Chapter 22

“From now on, I’m going to get a lot more involved with you!”

Ryuichi might have taken those words a bit too lightly when Shizuna first said them. The fierce emotion and determination flashing in her eyes had naturally registered with him, but he had no way of knowing just what kind of form that “involvement” would eventually take.

“…Oh, well would you look at that.”

It happened during the lunch break on Friday of that weekend.
Sitting right in front of Ryuichi was a bento box—something he would never, ever have brought for himself. It was a standard two-tiered bento box commonly used by ordinary high school students, and the contents greeting him first were karaage, Japanese rolled omelet (tamagoyaki), a commercially frozen gratin, and a small side of vegetables.

“…Doesn’t this look crazy good?”

Saying it made his mouth water might be exaggerating just a bit, but for a hungry Ryuichi when lunchtime hit, it was an irresistible visual feast. They had school lunches back in elementary and junior high, but naturally, high school offered no such luxury. While he often relied on the cafeteria, a bento box genuinely packed with someone’s personal care and effort was a first for Ryuichi.

“Oh, got a bento today? Heh, I won’t ask who made it, but looks delicious.”
“I’m not sharing, you know.”
“Don’t go glaring at me… Haha, Ryuichi really has changed, hasn’t he?”

Ryuichi glared at Makoto, guarding the bento box with both hands. True to his word, Makoto had no intention of snatching any of the side dishes; with a light pat on Ryuichi’s shoulder telling him to enjoy every bite, Makoto walked off.

“Didn’t need you to tell me.”

Right on cue, his stomach let out a loud rumble.
Since it was a two-tiered bento box, opening the upper tier meant there was still a whole lower section left, which revealed three plump rice balls (onigiri). Whether they all had the same filling or different ones, he had no idea, but Ryuichi put his hands together and decided to dive right in.

“Let’s eat.”

Picking up his chopsticks, Ryuichi chose to launch his attack on the karaage first. Compared to freshly fried chicken, the texture was softer and cold, but naturally, it was still delicious. Just a single bite sent the savory flavor spreading through his mouth, filling Ryuichi up with quiet satisfaction.

“……?”

As he was thoroughly savoring the bento, Ryuichi suddenly felt a gaze on him. Shizuna was watching him anxiously, fidgeting with nervous anticipation.

“Don’t worry. It’s insanely good.”

As it turned out, Shizuna was the one who had made this bento.
She had handed it over that morning right before they reached school when they met up. She had told him she wanted to try making it and hoped he would eat it, and Ryuichi had nodded without a second thought because he already knew from personal experience just how good her cooking was.

Looking at Ryuichi’s expression, anyone could tell he was enjoying every bite. Relieved, Shizuna let out a soft, happy giggle and began eating her own lunch with her friends. Her portion was naturally larger than Ryuichi’s, but the contents were basically identical… However, since the only person who ever hung out close to Ryuichi was Makoto, nobody else picked up on the coincidence.

“…Seriously, this is amazing.”

An honest, unvarnished reaction slipped right out of his mouth.
The old Ryuichi would have simply accepted favors as things to be passively consumed. But things were different now. Having been treated this well, Ryuichi felt a sudden urge to do something nice for Shizuna in return. She would probably tell him not to worry about it. Even so, he wanted to show his appreciation somehow.

(…Well, I’ll just pick something up for her without making a big deal out of it.)

When it came to things women liked, the partners Ryuichi had dealt with in the past all seemed to have expensive tastes. That made things easy to understand in their own way, but Shizuna didn’t strike him as the type who would ever demand that sort of luxury.
He was planning to go out with Shizuna tomorrow anyway, so he decided he would scope something out then.

“Thanks for the food, man, that was seriously fantastic.”

He had polished off every last bite of the bento Shizuna made. He genuinely found himself wishing he could eat meals like this every single day—his stomach had truly been captured. Time flew by until after school, and as he walked home, Shizuna was naturally right by his side.

“It was genuinely amazing. Thanks, Shizuna.”
“No problem, I wanted to make it for you, after all. But hearing you say that makes me so happy.”

Clutching the empty bento box to her chest as if it were a precious treasure, Shizuna radiated pure joy at his words. She looked so genuinely happy that Ryuichi couldn’t help a soft smile from breaking across his face.

“If you’d like, I can make it for you again sometime?”
“Seriously!?”

Ryuichi practically pounced on the offer, his eyes sparkling like an eager child’s. Realizing how he looked, he quickly caught himself, gave a sharp fake cough, and looked away. Letting her see him that eager would immediately give away exactly what he was wishing for.

“Alright, it’s a deal. I’ll make you another one next Monday.”
“…Thanks.”
“Fufu, you’re welcome~”

With that, Shizuna slipped her arm through Ryuichi’s.
Hooking arms like this whenever they were alone seemed to have become a habit of hers, and she jumped at any excuse to cling to his arm. Ryuichi didn’t mind it in the least, as the pleasant, soft warmth she radiated always seeped through.

“…Ah, that’s right, Ryuichi-kun.”
“What is it?”

Suddenly struck by an idea, Shizuna looked up into Ryuichi’s face and spoke.

“We’re going out together tomorrow, right? But I also want to see what kind of places Ryuichi-kun usually hangs out at.”
“About that…”

What kind of places he hung out at… an endless parade of locations flashed through Ryuichi’s mind. Unfortunately, almost none of them were suitable for minors. Most were hangouts for hardened, jaded youths like his past self, and they were hardly fit to bring a girl like Shizuna to.

“Forget it. It’s way too rough for you, Shizuna.”
“I’m not that much of a kid, you know?”

That’s not what I mean, Ryuichi sighed internally.
While there were normal spots, there were also places like the club where he first ran into Chisa. Truth be told, most of them leaned toward the kind of shady bars he had dragged Sakie out to.

“Even if someone found out about me now, I wouldn’t care, but you’re a different story. So just drop it.”
“Ah, if it’s about that, it’s totally fine.”
“Right, so– wait, what?”

She claimed it was fine, but without giving any details, she parted ways with him for the evening. They promised to meet up in the city at ten o’clock the next morning, leaving Ryuichi to head into the weekend carrying a lingering sense of unease.

“…Ah, so that’s what she meant.”
“Fufu, how do I look?”

Seeing the person who appeared before him, Ryuichi finally understood what she meant the day before.
Shizuna had shown up looking slightly different from her usual self. To put it simply, she was dressed in a remarkably flashy outfit. It leaned toward a gyaru style, but it still felt somewhat restrained, likely because her inherent pure innocence refused to be completely hidden.

“Chisa-san gave me the idea before, but Mom actually helped me put this all together.”
“Sakie did?!”

Apparently, Shizuna’s current look was entirely produced by Sakie.
She wore a blonde wig on her head, and her outfit featured a black hooded sweatshirt that screamed casual streetwear. On the bottom, she wore hot pants that proudly flaunted her shapely legs. It was an appearance he would never, ever witness under normal circumstances, yet it didn’t look bad on her at all—a testament to her natural beauty.

“Like you told me before, Ryuichi-kun, I’m not actually trying to change my image or anything. I just figured this counts as a kind of fashion, and dressed like this, nobody’s going to suspect a thing, right?”
“Well, I suppose you’re right.”

At a casual glance, nobody would ever guess this flashy girl was Rindo Shizuna. The transformation was drastic enough that anyone familiar with her usual appearance would completely walk past her without a second thought.

“Hey, look, look.”
“?”

Shizuna stepped right up beside him.
She pointed toward the glass storefront of a nearby shop, which reflected both Ryuichi and Shizuna standing side by side. Because they were both dressed in flashy attire, they surprisingly looked like a well-matched pair, giving off a rather surreal vibe.

“…Well, even so, I never thought I’d end up dressing like this. Leaving it to Mom was probably the right call, though.”
“Can’t believe Sakie went along with this…”

Did Sakie used to pull off looks like this back in her day? Ryuichi briefly wondered, but quickly decided that trying to imagine his lover’s mother as a former gyaru was a severe violation of unspoken social rules. Smothering a wry smile as Shizuna playfully pinched the back of his hand, Ryuichi resigned himself to simply enjoying the day.

“Shall we get going, then?”
“Yes.”

Shizuna nodded with a radiant smile.
Seeing her acting so out of character instantly reminded Ryuichi of the Shizuna he had seen in the manga. While her current appearance evoked a gyaru-esque vibe, it was far more restrained than her original manga counterpart. Above all, it simply suited her surprisingly well.

“What’s wrong?”
“Nah, just thinking that it actually suits you pretty well.”
“Fufu, thank you, Ryuichi-kun.”

With that bright, lovely smile she flashed him, Ryuichi chuckled, Yep, she really hasn’t changed at all. No matter how much she altered her outward appearance, Shizuna’s inner brilliance remained entirely untarnished. A color that refused to be dyed by any external shade. Shizuna possessed that unyielding essence down to her very core.

“Though I definitely still prefer the usual Shizuna, of course.”
“……!”

Seeing her lower her head in sudden bashfulness, Ryuichi let out a wry smile, took her by the hand, and led her out into the bustling city streets.