Once a mobster, now Masachika Kuze

Ryan walked down the halls with a bored expression, his footsteps echoing carelessly. He had explained the whole situation to Rika who, as expected, was visibly annoyed at being left out of the action. However, she ended up accepting what had happened, satisfied with Ryan's promise of a favor.

"Sorry, Mai," he began, speaking in a drawn-out tone, as if he didn't care much. "In the end, it had absolutely nothing to do with your problem..."

Mai walked beside him, equally frustrated. She let out an irritated sigh, crossing her arms.

"All you managed to do was give me a good trauma..." She snorted, looking away with a touch of evident frustration.

Ryan, noticing her reaction, raised a finger as if he had a brilliant idea. An excited smile appeared on his face as he abruptly changed his tone.

"But look, you saw for yourself that Pinkie and I are pretty... different from normal." He made a casual gesture towards Yuno, who stared at him with her typical disinterested expression. "So, how about giving me your number? That way we can keep in touch."

Mai crossed her arms again, puffing out her cheeks slightly with a suspicious expression.

"You did all this just to get my number?" she asked, with a hint of indignation.

Ryan sighed, lowering his shoulders dramatically, and looked at Rika and Yuno as if asking for help.

"Do you really think I need to go that far? Take a look at these two muses who walk with me."

Rika responded with an adorable smile, making the peace sign with her fingers while letting out a cheerful "Mii~". Yuno, on the other hand, rolled her eyes, letting out an irritated "Tsk".

Mai narrowed her eyes, letting out another sigh, as if finally giving in to the situation. She put her hand in her pocket, pulling out her cell phone.

"Okay, give me your number. I'll get in touch..." Her voice was disinterested, but there was a slight hint of curiosity.

Ryan tilted his head, the mocking smile reappearing.

"Clever girl... You're only going to call me if you have problems disappearing again, aren't you?"

Mai blushed slightly at the provocation, but kept the phone pointed at him, trying to disguise it.

As Ryan typed in the number, Yuno broke the silence with a casual, but sharp question.

"So, Ryan, what's the deal? Are you just a pervert who can't see a skirt or do you think she has something special to offer?"

Ryan raised an eyebrow, visibly irritated, but keeping his tone controlled.

"You have a terrible opinion of me, you know?"

Yuno smiled from the corner of her mouth, her gaze smug.

"It's hard to think otherwise when you keep sticking your hand up my skirt."

Mai's eyes widened, and she jumped back in fright.

"H-how so, sticking your hand?!"

Ryan turned to her quickly, raising his hands as if to prove his innocence.

"You saw for yourself that it's not as weird as she makes it seem!"

Yuno, with her arms crossed and a disdainful tone, launched another provocation.

"To me, that sounds like a degenerate's excuse."

Ryan shrugged, handing the phone back to Mai.

"But you insist on keeping things there..."

Before the argument could escalate, Rika intervened, her lively voice catching everyone's attention.

"Mii~! So, are you all going to explain why he's so interested in her or not?"

Ryan looked up, as if searching for the right words. After a moment of reflection, he finally answered.

"Okay, explaining it directly... Mai, there's something strange going on with her. It seems like she disappears for some people, as if her existence were... erased. It's like she's really not there."

Mai kept her gaze down, her expression melancholic as she completed:

"Actually, it's even more complicated than that..."

She looked away, her voice laden with sadness.

"I need to go now... Thank you for wanting to help me."

With that, Mai turned and started to walk away, leaving the trio behind, as the sound of her footsteps slowly disappeared down the hall.

Mai quickened her pace, hurrying down the stairs, the sound of her footsteps echoing in the silence of the building. Ryan watched her figure disappear, then put his hands on his hips, casting a tired look at Yuno.

"This looks like it's going to be very complicated..."

Yuno sighed, running a hand over her face as if trying to ward off fatigue.

"I just want to go home and sleep peacefully..."

Rika, in turn, adjusted her backpack on her back with a casual gesture, her sweet, drawn-out voice breaking the moment.

"Speaking of which..."

Ryan raised an eyebrow, giving her a suspicious look.

"Here we go... what is it now?"

Rika smiled mischievously, without ceremony.

"You promised to reward me for taking me out of action early. As payment, I want to spend the night at your house."

Ryan let out a low laugh, crossing his arms as he looked at her with a smirk.

"Damn, you don't play around, do you? Must be the weight of your hundred years speaking louder."

Rika snorted and turned away, feigning indignation.

"Don't even come with that hundred years thing! Now I'm Gasai Rika, and I'm newly 15 years old."

"Oh yeah... I forgot about that detail." Ryan said with an amused smile, glancing at Yuno, who remained with a serious expression.

"And you better get it into your head that she's my little sister now." Yuno pointed an accusing finger at Ryan. "So don't you dare think about indecency."

Rika raised an eyebrow, letting out a sarcastic laugh.

"Technically, I'm older than you."

Ryan didn't miss the chance and pointed at her mockingly.

"Oh, so now you admit you're old?"

Rika shrugged, a carefree smile on her lips.

"You would never understand the complex mind of a girl like me."

Yuno let out a long sigh, as if carrying the weight of being responsible for the group.

"And how am I going to explain to Mom that you want to sleep at a boy's house? You're practically the family treasure after using all that cuteness at dinner."

Rika smiled radiantly, her voice laden with sweetness.

"Mom will definitely agree if you explain who Mii~ is."

Yuno crossed her arms, snorting irritably, but before she could continue, Rika tilted her head slightly, her big, bright eyes fixed on her older sister. The twilight illuminated her hair with a golden hue, and she swayed her arms subtly, almost like a child asking permission for something she already knows will be denied.

Yuno looked away, clearly uncomfortable with the emotional pressure. She ran a hand over her face, her voice trailing off as she gave in.

"Okay... but on one condition. You're going to have dinner at home with us and get clothes first. Then I'll take you to Ryan's house."

Rika closed her eyes, tilting her head with a sweet smile.

"You're the best, Yuno-neesan!"

Yuno flinched slightly at Rika's teasing, which made Ryan move even closer, leaning into her ear. His deep, mocking voice cut through the moment:

"So you have a weakness for cute things, huh?"

Before the sentence could even finish echoing, Yuno reacted with a sharp elbow towards his stomach. Ryan jumped back, narrowly dodging, as she turned with narrowed eyes of irritation.

"I told you, you better not try anything weird with my Rika. Got it?"

Ryan blinked, clearly intrigued.

"Your Rika?"

Rika raised her eyebrows, a mischievous smile forming, but before Yuno could answer, a translucent blue screen with a faint glow appeared floating in the air. Arona's signature was unmistakable.

Yuno held the screen with one hand, frowning at the length of the message.

"Wow... so much text! Is this a message or a book?"

Ryan wasted no time and ran to her side, curiosity etched on his face.

"How's my dear student?"

Yuno narrowed her eyes, giving him a look of pure disgust.

"It's really weird when you talk like that, you know?"

Ryan completely ignored the comment, leaning in to read the text aloud:

"'Hello, Senseis! I spent the day gathering energy to send a very important message!'"

As he read, Rika stood on tiptoe, trying to peek at the screen over his shoulder. Ryan continued:

"'Mai Sakurajima is a special person! She carries Lost Fragments of divine energy!'"

Ryan paused dramatically, turning to Yuno with a sarcastic smile.

"See? I'm not the pervert you keep saying I am."

Yuno snorted impatiently, crossing her arms.

"Can you keep reading?"

Rolling his eyes, Ryan returned to the screen.

"'But be very careful, Senseis! You can't take her energy now!'"

He frowned, reading the next part aloud, which was highlighted in capital letters:

"'IF YOU DO THIS, SHE WILL DIE!'"

Those words hit Ryan like a punch to the gut. He felt a shiver run down his spine, especially since he had considered, even for a brief moment, absorbing her energy to solve the disappearance problem once and for all.

Yuno noticed his expression and narrowed her eyes, her voice laden with sarcasm.

"You almost did that shit, didn't you?"

Ryan tried to disguise it with an awkward smile, but before he could answer, he continued reading, now more carefully:

"'When you, Senseis Ryan and Yuno, absorb divine energy from someone, you suck a piece of that person's soul. This is not a problem when it comes to a Divine Fortune, like what you found in Hinamizawa, but in Mai's case, it's different! Her energy is soooo much smaller than Rika's. If you try, she will literally explode into a small amount of energy!'"

He stopped reading and glanced at Yuno, nervousness evident.

"She's going to explode? Like... Poof?"

Yuno raised an eyebrow, her tone laden with irony.

"Look at that... And who's the reckless pervert now?"

Ryan ignored the comment, trying to stay focused as he read the end of the message.

"'The safe way to deal with this is to gather five bearers of these Lost Fragments. Together, they become equivalent to a Divine Fortune. Only then can you extract the energy without killing anyone.'"

He stopped, letting the text float in the air for a moment as he absorbed the information.

Ryan raised his eyebrows, visibly alarmed.

"Five of them? How are we going to find so many people without you, Arona!?"

But before he could despair further, he continued reading and realized that maybe Arona knew him better than he thought:

"'In case you're wondering how you're going to find more without my help, Sensei Ryan, don't worry! They're easy to identify!'"

He looked up from the screen with a look of pure disbelief. Yuno crossed her arms, staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Sometimes, you're so predictable it's embarrassing."

Ryan ignored the comment and went back to the message.

"'Generally, these people have something we call here Adolescence Syndrome! Or at least that's how they are described in internet forums. Te-hehe~'"

Yuno let out a heavy sigh, her voice laden with weariness.

"Another syndrome for our list? Seriously?"

Trying to lighten the mood, Rika smiled and replied lightly:

"Well... At least the name sounds less scary than Hinamizawa Syndrome."

Yuno took the screen from Ryan's hands, clearly impatient, and started reading where he had left off:

"'You don't have to worry about looking for these people! They will be attracted to the divine energy you have, like a good child returning home. After all, being just small fragments, they feel the need to find their missing half!'"

Ryan smiled crookedly, clearly relieved.

"Now that's what I'm talking about! Finally some good news. Something that won't be so much work!"

Yuno continued reading, the tone of the message becoming more direct:

"'So, it's obvious that when you two, Senseis, are together, the probability of attracting them increases soooo much! That said, the most effective way to speed up this process is...'"

Yuno suddenly stopped reading, her eyes widening as she tried to take in what was on the screen.

" ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ... Having sex!'"

She simply dropped the screen on the floor, letting it fall as if it were a cursed object. Ryan tried to catch it, but it was too late. The sound of the virtual glass breaking echoed as Yuno walked away with firm steps and an impassive expression.

"Hey! Weren't you the one worried about Arona, damn it?" Ryan shouted after her, his voice laden with irritation.

Yuno stopped for a moment, giving him an icy look over her shoulder.

"Arona-chan is being very naughty. I'll pretend I didn't read that."

Without another word, she continued walking.

Rika, who was watching the scene with the usual mischievous glint in her eyes, just smiled and waved to Ryan before running after Yuno.

"See you later, Ryan-kun!"

Ryan sighed, looking at the broken pieces of the screen on the floor.

"Poor Arona-chan... ꃋᴖꃋ"

With a broken heart — or at least pretending to be — he went down the stairs towards the ground floor. As he arrived to pick up his shoes, something caught his attention, bringing a brief relief to his troubled soul.

The sun was almost setting, dyeing the horizon with golden and reddish hues. And there, standing, with a bright smile and arms crossed behind her back, was she: his dear sister, waiting patiently.

"I thought you weren't going to show up, onii-chan."

Her voice was sweet and full of affection, as if that simple gesture was the most natural thing in the world. Ryan smiled genuinely, leaving behind the chaotic thoughts that Arona's message had awakened.

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