"Eh? You haven't seen this before?"
Okabe Rintaro was stunned.
In this day and age, there were still people who hadn't seen fireworks?
"Where? Where is it?" Like a child, Amane Suzuha looked around, her braided pigtails swaying with her movements.
"…" Okabe Rintaro gently raised a hand and pointed in a direction: "If you follow that road to the river, you should be able to see them."
"Thank you!" Amane Suzuha showed a big smile.
She took off running for a short distance, but then suddenly stopped and turned back.
Stopping just in front of Okabe, she grinned and pulled out her phone.
"Tell me your contact info," she said.
[I'm done for, I'm smitten]
[So cute, so cute, so cute, so cute——]
[So, did Suzuha say 'still' (return)?]
[Assistant doesn't know anything yet, but Okabe is warned to be careful of Assistant]
[Understood, Time Traveler]
[That attitude towards Assistant, not recognizing corn, never seeing fireworks, combined with John Titor's words, is she from a desperate utopia?]
[Don't analyze it so darkly, why can't it just be a chuunibyou feigning mystery]
[Her first reaction to seeing the helicopter couldn't possibly be chuunibyou, could it? Chuunibyou should be like Okabe, calling himself Kyouma, only pretending when there's an opportunity]
[So Okabe Rintaro! When did my Assistant become 'your Assistant'?]
[Starting to fantasize again, fantasizing about Assistant being held in his left arm, fantasizing about Suzuha being held in his right arm]
[Mom, I like this!]
Clogs, yukata… "A festival?" Makise Kurisu asked casually, looking at the attire of the passersby.
"It's a fireworks display, you know."
"Fireworks, huh." Makise Kurisu looked up.
"Want to go see them?" Mayuri leaned in and asked softly.
"Eh." The distance was a bit close.
Makise Kurisu couldn't meet Mayuri's gaze, instead subtly shifting her sight, then quietly said:
"Not really…"
Mayuri didn't press further, but turned her head.
Then, she saw her childhood friend's figure.
"Ah, Okabe!"
She ran over, letting out her signature greeting:
"tuturu."
"Going home?" Okabe Rintaro asked casually.
"Mm!"
Makise Kurisu slowly walked closer and asked casually:
"Did you find the parts?"
"They're all here." Okabe lifted the plastic bag in his hand.
"Is that so?" Makise Kurisu stopped in front of Okabe, maintaining a certain distance: "Then, a lot of experiments will start here next, won't they?"
Okabe Rintaro smiled, he grinned, and asked pompously:
"Are you interested?"
"You are, right?" Okabe lifted the bag, pressing on.
"Guh…" Makise Kurisu let out an unwilling sound.
She suddenly turned around, her back to avoid seeing Okabe's winking face: "Ah, that's enough, just a little bit is all!"
"But I'm not interested in absurd things like SERN's conspiracies."
"At most, I just want to confirm the truth." She sighed.
Shaking her head, she turned back again.
"I'm sorry," she said to Mayuri.
"What, what?" Mayuri adorably leaned forward a bit, her hands clasped behind her back swaying lightly.
Makise Kurisu said: "I'm still going back to the Laboratory."
She was apologizing for not seeing Mayuri home.
"I see, then Mayushii will go home." Mayuri expressed understanding.
"Mm."
Mayuri first turned around, then suddenly seemed to remember something and looked back.
"Kurisu-chan, you'll come again, right?" she asked cautiously.
Makise Kurisu smiled and nodded: "Mm, until I return to America, I'm a member of the Laboratory."
"Mm!" Mayuri nodded vigorously, immensely happy, then her body spun gracefully, waving her hand and saying: "Bye-bye~"
"…"
"What are you talking about?" Sighing, Okabe Rintaro walked closer and said: "It's natural for you to come to the Laboratory as Assistant, isn't it?"
Looking at the man in the white coat in front of her, Makise Kurisu let out a long, long sigh.
"I heard you two are childhood friends?"
"Even though you grew up in the same environment, why are you so lacking in social skills?"
Hearing this, Okabe Rintaro sighed again: "Because Mayuri was always a bit different from normal people."
Makise Kurisu couldn't take it anymore.
She suddenly turned her head and shouted:
"I'm talking about you!"
"Doo-doo-doo…"
Okabe Rintaro ignored Makise Kurisu and pulled out his phone.
It was a text from Suzuha.
'First message'
'Beyond imagination'
'Fireworks are amazing'
Looking at the text on his phone, Okabe Rintaro's ears seemed to echo with Suzuha's energetic voice.
He couldn't help but smile.
[tuturu ~]
[This Okabe guy, you can't give him an inch, give him an inch and he'll take a mile]
[Assistant is still too easily manipulated]
[Curiosity killed Makise Kurisu]
[Mayuri is so cute Mayuri is so cute Mayuri is so cute]
[I've fallen for someone else]
[Why can't I have them all?! I like Suzuha, Mayuri, and Assistant!]
[Okabe Rintaro! Severely lacking in social skills! Go reflect!]
[Kyouma really has no self-awareness]
[Okabe Rintaro looked at Suzuha's text message with a look of love (not)]
Pliers, screwdriver, nails, broken wire, and… a disassembled IBN5100.
Soft music played slowly, and Hashida Itaru sat on the floor, tinkering with the IBN5100.
Okabe Rintaro, on the other hand, sat like a boss in a nearby chair, arms crossed, watching him work like a supervisor.
"Since then, nothing…" Makise Kurisu muttered to herself nearby, then suddenly said: "Ah, can I borrow this?"
Although she spoke as if asking for permission, she didn't wait for the owner's response at all, simply and decisively lifting the white coat in her hand and neatly putting it on.
The surprisingly well-fitting white coat replaced her original attire. She looked at her current outfit and then let out a long breath:
"This really makes me feel at ease, the white coat."
Seeing this, Okabe Rintaro suddenly stood up from his seat, then darted in front of her and grabbed both her hands.
"I caught—"
"Kyaa—"
He showed an excited expression, then repeatedly said:
"My eyes weren't mistaken after all, you're the best!"
Makise Kurisu showed a slightly disgusted expression:
"What is it, so sudden, how gross."