Date a Live:Date Under The Moon Chapter 10 10: The Answer

When Shido returned ho, what he saw was Kotori with a dissatisfied look on her face.

"Idiot Shido. In the end, you still couldn't complete the sealing."

"Sorry, Kotori. I want to be alone for a while."

At that mont, Shido's head was filled with the words Mikoto had said before leaving.

"Onii-chan?"

Looking at Shido's back, Kotori showed a worried expression. She did not know what the two of them had talked about afterward, but she could tell that it had affected Shido deeply.

[Yakumo-senpai was a man before crossing worlds.]

Shido lay on his bed, closed his eyes, and thought about Mikoto.

[Is Itsuka Shido's so-called saving only built on the fact that the other person is a girl?]

It was as if a tiny angel Shido was whispering beside his left ear.

[What are you hesitating for? Is there any reason to give up on a Yakumo-senpai that beautiful?]

On the other side, a tiny devil Shido whispered beside his right ear.

[It has nothing to do with gender, right? What Itsuka Shido should hold on to is saving people who have fallen into despair, isn't it?]

The angel kept whispering.

[Besides, she has such a gentle personality, and you can even have fun together. What's there to be dissatisfied about?]

The devil also showed no sign of giving up.

[If Itsuka Shido is only a man who saves pretty girls, then in the end, he just wants to open a harem.]

[She said she used to be a boy, but as long as she's cute, there's no problem, right?]

[If you can't accept Yakumo Mikoto, if you can't save her, then your ideal is nothing more than hypocrisy.]

[Besides, since her body is a perfect female body, then that so called male identity is just an unreliable mory, right? A mory. Is there any need to care so much?]

[So... save her, Shido!]

The angel sang from one side.

[What are you waiting for? Hurry up and kiss that girl, Shido!]

The devil roared from the other side.

And so, after a struggle that was... not all that painful, Shido opened his eyes, stared at the ceiling, and realized sothing.

"All right!"

The fatigue and heaviness from before were swept away. Shido sat up from his bed.

Grrrr.

At that mont, his stomach growled. Shido rembered that he had not eaten dinner yet. So he went downstairs and found Kotori cooking. Since the lively Tohka was not here yet, the house was especially quiet.

"Let do it."

"Shi... Shido?"

He took the kitchen knife from Kotori from behind. In the Itsuka household, cooking had always been Shido's job.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Mm... sorry for making you worry, Kotori."

"W-Who would worry about you? A creature like Shido is about as tough as a water bear, you would be fine even if left alone."

Kotori's face turned red. Perhaps afraid that Shido would notice, she slipped back to the living room and raised a fashion magazine to block her shy face.

Along with the steady sound of chopping from the kitchen, the gloomy feeling from earlier seed like an illusion. The Itsuka household returned to its usual peaceful ti.

"Oh right, Kotori."

"Mm?"

"I'm going on another date with Yakumo-senpai tomorrow."

"Oh, you're very motivated, Shido. As expected of my Onii-chan. Ratatoskr will support you too, so do your best."

"No, I don't need support."

"..."

"Because of that secret?"

Kotori rembered that Mikoto seed to have a secret she did not want anyone else to know.

"Mm, that's right. But there is one thing I want everyone to help with."

"What is it?"

Shido turned around, hesitated for quite a while, then said what he was thinking.

"Eh... eeeeeh—!!?"

After a short silence, Kotori's scream rang through the Itsuka house.

——————

Early the next morning, a tall girl stood at the entrance and said goodbye to Kotori.

"Speaking of which, Ratatoskr's makeup skills really are amazing."

Shido looked at himself now and felt like he did not know whether to laugh or cry. His hair had been made long enough to cover his back, decorated with a cute four leaf clover hair clip. A thin layer of foundation was applied to his face. His eyes were touched up with mascara and an eyelash curler, and his lips were painted with cherry colored lipstick. It could be said that there was no way to tell he was male.(TL: shiori really is the key to solve genbend protag huh?)

His chest had been padded, and he wore a bra. The hair on his arms and legs had also been completely removed, turning his skin smooth. All of this was for his date with Mikoto. Although he had thought about not relying on Kotori's help and doing the makeup himself, if he really did that, he would surely end up looking too terrible to be seen.

"To be honest, I never expected Shido to make this kind of request. I see. So Yakumo Mikoto is into girls?"

Kotori sighed with an expression that seed to say she did not know what to say. When Shido had made this request yesterday, she almost thought her Onii-chan had awakened so strange interest.

"Uh... I can't say that's right... but I can't say it's wrong either."

"It's more complicated than I imagined. Fine, anyway, this is all Ratatoskr can help you with. Do your best, Onee-chan!"

"Ugh..."

Kotori's "Onee-chan" blew away all of Shido's energy. Even so, he still set off in the direction of the shrine.

Today was Monday. Although he had already taken leave from school, the students passing by on the road still made him feel extrely embarrassed.

[This skirt is so short. And it's so chilly underneath.]

Aside from worrying about being recognized by classmates, the feeling that this was so kind of sha play was also troubling Shido.

Ti spent in suffering always felt long. As if countless hours had passed, Shido finally arrived at the shrine. It was very close to the school, and this was not his first ti here. However, once he thought that he was about to see Mikoto, Shido's heart began beating fiercely on its own.

"Um... Shi... Shido?"

Suddenly, a voice ca from the side, powerful enough to almost give his already fiercely beating heart a heart attack.

"Ya... Ya... Yakumo-senpai?"

He stiffly turned his head, as if his neck had rusted. What entered his vision was Mikoto, standing among rows of torii gates, holding a broom and sweeping the shrine.

"Although I was worried I might have seen wrong, it really is Shido."

Mikoto walked over and said with a smile.

"Um... this outfit is..."

If she misunderstood, it would be terrible. Shido hurriedly tried to explain.

"Mm, I understand. This is Shido's 'answer,' right?"

Mikoto shook her head, showing that there was no need to explain.

"Yeah. This is my answer."

Perhaps Mikoto's calm feeling had infected him. Shido's panicked heart slowly settled down.

"I will never deny Yakumo-senpai!!! Whether you are the enemy of the world or anything else!!! If everyone in the world denies Yakumo-senpai, then I will affirm you hundreds of tis more!!!" Shido said loudly.

(Wait, why do I feel like I've said this before? Am I a playboy? Saying the sa things to every girl I t?), Shido retort himself in his mind while sweating bullet.

"Even after knowing that secret?"

"Yes!!! Even after knowing that secret, Yakumo-senpai is still Yakumo-senpai. This is—my answer... uwaa!!!"

Before he could finish his cool line, he was hit hard on the back of the head.

"What are you yelling about so early in the morning? My ears are almost deaf because of you."

Turning around, he saw an old woman holding a broom and glaring at him angrily.