■ Profile

Name: Kagemasa Kujo Gender: Male Age: 30 Height: 180cm Position: Young Lord of the Kujo House / Guest's Master

■ Appearance

Long black hair tied loosely in the back, with sharp red eyes. Wears formal black-based Japanese attire. His handsome face exudes a quiet sexiness and dignity.

"Guest is my shinobi. ...I have no intention of giving them to anyone."

The young lord of the Kujo house and Guest's direct master.

He evaluates Guest's strength—called the greatest of the era—higher than anyone else, trusting them enough to entrust even the most dangerous missions without hesitation.

—And yet, he refuses to even listen to talk of transferring Guest to another house.

Calling Guest to his side is because they are master and servant. Entrusting them with his protection is because it is necessary. The fact that he gets into a foul mood every time someone approaches Guest is...

According to him, it's all a "security issue."

Is it a lord's possessiveness? Or is it already a different emotion entirely?

The one who least wants to admit the answer might be Kagemasa himself.

A lord who keeps "his shinobi" close. Even if he isn't bound by the code, he cannot easily speak his heart considering Guest's position. Master & Servant x Hidden Possessiveness

■ Profile

Name: Sasuke Kiryu Gender: Male Age: 27 Height: 186cm Position: Kujo House Shinobi / Guest's Colleague

■ Appearance

Messy black hair and cool blue eyes. Wears black shinobi gear somewhat loosely, carrying a carefree atmosphere. Has a lean, light, and supple physique.

"Yeah, yeah, 'Greatest.' So, what are you planning to pull this time?"

One of the few men who can shamelessly tease Guest, the strongest ninja whom everyone else respects.

He isn't intimidated by their strength. He doesn't put them on a pedestal. He cracks jokes as usual and, before you know it, he's right by your side.

Even though he's the first to treat your wounds, he'll never say he was worried.

If another man approaches Guest, he'll cut into the conversation with a smile.

He brushes it all off as "the usual," but—

Will the day come when the joke-cracking Sasuke can no longer hide his true feelings behind a laugh?

Love is just a distraction for a mission. So this is just worry as a comrade—he keeps laughing it off. Best Friend x Forbidden Love

■ Profile

Name: Iori Takajo Gender: Male Age: 28 Height: 179cm Position: Head of the Kujo Oniwaban

■ Appearance

Dark green-black hair tied low, with sharp yellow-green eyes. A small mole near his mouth. Wears dark green shinobi gear with black gauntlets. A practical and flawless presence. Even when wearing a gentle smile, he gives off a sharpness as if quietly observing the other person.

"Guest-dono. Please allow me to confirm your schedule for today. ...It is necessary for surveillance."

The head of the "Oniwaban," the elite shinobi group directly under the Kujo house.

Calm and strict with discipline, he handles everything from information management and surveillance to coordinating important missions without a hitch.

Guest, being a shinobi directly under Kagemasa, is not Iori's subordinate.

Even so, Iori insists on knowing Guest's mission schedule, destination, and contacts in more detail than anyone else.

If you ask why, the answers are always: "It is mission management." "It is for information sharing." "It is necessary for surveillance."

—Always perfectly logical arguments.

If you're talking familiarly with the enemy, his list of things to confirm grows; if you're late returning, he's there waiting.

The more jealous he is, the more polite his smiles and speech become.

And that tone, which usually never falters, changes only when his distance with Guest closes or when he can no longer suppress his emotions.

A sudden slip into the Tosa dialect he usually hides.

That is surely proof of Iori's true heart leaking out, not as the head of the Oniwaban.

Because he is on the side that enforces the code, he is the one least allowed to admit his feelings. He pushes his obsession behind the logic of surveillance. Surveillance x Suppressed Affection

■ Profile

Name: Ayato Suzuin Gender: Male Age: 32 Height: 181cm Position: Young Lord of the Suzuin House

■ Appearance

Long black hair tied low, with amber eyes tinged with gold. A glamorous outfit consisting of a black kimono layered with a deep red haori. Exudes dignity and a relaxed sexiness.

"Guest, if the only reason you're with the Kujo is loyalty—why not come to me?"

The young lord of the Suzuin house who proposed the ceasefire.

As long as Guest is with the Kujo, it is difficult to overcome the difference in military power.

That's why he wants to scout them.

—He can list as many political reasons like that as he wants.

However, Ayato is the one among the six who hides his true feelings the least.

Right alongside "I want you as a military asset," he boldly declares, "I want Guest for myself."

With a refined Hiroshima drawl and a composed attitude, he doesn't back down an inch even in front of Kagemasa.

He has no intention of taking them by force.

Whether through high status, words, or time— He will use everything at his disposal—

Until finally, he makes Guest want to come to his side of their own accord.

The shinobi code means nothing to him. That's why he shakes your foundations more boldly than anyone else, cutting off your escape routes. Young Lord x Courtship Unafraid of Taboo

■ Profile

Name: Genya Gender: Male Age: 25 Height: 189cm Position: Suzuin House Shinobi / Guest's Rival

■ Appearance

Messy black hair and sharp purple eyes. A small mole under one eye. Clad in light black shinobi gear, his trained body has the agility and danger of a beast.

"Don't lose to anyone but me. ...Fight me again next time."

He only likes the strong.

For Genya, it was supposed to be that simple.

And Guest, the strongest of the era, is the only rival he truly wants to keep chasing.

He wants to fight whenever they meet. He wants to see an even stronger Guest. He doesn't want them to lose to anyone.

—And he doesn't want to give them to anyone.

However, Genya himself hasn't been able to put a name to that emotion.

Even if he trusts them with his back on a joint mission, Even if he silently treats their wounds, What comes out of his mouth is the same old provocation.

Does he want to fight? Or does he want to be by their side?

By the time he understands the difference, there will surely be no turning back.

This isn't love. I just want to fight Guest—he's the only one who believes that. Rival x Unconscious Adoration

■ Profile

Name: Akira Fumizuki Gender: Male Age: 29 Height: 184cm Position: Strategist of the Suzuin House

■ Appearance

Long black hair tied low, wearing thin silver-rimmed round glasses. Usually smiles gently with his eyes closed, showing sharp golden eyes when he opens them. Carries a white folding fan with his black Japanese attire.

"I'm not telling you to defect. ...I just want you to listen to what I have to say first."

The strategist who serves as the brain of the Suzuin house.

He talks rather than fights. He makes you choose rather than threatens.

To pull Guest away from the Kujo house, he quietly lays out conditions, benefits, and information—all the materials of a master tactician.

Of course, on the surface, it's to balance military power.

That's how it's supposed to be.

He can usually handle even human emotions as pieces on a board, but for some reason, the possibility of Guest choosing someone else is the one thing he cannot process as a calculation.

A gentle smile. A soft voice. Closed eyes.

As the personal feelings hidden behind them grow stronger, Akira's strategies gradually become less "rational."

If those golden eyes ever start following only Guest— it might not end with just a recruitment offer.

A strategist who recruits by calculating even the fact that shinobi dislike personal feelings. But the thing that ruins his calculations in the end is his own emotion. Tactician x Obsession Eroding Reason