Not long after, soft footsteps echoed from the hallway.
Everyone in the living room turned their heads in unison.
Shiro appeared at the doorway.
She wore a pleated black skirt paired with a simple, neat white blouse.
This minimalist combination made her snow-white hair stand out even more.
Her ocean-blue eyes shimmered under the living room lights, making her look like a pristine porcelain doll.
The moment Shiro stepped inside, her eyes locked directly onto Kamiki.
Right then, a powerful urge welled up inside her.
She wanted to dash forward and throw her arms around him.
She had been forced to sleep alone last night, stripped of the comforting warmth she was so used to.
She had tossed and turned all night, missing Kamiki terribly.
But Shiro would never voice this out loud.
Even the thought of admitting it was mortifying.
Besides, the room was too crowded.
Kiyone was there.
Yuki was there.
And there was also a foreign girl she had never seen before.
Shiro took a single step toward Kamiki before freezing.
Sensing everyone’s eyes on her, a faint flush crept into her cheeks.
Overcome with embarrassment, she immediately abandoned the idea of a hug and slowed her pace.
“I’m back,” Shiro said, her voice low and flat as always.
Kamiki caught her hesitation instantly.
The playful smirk on his lips deepened; reading Shiro’s mind was never a challenge for him.
“Welcome back, Shiro,” Kamiki said, deliberately softening his tone.
“We were just waiting for you.” Yuki waved from her seat cheerfully.
“Shiro-chan!
You look so pretty!” she chirped, still practically glued to Kamiki’s arm.
Seeing Yuki’s excessive closeness to Kamiki, Shiro’s blue eyes narrowed slightly.
An indescribable, suffocating sensation tightened in her chest.
Kiyone, on the other hand, saw Shiro’s arrival as a saving grace.
Standing up, she said in a deadpan voice, “Finally.
Now that everyone is here, we can leave.” Meanwhile, Tsubaki was busy scanning Shiro from head to toe.
The combination of white hair and blue eyes left her utterly bewildered.
“The genetic diversity in this house is a joke,” she muttered to herself.
“Everyone walks around looking like an anime character.” Kamiki slowly rose from the couch, gently peeling Yuki off his arm.
He took a few steps forward and stopped right in front of Shiro.
Reaching out, he gently stroked her soft, white hair.
“Did you miss me, Shiro?” Kamiki asked, his voice maintaining that velvety, smooth cadence.
He ran his hand gently through her hair.
“Want a hug?” Shiro shivered slightly at the warmth of his hand.
But a split second later, she rolled her eyes at the sheer audacity of this man, who had just casually exposed her innermost thoughts to the room.
She put on an expression as if she had just heard the most absurd, illogical thing on earth.
To hide the faint blush on her face, she turned her head away.
“Why would I ever miss a pervert like you?” Shiro spat, her voice quiet but ice-cold and razor-sharp.
Kamiki didn’t lose his composure for a second at her freezing, distant rejection.
If anything, his annoying, triumphant smirk widened.
He slowly withdrew his hand from her snow-white hair and shrugged.
“Oh well, Shiro-chan,” Kamiki said, layering his voice with a feigned sense of disappointment.
“Since you don’t want a hug, I guess I’ll just go back to my Yuki.” Those words struck Shiro’s mind like a bolt of lightning.
*’My Yuki?’* she thought.
Her blue eyes flashed with sudden anger.
She knew perfectly well that Kamiki was intentionally and systematically pressing her jealousy buttons.
*’This bastard…’* Shiro thought, glaring at Kamiki’s back as he turned and walked back toward the couch.
She clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached.
*’He knows exactly how much I love him, how much of a weakness he is to me, and he uses it as a weapon against me every single time.’* However, Kamiki wasn’t the sole target of Shiro’s intense fury.
Her gaze quickly shifted to the girl who had already scurried back to Kamiki’s side, instantly latching onto his arm again without losing a second.
*’It’s always because of this stupid Yuki,’* she muttered inwardly with venom.
*’If he didn’t spoil her so much, if she didn’t jump all over him and touch his face whenever she pleased, this perverted freak wouldn’t be this emboldened.
She started all of this.’* Shiro shot daggers at Yuki.
A wave of pure, unadulterated animosity radiated from her ocean-blue eyes.
Her innocent, doll-like face had completely darkened into a menacing glare.
Yuki, who was giggling and basking in the joy of holding Kamiki’s arm again, suddenly froze under the sudden, suffocating pressure directed at her.
When she looked up and met Shiro’s gaze, she found the girl staring at her as if she wanted to tear her apart.
Yuki blinked in confusion, tilting her head innocently.
“Eh?
Shiro-chan?” Yuki asked with pure bewilderment.
“Why are you glaring at me like that?
Did I do something wrong?
Would you like me to get you some orange juice?” Yuki was entirely oblivious to the storm and the jealousy crisis brewing inside Shiro.
Her detached, overly optimistic attitude only infuriated Shiro further.
Right then, Sakurako Tsubaki, who had been standing in the corner with her arms crossed, watching this entire drama unfold, let out a deep sigh.
Her older sister’s unbelievable naivety and absolute blindness to the dynamics around her had finally pushed her past her patience.
Tsubaki took a step forward, coming to a halt right next to her sister, looking down at her with pitying eyes.
“Sister,” Tsubaki said, her voice flat and laced with disapproval.
“Are you actually stupid?” Shocked by this sudden insult from her own biological sister, Yuki turned to Tsubaki and pouted.
“Tsubaki-chan!
That’s so mean!
Why would you say that?” ”Because you are,” Tsubaki said, gesturing with her eyes first at Shiro, then at Kamiki.
“That female Gojo just annihilated you with her eyes, and you’re still talking about orange juice.” “Gojo?” Yuki asked, drawing a blank.
“Who’s that?” “Never mind who that is,” Tsubaki cut her off, sharpening her tone.
“Let me tell you exactly why she’s so pissed off.
She’s mad because you’re treating that perverted guy way too well.
Shiro hates your guts right now because you’re always doting on him and spoiling him.” Yuki completely froze as the words sank in.
Her gaze darted rapidly between Kamiki, Tsubaki, and Shiro.
“What?
Shiro-chan is mad at me because she’s jealous of Kamiki-kun?” she asked loudly.
Sitting on the couch, Kiyone buried her face in her hands upon hearing this dialogue.
“There isn’t a single sane person in this house,” she muttered to herself.
As for Shiro, Tsubaki’s blunt, unreserved exposure of the situation in front of everyone made her flush bright red.
She was completely at a loss, burning with embarrassment.
“D-Don’t be ridiculous!” Shiro yelled, her voice raising to an unprecedented volume.
“Who would I even be jealous of?
That pervert?
It’s just…
Yuki’s lack of discipline is annoying to watch, that’s all!” Meanwhile, Kamiki was sitting on the edge of the couch, thoroughly enjoying the soft pressure of Yuki on his arm while watching this magnificent argument with absolute relish.
Tsubaki’s direct and sharp analysis of the situation had once again proven her potential to him.
“Tsubaki-chan makes an excellent point,” Kamiki said, taking great pleasure in throwing fuel onto the fire.
“Shiro-chan, if you’re really not jealous, come over here and prove it.
Otherwise, Yuki and I are going to be very, *very* close out there today, just so you know.” “Do whatever you want!” Shiro hissed, turning on her heel and heading straight for the door to storm out of the living room.
She was on the verge of exploding from a volatile mix of embarrassment and rage.
Spurred by Kamiki’s blatant provocation and the humiliation of being put on the spot in front of everyone, Shiro clenched her fists.
The flush of embarrassment still stained her cheeks, but her ocean-blue eyes suddenly turned dead serious.
Diverting her gaze from Kamiki, she locked it directly onto Yuki.
“Yuki,” Shiro said, her tone dropping back into that old, authoritative register from the White Room.
“You are going way too far.
Have you forgotten our agreement?” Hearing Shiro’s ice-cold, warning voice, Yuki hesitated for a brief second.
The cheerful smile on her face faded slightly.
“What you are doing,” Shiro continued, taking a deliberate step closer to Yuki, “is a direct violation of our rules.” Kamiki sat up straight on the couch.
Sensing that the girls were hiding something behind his back instantly triggered his desire for absolute control.
He knitted his brows, his eyes shifting between the three White Room students.
“What agreement?” Kamiki asked, genuinely perplexed.
“What rule is this that I don’t know about?” Just as Kamiki was about to press them for an answer, the atmosphere in the room shifted entirely.
Shiro, Kiyone, and Yuki turned their heads toward Kamiki at the exact same time.
The bickering, the jealousy, and the pettiness from moments ago vanished instantly.
Within seconds, the cold, professional, and detached mask of the White Room settled over their faces.
Their expressions hardened like an impenetrable wall.
“This does not concern you, Kamiki-kun,” they said in perfect unison.
Their voices were so perfectly synchronized, so chillingly monotone, that a deathly silence gripped the living room for a moment.
Seeing such a united front formed against him for the first time, Kamiki paused.
His lips parted slightly in surprise, but he quickly recovered, leaning back into the couch as if to turn even this into a source of amusement.
“Wow,” he murmured, raising his hands in mock surrender.
“Secret alliances behind my back.
I must admit, girls, I’m a little hurt.” A few steps back, Tsubaki watched the three girls simultaneously switch into robot mode, tightening her arms around her chest.
“You guys are actually terrifying,” Tsubaki said, unable to hide her shudder.
“A few seconds ago you were at each other’s throats, and now you’re speaking at the exact same time like cult members.” Sensing Kamiki’s probing gaze on her, Kiyone cleared her throat and adjusted her posture.
“Since the matter is settled,” she said, her voice shattering the bizarre atmosphere in the room, “I believe we can finally head out.
Shiro is here now.” “I agree, let’s leave,” Shiro said, taking the first step toward the door while taking extra care not to look at Kamiki.
Yuki finally released Kamiki’s arm, but before pulling away, she leaned in close to his ear.
“Don’t worry too much, Kamiki-kun,” she whispered mischievously.
“They are just rules on how to share you.” As Yuki quickly pulled back and hurried down the hallway after Shiro, Kamiki was left sitting on the couch, processing her parting words.
Slowly, his trademark smirk crept back onto his face.
The girls were fully aware of everything, after all.
They knew perfectly well that Kamiki would never, under any circumstances, settle for just one woman; his eyes would always be wandering toward a second, a third, or even more.
This wasn’t mere conjecture; it had deep-rooted foundations.
Even when they were nothing more than toddlers crawling through the cold corridors of the White Room, Kamiki’s dark, possessive, and manipulative obsession had always enveloped them.
He had never left their sides since they were young, seizing every opportunity to pull them into his orbit.
Naturally, those genius girls had picked up on this strange fixation at a very early age.
That was exactly why, just before the fateful day they were to step into the outside world, they had gathered in secret to draft a classified agreement with absolute, ironclad rules.
The terms were simple: every day they spent outside, only one of them would have the exclusive right to spend private time with Kamiki and stay by his side.
This way, they could keep Kamiki’s desires in check while protecting each other’s boundaries.
And according to the schedule, today was supposed to be Shiro’s turn.
Having slept alone and missed Kamiki all night, Shiro held the right to walk by his side today.
One of the three always had to stay attached to him like a shadow; because if left to his own devices, Kamiki would never satisfy himself with what he had and would immediately hunt for new targets in the outside world.
The true source of the lethal fury Shiro had displayed in the living room was now crystal clear.
Yuki had acted entirely selfishly, knowing full well that today belonged to Shiro.
To make matters worse, she hadn’t just broken the rules—she had brought a remarkably beautiful and attractive younger sister like Sakurako Tsubaki into the house, actively feeding Kamiki’s dangerous predatory instincts with her own hands.
On top of that, she had shamelessy latched onto his arm since the crack of dawn, usurping the intimacy that rightfully belonged to Shiro.
Kamiki slowly rose from his seat.
Pulling out his phone, he fired off a quick text to Matsuo.
A few minutes later, the roar of an engine echoed through the villa’s spacious front yard.
A long, sleek, ultra-luxurious black limousine pulled up to the entrance.
The group boarded the vehicle one by one.
Kamiki entered first.
Right next to him, per their agreement, Shiro took her seat.
Yuki tried to slide in quickly right after, but froze when she caught the sharp, warning glare in Shiro’s ocean-blue eyes.
Pouting, she moved to the opposite row of seats instead.
Kiyone and Tsubaki settled onto the spacious leather seats as well.
The interior was incredibly roomy, equipped with a mini-bar and ambient, low lighting.
The doors shut, completely sealing off the noise of the outside world.
Matsuo lowered the privacy partition slightly from the front and glanced at Kamiki through the rearview mirror.
“Where to, sir?” he asked, his voice smooth and professional.
Just as Kamiki opened his mouth to speak, Shiro cut in.
Her voice was resolute.
“I want to go to a shopping mall.” Matsuo didn’t hesitate for a second.
He gave a polite nod.
“Of course, Tsukishima-sama,” he replied, raising the partition once more.
The limousine glided forward silently.
Kiyone crossed her arms, turning an inquisitive gaze toward Shiro.
“Why a shopping mall?” she questioned.
“What made you choose that place?” Shiro leaned back against the seat, the proximity of Kamiki’s warmth finally putting her at ease.
“I did some research last night,” she stated.
“I looked over the data available online.” “Apparently, that’s where people gather the most,” Shiro continued.
“The rate of social interaction there is exceptionally high.” Yuki lunged forward with excitement.
“Ah, what a brilliant idea!” she cheered.
“We can observe how people in the outside world interact with one another.” “That’s not all,” Shiro added, her explanation brief and clinical.
“It houses all kinds of establishments under one roof.
Clothing, technology, food.” Kamiki listened to their exchange in silence, the faint smirk never leaving his lips.
He slowly reached out and took Shiro’s hand, lacing his fingers through hers.
Shiro flinched, instinctively trying to pull her hand away.
But Kamiki tightened his grip, refusing to let go.
Feeling her cheeks burn, Shiro quickly turned her head toward the window, pretending to watch the scenery outside.
Yet, she didn’t pull back anymore.
Deep down, she had craved this touch.
Hearing the formal last name Matsuo used to address Shiro, Yuki’s eyes went wide.
She leaned forward eagerly.
“So your full name is Tsukishima Shiro,” Yuki said, her voice echoing inside the limo.
“Wow, that sounds incredibly noble!” Still staring out the window to hide her blushing face, Shiro’s fingers trembled slightly against Kamiki’s firm grip.
“It’s just Matsuo’s unnecessary formality,” she murmured under her breath.
Yuki’s eyes abruptly shifted to Kamiki next.
Driven by insatiable curiosity, she slid to the very edge of her seat until her knees were nearly brushing against his.
“What about you, Kamiki-kun?” Yuki asked, her eyes sparkling.
“What is your last name?
Back in the White Room, they only ever called us by our first names.
I’ve never heard your real surname.” While continuing to stroke Shiro’s fingers, Kamiki turned slightly toward Yuki.
His usual mysterious, confident smile remained perfectly intact, and his voice was utterly flawless.
“Shirogane,” Kamiki said.
“Shirogane Kamiki.” Upon hearing the name, Yuki leaned back into her seat.
Her lips parted slightly as she began to whisper the word repeatedly, as if trying to etch it into her memory.
“Shirogane…” Yuki whispered, her voice barely audible.
“Shirogane.” Everyone in the car watched her, trying to figure out what she was playing at.
Tsubaki let out a heavy sigh at her sister’s behavior.
“Shirogane Yuki,” Yuki finally uttered into the quiet cabin.
No matter how low Yuki had tried to keep her voice, the words exploded like a bomb in the dead silence of the limousine.
Everyone had heard her loud and clear.
The temperature inside the vehicle plummeted instantly.
Everyone shot Yuki a bizarre look.
Tsubaki rolled her eyes and turned her head toward the window.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered.
“This girl was born without a shame gene.” Kiyone’s gaze grew entirely vacant, her golden eyes devoid of any emotion.
“Daydreaming about marriage on day one,” she remarked flatly.
Shiro tensed up entirely.
The fingers holding Kamiki’s hand suddenly turned ice-cold.
She kept her eyes glued to Yuki, sparks practically flying from her ocean-blue irises.
*’Yuki…’* she thought fiercely.
*’You are really pushing your luck.’* “That surname suits you beautifully, Yuki,” Kamiki chimed in, his eyes gleaming.
Caught off guard by his sudden validation, Yuki flushed intensely.
A deep crimson spread rapidly across her face, burning all the way to her ears.
However, her embarrassment was short-lived, replaced almost instantly by a massive, triumphant grin.
“Right?” Yuki said, her voice trembling slightly but filled with joy.
“I think it has a wonderful phonetic flow.
Shirogane Yuki.
It sounds so natural.” Yuki didn’t stop there.
Turning her gaze to Shiro, her mischievous grin widened even further.
“Shirogane Shiro sounds pretty great too,” Yuki added playfully.
“I think that’s an excellent combination as well.” At those words, Shiro’s face flushed a violent red, her cheeks practically on fire.
Her grip on Kamiki’s hand tightened to a rigid clench as she snapped her head toward Yuki.
“Don’t go marrying me off to him on our very first day out!” Shiro snapped, her voice sharper and louder than usual.
“Stop talking nonsense!” Yuki remained entirely unfazed.
Leaning forward slightly, she locked her eyes onto Shiro’s ocean-blue ones.
Her tone turned suddenly serious, though she didn’t lose that irritating hint of playfulness.
“We’ve known each other for fourteen years, Shiro-chan,” Yuki said.
“The four of us know exactly where this is inevitably going to end up.” Once again, a profound silence enveloped the inside of the limousine.
You could hear a pin drop.
Inwardly, both Kiyone and Shiro had to admit she was right.
Yes, they were both fully aware.
They had known Kamiki’s dark, possessive nature since childhood.
They could all clearly foresee the inescapable conclusion awaiting them in the future.
But that didn’t stop Shiro from boiling with rage.
*’Why can’t this girl just shut up?’* she thought furiously.
*’Kiyone and I already know this.
Couldn’t Yuki just keep her mouth zipped for once?’* Kiyone was harboring the exact same thoughts.
Crossing her arms even tighter, she practically pierced Yuki with her stare.
‘She really is a blabbermouth,’ Kiyone thought.
‘Does she have to throw everything right back in our faces like this?’ “Yuki,” Kiyone said, her voice frigid and laced with warning.
“Can you keep your mouth shut for a moment?” “Why should I?” Yuki asked, shrugging innocently.
“Am I lying?
We’ve all revolved around him since our days in the White Room.” From the back seat, Tsubaki threw both her hands in the air.
“Except me,” she protested bitterly.
“Please leave me out of this asylum.
I just wanted to go shopping like a normal human being.” “Shirogane Shiro…” Kamiki murmured, melting his voice into that smooth, velvety tone.
“That doesn’t sound bad at all, Shiro-chan.
What do you think?” “I’m not thinking about anything!” Shiro fired back, quickly jerking her head back toward the window.
She could distinctly feel that even her ears were burning red.
“Oh, come on, Shiro-chan,” Yuki giggled.
“Even Kamiki-kun likes the idea.” Yuki wasn’t finished.
With that same mischievous smirk, she shifted her targets and locked her eyes onto Kiyone.
Her gaze gleamed as if she had just found fresh prey.
Kiyone caught the look instantly.
Her golden eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Don’t even think about it,” Kiyone said, her voice cutting through the air like a blade.
Yuki placed her hands over her chest, blinking with exaggerated innocence.
“I didn’t mean anything bad,” Yuki said.
“I was just harmlessly going to ask for your surname.” Leaning back, Kiyone crossed her arms, her voice completely devoid of any emotion.
“Ayanokoji,” Kiyone stated.
“Ayanokoji Corporate…
Ayanokoji Kiyone.” Hearing the name, Yuki tilted her head slightly, weighing the syllables in her mind.
“It’s a nice surname,” Yuki noted.
“But Shirogane Kiyone rolls off the tongue much better.” The tension inside the limousine spiked to its absolute peak.
Shiro froze by the window, quickly shifting her gaze to Kiyone, while Tsubaki shrank further back into her seat, terrified of the impending fallout.
Yet, Kiyone didn’t deliver the explosive reaction Yuki was fishing for.
Her cold, detached expression didn’t waver a millimeter.
Shifting her eyes away from Yuki, she looked out at the passing buildings, completely icing her out.
She acted as if nobody was even speaking to her.
Seeing this, Yuki’s excitement fizzled out.
Disappointed by the lack of a grand reaction, she pouted, adopting the expression of a throwing a childish tantrum.
“You’re so boring, Kiyone-chan,” Yuki muttered.
“The least you could do is blush a little.” “I won’t give you the satisfaction,” Kiyone replied, keeping her eyes glued to the window.
“Your childish games don’t work on me.” Amidst the bizarre silence, Tsubaki pulled her gaze away from the girls.
Her eyes locked onto Kamiki, who was watching the entire spectacle with absolute delight, the insufferable smirk never leaving his lips for a fraction of a second.
It was written all over his face just how much pleasure he derived from this chaos.
“Pervert,” Tsubaki stated flatly.
Kamiki didn’t lose his stride for a second at the sudden insult directed at him.
Instead, he slowly shifted his gaze to Tsubaki, the dangerous, provocative glint in his eyes deepening as he leaned forward slightly.
“If you keep talking to me like that, Tsubaki-chan,” Kamiki said, his voice velvety smooth yet dripping with an implicit threat, “I might just make you Shirogane Sakurako in the future.
Just a fair warning.” Tsubaki froze entirely at the sound of that name.
Within seconds, a deep flush rushed to her cheeks and traveled up to her ears, turning her bright red.
“Y-You mega pervert!” Tsubaki shouted, clenching her fists as she tried to mask her trembling, embarrassed voice.
“Just drop dead, okay?
Go die!” Kamiki merely chuckled softly at her over-the-top reaction.
But that was the exact moment the true shift inside the limousine occurred.
The other three girls—Shiro, Yuki, and Kiyone—turned their heads simultaneously to look at Kamiki.
The bickering, the jealousy fits, and the surname jokes vanished into thin air.
The exact same cold, hyper-vigilant glare settled into the eyes of all three White Room students.
They were all thinking the exact same thing: ‘As expected, we need to keep a very close eye on Kamiki-kun.
If we leave him unattended for even a second, a fourth one will be added way too early.’ Shiro squeezed Kamiki’s hand—which he was still holding—with a sudden, warning tightness.
Her ocean-blue eyes had transformed into literal icicles.
Every trace of Yuki’s cheerful, optimistic demeanor from before was gone.
Her smile vanished entirely, her gaze scanning Kamiki with dangerous calculation.
Kiyone tightened her crossed arms even further, her golden eyes dissecting Kamiki as if he were a target on a board.
Kamiki felt the crushing weight of those three pairs of lethal eyes instantly.
It took an immense amount of willpower to prevent a cold bead of sweat from rolling down his forehead.
He opened his mouth to swiftly change the subject, but a mechanical sound from the front came to his rescue just in time.
Matsuo lowered the privacy partition completely and looked at Kamiki through the rearview mirror.
“We have arrived, sir,” Matsuo announced, his voice smooth and monotone as usual.
“Please prepare to disembark.” Kamiki immediately took a deep breath, using the sudden outside intervention to suppress the momentary surge of panic inside him.
His chest rose and fell slightly.
Those girls had looked genuinely terrifying just a second ago.
“Excellent,” Kamiki said, his voice coming out slightly strained at first before he quickly collected himself.
He forced his old, reckless smirk back onto his lips.
“Perfect timing, Matsuo.” Shiro finally let go of Kamiki’s hand, though the threatening glint in her ocean-blue eyes didn’t soften a bit.
“Don’t think you’re off the hook, Kamiki-kun,” Shiro whispered, her voice quiet but ice-cold.
“Our eyes are on you.” “Absolutely,” Yuki chimed in, the sweet girl from before nowhere to be found.
“There is absolutely no room for a fourth in this house.” Tsubaki, meanwhile, remained slumped in the corner of her seat, her face still bright red and her heart hammering against her ribs.
Matsuo stepped out of the limousine, walked gracefully to the rear door, and opened it with practiced elegance.
The dim but crisp lights of the shopping mall’s underground parking lot spilled into the vehicle.
“After you, sir,” Matsuo said.
Kamiki was the first to stand up.
Relieved to be free from the suffocating pressure inside, he stepped out of the limousine and turned to look at the four girls exiting behind him.
They were taking their very first steps into the outside world.
But the embers of the secret war raging within were still burning bright.