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I am back with a new chapter for the deleted scenes. It's been time, after all. This one is the chapter I was talking about last time. The one about Mana and Inori. It's taking place in the past, way before Hanae's birth, so no princess in this chapter. But it will still be cute and funny, in my opinion. So please enjoy.

Fourth Chapter: Boy things, girl things

Universe: Reclaiming the Throne (ceasefire) [-8 years]

Theme: Sisters

At long last, the time had come. After all those long years stuck in the void realm, after all these long weeks having to get in contact with other nations, forging trade contracts, crafting crystals, establishing laws and whatnot, finally, the single day Mana had circled on her calendar and actually looked forward to for once, had arrived.

Matsuri. The summer festival.

Frankly speaking, it had been hard for her to actually make room for it in her busy schedule, but she hadn't cared. She had worked extra hard and put in extra shifts just to get everything done on time for her to be able to take this single day off.

Why, you may ask? Simple.

For one, it was the first matsuri ever since coming back from the void realm. That alone was reason enough not to miss it. All the food, all the music, all the games, all the fireworks. One would be a fool to miss it. Plus, it was an opportunity to finally wear her yukata! Ufufufu, if you thought she was stunning already, wait for until when you see her change into that dress. All eyes were bound to rest on her.

Which brought her to the second reason why she had been looking forward to it: Triton.

While it was painful to admit, Mana, sadly, hadn't had much time to spend with her lovely Adam lately outside of work. There was so much to do, so much to organize…a young queen had a lot to do to ensure her kingdom would actually be thriving. It may suck, but being queen wasn't just about fun and power. Even someone like Mana understood that…but that didn't mean she would be willing to hold off on seducing her Adam and basking in his love forever. Nuh-uh.

Today she would spare no expenses, wear the best and prettiest yukata, spend hours styling her hair and applying make-up…all for the single goal of making Triton fawn over her.

Yes, that's right. Today, she would not be the queen of the Genesis. Just her beloved Adam's beautiful girlfriend.

Well, at least she should have been. For where her face had supposed to be a gleaming one, radiating in happiness and love, her face right now was…actually not that easy to describe in words…

To make a fitting comparison, you would have to imagine this:

Imagine you told a kid you would take it to Disneyland today. Then, after hours upon hours of driving in your car, you arrive, not at Disneyland, but the dentist instead. When the kid naturally makes a scene, it gets grounded for a week and the dentist then prohibits the further consumption of candy.

Also: Santa wasn't real.

Yeah, now you could probably imagine how Mana currently felt.

Why, you ask? Simple. What should have ended up being a romantic date with Triton, had ended up becoming a double date as soon as they had spotted that idiot brother of hers together with his abominable fiancé…and that's where it all had started to go downhill.

She didn't actually remember who of their stupid men had brought up that moronic suggestion, but now both of them had run off to see who of them would win more prizes for their queens in the various festival games, thus actually having the audacity to leave them to themselves. Them! The highest beings in the world! Alone! To go and play games! Can you believe that?

Sure, they did that to win prizes for them, but Mana hadn't spent the entire afternoon getting all dolled up for that moron of hers just so he could run off and challenge her brother. He was supposed to stay at her side and adore her. That simpleton!

And now, instead of spending time with her beloved Adam, she now found herself being stuck with…Inori…of all people! Why did it have to be her, Kami-sama? She had vowed to be a good girl, had she not? She had made peace with her brother and his adored puppet, had she not? She had not brought another apocalypse, HAD SHE NOT? So why? Why did you punish her so?

She sighed as she threw a glance at her rival queen sitting next to her on that bench, munching away on some shaved ice with strawberry syrup. Contrary to Mana, Inori seemed to be fairly content with her life right now, not minding being stuck with Mana while her fiancé ran off to god knows where. In fact, she seemed to absorb the scenery and all the noises, smells and sights to her utmost best, as if seeing it all for the first time ever. For all Mana knew, it really might have been her first summer festival. The true Eve frowned as she took a bite from her Takoyaki listlessly.

"Why did we have to run into you here of all places…" Mana caught herself muttering under her breath. Inori, however, managed to hear her just fine, being the Genesis she was.

"We live near the same temple, so it was natural we would go to the same festival." She explained drily.

Mana regarded her with shock as she realized Inori was right. How could she have overlooked that obvious flaw in her plan! Oh, how foolish of her…now all was ruined because of that small oversight…

Urgh, but what did it matter now…what was done was done…she couldn't fix it anymore at this point…so she might as well just gulp down her anger before it led to another fight. She was trying to be a good girl, after all. Good girls didn't start beef with their rivals and risk a feud…even though it might be tempting. So very tempting…

Or, well, it used to…in the past. Nowadays, Mana, even though it shocked her herself, found herself to seldom think of ways to torment the girl next to her for some reason. She didn't particularly like her and the fact that she had managed to steal Shu from her…, but ever since Mana had settled for Triton instead, it didn't seem to bother her all that much anymore. Weird, she thought, it wasn't much like her. But oh well, it was better for everyone to get along…more or less.

Deciding to shake off these stupid thoughts, Mana chose to continue the conversation, now that she had already awkwardly started it. How could Shu deal with this girl always being so awfully quiet? It was downright unnerving!

"Can you believe these morons, running off and leaving their queens all alone?" She thus muttered angrily as she chewed on her meal. "What's up with that?"

Inori shrugged, being far more absorbed by her shaved ice than anything else, apparently. "Must be a boy thing."

"Are you not at all upset Shu ditched you and left you with me of all people?"

"Hm? Should I be?" The vassal queen asked with a tilted head.

"Of course you should! Weren't you two supposed to be on a date?"

"We are."

"And yet he left you with me."

"So?"

Mana gritted her teeth. How daft could you be? "That's freaking rude, don't you think? Shouldn't he be at your side and solely care about you? And yet he ran off to be with Triton rather than you. Shouldn't you be jealous at the very least?"

Inori, however, only shook her head slowly. "I actually feel sorry for Gai, to be honest. He and Shu never got to grow up as the friends they were when they were young, so they try to catch up now. However, all the time they have to actually do that is limited to a few occasions here and there. Contrary to that, my day starts by waking up next to Shu and it ends with me falling asleep at his side. I have all the time in the world to spend together with Shu. That's why I feel sorry for Gai who can't." She told her with a sad smile.

Mana found herself surprised at that way of thinking, since there was actually truth to her words. No matter how much Triton had Shu's attention and vice versa…at the end of the day, both of them would return home with their respective queens. Looking at it that way somehow made her feel bad for them as well, knowing full well how Lost Christmas had torn these two boys apart. No time in the world could make up for the time they had lost being best friends. For someone who was supposed to be an empty husk for Mana to embody as a vessel, Inori seemed to be quite wise to realize that, huh.

"Still, to leave you alone with me is quite insensitive of him, is it not?" Mana then asked with a tired sigh.

"Not really."

Mana grunted in displeasure, thinking to see through Inori's lie right away. "You don't have to lie, you know. Given our past, there is no way we could ever get along."

"Why, though? True, I was scared of you, but you seem less scary now."

"Are you trying to say I've grown weak?" the true queen asked angrily while trying to suppress the red glow that was attempting to go off in her eyes.

"It was never the strength I feared but your personality. It's way more cute now ever since you were able to receive Gai's love. I am happy for you, sis." Inori merely replied with a kind smile, causing Mana to back off with a face redder than her own eyes.

"W-wh-who are you calling sis, Bakanori!" The normally so offensive queen was found being forced into the defensive for once.

"Why, you of course, Mana-nee." The vassal queen said with a bright smile. "We will be family soon. I am so happy. I've always wanted a big sister." She added the last part while tilting her head cutely with closed eyes. She also held up her left hand where a beautiful engagement ring adorned her ring finger, its small gemstones sparkling in the festival lights surrounding them. Seeing this, Mana couldn't help but shove her hand away forcefully.

"Y-you haven't married my brother yet. Don't get so full of yourself." She said as she averted her gaze in shame of her blushing face. Damn, why was this girl so overly cute. She wasn't sure if it was supposed to make her sick or happy. Stupid Inori.

"Huh, so will it be fine to call you sis next year when we are finally married?"

Mana pressed her eyes shut in frustration. What kinda question was this supposed to be? Of course it was fine. Don't make her say it, idiot. Or was she after a verbal confession all along? To confirm her rival's newfound weakness? Never! She would never admit it! Inori was not an Ouma yet! She had stolen Shu from her! She held the Eve mutation! As far as Mana was concerned, Inori might as well secretly be aiming at her throne! She could not be trusted! Never would she be allowed into Mana's heart! Remain strong! Remain unapproachable! She was Eve of the apocalypse! She was the queen of the world to come!

And yet…

She glanced at Inori from the corner of her eyes, looking at her soon-to-be sister-in-law with a hopeful expression.

Why was this girl so cute? She was so innocent, so seemingly harmless. Her character was not unlike a puppy begging for love and affection. And how could she not be? Having been born for the sole reason to be a vessel, she held no family bonds, no stability in her life. All she had was Shu and a handful of friends, so was it that surprising she tried to connect with anyone she possibly could? Even if that someone was Mana?

The true queen looked down on herself and frowned bitterly. Inori wanted her to be her sister? Mana, of all people? The one time she had been supposed to be a big sister, she had failed horribly and almost ended up severing her family bonds with Shu as a result. On the list of good siblings, Mana's name was surely not to be found in the upper tiers, if even at all. If anything, Mana wasn't even sure if she even qualified as a sister anymore at all and wasn't merely kept around for formality reasons…

What even could Mana offer in the role of a big sister? She was too stupid to offer guidance, too violent to offer protection or safety and too proud to offer love and affection.

The queen formed a beautiful small crystal in her hand and looked at it with sad eyes. How very fitting it was to compare herself to it, she thought. She, too, was beautiful and valuable, but yet entirely unrefined. Beauty and worth she would always have, but never would she be able to be worn as jewelry, for her edges were sharp and would cut easily and with how unpolished she was, she was far too hard to handle, let alone be worn with joy and pride.

"What does it even mean to be a sister…" Mana muttered to herself bitterly. She wondered if she had ever known in the first place.

"It's a pain in the ass." She suddenly heard a new voice tell her with a sigh. Shocked about this, she flinched when she noticed a blonde girl's face being awfully close. Letting her head rest on the backrest of the bench Inori and Mana were sitting on, she let out a tired sigh while holding a can of cold juice in her hand. Using it to cool her head by pressing it against her warm skin, she proceeded to speak with quite a whiny undertone:

"You always have to share. Everything. And she is always around, so you cannot get rid of her even when she pisses you off. The bathroom is always blocked because 'she is the older one and therefore goes first'" She formed quotation marks with her hands and rolled her eyes to emphasize her annoyance during the last part. "And when it's her turn to do the dishes, she always ditches." She grumbled in annoyance and cracked the can open to take a sip of the juice inside.

"Ah, Zoe. Good evening." Inori greeted the young girl with a friendly wave, only to get hugged from behind in a matter of seconds.

"Aww, how come you can always tell us apart, Ino-nee? No fair."

"Abby hates doing the dishes." Inori merely could offer her reasoning with a smile, never seeming to mind Zoe's desire to facehug everyone.

The lone twin grinned at her. "She does, doesn't she."

"You brought your trainee maid as well?" Mana asked with narrowed eyes, only to have Zoe shake her head at her.

"No, your majesty. She gave us the day off. My sister and I came to enjoy the festival as well, but I got sent off to buy drinks."

"But you only had one and you are already drinking it." Mana couldn't help but note, which caused the younger girl to blush heavily as she averted her gaze.

"I miiight have gotten carried away when I went past all the food stalls and spent too much money on sweets. There was no more money to buy one for Abby." For what it was worth, she did seem to feel terribly sorry about her actions for how whiny she sounded. "She is gonna be so angry…"

"So what? From what you have said, you and your sister don't seem to get along that much anyway…" The true Eve said.

"Uuuuu~…" Zoe pouted and looked away in shame. "Maybe, but she is still my sister. She may be annoying at times, but she is always there for me when I need her. When I am sad, she comforts me. When I am angry, she makes me laugh and when I am in trouble, she always bails me out. I love her. She is the best sister I could wish for. But don't tell her that, it will get to her head." The sole twin said with a frown and tried to hide her blush by looking away with a pout. Inori couldn't help but pat her on the head approvingly. That's right. You should always be honest about your feelings.

"So, Zoe. You said you tried a lot of sweets." Inori decided to ask her little maid in training with a smile.

"Yes, Ma'am." For some reason Mana couldn't quite comprehend, the little girl answered with a salute. It was cute, tho.

"Any recommendations?" Inori asked her eagerly, eyes sparkling with anticipation. Oh, that's right. For her, everything here was quite new.

The younger girl brought both fists to her face and responded dreamily. "Your highness, you have to try the candied food they sell here. They are all delicious. They have apples, and strawberries and…" She began counting the various flavors with her fingers but appeared to be struggling with finding the correct word. "…uh…what's the word again…? Like lemons but orange?"

"Mikan?" Inori tried to help by guessing what she meant. Oranges.

"That's the one!" Zoe nodded excitedly and pointed at her queen in confirmation. Hearing this, Mana couldn't help but offer some astonishment.

"Oh, they actually sell Mikan Ame here? Lucky. Not all festivals have those."

This, for some reason, caught the rival queen's interest. Could it be? Rare food? She grabbed Zoe's hand with her right one and took out her purse with her other one, producing some money in an instant.

"Zoe…" She spoke seriously, causing the girl to tense up nervously.

"Y-yes?"

"I have a mission for you. Go and buy me some of that Mikan Ame, would you?" She asked of her with a smile.

"B-but Ino-nee, that's too much. It's not that expensive, you know?"

That's when Inori came closer to her ear and whispered: "You can spend the rest however you want. But don't forget your sister this time."

The younger girl gleamed at her. "You mean it?"

The pinkette nodded amusedly, followed by raising a fist excitedly, eyes sparkling. "Remember: Try ALL THE THINGS!"

"Inoriiiii-samaaaaaaa, I love you!" Zoe exclaimed joyfully as she nearly tackled her queen down in an attempt to hug her, rubbing her cheek against Inori's. Then she saluted again before storming off. "Leave it to me!"

"Enjoy the festival. And take care of your sister!" Inori yelled after her and waved her goodbye.

"You spoil her way too much…" Mana couldn't help but tell her with narrowed eyes.

"You think? But it's the summer festival, you know. Plus, she is such a good and hard working girl. I think she earned it." Inori stated her reasoning while placing a finger on her lips thoughtfully.

"Suuuure, and you being such a big softy has no part in it, no doubt." Mana retorted with a knowing grin.

"Happy children are the cutest." Inori admitted with a sheepish smile as she brought both her hands to her cheeks and sighed dreamily with closed eyes. "They always make me smile."

"Seriously, what is it with you and kids? Are you their queen or their mother?"

Inori looked at her in puzzlement. "What's the difference? Both protect and look over their subjects or children, so aren't queens merely mothers on a grander scale? Oh!" She suddenly exclaimed in epiphany as she hit her palm with her fist and grinned. "Like grandm-"

"If you are calling us grandmothers, I will hurt you. Hard." The true queen interrupted her soon to be sister with narrowed eyes as she pinched her cheek.

Pushing Mana off and rubbing her aching cheek in displeasure afterwards, Inori meekly retorted while looking away: "I was gonna say grandmamas, meanie."

"That's even worse."

"No, it's not.

"It is."

Inori did not respond afterwards, instead opting in on blowing up her cheeks angrily and silently munching away on the remainder of her shaved ice, obviously sulking. Stupid Mana.

Mana, for her part, merely turned away from her coldly and leaned her head on her hand as she sighed and waited for her idiot boyfriend to be done with his games.

As time continued to pass between them in silence, however, Mana soon realized how her attention shifted back to her vassal queen as she looked at her from the corner of her eyes, being somewhat amused with her sulky expression. She didn't know why she suddenly felt the urge to pat her on the head repeatedly to make her teary expression go away.

She blinked at her own thoughts. What the hell? Was she sick? Did she have a fever? Why would she ever be nice to this girl? Sure, she had agreed to not be mean to her, but that didn't mean she would start being awfully friendly with her, you know? What the hell was wrong with her? Was she actually growing weak? Perhaps she should bring the apocalypse now while she still had the chance?

She didn't want to, tho…life was good as it was right now. And every time she had tried to bring the apocalypse in the past, life had ended up becoming harsh afterwards.

And besides, maybe it wasn't so bad? To be a proper big sis for once. Shu and Gai might have missed out on being best friends, but Mana had missed out on being a big sister, too. It would never be the same as it would have been with Shu, but perhaps being this girl's sister would be acceptable at least?

Plus, there were things she could do with a sister you couldn't do with a brother. It might be fun, after all.

"Hey…" The true queen eventually forced herself to speak up with a conflicted expression. Ugh, she was not good at stuff like this. At all. Still, someone had to break the ice, no?

"Still think we would make good sisters?" She inquired carefully, still shyly avoiding eye contact. How odd coming from someone like her. She was Eve of the apocalypse. She feared no one. Stood down to no one. Yet growing closer to this girl somewhat got her all flustered. What a joke…wasn't she better than this? Come on, Mana. You are a big girl, you can do this, she thought to herself.

"'Course I do." Inori mumbled quietly, fumbling around with her hair nervously. Wow, this situation must have been really awkward if even someone like her was sensing it.

Alright, that was it. Mana gathered all her resolve and with closed eyes, decided to announce: "Then-"

"Ah, your grace!" She suddenly got interrupted by a brunette man she recognized to be one of Inori's vassals. And just like that, all her resolve had been poured down the drain.

How dare you interrupt me, you sorry excuse of a human being! Do you wish to invoke the fury of Eve that badly? Come then, I will make you disappear from the face of the earth like the insignificant waste of space you are, you-, you-!

Although Mana's thoughts were fierce and unforgiving, she still somehow managed to camouflage her wrath so that the only indicator of it were her slightly shaking and clenched fists. The glow in her eyes was also carefully masked under her closed eyelids.

Calm down, Mana, do not cause a scene in the middle of the festival. No need for a Lost Summer Festival, right? Be patient. Be composed. Slowly count to ten. One, two, three, four, five, six….seven…eight…

She carefully breathed in, then out. When she opened her eyes at last, there was no glow to be seen in them. Realizing she had managed to calm down, she allowed herself to relax soon after.

"Oh, and Queen Mana is with you as well. Pardon me for not noticing immediately, your highness." The younger man finally managed to find his way through the crowd and offered the two queens an elegant bow, while kissing each of their hands politely. Mana's first, then Inori's.

This brought a smile on Mana's lips and she allowed herself to nod at this man in approval. Perhaps she had been a bit rash in her thinking when she had cursed this man to damnation for his simple mistake. He may have interrupted her mid-speech, but it seemed to have been a mere accident and he actually showed her proper etiquette to make up for his blunder. An actual gentleman. Such a rare sight these days. How Inori had managed to acquire him for her court will forever be a mystery to Mana. Too bad they couldn't just trade around retainers from one queen to another, could they? Perhaps Inori could part with him if Mana offered her Hirohide Nanba for him? Heck, she might even throw in some of Gai's useless baboons in as well…that smugface Sasaki, for example. Ugh, how she hated to see that stupid grin every time she…

But then Mana dismissed that thought with a heavy sight. No, it would be rude to do that to Inori. Plus, her own court wasn't that bad to begin with…just a bit less…polite and elegant than she would have liked. Who knew, perhaps that would change with time? This monarchy business was new for them all, after all.

"How fortunate of me to run into you both at this fine evening. And yet it is also quite a shame, for now this marvelous festival's atmosphere pales in comparison to your majestic beauty." He told them with a playful grin.

"Quite the charmer, isn't he?" Mana asked Inori in mild amusement. At last, SOMEONE was actually treating her like a queen…even though her own Adam didn't. Perhaps she should fool around with this one for a bit? He was kinda cute…and if Gai was gonna get jealous as a result, things would get even more interesting afterwards. That would surely teach him to leave his queen all alone, right?

She sighed internally. Not like she would ever do that…
Scenarios like these always look fun and exciting in your head, but in reality they always end up being a mess.

"Jun is good at making friends, that's for sure. It is very hard to dislike him." Inori agreed with a small giggle, finding her trusted vassal's antics as amusing and charming as ever. She was aware he was trying especially hard because of Mana's presence which made his extravagant behavior all the more funny to her who was more used to his normally rather casual flattery. Even someone like Jun can grow slightly nervous in the presence of Eve, huh. Probably because he was afraid of accidentally angering the short tempered Eve and cause a conflict.

"Your words are too kind, my queen. Is everything to your liking?" Jun inquired politely as he put one hand on his chest and his other behind his back, bowing slightly as if to say he would see to it, should anything, in fact, actually not be to her enjoyment.

"Why yes, everything is just wonderful, Jun. Were you enjoying the festivities as well?" Inori replied with a friendly smile.

"Yes. I came here with my brother, but lots of women kept swarming us and we got separated…I managed to lose them, but I can't seem to find big brother." The younger Samukawa scratched his cheek awkwardly. "I am afraid he didn't even attempt to lose them in the first place and is fooling around somewhere."

"Should have done the same, then." Mana said with a shrug, to which Jun could only reply sheepishly.

"Perhaps you are right, your majesty. It's just that they were all so pushy…I guess I panicked."

This made her grin at him knowingly. "Oh, I bet. You seem to be the perfect prey for the more predatory kind of women. Believe me, I could tell, being one myself." She chuckled in amusement when she saw him gulp at her nervously. "See? Such a cute reaction. I bet many a girl would have a field trip with you if she ever were to get her claws on you."

"While my fantasy is awfully intrigued with the possibilities such an arrangement might bring along, I cannot help but feel slightly worried for my personal wellbeing, should I actually risk approaching these women again. After all, their eyes were hungrier than even my queen's very own ones right before lunch." He told her with a nervous smile, causing Mana to burst out into laughter.

"My, my. That does sound terrifying. "

Inori, however, was not so amused. Narrowing her eyes on the brunette man, she said in a displeased sounding voice: "Huuuuh, now that you mention it, I kind of do feel hungry…perhaps I should take a bite…?" She grabbed him by the wrist and opened up her mouth, leaving her spotless teeth in plain sight. When Jun was forced to witness his hand getting dragged closer and closer to his queen's mouth, he began sweating nervously.

"Ah-ah, surely you jest, my queen? When I was talking about getting eaten, I wasn't implying the literal way. I was merely kidding, you see? No need to get this angry, right? Mercy!" While he was nervously trying to get out of this tricky situation, he remembered something that could help him to get the queen's attention. "Oh, that's right! We have sold out our entire batch of merchandise. Does anyone care to have a look?" He produced a holo-tablet and waved it around like bait, thus successfully distracting them both from their previous topic.

"Already? It has not even been two weeks yet." Inori asked him while blinking at him in mild surprise, letting go of him in the process. Strike!

"Yes! It was a total success!" The royal adviser declared happily as he handed them the tablet containing various charts and tables filled with data about the sale. "The demand was, in fact, so high, that we have already started production of more merchandise. Like we predicted, the Genesis' love for their queens is enormous and fans were eager to show it. The fact that the profits will be used to finance not only the royal wedding the coming year but also help founding our official nation might have played a big part in their decision to buy out our stock as well." He explained to them proudly.

"Amazing." Mana found herself seriously impressed by this and read the data with a proud smile. Ah, the support of her cute vassals was really heartwarming…but then she spotted something that made her raise a brow in wonder. "Wait a minute, we ordered less merchandise of Inori than of me, yes?"

"Yes, since her followership was significantly smaller than yours, it seemed to be appropriate. It would have been a shame to be left sitting on a mountain of goods with no customers to take them…" Jun explained while scratching the back of his head knowingly.

"Yeah, so why are her earnings nearly equal to mine?" Mana wondered. That didn't make any sense. If she had less stock to sell, she shouldn't have made even close to how much Mana had made.

"Ah, it turns out Queen Inori is also quite popular with the human population. EGOIST fans threw themselves at the merchandise before the Genesis could due o their readiness to pay more. The Genesis felt insulted by this and, in return, offered to pay more as well. The price rose incredibly, resulting in us making unbelievable profit. Especially the figurines which made more than double the original price."

"Ah, how splendid!" Inori said happily and clapped her hands together in joy as she threw a look at the sales figures as well. "With these profits, we will be able to throw a big enough wedding ceremony to invite the whole kingdom. I was worried we couldn't invite everyone. I wanted them all to celebrate together with us."

"Now they can, your grace." Jun assured her with a confident nod, followed by smiling nervously. "Although organizing it will end up being no easy feat…"

"Pfff, I guess it's no big surprise Inori's dolls sold for more, given how she was a soulless puppet to begin with." Mana muttered in displeasure and rolled her eyes.

Hearing this, Inori narrowed her eyes at her angrily and brought up her hand to her mouth to mask a mischievous smirk. "Aww, poor, poor Mana-nee. So bitter because I did better than you for once."

"Pah! Better? Just because you had a headstart with your puny idol band? Don't get full of yourself, love." Mana retorted as she pinched Inori's cheek mockingly, followed by turning around arrogantly with folded arms. "Everyone knows I am the real queen here and you will never be more than a pathetic fake."

"Is that so…? Then how come the glorious Queen Mana's figurines sell for merely…" Inori asked, now visibly annoyed as she brought her lips close to Mana's ear and whispered teasingly, still smirking: "Half. The. Price?"

"Okay, that's it. You've asked for it! You. Are. Going. Down." Mana then declared furiously as her eyes began glowing in a bright red again. She reached out to grab Inori by the throat to strangle her.

"Whooops, did I hit a nerve, Onee-samaaaaa?" The vassal queen mischievously asked as she effortlessly evaded the angry monarch's grasp and began running away playfully, continuing to avoid all the crystal projectiles launched at her in an attempt to hurt her.

"Get back here you skunk, let me welcome you to the family properly!" Mana yelled with a scary smile as she chased after her, thirsty for blood.

"Oh my…maybe I shouldn't have told them…?" Jun asked himself worriedly as he watched them run off into the distance.

At the same time, a certain Adam approached him together with his best friend, holding their huge prizes in their hands.

"See, I obviously am better than you at this, having won the main prize for Mana." Gai said with a proud grin as he held up a giant pink plush bear he had scored for his queen. "But don't feel too bad about it, Shu. Few people could boast about being able to at least keep up with Adam, right?

"Oh please." Shu laughed smugly and rolled his eyes, clearly not impressed. "You only won because that dude ran out of fish for us to scoop. Plus, I was aiming at the second prize anyway. Inori will love this." He held up a slightly smaller plush cat…or mouse…he wasn't really sure. It was so fat and round, it could have been anything. It didn't really matter, though, since all it needed to be was big and cute.

That's when they finally arrived at the bench they had left their queens at, only to find Jun in their place.

"Oh, if it isn't Jun. Good to see you, my friend. Good timing, too. Please explain to this idiot how my prize is obviously the better one." Shu asked his brunette friend and threw a cheeky grin into Gai's direction.

"No, no. You see. That king of yours obviously has not fully recovered from his blindness yet since he seems to have problem seeing how my prize is way superior. Would you kindly tell him that for me?"

"Ah, greetings, your Excellencies." Jun quickly turned around to them with a big smile, only to get shocked at the size of their prizes…even just carrying them seems like a hassle, given their size. Nervously backing away, he replied: "Even if you asked me, I am sure both prizes are worthy enough of befitting either queen."

Gai sighed at that response. "Oi, oi, what's with this political correct answer?"

This made Shu laugh heartily. "That's Jun for you. Always the people pleaser." Then he looked around. "Speaking of queens, where are they? Do you know something?"

The brunette court advisor could do little but smile awkwardly as he pointed into the direction of both queens who were now busy running around the perimeters. One launching endless amounts of crystal rocks at her rival while the other one was merely dancing around all of them as she continued to run away, laughing playfully.

"Didn't even breach the 10.000 Yen mark~" Queen Inori sang teasingly, ducking under another projectile narrowly but still with ease.

"Shaaaadaaaaaaap!" Queen Mana yelled embarrassedly at the top of her lungs, her face apparently facing off in a competition with her eyes to see which of them could be redder.

Both kings merely stared at them from afar with eyes narrowed down in disbelief, clearly speechless about their precious girlfriends' behavior.

"What the hell are they doing?" Gai voiced his thoughts with a deep sigh, shaking his head in annoyance.

His best friend could only offer him a nonchalant shrug. "Must be a girl thing." That's when his eyes wandered off to the side and spotted something that caught his interest. Elbowing his blond friend, he asked him with a smirk: "Hey, see what I see?"

"Hm?" The man in question followed the brunette's gaze and, eventually, his eyes fell on another stand challenging its customers to win prizes by shooting at targets with air guns. A confident grin appreared on his royal lips as he nodded understandingly. "Round two."

"Please hold onto this for a sec, Jun." Shu said as he shoved his plushy into the younger man's hands.

"Mine, too, if you may." Gai mirrored his friend's actions, followed by trailing right after him, eyes firmly set on the stand like a predator would have on its prey.

"B-but my lords! Ouf!" Before the poor retainer could say anything, he had already been entrusted with the royal treasures. As he was forced to watch both kings walk off into the distance, he silently accepted defeat and took a seat on the bench as he patiently awaited their return with one giant plushy in each of his arms.

When many visitors couldn't help but throw curious glances at him as they passed him by, Jun could do little but sigh and hide his embarrassment with a frown.

All of this was thanks to his idiot brother's betrayal. Just you wait, big bro. A Samukawa never forgot. A Samukawa never gave up. They endured. They would remember. And when the time of retribution was finally upon them…

He smirked evilly.

They were the last to laugh.

"Look, look, mother. That man is sitting alone with huge plushies!" A passing by kid urged his mother to look at Jun.

"Don't look at him, dear."

Jun pressed his eyes shut, his brows quivering with anger.

Retribution couldn't come quick enough…

That's it. Not that long a chapter, but still a fun read regardless, I hope. People have recently stated how they enjoy Mana and Inori's relationship as sisters so I decided to build on that a bit more. Hope it was to your liking.

See you all next time! Don't forget to tell me your thought about this chapter, friend.

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