When Ryuichi arrived, Toyohama Kazuka finally let out a small sigh of relief.
"Am I really supposed to just stand here and wait for the train like this…?"
Her eyes flicked toward the nearby crowd. Dozens of people were already whispering, sneaking glances her way.
Thanks to Ryuichi's sharp hearing, their murmurs reached him clearly.
"That girl… is that her?"
"It's really her!"
"Go talk to her! Come on, it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance!"
"Wha—why me? You go!"
Their reaction was normal enough. Honestly, Ryuichi had seen far worse from the truly obsessed fans.
The real problem was always the photos. If someone politely came up to ask, "Can we take a picture together?", Mai would usually agree with a smile. But there were always people who preferred to take secret shots without permission and post them online.
Since meeting Ryuichi, life had been much easier for Mai whenever he was around, acting as her walking shield against unwanted attention. But he couldn't always be by her side, and the problems always resurfaced when he wasn't.
This was Kazuka's first time posing as Sakurajima Mai, and she clearly wasn't used to this kind of situation. She looked frozen, unsure whether to confront the people filming or just pretend not to notice.
"You don't have to worry about them," Ryuichi said quietly.
"Eh? But…"
Before she could protest further, Ryuichi snapped his fingers. Instantly, everyone who had been aiming their phones at her lowered them, their expressions going blank as they quietly turned away and walked off without a backward glance.
Kazuka's jaw dropped.
"What—what just happened?"
"Common-sense alteration," Ryuichi said casually. "It's a type of magic. Handy, isn't it?"
Kazuka was stunned. Magic like that actually existed? It was so absurdly convenient it felt unfair.
"When I'm nearby, you can relax," Ryuichi continued. "No one will pay attention to you. But when I'm not around, you'll have to be careful not to slip up."
Kazuka hesitated, then said softly, "In that case, you should come help more often…"
"I don't have that much free time. Mai would never ask for something unreasonable like that. If you'd said that to me without thinking, I'd instantly know you were a fake."
His calm words made her blink in slight embarrassment.
She muttered under her breath, "You talk like you know my sister so well…"
"It's funny," Ryuichi said with a faint smirk. "The moment you're away from Mai, you suddenly start calling her 'sister' more naturally."
"Don't point it out."
Her cheeks puffed slightly in irritation.
Ryuichi ignored the glare and said nonchalantly, "I can say this with confidence—I know Mai a lot better than you do."
"Arrogant much…" Kazuka grumbled, crossing her arms. Then, as if something occurred to her, she blurted out, "By the way, just how far have you two gone?"
Ryuichi replied lazily, "Pretty far."
"...Huh?"
It took a few seconds for his words to sink in. Then her face turned bright red.
"Y-you mean… that thing? You actually did… that?"
Her voice shot up nearly an octave.
Ryuichi tilted his head, pretending ignorance. "Which thing?"
"T-that thing! You know! That kind of thing…"
Her voice got smaller and smaller with each word, until it was barely more than a faint buzz. Her ears had turned completely red by now.
It amused him; she looked exactly how Mai had last night—adorably flustered and trying to hide it.
"Which kind of thing, exactly?" he asked, playing dumb.
"The… th-the… uh—ah, I can't say it!"
Unable to contain her embarrassment, she smacked him lightly with a clenched fist. Her face looked ready to combust.
Ryuichi sighed softly and decided to stop teasing her. "If you mean what I think you mean, then yeah. We did. Yesterday."
"Eh!?"
Kazuka's eyes went wide as saucers, but Ryuichi remained completely calm.
From what he'd gathered before, Kazuka seemed oddly innocent for someone with dyed-blonde hair and a modern fashion sense. He'd expected someone a bit more worldly—but no, she was genuinely pure-hearted underneath.
Ryuichi escorted her to Mai's school, his second time ever visiting the place. The last visit had been back when he helped Mai resolve her "unobservable" condition.
"You're actually coming in with me?" Kazuka asked, surprised.
"Yeah. I'll take a look around. I've got time these next two days anyway."
Since both his mission and Mai's request overlapped here, he had no reason not to go along—especially to keep things from blowing up.
"But… will the school even let you in?"
"Why wouldn't they?"
With his hands in his pockets, Ryuichi simply walked through the front gate dressed in black, standing out sharply against the crowd of uniformed students. Yet not a single person—even the gate guard—seemed to notice him.
He just walked right in, no questions asked.
Kazuka stared, dumbfounded. Magic really was unfair sometimes…
Looking at the calmly striding boy dressed in black, so completely out of place among the neat school uniforms, she stood frozen for two seconds before hurrying after him.
As they followed the path toward the classroom building, Ryuichi spoke casually. "I'll loosen the common-sense alteration a bit. I need to make sure you can play your part as Mai convincingly."
"...Okay."
Kazuka nodded. The next moment, Ryuichi withdrew his magic's effect—and immediately, the surrounding students started noticing "Sakurajima Mai."
Feeling their eyes on her, Kazuka instinctively straightened her posture, adjusted her expression, and moved with composed confidence. Her demeanor shifted perfectly into Mai's calm idol aura.
Even Ryuichi, who had shared Mai's bed, couldn't find a single fault in her act.
Even the tiny flick of her hair, the subtle lift of her chin—it was flawless.
Had she really practiced imitating Mai before? he wondered.
"You're surprisingly good at this," Ryuichi murmured.
"I used to mimic other characters a lot when I was little," Kazuka admitted softly.
Ryuichi chuckled. Other characters, huh? More like Mai in particular.
Seeing his teasing smile, Kazuka hesitated before confessing, almost shyly, "She used to be my pride. My role model."
"I see," Ryuichi said quietly. "Used to be, huh…"
Then what about now, he wondered.
Tilting his head, he thought about it for a moment but found no answer. He wasn't a mind reader, after all—there was no way to know what Kazuka was really feeling now.
Using his magic freely, Ryuichi followed her right into her classroom. Not a single teacher or student paid him any attention, even though he clearly didn't belong there.
Kazuka, playing the role of Sakurajima Mai, still looked a little nervous at first. But whenever she glanced at Ryuichi, her nerves seemed to settle slightly—though she still didn't know what to say to him.
Since there were no extra seats, Ryuichi simply hopped onto the windowsill, stretching out both legs casually as the morning breeze ruffled his dark hair. Arms folded, he looked perfectly composed while listening to the teacher's lecture as if he belonged there.
Kazuka thought, her mouth twitching in disbelief, Seriously? You're not even a student here, and you still manage to look that smug…
…