Who could have predicted that the moment Kisara Tendo snapped back to reality, the first thing she would do was dramatically shout something that sounded like a confession to Kotomi?
—"Kotomi, please... you must become mine!"
Having accompanied them to the Kendo Club, Mai Sakurajima naturally understood what Kisara actually meant. It was nothing more than her being utterly entranced by Kotomi's overwhelming strength and then further led astray by Kotomi's chuunibyou-style boasting.
Now that she had come back to her senses, she still thought they were in the dojo, blocking Kotomi's path and pleading for her to join the Kendo Club.
She hadn't yet realized that they were no longer at the dojo but were, in fact, almost at the school gates.
Sometimes, Kisara was so obsessed with kendo that she would completely lose awareness of her surroundings—just like now.
Kotomi also understood what Kisara actually meant, so there was no risk of misunderstanding.
However…
Not far away, standing and watching the scene unfold, Megumi Kato furrowed her brows, her expression darkening considerably.
Kotomi's internal survival instincts immediately blared with red alerts!
She hurriedly shot Megumi a pleading look.
"Megumi! There's nothing going on between me and Tendo-senpai, don't overthink it!"
"…Cheater."
Kotomi wasn't entirely sure if that was the exact translation, but judging from the very displeased look in Megumi's eyes, it was a real concern.
For a moment, Kotomi seriously feared that Megumi might transform into a berserk Evangelion Unit-01 at any second.
Especially concerning was how Megumi's gaze turned noticeably sharp when she looked at both Kisara and Mai.
Mai Sakurajima, sensing the danger, discreetly took a step away to subtly distance herself from Kisara—an attempt to draw a clear line between them.
She thought that would be enough.
She thought wrong.
That tiny action only drew even more attention from Megumi.
Worse yet, Megumi had already recognized her as Mai Sakurajima, and her internal alert system doubled in intensity.
After all, she had once found a stack of magazines hidden in Kotomi's bedroom, every single cover featuring none other than Mai Sakurajima.
One of them even had a special edition cover where Mai was wearing black stockings—and Kotomi had carefully wrapped it in a protective book cover.
Recalling that, Megumi's grip subtly tightened, her teeth lightly clenching as her gaze fixated on Mai Sakurajima.
Kisara, however, remained completely oblivious to Megumi's hostile aura.
Instead, she gently shook Kotomi's delicate body, her voice filled with persistence.
"Kotomi, just say yes, okay? I promise I'll treat you well!"
Kotomi let out an exasperated sigh through her tiny, refined nose. "What benefits do I get if I join the Kendo Club?"
"I'm inviting you because we don't have enough competitors for the Kendo Club's tournament team. The other members either lack skill or talent, making it impossible for them to compete."
"If you agree to join, all you have to do is attend the training camp."
"Next year, you'll compete with us in the Six-School Tournament."
"No matter if we win or lose, as long as you participate in the competition—at that point, you'll automatically be named honorary captain of the Kendo Club."
At the words honorary captain, Kotomi's eyes widened slightly, her interest visibly piqued.
The title of honorary captain was different from both the captain and vice-captain roles. Simply put, only those with connections could attain such a position. It required no responsibilities whatsoever, yet the holder could still enjoy the privileges and prestige of the title.
When applying for university, having been a club president in high school was a significant advantage.
As for whether one was an actual president or just an honorary one? To put it bluntly, when applying to Japanese universities, they only cared about whether you had the title—not whether you actually fulfilled any duties.
For someone like Kotomi, who preferred keeping multiple options open but disliked spending too much time on club activities, the offer of honorary Kendo Club captain was incredibly tempting.
If she failed to win any art competitions and lost her chance at a direct university recommendation, she would still have this title as a valuable addition to her application in three years.
She wouldn't have to attend training every day—not a problem at all. Even if she never attended practice or stepped foot in the dojo for three whole years, it wouldn't affect her in the slightest.
Yet, when she graduated, she would still hold a title as prestigious as the official club captain.
In other words, by becoming honorary captain, Kotomi would be the only person in the Kendo Club who could stand on equal footing with Kisara Tendo.
That was why only people with connections could obtain this kind of position.
While high schools did allow the existence of honorary captains, there was only one way to get the title—the current captain had to sign off on it.
For that reason, in every club where an honorary captain existed, it was almost guaranteed that they were closely connected to the actual club captain.
After all, not everyone was a philanthropist. A title this valuable was naturally reserved for the closest people.
To be honest, Kotomi was very tempted by the offer. She had never really considered such an option before because she never thought it would be possible.
But now that it was possible, she didn't really want to refuse.
Just as she was about to act reserved and hesitate a little, Kisara Tendo suddenly leaned in closer to her.
To an outsider, it almost looked like they were hugging.
Megumi Kato saw this—and her rage skyrocketed!
With a dark expression and heavy footsteps, she stormed toward them.
Kotomi was just about to tell Kisara that she was standing way too close, but then—she saw Kisara quietly pull a thick envelope out of her pocket.
"If you agree to compete in the Six-School Tournament, I'll give this to you right now. If we win, I'll give you even more—several times thicker than this one," Kisara said in a clearly suggestive tone.
Before she even finished speaking, Kotomi had already guessed what was inside the envelope.
Without needing any further persuasion, she immediately pressed herself tightly against Kisara and whispered with a sly smile:
"Hehehe, Tendo-senpai… isn't this a little too improper?"
The instant shift in her attitude made Kisara's mouth twitch slightly.
Originally, offering money was supposed to be her last resort. She had planned to negotiate quickly and had only pulled out the cash in a moment of desperation.
She hadn't expected her last resort to be this effective. Just moments ago, Kotomi had been hesitant—yet now, she had agreed without a shred of doubt.
Not even a hint of hesitation.
"If you agree to join the Kendo Club, the honorary captain title and all the money inside this envelope will be yours. If we win the tournament, I'll even give you a bonus. As the eldest daughter of the Tendo family, I can afford this much."
Kisara Tendo spoke seriously.
Although she was the daughter of the prestigious Tendo family, her parents were strict with her finances. Her monthly allowance wasn't that extravagant—only slightly higher than that of an average household's child.
Handing over such a thick wad of cash in one go… Kisara did feel a slight pang of pain.
But the moment she reminded herself that it was going to Kotomi, and that Kotomi would agree after taking it, the pain disappeared instantly.
"Listen to yourself. You make it sound like I only care about money. Don't get the wrong idea—I'm only agreeing to join the Kendo Club because I genuinely like kendo."
Kotomi spoke with confidence, yet at the same time, she casually lifted the hem of her pocket, signaling Kisara to put the money inside.
Kisara let out a small chuckle before discreetly slipping the thick envelope into Kotomi's pocket. She did it so subtly that no one noticed—after all, the last thing she wanted was for people to find out that the Kendo Club captain was bribing recruits.
The moment the money landed safely in her pocket, Kotomi's previously silent survival instincts screamed back to life.
Ding-ding! Danger detected!
Fearing that Megumi Kato might misunderstand, Kotomi immediately put some distance between herself and Kisara.
However…
The brief moment she had spent leaning against Kisara had given her an unexpected realization—Kisara's softness was in no way inferior to what she had felt when leaning against Mai Sakurajima earlier.
She takes the money and distances herself right away…
Kotomi… could it be that you have a natural talent for being a heartbreaker?! Kisara thought to herself, her mind wandering into dangerous territory.
"What exactly are you two doing?"
Megumi Kato's tone and expression remained perfectly calm, even with a slight smile on her lips.
However, Kisara didn't hear her.
Too caught up in her excitement, she continued speaking to Kotomi on her own:
"Tomorrow, I'll go tell Hibiki about our relationship. I'm sure she'll understand the two of us."
?!
Kotomi's heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
Thinking back carefully on what Kisara had just said… if someone didn't know the context, wouldn't it totally sound like something completely different?!
Mai Sakurajima wouldn't misunderstand—after all, she had been with them at the dojo.
But Megumi Kato… hadn't gone with them!
In fact, Megumi didn't even know that they had gone to the Kendo Club.
All she saw was Kotomi coming out of the school building late at night with Kisara and Mai Sakurajima.
Kotomi instinctively shrank back, realizing that she had been so focused on securing the honorary captain title and the money that she had completely forgotten to consider how this might look to Megumi.
Now that she had cooled down a little, she finally looked toward Megumi—who was standing right behind Kisara.
And at that moment, a deep sense of dread washed over Kotomi.
Kisara Tendo had yet to realize the gravity of the situation. She hadn't even noticed how her actions and words just now must have looked in Megumi Kato's eyes—how much of a misunderstanding they could create.
She was simply relieved that she had finally secured Kotomi for the Kendo Club. With a smile of satisfaction, she exhaled deeply and said, "At last, Kotomi, you've become mine. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted from my heart. It's getting late, so I'll head home now. Bye-bye."
Every single word of that sentence reached Megumi Kato's ears—word for word.
As Kisara turned around, she finally noticed Megumi standing behind her. She greeted her with a friendly smile. "Good afternoon, Megumi ."
"Tendo-senpai, Sakurajima-senpai, good afternoon," Megumi replied with an equally cheerful smile.
"Hello."
Mai Sakurajima casually waved back. She had never met Megumi before and didn't even know her name. However, she had a strong intuition—one that told her Megumi's relationship with Kotomi was far from ordinary.
After all, if Megumi were just a normal friend, she wouldn't have been glaring at them with such hostile eyes earlier.
After observing for a moment, Mai's lips curled into a confident smile. She felt like she had figured out exactly what kind of relationship existed between Kotomi and the black-haired girl.
If possible, Mai would have loved to find a comfortable seat, sit back, and watch the drama unfold like a spectator in a movie theater—just enjoying the battlefield between Kotomi, Megumi, and Kisara Tendo.
But the problem was…
She was also part of this battlefield.
Not good! Time to retreat!
Catching Kisara's attention with a discreet look, Mai quickly dragged her away before Kisara could try walking and chatting with Kotomi any longer.
As they left, Mai shot Kotomi a look that said, Good luck!
And just like that, Sobu High School was left with only two people—Kotomi Izumi and Megumi Kato.
Thinking back on everything that had just happened, Kotomi finally understood how badly her actions must have looked—especially from Megumi's perspective.
There was no way she wasn't nervous.
"Alright, Megumi, let's head home quickly!"
Kotomi cleared her throat, forcing out a light chuckle, trying to act completely normal.
Just as she took her first step forward, she suddenly felt Megumi's hand wrap around hers.
Their fingers interlocked tightly.
Megumi wasn't gripping her forcefully—her touch was soft, gentle.
From an outsider's perspective, it looked just like their usual routine—Megumi sweetly holding Kotomi's hand as they walked home together.
A warm, intimate moment.
But then—
"Kotomi," Megumi said softly, still holding her hand with that same gentle touch. A warm smile remained on her lips as she continued.
"Would you mind explaining to me why you were with those two senpais until so late?"
"And—would you kindly give me a very detailed explanation of exactly what Tendo-senpai meant by what she said to you?"
Her voice was soft. Her fingers lightly squeezed Kotomi's hand.
But the underlying meaning was unmistakable.
Kotomi gulped.
"Can I… not explain?" she asked hesitantly, her voice weak.
Megumi's smile deepened.
She lowered her head slightly—then gently placed a kiss on the back of Kotomi's hand.
And then, with an almost sweetly dangerous whisper, she asked—
"What do you think~?"
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