Leaving the shopping mall provided a momentary thermal relief, quickly replaced by the stifling reality of the Japanese summer. The asphalt radiated heat.
Kaito walked with his hands in his pockets, calculating the most efficient route to Apartment 301.
"Avenue," he decided internally.
Beside him, a Rio Futaba who was gradually gaining confidence walked with unprecedented lightness. She looked at her reflection in the shop windows not with fear, but with timid curiosity. The midi skirt swayed. She seemed... lighter.
Mai Sakurajima, the group's social architect, walked a step ahead, like a scout leader guiding misfit recruits.
Suddenly, Mai stopped.
Instead of slowing down gradually, the stop was abrupt, a true "Map Event Halt." Her feet planted firmly in front of a facade in pastel and vibrant tones, from which a sweet, albeit artificial, aroma of vanilla and waffle cone wafted.
"Baskin-Robbins," Mai read, looking at the sign as if it were a historical monument.
Kaito stopped three steps later, the danger sensor beeping in his brain.
"No," he said, preemptively. "Keep walking. The objective is base. The objective is the beanbag."
"It's hot, Kaito," Mai said, turning with a smile that didn't reach her eyes—the smile of "I decided something and you will agree." "And Rio just went through a traumatic and liberating transformation. Social protocol demands a glycemic reward."
"Her reward was not having to wear that dirty lab coat," Kaito argued. "Besides, ice cream melts. It gets sticky. It requires napkins. It is a complicated ingestion logistics for a walk."
"I agree with the sugar theory," Futaba murmured timidly, adjusting the collar of her new sweater. "My glucose reserves are low due to the stress of the purchase."
Kaito looked at the two of them. Mai (S-Level Threat) and Futaba (C-Level Threat, but with "Pity" buff). Two against one. He could still win this with pure logic and a firm refusal based on budgetary constraints.
"My budget for 'Reconstruction of Others' Identity' was blown on the chocolate buns," Kaito declared. "Request denied."
Mai sighed. She raised her hand, as if to snap her fingers, but just looked at the empty space above Kaito's shoulder.
"Fia," she called, voice clear. "Kaito is being a cheapskate and denying offerings. What does the System say about ice cream?"
The air beside Kaito shimmered.
"NO!" Kaito tried to intervene. "The peace treaty! The ethereal form in public rule!"
Too late.
With a POP sound reminiscent of a metaphysical champagne cork, Fia materialized on the busy sidewalk. She wasn't floating. She landed with both feet on the ground, occupying physical space, mass, and volume.
Her eyes were shining like fog lights.
"ICE CREAM?!" she shouted, attracting the gaze of three passersby and a dog. "THE FROZEN FOOD OF THE GODS?! THE ELIXIR OF DAIRY HAPPINESS?!"
She grabbed Kaito's arm with surprising strength for someone who, technically, was made of data and magic.
"Kaito! The System classifies ice cream as an 'Area Healing Item'! It restores HP, MP, and Sanity! It is a tactical necessity!"
Kaito looked at the scene.
Mai, smiling victoriously. Futaba, looking at the flavor display with contained desire. Fia, hanging on his arm, visibly salivating.
Three women. One Kaito.
Democracy was a flawed system when you were the absolute minority and the opposition had supernatural powers and social influence.
"This is a coup d'état," Kaito muttered, feeling defeat weigh on his shoulders and his wallet. "You are using swarm tactics."
"It's the power of friendship, Kaito-kun," Mai teased. "And numerical superiority. Now, let's go. I want green tea."
"I want the triple chocolate with caramel sauce and brownie chunks!" Fia demanded. "The most expensive one! The one with the most adjectives in the name!"
"I... I like mint chocolate chip," Futaba said quietly.
Kaito looked at the sky. The sun continued to shine, indifferent to his financial suffering.
"How... incredibly troublesome," he sighed.
He entered the store.
Five minutes later, Kaito left the store holding four ice cream cones in a precarious cardboard holder, looking like a depressed circus juggler.
He distributed the items.
For Mai: Premium Green Tea. For Futaba: Mint Chocolate Chip. For Fia: "Galactic Chocolate Explosion." For Kaito: Vanilla.
"Thank you, Kaito-kun," Mai said, taking a delicate lick. "See? It didn't hurt."
"It hurt my soul and my bank balance," Kaito replied, eating his vanilla ice cream without enthusiasm. "1,800 yen. That is the equivalent of three days of school lunch."
"It was worth it for the bonuses!" Fia exclaimed, face already smeared with chocolate. "I feel my 'Loyalty to the Chosen One' bar rising! +10 points! Now I'll betray you less often!"
"That is comforting," Kaito said sarcastically.
They walked to a nearby bench, under the shade of a tree. Futaba sat on the edge, holding her ice cream with both hands, careful not to dirty her new clothes.
"It's good," she said, looking at the greenish-blue ice cream. "I haven't eaten this in... a long time. I only ate instant noodles in the lab."
She looked at her legs, covered by the cream midi skirt.
"Thank you, Tanaka," she said, without looking at him. "For the clothes. And... for this. Even though you complained the whole time."
Kaito paused with the ice cream halfway to his mouth.
"I complain because it is my function," he said. "Someone has to maintain the balance of the universe by being grumpy while you spend my money."
Mai laughed. Fia burped a surprisingly loud sound for a goddess. Futaba smiled.
For a brief second, there on that hot sidewalk, with traffic passing and ice cream melting in their hands, the group seemed almost... normal. A group of strange friends, united by quantum traumas and frozen dairy.
Kaito felt a strange sensation in his chest. It was something akin to... tolerance.
He checked his watch.
"Eat fast," he ordered, breaking the moment before it became emotionally laborious. "We have to go back. The 'Other Futaba' is still loose out there. And I have a feeling her blood sugar is going to crash soon, which means more depressive or impulsive posts."
"Right, boss!" Fia said, swallowing the rest of the cone whole.
Kaito shook his head. He was leading a squad of problems. And worst of all: he was starting to get good at it.
"Let's go home," he said. "Before the ice cream melts on my hand. That would be unacceptable."
They resumed walking, four disparate figures united by the gravity of a boy who just wanted to be left alone, but who kept buying ice cream for everyone.
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