Heart of the Infiltrators

(Senran Kagura x Male Reader)

Chapter 63: Anticipation

May 5 – "Certain things are not so simply ignored until they are over with…"

While Kiriya was taking rapid small bites from his slice of cake, Ikaruga narrowed her eyes on the three living disruptions who were idly standing in the middle of the decorated Hanzō Academy classroom. It was extremely fortunate that Hibari and Yagyū were carrying on with their usual demeanors and antics, lest the instructor would have found his three remaining students staring blankly into space while envisioning something that was far away from their line of sight.

Of course, he still noticed their distracted expressions but it was just the fact that it wasn't so blatant or urgent that he felt the need to intervene. Provided that the matter was as inconsequential as he anticipated it to be, Kiriya believed that whatever it was would be handled with time. In addition to that, he only had one day a year to let himself be consumed by a vice for sweets and, by the look of the several colors within, Asuka and Hibari had gone all-out late into the night to make sure that it held his favorite freshly baked texture, a warm and soothing temperature, and the standard thirteen perfectly balanced flavors that he lived for. If there was anyone in the world who would blame him for putting off a small amount of responsibility, he'd tell them that they didn't know the taste of heaven and turn his back to them.

On the other hand, Ikaruga was not so easily deterred. Three of her friends' faces had the same red gleam and they were far more silent than they ever were. If it were just Katsuragi and Ayame, the woman would simply expect that they exchanged jokes that were much more dirty than usual again and that they were just trying to suppress their laughs. But Asuka was also standing with them, smiling forcibly to try and match the girls' blank grins while her eyes darted back and forth. No, there was certainly something much larger going on.

So, approaching them when Hibari initiated another talk about Kiriya's birthday cake while Yagyū balanced a balloon on top of her head, Ikaruga zipped toward the three and quickly asked, "What's going on with all of you?"

Asuka jumped in surprise before waving her hands in as dismissive a manner as she could muster, "We're fine…! All's good…!"

On the other hand, Katsuragi was much more honest as she clapped a hand to Asuka's back, "Something wonderful happened-, will happen," before turning her head off to the side, "though I'm sure you'd kill us if we told you."

Ayame spoke frankly with a cheerful smile, "I want to tell her."

Katsuragi immediately stared at her with sharp eyes, "Don't."

"But I want to."

"Would you like to die when you're so close to celebrating your birthday?"

"You're saying that I should tell her after?"

"If I promised that we're doing everything we can for your party, would you not tell her at all?"

"I might, provided you hear out a few ideas I had for the school store?"

"You're back to running the store-, ah! No questions. You have a deal."

Ikaruga watched the entire exchange with a steadily intensifying glare that forced Asuka to start her retreat. But, before the girl could take even a single step in the opposite direction, her senior gently gripped the top of her head and asked, "What have the lot of you gotten into?"

Asuka stood frozen for a second, doing her utmost to keep a smile on her face, before it fell away with a sudden fit of shivers. She then clapped her hands together as she faced Ikaruga and stated, "If I promise that it isn't illegal, would you please let us off without asking this one time…!?"

The older shinobi pressed her face closer as she began to consider the prospect of retrieving her nodachi, "You three are up to something…" before her eyes began to glow intensely, "…and I don't believe it's anything innocent in nature…"

Within a second of her getting combative, Kiriya flicked a plastic fork Ikaruga's way and watched as it bounced off the side of her head. She stood frozen in confusion for a second before turning her gaze to the man, whose cheeks were as puffed out as a chipmunk's as he continued to eat. His expression lacked seriousness but the message was still delivered and she immediately calmed herself down. Asuka, on the other hand, was crumbling beneath the pressure and sputtered quietly, "You're going to kill us…! You really are going to kill us if we tell you…!"

Ikaruga, taking on a different strategy, put on a sweet and motherly smile as she spoke in a way that was equal to a feather's soft touch, "Asuka, never would I ever hurt you or anyone else. If you made a mistake, I promise that I won't be angry. Please, could you tell me so that I can help you?"

Asuka's face froze as she processed the sudden change of tone in her friend's expression and voice. She then tilted her head and asked, "But, you beat everyone up that one time when you went on a spree to correct things that went against school rules… Or was it if you thought that they were too indecent…?"

Maintaining her expression, Ikaruga nodded her head and spoke gently, "I did that, I can't deny. But I've changed and matured so that I could confront these kinds of problems much more peacefully. I've taught myself patience, practicing by simply cleaning up the magazines in Katsuragi's room rather than yelling at her about them."

The blonde straightened herself and uttered under her breath, "I need a better lock on my door," before shrugging with a sigh, "It's fortunate that you don't expect me to go fishing through the trash for them…"

In the meantime, Asuka began to thoughtfully contemplate the prospect of sharing her plans for Saturday with Ikaruga. But as a recent memory struck her right in the forehead, Asuka suddenly covered her head and let out a breathless cry. She then looked up to her senior and murmured, "No…! If you were angry with about the arrangement of my relationship, then you'll be even angrier about this…!"

Upon hearing the mention of something that Ikaruga still silently deemed extremely inappropriate, she broke her soft exterior and hissed quietly, "How much angrier will I be…?"

"Tenfold."

"Tenfold…?"

Ayame raised a finger and chipped in, "More like twentyfold."

"Twentyfold!?"

Katsuragi then smiled and shrugged, "Actually, I'd say the best way to word it is that you'd probably dwarf the horrors of nuclear war if the power of your anger could be harnessed… if your past extremes are anything to go by…"

As Ikaruga grinded her teeth in anticipation of the hidden thing that could cause her so much grief, Ayame patted the blonde's shoulders and asked, "That last example seemed pretty intense. Are you sure that's accurate?"

"Of course," came the nonchalant reply, "We're talking about the same girl who dueled me until my clothes were ripped apart because my skirt was too short. Who knows how she'll react to-, Whoa, I almost said something."

"Oh, I remember that. Yeah, nuclear warfare isn't a bad comparison."

An idea suddenly popped into Ikaruga's head and she menacingly straightened herself as she cracked her knuckles. Somewhere in the depths of Hell, fire began to surge up to the rocky skies as the girl then asked in a low and demonic voice, "You didn't…"

Asuka, who was at the center of the blue glow coming from the shinobi's eyes, piped up, "What…?"

Then, before the question could be fully asked, Kiriya made himself into an extinguisher of hellfire and harshly rebuked with a mouthful of cake, "Gir's, 'o figh'ing!"

Ikaruga immediately calmed herself and bowed her head in apology, "I'm sorry," as she lamented the trouble that she almost caused on her teacher's birthday. She then faced Asuka in a much more reasonably stern manner and asked, "You didn't forget to mail Kafuru's card, did you? I won't lie, I'll be extremely upset with you if that's the case. Especially since she and her sisters have been having such a rough time as of late."

Asuka let out a sigh of relief and immediately shook her head, "Of course not, I mailed that this morning."

"Thank goodness…" sighed Ikaruga as a wave of relief went through her. Thoroughly exhausted by her expectations of what she thought would be a horrible failure or crime, the girl waved her hand and said, "Well, if it is still something that would still make me angry, I'll hold off until another day to ask you about it. For now, I'm just going to be glad that it isn't the thing that would make me the most angry right now." She gestured her hand to Asuka and bade her to follow after her, "C'mon. Let's celebrate for now."

The brunette let out a breath of relief before following after the girl, catching Katsuragi and Ayame with her eye as they stuck their thumbs into the air with immense pride for her resolve. Still, Asuka didn't feel terribly good about holding back from Ikaruga, even if it wasn't any of the girl's business. She wanted to hype herself up and mentally prepare for Saturday with the encouragement of her friends. Instead, she knew that word would get around if anyone outside her circle of romance knew the deed she was anticipating. So, while she was still trying to decide if she was excited or nervous about it, Asuka remained quiet and wondered if the young man was in a similar state.

At the same time, the final bell at Wakariyasui rang and the young man tried to force himself into getting the help that he felt was needed. But as his voice got caught in his throat behind a stare that could not be read by anyone who didn't know him intimately, he could only watch as Takatsukasa began to leave the classroom. The student did spot the smaller boy's stares but, fearing the connections that he had and mistaking the stare as one of intimidation, he simply shook his head and fled the vicinity.

With his objective failed, the young man struck a fist into his palm as he uttered with all of his frustration hidden behind a frighteningly unexpressive mask stitched into his face, "Damn." Falling back onto his backup plan for the day, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found Yomi and gave her a call.

May 6 – "…but, provided there's either some context or information behind it, silence does not always need to be distressing."

After a couple of days of Homura getting even more intense during their spars, most of the renegades were content to relax in their cave all through the evening. Even as their leader was doing crunches in the corner and muttering to herself in a mix of fright and excitement, their curiosity was almost entirely outweighed by their desire to not provoke her into another unwanted duel. In fact, if it were not for the interesting event from the previous night, Yomi wouldn't have found herself turning to Homura from her chair to ask, "Is there some kind of argument going on between everyone?"

The tanned shinobi grunted, "Nope," as she pulled her body up for another crunch.

"Ah," murmured Yomi as she prodded the ends of her fingers together, "well, has anything interesting been going on?"

"Nope."

"Really?" asked the blonde with a doubtful expression as she finally added some weight to her tone and stated, "Well, I'm only asking because Ikaruga gave me a call yesterday evening and asked if you were behaving strangely… that and because I was later called over to your boyfriend's place to give his hair some quick touchups."

Upon hearing the last bit of the sentence, Homura briefly stuttered in her exercise before sitting straight up and asking with a glow to her eyes, "You talked to him? How is he?" Before an answer could be received, the girl quickly crossed her arms and then stated, "No, I should be asking if he seemed nervous or excited… Or was he unwell?"

"I only gave his hair some cleaning, not even a full haircut," stated Yomi frankly with her hands raised into the air to push back against her friend's questions, "I tried to talk with him but he kept drifting off into space while keeping his answers short. So, I evened his hairline, offered to give him a full cut a different time, he accepted, and I made my way back home with some ramen and juice boxes for the trouble."

Sipping on one of the said beverages as the girl spoke, Mirai picked up her head from the couch and murmured blankly, "Oh, I was wondering where these came from…"

At the same time, Homura stood up and stepped out of her corner to approach Yomi, "He didn't say anything else? At all?"

"Nope," answered the blonde with a shake of her head, "He had a complete poker face, one that was more unreadable than usual, and he wouldn't respond with much detail to any questions." When Homura slumped her shoulders down in disappointment and began mope, the girl continued, "Are you guys in a fight?"

Desperate for some advice to go on, the tanned shinobi shrugged, "I don't think so," before she turned her head away shamefully, "but I'm a bit afraid that I may have pushed him too far."

"How's that?" asked Haruka as she made her way from the sleeping area, having just woken up from a midday nap as she stretched her arms up tiredly.

Not ready at all to give any details about what she'd been plotting for nearly two weeks, Homura sucked in her lips and quickly turned away, "Actually, I shouldn't trouble any of you. My mistake."

"Well, you've already started to trouble us," fired back Mirai as she set down her juice box and sat up with concern hidden behind an expression of annoyance, "You might as well make it worth something and just tell us."

"No, no…" urged Homura as she made her way toward the cave's exit, "I think I'm going to go outside and chop some firewood…"

Hikage called all the way from her sleeping bag, "You spent all of last night doing that. We have enough to last us until winter."

"I'm cutting some for winter then…"

"We're in the middle of spring," came a confused reply.

Homura pulled her face into a deep frown before turning back and ordering, "Shut up and go back to whatever you were doing."

A faint, "Alright," could be heard.

"Homura," murmured Yomi as she approached her leader from behind to slowly and gently grip her arm, "Just be honest with us on this. Is everything alright?" When an immediate answer didn't come, she pressed further, "Do you need any help?"

"No, seriously," grunted Mirai as she hopped off the couch and also began to advance, "you guys aren't fighting or anything, right?"

Homura stared at the two for a moment before turning her gaze to Haruka, whom she spotted an honest look of concern from. Feeling a wave of guilt for hiding away from her closest friends, she felt her face fall lightly as she played with her fingers and clicked her tongue silently. Then a thought passed through Homura and her expression warmed, bidding a hand to rise up and give an affirming squeeze to Yomi's wrist. Putting on the cheekiest grin that she could, the girl explained, "I can't go into it now but, once the act is over and I have nothing else to worry about, we can celebrate together… Or, at least, we can give a few cheers before you guys beat me for worrying you in the first place."

Yomi tilted her head back curiously and asked with a small crack to her voice, "Is it… really nothing to be worried about?"

"No, I'm probably overthinking things," said Homura before she stuck up her thumb, "I'll be riled up for a few days but the situation isn't so complicated that it isn't just going to work out in the end."

Mirai slumped back onto the couch and muttered, "Are you going to give us details or are you just going to keep throwing the fact that we know nothing into our faces?"

"In time, Sweetie-Pie Mirai," teased Homura with a wave as she continued toward the exit of the cave. Yomi turned back to Haruka, who's expression had turned to be as relaxed as it usually was, and then back to Mirai, who was grumbling about the small nickname that she dreaded to hear. Then, as a sudden crack of thunder echoed from outside, Homura came marching back in with a face full of embarrassment as she quietly said, "I forgot that another storm was hitting us."

Meanwhile, caught between two massive piles of books in the middle of the city library, the young man read the cover of a mystically thin tome in his hands, "How to Ask Stupid Questions One-oh-One…" before popping it open. He looked at all of the enchanting engravings and the wonderous glazes of painted imagery. His eyes opened wide and his jaw began to slacken as the book in his very hands began to glow with the magic that it had to offer.

After he was done glamorizing the book and brought a halt to his imagination, the young man then calmly flipped through the children's picture book and shrugged, "This offers me nothing…" as he set it aside, shrugged, "…though it's thematic intentions certainly resonate with-," before promptly slapping himself in the face, "What the hell am I doing…?" Without another word, he stood up and asked to borrow a cart so that he could return the massive number of books that he'd collected.

The librarians were very worried for him and whatever dilemma he was facing but the young man believed that he'd just have to force out the first few words that he had for Takatsukasa and then wing it from there.

May 7 – "Of course, you should be concerned if someone's behavior turns erratic…"

Glancing left and right to make sure that the hallway was clear of anyone who could potentially interfere, Yozakura nodded to Shiki and Minori before tucking her body into a ball and rolling her way forward to Yumi's bedroom door. The latter two sisters flanked her sides and held up their fists combatively before flattening themselves against the wall. Upon seeing that they were as prepared as they could be, Yozakura nodded to the two of them and then proceeded to grip the door handle to slide it open. Of course, having already anticipated what would be a follow-up intrusion after Murakumo's attempt to break in earlier, Yumi was already waiting as the door was slammed open. The three younger girls stared silently as her mouth was pulled into a tight grimace while her eyes sharpened into daggers.

Hoping to lighten her punishment, Minori immediately pointed to Yozakura and uttered, "She suggested we do it."

Right after, the blue-haired girl pointed to Shiki as she cried, "She's the one who goaded me into it! She kept taunting and daring me!"

The blonde recoiled and her voice cracked in fear as she hugged herself, "…Why isn't Murakumo here so that I can blame her…!"

Seeing their frightened looks, Yumi exasperatedly closed her eyes and asked, "Have I not told you all that I'm studying in here?"

Yozakura responded by tilting her head and cautiously asking, "But you've never told us what you're studying. As far as we can see, you've only been locking yourself in there since Monday night…"

"Plus, how can you be studying?" questioned Minori as she butted her body in-between the two girls. She then pointed into the room, "All of the lights are off and all I can see is your phone glowing in the corner."

Seeing as everyone else was already putting their necks forward, Shiki took a moment to debate if she wanted to press for details before resigning herself to fate and asking, "Not to mention, there are too many suspicious things going on all at once." She raised one finger, "You've been locking yourself in your room," then another, "your boyfriend texted everyone that he's only fixing emergency distortions for the rest of this week so that he can do some work," then another, "Ikaruga said that Asuka, Ayame, and Katsuragi are hiding something," another, "then there's the radio silence at Hebijo," and then her thumb, "and then there's how excitable Homura has been over the phone."

Having taken the entire barrage in stride, Yumi stared at Shiki blankly before uttering, "While your suspicions may seem sound, all information pertaining to the relationship to which I am involved is classified. If you wish to appeal this process, please stand before the committee and make your case."

Overwhelmed by the wordy counter-attack, Shiki stammered for a second, "What-, what legal mumbo-jumbo-, hold on," before she caught herself and asked, "Who's this committee-, what committee!?"

"If you are unwilling to appeal," said Yumi as she started to close the door, "then I am unable to help you."

Sticking her foot into the doorway, Yozakura quickly asked, "Wait! Wait for a second! Could you, at the very least, explain why Murakumo is being so silent!? She said she broke into your room and saw something she didn't need to see!? What's going on!?"

In response, Yumi used her own foot to push Yozakura's away as she stated with finality, "…Clas-si-fied in-for-ma-tion…" and slammed the door closed. A few seconds later, the sound of a block of wood echoed from the floor on the opposite side. When Shiki moved to try and slide the door open again, she found that it was jammed closed.

While her other two sisters began to yap mindlessly for Yumi to come out, Minori gripped her pigtails and let out a long whine, "I am so confused…!"

Just as that was happening, Takatsukasa stepped into an alleyway he was directed to by the note in his hand while rain pelted him from above. His face was tight and looked as though it wanted to be brave but, in reality, he was truly frightened by the threat that he faced. He looked down to the note once more, read the memorized line aloud, "Unless you want your relationship to be made publicized… you'll meet me…" and let out a long sigh.

Then, stepping out into what light there was with an umbrella covering himself, the young man made himself known by speaking in a low and threatening voice, "There are many things I could use to threaten you…" Upon hearing these words, Takatsukasa straightened himself and summoned what courage he could. Before the taller student could speak, the young man started to continue, "My connections, your relationship, my own personal power-, wait," before cutting himself off and blinking. He then pointed and asked, "You realize it's raining, right? Where's your umbrella?"

Not expecting anything more than a threat, Takatsukasa scratched the back of his head with a grunt before explaining, "I… left it at home today…"

"Oh-, hn… crap, I already don't feel good about myself in doing this," whispered the young man to himself before he offered his umbrella forward, "Here, use this."

Confused about whether he was being threatened or at the center of a strange charity drive, Takatsukasa mumbled, "…Well… thanks, I suppose…?"

"No problem," said the young man before he cleared his throat and started again, "There are many things I could use to threaten you… My connections, your relationship, my own personal-," before he faltered and slumped himself over, "I can't do this. Blackmail is too dirty." Falling back onto his last resort, the young man then clapped his hands and stated in a much more clear and frank voice, "Listen. Do you like noodles? I have noodles."

Completely unaware of the sudden turn the exchange had taken, Takatsukasa could only stammer, "Wait-, hold-, noodles…?"

"I have a lot of noodles," stated the young man as he clapped his hands together, "There was a sale and, fearing my rumbly stomach, I bought a ton. A great number of noodles. Enough noodles to build a brand-new Mount Fuji."

"What…"

"Okay, I lied!" cried the young man as he gripped the side of his head, "It's a single refrigerator full! But you can have it all if you help me!" Before Takatsukasa could even get a word out, the boy crumbled on top of himself and sputtered, "No, actually… don't take it all. I won't be able to eat-, you can have some noodles and all of the juice boxes I have on backup. I can just drink water…" Upon falling to his knees, the young man clasped his hands together and pleaded, "But, either way, I need your help! Please, I'm desperate!"

Completely speechless in seeing the comical breakdown of a usually collected individual, Takatsukasa sealed his lips and tried to think about what would be a reasonable response. He scratched his head, leaned his body back and forth, and even gestured his hands around a few times to communicate his feelings. Unfortunately, he could not bring himself to say anything at all.

Assuming the worst, the young man sucked in a breath and gave himself gentle slaps to both sides of his face. He then stood back onto his feet and began to walk past Takatsukasa, "Well, it's been a busy day and there's still more to do at home. See you later."

Unwilling to let his curiosity go, the larger student quickly gathered as many words as he could and asked, "…What… has you like this…?"

Sensing some form of respite creeping around the corner, the young man's eyes beamed with hope as he clasped his hands again and stated, "I've found myself in a situation unlike any other. I've tried the internet for advice but I keep getting laughed away. I've studied what I could but I need to hear it from someone who's had some kind of proper experience…" He then sighed as he uttered, "…and, if I heard Miss Osatani correctly in the cinema… I know you have experience…"

Suddenly wondering if he actually wanted to know what he was going to be asked about, Takatsukasa took a step away and uttered, "I'm not following…"

Taking a long breath, the young man fell onto his knees and pleaded as he rested his head against the rainy ground, "Please, o wise and unmatchable teenager who has gotten through a sexual situation that most others only fantasize about," before grinding it down even further until his forehead was covered with dirt, "teach me how to properly pleasure women…"

Already disassociating the reality that he was hearing, Takatsukasa immediately spit a laugh off to the side as he clapped his hands together, "Well, I'm outta here."

"I beg you!" cried the young man as he refused to raise his head, "I am being wholeheartedly serious when I make this request!"

Walking out of the alley with a nonchalant expression, Takatsukasa offered a wave and retorted, "That is, by default, not a wholeheartedly serious request. Good day. Don't mess with me again."

Deflated and unsure of where to turn, the young man simply continued to rest against the ground as he wondered why there was any expectation that his fellow student would oblige him. After all, Takatsukasa was a normal person who didn't have true experience in the wild craze that was the underworld of shinobi and infiltrators, where words and actions that came in from left field were the norm. Expecting him to accept a request like that was akin to expecting a buffalo to fly over from the United States to divebomb a karaoke club because it could somehow see the frustratingly vibrant colors from afar.

"You are actually being serious, aren't you?" came Takatsukasa's voice as he peaked from around the alley's corner. He stared at the smaller boy's form on the ground with narrowed eyes as he tried to manifest some kind of understanding.

"I am, in fact, being serious," responded the young man, his head still buried in the ground.

Blowing a breath of air out of his mouth, Takatsukasa first approached and reached down to pick the boy up by his collar, "First," before setting him down and offering back the umbrella, "this is yours. I almost took it with me, didn't want to take it with me, and I now give it back to you." He then gestured a hand off to the side, "Next thing, and probably most important for you, is that you're worrying too much about your… sexual endeavors." Putting on a somewhat cheery face, which made him look more frightening than not, he then awkwardly elbowed the smaller boy and said, "When you do the deed, you and your girlfriend will need to experiment together." He then clicked a finger and said, "Look… here's what you can do… For as long as she's comfortable, just touch, rub, and work. You'll find something, you'll know she likes it, and you just have to keep doing that."

Sniffing from the cold of the rain, the young man held up his umbrella and glanced off to the side, "Well, it's not just a she…"

Blinking a few times in confusion, Takatsukasa stuttered a few times before shrugging, "Well, I'm sure the same rules apply. If it's a he, you just touch, rub, and work-," before he was cut off.

"I meant they!" cried the young man with a crack in his voice, "There's multiple women! Five of them! Maybe seven if everyone else invites two others in!" Upon hearing that, Takatsukasa's skin drained of all color. Suspecting the next question to come out of the student's mouth, the young man quickly added, "Yes, I'm being serious! Serious to the extreme," before clapping his hands with every word, "and – I – am – in – need – of – help!"

In truth, Takatsukasa didn't need further convincing. The only thing he was wondering was how someone as plain-looking as the young man could be so attractive to five or seven women, enough so to commence such an activity as a group. Still, figuring there were strange circumstances beyond his understanding, the larger boy quickly raised up both of his palms to say, "Holy shit," and clapping them together, "I'm busy tonight and I have a date tomorrow. When is this orgy of yours taking place?"

"Saturday," answered the young man.

"Holy shit," Takatsukasa said again before he quickly continued, "I'll move my date and share everything I know tomorrow right after school. Bring nail clippers."

Before the young man could ask a question, he instead found himself repeating, "Nail clippers?"

This was met with Takatsukasa's nearly roaring back, "Nail clippers!"

"Nail clippers!" fired the young man, fearing for his physical wellbeing as his previous question came to mind. Just as his newfound mentor was about to walk away, he quickly asked, "Wait, why are you so enthusiastic in helping me all of a sudden?"

As though he were experiencing a horrifying flashback to a war that had passed ages ago, Takatsukasa froze on the spot and stared off into space. He then turned around and said in a heavy voice that was laden with indiscernible trauma, "I know the terror of embarrassing myself in an intimate escapade… and I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy…" His voice was briefly hopeful and inspiring, "I am so lucky that the woman I now love was willing to be patient… that she was willing to teach me…" before it turned low and bitter, "…but the world is full of less wonderful people… and if you should so be mocked and face the horrors of someone pointing at you and laughing at your performance… you may never look at a woman the same way again…"

"That was awfully specific…" muttered the young man, unsure about the several conflicting feelings in his head and chest.

"Indeed, it was…" said Takatsukasa as he balled up a hand, "…while I have no regrets in meeting Tanaka… I know it is only because I can no longer stand to look at a woman my own age with the same temptations…" He then turned around and gave a firm nod with a dead-serious face, "I now live for older women… and it is all because of my own horrible experience some time ago, which I now may be able to spare you from."

The young man found himself wishing aloud, "I miss the time when I could regard you as a normal person…" as he began to walk on his way home, wondering when he would fully succumb to the madness that seemed to infect everyone he ever associated with. Then, upon remembering his initial pleads for help earlier, he realized that it was already too late and that he was already blooming his own form of crazy.

May 8 – "…but do not think that any interference beyond checking in and offering comfort is necessary."

Humble party poppers launched confetti within a kitchen at Hanzō Academy as Ayame struggled to blow out the last candle on her cake while the shinobi of every other school surrounded her cheerily. Her initial attempt was undoubtably a great gust so her expression was confused with the remaining candle before she shrugged it off. Ayame sucked in another breath of air and blew it out again, watching with her own two eyes as the flame was finally extinguished. But just as she began to smile victoriously, the candle was ignited again and Katsuragi's laughs could be heard from behind as her trick came to fruition. Of course, Ayame retaliated by plucking the wax stick and flicking it over the blonde's head and towards the sink with an audible, "Ha!" But through a strange twist of physics, the candle bounced just off the edge of the counter and fell so that the tiny flame would collide with the ends of Katsuragi's hair, who was fortunate enough to take notice and let out a yell stuck between concerned and amused.

As the small flame that began to build on the ends of the girl's hair were quickly extinguished and Shiki dashed over to fix what bits of the mane were singed, Murasaki broke away from the group so that she could sit on a couch in the other room, which happened to be the lounge. At the very moment she took a seat, a loud gust of breath echoed from her throat as she quickly murmured, "Too many people…"

Having quickly taken notice of her absence, Miyabi stood up and followed after the girl just as Imu nearly did the same. When she rounded the corner and sat on the couch next to her comrade, she asked, "A break from the socializing?"

"Uh-huh…" murmured Murasaki as she took another breath and shook her head, "As… fine as it is to be here… I'd rather be in my bed-, Imu's staring at us again."

Miyabi leaned her head around the corner and looked to the older sister, who remained seated at the table and twisted her eyes away before contact could be made. Feeling a sense of guilt for a reason that she couldn't name, the woman then turned her head back to Murasaki and shrugged her shoulders, "She's been doing that all week…" before straightening herself slightly, "You wouldn't happen to know why, would you?"

"I think I was a bit too mean to her," uttered the purple-haired girl as she slightly turned away, "I… asked her something on Tuesday that may have been too much…"

"Oh," grunted Miyabi as she scratched the side of her head, "so, you two are fighting then? Well, I hope it works out-," before she was cut off.

Murasaki's voice was low as she said, "I asked her if there was anything about… it that I should be aware of…"

Miyabi blinked in confusion one and twice before her eyes flashed with recognition. After whipping her head back and forth to make sure that no one had heard the insinuation, she quietly hissed, "Do not mention it here…! We don't need everyone here knowing-," before another thought crossed her mind, "Wait, you told Imu…!?"

"It was mostly out of spite," murmured Murasaki heavily as she shrunk her head down and glanced toward the entrance to the kitchen, "She was hounding me about something-, she was just getting me out of bed for the morning drills… and I was still a bit angry at her after our last argument." The girl curled up her legs onto the couch and hugged them as closely as she could before stating, "So… in the heat of the moment, as a kind of out-of-nowhere question… I let her to know what we had planned for tomorrow… and asked if there was anything that I should be aware of." Murasaki then sighed and added, "She didn't really say anything and just walked away…"

"Ah, so that might explain why she's been so quiet," whispered Miyabi as she poked at her own head for a few seconds before confusedly asking, "though that can't just be it. I know she's protective of you but I don't see why us… doing that would upset her." She fiddled her fingers in the air, "No, there must be something else to it. There's been enough tension that even Ryōbi and Ryōna have mostly been sticking to themselves."

Sighing loudly as her leader remained dense to Imu's feelings, Murasaki simply said, "I'm sure you'll find out in time… but I'd rather drop it for now… It's all too stressful, especially with tomorrow coming in fast…"

"I suppose so…" murmured Miyabi as she stood up and placed herself in the kitchen entranceway to watch the surrounding scene. Katsuragi was laughing at herself and at the consequences her small prank had caused while Ayame was apologizing profusely for setting her hair on fire. In the end, the damage was minimal with only about two centimeters of hair needing to be cut off so that it could even out and the blonde seemed completely undeterred from her goal to keep the party as fun as possible. So, after giving her hands a clap of anticipation, Katsuragi then asked about which of two pinatas should be put up: the one filled with candy, which received a loud cheer of encouragement from Hibari, Minori, and Mirai, or the one filled with dirty magazines that the blonde recovered from Ikaruga that morning. Unfortunately, the latter pinata was removed in the brief second that everyone wasn't looking and the candy-filled one would be their only option. Shortly after the decision was made, Ikaruga was looking very proud of herself.

So, as a frilly wildcat made of cardboard was raised into the air over the space where the kitchen table was moved from and a savage-looking Ayame was preparing to break it apart, Miyabi found her thoughts turning to the young man. She then faced Murasaki and said, "I have to say, I'm disappointed he didn't show up…" before shrugging her head toward the table designated for presents, "…though… I suppose he sent one hell of a card…"

Murasaki raised her head slightly and snorted at the snarky bit of handmade craftsmanship that the young man had apparently left in the Hanzō Academy mailroom that morning. It was a pop-up card that read, "Open this if you're awesome (Ayame only – sorry, everyone else)" on the front and, when opened, a small drawn Ayame was popping out of a cake while the bottom said, "Congratulations, you confirmed what everyone else already knew. Happy birthday! (Also, my money was taken by a fifty-meter sea monster posing as a girl scout – I don't know how I keep falling for that one – so your actual present will have to wait). PS – If you can read this, you probably don't need glasses (though, check with an optometrist, optician, or ophth – I won't spell that last one. They can help). PSS – No, your eyes are probably good. Again, happy birthday."

Remembering Ayame's chuckles as she continued to read on and Katsuragi's breathless laughter, Murasaki couldn't help but be brought back to that moment and let out another quiet snort. Her glee at imagining the young man's thought process while putting on a perfectly rational and reasonable front was simply funny to her and she couldn't help but laugh. Then her thought bubble was popped when Miyabi quietly asked, "So, thinking about it now, you'll actually be joining us all tomorrow…?"

Slumping her head forward in hopes that she could have escaped her thoughts for a while longer, Murasaki shook and muttered, "I still don't know…"

Knowing that the deadline for the decision was coming up, Miyabi didn't want to let it go so simply, "You realize -," but she was cut off.

"Nope."

"Murasaki…"

"No."

She tried a few times more, "Could you-," with the same result.

"Nope, nope. I don't want to talk about it. All done," said Murasaki as she plugged her ears with her fingers, "I don't know now, I don't wanna know now, and I'll figure it out as it comes. Nope. Next topic."

In a different part of the city, the young man was sitting in his nearly vacant classroom after school with an expression that bridged upon awkwardness. His lips were tucked down and his eyes were straight, all as Takatsukasa was very precisely clipping and filing his nails. It wouldn't be terribly strange and there wouldn't be much of a heavy atmosphere for it… that is, if the larger student wasn't constantly throwing the worst kind of questions at him, "So, again, if they get caught in the heat of the moment in the beginning and spread their legs for you… what do you do…?" When the young man didn't answer, Takatsukasa spiked the clippers and file onto the desk and growled, "What – do – you – do…?"

"I avoid insertion and preserve stamina…" responded the boy before he questioned, "Look, do we need to do this here? Isn't there a-, a different space that isn't our school where someone could hear us?"

"Tanaka's in a meeting today," said Takatsukasa as he retrieved his tools again, "and she was more than happy to lock the door so that we could have the privacy to talk about this…" before his voice very suddenly turned passive-aggressive, "…all after she so readily accepted the loss of her date today without any questions…"

The young man bowed his head in surrender and nodded as he spoke stoically, "Right… apologies. Continue the training, I beg you…"

"Actually," started Takatsukasa as he gripped the boy's fist and prodded his fingers, "while I'm working on these two, there's something that you should know. An undefeatable technique that will only assure pleasure for any partner of yours."

"I feel nervous and excited to know this information," said the young man before he took a long breath and blinked, "Tell me."

Takatsukasa then planted his apprentice's hand onto the desk and prodded the thumb, "Either lay this flat or tuck it in, whatever you're more comfortable with…"

"Understood."

He then pointed to the pointer and pinky fingers, "You're going to use these to lock your hand in place. According to Ta-, to the one who taught me this, they'll usually be tucked into the fold where the leg meets the pelvis. Understood?"

"Yes."

With an almost proud smile, the usually stoic Takatsukasa then proceeded to nod and heavily tapped against the young man's middle and ring fingers, "These two-, oh-ho, these two… they've got the most important job. And the best part, there's not much learning needed for it-, aside from finding out what works. Just move them around, find out what's pleasing, keep doing that, and there you go." He then patted the novice's shoulder, "Your partner's will have a good time, you'll have a good time. Hurrah, hurrah. You win."

Moving the two mentioned fingers around in a series of random motions, the young man blinked before shrugging, "Well… that works-, that'll work, I suppose."

"It will," clapped Takatsukasa before he then gripped the boy's wrist again and continued with his clipping and filing, "Alright, next lesson: the usage of the top and bottom of your tongue…"

"Heavens…" remarked the young man under his breath as he shied his head down, "I signed up for this, didn't I…?"

As the day loomed towards the end and the respective activities of everyone involved carried on without distraction, everyone within the relationship couldn't divert their minds from what was going to take place the next day. Barring any potential drama and provided there are none of the mishaps that they all seemed so familiar with, they would all be in a bed of intimacy. However, much they may have tried to learn or study the aspects that would take place, they would still be thrown into a situation without truly knowing what to expect or how it would feel. Beyond that, there still remained the uncertainty of why there was so much initial resistance from the young man, an answer that wasn't even truly figured out by him at that moment.

Still, there was an excitement, even by those who were the most hesitant to take part. What was said to be the ultimate form of connection and vulnerability was right around the corner… and if it was everything that it was talked up to be… there was a very high chance that they would all be walking out even more closer together than any of them ever were.