<Nocturnal Harmonia>

Yugi encountered one form of difficulty in taking this route. Some things he said, instead of triggering the thoughts that would have otherwise been simple, made Kaguya think of Miko. He could tell her response was not one of consideration, nor ideological rejection. Still, there was a silver lining in the way she kept up the conversation regardless. He could surely keep things moving in the right direction, slow though the progress was. "Yeah. You should give at least one of them a try one day. Someone would have a great time," he suggested. Soon enough, Kaguya was passing her phone across the table for an offer Yugi loosely made. He quirked a brow, but reached out nonetheless. Apparently her technological friend was blind, but still the one she'd repeatedly ask for such favors. "And yet here you are, taking the help from a stranger for free," he said sarcastically.

In all technicality, Yugi did have a cult of cheerleaders ─ an entire cult following, to be precise. They were loyalists of the Genokiller, not Aiba Yugi. "It's complicated. You wanna be the first official one on the roster?" he asked, a bit of cheek bleeding through. Moving on, Kaguya offered a couple of explanations. First came one of the Miko he knew only a day before ─ the dawn of his current relationship. She was heavily lacking in self-confidence and drive where some might say it counted most. He, too, was satisfied she'd grown past that... if only because of what came out of the shell repeatedly. As for Kaguya herself, it seemed there were a lot of finer details within her family history. He knew she was a bastard, but he knew nothing of her history in the Shinomiya family. Now however, he knew of that and the situation surrounding her engagement. The marriage was being set aside until her evaluation as a Hunter; he'd call that fair. Social structure in this country was such a finnicky thing, he'd be surprised to hear anything different. What didn't surprise him, was that Kaguya never actually entered her 'slut phase' as it would be called. No, things would have been much easier for him if she had. Causing a relapse would be simple... but perhaps capitalizing on missed opportunities could work similarly? No; that left a bad taste in his mouth. "I don't need the advice. I don't send dick pics. Never been asked for one, or even in a situation where I'd be able to," he said succinctly. "Life's hectic; I get it. It sounds like you've got a good situation going to keep yourself out of problematic family ties. Your fiancé is awakened, isn't he? What rank? I'm guessing at least B and no higher than A. Yeah. If he were S-rank, I imagine you would have been flaunting that ring instead of screwing with it. You avoided that topic, by the way."

According to Yugi, Kaguya should give one of those things he talked about a try. She could see herself doing any of them, one or two of them would be rather easy... well except for an honest lack of stamina. "Hai hai, I'll keep it in mind for when I think someone deserves a great time♥~" she said in a manner that was more teasing than she might have meant it to be. Still his playful half offer to help her with her phone had her handing the device over without cause. "Well I already deleted all the dicks, that phone is s safe place. Besides you're hardly a stranger, we've met before and we have a close relationship with the same person~" Kaguya claimed playfully. She truly saw the lad as being more trustworthy than most would have just by his attitude. And upon realizing that she found herself wanting to experience more, but that had to just be cold feet, she didn't want to destroy her own life just for a moment of potential fun. Regardless of the freedom with which Miko offered up her apparently 'awesome' boyfriend life didn't work for people to just have multiple partners without consequences.

Oddly enough, even as such thoughts danced about the back of her mind, Kaguya was being confronted by playful banter and flirts that implied a prodding she didn't find herself moving away from. "I don't know if I could be a cheerleader for such a stingy judge. Does it come with benefits?" she remarked playfully. Truly curious as to what he was trying to sign her up for. Moving on from that portion of the conversation, Kaguya explained herself, still playing the game which seemed like an early date. Going over her basic understanding of her friends, putting the barebones story of herself in the forefront to avoid any confusion and to give an out if one was needed. She wouldn't ask anyone to take on the same sort of oddities she did for herself. "Well, most girls wouldn't just ask for dick pics so I figure that's fine. If they did ask I assume they'd also want to take them so... it'd probably be a win~" she said giving it a bit of extra thought. Beyond that point there was his understanding. He saw that she was set up with a good life, that she'd managed to escape the weight of her family, he'd even guessed the kind of situation she'd ended up in by just hearing her out. "Yeah, don't know how you got there, but he's A-rank not quite the amount of pure impunity an S-rank moves around with but nothing to shake a stick at either in this new hierarchy. That is especially true given the fact that there is little to no overlap in rank as far as power scaling is concerned. And I don't know if I'd be flaunting it just because of a difference in rank... I don't think that matters to me," she murmured. "When people avoid things they normally don't want to talk about them," she pointed out, but as he'd been so honest with her, she felt she could at least try and offer a similar amount of honesty. "I still feel oddly about it. It's one of those things that's too good to be true. It's the kind of thing a lot of people want and I want it... the happiness and freedom at least, but I can't help but feel a little bit of pessimism all the time. How soon is too soon? What happens when I get evaluated? What happens after... most would call that jitters I guess but I don't know. I don't like talking about it for that reason," she explained of herself. "I also touch it unconsciously, I didn't notice I was doing it until you pointed it out... but touching it sooths my anxiety, it reminds me of its presence," she finished the sentence. There was a stigma associated with being a homewrecker and she had already seen the worst of high school. She couldn't really throw out the help that had technically been given already just because some random guy showed up with a look and personality she liked and a girlfriend she was besties with who gave full permission to try it out? That all seemed really unreasonable by normal standards... she couldn't beat the allegations if she walked down this path, and as such she didn't want to drag anyone else with her.

"You do that. I'll be here, ready to be amazed... or jealous, I guess," Yugi said after a moment of thought. He wouldn't take whatever punishment was associated with failing this Route, but he also didn't feel right about forcing Kaguya's hand on the matter. He had to woo the girl properly. Perhaps then, this Route was training for more than just the Otome functions of the System? Perhaps it was also training for dealing with politician enemies? Whatever the case, Yugi found himself in a somewhat playful dispute with Kaguya over some free labor. "I wouldn't have offered if there were any dicks left to see. But apparently, you're willing to take advantage of your friend's boyfriend, whose name you don't know even though you're willing to claim he's not a stranger," he summarized while sorting through her phone's message settings. As he held the device, there was a message arriving. It read: Gate's closed. Headed to HA. Late dinner?

Ignoring that message, or at least not acknowledging it, Yugi went about his business. Their banter was ongoing, with Kaguya questioning the potential job of cheerleader for an apparently stingy judge. Ah, she did have that to say about him earlier. He didn't even look up from the phone when responding initially. "Misinformation is dangerous. Ever heard of a ten-star ranking system?" he asked rhetorically, knowing five was simply the common answer in any case. "Though I am frugal. I thought I'd never rate anything above four. Then I did," he explained. "And the answer to your question depends on what you'd call 'benefits' I guess. I'm definitely a fugitive with no job and no tangible money. I could get you off a thousand ways to Sunday, but you don't seem to be interested in that. You'll probably have to decide your own benefits."

Kaguya's fiancé was indeed an A-rank Hunter. In speaking that truth and a few other facts however, she took a different meaning from Yugi's words than anything he had in mind when sharing them. That needed clarification. "I didn't say you'd flaunt it because of your own opinion. I know you don't care about ranks. You already made it obvious you probably hate the system almost as much as I do, conceptually. If your fiancé were an S-rank, though, there'd be other variables at play. That ring is expensive; really expensive. On one hand, that would mean nothing with the kind of money I imagine an S-rank would bring in. But what about the other side? It's an S-rank, a social bigwig. The psychological pull of someone who's such a big deal focusing that much effort on you would be virtually unavoidable. It's kind of like... the protagonist of a modern power fantasy. Despite how much people complain about the trope, anyone with a brain understands that it would be stupid if all those girls didn't have an interest in the damn-near omnipotent good guy who gives them the time of day and actually gives a shit about them. Anyway... there's more to the point, but I'm guessing you get where it's going by now," he blabbered, mostly to buy time by continuing the conversation a bit longer. Why? Well, Yugi's silence came only when he reached a mental count of three minutes ─ three minutes since that message was received. He'd already finished tweaking the settings in Kaguya's phone, but he hadn't let go of it yet. "You're getting a phone call," he said. Yugi then extended the phone, but... something was strange. Kaguya's phone did ring, but not until a few seconds after he claimed it was ringing. Who was on the other end of the line? None other than her fiancé.

Yugi made the claim that he'd be ready to be amazed or jealous. Yes, that was definitely a more direct flirt than most of the ones he'd been dropping. "Oh, so that's how it is~" Kaguya remarked. The lad was most certainly flirting with her. Not just talking about his own experiences, not just an outward pervert but one making a more direct push. Well... push wasn't exactly the right word, he was allowing his thoughts about Kaguya to appear in his words, but he wasn't applying extra pressure or trying to force her to cheat on her fiancé. Kaguya's experience with men was markedly different than the approach she was currently getting. His words about her willingness to take advantage of him as her friend's boyfriend and the claim that he wasn't really a stranger made her laugh. "Your first point is fair, and yes I am willing to take advantage of Mi-chan's boyfriend that I kind of met one time before... because she offered you up if you didn't know. If I'm allowed to make use of something or offered a sample of food from her actual plate, it'd be sinful of me to turn down a taste♥~" Kaguya claimed, part of that in Miko's tone with her own flirty twist added at the end. It was becoming more comfortable to say such things, with the full knowledge that this lad was actually trying her she'd be giving him more direct flirts, because she actually believed those words given to her by her friend.

The message on Kaguya's phone would be unknown to her for a while yet. She wasn't the type who would be worried about any of her messages as those who did so were kind of rare. Beyond this the nature of Yugi as a stingy judge was misinformation. There was a 10 star scale and the lad himself admitted to originally not thinking he'd ever give something higher than a four naturally that would have been out of five stars. "Is that how it went, maybe I spoke impulsively before~ But you know how it is, outside in is always a bit harder to be completely clear about~" she explained of course, there was quite a bit of wiggle room in a 10 star rating. That lad had asked for a seven and given a 9.8 so... in truth Kaguya didn't know whether she should hope to hear a 10 or fear what happened if she was around when one of happened. The benefits he claimed were about getting her off, after listing the things that were negative. Kaguya understood the dangers of being attached to her best friend and the lad who'd gone missing with her, but apparently access to him or them in their obviously open relationship was part of the deal of cheering him on. "Well, that benefit if it's possible for someone is a good one, but perhaps I should instead insert a condition? I don't usually directly make the slutty decision, last time I used my own body for that sort of test it ended badly for me but you're a very different kind of person from that I can tell..." Kaguya mentioned. The gears of her brain were working. A sample of a threesome was offered, Miko had left the building but they were still alone here. Miko was the type to set someone else up on a date and make herself scarce, circumstances lining up with that were fine.

After that there was an explanation which came with clarification. A strange connection was made between an S-rank taking interest in her and the amount of expense put into the ring. How it would feel more like a protagonist of a power fantasy if such care was taken even if she didn't actually care about the rank itself. "Sou ka, one of those types of relationships. I see, every girl does like to be cared for, and it's always nice when the unchallengeable super guy likes you and his honest with you," Kaguya could at least see that. By the time she was handed back her phone she was told she was getting a phone call. But the screen wasn't even lit up. "Eh? But it's not..." she was about to say it wasn't ringing and had only just spied the message pop up that likely denoted a text she'd not looked at yet. "One second..." she said as she got up to take the phone call, in the kitchen not to upset the lad or anything but simply because she wasn't rude. "Moshi moshi~" she said after answering her phone.

At long last, Kaguya was starting to acknowledge Yugi's gentle advances for what they truly were. He still had a lot of progress to make, it seemed. Yugi wouldn't say he had a foot in the door, but... the letterbox was open. According to Kaguya, she was willing to take advantage of him, because Miko made an offer that preceded their actual relationship. A few choice words were given different inflections, implying they were spoken by Miko herself. How interesting. Still, nothing was changed about Yugi's approach or thought process. "You're right, but you're wrong... and so is she. That offer doesn't contain a clause that involves tech services. It sounds to me like you made an agreement to 'eat' what she eats. This kind of service isn't covered by the contract. Beyond that... if you're considering cashing in that agreement, you can both take the whole deal and shove it up your asses. I don't take handouts, I don't take class advantages, and nepotism suck a fat one."

The clarification of Yugi's 'star rating system' was given and received. He understood Kaguya's perspective as one who'd seen only that one isolated moment. Her understanding couldn't really be held against her. "Not an issue," he commented with a casual shrug. The raven-haired lass thought positively of the 'benefit' he spoke of, though it seemed she was still on the side of avoiding it. An engaged woman should be expected to behave as such. Actually, she was flirtier than one should have anticipated. Chemistry was clear, but her history with men seemed like it tipped the scales back the other way. Regardless, there was another opening presented. "You said condition," Yugi stated, disregarding the rest for now. Ah, but an interruption he expected was on its way.

He handed Kaguya her phone, which wasn't ringing at all... until it was. He had nothing else to say about relationship tropes, and she had a call to take elsewhere. Yugi's eyes would follow the lass intently. Initially, he'd keep an eye on Kaguya's body as she moved toward the kitchen to answer the call. His long-term plan however, was to once again focus mana through his eyes to read her lips from a distance. Whatever the case, that call would be picked up. "Ah, there you are! I thought you were free today, so I was worried when you didn't even read my text by the time I got in the car!" said the man at the other end. "Are you home safe? I was trying to tell you it's getting dark, but we're fresh out of the Dungeon and headed to the Hunters' Association."

Kayuga was about to find out that Yugi was the type of individual who took no handouts. Well, in this case it wasn't really a handout but she figured the nuances of such situations were lost when they weren't part of the original discussion. But such a thing had come up a long time before this point so it was hardly worth the extra thought. "Sou ka, I understand that... more than most. I respect that. Nepotism does suck, and it creates the weirdest kind of people. This is more like permission to raid the fridge than as specific as you're thinking about it but..." she held up her hands in mock surrender. "I already understood that part, I was working through something a little different. Until you started addressing it directly I was going to let you have plausible deniability..." Kaguya explained of herself but gave no extra details. There were details missing from that conversation. It wasn't just a deal to eat what Miko ate, but a deal to pursue what could be seen as belonging to the girl with impunity. A deviant functionality clause among friends because of the issue that lost Kaguya her first boyfriend, but that was also not something that needed a full explanation in current times.

Playful surrender in the face of new information was a shared trait among friends. Knowing that the rating system she'd initially seen was a five star system originally and evolved to 10 stars simply because of some sort of push was interesting indeed. To be a fly on the wall to see that conversation play would might have been quite fun. Maybe she'd get to see something like it as they stayed over? He didn't take it personally and because of that Kaguya also shrugged it off. "Good to know~" she teased easily capable of moving on. There was a potential condition, "You seem to be the type to understand that some things require different approaches. I can't exactly agree to imploding my life right now... I have too many unknowns floating around for that, but as a lad who hasn't even given his name yet, you obviously have no problem keeping things to yourself..." she prefaced. "So, if I was the first of these proper cheerleaders of yours it'd be something quiet. I'm not able to say I am not interested but I am also not able to say that I know I should walk away, decisions like that shouldn't be made in a moment, I'm not enough of a deviant to wreck my life over dick, even freely offered as it might be..." she explained softly.

Until of course, that phone call came though. That would put them on hold for a few minutes and she'd be confronted by exactly the issue she had in general. "I am free today, I just didn't see it immediately. I was working on a campaign and didn't need to hover around my phone too much. You're worried over nothing... what if I was watching a show?" she chided. This man worried quite a lot but she couldn't say his thoughts about life were misplaced. "I am home and safe you don't have to worry about that. And I can see it's getting dark, great eyes remember~" she said lightly chiding the man for being overly worried about literally nothing. "It's good that you made it out alright and you can tell me all about it. I have some stuff to fill you in on too... so a late dinner whenever you're done at the Association will be fine, it'll be taken care of... no need to rush~" Kaguya mentioned, her voice sounding just as playful as it always did. Once again she was flddling with that ring on her finger while she spoke on the phone.

Kaguya understood Yugi's stance, but there were facts missing on both sides of the equation. Hers was the finer detail of her earliest relationship, and his... was the fact that his standpoint remained irrespective of the rest. The System demanded that he follow a Route, a directive that seemed to force him into the position of aggressor. He couldn't just leave himself to be pursued, but he also wasn't taking the handicap. If this was some sort of training quest, he wanted to take it on hard mode. Yugi would even demand as much, but... there was an interruption halting the conversation. He'd thus take his time in silence to reflect and plan. Kaguya spoke of discretion for something she'd still not decided to do. Her noted interest, however, told Yugi that all he needed was to tilt the scales in the right direction. But first... lipreading of the girl who'd moved into the kitchen.

The answer Kaguya gave to that initial line of questioning told Yugi what had been asked in the first few moments of conversation. For the man on the phone, it told him he could worry a bit less... for now. What if Kaguya had been watching a show? "I didn't think about that! I was just worried, okay? We were in there for ages; I don't know if another Dungeon Break happened while I was gone. But as long as you're safe," the man stated, relief bleeding through his every word. Kaguya went on to accept the offer of a late dinner, claiming it would be taken care of. At the other end, there was another sigh of contentment. "Did you order in, or are you cooking? Wait no... don't tell me! I'll look forward to whatever it is! I'll try to keep things as short as possible, but..." From that moment forward, the man was whispering. "Takatori-san is driving, so it might not matter. I'll call you when we're leaving HQ, alright?"

Kaguya came clean after a bit of conversation to her obvious interest. A few details were missing from both sides, but she would have been lying to say she hadn't been interested from the first moment of seeing the pair outside of Miko's bedroom window together. The moment they walked inside just cemented the idea more than most things and knowing that it wouldn't be odd for her friend made it easier for her to accept the feeling but she wasn't quite deviant enough to fully want to ruin a good thing on her own end just because it would change nothing on the other. She had plenty of time to consider this given the impeccable timing it took to interrupt her on her downward spiral. Some would take this as a sign they should stay on the beaten path but Kaguya for some reason was just the tiniest bit... agitated.

No matter, there was a conversation on the phone one she'd continue having like it was no big deal. He apparently worried there had been a Dungeon Break, "I know you were worried it's fine. High pressure situations do that... but remember that even if you weren't here I still have Ai-nee to help in an emergency. No need to add extra stress~" she explained gently. "Also I haven't seen any updates about a Dungeon Break recently... but I understand why you're cautious, no one can be everywhere at once," she mentioned as if it was perfectly normal. She turned, leaning back against the kitchen island and trying to work the building stress out of her own back and shoulders. Kaguya was doing neither ordering in nor... cooking but he claimed he was up for the surprise. That would be interesting. He planned to keep things short but a certain member of his party was driving so... it could take a while. "I said it's fine. There isn't anything to worry about. I'll turn my ringer up so I don't miss anything, good job, making it out safe~" she offered the man on the phone.

The longer Yugi watched Kaguya in the kitchen, the more strain he put on his eyes. They were becoming bloodshot from simple lip-reading; he should probably invest in higher Perception. As for Kaguya's fiancé, he was urged even more to stray from the path of concern. "No Dungeon Break is good news. I hear a lot of people talking about different Gates appearing since we went in. I know you're fine now though; that's all that matter─ah! Takatori! Speed bumps mean slow down! And you missed the turn!" he began shouting within the vehicle. Another sigh passed the man's lips before he addressed Kaguya's final clause. "I get that it's fine. I still want to get home as soon as possible. I haven't seen you in days~" he said. "Anyway, I'll call you... if we survive Takatori-san's driving. Love you~" the man said, intending to end the call there.

Yugi was still watching and processing, piecing a full conversation together from Kaguya's lips alone. He'd also noticed her fiddling with that ring again. His ocular prowess was getting even better, it seemed... but that was of little importance currently. 'There was a little bit of annoyance in there. Situational? Probably. Either way, that bit about keeping secrets should be the first big step. If I play my cards right from there, it should cut a little difficulty... but him calling might make it even harder. Even annoyed, there's an extra reminder besides that ring in play now... and a time limit? The Association is probably in an important spot, so... a few hours? I might just have a few hours to win. Maybe there's a System cue? Either way, that call is probably just about over. . .'

According to the man on the phone several Gates had opened up and that was a bit worrying. She tried to rationalize that little hint of annoyance, she tried to see it logically. She was just upset that this felt wrong in the moment. Just annoyed that she couldn't even for a second just act according to whatever whim she felt the strongest. "Leave Takatori-san alone, you know how he is~" Kaguya mentioned. Several stories of that particular person had appeared. No bad news was good news. There were indeed a few hours left before this man would make it home considering Takatori was rushing and thus missing the necessary turns. Apparently, the man on the phone was still excited tog et home, that much was very clear, so Kaguya could have no real issue with it. She stretched almost absently workint out the tension. "Hai hai... it has been a few days. I'm sure you're excited~" she mentioned with a roll of her eyes. If he wasn't currently in a with others, she might have expected a statement like that to come with a picture. No matter, "Hai hai♥~ I'll be waiting for the call~" Kaguya mentioned hanging up the phone soon after. He always said he loved her, and her response was always about the same, he knew how she was...

When that was over she took a deep breath. She wondered if she'd be better at navigating this sort of thing if her mother was still alive. She wondered what it was honestly like for her and her stepmom. She wondered if she was the only one who found certain things boring. Or if instead there was something wrong with her for being able to carry on that conversation as normal, knowing that just a few moments before it started she'd begun arranging some kind of sexual relationship with a lad she'd only met today. Her eyes shifted slightly towards him, was it the honesty? Was it being desired that made it seem like it was worth it? If it was... how could she ever feel secure enough? Was there actually a line she didn't know about? Well, she had a few hours to decide. So she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and... walked back into the room. She collapsed back into her seat, tucking her legs under herself as she did. "Gomen gomen, we were in the middle of something weren't we?~" she questioned lightly, still that flirty tone remained, but her eyes would seem just a bit more complex than they had even a few minutes ago. She wasn't currently fiddling with that ring, but still she felt it, on her hand like the weight of the world was applied to it.