"That is..."
After visiting his younger sister, Yui, and speaking with her, Ryuga returned to the Fifth Dormitory, his current home. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of the figure standing by the entrance.
She was a petite girl who carried the air of a small animal. Ryuga realized the girl hiding her right eye behind long bangs was Raiha, a fellow Exchange Student from Yamato and a Warrior Shrine Maiden. He fixed a sharp, piercing gaze on her.
He stood there silently, suppressing his presence while he watched her. There was an indescribable weight behind his eyes.
Suspicion and hatred... even as these two negative emotions intermingled in his chest, he forced himself to move forward. He approached Raiha and called out to her.
"You're... Utsusemi-san, right? What are you doing here?"
"Ah...!"
Raiha flinched at the sound of his voice. Her body trembled as she cast a frightened look in his direction.
Ryuga had tried to empty his mind and push back his hostility, but he could tell her reaction was born of her naturally timid personality. Putting on a gentle smile, he repeated his question.
"Is something the matter? Did you have business here?"
"E-Err, there was something I... wanted to talk about..."
"Something you want to talk about? With whom? Is it Yugo?"
"Y-Yes. But, u-um, well...!"
Raiha stumbled over her words. Whether it was nerves or panic, she couldn't seem to give a straight answer.
However, Ryuga sensed something radiating from her that normally shouldn't have been there.
Guilt. That was the emotion Raiha was projecting toward him.
Why would someone he had only just met and barely spoken to feel such a thing toward him?
...There was likely only one answer. Or so the voice in the back of his mind whispered.
Ryuga watched Raiha, desperately fighting back the killing intent that threatened to swell and the urge to let his hand drift toward the katana at his waist.
Raiha took a breath as if steeling her resolve, her voice still trembling as she began to speak.
"R-Renjou-san, um..."
"...What is it? Did you want me to give Yugo a message?"
Raiha neither confirmed nor denied it. She simply stared at him.
What was she about to say? Part of him wanted to hear it, yet another part was terrified of the truth.
If she said exactly what he suspected... he knew he wouldn't be able to keep his emotions in check.
"U-Um, Renjou-san. I'm sure this will come as a shock, being told so suddenly, but—"
A sharp tension pricked at his skin. An indescribable sensation crawled through his stomach.
Ryuga focused every nerve to ensure he wouldn't miss a single syllable of the words about to leave her lips. Trembling, she finally spoke.
"—W-Would you... like to be my friend?"
"...Huh?"
Ryuga blinked, his eyes widening in shock. The words were completely different from anything he had imagined.
As his intensity deflated entirely, Raiha’s face turned bright red as she continued.
"U-Um, I just thought it was strange that we've hardly spoken even though we're both Exchange Students from Yamato... S-Since we're both going to be living at this academy, and since Setsuna-chan has become friends with Yugo-san, I thought I should follow her lead..."
"...Friends? You and me?"
"I-Is that a problem...?"
Ryuga watched her timid fidgeting, utterly bewildered by her unpredictable behavior.
He wondered what her true intentions were, but the sheer awkwardness of the situation had drained all the venom from him. He let out a long sigh and gave his answer.
"No, it's not a problem. I was just... surprised, is all. I have no reason to refuse. As a friend... I look forward to getting to know you."
"Th-thank you! I'm... so happy...!"
Raiha beamed with a bright, radiant smile.
As Ryuga watched her, his heart became a whirlpool of conflicting emotions—joy and hatred existing side by side.
He didn't know how to feel about her. Still, he realized that being able to observe her as a friend might be a stroke of incredible luck.
Just as Ryuga decided he would watch Raiha and judge her with his own eyes, Yugo suddenly appeared.
"Oh, hey, Ryuga. Welcome back... wait, huh? Utsusemi-san? Didn't you just head back with Melt and the others...?"
"Ah, u-um... T-to be honest, I had something I wanted to discuss... no, something I wanted to ask of Yugo-san... The mood wasn't right earlier, so I was going to leave quietly, but..."
"Discuss something with me? What is it? I really hope I'm wrong, but if you're here to ask me to be your fiancée too, I'm going to have a total meltdown."
"I-It's okay! I wouldn't say anything like that, of course..."
Yugo joked around, trying to help the nervous Raiha relax.
Perhaps bolstered by her previous interaction with Ryuga, Raiha found enough composure to answer him. Then, she voiced the request that would spark the next wave of trouble for Yugo.
"I want you to... help Sakura-chan."