Rentarou is riding the train when he notices a woman being hit on by two men. The woman is not receptive and warns them to back off. They don't listen, so Rentarou steps in and politely asks them to leave the woman alone. When one of them roughly grabs Rentarou to pick a fight, the woman kicks both men away from Rentarou, who thanks her.
The woman kindly says that she should be thanking Rentarou, and when she opens her eyes, -ZING!!
Girlfriend #24 invites Rentarou for coffee or tea (which, ironically, was what the two men from before were trying to invite her out for), and Rentarou accepts.
At the park, Girlfriend #24 introduces herself as Eira Kaho, a second-year at Ohananomitsu University. She's half-Brazilian, though she was still raised in Japan. Rentarou compliments her strength and asks if she's a martial artist. Eira explains that her father is a capoeira instructor, so she's been doing it for as long as she can remember. As Rentarou thinks of how cool Eira is, a ladybug lands on her cup...
Prompting her to freak out.
Rentarou asks if she's afraid of bugs, and she admits that she can't deal with them, since she can't exactly kick them. In fact, she's afraid of anything that she can't take out with a kick. This includes a cat that walks up to them (animals might lash out if you try to touch them) and the sneezing of another park-goer (you can't out a cold with a kick). She relaxes when the park-goer reveals he was sneezing because of his cat allergies, since she can't catch allergies. An elderly woman walking her dog passes by, causing another freakout. Rentarou wonders if Eira is simply a scaredy-cat.
A nearby woman trips on a rock, causing her to accidentally tip over her baby's stroller. Like a beast set free into the wild, the baby quickly starts crawling toward the street... and into the path of an incoming car. Eira swiftly disables the car with a kick. When the driver hops out to make sure everyone's okay, the baby begins crying. Rentarou picks her up and manages to calm her down, but Eira is terrified to be near her. Babies can be killed with even the lightest of touches, you know.
The baby's tearful mother is grateful and offers to pay for the damages to the car. Meanwhile, it has started to rain. Eira is terrified of the thunder and lightning, leading her and Rentarou to take shelter in a nearby playhouse. Rentarou also turns on his phone's light to keep it from being too dark. Once inside, Eira grabs his hand after a loud bout of thunder. She shyly lets go, but Rentarou says he's happy to help it be less scary.
Eira confesses to him, but admits that it's kind of weird given the age difference... This naturally leads to Eira freaking out because she can't kick heartbreak and begs Rentarou to forget she said anything. She starts covering her ears and making noise so she can't hear his response. To show that he accepts her feelings, he kisses her.
Eira is happy, but still worried about the possibility of saying goodbye one day. Rentarou promises that it won't come to that. He'll learn how to use special attacks if he has to.
The chapter ends with the rain stopping and a rainbow shining over the playhouse.
Tropes:
- Afraid to Hold the Baby: Eira is terrified of babies because of how delicate they are. If a baby can be killed with a light touch, one of her kicks would surely do much more damage.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Discussed. The two men hitting on Eira believe this until they see Eira asking Rentarou out for coffee. They decide that the age of bad boys is over.
- Good Samaritan: How Rentarou ends up meeting Eira. Noticing that she doesn't appreciate being hit on, Rentarou tries to intervene. When one of them gets violent with him, Eira steps in and gets both men away from her and Rentarou.
- Ignoring by Singing: Eira, not wanting to deal with heartbreak (and unaware of how much danger she's really in if Rentarou doesn't reciprocate), tries this so she doesn't hear Rentarou's response to her confession.
- Pedestrian Crushes Car: Eira does this in order to save the baby that crawled into the street. Luckily, the driver isn't hurt either and seems more worried about her.
- "Shut Up" Kiss: When Eira isn’t willing to listen to words, this is how Rentarou ends up answering her confession.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Invoked. After seeing Rentarou get asked out, the men hitting on Eira decide to start being kind to people.
