"It has been a long ti...Yutsuki-san."
"..."
Looking at Kurumi suddenly appearing before her, Yutsuki frowned slightly in surprise. But she quickly cald down and asked flatly,
"What do you an, 'long ti no see'? Didn't we just see each other in the early hours of yesterday morning?"
"Hehe, I suppose you are right."
Kurumi chuckled lightly and naturally walked to Yutsuki's side, falling into step beside her.
"Hey, why are you following ?"
Yutsuki said, looking visibly uncomfortable.
"My, does Yutsuki-san hate walking to school with ? That breaks my heart so much, I feel like crying."
Taking out a handkerchief to dab at non-existent tears, Kurumi acted incredibly wronged.
Naturally, Yutsuki wasn't going to fall for Kurumi's act like Shido did. She replied speechlessly:
"Whose fault do you think that is? Every ti you've co looking for these past few days, all you've brought are terrible prophecies like 'Shido gets killed because of X' or 'Bombs are planted in the shelters'... Anyone's mood would sour dealing with that."
Sighing helplessly, Yutsuki adjusted her emotions and asked with a serious expression,
"So, what is DEM planning to do this ti?"
"Ah... I see."
Hearing Yutsuki's question, Kurumi froze for a mont. Then, seemingly realizing what Yutsuki had misunderstood, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Hehe. You are mistaken, Yutsuki-san. DEM has no special plans for today, and Shido-san is perfectly safe."
"Is that true?"
Yutsuki asked skeptically. To this, Kurumi nodded gently.
"Mhm. I originally planned to ambush Shido-san at the Itsuka residence today. But seeing Tohka-san and the others giving him handmade chocolates, I felt it would be too unrefined to suddenly crash the party, so I gave up on the idea."
"Well, thank you for your consideration..."
The corner of Yutsuki's mouth twitched slightly. If Kurumi had actually crashed the mont everyone was giving Shido chocolate, the Itsuka residence would undoubtedly be a tempest of chaos right now. Just imagining it gave Yutsuki a headache.
"So, because DEM doesn't have any special moves planned, you decided to wait for Shido at school. But you got bored walking alone, so you ca looking for instead?"
"Exactly. I simply wanted to experience the everyday life of walking to school with a good friend as a normal student for once. Is that not allowed, Yutsuki-san?"
Saying that, Kurumi looked at Yutsuki with pitiful, pleading eyes.
"...Do whatever you want."
Too lazy to argue about whether Kurumi's words were true or false, Yutsuki sighed helplessly and slowed her pace.
"Hehe~"
A small smile curled on her lips, and Kurumi continued walking to school alongside Yutsuki.
"That girl just now, did she give Yutsuki-san a honi choco?"
"Well, it looks like it."
Yutsuki answered casually.
"Hoh, hoh~"
Hearing this, a wicked grin spread across Kurumi's face as she pressed on curiously.
"So, how does Yutsuki-san plan to handle this honi choco and her feelings? Will you go out with her after all?"
Looking at Kurumi suddenly becoming a gossip, a barrage of black lines appeared on Yutsuki's forehead.
"I will eat the chocolate with a grateful heart, of course. After all, it represents soone's earnest feelings. But going out with her is a hard pass."
"Eh~ What a sha. Is she not quite a cute girl?"
Kurumi said with a look of disappointnt.
"Listen to ..." Giving Kurumi a speechless look, Yutsuki sighed and answered, "I've barely even seen that girl a few tis. Giving chocolate like that, rather than romantic love, her feelings probably lean more toward admiration. Furthermore, sa-sex marriage is not legally recognized in this country, Japan. And I don't harbor any special feelings for that girl either. There's no reason to force myself into a romance that would face imnse societal pressure and ultimately bear no fruit."
(Seriously, why am I bothering to explain all this to Kurumi?)
As soon as she finished speaking, Yutsuki couldn't help but roast herself internally.
"I see."
Hearing Yutsuki's reasoning, Kurumi nodded in profound understanding.
"In other words, Yutsuki-san is entirely devoted to Shido-san. Even if a cute girl or a handso boy confesses to you, you would absolutely never stray, correct?"
"Completely wrong. What kind of twisted brain logic do you have to interpret my words like that?"
Yutsuki widened her eyes, denying it with absolute finality.
In response to Yutsuki's denial, Kurumi smiled faintly and began speaking in a deeply emotional, poetic tone,
"I, Ryougi Yutsuki's, second dream... is to beco Shido's bri—"
"Stop, stop, stop—You win."
Yutsuki frantically clapped her hand over Kurumi's mouth.
"This conversation ends right now! If you bring this up again, I'm going to get seriously angry."
Glaring at Kurumi with a completely red face, Yutsuki warned her fiercely.
"Okay~"
Seeing the utterly delighted expression on Kurumi's face, Yutsuki couldn't help but feel a surge of frustration.
(Damn it, future-, why did you have to run your mouth?!)
After that, Kurumi actually behaved herself. She didn't try to strike up another conversation with Yutsuki, and the two walked quietly all the way to the school gates.
"Yutsuki-san."
Kurumi suddenly called out to stop her.
"What is it now?"
Yutsuki stopped and looked at her suspiciously. She saw Kurumi pull a small, wrapped box from her schoolbag and hold it out to her.
"Please accept this. Just a small token of my appreciation."
"Eh? What is this?"
Yutsuki asked in confusion.
"Obligation chocolate," Kurumi said with a smile. "Consider it a small thank-you gift and an apology. After all, I caused Yutsuki-san quite a bit of trouble these past few days, leaving you without even the ti to prepare your own Valentine's Day chocolates."
"There's no need for a thank-you gift... Our cooperation this ti was purely a transaction of mutual benefit. Neither of us owes the other anything." Yutsuki shook her head, not taking the chocolate. "Besides, originally I only planned to make so chocolate just to play along with everyone. Whether I give chocolate or not doesn't really matter to ."
"You are lying, Yutsuki-san."
Kurumi asserted with absolute certainty.
"If I had not asked you to disarm the bombs yesterday, you would have been preparing today's chocolates with Kotori-san and the others. And it would have been a highly complex recipe—chocolate macarons that clearly scread honi at a single glance."
"Uh..."
For a mont, Yutsuki was struck utterly speechless.
Yutsuki realized that it was genuinely difficult for her to gain the upper hand in a conversation with Kurumi right now. Because no matter how Yutsuki denied it, Kurumi could justifiably shut her down with excuses like "I'm from the future" or "The future you did the exact opposite of what you're saying."
(I'm not lying, but I'm being forcefully branded a liar, and I can't even argue back... Damn it, what is this agonizingly frustrating feeling?)
Yutsuki felt incredibly conflicted.
Moreover, she wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that sothing about Kurumi had changed.
For example, yesterday's Kurumi, in Yutsuki's eyes, was like a violin string pulled taut to its absolute limit. She barely had any leeway left to maintain a facade of calm. A single, light cut from a sharp blade would have been enough to make her snap completely.
But today's Kurumi felt like an entirely different person. The aura she gave off was incredibly natural, completely devoid of any wasted effort.
It was as if she had cast aside all her hesitation, gaining both flexibility and an unshakeable strength.
(What exactly happened in this single day... No, what happened in the future?)
"Well, personally speaking, because Yutsuki-san did not make chocolate, conquering Shido-san will be quite a bit easier for . Therefore, please accept my gift of gratitude."
While Yutsuki was lost in thought, Kurumi sowhat forcefully shoved the chocolate into Yutsuki's hands, speaking with a beaming smile.
"Alright, the thank-you gift has been delivered. Now then, this humble maiden can proceed to conquer Shido-san without any psychological burden whatsoever."
"Hey! Wait a minute, Kurumi!"
With that, ignoring Yutsuki's calls to stop, Kurumi turned around and headed straight to her own classroom.
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