Puff.
Accompanied by a small explosion and a mysterious mist, Lala appeared in the living room of Rito's house completely naked, landing right on top of the sofa.
Mikan and Rito, having heard the noise, immediately ran over as if they had been waiting for her, and they had.
By the time they arrived, Lala was already fully dressed and sitting upright on the sofa. As soon as she saw them, she turned toward them, doubt crossed her eyes for a second before she raised a hand and greeted them with a hint of guilt.
"...I'm back."
"...welcome home" Mikan replied, her eyes reddened, but her gaze full of relief.
"Lala, how can you just leave without saying anything? You had us worried" Rito exclaimed.
Lala lowered her head, embarrassed by his words, before murmuring,
"I'm sorry. I was sad and wanted to run away... when I heard Yuuji came, I thought about going with him, and then... when he mentioned going to another world... I just thought about escaping far away... I really am sorry for making you worry. I'm not sure why I did it."
"I-it's okay, you don't have to apologize so much. I was just worried about you" Mikan said, sitting down beside her on the sofa.
Lala smiled as she felt her sincere concern and lifted her head to look at Rito, waiting for his response.
Rito got a little nervous under her gaze, but quickly recovered and scratched his cheek awkwardly before answering,
"It's okay. With your gadgets I knew you'd be fine... but still, you're my friend, don't make us worry like that."
"It's okay, I understand" Lala replied before repeating in her mind
'Friend'
"You look better, did something happen?" Mikan asked, noticing her calmer attitude and clearer eyes, instead of the confusion that had filled them before.
"Really?" Lala was just as surprised as the two siblings upon hearing this.
But as soon as she said it, she realized that indeed, at some point her mind, previously filled with confused thoughts, had cleared up, making her feel much better.
"Yeah, it looks like you sorted out your thoughts" Mikan nodded.
"Sorting out my thoughts... that's a good way to put it" Lala murmured before smiling. "Though it's more like they were sorted out for me by force, hehe."
"By force?" Mikan reacted, confused.
"Yuuji can be a bit harsh sometimes" Lala sighed without explaining much, only confusing Mikan further, who looked at Rito for help.
Rito just shrugged and shook his head.
"Speaking of Yuuji...", Rito said cautiously, unsure whether to bring it up after last time. "What about... what we talked about?"
"...it's fine" Lala said after hesitating for a moment. "If you don't want to marry me and I still force you, it wouldn't be any different from my annoying father. So, if you want to break off the engagement, I'll do it."
She paused.
"But... I have one condition."
"Condition?"
"Yes" Lala nodded. "I hope that even after breaking the engagement, we can still be friends. You, Mikan... and also Yui, Haruna, Risa, Mio, Saki and..."
"I-it's okay, I get it, you don't have to name them all" Rito interrupted. "We can stay friends, but... what do the others have to do with it?"
"W-well... they were your friends before, right? Won't they see me only as your fiancée instead of a friend? And if so... how will they see me once I'm not anymore?"
"As Lala?" Rito replied, not fully understanding. "You're Lala, their friend and part of the group. Why would they see you only as my fiancée?"
"You're an idiot, big brother" Mikan sighed as she listened to him. Even though she was used to him being terrible at understanding other people's feelings, Rito still managed to outdo himself from time to time, surprising her.
After looking at Rito like he was an idiot, she turned to Lala and gently stroked her head. "It's okay. You're part of our lives. We won't leave you just because you're not dating my idiot brother."
"Don't you say 'idiot brother' a bit too much?" Rito protested, offended.
Mikan ignored him and continued talking to Lala.
"Besides, you're giving him too much credit. Before, Rito only talked with Saruyama, and if you put all his stuttering together, I don't think it even adds up to a full conversation with Haruna. It was after you arrived that he started talking more with Haruna and her friends, Yui, Saki, and everyone else."
"How do you know so much about my friends?" Rito asked, uncomfortable.
"The important thing" Mikan continued as if she hadn't heard him, "is that they're your friends too, not just Rito's. They won't leave you because of that."
"Really?" Lala asked, seeking confirmation like a small child.
"Really." Mikan nodded.
"...that's good." Lala smiled without saying anything else.
The siblings looked at each other for a second, unsure what to say in response to her sudden silence.
"COFF COFF" Rito coughed to regain attention. "About the engagement... is it hard to break?"
"Mmm... not really. It would probably be enough to tell Zastin and he'll break it immediately" Lala replied after thinking for a second.
"That easy?" Rito asked, surprised.
"Well... Zastin and my father are a bit strict with fiancés, you know? So... actually, we're not engaged."
She said the last part quickly and in a low voice, trying to avoid their reactions, with guilt.
It didn't work.
"What!?" both siblings exclaimed at the same time.
"Then... what about all the problems so far?" Rito asked, doubting his own reality.
"Well, my father declared you as my fiancé, but as long as it's not formalized on paper it's not completely valid. A-although actually, this is a good thing!... if it were, my father would have tested you personally."
"P-personally?" Rito stammered.
"Is your father that dangerous?" Mikan asked, recognizing Rito's reaction.
"Very dangerous. I haven't managed to create a single invention that affects him in my entire life" Lala nodded.
Mikan nodded, more or less understanding her father's level of power and why Rito was afraid of him.
It should be noted that since Lala came here she has created everything from flying artifacts, teleportation guns, robots, fictional worlds, a cyborg dragon, and much more, things that could easily pose a serious threat to a city or even more, but for some reason Mikan still doesn't understand, everything always seems to turn out fine in the end.
If all that is possible on Earth, with access to alien resources Lala could probably do even crazier things when she lived in Deviluke, but even so, none of that could affect her father.
'Her father must be a monster' Mikan thought, and the image of a huge, muscular king with a long beard, similar to Odin, formed in her mind.
Putting that aside, Mikan changed the subject, deciding to ask something nervously.
"By the way... are you... going to move soon?"
"Me? Why would I move?" Lala asked, confused.
"Won't you live with Yuuji?" Mikan asked, and Rito nodded curiously beside her.
"Why would I live with Yuuji?" Lala asked, just as confused as before.
"...I feel like we're not on the same page" Mikan sighed. "You love Yuuji, right?"
Lala froze completely for a second without reacting, then her face turned red like a tomato.
"W-w-what!? L-love? No! I mean... I like being with him, but that doesn't mean I like him like that, right? B, but it's not like I hate him either..."
"Wow, that's a Rito-level reaction" Mikan said, eyes wide in surprise.
"Is that how I act?" Rito asked, shocked.
"Lala... could it be that you hadn't realized?" Mikan asked, coming back to her senses.
"No... I mean, I knew I liked him, even as much as Rito, which was already strange, but... love? Isn't that too much?" Lala said, still blushing.
"Sorry, but you're the living image of a girl in love" Mikan said without hesitation.
"But..."
"Think about everything a couple does. Would you like to do that with Yuuji?"
"W-well... I guess so, but still..."
"Lala, why are you so against liking Yuuji?" Mikan understood the core of the problem quickly and decided to ask directly.
Lala hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Because... Yuuji doesn't love me." she finally said.
"What?!"
"Are you sure?!" even Rito was surprised.
"Yes" Lala said. "He doesn't like me that way. In fact, I'm sure he would think dating me would be troublesome because of everything it would involve if I asked him."
She lowered her gaze before making a hurt expression and grumbling.
"This can't be... how could I like someone who doesn't like me?! This is all Yuuji's fault! Why is he so good to me if he doesn't like me? Why does he treat me well, understand me, protect me, have fun with me and...?"
"Wait" Mikan interrupted. "Why is that a problem?"
"Because he doesn't like me?" Lala replied, as if it were obvious.
"But that's normal. You just have to make him fall in love with you, right?"
Lala shot up suddenly and asked excitedly, "That's an option?"
Mikan blinked.
'I see' she thought, understanding the situation.
Having been a princess who always got what she wanted all her life, including thousands of suitors who loved her, it had never even crossed Lala's mind to date someone who didn't like her or to make an effort to make someone like her.
"So... how do I make Yuuji fall in love with me?" Lala asked with hopeful eyes.
"Well... I'm not sure. Maybe by doing things he likes?" Mikan said, unsure. It's not like she had ever dated anyone either.
"Then I could..."
"That's a good idea, and what if..."
While Lala and Mikan began exchanging ideas, Rito watched them silently from the side.
'So they're just going to ignore me, huh?' he sighed internally.
It's only been a few minutes since they stopped being engaged and Lala was already ignoring him while talking about how to make someone else fall in love, which gave him a strange sense of unreality.
As for his own little sister treating him like that, with no respect whatsoever, well, he had brought that on himself, so he couldn't really complain.
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80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)