The simulation ended.
After collecting his rewards,
Toru finally noticed a message from Ryo.
Ryo: You there? (15:23)
He had not replied for four hours. A bit embarrassing.
At least it was not left on read.
The LINE app had a feature that showed Read when the recipient opened the message.
This time he had not ghosted her, he had simply not seen it.
He typed into the chat box.
A few seconds later—
Toru: Ryo-chan, what's wrong?
One second later.
Toru: Ryo-chan, what's wrong? (Read)
Damn, that was fast.
How did this woman do that? She couldn't have been staring at his chat screen the whole time, could she?
…What a stalker. Scary.
(typing…)
Ryo: Are you free tomorrow? (Read)
Toru: If it's you, Ryo-chan, I'm free. (Read)
Ryo: Toru kun, love you. [blush.jpg] [kiss.gif] [heart.gif] (Read)
Three stickers in one go.
This woman really understood how to chat.
(typing…)
Ryo: I accidentally bought an extra movie ticket. Will you go with me? (Read)
Toru: What's the title? (Read)
Ryo: Haven't decided yet. (Read)
Toru: …?
An extra ticket without a decided title?
This time, Miss Ryo took her time replying.
Two whole minutes passed.
Toru: …? (Read)
Ryo: Hotarubi no Mori e, a romance film. I want to watch it with you. (Read)
Toru: OK (Read)
Ryo: Toru kun, what were you doing this afternoon? Why didn't you reply to me. (Read)
There it was.
The classic girlfriend interrogation scene.
But before he finished typing a single sentence, Toru snapped back to reality.
Wait, no, we aren't even dating yet, so why am I panicking?
He calmed down and replied.
Toru: I was taking a nap and my phone was charging. (Read)
Ryo: Fine, I'll forgive you this time. (Read)
Hm…?
Forgive?
She wasn't even his girlfriend yet, but she dared to speak like that.
What would she be like after they started dating… Toru did not even want to imagine it.
He held his phone at a distance, baffled by how Ryo managed to naturally slip into the girlfriend role.
(typing…)
Ryo: Tomorrow at 9 in the morning, meet me at the mall entrance. Don't be late. (Read)
Toru: Got it.
————
The next day.
At the entrance of a large shopping mall.
It was summer, unbearably hot.
Toru wore a short sleeve shirt and arrived half an hour early.
After waiting for some time, the one who told him not to be late, Yamada Ryo, became the one who arrived late instead.
Five more minutes passed.
Ryo finally walked over from a distance, wearing long sleeves and long pants. Amid the crowd, she stood out sharply.
If the passersby were stars, then Miss Ryo was undoubtedly the moon.
Toru found it hard to take his eyes off her.
When she drew close, he didn't ask why she was late. He noticed she had applied light makeup and dressed with particular care.
That took time.
"The movie doesn't start for a few hours. Where do we go first?"
"The arcade."
Ryo spoke, quietly looping her arm around his.
They walked into the air conditioned mall.
It was summer break, and countless student couples were wandering around the mall together. Sweetness filled the air. Toru and Ryo blended into the crowd without the slightest mismatch.
Entering the bustling arcade,
Toru and Ryo played the claw machine, the basketball machine, and versus arcade games.
Naturally, he paid for everything.
Ryo's job today was to be beautiful. His job was to pay.
If you wanted to go out with Miss Ryo and expect to split the bill, that was impossible.
"Toru kun, after the movie, can I go to your house?"
At that moment, the flawless Ryo finally exposed a crack. Her real goal today was Toru's house.
The movie, the arcade... pure distractions.
Up to now, none of the members of the band had set foot in that untouched territory.
Ryo intended to explore Toru's virgin… territory.
"Would your parents mind?"
"They won't."
Her parents never restricted her.
Toru was about to reply when he caught a glimpse of a familiar red haired figure outside the arcade.
Their eyes met.
A short distance away, Kita Ikuyo tilted her head.
"Toru-kun? And Ryo-senpai?"
Japan was really small.
You always met acquaintances on the street.
The next instant,
Ryo, without changing expression, quietly let go of Toru's hand.
Ikuyo, please don't ruin this for me.
"What a coincidence, meeting you here."
The cheerful and innocent Kita Ikuyo had no idea at all...
of the murderous aura dripping from Miss Ryo beside her,
or of those eyes looking at her like she was already a corpse.
Ikuyo, people say better to destroy ten temples than ruin one marriage.
You're breaking the rules.
I even let you have my husband in the last simulation, allowed you to be the lover.
And this is how you repay me?
"Ryo-senpai, are you two shopping together?"
"Yeah."
"That's too bad. I've got something else to do, so I can't join you."
After a short chat,
Kita Ikuyo walked away.
————
They had cake at a café for lunch.
In the afternoon, they prepared to watch the movie.
Hotarubi no Mori e told the story of an ordinary girl who encountered a supernatural boy, fell in love, and ultimately had to part ways.
It seemed like it might hurt.
They bought popcorn and two drinks, and Toru followed Ryo into the theater.
————
Elsewhere.
Kita Ikuyo sat at another café near the cinema, chatting with a friend, and she saw them walking into the theater hand in hand.
They were on a date, weren't they?
She guessed it at the arcade, but had not been certain.
To avoid troubling Ryo senpai, the gentle Kita Ikuyo chose not to say anything.
If things continued like this, Ryo-senpai would probably become Toru-kun's girlfriend.
That was wonderful.
Kita Ikuyo remembered when she invited Toru-kun on a date last time and how he gently declined. She didn't know what to do with the memory.
This love story had barely reached halfway,
but she had already lost.
She wasn't even given the chance to appear before being excluded by the boy she liked.
But I like him too.
So why was Ryo-senpai allowed to be special?
Was she… lacking somehow?
Kita Ikuyo couldn't help doubting herself.
If they compared pure affection for Toru, Kita Ikuyo believed she wasn't any weaker than Ryo.
So what exactly made Toru dislike her?
In the next simulation,
Kita Ikuyo planned to find out.