Weekend, 9:40 AM. In front of Tengu Station.
Tsukimichi Kousuke waited quietly by the stone statue, feeling nervous and slightly excited.
The reason was very simple: today was the day of his first date with his crush, the goddess—Ryougi Yutsuki.
Honestly, when he received Yutsuki's invitation call last night, he really wanted to doubt whether he was dreaming.
You have to know, when he sought out Itsuka Shido, he was mostly holding onto the desperate feeling like Shido was his last life line.Especially after finishing that cringey love letter and giving it to Shido, he felt so embarrassed when he cald down that he wished he could find a hole to hide in like an ostrich.
But he didn't expect that not only did things not fail, but he smoothly got in touch with Yutsuki.
"As expected of Itsuka-senpai!"
Every ti he thought of this, Kousuke couldn't help but feel full of respect and admiration for Shido.
And then today, he was so excited that he almost suffered from insomnia like an elentary school student going on a field trip. After getting up early and dressing up carefully, he arrived at the eting spot half an hour early.
"Still... thirteen minutes left? Is Ryougi-senpai not here yet?"
Glancing at the ti on his watch, Kousuke felt a bit anxious. Although he knew he arrived too early, the waiting ti indeed felt a bit agonizing.
"Ah! Are you alone, Miss? Interested in going for a cup of tea together?"
At this mont, two young n suddenly walked over and struck up a conversation with Kousuke.
"Hm? Hm?"
Hearing the two n's words, Kousuke couldn't help but look around curiously. After confirming there were no other girls around, he pointed at himself in surprise and asked.
"Could it be... you are talking to ?"
"Who else is there besides you?"
Seeing Kousuke's reaction, they couldn't help but laugh.
"..."
Kousuke felt a bit displeased. He was already a bit conflicted about his short height and lack of masculine facial features, so he deliberately wore n's casual clothes. He didn't expect that even so, he would be mistaken for a girl and hit on.
"Sorry, you are mistaken. I am a guy."
Kousuke explained coldly.
However, the two n didn't take his words seriously.
"Nonsense, how could a guy be as cute as you."
"Don't say such cold things, let's go play together."
"I am telling you—"
Seeing their reaction, Kousuke couldn't help but feel a bit angry.
"Hey, hey~ Let's stop here. Don't fight."
Right at this mont, a girl with tea-colored hair walked between the three of them, intervening with a nonchalant tone.
"Ryougi-senpai!"
Kousuke widened his eyes in surprise.
"Ah, it seems you are Tsukimichi-kun, right?"
Seeing Yutsuki co to interfere, the two young n were a bit dissatisfied at first, but upon seeing that Yutsuki was a beauty, they couldn't help but whistle.
"Wow~ A beauty."
"I see, you're waiting for soone. Want to go shopping together? It's our treat."
"I am very sorry, but I must make two things clear to you both. First, my companion is undoubtedly a male. Second, today is a date between him and , and we don't have any plans to squeeze in other itineraries."
Yutsuki said with a smile. Even though her tone was polite, Kousuke could feel an undeniable power from her words that made people back away.
"Or perhaps, you two want to speak more directly?"
"...Tch, forget it."
Seeing Yutsuki refuse, the two didn't push it. Clicking their tongues, they left unhappily.
Watching the two leave, Yutsuki turned her gaze to Kousuke.
"Sorry, I am late."
"No, no! I also just arrived! Thank you very much for your help."
"A classic line. It was just a small effort, don't ntion it."
Yutsuki waved her hand to show it was nothing.
"Eh? Um, um—"
Kousuke stuttered a bit.
"Hello, my na is Tsukimichi Kousuke. Please take care of ."
"Nice to et you, I am Ryougi Yutsuki. Or rather, we already introduced ourselves on the phone, didn't we?"
While observing Kousuke, Yutsuki said with a smile.
"Haha~ True..."
Being told this by Yutsuki, Kousuke imdiately reacted, his small face blushing awkwardly.
(Calm down, calm down. Kousuke, think about Itsuka-senpai's teachings...)
——Listen well, Kousuke. When dating a girl, you must learn to observe and complint her outfit.
(Outfit...)
Kousuke looked at Yutsuki's outfit. She was wearing a brown loose jacket on the outside, a blue suspender top, and an off-white vest on the inside. Although each piece was very simple clothing, they looked surprisingly fashionable when put together.
"Um... Yutsuki-senpai's casual clothes suit you very well. Very cool! Full of energy!"
"Is that so? Thanks for the complint."
Although she just grabbed a few pieces of clothing from the apartnt's closet and threw them together, being praised with the word "cool" still made Yutsuki feel very good.
(Ah—! I succeeded! I succeeded! Itsuka-senpai!!)
Kousuke felt secretly excited in his heart.
...
About 100 ters away from the spot, at a street corner, Itsuka Shido watched the harmonious atmosphere between Yutsuki and Kousuke, his expression instantly sulken.
"Kotori, how is Yutsuki's affection level towards Kousuke?"
Looking at her suspicious-looking brother on the screen, the corner of Kotori's mouth twitched slightly.
[Mhm... Well, according to the crew's report, her affection level seems to have risen. It seems the first impression isn't bad.]
Hearing Kotori's answer, Shido was slightly shaken, but still feigned calmness and said.
"Well, this level is very normal. After all, Yutsuki isn't the type to purposely find fault with people. It is normal for the atmosphere to be harmonious."
Looking at Shido comforting himself, Kotori couldn't help but shake her head, letting out a helpless sigh.
If you ask why things turned out like this?
——————————
"Well, whether we date or not can be discussed later. Going on a date with him first and understand each other a bit shouldn't be a problem."
"—Ah?!"
Hearing Yutsuki's answer, everyone present couldn't help but show a surprised expression.
"Um... Yutsuki-nee, are you serious?"
Kotori couldn't help but ask.
"Kotori-chan, do you think I look like soone who would joke about dating?" Yutsuki gave a bitter smile and asked back. "Or does Ratatoskr forbid Spirits from having too much contact with normal people?"
"No, that's not it."
Kotori couldn't argue. Ratatoskr's principle was to satisfy the Spirits' needs and let them live a life like normal people. Naturally, they wouldn't limit the Spirits' freedom in building social relationships.
However, since their Spirit energy was sealed, it basically ant the Spirits harbored a certain degree of affection for Shido. So she had never imagined a situation where a Spirit would date another person of the opposite sex.
At first, when she knew the love letter was for Yutsuki, Kotori subconsciously thought Yutsuki would reject it outright, which was why she unscrupulously teased Shido and handed the letter to Yutsuki.
The others probably had similar thoughts, which was why they jokingly teased Yutsuki like that.
"Question. Why did you suddenly have this idea, Yutsuki?"
"I share the sa doubt as my other half. When you receive love letters and confessions at school, don't you always reject them very decisively?"
To this, Yuzuru and Kaguya looked at Yutsuki with doubtful faces. The two of them were in the sa class as Yutsuki, and were the Spirits who had known her the longest. Naturally, they were full of incomprehension about Yutsuki's unusual decision.
"Well, mostly I am just a bit curious." Yutsuki explained with a light smile. "After all, it is a guy Shido proactively introduced, so I wanted to see what kind of person he is. Ah, Shido."
"Eh? What is it, Yutsuki?"
Being called by Yutsuki like this, Shido finally snapped out of his shock.
"That Kousuke guy? What kind of person is he in your opinion?"
"Uh... A pretty decent person." Shido explained, stuttering a bit. "He's very pure, doesn't seem to have any ulterior motives... His personality is also not bad. As for his appearance... rather than calling it handso, it's more accurate to say he's a bit feminine. Because he's often teased by his classmates, he himself cares a lot about this."
Hearing this, Yutsuki nodded in satisfaction.
"Well, that's how it is. He doesn't sound like a bad person. If it were that kind of sweaty macho man or a flashy pretty boy, I definitely couldn't stand it. But this kind of gentle, beautiful boy is still acceptable. Even if we don't plan to date, becoming friends isn't bad."
(I see—)
Kotori seed to understand Yutsuki's thoughts.
Unlike the other Spirits, Ryougi Yutsuki didn't need to frequently date Shido to keep her Spirit energy channel stable after being sealed, nor did she ever feel emotions like jealousy or anxiety. Her feelings for Shido, rather than being affection for the opposite sex, were more of a familial trust.
If that boy nad Tsukimichi Kousuke had directly confessed to Yutsuki, he probably would have undoubtedly received a 'good person' card. But out of trust for Shido, she changed her mind and tried interacting positively with the other party.
(Yare yare... This is really sothing.)
Kotori didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a mont.
"Hahaha— Of course, after all, he is a junior I acknowledge... hahaha..."
Shido said with a forced smile.
Obviously, he also realized this was shooting himself in the foot.He could only force a smile and agree.
—————————
And so, ti returns to today.
After Yutsuki went out, Shido used the excuse of "worrying that an accident might cause Yutsuki's Spirit energy to backflow, and cannot let a junior and Yutsuki fall into danger" to secretly tail—no, watch over the two of them.
"Speaking of which, Shido, do you really need a disguise?"
Kotori couldn't help but roast him. Right now, Shido was wearing a pair of square-frad glasses, his hair was styled with hairspray, he was wearing a black jacket and an ani girl T-shirt, and he sprayed cologne on himself. It was a completely mainstream outfit.
[Of course. The opponent is Yutsuki. A little carelessness and I'll be exposed. I also don't want to beco a third wheel disturbing soone else's date.]
"..."
Although Shido spoke with righteous indignation, Kotori only heard a mouthful of sourness.
However, in a sense, the disguise was indeed very successful. If she spotted Shido on the street, she would definitely pretend not to know him.
"By the way, Shido, where did you get this outfit and cologne?"
[Hm? I borrowed them from Kannazuki-san and the others who happen to be on board.]
Kotori and the female crew mbers speechlessly swept their gazes toward the male crew mbers on the bridge, while the latter turned their heads away and whistled guiltily.
"Shido, Yutsuki-nee has stopped walking. Hide."
[That was close... Thanks, Kotori.]
Kotori sighed helplessly. After all, strictly speaking, she was partially responsible for things turning out this way.
"Can't be helped. Although I am not very enthusiastic about it, what Shido said does have so truth. To prevent unexpected situations from causing Spirit energy backflow, I should stay alert and support him."
...
"What is wrong, Ryougi-senpai?"
Kousuke asked doubtfully.
"Mhm... I feel like I sensed a gaze."
After looking behind her, Yutsuki muttered softly, then answered with a smile.
"But it must be my imagination. Let's get going."
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