Call me Nashiro

"I told you last time. It's true."

Amahane Byakuya said openly, "But it's also true that I'm wary of you. That doesn't contradict liking you."

"Then you only like me a little, right? If you really liked me, or were even hopelessly devoted to me, you wouldn't turn down my requests."

Rize Kamishiro said.

"I'm definitely not that mindless. I'm not a masochist. What would happen if I let you eat my flesh whenever you wanted?"

Amahane Byakuya said with a sheepish look.

"But come to think of it, if you really like me, shouldn't I give you a proper answer?"

Rize Kamishiro suddenly said.

"That's up to you."

Amahane Byakuya could boldly tell Rize Kamishiro that he liked her without caring whether she accepted or rejected him.

Most people who traveled to another world could probably feel the same way when facing a character they liked.

"You're so casual about this that it really doesn't seem like you like me as much as you say."

Rize Kamishiro immediately pointed out.

"But I really do like you. That's definitely true."

Amahane Byakuya said just as directly again.

"All right, I get it. But right now, I'd rather think of you as food."

Rize Kamishiro said, "So I'll give you a proper answer when I start feeling that way about you, or when you become hopelessly devoted to me."

"Okay. By the way, have you ever thought about going to school?"

At that point, Amahane Byakuya changed the subject.

"Not interested. That sort of thing sounds boring."

Rize Kamishiro said offhandedly.

"All right..."

After spending enough time having fun at school, Amahane Byakuya and Rize Kamishiro headed back.

They parted ways along the way, each heading to their own home.

After lunch,

Amahane Byakuya took a short nap, then left in time to catch the subway to the 23rd Ward, ready for his afternoon internship assignment.

Yesterday, he had agreed to meet the other interns at the subway station in the 23rd Ward.

When the subway reached a station midway through the journey, Amahane Byakuya happened to run into Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa, who boarded there.

It wasn't that much of a coincidence. As long as he and the Yasuhisa sisters took the subway around this time, they would usually end up on the same train.

"Kurona. Yasuhisa."

Amahane Byakuya greeted Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa as they appeared before him.

Kurona Yasuhisa didn't respond and sat down beside Amahane Byakuya without a word.

Nashiro Yasuhisa also sat beside him, but she did reply. "Why do you call Kurona by her first name, but call me Yasuhisa?"

"Because Kurona asked me to call her that last time. I can't just take the same liberty with you."

Amahane Byakuya explained.

"Wait! I didn't ask you to. I gave you permission to."

Kurona Yasuhisa corrected him, looking a little embarrassed.

"Okay, okay."

Amahane Byakuya smiled and said nothing more.

"That's not fair. Call me Nashiro, too."

Nashiro Yasuhisa said expressionlessly.

Normally, the rather introverted Nashiro Yasuhisa would never have said something like that to Amahane Byakuya, whom she didn't know well.

But now she was very concerned about what was going on between Kurona and Amahane Byakuya, so she needed to get to know him better. Naturally, she couldn't remain too shy to speak as she usually did.

"Nashiro, you..."

Kurona Yasuhisa turned to Nashiro Yasuhisa in surprise.

She hadn't expected Nashiro to say something like that to Amahane Byakuya.

Could Nashiro...

While Kurona Yasuhisa's thoughts ran wild, Amahane Byakuya replied to Nashiro Yasuhisa, "All right. I'll call you Nashiro from now on, too."

"..."

Hearing him say her first name, Nashiro Yasuhisa couldn't help developing a faint, barely noticeable blush.

Although she had already prepared herself, she still couldn't help feeling a little shy when she actually heard him say it.

"Ahem..."

Nashiro Yasuhisa coughed softly, forcibly suppressing her embarrassment. "By the way, how old are you? And what's your family situation like?"

Kurona Yasuhisa was puzzled for a moment. Why was Nashiro asking questions like that?

"Why are you suddenly asking about that...?"

Although a little confused, Amahane Byakuya still answered, "I'm eighteen. As for my family, it's just me."

When Amahane Byakuya said that he was the only one in his family, Nashiro Yasuhisa immediately thought she had touched on his painful past. "Ah... sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine. It's nothing."

Amahane Byakuya said with a faint smile.

It wasn't as if he had really lost both parents. The system had simply given him that background in this world.

The house, car, and considerable amount of money it had given him, however, were very real.

So to Amahane Byakuya, it wasn't a painful past at all. If anything, it was pretty great.

"Okay. I hope I haven't offended you."

Then Nashiro Yasuhisa continued, "Next, I'd like to know what you think of Kurona."

Since Kurona had told her that she liked Amahane Byakuya, she definitely needed to know how he felt about Kurona.

"You mean how I'd describe Kurona?"

Amahane Byakuya asked.

"You could put it that way."

Nashiro Yasuhisa nodded.

"Cute."

Amahane Byakuya answered immediately.

His answer came so quickly that Nashiro Yasuhisa didn't register it at first.

Sitting beside them, Kurona Yasuhisa immediately turned her face away, not wanting Amahane Byakuya or Nashiro to see her embarrassed expression.

"Uh... Kurona is definitely cute, but don't you have anything else to say about her?"

Nashiro Yasuhisa needed a moment before she could react.

Still, she felt a little strange. Since she and Kurona looked almost identical, Amahane Byakuya calling Kurona cute felt like he was complimenting her, too.

"Anything else...?"

Amahane Byakuya said frankly, "She's so cute that I can't think of a better word to describe her."

Kurona Yasuhisa's shoulders gave a slight tremble. Now even turning her face away wasn't enough, because her blush had spread to her ears. She would have to cover those, too.

"All right... I can tell you mean it..."

Amahane Byakuya was so direct that Nashiro Yasuhisa couldn't doubt him.

But at that moment, Nashiro Yasuhisa also involuntarily averted her gaze.

Amahane Byakuya had been looking at her as he spoke, and since she looked almost exactly like Kurona, it felt as though all those words had been meant for her.

If she kept meeting Amahane Byakuya's eyes any longer, she feared she wouldn't be able to stop herself from blushing, too.

P.S. There will be a third chapter later.