Marriage.
It's the ultimate wish for many terminally ill patients. Like Yui, many keep diaries of dreams they want to fulfill before they die: performing a Mascherano backheel pass, hitting a baseball home run, dribbling past five players, stepping onto the martial arts stage...
Okay, those are Yui's dreams.
Therefore...
Yui held up two fingers, separating them to make a peace sign. "Hehe! You have to broaden your horizons! It's a wish, so shouldn't we be a little greedy?"
Yuki quickly waved her hands. "Marriage? I definitely can't do that!" Dating was acceptable, but marriage was too selfish given her illness.
Yui snuggled into Yuki's shoulder and whispered:
"Then... let shaka and I get married, okay?"
"Ugh!!" Yuki jerked, then lowered her head thoughtfully.
"If shaka is willing..."
"Huh?"
Yui was surprised when Yuki gave a surprisingly receptive answer. Yui seemed to understand, grinning, "Hey, Shaka, marry me in the game!"
"No." Shaka refused, crossing his arms.
"Huh? Why?! Getting married in a game is normal! Don't you want a cute, lively girlfriend? Say something, Kuno Yaro!" Yui pouted in dissatisfaction.
No, I'm always uncomfortable with your 'anything goes' attitude... Shaka placed his hands on his hips and scolded:
"At least find someone you like."
"Eh~ Isn't Yui-nyan cute? Anyway, it's all fake, so I'll just fulfill my wish!" Yui clenched her fists and stood on tiptoe, complaining!
"It's not cute when you try to be cute in a malicious way."
"Oh, really?"
Yui coughed, then looked serious, raising a cat-like fist to try being cute again. "Yui meow~"
Shaka pushed Yui's face away. "Stop it! You're even more disgusting than that 'Little Windmill Whoosh' now. You've ruined your character!"
"Oh, how cunning!"
Yuki interrupted the playful fight. The surrounding crowd had dispersed, and Kaori Miyazono, carrying her violin case, approached them:
"We should go. We need to find Kanade who knows where that child has been kidnapped?"
Yui's eyes widened. "Right! Kanade skipped the performance!"
The band originally had four members, and an electronic keyboard sat in the corner, along with a magic stone amplifier.
Shaka asked, "Did she say anything about what she was doing before you met?"
Yuki rested her chin on her hand. "Said we needed to go to class?"
"Pharmaceutics?"
"Right!"
Shaka considered this. "Then she'll be at the Deankat Familia. I heard they're holding entrance exams today. Or maybe the Mih Familia..."
The Mih Familia seemed burdened with debt lately. Did they have resources to recruit students?
"Two places? Let's split up then," Kaori suggested.
"Huh?"
"More efficient, right?" Kaori pulled Yui along, winking at Yuki, and headed toward Northwest Street.
Yuki blushed, glanced at Shaka furtively, and fiddled with her fingers.
"Let's go too. The Mih Familia should be on West Street. But first, I need to return these ingredients." Shaka took Yuki's hand and slowly walked away.
...
Behind the houses near the central square:
"Hey, did you hear? They said your 'work' is getting in the way."
"What?"
"A date, a date," Asfi said, pushing up her glasses with longing. "Becoming his Cinderella, your junior is quite something..."
Liu turned her head and snorted coldly. "Smooth talker, nothing like Alise."
"No, no." Asfi wiggled her finger, recalling, "Alise often said beautiful things too. The only difference is gender."
"Hmph."
Asfi revealed her cat-like lips and chuckled, "So, are you going back to replace him? You've fulfilled my request, haven't you?"
"Mind your business!" Ryu kicked Asfi, angrily threw down her mask, and went back.
"Hmph, you're just saying one thing and meaning another."
...
West Street, [Hostess of Fertility].
The shop was close to the Tower of Babel; they arrived in minutes.
"Oh, redhead, you're finally back, meow!"
Anya greeted them, standing at the door soliciting customers. Maintaining her innocent liveliness, she urged passing adventurers to dine, only remarking to Shaka casually:
"Ryu's back, meow!"
"Oh?" Shaka's face lit up.
Good, you're back! I don't want to wash dishes again, and I'm very busy too.
Telling Yuki to wait, Shaka entered the kitchen, bent down, and put down the ingredients.
Then, he saw a pair of round, firm thighs above high-top combat boots, and green super short shorts that looked like a bikini. Shaka swallowed.
Are all elves this open-minded?
Looking up, he saw blue eyes, pointed elf ears, and short green hair. Her appearance was typically elven pure and aloof, exuding indifference to worldly affairs.
"Hello?" Shaka asked.
The elf crossed her arms, looking down. "This is our first meeting. I'm Ryu Lion. You've heard of me."
"Ah!" Shaka acted surprised, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Wait,I heard that the senior who got 'lost' had blonde hair."
Ryu looked away. "My hair is dyed for various reasons."
"Really?" Shaka asked with a strange expression. Patting her shoulder, he teased, "Senior, you can't dye your hair this color no wonder you got NTR'd by some blonde in the future!"
She's naturally blonde and always says "Hill, I'm sorry." Why choose to be the victim?
"Sigh~" Shaka shook his head regretfully.
Ryu glanced at Shaka's hand on her shoulder, surprisingly unbothered. Perhaps his similarity to Alise made her immune to such basic contact. If it were Alise, she'd probably touch her butt.
Besides...
She was bothered by shaka's description...
"What do you mean... 'lost'?" Ryu asked calmly.