another story.
"Fine, fine. I'll explain." She sighed dramatically. "It was already super late when Bokue came back. You guys had already bathed, the lights were off, and you were probably asleep. I didn't want to wake anyone up."
She shrugged innocently. "Besides, would you really get up in the middle of the night just because someone asked you to come 'do that'?"
Every word was technically true.
"..."
Still, that didn't calm Rias down. Not even a little.
Everyone here knew exactly what Kuroka was really thinking. The "we didn't want to disturb you" excuse? Please.
She just wanted a private session all to herself!!!
Before the tension could boil over again, a faint golden glow flared inside the steamy bathhouse. The next second, Bokue appeared right there, fully clothed, his sudden arrival breaking the standoff.
"Ah! Bokue~ you're back!" Kuroka's expression flipped instantly. In a blink, her calm, bored face was replaced with a radiant grin. Her cat ears perked up, and both tails lifted gleefully, swaying in the air like twin flags.
"Where were you, nya~? You said you were just walking your sister home!"
"I was," Bokue said, scratching his neck. "Something came up. I'll tell you all in a bit."
He looked around, noticing the strange tension hanging in the steamy air. "...So, uh, what exactly did I walk in on?"
Kuroka raised a hand and pointed lazily. "Oh, nothing major. Rias is just mad that you clogged the bath drain last night, that's all."
"Ah. Right." Bokue's mouth twitched.
Before he could even attempt damage control, Rias stood up, her tone sharp but composed. "Forget it. Since you're back, we'll let that slide for now. But tell me this, Bokue—why did you move Itogami Island right next to Kyoto?!"
"When we came back from the Underworld this afternoon, our teleport circle dropped us straight at the academy like always, but my GPS still showed Kyoto! For a second I thought we'd landed in the wrong place!"
"That," Bokue said calmly, "is actually what I came here to explain."
He unbuttoned his collar and sighed. "But give me a second. I'm going to take off these clothes first."
Kuroka immediately raised a paw. "Then hurry, nya~! I'm first!"
Rias's hand shot up instantly, pushing her down by the shoulder. "Don't even think about it! You already had your turn last night!"
"Ara~." Akeno smiled sweetly, touching her cheek. "If we're going by seniority, I should be the one to go first, don't you think?"
"Huh?! Akeno, you too?!"
The redhead's temper flared, and soon the bathhouse turned into a full-on shouting match.
"No way, I'm first!"
"Not happening!"
"You already had him!"
"Shut up!"
The walls rattled with their voices, echoing all the way down the old academy halls.
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