Heartbeats and Illusions

"Kanade, is that clerk staring at me? I think he's onto us..." Eriri whispered, tugging at the hem of Natsukawa Kanade's jacket. Her voice was filled with tension, and her other hand curled into a fist pressed against her chest, as if bracing herself for a heroic last stand.

"Relax, it's just your imagination," Kanade replied nonchalantly, though his own curiosity got the better of him. He glanced back and locked eyes with the young clerk behind the counter. The moment their gazes met, the clerk flinched and turned away hurriedly, pretending to be engrossed in the task of stacking books.

"...Or maybe he thinks your outfit is suspicious," Kanade added, his voice tinged with dry humor. Even as he spoke, a hint of doubt crossed his mind. The clerk's furtive glances seemed oddly focused on him rather than Eriri. Could it be that he looked more suspicious?

"Suspicious? What's wrong with my outfit? I think it's perfectly normal," Eriri protested, frowning as she inspected her own attire.

Kanade suppressed a sigh. "If you watch detective dramas often, you'll realize you look like someone tailing a suspect—long coat, baseball cap, the whole getup. Classic undercover cliché."

"Is it that bad?" Eriri muttered, now slightly self-conscious.

"Just hurry up and find the book you need. People are starting to stare," Kanade urged, scanning the store's bustling interior.

This particular bookstore was a haven for otaku culture, attracting customers in droves even early in the morning. Most of the patrons were loners with a clear purpose, carefully picking out their chosen treasures without unnecessary social interaction. Among them, Kanade and Eriri stood out like sore thumbs—a boy and a blonde-haired girl shopping together. Their presence was the equivalent of setting off a firework in a dimly lit room.

Kanade could practically feel the dagger-like stares piercing through him. In the minds of the other customers, he wasn't just a shopping partner; no, he was a boyfriend! The audacity!

"Fine, I'll make this quick," Eriri said, noticing the glances as well. She instinctively shifted closer to Kanade, using his taller frame as a makeshift shield. Her flushed cheeks betrayed her thoughts, but she was determined not to falter.

"Not this... not this one either... Oh! Found it!" After sifting through several shelves, Eriri finally spotted her target—a notebook her mother had tasked her to retrieve.

She snatched it up quickly, clutching it close to her chest like a precious treasure. Her triumph was short-lived, however, as Kanade leaned in curiously.

"Let me see," he said.

"No way!" Eriri yelped, jerking the book out of his reach as though her life depended on it. There was no way Kanade could see this!

The cover alone was dangerous territory. If he took even a peek, her fragile reputation would crumble like a poorly made house of cards.

Kanade raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. "Alright, your secret's safe. I'll just browse for myself then."

He turned back to the shelves, casually flipping through titles. As he skimmed, his attention snagged on a particular cover—a blonde girl with angelic features clasping her hands in prayer. Her radiant hair glimmered with a divine sheen, and the artwork was highlighted by glistening droplets falling gracefully in the background.

A sense of déjà vu hit Kanade like a lightning bolt.

"Wait a minute..." he murmured. It reminded him of the dream he had that morning—the one where an angel descended and gazed at him with the same expression. Coincidence? Or divine intervention?

Eriri, who had been watching Kanade with a mix of curiosity and suspicion, followed his line of sight. Her eyes landed on the very same cover, and her reaction was instant.

Blonde hair. Slender figure. Strikingly familiar features.

"Is that supposed to be me?!" she shrieked internally, her face going as red as a tomato. It was as if fate had conspired to put her on the cover of a scandalous book.

In her panicked mind, the scene played out vividly: Kanade smirking devilishly while holding up the book, casually saying, "So... this is your true form, huh?"

Her heart screamed; This is a disaster!

"What is this garbage?" Eriri blurted, snapping out of her reverie. Her voice grew louder as she tried to play it off. "The proportions are all wrong! Look at how thin her waist is, and her chest? Completely unrealistic! Ugh, what kind of second-rate artist drew this? You'd better stop staring at it!"

Kanade blinked, bewildered by her sudden outburst. He glanced back at the cover, then at Eriri, as realization dawned.

"Wait... Are you jealous?" he asked, half amused.

"Jealous?! Don't be ridiculous!" she shot back, her face somehow growing even redder.

She turned her head away in a huff, clutching her own chest as if to prove a point. Mine are just as good... maybe not yet, but soon! I drink milk every day!

"Ah? Uh..." Natsukawa Kanade blinked rapidly, snapping out of his daze. "Well, uh... you're done shopping, right? Let's get going already." His voice came out a little too quick, betraying his flustered state.

He had initially planned to pick out a "trophy" for himself, but Eriri's fiery outburst had completely derailed his train of thought. Now, just standing in the aisle felt like treading on thin ice. If he grabbed a book on impulse and got the wrong kind of attention, he might not be able to look Shiina—or anyone else for that matter—in the eye ever again.

Eriri shot him a sidelong glance, her blue eyes brimming with an almost theatrical resentment. Still, she followed Kanade without a word, hugging her own little stack of books tightly as if protecting her dignity.

When they reached the counter, Eriri carefully sandwiched the offending notebook between two completely innocuous titles. With all the subtlety of a spy slipping a classified file, she handed the stack to Kanade.

Kanade, taking the cue, stepped forward like an unshakable adult. He kept his movements deliberate, casual even, projecting an air of total calm. At times like this, he thought, you have to act like you've got everything under control. Be so mature that no one even questions it.

The clerk, a well-dressed young woman with a poised demeanor that reminded Kanade of Kasumigaoka Utaha, glanced at the books and then at the pair with a curious, almost playful expression. It was clear she was speculating about their relationship, though her face betrayed nothing overt.

"The total is 3,000 yen. Are you a member?" she asked, her voice smooth and professional.

"Nope. Just charge it directly," Kanade replied without hesitation, handing over the cash with the poise of someone who had done this a hundred times before—despite the reality being the complete opposite.

The transaction completed without incident, and Kanade breathed a small sigh of relief as they turned to leave. But just as they reached the door, a voice called out behind them.

"Wait a moment, please!"

Kanade and Eriri froze in unison, exchanging a brief, panicked glance before turning to face the clerk, who had hurried over with an almost suspicious amount of urgency.

"Excuse me," she began, her tone suddenly softer, as if treading carefully, "but what's the relationship between the two of you?"

Kanade blinked. For a split second, his brain offered no solutions, only alarm bells. Eriri, meanwhile, shot him a pointed look that practically screamed handle this!

"Uh... brother and sister," Kanade answered at last, his tone as steady as he could muster.

"Great!" The clerk's face lit up instantly. Before either of them could react, she slipped a small note into Kanade's hand and leaned in just enough to make him uncomfortable. "Be sure to contact me, okay?" she whispered with a wink before retreating back to the counter.

Kanade stood there, frozen in place, the note still in his hand as if it were a ticking time bomb. His brain finally caught up to what had just transpired, and the realization hit like a bolt of lightning.

"What... just happened?" he muttered under his breath.

Eriri, who had been watching the whole exchange with growing disbelief, finally let out a sharp, indignant huff. "What a liar! I thought she was going to call you out for being underage, but nope! She just wanted to make you her age!"

Her exasperation spilled over as she grabbed Kanade by the arm and pulled him out of the bookstore with uncharacteristic force.

Behind them, the clerk watched their retreating figures with an amused smile, completely unbothered by the chaos she had just unleashed.