Comet Dragon, breaking into the gravity field

The next afternoon, Ritsu Naruse said this while chatting with Tatsuki Shiina in a cafe.

Shiina Riki had no desire to comment on his statement. She simply said with a blank look, "Isn't this too confusing?"

“Sometimes you have to be a little confused to live happily.”

Unable to comprehend the meaning of Naruse Ritsu's words, Shiina Riki stared at the brown wooden tabletop and said lightly, "I still don't quite understand."

"Because everyone defines things differently, disagreements are inevitable."

After meeting the purple eyes until the other shyly looked away, Naruse Ritsu continued to explain, "Suyo always regarded [CRYCHIC] as a place that could accommodate her, and therefore she will be resentful of its disappearance."

"Li Xi, you probably don't think so, right? This is one of the reasons why you two have conflicts."

"is that so……"

The ending tone was drawn out, and Shiina Riki seemed to be thinking about something, but also had doubts.

Noticing her struggle, Narushe Ritsu showed an expression of great interest. He crossed his hands, supporting his chin, and sat there silently watching her.

"Is he still angry at Su Shi?"

"Huh? I didn't."

Shiina Riki was extremely dissatisfied with Naruse Ritsu's accusation. After glaring at him, she fell silent again, her face filled with the confusion of a college student who had dozed off in advanced math class and woke up to find the blackboard covered with mysterious formulas.

"Just say whatever you want to say, after all, we are——"

"Cough cough!"

After coughing violently a few times, Shiina Riki interrupted Naruse Ritsu's words with a red face.

“I was just thinking about the band.”

"band?"

"I'm Ayame, Aine, and Suyo—don't you notice anything strange? Are you trying to treat the entire band like a Crystal Palace?"

"...Crystal Palace?" After hearing this, Naruse Ritsu thought for a moment and shook his head. "I don't know. I've never thought about this question."

Hearing these words that did not sound false, Shiina Riki's eyes suddenly became disgusted.

Under that gaze, Naruse Ritsu scratched his face awkwardly and said, "How should I put it? It seems like it became like this without me noticing... or should I just let it happen naturally? But I really didn't have that intention in mind from the beginning."

"You, are you the type who accepts everyone who comes to you?"

"What a disrespectful assumption. When it comes to love, I'm pretty old-fashioned. Without a foundation of affection, there's no happiness."

"So you're in love with all three of us at once?"

"Well... this is also one aspect of 'old-fashioned love' - you see, in the past you could just marry..."

How old are you talking about when you say "old-fashioned"? And how many years back does this "before" have to go?

Feeling the gaze of Shiina Riki that almost pierced through him, Naruse Ritsu avoided his gaze angrily, took out a few drumsticks from his backpack and placed them on the counter.

He had no idea that his behavior was like a man who felt he owed his wife something and brought back a gift after a business trip.

"This is a gift for Lixi."

Instead of immediately picking up the drumsticks with different patterns and hammer heads, Shiina Riki looked up at Naruse Ritsu and asked, "Drumsticks? Why are you giving them to me?"

"Aine, Ryuna, and Suyo—I made picks for each of them, so I figured I'd give Riki something similar."

During yesterday's practice, Naruse Ichiruri gave the pick he had prepared long ago to Nagasaki Motoyo.

Like the other two picks, Nagasaki Suyo's pick is still made of the scales of Ritsu Naruse. It is engraved with Suyo's name and a stick figure holding two masks, "smiling" and "gloomy face".

Despite feeling slightly annoyed by the implication, Nagasaki chose to accept the pick. Even though the value of "owning Ritsu Narushe's specially made pick" was significantly lowered by the cat in question, having the pick was still very important to Nagasaki.

"...Where's the lamp? Did you prepare anything for her?" Realizing that he had used the lamp as a shield, Shiina Riki felt a strong sense of guilt.

"A lamp? I prepared some bookmarks and other things for her. I think she would like them."

"That's it..."

Looking at the drumsticks on the counter, Shiina Riki suddenly said, "I can't accept this."

"Eh? Are these drumstick shapes not suitable?"

"No, it's just that I..." After hesitating for a moment, Shiina Riki replied sullenly, "It's just that I don't know how to prepare a return gift."

She didn't even know what Ritsu Narose's hobbies were - thinking of this, an inexplicable sense of loss surrounded her.

"Return the gift..."

Roughly understanding Shiina Riki's thoughts, Naruse Ritsu looked at the girl who had suddenly become depressed and said, "Then let's go on a date this weekend."

"Wait, wait! What are you talking about? A date!?"

Suddenly realizing that she would one day be associated with this word, Shiina Riki's face flushed. Joy and nervousness raced through her heart, causing her heart to race for a long time.

At this moment, Naruse Ritsu, who was sitting across from her, struck while the iron was hot: "Getting to know each other's interests and hobbies through a date, and then giving each other gifts at the end of the date - doesn't that sound romantic?"

The vivid words reached Shiina Riki's ears, making her fall into a state of "ah ah ba".

"Why don't you go find someone else?" As soon as he said this, Shiina Riki was so angry that he wanted to kick himself.

Why the hell was she saying that now? What if Naruse Ritsu really went to find someone else to buy her a gift?

She had heard similar stories before - for example, the thieving cat who pretended to buy gifts for others but actually enjoyed the dating process... There were too many tragic stories like this!

However, Naruse Ritsu didn't think anything of it. He could tell that Shiina Ritsuki was just being stubborn, so he didn't tease her any further.

"Riki, is there any place you want to go? Like Inokashira Park or something like that?" Ritsu Narose asked while taking out his phone to search for travel guides.

"I, I don't mind..."

Unable to refuse, Shiina Riki had no choice but to agree reluctantly. Although she was still scolding herself for her inappropriate behavior, she couldn't help but look forward to the date this weekend.

In the blink of an eye, it was the weekend.

Standing near Shibuya Station, Shiina Tatsuki, who had arrived early, combed her hair in front of her phone screen. Normally, she wouldn't do this, but today, she had mastered the skill without any instruction.

Just as she put the phone down, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

His body suddenly became a little stiff, and Shiina Riki found that he was not prepared for today's date at all.

Although she had searched for things to pay attention to when dating on her mobile phone a few days ago, and discussed dating topics with Hachiman Kailing under other excuses, when she actually experienced it, Shiina Riki found that all her preparations had turned to ashes.

It has to be said that makeup, as a skill, has a terrifying transformative power. Shiina Tatsuki is already a stunning beauty without makeup, but after applying makeup, her charm is further enhanced.

It's just like upgrading from Gundam Exia to 00Q Gundam.

"Have you seen enough..."

Shiina Riki, stroking the corner of her clothes and with her cheeks flushed red, turned her head away, not daring to look at Naruse Ritsu who was looking at her.

In order to hide her from her sister and parents, she had put a lot of thought into completing these preparations. When she saw her lover looking at her with ardent eyes, shyness and pride intertwined in her heart, and she didn't know how to react for a moment.

"Then let's set off."

Seeing Shiina Riki's nervousness at the moment, Naruse Ritsu didn't say much. With his usual smile, he and Shiina Riki strolled through Shibuya together.

Turning into a street with less traffic, Ritsu Narose quickly found a store with a pretty good atmosphere.

"Would you like to go into this record store?"

Following Naruse Ritsu's line of sight, Shiina Ritsuki? Rokurokubu IV6 (eight) (seven) Qixi was also attracted by him.

As you walk inside, you can see that the space of this store is not particularly large.

On the table in the center of the store, records of different musical styles are neatly packed in wooden boxes so that customers can choose their favorite records.

In addition to vinyl records, the containers on the other side also display decorations that symbolize different musical cultures, as well as Walkmans, CD players and other items that represent the trends of different eras.

At the same time, there are various models of amplifiers and speakers placed on the top of the containers, and the variety of goods gives people a dazzling feeling.

Despite the constraints of space, the well-arranged furnishings inside are enough to show the thoughtfulness put into it.

Noticing that Naruse Ritsu's gaze lingered a little longer on a certain record, Shiina Riki decisively asked, "Do you like this type of record?"

The album's packaging is very simple, with no beautiful scenery or novel patterns on the cover. This pure white record doesn't look very impressive, but the column of text on the left is enough to tell you its value.

"BTTB" ​​- means "Back to the Basic".

As Ryuichi Sakamoto's original piano solo album, it was a huge hit upon its release, and even with the passage of time, its status and artistry remain unshaken.

Before Ritsu Naruse could say anything more, Tachibana Shiina took the record and held it in his hand.

"One reason is that I like the album itself, and another is because of the person who created it."

Without further mentioning the renowned musician, Naruse Ritsu paused briefly to drop the subject. Then, looking at Shiina Riki, he whispered, "Similarly, the gift being in line with one's preferences is one reason, but the more important reason is that it was given personally by someone one loves."

"... Long-winded."

Completely unprepared for his attack at this moment, the girl, whose ammunition compartment was pierced by the armor-piercing bullet, could only struggle and launch a counterattack without any offensive power.

No longer paying attention to the guy who was making fun of him, Shiina Riki simply left him alone and went to the cashier with the record to pay.

It’s decided. Send this as a return gift!

The flustered Shiina Riki made a hasty decision and didn't notice a figure she was very familiar with walking into the store from the street.

It was not until she heard a slightly suspicious greeting from behind that she turned around and saw Hachiman Kailing, who was also dressed in casual clothes, standing behind her.

Seeing Shiina Ritsuki dressed in a completely different style from usual, Yawata Kairin turned around in surprise and, as expected, found Naruse Ritsu with her back to them, still concentrating on examining a record.

18. Panda, cute (two in one)

"Oh..."

With a meaningful sigh, Hachiman Kailing's eyes gradually narrowed: "It turns out to be a date."

"I just came out to buy things with him..." Shiina Riki made a final struggle while saying nonsense that he himself didn't believe.

Seeing her rare look of embarrassment, Hachiman Kailing, who knew her personality well, looked at Naruse Ritsu on the other side and said deliberately, "You don't mind if I come along, do you? I'm kind of bored going out alone."

"……what?"

Watching Hai Ling walk towards that side step by step, Shiina Riki wanted to stop her, but he was unable to take a step.

Then, she saw that after being surprised, Ritsu Narose started to have a pleasant conversation with Hailing.

What? Today is clearly a date with her...

Seeing the extremely harmonious atmosphere over there, the isolated Shiina Riki clenched the record bag in his hand and turned around to leave the store.

But when she was about to turn around, she heard footsteps approaching from afar.

"Have you finished chatting?"

As if not noticing the coldness in Shiina Riki's words, Naruse Ritsu smiled and explained, "Because Hailing seems to come to this store often, I asked her some questions about albums."

As he spoke, he shook the red-colored album in his hand.

"Look—Afterglow's album. I remember Lixi was a fan of this band, right? Luckily I asked, or I would have missed it completely."

"I was obviously preparing a return gift for you..."

Even though I was very happy in my heart, the discomfort in my heart was still rolling around and causing trouble.

Seeing the girl's expression, Naruse Ritsu just smiled. After paying at the cashier, he placed the album in the same bag as the gift Shiina Riki bought him.

"Let's go, there are other places to go."

"Eh?"

As she was about to leave the store, Shiina Riki was a little surprised. She turned around and glanced at Yawata Kailing who was standing next to the counter, and she found that she was just waving at her, as if to cheer her on.

Feeling guilty for his previous little thoughts, Shiina Riki waved to her in response, and then followed Naruse Ritsu out of this treasure shop.

What Shiina Riki didn't know was that after she and Naruse Ritsu left, Hachiman Kairin used her mobile phone to search for the location she had just learned from her conversation with Naruse Ritsu.

Ueno Zoo, it seems that the relationship between the two of them is better than I expected.

Seeing her friend's love life progressing smoothly, Hachiman Kailing was happy for her, but at the same time, she couldn't help feeling a little lonely.

The records that she had originally found interesting seemed to have faded in her eyes, and she didn't stay in the store for long before she left empty-handed.

There was no band support arranged, no one to hang out with.

Opening the SNS on her mobile phone, Hachiman Kailing looked at the "Moai Statue" in her friend list, then exited the chat software and put the phone back in her pocket.

It’s better not to disturb them.

The bustling streets had nothing to do with her. Hachiman Kailing, who had just gone out, started her journey home.