After a few more minutes of walking, Shido and Burchard, who is still carrying an unconscious Tohka though now on his back, makes their way into Shido's hotel while he whispers, "alright. My class should still be at the museum so we can get in unnoticed."
Burchard chuckles a bit then asks sarcastically, "what? Your worried they'll get the wrong idea?"
Shido sighs disheartedly then replies, "wouldn't be the first time."
As they attempt to sneak through the lobby, a tv plays a news report in the background, "aside from being shot in the back, nothing else is known...."
As they get closer to the salvation he see in the elevator. They get stopped by an oddly monotone voice next to them asking, "Shido?"
They stop in their tracks and Burchard looks over at a girl with short white hair and blue eyes wearing shorts and a black shirt but like Yuzuru she also shows little emotion. Burchard looks back at Shido with intrigue while asking, "she one of your classmates?"
He pauses when he sees the look of absolute horror covering Shido's face who sheepishly replies to the girl, "oh hey Origami.... Aren't you supposed to be at the museum?"
Recognizing the name, Burchard looks at her with confusion while trying to think of where he heard it when a thought comes to mind, "oh yeah. Tohka said she was part of his harem."
Origami looks at them unfazed and asks while pointing at them, "Shido? Who are they?"
Trying to think of how to respond, he motions over to Burchard while replying, "well this is Burchard. He was lost so we brought him here."
Seemingly not getting the answer she wanted but not showing it she says, "he's not important."
Burchard looks at her with mild annoyance due to her response but is unable to dwell on it for long because she then points while asking, "who's she?"
Shido in turn sheepishly replies, "uh... we'll the thing is..."
"Shido! I know I'm a lot cuter then Yuzuru and if you fall for me quickly I'll give you a big O'll kiss."
Shido's head slowly cranks over to look at Kaguya, now wearing purple short shorts and a white tank top, clinging to his arm with a bright enthusiastic smile while forcibly pushing her chest into him.
He looks back at Origami with a guilty smile but before he can continue his reply....
"Rebuttal: it will be Yuzuru's dear Burchard who will fall for Yuzuru first."
Origami's attention turns towards the unfamiliar boy who she hadn't paid much attention to till now and is confused to see him with Tohka unconscious on his back though what catches her eye the most was the girl, who is the mirror image of the girl clinging to Shido though she swaps the short shorts for a mini skirt, clinging to his arm in the same fashion as the other. Her attention turns back to Shido while asking in a cold tone, "explain."
Shido in turn chuckles nervously before replying, "uhh well the thing is...."
Sometime Before:
Kaguya and Yuzuru stand huddled together and whisper back in forth while occasionally look up and over at Shido and Burchard who by now has moved Tohka to his back. Still confused by the whole situation before him Burchard asks Shido, "do you know what's going on?"
Shido looks back at him with a strangely guilty smile while replying with an equally as guilty voice, "uh.... No. This is as new to me as it is to you."
He look back at him suspiciously but before he can press him on his suspicion, he hears the first girl proclaim with enthusiasm, "alright! It has been decided!"
Burchard and Shido both look back and sees the pair of identical girls looking back at them with almost unnerving excitement though the one that doesn't really show it says, "confirmation: our final battle has been agreed upon."
The boys look at them with confusion though shido does mutters under his breath, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Suddenly the two girls simultaneously point at them while the first girl declares, "you two will be our final challenge!!!"
An eerily silence fills the area while the girls continue to hold their pose while look at the boys eagerly.... Who intern look back at them equally as dumbfounded until they let out a collective, "huh?"
Seemingly trying to answer their question, the first girl lowers her hand while saying, "after rigorous deliberation, we have agreed that our new challenge shall be for your hearts!!!"
Not exactly clearing anything up, shido scratches his temple while asking, "uh? I'm sorry but I'm confused. What exactly is this challenge?"
The second girl lowers her arm then replies, "clarification: for this competition, Yuzuru and Kaguya will be making their respected target... I mean partner fall for them. The first one to capture their partners heart will be the victor."
Focusing in on her blunder, Burchard leans over to Shido while whispering, "she definitely just called us targets."
Shido on the other hand looks at him confused while asking, "how is that the thing you're focusing on?"
With the rest of her explanation finally clicking, he look back at the pair of girls with shock while asking, "your making us fall in love with you?"
The both nod in unison while The second girl says, "confirmation: that is precisely what we are doing."
Remembering what they said previously, Burchard asks, "out of curiosity, what did you girls mean by 'this deciding your fate?"
To his surprise, they both look at him with a very serious look as the second girl replies, "reply: it is quite simple. The winner shall become the true Yamai."
As if they had practiced this before the first girl continues, "as for the loser...."
For some reason the seriousness leaves her as she smiles gleefully while declaring, "loses!"
Caught off by the response, Burchard leans over to Shido while whispering, "there definitely hiding something."
He nods in agreement but to Burchard's surprise he responds, "I think you should leave this to me."
Burchard is about to ask him what he meant by that but before he can ask, Shido asks the girls, "wouldn't it make more sense for both of you to try and make only one of us fall for them?"
Burchard gets caught off by his question while the two girls look at him with confusion with the first girl asks, "but why would we do that?"
Realizing she had a good point in questioning him, Shido ignores the suspicious looks from Burchard while looking at the girls with an innocent smile and replying, "well there would be too much of a variable in between us so I think it would make more sense that way."
The two girls look at each other then form into a huddle to discuss this new development while Burchard looks over at Shido with a raised eyebrow while asking, "No ulterior motive in your suggestion?"
Shido in turn looks back at him and while trying to hide his guilty replies, "uh no? I think it would just make more sense this way."
Unconvinced by the explanation, Burchard asks, "does it have to do with you telling me to leave it to you?"
He nods his head while still trying to act innocent and saying, "I'm used to dealing with these kinds of girls, that's what I meant."
Realizing he wasn't going to get an honest answer out of him, he simply rolls his eyes at him while looking back at the girls and saying, "just don't forget about the girl on my back."
Looking over at Tohka causes Shido to sigh then responds, "trust me when I say she's hard to forget."
Then, seeming to come to an agreement, the girls nod in unison then look back at shido while the second girl says, "confirmation: that will be the new competition."
Hearing this causes shido to sigh in relief but he can still feel Burchard judging eyes pierce him like a hot knife through butter which causes him to think, "he definitely thinks I'm a harem making sleaze bag."
Meanwhile Burchard ironically enough is thinking, "he's definitely a harem making sleaze bag."
His thoughts however get interrupted by the first girl proclaiming, "then our new battle will be for one heart and one alone!"
A feeling of guilt consumes Shido as he looks over at Burchard while whispering, "sorry about this but it's for the best."
Burchard looks over at him with a raised eyebrow while trying to figure out the real meaning behind his words but before he is able to inquire about them, he gets cut off when the two girls walk up to him then while clinging to both of his arms, the first girl declares, "mark my words! You will be falling for me!"
Shido looks at the new development unfolding before him with his mouth hanging wide open in shock while the second girl clings to his other arm and says to an equally as shocked Burchard, "rebuttal: Yuzuru can confirm that you will fall for her before the night is done."
Shock and confusion comes over Burchard who looks back and forth between the two girls though the most concerning thing about this situation for him was the loss of circulation in his arms which intern makes him hang on to a still unconscious Tohka for dear life while only being able to say, "uh-uh! Ladies please..."
Suddenly he gets cut off by Shido who was able to retrieve his jaw from the ground and blurts out, "what just happened?"
The two girls ignore Burchard's plea and instead looks over at Shido while the first girl asks, "what's the problem? This was your idea?"
Still shocked shido is able to respond, "but this wasn't what I had in mind?"
The second girl replies, "rebuttal: we deemed it only fair that since you suggested this without consulting your friend, we would use him for the competition."
The first girl look at him with a raised eyebrow while asking, "you should be happy we agreed to your plan unless....."
A mischievous grin crosses her face as she continues while pointing at him teasingly, "you wanted both of us to yourself didn't you?"
Agreeing with the statement, Burchard thinks, "yeah that's pretty much it."
Realizing he was now backed into a corner by her technology correct statement and with no other recourse, shido simply drops his head in defeat while saying sheepishly, "no..... I just wanted it to be fair."
The two girls look at a now defeated looking Shido with mild pity which causes the pair to look back at each other. After a few minutes of silent deliberation which Burchard doesn't seem to notice since his attention is more focused on not dropping Tohka. Though at the same time he was try to but couldn't figure out how he got into a situation where he literally has three different cute girls on him though one being unconscious and the other two treating him more like a prop does kinda take away from it all.
Seemingly coming to an agreement, the two girls nod then let go of Burchard and take a step back in front of the boys while the first girl states, "it has been decided that we will return to our original competition."
Hearing this causes Shido to feel disheartened since it still wasn't what he needed however he does realize that this was probably as good as he was going to get at the moment so he looks up at them while saying with a smile, "works for me."
With the feeling in his arms slowly coming back to him, Burchard sighs in relief while readjusting his grip on Tohka but then a thought comes to mind causing him to ask, "I just realized, we don't actually know who you are?"
Coming to the same realization, Shido adds, "yeah, if you are going to try and make us fall for you. We should probably know that."
The girls look at them with surprise while realizing the same thing then the first girl steps forward while saying, "you make a good point."
To the surprise of no one in attendance, she takes an overly dramatic pose with her chest puffed out and fists dug firmly in her hips. With air starting to swirl around her while, she raises a hand up high and starts starts to heal really she she right declaring in an over emphasized voice, "I am the master of winds! Tamer of Storms! Rider of Hurricanes!!! The uh?"
The wind dies down as she lowers her hand and puts it to her chin to think while muttering to herself, "what came next?"
While trying to remember the second girl looks over at her while asking, "inquiry: should we leave and come back later so you can think by yourself?"
Annoyed the first girl looks back at her while snapping, "shut up!!!"
With a look of realization coming over her, the first girl looks back at the boys while the wind starts up again as she points at them while declaring, "The summoner of typhoons! The true Yamai! Kaguya!!!"
The wind dies down while the whole area falls silent as Kaguya continues to stand there with a satisfied smirk. Burchard meanwhile thinks to himself, "Is this how she introduces herself to everyone she meets? Seems exhausting but at the same time who am I to judge."
His thought gets interrupted by Shido who looks at her with a strangely forced smile while giving her a thumbs up and saying, "wow Kaguya! That was a cool intro!"
Burchard looks at him with a raised eyebrow while thinking, "why does it feel like he's trying to suck up to her? Though the better question is is she going to buy it?"
His question is however answered pretty quickly when Kaguya dashes towards Shido with a gleeful smile and sparkles in her eyes then takes his hands while almost shouting in his face, "really!!!! You think so?"
Thrown off by the sudden breach of his personal space, Shido attempts to step back from her while saying, "uh yeah?"
Not willing to let him go, she firmly clamps down on his hands, and ignores the look of pain he was sporting while asking , "really? What was so cool about it?"
Realizing he wasn't getting away from her, he smiles through the pain while a drop of sweat rolling down his temple and replies, "uh well...."
Kaguya continues to pester Shido with questions about what he liked about her intro while he attempts to answer with as much fake enthusiasm as is possible. Meanwhile Burchard chuckles to himself due to the scene unfolding in front of him but gets interrupted by a monotone voice saying, "annoyance: we'll be her all night at this rate."
He looks over and sees the second girl looking at Shido and Kaguya while crossing her arms and lightly tapping her foot to show her annoyance. Noticing someone looking at her causes her to stop then looks over at Burchard while asking, "inquiry: do you need something from Yuzuru?"
He replies, "oh sorry for staring, though I did want to ask something."
With her arms falling to her sides, she looks at him with a raised eyebrow while asking, "inquiry: what did you wish to ask Yuzuru?"
He asks, "what's your name?"
She blinks at him a few times while showing little other emotion until finally replying, "response: you may call me Yuzuru."
He starts to smile while responding, "nice to meet you Yuzuru, I'm Burchard."
She looks at him with mild confusion while asking, "inquiry: why are you smiling at Yuzuru?"
Not thinking anything of it, he continues to smile while replying, "don't know. Guess I'm just happy to meet a new person."
She's surprised by his genuinely innocent response which causes her to think, "confusion: strange, he is an odd one. Though Yuzuru doesn't sense anything suspicious about him."
Before she is able to mull over it further, they both hear a gleeful voice declare, "It's settled then!!!"
They both look over only to see Shido standing there with an uncomfortable expression across his face while Kaguya clings to his arm with a gleeful smile. Confused Burchard asks, "what's settled?"
Kaguya looks back at him with an even brighter smile while declaring, "Shido here will be my target for our competition!!!"
Burchard looks back at them surprised by the sudden turn of events but before he can say anything, Yuzuru points at Shido while asking, "inquiry: what makes him a suitable target for you?"
While still smiling, Kaguya pulls him in closer and nuzzles his neck while replying with enthusiasm, "because he has been shown to be a man of great character!!!"
Unfazed Yuzuru looks to Burchard while responding sarcastically though hardly shows it, "translation: he was good at complimenting Kaguya."
Burchard on the other hand looks at them with a raised eyebrow while thinking, "I'm not exactly surprised that's the case."
Meanwhile Kaguya turns red in the face while embarrassingly snapping back, "shut up!!! There is more to it than just that!!!"
Yuzuru responds bluntly, "inquiry: please tell Yuzuru what else there is?"
Kaguya in turn looks away with a big humph!!! Then replies, "since your being such a big meanie, I'm not going to tell you!"
Yuzuru responds, "translation: there is nothing else but Kaguya is using excuses to hide it."
Her snap back to Yuzuru while shouting, "shut up!!!"
Yuzuru stares at her blankly then responds, "Agreement: very well."
Kaguya looks at Yuzuru with utmost shock due to hearing something she thought was impossible though this causes Shido's arm to start turning blue from the tightening grip she has on it but before he could plea for his release, Kaguya starts laughing in an over emphasized almost triumphant tone then almost shouts with excitement, "I knew you'd finally shut up!!! Now I can finally have some piece and quiet!"
She looks over at Shido and ignores the look of pain and discomfort he was sporting while smiling brightly and says, "I'll be using this quiet time to win over my lovely Shido's heart."
Yuzuru looks back at her blankly while blinking a few times then says, "rebuttal: that was not what Yuzuru was agreeing to."
Caught off guard by the sudden turn, Kaguya looks at her confused while asking, "wait. Then what were you agreeing to?"
Yuzuru replies, "reply: isn't it obvious?"
Before Kaguya can respond, Yuzuru casually walks over to Burchard and to his surprise, she forcibly clings to his arm while declaring, "continuation: Yuzuru has agreed to take Burchard as her target."
Not exactly surprised by this new turn of events with what Kaguya has been saying so he simply smiles at Yuzuru while saying, "I'll try my best to be a good target."
Yuzuru looks back at him while asking, "rebuttal: if you wish to be a good target for Yuzuru then you will fall for her right now."
Before he can respond, Kaguya angrily points at them while shouting, "hey!!! That's cheating! You can't do that!"
Yuzuru looks back while responding, "rebuttal: there is no rule against it."
Still fuming, Kaguya snaps, "oh is that so?"
She looks back at Shido while declaring, "alright shido!! Fall in love with me right now!"
Shido however looks back at her with a guilty smile while saying sheepishly, "uh. I don't think I can do that?"
Hearing this causes Yuzuru to mildly smirk but before she can say anything, Burchard adds in, "I can't do that either."
She looks back at him with a raised eyebrow while asking, "inquiry: why can't you fall for Yuzuru right now?"
He thinks for a moment then simply shrugs his shoulders while replying, "because I'd rather get to know you first."
She continues to look at him with a raised eyebrow but seeming to accept his response she says, "conclusion: very well."
Though her thoughts on the other hand, "determination: though you will not fall for Yuzuru on command. You will surely fall for her after getting to know her."
She pushes her chest into his arm while continuing her thought, "all of her."
The soft sensation on his arm doesn't seem to be able to stop the feeling of unease slowly coming over him from the alook of determination Yuzuru glares at him with but this gets interrupted by shido saying, "well now that we got this all sorted, I think we should go back to my hotel?"
With an idea coming to mind, Kaguya looks at shido with a seductive look while playfully drawing on his chest with her finger and saying , "oh shido. I know I said you'd be falling for me but we just met. To already want to take me to a hotel? I didn't know you were so bold."
Hearing this causes shido to immediately turn bright red while steam pours out of his ears like a kettle as he struggles to blurt out, "uh-uh that's not what I meant!"
She starts dragging him down the road while saying, "oh sweet innocent shido, you don't need to be so shy."
While shido attempts to break away from the death grip that Kaguya has him in, Burchard stands there watching the concerning development unfold in front of him then looks to Yuzuru while asking, "uh? Should we stop her?"
She casually shakes her head at him then replies, "reply: do not worry, Yuzuru is certain that Kaguya will do something to mess things up."
The response doesn't exactly make him feel better which causes Burchard to respond, "still, I think we should probably go with them."
She looks back at him with a raised eyebrow while asking, "inquiry: are you saying you want to take Yuzuru to a hotel as well?"
Burchard kinda awkwardly chuckles then says, "uh. Yes but not for the reason you're thinking."
She looks at him curiously for a few moments then mildly sighs then responds, "disappointment: yuzuru was hoping to win the competition quickly."
Burchard intern laughs a bit then tells her, "sorry to disappoint."
As they start walking, She looks at him with mild annoyance but becomes surprised when he starts to warmly smile at her while saying, "I look forward to getting to know you."
Surprised by the response, she asks, "inquiry: why do you look so happy about it?"
He simply shrugs his shoulders then replies while still smiling, "I have a cute girl trying to make me fall for her. Why wouldn't I be happy?"
She blinks at him a few times then looks back at the road while saying, "rebuttal: you being happy about this will make Yuzuru's job easier."
He chuckles a bit then responds, "whatever you say."
Back at the present:
Shido attempts to figure out how best to convince origami that this was all a big understanding but keeps on drawing blanks while thinking, "damn.... I don't know how to explain this away...."
"They are transfer students."
Everyone's attention turns to the person now standing next to the group though when Burchard looks over he is surprised to see a woman with heavy bags under her eyes which adds to the lack of sleep she appears to be affected by but what catches his attention the most is Shido looking at her as if she were an angel sent from the heavens in his time of need while whispering under his breath, "good timing Reine."
Hearing this causes Burchard to look at her with a raised eyebrow while thinking, "so this is the Reine Shido was talking to."
Reine motions to Burchard, Kaguya and Yuzuru while continuing, "they transferred into our class right before we left for the trip so they travelled separately."
Hearing this causes Burchard to look at her with a raised eyebrow while saying, "wait a minute. I never...."
He gets cut off by Reine who shoves a piece of paper in his face while saying, "see. Here's the paper work."
Though he can't read most of the document with the paper being so close, but to his surprise, he was able to make out his name next to the words transfer student.
Reine pulls the paper back while saying, "though you arrived so late, we where able to get you your own room, however the girls will need to share one."
Hearing this causes Kaguya to look over at her with a disappointed look while saying, "what? But I was planning on spending the night with Shido!"
Hearing this causes origami to glare at her while saying, "do you honestly think I'd let you do that with my dear Shido?"
Kaguya's grip on Shido tightens while smiling sly at her and saying, "because he already agreed to fall for me."
A feeling of unease comes over Shido from feeling origami glaring daggers at him which causes him to stutter, "uh.... I can explain?"
Before he can though, origami grabs hold of his other arm while saying, "then I guess I won't be letting my dear Shido out of my sight."
Shido looks over at her confused but before he can say anything, Kaguya aggressively pulls him away while saying, "sorry! But I'm not sharing!"
Origami intern pulls him back towards herself while saying coldly, "who said anything about wanting to share?"
"Shido.... What happened?"
While Origami and Kaguya continue their tug of war match using Shido, Burchard starts to feel movement on his back which takes his attention away from the absurd situation he finds himself in and asks, "hey Tohka. How you feeling?"
There's a brief pause until she replies in a dazed sounding tone, "I feel..... tired. Wait where am i?"
He can feel her starting to look around, causing Burchard to say, "where back at the hotel. You got knocked out so I had to carry you here."
Still dazed she asks, "you carried me here?"
He nods in agreement while saying, "yes I did."
He feels her arms around his neck start to move while she says In an almost loving tone, "Shido...."
Confused by the statement he thinks to himself, "she must be to out of it to notice...."
His thought however gets cut off when her arms constrict around his neck as she basically strangled him while shouting, "oh Shido!!! You were concerned enough to carry me all the way back here!!!"
Starting to panic due to the lack of air, and losing his balance due to her erratic movements, he attempts to tell her to stop but the hug around his neck is to tight, so in a panic he desperately tries to pry her off but finds he can't move his one arm. However he quickly remembers why when he hears a monotone voice say, "annoyance: why are you letting her cling to you so forcibly when Yuzuru can do a much better job."
Not recognizing the new voice but not easing her grip on his neck, Tohka looks over at her while asking, "wait who are you?"
Yuzuru looks back at her while casually replying, "reply: I am Yuzuru."
Seeing Yuzuru clinging to his arm, Tohka looks back to the boy she assumes is Shido with suspicion while saying, "Shido. Don't tell me you...."
She pauses when she notices something odd which causes her to ask, "Shido? When did your hair change colour?"
She hears a gasping reply, "I'm not..... Shido."
Confused she asks, "wait so you're not...."
Realizing that the boy she more or less had in a choke hold was indeed not Shido, she immediately lets go of his neck, which intern causes him to fall to his knees while desperately gasping for air. Starting to panic she looks down at him while blurting out, "sorry! I thought you were Shido!"
Finally catching his breath, Burchard looks up at her with a laboured smile while saying, "eh, it's all good."
Her attention turns to Yuzuru, who is now kneeling next to Burchard, though instead of checking on him, she's more focused on clinging to his arm. This causes Tohka to look at them with a raised eyebrow while asking, "why are you clinging to him?"
She looks up at her while replying, "response: it is Yuzuru's goal to make him fall for her, therefore Yuzuru mustn't leave his side for any reason."
Confused by the response she says, "okay?"
With a thought coming to mind, she starts to smile while saying, "this is a relief though, I was worried Shido had another...."
"Come on Shido!!! Let's go up to your room so the competition can really start!"
Caught off by the sudden outburst though having a bad feeling about what was happening, Tohka's head slowly creeks over to see Shido more or less being pulled apart by origami and a girl who looks identical to Yuzuru. She glares at the sight in front of her with shear rage while Burchard becomes frightened at the sight of a black aura slowly consuming her until she finally screams, "SHIDO!!!"