"Wait a second."
Rin called out to stop Shinji.
"What now?"
"That is...," Rin mumbled, her hands clasped behind her back, fidgeting in place for a long time before finally, with a red face, she whispered, "Thank you."
"I didn't quite catch that. Can you speak up?"
"I said...," Rin's voice grew even softer, "Than—"
Before she could finish, she realized what was happening. Looking up with a flushed face, she glared at Shinji, who had a playful look on his face.
"You bastard!"
"Oh my, I never thought I'd hear such words from you," Shinji said, crossing his arms and giving a theatrical shiver. "It's even colder than all the bad jokes I've heard combined."
"Could you be any more annoying?!"
"Are you reflecting on yourself?"
"Just die already, you jerk!"
Fuming, Rin lunged at him.
As Rin pinned him down, clutching his clothes with gritted teeth, Shinji thought to himself: Does she not see me as a man at all?
Realizing her position, Rin quickly stopped and stared blankly at Shinji's strange expression.
"This time, I'll let you off," Rin said, turning her face away as she slowly got up, pretending not to care. "But next time, I won't be so lenient. Remember that."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
Shinji supported himself on the ground and slowly got up.
"And also, recently, if you don't have anything important to do, try not to go out at night."
"At night?" Shinji frowned but quickly understood. "Oh, it's about that war, right? Are you planning to participate?"
Rin didn't answer, but her silence was telling.
"I see. Got it. You should tell Sakura yourself; it's a good chance to get closer to her. See you."
As Shinji turned to leave, waving his hand, Rin suddenly felt that something was missing.
"Wait, don't you have anything else to say?"
Rin frowned, feeling a bit dissatisfied: He should at least tell me to stay safe or wish me luck from a friend's perspective, right?
"Anything else?" Shinji stopped and turned back, feigning confusion. After a moment of mock contemplation, he exclaimed, "Oh! Almost forgot! When you're fighting in that war, try to pick a spot far from my house. I'm a light sleeper, and even the slightest noise wakes me up. So, please, be considerate."
Hearing this, Rin's face darkened, and her eye began to twitch uncontrollably.
Just then, as Shinji was about to leave again, he added, "Oh, and don't worry about burial arrangements if you die. For Sakura's sake, I'll contact the funeral home. But I hope you'll pay me in advance. If you survive, I'll return the money. And rest assured, I won't overcharge."
"You bastard, you're doing this on purpose!" Rin exploded once again.
"And one more thing..." Shinji said as he opened the door to the rooftop, "Take care of yourself, you klutz who always messes up at critical moments."
Hearing this, Rin paused, thinking: How does he know I sometimes mess up at crucial times? Wait, is he actually worried about me?
Just as Shinji descended the stairs, he passed by three girls coming up. Without acknowledging them, he continued on his way.
Meanwhile, as Rin exited the rooftop and closed the door behind her, she froze at the sight of the three girls—her classmates—standing there.
Makidera Kaede, the short-haired girl with tan skin, glanced at the disappearing Shinji and then looked at Rin, her face slowly registering horror.
"Toh-Tohsaka Rin, are you skipping class to meet a guy on the rooftop?!"
"Makidera-san, you misunderstand. We just ran into each other," Rin quickly reverted to her usual top-student mode, smiling while internally cursing her timing.
If I had known this would happen, I should have waited a bit longer before coming down.
"That's enough!" Makidera pointed at Rin, her voice filled with anguish. "I'll never trust you again, Tohsaka Rin! Just go pursue your happiness selfishly!"
"Calm down, Maki," said Himuro Kane, the long-haired girl with glasses.
"Anyway, you've misunderstood," Rin said as she descended the stairs, "We were just talking because our families know each other, and the Matou family has had some issues recently. That's all. It's not what you think."
"I see," Saegusa Yukika, the cute brunette of the group, responded with a sweet smile.
Makidera immediately retorted, "Yukika, don't be so naive! There's definitely something between those two! I've known it for a long time!"
"There's really nothing," Rin insisted, still smiling gracefully.
After morning classes ended, it was lunchtime.
Students had an hour to eat or take a short nap.
Shirou spent his lunch breaks in the student council room.
Issei, having just finished his lunch, put down his tea and looked at Shirou, who was tinkering with something on the floor. "Shirou, if you don't eat your lunch, the break will be over."
"Almost done fixing this," Shirou replied without looking up.
"Issei!!"
With a shout, Shinji burst into the student council room, pulling the door open with a loud screech.
"How many times have I told you to knock before entering, Matou?" Issei turned to Shinji, speaking calmly.
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Shinji, holding his lunch box, walked in, his face full of irritation. "I've tolerated you cutting our anime club's budget to almost nothing to cooperate with you as a friend! I've tolerated you downgrading our club to a circle! I've tolerated you moving our activity location to a rundown classroom! But now you want us to share a room with the fortune-telling circle? What the hell? Are you inhuman?!"
"Matou, would you like me to show you the contraband I confiscated from your anime circle?" Issei responded slowly. "Not dissolving your circle altogether is already lenient."
"You...!" Shinji glared at Issei.
"Was it adult manga again?"
Shirou, standing up after finishing his repairs, asked.
"And adult games and magazines," Issei added.
Shirou sighed, "Shinji, I've told you not to bring that stuff to school."
…