"Tanuma-san, I'm genuinely disappointed."
"O-oh…"
Rinji took a sip of tea and glanced sideways at the trembling Tsubasa Tanuma sitting across from him.
"You've wasted all the time and effort the president and I put into cultivating you."
"Yes, I've been reflecting on that."
"You have to understand—normally, I can't stand people who come here with relationship problems. They love to show off. But you're the president's classmate, so I didn't kick you out. I even helped you."
"I'm really grateful for that."
"When I heard you succeeded, I was honestly happy."
"Thanks, really…"
SLAM!
Rinji smacked the coffee table, making Tsubasa jump.
"But! After you succeeded, you did absolutely nothing—no dates, no walking her home, nothing! Do you seriously need me and the president to teach you what to do after a confession!?"
"Well…"
Tsubasa scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"If possible… yeah, I'd like that…"
"Teach you my ass! Tch… now I'm so pissed I'm speaking dialect."
Kaguya sat silently on the office sofa, sweating a little as she watched Rinji roast Tsubasa.
But she didn't intervene—because this was a good chance to learn about Rinji's way of thinking.
To win over Shirogane, she had to get closer to Rinji. But his mindset was anything but ordinary.
So now… was the perfect opportunity to understand his view on love.
"You young people really don't plan anything ahead, do you?"
Takamine Rinji sipped his tea and let out a sigh.
"If I had successfully confessed back then, I would've had everything planned out afterward—dates, marriage, honeymoon, having kids, all of it."
Shinomiya Kaguya: "…"
'You were already thinking that far ahead at age twelve?'
"So Takamine-kun failed a confession before?"
"You little brat, are you trying to mock me just because yours succeeded?"
"Not at all, not at all."
"Honestly, it's exactly because you had no plans after succeeding in your confession that you're getting dumped," Rinji said with disdain, turning his head away. "I have no respect for people who succeed in confessing but don't cherish it."
"Wait—I'm getting dumped!?"
Tsubasa Tanuma hadn't realized that just earlier, Kashiwagi Nagisa had asked the student council how to break up with her boyfriend.
"If you keep this up, I promise Kashiwagi-san's going to dump you."
"How can this be!?"
Tanuma jumped up in a panic.
"I really do like Kashiwagi-san. If it ends like this…"
"Then you need to take action."
"What should I do?"
"…"
"Please teach me!"
"…Fine. First, Tanuma, stand up."
"Okay."
Tsubasa nodded and got up from the sofa. Rinji walked over to the side and opened the student council office door.
"Here, stand right here."
"Alright."
"Are you in position?"
"All set."
Tanuma stood at the doorway, looking back in confusion at Rinji.
Then, with no warning, Rinji raised a leg and kicked him square in the butt, sending him flying out the door.
"AAAH!!"
"You need me to teach you everything? Can't you think for yourself!? Get out of here!"
With that, Rinji slammed the office door shut.
…
"What an idiot."
"In the end, you still helped him," Kaguya said with a chuckle.
"Help, my ass. If he screws up again, he deserves to get dumped."
"Well, I have a question."
"What?"
"Didn't you want those two to break up in the first place?"
Rinji: "…"
Kaguya: "…"
Rinji: "…Oh right."
"You just realized!?"
Watching him slump powerlessly back onto the sofa, Kaguya found herself curious.
Everything Rinji had done up until now seemed so different from the blood-drenched child she'd once heard about. It was hard to believe the teenager before her was the same kid who, just four years ago, killed without blinking.
"Takamine-kun…"
"Hm?"
"What do you think about Hayasaka?"
Setting aside their family feud—something Kaguya, as an outsider, couldn't really intervene in—what she truly wanted to know was the nature of the relationship between Ai Hayasaka and Rinji.
"I liked her a lot."
"Do you still like her now?"
"More or less. Why are you suddenly asking this, Shinomiya Heiress?" Rinji glanced over at her. "Now that you mention it, I remember—every time I invited Hayasaka out, she'd have to run back after just a few minutes. That was probably because of you, wasn't it?"
"Well…"
Kaguya glanced away guiltily.
It was true.
Hayasaka had been raised as Kaguya's personal attendant from a very young age. Her daily life revolved around Kaguya, and she wasn't allowed to stray far from her side. She had very little personal freedom.
Back then, every time she met with Rinji, it was done in secret and with extreme caution. If she were caught going out alone, she'd be in big trouble.
"She and you seem… quite close."
"We're very good friends."
Kaguya didn't have the nerve to tell the full truth and settled for calling them "friends."
"I see."
"As her friend, I know that she only rejected you back then because of her family situation," Kaguya said. "Takamine-kun, have you ever considered confessing again? You might succeed this time."
This was all Kaguya could do for Hayasaka. If Rinji and Hayasaka got together—not only might she get intel on Shirogane, but at the very least…
She might be spared her life.
"It won't work," Rinji said flatly.
"Huh? Why not?"
"Hayasaka probably realized something. That I'm not a good person."
'Of course you're not.' Kaguya thought silently.
"From the day I was born until now, countless people have died either directly or indirectly because of me. My hands are soaked in blood."
'Yeah, you killed seventy-four members of the Shinomiya Group alone…'
"I think by now the death toll must be in the five digits."
'That many!?' Kaguya inwardly screamed.
"No girl would ever fall for someone with blood on their hands. That's why I'm waiting…"
Rinji looked down at his pale hands, murmuring.
"Waiting for a girl who can accept the burden of my sins."