Ririka's annoying. But I don't mind her. Partly because I kind of feel for her, and partly because her bitter cynicism is going to help clarify his own feelings as he reacts against her dismissive perspective.
Weird analogy: When I'm in a restaurant and can't make up my mind, I flip a coin (actually, I roll a die). When I get a result that isn't what I want, the prospect of choosing it makes me realize oh yeah, that's not really what I want, I want the other one. So it helps me decide. Similarly, he doesn't really know his own mind and tends to avoid thinking about it too deeply--but when she says things he realizes
aren't how he feels, it shows him something about how he
does feel. So she's a handy foil.
@AlexandraH No, that's utterly, completely and in all other ways
inconceivable! (There, now I've for sure made it happen)