"Hello?"
"Hello? Momo-senpai?"
"Do you have time tonight for Christmas Eve?"
"Of course not. I have to be with my girlfriends," Rinji said with a chuckle over the phone. "I probably still have to prepare a few things this morning."
"I see. So now that you have a girlfriend, you've forgotten about me?"
"No, no, no. I don't know how you came to that conclusion. It's just, when you have girlfriends, you've got to be considerate of their feelings, right? Otherwise, your relationship could fall apart."
"Then... wait, what did you just say? 'Girlfriends'?"
"Yeah. Oh right, I haven't told you yet, Momo-senpai. I have two girlfriends now."
"...That's surprising. At the start of last semester, you were freshly heartbroken, and now you've got multiple girlfriends."
"Something happened the night of the Hoshin Festival. Kinda flipped my mentality."
"For you to change so much in one night, I guess it must've been pretty intense."
Over the phone, Ryuju Momo continued.
"Anyway, make some time at 10 PM tonight to hang out with me."
"...Alright."
"Then it's settled."
Beep—
The call ended. Dressed in casual clothes, Rinji headed into the mall to meet with Kaguya and Ishigami, who were already waiting.
This meetup was Kaguya's idea. She'd invited the two of them to help her pick out a Christmas gift for Shirogane.
She had no experience with this kind of thing, and the only male friends she could rely on were Rinji and Ishigami.
"So, Shinomiya, you want me and Ishigami to help you choose a gift?"
"Just for reference," Kaguya said with her usual cool expression. "You two are going on dates for Christmas too, right? I just thought I'd return the favor."
"..."
Rinji understood now—if Ishigami was around, Kaguya would never admit anything, especially not her relationship with Shirogane.
What she didn't realize was that Ishigami had more or less picked up on it already.
"Wait, me? A date!? No way!"
Ishigami panicked, just like Kaguya. He didn't want anyone to know about his one-sided crush on Tsubame Koyasu.
"Your feelings for Tsubame-senpai are pretty obvious," Kaguya said bluntly.
"Obvious to... who exactly?"
"Even Fujiwara's probably noticed."
"Even her!?"
"I am considering things from your perspective," Kaguya added with a rare, slight smile. Then she turned to Rinji. "If you're planning to give Hayasaka a gift, I can offer some suggestions. After all, we've lived together for years, and I know her very well."
"..."
Kaguya inwardly praised herself—perfect move.
She'd invited the two Kouhais to get a feel for what typical guys liked in a Christmas gift. Rinji and Ishigami were very different people but both knew Shirogane well. If she could observe their gift preferences, she could surely pick the perfect present.
What Kaguya didn't account for was one fatal flaw—
If she'd invited either one separately, she might've gotten helpful advice.
But the moment she put the two of them together...
"Alright, Rinji-kun, Ishigami-kun—let's start—huh? Where are they?"
Kaguya turned around and realized both boys had vanished.
She found them at the gaming section.
"Wow, Ishigami, I can't believe they made a sequel to this game."
"Classic series."
"Should we just buy it? We can play over winter break. Oh, look, this limited-edition console looks sick."
"Specs are the same. Better to buy more games. Some big titles just dropped... Ah, these are on sale! Too bad they're exclusives."
"Screw it, buy them anyway!"
Kaguya: "..."
The two had completely forgotten what they were here for.
This was what happens when you put Ishigami and Rinji together—or rather, when you put any two guys together.
They'd left Kaguya completely behind in favor of video games. Christmas? Gifts? Never heard of them.
"Hey! Can you two focus for a second!?"
Kaguya shouted from behind them.
The two boys turned around, faces innocent.
"We are focused." x2
Kaguya: "..."
Forget advice. These two were completely hopeless.
"You were supposed to be helping pick out gifts... Ugh, forget it. What kind of present would make you happy? Games?"
Rinji: "A military corps."
Kaguya: "...Huh?"
Ishigami: "Let me sit in a Gundam cockpit."
Kaguya: ???
Rinji: "Or let me transform into a Kamen Rider."
Ishigami: "Even better if I can transform inside a Gundam cockpit. That's peak. I bet no guy would turn that down."
Rinji: "Agreed."
"..."
Kaguya regretted everything. She should never have invited both of them at once.
In the end, she'd have to rely on herself.
"Speaking of gifts for girls though... Ishigami, you told me something before, right? So I have a bit of an idea," Rinji suddenly said.
Kaguya's ears perked up immediately.
"Oh? You already have something in mind?"
"Yeah. Last time, I gave Karura a commercial building. I think it works for both genders. Shinomiya, you can afford that, right?"
"Do you have a fundamental misunderstanding of my finances?"
The Shinomiya family was filthy rich—but that didn't mean Kaguya herself had that much disposable cash.
Sure, she had a black card, but it was a secondary one from her family. If she used it recklessly, she'd be interrogated.
"Hayasaka likes building PCs, so maybe I should get her a graphics card or CPU or something?"
"Come on, it's Christmas. Don't give something that kills the mood."
Kaguya pointed at the jewelry section behind them.
"I think you should give something romantic—like a pendant or a necklace."
"Hmm... you mean that kind of cheap, impractical stuff?"
"Do you have any concept of money!?"
Despite her complaints, Rinji wandered toward the jewelry area anyway.
"Welcome. What can I help you with today, sir?"
The saleslady gave a professional smile.
The name on her tag read: Miyamizu.