Chapter 36

Shido said so, but for a moment, he really had thought of the same name as Lingmeng.

"Oh, right—Shiori! Lingmeng, how about calling me Shiori from now on?"

The name flashed through Shido's mind like a laser, and he said it aloud.

"Shiori? That sounds pretty good. Much better than Shidomi or whatever."

Lingmeng smiled at the name. It seemed her spirits had recovered.

"Mm!" Shido replied. He was Shiori now.

"Well, it's getting late. Shiori, let's hurry up and go on our date."

Lingmeng opened the restroom door and turned back to Shiori.

"Lingmeng... um... Kotori isn't with me today, so I haven't picked anywhere for our date. So..."

Clutching his skirt, Shiori said shyly, "So I'll let you choose where we go today. Wherever it is, I'll come with you."

Lingmeng's eyes widened at once.

No way. I'm a total dating novice too! How am I supposed to know where we should go?

Lingmeng felt like crying. Shiori had put the choice in her hands, and the responsibility felt enormous.

"Don't worry about me, Lingmeng. Anywhere we can spend time together is fine."

Shiori seemed to notice her difficulty and spoke up.

Ah, that kindness is deadly. If Shido really were a girl, he might actually win me over.

After asking herself that, Lingmeng gave him a mischievous grin.

"Shiori, would you really go anywhere with me?"

"Mm! Anywhere!" Shiori nodded sweetly and answered without hesitation. But Lingmeng's next words left him stunned—

"Then let's get a hotel room. ('.?ω?.｀)" Lingmeng looked at him expectantly.

"Huh? Lingmeng, are you serious? I'm a guy... Didn't you say you weren't interested in guys?"

Shiori spoke with an awkward, slightly panicked look.

"That's fine. You're a guy, but you're cute right now, so I could go for it." Lingmeng's eyes shone as she added, "Besides, we'd have plenty of chances to interact there, in a manner of speaking~"

Lingmeng leaned close to Shiori's ear and spoke in a seductive voice. Shiori's cheeks and ears instantly turned red.

"N-no... I can't... It's too soon for me..." Shiori murmured, biting his lip.

"Haha, I'm kidding! I'm not that depraved. I'm not Origami, booking rooms and drugging people at the drop of a hat."

Lingmeng waved a hand, clutching her stomach with laughter. Shiori breathed a sigh of relief, though he was still rather speechless.

"Anyway, there is somewhere I'd like to go. Come with me."

Lingmeng composed herself, smiled, and grabbed Shiori's slender right hand. Without another word, she led him out...

(The author: "Some people say Shiori acts a bit too much like a young girl. Let me explain: the day before the date, Shido was forced not only to dress as a girl but also to play over a dozen otome games. That's why he's acting a little girly. (Smirk)")

Shiori-chan Needed the Bathroom

"Lingmeng... what is this place?" Shiori looked around at the crowds, utterly puzzled.

Most of the people around him wore outlandish outfits much like Lingmeng's and Tohka's Astral Dresses. They weren't Spirits, though—just ordinary people.

"Hehe, impressive, isn't it? I've wanted to come here for ages."

Lingmeng puffed out her chest, delighted.

"Isn't this an anime convention? Why did you want to come here?"

"Well, I wanted to see what an anime convention was like in the birthplace of otaku culture."

Lingmeng shrugged, then gave him a teasing smile.

"Besides, I think you'd fit right in here, Shiori-chan~"

"I'd fit in? Why do you say that?"

Shiori tilted his head, his face a picture of confusion.

"Because at least a third of the people here are cross-dressing guys, just like you!"

"A third of them? That... can't be right, can it?"

Shiori's mouth fell open. He knew there would be some men dressed as women here, but a third of the crowd sounded like far too many.

"You don't believe me? Then I'll prove it."

Lingmeng looked around and grinned as though she had spotted her prey. She called over a pretty young woman nearby.

"Hey, miss! Could you come over here?"

"Huh? Me?" Hearing Lingmeng call out, the young woman stopped, turned, and pointed at herself uncertainly.

She was a beautiful girl with short, pale hair and red eyes. The white of her left eye was black.

She wore a tight black bodysuit with white stripes that left her pale back exposed, with a black hoodie covered in reflective stripes over it. Her nails were painted black, and she wore black knee-length shorts and leather shoes.

Lingmeng recognized the outfit immediately. It was unmistakably Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul—albeit a girl version.

"Yep, you," Lingmeng said with a nod.

"Um... did you need something?"

"Oh, it's like this." Lingmeng pointed at Shiori behind her. "It's my friend's first time at a convention. I told him there were lots of guys dressed as girls here, but he didn't believe me. So I wanted to ask if you're a guy."

"Lingmeng, isn't it rude to ask a stranger about their gender out of nowhere?"

Shiori tugged worriedly at Lingmeng's sleeve.

The white-haired young woman seemed to notice his concern and laughed.

"Haha... It's fine. This happens all the time at conventions. Honestly, until someone goes to the bathroom, you can't really tell."

She waved a hand and said with a smile, "This might be a little awkward, but I'm not a cross-dressing guy. I'm actually a girl."

"Uh... really? That is awkward." Lingmeng's mouth twitched.

She had hoped to introduce Shiori to a fellow cross-dresser, only to pick an actual girl.

Damn it! Why were all the pretty girls I met at conventions in my last life guys, but the first one I meet here is the real deal?!

Lingmeng mentally flipped a table and hurriedly changed the subject.

"Anyway, you're cosplaying Kaneki, right? Your costume is amazing. Could I ask your name?"

The white-haired girl nodded. "That's right, I'm cosplaying Kaneki, the little angel. As for my name... I'm Sotei Chiaki. Nice to meet you both."

Chiaki stepped forward and shook hands with Lingmeng and Shiori.

"Nice to meet you." They said it together.

Lingmeng and Shiori answered in unison.

"If that's everything, I should get going. I've got an event soon. Bye!"

"Sure. See you around."

Chiaki waved to Shiori and Lingmeng, then left.

"You heard Chiaki, right, Shiori? There really are plenty of your kind here."

Lingmeng looked at Shiori teasingly and laughed.

"I get it already! Lingmeng, could you stop calling me a cross-dresser? It's embarrassing!"

Shiori spoke in a fluster, signaling for her to stop.

"Okay, okay. I won't say it again." Lingmeng brushed him off and walked ahead.

"Let's go see what's up there, Sho-ri-chan~"

"Lingmeng, wait for me..." Seeing how far she'd gone, Shiori hurried after her.

Lingmeng and Shiori spent a long time wandering the convention. Lingmeng was either buying anime merchandise or posing for photos with attractive cosplayers.

Shiori didn't really understand any of it, but he followed along.

At that moment, Lingmeng was trading mock punches with a muscular man in a bizarre costume. He had a heart design on his head and thick lines painted across his face.

"Take this, DIO! Ora ora ora ora..."

Lingmeng shouted enthusiastically, and the cosplayer gave as good as he got.

"You thought your first kiss would be JoJo, but it was me, DIO! Muda muda muda muda..."

And so Lingmeng and the man got completely caught up in their exchange...

Shiori had been watching quietly as before, but his expression suddenly changed. He looked uncomfortable.

Why had Shiori-chan made that face? Was it the corruption of human nature? The collapse of morality?

No. Shiori had simply drunk too much water at the Café and needed the bathroom.

I need to pee so badly...

Shiori held himself, but Lingmeng was still trading punches with the cosplayer...

A few minutes passed. Lingmeng still hadn't noticed, and Shiori-chan could bear it no longer.

"Lingmeng... I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back, so don't leave without me..."

Without waiting to see whether Lingmeng had heard him, Shiori dashed toward the restrooms.

She heard me, right?

Shiori ran on, and soon reached the restroom entrance.

He stopped instead of going straight in. For some reason, neither restroom door had a sign indicating whether it was for men or women. That left Shiori at a loss.

"Ahh, which one's the men's room? (?д?; )" Shiori held himself and spoke anxiously.

Then he remembered something Chiaki had said—

"Until someone goes to the bathroom, you can't really tell."

"That's right! I can just see whether a guy or a girl comes out."

Just as Shiori had that thought, a handsome boy in historical costume emerged from the restroom on the right.

A boy had come out, so Shiori decided that must be the men's room. Smiling with relief, he hurried inside...

The Girl with Chestnut-Brown Hair

Shiori-chan was now thoroughly embarrassed. Only after entering did he realize he seemed to have picked the wrong restroom.

There were people who looked like boys inside, but plenty who looked like girls too. More importantly, there were no urinals. This was, without a doubt, the women's restroom.

What do I do... This is so embarrassing...

Shiori stood at the sink washing his hands, his face burning with shame. Perhaps because he was dressed as a girl, no one had noticed he was a man.

After drying his hands under the blower, Shiori hurried out. If asked how the experience had felt, he would sum it up in one word: "Thrilling!"

"Ugh... Don't overthink it. I didn't do it on purpose..." Shiori rubbed his face with both hands and calmed down a little.

"Oh, right. I'd better get back to Lingmeng. She hasn't left, has she?"

With that, Shiori ran back to where he remembered leaving her.

Shiori returned to the spot, only to find that Lingmeng, who had been trading punches with the cosplayer, was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did Lingmeng go? Lingmeng!"

Shiori scanned the area, cupped his hands around his mouth, and called her name.