My hope for a quiet morning, perhaps spent contemplating the existential void or just catching up on sleep, is shattered the moment I cautiously crack open my bedroom door. Rina, Haruka, Miki, Hana, and Kenji are all waiting for me in the living room. They are arranged in a semi-circle around the coffee table, like an intervention committee preparing to confront me about my crippling addiction to bad life choices. Miki is holding a tablet displaying what looks suspiciously like grainy, zoomed-in drone footage of me looking flustered. Kenji is holding a notepad labeled "Rui Interrogation Log - TOP SECRET (Do Not Read, Rina!)". Rina and Haruka just look furious, their arms crossed in perfect, intimidating synchrony. Hana sits slightly apart, clutching a large box of what I assume are stress-relief cookies.
"Good morning, Onii-chan," Rina says, her voice dangerously sweet, like sugar laced with cyanide. "Sleep well after your very late night hobnobbing with the elite?"
"We have questions," Haruka states flatly, cutting straight to the chase with her usual lack of preamble. "Numerous questions. Regarding your unscheduled, unsupervised interaction with Subject Ichigo."
Thus begins the "Post-Ichigo Dinner Debriefing," which feels less like a friendly chat and more like a court-martial where the defendant (me) is already presumed guilty of high treason. They demand details. Every single detail. What did Ichigo say? Why did he really invite me? What were the executives like? Did he mention LUNA? (Yes, indirectly). Did he mention them? (Only dismissively). Did he try to recruit me to his obviously evil cosplay empire? Did he try to kiss me? (This last question comes from Rina, naturally, her eyes blazing).
I stick to my carefully rehearsed, heavily redacted story: it was a weird, mostly professional dinner. Ichigo was charming but slightly odd, possibly an alien trying to understand human interaction. We talked about cosplay trends and fan engagement. No, he did not try to kiss me (thank god). Yes, the scallop foam was overpriced and pretentious. I deliberately omit the entire conversation about 'Starlight Paladin' and the pendant – that feels too personal, too dangerous, and frankly, too confusing to even attempt explaining.
They do not buy it for a second.
"Your narrative is inconsistent with the drone footage and known subject behavior patterns," Miki says coolly, swiping through images on her tablet. She stops on a particularly unflattering shot of me looking like a panicked chipmunk while Ichigo is smirking charmingly. "Analysis indicates heightened emotional responses – elevated heart rate, facial flushing, pupil dilation – inconsistent with a purely professional interaction. You appear… flustered."
"And you ran away!" Rina accuses, pointing an accusatory finger. "Like a guilty criminal fleeing the scene! Why did you run away if everything was so innocent and 'professional'?"
"Because there was a DRONE spying on me!" I shoot back, finally losing my temper and deciding offense is the best defense. I glare directly at Haruka, who has the audacity to look completely unrepentant. "Seriously?! A drone?! What is wrong with you?! That is creepy! And probably illegal!"
Haruka has the grace to look slightly embarrassed, but only slightly. "It was a necessary measure for data acquisition under challenging field conditions," she mutters, adjusting the cuff of her perfectly ironed blouse. "And the airspace was technically unrestricted."
"He did seem genuinely interested in Rui's opinions on fan engagement," Miki adds thoughtfully, apparently reviewing audio surveillance notes now too (where did she get audio?! Did the drone have a mic?!). "He asked about social media strategies, community building… almost like he was vetting him. Assessing his potential."
"Vetting him for what?" Rina demands suspiciously, her gaze snapping back to me. "What potential?"
"Maybe Ichigo-sama wants Rui to be his handler!" Kenji gasps, his eyes wide with horrified awe, voicing the very thought I was trying to suppress. "A transfer! A betrayal of the highest order! Trading Team Ectiqa for the Crimson Knight! The drama!"
"I am NOT becoming Ichigo's handler!" I insist, horrified by the thought and the implications. "I have enough trouble handling one chaotic cosplayer, let alone adding another one to the mix!" (I conveniently forget I am technically juggling three).
The interrogation immediately devolves into utter chaos. Rina accuses Haruka of illegal surveillance and borderline stalking. Haruka accuses Rina of irrational jealousy and attempting to stifle my professional growth (as if!). Kenji keeps switching allegiances, alternately defending my honor ("Rui would never betray us!") and pledging loyalty to Ichigo ("But imagine the quality of the snacks Ichigo-sama must provide!"). Miki tries to maintain order by citing non-existent bylaws from the Cosplay Club constitution. Hana just looks like she wants to bake everyone into a giant, group-therapy reconciliation cake.
Then, just as the argument reaches peak absurdity, Aiwa arrives. She knocks tentatively on the door, holding a container of homemade cookies (her standard peace offering / infiltration tool / conversation starter). She clearly heard the yelling from down the hall and came to investigate (or perhaps offer backup?).
"Um," she says shyly, peeking her head around the doorframe. "Is everything okay? It sounds like… World War Three started?"
Her arrival throws a new, volatile variable into the already unstable equation. Rina and Haruka immediately pause their argument, their focus shifting instantly to the newcomer/rival/potential co-conspirator.
"Matsuki-san," Haruka says coolly, her voice regaining its usual composure. "Perfect timing. We were just discussing Rui-kun's clandestine dinner engagement last night. With Ichigo."
Aiwa's eyes widen slightly. She looks at me, a silent question in her gaze. Did I survive? Did they find out anything?
"He invited me out after the Expo," I explain quickly, trying desperately to downplay it before Rina can launch into her 'suspiciously charming peacock' tirade again. "It was… weird. Professional stuff mostly."
"Did he mention LUNA?" Rina asks Aiwa directly, bypassing me entirely and trying a new interrogation tactic: triangulation.
Aiwa blinks, momentarily reverting to shy mode under Rina's intense glare. "M-me? LUNA? No. Why would he mention LUNA to me? I am just… Aiwa." Her performance is flawless, fueled by weeks of practice.
"Because," Haruka says, stepping closer to Aiwa, her voice dropping slightly, "we find it highly coincidental that Ichigo, immediately after LUNA's spectacular (if technically flawed) debut, takes a sudden, intense interest in the one person," she looks pointedly at me, "who seems to have a strange, unexplained connection to her."
Aiwa looks trapped again, cornered by their relentless suspicion. But then, Rina does something completely unexpected. Something that short-circuits my entire understanding of their dynamic.
"Leave her alone, Ito," Rina says, surprising everyone, most of all me. "She clearly knows nothing about it." She looks at Aiwa, her expression still deeply suspicious, but slightly less hostile than usual. "Besides, our primary concern right now," she turns her glare back to me, "is figuring out what Ichigo, that suspiciously well-armored pretty boy, wants with my Onii-chan."
A temporary truce? Rina defending Aiwa from Haruka? To focus their combined suspicion on Ichigo (and, by extension, me)? The world must actually be ending. My brain cannot compute this level of strategic complexity.
Haruka looks intrigued by this sudden shift in alliances. Aiwa looks profoundly relieved. Kenji looks utterly confused, his 'Team Rui' concept clearly needing immediate revision. Miki just makes another note on her tablet, probably updating the 'Probability of Rui's Survival' metrics.
Maybe, just maybe, the emergence of a new, common "threat" (Ichigo's mysterious interest in me) is enough to force a temporary, fragile, and deeply suspicious alliance between the three girls currently orbiting my life? The thought is both incredibly appealing (less fighting! less chance of accidental three-way kisses!) and utterly terrifying (coordinated attacks! unified interrogation strategies!). My life remains complicated, but the nature of the chaos is ever-evolving.