Splash!!!
The rain kept pouring. The atmosphere was anything but cozy. Denji was hiding alone inside a telephone booth.
"Should've just let Master take me home."
"It's raining so hard, no telling when it'll stop."
"At least the clothes Master bought me aren't wet."
Denji pressed his face against the glass of the booth, watching the torrential downpour outside. Suddenly, he saw what looked like a shark fin swimming back and forth across the street.
"What is that?"
"A devil?"
Before Denji could get a clear look, the fin vanished into the heavy rain. Just then, the door to the phone booth opened.
"Oh my, what a heavy rain! Thank goodness there's a phone booth to hide in."
Denji turned his head at the sound. A girl, soaked from head to toe, was wringing the water out of her clothes.
"Who's there?"
"Hello there, I..." The girl began to speak, but the sight of Denji's face made her burst into laughter. The romantic, fateful-encounter atmosphere she might have hoped for was shattered by her uncontrollable giggles.
"Hahahaha~"
"What are you laughing at?" Denji was bewildered.
"Sorry... oh, my apologies, I'm so—"
The girl was laughing, but then suddenly, she stopped. She seemed to think of something sad, and then, she started to cry. This erratic switching between laughter and tears left Denji completely confused.
"What is actually wrong with you? One minute you're laughing, the next you're crying."
"I'm sorry. You look just like my dog that died. When I saw you, I thought it was hilarious, but then I thought about my dog and felt so sad."
"I am not a dog!!" Denji protested.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll just leave."
She turned to leave, but the rain hadn't stopped, and there was nowhere else nearby to take shelter. Denji felt bad, thinking maybe he'd shouted too loudly and scared her. He was about to stop her when his stomach suddenly turned. He hunched over and gagged a few times.
"Ugh—"
"Are you okay?" The girl asked, concerned.
"Ugh—"
"Here, take my handkerchief."
"Cough, cough... I'm better now."
As Denji stood up, he coughed out a small red flower from his mouth.
"Ta-da! Don't mind the fact that I yelled earlier; here, have this flower."
Denji handed the flower he'd "coughed up" to the girl.
"That's amazing!!"
The girl took the flower, eyes wide with surprise.
"I wasn't trying to pull a trick on you. It's a flower full of love—the fundraiser staff gave it to me earlier."
"You mean the donation booth that helps kids?"
"Yeah, I donated all the money I had on me. Pretty kind-hearted of me, right?" Denji didn't forget to prove he was a man of substance.
"Yes, you are very kind. And thank you, this flower is beautiful."
The girl gazed at him with a flushed face and a lovely smile. Denji stared at her, stunned. He had never seen such a cute smile before. Makima was beautiful—beyond anything he could imagine—but sadly, she had never smiled at him like that.
"Hey, are you alright?" The girl waved her hands in front of Denji's face, bringing him back to reality.
"I'm fine. How come you're here in such a downpour?" Denji asked to cover his embarrassment.
"I was happily heading home from work when the rain started. How about you?"
"I just finished a movie and wanted to go home, but I got pushed into this booth by the storm."
"What a coincidence! First, we donated at the same place, then we got caught in the rain on the way home, and now we're in the same phone booth." The girl giggled.
"Yeah, quite a coincidence." Denji scratched his cheek.
The cramped space, filled with the girl's presence, made Denji almost forget about the storm outside. After a while, the rain stopped. The girl pushed the door open first, taking a deep breath of the post-rain air.
"Ah~~ The rain stopped! We can go home now."
"So fast!"
"Yeah, I didn't expect the rain to stop just like that. Maybe we were just too engrossed in our conversation."
"But it's so late, how are you getting home?" Denji asked.
"I live really close by; I can just walk. How about you?"
"Same here."
"Right, I work at a cafe called 'Erdao' up ahead. If you come by tomorrow, I'll treat you to the most delicious coffee." She pointed in the direction. "Consider it a return gift for the flower and for chatting with me."
Before Denji could reply, the girl strode away. Denji didn't know what to say, so he turned and walked in the opposite direction.
"You have to come tomorrow!" the girl suddenly shouted from where she stood.
By the time Denji turned around, she had already rounded the corner into an alleyway. He only saw a black car nearby. Denji didn't pay it any mind at first, but as the car got closer and closer to him, he panicked and tried to run.
Skree!!
It was too late to dodge. But just before impact, the car whipped around in a sharp drift, splashing water to the side and coming to a smooth halt right next to Denji. Still recovering from his fright, he watched as the window rolled down.
"No time, get in."
"Master! How did you get here?!!"
"I saw it was raining so hard, so I came out to look for you. I didn't expect you to be here."
"I was hiding out with a girl."
"Enough, I don't want to hear your story after the rain. Get in."
Denji hopped into the car. As he opened the door, he noticed a white sock on the passenger seat.
"Master, your sock?"
"Not mine. Makima's sock."
"Miss Makima... why is she leaving socks lying around?" Denji muttered, stuffing the sock into his pocket.
As they drove, Arata brought up a point. "What was that girl's name again?"
"Forgot to ask!"
"And you two didn't make any arrangements?"
"She told me to wait for her at the cafe tomorrow. She wants to treat me to coffee."
"Fine, go drink your coffee tomorrow."
"Didn't Himeno-senpai say we have to report back to HQ tomorrow?"
"With me here, go to your date at the cafe tomorrow. No one will be able to stop you."
"W-well, alright then."
They got home very late, but the lights were still on in the living room. Aki Hayakawa was sitting on the sofa, watching the half-screen TV.
"Hey Aki, why aren't you sleeping this late?"
"He must be worried about the Great Me, which is why he couldn't sleep."
"Where did you three go in the middle of the night?" Aki asked, sipping hot water.
"Went to help them vent their frustrations. Since you were sleeping, I didn't wake you."
"You broke this TV, didn't you?" Aki asked, his tone devoid of blame.
"I broke it, but I went out and bought you a few replacements."
Arata walked into the bathroom. 30 seconds later, he walked out with a new TV.
"I bought you a Haier Brothers TV."
He ordered Denji to carry the broken one down and set up the new one. Arata stayed to watch a bit of football with Aki. That night, they ended up replacing the TV three times. Fortunately, they had plenty of stock, otherwise Aki would be TV-less again.
Once Aki finally went to sleep, Arata entered the mirror dimension alone to tally his earnings from the night. The open space inside was already carpeted with cash.
"Having an apprentice like Denji is truly not bad. Diligent, obedient, and strong. I doubt the whole world could find another one like him," Arata mused.
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