"I don't know yet. But we should—"
Just then, the sliding door burst open. Rina stood there in an oversized T-shirt, her face blotchy and tear-streaked, mascara running down her cheeks. She looked between them with wild eyes.
"What the fuck were you two doing?" she asked in a cracked voice.
Akira straightened in the water, meeting her gaze. "Rina... why aren't you asleep?"
"Why aren't I asleep?" She chuckled. "The lights in my room were flickering like crazy, and I felt... something. Like this intense pressure building in my head, like my skull was going to split open. And now I find you two out here together, practically naked in the middle of the night?"
Akira climbed out of the tub, water streaming off his bare chest and soaking into his shorts. He grabbed a towel from the rack. "Rina, it's not what you think—"
"Not what I think?" Her voice rose to a near-shout. "You're half-naked in a hot tub with the weird transfer student at midnight! Don't insult my intelligence, Akira! I may be going through hell right now, but I'm not stupid!"
"She was only teaching me something," Akira said calmly, wrapping the towel around his waist.
"Teaching you what? How to…" Rina stopped herself, shaking her head violently. "You know what? Never mind. I don't even care. I just came here to clear my head, to get away from everything for five fucking minutes, and instead I walk into... this."
Ayaka rose from the water like some mythical creature emerging from a lake, her wet silk robe clinging to every curve.
She approached Rina slowly, with a teasing smile playing on her lips. "You should be careful with that tone, Rina-chan. I don't take orders from anyone, especially from cheerleaders with a broken heart. And I certainly don't appreciate being accused of things by someone who doesn't understand what they're looking at."
Rina took an involuntary step back, her eyes widening. "What the hell does that even mean?"
"But then again," Ayaka continued, stepping past her toward the door, "I suppose I'm done with what I wanted for the night anyway."
She glanced back at Akira, looking satisfied. "See you tomorrow, Akira-kun. We have much more to do together."
She disappeared inside, leaving Akira and Rina alone on the balcony. The steam from the hot tub swirled around them in the cool night air.
Rina stood frozen for a moment, then her shoulders sagged. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly looking vulnerable rather than suspicious.
The anger drained from her face, replaced by something that looked like exhaustion.
Ai's voice whispered urgently in Akira's mind: "Careful here, darling. Rina's affinity is at critical instability. Wrong move triggers permanent hostility. Right move? She could become an asset."
Akira approached slowly, keeping his movements non-threatening. "Are you okay? You don't seem like yourself."
"Why do you care?" Rina shot back, but there was no heat in it. Just defeat. "All guys are the same anyway. You're all just..." She trailed off, her voice breaking.
"All guys are the same, what?"
"Selfish. Controlling. Only caring about what you want." She wiped at her eyes roughly. "You act all sweet and concerned, but in the end, you're just like Kenji. Just like all of them."
Akira frowned, sensing something deeper. "What happened with Kenji?"
Rina laughed bitterly. "What happened? He broke up with me. That's what happened. After two years together, he just... ended it. Tonight. Over text. Can you believe that? Over a fucking text message."
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't." She held up a hand. "Don't give me the pity routine. I don't need it."
"What did he say?" Akira asked carefully.
Rina's face crumpled. "He said I was being difficult. That I never listened to him. That I was 'too vanilla.' and wouldn't do what he wanted… he wanted me to do some freak stuff with his friends, and I said no. And that was it. Game over. Relationship done."
"What did he want you to do?"
"It doesn't matter." She turned away, staring out at the city lights.
The system flashed before Akira's eyes:
[EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY DETECTED]
[CHOICE TRIGGER ACTIVATED]
[A: CONSOLE HER - Provide genuine emotional support (+20 AFFINITY, TRUST BUILD)]
[B: TAKE ADVANTAGE - Exploit her vulnerable state (+30 PERV-POINTS, AFFINITY UNSTABLE)]
Akira didn't hesitate. He chose A.
He moved to stand beside her, not touching but close enough that she could feel his presence. "Kenji's an idiot. You know that, right?"
"Easy for you to say."
"I'm serious. A guy who lets someone like you, who loves him, go… is an idiot."
Rina glanced at him with that suspicious look in her eyes. "And you're different?"
Akira shrugged. Come sit." He gestured to the tub edge.
Rina hesitated, then turned to look at him fully, her eyes red and puffy. "Why are you being so nice to me? I've been nothing but a bitch to you since you got here. Everyone calls you Creep King, including me."
"Because I know what it's like to be dumped on."
She wiped her eyes. "Sakura's video, right? The whole school saw."
"Yeah. Hurt like hell."
"Kenji laughed about it. Said you were pathetic."
Akira sat beside her. "See? He's trash."
Rina leaned a bit. "Maybe. Still sucks."
"You deserve someone who sees how awesome you are."
She glanced at him. "You think I'm awesome?"
"Cheer captain, smart, hot… yeah."
Rina blushed. "Stop."
"Not stopping. Truth."
She nudged his shoulder. "Weirdo."
"Better than creep."
Rina was quiet for a long moment, staring out at the lights. When she finally spoke, her voice was small. "I thought he loved me. Two years, and I really thought... God, I'm so stupid."
"You're not stupid. You trusted someone. That's not stupid; it's human."
"Then why does it hurt so much?"
"Because you actually cared. That's the price of caring about people… it hurts when they let you down. And maybe because everyone deserves a second chance to not be a bitch."
Despite everything, Rina let out a watery laugh. "Was that supposed to be comforting?"
"Was it?"
"Kind of." She wiped her eyes again. "Look, I appreciate... whatever this is. But I need to be alone right now. I need to think."
"Okay." Akira stepped back, giving her space.
"Hey… Thanks. I guess."
"Rina?"
"What?"
"For what it's worth, I think Kenji just made the biggest mistake of his life."
She didn't respond, but he saw her shoulders shake slightly, and he couldn't tell if it was from crying or something else.
Akira stepped away from her on the balcony and went back inside, still feeling the rush from the ritual with Ayaka. The apartment was dim and silent; the other girls were likely already asleep.
He padded down the hallway toward his room, his mind churning through everything that had happened. The alliance with Ayaka, the new powers, Rina's breakdown… Ai wasn't joking when it said things were going to move fast.
[REWARD GRANTED: 20 AFFINITY TO RINA]
As he reached his door and pushed it open, Ai's voice suddenly filled his head: "You are not alone."
Akira's hand shot to the light switch on the wall beside the door, flooding the room with brightness.
His breath caught.
Mia was sprawled across his bed like something out of a fashion magazine ad, propped up on one elbow with her body arranged in a deliberately provocative pose.
She wore a tight crop top that barely held her boobs in place, showing off her toned stomach, while her bum shorts left very little to the imagination. Her hair was tousled, and her lips curved in a knowing smile.
"I was wondering when you would show up," she purred.