The Plan (Nisekoi Fanfiction)

Part Twelve and Half - Intermission

In hindsight, it really wasn't his fault. After all, things had been chaotic and he had put his life at stake in order to protect the girl he loved.

But even so...

"He's human trash. The worst kind of guy."

"Now, now...let's not be so harsh on him. Although...this is pretty cruel, Raku..."

***

Just a few minutes ago~

Having gathered to wait for the supposed arrival of Ichijou Raku in an hour, the crowd of black suits had decided to entertain themselves while they waited. Currently, they were in an intense game of rock, paper, scissors with a special rule that the loser would have to join the winning team.

"Don't lose! We absolutely need #76! He's the best at this game!"

"I'm going to play rock."

"D-Damn it! I let my guard down. Now I have to worry about whether he'll really play rock or if he's lying!"

"Or I might play...paper."

"Two consecutive hits...this guy is a pro!"

"He's done for! There's no way this could get any worse..."

"Or...maybe I'll surrender..."

The black suits roared in awe at the technique. What amazing skill! To introduce the possibility of winning to an opponent that was sure to lose! Not to mention using a bluff that didn't even make sense in the context of the game! It was a chilling move that disorientated the player while also provoking them to be more aggressive.

Ruri and Shu slipped out of the room as the battle came to a climax, the sound of a louder roar than the first one signaling that some sort of massive upset had occurred. Well, at the very least, it seemed like they had gained themselves about two hours. Shu was sure that these sort of guys would get distracted and lose track of time.

"Alright, now that we've got Raku and Onodera-san in a good place, we should get ourselves to safety," said Shu. "It looks like Yui-nee is helping to evacuate the other students, so we should go and join up with her."

"I'm amazed that you were able to get info at a time like this," said Ruri. "No wait...how did you even know that?"

"Fufu, like I said to Raku, don't underestimate my information network, Ruri-chan!" said Shu, his glasses glinting. A buzzing sound came from his pocket. "Ah, some more info-"

Ruri stomped on Shu's foot.

"Ruri-chan, that's the worst place you could aim for right now..." said Shu, his eyes watering. "But well, this Ruri-chan is nice too~"

"...I haven't said anything before, but it's starting to irritate me," said Ruri, shoving Shu's grinning face away. "Since when did we get so close that you could call me by my given name?"

"Ara~ we are close, aren't we!" said Shu with an enormous cat-like smile.

"The day I'm close with voyeuristic scum like you is when you turn into a woman," said Ruri with her eyes dead.

"You just can't be honest with yourself, Ruri-chan. But that is cute too~"

"Speaking of which..." said Ruri as she finished whacking Shu a couple times. "The only ones you call by their surname are Kirisaki-san and Kosaki-chan."

"Eh? Do I?" said Shu, his eyes spinning.

"But you've known them longer than Tsugumi-san or Tachibana-san, so why...?" said Ruri under her breath.