In the Houzuki sisters' apartment, the silence of midnight was broken only by the faint glow flickering across the monitor screens.
Eiko had calmed down on the surface, yet the obsessive fire burning in her beautiful eyes blazed even brighter. She no longer muttered hysterically to herself; instead, she began to calmly analyze the "battlefield" before her.
"Big sis."
Yashiro slid a cup of hot milk over to her, her childish voice carrying a steadiness that did not match her age.
"Are you really going to see him?"
"Of course."
Eiko lifted the cup, but did not drink. Her fingertips traced slowly along the warm porcelain.
"Yashiro, thank you. I support your dream, so you will support mine as well, right?"
Her "dream" was to turn Natsume into someone who belonged only to her.
Yashiro nodded in silence. In her unusual eyes, which could see through life and death, the reflection of her cousin's mad yet resolute figure trembled faintly.
Softly, she said, "I support you, big sis. But I have to say it again. The perception of the Six Eyes is far beyond what we can imagine. What it sees is not images, but the essence of cursed energy itself. Those cameras of yours standout like beacons in the dark. As soon as he turns his attention toward them, there is nowhere for them to hide."
"I know."
Eiko's lips curved into a confident smile.
"That is exactly why I will not wait any longer. Sitting here spying on him will only push him further and further away. I have to take the initiative, and meet him openly with a reason he cannot refuse."
She rose and walked to the window, looking down at the sleeping city below.
"Besides, those tiny cameras of mine, it is time to retrieve them. They have already fulfilled their purpose. From here on, it is my turn to step onto the stage."
In her gaze, a hunter's thrill flashed, the light of someone who had finally locked onto her target. She had already found that perfect "reason" – a jujutsu request shrouded in mystery, one that would be interesting enough to catch the attention of "the strongest."
The next afternoon after school, in the Occult Research Club room.
The air was steeped in a subtle, tense atmosphere.
Utaha, in her capacity as "Natsume kun's girlfriend," was sitting right beside Natsume, brewing black tea for him as if no one else existed. Every motion was graceful and natural, filled with the elegance of a queen asserting her claim.
Eriri and Yukino were seated to either side. One was "fully focused" on sketching, the other seemingly absorbed in a thick hardcover book. Yet their pricked up ears and the sharp glances they kept flicking toward the pair in the middle completely betrayed their true feelings.
Just then, there was a knock at the clubroom door.
"Come in."
At Natsume's calm reply, the door slid open and a figure full of youthful energy stepped inside.
"Excuse me. Is Na–tsu–me kun here?"
It was Eiko.
She wore comfortable athletic wear, her beige wavy hair pulled up into a neat ponytail. A bright, sunny smile lit up her face. No one seeing her like this would ever associate her with the yandere girl who had spent the night in a dark room watching her beloved on a wall of monitors.
Her gaze swept the room in a single smooth arc before locking unerringly onto Natsume. The undisguised heat and focus in her eyes instantly put the other three girls on edge.
Especially Utaha.
The moment Eiko walked through the door, Utaha felt that savage, predatory competitiveness emanating from her, the kind that came from one predator sizing up another. Without a word, Utaha subtly shifted closer to Natsume's side. The hand holding the teacup was rock steady, yet her eyes had gone noticeably colder.
"I am Eiko, a first year student at Chiba University."
Eiko introduced herself with easy confidence, then turned toward Utaha and smiled.
"And you must be Utaha senpai, right? I have heard so much about you. I am a devoted fan of your novels."
"Oh my, is that so? Thank you for your support."
Utaha returned a flawless smile of her own, though her tone carried a faint distance.
"However, if you are here for my Natsume kun, I am afraid you will be disappointed. He does not handle fan meetings or autograph signings."
"Of course not."
Eiko's smile did not so much as flicker.
"I am here on serious business. A request that only Natsume kun would be able to handle. A request… about a curse."
At the word "curse," Natsume finally lifted his gaze from his book and looked at her.
Eiko took a file folder out of her backpack and handed it over.
"These are the strange incidents that have been happening at my university. Over the past month, three students have already committed suicide in exactly the same way. They were all members of the same club. No suicide notes were left at the scenes, only a strange symbol painted on the wall in their own blood. The police have not found a single lead and the campus is in an uproar. I did my own investigation and found very strong traces of cursed energy behind it all."
Natsume accepted the file. His Six Eyes swept once across the photos and instantly saw the twisted, malevolent cursed energy woven into the bloody symbol.
"Interesting."
His assessment was as calm as ever.
"So I would like to formally request the Occult Research Club, or rather, you personally, Natsume kun, to investigate this incident."
Eiko bowed deeply.
"Please."
At that moment, everyone's attention was on the bizarre case she had described. In the same moment that she straightened from her bow, Eiko's fingers slid casually along the underside of a nearby table. A grain-sized bug, faintly glowing with trace cursed energy, disappeared silently into the hollow of her palm.
Her "tiny camera" in the clubroom had been retrieved as smoothly as if it had never existed.
"I will take this request."
Natsume closed the file.
"I will come to your university tomorrow to have a look."
"That is wonderful. Thank you so much."
Eiko's smile bloomed into a radiant, heartfelt expression of joy. Her objective had been achieved perfectly.
She had not only created a legitimate reason to meet Natsume again, she had also recovered her scattered "cameras." More importantly, she had used her status as "client" to launch her first frontal attack on the so-called official girlfriend sitting at his side.
The gazes of the two top tier beauties met in midair, and invisible sparks crackled between them.
A far fiercer rivalry, all centered around "the strongest," had already begun.
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