Can't We Skip Dating?

"Hey hey, Miss Yuuko, I need to borrow someone. Watanuki should be at the shop, right? Could you have him take the call?"

Akira felt no guilt about ordering Watanuki around. After all, he'd already offered something in return—though he wasn't entirely sure what kind of merit that had been. 

Judging by Miss Yuuko's reaction, it clearly carried significant value. So making a few small requests like this was more than justified.

Once that was taken care of, Akira's next task was to drive Utaha home.

After all, he'd used up her whole afternoon. It would be far too cold-blooded to just leave her to catch a ride back on her own.

Even though she didn't need to do much most of the time, having a third party—especially a girl—present during interactions with "other girls" was always better than a man being alone. 

It helped put others at ease.

Since there was no need to stay with Nanami any longer, Utaha sat in the front passenger seat. The golden glow of the setting sun made it hard for her to keep her eyes open.

She lowered the sun visor and, gazing at the golden road ahead, spoke with a sighing tone: "You really like that girl, don't you, Mr. Ogiwara?"

"Of course. Doesn't she have plenty of reasons to be liked?" Akira replied with a question of his own.

"Well… yes. But to go this far? What about your rules?"

"That brings up a question, Miss Kasumigaoka. Why do you think I follow rules so strictly?"

Why follow rules?

Utaha had never really thought about it. Normally, a person's rules were just their code of conduct or moral compass—nothing that needed a purpose.

Akira didn't expect her to answer. After posing the question, he explained it himself.

"An equal exchange based on mutual need causes the least disturbance to karma. 

Giving too much or receiving too much both disrupt the balance and can lead to all sorts of complications."

"For example, say I help you wholeheartedly without asking anything in return. 

You develop feelings for me because of that. 

But later, if I start seeing another woman and you get jealous and kill me—or kill the other woman—that's one classic complication of giving too much."

This perfectly vivid and easy-to-understand example made Utaha nod knowingly.

"Or," Akira continued, "say I make you my lover for ten years, and all I offer in return is helping you publish under a pseudonym. 

I even use coercion to make the deal happen. Then you might hate me so much that you stab me in my sleep or get someone else to come after me. 

That's one classic problem of receiving too much."

So easy to understand.

Maybe it was because she'd already mentally "killed" Akira twice during the conversation, but Utaha was in a good mood and followed up, 

"So if you offer me a fair-value exchange and don't force me into anything, even if I do accept, it's still my painful choice. 

That way, three months from now, I won't love you, I won't hate you—I'll just leave quietly and never want to see you again."

"Exactly. Even though we've been involved and there's some karma between us, maybe we'll say hi if we run into each other again, maybe we'll argue, maybe we'll get tangled up again—but it's far less chaotic than the other two outcomes.

 Karma sounds mysterious, but it's basically just that."

After a small breath, Akira added, "But it's not entirely about karma. For example, forcing you into an unequal deal—that's evil, and I'll suffer divine punishment for it."

That serious tone made Utaha chuckle. "Like, getting struck by lightning?"

Akira shook his head.

"That kind of punishment might exist, but it's not something I'd ever reach. To reach that point, I'd probably have to wipe out a whole city. 

Long before that, I'd be taken out by some natural consequence—like getting gunned down by the military police during a rampage, or dying due to one of the 'Five Deficiencies and Three Lacks.' 

That last one is a flaw of being an onmyou-sensei—basically the real-world version of divine punishment. 

You can think of it as a legal constraint placed on me."

"What are the Five Deficiencies and Three Lacks?"

"The Five Deficiencies are: widowed, orphaned, solitary, alone, crippled. The Three Lacks are: wealth, life, and power. 

Any real onmyou-sensei is destined to suffer from at least one. If you act recklessly, you'll suffer more—maybe even fatal ones. 

But I'm special. As long as I don't tempt fate, none of them apply to me."

Utaha tilted her head slightly, gazing at Akira's profile. For the first time, she didn't think he was so scary.

Although she'd grown familiar with him through their interactions and knew he wasn't the type to abuse power, she still had lingering fear toward those who weren't bound by law. 

Having been oppressed by authority before, she feared people whose treatment of others depended solely on their whims.

That kind of power imbalance felt unbearable.

Still, even if she didn't personally believe in all that mysticism, seeing Akira speak about it so seriously reassured her somewhat. At least he believed in it deeply.

Then she realized the conversation had drifted off track.

"So, with all that in mind… you're not afraid of the complications that could come from giving so much to Nanami, Mr. Ogiwara?"

"Miss Kasumigaoka, you seem to have misunderstood me—or perhaps misunderstood the word 'complication.'"

Akira shrugged with a nonchalant expression.

"When I say I fear complications, I don't mean I'm actually afraid. I just find them annoying. That's why I usually follow the rules. You could say… It's my life philosophy."

"That way, when I do have a need, I can focus all my energy on solving the problems involved in achieving it, without being distracted by random karmic messes—kind of like saving money in daily life so I can splurge when there's something I really want."

"For example," he said casually, "when you decide to kill me—I'd neutralize the person helping you, disarm you, and lock you in a basement. 

Because I haven't offended anyone else, no one would have reason to come after me, and no one would be able to rescue you."

Utaha's eyes widened. Displeased, she snapped, "Mr. Ogiwara, we were talking about how much you're giving to Nanami. Do you have to use me as an example of a vicious woman?"

"Well, she probably won't stab me. But I feel like you might."

"What about divine punishment!?"

"That sort of thing isn't that strict for me. Besides, it's not like locking you in a basement would cause any real damage—it wouldn't bring any divine retribution."

Utaha snorted and turned her head away. The sense of safety she'd just gained vanished instantly.

She shut down completely.

...

In the end, Akira dropped Utaha off near her house and let her walk back on her own.

When she got home, dinner was just ready. She ate with her parents as usual, chatted a bit, and then returned to her room.

Everything that happened today wasn't such a big deal to her. 

Sure, the stark contrast in how people were treated annoyed her, but in the end, it was someone else's business. As long as she didn't want to be someone's someone, none of it mattered.

As for her opinion of Akira—well, it had just come full circle. Even if she understood his reasoning now, there wasn't much she could use from it.

But to say she was completely unaffected… wouldn't be true.

Utaha sat at her desk, habitually turned on her computer, and hovered her mouse over the game script she'd been editing lately.

But before clicking it, her gaze slowly shifted upward to another unnamed document.

After a long moment, her hand trembled slightly as she moved the cursor toward it… then double-clicked to open.

A story she had long planned unfolded before her. The writing was still beautiful and refined, skillfully structured, and flowed effortlessly—perhaps even better than her debut work. 

If she continued writing it, it would no doubt become a deeply moving tale.

But it had no continuation.

At the top-right corner of the document, hidden from view, was a story title not written elsewhere—"Purehearted 100 Pa".

This had been meant to be the next major release from author "Kasumi Utako."

"Kasumi Utako? You're Kasumi Utako-sensei, aren't you!"

"No, you've got the wrong person."

Staring at the words on the screen, Utaha's vision blurred until she couldn't see a thing.

She pushed the mouse aside and slowly laid her head on the desk, curling up her body.

She didn't make a sound for a long, long time.

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