He even started to ponder whether to make curry or hamburg steak for dinner... However, this brief tranquility was abruptly shattered a few minutes later.
"—Shido!"
A clear, slightly displeased female voice rang out.
Shido's body stiffened; this voice... He slowly turned his head, only to see a girl with night-dark hair, clad in a magnificently ornate amethyst-like dress, standing gracefully not far away.
Completely out of place among the passersby in their everyday clothes, like a princess stepping out of another world, it was Tohka!
"You were the one who asked me out, right, Shido?"
Tohka stood with her hands on her hips, her purple eyes fixed on him, her tone certain, "That's right, you said something about a date."
"You... you still remember...?"
Shido felt his scalp tingle, and cold sweat instantly broke out. He subconsciously glanced at Koushi and Hiroto beside him.
Koushi was looking at him with a subtle expression of "Oh ho~?"
And Hiroto's face was a mix of shock and gossip, thinking, "Shido, when did you meet such a cute girl?!"
"Hmm? What is it, are you playing a trick on me?"
Tohka's brows furrowed, and the surrounding air seemed to grow heavier.
"No, it's not like that..." Shido waved his hands frantically, his brain racing to think of an explanation.
"—Hmph, never mind." Tohka, surprisingly, gave up on pressing the matter, but her next words almost made Shido jump.
"Shido, the important thing is to hurry up and go on a date. Date, date, date, date!"
She repeated the word like an incantation, her face brimming with pure anticipation and excitement.
It's over!
Shido wailed inwardly.
He whipped his head around, and sure enough, met the wide, round eyes of Koushi and Tonomachi Hiroto. Their gazes were filled with shock, scrutiny, and a strange light that said, "You sly dog."
"Um... Koushi! Hiroto! Today... today is it! I suddenly remembered I have something very important, very urgent to do! I'm leaving first!"
Shido stammered his explanation, no longer caring about the groceries, and grabbed Tohka's wrist. The touch was cool and soft. Amidst Tohka's questioning "Eh? Where are we going?" he practically fled in a panic, pulling her away and quickly disappearing around the street corner.
Tohka, being dragged by Shido, after an initial moment of surprise, felt the force on her wrist and the boy's hurried breathing. A hint of confusion flashed in her purple eyes, but more than that, there was a novel, indescribable emotion.
She looked at Shido's anxious profile and did not pull away; instead, she ran with him.
Left behind were Koushi and Tonomachi Hiroto, like two petrified statues.
A gentle breeze blew by, scattering a few fallen leaves.
The two slowly, and in perfect synchronicity, turned their heads to face each other.
Koushi (expressionless): "Ah, is that it?"
Tonomachi Hiroto (equally expressionless): "Hmm, it must be that. If not that, then that."
The two exchanged glances, followed by a brief silence.
The next second, their expressions suddenly contorted! Burning "fury" ignited in their eyes! The background seemed to instantly transform into the exaggerated fiery style of a certain oolong tea commercial!
"Damn it—!!!" Koushi exploded first, crushing the can of Pepsi he was drinking. (Coke? I wouldn't even use it to flush the toilet!)
"Shido, that traitor! He hid it from his brothers! Secretly hooked up with such a cute girl! And she's wearing a dress! Is it cosplay?! That just makes it even more enviable, dammit!"
"Unforgivable! This is a blatant betrayal of the single alliance!"
Tonomachi Hiroto was also filled with righteous indignation, clenching his fists.
"We clearly agreed to be happy single dogs together, but he secretly got into a relationship! And so hastily! And he tried to brush us off so perfunctorily!"
Koushi's gaze was fierce, but a mischievous smile played on his lips: "It needs purification! This betrayal must be purified by fire!"
Tonomachi Hiroto nodded vigorously in agreement: "Exactly! Make him treat us! Eat him out of house and home! It has to be the most luxurious limited-edition meal!"
The two exchanged glances, reaching a consensus, and an aura of dark resentment seemed to emanate from them.
"Chase!"
"Follow them! Let's see where Shido is taking that girl for a 'date'!"
Thus, a tracking operation, ostensibly to "purify betrayal" but in reality driven by "curiosity and mischief," officially began.
And Shido, completely unaware of this, was facing his first, and perhaps most chaotic, "date" with a Spirit in his life.
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