I Became a Spirit in Date a Live, but I Refuse to Date

As Shido said that, he realized that, just as he'd claimed, he really had thought of the same name as Lingmeng for a moment.

"That's it—Shiori! Lingmeng, how about you call me Shiori from now on?"

The idea flashed through Shido's mind like a laser, and he blurted it out.

"Shiori? That's pretty good. It sounds much better than Shido Beauty or whatever."

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

"Yeah!" Shido answered. From now on, he was Shiori.

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

Lingmeng opened the restroom door, then turned to speak to Shiori behind her.

"Lingmeng... well... 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 everywhere we go today. No matter where it is, I'll go with you."

Lingmeng's eyes widened the instant she heard that.

You can't be serious. I'm a complete beginner at dating too! How am I supposed to know where we should go?

Lingmeng felt like crying. Shiori had handed her the responsibility of choosing their destination, and it felt enormous.

"Don't worry about me, Lingmeng. I just need somewhere we can spend time together."

Shiori seemed to notice her predicament.

Ah, that kindness really is dangerous. If Shido were actually a girl, I might really fall for him.

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

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

"Yeah! Anywhere!" Shiori nodded sweetly, certain of his answer. But Lingmeng's next words left him dumbstruck—

"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 men?"

Shiori looked flustered, with a hint of panic.

"It's fine. You may be a guy, but you're really cute right now, so I can make an exception." Lingmeng's eyes sparkled as she added, "Besides, there'd be plenty of interaction there, in a manner of speaking~"

Lingmeng leaned close to Shiori's ear and spoke in a seductive voice. In an instant, his cheeks and ears turned red.

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

"Haha, I'm kidding! No matter how unhinged I am, I wouldn't go that far. I'm not Origami, booking rooms and slipping people drugs at every opportunity."

Lingmeng held her stomach and waved a hand dismissively. Shiori felt relieved, though he was also a little speechless.

"Well, there actually is somewhere I want to go. Come with me."

Lingmeng composed herself and smiled. She seized Shiori's slender right hand and led him out without another word...

Shiori Really Had to Pee

"Lingmeng... what is this place...?" Shiori looked at the crowds around him in confusion.

Almost everyone around Shiori wore strange outfits much like Lingmeng's and Tohka's Astral Dresses. They weren't Spirits, though—just ordinary people.

"Hehe, what do you think? Pretty spectacular, right? 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, Lingmeng?"

"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.

"Come to think of it, Shiori, I think you'd fit right in here~"

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

Shiori tilted his head, utterly baffled.

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

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

Shiori's mouth fell open in disbelief. 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. Spotting someone, she grinned like a hunter who had found her prey and called over a pretty young woman nearby.

"Miss, could you come over here a moment?"

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

She was a beautiful young woman with short, pale hair, red eyes, and black in the white of her left eye.

She wore a tight black bodysuit with white stripes across her chest and stomach, leaving her pale back exposed. A black hooded jacket covered in reflective stripes hung over her upper body, and her nails were painted black. She also wore black knee-length shorts and leather shoes.

Lingmeng recognized the outfit at once. It was unmistakably Ken Kaneki's look from Tokyo Ghoul, though this was a feminine version.

"Yeah, you." Lingmeng nodded.

"Um... did you need something?"

"Oh, here's the thing." Lingmeng pointed to Shiori behind her. "This is my friend's first anime convention. I told him there are lots of cross-dressing guys 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's gender out of nowhere?"

Shiori caught Lingmeng's sleeve, worried.

Noticing his concern, the white-haired young woman laughed.

"Haha... It's fine. This kind of thing happens all the time at conventions. Unless you see which restroom someone uses, you really can't tell."

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

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

She had wanted Shiori to meet someone like him, but she had somehow picked out 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 pick here is the real deal?!

Lingmeng mentally flipped a table, then hurriedly changed the subject.

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

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

Chiaki stepped up and shook Lingmeng's and Shiori's hands.

"Nice to meet you too," they said together.

Lingmeng and Shiori had answered in perfect unison.

"If there's nothing else, I should get going. I've got an event to attend soon. Bye!"

"Okay, see you around."

Chiaki waved to Shiori and Lingmeng, then left.

"You heard what Chiaki said, didn't you, Shiori? There really are lots of your people here."

Lingmeng smiled teasingly at him.

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

Shiori spoke in a fluster, trying to make her stop.

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

"Let's see what's up there, shall we, Shio~ri~?"

"Lingmeng, wait for me..." Seeing that she had already gone ahead, Shiori hurried after her.

Lingmeng and Shiori wandered the convention for a long time. Lingmeng spent most of it buying anime merchandise or taking photos with good-looking cosplayers.

Shiori didn't know much about any of it, but he followed along.

Now Lingmeng was trading punches with a muscular man in a bizarre outfit. A heart was marked on his forehead, and thick lines were drawn across his face.

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

Lingmeng shouted with enthusiasm, and the cosplayer facing her fired back just as fiercely.

"Useless, useless! Muda muda muda muda..."

And so Lingmeng and the man got completely carried away...

At first, Shiori watched quietly from the side as he had before. Then his expression suddenly changed, and he looked uncomfortable.

Why had Shiori suddenly 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 restroom.

I really need to pee...

Shiori pressed a hand between his legs. Lingmeng, however, was still busy trading punches with the cosplayer...

Several minutes passed without Lingmeng noticing. Finally, Shiori couldn't hold it anymore.

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

With that, Shiori ran for the restroom without waiting to find out whether Lingmeng had heard him.

Lingmeng heard me, right?

Shiori kept thinking about it as he ran. Before long, he reached the restrooms.

He stopped at the entrances instead of going straight in. For some reason, neither door had a sign identifying the men's or women's room. That left Shiori stumped.

"Which one's the men's room? (?д?; )" Shiori asked anxiously, pressing a hand between his legs.

Just then, he remembered something Chiaki had said—

"Unless you see which restroom someone uses, you really can't tell."

"That's it! I just have to see whether a man or a woman comes out."

As Shiori thought this, a handsome young man in historical costume emerged from the restroom on the right.

A man had come out of the right-hand restroom, so Shiori immediately decided it was the men's room. Smiling in relief, he rushed inside...

The Girl with Long, Light Brown Hair

Shiori found himself in an awkward situation. Only after entering did he realize he might have picked the wrong restroom.

There were people inside who looked like boys, but also plenty who looked like girls. More importantly, there were no urinals. This was undoubtedly the women's restroom.

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

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

After drying his hands with the air dryer, Shiori hurried out. If anyone asked how he felt, he could sum it up in one word: "Thrilling!"

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

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

Shiori hurried back toward the place he remembered.

Shiori returned to where he had left Lingmeng, but to his surprise, she was nowhere to be seen. She had still been trading punches with the cosplayer when he left.

"Where did Lingmeng go? Lingmeng!"

Shiori looked around, cupped his hands around his mouth, and called her name.