A Maiden in Love (
Summary[]
Thoughts of his 22 girlfriends keep Rentarou's head in the clouds, even in the school hallway...
Rentarou is headed to the bathroom after a round of cards with the girls when he accidentally bumps into a glasses-wearing girl, dropping the cards on the ground. As Rentarou apologizes to the girl, they make eye contact and they "zing", revealing her as another of Rentarou's Soulmates! The girl rudely insults Rentarou for his actions and when he tries to apologize and introduce himself, she brushes him off immediately while she's confused by the sudden shock she had meeting him. Rentarou goes to pick up the cards but the girl notices them, her personality suddenly changing as she immediately helps him pick them up; Rentarou wonders whether she's into objects or even playing cards, but when she gives them back, he notices that some of the cards are still on the floor! Rentarou asks about the other cards but the girl states she wants nothing to do with them; Rentarou seems to experiment, showing the glasses girl a card she picked up making her become giddy; but then with a floor card, she merely calls it "trash"! Rentarou investigates the cards the girl picked up and realizes they're all the "number" cards; and the cards on the floor are all "letters", making him realize the girl's interest: numbers. When calling her out on liking numbers, she states that's ridiculous: introducing herself as Suu, she states she is in "love with numbers", reasoning that if people can fall for those of the opposite or same sex, then numbers should be a "love" as well!
Rentarou tries to reintroduce himself but Suu continues to give him the cold shoulder until he mentions he's in "1-4", making her become giddy again as she mentions her own class as "1-1" and that she's happy to be in a class with the same number together but still likes other numbers together as well! Suu wonders if Rentarou also has personality switches between things he is romantically interested in and things he isn't, which he admits. Rentarou wonders if Suu is good at math, but the girl states she's terrible, due to her own belief that numbers shouldn't lose their identity just because they're put together; for example she believes that "1+1" shouldn't be "2" but "11" if only to preserve their former identity, believing it as "dehumanizing" and wanting to find a way to make "1+1=11" no matter what it takes.
Rentarou asks Suu's favorite number, but states she can't just pick one and doesn't know which to date, going into the attributes of each number and how much she loves them: 1's sleekness, 2's contrast of curve and line, 3's dips and mounds, 4's corners; making Rentarou believe it's similar to how he prefers different kinds of girls within his own Family; similarly she also likes other styles of numbers like "Roman" and "Kanji" as if they're appearing in different outfits similar to how Rentarou sees the girls dress up on occasion; the whole conversation finally making Rentarou understand her! Rentarou tries to ask Suu if they can chat again, but she brushes him aside again stating she's "wired to love numbers" and that's impossible for him to win her over as she leaves.
As school ends, Suu continues to contemplate Rentarou, stating it's impossible for her to love him. However Rentarou appears before Suu in a black bodysuit, making her angry as she wants him to leave her alone as he proclaims "if she only loves numbers, then he'll become numbers for her!" Confused by this, Suu watches as Rentarou starts maneuvering his body counting up from "0" as she becomes giddy as he works his way upwards to "9"; it makes her remember a time when she had pretended to be numbers while visiting her grandparents, but couldn't ultimately become a "10" making her worried that she couldn't reach for anything higher than "9". Suu believes it's impossible for one human to be "10", but Rentarou calls for her to stand with him, the duo together making the number "10"! Rentarou states they can make higher numbers together, from "11" all the way to "99" working as a duo!
Shocked by the realization, Suu asks Rentarou to go out with her; but when he says "yes", she starts acting confused stating she can't choose between him and all the numbers she loves! Rentarou states all Suu needs to give is the love that she has for him and numbers and he'll be satisfied. He also brings up that her fickle nature is similar to his own and dealing with choosing between the twenty-two girlfriends he already has, making Suu giddily state he has as many as "2 2s".
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Quote[]
Beginning: Let's Zing In The New Year!
End: Aiming At 100.
Next Chapter: We'll be taking a break to play with numbers. Look for us the week after!