Date a Live:This is not the date I wanted! Chapter 472 472: Fall for Me

After leaving the classroom, Shido rushed to the top floor with an impatient heart, pushed open the door, and stepped onto the rooftop.

He saw that the girl with long brown hair was currently sitting cross-legged on the floor, nibbling on a piece of chocolate while leisurely gazing up at the blue sky and white clouds.

"Hah... Hah... Yutsuki?"

Panting heavily, Shido looked at Yutsuki in confusion.

"Oh? Shido, why are you here?"

Yutsuki seed slightly surprised by Shido's sudden appearance. Resting her hands on her knees, she stood up from the ground, brushed the dust off her pants, and asked curiously.

"Could it be that you're also skipping class to slack off here?"

"I... Eh? Didn't you ask to co here?"

Shido asked in shock. Hearing this, Yutsuki tilted her head in confusion.

"? No?"

"Eh... But Kurumi said..."

The mont the words left his mouth, Shido realized he had been played by Kurumi. Back then, she had indeed said it was up to him to judge whether it was true or false, but she never explicitly claid she wasn't lying.

"Ah... I see. You got tricked into coming here by Kurumi."

Hearing this, and combining it with Shido's dumbfounded expression, Yutsuki imdiately figured out what had happened and sighed speechlessly.

"Haha..."

To this, Shido could only offer a bitter smile.

"Well, since you're already here, you probably used feeling sick as an excuse to slip out, right? Going back now would just look weird. Just stay here and keep company for a bit."

With that, Yutsuki sat back down in her previous spot.

"O-Oh. Then I'll intrude."

After freezing for a mont, Shido snapped back to his senses and hurriedly walked over to sit next to Yutsuki.

Honestly, skipping class to be alone with a girl on a deserted rooftop during school hours—this rare and entirely new experience made Shido's heart flutter slightly.

Unlike the secretly thrilled Shido, Yutsuki didn't seem to care that Shido sat next to her. She simply pulled a box of chocolate from one of the bags beside her, unwrapped it, and started eating.

"Hm? Yutsuki, what are those chocolates?"

Shido couldn't help but ask. Only now did he notice that the three large shopping bags placed next to Yutsuki were filled to the brim with chocolate.

"Oh. These?"

Swallowing the chocolate in her mouth, Yutsuki pointed at the bags next to her and explained them one by one.

"The first one is chocolate from girls in my class and other classes. The second one is chocolate from the third-year upperclassn. And the third bag, which has the most, is chocolate from the first-year underclassn."

"Th-That's incredible, Yutsuki."

Hearing Yutsuki's description, Shido broke out in an awkward sweat.

"But wait... isn't Valentine's Day supposed to be the day girls give chocolate to boys? Girls giving chocolate to other girls... it feels like a plot straight out of a manga."

"Well, don't ask ."

Yutsuki shrugged helplessly. After thinking for a mont, she answered,

"If I had to guess, maybe it's because I wear the boys's uniform, plus my behavior is a bit on the tomboyish side... Maybe a lot of people just don't see as a girl."

"I think there's more to it than that..."

Shido roasted with a wry smile. If he rembered correctly, according to so mysterious intel his bad friend Tonomachi Hiroto had gotten from who knows where, Yutsuki had absolutely crushed a bunch of the school's most handso boys to claim the number one spot in the school's "Person Won Most Want to be Kabedoned By" poll.

Honestly, seeing Yutsuki receive three massive bags full of chocolate, as a man, Shido felt an unprecedented sense of defeat in his heart.

Recalling how smug and self satisfied he had been this morning after receiving chocolates from everyone, Shido felt a sudden urge to dig a hole and bury his head in it.

"By the way, Yutsuki... can I ask you a question?"

Looking at those bags overflowing with chocolate, Shido asked, carrying a mix of fear and curiosity.

"What?"

"Out of all these chocolates... how many of them are honi?"

"Um, about that..."

Faced with Shido's question, Yutsuki also seed unable to answer imdiately. She opened the three bags, checked for a while, and finally replied,

"Well... I can't say for sure if they're honi, but judging by how exquisitely packaged they all are, it doesn't seem like any of them are giri."

"..."

For a mont, Shido was left utterly speechless. After all, he had never heard of a type of Valentine's Day chocolate that was above giri but wasn't honi.

(This is bad, this is bad this is bad this is bad...)

Shido felt his palms growing slightly sweaty.

This was no longer an issue on the level of a man's pride. Yutsuki was popular. Although he always thought he knew this, he hadn't paid much attention to it. After all, even if Yutsuki's attitude toward him remained ambiguous, she expressed her fondness for his female alter ego—Itsuka Shiori—very directly.

However, upon seeing Yutsuki receive so much chocolate from won, and suspected honi chocolates at that, he finally realized just how many rivals he actually had.

(Should I put on my female clothes and secretly give her chocolate too...?)

As this thought popped into his head, Shido's expression beca incredibly conflicted and hesitant.

"Speaking of which, ever since I arrived at school today, every ti a break started, I'd get called out by soone and receive chocolate. Although I was pretty happy about it at first, getting too much is a bit overwhelming. I'm not even sure if I can finish them all before they expire."

Yutsuki sighed helplessly.

Honestly, a big reason why she skipped class and hid on the rooftop to slack off was to find a quiet place to relax and simultaneously deal with the chocolates she had been given.

"What about you, Shido? What excuse did Kurumi use to trick you into coming here to find ?"

"N-Nothing special, really."

At Yutsuki's question, Shido awkwardly averted his gaze and gave a perfunctory answer.

"Don't tell Kurumi said sothing to you like, 'Yutsuki wants to give you Valentine's Day chocolate and is waiting for you on the rooftop right now', and then you rushed all the way up here in a panic."

"..."

"Eh... No way..."

Feeling Shido's dead silence, the smile on Yutsuki's face froze.

In an instant, the previously relaxed and cheerful atmosphere vanished, replaced by an incredibly awkward silence spreading between the two.

(Crap, what the hell is Kurumi thinking? Didn't I already tell her I didn't make any chocolate?)

Yutsuki thought frantically in her head.

Honestly, when she noticed the change in Kurumi on the way to school, Yutsuki had felt inexplicably uneasy, slightly regretting refusing Origami's invitation to make chocolate last night.

Another reason she hid on the rooftop was that she was worried Shido would feel disappointed and down upon learning she hadn't prepared any chocolate for him.

(Is Kurumi deliberately trying to make Shido feel down about this, so she can comfort him while he's vulnerable and then give him her own chocolate?)

Yutsuki couldn't confirm Kurumi's true intentions, but there was no doubt that if things really played out like that, Shido was highly likely to lose the date to Kurumi.

(I have to find a way to fix this.)

Thinking of this, Yutsuki imdiately turned her gaze to the chocolates she had received sitting next to her. Her first thought was to pick one out from the pile and give it to Shido.

(No, that won't work.)

Yutsuki quickly shot down the idea herself. Regifting chocolate soone else had given her—that kind of approach felt less like giving a gift and more like showing off. She'd be better off going to the convenience store and buying a hundred-yen pack of chocolate balls; at least that would show so sincerity.

(Or maybe, I can just stall Shido for a bit and use the ti to quickly make so chocolate...)

Just as this thought crossed her mind, Yutsuki suddenly realized that it was already the last period of the afternoon. There were less than twenty minutes left until school ended. After that, Shido and Kurumi's date was set to begin.

With such a short amount of ti, there was absolutely no way she could whip up handmade chocolate. Plus, she didn't want to lie to Shido.

"Um... sorry, Shido. Sothing urgent ca up yesterday, so I couldn't make chocolate with Kotori and the others."

Carefully observing Shido's reaction, Yutsuki scratched her cheek with a bitter smile, speaking sowhat guiltily.

"Ah... I see. It's okay, Yutsuki. I know you've been incredibly busy these past few days because of ."

Hearing Yutsuki's answer, Shido smiled and shook his head, indicating for Yutsuki not to mind it.

"I should be the one apologizing. Not only did I interrupt your rest, but I also made the atmosphere so awkward."

"I am truly very sorry!"

"It's fine. You really don't need to apologize, Yutsuki. Besides, even though I'm not on your level, I received chocolate from Tohka and the others too. The guys in class were staring at with pure jealousy—Anyway, class is almost over. My promise with Kurumi is right after this, so I'll be heading back now."

With that, Shido stood up, preparing to head back to the classroom.

"Wait!"

Seeing Shido about to leave, Yutsuki hurriedly grabbed his arm.

"Yutsuki? Is there sothing else?"

"Ah— This is seriously too much. You have absolutely no idea how to hide your emotions, yet you still try to put on a brave face. There's a limit to being an idiot, you know."

Frustratedly scratching her hair, Yutsuki struggled internally for a mont before pulling out her phone and swiping the screen a few tis.

Imdiately after, Shido felt his own phone vibrate slightly in his pocket.

"Yutsuki? Did you send sothing?"

"Open it and see for yourself."

Prompted by Yutsuki, Shido opened his phone with a hint of confusion. In a flash, he instinctively held his breath in shock.

The reason was simple. Displayed on his screen was a selfie of the brown-haired girl he was incredibly familiar with, wearing a short skirt maid outfit with thigh high stockings and garters, flashing a breathtakingly beautiful smile at the cara.

"Yutsuki, this is?"

"That ti you and Mukuro went to the maid cafe... I thought it was a rare chance, so I took a few selfies as a souvenir. You probably want this, right? Consider this an alternative to chocolate."

Yutsuki turned her head away, answering in a tone tinged with desperation.

Shido noticed that Yutsuki's face was currently flushed completely red.

"Also... just to add, if you actually manage to win against Kurumi... I might... consider wearing that maid outfit again." (TL:Spoiler, she will)

"Really?!"

Shido's eyes widened massively. He stepped right in front of Yutsuki, confirming with overwhelming intensity.

"Maybe! I only said I might consider it! And you're too close! You're way too close, Shido!"

Yutsuki hurriedly explained in a panic.

"Mhm... I understand. This is more than enough."

Slowly taking a few steps back to put so distance between them, Shido clenched his fists, his eyes burning with a resolve as unbreakable as diamond.

"For a man, as long as there is even a sliver of possibility, that is more than enough."

"..."

Under Yutsuki's slightly intimidated gaze, Shido walked off the rooftop with silent, determined steps.

(Sorry, Kotori.)

Shido silently apologized in his heart.

It wasn't until today that he realized the person nad Itsuka Shido was far, far shallower than he had ever imagined.

Not wanting to see others's expressions of despair and loneliness, wanting to protect everyone's everyday life from being violated, saving innocent Spirits—compared to those righteous, noble ideals, a goal born entirely of selfish desire and wicked thoughts had granted him an unprecedented surge of motivation.

He absolutely had to win! Itsuka Shido had never thirsted for victory as intensely as he did today.

Packing up his schoolbag and leaving the classroom, Shido saw the stunningly beautiful black haired girl waiting for him at the school gates.

"Ara ara~, are you finally here Shido-san?."

"Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting, Kurumi."

Gazing into Kurumi's face, Shido smiled slightly and said,

"Then let's begin, our date. I am definitely going to make you—fall for ."