Could Touka Like That Boy?

"What do you think of this one?"

By then, Rize Kamishiro had already started picking out clothes.

She picked out her first dress and showed it to Amahane Byakuya before even trying it on.

"It looks pretty good."

Amahane Byakuya answered.

"Then what about this one?"

Rize Kamishiro picked out another one in a different style.

"This one's nice too."

Amahane Byakuya gave much the same answer.

"And this one?"

"It's all right too."

After a string of seemingly halfhearted replies, Rize Kamishiro looked displeased. "Why do you keep giving me such halfhearted answers? Can't you take a proper look for me?"

"I am taking this seriously. I've just never helped a girl pick out clothes before, and I don't have much of an eye for it."

Amahane Byakuya scratched his head awkwardly.

Even when buying clothes for himself, he had no idea what to choose, so he simply went with either black or white and bought whatever looked decent.

Asking someone like him to help a girl choose clothes really was putting him in a difficult position.

Still, Rize Kamishiro really had come to buy clothes.

Amahane Byakuya had thought Rize Kamishiro was only saying it offhand, teasing him out of boredom. After all, this wasn't the first time she had done that.

But now that she was asking for his opinion on one outfit after another, she clearly hadn't been joking.

"You're not doing a very good job as my boyfriend."

Rize Kamishiro chided him.

"..."

For a moment, Amahane Byakuya had no answer.

We're only pretending to be a couple. What more am I supposed to do...?

Still, there was practically no chance anyone would question their relationship now. Rize Kamishiro's acting was far too convincing.

Meanwhile, Touka Kirishima, who was also shopping at the mall with a classmate, happened to pass by the entrance to that women's clothing store.

Her classmate, Yoriko Kosaka, was walking beside her. While talking to Yoriko Kosaka, she glanced to the side and happened to spot two familiar figures inside the store.

Touka Kirishima instinctively stopped in her tracks.

"Touka...?"

Yoriko Kosaka called out in confusion.

"Sorry... Yoriko, give me a moment. There's something bothering me that I want to check."

Once she recognized the two figures as Amahane Byakuya and Rize Kamishiro, Touka Kirishima immediately grew concerned.

Assuming Rize Kamishiro still considered Amahane Byakuya her "prey," would that woman really go shopping for clothes at a mall with her "prey" at night?

Besides, so many days had passed since Rize Kamishiro first approached that human boy. Rize Kamishiro had never been so patient with a human before.

Touka Kirishima genuinely wanted to know what was going on between Rize Kamishiro and that human boy.

"Oh, sure. No problem."

Yoriko Kosaka had no idea what was happening, but she was willing to stay there with Touka Kirishima.

After all, she and Touka were best friends.

Meanwhile, Amahane Byakuya had actually already noticed Touka Kirishima and Yoriko Kosaka, but he paid them little mind.

Rize Kamishiro was asking for his opinion right now.

"I think a white dress would suit you better. Or a purple one would probably look really nice too."

Amahane Byakuya offered his opinion.

He had a natural fondness for white. As for purple, he thought it would go well with Rize Kamishiro's hair and eyes.

"Got it. I'll try these two on first, then."

Rize Kamishiro picked out two dresses that fit his suggestions and prepared to try them on in the fitting room.

By then, Touka Kirishima had found a spot where Amahane Byakuya and Rize Kamishiro wouldn't easily notice her and sat down on a bench provided for shoppers to rest.

Yoriko Kosaka sat beside her.

Wanting to know what was going on, she followed Touka Kirishima's gaze and discovered that Touka Kirishima was still watching the women's clothing store from earlier.

Could there be someone in that store Touka cares about?

"Touka, is there someone in that store you're interested in?"

Curious, Yoriko Kosaka asked Touka Kirishima.

"Yes. Do you see that woman with purple hair and glasses? And the boy in front of her?"

Touka Kirishima was happy to share things with Yoriko Kosaka, except when it came to ghouls.

She certainly didn't want Yoriko Kosaka to learn that she was a ghoul. Otherwise, her best friend would surely become afraid of her and distance herself.

"I see them. That girl is so pretty! And the boy's pretty handsome too."

Yoriko Kosaka immediately noticed how attractive Amahane Byakuya and Rize Kamishiro were and couldn't help marveling.

But then something suddenly occurred to her, and she turned to look at Touka Kirishima.

The concern written all over Touka's face caught her attention too.

"Touka, could it be... you like that boy? Is that why you're so interested?"

Yoriko Kosaka couldn't resist asking Touka Kirishima to confirm her guess.

Under the circumstances, it seemed very likely.

"Yes..."

Touka Kirishima was so focused on the two people inside the women's clothing store that she hadn't paid attention to what Yoriko Kosaka said and answered without thinking.

When she realized what Yoriko Kosaka had said, her face flushed, and she hurriedly explained, "No, no, no! I didn't hear what you said just now. I don't like that guy!"

"Stop explaining, Touka. Explaining means you're covering it up, and covering it up means it's true."

Yoriko Kosaka wore a smile that said she understood everything.

"It's really not like that! You have to believe me, Yoriko."

Touka Kirishima felt like crying. This was an enormous misunderstanding!

"Of course I believe you, Touka."

Though Yoriko Kosaka said that, the expression on her face didn't change.

Clearly, she had already decided that Touka liked that boy, and that Touka was secretly watching him so intently because he was shopping at the mall with another girl-a very pretty girl, at that.

To her, that was the only explanation that made sense. As for Touka's reaction, she was obviously just embarrassed.

"..."

Touka Kirishima suddenly wished she could just die.

There was no way to clear up this misunderstanding unless she told Yoriko Kosaka the truth.

But she still didn't dare reveal the truth. If she did, Yoriko might wonder why she knew so much about ghouls, and that was the one thing she refused to take even the slightest risk with.

There really was no way out. Touka Kirishima could only force herself to endure it.

Meanwhile, Yoriko Kosaka was thinking that now that Touka had a boy she liked, she absolutely had to cheer her on as her friend, and ideally find some way to help her.

She only hoped that boy wasn't already dating the purple-haired girl. Then she would still have a chance to help Touka figure out how to win him over!

P.S. All three updates are done. Please send a few gifts~