And done…

Breathing a long sigh of relief, Shujinkou briefly looked over his practice test again. He couldn't believe he had finally reached the end, but he knew he could not relax just yet.

Just because it was over didn't mean it was over.

He looked up. Monika was still sitting across from him, her gaze sharp and focused as she examined the test papers the others had left behind.

It would be a lie if he said that everyone finishing before him did not add even more pressure than what had already built up, but it was not something he could blame anyone for.

Though it would also be a lie if he said that Mali petting his head condescendingly was not embarrassing.

"Hey Monika."

His voice finally shattered the silence he had been a tad anxious to break. Monika's expression softened as they met eyes.

"Finally done, Shujinkou?" Her gentle smile and soft demeanor blew away any of the remaining anxiety Shujinkou had felt.

With a nod, he passed his test over to Monika and she laid it on top of the remaining pile of tests she still needed to look over.

"…Hey, Monika."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe I can help you correct the tests." Shujinkou proposed.

"That's okay." Monika said as she looked back down at the packet in hand. "It's like I said before – you shouldn't have to grade your own test at a time like this."

"But you're correcting your own."

"Well…" Monika briefly tapped the heart shaped tip of her pin against her lips. "I guess I'm willing to make that sacrifice."

Shujinkou understood what Monika meant. Especially now, if someone had a feeling that they did poorly on their test and slowly confirmed it for themselves as they went through it, it would truly be a demoralizing experience.

For someone who is known to take their academics very seriously, Monika was clearly the best one to take on the task she had given to herself.

But still…

Shujinkou's eyes were once again drawn to the small pile of tests Monika had left. Even though she insisted otherwise, he still didn't feel comfortable contributing to her workload.

"What if I grade someone else's test then?"

Monika glanced up, once again locking eyes with Shujinkou.

"You don't have to do that, Shujinkou."

"I know, but… I figured since you have an answer key, it would be possible for even me to do something like giving corrections."

"But-"

"Besides…" Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. "…You said that we should continue to support each other, right? It's probably the only thing I can do right now, so at least let me help you with this."

Monika stared at Shujinkou in silence, until a smile broke across her face.

"Okay."

She picked up the pile of remaining tests and looked through them.

"Here, you can do this one."

She passed along one of the practice tests and answer key to Shujinkou.

"…This is Mali's."

From the slight giggle Monika made, it was clear to Shujinkou that she was trying to be funny.

"It only makes sense that her senpai grade her test, right?" she pointed out.

Shujinkou could only give an amused shrug before getting to work.

Tasks such as this was not hard per say – in truth the difficulty was the tedium and repetition. Just correcting one person's test could be tiring, let alone numbers that were in the 20s.

Keeping an eye out for what's right and what's wrong – if one were to fail at that, then the person who would suffer the consequences was the test taker.

Shujinkou kept that simple fact in mind as he meticulously looked over Mali's practice test.

He looked over it again and again, just to be sure. By the time he finished looking over it a fourth time, the truth he struggled to accept finally set in.

"…She got a perfect score…" he mumbled.

"Did she?" Monika's voice contained no traces of surprise.

"Not to mention, Mali's practice test seemed… Not to her grade level."

"Because it wasn't."

Shujinkou immediately turned to Monika, the surprise on his face demanding answers.

"Don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to haze her or anything like that. The truth is, I was a bit curious about her when it came to her academics."

Shujinkou tilted his head in confusion.

"Well, to better explain, we both know how clever she can be, along with her multi-layer planning and ability to plan on the fly. So, it got me wondering how she applied it to her schoolwork."

Shujinkou could empathize with her curiosity. It would only make sense that someone with the qualities that Monika had just mentioned would naturally do well in class.

Plus, she didn't even seem to struggle during the test either.

He scratched his right cheek, now recalling the few sparse times he had visited Mali's classroom. He still vividly remembered how her classmates responded when asked about her or how they tried to maintain a certain distance from her.

But those were thoughts he did not have time for at the moment. He tabled them for later before asking Monika, "Hey, Monika, can you hand me the next one?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm already done."

"Wha-?! But-!"

"I finished while you were looking over Mali's."

Shujinkou could feel his soul burst out of his body. After declaring he would help Monika, she still ended up doing most of the work.

"Only when I boast…" his head hung down in shame as he muttered those words. However, it was soon accompanied by a slight chuckle. "Ah, well… Maybe next time."

Raising his head ever so slightly, a hand soon floated near his face.

"Time to get everyone back together," Monika eyed the open doorway while assisting Shujinkou to her feet. "Ready?"

…

Outside, Sayori looked at her left hand, then her right. In them, she held two sticks she found lying around and now she wondered only one thing.

"Which one's better?"

She brought each one to her face, sternly eyeing the jagged tips, her cheeks puffed out in frustration.

She just knew one was sharper than the other, but she couldn't tell just by looking. Even pressing the tips against her fingers 20 times wasn't enough to discern which one she truly desired.

Out of ideas, Sayori began to drag both behind her as she strolled the property until the soft sounds of clapping brought her to a halt.

"That's pretty good." Mali nonchalantly approached Sayori, slowing her claps with each step.

"Huh? What's good, Mali?" Sayori asked.

"Ah, sorry, VP-san. I almost gave it away," Mali giggled to herself as she stared deep into Sayori's eyes, gazing at her as if she were looking at Shujinkou.

But unlike other encounters, Mali didn't immediately follow up on her words, leaving them staring at each other in silence.

"…Uhm, is there something you needed from me, Mali?" Sayori asked.

"Ah, that's right. We haven't really had the chance to speak before so I thought now would be a good time to debrief you regarding your operation," Mali answered cheerfully.

"That's right-!" In all the chaos that has transpired since then, Sayori had nearly forgotten the conversation they shared before Mali disappeared for a little while. "I almost forgot. Thank you for your help, Mali."

"Ara? Don't you think it's strange to say thank you without even knowing what I did? After all, there's no longer any need for plausible deniability, right?"

Sayori opened her mouth but was immediately hushed by Mali.

"Maybe a little plausible deniability. But I did want to ask you – Are you happy with this result?"

Sayori nodded her head. "Of course I'm happy. Everyone's back together and Shiko's awake too."

Mali smiled. "I'm glad. I guess the efforts I went through paid off after all."

"Um…"

"You don't need to ask but just think back. Don't you remember that I told you that your plan had a significant risk to it?"

Sayori did in fact remember Mali saying that which was likely why that part of the plan never came into fruition.

"VP-san, I told you and everyone else that everything I did was so Senpai could have a pleasant awakening. Even though you were willing to cause personal damage, I couldn't let that happen. After all, Senpai would never be calm if there was even just one tiny little fracture. You know as well as I do that the only self-sacrifice he'll allow is his own."

"I know that but-"

Mali shook her head, pressing her left index finger against her own lips.

"Plus… The truth is you were so willing to let yourself be hated for such a desperate ploy, that I just couldn't go through with it. The outcome you were banking on was too idealistic and the path there was filled full of so many holes, there might as well be no ground to stand on. There was some merit, but there was no guarantee so… I figured it might be best to have spurred Natsuki-chan into action."

Sayori's eyes were wide with surprise. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"You know exactly what I mean – She was being wishy-washy, so someone needed to give her a little push into making a choice," Mali elaborated.

"So that's why you showed up at Natsuki's house out of nowhere."

"I didn't really do anything until the next day. A man like her father, it was very easy to create a situation where I would be the victim."

"Eh?! You really got hurt like that on purpose?" The revelation was a shock to Sayori. Not many people would allow themselves to be injured to such extent on purpose. "But why?"

"I told you – to get Natsuki-chan to make a choice. And if that didn't happen, at the very least, the assault on me was much worse than on Senpai. It'd be too hard to ignore. Either way, it was a scenario where something would have to give."

"…But what if things didn't happen the way it did? Your plan involved pitting family against each other – isn't it possible for something to go wrong with your plan too?"

Mali chuckled. "Oh VP-san… Things could always go wrong with plans, that's why you always need contingencies. Though to be honest, after spending one evening at Natsuki-chan's home, I was pretty convinced nothing would go wrong."

"Why not?" Sayori questioned.

"Because family bonds aren't very hard to break when you really want to."

Mali's succinct and callous answer nearly left Sayori speechless. She had many questions she wanted to ask, but knew all too well that there was only one Mali would bother to answer "…Why are you telling me all of this, Mali?"

"Why indeed?" Mali gave a playful shrug. "Perhaps I just like the sound of my own voice; that would explain my long-windedness. Granted everyone usually forces me to go in great detail."

Sayori scratched her right cheek as she tilted her head with confusion. "So…?"

"It's a secret."

"Oh…"

"Still, I'm glad you like this outcome. You were trying really hard and dared to take such a huge risk too. Such nobleness deserves a reward, don't you think?"

"Eh… You don't really need to do anything like that."

"Oh, but I insist," Mali's eyes narrowed fiendishly as she took a step closer to Sayori, bringing her face close enough that their noses almost touched. "Sooner or later, you'll get what's coming to you, Sayori-san."

Taking a step back, Mali giggled with her usual innocent façade.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

"Hey guys!" Monika's voice cut through the tension in the air. "Time for the test results!"

"Ah, we shouldn't keep everyone waiting, right VP-San?"

"Y-Yeah!"

…

"Well, that was expected…" Shujinkou was on the verge of tears as he stared at his practice test. He had already known the outcome long before he started, and yet the pain still hit him live stab through the brain.

Getting the lowest score was always going to sting.

"It's not a competition, Dummy," Natsuki scolded.

"Yeah, you're right," Shujinkou accepted.

"Eh!? What a 180!"

"Well, I don't really have time to mop and all. And you're right, it isn't a competition."

"Hm. Maybe that coma was beneficial to you in some way after all, Senpai," Mali mused.

"…That's not a funny thing to say, Mali," Fuyu rebuked.

"I wasn't being funny."

"It's fine. I know she meant no harm," Shujinkou scratched his right cheek as he looked down at his practice test again. "Well, I guess I oughta-"

"Anyone up for UNO?" Kiyoko proposed.

Shujinkou exchanged looks with Kiyoko. "But-"

"Not going to do you any good to just cram all day, Shujinkou. You gotta let your mind decompress after stressing it out."

Shujinkou knew she was right, but could he really afford to waste any time in his situation?

He hoped so because he readily agreed with the others. Kiyoko opened a nearby drawer and pulled two card packs out.

Sitting back down, she began to explain the rules.

"The name of this game is UNO: Show em' No Mercy – called that way because of the special cards and the knockout rule."

"Knockout rule? What's that?" Shujinkou inquired.

"In this version of the game, anyone with 25 or more cards automatically loses. But the thing is, it's fairly easy for that to happen. In fact, it's pretty much guaranteed someone is going to lose in the first round."

"I don't get it… Do the special cards you mentioned make it that easy?" Yuri queried.

"They do," Kiyoko answered. "First of all, in this game you have the standard cards – your Skips, Reverses, Wild Cards, Draw 2s and Draw 4s. Added on to these are some new action cards – The Discard All Card and Skip Everyone's Turn card."

"Skip everyone's turn?" Natsuki marveled. "That sounds like a cheat."

"And yet it's a card everyone wishes they had in a normal game," Fuyu stated succinctly. The desire in her voice made it obvious that she wanted that card.

"The second one's self-explanatory but the other one needs a bit more explaining," Kiyoko continued. "The Discard All Card card isn't an instant win, instead you'd have to discard all the cards in your hand that match the color of the card."

"It's definitely still handy. Especially in a normal game," Monika mused.

"It also sounds like a cheat card a kid would make up," Natsuki added.

"Moving on, there's also special rules for 7s and 0s. For any 7, you have to swap your hand with another player and for any 0, all players must have to trade cards depending on the order we play in."

"So, you're saying that anyone that plays a 0 could instantly destroy everyone's plans in one fell swoop." There was a gleam in Mali's eyes as snuck a peek at the card packages. "Interesting."

"Then there are the new Wild Cards," Kiyoko proceeded. "Wild Reverse Draw 4, Draw 6, Draw 10 and the Wild Color Roulette."

"Draw 10 and a roulette!?" Sayori gasped. "But what does the roulette do?"

"The person hit with it has to choose a color and keep drawing until they get that color only. Wild Cards don't count."

"And if you're unlucky to get a constant stream of one color other than the one you chose..." Sayori shivered at the thought.

"There really is no mercy in this game…" Yuri muttered.

"With those kinds of cards, stacking and the number of players, someone really is bound to lose after one round," Monika said.

"Just one question though." Mali pointed at Rei. "How do we play a game that requires yelling the name of the game when one of us doesn't speak?"

In response to Mali's question, Rei left the room. Moments later, she returned with a small sign with the word "UNO!" scrawled across it.

"Touché."

The game had begun. As expected, the first round involved every player stacking every draw card they had until the number reached the 60s.

Once the last card had been placed on the discard pile, the first player out was revealed.

"Ara? I'm out already?" Mali softly laid her cards down, dejected at the results. "Oh well!"

Mali would not remain the only one out of the game for some long. The next one out of the game was Shujinkou, then Rei, followed by Monika, Sayori, Natsuki and Kiyoko.

"Man, there really is no mercy in this game…" Shujinkou quietly whispered under his breath.

The final round was no less tense. It seemed for every card Fuyu or Yuri placed down their hands increased more than it decreased. Even with a card that let them rid themselves of their excess weight, the opponent would instantly replenish what was lost.

At times, they even traded hands with each other, only for them to switch back repeatedly in a nearly torturous cycle.

And yet it's still going at a breakneck speed!

Shujinkou was in complete awe at the fast and brutal nature of the game.

"OUT!" Yuri slammed her last card with such force that a few cards flew out of the discard pile. "VICTORY!"

Her joy was fleeting as Yuri soon realized everyone was staring at her. Unable to take it, she buried her red face in her hands.

"The game brings out everyone's passionate sides," Mali noted. "How interesting."

"Since it went by fast, anyone up for something else?" Kiyoko suggested.

"How about video game?" Fuyu proposed "I brought Sonic Riders with me."

Shujinkou's ears perked up. "Really? Wait, which one?"

"Free Riders."

"…Free Riders…?"

"Just kidding. The original," Fuyu laughed.

"Oh." Shujinkou felt relieved.

"Free Riders… That's the one with the full body surfing, right?" Monika asked.

"Yes…" Shujinkou and Fuyu groaned in unison, their shoulders slumped as far they can go.

"Sounds like you both have personal experiences with it," Mali said.

The two didn't say a word, only staring at the ground with a dark expression on their faces.

Natsuki looked at both with a worried expression. "How bad could the game have been?"

While neither of them answered, Rei answered with a simple gesture — she raised both of her hands, then dropping them down with a loud whoosh, repeating the action several times.

"That bad?"

"The game doesn't register movement well… Shiko was stuck on the tutorial for an hour," Sayori explained.

"It was like the ball puzzle in Sonic 06 all over again…" Shujinkou muttered.

"Don't bring up another trauma, please…" Fuyu grumbled.

"It's an interesting proposal, but doesn't it have a max player number of four depending on the console?" Mali pointed. "Shouldn't we play something that everyone can play at once?"

"You have an idea, Mali?" Sayori questioned.

"Mm-hmm. I know the perfect, non-threatening game that all of you know so you don't have to worry about me making something up to use against you."

…

"Connect the wire there? That's just begging for a fire to start." Mali chuckled softly at the prospect and continued to scroll down the web page displayed on her phone.

Mindlessly sitting outside on such a nice day would normally be boring. Now however-

"M-Mali…! How much longer do we have to do this?"

Mali looked up from her screen. In front of her, the rest of the study group have been wrapped in a fascinating stalemate near the tail end of their game of Twister.

"'How much longer,' Senpai?"

She smiled brightly as she took in Shujinkou's flushed face. Droplets of sweat slid down his red face as he once again looked around him.

He wished he knew why he thought engaging in this activity was a promising idea. Surely it would have been awkward, but he never imagined it would be this bad.

Somehow, he ended up in a position where one wrong move would lead to something dangerous.

One wrong move of his right hand, and it would brush against the side of Monika's bosom. The same could be said with his left and Sayori. If he pulled back wrong, the top of his head would rub against Rei's chest and if he turned his head in direction, he would bump into either Natsuki's, Kiyoko's and Fuyu's posteriors.

Finally, if he could no longer hold his current position, he would fall face first into Yuri's chest.

How did Mali even do this!?

Shujinkou trembled at his current predicament, providing Mali with even more entertainment.

"Can you please call it already!" Natsuki whinged.

"Not yet. There's still a little time left." Mali replied.

"Still!?"

"Don't you remember, Natsuki-chan? You did all agree to a special rule at the end."

"You know, Mali must be really good at Tetris…" Monika chuckled nervously, desperate for some levity to combat their awkward entanglement.

"Is it fair to wish that she wasn't…" Yuri met eyes with Shujinkou. Just having him hover ever so slightly over her chest and ready to collapse at any moment brought too many complex feelings to the surface.

"Little more." Mali without looking up from her phone, casually continued her vague time limit.

Rei, silent as usual, exchanged glances with Shujinkou and Fuyu.

I'm being punished. I know I am. Fuyu winced and let out a dejected sigh.

"Little more…" Mali called out.

Shujinkou's arms trembled. He could feel his strength leaving him and if he were to give in … The thought was paralyzing.

He glanced at Mali, his eyes pleading for salvation.

However, his desperate plea was met with a simple shrug from a girl not even looking at him.

"Mali!" Shujinkou cried.

"…Senpai, if you can't take it anymore, just give in like anyone else," she advised.

"I can't do that!"

"Would it even be that bad?" Mali sat up and approached the living entanglement she had created. "It's not like you'll have a nasty fall, right? It looks like you'll have a nice and soft and comfy landing spot."

"It-!" Shujinkou immediately clamped his mouth shut. One wrong word would make this situation worse than it already would.

"Just one thing, Senpai. Top or Bottom?"

"Huh?"

"Do you prefer, the top or the bottom position?"

"Top or bot-" It had hit him. Taking another look at his current predicament with her question in mind made it all too clear what this game was really about. "No! I-! NO!"

"You set this up just for that question!?" Natsuki exclaimed.

"I was curious, Natsuki-chan. Besides, it's not like you gave me much insight." Mali giggled at the sight of her Natsuki's face, red from anger and embarrassment. "But if even this can't give me an answer then…"

Mali took another step closer towards Shujinkou. With the slightest nudge against his left shoulder, the group was instantly freed from their predicament in a fashion that avoided their concerns.

"Anyway, wasn't that a fun game of Twister?" Mali giggled.

"Fun!?" Natsuki immediately rose up, filled with indignation. "What part of that was fun!? That was as far away fun as humanly possible!"

"Really? I would have at least thought a few of you would have enjoyed the endgame. Isn't such a fun time where people can be sandwiched so close to each other without any type of implications behind any actions."

Shujinkou's face grew bright red. "Sandwiched" was not a word he needed to hear at that moment.

"Senpai's really flustered. It's so cute."

"Please, Mali… No more…" Shujinkou quietly begged as he stood up. "I haven't been that entangled since I played with Gramps and Hiroko. They wouldn't budge… an…"

Shujinkou words trailed off upon realizing what he had just said. Before it could sink in however, he noticed a man walking towards them.

Shujinkou had no words to say to the stranger, but Kiyoko did.

"Hey, Ken." she met him halfway and greeted him with an amused smile.

"Hey, Ki." The man cracked a smile as well.

"You know this guy, Kiyo?" Sayori questioned.

"Yep. Kenzou's an old friend of mine."

Kiyoko patted the top of her head and soon after Kenzou's bucket hat landed on top.

Shujinkou marveled at what he just saw. Kenzou did not seem to put any effort in flicking his hat over to Kiyoko.

"What're you doing here, Ken?" Kiyoko asked.

Her question was met with Kenzou tipping the hat over her eyes. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd pop in and say hi."

"Um, pardon me," Fuyu interjected. "Does that mean you have access to Kiyoko's house anytime you want."

"Pretty much."

"Ah… "Fuyu crept towards Kiyoko and whispered. "Kiyoko, we need context, because this seems pretty bad without it."

"I guess you can think of him as my guardian." She explained.

"Guardian? But I've never seen him around." Shujinkou said.

"I'm pretty hands off," Kenzou admitted. "I just help keeping her in her own property."

With another flick of his fingers, Kenzou's hat flew off Kiyoko's head and landed perfectly on his own.

"Wow…"

"Practice makes perfect, kid. By the way…" Kenzou eyed Shujinkou from head to toe then turned to Kiyoko. "Ki, what's happening here?"

"Just having a study sleepover with some classmates," Kiyoko answered.

Kenzou glanced back at Shujinkou for a split second. "And he's sleeping over here too?"

"Yep."

He sighed in vexation. "Listen Ki, I know that I give you all the freedom in the world, but I cannot condone you having a guy stay over the night."

"Actually it's 2 nights."

"I cannot condone you having a guy stay over for 2 nights."

Kiyoko curiously tilted her head, meeting Kenzou's stern glare with curiosity. His decision seemed final before the two broke out into laughter.

"Yeah right, but seriously, it's good seeing you again, Ki."

"Going so soon?"

Kenzou answered with a stiff yawn. Unlike before, his discontent was genuine. "…Yeah. I got some stuff to take care of. Besides, I'd hate to interrupt you and your friends having fun. Then again, I don't think any of you enjoyed that game of Twister."

"YOU SAW THAT?!"

It was because he saw that Kenzou deliberately avoided eye contact with the rest of the group. They were already embarrassed and acknowledging their outburst would make it worse for them.

"Anyway, I'll head out now-"

Kenzou was about to leave only to be stopped by Sayori standing in his path.

"Can I help you?"

"…You can't just show up out of nowhere, say you're part of Kiyo's life and just stroll out of here like it's okay. It's not right."

"It's not?" Kenzou crossed his arms, baffled at her claim.

"Yeah, how are we supposed to be okay with this when we don't know anything about you?" Sayori pointed out. "You have to at least give us a little more to go on."

Kenzou scratched the back of his head as he processed Sayori's words.

"Alright." He shrugged and laid on side. "What do you want to know?"

The first question came from Natsuki. "…Are you really going to explain things like that?"

"I might as well get comfy if I'm getting grilled out of nowhere," Kenzou casually replied.

"It's just a little worrisome without proper context," Fuyu pointed out.

"I know, so let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name's Kenzou. My blood type's O-, my favorite food is ramen of all kinds, I own a 1970s Cadillac but that's on loan right now and my first date was when I was 21."

"That's… interesting, but what about you and Kiyoko?"

"I was getting to that." Despite taking it easy on the ground, Kenzou's expression portrayed a level of seriousness completely at odds with his earlier demeanor. "A long time ago, I met Kiyo as a kid… Fast forward to today and I'm still keeping an eye on her."

"THAT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH!" Natsuki and Fuyu cried.

"Can't it be? You really want me to recap more?"

The two nodded their heads.

"Okay. The truth is I met Ki on a cold, dark night. Now normally, you wouldn't just approach a random child, but the thing was - I found her shooting hoops in the middle of the night. Naturally, I was a bit concerned and asked her 'Where are your parents'?

Part of me expected hesitation or even her running away, but Ki looked me straight in the eyes, completely unbothered by my presence and told me that her parents had passed away. One thing led to another, and I ended up agreeing to look after her so she could stay here."

"And you don't stay here at all?" Yuri queried.

"Ki's pretty self-sufficient and I'm a hands-off kind of guy. She doesn't need me breathing over her shoulder all the time. Especially when I'm not her parent," Kenzou answered before yawning. "Not to say that I don't check up on her or her me."

He soon stood up and stretched his arms. "And that's all for today. See ya."

"Eh? That's really all?" Sayori's voice was dripping with disappointment.

"Like I said before, I'd hate to distract you guys from your hard work with a long boring story about the past," Kenzou shrugged as he walked away. "Good luck you guys, I'm rooting for ya!"

Those were his last words before he vanished from sight.

"He's… He seems a bit disconnected for a guardian…" Yuri noted aloud.

"He's just like that 'cause he wants to get out here," Kiyoko with a blasé shrug. "He usually likes to stay longer."

"Well, he doesn't seem like a bad guy," Shujinkou said.

From the corner of his eyes, Shujinkou noticed Rei staring at Kiyoko intently.

"Are you okay, Rei?"

Rei didn't respond, verbally or non-verbally.

No one really knew what to say, leaving it up to Kiyoko to break the ice.

"It's been long enough, how 'bout we actually get studying now?"

The others agreed with the idea and headed inside. But as they did so, Shujinkou noticed that someone had stayed behind. Like Rei before, she was focusing hard, but what it was she was actually looking at was unknown.

"Mali?"

"…Ehe, I was just thinking if the audience enjoyed the game too."

"You mean Kenzou?"

Mali remained silent, eerily so. But when she looked back at Shujinkou, she broke into another giggle.

It was the only answer she was willing to give as she walked past him.