This School Festival was more than just a School Festival for Rikka and Yuta.
Toka was very happy, very happy that Rikka could mature and move on from her chunibyo. Yuta was also happy, happy that Rikka could return to normal, happy that Rikka could learn to grow.
Yes, Rikka had grown. She learned to face reality, learned to mature, learned to grow, and also learned to communicate normally with people...
So, what was the price?
Three weeks had passed in a flash. In these three weeks, Rikka, who had accepted reality after listening to Yuta, was actively learning how to communicate with people. Her teacher was Shinka Nibutani, who already had experience graduating from chunibyo and was also at the level of Rikka's mother.
In these three weeks, Rikka was still a bit unaccustomed to suddenly not wearing her eye patch. She was also actively adapting to a normal life. She had promised Yuta to move on from chunibyo. At first, she had to suppress herself to stop uttering chunibyo words, but she didn't give up. Her mother also moved in to live with Rikka. According to Yuta's observations, the two communicated quite well, and Rikka indeed didn't dislike her mother.
It seemed everything was moving in a good direction, but as the time for Toka's departure drew nearer, Rikka's mood began to worsen day by day.
Soon, no matter how reluctant Rikka was, time would not grant her any more. Toka still had to leave.
Rikka's mother happened to be out, so Toka called Yuta up to help her pack.
Toka, going abroad, only took one box of clothes and miscellaneous items. Everything else was left behind.
"Is that all you're taking?"
"I'm going to settle there after all, so it's cheaper to buy most things locally. Thanks for coming to help."
Toka pulled out a voice recorder from her pocket and pressed play. It contained Yuta's long-cherished dark past, which was also the leverage she held over him. Yuta hadn't expected Toka to still tease him when she was about to leave, but Toka wasn't doing it just to tease Yuta...
"This is a thank-you gift."
She tossed the voice recorder to Yuta, who hastily caught it. Before he could even look up, Toka hugged his head, pressing it against her chest for an embrace.
"There were some things I didn't say before, but I'll make up for it now... Thank you, Yuta. Thanks to you, I can embark on my journey with peace of mind. Truly... thank you very much."
Toka patted Yuta's head and released him. Yuta, who was single-mindedly devoted to Rikka, had no reaction. Instead, hearing the profound weight in Toka's words made his own mood somewhat...
Before Yuta could fully recover, Rikka walked out of her room, holding the item Toka had asked her to retrieve.
Rikka had been growing sadder each day, yet also more normal each day. Her present casual clothes were no longer Gothic, nor even her favorite black. She wore a khaki outfit with a long red skirt, looking like a pure and lovely younger sister. The beautiful clothes that would originally make Yuta blush, paired with Rikka's melancholic face, made Yuta feel a pang of heartache and loss.
"Sister..."
No longer Saint Healer, but Sister.
"Mom will be back soon..."
"No, if I wait any longer, I'll miss my flight. Please say goodbye to her for me."
Toka was quite decisive. In her opinion, there was nothing wrong with it, just a need for some time to adapt...
Looking at the crying Rikka, Toka walked over and hugged her. Toka had always loved Rikka, but was frustrated by Rikka's chunibyo, which prevented her from communicating with her. She had to maintain the image of an older sister to keep Rikka in check. Now... it was no longer necessary. Toka was simply a reliable, deeply loving older sister. Or rather, she had always been that way.
Since Toka had lived upstairs at Yuta's home for so long, now that she was leaving, the Togashi family naturally came out to see her off. The one who was most reluctant was the adorable Yumeha, as Toka always played house with her whenever she came.
The taxi arrived, and Toka had to go. Yumeha was incredibly reluctant, and so was Rikka.
"Bye-bye—"
Yumeha's soft, tearful voice was adorable, making Toka chuckle. But the next second...
"You have to let me see the baby."
Her words were startling, shocking Kuzuha and Yuta.
This was the benefit of playing ultra-realistic house, do you see?
Finally, she patted Yumeha's head, agreed to her cute request, said goodbye to everyone, and Toka looked at Rikka, whom she worried about the most.
"I'll email you, and you have to email me too."
Toka smiled and nodded, then got into the taxi and left. Even after the car turned a corner and disappeared, Rikka kept watching.
Yuta looked at Rikka... Yes, Rikka had grown, matured, could face reality well, and could communicate well with people. What was the price?
Yuta hadn't seen the light in Rikka's eyes for a long time.
...............
Rikka stood at Yuta's home. Since Toka left, she had been living with her mother. All in all... it wasn't bad.
Striving to become a normal person, it was already a routine for her to come and pick up Yuta for school every day.
Standing at the door, she tried to calm her breathing, recalling the communication knowledge Fang Wuwei had taught her. Rikka prepared herself before pressing the doorbell.
The present her was no longer the old chunibyo style. The white lace she had added to the hem of her skirt had been removed, and there were no more messy decorations on her clothes or hair. Even the unnecessary items on her school bag had all been taken off. Even the black knee-high socks she always wore had been replaced with the white ones required by the school. Without the eye patch, without chunibyo, Rikka looked completely like a cute high school girl.
"Good... good... good morning..."
"Good morning, Takanashi, I'll go call big brother now."
Kuzuha greeted Rikka with a smile. She was also getting ready for school but hadn't expected Rikka to be so diligent... She understood the relationship between her brother and Rikka, and she really liked Rikka.
"Th-that... um... please go call Yuta-kun."
Kuzuha paused, recalling that Rikka was currently undergoing [training to return to normal]. She didn't interrupt Rikka and gently smiled, agreeing again.
"Okay—"
As soon as Kuzuha agreed, in the back of the hallway, Fang Wuwei, wearing his school uniform and holding a toothbrush in his mouth, poked his head out from behind. He glanced at Rikka standing outside the door, greeted her, and then walked over and pulled Yuta over.
"You brat!"
"Alright, alright~ I'll leave in a bit. Someone's helping you wash dishes, and you're still not happy~?"
He pushed Yuta out of the house with one hand and closed the door under Yuta's angry gaze, making him grit his teeth. Wuwei really didn't treat himself as an outsider, staying here every other day. What was worse was that both Kuzuha and Yumeha, and even his mother, were on Wuwei's side!
Well... though he didn't dislike it himself...
But Rikka, looking at the eye patch on Fang Wuwei's right eye, recalled her glorious past, and her heart itched... Perhaps, only by going this far would Yuta also be happy...
— — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Come on!! Cheer for my Great Daddy!!!
Praise Great Daddy!!!!!!!!