Tsunayoshi did not pay much attention to the girl hurrying away.
When he stood in front of the vending machine and saw that the button for the grape juice drink was still lit up, perhaps out of a small, idle kindness, he did not cancel it. Instead, he directly inserted a yen bill into the machine.
Insert money, purchase, receive change.
Every movement flowed smoothly. With a tap of his finger, Tsunayoshi bought the grape drink the girl had wanted as well.
Do not refrain from doing good just because it is small.
He would simply consider it a good deed.
"Miss with the hood..."
At Tsunayoshi's call, Ninny stopped in her tracks. She slowly turned her head, her glasses covering the slightly irritated look in her eyes.
So he really was a troublesome fly?
How unlucky. Even in such a remote place, someone could still recognize her...
"Catch!"
Tsunayoshi's next words interrupted Ninny's wild thoughts. A purple can drew a graceful arc through the air from his hand and fell toward her.
Ninny quickly turned around and raised both hands. The grape drink accurately landed in her arms, without the slightest discomfort from impact. This was thanks to Tsunayoshi's superb combat technique.
Looking at the drink in her hands and seeing that it was indeed the grape flavor she had wanted, Ninny's face, half-hidden by her golden hair, flushed slightly.
Now she understood.
That person was not some reporter. He had called out to her only because he wanted to treat her to a can of juice.
Ninny raised her head and was just about to thank him, only to see Tsunayoshi's retreating back.
He did not even need thanks?
Was this charity?
Since when had she, Ninny Spangcole, accepted charity from others?
"Stop right there!"
Hearing the loud voice behind him, Tsunayoshi stopped in some confusion.
Could it be that the girl really had been damaging the vending machine to vent her emotions? It seemed his kind intentions had caused trouble. Perhaps she truly hated grape-flavored drinks.
After a series of quick, light footsteps, Ninny stood in front of Tsunayoshi. She raised her head slightly and looked at him, trying to find some flaw in his eyes.
After discovering that Tsunayoshi's gaze was still filled with confusion and incomprehension, Ninny confirmed one thing.
This person really did not know her.
"Um... thank you," Ninny said, her eyes dodging away.
Apologizing to strangers was not something she was particularly good at.
"As long as I didn't buy the wrong one. See you."
After realizing his kindness had not caused trouble, Tsunayoshi also breathed a sigh of relief. Ignoring the delicate face the girl had raised, he prepared to continue walking home.
"Wait a moment!"
Ninny stuffed the drink into her coat pocket and hurriedly began searching herself with both hands. The more she searched, the more embarrassed her expression became. She did not have anything on her that could serve as a thank-you gift.
Her last lollipop was already in her mouth. Surely she could not express gratitude with secondhand goods, right?
"It's just one can of juice. Don't worry about it," Tsunayoshi said.
He could tell what the girl was thinking. It was not something that cost much money. There was no need to dwell on it.
"No!"
The girl was very firm. Soon, she pulled a ticket from the inner pocket of her jacket. Fortunately, she had the habit of casually stuffing things away. This was perfect as a thank-you gift.
"Here, take this!"
Seeing the girl's determined expression, Tsunayoshi accepted the ticket.
On the ticket were the images of two girls, along with the words "Cecile Die Twice: Japan Tour Concert."
It was a concert ticket.
Among the taller and shorter girls printed on it, the shorter blonde girl with twin tails looked very similar to the girl in front of him.
"Is there something on my face?" Ninny asked, feeling uncomfortable under Tsunayoshi's stare. She instinctively touched her face.
Could something have gotten on it?
"No. Twin tails suit you," Tsunayoshi gave a simple evaluation.
Blonde twin tails paired with a somewhat disdainful expression. Was that not purely a tsundere character straight out of a Japanese manga?
"This is a ticket to my concert. You can come if you have time. My name is Ninny Spangcole," Ninny introduced herself after realizing Tsunayoshi had finally recognized her.
"My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. You must be a very popular group, right? Thanks for the ticket."
Tsunayoshi casually stuffed the ticket into his pocket.
He did not know this girl group at all. He had merely noticed from the concert venue that it was a huge arena. Anyone who could hold a concert there definitely had a high level of popularity.
Seeing Tsunayoshi's casual movement, Ninny, who was used to seeing fans treat tickets like priceless treasures, felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.
There was nothing she could do. She could not force someone to become their fan.
After giving thanks, it should have been time to part. But just as Ninny was lost in thought, two more clunks drew her attention back.
"Your ticket should be quite valuable. Judging by the color of your skirt and lollipop, you probably like grape flavor, right? I don't have much to give you, so here are two other grape-flavored drinks from different brands. You can try them."
Judging from the girl's name, Tsunayoshi knew she was not Japanese. Introducing two drinks to her could be considered fulfilling his duties as a local host.
Ninny stared blankly as she accepted the two cans of drinks.
With Tsunayoshi's casual "Later," the two of them finally parted.
Or did they?
With a crack, Ninny opened the can and took a sip. The taste of grape flavoring filled her mouth. She looked around at the unfamiliar streets in confusion.
Oh no.
She had come out looking for a dragon and gotten herself lost.
Should she call the companion who had come to Japan with her for help? Then be mocked mercilessly?
Would the cool and dashing Ninny Spangcole from the stage turn out to have a getting-lost attribute too?
Without even hesitating for a second, Ninny decisively chose the second option.
She quickly turned around and chased after the faintly visible figure in her line of sight while shouting,
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, wait for me!"
"What? You're lost?"
Tsunayoshi was somewhat speechless.
It seemed he would have to see the Buddha all the way to the west.
"How about I call a taxi for you? You do know where you're staying, right?"
Mainly, judging from how professional the concert ticket looked, this girl named Ninny did not seem like a scammer. Otherwise, Tsunayoshi would have wanted to turn around and leave.
"I heard taxis in Japan are expensive. This ticket isn't enough to repay your favor..."
Ninny voiced her concern. It was already good enough that Tsunayoshi was willing to help her. She really did not want to take advantage of him financially as well.
"You're worried about that? It's fine. It's just some money. Consider it helping an international friend."
Tsunayoshi did not care much about money. From that can of juice, he already knew Ninny had no money on her.
"You... come back to the hotel with me. I still have backup tickets there that I can give you."
Ninny stated her solution.
This instead aroused Tsunayoshi's suspicion. He took the ticket back out and looked at it carefully.
"This concert of yours... it isn't one of those fan-targeted idol events, is it?"
Tsunayoshi's words instantly broke Ninny's composure.
This person had actually connected them with those tiny idols who specifically harvested money from their fans. Anyone who paid even the slightest attention to entertainment should know how popular Cecile Die Twice was!
"Forget it. Since you can hold a concert in a stadium, I'll accompany you there, Miss Ninny."
Fortunately, before Ninny, whose face had turned bright red, had to rack her brain for more arguments, Tsunayoshi had already agreed to her suggestion.
"Call me Nini. It rolls off the tongue better," Ninny said.
Because the two syllables were fairly similar, friends who knew her all called her Nini. This man had helped her repeatedly. They should count as friends now, right?
...
At night, the moment Tsunayoshi entered his home, he smelled the fragrance of food.
"Why are you so late? Did you run into a fight?"
Tatsuki's head poked out from the kitchen. After finishing club activities, she had come straight to Tsunayoshi's house.
A drop of cold sweat slid down Tsunayoshi's forehead.
This question contained a trap.
Putting aside whether Tatsuki had sensed any Hollow Reiatsu, just what kind of Hollow that could appear in Karakura Town would be able to withstand even one move from Tsunayoshi?
There was only one reason Tsunayoshi had returned late.
He had definitely run into something outside, and it had absolutely nothing to do with fighting Hollows.
In this situation, there was only one path left for Tsunayoshi.
Honestly explain what happened.
"I rescued a lost blonde and sent her home."
"A blonde? A girl?"
Tatsuki turned off the stove and reached Tsunayoshi in three quick steps. As her nose twitched, she could smell a faint scent that did not belong to Tsunayoshi.
"A girl. This was her thank-you gift."
Tsunayoshi took a stack of concert tickets out from his coat. These were all given to him by Nini. Nini had said he could take as many as he wanted, so Tsunayoshi simply counted in Ichigo and the rest of their friends, planning to make the concert a group outing.
Tatsuki glanced at them and immediately took the tickets with delight.
"It's Cecile Die Twice! Did you run into their staff? No, wait. Even staff wouldn't be qualified to get this many tickets, right?"
"It was the blonde twin-tailed idol on the ticket. Say, don't blonde twin tails always come with a bit of a tsundere attribute? She always talks in a way that makes people guess."
Tsunayoshi recalled his exchanges with Nini on the way to sending her back.
Their conversation had truly been a disaster.
"Nini!"
Tatsuki's voice rose by eight tones. Her eyes filled with regret as she said, "If I'd known, I would have skipped club activities and gone patrolling with you!"
"If we were together, we probably wouldn't have run into her. At the very least, we definitely wouldn't have gone to Xcution for a date," Tsunayoshi said with a smile.
If Tsunayoshi and Tatsuki had gone patrolling together, they definitely would have found some place to wander around and treat it as a date instead of going to Xcution and becoming a topic for other people to tease them with.
"You ran into Nini near Xcution? Why would she go to such a remote place?"
"How would I know?" Tsunayoshi shrugged.
If others did not tell him, he would not take the initiative to ask why they went somewhere.
"Xcution's location really did help you this time. I'll forgive you. Go eat first. I need to contact Orihime quickly. We're going to the concert together!"
Tatsuki said this excitedly.
"Is this idol group that popular?" Tsunayoshi asked the question he had not dared ask the whole way.
"Cecile Die Twice is a British girl idol group. Their main activity area is London. Even so, lots of girls in Japan are copying their clothing style and singing their songs."
"I didn't expect they'd actually come to Japan this time. The concert has been exploding online for ages, and tickets are incredibly hard to get."
"No more talking. I need to contact Orihime quickly. I wonder how jealous the other girls in class will be when they find out we can go to the concert!"
Looking at Tatsuki's wildly delighted back, Tsunayoshi thought of Nini's gloomy appearance with her hood on.
Was he behind the times?
Was that clothing style really what Japanese girls liked?
Author's Note
Ninny Spangcole is one of the protagonists of Burn the Witch. For brothers who have not watched it, let me explain why Burn the Witch is being added here.
The story of Burn the Witch takes place in London and Reverse London. Reverse London also has another name: the Western Branch. The Eastern Branch is the Seireitei we are all familiar with.
Burn the Witch is also a story created by Kubo. Both series share the same worldview. It is just that the timeline of Burn the Witch is set twelve years after the Thousand-Year Blood War, in the era of Kazui Kurosaki. By then, Ichigo has already become a translator.
Because Burn the Witch only has about three and a half episodes of anime plot and very little content, in order to integrate it as much as possible, I directly moved the Burn the Witch timeline forward to the protagonist's current timeline.
The most important reason for introducing Burn the Witch is the reform of Hueco Mundo. I will not say more than that. Brothers who have watched Burn the Witch should understand.
As for the specific time setting of Burn the Witch, it is shortly after the other protagonist, Noel Niihashi, has just become a Witch. She and Nini are both still rookies.
The Burn the Witch anime is not long, only three and a half episodes. But I think just watching the female characters Kubo draws makes it worth getting into. Brothers who are interested can take a look. It is available on Bilibili.
That is all.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789