'What exactly was this situation?'
Takumi looked at the girl quietly walking beside him.
Her brownish-purple eyes—brilliant like gemstones—looked so captivating he felt as if his consciousness might be drawn into them.
Her fair skin, and her slender, graceful figure. Although the "front armor" was a bit lacking, her overall proportions were absolutely excellent.
And despite often saying the opposite of what she felt, she was someone who genuinely treated others sincerely, someone whose personality had the charm of a little angel who truly cared about others.
This was Shijō Maki—the girl who attracted Takumi, the girl he was fascinated with.
At this moment, walking right beside him, stepping forward together with him, was Shijō Maki.
"Hey… are you really going to stay quiet the whole way like this?"
Then those dazzling eyes looked his way, her brow lifting slightly as her tone turned displeased.
"A girl is walking with you, and you just keep silent the whole time. That's very bad behavior, you know."
"Where are we going? What are we doing? Do you not have even a basic plan or at least something you want to do on the way?"
"Surely you don't expect me to decide everything, right?"
With that, Maki crossed her arms, looking at Takumi with an unfriendly glare.
The bustling street was filled with pedestrians coming and going.
Sunlight fell over them, glinting off the glass of the skyscrapers just enough to be dazzling.
Facing Maki's gaze with a smile, Takumi raised his hand to his chin and put on a deliberately thoughtful expression.
"First, we should consider two possibilities. One is that it really is a well-ordered players' market, in which case as long as we bring Obsession Items, there shouldn't be much of a problem. The other is that the order in that players' market is poor, and it might even be very dangerous for newbie players like us, so we have to be properly prepared. On that point, I think we can use Tanaka and that traitor woman as a comparison; the two of them probably aren't weak within the player group."
"Yeah, mainly Tanaka. That man looked down on newcomers like us, was arrogant, and he had many Obsession Items, plus guns and explosives. I think he must have some reputation among the player crowd, so unless it's necessary, we should avoid taking out his Obsession Items as much as possible—hers too. From that angle, for the sake of concealment and safety, the only Obsession Item we can reasonably bring out is the Rescue Team badge."
"As for guns, I checked yesterday. Tanaka's gun is a standard-issue model and hasn't been privately modified, so we can bring it without worry. Players might be able to use Obsession Items to pull off all kinds of bizarre tricks, but there still shouldn't be many people who are immune to gunfire. Even so, one gun probably isn't enough. Maki, do you know any way we could get more guns?"
After thinking it over seriously, Takumi analyzed things and asked the girl beside him as the two of them gradually walked toward a quieter street, avoiding anyone overhearing their conversation.
"Guns, huh… I know an aunt who has a pretty good relationship with the Self-Defense Forces, so she should be able to find a way to get us some, and even free up a training ground so we can practice. But weapons like that are mainly for dealing with players. When it comes to Horror Stories, they're completely useless."
Seeing Takumi get serious, Maki also nodded lightly and spoke just as seriously.
But when she lifted her head again, she saw Takumi holding out an ice cream to her.
"Talk while you eat."
Takumi smiled at Maki as he spoke.
"Mm, thanks…"
She kind of wanted to give her usual tsundere response, but with the ice cream already right in front of her, Maki just moved her lips, then ended up quietly thanking him, took the ice cream, and began eating it in small bites.
Then the two of them walked into the mall.
At Takumi's insistence, they bought some mountaineering gear and outdoor survival equipment, such as knee pads, helmets, safety ropes, and simple tents.
Although the first game had taken place inside an apartment, in the end they had been forced to flee across a stretch of pothole-ridden ruins. Back then both Takumi and Maki had been scraped and bruised in many places and had fallen quite a few times, so equipment that could protect them while handling complicated terrain was naturally extremely important.
However, because they ended up buying too many things, even Takumi—whose physical abilities had already reached a superhuman level—really couldn't carry all of it. So, unable to watch any longer, Maki asked for his home address and told someone to pack everything up and deliver it directly to Takumi's house.
"Acting like an idiot… Even something this simple needs me to help you. Can you even manage on your own?"
Maki poked Takumi in the waist as she teased him.
"That's exactly why I need your help. If something comes up that I can't handle, I can just ask you for help, right?"
Takumi looked back and smiled as he said this—and at that moment, the pedestrian light in front of them turned green.
So Takumi reached out, and very naturally, he grabbed the hand Maki had poked him with—before she had time to pull it back.
"Ah—!"
A shy little gasp rang out beside him.
She didn't pull away.
With her hand held by Takumi, the girl lowered her head and followed him obediently across the crosswalk to the opposite side of the street.
But the moment they finished crossing and Takumi's grip loosened just a little, Maki instantly pulled her hand back. Her head dipped even lower, her ears turning completely red as she mumbled "mm-mm" under her breath for quite a while. In the end she didn't say anything—she simply kept walking forward.
"Pfft—"
Takumi finally couldn't hold it in and let out a laugh.
"Wh-what?! Pulling that kind of sneak attack… You're seriously awful. Can't you at least give me a little warning?"
Hearing him laugh, Maki lifted her head, baring her sharp little canine tooth in irritation.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just… that reaction was too cute—I couldn't help it. So, since you need some preparation…"
Takumi did his best to suppress his smile, gave an exaggeratedly sloppy bow, and extended a hand toward her.
"…may I have the honor of walking hand-in-hand with the lovely Maki-ojō-sama?"
"Hmph, no way. You pulled a sneak attack, so even if you try flattering me now, I'm not accepting it."
Predictably, the still-flustered girl rejected him without hesitation—and immediately turned away.
But after taking a few steps and noticing Takumi lagging behind again, she turned back with a dissatisfied look.
"Hurry up already—why are you dragging your feet?"
She waited there until he caught up, then only continued moving once he was beside her, keeping pace with him.
"Is there anywhere you want to go?"
Takumi noticed that Maki was clearly walking with a purpose toward a certain direction, so he spoke up to ask.
"Buying a phone. My phone was left in that apartment, and yesterday I used my backup phone to call. That backup phone only has basic calling functions, so it's still better to use a smartphone for everyday stuff."
Maki said this as if it were perfectly natural, then directly pulled Takumi into a phone store, picked out a smartphone costing nearly 200,000 yen, and walked straight out again.
Coming out of the store, the two of them continued strolling forward.
They walked side by side like two friends, though for friends, the distance between them seemed a bit too close.
But if they weren't friends—if they were to be seen as a couple—then they were still too hesitant to even hold hands, so it didn't really count as being a couple either.
"Here, this is for you. Consider it my treat."
Handing Takumi a cup of steaming hot milk tea, Maki's face carried a hint of pride.
"Thank you very much, Maki-ojō-sama."
Takumi accepted the milk tea and downed it in one gulp, making the girl frown and mutter "Were you really that thirsty?" before continuing to lead him forward.
The two crossed the overpass, and Maki stopped here, asking Takumi to cooperate with her so she could take a photo of the two of them with their backs to the sky.
Then, after passing an arcade, Takumi and Maki went in together for a round of games, and walked out shoulder to shoulder again.
"Your house is around here, isn't it?"
After walking around a bit, Maki looked around, noticed a nearby residential area, then examined the street name more carefully. Suddenly she turned her head and asked Takumi, who was right beside her.
"Oh? You already investigated me?"
Takumi raised an eyebrow and stopped walking. Realizing the hidden implication in her words, he asked back.
"I didn't. I don't have some all-knowing, almighty maid. But Oba-san did look into it, and she shared the information with me. Well, from how you interacted with her at the apartment, you should already know she's very suspicious by nature and doesn't trust others easily. It's rude, I know, but I hope you can understand. If you want, I can talk to her and have her apologize to you?"
Knowing that revealing this was somewhat embarrassing, Maki showed an apologetic expression. It seemed this matter genuinely troubled her.
"It's not that. I already knew I would be investigated once I went out. But I am curious about what results you got from investigating me."
Takumi didn't mind at all. Given how he had behaved in the Shirakawa Apartments, plus their current status as companions, Shinomiya Kaguya would definitely investigate him. After all, in the original story, that woman would investigate every friend around her—deliberately spreading all kinds of private information about them, then finding someone to test whether they would leak it, using that to judge whether they were worth befriending. And honestly, he really was curious about what Kaguya could dig up. After all, the "Takumi" of this world was also someone unfamiliar to him.
If she could find anything inconsistent, perhaps he could better judge his own situation. But that depended on whether Maki was actually willing to tell him everything about it.
"Basically nothing. Your parents died early, and after graduating high school, you just stayed at home. Other than that, there's almost no information at all. No record of you going anywhere, no message logs on any social media account. As for your former classmates, it's impossible to ask them in just one day, but I highly doubt she'd get anything out of them anyway. How should I put it? You're like an air-person — until the Sacrifice Game began, you had no presence whatsoever. Only your occasional purchases of discounted and popular games can prove you even existed. Right now Oba-san has no choice but to trust you begrudgingly, but from now on, I suspect her guard against you will only grow stronger. You're just way too abnormal."
Maki's honesty at this moment did surprise Takumi a little.
"Since you know I'm suspicious, why are you still willing to trust me? Why tell me these things on your own? Why go on a date with me?"
He was so surprised that he couldn't help but ask. He wanted to hear the girl's answer.
"Instinct, I guess."
Maki blinked, thought for a moment, and then gave a crisp, straightforward answer.
"I can't really explain it clearly… but back in the Shirakawa Apartments, we supported each other all the way through."
"I think that no matter what, you're definitely not a bad person. You're someone who can be trusted — a comrade who can fight side by side with me. I'm willing to believe that. I'll also do my best to persuade Oba-san to sincerely trust you and to let go of her wariness. And I hope you won't hold too much of a grudge against her. For someone who grew up in an environment as twisted as the Shinomiya household, wanting to change is very difficult."
"And also, I'm not on a date with you! Don't talk like we're suddenly boyfriend and girlfriend — don't you dare start overstepping like that out of nowhere!"
The girl's sincere voice as she earnestly explained herself, and then her flustered, angry voice when she realized the trap hidden in Takumi's last sentence, intertwined at that moment.
Takumi couldn't help but laugh again.
He laughed out of genuine joy — for Maki's adorable reaction in front of him, and for the sincere heart she was showing him.
Falling into this Horror Story rule game had been painful and extremely hard. But with a girl like this who was willing to believe him and stand by his side, Takumi felt that maybe things weren't as unbearable as they seemed.
[Drip—]
As he was thinking this, a raindrop fell on the tip of his nose.
"Hm?"
Takumi lifted his head and saw the sky growing heavy and dark, and the rain quickly turning into a downpour.
[Splash—]
A brief, torrential rain soaked the two of them before they had time to find shelter.
[Splash—]
Under the curtain of rain, pedestrians hurried to avoid it, cursing this sudden bout of terrible weather.
And two figures ran quickly through the rain, disappearing at the street corner, entering the residential area from the commercial street.
[Creak—]
The door slowly opened.
[Drip— drip—]
Their soaked clothes were removed and hung on a chair.
"Do you want to take a shower? The bathroom is right here, though there's no bathtub."
"Oh… o-okay. Just a quick rinse won't need a bathtub anyway."
After a few brief exchanges, Takumi dried the water off his body, towel-dried his hair, and changed into clean clothes. Then he sat down on the living room sofa, listening to the sound of rushing water from the bathroom. His gaze drifted for a moment.
Strange… what was with this ominous atmosphere?
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