[Discontinued] Date A Mysterious Being

Chapter 9 - Spirit of Water Manipulation

"So how exactly will I be training? What on earth do you intend to make me do?" he asked Kotori, who was sitting on the living room sofa, about three hours after he'd been basically strong-armed into nodding his head in agreement.

It was just the two of them. Reine had gone back to Fraxinus after the earlier discussion, and Tohka had headed for the guest room after dinner. Her things from her room on Fraxinus had arrived, so she was probably unpacking them.

"Nothing in particular," Kotori said, satisfying her post-dinner cravings (with a Chupa Chups), black ribbons tying up her hair.

"Huh...? What's that supposed to mean? You wouldn't shut up about training before."

"Mm-hmm. To be more precise, your task is to simply live your life, I suppose."

"Excuse me?"

"The objective is for you to talk to girls without getting flustered, since you'll be going on dates with many Spirits going forward." Kotori told him. "Take for example Lucas. He's been living with Kurumi for years now."

"...Ohhh, I understand." He remembered what he'd been forced to do last month with the dating sim and training to become a pickup artist, and his cheeks stiffened.

"This time, you'll get hands-on training with a girl living with you. Basically, I want you to remain calm and act like a gentleman even if you are suddenly thrust into temptation."

"...Uh-huh."

"So during the time you're living with Tohka, all you have to do is not panic or get flustered- no matter what kind of eyebrow-raising thing happens."

"Wh-what the...?" he groaned, a massive crease forming between his eyebrows. A question popped up in the back of his mind. "...But, like, why do I have to seduce the Spirits to begin with? I can seal their powers with a kiss, right? So then I catch them off guard and-"

"It won't work." She cut him off. "Their powers won't be completely sealed unless they open their hearts to you."

"Th-they won't...?"

"Nope." She shook her head. "I'm not telling you to make them head over heels for you, but it'll be pretty rough if they don't trust you enough not to refuse a kiss at the very least. That's why Reine monitors the Spirit's mood and your affection rating so closely."

"R-right..." The more he heard about his power, the less he understood it. "Hmm?" He leaned his head to one side.
Kotori was speaking in a whisper. "Right. Understood. Mm... Bye..."

When he looked very closely, he could see a small earpiece in her right ear. "Kotori? Who are you talking to?"

"Ohhh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it. So anyway, Shidou." She bounced up off the sofa. "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Huh? Then go."

"The lightbulb was burned out when I checked. Could you maybe change it first?"

"Sure... I guess I could." Somewhat suspicious, he pulled a spare lightbulb out of the cupboard and headed to the bathroom with it and a stool to stand on. He set the stool down on the floor and opened the door. And froze in place.

"...?!"

Because someone was already in the bathroom.

"Wh-? Shidou?!" Tohka was sitting there with her panties pulled down to her knees.

"T-! T-T-T-T-T-T-T-Tohka...?! Why are you in here-?" he squeaked, feeling his heart thudding in his chest.

The door hadn't been locked. Plus, the light that Kotori had said was burned out was shining brightly, but the switch outside was in the off position. It was easy for someone to walk in by accident.