Having secured the interior of the boat in record time, Yami moved to the pier and effortlessly neutralized the remaining three guards. As Yami pulled a radio from a waist pouch to coordinate with the support team, Yoru approached, the triple-layered frills of her skirt swaying with every step.
Yoru had removed her eye patch, apparently finding it a nuisance now that the fighting was over. With her full face visible, the contrast between the siblings was clear: while both were strikingly beautiful, Ayako (Yoru) possessed a distinctly feminine elegance, whereas Fumiya (Yami) had a delicate, androgynous charm—one that matched the ambiguous pitch of his voice.
"Did you manage to identify them, Yami-chan?"
"Facial recognition gave us a hit immediately," Yami replied. "The ones on the boat are members of a humanist organization active in the USNA. If we take them in for a full interrogation, we'll likely find out who's pulling their strings."
"And the 'journalist'?"
"The data on his terminal showed communication logs with an opposition lawmaker famous for his anti-magician rhetoric. It's almost pathetic how sloppy they were."
"I see..." Ayako gave a faint, disappointed smile. "It all feels a bit anticlimactic."
"I agree," Yami grumbled, his voice dropping into a more masculine register of genuine annoyance. "I don't think we even needed to be the ones to handle this."
Ayako giggled at his deflated tone, then wagged a finger at him. "Now, now, 'Yami-chan.' You shouldn't be using 'I' like a boy, should you?"
"Ugh... surely using 'boku' is fine," Fumiya muttered, referring to the boyish pronoun.
"While there are girls who refer to themselves that way, they're a small minority. You shouldn't do things that make you stand out from the crowd, dear."
Fumiya kept the obvious retort to himself: Standing out? Look at what you're wearing! His internal struggle was cut short, however, by a group of men in black suits who emerged from the shadows like a synchronized swarm.
"Young Master! The transport is ready!" one of them announced.
Thwack!
The man who seemed to be the leader smacked the speaker across the back of the head. "You idiot! It's 'Young Lady,' not 'Young Master'! Do you want to ruin the noble sacrifice the Young Master is making by wearing a dress?!"
The leader then turned to Fumiya and bowed deeply. "Young Master—ah, forgive me—Young Lady. My deepest apologies."
"You..." Fumiya's face turned a brilliant shade of red.
"Sir?"
"You're the one who's ruining it the most! And for the last time, this isn't 'cross-dressing,' it's a disguise!"
"Yes! Of course! A masterful disguise, sir! Truly, even to us, you look nothing like Lord Fumiya!"
"Why are you saying my name out loud!?"
"Yami, calm down," Ayako—or rather, Ayako Kuroba—intervened, her voice cool and commanding. "And the rest of you are being far too lax. If the Head of the Family saw this display, imagine the lecture we'd all receive."
At the mention of "The Head"—Maya Yotsuba—the guards turned pale, and Fumiya's boiling temper vanished instantly, replaced by a cold shiver.
"Sorry, Sister," Fumiya murmured.
"Well, it can't be helped, considering how much you hate the outfit," Ayako said, softening her tone.
"...I appreciate you saying that."
"Just be patient for a little longer. Once you hit your next growth spurt and your secondary sex characteristics really kick in, you won't be able to pull off 'Young Lady' anymore. We'll have to think of an even more tedious disguise then."
"Yeah... I guess..." Fumiya's shoulders slumped. He tried very hard to ignore the reality that, despite being nearly high-school age, there was no sign of him losing the ability to pass as a girl. He nodded to himself, trying to find some scrap of courage.
"We're blood relatives, after all," Ayako added. "I'm sure you'll grow up to be as masculine as Tatsuya-san one day."
"But we're also related to Miyuki-anesama," Fumiya sighed. "If I'm going to look like Tatsuya-niisan, I wish it would happen faster..."
"Complaining to me won't change your genetics, Fumiya."
"I know..."
As they thought of their second cousin—the man they both admired above all others—both siblings felt a slight flush creep into their cheeks. In Fumiya's case, it was pure hero worship; unlike most of the Yotsuba clan who looked down on Tatsuya, the Kuroba branch recognized his true worth.
In Ayako's case, however, the blush was of a entirely different nature. Of course, she knew there were two insurmountable walls (one named Maya and a much taller one named Miyuki) standing between her and a romance with Tatsuya, which kept her from making any reckless moves.
"I'm so jealous of Miyuki-onesama," Ayako sighed dreamily. "She gets to be with Tatsuya-san twenty-four hours a day..."
"Miyuki-san is his sister, so it's only natural they're together," Fumiya noted, before pausing. "Wait, 'twenty-four hours a day'? Sister... exactly what are you imagining?"
"Everything! From the moment they wake up until the moment they close their eyes..."
"That sounds like a commercial for soap or something..."
The siblings continued to obsess over their cousin until the guards finished the final preparations for departure.
"The CAD really was much easier to use tonight," Fumiya said, returning to a serious topic. "It's definitely because Tatsuya-niisan did that maintenance on it."
"He really does go to great lengths for us," Ayako mused. "Giving 'advice' to our private Kuroba technicians through the Head of the Family just so he can secretly tune our gear... he's so roundabout."
"He has to be. No matter how much the Head likes him, or how much we respect him, the rest of the clan won't listen to a word he says. No matter how right or brilliant he is, Father and the others refuse to acknowledge him."
"Fumiya," Ayako teased, "you really do love Tatsuya-san, don't you?"
"I—! It's not like that! Not in a weird way!" Fumiya stammered, his serious mood shattered.
Ayako giggled at his reaction, and Fumiya cleared his throat, desperately trying to steer the conversation back to safety. "Anyway, I was thinking of visiting Tatsuya-niisan soon. To report on the mission and thank him for the CAD."
"A wonderful idea. It would be too conspicuous for the Head to visit him directly, but for us, it's perfectly natural."
"Sister," Fumiya noted dryly, "your face is melting."
"I have no idea what you mean."
Despite her denial, Ayako was clearly beaming at the prospect of seeing Tatsuya. Fumiya, though he called her out on it, felt much the same way.
"Young Master! Er, Young Lady! We're ready to move out!"
"Understood. Sister, let's head out."
"Yes. We won't be needing the barrier anymore."
Ayako deactivated the sound-insulation field, and the Kuroba siblings vanished into the Nagoya night.
"By the way, Fumiya," Ayako's voice echoed from the shadows. "Why don't you show Tatsuya-san that disguise next time you see him?"
"No way! Absolutely not! I'd rather die than let Tatsuya-niisan see me like this!"
His horrified protest rang out across the empty park, lingering long after they had gone.
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