"Quite a few people in class must be blaming you now. Suddenly falling out with Nagumo has made him irritable with them too."
"Are you saying I should deal with it?"
"No, just worried about how things are for you in class."
"What can they do to me? I don't need to get along with the whole class. Having Tomomi and the others is enough, and I can hang out with people from other classes too."
As she spoke, Asahina sat down beside Kaoru.
The girl was wearing a light gray open-front knitted cardigan today, draped loosely over her shoulders, revealing her smooth, delicate skin.
Beneath it was a white off-shoulder dress, her fair and pretty neck wrapped in a scarf.
Even so, the curve of her chest was faintly visible, appearing full and rounded.
The cinched waist accentuated her hips, and though she wasn't doing anything, the bodycon skirt outlined a mature charm.
From the side, the plump, rounded curves tightly hugged her perky bottom, the hem falling to her calves, giving off an air of sophistication.
Unlike the slightly inexperienced Tachibana Akane, she had even put on high heels.
Because of this, Akane was immediately wary of Asahina's sudden appearance.
Who would dress up so nicely for no reason?
"Are you free tonight?" Asahina giggled, poking Kaoru's cheek, knowing full well he had been sneaking glances at her.
But then, wasn't the whole point of dressing up for him to look?
"Aren't you afraid I'll eat you up tonight?" Kaoru grabbed her mischievous hand.
"And what are you doing here?"
Seeing that he wasn't taking the bait, Asahina Nazuna replied.
"I was out with friends and happened to see you and Akane-senpai here, so I came to say hi."
Akane was skeptical.
Was it really necessary to come over just to greet them? Their relationship seemed closer than she had estimated, and the earlier interaction weighed even heavier on her mind.
"What were you two talking about?" Asahina glanced at Tachibana Akane, her peripheral vision catching the stuffed animal and shopping bags between them.
"Tachibana-senpai, are you alone today?"
Akane met her gaze and admitted openly.
"No, I came out with Mitoma-kun."
The two stared at each other for a moment before Asahina Nazuna suddenly smiled.
"You two seem close. I thought you'd be with Horikita-senpai."
"I also didn't expect Asahina-san to be in a cold war with Nagumo-kun. Last winter, you two spent it together, didn't you?" Akane countered just as sharply, sensing something off between Asahina and Kaoru.
"Well, we were childhood friends, and we had other friends around too. Celebrating holidays together was normal." Asahina smiled faintly. "But times change. The past is the past, the present is the present. Childhood friends are childhood friends, but the one you truly love is the one you truly love."
Akane froze for a moment, a dangerously ominous thought flashing through her mind before she dismissed it as absurd, instinctively suppressing her suspicions.
"I won't disturb you two any longer."
Asahina stood up, her gaze lingering on Kaoru as she gave him a thorough once-over.
Muttering something inaudible, she instinctively reached out to straighten his clothes.
"This outfit looks good on you. Did you buy it yourself?"
"Just arrived today. Custom-made."
"No wonder the quality is so good. But isn't it a bit cold?"
Before Kaoru could respond, Asahina undid her own scarf and wrapped it around his neck, wearing a faint smile.
"Mmm, that's much better. Consider it an early Christmas present from me."
Seeing her smile, Kaoru immediately understood her intention.
He'd never seen her display such possessive behavior before—openly marking her territory right in front of others felt unsettling.
"Thanks. I'll return the favor with a gift for you the day after tomorrow," Kaoru said, fingers brushing the scarf that still carried the girl's lingering fragrance.
"My, my. I'll look forward to it," Asahina replied, glancing at Akane's expression with satisfaction.
As Akane watched her leave, she puffed her cheeks in displeasure.
She couldn't explain this irritated feeling, but it definitely annoyed her.
"Are you two close friends?"
"About the same as with you."
"That... kind of pisses me off."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I just feel like I'm getting angry."
Kaoru gave her a strange look.
Even her anger was tentative?
Seeing his expression only worsened Akane's mood.
Though she couldn't articulate the sensation, she'd distinctly sensed subtle hostility from Asahina—a quiet exclusion directed at her.
Yet it also felt like... showing off something that belonged to her.
Akane picked up the shopping bag containing the Gundam model and thrust it toward Kaoru with solemnity.
"This is my Christmas gift to you. Merry Christmas!"
Kaoru accepted it with equal gravity. "Thank you for the gift, senpai."
"Was I the first to give you a Christmas present?" Akane asked, her face stern with seriousness.
"You were," Kaoru nodded.
Akane felt satisfied.
No matter what scarf-giving meant, she'd been the first to give a gift.
...
The next morning.
Kaoru powered off his phone, left it in his room, and departed the student dormitory.
In a blind spot of surveillance cameras, he donned the Black Formal Suit and Black-framed Glasses, his entire demeanor transforming into someone else entirely.
He moved unimpeded through campus, only delayed briefly at the guarded main gate where he passed the facial recognition system after a tense moment.
Boarding a nearly empty bus populated only by a few office workers and shop clerks discussing recent news, Kaoru drew curious glances.
But constrained by Japanese social norms, no one approached the conspicuously gentlemanly figure who appeared far too mature to be a student.
As the bus made its stops, Kaoru eventually transferred to the subway system, changing lines until reaching Seiseki-Sakuragaoka Station.
The night before had brought snow, leaving the ground covered in a sparkling white layer.
The midday sun reflected off the frosty puddles where the snow had melted, and beside the familiar building stood a small snowman—its arms made of twigs, its nose a stub of a carrot, its appearance somewhat resembling him.
If left any longer, this snowman would either melt or be cleared away by someone, given that this was a public street.
"Sometimes, I really want to punch you, Wish Machine," Kaoru said calmly as he gazed at the small building.
Though a larger office had been established later, this place was where it all began.
[I never said anything about transferring you to another world. Your task was only to collect wishes.]
Returning to this place, it seemed nothing had changed—even the familiar paparazzi were still lurking around, though no figures could be seen moving inside.
Kaoru touched the envelope in his pocket.
Coming back from the dead was terrifying—he wasn't sure if they could accept it.
The first floor still housed the familiar pet shop, bookstore, and laundromat.
Kaoru even spotted the bookstore owner chatting with a customer. It seemed no one had noticed him.
With practiced ease, Kaoru pried open the mailbox and, as expected, found numerous fan letters inside.
He habitually opened a few and couldn't help but sneer—those perverts were back to their delusions.
He took all their letters out and replaced them with his own envelope.
Creak—
The sound of footsteps on the stairs reached Kaoru's ears.
He turned to leave, only to hear a girl's voice call out.
"Wait for me, Hana."
That plain, unremarkable voice reminded Kaoru of the girl's puppy-like vow—I'll stay by your side for the rest of my life.
Suppressing the urge to turn back, Kaoru stepped onto the squeaking snow and merged into the crowd.
He still had things to do—he couldn't look back now.
But precisely because he didn't look back, he failed to see the girl staring intently at his retreating figure.
"Hana?"
Rinze Morino looked puzzled at Suzuki Hana, who had suddenly frozen in place, her gaze fixed on someone.
"Ah… I just felt like I saw him," Hana murmured, snapping out of her daze.
The figure had already vanished from sight.
"How strange… my heart suddenly started racing."
Mention of him plunged Rinze into silence.
"Sorry, I brought up something I shouldn't have."
"N-no, it's fine. Actually, I've been trying to move on lately…"
"Ah, no wonder you haven't been clutching his photo recently."
Ever since his death, everyone had been acting a little strange.
Rinze often talked to herself while holding his picture.
Because he had left behind so few belongings, there had even been fights over them at first.
Some people spent their days watching old recordings, as if that could bring back the past.
Hana forced a smile, as she always did.
Even though it had been two full years without him, life had to go on—otherwise…
Otherwise, the agency he left behind would surely collapse.
Too many people had already left. No matter what, she had to protect this place.
Hana looked up at the sky.
Should I have been gentler with him back then? Did my absolute obedience also put too much pressure on him?
"Strange… the mailbox looks like it's been pried open," Rinze remarked, having noticed Kaoru's handiwork.
"Ah, another weirdo, huh…"
Before she could finish speaking, Suzuki Hana spotted a lone envelope lying inside the mailbox, and her heart involuntarily skipped a beat.
Rinze Morino took out the envelope.
There was no postmark or stamp—only a single line of text.
In an instant, even her usually gentle temper flared up.
How dare someone forge the producer's handwriting? This person... this person was unforgivable!
"Rinze, let me see it." Suzuki Hana's smile had completely vanished.
Whoever was behind this, it wasn't funny in the slightest.
Rinze handed her the envelope, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the pile of envelopes Kaoru had just thrown into the trash.
She became even more convinced that someone was playing a cruel joke on them.
Yet, Suzuki Hana remained frozen in place.
"Hana, what does it say?" Rinze suppressed her anger, keeping her voice gentle as she leaned closer to Suzuki Hana—only to immediately see the contents of the letter.
Her pupils constricted.
There was no mistaking it—it was unmistakably the producer's handwriting.
"Heh heh heh... Merry Christmas, see you next year?"
Suzuki Hana suddenly laughed, her eyes flashing with a dangerously sharp glint.
This kind of malicious prank—no matter where this person was hiding, she would find them.
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Rinze Morino and Suzuki Hana is from the Idol master project.