Harem Spirits but with whom!!? (Date a live fanfic)

Chapter 12: Fem-Kazuma (5)

(I'm in heaven!)

(I'M IN HELL!)

joyfully jogged on the tips of her toes, her long blue hair dancing in the evening breeze, while the other, a young man with straight blue hair was plodding behind with a face that was haggard with exhaustion.

sigh...

The stark contrast between their expressions could have been comical if not for the evident exhaustion etched on Shido's face. He struggled to keep up with Aqua's vitality, and the luxury dinner wasn't the only thing that drained every ounce of energy from him.

"..."

He cast a glance at the red sky, the night beginning to unfold its velvety curtain.

For the whole afternoon, she led him from shop to shop, and now, they found themselves on a bustling street filled with vibrant neon lights.

Throughout the whole day, the only thing he heard from her was 'I want this, I want that'. And of course, his wallet bore the brunt of her desires. 

What puzzled him was that, unlike any girl (except Tohka), she didn't seem to care for any clothes, shoes... basically anything a normal girl would be interested in; instead, her attention was solely focused on gaming stuff. She literally made him buy a whole new gaming laptop, games, and even a console for her.

"Hey, Aqua," Shido managed between breaths, "where are we even going?"

"Hmm...." She halted her jog, "Good question. Let's see... I buy..."

(...You mean 'I' buy)

"...everything I could think of and I used to want, so now I'm thinking... maybe a night at a luxurious hotel? I don't have any place to stay in..."

Shido raised an eyebrow, still trying to catch his breath, "A luxurious hotel? Really?"

Aqua grinned and extended an open palm towards him. "Or better yet," she added, "just lend me some money. I see you're tired. I'll write down my number, and if I need more money—I mean, if you want to go for another date, I'll be happy to do that."

"ah, Nuh No...I'm not tired, our date hasn't finished yet..."

"Hmm, if you say so...Still lend me some money"

"...When you said some, how much exactly do you mean?"

"Not much, 100,000 yen (~702 USD) should be good," she said with the most innocent smile a human being could offer.

The atmosphere suddenly shifted into a deep silence, both Aqua and Shido exchanging glances.

"W-wait!?"

Just to be broken by Aqua's confused reaction as she watched a sole tear slowly tracing a line on Shido's right eye.

"Huh? What's the matter?"

"N-No nothing"

Shido stammered in his words as he slowly reached for his wallet, trying to pull out what Aqua asked for. However...

"H-Here, that's all that was left..."

All that dropped into his open palm from the wallet were a few pennies, 65 yen (0.46 USD) in total. He offered them to Aqua with a trembling hand as the tears still trace a line on his face.

"Uh..um...I think I'm fine, you can keep it to yourself..."

"I-I see"

He sniffs, trying to hold back any further tears, though he falls to his ground in defeat...