Let's talk facts and reason.
Fujiwara Shunsui's anger came from three directions.
First, he was originally barred from cuddling Kiko-chan and Yuna-chan.
Second, this hidden threat felt like a thorn in his back, a fish-bone in his throat, a needle under his behind—if not dealt with soon it could jump out and disgust him at any moment.
Third, those five free attribute points he'd busted his ass to save had been docked just like that; all he could do was hope tonight's "surprise" wouldn't disappoint too badly.
Thinking this, Shunsui clenched his fist.
Yeah, fists were itching.
"I want Tomato-Flavored Chips, not this bag!"
Kojou Yuna turned her head and whispered to Fujiwara Shunsui, but this time she noticed he didn't answer; when she looked back she saw him standing there, frozen.
Zoning out seemed to have become Shunsui's default setting lately; during their days living together she'd already caught him drifting off several times.
"Shunsui-kun?"
Yuna tried calling softly; even Miya Harukiko beside her glanced back at Fujiwara Shunsui.
There he stood, motionless and blank, right hand clenched tight.
"Shunsui-kun."
This time Kojou Yuna raised her voice a notch, and only then did Fujiwara Shunsui snap back.
"Huh? What's up?"
Shunsui clearly hadn't realized he'd just "lost it"; the system prompt had come too suddenly, and the incident itself was infuriating, so he'd had no choice but to think hard about countermeasures.
"What were you thinking? Don't tell me you want to hit me just because I made you fetch stuff a few extra times?"
Yuna teased, fully aware he wasn't the type—but his battle-ready stance still baffled her.
Shunsui instantly switched gears, sliding down to sit beside her; Yuna shot him a look of disdain and scooted away.
Shunsui gave a knowing smile, scooted closer again, and said,
"Didn't you just ask what I was thinking? Don't want to know anymore?"
Watching Shunsui raise his brows at her, Kojou Yuna felt a fresh wave of speechlessness.
"Speak if you want to, or don't—your call!"
Clearly, Yuna knew exactly how to handle the current Fujiwara Shunsui—she understood him too well.
"Aww, just ask me again; this thing is really important!"
Seeing the big tough guy practically begging like a little kid, Yuna was at a loss.
"Fine—please, Brother Shunsui, tell me! What on earth happened?"
She deliberately mimicked Nakamura Aoi's tone, calling him "Brother Shunsui," figuring that style of address worked pretty well.
Face-palm, bitter smile.
Fujiwara Shunsui let every bit of his inner monologue show on his face.
He pitched his voice low and husky: "Can't resist you, my Little Kitten. Since you're dying to know, I'll graciously enlighten you."
Hearing that tone, Kojou Yuna stared in disbelief.
Even Miya Harukiko beside her burst out laughing at Shunsui's delivery.
"Are you trying to die?!"
Yuna's face flushed crimson; she'd never imagined being called "my Little Kitten" in such an oily voice.
"No, no, my Little Kitten—what I'm about to say is serious, so I'm keeping it light so you won't stress."
Even so, Yuna's cheeks burned; she couldn't fathom what could warrant that sort of delivery.
Finally she forced the words through clenched teeth.
"Spill it—I'm listening."
Beside her, Miya Harukiko straightened up respectfully, ready to hear Shunsui out.
"A-hem."
Shunsui cleared his throat theatrically, then spoke with sudden gravity.
"In about an hour, our apartment's going to be attacked. Everyone's life will be in danger."
Silence.
Not just Kojou Yuna—Miya Harukiko too fell utterly quiet, because when Fujiwara Shunsui said it was important, it was no joke.
Especially after the "Bounty Uproar" they'd survived just that noon.
"So soon?"
Yuna didn't doubt the news; she only frowned at Shunsui.
Then, struck by a thought, she blurted,
"Wait—you just woke up, your phone's right here; where'd you even get the intel?"
Good question—it caught Shunsui off-guard for a second.
"I only found out myself a bit earlier," he recovered smoothly. "Figured the clock was ticking and didn't want you two worrying, so I let you enjoy your chips and cola while you could."
He gestured helplessly at the snacks on the table.
"You're out of your mind!"
Yuna shot to her feet from the sofa.
Ex-lovers think alike—even their standing motion matched, which first startled Miya Harukiko, then made her stifle a giggle.
In Kiko's eyes, nothing was beyond Fujiwara Shunsui; to her he was practically Superman.
So she felt no need to worry—Yuna's reaction, however, surprised her.
"How could you keep this from me? With an hour left, do we still have time to call people and set up?"
She glared, already thumbing her phone to rally reinforcements.
"No need—Taro's right next door; we'll just grab him. Calling in more might spook the enemy. I've got it handled, relax."
Shunsui looked supremely confident—everything under control—which made Yuna stare again.
Seriously?
You, Fujiwara Shunsui, scheming miles ahead like a grand strategist?
That was Yuna's honest mental reaction.
Because the real Fujiwara Shunsui lived by one creed: accept life and death, then punch whatever pisses you off.
Hearing "I've arranged everything" from his mouth was the hardest thing for her to believe.
Ignoring her expression, Shunsui simply picked up his phone and dialed.
Strangely enough, although Fujiwara Shunsui dislikes taking calls, he still prefers to phone others when something important comes up.
Of course, if it's truly urgent, calling me is perfectly fine.
If it's just small talk,
then Shunsui doesn't mind cursing the caller out.
That's why Kojou Yuna and Nissho Taro haven't taken the initiative to ring him in ages.
Beep— Beep—
The phone rang twice before it was instantly picked up.
"My Lord Shunsui!"
A familiar voice, a familiar tone—even the image of that deeply bowed, shiny bald head flashed through his mind.
Next door, Nissho Taro stared at the caller ID reading "Fujiwara Shunsui," hardly believing it as he answered; in his memory, Shunsui almost never rang anyone, reserving calls for real emergencies.
So Taro was already in full battle-ready mode the moment he picked up.
"Taro, come over to my place."
"Yes, My Lord Shunsui!"
An emergency—definitely an emergency!
Countless scenarios raced through Nissho Taro's mind; otherwise why phone when they lived next door? Why not just knock? And what about Yuna-chan and Miss Kiko?
In barely ten seconds, Taro—still in pajamas—was pressing the doorbell at Fujiwara Shunsui's entrance.
Still half-asleep, Kojou Yuna heard the bell and naturally went to open the door for Taro.
Seeing Yuna-chan, Taro first nodded in greeting, then shot her a questioning look.
But Kojou Yuna had few answers; she was just as puzzled.
Taro walked straight to Fujiwara Shunsui, bowed deeply: "My Lord Shunsui!"
Gazing at Taro's gleaming bald head, Fujiwara Shunsui was deeply moved—he truly could rely on Nissho Taro at any moment.
Taro was simply too dependable!
He zoned out again.
This time it was Miya Harukiko who noticed Shunsui's drifting mind; she gently asked Taro, "Taro-kun, would you like tea or cola?"
It was Kiko-chan's question that snapped Shunsui back to reality, and he spoke before Taro could answer: "Cola—iced!"
Admiration flickered in Taro's eyes.
As expected of the man he worshipped most—Shunsui even remembered his favorite drink!
"Taro, the reason I called you over so late is to inform you of something."
"Inform?" At that word, Taro's brain went into overdrive, racking his memory—he hadn't messed up lately, so why the formal "notification"?
Fujiwara Shunsui pulled Taro to sit on the sofa, while Kojou Yuna and Miya Harukiko wordlessly cleared the table.
Kiko-chan set a chilled can of Coca-Cola in front of Taro.
"Thank you, Miss Kiko."
With practiced ease Taro popped the can, took a satisfied sip, and let out a contented sigh.
"Tonight someone—no, definitely someone—is going to attack the house, so we need to prepare. I'm giving you a heads-up."
"Huh? *Cough cough!*"
Nissho Taro fought to keep the cola from spraying out.
He stared at Fujiwara Shunsui in disbelief. "My Lord, what are you saying? Tonight? An attack?"
Shunsui remained perfectly confident. "Precisely one hour from now—make that fifty-five minutes."
Taro's wide eyes looked comical beneath his bald scalp,
uncertain whether he was shocked or worried.
"I'll call for backup right away!"
As expected,
even in Tokyo's largest Syndicate, the first reflex in trouble is to rally the troops—numbers mean safety.
Yet Fujiwara Shunsui had already worked out a plan; he simply couldn't tell Kojou Yuna and Nissho Taro outright,
he couldn't bluntly announce: I have a cheat system, you know.
Shunsui clamped a hand over Taro's phone, stopping the call-for-reinforcements move, and said,
"A trifling matter like this needs no backup—I've arranged everything."
Taro could scarcely believe his ears. "Arranged?" "My Lord Shunsui?"
Usually such tasks fell to him and Yuna-chan;
Shunsui handled the "decapitation" strike himself—though there were occasional failures.
When enemy "grunts" swarmed, they could drain Shunsui's stamina and hugely raise the chance he'd get hurt.
So calling in numbers wasn't a slight on Shunsui's skill; it was the best way to protect their foes,
because those small-fry Syndicate punks could end up with broken bones—or worse, fatalities.
They didn't want Shunsui, careless with his strength, to accidentally kill anyone;
in large Syndicate clashes a death could be impossible to cover up.
Nissho Taro turned to Kojou Yuna for help.
"Don't look at me—I don't know his plan either; he didn't ask me to gather anyone."
As long-time partners, Kojou Yuna knew exactly what Taro wanted and answered straight off.
"Why so little faith in me? I'd never gamble with your safety."
Shunsui felt that Taro and Yuna doubted him, whereas Miya Harukiko stayed silent—clearly she trusted him.
"It's not like that, My Lord; we're just wondering—will it really be okay without calling anyone else?"
After thinking, Taro finally voiced the question delicately.
Hearing it, Fujiwara Shunsui resolved that tonight he'd make anyone who dared face him head-on realize there'd be no happy ending.
"Rest assured—tonight you and I are the most trusted comrades-in-arms; together we'll protect Kiko-chan and Yuna-chan!"
"We'll entrust our lives to each other!"
"Believe in me, Taro!"
At the same moment,
Fujiwara Shunsui summoned the system interface and began operating it.
[love rent collection system]
Personal Stats: Strength 8
Fujiwara Shunsui quietly clicked the faint "+" behind the Strength stat four times, settling on 12.
Personal Stats: Agility 6
Shunsui raised Agility to 8.
Finally, his base attribute panel reached a new level.
[Personal Stats: Strength 12, Agility 8, Intelligence 7, Charm 5, Luck 2]
[free attribute points: 0]
Shunsui had spent all six of his remaining free attribute points in one go
.
"Let the storm hit harder!"