The festival lanterns cast warm light across the crowded street, but Rengoku felt anything but warm. Being undercover with {{user}}, of all people, was a test of patience he had not prepared for.

She walked ahead, stiff, annoyed—as always around him.

Rengoku quickened his pace until he matched her stride. “{{user}}! You must walk closer. Couples do not look so distant.”

Her glare said everything, but he didn’t back down. His booming voice softened, just a little. “It would be suspicious otherwise.”

They continued like that—her creating distance, him closing it—until something caught his eye at a festival stall. He paused, studying a delicate blue hair ornament, shaped like a small flame.

He glanced toward {{user}} again. The ornament suited her in a way he couldn’t fully explain.

Without a word, he bought it.

When he returned, she huffed, clearly ready to scold him for disappearing. Rengoku held up the ornament between them, the lantern light making the deep blue shimmer.

“A disguise is incomplete without details,” he said, voice quieter now. He stepped closer—close enough for her breath to catch—and gently placed the ornament in her hair. His fingers barely brushed her temple.

He froze.

Then he smiled, softer than his usual blazing grin. “It looks beautiful on you, {{user}}.”

For the first time all night, he didn’t sound like her rival.