Heart of the Infiltrators

(Senran Kagura x Male Reader)

Chapter 74: Spinning Preparation

May 18 – "If something painful is going to be inevitable, it would help one's anxiety by focusing less on the misfortune and unfairness and thinking more about how to lessen the impact or, better yet, thinking about the good to come after.

There were two very notable things at the forefront of the young man's mind as he went down the stairway from the entrance of Wakariyasui. The one that stunk more from the back of his head was the fact that he was only a few days away from his trip back to his grandfather's home and Renka's disentanglement. While he was still studying the material in what little spare time the last few days' antics afforded him, the young man was confident enough to believe that completion of the process was a definite. Of course, there was still the fact that he was still not nearly skilled enough to make it as painless as possible. Thus, there was still a large air of dread whenever his mind drifted to the subject.

More prominently at the front of the young man's mind was the lingering pain throbbing from his nethers. While he'd hoped that it would subside just as it had after Murasaki's kick, the pain that Hibari dealt to him only came back with a pulsing vengeance after a night of sleep. As a result, he was left to shimmy his way from the apartment to school, awkwardly shuffled from class to class, and was doing a weird twist of his legs with every step as he went back down the stairs to go home.

Of course, pain aside, there was also the fact that there were others who took exception to his strange maneuvering. Once the young man finally made it to the bottom of the stairs and let out a sigh of relief, he heard some snickering from the top and turned to face the one person he may have dreaded more than Sato.

"Is there a particular reason you're doing a crabwalk or have you finally snapped from having lost your terrorist buddy?" asked Ebi in her annoyingly shrill voice. A pair of her friends were behind her, looking like they would rather be anywhere else than getting involved with whatever drama the girl was picking.

The young man would have none of it, "I actually took a kick to the sack yesterday. It still hurts. Go away."

When the young man turned to continue his trek home, he heard the sound of Ebi's shoes tapping down the stairs along with a few protests of those whom she was accompanying. Before he could turn back around to face her, she was already spouting, "Don't think you can walk away so simply!"

The boy glowered, "Is there a reason you're bothering me so suddenly or are you just in a mood?"

"I'm here," said Ebi before she pointed at him, "because of you!"

There was a brief pause of silence as the two stared at one another. Finally, after letting out a long and despondent exhale, the young man pressed his lips together to make a frustrated sound and asked, "Alright, what'd I do in particular?"

"You got on my nerves!"

"What'd I do to get on your nerves?"

"You're doing that thing that you do!"

"What thing!?"

Clenching her fists in frustration as her friends stood off in the distance and pretended not to know her, Ebi pointed at the young man, "You've been doing that loner thing where you skulk around and about for weeks. You don't take part in clubs, you don't stop to say an-y-thing to an-y-one… You come and go like you're trying to roleplay some wannabe in some tabletop game!"

Narrowing his eyes at the banter and almost considering whether or not he actually came off that way for a second, the young man started to speak meekly, "Well, I've just got stuff to do at home and I don't particularly enjoy-," before he snapped his head up and almost smacked himself. He then pointed at her, "No, I don't need to justify my habits to you! If I wanna go home at the end of the day, I'm gonna go home at the end of the day! And, more importantly, if I don't wanna talk with anyone, I'm not gonna talk with anyone! Bite me!"

"That is the kind of insolent behavior that I'm getting sick of!" roared Ebi, her friends completely absent at that point, before she ordered, "Find something normal and less lonesome to do so you can quit frightening people with those rumors of terrorist association!"

Just as the young man was about to retort, mostly to exclaim his bafflement at her putting stock in those rumors to begin with, a pair of arms suddenly went around his neck from behind and held him protectively. At the same time as the back of his head was buried between a pair of breasts, he heard Yumi's gentle voice tinged with venom ask from beside him, "Is this… lit-tle girl… bothering you?"

The young man and his voice came out almost mute, "…What…? Wait, what the hell is going on…?"

Miyabi's voice came from just above his head, "If she's upsetting you in anyway, we can ea-si-ly handle it."

Noticing the fact that they were imitating Ebi's way of putting emphasis on her words, the young man started to question, "…Why are you guys-, oh," just as he suddenly realized that they intended to mock her. Throw in the fact that he was suddenly in the comfortable position of being stuck between Miyabi's chest and arms and he saw no reason to not go along with their act. So, he nestled himself a bit more backward and spoke in a voice of feigned hurt, "You arrived just in time…! She was being so terribly mean to me…!"

Looking caught between complete and utter surprise at the theatrics, betrayal at the fact that the young man would make himself out to be some defenseless victim, and a subtle jealousy towards the bodies which came to his defense, Ebi's face just kept contorting and twitching into different shapes while any lingering students nearby were caught watching the spectacle.

To his surprise, Ayame's voice spoke from the side, "My, how could she do such a thing? Perhaps it would be best for us to leave her with Lady Kat for a while?"

"Don't be absurd," came the blonde's voice from somewhere near the back of Miyabi, "There'd be no fun in taking on someone who wouldn't even stand a chance of escaping my clutches… especially when she lacks in the same gifts that we do…"

Judging by the look that Ebi threw down to her own chest, he could only imagine that Katsuragi was doing something to flaunt her breasts around. While he wasn't one to advocate the attack of one's personal appearance, he took exception of what was happening through the fact that Ebi had needlessly tried to pick a fight with him and attacked his own habits to begin with. So, feeling like a guarded champion, he waited for the girl's eyes to connect with his again before he put on the smuggest grin that he could put on. With no other words thrown around, the entire group turned around and walked off into the sunset while letting out mocking laughs, "A-ho, ho, ho~!"

Passersby were either extremely confused or jealous of the boy's position while Ebi looked like she just wanted to start stomping the ground with her feet, though she'd have to remove her jaw from the ground first..

In the meantime, once they covered enough distance to find themselves near the train station, the young man could no longer continue his haughty walk any longer and had to stop to breath while his crotch loudly protested against such movement to begin with. Just as Miyabi and Yumi were quickly by his side and asking after him, Ayame and Katsuragi could only bite their teeth together and cringe their heads away in sympathy.

After a few additional seconds, Katsuragi asked, "Still hurting?"

"All day…" murmured the young man as he bent his legs and torso down to hover above the ground, Miyabi still clutched onto him defensively.

Looking back and forth in confusion, Yumi asked, "Wait, what happened?"

Miyabi added immediately after, "What're we missing here?"

Katsuragi spoke frankly and pointed at the young man, "From what Hibari and Yagyū explained, he took a swift kick to the testes yesterday during the correction."

Yumi immediately whipped her head around to the boy, "You didn't mention that in your text!" She then gripped his shoulders and gave him a small shake while Miyabi still held his neck, careful to not be so rough that she would cause any further damage, "All you said was that it was a smooth correction! Nearly flawless! Those were your words!"

The young man answered quietly as the pain started to recede, "…I consider any correction where the shinobi willingly accepts back their aspect to be smooth…"

Patting at Yumi's shoulder to stop her shaking, Miyabi then noted under her breath, "…I suppose that would explain why Asuka and Homura weren't too inclined to join us today, provided the former was informed and also told the latter…"

"Something about Asuka, Homura, and ladders?" asked the young man once he could stand straight again.

Miyabi perked up her head before giving her hand a wave, "Oh, nothing. We invited Asuka and Homura to come and celebrate the correction with us all tonight but they declined, implying that you probably wouldn't be too comfortable with it."

Katsuragi cheerily added off to the side, "And she does mean celebrate by the way you're assuming she means celebrate."

At the same time, Yumi let her head droop down, "Just when we were ready to give a surprise… after all the learning we've been doing under Jasmine too-, well, mostly her texts…" Then with a clap of her hands, she shrugged, "Well, there'll be time to do so before we all leave Friday."

Fearful of whatever it was when she mentioned a surprise, the young man decided to speak honestly, "Well, seeing as I'll be cramming in some last-minute studying for the disentanglement, it'd probably be best to wait until we get back…" Just as Miyabi and Yumi's eyes went wide in shock and their bodies began to shrink miserably, a thought occurred to the boy and he couldn't help but ask, "Wait, what do you mean by we? Do you guys intend to come along?"

"Do – we – in-tend – to – come – a-long?" jeered Katsuragi.

With her lower eyelids rising haughtily, Ayame followed up and locked her eyes on the young man as a hand flapped up to her mouth, "Between you, Renka and her sisters, the urge to supervise interactions between said parties, and the general curiosity of how this would all go down, do you really expect that we wouldn't be there?"

The young man stared expressionlessly for a few seconds as he mulled through his mind before he meekly answered, "I wasn't really expecting anything or thinking about those details…"

Tightening her continuing hold around the young man ever so slightly, Miyabi remarked from behind, "In any instance that either you or we feel we're needed, we'll be there."

Yumi's gentle hand then rubbed along the top of his head, communicating her affection as much as she could, "Always." But just as the young man let out a pleased groan while her fingers combed through his hair, the girl then stared up at Miyabi and declared, "Hold on. This isn't as warm and loving as I want it to be. Let me hold him."

"First come, first serve," declared the woman.

Before the two could start a verbal bout, Katsuragi then shrugged up her shoulders and hands, "Look at you two, fighting over your little kitten." After a few seconds, she then adopted an evil grin and asked, "Miyabi, doesn't me saying that almost remind you of the time that I had him meow for you?"

Yumi stopped and turned her head instantaneously, "He what?" In the meantime, the young man and Miyabi went red in the face before the former turned his head off to the side. Then the woman beamed as her head went back to the past, causing Yumi to stare with her eyes growing more and more intense by the second, "Hold on, is this code for something or are you being literal? Did I miss something spectacular?"

"Spectacularly embarrassing…" uttered the young man.

"Oh, embarrassing? Is that what you're saying?" goaded Katsuragi before she rolled her fingers challengingly, "Knowing how spirited, let's say, you are, I'm amazed you didn't put up a bigger fight back then. Could that be another instance of you enjoying the attention?"

Yumi raised her hands up desperately, "What exactly did I miss?"

The young man instead looked at Katsuragi, "I was still new and acquainting myself with everyone, I was much more open to requests or demands if it meant integration, and I don't want to remember a second of it! It's too painful!"

"Please," begged Yumi, "someone tell me what I missed out on!"

Miyabi was the one who finally took mercy on her, "Katsuragi picked him up from under the arms and made him talk like a cat would."

If everyone else used their imaginations, they could see the three dots blinking over Yumi's head. They then popped away as she turned and stared at the young man, who defensively raised up his hands, "Don't you look at me like that… Don't you look at me like that." When she took a step closer, he felt himself mentally digging in for a battle unlike any other, "No… No. I'm not going to do it. I don't care how much you ask or beg, I'm not doing it. You can stop that menacing approach and you can get that evil look of pure… evil out of your eye. Also, stop staring at me. You haven't blinked since you got this idea in your head. Why aren't you saying anything either!? Hey! Blink! Blink, damn you!"

As Katsuragi looked on from overhead, especially taking notice of the fact that Miyabi was also hovering over the boy's head with her own look of expectation, she then turned to Ayame and said, "Our work is done for the day." After a moment of silence followed by the young man letting out a squawk as Yumi started to press her hands against his cheeks, the blonde then added, "You know, if either Renka or her sisters get violent like we did when we first met him, we could just throw some cat ears on him and pick him up by the back of his collar. Throw in a few lines and they'll probably be going after him as much as these two."

The rest of the night was filled with indescribable chaos that words could do no justice.

May 19 – "If the lesson you're entering is going to be painful, be sure to learn from the past."

Looking over the single leaked picture that Ayame managed to nab and put for sale on her online store, Ryōna shivered brightly and shoved her phone into her sister's face, "Do you think they'd put me in cat ears too! Or, if I rolled onto my back and begged as loud as they could, do you think they'd take me to a photobooth too and put me as low as possible in the photo that I'd practically be out of sight and completely ignored!?"

"Someone as dirty and ugly as you wouldn't be worth the time of day for that kind of thing," hissed Ryōna as she shoved the device away, "Now, quit it. We're in public and I don't need you acting like a bitch in heat."

"Oh~," came a pleased whine from Ryōna, "please, please, please~, tell me more!"

A smack to the back of her head and the emittance of one more moan was enough for the situation to die back down. As the other customers in the fast-food joint that they sat in finally looked away to make what comments they would, Haruka spoke from across the table as she turned over to Yomi, "But, my, isn't it hard to believe he'd somehow go along with a photobooth and cat ears?"

Ryōbi whipped her head around, "It's not a big surprise. If he could do a cringey meow-thing at Katsuragi's insistence to Miyabi once, he could do it again. Change the subject."

In the face of such frustration, Haruka could only gleam, "So testy today."

Hikage spoke from her part of the table, "I suppose it would kind of explain why Homura was so cheery this morning… and why she didn't come straight home after work… She probably wanted to see for herself."

Right next to her, tactically keeping someone between her and Haruka, Mirai glowered down at her food and mumbled, "The fact that all of you are speaking so casually about this makes me think that I'm the only sane person left," before she thumped a hand down to the table, "Is no one disturbed by this? There's a man in cat ears and I'm pretty sure that Miyabi and Yumi started a religion after him… and some of you, here at this very table, are part of it."

As if to emphasize her point, the girl stared across the table at Murasaki, who blinked at the small sign of accusation and turned her eyes away, "I only said that I thought it was cute…"

Imu spoke from beside her sister as she glared at Mirai, "Pipe down already. You're making it out to sound like we're part of that craze."

The smaller girl didn't back down, "No, you'd rather see those ears on Miyabi, wouldn't you?"

To deliver a single warning that would convey the touchiness of that subject, Imu tightened her jaw down and hardened her glare. At the same time, she unknowingly lifted her fist into the underside of the table and caused all of the plates and silverware to clutter. As everyone threw wary glances over to her, Mirai decided to leave the matter and instead went back to eating her burger. The conversation would have died entirely if Yomi didn't ask, "Now… I don't mean to pry, Imu. This is your business… but word has gone around about how you've talked with several people about confessing to Miyabi. But, since your last chat with-, I think that was with Katsuragi… Since then, there's been no word of anything."

Imu desperately wanted to round her glare over to Yomi but, sensing the concerned intentions behind her voice, she could only look and remain silent for a few long seconds. Then, after adjusting her glasses and making sure that her voice would remain steady, she said, "These sorts of matters take time."

"Only because you're making it take so much time," interjected Haruka's playful voice as she pointed into the air, as if to say, "Ah-ha~."

"It's a very delicate matter that has required some thinking," growled Imu as she fought the contortions of her eyes twisting with worry, "In case you haven't noticed, she's in a relationship. Fortunately for me, it's one that would allow for multiple partners but it would still require some maneuvering."

Straightening her head up in surprise, Murasaki turned and asked, "Are you saying you'd actually be okay with sharing Miyabi?" Before she was done even asking the question, the sudden flinch that shook her sister's head was more than answer enough and the girl could only frown.

"Sure."

Yomi didn't catch the movement or the crack in her voice, "Well, it's good that you've brought yourself to accept that. Though, speaking honestly, your next concern will have to be confessing."

"I've been trying," retorted Imu, unable to recover from the newfound worry of Murasaki's question.

"Did it ever get across?"

Imu tightened her lips and shrunk down, "Well, no… though it's not as if my methods have been very direct to begin with."

"I have to hear this," remarked Mirai under her breath as she leaned forward in anticipation.

Too focused on reliving each encounter from the last week alone, Imu didn't hear the girl and instead leaned her head forward into her hands, "See, I tried to go first by leaving a note… but I forgot that Miyabi already has plenty of fans at the academy who do the same thing… and to spare herself the hours that it would take to read each note that is left in her room, she tends to dump them all into the garbage first thing in the morning."

"An unfortunate circumstance," commented Yomi as she nodded her head sympathetically.

"After that," started Imu, "I tried something similar with a box of sweets… but, again, others do the same thing and the contents were just shared with everyone else."

"For whatever they were worth," Ryōbi commented, "they were delicious."

"Then I tried a few strategies online, spelling out short love letters using the atomic numbers from the table of elements and leaving the numbers of particular acts, scenes, and lines from Shakespeare's plays… since, from all I've heard, he's romantic and all…" Imu then laid out her head onto the table, "Unfortunately, I didn't realize that I left no reference to the fact that the numbers were elements, so Miyabi just saw a bunch of random numbers hanging on her door, and I couldn't drop any hints to the particular play that I had in mind… so she looked up the one from Hamlet…"

Hikage, out of instinct and not at all malice, suddenly spoke, "Poor Yorick…"

Yomi turned her head over in shock before throwing out her rebuke, "This is no time for jokes…!"

The green-haired girl could only pause and scratch her cheek, "Sorry, I don't know why I said that… or where I heard it from…"

Ryōna piped up from her seat, "If it makes you feel any better, I thought that the heart was sweet."

Ryōbi immediately swore and struggled to contain a laugh of pure mockery, "Oh hell… that was…" before she opted to try and contain her more jagged words so that she wouldn't find herself beaten to a pulp later, "…probably your most direct attempt…"

A groan rumbled across the table as Imu kept it planted down, "I made a little heart with what was supposed to have my and her face on it… then I started to worry about potential implications and the fact that no one else in her relationship circle was included… so, I was in the process of including everyone there, reluctantly, I admit, and I accidentally squeezed out a bunch of glue that splattered onto my cutout when she surprised me from behind… though, based on the fact that she couldn't recognize anyone else, something tells me that it was an effort doomed to fail to begin with. She also never acknowledged the heart… or, rather, didn't notice…"

Yomi let out a dismayed breath before shaking her head and stating, "You may just have to settle for going at her directly. With words, I mean." In an effort to brighten the ordeal, she shrugged her hands up and said, "But, you know what, that could be your great strength. I mean, your romantic competition is a boy and, as straightforward as he makes himself to be, he must not be as direct with his feelings as Miyabi would like him to be, right? That's how it is on a lot of shows, anyways. So, that would mean you could match his level of talking and the message would get across."

Murasaki was quick to state, "No. While he was a bit slow to catch on at first, he's pretty direct." She then fished out her phone, opened up a messaging app, and put it on display, "He sends texts every morning."

Haruka leaned over and squinted her eyes to read aloud, "I love you. Here's hoping that this Tuesday isn't too rough for either of us. Have a good day-," before she cut herself off, "Yes, he's direct. There's a heart icon in there and a few flashy colors." She then rested her head onto a hand, "And… considering the fact that the message wasn't sent in a group chat, that'd mean he sends personalized texts." She then faced Imu, "I'm afraid you have some more-than-decent competition. Plus, if Miyabi is used to him being so direct about his feelings, that almost guarantees that you will need to do the same."

Imu didn't want to think about what she would have to do. Instead, she continued to rest her head on the table and chose the easy path of pushing the inevitable just a bit further off.

May 20 – "When facing off against agony, whether it be physical, mental, or emotional, there are typically only two options to plan for: get away from the source or press further on until it's cut off."

Still in the process of their shopping for the big trip in a couple of days' time, Minori sat on her knees in a shopping cart as Yozakura placed another item that further buried her. While the spectacle was embarrassing some time ago, especially when she saw the disapproving expressions of passersby, the rest of the Gessen shinobi agreed that it was much better than having to deal with the girl running amok for whatever aisles she had a hankering for. Still, in spite of their efforts, there was still one aisle that always doomed them to battle against her in their own way.

Minori reached out from her spot in the shopping cart and knabbed a box of honey rolls before contently placing them beside her in the cart, smiling and salivating at the thought of munching at the very moment she got home. At the same time, Yozakura counted to herself, "One…"

Shiki popped into the aisle after having gathered the item she was assigned, "Bringing home the bread!" When she received a confused look and a tilted head from Yozakura in response to the exclamation, she kept her brightened expression but awkwardly added, "You know, kind of like how working a job is referred to bringing home the bread." There were a few seconds more of silence before she added as she mindlessly put the bread into the basket, "Except… this is literal…?"

"You really are nervous about the whole traveling thing, aren't you?" asked Yozakura in an earnest tone. When she saw Minori reaching out for chocolate peanut bars, she added under her breath, "Two…"

"No, I'm okay with traveling," stated Shiki as she counted off her fingers, "I love to go to any random place, take what pictures I can, experience whatever can be experienced, and then enjoy whatever can only be enjoyed at that particular place." As her sister continued to stare at her, she then painfully added, "…What I don't enjoy is going to places for the sake of a mission… I mean, at least the Millennium Festival had a beach and PBS had a waterpark vibe to it… But going out to the country for some ordeal caused by Yumi's dude's brother? That totally sucks."

"I won't argue with you on that one," nodded Yozakura before she said with some cheer, "But you can think of it this way. We're going to be seeing Renka, Hanabi, and Kafuru again and, if all goes well, that'll be a fun time. Think of all the stories we've gotten accumulated in the last couple of months-," but then she cut herself off, "Three and that's all," as Minori grabbed a loaf of sugared banana bread.

"Yes," came an unexpectedly droll sound coming around the corner of the aisle, "so much excitement."

Upon turning to find that Yagyū and Hibari were doing their own shopping with Ikaruga in tow, Yozakura offered a relatively unphased wave, "It's good to see the three of you. Are you getting some snacks for the trip too?" before she smacked Minori's hand away from reaching out to a box of minty chocolate rounds.

The senior of the Hanzō trio answered, "We do not know how the food situation will be out there or if there's enough accommodation for over twenty shinobi. It is best to be prepared, especially with Oda's reputation for leaving a want of readiness."

Minori bobbed her head as she remained in the cart, "There's no arguing there," before she then held up a box of sugar tarts, "though we were mostly thinking about the ride up there."

When Hibari took notice of the girl and her position in the makeshift carriage, who just had the sweets plucked out of her hands by Yozakura, and she started to eye the cart that Yagyū was pushing before Ikaruga quickly stated, "Please, don't even consider the idea." Then the woman turned her eyes back on Minori, "In that case, you do know that it is exceptionally rude to eat on train rides?"

"That's in regards to standard commutes," stated Murakumo as she came around the corner, her arms filled to the brim with all sorts of goodies while her mask was sticking up indignantly, "For long journey's, there's no issue." Yozakura moved to block her way and keep the pile of unhealthy additions out but was simply pushed aside as the sweets were discarded into the cart, burying Minori as she let out a barely suppressed squeal of cheer and leaving the other girl to stare frustratedly.

Ikaruga remained focused on what was a more pressing issue for her, "Eating on a train, in any way, is absolutely rude. It also raises many questions. What will you do with your wrappers and waste? Will any crumbs or unintentional messes get on any other passengers? What if an employee steps in to confiscate whatever you are eating?"

Minori was quick to answer with a raised hand, "I pull out another thing and eat that instead."

"And if they confiscate that too?"

"I eat something else."

"What if they confiscate everything on you?"

"They don't have enough space in their arms, pockets, or bags for that."

As the two went back and forth, Yozakura turned to Yagyū and Hibari and asked, "So, how's dating working out for the two of you?"

Hibari started out with a grand smile, enthusiastically making a weird, "Ah~," sound, before she then shrugged and her expression shifted sheepishly, "Speaking honestly, it's about the same as before. Still, we have plenty of fun together."

"It's Heaven on Earth," remarked Yagyū, who covered her mouth to smile.

Shiki bounced her head merrily, "Definitely expected."

"And it's just you three today?" asked Yozakura, keeping the same sentiments that her sister had.

"Yup," answered Hibari, "Asuka and Homura teamed up and went off to Gessen to challenge Yumi at something… I also think that Miyabi was somehow involved."

Shiki's eyes brightened with enlightenment, "Oh, that explains why she was so insistent on not coming today…"

Yagyū finished, "And then Katsuragi is helping Ayame with a sale before closing up shop for the next couple of days."

After a few seconds of thought, Yozakura blinked and stated, "You know, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Ayame is coming, seeing as we're all pretty much an established team… but, especially since we're, at best, just coming to show some support…" Her thoughts around the young man spun in a few circles before she finished, "…I don't know… I guess I didn't really expect her to care enough to come."

"Well, it's not as though she dislikes him," retorted Shiki before she smiled suggestively, "Actually, if nothing else, she was comfortable enough with him to get naked and freaky in the same room."

"Goodness, I didn't need a reminder…"

"Plus, again," said Yagyū as she released her hands from Hibari's head, having successfully covered her ears from the lewd implications, "we're a team. Even if he was the most unremarkable person to her, she'd still come for our sake."

"True and true," remarked Shiki, though the suggestive smile that she had never fell away. After a few seconds, there was a gleam to her eye as she asked, "So, do you suspect that she'll be the next one to fall for him?"

Before an answer could be received, Yozakura groaned audibly, "Please, this joke is wasn't funny the first time… we don't need you joining in…"

"You're talking about the bet that all of the adults made?" asked Yagyū with squinted eyes.

Hibari looked back and forth a few times, "What bet?"

"That you and, maybe, Yagyū would somehow take part in the whole group relationship before the end of this week, next week, or some other time period that I can't remember off the top of my head," said Shiki, ignoring Yozakura as she shook her head in disapproval. Once she was given few seconds to process the statement, Hibari's eyes narrowed and blinked as she sucked her lips in, unsure of what to make of such a suggestion. Pressing on, Shiki then added, "Personally, I'm stuck between two safer options in my opinion. Either Ayame finds something to love about him or Katsuragi will say something to officialize herself into the group, since she's just a casual partner for the moment."

Despite how clearly each of the words were spoken, Hibari was staring off into space and could only give a lackluster reply, "I don't know how to feel about any of this."

Yozakura's gaze gradually turned into judgment, shifting enough weight onto Shiki until her expression started to crack self-consciously. Eventually, the older sister remarked, "You've said too much. Apologize," before giving a mock chop to the top of the girl's head.

"Ah… sorry…"

Once Ikaruga, Minori, and Murakumo finished their verbal bout in a stalemate, both groups would wish one another well before resuming their shopping.

May 21 – "In the heat of trouble, some cling to principle. These principles, depending on the circumstance, will guide you either to a win or loss. At times, it may also just maintain the status quo."

Bruised but narrowly victorious after a long and mighty duel, Asuka and Homura claimed their prize by spending the final evening before their departure to the countryside at the young man's apartment. While the boy was very confused on why the matter had to be broken down to a fight in the first place, offering some lightly scathing and sarcastic remarks, he ultimately opted to send his love to everyone else in the relationship by text before allowing the confusion to be played out. Once both of his shoulders were claimed in a cuddle session on the couch, he then understood the reasons why the two-on-two duel played out as it did. He didn't at all agree with it and would make a few more dry remarks but the warm contact settled what unease he had for the day to come and the more logical side of him decided to cede the battle.

At the same time as Asuka and Homura settled into the crook of his neck together, an unremarkable contingent of cars were moving along the street without any clear formation. A few broke off and the occupants, dressed as normal people would be, went into a store to buy food and water in bulk. Yet, despite the most prominent of the individuals calling out a false name towards the end of their shopping spree, one of them did not return. He half-expected it and was prepared to dole out the necessary punishment while the rest of him was utterly ashamed at having produced such a child, one who would turn away from his own father and the cause he was born into.

At the same time, evading any people or cars that he deemed too suspicious by making his way through alleys, parks, and crowds, a boy born to similar circumstances as the young man found himself free but entirely aimless. He noticed the storm clouds above and feared the coming rain, clenching his teeth together as his frightened eyes scanned for any possible escape. Yet, even when all hope seemed lost, he was determined to not be killed by the hands of his own father and all his radical supporters, who would certainly lynch him for his betrayal of the organization.

Then just as the first raindrops began to strike him on the back of the neck, the escaping dignitary found himself running to the exit of a park before he found himself bumping into none other than a gorilla-ish man who was out and about after a night of drinking with an old friend. Remembering his sympathetic but threatening words from the last time they encountered one another, the man was about to growl at the boy in dismay and would have instinctual restrained and arrested him. If it were a month or even a couple of weeks before, that's how it would have ended.

But from the desperate and frightened gaze that the boy threw up to him, one that spoke well of how much he lamented the circumstance that he was born into, the man couldn't bring himself to be so harsh… especially not when he remembered the gravesite that was shared with him back then. Even as his principles for law and order roared at him to do otherwise, the compassion that he'd shone on Sato and the young man rang louder and, continuing to talk in some empty threats as he wrestled with himself, he guided the boy somewhere after calling his wife and saying that he would not be home for the night. While he had no idea what would happen in the long-term, he did not have the heart to arrest the boy and would guide him to what safety he could offer instead.