On one side, the childhood friend of ten years. On the other, the "sister" who was like a mother to her.
Mashiro's thought was simple: I want them both!
But she followed Rin's lead.
"Whoever wins becomes my owner!"
The two girls looked at Mashiro's confident face and wanted to scream: Why are you so proud of needing someone to take care of you!?
However...
They shared a look. Neither intended to lose!
"Alright." Rin and Mashiro exchanged a brief glance. "Since it's about being Mashiro's owner, she will be the judge... Mashiro, you won't play favorites, will you?"
"I won't. I will be perfectly fair."
Mashiro wasn't lying. She only cared about three things:
Fairness! Fairness! And more fairness!
"Here are the rules... Over the next month, you each take one week in rotation to care for Mashiro. Every day, Mashiro will give you a score. After the month is up, the one with the highest total is the official owner."
Rita nodded, clenching her fists with determination.
The rules were fair. A month-long comparison would show who was the superior caretaker.
Heh heh heh... I cared for her for ten years. Nanami has only been around for a few months. She's no match for me!
"But we shouldn't rely solely on Mashiro's subjective opinion. We need some objective scoring too... So, tonight, we'll have an 'Objective Knowledge Quiz.' I'll ask questions about Mashiro to see who knows her better. Correct answers earn points. Sound good?"
" " No problem! " "
Night.
Rin and Mashiro spent the afternoon preparing for the duel.
After dinner, excluding Kaede who was out "training" Suzune and the others, the five gathered in the living room. Mashiro sat in the center of the sofa holding a scoreboard. Rin and Suzu sat on either side of her, while Nanami and Rita sat on chairs opposite them.
Rin cleared his throat, looking between the two contestants. "I hereby declare the 1st Shiina Mashiro Owner Championship officially open. Contestants, your opening statements?"
"I-I'll start." Nanami raised her hand, her eyes darting away in shyness as she took a deep breath. "I haven't known her as long, but my understanding of Mashiro won't lose to Rita's!"
"Heh heh heh..." Rita looked at Nanami triumphantly. "Ten years, Miss Aoyama. Do you have any idea what I've been through these ten years? I was with her in that studio every single day. You're still too green to beat me."
"Good spirit." Rin smiled, pulling out a deck of cards. "Mashiro and I made these this afternoon. They have questions and answers. You'll take turns drawing them. Each correct answer is 1 point. If there are no questions, we begin. Rock-Paper-Scissors to see who draws first."
"Rock-Paper-Scissors... Yay! I win! I'm first~" An excited Rita ran up to Mashiro. Mashiro fanned out the cards, and Rita picked one.
Mashiro pulled the card out, showed it to Suzu, and handed it to Rin.
"First question... it's about Mashiro's body."
"!!!"
Nanami held her breath. A question about her body? Is it her sensitive spots? The depth of her channel? How much her clitoris swells when she's excited?
While Nanami's mind was in the gutter, Rin spoke slowly.
"How tall is Mashiro?"
Nanami: "I—"
Rita: "162 centimeters!"
Nanami had been ready to jump in, but the question caught her off guard. A second later, her face turned beet-red. I've been completely corrupted by those girls. As soon as 'body' was mentioned, I went straight to the perverted stuff.
It was so normal!
But it made sense. Rita was just a roommate, not a member of the "inner circle" yet. The questions would likely stay PG or only mildly suggestive for now.
"One point for Rita." Mashiro drew a tally mark on Rita's board. "Nanami's turn."
Nanami pointed to a card and sat back down, her hands gripping her skirt tightly.
"Mashiro's favorite food is..."
"Baumkuchen!" Rita shot Nanami a smug look. "Another point~ You'd better catch up, Miss Aoyama."
In England, Mashiro had no specific food preferences, but since coming here, she had raved about baumkuchen to Rita constantly.
Seeing Rita pull ahead, Nanami got desperate.
"WAIT!!" Nanami took a deep breath, her face flushing with embarrassment. "It's baumkuchen drenched in sauce!"
If it were a secret R18 quiz, Nanami would have said "Baumkuchen soaked in Rin's protein," but with Rita there, she had to tone it down.
Mashiro: "Nanami, one point!"
"Eh? Sauce? what sauce?" Rita was baffled. Mashiro only ever mentioned the cake; she never said anything about sauce. "Is it mayonnaise? Or cream?"
Nanami guiltily looked away. "I-It's close. It's his 'secret house-made sauce'."
"Mr. Rin's special sauce?" Rita frowned slightly but wasn't too bothered. "Does it make the cake better?"
"Mmm. Double the deliciousness!" Mashiro nodded vigorously. "Rita should try some next time. It's savory."
They continued taking turns. Just as Nanami expected, the questions were about height, weight, and measurements—areas where Nanami had the edge.
Nanami had the most recent data. Rita's knowledge was based on old bra sizes from England, which weren't very accurate anymore.
Questions about Mashiro's past were Rita's specialty. Mashiro hadn't played favorites when making the cards... the more neck-and-neck they were, the more likely Rita would do something reckless, making it easier for Rin to "recruit" her.
Rin and Mashiro had prepared some R18 questions, but they were keeping those in reserve.
The scores remained incredibly close, leaving both Nanami and Rita red-faced and competitive. Mashiro watched them with a look of extreme satisfaction.
Her only regret was that the tally marks were being written on a scoreboard instead of on their thighs!