Kaguya-sama Wants My Surrender!

"...I lost," Chika admitted calmly, accepting her defeat without resistance.

After verifying her theory on the rooftop during lunch yesterday, she had confirmed it: sheer chaos couldn't outdo chaotic evil.

"Rules are rules. I accept the loss."

Chika took a deep breath, tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear, her cheeks blushing faintly as she leaned close to Amamiya and whispered in his ear.

She only had to shout—no one specified that it had to be loud enough for everyone to hear. Surely a whispered version would count, right?

This was the plan Chika had come up with after thinking it over the night before.

"Woof woof woof," she whispered, voice deliberately low.

Amamiya looked at her, speechless.

You agreed to follow through with the punishment without breaking the rules, didn't you? But that's hardly a proper shout.

"All done!" Chika declared, quickly sitting upright.

Several girls turned their attention to Amamiya.

"She did shout," he nodded, feigning sincerity. "I can vouch for that."

"Eh?" Hana tilted her head, noticing something odd. "Why are your eyes closed when you say that, Amamiya-kun?"

Why indeed? Because lying is always easier with your eyes closed.

"Alright, let's move on," Chika said with a quick cough, dealing cards briskly. "We only have time for two games today—I've got something else to do later."

"…"

The first game needed no explanation. It was a world of betrayals where, somehow, only the "blessed" girl suffered, and even that at the hands of her own best friend.

"Miko's luck is incredible today!" Hana beamed, clearly thrilled by her friend's winning streak. "She crushed it!"

"My luck…is fine," Miko replied, biting her lip, looking away with a guilty expression.

I'd rather not have this kind of luck at all.

"Shimizu, who had been observing nearby, floated over, hands clasped as she gave a sweet but pointed smile. "I'm counting on you."

Seeing it, Miko could only sigh inwardly.

Such grandeur.

I'm so sorry.

"As for the punishment…" Miko averted her gaze and murmured, "Players three and four will have to hold hands for five minutes."

"Eh?" Hana's eyes widened. "Why are we holding hands again?"

"I'm player three," Amamiya raised his hand and addressed the wide-eyed Hana. "First game was just a warm-up. If you'd rather not hold hands, we can always go with fifty push-ups instead."

"I'll hold hands!" Hana gasped and swiftly clasped Amamiya's hand. "I can't even do five push-ups, let alone fifty."

"…"

A few minutes later.

"Round one is successful," Chika announced, energized as she kicked off round two.

This time, the little lamb wasn't the target, and the dice rolls remained fair, so everyone had an enjoyable game.

"Let's wrap up for today," Chika concluded contentedly. "I have to head to the office. We'll pick up again tomorrow."

Miko rose, saying, "I'll be heading back too."

"Let's go together," Hana added, naturally falling in step with her friend.

As the girls exited, Amamiya and Kaguya found themselves trailing behind.

With a quiet 'click', the door closed behind them.

Amamiya took out a notebook and a pencil, looking to Kaguya. "Let's start the experiment. First, let's check for any delay in casting the skill."

"Alright," Kaguya nodded, her expression sharpening. "I'll begin."

Amamiya pressed the stopwatch on his phone, beginning the countdown.

"One second, two seconds, three seconds…"

Just after three full seconds, Kaguya's figure abruptly vanished.

Amamiya silently analyzed the scene, mentally noting key details. 'There's a noticeable delay when entering the shadow state. It's not an instantaneous transformation. During this delay, Kaguya has mobility, which implies she can likely move and perhaps cast spells…' His gaze paused as he registered the objects now lying on the floor of the activity room.

A neatly folded school uniform skirt. Black knee-high socks. A red hair ribbon. Lightweight summer blouse. And, notably, a cartoon bear pattern on what seemed like a very youthful panty…

The sight of clothes falling in the absence of their wearer was eerie—almost unsettling. But given the transformation type, it made sense. Kaguya's shift into a shadow cat was akin to the classic "Sheep Transformation" spell; while her body could alter, her clothing, being separate objects, remained unaffected.

Amamiya reflected, comparing it to an old superhero film, 'Fantastic Four', where one character could turn invisible. But every transformation demanded, embarrassingly, the removal of all clothing.

'That's the scientifically accurate way of turning invisible,' he mused. 'Unlike those illogical depictions where the clothes vanish too.'

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds…

The clothes fell silently to the ground, and the activity room grew still, almost as if Kaguya had truly vanished, leaving behind only an unsettling silence.

"Shinomiya-san?" Amamiya called out softly, glancing around the room.

"…"

There was no response.

The room was empty. Not only was there no sign of Kaguya, but even the shadow cat was nowhere to be found, as if she'd vanished into thin air.

Amamiya frowned, thinking for a moment before heading toward the window.

'Whoosh.'

With a soft swish, he drew back the curtains. Sunlight streamed in, illuminating the room with warm, golden light. Dust particles danced in the sunbeams, faintly visible as they floated.

Looking down, Amamiya noticed a cat-shaped shadow as black as ink, sitting quietly on the floor just in front of him.

Kaguya, in shadow-cat form, hadn't disappeared but was moving silently, tracking his every step.

'The shadow can move soundlessly in the dark, but it only becomes visible in direct light…'

Transformed into a shadow cat, Kaguya crouched on the floor, batting at Amamiya's pant leg with her tiny claws, though she couldn't quite grasp it.

"Can you hear me?"

Amamiya squatted halfway down, watching the cat-shadow.

"…"

Silence lingered, with only the shadow's faint movements breaking it.

"If you can hear me, try wagging your tail twice."

In response, the shadow cat flicked its tail gently, twice in succession.

'So, she can hear me.'

Amamiya recorded his findings, then stretched out his right arm to cast a shadow on the floor. "Try holding my hand."

The shadow cat lifted its paw, pressing it to the shadow of his hand on the floor.

In that instant, Amamiya felt a soft, subtle pressure on his real hand. Nothing was there in his line of sight, yet the sensation of a real touch was unmistakable—uncanny, almost surreal. Raising his hand, he noticed the cat-shadow lifting slightly, almost as though it had actual weight.

'This shadow has weight… utterly unscientific.'

Suddenly, his right arm felt heavier.

The shadow cat reemerged from the shadow state, morphing back into human form. Kaguya stood before him, her skin luminous and milky in the sunlight, radiant against the darkened backdrop of the room.