Hello, everyone! I'm back!
At long last...
So yeah... it's been around 3 months since I last updated and this is definitely the longest it had ever taken me to update and I'm ashamed of myself. Well, part of it was university being very busy and time-consuming, part of it was that I was stuck, because writing KanonxKeima is really difficult at times... but a big part of it was my own laziness, so I'm still very ashamed of myself.
Anyway, I finally managed to put this chapter together, but before we get into that there's one issue to deal with. As you obviously can see I'm alive. I haven't gone on hiatus and I don't intend to. And I'll try to post another chapter in under a issue is elsewhere.
The thing is I'd like for some method to let you guys know about the progress on my chapters. The first idea would be to just release an "author's note" chapter, but I don't want that for several reasons. It's not flexible, it's frowned up by the site and, most importantly of all, I don't enjoy it when I get a chapter notification only to learn it's author's notes and I bet you don't like either...
...so I decided on another approach, one I was thinking about implementing way before, just didn't do it. I'll start to put updates on my profile (along with dates), so you'd be able to see what's the progress on the next chapter and make sure I'm alive. I'll try to udpate it at least once per week, maybe more. That way people that are not interested won't get any annoying updates and the people that are curious can always go to my profile and check.
I'd also like for you to give me feedback (through PMs or reviews) how you feel about this idea.
I'm also sorry if the last chapter wasn't to your expectations. Wish it'd go better, but that had been particularly difficult to write. I hope this chapter is better.
As usual, I want to thank for every single review, follow and favorite I've received. And I want to especially thank for all my readers that continue to read my stories despite the 3-month break.
Below are replies to latest reviews:
Ghost Man: glad you liked the mouse cornering scene :). I hope you'll continue to enjoy future chapters.
Shawn Raven (older review): glad to see you review that chapter. I'm very happy that the effort I put into scenes with Kanon's parents. I also love writing interactions between certain groups of girls *cough* Mio *cough* Urara *cough* Yui ;). How did a Harry Potter reference got here? *beckons you to come closer and whispers to youe ear* It's magic! ;)
Shawn Raven (newer review): thank you very much, I definitely enjoyed writing that Nikaidō and Keima scene :). Yep, Keima excels at the unexpected... I'm sure it went according to plan... the question is was it Keima's or Kanon's plan. I'm very glad you liked the scene with Miyako :) :).
Sir Sleeps-a-lot: oops... silly me :P. Laughing at you belting out songs. Would you listen to fics if they were in audio format? ;) Also, congratulations on figuring out the songs. Searching for "gets tased" running ga-oh there it is. It was nic-oh there it is again ;). Heh, it's more like half relationship upgrade (half-level up? xD). It seems you've also leveled up in dodging. :)
Leyknar: thank you very much and, once again, sorry for the delayed chapter -.-'.
Fss The Red Devil: I was busy too... as stated above, so we're kinda even :P. I'm not really sure I understood your opinions on some girls, except that they're far from perfect. So, I'm good at messing with brains of people? I'll take that as a compliment ;). Hey, my brain is not messed up... too much... Well, I'm also far from satisfied how that talking scene was written, but I guess it can't the same quality every time. Kanon is particularly hard to write and figuring out how to go about this to keep both Keima and Kanon (kinda) in character and not use too many words was rather difficult.
El Sasori69: heh, I'm sorry, but I'm glad to hear that ;). Well, your question shall be answered in this chapter. Probably :P.
KanonForever: no idea why would you think that. This chapter was a progress, after all.
Okay, I think that's enough dilly-dallying, since you've waited enough for this, so onto the chapter!
Enjoy!
(* * *)
"Are you listening, Keima?"
The God of Conquest, known to the physical plane as Keima Katsuragi, blinked twice and then looked up to the source of the voice calling him and saw the face of his mother, just like him sitting by the table.
It was the day after the party at the Shiratori estate and the entire Katsuragi family of four was having breakfast, which was a rare sight.
Keima looked at Mari for a second, before shaking his head a bit.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," he said, "could you repeat that?"
"I said that Tenri-chan and her mother invited us over in the evening."
"Is that so?" Keima asked in a bored voice.
"You mean Ayukawas?" Keima's father suddenly asked, preventing Mari's temper for flaring up.
"Yes," Mari confirmed, "and it'd be rude to not come, especially since I assured Yuuko-san that we will visit them. And I mean ALL of us," her gaze went towards her son.
Keima didn't say anything, only nodded his head, before standing up.
"Thank you for the meal", he said.
"Are you done eating already?" Mari asked, looking at his half-eaten portion.
"I'm not hungry," Keima replied, pulling a PFP seemingly out of nowhere and walking towards the stairs.
"That kid will seriously lose weight if he's going to eat like that..." Mari shook her head. "As if spending days in that dark room of his wasn't enough..."
A conversation between Mari and Keiichi started, but Eri wasn't listening, her eyes looking at where Keima had left.
(* * *)
Keima entered his room and went straight for his bed and lay down on it, his fingers pressing the buttons on his console all the time. For the next half an hour he continued to play his current galge, but he made less progress than he expected to make.
Finally, he shut down his PFP and put it on his bedside table, before he put his hands behind his head. His gaze was fixed on the ceiling, but his mind went beyond that.
Thinking...
The yesterday events were still fresh on his mind, yet they were surprisingly clouded at the same time. On one hand he remembered everything clearly and he had his understanding of what happened and why.
Rejecting Kanon or running away with no answer was certainly too dangerous. If there was one thing Keima remembered about the pink-haired idol, it was how terrifying she was when faced with disobedience. Almost like his own mother.
It was also true that Kanon had a tight schedule, which meant she shouldn't interfere with his life often... well at least not as often as some other girls could.
Moreover, dangerous situations became even worse when chaos was introduced. And that could end badly for him. To avoid and limit any possible damage to him and his gaming time like that Keima had to seize control of the flags. All the flags.
Thus, having Kanon closer to him would mean having flags closer to him, where he could see them before they were haphazardly raised.
However, on the other hand, there were parts of him that told him the situation was not quite so simple...
First, his current situation was obviously dangerous. And unprecedented. While not even close to typical dating, Keima Katsuragi was now technically in a relationship with a girl...
...a real girl...
...that was his classmate...
...and a national idol.
That part alone was already unfathomable. Controlling the flags or not, he was still on a route.
Oh god, he was on a route in the real! How did that happen? He felt like snorting. He knew exactly how this had happened. Kanon's dare, her challenge, did affect him. It was a very smart of her to do that. However, he knew that this alone wouldn't make him cave in, as there were two additional reasons that made him accept Kanon's request.
First reason was simple. Keima felt guilty.
Of course he felt guilty for a lot of things, the most prominent being deceiving Ayumi, putting the burden on Tenri and giving her false hope. And obviously breaking Chihiro's heart. And there was Kanon getting stabbed.
From one viewpoint, the first three offenses were more his fault. He knew what was doing when he was rejecting Chihiro or giving Tenri her task. From a different viewpoint though, what happened to Kanon was much more dangerous. She could have died for God's sake! That was why right now, when Chihiro, Ayumi and Tenri seemed to be fine, the guilt over letting Kanon get hurt got to him. No matter what he thought of the real and real girls, he couldn't just ignore Kanon's pleas.
The second reason was even simple than the previous one. Keima was simply curious.
He knew that the moment he had decided to "play" the real, he would change, but the speed and extent of the change had surprised him. For a moment he had feared his enthusiasm for saving game heroines had been copied to real life heroines, as if he was about to journey the world, saving any cute real life girl, but nothing like that happened. Yes, he was closer to his real world conquest girls, but he wasn't attracted to any of them, including Kanon. However, he was still curious and with Kanon persistence he lost the reason to refuse.
Of course, he wasn't about to tell anyone that, but the fact remained that Kanon had kinda asked him out and he had kinda agreed and he still couldn't wrap his head around it.
Maybe, he was overthinking it and the explanation was much simpler. Maybe he was losing his touch... the very thought was ridiculous, but there was a lot of evidence...
Him helping Kanon with her drama shooting problem...
Him going to that party yesterday...
While he could handle those fine on the surface, such social interactions were too big of a shock, so he had decided he needed to be alone for a while, so he had went to the clearing on the Shiratori grounds, thinking no-one would look for him there...
...exactly where Kanon had found him yesterday.
And here was the biggest proof of his downfall. It was true he had been testing Kanon's resolve, but he had executed that flag very poorly. He had been too harsh, had acted too hasty and and he had almost hurt a real girl deep... again...
Long story short: he truly deserved the tasing he had gotten yesterday...
Keima laughed dryly, realizing the name he had chosen for his galge website had never been more fitting.
He truly was a fallen god now...
His murky thoughts were interrupted when he heard a telltale sound coming from his bedside table. He reached with his hand and picked up his PFP. Obviously, he got an email and he kinda had an idea from who it was. He read the mail and was immediately proven right.
Keima-kun,
I wanted to thank you for yesterday and for your presents, I like them very much. I'm going out with my parents today, need to use the last few of my days off.
Keima stopped to think. On one hand, this e-mail came rather early, considering that Kanon should be sleeping in. On the other hand, he remembered all too well how Kanon's could e-mail him over thirty times a day with the most trivial of issues. She probably didn't want to come across as annoying. Keima had been expecting it though. He was actually surprised Kanon endured so long without sending him a message.
Keima read the rest of the e-mail and once again paused to think. He was about to start his reply when he heard a knocking on the door, making him leap into the air a little.
"Nii-sama?" the high-pitched, but quiet voice of his twin sister came from the other side of the door.
"What do you want?" Keima asked as he exited the e-mail app and started up a random game.
"Can I come in?" the voice answered.
"If you must," Keima replied, but only after he had started a new game.
The door opened and Eri, or rather her back, entered the room. The girl then turned around, revealing what Keima suspected she was carrying – a tray with food.
"You just ate breakfast," he reminded her, hoping he was wrong.
"This isn't for me, nii-sama," she brought the tray to his bedside table, "this is for you."
He narrowed his eyes dangerously, but Eri just smiled.
"It's no good to leave half-eaten breakfast like that, nii-sama. It is the most important meal of the day after all. It's common sense."
"Did you of all people, really just speak of common sense just now?" he asked, but his sister's only response was to grab a sandwich and place it in front of his mouth. "You're not going to feed me like a newborn?"
"Newborns don't eat sandwiches," Eri said matter-of-factly, "now, say aah..."
Keima snorted and snatched the sandwich from her hand and bit it.
"Fhank you, Eli," he said as he swallowed, "you can leave now."
Eri smiled... and walked closer, sitting on his bed.
"So... what's up?" the female Katsuragi asked.
"You tell me," her brother replied, "what's up with you today?"
"Yesterday's party was really nice, don't you think so, nii-sama?" Eri said in answer.
Keima took another bite, thinking. Thank goddesses, that Eri wasn't good at keeping secrets or cornering people, because it was obvious she had felt something was different with him today. She might be scatterbrained, but she was one of the girls who stayed close to him the most and thus understood him relatively well, considering her opinion on games and overall silliness. Damn, he shouldn't have spaced out so much during the breakfast. Still, she had only detected something and nothing more, so as long as he played it right she won't learn anything more.
"Go grab your jacket," he said.
"Huh?"
"I'm going to buy games," Keima told her. "I'll buy you a new issue of Rescue Fan."
Eri was silent for a moment, mulling it over.
"Fine," she said finally, "but I'm not carrying your games."
"I didn't plan on you carrying it," Keima replied, but Eri didn't really listen, already walking out of the room with a smile on her lips, her mind undoubtedly full of firetrucks.
Once the door closed, Keima sighed in relief. He was saved. For now. He took another sandwich and went back to his e-mail app. He had to reply before Eri returned.
A minute later she knocked on his door again.
"Are you ready, nii-sama?"
"Yes," the boy responded as he pressed the "send" button.
"Let's go."
(* * *)
"Did something good happen?"
Kanon blinked before she looked up from her phone and at her father who asked the question.
"What do you mean?" she asked back.
"You looked into your phone and smiled," Mr. Nakagawa said.
"It's just an e-mail from one of my friends," Kanon replied truthfully, pocketing her phone.
"I wonder which friend is that," Kanon's mother whispered from the other side, quietly enough so her husband wouldn't hear her.
He also didn't see a wink and smile Mrs. Nakagawa sent her daughter.
Kanon immediately looked in front of her, trying to prevent her face from heating and not completely succeeding.
"Anyway, let's go!" she said as she grabbed each of her parent by hand and sped up like an excited primary school kid.
(* * *)
"Welcome!" Yūko Aykawa said as she opened the door, greeting the entire Katsuragi family. The guests entered the Ayukawa household and Keima immediately decided that 6 people was a tad too much for such a small space, not to mention that one more person was waiting in the corridor.
"Tenri, come here, don't be shy!" Mrs. Ayukawa said, bringing her daughter to the front.
"Um... good evening," Tenri greeted quietly, somehow surprising Keima. It seemed a simple event like this intimidated her more than jumping into a vortex of chaos and time, which kinda worried him. His attention then briefly switched to the only person here that he didn't know – the burly brown-haired man that was apparently Tenri's father – before Eri stole the spotlight as usual.
The group quickly moved to the living room, where a table was prepared. They were just about to sit down and Keima was just preparing for a few hours of torment, when his mother spoke.
"This is really comfy... perhaps too comfy."
"What do you mean, Mari-san?" Mrs. Ayukawa furrowed her brow.
"This might be a little too hard to fit 7 people by this table... perhaps children could move upstairs?" Mari replied, tossing Tenri's mother a gaze that was meaningful to everyone but Eri.
Mrs. Ayukawa was already opening her mouth for an obviously less-than-polite retort, but then she closed it.
"Tenri," she said after a moment, "how about you show Keima-kun your room?"
Tenri immediately became flustered, while Keima fought the urge to groan. Eri on the other hand seemed excited.
"Aahh... Eri-chan you could stay with us here," Mari said, clearly wanting to get Tenri and Keima alone for a while, but Eri seemed oblivious.
"I want to see some of Tenri-chan's magic tricks!" she said as the three teens left the living room.
(* * *)
"I'm sorry," Tenri said as soon as they entered her room.
"It's fine," Keima answered, "besides, it's my mother who started this, so I'm the one who's sorry."
"Anyway, please make yourself at home, I'll bring some snacks," Tenri said as she left.
During the next half an hour Tenri showed Eri a few new tricks and several old ones. After that Eri started a conversation, which Tenri joined. Keima on the other hand was mostly listening, as the topics were too random and too unimportant for his taste.
He was surprised Diana didn't make an appearance so far. Even more surprising was the fact that Kanon took 2 hours to answer his e-mail. Frankly, a reply in under 2 seconds was more likely in his mind.
"Keima-kun?"
He blinked and turned to Tenri, who had called him and internally cursed. He had been too absent-minded today!
"Yes, what is it?" he asked.
"I asked you if you wanted some pocky," Elsie said, offering him the said snack.
"I don't like sweet things," Keima replied matter-of-factly, "did you already forget that?"
"Tenri-chan just said those are coffee and green tea flavored," the female Katsuragi said in whiny voice. "Geez, you seem really out of it today, nii-sama!"
"Ah, sorry about that," Keima said causally. He wasn't looking at Tenri, afraid of what he would see.
For a moment it was quiet, before Tenri reached out for the pocky in Eri's hand.
"I'll get some the-"
It happened in a flash. Tenri knocked over a glass that was on the low table. Eri instinctively raised her hand, limiting the amount of juice that drenched her clothes, most of it landing on her arm and floor.
"Oh, god, I'm so sorry!" Tenri said, grabbing a few tissues with surprising graceness and trying to clear the mess.
"Ahaha... it's okay," Eri said with a weak smile, "umm... where is the bathroom? I'll wash this off."
"That won't be enough," Tenri stood up and walked to her closet, retrieving some shirt. "Here, you can change into some of my clothes... and you should take a quick shower."
"It's not really necessary," Eri tried, but Tenri pushed the shirt into her hands in a very un-Tenri like way, which was even weirder, because Keima could see no wings at all.
"The bathroom is to the left, here's a towel," the girl added another article of clothing onto Eri's arms, before all but pushing the girl outside and closing the door.
Tenri wanted to interrogate him. This Keima realized in an instant. Still this realization was much too late, because when Tenri Ayukawa – also known as Keima lie detector – turned around there was a small and mysterious smile on her lips.
"So... Keima-kun, do you want to tell me what this is about?"
Keima was silent for a moment, before he came to a decision.
"No."
"I know something's going on. It's no use pretending otherwise," Tenri said.
"I'm not pretending otherwise," Keima replied, "I just don't want to talk about it."
It was Tenri, so she wouldn't try to force him, right?
The dark-haired teen walked up to him and sat down in front of him with a neutral expression on her face, while Keima looked back with what he was hoping was annoyed glance.
Tenri didn't budge though. Now, how long could Eri take in that shower? All he had to do was stay firm and noth-
"Is it about Kanon-chan?" Tenri suddenly asked.
"W-what?" Keima uttered loudly in surprise.
"Oh, so it is about Kanon-chan..." Tenri said in slight surprise as well, leaning back when Keima raised his voice.
"Hmph... you have no proof," he accused.
"Hm... I did meet her when going back from the party yesterday," Tenri said, "she was surprised you weren't going back with me, so I told you you weren't going home yet and then she went into another direction."
"So?" Keima asked curtly.
"You seemed a bit distracted today," Tenri went on, "moreover, you act more social and polite today than usual."
"So do you," Keima noticed.
"I guess I always wanted to be more social... just couldn't do it," Tenri said. "You are different though, Keima-kun. You acted the way you did because you chose that. It was what me and a lot of other people found admirable about you. Today you're a bit different though," she paused for a moment. "So... what happened?"
"What makes you think I'll tell you?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll tell me," Tenri said, "the only question is whether you'll be done answering before Eri is back."
"Okay, okay, this is about Kanon," Keima admitted, trying to ignore the smile on Tenri's face.
"I'm listening," the dark-haired girl said.
Keima sighed. And then he started talking.
(* * *)
"Don't want to meet... I want to meet... Though I don't want it... I love the ironic-love..." Eri hummed a song as she started to wash the juice off her skin after stepping into the shower and turning on the water.
(* * *)
"So you're worried that you rejected Kanon-chan?" Tenri asked when Keima had reached the most important part of his short story. It didn't take him long to reach it either, as he tried to be as concise as possible, mentioning only essential stuff and avoiding any drama.
"About that," Keima said, feeling that what he was about to say was a very bad idea, "I didn't exactly reject her in the end."
Tenri blinked.
"You mean you agreed to go out with her?" she asked, her eyes widening.
"Well, it's more like try-out," Keima said, "between that and Kanon being constantly busy it won't be your typical dating, but... I did."
Tenri brought her hands together as she smiled. "That's-"
"Presumptuous!" another female voice interrupted her. There was a flash of white and the next second Keima felt himself being shaken by a part of feminine, but strong hands.
"Unforgivable!" Diana shouted, her eyes narrowed. "How could you do that to Tenri?! You impertinent, impudent, insolent, intolerable idiot!"
Wow, Keima though, her vocabulary had gotten both diverse and limited at the same time...
"Diana, stop!" there was another, smaller flash of light and Diana was gone, replaced with Tenri again.
"I'm sorry," the girl said.
"Don't be sorry," Diana spoke from a mirror on the table, the very one she spoke from when Keima was first in this house. He remembered Tenri threw the mirror out of the window back then and he kinda hoped she'd do it again. It was wishful thinking though – Tenri didn't have any secrets or embarrassment to hide this time. "He's the one who should be sorry!"
"Please don't say that, Diana," Tenri asked patiently.
"No, she's right," Keima said, making both the goddess and its host stop and look at him, "the only fair way to go about this would be for me to not date anyone at all," he looked down, guilt swelling in him, "because no matter who I'd choose, I'll always end up hurting you or Chihiro."
"With all due respect," Diana said, "Tenri had sacrificed the most of all of-" the voice of the goddess died out when Tenri knocked over the mirror, pressing its reflective surface down flat against the desk. Then she approached Keima and kneeled down next to him.
"I think you should give Kanon-chan a chance," she said, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"But you and Chihiro and-" Keima started, but Tenri pressed a finger to his lips to silence him.
"You were always like this," she said, her voice nostalgic. "Haqua-san, Ayumi-san, Diana... they were always insulting you, but I always knew better... yes, you can be proud and stubborn and a weirdo... but you've always placed your heroines before you... in games and now in real life."
Keima didn't say anything, while Tenri continued, her finger now sliding over his cheek briefly before she pulled it back.
"At the same time you've also stopped being the player... back then in the classroom ten years ago," she clarified when she saw his confused expression, "you stopped trying to control everything and let us share your burden. You stopped pressing the buttons and let the heroines act out of their own volition."
She paused for a moment, her compassionate eyes fixed on his.
"Both of those qualities are very admirable of you," she said, "but you should stop a bit, you're already overdoing it."
"What do you mean?" Keima asked and Tenri sighed.
"Look, Keima-kun, I know you wanted to save all the heroines, that you consider it your mission and you feel... guilty for us, but you have to live as well. Besides the heroines' fate there's also your own fate you need to tend to. You need to take care of your own happiness."
"You're implying I'm not happy?" Keima asked.
"You're not," Tenri said, "not before you can forgive yourself. Not before you accept that you deserve more. You stopped trying to control others, so don't let others control you now. You deserve to chose your own path to happiness. You don't have to blindly follow what others want you to follow... you don't have to do what others expect you to do... in other words," Tenri looked into his eyes, "you should give Kanon-chan a chance, but you shouldn't do it out of guilt and you shouldn't try to sacrifice yourself to please her. It's very admirable, but you can't build a healthy relationship with her in the long run like that."
"But-" Keima started, yet Tenri immediately spoke, knowing what he wanted to say.
"If it won't work out with Kanon-chan, then I'll gladly accept you and I'm sure Chihiro-san would as well... as long as you're not doing it out of guilt and not being forced... so promise me you will try your best to give Kanon-chan a fair chance."
"Fine, I promise," Keima said after a while.
"So I take it you will give it a try if Kanon wants to go on a date?" Tenri asked.
"Well... she kinda did already," Keima showed her his PFP with the e-mail app opened. "She wants to meet me the day after tomorrow. It's not exactly a date though."
"Really?" Tenri asked. "Then I wish the best for both of you... oh and one more thing," the girl who was his greatest supporter and had the most faith in him stood up and smiled slyly, "don't even think about trying to trick me. I'll know if it really didn't work out with Kanon or if you're just pretending."
And somehow, Keima believed her.
"Thank you, Tenri," was all he could say.
It was really quiet for a moment with the girl smiling gently at him, when suddenly the door opened and Eri entered the room.
"The clothes are really nice, thank your Tenri-chan," the female Katsuragi said, oblivious to the mood, "also they're calling us downstairs."
(* * *)
"Is it really, ok?" Diana asked a few hours later when Tenri climbed into her bed, "you can't hide what you heart wants after all."
"You can't always get what you want," Tenri replied matter-of-factly, "Keima-kun isn't our property."
"Our!?" Diana repeated with disdain. "Why would I even want to own such a terrible treacherous man like him!?"
Tenri shook her head. "You're still so stubborn, Diana," she said before turning to the side.
"Good luck, Keima-kun", she whispered before she fell asleep.
(* * *)
Keima didn't go to sleep though. Instead he was sitting by his desk, alternating between frantically writing on sheets of paper and just sitting there, gazing into the night in thought.
The sky above the horizon was already turning bright when finally the light in the window of Keima's room went out.
(* * *)
It was an afternoon two days later and Keima had just walked out of his house. He was wearing a sweater over a shirt with a scarf draped over his neck and a backpack on his back. It was still March and the spring had only recently managed to drive the winter away. Keima once more checked his watch. It was 2 o'clock confirming that he was on schedule. Good, he thought, before he started walking in the direction of the train station.
He had managed to leave the house through the residential entrance on the designated time without being bothered by anyone. To this end he hadn't bought games in the last two days, so he'd have an excuse to leave the house without rousing any suspicion.
Just as planned.
Soon, he arrived at the Maijima train station and boarded a train towards Narusawa City. Once there, he proceeded to visit his regular point of interest there – Soft House Collie game shop.
Half an hour later, Keima left the shop, his small backpack holding a new load of dating sim games, as he once again checked his watch. He still had some time left. On the other hand, the time left was less than planned, as he had let the gaming shelves absorb him a bit too much. Thus, he decided to proceed to his main point of interest today.
His date-not-date with Kanon.
Frankly, Keima was walking a little blindly here. He was a pro at accomplishing dates in games, but he wasn't stupid enough to believe the dates in the real world were like that. For one, dates in galges didn't consist only of regular events. It was normal for something unexpected to happen, like some thugs or meeting another heroine. It short, the dates were rigged with chances for the player to prove himself, earning additional love points, or chances for screwing up, resulting in immediate bad end. In real world the chances of something like that happening were much lower, though Keima surmised that between Kanon being an idol and a goddess host and him being associated with hell, some unorthodox events were possible.
However, not only was this not a regular game date. It was not even a regular real date! First, Kanon was a time-deprived idol that could not show herself in public without starting a commotion. Not to mention that he was the last person the general public expected her to meet.
Finally and most important of all, his relationship with Kanon was unorthodox as well. It was somewhere in-between, walking the boundary separating "just friends" from "boyfriend and girlfriend". Thus, what was happening today was not a date. It was just a meeting between two unorthodox friends with the goal of knowing each other better and determining if a closer relationship was to be pursed... then again, wasn't that the definition of a date? Well, at least Keima could expect such events to not be exactly regular, what with Kanon's job and her permanent lack of time.
Still, it was important to stay focused, he could never know what would happen. He did chose Narusawa as the place for the date-not-date on purpose to avoid running into some people he knew, as improbable as it was, but there was still a lot outside of his control. For example...
He looked over his shoulder, but saw no-one. Not that he expected to see anyone.
He arrived at the meeting spot and pulled out his PFP to pass the time. It was still five minutes till the designated time, when he heard a voice.
"Keima-kun!"
Keima blinked. In all honesty, he hasn't been expecting for Kanon to arrive on time, but it was definitely her voice. He raised his head and started to look around, not knowing what kind of disguise the idol was using this time. And then he found her. And blinked again.
There was Kanon Nakagawa, wearing stockings, a pink skirt and blouse and a darker jacket. It was much less fancy than what she wore on stage and she was wearing next to no makeup. On the other hand, it was not plain and not exactly casual – Kanon was certainly trying to make a good impression.
And most important of all – her hair was pink and uncovered, completed with her trademark yellow ribbon. Aside from the fact she was wearing glasses she looked pretty normal, which screamed trouble.
"Is something wrong?" Kanon asked, apparently noticing the look on his face.
"What happened to your disguise?" Keima asked.
"Oh, this," Kanon turned her head, looking over her outfit, "it's not a problem."
"We're in Narusawa City in broad daylight for goddesses' sake!" Keima reminded her. "How is that not a problem?"
Come to think of it, people weren't looking in their direction, even though Kanon walked like that the entire way. This made no sense.
Unless...
"Disguises are really troublesome and all, so I asked Apollo for help," Kanon said with a smile. "She wasn't thrilled as illusions are not her forte, but she agreed and did this," she turned on the spot, letting her skirt float into the wind.
"This is an illusion?" Keima repeated.
"That's right," Kanon said, "only me and Keima-kun can see through it... so are we going?"
(* * *)
Even though it was only second half of March and it was still a bit chilly, the Dezeni Sea theme park was already bustling with activity. Keima had been to this theme park several times already, by now its attractions being more or less known to him. He didn't have the best memories of it though. He had went there for Kusunoki's conquest and it had been boring and ineffective. He had went there to cheer Elsie up after what had happened during Hinoki's conquest, but he was there concerned with Elsie's depression and once again the theme park hadn't been able to solve the issue. Then was the "double date" with Tenri and Haqua, which was all but a total disaster. And then there was Yui's reconquest. This was the only time Dezeni Sea was effective as an event place and even that required some additional effort and help of magic.
In short, in Keima Katsuragi's opinion this place was moderate at most.
Kanon Nakagawa, however, had a vastly different opinion.
"That was great!" the idol said as the two of them just got off their roller coaster ride.
Keima didn't particularly agree on this part either, roller coasters made him very dizzy. It definitely wasn't something he enjoyed, but he had promised Tenri he'd be serious about this, so he didn't complain.
"So, where are we going next?" Kanon asked.
"Wherever you want," Keima replied, "I'm fine with everywhere."
"That won't do," Kanon said, "isn't there any place you'd want to go?" she then paused. "Are you having fun at all?"
"Moderately," he replied truthfully.
"Is my company disturbing you this much?" Kanon asked, her voice laced with sadness.
"No," he said, "trust me, your company is the best aspect of this entire event."
"R-really?" Kanon perked up, not expecting that answer.
"A lot of you people seem to think my opinion on you is much lower than it really is," Keima noticed, referring to the girls he had conquered in general.
"Can you blame us though?" Kanon said quietly.
"Did you say something?"
"Ah... how about we try this?" Kanon pointed to another attraction, one that Keima recognized as well.
"Shooting gallery?" Keima remarked.
"Yes, let's see..." Kanon surveyed the western-themed booth for a moment, before she pointed her finger. "Let's start with this one!"
"Huh?" Keima looked at the middle-sized plushie she was pointing at. "You want me to win that for you?"
"But of course," Kanon paid the owner and retrieved the gun. "Here! The theme is saving a girl and you're trying to win the prize for the girl as well. It shouldn't be a problem for a God of Conquest, should it?"
(* * *)
Keima was doing fairly well at first, so Kanon started to cheer him on, though she doubted he'd need that. It just happened. She didn't know if it had any effect on Keima, but whatever had, the final effect was spectacular.
"Oh, my..."
"Okaa-san, is that boy a magician?"
"He must be cheating! I'm sure I saw him wielding two guns!"
"How wonderful..."
A small crowd had gathered around the stand, while the stand owner looked as if he was about to cry as he watched Keima hit the targets without fail, seemingly knowing where they would appear before they appeared.
Maybe he was the one who made them appear?
"Thank you my hero," the cardboard heroine spoke as Keima shot down the last bandit. And then the applause started.
(* * *)
"Is that really, okay? Leaving just with this?" he clarified, pointing to the two rewards he and Kanon were carrying.
"Of course," Kanon replied, smiling, "you don't want the poor man to go bankrupt, do you?"
"No, but you could have chosen more," Keima noticed.
"Yes, but it's not like I have shortage of plushies or anything," Kanon said and Keima remembered all the stuff Eri got from the idol's fans when she was substituting for her.
"Then why get this one?" he asked.
"Because you won it for me," Kanon said simply, "I'll treasure it."
Keima shook his head, but he didn't mind it. Actually, this was better than he had expected.
"Are you a god?" Kanon suddenly asked.
"Was I too subtle about my title?" Keima chuckled.
"I'm serious," Kanon turned to him, watching him carefully, "that back then was the second time you had a gun like that in your hand, right?"
"No," Keima replied. "I've done this before somewhere one or twice."
"Still, that was unreal. You were like a master marksman back there," she looked at him again. "Are you certain you're human? You know, magic is absurd, but seeing stuff being done by supernatural beings with magic kinda makes sense. The stuff you do with your skill doesn't."
"Does it bother you?" Keima asked.
"Well, it can be a little intimidating at times," Kanon admitted, "it certainly makes people self-conscious, when we all have to work so hard and you just come and do stuff off the top of your head."
"The reason I can do stuff off the top of my head is because I remember stuff," Keima told her patiently, "and the reason I remember it is because I put much effort into learning and remembering it... I played countless games and refined my skills, don't make it sound like I was born with it."
"Says the guy who was fluent in galge terminology and knew what harem endings were at the age of seven," Kanon deflected. "The same guy who can remember events in minute intervals. Also-"
"Okay, okay, you're right, I got it!" Keima yielded. "Geez, you're persistent."
"You've no idea," Kanon smiled, before he checked the time. "It's nearly dinner time, so how about we get something to eat?"
(* * *)
"WcDonalds?" Keima asked surprised as the two of them neared the fast food restaurant.
"Yeah, is that a problem?" Kanon asked.
"Don't you think fast food might not be the best for you?"
"During my days off I get to eat mom's food and I get plenty of rest, so it's fine. A little break once in a while is definitely great", Kanon said before she turned to him. "Also, that means I don't need to hurry for any concert or interview today, so for the next few hours, no-ones going to draw my attention from you," she shot him a closed-eye smile and Keima rolled his eyes.
The two of them entered the restaurant only to see a long line of customers in front of them.
"It'll take forever to order anything here," Keima noted.
"It's ok," Kanon reassured him, "just find a seat, I'll deal with the orders."
Normally Keima would object or at least let Kanon sit down, while he made the orders, but he somehow felt that Kanon needed this. She normally couldn't casually walk into a restaurant and order food like a normal teenager, without a heavy diguise, so she perhaps wanted to do so now when she had the chance.
So weird, Keima thought as he walked to one of the remote tables and sat down, real girls are so weird. First they want to get away from their normal lives and shine, then they become burdened by their new lives and want to go back to being a commoner. How, inconsistent, he thought as he pulled out his PFP. Kanon was sure to spend at least 10 minutes in that line.
He barely started a game when he heard a whisper to his left, even though the seat there was empty. At least it looked that way.
"Is playing really something you should be doing on a date?"
Keima didn't reply immediately, continuing his game and not letting anyone know that he had heard it. He wasn't very surprised – the fact that his devil guardians were following him daily was normal. But he reckoned they'd keep a fair distance and certainly wouldn't talk to him, so this was somewhat unexpected.
"It's not a date," he finally replied quietly, although he was no longer sure about that answer himself, "if you have something important to say, then say it quickly, before people notice and start to think I'm talking to myself."
"And since when you care about random people thinking you're a creep and weirdo?" Haqua whispered back.
"I don't," Keima replied, "but Kanon does."
The purple-haired devil was quiet for a moment and although he couldn't see her, he sensed that she was watching him. He didn't know what to think of that. He would rather have her hit him and then be angry for a day or two. That would be something he knew. The thing that was happening recently though – all of those people (mostly girls), that didn't turn away from him in disgust was something he was still getting used to.
He stopped this thought when he felt something on his lap and looked down only to see a hagoromo-made tablet that started to play a recording. A few seconds later he slightly narrowed his eyes.
"You don't seem very surprised," Haqua noticed as she took the hagoromo display back.
"That's because I'm not."
"What are you going to do about that?" the purple-haired devil asked, before she reconsidered. "Scratch that! I don't even want to know. It's none of my business anyway."
Then why did you tell me that in the first place, he thought, but didn't say it out loud. Instead he whispered "thank you", but he didn't know if Haqua heard it because at this moment Kanon returned, putting a tray of food on the table and sitting opposite of Keima. The boy put his hand on the seat next to him, but Haqua was gone as expected.
"Talking to your game, again?" Kanon smiled, as she took a handful of French fries. Apparently, that's how she interpreted him moving his lips just a moment ago.
"Isn't this a little too much?" Keima evaded the question, looking at the tray. French fries, cheeseburgers, nuggets, coke. It was more than enough for two people.
"You need to eat more and spend more time with people, Keima-kun," Kanon said as she popped two French fries into her mouth.
"Tch, first Sumire, then Eri, now you. You people seem to want to feed me until I become bloated," Keima said, but nonetheless, he reached for his French fries.
"It's your fault for not taking proper care of your body," Kanon said, before her expression darkened, "though I'd want to hear more about Sumire-san feeding you..."
"It was back in November. It was only a one-time thing though," Keima said truthfully and Kanon visibly relaxed. So it was before she had used the orb.
They continued to eat and while Kanon was happy to be able to each lunch with Keima in a public restaurant like this, she didn't want for them to eat in silence.
So... she reached with her free hand and... grabbed Keima's PFP that was still on the table, pulling it towards herself.
"Hey!" Keima panicked, almost knocking down a coke bottle, while trying to get his console back.
"I'm not going to fry it, you know," Kanon pouted, "I'm just curious."
"You don't even know how to-" Keima started, but paused when he heard the telltale jingle of the PFP being unpaused,
"How did you-"
"I own a PFP," Kanon told him, "someone from the staff gave it to me along with the 'Crescent Stage' game. The seven year old version of you played it while you were time-traveling, remember?"
"You're right," Keima said, suddenly remembering it, "though that doesn't mean you know how to use a PFP," he looked at her fingers pressing the buttons, "or how to actually play a game."
Kanon blushed a bit.
"Well... I'm not a gamer like you," she started, "I don't play galges day and night... but that doesn't mean I don't admire what you do."
Keima didn't say anything, listening intently.
"It's true I think you play too much and that you shouldn't ignore reality," she pressed some buttons, her eyes clearly following the text, "but I think I can understand your gaming a bit."
"Can you?" he asked sceptically.
"Yes... after all, we aren't that different."
"How so?"
"How should I put it," Kanon went quiet for a moment before continuing. "Maybe like this. You want to save every heroine out there, give them your love, guide them to the ending and receive their love in return. You hate the real world, but at the same time you enjoy being admired by your 'lost lambs' even though they're people from the real."
"And how is that similar to you?" Keima asked, ignoring the last part of her comment.
"I want my songs resound in the hearts of everyone. I want to bring everyone joy... and be admired in return."
"But you required other people," Keima reminded her, "you were completely dependent on them."
"Aren't you dependent on your games too?" Kanon asked. "You feel revitalized while you can play... but when companies start producing bad games or when you couldn't play because of your duties, then you became as depressed as me... you just had better ways of dealing with it. It's more of a difference in skills rather than passion and determination."
"You sound almost as if you were fond of games," Keima said after a moment.
Kanon shook her head. "I'm certainly not a fan of dating sims or anything like that..." she paused for a moment, a smile gracing her lips, "but I'm certainly fan of you as a gamer, Keima-kun."
"Why?" Keima asked, torn between innocent curiosity of a human, arrogant pride of God of Conquest and embarrassment of a boy.
Kanon shrugged. "It's who you are... it what makes you, you... aww... It seems I made a bad choice," she put the PFP away, apparently reaching a bad ending. "So... I really hope to make you my fan as well."
Keima sighed. "Still trying to measure up to the game idols, aren't you?" he asked.
"Of course, I'll surpass them yet!" Kanon said cheerfully.
"You seem so optimistic," he said.
"Is it so strange?" she asked. "Your opinion on real idols went up long ago, hasn't it? You even called me a shining star, someone who has surpassed regular idols."
"That's-"
"And," Kanon continued, her eyes fixed on him, "you seem to forget something... Game idols, as perfect as they are, are still based on reality. They're not like aliens or wizards from fantasy or science fiction setting. They have limits and those limits are established by real idols."
"You underestimate the creativeness of game developers," Keima said firmly.
"Maybe, but I'm not going to give up." Kanon said, sending him a smile.
(* * *)
The good mood didn't leave Kanon for the rest of their stay in Dezeni Sea, as the idol had a constant smile on her lips. Especially when she made the two of them take a photo with one of the park mascots, surprisingly chuckling at Keima's slightly annoyed expression. Finally, the pair left Dezeni Sea, but it seemed Kanon already knew when she wanted to go next. Keima was still a bit surprised though.
"A movie?" he repeated.
"Yes," the idol replied. "I can't normally go to movie theater like that, so I want to do it while Apollo's illusion is working... unless," she glanced at him, "unless you don't want to."
"It's fine," Keima said. Truth be told, he didn't like movies beside game adaptations (and those were often crappy as well) and he certainly wasn't fond of theater full of real people. Normally, he'd only do events like that for a conquests and the thing he was doing with Kanon now was not a conquest.
However, he had promised to give this a try. Except...
"You know we can't talk, while watching a movie," he told Kanon, but she only shrugged.
"We have talked today more than we've ever talked before, so it's a win anyway."
"No argument there," Keima said as the two of them started to head towards the movie theater.
At the same time, twenty meters away, a lone figure stepped out of the shadows and hid behind the pole of a street lamp.
"I can't believe it..." the figure said in a feminine voice, her eyes fixated on the two teens as they walked away.
(* * *)
So to summarize, we have a bit of explanation of Keima's motivations, not that it's the clearest (shape up, God of Conquest!). We have Eri being a good and silly sister, but still not completely unaware of what's happening around them. Then we have dinner at Ayukawas with Tenri once again helping Keima to find out his bearing. Then comes the date-except-not-a-date thing for Keima and Kanon.
I'd want to use this author's notes to clearly emphasize what is happening here: this is truly a border between friends and more. There's no kissing or anything, but the planned future direction (at least from Kanon's perspective) is obvious. So, on one hand this is certainly not official... on the other hand, the activity is like a regular date (getting to know each other etc.), hence date-but-not-date. What'll come out of it, we'll have to see...
...but wait... Keima and Kanon made the effort to go to Narusawa City to not be seen by anyone, yet as luck would have it, someone accidentally saw them, after all. Who was it? What will be the consequences? What trouble lie ahead of Kanon's path to good ending?
We'll have to wait and see... but I had to write the next chapter first. xD
As a side note, if there's a skill that Tenri has that I don't then it is falling asleep quicky. How I wish I had such skill sometimes – to just put your head to the pillow and be asleep the next minute.
Also it's trivial, but for anyone wondering about the part when Keima mentioned being fed by Sumire, this happened way back in KamiNomiNai (flag 18 to be exact), when Sumire brought Keima lunch. This was before the orb business even started.
I think that's all I wanted to say. Please remember about the new progress update feature on my profile. We'll see how this one will turn out.
Please look forward to the next chapter.
See you later!