Bonus Short Stories
Kaori’s Yuri(?) Diary
At some point after conquering the Frost Caverns, Hajime, Shea, Tio, Shizuku, and Suzu were lounging around in Vandre Schnee’s living room. Kouki and Ryutarou had left to explore the rest of the house. Ryutarou had invited him out in the hopes of lifting his spirits a little.
“Ufufu...” Yue chuckled as she returned after leaving for a bit.
“What happened, Yue?” Hajime asked, stunned. Shea and the others looked quite surprised as well. No one had seen Yue grin openly like that before.
“My plan worked...” Yue said excitedly, taking a small notebook out of her pocket.
“What prank did you pull this time?” Hajime asked, sounding resigned.
“That’s a diary, isn’t it? Wait, isn’t that the one Kaori-san started writing because you were keeping one, Yue-san? Didn’t you already steal it once and write your own entries?”
“I suppose we can’t fault you, since we also wrote in it.”
“How could you two do that!? Don’t you know how wrong it is to peek at other people’s diaries!?”
Shea and Tio awkwardly averted their gazes as Shizuku lectured them. In truth, the two of them had peeked at Yue’s diary as well, so this had been their second offense.
“D-Does nobody respect Kaorin’s privacy!?”
“You say that, Taniguchi, but it’s only because we peeked at Kaori’s diary that we learned she stole the clothes I’d left back at the palace. In a way, you could say her diary is evidence of her crimes.”
“I didn’t know Kaorin was such a pervert...” Suzu muttered, averting her gaze.
I guess Nagumo-kun has a point. Criminals don’t deserve privacy.
Incidentally, Hajime had discovered that Yue and the others had all worn and even sniffed his clothes thanks to their entries in Kaori’s diary. Needless to say, he’d confiscated them from Kaori and had kept them safe in his Treasure Trove since.
“Ufufu... She kept her diary closely guarded after that, so I haven’t gotten any chances to read through it, but she finally let her guard down today!”
“Sorry to rain on your parade, Yue, but have you considered that this might be an immoral thing to do?”
“Hm? You’re the last person I want to hear that from, Hajime. When was the last time you did something moral?”
“Ugh, you’ve got a point...”
“You should’ve seen that one coming, Nagumo-kun.”
Sighing, Shizuku tried to retrieve her best friend’s diary.
“Yue, it’s not right to read other people’s diaries. You should give Kaori her diary back and—”
“What belongs to Kaori belongs to me. Therefore, it’s not someone else’s diary, it’s mine!”
“What kind of logic is that!?”
It was telling how Yue felt that way about only Kaori.
“I’m going to read Kaori’s diary. I don’t care if it sets the entire world against me, I’m going to do it!”
Yue plopped down on the sofa and glared at everyone. It was clear she was determined to read through the diary in her hands.
“I can’t believe she’s acting like she’s in the right!” Suzu exclaimed, a shiver running down her spine. Hajime and the others were overwhelmed by Yue’s determination as well, and didn’t protest any further.
Yue looked as excited as a Game of Thrones fan finally cracking open a copy of The Winds of Winter as she opened the diary and flipped through its pages. And in the end, Hajime and the others all huddled closer to take a look as well.
Day X, Month Y
I want Yue to kiss me...
Yue immediately slammed the diary shut. She had just unearthed a terrible secret. Hajime and the others all stared at her.
“Y-Yue, I didn’t know you had that kind of relationship with Kaori...”
“Y-You’ve got it all wrong, Hajime! Please, believe me! There’s nothing going on between me and Kaori!” Yue sounded like a girlfriend who’d been caught cheating as she vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
“Sh-She probably just messed up! I bet Kaori meant to write that she wants Nagumo-kun to kiss her or something!”
“Y-Yes, exactly! That’s a genius deduction, Shizuku-san!”
Shizuku and Shea both looked extremely shaken by the knowledge that their respective best friends might be having an affair with each other. Considering how frequently Yue and Kaori were at each other’s throats, it certainly did seem strange that Kaori would want to be kissed by Yue. Yue gathered her resolve and turned the page.
Day C, Month B
Yue came this close to kissing me today, but in the end, she didn’t do it. Please stop being so mean, Yue. I can’t take much more of your flirting.
“Alright, fess up, Yue.”
“No, Hajime, we really aren’t like that!”
At this point, Hajime was convinced Yue was cheating on him. He gave her a disappointed look as she desperately clung to him.
“Y-Yue-onee-sama, I didn’t know you were bi...”
“Shut up, Suzu! And quit blushing and looking at me like that!”
Suzu unbuttoned her collar and bared her neck for Yue as if to say, “You can suck my blood any time.”
“I take it the constant fighting with Kaori is just a smokescreen, then, Yue? There’s no need to hide it, you know? Even Master would approve so long as you were upfront with him... Tell me, how far have you two gone?”
“Heavensfall!”
Tio was flattened by the force of Yue’s spell, but the grin never left her face. She moaned in pleasure as her head was pressed against the ground.
“D-Damn you, Kaori. To think you would set a trap for me...”
“If this is a trap, then I think we’ve misjudged Kaori’s personality all along. Her job should be Trickster in that case.”
“D-Does Kaori really have unrequited feelings for you? A-As her best friend, how should I react to that?”
“I know how you feel, Shizuku-san. But as their friends, we just have to accept them for what they are.”
Shea and Shizuku clasped their hands together and nodded to each other.
“Stop making this a thing!” Yue shouted, then started flipping frantically through the rest of the diary. She was hoping Kaori had written down that it was all a joke or something of the sort further in.
“I-If Kaori truly does love me... how should I respond?”
The reason Yue wanted so desperately to believe it was a joke was because she wasn’t sure how to act if it wasn’t.
Day F, Month G
I can’t lose hope. Now that we’ve found a way back home, everyone’s in high spirits. This is the best chance I’m going to get. I have to tell Yue now. I’m going to go take a shower, put on some makeup, and then—
Everyone stiffened. The date in that entry was today.
“Come to think of it, Kaori was writing something while you guys were all showering...” Shizuku muttered, and everyone twitched.
“I don’t hear the shower running anymore, so she must have finished hers...”
“She’s coming... Kaori’s coming! Wh-What should I do!? What should I say!?”
It was obvious Kaori was planning on confessing. In fact, she may have even been planning on doing more than just confessing. And Yue clearly had no idea how to take it.
“Should I approve of your relationship? Or should I be the stereotypical boyfriend and tell Kaori not to lay a hand on my woman? But I mean, it’s Kaori we’re talking about here, how could I say no? Gah...”
Even Hajime was at a loss. As they heard Kaori’s footsteps approach the living room, everyone unanimously thought, We shouldn’t have read that diary!
The living room door creaked open and everyone twitched again.
“Huh? What’s wrong, guys? Why do you all look so nervous?” Kaori asked, cocking her head.
While everyone was just staring silently at her, Kaori spotted the diary in Yue’s hands.
“Ah, that’s my diary! Give it baaaaaack!”
Kaori leaped at Yue, who let out a tiny squeal and shrunk back. Normally, she would immediately counterattack, but after what she’d read, she was too flustered to act. Kaori lectured the party at length about respecting her privacy, and when she finally stopped for breath, Hajime timidly asked, “Umm, Kaori, we really are sorry. But can I ask you something?”
“Wh-What? I haven’t stolen any more of your clothes, I promise!”
That’s a pretty weak promise considering how shifty you look right now, Hajime thought, but he quickly realized he had bigger fish to fry.
“You seem, uh... rather desperate to get Yue to kiss you. And you wrote here that you need to tell her something... What’s that all about?”
Kaori looked confused at first, but then she realized what Hajime was getting at. Blushing, she gathered her resolve and said. “I-I see, so you read all of that... Fine, I guess I’ll say it, then.”
“H-Hold on a minute, Kaori. I’m not ready to—”
Is she gonna confess right here!? Hajime thought in surprise.
“I want you to kiss me so I can become special to Hajime-kun!”
“I-I already have Hajime, so I don’t need— Huh? So you can become special to Hajime?”
Everyone, including Yue, blinked in confusion.
“Yes! I heard from Shea that when she became Hajime’s girlfriend, you kissed her and sucked her blood! In other words, that’s proof that you’ve accepted them! Shea said that only people who get kissed by you are allowed to be Hajime’s lovers!”
Everyone turned to Shea. The bunnygirl averted her gaze, scared to admit that she had indeed said that when Kaori had come to her for advice.
“That’s why I want you to kiss me, Yue!”
“At least you’re honest about it. But I’ll never kiss someone with such impure motives.”
“I’ll even lower my head to a bitch like you if that’s what it takes!”
“Bitch!? You’re asking for it now, Kaori!”
Angry that she’d gotten worried over nothing, Yue lunged at Kaori. As always, the two of them started fighting. Meanwhile, Hajime and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief.
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