vstars Chapter 142 Rinne Arc: Rinne's Date
Chapter 142 Rinne Arc: Rinne's Date
Chapter 142 Rinne Arc: Rinne's Date
"Shido...it's dawn. Time to get up..."
In the early morning, the soft sunlight streamed through the window, gently caressing the boy's face. A gentle voice reached his ears, waking him like a spring breeze.
"Hehe, you're awake."
When Shido opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the girl's gentle face.
"...Oh, it's Rinne, good morning..."
"Good morning, Shido! The weather is nice today too."
"Rinne...did something good happen to you? You seem so energetic this morning."
When Shido asked her a casual question, Rinne was taken aback for a moment, but she quickly recovered.
"Oh, really? I didn't feel anything."
"is it?"
"Yes, Shido. Oh... by the way, are you... free after school today?"
Upon hearing Rinne's proactive invitation, Shido paused for a moment, then nodded, "Eh...? Ah... yes, there is..."
But that's on the condition that dating isn't included in the itinerary. That's what Shido was thinking, but he didn't say it aloud.
"Oh, great! Dinner is ready. I'll go downstairs and wait for you."
With that, Rinne jogged downstairs, pushed open the door, and went downstairs.
After Shido finished dressing, he slowly walked downstairs. Looking at the empty living room except for Rinne, he was filled with doubt.
"Huh? Where is everyone else?" Shido muttered to himself involuntarily, noticing the quiet living room.
Seeing Shido's confusion, Rinne stepped forward, hesitated for a few seconds, and then explained:
"Ah, well... Yoshino suddenly felt unwell, and Kotori took her to the hospital early this morning. Actually, I wanted to go with them too..."
Her gaze flickered for a moment, but Shido didn't notice Rinne's unusual reaction and seemed even less concerned about Yoshino's condition.
"Yoshino went to the hospital? Is it serious?"
"Kotori said it shouldn't be anything serious..."
"Is that so... but it's still worrying." Shido's expression was still somewhat concerned.
"Um……"
Seeing that Shido wasn't paying any attention to her, Rinne lowered her head in disappointment, looking somewhat distressed.
Shido assumed that Kotori had taken Yoshino to Fraxinus. If that's the case, there shouldn't be any problems...
"Where's Tohka? Is she still sleeping?"
Rinne shook her head. "No, Tohka said she wanted to go to school early today, and she's already left."
Upon hearing that Tohka had to go to school early, Shido's expression instantly changed from calm to one of utter shock.
"Huh?! Really?! This is so...so rare..."
"Shido's reaction makes me feel a little sorry for Tohka..."
Seeing that Rinne had misunderstood him, Shido quickly said that he didn't mean it that way, but then he quickly realized that there was something unusual about the matter.
If Yoshino is in any unusual condition, Tohka should also... no, if that happens, Kotori will take her with her!
Seeing that Shido seemed to have noticed something, Rinne immediately interrupted him:
"Ah, sit down, I'll get you breakfast."
"Ah, oh, thank you..."
Afterwards, Shido sat at the dining table, still filled with doubts about the situation of everyone in the family today.
Looking at the dining table, there was a whole breakfast that the girl had cooked for him, including salad, bacon, and miso soup, making Shido, who usually cooks, feel a little embarrassed.
While eating breakfast, he secretly observed Rinne without noticing anything... He even blushed without realizing it, feeling that this feeling of eating breakfast together was a long time ago, but unfortunately he couldn't think of any topics to talk about.
After Shido finished his last bite of food with satisfaction, he gently put down his chopsticks, stood up, and went to the entrance hall in front of the door first.
After tying her shoelaces, she looked at Rinne, who was still busy in the living room, and urged her as usual:
"Hey, it's time to head out, Rinne!"
"Okay, almost there, just a moment!"
The girl's slightly hurried reply echoed from the living room to the entryway.
"It's okay, there's still time, don't rush!"
A moment later, Rinne, having finished washing the dishes, pushed open the living room door and ran to Shido, who was already wearing his shoes.
"Okay, sorry to keep you waiting~ Where are we going?"
"Oh……"
Shido was slightly taken aback after hearing this. Wasn't he supposed to be learning online today? But he didn't pay much attention to it.
The two walked out of the house together, and just as Rinne closed the door, she suddenly realized that her key was missing!
Her heart raced instantly, and her mind raced through all the possible places where she might have put the key, but none of them gave her any idea of where it was.
Anxious and distraught, Rinne turned around without hesitation and rushed towards the door. Her hand trembled slightly as she gripped the doorknob, pushed hard, and quickly entered the house.
"Hmm...no, where did it fall?"
Shido helped her look through the files, but still found nothing. Seeing this, Rinne looked sad and lowered her head, looking at Shido with some guilt.
"I'm so sorry, Shido... It's all my fault for being so careless... You kindly made a key for me... but I..."
"No...it's okay! I actually feel quite relieved."
Shido offered words of comfort, but Rinne was clearly surprised to hear them.
"Relax...! Is this... irony?"
"Haha, no, no, it's just that you're always so perfect that I only just realized now that you can make mistakes too," Shido explained, scratching his head.
"...Now I've become unreliable?"
"No, that's not true. Rinne, you've already done so much, so please rely on me sometimes. That's why I really want to do something for you."
"Well, I see!"
Hearing Shido's encouragement, she felt much more at ease and recalled the scene of her getting up early to prepare a bento for Shido. Then she enjoyed a delicious breakfast with Shido.
After dinner, Shido waited in the entryway, while she cleared the table and washed the dishes by herself...
As her memories deepened, Rinne's thoughts gradually became clearer. She remembered that after washing the dishes, she went to the bathroom and seemed to have left the key somewhere at that time.
"Ah, could it be! Shido, you go out first!"
"Hey, Rinne!?"
Before Shido could even react, he was pushed out of the house.
Then Rinne quickly entered the bathroom, her eyes rapidly scanning every corner of the sink, mirror, and toilet. Finally, she spotted it on the edge of the sink and took out the key.
"Phew... Phew... Found him! Shido...!"
A happy Rinne, clutching her keys and panting, stepped out of the house, looking joyfully at Shido.
"…………"
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two strolled toward the school.
[The key was given to me by Shido... as a symbol that he considers me an important member of the family, so I absolutely cannot lose it, and I absolutely cannot give it to anyone else. Is thinking like this... a bit wishful thinking?]
For Rinne, it had the same meaning as the hairband Shido gave Kotori.
It's proof that we can get along like family.
[Another point is that this girl, who has been "acting" the whole time, lost something for the first time.]
At that moment, after Shido and Rinne left the Itsuka residence, a black butterfly flew out of the bathroom and then turned to ashes and disappeared.
"It's settled. Since acting won't work, why not just show him your most authentic self?"
Ming, observing all of this from a distant high-rise building, offered this assessment. Meanwhile, the thumb that had regenerated on his right hand felt nothing.
...Gurgle transition sound effect~
Ms. Kozuki talked to the students about spacequake prevention. When Tohka arrived at school earlier, she felt inexplicably jealous of herself. After the daily school life was over, the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.
After school, Shido was invited by Rinne to a deserted school corridor.
However, what was unexpected was that Rinne walked out of the school alone today, which was quite different from the girl who had just silently followed behind her before.
There was no memory of her actively seeking solitude in her earlier years.
However, Shido didn't think too much about it. After Rinne led him into the corridor, he was the first to ask:
"...Alright, what is it?"
"Uh... that... Shido..." Rinne's eyes hesitated, as if she were making an important decision. After thinking for a moment, her eyes gradually became firm. "...Would you like to go on a date with me?"
"Huh? This...this..."
Seeing Shido's shocked expression, Rinne tilted her head in confusion, "Seriously... what kind of expression is that?"
"No, because when I invited you before, you always..."
—That's right! No matter how I invited her before, she would immediately tell me to reschedule with someone else, or invite someone else to avoid being alone with just the two of us...
"Ah... what kind of wind is blowing here?"
Scratching his head, Shido, still somewhat confused, asked, but Rinne just laughed it off, saying something like, "Girls are naturally fickle."
"The change...it's happened way too fast!" That was all Shido could think to himself.
"So what then?"
"Huh? Ah, of course I have no reason to refuse."
Upon hearing Shido's answer, the girl's expression lit up with joy. "Really? That's wonderful!"
"Oh……"
The scene shifts, and just like that, Shido and Rinne's first real date begins!
In the commercial street of Tiangong City, a pink-haired girl held the hand of a blue-haired boy, searching around.
"Hmm...where is it...?"
"What's wrong? Rinne, what are you looking for?"
Rinne didn't answer Shido's question, but just smiled and said to herself, "Ah... um, wait a minute, I remember it's around here..."
Suddenly, a scenic spot caught Rinne's eye, and her eyes instantly lit up. "There it is! Shido, I want to eat that!"
Shido followed Rinne's gaze and saw that it was just a popsicle stand.
"Oh? It's a popsicle... You said before that we could eat delicious ice cream in the summer."
"Ok!"
Her eyes shone, and her tone began to become excited.
"Okay, I'll go buy it right away. What flavor do you want?"
"Oh, no, really no need."
Shido's steps, which were about to go buy an ice cream, came to an abrupt halt. He felt a sense of blow from what he had just heard, and thought to himself...
'There's no need to refuse so decisively...'
Rinne simply shook her head, indicating that she wanted to choose one herself.
"……May I?"
In Shido's eyes, her voice was very gentle, as if Shido himself could also pretend that nothing was wrong.
After regaining his composure, Shido agreed without hesitation, "Oh... then could you buy me one?"
"Yes, no problem!"
After Shido waited in place for 6 minutes~
"Sorry for taking so long..."
Rinne walked towards him with light steps, holding dozens of popsicles in her hand, like a nimble little deer.
"Wow, are there a lot of people? I've been waiting for so long..."
"Hey?!"
Shido exclaimed in shock as he looked at Rinne holding dozens of popsicles in her hand.
"Hehehe... It feels like there's so much here all at once..."
"This...this much...the two of us can't possibly finish it..."
Rinne blinked, then said awkwardly, "But since I've come all this way, I'd like to try a variety of flavors. Shido... Shido, you'll eat some for me, right?"
Shido smiled helplessly, "Well, since we're finally back, let's eat it before it melts."
"Th-thank you, then I'll do my best!"
"I feel like something's off about the part I'm trying to do..." Shido muttered unconsciously.
Before the popsicles melted, the two quickly went to the park, found a bench, and began to enjoy them.
The chirping of cicadas echoed through the summer woods, while two people sat on a bench enjoying popsicles, looking quite content.
"Ah, delicious! Summer is all about popsicles!"
Shido was happily chatting while chewing on a refreshing popsicle, then turned his gaze to Rinne next to him, who had already eaten countless popsicles. She was holding a popsicle that had melted on her hand and was eating it somewhat hastily.
"It's...it's cold, and it tastes good..."
The popsicle was stuffed into the girl's mouth, leaving her with no choice but to make chewing noises in this way.
"Hey! Rinne, the popsicle has melted!"
"Ugh...!" Despite Shido's reminder, she still put the popsicle in her mouth and managed to make a weak sound, "But...but there's nothing I can do..."
As Shido listened to Rinne's explanation, a sudden, sharp pain shot through his stomach.
He involuntarily bent over, clutching his stomach with both hands. The sudden pain left Shido somewhat at a loss.
Suddenly, he realized it might be because he had eaten too many popsicles.
"Ah, popsicles are the best, but eating too many will give you a stomachache..."
Shido clutched his stomach and muttered to himself. Suddenly, as if recalling something, his pupils contracted. He felt as if he had said those words not long ago.
Following his memories, Shido saw Rinne in front of him transform into Yoshino, who was staring blankly at him. Although it was only for a moment, it was incredibly clear.
"Ah! That was... Yoshino?!"