Chapter 50

Just as Ikeda Kana was feeling smug, Amae Koromo easily called a Pon, causing the tiles to return to their original positions.

"Pon." Amae Koromo's voice rang out airily, like a snowflake landing on a scorching iron plate.

As the Pon was completed, the arrangement of the tile wall reset at a speed visible to the naked eye. That key tile which Ikeda Kana had displaced was now lying quietly at the very end of the wall, as if it had never been moved at all.

That familiar sense of suffocation struck again, surging even more violently than it had last year.

Ikeda Kana clutched her chest, a wheezing sound escaping her throat. The table before her began to spin, and Amae Koromo's smiling face gradually blurred in her vision, transforming into a bottomless black sea.

She felt as if she had returned to the scene of last year's finals, unable to escape her opponent's control no matter how she struggled. All her efforts were like pebbles thrown into the ocean, unable to stir up even a single ripple.

Icy despair crawled up her spine, freezing her fingertips until they turned purple. She could only watch helplessly as Amae Koromo's rabbit-ear braids swayed before her, like the scythe of the Grim Reaper.

Just then, the Club President of Tsuruga Academy—a player who could also be considered highly intelligent—realized this as well.

She chose to discard a tile that could allow both Saki Miyanaga and Ikeda Kana to win, hoping to prevent Amae Koromo's Under the Sea in the final round—just as she had once stopped Saki Miyanaga's Flower on the Tile.

However, the moment this tile hit the table, no one declared a win.

And Amae Koromo took the opportunity to draw the final tile—

"Self-draw, Under the Sea."

And that wasn't all.

Ikeda Kana's gaze was nailed to Amae Koromo's hand, her pupils shrinking sharply from extreme terror, as if a thunderbolt had exploded inside her skull.

A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through her mind—if not for that self-important Kan earlier, the order of the tiles would never have been disrupted, and Amae Koromo would never have been able to assemble the hand for Under the Sea.

In other words, she had personally placed the key to victory into her opponent's hands. Every single one of her own actions had precisely pushed Amae Koromo toward the finish line of a winning hand.

Ikeda Kana refused to believe it and went to flip over the tiles—only to discover with horror that if she had called Pon instead of Kan just now, Amae Koromo would not have achieved Under the Sea.

Deep regret welled up within her, making her realize how she had chosen the wrong answer, allowing Amae Koromo to claim another Under the Sea.

This realization was like a red-hot branding iron, searing Ikeda Kana's heart and leaving her instantly chilled to the bone.

She jerked her head up to look at Amae Koromo's face, which wore an innocent smile. The rabbit-ear headpiece was still swaying gently, but in her eyes, it was no longer a cute decoration; it was a noose coiled with despair.

Deep regret flooded Ikeda Kana like a tidal wave.

Kageyama Sora naturally took in Ikeda Kana's agonizing appearance.

His slender fingers tapped rhythmically against his knees, a flash of understanding crossing his dark eyes.

As someone quite familiar with Amae Koromo, he knew the truth behind this apparent coincidence better than anyone—this was no mistaken choice, but a trap Amae Koromo had laid long ago, the most vivid display of her chilling ability to control the board.

She was always like this, intentionally leaving subtle flaws in the game to lure her opponents into stepping, step by step, into the trap she had meticulously woven.

She made them suffer the endless pain of their own misjudgments while losing the game, sinking them deeper and deeper into a mire of self-reproach.

Kageyama Sora watched as Amae Koromo winked at the camera on the screen. That fleeting flash of cunning made him sigh helplessly.

This cousin of his was never satisfied with a simple victory; what she wanted was to completely crush her opponent's will.

Chapter 112 Side Story: A Day with Amae Koromo

(Appropriate interjections help with the plot)

The morning sun filtered through the sheer curtains, casting mottled light and shadows onto the tatami mats.

Amae Koromo was curled up in Kageyama Sora's arms, her long yellow hair spread messily across the pillow like a handful of scattered gold silk.

Her eyelashes were long, fluttering slightly at this moment, and her breathing, heavy with the lethargy of just waking up, hit Kageyama Sora's neck evenly.

"Cousin..." she mumbled, turning over, her small hands unconsciously gripping the collar of his pajamas like a kitten craving warmth.

Kageyama Sora looked down at the person in his arms, his dark eyes overflowing with helpless yet indulgent amusement.

He gently brushed the stray hair from her forehead, and when his fingertips touched her warm skin, she suddenly opened her eyes.

Her blue pupils were as clear as gems soaked in water in the morning light. After a few seconds of daze, she suddenly curled her lips, reached out to hook Kageyama Sora's neck, and buried her face in his chest to nuzzle him.

"Morning, Cousin." Her voice was raspy from sleep, yet cloyingly sweet.

Kageyama Sora patted her back helplessly: "If you don't get up, Tohka will come over to knock on the door."

"I don't want to." Amae Koromo tightened her arms like she was throwing a tantrum: "Cousin clearly promised to read manga with me last night, but then..."

She deliberately dragged out her tone, a hint of mischief flashing in her eyes.

The tips of Kageyama Sora's ears burned slightly.

Fragments of last night's memories surged up—she was wearing cute rabbit pajamas, sitting on his lap flipping through manga, her fingertips occasionally brushing the back of his hand, her breath carrying the sweet scent of shampoo.

Later, he didn't know how it happened, but the manga fell to the floor, and when she tilted her head up to kiss him, her eyelashes swept across his cheeks like butterfly wings.

"Get up and have breakfast." He coughed lightly, trying to change the subject, but was held down by Amae Koromo's shoulders.

She propped up her upper body, her hair hanging down to cover half her face, but her eyes were startlingly bright.

"Cousin is blushing." She leaned in, her nose almost touching his, her voice full of the triumph of a successful prank.

Kageyama Sora grabbed her restless hands, his fingertips tracing the red marks on her wrists—those were left by him when he couldn't control his strength last night.

Amae Koromo noticed his gaze and suddenly lowered her head, using her hair to block her face, whispering: "It hurts..."

His heart softened instantly, and he pulled her wrist over to blow on it gently: "Sorry."

"Just kidding." Amae Koromo suddenly laughed, pulled her hand back, and pinched his cheek. "Cousin is so easy to fool."

By the time the two of them dawdled and got out of bed, it was already nearly noon.

In the dining room, Tohka, looking every bit the young lady of a wealthy family, spotted the... ambiguous situation between the two of them at a glance. "Could you two at least show a little restraint..."

Tohka felt quite helpless regarding the way Kageyama Sora and Amae Koromo acted without any avoidance yet without confirming their relationship. Especially since things weren't exactly clean between her and Kageyama Sora either, she just felt irritable and let it be.

Amae Koromo stuck out her tongue, pulled Kageyama Sora to sit down, and took the liberty of picking up a piece of cake and shoving it into his mouth.

"Cousin, will you go shopping with Koromo this afternoon?" She shook his arm, her eyes sparkling. Kageyama Sora looked at her expectant gaze and nodded.

The afternoon sun was lovely. Amae Koromo held Kageyama Sora's hand as they walked down the street, her long golden hair fluttering in the breeze.

She saw a cotton candy stand by the side of the road, her eyes lit up immediately, and she pulled him as she ran over.

"I want strawberry flavor!" She tilted her face up to tell the vendor, her profile looking exceptionally soft under the sunlight.

Kageyama Sora watched her licking the cotton candy and suddenly felt that moments like this were wonderful.

There was no sharpness from the mahjong table, no suffocating sense of oppression; she was just a sixteen-year-old girl who could be happy over cotton candy, who would laze in bed, and who would act spoiled.

On the way home after walking all day without actually buying anything, Amae Koromo suddenly stopped and looked up at Kageyama Sora.

"Cousin..." she said softly, "The last question for today: when you play mahjong with me, do you really not think I'm scary?"

Kageyama Sora was stunned for a moment, then squeezed her hand tightly. "Why do you ask that?"

"They all say I'm like a monster at the mahjong table." She lowered her head, her voice sounding a bit muffled. "Even Hanana and the others are afraid of me."

Kageyama Sora crouched down to look her in the eyes. "In my eyes, you are just Koromo."

Amae Koromo froze for a moment, then threw herself into his arms without a word, burying her face in his chest.

Silence, yet it spoke volumes.

The setting sun stretched their shadows long, and the wind blew through the leaves, making a rustling sound.

Kageyama Sora held the person in his arms and gently patted her back.

He knew the loneliness in her heart and knew she used a sharp exterior to protect herself.

And all he could do was stand by her side, letting her know that whether she was the Demon King at the mahjong table or a little girl acting spoiled, he would always be with her.

And this was the reason why Kageyama Sora, mistakenly believing that Amae Koromo had changed because of his words, was so shocked when he saw that version of her later during the preliminary finals.

By the time they returned home that day, Amae Koromo had regained her energy.

The two of them decided to continue watching movies.

Amae Koromo happened to eat a delicious strawberry and wanted to feed it to Kageyama Sora.

However, Kageyama Sora accidentally licked Amae Koromo's fingertip, causing both of them to pause.

The air in the room suddenly became thick.

Kageyama Sora looked at her face, inches away, and remembering the kiss from the morning, his Adam's apple bobbed.

Amae Koromo also looked at him, her breathing gradually becoming rapid.

The sweet scent of strawberries still lingered on the tip of her nose. Amae Koromo's fingertip froze in mid-air; the spot he had licked felt like it had been touched by a spark, burning all the way up along her skin.

She instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, but Kageyama Sora gently gripped her wrist.

His fingertips, calloused, rubbed against the knuckles where she had just gotten strawberry juice, his dark eyes shining startlingly bright in the dim light.

The light and shadow on the TV screen flickered, reflecting on his high-bridged nose and casting a small, ambiguous shadow.

"There's still some strawberry juice left." His voice was low, slightly hoarse from the tea he had just drunk, and his warm breath swept over her fingertips.

Amae Koromo's heartbeat suddenly lost its rhythm, like a strawberry candy tossed into a washing machine, even her breathing stained with a sweet, sticky sensation.

She watched as Kageyama Sora lowered his head and his tongue gently licked her fingertip—not the accidental touch from before, but a deliberate, slow grinding.

The sweetness of the strawberry mixed with the temperature of his lips and teeth, drilling into her blood vessels through her fingertip and exploding into a fine, itchy sensation throughout her limbs.

Amae Koromo couldn't help but tremble, a faint, broken moan spilling from her throat like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on.

She wanted to pull her hand away, but her wrist was gripped even tighter, and his other hand suddenly wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his embrace.

"Cousin..." Her voice trembled, her fingertips curling up, accidentally brushing against the corner of his lips.

Kageyama Sora took the opportunity to take her finger into his mouth, his tongue circling her pad; the wet, hot sensation made Amae Koromo's spine instantly tense up. Her yellow hair fell down, covering her flushed cheeks, but it couldn't hide the crimson spreading across her ears.

Chapter 113 Extra: A Day with Amae Koromo (Part 2)

Kageyama Sora took the opportunity to take her finger into his mouth, his tongue circling her pad; the wet, hot sensation made Amae Koromo's spine instantly tense up. Her yellow hair fell down, covering her flushed cheeks, but it couldn't hide the crimson spreading across her ears.

The movie on the TV was still playing, lines drifting over intermittently, but neither of them was listening.

When Kageyama Sora released her finger, the knuckle was already dampened, glistening with moisture.

He looked at her flustered appearance, a hint of a smile flashing in his dark eyes, and leaned close to her ear. "Very sweet."

The warm breath drilled into her ear canal, and Amae Koromo jerked her head up, bumping right into his chest.

Her nose brushed against his collarbone, carrying the crisp scent of body wash mixed with the strawberry sweetness from just a moment ago, creating a dizzying fragrance.

She could clearly hear his heartbeat, steady and powerful, like a drumbeat striking against the tip of her heart.

"I want to eat too." She spoke suddenly, her voice carrying a slight nasal tone, as she reached up to hook her arms around his neck and tilted her head to kiss him.

Kageyama Sora's hand slid down along her waistline, his fingertips lifting the hem of her nightgown. When he touched her warm skin, Amae Koromo trembled slightly, but she did not push him away.

Her kiss tasted of strawberries and held a clumsy eagerness, like a starving little beast greedily plundering the breath from his lips.

The television screen suddenly flared with a blinding white light, illuminating the strap of Amae Koromo's gown as it slipped down to her shoulder.

Kageyama Sora lifted her up and placed her on the carpet, his hair falling down to intertwine with her golden locks as his kisses traveled from the corners of her lips down to the hollow of her neck.

Amae Koromo's fingers dug into his black hair, her grip tightening unconsciously, leaving a few faint red marks on the back of his neck.

"Cousin..." she murmured hazily, her skirt bunched up to her waist, revealing her fair calves.

Kageyama Sora bit her earlobe, and hearing her light shiver, he let out a low chuckle: "Do you know fear now?"

Amae Koromo bit his shoulder as if in a fit of pique, but she couldn't bring herself to use any real force.

"I'm not afraid." She said, reaching out to undo the buttons of his shirt, but her fingertips were trembling so violently that she couldn't manage to undo a single one for a long time.

Kageyama Sora took her hands in his, guiding her as she unbuttoned them one by one, the lines of his collarbone becoming exceptionally clear in the light.

Afterward, Kageyama Sora's kisses followed the hollow of Amae Koromo's neck downward, stopping at the dip of her collarbone.

The skin there was as thin as a cicada's wing, and one could clearly see the pale blue veins rising and falling gently with her rapid breathing.

He used his teeth to gently nibble at that patch of skin, leaving faint red marks as if declaring some secret ownership.

Amae Koromo's fingers raked red marks across his back, her cotton shirt crumpled and wrinkled.

She leaned her head back against the carpet, her long golden hair fanned out like spilled sunlight, the tips brushing against the back of Kageyama Sora's hand and bringing a faint, ticklish sensation.

"Cousin..." Her voice carried a hint of a sob, though she wasn't truly crying, the tail end of her words drawn out long like a kitten acting spoiled.

Kageyama Sora lifted his head, his dark eyes brimming with an unfathomable depth of affection.

He reached out to brush the sweat-dampened bangs from her forehead, his fingertips grazing the corners of her slightly reddened eyes.

Amae Koromo's eyelashes were damp, clinging with fine droplets of moisture like butterfly wings dusted with morning dew.