Fortunately,
Sakura's mischief still had its limits.
After deliberately messing with Kaito Sora for a few more rounds,
She stopped intentionally coordinating with flashes or gunfire to disrupt his aim.
Instead, she maintained a steady, unchanging rhythm.
Although this still had some effect on his dueling ability, Kaito Sora easily overcame it and eventually secured a 13-10 victory.
After finishing the match, Kaito Sora queued up for another game and, during the downtime, patted Sakura's head.
"How do you come up with so many tricks?"
"It's all Onii-chan's fault."
Sakura's voice was filled with a mix of complaint and resentment.
"Every time Sakura thinks about Onii-chan doing those things with Yuuki-nee and Sister, it makes her feel so uncomfortable."
[Conditions met, triggering a new trait!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have acquired the trait: Void Slash!]
[Void Slash]: A powerful slash derived from the concept of Void, capable of ignoring all defenses, including space and time. It can devour and sever anything in its path.
Looking at his newly acquired ability,
Kaito Sora satisfiedly patted Sakura's head.
Encouraged,
Sakura redoubled her efforts.
Kaito Sora didn't say anything, as the next game had started.
His teammates needed him!
Gradually,
Kaito Sora got used to Sakura's rhythm.
He returned to his unstoppable form, where his teammates only needed to cheer him on while the enemy team spammed "wtf?" in the chat.
Just as things were looking up,
Rin's voice came from outside the door.
"Kaito, are you in the study?"
Kaito Sora's hand twitched again, and he was instantly headshot by the enemy sniper.
It wasn't because Rin scared him, but because Sakura had squeezed him.
Kaito Sora looked down at Sakura.
'Didn't you say it would take an hour?'
Sakura's eyes were filled with confusion and nervousness.
She whispered, "Unless Sister has gotten much stronger recently, it should take at least an hour."
Kaito Sora was stunned.
Then, he regretfully knocked his head.
Yuuki messed things up.
He had forgotten that he had just given Rin the Magic Circuit Enhancement buff.
Starting tomorrow,
He would quit gambling!
However, Kaito Sora didn't admit his mistake and ignored Sakura's pitiful gaze.
"Yeah, what's up?"
The study door opened,
And Rin walked in, deep in thought.
"Why did the barriers suddenly have so many vulnerabilities?"
"Maybe they're just worn out?"
"Absolutely not! I checked them last night, and they were perfectly fine. Someone must have tampered with them today!"
"But there's no sign of intrusion, and nothing unusual has happened in the house."
As he spoke,
Kaito Sora glanced down at Sakura, who had buried her face in his lap, not daring to look up.
If she didn't count as "unusual," that is.
"That's why I'm confused."
Rin didn't come over.
Just by the sound, she knew Kaito Sora was playing games on the computer again.
She sat on the couch by the door, frowning and muttering to herself, "There must be something we're missing. Something abnormal is definitely going on."
No, it's not that we're missing something. It's that you're missing something.
Kaito Sora pondered for a moment. Although he didn't like revealing secrets, seeing Rin so puzzled made him feel a bit guilty.
He said, "Could it be Sakura?"
"Sakura?"
Rin turned to look at him.
Sakura also looked up, shocked.
"Look,"
"She's unhappy that you've been hogging her beloved Onii-chan for too long."
"So she deliberately tampered with the barriers, just to lure you away and give herself a chance to get close to me."
"Maybe right now,"
"She's hiding under the desk."
Sakura was now extremely nervous.
She looked at Kaito Sora with pitiful eyes,
Filled with the sadness of betrayal.
Didn't you promise not to tell anyone our secrets?
But the only protest she could muster
Was to work even harder to force Kaito Sora to surrender his "nephew" as a hostage, hoping he would stop talking.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Rin remained seated, rolling her eyes. "Even if you're trying to trick me into looking so you can laugh at me, could you at least come up with something slightly more believable?"
"I'd believe it if you said Yuuki did it."
"But Sakura?"
"Even if Sakura were jealous, you got the subject wrong!"
"And only you and Yuuki could come up with such shameless ideas!"
"Sakura's a good girl. There's no way she'd think of, let alone carry out, something so shameless!"
I'm sorry, Sister. Sakura is a shameless bad girl.
Sakura hung her head even lower.
Clearly, she planned to punish herself by suffocating under the desk.
"Don't believe me? Come and see."
Ugh, Onii-chan, please stop talking.
Sakura knows she was wrong.
Sakura won't deliberately prank you during games anymore!
"Do you really think I'd fall for that?"
Rin scoffed.
Even with her chest,
She could imagine that if she actually went to look,
There would definitely be nothing under the desk.
Wait.
Listening carefully,
Rin indeed heard the sound of swallowing coming from under the desk.
She suddenly had an epiphany.
I get it!
It must be that little minx Yuuki under there.
When I go to look, Kaito and Yuuki will laugh at me, saying, 'You actually believed that?'
I'm not falling for it!
"Fine, don't believe me."
Everyone saw that.
I told her everything. If she doesn't believe me and won't even come to look, it's not my fault.
"You're the one with the problem, right?"
Rin muttered.
She didn't understand why Kaito Sora had been trying to drive a wedge between her and Sakura lately.
If she didn't know Kaito Sora's character,
She might have suspected
That he had confessed to Sakura, been rejected, and was now holding a grudge.
"Let me tell you,"
"I'll let other things slide, but if you bully or force Sakura, I won't let it go!"
Kaito Sora looked down at Sakura, who was now only visible by her black hair.
He tugged on her hair to prevent her from choking herself.
At the same time, he asked, "What if she's the one who initiates it?"
Rin couldn't help but laugh, her tone full of disdain. She was absolutely certain that such a thing would never happen.
Tap, tap.
Just then,
The door knocked again.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Mr. Kaito. Do you have a moment?"
"I'd like to talk to you."
It was Alisa's voice.
"Come in."
Seeing Alisa enter, Rin stood up. "I'll leave you two to talk."
"Thank you."
Rin smiled at Alisa and left the study.
Out in the hallway,
Rin stood by the open window, letting the cool breeze wash over her.
As she listened to the sound of the rain, immersed in the beauty of the storm, she saw someone walk by, cheerfully waving.
"Good afternoon, Rin."
"Good afternoon, Yuuki."
Rin politely greeted her.
But as she watched Yuuki walk up from downstairs, her expression suddenly changed.
"Why are you coming up from downstairs?"
Yuuki looked confused.
"I just finished eating, so of course I'm coming up from downstairs."
"You were eating downstairs just now?!"
"What's wrong?"
Yuuki tilted her head.
"Did you see me somewhere else?"
Rin didn't answer.
"Rin, are you okay?"
"If there's nothing else, I'm going to take a nap. I didn't sleep all night, and I'm exhausted."
Rin remained silent,
Only mechanically nodding.
Yuuki was too tired to press further and walked off, rubbing her face.
Left alone in the hallway,
Rin stared at the spot where Yuuki had disappeared,
Her expression blank.
If Yuuki was just eating downstairs,
Then who was under the desk just now?
Could it really have been...
Sakura?!