join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter
"…Natsuki-kun!!!"
Seeing Kitagawa Marin jog over, Tsubame wiped her eyes, instantly understanding what was happening. She bit her silver teeth angrily and turned to glare.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong, please forgive me."
Amamiya Natsuki apologized decisively, his attitude of admitting fault exceptionally sincere.
"If apologies worked, what would we need the police for?"
Koyasu Tsubame's pretty face was taut, unmoved.
Earlier, when she heard that she wouldn't need to look for Marin anymore, she thought she had wasted too much time, causing Marin to be in danger. At that moment, she felt terrible, only to realize it was a prank.
Too much.
Super too much!
I won't forgive you easily!
Amamiya Natsuki apologized sincerely: "Since Senpai won't forgive me, I can only show my sincerity."
"…"
Koyasu Tsubame's eyes shifted slightly, glancing over, wanting to see what sincerity Amamiya Natsuki could offer.
The next moment.
Tsubame's pretty face quickly flushed, and she couldn't help but take half a step back, saying in a shy, angry voice:
"W-what are you doing?!"
Amamiya Natsuki said seriously:
"When apologizing, you should expose your chest to show sincerity."
Koyasu Tsubame bit her silver teeth, glaring shyly: "…Then why are you taking off your bottom clothes?"
"Because I don't have a chest, I can only show other sincerity."
"Pfft!"
Koyasu Tsubame spat lightly, turned her head away, and said in a hurried whisper, "Hurry up and put your clothes on, Marin is about to come over."
Amamiya Natsuki lowered his voice, saying,
"If Tsubame-senpai doesn't forgive me, I won't put them on."
"...Shameless!"
Koyasu Tsubame bit her silver teeth in shame and anger.
What sincerity? This was clearly coercion!
However, the coercion was quite effective.
Being alone would have been fine; she could have held on for a while, but now Marin was coming over soon, and there was always a risk of exposure.
"I'll forgive you then," Tsubame said, turning her pretty face away, urging in a low voice, "Quickly put your clothes on!"
"Yes, putting them on now."
...
"Tsubame-senpai, you're back."
Kitagawa Marin ran over happily, completely unaware of what had just happened.
Phew...
Koyasu Tsubame let out a soft breath, looked up at Marin, a similarly bright smile on her face, and said happily,
"I'm back."
No matter what, Marin's safe return was incredibly good news.
The girls successfully reunited, naturally leading to chirpy chatting and talking.
Amamiya Natsuki didn't eavesdrop; instead, he found Sadako and continued to bond and make promises.
To get something, one must first give.
To recruit kaidan to work for him, the initial investment was very necessary.
A moment later.
Footsteps quietly approached.
"Natsuki-kun..."
Koyasu Tsubame pursed her pink lips and quietly walked over.
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look: "What's wrong?"
"The mushroom on my head is still there," Koyasu Tsubame lowered her voice, "While no one is around, let's detonate the mushroom first."
"Tsubame-senpai, you've worked hard."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded, then prepared to detonate the mushroom.
"Wait, wait a moment!"
Koyasu Tsubame suddenly reached out and called a halt.
Amamiya Natsuki said, "What's wrong?"
"I suddenly thought of something..." Tsubame looked up, her pink eyes bright and clear, "What if I activate Dark Shadow after detonating the mushroom and turn into a shadow?"
"That's a good guess." Amamiya Natsuki pondered upon hearing this, "I really haven't considered this question, but in Dark Shadow state, emotions indeed decrease a lot... Tsubame-senpai can try it now."
Koyasu Tsubame nodded gently: "I'll try."
It's best if it works; if not, it doesn't matter. The skill can be used and then reapplied later, so there's no loss either way.
Bang.
Clothes dropped to the ground.
The moment she transformed into Dark Shadow, Koyasu Tsubame suddenly realized:
Wait, when I exit Dark Shadow state, I'll be exposed again... This is clearly a loss!
Amamiya Natsuki waited silently for a while, but didn't see Tsubame exit Dark Shadow state, so he clicked his tongue lightly: "It seems it really is effective."
What do the seven deadly sins of humans have to do with me, a shadow in a two-dimensional world?
Amamiya Natsuki didn't leave; he just waited silently in the room.
Several minutes passed in a flash.
The shadow on the ground suddenly rippled gently like flowing water, followed by a Tsubame appearing out of thin air.
"Natsuki-kun, I succeeded..." Geng
Koyasu Tsubame was full of pleasant surprise, but halfway through her words, Tsubame suddenly trembled as if electrocuted, her breathing became abruptly rapid, and a mournful cry like a cuckoo's lament escaped her lips.
"Tsubame-senpai, what's wrong?"
Amamiya Natsuki frowned and looked over.
"I..." Tsubame leaned against the wall with her right hand, her breathing rapid, her chest heaving, as if every inch of her skin was tinged with pink, her normally cool and bright eyes now hazy, with something about to burst forth, "I feel so uncomfortable...!"
"Tsubame-senpai?"
Amamiya Natsuki's expression was grave; he took half a step forward, preparing to check. This state was clearly not right.
Just as he raised his right hand, Koyasu Tsubame suddenly pounced, wrapping her arms tightly around Amamiya Natsuki's neck, her eyes, which had already turned into pink hearts, rapidly approached and magnified, then directly pushed Amamiya Natsuki against the wall.
"Wait, what exactly is going on?"
The incident happened so suddenly that Amamiya Natsuki couldn't react for a moment. Just as he was about to push Tsubame away, his lips suddenly felt a sharp pain.
"I was actually pushed back by Tsubame-senpai."
Amamiya Natsuki was incredibly shocked.
It hadn't even been an hour since the mushroom was planted; she was too thirsty!
Kaguya had endured the lust mushroom for one or two days before, and she wasn't as ravenous as you!
Fortunately, Tsubame's counter-push didn't last long. After only about a minute, Koyasu Tsubame suddenly recoiled as if electrocuted, separating from Amamiya Natsuki in a panic.
"Natsuki-kun, I'm sorry!" Tsubame's pretty face was flushed crimson, almost dripping blood, and smoke seemed to rise from her head, "I didn't mean to just now!"
"If apologies worked, what would we need the police for?" Amamiya Natsuki wiped his lips, his voice faint, returning her own words, "You even bit me until I bled, Tsubame-senpai, you went too far."
"It's my first time, and I don't have any experience..." Koyasu Tsubame stammered an explanation, then bowed in apology, "In short, it's all my fault!"
Amamiya Natsuki said sternly:
"When you apologize, please show some sincerity."
Koyasu Tsubame: "..."
It was indeed her fault just now, but it looked like he was the one benefiting, right?
He even wanted sincerity, that was too much!
"No sincerity, don't even think about it." Koyasu Tsubame puffed out her pink cheeks, glaring in shame, her earlier panic gradually disappearing, "Turn around!"
There's no such thing as regret medicine in the world; since it's already happened, regretting it is useless, right?
After realizing this, Koyasu Tsubame quickly suppressed her self-reproaching mood.
Amamiya Natsuki faced the wall and said,
"Tsubame-senpai, what happened just now?"
"I'm not sure either." Koyasu Tsubame pursed her pink lips, hesitating, "After becoming Dark Shadow, it seemed like all emotions were suppressed; there was a feeling of neither joy nor sorrow... When the skill duration ended and I changed back, I suddenly became super impulsive, completely unable to control myself, my body wasn't obeying, and I couldn't stop even if I wanted to."
"The mushroom has been planted for less than an hour. Logically speaking, as long as one's willpower is strong enough, one can endure it without doing anything." Amamiya Natsuki frowned and analyzed, "Tsubame-senpai's state just now can be explained by one thing... In Dark Shadow form, you indeed won't be affected by the mushroom, but the sin doesn't disappear; instead, it suddenly erupted the moment you exited Dark Shadow."
Koyasu Tsubame: "..."
Thinking about it carefully, this possibility was quite high.
When planting mushrooms before, whether it was the Anxious Mushroom or the gluttony mushroom, they were actually within the range of endurance. The person was very clear-headed, just physically uncomfortable.
But with the lust mushroom just now, her entire rationality was instantly lost.
"So... I actually dug my own grave?"
Koyasu Tsubame recalled her previous suggestion and covered her face, wanting to cry.
If she had honestly detonated the mushroom instead of trying to skip class, nothing would have happened, right?
Fortunately, Tsubame was not the type to wallow in self-pity. She quickly took a deep breath to calm herself down and said in a low voice with her back to Amamiya Natsuki,
...Everyone should be coming back soon. Let's go out first."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded. Just as he was about to walk out of the kitchen, he suddenly heard a soft thud outside the door, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps fleeing.
"Eh eh eh?" Tsubame stopped in her tracks, her recently cooled pretty face flushing red again, "S-Someone was eavesdropping outside!!"
"Not necessarily eavesdropping." Amamiya Natsuki comforted her, "It's also possible they were peeking."
"P-Peeking..."
Tsubame's body trembled; she only felt an instant social death crisis, "Who was peeking just now?"
Amamiya Natsuki shook his head: "I didn't see clearly."
No matter who it was, what happened has happened, and regretting it is useless.
Koyasu Tsubame could only compose herself and hope the other party wouldn't speak of it.
The two left the back kitchen and went to the restaurant in the front.
"Tsubame-senpai, are you alright now?"
Kitagawa Marin turned and asked.
"Cough, I'm fine."
Koyasu Tsubame shook her head, her gaze sweeping over the others. So, who was the person peeking outside the door just now?
At the same time.
Amamiya Natsuki casually approached Komi and whispered,
"Komi, you don't want Tsubame-senpai to find out, do you?"
Komi's body trembled, and she quickly shook her head in denial: "I wasn't peeking."
"Then you were eavesdropping?"
"Not that either..."
She was already too guilty to face anyone, yet she still said she wasn't.
Amamiya Natsuki whispered:
"You were hiding outside the door peeking. Tsubame-senpai is very angry now and wants to find you and make you do the same thing. What do you say we do?"
...You're lying."
"Hm?"
"Tsubame-senpai isn't that excessive of a person; you're clearly lying."
Amamiya Natsuki was surprised.
I didn't realize you had gotten smarter!
As they spoke, there was a sound at the restaurant entrance. The few of them walked over to see Kaguya, Hayasaka, and Chika, the three girls, safely returned.
"Marin-chan?"
Fujiwara Chika's eyes lit up.
Kitagawa Marin put her right hand on her hip, her smile bright: "That's right, I'm back with the team."
With the teammates reunited, they were naturally extra happy.
"Tsubame-senpai is amazing." Hayasaka Ai walked over in surprise, "You really found Marin."
"It wasn't me." Koyasu Tsubame shook her head in shame upon hearing this, "It was Natsuki-kun."
"Eh?"
Hayasaka Ai's gaze shifted towards Amamiya Natsuki, "Wait, didn't Senpai say the mushrooms were all planted?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded: "They were indeed all planted."
"Then how did you find Marin-chan?"
"To be precise, Marin found me."
"…"
After telling the Headless JK, Chainsaw Boy, and Sadako to wait at the restaurant entrance, Amamiya Natsuki and his group held their first full meeting in a corner.
"Kitagawa Marin's identity is actually a washed-up idol, and her character mission is to hold a performance and gain fans," Fujiwara Chika complained. "Isn't that too difficult?"
In comparison, her undertaker character mission was much simpler.
"It is indeed a bit tricky," Hayasaka Ai said, resting her right hand on her chin. "We can't sing with her real voice."
"It's fine," Kitagawa Marin quickly said. "Regarding that, Natsuki said lip-syncing would be enough."
Juju nodded: "…Indeed, she can't sing for real."
Her voice was incredibly terrifying; if Marin really sang, it would be like demonic music piercing the ears, just thinking about it sent shivers down one's spine.
"As an idol, she also needs to dance," Koyasu Tsubame lightly coughed twice. "I practiced dancing for several years before, I can teach Marin some simple moves."
Kitagawa Marin looked over: "Learning now, won't there be enough time?"
"It doesn't need to be too professional," Tsubame-senpai shook her head. "Simple dance steps are no problem."
Shinomiya Kaguya said softly:
"The performance venue can be chosen at the restaurant entrance, which can also attract customers."
Amamiya Natsuki interlaced his fingers and suggested:
"Time is tight, and it would be very difficult for Marin to sing and dance alone. I suggest you form an idol group and help each other complete the mission."
"Hmm?"
The girls all turned to look at him.
Amamiya Natsuki said earnestly:
"For idols, the more people the better. You can use the title of Muse and form a nine-member group to debut together; you'll definitely be very popular."
"That sounds interesting," Kitagawa Marin's eyes lit up. "Does everyone want to become idols together?"
"I agree," Fujiwara Chika said enthusiastically, never shy about expressing herself. "Let's all become idols together."
Yui, the unlucky student, sat in the corner listening, unable to help but internally complain:
So this is a horror survival game, becoming an idol is too strange!
Fujiwara Chika said expectantly: "Senpai, will you join us?"
"Hmm…" Koyasu Tsubame hesitated for two seconds, then quickly made up her mind and said, "I have no problem."
She hadn't been able to help much in the process of finding Marin-chan and had wasted a lot of everyone's time. No matter what, she had to try her best to make up for it.
As long as she could help everyone, a little sacrifice was completely fine.
"What about Juju?"
"Don't ask me, I can't go out and meet people."
"Komi… never mind." Kitagawa Marin turned her head. "What about Hanamori?"
Hayasaka Ai didn't refuse immediately: "Let me think about it carefully, it's not that easy to make a decision."
Finally, there was the Sheltered Young Lady left.
Fujiwara Chika turned to look at her, extending her hand expectantly: "Kaguya-chan, let's become idols together?"
"One hundred percent refusal," Shinomiya Kaguya said, crossing her arms over her chest, without the slightest hesitation, decisively stating, "You are enough; you absolutely don't need me to be an idol with you."
She was the Young Lady of Shinomiya; singing and dancing in front of a large crowd, no matter how she thought about it, was too embarrassing!
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter