Yuno Gasai glanced at Sen Getsusa beside her and found that the other girl had already fallen asleep with her head tilted against the car window.
She quietly opened the notebook.
The first thing that appeared was a line of large characters.
[ritual object: Yuno Gasai's notebook]
Then, Yuno inside the car adjusted her posture, her expression serious.
She focused her gaze on the text; lines of small, dense characters floated on the first page.
[A clever and dark girl.]
[Like a spider, weaving a vast web.]
[You wrote a notebook in a single day, pouring out secrets, yet you deliberately left it in the most conspicuous place, waiting for the prey to take the bait.]
[But, do you really love her?]
[Or are you using her as a lifeline, a tool, an emotional anchor?]
[You exploited another's kindness while remaining aloof yourself; or, did you truly set a plot for the sake of love?]
Yuno Gasai's calm and elegant face suddenly became distorted, and she muttered through gritted teeth, "Of course I love her!!!"
"Phew... Yuno... don't be noisy..."
Beside her, Sen Getsusa frowned unconsciously, seemingly hearing Yuno's movement, and murmured.
Yuno Gasai let out a deep breath.
The long hair of the girl beside her was scattered across her face, and her crow-feather-like eyelashes trembled slightly.
A fantastical and fanatical feeling permeated the car, like a mixture of fresh flour and sweet strawberry syrup, like the tail of a shooting star.
Yuno Gasai smelled this scent of hope, but at the same time, she was seen through by the words in that notebook—seen through to her heart that flowed with black Water and was soaked in pus.
She pulled her thoughts back into her mind.
Eerie words continued to appear before her eyes, explaining in detail the conditions required to perform a certain ritual.
"Complete the prerequisites, perform the ritual, obtain the Ability, and pay the price... is it?"
Yuno Gasai finished reading with an expressionless face, deep in thought.
"So, that's how Mama and Papa changed? It shows 'order' here—it's good that it's not chaos."
"Tsukisa probably wouldn't like it."
Satisfied, Yuno Gasai put away the notebook and gently cupped Sen Getsusa's small hand, placing it on her own lap.
The neon lights flashing outside the car hit her face, filled with fanaticism and unspeakable emotions.
But the sleeping girl was unaware, painting her oil paintings in her dreams.
Her straight, slender legs stretched toward the floor of Yuno Gasai's seat, and she mumbled... When getting out of the car, Yuno Gasai gently woke Sen Getsusa—under the driver's complicated gaze, the two walked leisurely into this building, which was famous for being expensive even in the wealthy district.
Sen Getsusa had long been used to such looks.
Regarding being rich, she had heard a funny story from Aki Tomoya when he was complaining about Eriri:
A few upperclassmen asked girls in the same grade to help them find out information about Sen Getsusa.
After all, being female and seniors, it was more convenient to communicate and easier for the younger students to lower their guard.
As a result, these seniors found the most beautiful girl in the middle school at that time, the golden Sun Flower, Miss Sawamura Spencer Eriri.
Because they heard she and Sen Getsusa were friends.
Initially, these seniors thought that even if she was a rather stern girl and they couldn't get contact information, they could at least learn some of Sen Getsusa's preferences—returning with that would be considered helping those boys.
However, when they found Miss Sawamura and mentioned Sen Getsusa's name, the other party said one sentence with absolute certainty.
'Sen Getsusa? I know her, she's a super rich girl!'
Seniors:...And what else?
What does she like to eat, what are her hobbies, what is her personality? What's her contact information?
This golden flower answered with a dazed face: 'I can't give you her contact information without her permission.'
Other than that... she's just really rich... and she's a girl... Seniors:...What the hell is with the emphasis? Don't we already know Sen Getsusa is a girl?
It would be more impressive if she were a boy, wouldn't it? Carrying two watermelons every day and tirelessly commuting between school and home.
Aki Tomoya was very unhappy when he complained about this: 'We've known each other for so long, and that girl only remembers that you're rich, knowing nothing of your other preferences.'
'Should I say she puts all her energy into painting, so she doesn't notice the people around her?'
'Even I would probably only get an evaluation like "Aki Tomoya? Just an otaku." from her.'
Sen Getsusa glanced at him sideways: "That evaluation is very accurate."
Aki Tomoya:...Although it's a muddled and funny story, Eriri seemed to have learned about Aki Tomoya's complaints from somewhere.
Later, she began to'specifically' care about Sen Getsusa.
One day, she even apologized to Sen Getsusa with an expression that said, 'I'm not explaining, I'm just saying it in passing.'
'Um, although we've known each other for a long time, you rarely ask me to play... you can't blame me, right? Besides, Sha-chan never shows her preferences! How would I know! I-I'm not someone who ignores friends!'
The blonde girl puffed out her cheeks and didn't look at Sen Getsusa, but her eyes couldn't help but drift over.
Facing the duplicitous golden puppy, Sen Getsusa replied gently: 'Then from today on, Eriri and I will become even closer friends. I like eating sweets, I like boots and new clothes, and my hobby is painting. What about you, Eriri?'
From that day on, the two officially became close, to the point where Eriri later became even more unscrupulous, running to Sen Getsusa's house to draw doujinshi... Thoughts returned to the present.
It was already very late when Sen Getsusa and Yuno Gasai returned home, and there was no time to tidy up.
Fortunately, this apartment had many guest rooms, so Sen Getsusa found one for Yuno to stay in for now.
Although the other party strongly expressed that it was actually okay to stay together, Sen Getsusa still hadn't mentally prepared herself for the idea of sleeping with another girl.
Her problem was quite special, and solving it would be a long and arduous process. However, Yuno Gasai didn't seem to mind, carrying her temporary bedding and toiletries straight into the washroom.
"Just rest well at home tomorrow, Yuno. I'll go buy some daily necessities for you tomorrow; you can't go out like that."
Sen Getsusa looked at the graceful figure inside the frosted glass door, felt it was inappropriate, turned her back, and shouted.
There was a moment of silence behind the door.
There was only the sound of splashing Water in the bathroom.
Sen Getsusa turned back again and asked the door in confusion, "Yuno?"
"?"
Click.
The door opened.
Steamy mist rose from the crack in the door, and Yuno Gasai's pink hair hung wetly over her collarbone.
Her head and upper body leaned out of the door.
Outside the door, Sen Getsusa's eyes widened—
Standing frozen in place.
Then... "At least put on..."
While the girl spoke, her actions were the complete opposite.
She stared unblinkingly at Yuno Gasai—the last time she had looked at scenery so seriously was when she was dating Tojo Aoi.
Generally speaking, the scenery of the World each has its own beauty.
Seeing the other's satisfied and slightly appreciative expression, Yuno Gasai was very pleased: "The soundproofing is so good, as expected of a top-tier apartment. Buying things? I want to go with—"
"Are you going to go shopping while wrapped in bandages?"
Yuno Gasai said dejectedly, "But I haven't gone shopping in a long time..."
Sen Getsusa rolled her eyes and made a few gestures: "A mummy going out on the street? Wait until the wounds are healed; you must follow the doctor's orders."
As she spoke, she reached out and pressed down on the top of Yuno Gasai's head, ignoring the girl's watery eyes, and pushed her back into the bathroom.
Turning around, Sen Getsusa let out a breath, her shoulders rising and falling unevenly as she stood at the bathroom door for a long while.
"Yuno is a baby, Yuno is a baby... Sen Getsusa, you baka baka baka, what were you looking at..."
The girl walked away, shaking her head and talking to herself.
In the bathroom, comfortable hot Water poured down from the showerhead, but there was no one there.
Yuno Gasai was barefoot, sitting on the clean sink, her elbows on her knees, cradling her cheeks, her calves swinging in the air.
Listening to the sound of Sen Getsusa's slippers fading away outside the door, Yuno Gasai sat motionless as if in a daze, letting the flow of Water wash her thoughts away.
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