Ayase had become a fixture at the Kousaka household. It had been two months since "the incident", and Kyousuke had yet to tell Ayase about Kuroneko. This was a precarious situation, and Kyousuke knew it. He was aware of the risks, but even he would not know the full effect of the fallout when this delicate arrangement finally collapsed.

It happened on an unsuspecting spring sunny day, a few days after Ayase's first experience with eroge. Ayase waited outside Kyousuke's school, and the two walked home together.

"Hey, Kyousuke, wanna hang out at the cafe?" said Ayase, pointing towards it.

"Su-" Kyousuke was about to nod when he caught a pair of red eyes, a set of straight, black bangs, a frilly blouse, and silken black cat ears. Kuroneko was sitting inside, staring at him through the window.

"Uh, sorry! Can't!" exclaimed Kyousuke.

"Why?" asked Ayase.

"I have a lot of stuff! Yeah, stuff!" Kyousuke ran off in the direction of home, leaving a confused Ayase behind.

...

Kyousuke bolted through the streets. He came to a four-way intersection and turned left. He went on until he reached another intersection and then turned left again. He continued to a third crossing, where he turned left once more. Looking around to make sure Ayase wasn't there, Kyousuke slowed his run as he approached the café once again. He quickly entered and took the seat across from Kuroneko.

Kuroneko had been gazing out the window the whole time, frozen as if a marble statue. She turned to Kyousuke, and her gaze sharpened from a sleepy lilt to a cold, sharp glare.

"Kyousuke, we're still going out, right?"

"Yeah! Of course. Didn't we just go on a date last Sunday?"

"Have you told Ayase about me yet?"

Kyousuke sucked in a great amount of air.

"Kyousuke..." Kuroneko's gaze was turning venomous now, a warning sign.

"No..." sighed Kyousuke.

Kuroneko nodded, exasperated but not surprised.

"I'm going home with you."

She got up to leave. Kyousuke hurriedly paid down the bill and followed Kuroneko out as she walked straight towards his house, ignoring Kyousuke's repeated assurances that he didn't need her help.

"Ruri, it's fine! I've got everything under control!" protested Kyousuke as Kuroneko continued on to the steps of the Kousaka house. "Come on, Ruri! It's all taken care of. I promise!"

Kuroneko opened the door. Standing at the doorway was Ayase, dressed in a translucent pink tank top and white capris. She slunk towards Kyousuke seductively and made out with him in front of Kuroneko. She gently pawed at him as she licked him on the side of his cheek.

"What the hell was that, Kyousuke?" moaned Ayase, ignoring Kuroneko. "I waited for you for almost half an hour! You never came home!"

Kuroneko cleared her throat very loudly. "You're Aragaki, I presume?"

"Why, yes! And who might you be?" said Ayase with a smile.

"My name is Ruri Goko. I'm Kyousuke's girlfriend."

"W-What? Girlfriend?"

"Let me repeat myself. I'm Kyousuke's girlfriend. As in, I'm Kyousuke's girlfriend, not you. Let's make that clear. I have an actual relationship with him. You, on the other hand, tied my boyfriend up and used him as your personal sex toy. There is a difference."

"I…I…" Ayase was taken back by this girl's huffy attitude, not sure what was going on.

"You're being a nuisance. Kyousuke doesn't want you here. I don't want you here. Please leave immediately. You're trespassing."

"Kyousuke! Who the hell is this…this bitch?"

"She's my girlfriend, Ayase." Kyousuke bowed his head weakly, not daring to say more.

Ayase, taken aback with the abrupt turn of events, stared up with tears flooding her eyes. Kyousuke stood stalwart and unbending with a look that told Ayase to leave immediately. She began to crumple at the doorway, sobbing. Ayase stomped out as she thrust a familiar looking book back to Kyousuke. It was the Maschera manga Ayase had borrowed a few days earlier. Kyousuke set it aside as he watched Ayase leave. Her next words were a warning of things to come.

"You'll regret this, Kyousuke Kousaka! You will! I promise it!"

Kyousuke and Kuroneko watched Ayase run off. Kuroneko turned to Kyousuke. "Kirino said you couldn't break her heart. She never said I couldn't."

"How'd you know she'd be here?"

"What? I didn't know that. I wanted to come home with you so I could do this."

With a playful giggle, she stood up on her tip-toes to kiss Kyousuke. Kyousuke felt her push him back, and he stumbled backwards until he fell on the stairs. He lay there as the two of them began making out on the lower steps of the stairs.

"Kuroneko!" exclaimed Kirino suddenly. "If you're going to do that, do it in his room!"

...

Ayase limped home weakly, with the very recent turn of events fresh in Ayase's mind. The cat-eared freak had pushed her out like that, and Kyousuke had stood by complacently.

"That two-timing asshole..." muttered Ayase.

She walked further, her countenance growing darker with each step.

"Of course," added Ayase. "What else should I expect...from a eroge-playing, sister-loving pervert!"

Ayase raised her head, her eyes blazing with a familiar dangerous blue, her mouth twisted in a delusional smile.

With a corrosive, flat voice, she added, with a flick of her fingers. "I really must save Kirino from this sorry excuse for a brother...and his bitch of a girlfriend!"