After dinner, Yuta immediately sent Fang Wuwei away, not even giving him a chance to stay, which made Fang Wuwei complain quite a bit.
Lying on his bed after a shower, Yuta stared at the ceiling, as if wanting to see through it, and then through Rikka's heart, to find out what she was truly thinking...
Yuta had actually been paying attention to Rikka's problem, but each time Rikka evaded him, making it impossible for him to intervene, let alone resolve it.
He was recalling the time he had taken Rikka to Takanashi's old residence, pondering the invisible boundary line Rikka spoke of...
But soon, he heard a rustling sound. Looking out the window towards the source of the noise, he saw only a swaying, very familiar rope. Yuta, who initially thought it was just Rikka's usual night stroll and was happy that Rikka was returning to normal, then heard a movement from under his bed.
Something was moving under his bed?
Puzzled, Yuta slowly poked his head out, only to meet Toka's eyes as she, too, was slowly poking her head out from under Yuta's bed.
Someone inexplicably appeared under the bed, nearly scaring Yuta to death. Especially after Toka crawled out from under the bed, she actually lay down, rolled backward, and stood up in a somewhat horrifying posture Yuta had never seen before.
Yuta screamed like a little girl, his shriek almost escaping outside.
But after seeing clearly that it was Toka, Yuta's pounding little heart calmed down, and he let out a heavy sigh.
"Why are you here?! How did you even get in there..."
Standing up and shaking her flowing long hair, Toka slowly spoke, holding Yuta's Youth Cultivation Handbook.
"I was a rhythmic gymnast in high school, so my body is very flexible... I found something interesting under the bed."
Toka said, showing Yuta the Youth Cultivation Handbook she had found under his bed. Yuta nearly died of fright. Why did these Takanashi sisters love reading his collected little erotica so much?!
He lunged to snatch his precious treasure from Toka's hands, but Toka easily dodged him, just like he had once tried to snatch the voice recorder filled with his dark past from Toka's hands. The outcome, of course, was destined.
Only in front of Toka did Yuta not dare to resist. If Fang Wuwei had done this and shown it off, Yuta would have given him two punches, no less.
In the end, Yuta naturally failed, sitting on the bed, panting, watching Toka open his Youth Cultivation Handbook.
Toka discovered that among the books Yuta collected, there were actually mature older sisters with big [censored]. Looking at the extremely revealing photos in the book, Toka silently compared them to herself...
"You like this kind... I'll be careful."
"You don't have to!"
Yuta, already exasperated to the point of tears and with a face as red as Rikka's most hated tomatoes, took back his Youth Cultivation Handbook from Toka's hand with a weary expression and hastily hid it.
Toka, meanwhile, made herself completely at home, sitting by Yuta's desk. Her purpose for this visit was one and only one...
"What about Rikka? What's wrong with Rikka lately?"
"Huh?"
"Rikka, she barely talks to me, and I can't do anything about that... But lately, she always leaves her bento unfinished, and she barely eats dinner either..."
Toka was a typical tsundere older sister. Although she wouldn't admit it verbally, when it came to Rikka, she was extremely concerned.
Like Yuta, she was also troubled by Rikka's problem at this moment. This situation had been going on for some time, and she was afraid that Rikka's health would suffer if it continued. Her purpose in coming here was to find out if Yuta had any solutions, or if Rikka had told him anything...
As a result, after an in-depth conversation, she discovered that Yuta had no information whatsoever and no ideas. She immediately took out her portable ladle in anger and threw it, hitting Yuta precisely on the head.
"Togashi, you are truly too useless. I'm quite annoyed with you. You're always with Rikka, yet you're still so useless."
Subtext: I've already approved of you as my brother-in-law, and you're telling me you can't do anything? You don't know anything?!
Toka had already approved of Yuta. After all, Yuta was currently Rikka's closest male friend, the kind who had been through thick and thin together, but unfortunately, Yuta didn't understand at all.
"Don't get angry so calmly! What can I do? She doesn't listen to me when I talk to her. If you're so worried, go ask her yourself!"
Hearing Yuta's retort, Toka had indeed considered that option. She naturally worried about Rikka and had wanted to ask her directly, but something was hindering her actions...
"Don't I have pride? I've always maintained the image of an older sister; I can't just let it crumble like that."
"I have no idea what you're talking about..."
Watching Toka, who was already preparing to leave, opening the window and about to jump onto the balcony outside, Yuta asked a question...
"...In short, it's very embarrassing."
"Eh?"
Watching Toka grab the hanging rope outside and swiftly climb upstairs with movements several times faster than Rikka's and incredibly agile skills, Yuta sighed.
It seems... he needed to increase his offensive efforts towards Rikka...
But little did he know that Rikka, tormented by the constant throbbing in her heart, was also preparing to find someone to solve this problem. At least, she wanted to steady her heart. She no longer wanted to avoid Yuta, nor did she want to run away whenever she saw Yuta.
This would be a two-way journey of love, a love affair destined to succeed.
............
The School Festival preparations were in full swing. It was lunchtime, and Nibutani was revising the flash mob script with Fang Wuwei.
For the sake of the two children's romance, they planned to add more physical contact actions to the script, preferably a hug or something, but it couldn't be too abrupt. Otherwise, not to mention Yuta, Rikka would be the first to refuse, and it needed to be more subtle...
They were truly racking their brains.
On the other side, Yuta, having finished his bento cleanly, looked at Rikka sitting alone at the front of the classroom, secretly encouraged himself, and began his offensive...
Before he even reached Rikka's side, he spoke first, his voice preceding his arrival. In reality, he was nervous and eager to deliver the lines he had secretly rehearsed.
Although he didn't know why, when he saw Rikka now, he no longer looked at her as if she were a child with chuunibyou, as he used to. This situation seemed to have persisted since... that overnight stay.
He had just subconsciously ignored it.
Rikka, who was eating, heard Yuta's somewhat stiff voice from behind her. Her body tensed for a moment, then she immediately tried to regain composure, but her eyes, unconsciously turning away and unwilling to look at Yuta, betrayed her inner turmoil.
Rikka... be brave, you are the Evil King's True Eye...
Rikka was silently encouraging herself. She wanted to talk to Yuta, but before she could mentally prepare herself, Yuta's next action scared all her intentions back inside.
Yuta knew Rikka hated tomatoes. Usually, any tomatoes in the bento Toka prepared were handled by Yuta. He decided to start there, reaching out to take and eat the tomatoes Rikka had placed on the lid, intending to throw them away later.
Needless to say, this action nearly scared Rikka to death on the spot. She hastily moved her plate away, not letting Yuta eat her tomatoes.
Seeing Rikka's unusual behavior, Yuta also withdrew his hand. He, of course, understood that Rikka extremely disliked tomatoes, but...
"Want some?"
As if to prove herself, Rikka picked up a piece of tomato and stuffed it into her mouth.
Disgusting!! The red fruit was as evil as ever!!
Rikka, unable to stand the tomato, immediately wanted to spit it out, but she refused to show such an ugly display in front of Yuta. So, ignoring Yuta, who was still talking beside her, she hastily packed up the remnants of her bento, shoved them into a mess, and left...
Yuta, still speaking, watched Rikka run off, ignoring him. He sighed deeply, feeling a surge of frustration and unease... Had she started to dislike him? No, that couldn't be...
Finally, watching Rikka run away, Yuta ultimately just returned to his seat and sat down silently...
"Damn it! Why didn't you chase her?!"
"Togashi!! Don't you understand a girl's heart?!"
But he had no idea that as soon as he sat down, Fang Wuwei and Fang Wuwei, who had been whispering with the script beside him, immediately crowded around, each speaking a sentence as if they were going to tear Yuta apart.
Are you kidding? They had been watching Yuta and Rikka all along. Now, seeing Rikka run off, Yuta, that coward, didn't chase her?!
"You guys... why are you so agitated...?"
"...What do you think?"