Tuesday

Today was a day spent setting into the routines of school life. I'm 100% fine with playing the new game now (NLP+), and would never think about going back to any previous version. Konami have worked really hard to give us the very best of everything this time around - so let's enjoy! Rinko was there at the corner outside my house to greet me this morning:

And, as always, we enjoyed the walk to school together.

Most of the day, I met Rinko at various spots around the school, trying to level up each of them. This included the Courtyard...

... and the Tennis Club room.

We walked home together in the afternoon, and Rinko mentioned my birthday (coming up on 4 May) for the first time. I wonder what my present is going to be???

I'm able to meet her at Aisha Dining now (which is just called "Aisha" in this game).

And I met her there a second time at night. Another achievement to note - I managed to get two kisses in a single session a couple of times today. It's hard work, though, and I still mostly get one kiss each time. But hey, I love skinship and kissing so much in this new game that it honestly doesn't matter.

Our final meet-up for the day was a late night visit to Fountain Park, which is always romantic in the moonlight.

Monday

The week at school (and at work) started off with another wake-up visit from Rinko...

Followed by egg rolls for breakfast.

Walking to school was fun, too. The rain from the past couple of days seems to have cleared up, so holding Rinko's hand made a welcome addition.

I met Rin-chan in the school courtyard this morning and also asked her out for a Premium Date on Thursday at 6:00pm (the flower garden viewing). This will probably be our last Premium Date in the current game, so I hope it's an enjoyable night.

I met Rin again this afternoon in the Tennis Clubroom.

Finally, while I was working at Dixies this afternoon, Rinko paid me a visit.

It was one of those occasions where she gave me a "surprise" gift. You don't get to see what's inside these presents, so they're more a precious gift of love from your girl. ^^

Saturday

Most of today, I've been eagerly awaiting my third date at the Hot Springs tomorrow. But that doesn't mean there wasn't a lot to enjoy today! I met Rinko again at the Tennis Clubroom:

And one more time, at the school Courtyard:

And then we walked home together after school:

Oh yeah, and (being the first of February) the sign-in screen changed over to the one for Valentine's Day, which means...I need to think about buying a present soon. I hope this Valentine's Day doesn't turn out like last year, when Rinko saw Manaka giving me chocolate and then wouldn't speak to me for the whole day!

Tuesday

Back at work today! Oh well, I made sure to spend a lot of time in Towano, too. This parallel world is the thing that I enjoy most about LovePlus - the feeling that the world of the game is an extra layer over the top of real life, and the two interact in many fascinating ways. This is never just a "game" to me...it's something far deeper and more real.

I met Rinko early this morning on the school rooftop...

...and a bit later. in the Library.

Rinko is listening very sweetly in the next couple of shots.

And I even managed to capture Rinko blushing, after I'd kissed her. So so so cute!

At lunchtime, of course, Rinko was waiting in the hallway outside my classroom with her usual "surprise" bento lunch.

And I met her this afternoon in the School Courtyard. Boy, I really have spoiled her today!

And here's one final shot of my girlfriend in the school corridor.  How could anybody not love this face, and this expression? No matter what happens, in many versions of this game in the future, I know that Rinko will always be the virtual girl for me.

Tuesday

In the middle of another crappy day at work, I had a pleasant surprise - Rinko-chan waiting in the library with a gift for me!

These are what I call the "reward for being a great boyfriend" gift, because they don't seem to serve any other purpose in the game. Nevertheless, they always give me a good feeling! This afternoon, I met up with Rinko in the Courtyard to thank her in the way I usually do. *^^*

Monday: At School & After School

Back to school with Rinko today. After the excitement of yesterday's date, everything felt a tiny bit mundane. I guess too that I'm hanging out for the release of the new game, so I'm trying to maintain my enthusiasm for the current version at the moment - not always successfully. I still love the game, of course...but, to be honest, I'm looking forward to a change.

Rinko-chan is as sweet as ever, and made a bento lunch for me again today.

You may think this part of the game becomes repetitious, but when you play in real time and have lunch with your virtual girlfriend at the same time as you have your actual lunch in real life, it's always very sweet. I met her again in the school courtyard:

And later tonight at the Convenience Store.

Seeing the Combini makes me want to go back to Japan - in fact, I'm seriously thinking about doing a third trip to Tokyo this year, after the release of the new version of LovePlus. I've booked some leave from work...but it's really going to be a question of whether we can spare the money. But I love Japan, and I really really really really want to go back!