Daru is standing, hands on the sink, trying to wash off his sweaty face in front of a spotty mirror.

"Daru…" I begin, but he starts blubbering before I can say anything.

"I… when I was sitting down, the seat shifted and I…" He blinks, eyes hollow. "I… I touched her hand! Without asking! And… and she looked at me and I… Okarin, what do I do? I'm so nervous…"

I take a deep breath.

Ah yes, let me tell all about dating woman! My area of expertise, don't you know it!

"Man, you know this is my first date too…" I begin, but at the sight of him, pathetically mopping off his face in the middle of a theater restroom with heaps of paper towels, I feel bad letting him down.

It's so unfair of him to rely on me in this situation… but…

Suddenly I remember all those times, across all those timelines, when I relied on Kurisu to help me figure out how to fight the attractor field.

Was that unfair of me?

But… every time, every single time, she came through for me. She listened to me explain it all hundreds of times, even though she had no idea what I was going through.

It WAS unfair. But she helped me anyway, as best she could.

"Listen, Daru." I begin once more. "You're a supa hacka. You do stuff that nobody else can. But don't you want somebody by your side to help you through all that?"

I puff out my chest and stand tall in the theater restroom.

"It's great having an assistant! Even the maddest of scientists needs help sometimes. So…"

"Don't make assumptions! She might have liked it when you touched her hand!"

Daru gives a sad smile. "And spilled chocolate all over her nice dress…"

"I bet she's one of those girls who loves clumsy, awkward guys!" I declare. "I mean if she didn't…"

"Haha." Daru says.

"You're a lab mem, right?" I reply. "I'll always wish you the best. But Daru, I can't do this for you. You've gotta have more confidence in yourself. I know it might be hard to believe that someone is interested in you, but…"

In my mind I can see Kurisu's desperate face as she learned I might disappear because of Reading Steiner. I remember that feeling of letting go of her. And how cold that felt. In the end, my guilt and fear couldn't stop me from wanting her by my side. And I'm grateful for that.

If Yuki is Daru's Kurisu, then he absolutely can't give up on her.

"… if you don't seize this moment, you will regret it."

Daru is nodding along, and finally gives a big sigh. "You're right. I'm sorry about getting so mad at you over this before. It really wasn't your fault. You were right when you said that the person I'm mad at… is me."

Suddenly one of the stalls opens, and a very confused looking man rushes past us without even washing his hands.

Daru and I exchange glances, and then burst into laughter. The moment has passed.

After that, we both feel good enough to return to the theater and complete Part Two of this cursed date.


I get back into my seat, ignoring the meaningful glances from Kurisu.

"What'd I miss?" I inquire.

She rolls her eyes. "Well, you see, the green Upa had to go back in time to prevent the hacker from destroying the virtual world…"

"Hmmm…" I make my voice serious, as if I actually cared. "Do you think he's strong enough to withstand the forces of time travel?"

Kurisu gives a snort of laughter. "That's what we're here find out, right?" She then gives a huge yawn, passing the popcorn to Daru.

Things have settled down now. As the movie drags on, Kurisu reaches out and wraps her arms around me, snuggling into the crook of my arm.

Surprised and delighted, I can't help but glance at Daru to see if he's witnessed this blatant display of affection.

I pull out my phone and text him, seeing that he's already sent me a message a while ago.

From: Daru

Subject: lol look

"LOL dude look Yuki!"

Careful not to jostle Kurisu, I lean forward and to check it out. Yuki is leaning on Daru's massive arm, her eyes closed. She's clearly fast asleep.

I nudge Kurisu, hoping to share this development with her. But she doesn't reply. I feel her weight on my arm, and hear that her breathing is steady and heavy…

To: Daru

Subject: re: lol what

Kurisu is asleep too! Lol this is the easiest route.

I can faintly hear the tapping of keys as Daru texts me back.

From: Daru

Subject: re: lol what

The most boring, too. I mean, it's so predictable that they're gonna fuse at the end.

Wait, what is he talking about?

To: Daru

Subject: re: lol what

You mean in the movie? Lol I haven't been watching it that closely.

Daru quickly replies.

From: Daru

Subject: re: lol look

Well who ELSE is gonna be fusing at the end, then? Fufufu…"

"Daru…" I whisper across the theater. "Shut up…"

He grins and gives me a thumbs up.

Kuirsu mutters something in her sleep, and pulls my arm into a tighter embrace. She's almost sitting in my lab now.

This is pretty great, actually.

Daru was right, and a fusion does occur near the films end. The visuals are flashy enough, but it's not the best animated film I've ever seen.

"Mmm…" Kurisu begins to stir just as the dramatic finale ends and the credits start rolling. She stretches, reaching her arm across me. "Where… Oh!"

She cries out in surprise as she realizes the situation she's in, and even in the flickering light of the screen I can see her blushing.

"Hahaha…" Kurisu is laughing at herself. "I feel asleep?" She rubs her eyes, smiling. "How was the movie?"

"I… I feel asleep too!" Yuki looks shocked. "We really where tired from shopping!"

"I gotta go to the restroom, Yuki!" Daru blurts, and struggles to stand up.

"Again..." I say standing up with a creak.

Kurisu and Yuki are chatting again as they get up, clearly embarrassed but a bit pleased with themselves for finding a way out of "Return to the Virtual World: Rai Net the Movie 2."

"Just so you know…" I say slowly, to no one in particular, "…the power of friendship is the strongest force in the universe. You might have missed that."

Kurisu replies, "Where's the scientific prove for that?"

I grin. "There is no proof! You must trust in your heart!" I say, paraphrasing a line from the film.

"So…" Kurisu says. "Faith then, is it?"

"Believe in me, who believes in you!" Daru yells back, holding out a fist.

"That's right!" Yuki chimes in, giving a tiny jump. "My friends are my power!"

Kurisu gives a sly smile and winks in my direction, making my heart jump.

"Is that so?" She brushes roughly past me, followed by Yuki. Daru and I shuffle out behind them.

"That could have gone a lot worse, all things considered." I whisper to him.

Daru has that look on his face that he gets when celebrating a hacking victory.

"Yeah." He agrees. "Yuki was so cute when she was sleeping… she was so small and light!"

He holds out his hands as if this is the first time he's noticed them. "It felt weird to have a 3D woman touch me for such a long period of time, on purpose…"

"It was on accident, you mean." I counter.

"Who says? I think she liked it!" Daru's eyes are shinning.

I can't believe that having his date fall asleep through the entire date is the best case scenario for Daru, but baby steps are fine right now.


We exit the theater and gather outside of the theater under a fresh night sky. We form a small circle, each one of us wondering what to do next.

"Welll…" Yuki shuffles her feet. "I should probably catch a train home before it gets too late."

Daru huffs out a sigh of... relief, probably.

"Me and Okarin can walk home, then." Daru asserts. "T-thanks for the date, Y-yuki. It was… fun."

He stumbles over his words. It's painful, but Yuki's grace catches his fall.

"Oh, it was!" Yuki gives a beaming smile. "You make a great pillow!" She leans close to him and then jumps back. It's a swift motion, but unmistakably… flirty.

Daru's face flushes red, and he's stunned into silence until Kurisu speaks up.

"Well… I'll walk Yuki to the stop, then…" Her eyes waver as she looks at me. "I'll head home too. Goodnight, Okabe."

"Uh…" I'm caught off guard.

For real? All that and it's just… over, like that? Not if I can help it!

"Kurisu, Yuki, can we walk you guys home?" I say, the words leaving my throat dry.

I'm still nervous about this on some level…

The girls turn to face us, and Kurisu's eyes have that fiery glow once again.

"Oh?" She begins. "Did we ask for an escort?"

I almost stumble back. "No, but… we're gentlemen, right Daru? We had to offer. Besides…"

Kurisu narrows her eyes at me and adds, "Perverted gentleman."

I pin her down with my eyes and her jab. She'll regret this. "You said I could stay with you in your hotel while you're here." I declare.

Kurisu's composure collapses and she blushes. "I… when did I… huh… I guess I did…"

Yuki sequels with delight. "Aw, that's so cute! You guys get to hang out in your very own hotel room!"

Kurisu huffs. "There's nothing cute about that man being in bedroom!"

"Huh?" Yuki, poor innocent thing, seems confused. "Kurisu, I thought you LIKED Rintaro…"

Daru snorts, "She does. She's such a tsundere."

"A… what?" Yuki asks.

Kurisu is quickly trying to cover this up. "It's nothing! Don't worry about it, Yuki. And FINE, you two can walk us home if absolutely must."

But as we begin our journey to the train station, Kurisu begins to walk to next me with purpose in her step.

"So… Okabe…" She leans into my arm for a moment, "Do you have a ticket for Monday yet? We're gonna have to pack tomorrow."

Damn it! Leave me alone for a few seconds, woman!

Daru and Yuki look back, listening in.

"Uh, I don't yet…" I say, "I… I need to find a way to cover the lab's rent before I can…"

Kurisu raise her eyebrows. "If you wait until the day of, the price will jump even more. And it's almost sold out already."

"Hey, Okarin." Daru slows his pace to speak with us. "You know, I can pay the rent for next month. After all, I make a LOT of money doing jobs."

He glances to Yuki, clearly hoping she's impressed.

"… and I just finished a HUGE one," he continues, "… a big international thing, you know, so I've got extra cash in the bank."

"Why, Daru!" Kurisu says, "That's so unexpectedly kind of you!"

Whoa… she's such a good actor…

I guess I'm forced to contribute. "Seriously, Daru, thanks. I know I can always trust my right hand!"

Yuki blinks, confused. "His… what?"

"Hahaha!" Daru laughs with artificial loudness. "Don't listen to him, he's a little… mad, I suppose. Haha!'

Kurisu stifles a genuine laugh and whispers, "I swear, you guys are way too weird for this poor girl…"

"But you love that about us, don't you?" I taunt. "That's why you can't stay away from the lab!"

Kurisu leans into my arm again, and then immediately pulls away. "Maybe I'm just a curious scientist."

I lean down and speak softly to her. "Why can't it be both? Stop being such a tsundere…"

"Okabe! Stop that!" She cries out in annoyance.

Her eyes flash as she scolds me.

I grin. "Maybe I will when you stop being one."

She glares at me, eyes still gleaming, and we both know it'll be a long time before that happens.