Anime Crossover: Tokyo Reincarnation Game — Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Kaguya Shinomiya, The Ephemeral Mayfly Shaking the Tree

Hearing Kotoko’s accusations through the receiver, Asuna couldn’t help but feel a sudden pang of guilt.

Wait, that wasn’t right.

Asuna blinked, her mind rapidly catching up to the situation. What exactly did she have to feel guilty about? It wasn’t as if Kotoko and Asagiri were already dating, nor was she some opportunistic thief swooping in to steal him away while Kotoko was out of Tokyo handling monster subjugation requests.

Meeting him, forming a party, enrolling in the same academy—hadn’t she done all of those things first?

With that realization, Asuna’s confidence surged back with a vengeance. Her delicate brows furrowed as she straightened her posture, speaking into the phone with righteous justification.

“Whatever Asagiri and I decide to do, that’s our freedom, isn’t it?”

“You—you—you…!”

Kotoko sputtered the word three times in rapid succession, her voice pitching higher with each syllable, yet she completely failed to formulate a coherent retort. Defeated by her own lack of ammunition, she let out a furious huff and aggressively ended the call.

“What’s wrong?”

Asagiri sat across from her, observing the way Asuna lowered her phone. Instead of looking like a triumphant victor, her expression was laced with a complex, lingering melancholy. He let out a light, breathy chuckle. “As the victor of this little skirmish, shouldn’t you be basking in triumph right now? Press the advantage and crush her morale.”

“What victor… This isn’t a battle.”

Asuna released a heavy, helpless sigh. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand, her amber eyes dimming with worry. “Kotoko genuinely likes you. Once she fully realizes what’s going on between us, the atmosphere in the party is definitely going to turn awkward, isn’t it?”

“It’s fine.” Asagiri waved a hand through the air, his tone perfectly flat and entirely dismissive. “Just block her and Megumi. We’ll go our separate ways from here on out and revert to the original two-person party. Just you and me.”

“What on earth are you saying?”

Asuna’s expression shifted instantly. Her brows drew together sharply, her eyes flashing with genuine displeasure. This was the first time she had ever directed such a fiercely angry look at him. “Kotoko and Megumi are our companions. We’ve survived life-and-death situations together. Didn’t you explicitly state that you would never abandon anyone? And now you’re telling me that just because our relationship changed, we should throw them away? I refuse to accept something like that.”

“Oh. Is that so.”

Asagiri didn’t flinch. Instead, he deliberately contorted his features into a mask of exaggerated distress, muttering to himself at a volume perfectly calibrated for Asuna to overhear. “Oh dear, this is incredibly troublesome. If jealousy causes our little vanguard to fracture and lose cohesion, the danger levels will spike. But we absolutely cannot abandon our comrades. Whatever shall we do? It’s truly vexing. Is there any solution to this terrible dilemma?”

Watching his terrible acting, the realization hit Asuna like a physical blow. She stared at him, utterly exasperated.

“…That whole speech about going our separate ways and reverting to a duo,” she said, her voice dropping flat. “That was just you fishing for a reaction. You deliberately baited me into expressing strong opposition just so you could pivot to this exact argument, didn’t you? In the end… you just want to build a harem!”

“Whether I want to or not is entirely beside the point.” Asagiri shook his head, his expression shifting into one of deep, solemn duty. “It is simply a matter of scale. The game we are playing has evolved. It is no longer just about keeping the four of us alive; it has escalated to a war between worlds, a crisis concerning the survival of all humanity. If a harem is the only viable path to achieving the perfect ending, then naturally, as a pragmatic man, I cannot refuse the burden.”

Asuna rolled her eyes so hard they nearly ached. “After dressing it up in all that grand nonsense, the fundamental truth is still just that you want a harem, right?”

Asagiri nodded deeply, his sincerity absolute. He didn’t even try to hide it.

“You… you’re actually just nodding along?” Asuna pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling a headache blooming behind her eyes. Her ability to organize her thoughts was completely short-circuiting against his blatant declarations and utterly abstract logic.

Was the only way to resolve this romantic bloodbath and keep the team together… really just to accept a harem, exactly as he said?

Two days later. Monday morning, approaching nine o’clock.

Shuchiin Academy, Year 1 Class A.

Kotoko lay slumped across her desk, her chin resting heavily on her crossed arms. Her delicate, doll-like face was currently broadcasting her internal mood in bold, invisible letters: Absolutely Not Amused.

After maintaining this aura of pure sulk for several minutes, she finally turned her head, glaring petulantly at Asagiri seated in the desk beside her.

“Hey,” she muttered, her lips jutting out in a heavy pout. “Why aren’t you trying to coax me at all?”

Hearing the demand, Asagiri glanced up from his desk. He took in the sight of the self-proclaimed God of Wisdom looking like a kicked puppy and offered a faint, amused smile. “How exactly would you like to be coaxed? Should I play a tune for you?”

“No, no, no!” Kotoko shook her head frantically, her pout deepening. “I know exactly what your ‘tunes’ entail! You’re just going to pull out that stupid kazoo, aren’t you? If you think you can win me over that easily, you’re dead wrong!”

“Then here.”

Asagiri reached down, retrieving a beautifully wrapped shopping bag from beside his chair, and placed it directly onto her desk.

“This is…?”

Kotoko blinked, her curiosity overriding her sulking. She pulled the bag closer and peeked inside. Nestled within the tissue paper was a pristine white beret, nearly identical in style to the ones she favored.

“I wasn’t entirely sure what you liked,” Asagiri said casually. “But when I was out buying clothes, this caught my eye. Figured it would suit you.”

The dark clouds hanging over Kotoko’s head vanished in an instant. The pout melted away, replaced by a radiant, sickeningly sweet smile that lit up her cute features. She pulled the bag against her chest, hugging it gently.

“I knew it! You definitely still love me~!”

Kotoko was a very specific type of girl. She was possessive, prone to jealousy, and loved throwing minor tantrums over the smallest slights—but she was also spectacularly easy to appease.

“Iwanaga.”

The voice that cut through the air was perfectly flat and chilled to the bone. Kaguya Shinomiya, seated a few rows ahead, didn’t even look back. Her eyes remained fixed on the textbook on her desk, her pen moving steadily as she took notes. “This is a classroom. It is a place designated for studying. Please refrain from making such inappropriate remarks and disturbing the peace of others.”

“Heh.” Kotoko let out a smug, mocking little laugh, refusing to back down an inch. “What does my conversation have to do with you? I’ll say whatever I please. What’s the matter, Shinomiya? Midterms are approaching, and you’re desperately cramming? Hmph, it’s useless anyway. You absolutely cannot defeat Asagiri!”

Asagiri leaned back in his chair, sighing. “Good grief. If you want to show off, use your own merits. Why are you using my name as a weapon?”

“I can’t help it.” Kotoko stood up, leaning over the aisle until she was right beside Asagiri. She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper near his ear. “Even though I am the God of Wisdom… when it comes to raw academic test scores, I really can’t beat that woman.”

Watching Kotoko whisper intimately into Asagiri’s ear, Kaguya’s pen finally stopped.

She stood up with measured, elegant grace. The classroom grew noticeably quieter as she walked slowly down the aisle, stopping directly beside Asagiri’s desk. Her piercing ruby eyes locked onto his face. There was absolutely no emotional fluctuation in her gaze.

“Utsunomiya-san,” Kaguya spoke, her voice smooth and cold. “Am I to interpret Iwanaga’s words just now as a formal academic challenge from you?”

The moment the question left her lips, a heavy, suffocating silence fell over Year 1 Class A. The students who had been chatting in small groups instantly snapped their mouths shut, their eyes darting toward the corner of the room, practically holding their breath in anticipation.

Kaguya Shinomiya. She wasn’t just the top freshman; she was the most untouchable, eye-catching existence in all of Shuchiin Academy. The eldest daughter of the Shinomiya conglomerate, draped in halos of perfection—flawless in academics, sports, appearance, and etiquette. The absolute pinnacle of the pure-course internal students.

And sitting across from her was the anomaly. The mixed-course external student who, on his very first day, had terrorized the academy’s prestige by blasting his name through the halls with a plastic kazoo. He had entered high school as an outsider, yet he carried himself with the oppressive posture of a tyrant. Even their homeroom teacher, Miwa Ashikaga—a member of the board of directors—treated him with inexplicable leniency. He had shown zero weakness since the day he arrived, and the heiress of the Iwanaga family had casually dropped five billion yen just to buy a seat next to him. He was the undisputed Demon King of the mixed-course students.

Which side would break first?

Under the tense, expectant gazes of the entire class, Asagiri slowly raised his head.

From a purely compositional standpoint, Kaguya held the high ground. Standing over him, looking down, she should have commanded the space. Yet, reality dictated otherwise. Asagiri simply sat there, relaxed, but the sheer weight of his presence made it feel as though he was the one looking down on her from an impossible peak.

“Kaguya Shinomiya…”

Asagiri spoke her name softly, testing the syllables. Then, he shook his head, a faint, razor-sharp smile curving his lips as he met her ruby eyes.

“Me, challenging you? What incredible arrogance. I am the first. I am the strongest. Anyone who stands before me is nothing more than a challenger. The only thing my eyes recognize is the summit. As for you…” His smile deepened, devoid of any warmth. “Unfortunately, you don’t even register in my line of sight.”

A collective gasp threatened to break out among the surrounding students, but it was quickly swallowed down. After the initial shock faded, a strange sense of acceptance washed over them.

Of course, they thought. That is exactly the kind of monster Utsunomiya-san is.

“You cannot see me?” Kaguya’s expression remained an unreadable mask of calm. “Once these exams are over, you will see me. No… you will only be capable of staring at my back as I leave you behind.”

“Oh? So you’re the one challenging me.”

Asagiri placed his hands on his desk and slowly stood up.

While Kaguya was reasonably tall for a girl, she was instantly eclipsed. Standing at over 1.8 meters, Asagiri towered over her, his shadow physically swallowing her presence. The oppressive aura radiating from him spiked, suffocating the air in the room.

“You had better think very carefully about this.”

His pitch-black eyes clashed with her ruby ones, the tension between them crackling like live electricity. Down below, entirely eclipsed by their height difference, Kotoko glared up at Kaguya with intense vigilance, silently fuming that this woman was standing so close to her Asagiri.

“I am a mixed-course student. You are the pride of the pure-course.” Asagiri looked down at Kaguya, his voice dropping into a smooth, dangerous cadence. “I don’t care about Kaguya Shinomiya the individual. But if you are willing to wager the entire reputation of the pure-course elite just to challenge me…”

He leaned in slightly, his smile turning mocking.

“Then perhaps, purely for my own amusement, I might accept this challenge of yours. Though it is nothing more than an ephemeral mayfly trying to shake a giant tree.”