In the high school building, during math class, the atmosphere was so monotonous that the ticking of the clock seemed like the only living thing in the room.
Rin sat by the window, the sunlight outlining her profile.
At first glance, she seemed focused, but her mind was miles away. The teacher's voice faded into a distant background; the only thing echoing in her head were the words Marin had told her that morning.
"Before using the product, make sure to read the manual and the warnings carefully. You wouldn't want… accidents, right?"
'…Would that really be enough?' she thought, feeling her heartbeat quicken for no reason.
She couldn't help it—images of Damian began flashing through her mind one after another: him singing under the stage lights, his imposing figure in Fuyuki facing Gilgamesh, the sharp gleam of his katana slicing through the air, his calm smile as he offered her a drink…
Everything stopped on one image.
This morning.
Damian, shirtless, the morning light tracing the lines of his muscles…
"Mmph!" she let out involuntarily, covering her mouth. A wave of heat rushed straight to her head, her cheeks burning.
"Rin Tōsaka!"
A sharp reprimand thundered through the room.
Startled, Rin jumped and froze. On the podium, the old teacher—short, bald, with veins bulging on his head—glared at her furiously from behind his glasses.
"What are you thinking about? What I'm explaining is important! Answer the question I just asked!"
The entire class turned to look at her.
Rin felt her blush not only fail to fade but deepen. She lowered her head, gripping the edge of her desk tightly, and murmured, "I-I'm sorry, professor…"
A heavy sigh came from the front of the room.
Rin quickly straightened up, pretending to pay attention to the board, but the tips of her ears remained red, and her mind was still a storm. She tried to focus on the formulas—unsuccessfully.
She pressed her lips together and forced herself to stare at the equations, sitting obediently in her seat.
"Ugh… Marin-nee, what did you really mean?"
…
Tōtsu Musashi University, Faculty of Economics.
Kaguya sat in the last row of the lecture hall, nearly snapping her fountain pen between her fingers as she stared at her notebook without having read a single line.
"Damn it…" she muttered through clenched teeth.
The image from that morning replayed in her mind again and again: Rin Tōsaka shamelessly throwing herself into Damian's arms in front of everyone, wearing that triumphant expression (or so she thought), as if staking her claim.
"Marin Kitagawa isn't out of the picture yet… and now another one appears…"
Her fingers trembled, leaving a deep mark on the paper.
The professor was talking about macroeconomic models from the podium, but his voice was nothing more than background noise. In Kaguya's mind, only the images of Damian remained… his smile… his gaze… his hand gently stroking her head… the stage lights reflecting on his skin.
"I was the first one…" she whispered, her lips tight and her nails digging into her palm.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated, pulling her out of her trance.
The screen lit up her face, and in an instant, the shadow surrounding her seemed to disappear.
Taking a deep breath, she regained her composure and elegantly put her pen away, as if nothing had happened.
Using her book as cover from the professor, she unlocked her phone.
On the screen, a message appeared:
[Yukino Yukinoshita]: "About the picnic Damian-kun mentioned last time, is there a confirmed date yet?"
A cold glint flashed through her eyes as her fingertips hovered above the screen.
"Yukino…" she murmured thoughtfully.
Her gaze lingered on the words "Damian-kun," and her thumb brushed along the edge of the phone as a chain of ideas began forming in her mind.
"So Rin Tōsaka is Marin's cousin? Hmph, then she could be her ally?" A cunning spark crossed her eyes. "...I can't afford to fall behind."
A faint smile curved her lips. "Yukino… perhaps you'll be more useful than I thought."
Calmly, she typed her reply:
"Lately, I've been busy with school matters, and Damian-kun as well with his concert preparations, so I haven't had the chance to contact him yet. (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡ That's why, Yukinoshita-san, why don't you ask him directly?"
She read the message one last time before sending it. The tone was friendly yet calculated—it showed her closeness to Damian while subtly pushing Yukino to make the next move.
"Perfect." She put her phone away, picked up her pen again, and drew a small heart in her notebook. "...This way, I can pull Yukino to my side."
From the podium, the professor's voice remained as monotonous as ever. But Kaguya had completely regained her usual elegant composure and, even in a good mood, began doodling decorative patterns in the margins of her notes.
Only the curve of her lips betrayed the glimmer of triumph in her eyes.
"The game is just beginning."
…
Yukino read Kaguya's message and lifted her gaze toward the elegant figure sitting a few rows ahead.
'No contact, huh?' she thought calmly, brushing her fingers along the edge of her phone. '…But this morning, you were the one who turned in Damian's absence slip.'
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
She quickly typed her reply:
"Oh, then never mind."
She sent the message and placed the phone face down on her desk, paying it no further attention.
Her gaze returned to Kaguya. Just as the message was delivered, the Shinomiya heiress's hand paused for a brief moment, leaving a tiny dot of ink on the paper before continuing to write as if nothing had happened.
Yukino rested her cheek on one hand, her faint smile deepening slightly.
She picked up her phone again, unlocked it, opened that familiar number, and skipped any unnecessary greetings.
"Damian, feed the cat. You already stood me up once, so today at three in the afternoon, same place."
She sent the message, slipped the phone back into her bag, and rested her head on her hand again.
Her cold gaze lingered on Kaguya's back.
"Use me, Miss Shinomiya?" she murmured in an icy tone. "Your schemes don't make enough noise yet. I won't be your tool."
…
Sunlight streamed through the car window, sliding across the passenger seat. Marin, her cheeks flushed, was curled up like a lazy cat, her face resting against the leather, strands of damp hair still warm with sweat.
"Do we still have to go buy the car?" she asked weakly, clutching Damian's clothes without thinking.
He leaned in to fasten her seatbelt and let out a soft laugh. His lips brushed her forehead, and the scent of her shampoo lingered between them.
"No, not anymore," he replied, gently brushing the hair away from her neck. "I'll take you home to rest first."
The slight vibration of the engine made her frown faintly.
"But we agreed to choose the new car…" she murmured sleepily.
"More than the car…" Damian said as he drove out of the parking lot, his eyes narrowing with a smile reflected in the rearview mirror, "a certain someone who works too hard needs some maintenance."
Marin buried her face in her coat, remembering the "product performance test" from that morning. Her ears turned so red they were nearly transparent.
The car moved smoothly as Damian's fingers slid through her hair, gently massaging her scalp.
"Sleep for a bit," he whispered warmly. "I'll wake you when we arrive."
Marin nodded faintly, almost drifting off, but then lightly grasped his wrist.
"Hey… you have a date, right?"
Damian paused for a moment before replying naturally, "Yeah, I'm going to feed Yukino's cat. I promised her."
"I see…" Marin's voice trailed off as her eyelashes fluttered shut.
"Then… next time we'll go test cars together…" she murmured, half-asleep.
Damian watched her in silence. His expression softened, and a calm smile crossed his lips.
He pressed the accelerator and drove toward the small house.
________
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