"Not enough. What more do you want?" Kaguya looked at Shichen, puzzled.
"It's simple. You flashing me was just a bonus—doesn't really mean anything. I want something a bit more real," Shichen said, letting his gaze slowly sweep up and down her body, with a hint of possessiveness.
"W–what are you trying to do?" Being stared at like that made Kaguya's heart flutter uneasily. She instinctively crossed her arms over her chest and turned sideways.
Side-on wasn't much safer—she was still all curves in that swimsuit, dangerously eye-catching.
"Relax, it's nothing scary."
"...Your eyes are not saying that."
"Do you still want me to pick Yuzuru or not?"
"Uu… You're more dangerous than I thought. I'm starting to wonder if handing Yuzuru over to you is really a good idea," Kaguya muttered, cheeks puffed, clearly worried.
"I'll take good care of her. But you've got to leave me something to remember, too."
"Remember?" Kaguya blinked at him, confused.
"Kaguya, I really like you," Shichen said.
"W–what! All of a sudden—what are you even…" Her face flushed a deep red in an instant.
She'd never expected him to just say it like that.
Shy—but also secretly happy.
"If I choose Yuzuru, you'll disappear, right? So… could you at least leave me a keepsake? Something that lets me remember you properly?" Shichen asked quietly.
"W–what kind of keepsake do you want?" Kaguya couldn't help asking.
"I like you. What else could I want as a keepsake?" Shichen said, then closed his eyes and leaned his face forward.
The meaning was obvious.
"Y–you…" Of course Kaguya understood. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest.
A kiss—she'd never done that before.
But… she was kind of tempted. She wanted to try.
After these two days, she didn't hate Shichen at all. If she really dated him, she'd probably be happy.
But with things as they were, she wasn't allowed that luxury.
Even so… entrusting Yuzuru to him, she wasn't worried. He already had several spirits by his side, he was unbelievably strong, not like a normal human at all. He could definitely protect her.
He was a bit of a playboy, sure, but spirits didn't care as much about that sort of thing.
If she could at least experience a kiss once before she disappeared—with him…
Kaguya glanced over at Yuzuru. Yuzuru was still edging forward in tiny steps, almost at the watermelon, completely unaware of what was happening over here.
This was a good chance.
"D–don't move…" Kaguya whispered nervously, then stepped closer to Shichen.
She rose up on tiptoe, lifted her hands to gently cup his cheeks, and slowly leaned in.
No mishaps interrupted them this time. Their lips touched.
Kaguya's whole face went even redder, like it might start dripping blood; her eyes went unfocused and hazy.
Just the contact of their lips was enough to make her feel like her heart was going to punch straight out of her throat.
It was so intense. So unreal.
She had no idea what else to do, so she started to pull away.
But at that moment, Shichen opened his eyes, slid an arm around her, and held her close.
"Mm!"
Kaguya's eyes flew wide open.
So kissing could go… like this?!
Under Shichen's guidance, her mind quickly went blank. She didn't know anything anymore.
All she could feel was her soul floating right out of her body.
After a long moment, when she was just about out of breath, Shichen finally let her go.
"Haa—haa—" Kaguya gasped desperately for air, her gaze completely unfocused. She slumped against Shichen's chest, relying on him to stay upright.
Shichen held her by the slim curve of her waist and, as if nothing had happened, continued to direct Yuzuru.
"Right there. The watermelon's just ahead—hit it!"
"Understood. Watch me!" Yuzuru called back.
"You…" Kaguya's eyes were misty as she gave his chest a light punch.
"What did I do?" Shichen looked down at her.
"You… you're way too good at that. You're definitely a bad man," Kaguya huffed.
"Only realizing that now? Too late. We've already made a deal."
"Hmph! You're not allowed to bully Yuzuru from now on."
"I promise," Shichen said with a laugh, then leaned down to give her one more quick kiss.
"You… what if she finds out?" Kaguya stammered.
"You're still in my arms," he said calmly.
"Oh no, I forgot!" Kaguya scrambled out of his embrace, hurriedly retreating to the side and straightening her swimsuit. Her expression was back to normal in seconds.
Girls really did have a natural talent for acting.
Bang—!
Over on the other side, Yuzuru successfully smashed the watermelon.
"Victory. I win," Yuzuru said, taking off her blindfold and looking over with satisfaction.
"Darn it! I can't believe you actually hit it!" Kaguya stomped the sand, full of unwillingness.
Her acting really was top-tier.
"Mocking. Compared to Yuzuru, Kaguya is still far behind," Yuzuru said calmly.
"That's only because Shichen's directions were off!"
"How is this my fault now? You're the one who didn't follow my instructions properly," Shichen retorted.
"I don't care! Let's do it again! This time I'll definitely hit it!"
"Take a break first. Eat some watermelon. Good time to quench your thirst."
"Agreed. Your face is already so red from the heat, Kaguya. Yuzuru doesn't want to win by default."
"Is it?" Kaguya touched her cheeks and realized they were burning.
"Fine, we'll rest for now. We'll go again later!"
…
They spent the entire morning smashing watermelons. Conveniently enough, Kaguya and Yuzuru ended up tied—each smashed one.
Couldn't do any more; they'd be too full to eat it.
As for tying the score—that was because Shichen deliberately gave his directions that way.
By noon, Shichen and the two of them headed back to the inn to have lunch with everyone.
Compared to the three of them, the students were eating ravenously, like they were starving, wolfing everything down.
It looked like they'd really been concentrating on studying all morning and burned off a lot of energy.
They still had more classes that afternoon.
Even Yatogami Tohka and the others didn't have the energy to bother Shichen anymore.
After lunch, Shichen went back to his room alone to rest and think about tomorrow's decision.
He definitely wasn't going to pick just one of them. He intended to keep both, and he could preserve their existence.
So he had nothing to worry about. After pondering for a bit, he fell asleep.
When he woke up in the afternoon and glanced around the empty room, he was a little surprised.
No one had come looking for him.
He'd thought Kaguya, Yuzuru, or even Reine might stop by.
As for Tohka and the others, they were still attending their afternoon lessons. They were still students, after all.
He had to admit, they were surprisingly obedient.
Shichen stayed in his room until dusk. Kaguya and Yuzuru never showed, and he started to wonder if, because of that "promise," they felt no need to do anything more.
Leaving his room, he planned to go check on them—but instead ran into Ellen.
"Ellen, what are you doing here?"
"Hm? You are… oh, you're Shichen-sensei," Ellen said, as if she'd just remembered him.
"...You're still going to keep this up?"
"What does Shichen-sensei mean?" Ellen tilted her head innocently.
"Forget it. What are you doing out here?"
"I'm photographing the students' daily activities for use in the travel agency's promotional materials."
"Not focusing on Tohka and the others?"
"Tohka? You mean Yatogami Tohka? She's definitely very cute on camera," Ellen replied.
"You…"
"Ah! Ellen, there you are! Come on, let's go to the baths together!"
"Eh? Wait, I really shouldn't be going with you…"
"Don't be shy, let's go! We still have a pillow fight later!"
"Don't…"
Ellen couldn't resist the enthusiasm of the three girls. They cheerfully dragged her away.
Shichen remembered their names: Ai, Mai, and Mii—the trio who always hung around with Tohka.
But what was Ellen doing, exactly?
Why was she blending in with the girls like a normal student?
Shouldn't she be focusing on Tohka and the other spirits?
Whatever. As long as she didn't cause trouble… Shichen shook his head and let it go.
After eating dinner alone, he went looking for Kaguya and Yuzuru. They weren't anywhere in the inn.
A quick bit of sensing told him they were both at the shoreline, each by herself.
Getting sentimental now, huh?
Shichen teleported straight to Kaguya.
"Kaguya, what are you doing out here?"
"Eh? Shichen? Why did you suddenly appear?" Kaguya, sitting hugging her knees on the sand, stared up at him in surprise.
"Never mind me. What are you doing here?" Shichen asked back.
"None of your business…" Kaguya muttered, then turned her gaze back to the sea.
"Scared? Afraid of having me choose Yuzuru after all?"
"As if!" Kaguya turned her head again, glaring at him.
"Really? Have you thought about something, though—what do you think Yuzuru wants?"
"What do you mean?" Kaguya frowned, suddenly feeling something was off.
"You asked me to choose her. But have you considered the possibility that she might be asking me to choose you?"
"How could she!" Kaguya shook her head in disbelief.
"If you can make that kind of decision, why can't she? Do you really understand her as well as you think?"
"I… you…" Kaguya stared at him, eyes wide.