"…"
Aoba returned to Otsutsuki Kaguya's sealed space after a long ti, but what he saw inside caught him off guard.
It wasn't ssy or chaotic like stumbling into so hardcore shut-in's room.
The empty snack bags had been neatly stacked in a corner on the cabinet, and the novels and manga she'd finished were arranged in orderly rows.
The main issue was Kaguya herself.
Though she didn't look unkempt.
In fact, she looked very well-behaved, sitting quietly in a chair reading a manga.
What mattered was the aura she gave off.
It felt cold to the bone.
When he had first co here, she had also carried a distant, aloof chill that kept others at arm's length.
But it was different from the cold she had now.
As they were both spiritual bodies, Aoba could clearly sense her emotions.
While both carried a sense of distance, this one felt more like… the cold that cos after being abandoned, lonely, sorrowful, with everything fallen silent.
With just one glance, Aoba understood.
'I... ca too late.'
Two months had passed in the outside world; far more ti must have gone by in this sealed space.
He had also misjudged Kaguya's state of mind.
He'd thought that leaving her plenty of snacks, novels, and manga would be enough to keep her occupied for half a year.
At the ti, she hadn't shown much of a reaction.
But now, it seed it hadn't worked very well.
"…"
In silence, Aoba walked over and sat down in the chair across from her.
On the table in front of him was a portion of snacks and a drink, seemingly prepared specifically for him.
'Did she prepare one for every ti she ate?'
"?"
As he pondered, he noticed the girl across from him tremble slightly.
She looked like she wanted to raise her head, but stopped herself at the last mont.
'So… is she sulking?'
That wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Indifference would have been worse.
Aoba had plenty of experience handling this sort of situation.
He said nothing, simply picked up his chair and moved it to sit beside her.
Then he started reading the manga on the table together with her.
"…"
Otsutsuki Kaguya didn't speak. She silently shifted the book toward her side, as if deliberately being petty and refusing to let him see.
Aoba couldn't help but find it a little amusing. He reached out and poked her arm, reminding her, "I can't see the whole page."
"…"
Her body visibly trembled again.
This sudden contact caught her completely off guard.
But instead of moving the manga to the middle, she snapped it shut and even scooted a little farther away.
"Do you need sothing? If not, don't interrupt while I'm reading!"
This ti, Otsutsuki Kaguya lifted her head. Her voice was cool, trying to sound indifferent, but her tightly held expression gave everything away.
"?"
Aoba suddenly felt like sothing about the script was off.
Then he glanced at the cover of the manga in her hands… and everything clicked into place.
The ninja world's developnt in this area was actually quite impressive.
At the very least, there were plenty of manga and light novels featuring tsundere heroines, yandere types, and mature won.
The one in Kaguya's hands was a classic tsundere heroine with a gentle, attentive male lead, sothing along the lines of Toradora.
'So she is learning by example?'
'But she picked the wrong script, didn't she?'
'She is supposed to be the cold, clueless airhead type. Acting tsundere doesn't suit her at all.'
'That is more in Kurotsuchi and Yugito's domain.'
"Then I'll co back next ti when I actually have sothing to do?"
Aoba thought for a mont. He was quite experienced when it ca to dealing with tsunderes.
"You—"
Otsutsuki Kaguya gritted her teeth. The cold expression on her face was already on the verge of cracking.
"So you prefer those vixens outside more, is that it?"
"Cough! Cough!"
Hearing that completely out-of-place phrase co out of her mouth, Aoba couldn't help coughing.
'Did she mix up all the books she read?'
After coughing for a bit, he finally composed himself.
"Do you know what 'vixen' actually ans?"
"?"
Kaguya blinked, then tilted her head, "Isn't it the kind of woman who seduces n outside and keeps them from going ho?"
That was what she'd read in a book.
In the half a year inside this sealed space, with nothing to do and no need to rest, she had already gone through all the books here.
She felt terrifyingly smart now, so she wanted to get the upper hand over Aoba.
"Then where do you think my ho is?"
Aoba asked another question.
"It's at!"
Kaguya froze, then her eyes widened in sudden realization.
And then she shut down.
"So… I… I'm the vixen…"
Watching her finally stabilize a bit only to spiral back into self-isolation, Aoba couldn't help but laugh helplessly. Then he spoke gently,
"Alright, there's no such thing as vixens."
He simply reached out and took her small hand, imdiately feeling the soft, delicate texture of her palm.
And the faint tremble that followed.
"You…"
"Sorry. I ca late."
Without giving her a chance to say anything, Aoba apologized sincerely.
"…"
The hand that had been trembling in his grasp gradually relaxed.
"The stories in the books… aren't as interesting as the ones you tell…"
"That's fine. You can listen for as long as you want from now on."
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