17.1 —[Age 15 – Riku Asakura, the Unknowing Flame]
By fifteen, Riku Asakura had changed in many ways… and yet, not at all.
He had become taller—still lean, with defined features that only further emphasized the gentle charisma he naturally exuded. His calm voice carried with it a strangely hypnotic rhythm, the kind that made girls' hearts skip without him ever realizing why.
He now read thick Sherlock Holmes novels, obsessed with puzzles and deductions. He often muttered theories aloud while walking, piecing together crime scenes with alarming insight. His help had already led the local police to arrest two burglars and crack a drug ring—though officially, he was just "a helpful youth with good intuition."
> "The pattern of movement across alleyways doesn't match someone running blindly," Riku had told the officers last month, eyes half-lidded.
"He's not lost. He's leading you in circles. The dealer's drop-point is three blocks east."
He had been right. Again.
---
[But at School…]
He was still the boy who smiled brightly to his two best friends, walked between them every morning, and waved at his classmates without hesitation.
Still hopelessly dense.
Still casually romantic in the most destructive, unintentional way possible.
---
17.2 —[Two Girls, One Flame — Now Dangerous]
At age fifteen, Hinako Aoyama and Chihiro Tachibana had long accepted one truth:
> "Neither of us is going to leave his side."
And strangely, that understanding forged a dangerous alliance between them.
They no longer fought each other.
They fought everyone else.
Their bond was terrifyingly synchronized now.
If a girl looked too long?
Chihiro would "accidentally" mention her embarrassing past in front of Riku.
If someone confessed anonymously?
Hinako would quietly threaten them with a gentle smile and a "training match."
If a female teacher praised Riku too warmly?
Both girls would instantly volunteer to help after class—never letting her get close again.
---
[And Riku…?]
> "You two are like my right and left hands," he'd said one day, stretching under the cherry blossoms.
"If I ever lose either of you, I don't think I'd be whole."
And then he smiled, turned to Chihiro—
> "Hey, wouldn't you make a perfect wife? You already organize my notes better than I do."
And to Hinako—
> "You'd be the scary but sweet wife who protects me from assassins or awkward social events."
Their faces turned crimson.
Their hearts stopped.
He had no idea.
None.
But those words etched themselves deep into their souls.
From that day on, both girls stopped seeing each other as rivals…
And began seeing each other as the only other person qualified to stand beside Riku.
---
17.3 —[Their Shrines of Love — Hidden, Obsessive, Eternal]
Hinako's room had a wall filled with Riku's sports club photos, training pictures, and newspaper cuttings from his police assistance.
Chihiro's room had organized folders of Riku's test scores, notebook copies, sketches of him under every season, and even sound clips from his practice speeches.
They both knew:
His blood type.
His measurements.
The names of every teacher who ever scolded him.
His favorite pen.
The exact day his voice cracked during puberty.
They also knew:
> "Riku likes strawberry more than chocolate now."
"He flinched when that girl touched his arm."
"He avoided eye contact with the club president—he doesn't like her."
No one could know him like they did.
No one.
No one would be allowed to.
---
17.4 —[The Three Mothers – Café Meeting, Smiling in Defeat]
The usual café table was now just… routine.
The three mothers sat, drinks in hand, having long accepted the situation.
> "So," said Riku's mom, eyes twinkling, "he still thinks they're just childhood friends?"
> "He told me Chihiro would make a good wife," said Mrs. Tachibana with a hand on her cheek.
> "Hinako, apparently, is his protector and 'will probably beat up any guy who breaks my heart,'" laughed Mrs. Aoyama.
They all exhaled.
Then laughed.
> "They're already wives in their heads," muttered Chihiro's mom.
> "They act like it, too," Hinako's mom sighed. "Yesterday they coordinated cooking dinner together for him—without fighting."
> "Riku asked me the other day," said his mom with a smirk, "'What's it like having two girls who never leave me alone but make life easier?'"
She paused dramatically.
> "And I told him: 'That's called married life, darling.'"
The two women nearly choked on their drinks.
> "You didn't—!"
> "I did."
> "His face?"
> "Bright red."
They all laughed until their stomachs hurt.
Then Chihiro's mom muttered softly:
> "They're terrifying, but… they love him honestly."
> "Deeply," Hinako's mom added.
> "Completely," Riku's mom finished.
They clinked cups together in a final toast.
> "May the winner be... whoever survives."
---
17.5 —[Meanwhile – That Night, in Three Separate Homes]
Riku lay back in bed, reading The Hound of the Baskervilles under his lamp.
> "I still don't get love," he muttered. "But if it means caring this much, maybe I'm already close."
Hinako, in her room, added today's new picture of him (from the festival bulletin board) to her collection.
> "He looked at me for 0.8 seconds longer today. Tomorrow, I'll get 1.2."
Chihiro, brushing her hair, stared at the voice recording of Riku humming earlier in class.
> "I'll be the one who hears every note for the rest of our lives."