Zhuge Kaguya

So just how is this boring game supposed to be fun?!

"When I was little, I used to play this with my friends, and I won almost every time." Fujiwara Chika planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin proudly. "We played with the people sitting in front of and behind us, so we were close enough for it to feel like a real competition... You two, sit on the sofa and try again."

"Let's try again."

Shinomiya Kaguya gave a slight nod in agreement, stood up, and walked over to a two-seater sofa.

Amamiya Natsuki left the round table, walked over to Kaguya, and sat down beside her without a shred of hesitation.

To everyone else, Shinomiya Kaguya was Kaguya-hime of ice and snow: cold and unapproachable, with an "Ice Halo" that could freeze anyone who came too close.

Unfortunately, Amamiya Natsuki was different.

Only after he gained the ability to see strange prompts did he learn that Kaguya-classmate was only cold on the surface.

"Staaare—"

Their eyes met.

Shinomiya Kaguya looked cool and composed, like a divine girl sitting beneath a frosty sky. Her face showed no emotion, but she was a little surprised inside.

(That's strange.)

(Why isn't he looking away at all while we're making eye contact?)

Shinomiya Kaguya thought of the other boys at school. They didn't dare talk to her, let alone meet her eyes. So why wasn't the boy in front of her afraid?

Just two nights ago, he'd even told her to get a grip... How dare he?!

"Kaguya-chan, how is it now?" Fujiwara Chika asked with concern.

"It does seem to depend on the distance."

Shinomiya Kaguya's thoughts were in turmoil, but her face remained expressionless, the picture of a cool, detached girl. Her voice, however, was cool and pleasant to hear. "The mission has been activated and is currently in progress."

"That's good."

"..."

Interest Mission in progress.

Fujiwara Chika sat down beside them and produced a box of chocolate sticks from somewhere. "Would you like some snacks?"

"How are we supposed to eat in this state?" Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help asking.

Fujiwara Chika held out a chocolate stick. "I could feed you."

"I really don't want any."

Shinomiya Kaguya refused without hesitation.

Bzzzz.

A phone suddenly vibrated.

"It's my phone..." Fujiwara Chika took it out. "My teacher sent me a message and wants me to go to the office."

Fujiwara Chika quickly stood up and waved goodbye.

"I'm going to the office. You two can keep working on the mission."

"..."

With the incessantly chattering Fujiwara Chika gone, the Game Club room fell abruptly silent. It became so quiet you could hear a pin drop; the two of them could clearly hear each other's soft breathing.

A breeze stirred.

The white curtains fluttered gently beside them.

Bright morning sunlight streamed in through the window, falling just right across Shinomiya Kaguya's face. Light and shadow divided it perfectly along the bridge of her nose, as though the girl before him stood between darkness and light, waiting for someone to reach out and save her—or for her to fall into the abyss.

For the first time, Amamiya Natsuki took a good, long look at Kaguya.

Her eyes... were beautiful.

Her wine-red eyes gleamed like red jewels in the sunlight.

Her long, slightly curled lashes were adorable.

Her snow-white, delicate skin looked as if she had bathed in milk, so pale in the sunlight it seemed almost translucent.

Her dainty, refined nose was adorable.

And her soft, moist lips looked like cherry blossoms after a passing shower.

From every angle, Shinomiya Kaguya was a bona fide beautiful girl.

It was just that her personality was too cold, and she could easily freeze people stiff.

By comparison, Miko, who often let her lazy side show, was actually cuter.

"What are you looking at?" Shinomiya Kaguya suddenly asked.

"Um..." Amamiya Natsuki hesitated briefly, then decided to be honest. "Kaguya-classmate, your eyes are beautiful."

She must have heard that compliment countless times growing up, right?

He couldn't bring himself to lie and say her eyes weren't beautiful.

The next moment,

Amamiya Natsuki's gaze sharpened as he saw a faint blush rise on Shinomiya Kaguya's face.

The blush stood out against her snowy skin, especially in the sunlight.

Wait, you actually blushed?

The Young Lady who would rather bleed than cry had blushed. This was huge news!

If a member of the News Department caught it on camera, it would definitely be on the front page of the school paper tomorrow!

Watching Shinomiya Kaguya's pretty face turn redder by the second, her long lashes beginning to tremble, Amamiya Natsuki suddenly thought of a possibility.

"Are you... about to sneeze again?"

"I'm not!"

Shinomiya Kaguya gritted her teeth and clenched her small fists, recalling an awful memory.

Being treated like the filling in a sandwich on the sports field had been bad enough, but then he'd even sighed in disappointment. It was a lifelong disgrace!

The boy in front of her still had his uses. Once she had squeezed him dry, she would make him turn himself in and confess!

"My eyes are just bothering me." There was an unusual tremor in Shinomiya Kaguya's voice. "I'm not about to sneeze."

There was another reason she didn't mention.

For some reason, looking at her clear reflection in the boy's eyes made her heart begin to beat faster.

"My eyes are bothering me too." Amamiya Natsuki pondered. "The mission only says you can't blink. I should be fine, right?"

"Hold out. Don't blink." The Young Lady's voice was cold and merciless as she folded her arms across her chest. "We're nearly halfway through the three minutes. If your blinking affects anything, we'll have to start all over."

"Starting over would only take ten minutes."

"If we're going to do something, we should do it right. If something can be done in one try, we shouldn't fail even once."

"..."

Who would've thought you were such a perfectionist?!

The girl's warm, sweet breath brushed his face, making it tingle slightly.

Wait.

Amamiya Natsuki suddenly realized something.

When had he gotten so close to Ice Sculpture Girl?

Chapter 28: Zhuge Kaguya

They were only inches apart.

Their breaths mingled.

Looking at her clear reflection in Amamiya Natsuki's eyes, Shinomiya Kaguya finally realized that the distance between them had somehow become dangerously small.

(Too close, too close, too close!)

(What if he suddenly leans in?)

(He just might.)

(Hayasaka said boys are beasts. Once their blood gets up, they get incredibly impulsive.)

(If he leans in, will I get pregnant?)

As a sheltered Young Lady who had grown up in a "sterile" environment, Shinomiya Kaguya knew shockingly little about sex. Even now, she still believed that a boy and a girl could get pregnant just by kissing.

After working herself into a panic, the black-haired girl's snowy, delicate face quickly turned red, like brilliant clouds at dusk in summer. Amamiya Natsuki was quite surprised.

So... Shinomiya hadn't blushed because she was about to sneeze, but because she was embarrassed?

So much for Ice Sculpture Girl. She'd cleared Vengeful Spirit Academy without so much as a change in expression, so why was she embarrassed now?!

Amamiya Natsuki held his breath.

Not only did he resist the urge to lean in, he even quietly moved farther away.

Miko was one thing. If he teased her, at worst he'd get beaten up.

But if he teased Kaguya-classmate, Amamiya Natsuki figured he'd be feeding the fish in Tokyo Bay by tonight.

Shinomiya Kaguya's long lashes trembled gently, and she couldn't help feeling relieved.

The next moment,

Bam!

The door was suddenly thrown open.

"I, Hu Hansan, am back again!"

The girl known as Cancer of the Earth's voice rang throughout the room.

Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya both jumped. A strange sense of guilt rose in their hearts at the same time, and their eyes snapped toward each other.

A game prompt appeared before Shinomiya Kaguya.

[Game failed. Progress reset. Please start the challenge again.]

"Kaguya-chan, how's the mission going?"

Fujiwara Chika walked lightly over to the two of them and asked in a bright voice.

Shinomiya Kaguya closed her eyes, pressed her slender, pale fingers to her brow, and took a deep breath. She bit her lower lip. "The mission failed."

"Huh? How could that happen?" Fujiwara Chika asked, confused. "Why did it fail?"

A smile appeared on Shinomiya Kaguya's face, like that of a queen about to sign her own death warrant. It was a dangerous smile.

"What do you think the reason was, Fujiwara-classmate?"

"Kaguya-chan, your smile is terrifying!"

Fujiwara Chika jumped in fright and stepped back, hiding behind Amamiya Natsuki as she wrapped her arms around herself. "It feels like a cat looking at a hamster, about to gobble me up in one bite."

Amamiya Natsuki said helplessly, "Wouldn't that be a mouse?"

"I don't want to be a mouse." Fujiwara Chika shook her head quickly. "They're ugly and black. If I could be reincarnated in my next life, I'd choose to be a little hamster."

So you're an appearance snob after all.

As the saying goes, "The coarse willow makes a winnowing basket, the fine willow a grain sieve; who has ever seen an ugly man?" Appearance snobs couldn't be trusted.

"It's only natural that Kaguya-classmate is angry." Amamiya Natsuki rubbed his aching eyes. "I'm angry too."

"Why?"

"The mission was almost complete, and then you barged in without warning. Now we have to start over."

"Ah, so that's what happened." Fujiwara Chika hurriedly pressed her palms together and bowed in apology, showing a very sincere attitude. "I'm sorry, Kaguya-chan. I forgot to knock before coming in. It was all my fault. I'm willing to offer pudding as a sacrifice, so please forgive me."

"Pudding?"