The World Only the Girls Know: A Moonflower's Wish for a Certain Side Story
Chapter 3
Author's Note: Characters from the Light Novels and Manga will be included as well
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Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ
Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki
Written by: wrathie
Author's Notes: This chapter blew up without me noticing, so enjoy it while you can! Oh, there'll be a short hiatus for SC the following week. Thanks for the understanding!
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'Honestly, I'm sorry for letting you accompany them by yourself, Keima-kun.'
Kanon blushed as she and Keima made their way to a solitary bench in the back of the school for lunch. Kanon had been insistent that the two of them change locations everyday while having lunch and it was a sentiment that Keima agreed with.
Kanon was an idol after all and even if Kanon did help the situation with that official announcement, she was still a very tempting and realistic target for any journalist that wanted a scoop, even if it might cause negative repercussions on Kanon's career.
Realistically however, Keima also acknowledged that in order to do so, those potential journalists would have to get pass the Official Mai-High Kanon fan club members to even stand a chance of getting an exclusive scoop on Kanon together with him.
Keima was also amused that the fan-club, which had started as one of the most outspoken members against Kanon's openly declaring her interest in him, had ended up being one of the best defensive measure to keep Kanon's reputation as a pure school idol.
The fan-club had did their best to quash the more unsavoury news about him. Of course, he was still the otamegane to them, but they had adapted and twisted the cover-story by Kanon to make it seem that it was Kanon taking pity on Keima, who didn't have any friends. It served their purposes as it explained Kanon's interest in Keima, Keima's relationship to Kanon as well as making Kanon appear even more kind-hearted than before.
That kind of propaganda program had been developed a few days after Kanon's public announcement and Keima had to give them props for coming up with such a senseless romantic story like that. It was almost befitting of a route, almost, as there were others that did that stunt way better.
Even so, Keima gave props to the real for at least trying to challenge the ideal, even if it was a futile affair.
'You should not be in school today, you are neglecting your work, Kanon.'
Keima replied non-commitedly even if he did curse to himself a little at why he took note of that whispered comment by Kanon's manager last night. Kanon's sincerity and desire to be with him was making him a little more conscious of her than he was supposed to.
It was not a good sign too, with the other 'captured' girls gone, it was getting harder for Keima to come up with excuses to keep Kanon at bay.
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Even if it had seemed like a disaster at that time, especially after the Miyabi Eru fiasco, the broken truce had actually lifted a great burden off Keima's schedule. In the past, with the truce present, the girls had arranged their own special little schedule detailing which girl would be able to be with Keima by themselves. It was a schedule that changed and varied weekly or at times, bi-weekly depending on the girls themselves.
It had eventually developed into a common routine for Keima, something which Keima had unwittingly had became accustomed to as well. It had been that complacency that might have caused the Miyabi Eru fiasco to get fully out of hand... but that was past history now.
'Keima-kun...'
Kanon's voice broke Keima out of his reverie and he shook his head to clear his thoughts while tilting his head and inviting her to continue further.
'… You're thinking about her again, Miyabi-sempai, right?'
Kanon had not known Miyabi Eru, not personally at least, the first time she had ever heard of Miyabi Eru was when Fuse Aoba announced the end of the truce between the girls and declared it a free for all for all of them. As one of the 'captured' girls who was out of the loop more often than not, Kanon had not been fully aware of the changes in dynamics between the two of them till the time where Keima had made that decision to end it all of his own violation.
Kanon hadn't been very happy about the situation then, none of the 'captured girls' had, but Kanon knew that Keima would have gone ahead anyway. There was nothing that Keima could not do if he set his mind to it. That was something that Kanon believed in, the Katsuragi Keima that she loved.
So Kanon had taken some time to do some research on Miyabi Eru as well. The other girls, with the exception of Fuse Aoba and Haqua, had been content to let that particular incident be forgotten even if they had helped with the final aftermath.
Kanon believed that the girls had banded together to make all of that possible more out of guilt than anything else.
That placed Kanon in the minority of the 'captured' girls. She was not mad at Miyabi Eru, nor was she jealous. Well, she was perhaps a little jealous, jealous that Eru was able to take the first step to try and understand Keima instead of the other way around.
It did hurt to know that her guess was right and that at times, Keima's mind would wander a little.
'I've read a lot of scripts, Keima-kun... it's time like this that I should say: "It hurts, doesn't it? I understand that feeling..." But...'
Kanon continued on as she was emboldened by Keima listening to her attentively. Seize the chance, KANON!
'I won't say that I understand, it's something that I haven't... no, I don't want to know and want to experience. To be away from Keima-kun hurts... and I don't want to imagine a day where I would really have to be separated from you, Keima-kun. I won't speak badly of Miyabi-senpai because Keima-kun decided to do that on his own. But Keima-kun, I want you to remember this.'
Kanon guided Keima to look at her, not allowing his eyes to wander from her as she declared to him passionately.
'I love you, Keima-kun. With all of my heart, I won't leave you for someone else till you tell me to. Even if your heart might be stolen by someone else, even if it's for a little while. I'll be loyal, I won't look away and I won't ever let you go. I want the best for you, Keima-kun... so when the day comes that you finally decided on who you want to be with you... I want you to make the decision that you want and not the decision which is the best. I would not want you to make a decision where you weigh all of our situations, all our feelings and our sacrifices for you. I want you to make a decision that you would be happy with. That you would look back with no regrets, Keima-kun.'
Kanon was glad that the two of them were alone right now as she had wanted to say this in a more romantic setting. But she had seized the chance and an opportunity where she felt the mood was just right.
'That is my wish, Keima-kun... because you've already given up so much for me, for us...'
Kanon ended her confession with a small peck on Keima's cheeks, to which she was happy to see Keima blushing in response. She knew that she had gotten the message across with that response, finally too!
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Katsuragi Keima, the Capturing God was not at a crossroad just yet. He was definitely close, that part was sure. Like Kanon had said, as well as how many of the girls had professed at one time or another, he had to make a choice and soon.
Having at least one girl be aware of how he would make that choice, in this case, judging everything like he was used to, meant that everyone would eventually figure out the same.
If Kanon hadn't gone ahead to tell everyone, anyway. But that was the crux of the problem as well, if he was to decide based on what he was happy with, life would be so much simpler.
It wasn't that simple, because he had other things to deal with. Those other things were the Weiss, the demons of old hell that was the original reason why Keima had interacted and even chased after the girls after all.
One big reason why he could not and should not make a decision now, or in the near future, was because it wasn't over yet.
His quest was to get seal away all the Weiss that had escaped together with the Weiss Capturing squad, and in return have his normal life be returned to him. That quest was not even half way done, there were still thousands of Weiss left unsealed everywhere. Keima's method of capturing Weiss was to use the power of 'love' to fill the gaps in the girl's heart, thus forcing the Weiss out to be 'captured'.
It was an effective method that only he and Elsi could use, and that meant that it was hopeless for any girl to be with him during this duration.
Even if his chosen partner was to be fine with it, resentment would still be present and might even accumulate if Keima's Weiss capturing mission continues, and it definitely would. And that was not even considering how they would have to either conceal their relationship if Keima was to continue to use the same method to capture Weiss.
Him being labelled as a player or a playboy aside, no individual in the world would want to be accused of being the third party in a relationship.
The other reason was that he had to ensure that when he eventually did choose someone, the girls were expecting him to after all, whoever he choose, for whatever reason, would have to be accepted by all of them.
It might seem that Keima was betraying Kanon's request, but the fact was that one could not truly tell in the real. The last thing he wanted to was to have a Weiss possess one of the girls that he was currently connected with.
That would mean that New Hell would find out that something out of the ordinary had happened. That the girls had retained and remembered what had happened. Who knows what action they would take if the did... and quite honestly, Keima was amazed that they had gotten off so easily so far.
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Keima contemplated all those questions in his mind again while gaming in class. With the exchange program going on, the entire class population had shrunk to perhaps a third of it's original population. Mai High was originally an all girls school till a few years back after all, and the entire school's population was still a little skewed towards the female end.
That didn't mean that lessons didn't go on though, it just meant that they had to join the other classes for their lessons during this period.
It was also during those periods that Keima noticed that his reputation had garnered more than a few mixed response to the entire male population. To a certain extent, his close contact with members of the 2B Pencils, Chihiro, Ayumi and Elsi was a boon to him as they helped kept the discontent and obvious bullying from Keima.
As the Capturing God, Keima dismissed those incidents and individuals as he was above all of them, but he did acknowledge that they would be a hassle if they happened on a very regular basis.
Thankfully, his own reputation mitigated and reduced interaction he had with others, excluding the teachers but including the other students in the class as well.
One big example was how Kanon's own presence was enough to ward off the most die-hard of Kanon fans who would want to pester him at times, usually that was a role that was taken by one of the captured girls.
What did bother him more was how some of his school mates actually looked up to him, that itself... actually didn't come as a surprise if it happened in the real. Sadly however for all of his 'admirers', Keima had nothing to do with them.
He just did not expect them to gossip about him when he was attending class with him. His class was 2-B, and as he had been in that school for the past two years, his classmates were more or less inured or had came to terms with the situation as they thought they 'knew' him.
Keima knew better of course, but if they thought that way, there was no harm in letting them believe that. To the other classes though, thanks to the rumor mill that he had helped contribute and maintain, Katsuragi Keima was simply a mysterious person.
He was the Otamegane, the notorious playboy, the densest person in whole of Mai High or secret galge protagonist.
The last one was strangely fitting, much to his amusement.
Like the capture of Ikoma Minami, with all those rumours floating around, it had became extremely difficult for anyone at all to really know who he was.
Thankfully, Kanon was with him in the same class, right beside him actually in her insistence. Even if it meant that Kanon was on hand to hear about the gossip that was said about him.
For her part, Kanon seemed more amused and happy than angry, which he was thankful for.
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'I guess it is getting a little hard for you after that news report, Keima-kun. I'm sorry.'
Kanon hastily passed a note to him, and Keima nodded before shrugging and going back to his games. He hadn't broken his habit of gaming during classes, but he had compromised by actually participating in class if he had to.
Thankfully, his reputation preceded him and most of the teachers who took the classes, ignored him. That didn't mean that Kodama Sensei, the one teacher who had it out for him extremely bad, couldn't try.
Still, it was a futile effort as Keima knew the answers to his question 100% of the time. He had to help Kanon out a few times too, which no doubt made her feel even happier.
'I have to go off after class, I have an interview to record at a studio. Could you take care of Clair and Rise for me, please?'
Kanon's next note made him pause and he turned to look at Kanon with an incredulous expression. It was only for a short while but the pleading look that Kanon showed him when the teacher's back was turned was enough to cause him to nod in reply.
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'So Kanon-nee has to go to an interview.'
Rise nodded her head in understanding as Keima explained the situation to the two of them. Keima himself had almost been besieged by a group of guys when Kanon excused herself quickly after the bell rang. But he had been saved when a few minutes later, the two younger girls burst into the room searching for her.
Keima had quickly excused himself before guiding the two of them out before any further trouble would begin. There had already been rumors circulating about him getting involved with one of the girls in the junior high department. No doubt Minami would be happy about that, but it would not do for him to get involved with Kanon's cousin in junior high.
No doubt the Kanon fan club would have already knew about this event, but they were keeping things quiet for obvious reasons. It would no doubt be a PR disaster if word about this spreads. The next thing they knew, Keima would be involved with Kanon's cousins too. The notorious playboy would have struck again!
'Ehhh.. that's so nice! I wish I could go to an interview too, Rise-chan!'
Clair declared even as she turned back to look at Keima, who simply continued with his game.
'Anyway, Katsuragi-kun, Kanon-nee told us that you would take care of us! But we are not children any more... I can't believe Kanon-nee said that.'
Clair crossed her arms in a cute fashion and pouted, even as Rise simply sighed and bowed to Keima apologetically again. She had to do that more often now, no doubt she was embarrassed that her twin sister was actually behaving exactly like a child.
'I'm sorry, Katsuragi-san. We would be fine on our own.'
Rise tried to reassure him but even she was surprised when Keima said that it was fine.
'I'll bring you around the town. It would be good for the two of you to familiarize yourself with the place.'
Keima gave a small sigh even as he tucked his PFP into his bag. He did not like this at all, but he could pick up on what Kanon was worried about when she asked that request of him.
Clair and Rise might be practically unknown in class now, it was only the second day. But with Rise and Clair's habit to call her 'Kanon-nee' as well as how the two of them had been spotted to be with her. The last detail was that the two of them had a unique hair color that was close to the pink hair of the famous idol, with clues as obvious as that, it would be hard for them not to be in the centre of attention.
Keima had no doubt that Rise was sensible enough to be discrete and would help her sister do the same, but there was only so much they could do by themselves. Especially when they were in a new and unfamiliar environment where they don't know everything, and with Clair being as naïve as she was...
It was akin to sheep amongst wolves, Keima had no doubt that there were already individuals who were dying to get close to the twins. Perhaps there were already a few of them, or perhaps Keima was just being paranoid.
If he really were, that would be a relief for him and Kanon.
'Really? So Katsuragi-kun would be playing with us today?'
Clair beamed happily even as Rise sighed again, before bowing to him again.
'Katsuragi-san, thank you for doing this for us. We really appreciate you taking time off to help us. I... I know you would prefer playing your games...'
Rise actually blushed red when she admitted that, while Keima simply found the trait to be strangely endearing as well. It was not something that was difficult to pick up, but just saying it out loud for his benefit was something that earned points in Keima's book.
Apparently that response and reaction made Clair a little jealous as she suddenly grabbed Keima's arm, stubbornly holding onto it even as Rise gawked in surprise. Her action, done in the middle of the corridor in full view of everyone that was present meant that they were in the centre of the attention again.
Keima knew that this would come back and bite him in the back, he just knew it.
Sadly however, there was nothing he could do about it, and he simply suppress a sigh as Clair demanded his attention with that act alone.
'Let's go, Katsuragi-kun! We are going out on a date together! Rise-chan too!'
Keima noted that the sibling's bonds were still very strong as despite Clair's jealousy streak, she was still quite happy to 'share' him. That did not bode well, that did not bode well indeed. Especially when Clair released Keima, only for her to force Rise to cling onto his arm as well. At least Rise was embarrassed, actually that was bad too, it showed at she was conscious of him, where she wasn't before.
This was something that Keima didn't want to, but might need to deal with. It was better to nip this at the bud before it got out of hand. Keima would not underestimate the real any further, it was extremely unlikely that Clair and Rise would be capturing targets. But if they still developed feelings for him, it was going to be problem, with or without any Weiss.
Especially since they were, at least Clair was, more straightforward with her feelings unlike how Minami was.
A part of Keima wished that they would learn from Minami instead.
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'So this is the main shopping district, huh?'
Clair had not let go of Keima throughout their entire walk to the shopping district. Rise on the other hand, had nervously pulled away from Keima when Clair's attention had refocused instead on the conversation that Keima was holding with them.
Keima had taken the liberty to discuss discretion with them, a topic that had actually made Rise giggle softly till she realized she wasn't really discrete at the moment.
Still, Keima felt that it was probably on deaf ears even if Clair nodded her head while he was talking. Like he had expected, Clair was more of an air-head than he thought, no, that wasn't right, she was just too full of energy and optimism... and of course, too confident to actually care about others. It would have been a bad trait if Clair did look down on others, but she was just a bundle of sunshine and so all the negative traits associated with that was not displayed, it was a huge relief too.
The two of them... was truly a complicated package.
'Yes, Maijima doesn't offer much in the form of entertainment, but if there is one place where you would wish to find it. It's here. The other shops that are located around Maijima would either be your usual mom and pop shops, small Cafés like Cafe Grandpa or speciality shops like bike repair or bakeries. This is as good as it gets.'
Which really was quite pathetic until one actually counts the local Animate branch that was located in the store. Still, they were expensive and Keima doesn't really go there much, at least unless it was for pre-orders.
'It doesn't look that big.'
Clair replied doubtfully while Keima replied smoothly.
'Maijima isn't that big either. You could take the train to DisneySea if you like. It's only a few stops away.'
'Only if Katsuragi-kun goes with us.'
Clair's line was as expected and Keima simply shook his head.
'Unfortunately that's a little too far for me.'
'Ehh.. that's quite mean of you, Katsuragi-kun!'
But Clair was just teasing too and the two of them continued to speak, till Keima realized that he had been speaking a little more than he was used to doing. It could be a side effect of the latest capture, Miyabi Eru... It had truly affected him in more ways than one, perhaps helping him to cope better in the real but he didn't need that, not right now as it was only encouraging the two girls.
'Katsuragi-san, what is nice to eat here?'
Keima grabbed onto Rise's sudden question in relief, it beats trying to answer Clair's next question about what was fun in Maijima. Honestly, he wouldn't know that, the real never really did concern him after all and he knew that the girls would just drag him about to discover that, at least Rise would. That'll be any development of a flag for the two of them, which was what he didn't need now. At least if it's food, it wouldn't be that bad as there was a limit to how much the two girls could eat.
'I wouldn't know. I don't eat out much.'
Keima replied truthfully while the twins fell silent as well, the two of them looking at each other before Rise nodded her head at her sister, possibly giving her permission. That was all the warning that Keima received before Clair pulled Keima with her into a nearby shop.
'Then Katsuragi-kun should totally come with us! We're going to explore this whole place today! After this, you can tell us what is nice and what is not!'
Clair didn't even look back, nor did he expect Keima to pull back from her selfish request. Keima really did want to, he did, till he felt Rise's hands clutching on to his other hand and pushing him forward gently as well.
As Keima followed slowly, making Clair struggle a little, he looked to the side to see Rise blushing before nodding her head in agreement.
'Kanon-nee told us... Katsuragi-san never goes out much... So... this... this is a good opportunity. Could Keima-san, accompany us for a while longer?'
It was a selfish request, from his experiences with the ideal, this was a flag for an 'event' and 'events' would drag for longer than they seem to be. It was the truth, one of the few that would always be constant in the world. Seeing how he had called it earlier on, he wasn't that surprised.
'Katsuragi-kun! Let's go, let's go!'
They were not heroines, they were just associates, not even truly friends. They were relatives of a heroine for gods sake, and he was not even 'capturing' Kanon at the moment. There was just no reason for him to even entertain the two children like that.
'Please, Katsuragi-san. Just... for a little while.'
Rise's shy smile and Clair's excited one made Keima sigh, if he backed out of this one, it might actually lead to another more painful one in the future.
The real was more dangerous than he thought.
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'I didn't think that Katsuragi-san would really... come.'
Rise admitted shyly as the two of them shared a booth by themselves in the ice-cream parlour that Clair had dragged the two of them in. Guess even with his best efforts, he was forced to accompany them to places more than what he had agreed to. At least he was allowed to continue his games while doing so, so it wasn't that much of a loss.
This was a conversation that reminded Keima so much of the earlier capture, and he had to keep his emotions in check while commenting that Rise was really mature, much more mature for her age at least.
'Thank you, Katsuragi-san... many people... say so. But... I don't think that's true.'
Rise shook her head while Keima simply tilted her head, inviting her to continue.
'… Because even now, I'm still just taking care of my sister... and amusing her... letting her have her way.'
Rise actually sighed a little, frowning a little as she asked Keima what he thought of Clair.
'I... We are going to attend High School next year, Katsuragi-san... the two of us, we have... something important to do when we reach that age... But it's so hard for me to think about... what's going to happen. What... every one else has decided for us and not do anything about it.'
Clair paused for a moment before blushing and shaking her head.
'I-I'm sorry... I... I didn't realize it... I'm sorry for telling you this, Katsuragi-san...'
Rise blushed even more when Keima shook his head and said that was normal, and that she probably needed someone to listen to her talk, just for a little while.
'The two of you are at the age where you should start thinking about the future.'
Keima followed and regurgitated one of the most commonly given advise in the world, but it seems that Rise never really thought of it or had someone tell her that as she blinked in wonder before nodding her head.
'But... it'll just be me... Clair-chan won't... want to.'
Rise admitted shyly while playing with her own hands nervously, her index fingers touching each other while she fidgeted. Keima knew those signs, he knew what could happen, what's worse, he probably made it worse but he shrugged it off.
Perhaps those rumours about him being a playboy was right after all... the ideal, no doubt this was the ideal's plan all the while.
But he too was loathe to just give up a heroine when she was obviously in need of his help. This particular lost sheep needed his advise, and needed it now!
Now all he needed... wait, when did he start classifying the real girls as heroines?
'Katsuragi-san?'
Rise's voice broke him out of his own inner struggles, and from the look of things, he had just lost a few flags as Rise looked a little disappointed as she looked at him expectedly as well.
How does one do that anyway! Damn the real, this beats a CG any day of the week! The Capturing Godwould not admit that the real is better than the ideal!
'Katsuragi-san...'
Rise definitely looked disappointed now, but she perked up when Keima cleared his throat before continuing his conversation.
'I'm sure that Clair is thinking about the future in her own way. You should not worry so much, Rise.'
Keima spoke sincerely as he turned to look at Clair, all excited as she stared and sampled the different ice-cream that was given to her by the attendant. She was just adorable enough to get that treatment, but being twins must have inured Rise to Clair's innate charm.
'Everyone thinks and acts on the future in different ways. Inside her, Clair knows that there would be the time where she would have to grow up, where she would face the future together with you. She is just doing it her own way.'
'Her... own way...?'
'Just like Rise is doing her best in your own way, Clair is too.'
'But... she's just playing... she just wants to have fun.'
The answer that Keima was giving her was not enough to sate the very serious and mature twin, but Keima simply chuckled a little before leaning back in his seat. He could see the ending miles away, and he could navigate this event with his eyes closed, seeing how simple it was!
'You're too eager to grow up, Rise. Just like how Clair doesn't want to grow up.'
Keima's words made Rise pause before turning redder than ever.
'It's not a bad thing... nor is it really a good thing. It all depends on how you view it... But you're right, perhaps it is time for you and Clair to talk about what the two of you would want to do and how you two are going to handle it.'
..
'What were the two of you talking about just now, Rise-chan?'
Clair asked all of a sudden as they were having their ice-creams, and her question made Rise hesitate a little as she dug into her sundae. Only for a moment though, as the younger twin shook her head and said that Keima was sharing some life lessons with her.
As it was the truth, Keima nodded his head absent-mindedly. He didn't like sweet things, and thus had ordered a cup of black coffee for himself.
In front of Clair and Rise were two different sundaes, and Keima took amusement in noting that their tastes in ice-cream were different too. Clair was happy having many different flavors in her ice-cream while Rise had stubbornly stuck with a single flavor, chocolate, for her sundae. Clair had teased Rise on her sundae being 'bland'. But on the same note, Rise had commented that she picked her favourite flavor and would enjoy it the most, while Rise would have to be contend with mixing the flavors of her sundae.
When faced with such a resounding argument, Clair had no answer and found herself staring at her sundae in regret till Keima cleared his throat and told Clair to ignore what Rise had said.
'Did you like the flavors that you chose, Clair?'
'Mmm... I did.'
Clair was uncharacteristically down as she nodded in reply, but she did perk up when Keima continued and said that in that case, the mixture of tastes would still be something that she liked.
'A-Ah... that's right! Katsuragi-kun is a genius!'
Clair clapped her hands together in joy while giving Keima a look of adoration. Keima, for his part, simply shrugged and encouraged her to dig in, even as he started on his coffee while returning to his PFP.
The twins had dragged her around the shopping district, window showing around first before popping into shops that interested them. Keima took the time to reflect on why he had gotten so soft, why he was, it was hard for him to admit this, but why it had became easier for him to accept being integrated into the real.
The previous justification that he had used when he was swept or dragged along by the captured girls, was simply that it was the lesser of two evils. It was easier to deal with the whimsical wishes of the girls in the ideal than having to deal with the risk and the repercussions of the 'captured' girls being possessed by Weiss if he broke the very delicate balance that he had created.
It was just a risk after all, and after the past months development, Keima had found himself unable to justify his actions with just that. Simply put, and he had to be very truthful with himself, due partly to his efforts and his interactions, it was very unlikely that the girls would suffer a relapse.
That conclusion was made even firmer thanks to Aoba's ministration of the 'truce' that had been maintained, and even after it was disbanded. The girls were able to find different reasons to fill the gap in their heart, even if their affections for him might be spurned.
Keima was very proud of Aoba for her efforts, especially so since as she had been the one who saw the importance of the girl's relationships and friendship before he even made his first steps to maintain the status quo. Aoba was her student indeed!
Still, it was also quite reasonably fitting and ironic for Keima that Aoba was also the one who was responsible for pushing and integrating him into the real.
Before Keima had realized it, he had grudgingly been more accepting of the real and had began to stop rejecting it automatically when he had to interact or to deal with it.
Part of the reason for that was due to how the 'captured' girls was denizens of the real while he had transcended to the ideal, well, as much as he was able to anyway.
Thus, when the girls wanted his company, he had to do it in the real. Keima was both accepting and resigned to the train of thoughts. Aoba had been the one who had mitigated, and had all but fully made it impossible for the worst case scenario to develop. But had also been responsible for pulling her 'Kami-sama', her teacher and her crush/desired person, into what he disliked the most in the world.
Pure irony indeed, perhaps Aoba herself was not Keima's student after all if she had not seen those repercussions?
..
But one couldn't pin it all on Aoba. Nor on the others as well. She and the captured girls might have contributed to it, but Keima himself had been the one who had gotten accustomed to it. The real was a scary place indeed, habits, when once built, was hard to break after all.
Still, on a final note, like how Keima had mentioned to himself before. Perhaps the final nail in the coffin was the person that he was trying to forget. She had been the one had perhaps showed to him that the real wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. She had also been the one who had forced him to embrace the real too, even if it was only for a while.
Once again, Keima's thoughts drifted to the girl known as...
'Are you thinking about Kanon-nee, Katsuragi-kun? Or about someone else?'
Clair's cheerful voice made Keima start as he looked up to see Clair in a new dress that she had apparently wanted to try on. The twins had been window shopping for most of the trip, for which Keima was thankful for. But it seemed that she had finally found something she liked in this shop that they had been browsing for a while now.
What unnerved him a little was how Rise too seemed confused and interested as she stood behind Clair, the times that the twins were in agreement, they won't stop till they get answers.
Keima was too distracted at the moment to know whether the two of them had discussed this beforehand or had Clair just spoken out of reflex.
If it was the latter, Keima had a bad feeling about this. The signs were there, he had amplified a few today, but it really couldn't be that easy, could it?
Oh, who was he kidding. With his luck, and his status as God, it's all but guaranteed at the moment.
Now, how to break the news the easiest?
'Someone else.'
Keima answered truthfully, but he asked Clair why did she ask that question in the first place. It wasn't too uncommon for him to lose track of his surroundings due to the ideal. The girls themselves were used to it, and they had developed their own ways to make Keima pay attention to him.
Kanon by wrapping her arm around his, Chihiro by poking him in intervals for his attention, Ayumi by simply tapping the back of his head. Those were a few of the examples, but the key problem was that they knew when his mind and thoughts weren't with them.
The twins, who barely knew Keima, should not have been able to notice him spacing out like that.
'Because Katsuragi-kun is not playing his PFP. You keep staring at it... you normally just type very fast. You were thinking about someone else? Kanon-nee would be sad. Who are you thinking about? … Katsuragi-kun, you sound sad too.'
Clair answered seriously with a sheepish smile, but Keima caught the guilty look on Rise's face as she looked down briefly, her cheeks lighting up in the progress.
'It's nothing... and I'm thinking about someone that I want to forget.'
Keima offered Clair a sad smile before he changed the topic, choosing to comment on Clair's new outfit instead.
'It suits you well... but you should get a darker belt with it. That'll make it stand out. To be unique, you must accessorize. First impression counts, and clothes has always been a window to a person's soul. However, one must always remember, it is always the content and not the packaging that counts.'
Keima recited firmly to the twins as they just stared at him while he did so, not really understanding what was going on but simply humoring him as he spoke. Well, maybe Rise understood as she nodded her head.
Clair had spoken a white lie, a lie of omission as the look that Keima had on him earlier, was familiar to the two of them. It was the same look that their cousin, Kanon gave on occasion at the start of the year.
It seemed unlikely that the two young girls would be able to read moods and emotions so well, but there were plenty of things that Keima did not know about the Nakano twins. Things that Kanon herself encouraged them to keep a secret, for as long as they were able to.
..
'Thank you for today, Keima-kun!'
'Thank you very much for accompanying us today, Katsuragi-san.'
The twins bowed to him politely in thanks even as Kanon smiled at them from behind them. It was close to evening, and just as the twins were done with the shopping district, Kanon and her manager had called to inform them that they would like to pick them up for dinner.
'It's so sweet of you to be with them today, Keima-kun. I'm really grateful.'
Kanon tried to give Keima a big smile too, one that was fully obscured due to the get-up that she was wearing. A bigger than usual black boy's cap to hide her pink hair, a face mask to hide her features and large, dark sunglasses to hide her eyes.
'And I as well, Katsuragi-san. Thank you for taking care of the two of them for us. I admit, I was worried that they would have gotten into trouble by themselves.'
Ms. Okada, Kanon's manager, gave the twins a measuring look before pushing her glasses up and thanking him again.
'I must give my personal thanks to you as well. Rise-chan aside, I do apologize for Clair's stubbornness, you must have been dragged from place to place by her.'
The twinkling in Ms. Okada's eyes was not missed by Keima as she teased Clair. The above-mentioned twin simply pouting and protesting in reply while Rise nodded solemnly too behind Clair.
Keima would have chuckled, but he had something else on his mind as he walked close to Kanon before resting a hand on her shoulder.
'Could we have a moment in private please, Ms. Okada?'
Keima's question made Ms. Okada freeze up, but before she could reply, Kanon had already started pulling Keima away without even waiting for an answer.
'We'll be quick, Okada-san!'
Kanon called out urgently even as she pulled Keima with her without any hesitation at all.
It would almost be cute, seeing how desperate and eager Kanon was, but Keima didn't have time and the mood to really be cheered up by a sight that would have made dozens, perhaps hundred of fanboys squeal in joy.
Especially when the topic was like a ticking time bomb.
..
Author's Notes: Another ... Diabetic inducing and passionate confession from Kanon, that makes it one in Azalea Side, Blue Rose Paradox and one in Side Collection. And I'm not that much of a Kanon fan myself, oh well. Hope you guys liked it! R&R Would be nice!