Weeks passed since that fateful Thanksgiving day— and the holiday spirit had blanketed Tokyo and Yokohama with a light dusting of snow.

All that Christmas cheer soured Tanimoto's disposition, knowing it's the time of the year that he simply cannot participate in; he has no family to make merry with, nor anyone else to partake in the festivities with him.

Not that he cared.

And there's Renka, who indeed, did care! Christmas was huge in Japan as being one of the most romantic times of the year, and if you don't have a date to do fun things with, then what's the point of being a teenage girl, pursuing the wonders of romance? She's got to take advantage of her youth, right? Grab her love life by the reins!

… At least, that's what she was thinking while eyeing Kenichi at his school desk, making small talk with Miu.

"You wanna try ice skating with me tonight, Kenichi? It'll help you with your balance and coordination," Miu gently suggested, and Kenichi was more than willing to say yes. He likely saw it as a date.

… No. It IS a date.

HMPH.

If Kenichi won't look her way, then…

… Emerald eyes darted to the blonde boy who spoke with dulcet tones, an ephemeral smile warming the room — as well as the hearts of the fangirls around him. Eugh. What a faker!

… But after the events that took place a few weeks ago, Renka simply couldn't view him in the same light. There's so much more depth to him, making her reassess the kind of person he was. It made sense, really, why he was like this, living out his double life. It made sense why he was guarded and two-faced. He probably thinks it's the only way he can keep himself safe.

Renka rattled her pencil, deep in thought. It's strange, isn't it? Tanimoto isn't even his real last name. He's carrying someone else's legacy, and doing it all with a smile.

A fake smile, anyway. Does it even count, then? Beyond his gentle demeanor, she can see that lonely, melancholy look in his eyes.

… She got the sense there might be even more to the story than he's let on, and what he had described might just be the tip of the iceberg. Her mother always said that tragedy often comes in threes. He lost his father, he lost his sister… what else?

Hmph. Irritated eyelids lowered slowly, watching him accept a plateful of baked goods from some vapid first-year, and Tanimoto seemed to be ever so grateful, thanking her from the bottom of his heart.

Renka sat up in her chair, pigtails twiddling as a thought struck her. Did he ever eat the almond cookies she left at his front door?

N-not that she made him those because she liked him or anything, or because she wanted to indicate she wasn't mad at him after how their conversation left off… but it was simply to pay him back for the cookies that he gave her permission to eat, of course! It's just to even the score! Hmph!

Watching that fangirl flirtatiously flounce around, twisting her hair around her finger… it was downright sickening to the cat. Add her conflicting feelings on the rise, and she couldn't take much more of it; Renka impulsively stood up and stormed out the door, bumping into the girl on the way out with enough force to topple her over and her precious cookies.

Tanimoto watched the fangirl tumble in front of him, feigning concern as he leaned down to assist her. That damned cat. What's with her?

"Are you all right?" he asked, faux worry glistening in his eyes.

And the girl's heart was leaping, bounding—

"Y-yes, Tanimoto-oji! I'm fine, thank you!"

It was the best day of her life.

And definitely not Natsu's.

This princely act, initially effortless, was rather tiresome when it came to having to give a shit about other people. All the hours wasted in pretending to hear out some girl and her pointless problems, or all the extra volunteer work he's had to complete to get on the teachers' good side…

Sometimes, he wishes he could just tell these idiots what he really thinks:

That he doesn't give a single fuck about what they have to say. That he doesn't want to waste more stomach space eating these trash cookies when he already has Honoka's garbage food to deal with.

… Cookies.

He stared down at the spilled cookies that he was gathering, thoughts plagued by Renka's gift to him.

It was so strange, honestly. He had come home from school to discover a plate of Chinese almond cookies sitting on his front porch, and if it weren't for the note bundled up with it that clearly stated the cat's name, she'd be the last person on his mind to deliver a gift like that.

It's not like she's one of his adoring fangirls, ignorant to his true, heartless nature. And she was clearly angry with him after their bizarre Thanksgiving together.

So what gives?

Ugh. She's a strange one, that's for sure. A curse placed on him by Shirahama, now haunting him wherever he goes. A martial artist wholly unaffected by the sweet smile he shone to the fangirl in front of him, mindless words of a half-assed apology escaping his lips.

It was all auto-pilot, really—these spoiled cookies are going into the trash first thing after this conversation. Not a single sweet word he uttered registered in his mind, simply going through the motions like a robot; in reality, his thoughts were running around in circles, revolving the catty pain in his ass and why he was in this dilemma to begin with.

Shirahama caused him this hell. Shirahama. He took the first opportunity to escape the chatty fangirl, sneaking glances at the gardener, watching the sparkle in his eye as he spoke to the busty blonde.

Renka's got it bad for that worm, huh? That kind of sullen reaction just for a simple tease…

… Even though she'll likely be unsuccessful in her pursuits. Clearly, Fūrinji has her hooks in that moron.

How pathetic. A pity. The whole thing has him feeling strangely sympathe— no.

And… something else. Irritation? Renka could do better. Better than that spineless idiot.

… Hmph.

He shook his head to dismiss whatever feeling dared to form within his chest.

Regardless, Renka's emotional depth surprised him— both in terms of her apparent boundless love for Shirahama and the way she accepted his dark, tragic tale. She's a tease, but she left such sensitive topics alone. Maybe she's not as big of a brat as he thought.

And although it wouldn't do him any good to admit it, even mentally… speaking to her was a good form of catharsis.

When it finally seemed like nobody else was paying him any attention, Tanimoto dropped the mask to let out a frustrated sigh. It was time to head home for the day, where he could hopefully get some training in to get his mind off of cookies and cats. There's no point in thinking about anything else right now.

… But there's one little problem.

Where the hell is Sougetsu Ma?!

Closer to his master's damned niece, and yet, not his master himself. That drunkard had made a brief return and dragged his disciple into Yomi, only to vanish again over the last week or so. Such inopportune timing. So reckless, so irresponsible. How is Hermit supposed to fulfill his duties in all these new obligations foisted onto him if he can't train effectively?

More importantly, how is he going to beat Shirahama in a rematch if his master keeps flaking out on him?! The idiot's got four masters fueling his progress, and all Hermit has is one with a constant disappearing act.

Well, then. He's going to make an educated guess. It's likely that his alcoholic master has gone off to Chinatown to indulge in his favorite rice wine. Probably talking someone's ear off with stories of his past, entirely inebriated. Maybe he's sharing his feelings with Ryou Ma.

And if not, it's likely that Renka's uncle has some new information at bay. It's worth a visit…

… And that means potentially running into the cat. Just great.