Shintaro took a long drink of soda. His throat was parched after having to tell the story. "So, yes, I did have a girlfriend." He looked across the restaurant's table at his two companions, waiting for them to speak.

Ene –it was still hard to reconcile that she was really Ene, but she refused to go by Takane anymore- had been red-faced for most of the story. Her mouth moving showed she was trying to say something, but she seemed to be having trouble making any actual sounds.

"You did ask." Shintaro said, flashing a cocky smile.

"W-well… well…" There was her voice. "Well, obviously, you made that up. I would never go back on my promise to be you servant, Master." Ene replied, raising the volume on the last word just enough to get the attention of the people around them.

"D-don't! I told you not to call me that in public!" So much for his cockiness.

"Oh, right. You did, didn't you?" She seemed to have forgotten how to be embarrassed- unless he was the culprit "Okay. Not in public."

When he first saw Takane again, he had expected her to act like she had in high school; Temperamental and high-strung. Her time playing Ene would be over, and she would go back to her real self. That hadn't been the case; Ene was her real self, now. He was happy not to relive the constant arguments, even if it meant Ene having a number of new ways to antagonize him.

"I believe you, Shintaro." Ayano said, quietly. She had her head inclined, letting her bangs fall in front of her eyes.

"Wha? Come on, you really think all that happened?" Ene replied.

"Do you really think I made all that up?"

"Good point. You don't have much imagination."

"Hey!"

"No, no, not like that… I could see you two coming together like that."

"You could?" Ene said quietly.

"Yeah. You two really changed. You both seem a lot… happier than you were back in school. You two were really good for each other."

"Part of that was you, Ayano. I never would have known what to do if it wasn't for what you said. "

"What did she say?" Shintaro asked.

"That you need a forceful, selfish girl to pull you out of your comfort zone." Ene replied.

"And Ene really is better at that than I ever was."

"Ayano!"

"Sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

Quiet settled over the table. Shintaro's words kept playing through Ene's mind. She wanted to say it all seemed so ridiculous. Nothing like that could really happen. But hearing his story, her heart had started to race in a way that felt very familiar.

"Hey… um, Master… How many routes did you do through?"

That got Shintaro's attention. No one had asked about the lost time so directly before. Ayano perked up, seemingly eager to hear the answer herself.

"What was it? Twenty?"

"…More than that…" Shintaro answered, not making eye contact.

"A hundred?"

"…More."

Ene frowned. "What, two hundred? Three Hundred?"

Shintaro scowled. "Not even close."

"Two thousand?"

"You don't get it."

"Ten thousand?"

Shintaro didn't say anything. The look on his face said it all: The real number was still far more.

"Oh, god…" Ayano was plainly concerned. Ene was simply shocked.

"So… um… How different were they? I mean, with all of those, you must have seen a lot of different things…" Ene wasn't very enthused to keep asking, but the curiosity was gnawing at her too much to let it go.

"There was some variation. Some ended sooner than others. There was one that actually lasted until 2018. But if something did happen, it typically happened in many routes." Another image flashed across Shintaro's mind: Him back at his monitor with Ene, giving her a dispassionate glare, refusing to listen to her.

"So-"

"So, Ene, how's Haruka doing?" Ayano interrupted.

"Huh? Well, he's doing a lot better now that he's out of the hospital. He can walk, most of the time. He's still learning to draw again, and that's really bothering him."

"Did you tell him?"

"Tell him what?"

Ayano glared at her- the same look she had given Ene that one summer evening. "You know what I mean."

Ene did not avert her eyes. "I've told him everything I want to." She had been with Haruka regularly through his recovery. She'd helped him re-adjust to life. She'd cried with him. She'd laughed with him. She didn't feel any of the particular nervousness around him she used to. But when she realized she had all the courage to tell him how she felt, she realized that she had nothing new to tell him. "Things change."

"Oh…" was all Ayano managed to say.

Shintaro chimed in, "I can tell you one thing that never happened." There were many things he could have said. There was no route where Ene hadn't found him, nor was there a route where she left him. "I've still never lost a game to you."

He was more like Takane than he cared to admit.

Ene smiled at that. "Okay, now I know you're lying about that."

Shintaro grinned back. "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?"

"It's so good to see you trying to joke. You might even learn to do it right, eventually. "

"If you don't believe me, why don't we go prove it at the arcade?"

"Sure. Sounds great." Then a thought struck her. "Oh. Ayano, what do you-"

"T-that does sound… fun… but I've got to go. There's something I need to do tonight." Ayano said, keeping her head down and her eyes hidden. She put money for her share of the bill on the table. "You two have fun!" Ayano said, her voice cracking.

A few minutes later, Shintaro and Ene were walking toward the arcade. The sunset had dyed the sky a stunning shade of orange.

"You're terrible, you know." Ene said out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?"

"Ayano. Saying all that in front of her. You should be more careful around her."

"I… wasn't thinking about it. I've wanted to tell you for… a while… I just… I'm sorry." They were both silent for a moment. "Hey, wait, you-"

"Of course. You're not very subtle, you know? But next time, just ask me out."

Shintaro stared. He hadn't expected it to be so easy to win her over.

"That wasn't the only route where we were together, was it?"

"No. Just the first. It wasn't anything guaranteed, but it kept happening." Shintaro held out his hand to her. Ene looked at it, as though examining it. "If we're dating now, you might as well take it."

He had expected her to take his hand. Instead, she grabbed his whole arm and started nuzzling against his shoulder.

"Y-you don't have any shame at all, do you!?"

"Nope! Life's way more fun without it."

"You just love messing with me, don't you?"

"Yep! And I love you too, Shin." She took a moment to admire his face. His pale skin helped his blush stand out, and the brilliant red complemented the sky well.

People were staring. Shintaro was mortified.

And at that moment, there was nowhere else he'd rather be. He adjusted hs gait so he could keep up with her.

"One question, though…" Ene asked.

"What's that?"

"Do you remember how that song went?"

Author's Note: Yeah, I didn't want to end the story on a low note. Funny story: When I first posted this story, I meant for the first chapter to be the only one. I've got a few more ideas for Kagerou Project fanfics, though nothing of this length so far. Thanks to everyone for reading!