This is a bad idea but that doesn't matter.

Enjoy if you can.


The sun was setting and two freshman high school students, a boy and a girl, stood at the riverside, the ashes of what was once a middle schooler's notebook smoldering in a bucket in front of them. The girl, Shinka, merely stared at the remaining embers with a dead and unwavering scowl marring her otherwise pretty face. The boy, Yuuta, stood at her side, remaining awkwardly silent at the sight of such unpleasantness.

"Hey..." Yuuta shifted his weight as he called Shinka's attention. "Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Shinka barely gave him a glance. "Talk to you? What is there to talk about?" she replied coldly.

Yuuta turned away. "I wanna ask... What was the reason you joined the club...?"

"I wanted to find that book and erase its existence," Shinka answered immediately. "Why else would I join your stupid club?"

The hostility in her voice was palpable. Yuuta couldn't bring himself to give her a response.


Shinka Nibutani once had chuunibyou just like Yuuta did. They were more alike than Yuuta first expected. That said, they shared the same crippling weakness - an inability to get over their own regrets and embarrassment.

Not even an hour ago, Yuuta had watched Shinka fall to her knees and admit defeat at the words Sanae Dekomori told her during their battle - words that she had supposedly written herself under her old persona of "Mori Summer". Yuuta didn't blame her for it. In fact, he knew exactly how she felt. Just reading the contents of his own "Dark Notebook" left him with the uncontrollable urge to bash his head against the wall.

But thinking back to their exchange in front of the river, and even earlier during Shinka's outburst in his room, Yuuta couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. He had seen Shinka in a state of intense and violent anger wherein she took an inches-thick notebook and tore it to pieces. And shortly after, he witnessed her in a state of cold and brooding anger wherein she wordlessly burned every scrap of paper she had torn. Yuuta almost couldn't believe that Shinka - the seemingly perfect, class representative, Shinka Nibutani - would have such extreme mood swings when faced with her chuunibyou past.

He recalled their first meeting at the train station, and seeing her up on stage during the opening ceremony, and helping her with class representative duties. Even with all their interaction over the course of their first weeks of school together, never did Yuuta expect to see such a side of her.

I probably had a crush on her, Yuuta thought to himself in realization. He didn't really find that surprising. He literally dreamed about her multiple times. But after seeing that, have my feelings changed...?

His question bore down on his mind for the rest of the night and he went to bed without reaching an answer.


CHAPTER 1

Requiem for a Dark Flame's Love Life


"So you decided to stay after all?"

"Yeah... at least until I take that brat down..."

It had been a few weeks now since Shinka first joined the Far East Magic Napping Society. For the most part, nothing had changed from before. Shinka still prioritized the cheerleading club and barely showed up - and when she did, it was usually after cheer practice had ended for the day. Yuuta wasn't surprised at that. Their club didn't really do anything - just goof off. She had better things to do than play magician with weirdos like them.

Though there are always exceptions to broad statements like that, Yuuta thought wryly to himself.

Unexpectedly, Shinka had decided to join Yuuta and Rikka on their way to the club room that day. When pressed for a reason, she merely said she felt like it. Her real reason for joining, however, was made known shortly after they arrived.

"And she had the audacity to say we were moving too early. From the very start, she was off-tempo! Was she even listening to the music!?"

Yuuta had been half-paying attention to the conversation Rikka, Shinka, and Kumin were having and thus was thoroughly surprised when Shinka started shouting. Based on the snippets he heard, there was probably drama in the cheerleading club that kept Shinka away.

"Such impertinence will be those vixens' downfall, Nibutani," Rikka said encouragingly. "If you so desire it, Dekomori and I will assist you in summoning the accursed spirits of this town to haunt them."

Upon hearing Rikka's suggestion, Shinka immediately shot a glare at Yuuta. He shot back with a slightly concerned look. "What are you looking at me for?" He asked awkwardly.

"Why aren't you stopping her?"

Yuuta frowned. "What am I, her keeper? She's her own person. Stop her yourself."

"The Dark Flame Master is correct, Nibutani," Rikka said helpfully. "Despite being bound by an unbreakable pact, the two of us are still separate beings capable of independent action. He is under no obligation to restrain me."

Shinka continued to scowl at Yuuta.

"Seriously, why are you glaring at me?"

"Fine. Since you obviously won't take a hint, I'll just ask nicely," Shinka spat. She then leaned forward and put her palms flat against the table. She spoke in a steady and polite voice. "If you would ever so kindly reign in your girlfriend's chuuni-speak around me."

At the sudden change in tone, Yuuta felt a chill run up his spine. Shinka's persona of Mori Summer was said to have been able to commune with fairies and ghosts and other beings of nature. In that moment Shinka spoke, Yuuta nearly believed that to be true. He was almost certain he saw the aura of malevolent spirits surround her.

But then the moment passed and logic caught up to Yuuta's racing imagination. He was finally able to parse Shinka's words. And in doing so, heat rushed to his cheeks.

"Sh-she's not my girlfriend!" Yuuta stammered.

Shinka's scowl turned to a smirk at the drop of a hat. It was about as unbalancing as her polite sounding voice turning on a dime into a viscous sounding one.

"My my, what heavy resistance," she teased, crossing her arms. Her smirk turned to a frown once more. "Don't give me that crap, Togashi. You've been lovey-dovey since the first day of school."

"It's not like that!" Yuuta insisted. "That was just Rikka being weird! I swear!"

Shinka raised an eyebrow. "And this unbreakable pact?"

"It is the connection between the one who wields the dark flame and the one who wields the evil eye!" Rikka exclaimed. "It is a fated connection that binds us and combines our powers until we are nigh deific in our strength. The implication that our pact is something comparable to a mundane contact between 'boyfriend and girlfriend' is laughable. Beings as powerful as ourselves cannot be bound by such a thing."

Shinka looked between Yuuta and Rikka, seemingly seething in anger. "Firstly, Togashi, I concede to your point that Takanashi was just being weird. Secondly..." Shinka shot Rikka an outraged look. "Love is the most powerful force in all the realms of the world. Breaking your so-called 'unbreakable pact' would be child's play to a being fueled by love. To say that you're powerful enough to be above its influence is nothing more than foolish arrogance!"

Yuuta smiled awkwardly as an intense argument began between Rikka and Shinka right before his eyes.

"They're really giving it their all, aren't they?" Kumin said as she watched, wide-eyed in wonder.

"You're not wrong," Yuuta muttered.

"I wish I had something I was that passionate about."

"Yeah... me too..."

The great debate continued for a while, time enough for Sanae to arrive at take a seat at the table.

"I'm surprised you're not joining them," Yuuta noted as Sanae settled down next to him. "Their argument seems right up your alley."

Sanae looked to Yuuta for a moment before turning away, seemingly embarrassed. "Regrettably, I know not my stance on their issue," she admitted. "On one hand, I wholeheartedly believe that my master, the Eye of the Wicked Lord is the strongest... However... I also believe that love is the most powerful force in the universe. Such is the teachings of Mori Summer... I cannot say in which I believe more... Never before has my faith in my two masters been tested to such a degree..."

"That's quite a predicament you have, Deko," Kumin said. "I never knew having other members in a napping club would be this exciting."

"Everything's a fun adventure with you, isn't it, senpai?" Yuuta said with a wry smile. "I, on the other hand, am getting a headache from this. It needs to stop."

He stood up and took a deep breath. "Enough!"

There was a pregnant pause after Yuuta declared his order of cease and desist. Shinka was the one who broke the silence that followed.

"You know what, Togashi? You're right. That was enough arguing. It's obvious that neither of us can convince the other." Shinka turned to Rikka. "Takanashi, there are two ways we can walk away from this. The first option is that we agree to disagree. The other option is to prove one of us is right."

"Prove?" Yuuta asked with a worriedly raised eyebrow.

Rikka stared quietly as she thought the second option. "What are you proposing, Nibutani?"

"Let's get Togashi a girlfriend and see which breaks first: your contract or their relationship."

Yuuta blinked. "Wait, what?"

Rikka held out her hand. "Deal."

"Don't I get a say in this?"

Shinka took Rikka's hand and shook it. "Then it's settled." She then let go of Rikka's hand and turned to Yuuta. "Meet me tomorrow at lunch. We're gonna need to talk."

With that, Yuuta watched Shinka pick up her bag and leave. Only when the door closed behind her did he feebly ask "What if I don't agree with this?"

He never received an answer that day.


When the lunch bell rang, Yuuta found himself unceremoniously dragged out of the classroom by Shinka. Rather, he dragged himself out of the classroom by her order. He was called by her to do class representative work with a strong implication that non-compliance would result in something unfavorable for himself.

There was no class representative work to do.

"So who do you want? Hirakata? Nabatame?"

Shinka had taken him to an underused stairwell at a secluded corner of the school building and began listing names.

"Nibutani... what is this about?" Yuuta asked awkwardly.

Shinka scowled venomously at the question. "Get your head in the game, Togashi. Are you trying to get me to lose? These are girls from our class you might be able to date."

Yuuta shifted his weight. "Uh..."

"Now where was I?" She scratched her chin. "There's Fukuwatase, Nukutani, Hoketsu, Kannagi... and..." She then bit her lip in a strangely cute manner, though Yuuta would never voice that observation.

She shook her head. "Actually, not Kannagi."

Yuuta tilted his head curiously. "Why not?"

"She's into girls."

Yuuta blinked. He did not know one of their classmates was a lesbian. But was he surprised? All things considered, not really.

"So, Nukutani, Hoketsu, who else... Are you even listening!?"

Yuuta unconsciously stepped back as Shinka's anger flared up again. "I don't think I can date those girls," he explained hastily. He then scratched his cheek and added "I don't even think I've spoken with any of them unless it's about my class rep duties."

"Well then, this is the perfect time to get to know them."

Yuuta frowned at her reply. "You know, you never did ask me what I thought of your little deal with Rikka yesterday. I don't appreciate having my fate decided for me by people I only recently became friends with. You gotta follow steps to these, you know? Earn my trust before you throw me under the bus."

Shinka put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "Do you not want a girlfriend?"

"That's not the issue." Yuuta sighed and waved a dismissive hand. "I don't understand why winning this is so important to you. I thought you left all this behind when you graduated middle school?"

Shinka stared in surprise for a moment before turning away, a stoic frown returning to her face. "Call it... an overabundance of indignant pride..." She returned her gaze to Yuuta, the earlier fire in her eyes now only embers. "Do I regret what I said yesterday? Do I regret using you to settle our argument? Of course I do. But I can't back down now - not after we both agreed to it. My pride won't allow it..."

"Is your pride really that important?" Yuuta asked in vain hope that he'd get an answer that'd end this whole debacle. Sadly, he never got his wish.

Shinka closed her eyes and answered "Yes it is..."

A long silence followed those words.

"You can go eat if you want," Shinka said with a sigh. "We can finish this discussion in the club room after school."

With that, Shinka set off down the stairs, leaving Yuuta to stare at her retreating form until it disappeared around a corner.


Yuuta knew Shinka and he would meet at the club room that afternoon. When she said she'd be meeting the cheerleading club first, he still expected to see her after. But until then, he was left with Rikka and Kumin to keep him company.

"You met with Nibutani earlier," Rikka said. "How goes your search for a lover? Has she found a suitable partner for someone of your power?"

Yuuta shook his head. "No one yet."

Rikka smugly chuckled. "It is as expected. The only being capable of equaling the Dark Flame Master's power is the Eye of the Wicked Lord. The mortals of this world have no chance of breaking our pact."

Yuuta found himself smiling. "Somehow, the thought that you and I are equals is pretty funny."

"It is because I am obviously much stronger than you. I was just being polite."

Yuuta chuckled wryly. "So you are and so you were."

Yuuta removed a notebook and textbook from his bag and began doing his homework. Rikka moved to do that same. Kumin slept at their side, mumbling incoherently. Minutes pass.

"Hey, Yuuta..."

Yuuta looked up from his work to see Rikka watching him, wearing the same stoic face she wore on the balcony when they first met many weeks ago. "What is it?"

"If you acquire a lover... can you promise me you won't forget? About me and about our contract...?"

Yuuta stared at her, feeling a tad uneasy. He did not have much experience when it came to interacting with women but even he knew that any answer to such a question had many layers of interpretation - even a simple yes or no. Was Rikka just worried about losing a friend or was she after something else? Yuuta couldn't tell.

"Hey, we're part of the same club and classmates to boot. It'd be really hard to forget you."

Rikka seemed to regard his answer with thought before returning to her homework.

Somehow, Yuuta had dodged the question. Even still, it weighed on his mind. He had never had a girlfriend before. Even if he happened to make that promise, would he even be able to keep it?

At the very least, he knew he'd try to.

I know what it's like to be left behind by your friends. I don't ever want Rikka to experience that... Not from me...


The wait continued on to the point where Sanae arrived and the three girls within the room started goofing off. But eventually, they found that they had nothing left to do in the club room for the day and decided to go home. "They", however, only referred to Rikka, Sanae, and Kumin. Yuuta stayed behind. When he was asked why, he just said he was waiting for Shinka. They nodded in understanding and went on ahead.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," Shinka said upon entering the club room. She looked a little tired. "Cheer practice went on a little long."

Yuuta stayed seated at the table and waved. "It's fine. It's actually kinda nice to be alone here. Without Rikka and Deko, it's quiet and cozy."

"So it is."

Shinka took a seat across the table from Yuuta. She was still wearing her cheer uniform. Her shirt was sweaty and clung to her chest and a faint gleam was visible on her arms and face. It was hard not to stare.

"So the list of names I gave you. Figure out who you're gonna pick yet?"

Yuuta looked at his hands which were neatly placed directly in front of him on the table. "N-no..."

Shinka sighed tiredly. "Of course you haven't. What's it gonna take, Togashi? Do I just pick a girl for you and push you in her direction?"

Yuuta smiled wryly. "Frankly, I'd rather not participate in this at all."

"So you want me to lose?"

"No, I don't. But be honest with me, Nibutani. What do you hope to gain from all this? This 'unbreakable pact' Rikka's always on about is just some weird chuunibyou metaphor for our friendship. Do you really want to take that away from her?"

Shinka's lowered her head. "Of course I don't..."

"Then what is this really about? What do you want?"

There was silence for a time before Shinka slumped forward and collapsed onto the table. "I don't know!" she groaned. "Every question you're asking me now, I've asked myself a hundred times already, Togashi - ever since lunch today. I don't just want to give up and give Takanashi the win. But at the same time, I don't really want to get the win either. I don't know what to do anymore..."

Yuuta felt pity well up inside him which he forcibly pushed back down. Now was not the time for pity. Though, what he said instead... it probably wasn't the time for that either.

"You know, you've only got yourself to blame for this." Yuuta winced after speaking those words. He did not intend to be antagonistic.

Shinka didn't raise her head and replied with tired annoyance. "I know..."

"The sad thing is, I don't think anyone else can fix this. This is a you problem." Yuuta didn't understand why he was still talking but he felt like he was going somewhere with it.

"I know..."

Yuuta blinked in sudden realization. "Actually, now that I think about it-"

"I know, Togashi. Shut up-"

"I think there's a way for you to fix this without giving up," Yuuta said, cutting Shinka off. Said girl sat up and looked at him seriously.

"Explain."

"You still wanna go through with this right? And you don't wanna win?"

Not even ten seconds into telling her about his idea, Yuuta was already starting to have second thoughts. But he had already started. He might as tell her everything.

"Then take matters into your own hands. All you have to do is make sure you don't fall in love with me..."

Shinka stared as she parsed his words. When she did, her expression turned to that of cold anger. "You sly dog. You want to go out with me, don't you?"

Yuuta managed to keep a straight face, though his flushed cheeks likely gave away his embarrassment. "You got me," he admitted, turning away. "Truth be told, I've had this huge crush on you since we met on the first day of school. It's not as big a crush as it used to be but... the feelings are still there..."

Shinka slowly shook her head. "Yuuta Togashi... I don't know whether to be impressed or disgusted..."

Yuuta looked down. "I'm sorry..."

There was silence for a moment before Shinka chuckled. "Don't be sorry. I don't know if you planned that or if that was all luck. Either way, you had the opportunity and took it. I didn't think you had it in you. You always seemed so wishy-washy..."

Yuuta fidgeted. "Yeah..."

"And you did make a compelling argument. Just do it myself and make sure I don't fall in love? It's like deal with the devil himself. It's so simple - almost too good to be true."

Yuuta found himself smiling. "I've had deals with a devil before. Though, this time, I guess I'm the devil."

"And this time, I'm the one making the deal," Shinka said in response. "Yuuta."

Yuuta looked up in surprise at his first name being used. Shinka had stood up and presented the back of her right hand to him. "Starting today, you and I are dating," Shinka said with a defeated smile. "Consider me your lady."

Yuuta stared in utter awe as he looked up at Shinka, bathed in the orange light of the sunset entering from the window. Dark shadows ran across her face and yet her eyes glowed an ethereal amber. She was beautiful... absolutely beautiful...

Yuuta knew exactly what the offered hand request him do but he was unsure if he was capable of it. And yet, he wordlessly rose from his seat to one knee at gave Shinka's hand a gentle kiss. "And consider me your man," he said.

His face burned in embarrassment upon doing so but he managed to remain steadfast. He did not know where this resolve came from. Looking up, he saw that Shinka was similarly flushed. She seemed to regard him with a degree of grudging respect - or at least that's what he assumed the wry smile on her face signified.

They stared meaningfully at each other until their resolve wavered.

The two then quickly separated, Yuuta completely turning his back on Shinka and Shinka taking some steps away.

"This is gonna take some time to get used to" Shinka muttered.

"Y-yeah... Guess it will," Yuuta stammered in agreement.

There was a long uncomfortable silence that followed.

"I... uh..." Yuuta stood up, bag in hand. "I think I'm gonna leave now..."

Shinka's reply was just as awkward Yuuta's was. "Y-yeah... I'll... I'll stay here... for a bit..."

Yuuta quickly moved for the door. "See you tomorrow, Nibutani."

"Yuuta."

Yuuta felt a chill run up his spine upon hearing his first name be uttered once more. He did not turn back but stopped right as he crossed the threshold. "Yes?"

"Call me... Call me Shinka... If we're doing this, you might as well..."

Yuuta regarded the order for a moment before nodding. "See you... see you tomorrow, Shinka..."

"You too... Yuuta..."

Yuuta closed the door behind him and quickly made his way home. He did not realize it, but he was smiling for the entire trip.


This is mostly a product of my time in the KyoAni discord. Nick, a member there, is a supporter of the Yuuta/Shinka ship and has made a number of compelling arguments regarding the viability of the ship. Being multi-shipper myself, I was already receptive to pro-ship arguments so it didn't take long to convince me. Sadly, Nick isn't the type to read fanfiction so he may never read this story.

If any of you have read my other Chu2 story, Compensation, you'll know that my interpretations of these characters are a tad bit different to that they actually are in canon. And even then, the characters in this story are also a tad different from how I've written them in Compensation.

Yuuta Togashi, I've always viewed as painfully self-conscious - rather, he is self-aware but so lacking in confidence that his self-awareness ends up crippling him. In the anime, his many interactions with Rikka and the other members of his club have forced him to be more responsible which helped build up his confidence. The Yuuta in this story has only just started on this road and is significantly less honest and confident than how I would normally write him.

Shinka Nibutani, I believe is a romantic. Not a romantic in the sense that she obsesses over romance - though there's hints of that - but a romantic in a sense that she romanticizes her idea of things to the point of obsession. She has romanticized the idea of a "normal high school life" and the "ideal relationship between boyfriend and girlfriend." It's one of the reasons she was so adamant about making club not-weird and 'fixing' Yuuta and Rikka's relationship. The fact that she was involved in both and the fact that they don't fit her ideals are what cause her to be so fussy.

That is the reason why I've written her as so much more stubborn and aggressive in this story as opposed to the anime and my other story. (Though, funnily enough, she's actually very similar to the light novel version of Shinka)

At the point in canon where this story diverged from, Shinka's role in the Yuuta and Rikka's lives had not settled yet. This allows for greater flexibility in developing Shinka's character. Similarly, Yuuta and Rikka's development also becomes much more flexible due to how the simple changes I've made to canon can lead to drastically different outcomes. You'll start to see what I mean in future chapters.

Midway into this chapter, I had Shinka list a bunch of names of their female classmates. All of these names are actual characters from the anime. Hirakata and Nabatame are mentioned by Isshiki in episode 6 when he was wondering who sent him a love letter. Fukuwatase, Nukutani, and Hoketsu are nameless background characters in season 1 but were named in season 2. And of course, Kazari Kannagi is an actual character who is introduced and named in her very own scene. I had a limited number of names and I didn't want to think them up so I put just those ones.

The intensely embarrassed yet aggressively straight-faced romantic scene between Yuuta and Shinka at the end of the chapter was directly inspired by Nisekoi. Such wry displays of affection are some of the few things I legitimately enjoy about that anime. Oh, if only the characters of that anime were more honest with themselves.

And finally, there are a number of parallels and callbacks I've made to my other story, Compensation. If you remember them and point them out, you earn a virtual cookie.

This has been a very long author's note so I'll end it here. Next chapter is already done and is being proof-read by people who only occasionally miss grammar and word-choice errors - release is forthcoming. Until then!