Chapter 23 - No Turning Back to the Way Things Were Before

Ryuichi and Shizuna had met up in the morning, but their outing was essentially no different than any other. As for Ryuichi, the place he wanted to show her basically only operated at night, so until then, he had Shizuna lead them where she wanted to go, doing what she wanted to do.

"I think this one would suit you better, Ryuichi-kun."

"Well, but this one's too good to simply pass up on… Hmm."

"…Both of them look so cool on you. This is a tough one."

Shizuna was currently holding a jacket in her hand in front of Ryuichi, mulling over their conundrum. This is the first time he had actually gone out with her on a date like this. For Ryuichi, going out with a woman was nothing unusual, but going out with a girl who was also his classmate was a new experience.

"You seem to be having fun."

"I am having fun. Because I'm together with you, Ryuichi-kun ♪."

She smiled as she held the two jackets in her hands. She was dressed differently than usual and appeared differently than usual, but her smile was still the same smile characteristic to Shizuna: a smile full of charm. If they were at home, Ryuichi would have hugged and kissed her right then and there before devouring her in no time.

Well, I am going to be heading to her house later, so I guess I'll have some fun with her body then.

He suddenly realized that he'd been thinking very condescending thoughts. "Have some fun with her body?" Even if his way of thinking had changed, he was still, at his core, Ryuichi himself, and although he wasn't dejected by the fact, it did remind him that he wouldn't be able to change so easily.

"…But I will be watching closely to make sure she doesn't get hurt, so I guess that's a start."

Although they'd ended up doing the deed together, Shizuna was sincerely satisfied with her relationship with Ryuichi, unlike the Shizuna in the manga. Well, the Shizuna in the manga was satisfied too, but their relationship now was much more wholesome than that one. Not to say that their relationship was a wholesome one in the first place, though.

"Hey, Shizuna. What say you we have some fun tonight when we get to your house?"

"Ah… Yes! ♪ I've been wanting to do it with you, too! ♪"

She smiled and nodded eagerly at Ryuichi's suggestion. In the first place, whenever she was alone with Ryuichi like this, she would always carry a sense of anticipation in her eyes. Sure, she was happy just to be alone with him, but seemingly hiding behind that happiness was a faint sense of expectation which Ryuichi couldn't help but respond to.

But is that really all it is?

He definitely felt comfortable having Shizuna by his side. He had felt puzzled when he first regained his memories of this world, but now he'd already accepted it. In the meantime, he'd encountered Shizuna, the heroine, in an entirely different manner from the manga, and every passing day he spent with her, he came to know more and more faces of hers that he'd never known.

"Ryuichi-kun?"

"Oops, my bad. Was just thinking about some stuff."

Ryuichi shook his head, thinking, "This is my time with Shizuna, so let's not think about anything else." He then grabbed the jacket that Shizuna had been mulling over and went to the checkout. Ryuichi, who was always delinquent-looking, and Shizuna, who was pretty but gyaru-like today, were attracting a lot of stares. The cashier didn't say much, as if they didn't want to get involved with them.

"Wow, I really do attract attention looking like this, huh."

"Well, you're hella pretty, after all. Even if you didn't look like that, you'd still stand out anyways."

"I guess it's nice that people think I look good, but to be honest it doesn't really matter to me."

Shizuna embraced Ryuichi's arm.

"All that matters is if you're looking at me, Ryuichi-kun."

"…Heh, what a wonderful woman you are."

She continued by saying that Ryuichi's opinion, too, was all that mattered to her before he and Shizuna started walking together. They spent the rest of the day strolling around town until the sun went down, and finally, the time came. Night had fallen, and the city's nightlife was beginning to liven up.

"If we tried to go to all the places I go to, there'd be no end to it. We'll just visit this one for today."

Ryuichi had brought Shizuna to a club he hadn't been to recently. Not long ago, he used to come by often, so the customers who used the club, as well as the manager, likely knew Ryuichi well. When they entered the club, they were greeted by loud, if not blaring, music.

"Ugh… It's really noisy in here, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah. We'll just hang around for a bit before heading out. I'd much rather be banging you than staying here."

"…Ryuichi-kun. ♪"

With Shizuna tightly embracing Ryuichi's body, they quietly swept their eyes across the club in order to avoid standing out and bothering others.

"Oh! If it isn't Ryuichi."

"Tomikura, huh."

The man who spoke to Ryuichi with a creepy smirk on his face was an acquaintance of his, a white-collar worker by the name of Tomikura. He was a little chubby and always doled out his money at these sorts of places, and at one time he even had the hots for Chisa.

"Don't just walk up to me like that man. You fuckin' stink of booze."

Tomikura seemed unaffected even as Ryuichi made a shooing gesture with his hand. Soon, he caught sight of Shizuna, standing by Ryuichi's side. He reached his hand out toward her, but of course Ryuichi would never allow it.

"C'mon, Ryuichi, don't you think it's unfair for you to hog all the pretty girls for yourself? Say, little missy, why don't you let me have a little taste of you, too―"

"I do not want to accompany a man like you. In fact, I'd rather die than be with any man besides Ryuichi-kun."

Shizuna decisively cut him off. She'd been so blunt that, for a moment, Tomikura couldn't process her words, but once he did, his face turned red and he glared at her. But of course, Ryuichi glared right back at him, and Tomikura, seemingly frightened by his gaze, made his retreat.

"Welp, that's just the kind of people that you get at places like these. Of course, not all of 'em are like that. Many of 'em come here to release their daily frustrations and stress at work."

"So it seems. Apparently drinking alcohol and making loud noises helps them to relieve stress. Personally, though, I don't really see what's so good about doing those kinds of things."

"It's fine if you don't; in fact, you're best off not understanding it ever. I know I brought you here 'cos you told me you wanted to see what kinds of places I go to, but you shouldn't get tainted by all this glamor."

"Don't worry. I couldn't care less about the hustle and bustle here; I'd much rather be with you, Ryuichi-kun."

She smiled at him, and Ryuichi laughed, too. Then, true to his words, they immediately left after a brief glance around the establishment. The outside of the store was naturally noisy with many voices, but it was still quieter than the inside of the store.

"Fufu, I thought about visiting these kinds of places because I wanted to get to know you better, Ryuichi-kun, but now I don't care anymore."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup. Like I said, I really do prefer the time we spend together. I enjoy it ten times, or even a hundred times more than this."

It seemed she was saying that she much preferred making out with Ryuichi rather than wasting time like this. Even if she hadn't told him all that, it wouldn't change what they were about to do next. The thought that Ryuichi was about to go to her house and devour her greedily crossed his mind; he cuddled with her as if they were lovers, and just as they were about to head for her house…

"Shishido. And…who're you?"

"What?"

"Oh?"

When a voice called out to the two of them, they turned around. There stood, in a sense, unexpected people: it was Sohei and his friends. In other words, they were familiar faces to both Ryuichi and Shizuna. They were classmates, so it was only natural.

No way. Are they here for the club too? Ryuichi thought. However, he quickly came to the conclusion that he must've been wrong. There was a karaoke place in the direction from which they'd walked from, so it was likely they'd spent their entire time singing there.

"Whoa, y'all here for the club, too?"

"Tch… Don't lump us in with you. We just got back from karaoke."

It seemed his guess had been right. Ryuichi and Shizuna didn't really have anything to say to him, so they wanted Sohei to leave quickly, but he looked at the club for a moment before looking at Ryuichi and Shizuna again. Normally it would've been a surprise for him to see Shizuna here, but it seemed he had yet to realize it was her.

"You really are a delinquent, aren't you. Visiting inappropriate establishments like this and all. You, and all those people who crowd around you."

"H-Hey, Sohei."

"Quit it out, man…"

Sohei disregarded his friends' fear of what Ryuichi might do to them if they provoked him too much. He didn't care. He had a grudge for Ryuichi, who he perceived as an obstacle in the way of him and Shizuna.

Ryuichi laughed at Sohei's attitude, but Sohei didn't seem to like that and tried to lash out even more, but Shizuna stepped out in front of him.

"W-What do you want…?"

Shizuna was about to say something, but her voice never left her mouth. Shizuna couldn't speak, because Ryuichi had put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her into his embrace.

"Ah…"

"W-What are you doing…?"

Ryuichi placed one hand on Shizuna's cheek and the other on her breast. His fingers sank into her rich bulge that could be seen even through her hoodie, putting her voluptuous parts on display for all of them to see. Sohei and the others blushed in surprise at the sudden act…while in contrast, Shizuna left her body wholly in the hands of Ryuichi, heartmarks in her eyes.

"We done here? I've got reservations for a steamy night with this gal. I'd much rather get on with enjoying her body than deal with you guys."

"Ugh…!"

Sohei and his friends quickly averted their eyes and started walking away. Ryuichi could see them as they left—red up to their ears, showing a complete lack of tolerance for this sort of thing.

Yo, protag, did you really not realize that this is Shizuna?

Of course he hadn't noticed, which was why he hadn't paid much attention to her. The path had already diverged in so many ways and things could no longer return to how they were before; Ryuichi clearly sensed this, but it was too late for that.

"C'mon, let's get goin'."

"Alright. L-Let's get home quickly. ♪"

Thus, even Shizuna didn't seem to care that they'd run into Sohei. The whole time they walked to her house, she kept gazing at Ryuichi's face. It was as if she was implying that he was the only person she'd been looking at the entire time.