DxD: I Sealed Sukuna’s Finger, Now They Want My Number

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They said they were heading into town to pick up some groceries, but really, it was just a typical shopping run to restock on ingredients for the next few days.

As usual, Bokue went out with the girls, catching a bus from their place. After a casual bite to eat near the shopping district, they made their way straight to their final destination—Keystone Gate.

Now, Keystone Gate might be the island's administrative center—like a city hall—but it was also the tallest, biggest shopping complex on all of Itogami. Food, drinks, games, stores, hotels—it had everything packed into one building.

Basically, think of it as a miniature version of Singapore's Marina Bay Sands.

If you were gonna shop and stroll at the same time, this was the best place for it.

"By the way… Yukina-chan's been kinda off today, don't you think?"

Inside the Keystone Gate shopping center, Nagisa casually strolled between the shelves, gently pushing a shopping cart. She grabbed a couple onions from the vegetable rack and tossed them in before glancing back at the quiet Sword Shaman behind her.

"…Huh? I have?"

Yukina blinked, a little stunned to be called out.

Unlike Nagisa, who took her time browsing aimlessly and loading her cart as she went, Yukina held a small shopping basket. Her years of strict shrine maiden training had hardwired her for focused, no-nonsense shopping—get in, get what you need, and get out.

That was the idea, anyway.

But in reality? Her basket was still completely empty.

"Of course you have."

Nagisa wagged her finger, dead serious.

"Normally you'd be way ahead of me by now—already done grabbing your stuff and probably nagging me to hurry up. You treat grocery shopping like a military operation. You'd even stop now and then to ask if I wanted to grab this or that. But today? You haven't picked up a single thing. Haven't said a word. You're just trailing behind me in a daze. Something's definitely on your mind, right?"

"On my mind? No… I don't think so."

Yukina awkwardly turned her head, trying to avoid eye contact.

Which—of course—only made her look even guiltier in Nagisa's eyes.

No doubt about it. Something went down last night.

And yet Big Bro had the nerve to say "Nothing Happened." Oh ho ho~

Nagisa smirked to herself, quietly basking in her own victory.

"You sure there's nothing? I mean, you seemed totally normal yesterday afternoon. Did something happen last night?"

"I told you—nothing happened."

Yukina all but turned her head ninety degrees away, holding both palms up in defense.

Unfortunately, her cheeks were flushing red. And that betrayed her completely.

Because...

Just remembering that intense, mind-numbing moment this morning—one that had pushed her to the brink of madness—made her face heat up all over again.

Honestly, it was a miracle she didn't cry out. Thanks only to sheer willpower, she managed to stay silent for an entire hour despite being overwhelmed by wave after wave of—

No. No, no, no, stop thinking about it.

And then... she remembered the sounds she heard last night—through the wall—Nagisa's voice…

Wait a second… If that's the case, then… Could it be—!?

Her jaw dropped a little as she instinctively turned to ask—

"Wait, did Big Bro do something terrible to you last night~?"

Nagisa's voice cut in right on cue, upbeat as ever.

…Huh?

Yukina snapped out of it, eyes blinking in confusion—only to find her friend's face just inches away, smiling brightly and radiating way too much energy for a girl this close to shouting range.

Her brain crashed. She had no idea how to respond.

"Come on, Big Bro—spit it out already!"

Nagisa turned away from Yukina and marched straight up to Bokue, who hadn't said a single word this whole time. She stood before him, hands on her hips, full serious mode engaged.

"You didn't do anything weird to Yukina-chan, right? I'm warning you—she's still underage. If you crossed the line, that's a straight-up felony."

"…I didn't do anything like that,"

Bokue sighed, clearly exasperated from getting dragged into this again. He stepped forward, gently put his hands on Nagisa's shoulders, and spun her 180 degrees—facing her back toward her own shopping cart.

It was almost comical.

Nagisa wavered a bit.

She knew Bokue wasn't the type to lie about stuff like this. Maybe… nothing did happen?

But just as she started second-guessing herself, Yukina—still recovering from her morning trauma—awkwardly forced a change of subject.

"R-Really, nothing happened… Anyway, we're out shopping, right? Should we grab some ingredients for baking that cake?"

"…Cake?"

Nagisa blanked out for a second.

Oh, right. The whole "cake" excuse she used yesterday to cover her tracks with Yukina… something about needing whipped cream.

"Oh! Right, right! Cake! Good idea—since we're already at the store, might as well pick everything up. But wow, you're the one bringing it up? Don't tell me you're that eager to try baking already~?"

She said it with a smile—but when she hit the word eager, she shot a very meaningful glance toward Bokue and raised a knowing eyebrow.

Bokue casually brought a hand to his forehead in a slow, theatrical facepalm.

Meaning: This is your mess. I have no idea what's going on. Don't ask me.

Yukina didn't notice their exchange. She scratched her cheek sheepishly.

"Well… after I got back yesterday, I went downstairs to the convenience store and bought a baking magazine. I haven't really had time to read through it yet, though. So I only kind of understand it…"

"A magazine? Yukina, everything you need is online now! You could've just googled it…"

Nagisa smirked, ready to roast her friend's old-school tendencies—but then realized she was getting off-topic and quickly cleared her throat.

"Ahem. Anyway, a book works too. Cooking's all about practice anyway. You learn by doing. After a few tries, you'll remember the steps easy."

"That said… we probably don't have enough time this morning. Let's save it for this afternoon. Once we've had lunch and taken a nap, I'll come get you and we'll start baking then."

Then she turned back to Bokue with a serious expression.

"Oh—and Big Bro, you're helping too. All the heavy lifting? That's your job. Don't think you're just showing up with a fork to eat cake. That's totally not allowed, okay?"

…Is she talking about actual heavy lifting or something else?

Bokue had his suspicions.

But he just sighed and gave in.

"…Yeah, yeah. Got it."

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