"Aight, I'll be walking Shizuna home now."
"Okay~. Bye bye, Shizuna-chan."
"Yes, goodbye, Chisa-san."
Leaving Chisa in the room, Ryuichi took Shizuna outside.
"…I'm jealous."
"Of her staying over?"
"Yes. I want to stay with you, too…but we have school tomorrow."
Apparently, Shizuna was envious of Chisa who was staying over. Of course, she held back on account of the fact that they still had school tomorrow. As for Chisa, she had her university tomorrow too, but she had more time to work with since her lectures started later in the day than Ryuichi and Shizuna's.
"Oh, yeah. What were you guys talking about while I was in the bath?"
"Ah, well…"
Shizuna told him what she and Chisa had talked about. She said that Chisa'd told her she should attack Ryuichi with different versions of herself every once in a while to excite him, so she suggested that she try her hand at some gyaru-like fashion. Shizuna nodded her head eagerly, seemingly hoping that Ryuichi would be thrilled.
"Don't."
"Huh?"
"You're fine just the way you are."
Just as he'd said previously, Ryuichi now preferred a more quiet and docile look rather than a flashy and flamboyant one. While he considered the flamboyant Shizuna seen in the manga attractive in its own way, he still thought that her current pure and innocent appearance suited her better.
"I've already been dyed."
"The Shizuna you knew no longer exists, Sohei-kun."
"Fufu, my heart and body have been stolen by him."
Even now he could still recall the lewd and obscene Shizuna…and it wasn't bad at all. But that wasn't Shizuna. Well, it was Shizuna, but a Shizuna that was tainted with pleasure and the very embodiment of Ryuichi's desires.
"You prefer me the way I am now, Ryuichi-kun?"
"Yeah. Don't change into anything weird. You're totally likable as you are now."
"…I-I see ♪."
She smiled happily when he told her that he liked Shizuna just the way she was. She leaned toward Ryuichi and hugged his big, thick arms in her chest.
"But if you're only planning on temporarily becoming a gyaru for fun and not for reals, then I'm fine with it. Sounds like it'd be pretty interesting to see you different from usual."
"Ah, I see…"
Ryuichi nodded his head, thinking "Well, if it's just a temporary change, it's fine." However, no matter what kind of change of mind she had, he didn't want her to change from the Shizuna she was now. That's why he vowed to watch her closely to make sure that nothing would change.
…Ugh, who the hell do I think I am? Watching her closely from now on? I sound as if I'm her boyfriend or something, Ryuichi quietly laughed to himself. He'd accepted Shizuna's liking for him, but unfortunately he hadn't developed romantic feelings for her yet. He knew that their current relationship was wrong in the eyes of society, but since Shizuna herself was the one who wanted it, Ryuichi couldn't be faulted for simply following her wishes.
"By the way, Shizuna; do you know what gyarus are like?"
"…Totally~."
There were a fair number of gyarus, or showy girls if you will, in their class. So it seemed Shizuna was trying to become one of them, but apparently Shizuna's idea of gyarus was a bit dated.
"Totally…"
"Totally?"
"Totally rad!"
"..."
"D-Don't just stare at me!"
Ryuichi was taken aback when he heard her use a phrase that had been trendy twenty years ago. Seeing Shizuna's face turn red before his eyes, his shoulders trembled as he let out a laugh.
"That's definitely way too outdated, don't you think?"
"T-That's because hearing the term gyaru just didn't click in my mind. Ya get my drift?"
"…Pfft."
"Geez!"
Shizuna's cheeks puffed out as Ryuichi continued to laugh. She angrily growled, Grrrr, and went straight to bonking Ryuichi's chest over and over. It was a display of Shizuna's shame and anger, but it was just too cute a gesture.
"Well, just remember this. All I want to say is that you're fine just the way you are."
"…Okay."
Ryuichi's words seemed to have convinced her. They then started walking together through the dark streets. They were a bit too dark for a young girl like her to travel through safely, but Shizuna wasn't scared at all, partly because Ryuichi was by her side. In fact, she was looking up at Ryuichi's face, seemingly wholly unconcerned about the possibility of even encountering a criminal.
"…Hey, Ryuichi."
"Yeah?"
"There's a park here nearby. Could we stop by for a second?"
"Sure, I don't mind."
He nodded at Shizuna's words as he had no particular reason to refuse. He would be a little late in getting home, but he was sure Chisa wouldn't mind. Still, just in case, Ryuichi sent a message to Chisa informing her on his phone.
"Here we are."
The place Shizuna took him to was a relatively small place for a park. It only had swings and playground equipment in it, but of course there was no sign of anyone, so it was a very quiet place. Shizuna took Ryuichi by the hand and led them to the swings, where they both sat down together.
"So? Why are we here?"
He wondered if she just wanted to stay a little longer with him, but it seemed there was something else in addition to that. She seemed somewhat reluctant to open her mouth, which immediately clued Ryuichi in on the fact that it must've been something difficult to ask him.
"You can ask me anything. I'll answer your questions to a certain extent."
If Ryuichi was with any other woman, he wouldn't have gone this far. He said this because he was with Shizuna, and because they had become close enough to skip many steps in their relationship and jump straight into sex. Shizuna looked down for a moment, but then immediately locked eyes with Ryuichi.
"…I heard from Chisa-san…about your relationship with your family…so, umm…"
"Ah, so it's about that."
It seemed Shizuna wanted to know about Ryuichi's relationship with his family. He'd already told her that his parents had died, but not how they'd spent their lives together. For Ryuichi, it was something he didn't particularly want to be reminded of, but there was no point in fussing over it now since somebody else already knew about it, anyway.
"Well, mine's a bit more shitty than your average Joe. Still wanna hear it?"
"…I want to know more about you, Ryuichi-kun. No matter what it may be. Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, it's okay."
"That should be my line. I'm asking if you really want to hear a story that's not really nice or enjoyable to hear."
When he asked her that, Shizuna mumbled that she was okay. Ryuichi nodded and began to talk. He told her of his childhood when his father and mother did not love him, and after their deaths, his father's parents took him in but kept him away from them as if he were a tumor, which was why he lived alone now.
"..."
Just as Ryuichi had said, it was by no means an enjoyable story. Shizuna didn't seem to have regretted having heard it, but he could tell she was biting down on her lip, and quite painfully at that.
"Hey, hey, why're you doing that… Well, I guess this is just another form of your kindness, huh. Don't make that kind of face for this bastard's sob stories."
"You're not a bastard, Ryuichi-kun… You're definitely not a bastard!"
Shizuna's voice was loud as she denied him, shouting that he wasn't a good-for-nothing bastard. Her voice echoed loudly in the quietness of the park. Shizuna's eyes were serious as she looked at Ryuichi, whose eyes were wide in shock, which made it clear that she was serious about him.
"…You really are light itself. It feels like you'd be able to illuminate anything, no matter how dark it is. You're one hell of a girl, Shizuna."
"I just… I just want to be able to illuminate you, Ryuichi-kun. That's all that matters."
"You've illuminated me plenty enough. At least more than that dirty little street lamp over there that looks like it's going to break at any moment."
Ryuichi's gaze fell on a street lamp that was flickering, seemingly about to go out. Shizuna laughed at the simile, but quickly leaned in toward Ryuichi again.
"I'll say this again and again, Ryuichi-kun. I'll stay by your side for as long as I can. I want to be there for you, and I won't change my mind no matter what anyone says, because I've made that decision of my own volition."
"…I see."
"Yes! ♪"
Almost unconsciously, Ryuichi hugged Shizuna's body. Under the slightly chilly sky, the warmth of her body was comforting. This makes yet another thing she's found out about me, Ryuichi thought as he looked up at the starry sky.
"…But this isn't enough."
"Hmm?"
"I want to know more and more about you, Ryuichi-kun. So…!"
She backed away from Ryuichi and grinned and smiled as if she was scheming something. It was such a beautiful smile, but since he knew she was up to something, Ryuichi unfortunately couldn't admire it in full.
"I'll be getting involved with you much more from now on!"
"S-Sure…"
"Prepare yourself…okay?"
Her eyes seemed to show great determination and unbridled feelings for Ryuichi. Shizuna's vigor had initially caused Ryuichi to look dumbfounded as he replied, but then, grinning like Shizuna did earlier, Ryuichi uttered a suggestion.
"Shizuna, got any plans for the weekend?"
"No, why…?"
"Wanna go out somewhere?"
"Absolutely."
Her decision had come quickly, almost too quickly, but still they smiled at each other. Thus their plans for the weekend were set.