Without Totsuka, Rikka was all alone. It wasn't easy for her to stick close to Yuta at school, Nibutani had her own friends and things to do, and Ikenouchi... she wasn't close with her... Rikka needed new friends.
This was Nibutani's teaching, and also what Rikka herself wanted to do. Rikka was never a reclusive child; she was just lonely.
Rikka, determined to live a good life, decided to start by making friends...
She stood up and walked towards the small group of people two tables behind her. This action caused the small group to quiet down, looking somewhat confused.
"Takanashi?"
"What's wrong?"
Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Rikka's small face flushed slightly as she bowed to them...
"Please, be my friend..."
The classroom instantly fell silent.
In fact, they had all witnessed Rikka's behavior over the past three weeks—her sudden change, her sudden lack of chuunibyou, her sudden maturity. They had all seen it.
However... she seemed a bit too mature, but they didn't mind.
The small group, led by Yuzuki Mube, exchanged glances and smiled slightly, accepting Rikka's request, which didn't need to be so formal.
"Our pleasure!"
The entire class also began to applaud Rikka. They had all seen Rikka's old self, and to see her transform and grow like this now... they felt deeply relieved.
Everyone was so kind.
Rikka, looking around, was a little bewildered. She hadn't expected it to turn out this way, for her classmates to be so enthusiastic.
"It feels like a confession scene; it even made my heart race a bit!"
"Yeah, yeah, me too."
Rikka was surrounded by Yuzuki Mube and the others. Still unaccustomed to socializing, Rikka fidgeted with her hands, a little flustered, smiling as she accepted their kindness, but her eyes frequently darted towards Yuta not far away.
Did you see? I can do it.
Yuta was even more relieved to see Rikka learning to socialize. He was very happy that Rikka could emerge from her chuunibyou.
On the other hand, Nibutani noticed something amiss. With her delicate mind, she felt Rikka was very off, extremely off, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong... She just felt that Rikka didn't seem quite like Rikka anymore, no longer possessing that innocent cuteness, nor that youthful vigor and vitality.
This matter, she feared, had something to do with both her and Yuta. She decided to talk to Yuta about it.
So, while they were assigned to organize books in the library during lunch, Nibutani glanced at Yuta, who seemed to have no reaction, and finally spoke.
"Don't you regret it?"
"Regret what?"
Yuta understood what Fang Wuwei was referring to, but sometimes it was better to play dumb.
"About Takanashi."
"Why would I regret it?"
"...No, nothing!"
Seeing that Yuta, her boyfriend, didn't seem to feel anything, Nibutani also felt she was overthinking. She didn't think graduating from chuunibyou was a bad thing; perhaps Rikka just needed time to adjust.
Yuta was also quite happy. Although he loved Rikka, he also hoped Rikka could become better, so that the two of them could last longer.
"Rikka isn't doing chuunibyou anymore, Toka doesn't have to worry about her, she can get along well with her mother. It's all good with no downsides, so why should I regret it?"
"...Yes."
"...It must be..."
"...Is that so."
In fact, both of them understood that this was wrong, but they had no way to change her, because this was reality...
After finishing everything, Yuta stood looking at Rikka, who was already familiar with her new friends in the classroom. At this moment, she was sitting at a table with Yuzuki Mube and others, chatting happily...
Why, when Rikka had clearly become better, was his heart so empty?
Did I, in the end, do the right thing...
Rikka's surroundings became increasingly bustling, but her heart was long since desolate...
............
Inside Club, Totsuka, filled with sorrow, leaned by the window, letting her two whips dance in the wind outside the window, looking adorable.
"The wind is blowing, Totsuka is wavering... To the right, to the left, bitterly missing her Master..."
Totsuka, wailing by the window, didn't notice Fang Wuwei, Isshiki Makoto, and Ikenouchi Maki walking in behind her until the three of them greeted her.
Totsuka didn't care about these things; she only cared about one...
"Master!"
Seeing Rikka walk in behind Fang Wuwei, Totsuka's eyes immediately lit up.
"Master! I've been waiting for you for so long, death!"
Rikka saw Totsuka and hesitated. She wasn't here to play with Totsuka this time.
"Totsu... Sanae..."
"I have a major discovery today, specially came to report, death!"
Totsuka no longer cared that Rikka called her Sanae. She skipped over, believing she could definitely bring her Master back to her peak and free her from the demon controlling her.
Kneeling on the ground, Totsuka poured dozens of oddly shaped colorful stones from her small purse onto the center of the LED light magic circle carpet. These stones were naturally shaped, translucent in color, and even a little sparkly... These were Rikka's favorite magic stones.
They were also the result of Totsuka's efforts last night.
Seeing these beautiful little stones, Rikka couldn't hide her excitement. She sat on the ground, picked up a small stone, held it up to her eyes, and examined it closely with a face full of excitement.
This was the first time in days that light was seen in Rikka's eyes.
Seeing Rikka interested, Totsuka was even more excited than Rikka. Heaven knew how much effort she had put into gathering this bag! But... to awaken her Master, it was all worth it!!
"Master! Which one to choose? Which one to choose?"
Totsuka's expression was filled with excitement. Only in this moment did she feel that familiar sensation from Rikka...
But the light in Rikka's eyes quickly disappeared. She had already decided to be an ordinary person and could no longer indulge in these... abnormal things. Magic stones... were abnormal.
Rikka was already living within boundaries.
As Totsuka's (former) Master, she naturally knew how hard these things were to find. She was very touched in her heart and subconsciously called Totsuka by her surname instead of Sanae.
This made Totsuka misunderstand even more. She truly believed her Master had returned. In her excitement, she prepared to show Rikka how much magic power these magic stones she collected contained.
With a face full of excitement, she crawled over and flipped the switch. Blue light illuminated from the carpet's light tubes, shining on the pile of sparkling small stones, which then refracted the light again in the carpet's glow, appearing even more beautiful.
Rikka was inevitably a bit excited, but soon that excitement was suppressed again.
"Master! These are all magic stones with Level 1 magic power, death! If Master likes them, take them all, death! This is what a servant should do, death!"
Looking at Totsuka, who was still excited, Fang Wuwei and Isshiki Makoto felt a little heartache, and Nibutani felt a dull ache in her heart... What was to come would probably be a bit cruel.
"Totsuka... I have something to tell you... something very important..."
"Master! Is the management bureau again..."
"No..."
Totsuka was very excited. Her Master had already called her Totsuka, which meant her Master must have escaped the demon's control, which meant she had succeeded, and then her Master... would return to her side!
But the next sentence struck Totsuka, who was still in heaven, back down to hell.
"This society... no, this association... is disbanding today..."
The blue magic circle light still shone beneath her, but Totsuka's heart instantly plunged into darkness.