Yukinoshita's eyes narrowed to slits as she watched the cluster of her defeated friends. It was clear they had no intention of telling her what they'd seen; they were waiting for her to take the challenge herself.
With a resigned sigh, Yukinoshita took a mouthful of water. Then, with the grim determination of a soldier marching to the front lines, she stepped before Masao.
He held up his phone, a mischievous thought crossing his mind. 'Maybe I should just take the hit.'
The screen flashed to life, displaying a grotesquely leering panda meme.
Yukino's eyes flew wide. Her cheeks ballooned out in an instant, struggling to contain the water.
'This is it, here it comes!' Masao braced for the inevitable spray.
But under his anticipatory gaze, Yukinoshita wrestled her reflexes back under control. She managed to swallow the water in one hurried, painful-looking gulp. The rush made her choke, a thin stream of water escaping the corner of her lips.
She dabbed at her mouth with a delicate hand, coughing several times before she finally regained her composure.
"What… what is that supposed to be?" she sputtered, her voice hoarse. "That is an abomination against all pandas."
"Right?!" Chika exclaimed, thrilled to have found an ally. "It's not even a panda anymore! How could you defile something so cute, Masao-kun?"
On the sidelines, Kaguya watched the scene unfold with a puzzled frown.
'Just what kind of image could provoke such a reaction?' A flicker of curiosity ignited within her, but her pride prevented her from asking.
Masao, for his part, knew better than to subject her to the same torment. The risk of a long and meticulous revenge was far too high.
And Chika, in her typically bubbly self-absorption, had once again left her best friend in the dark.
In the end, Kaguya did see the meme. Finding it absurdly funny, Chika commandeered Masao's phone to secure the image for her own future use.
Since Kaguya wasn't drinking anything when she viewed it, her reaction was far more subdued. Her impeccable composure cracked for a mere fraction of a second before resetting. The lack of a dramatic spit-take felt strangely unsatisfying, like a joke missing its punchline.
—
By eleven, the sun hung heavy in the sky, its heat beating down mercilessly. The animals had retreated into the shade. The group, weary from exploring the panda enclosure and browsing the gift shops, had no intention of braving the sweltering afternoon.
After a brief discussion, Masao, Yukinoshita, and Jahy decided to return to Chiba.
At the zoo entrance, they hailed a taxi—a different driver from the one who had brought them.
"Well, Fujiwara-senpai, we're off," Masao said, holding the car door open as he waved.
"Bye, Masao-kouhai!" Chika chirped, waving back with boundless energy. "Don't you dare forget about our plans for next week!"
"Wouldn't dream of it. I'm free. We'll talk about the details over text."
With final farewells, Masao slid into the taxi.
The driver's eyes flicked from the cheerful, waving pink-haired girl to the serene, dark-haired beauty sitting demurely in his backseat. He shot Masao with a look of bewildered appraisal.
'He's out with a girlfriend, and he's openly making weekend plans with another girl? And they're both absolute stunners? There were more with them, too… This kid is operating on another level. It's like he's stumbled out of a TV drama.'
'But seriously… what's his secret?'
The question consumed the driver, rendering him uncharacteristically silent for the entire journey back to the station.
—
The day had been enjoyable but draining. Though only half a day had passed, they all felt a deep, satisfying exhaustion.
Back in Chiba, Masao flagged down a local taxi to take them to his home.
Noticing Yukinoshita's quizzical look, he explained, "Yukinoshita, we're all dead on our feet. Just come to my place for dinner. It's the weekend, so my mom's home. She heard we were in Tokyo and prepared a feast on the condition I bring you back with me."
Yukinoshita offered a dry, knowing roll of her eyes. The excuse was becoming a familiar refrain. But…
'…Oh, what's the use? One more time won't matter.'
[Ding.]
[Congratulations, Host, on obtaining 10 points of Corruption Value.]
Seeing her nod and hearing the soft, confirming chime in his mind, Masao allowed himself a small, triumphant smile.
'Now, what excuse will I use to get her over here tomorrow?'
He pondered the question, suspecting that in her current state, he might not even need a pretext.
A simple, direct invitation might be enough. Habit was a powerful force. The first time, you refuse. The second, you hesitate. By the third or fourth, it simply becomes the new normal.
From the kitchen doorway, Kazumi Tanaka watched her sometimes-dense son bring his prized "guest" home yet again, her smile widening into a beam of pure triumph.
'Hehe. Any day now. My boy is so close to sealing the deal.'
But as she carried a plate of fresh fruit into the living room, she overheard Masao on the phone.
"Hey, Fujiwara-senpai. Yeah, just got back. What? Picking a spot for next week already?…To book tickets in advance? Well, how about the amusement park? …Ah, you hesitated! Don't tell me you're scared of roller coasters? …No? Okay, then it's settled. See you next weekend, Senpai."
Kazumi froze, her head tilting in confusion. Had she heard that correctly? Her son was planning a weekend at an amusement park with… someone else. And that "Senpai" title almost certainly belonged to another girl.
'Is he insane? He's doing this right in front of Yukino-chan? Shouldn't he be focusing all his efforts on her? How can he be so blind to the wonderful girl right under his nose!'
Steam practically billowed from her ears as she resolved to grab her foolish son by the ear and lecture some sense into him.
Just then, Masao scrolled through his photos from the day.
"We were supposed to take a group photo, but this is just a selfie of Senpai on my phone. You can barely see me in the corner. What's the point of this?"
As Kazumi's gaze fell upon the picture of the adorable, pink-haired girl filling the screen, her anger evaporated. She quietly set the fruit plate down.
"Oh, fruit! Thanks, Mom."
"Thank you, Auntie."
Kazumi retreated to the kitchen in a daze.
'Yukino-chan is a perfect, marvelous girl, of course, but…'
The image of Chika's radiant, cheerful face flashed in her mind.
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