Chapter 26: Date

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Translator: Soafp

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I contact Hiiragi’s parents every night.

It was to keep them updated.

That said, I was keeping quiet about the fact that we were dating.

If I told them I'd become her boyfriend for one week only, it could create all sorts of unnecessary misunderstandings.

Worst case, they might take it to mean something indecent.

So I blurred the details and only told them that things were looking good for her to return to school.

Today is the third day of our stay, Sunday.

If we can get through one full more week without any problems, then our usual high school life should come back.

Oh, and there was Amanatsu too.

She had been bombarding me with questions, asking whether we'd be able to meet again on Monday.

Of course, there was no way that would happen, so I just told her I'd come if I could.

If I said I'd caught another cold on Monday, I could buy myself a few more days.

---

I finished my shift in the morning.

It was a bit of a shame that Murata-senpai's sudden time off had left a hole in the schedule, but Toshie-san told me not to worry and to go enjoy my youth, so I decided to accept his kindness.

Well, from my perspective, this didn't feel like youth at all.

“Lucky youuu, a date. I wanna hang out with Subaru too!”

“Woof!”

I patted Shizuka-chan's cheeks and Fujimaru-kun's head in turn.

“I'll play with you tonight. And I'll buy you a souvenir too.”

“Yay, thank you!”

I'd gotten pretty close with Shizuka-chan since she was always around when I was playing with Fujimaru-kun every day.

I really hoped she'd grow up pure and healthy like this.

“Su-Subaru, sorry to keep you waiting!”

While I was waiting in the lobby, where the smell of the sea clung to everything, Sakura appeared in casual clothes.

Her long hair was neatly curled.

She was wearing a short skirt with a white T-shirt tucked in, a clean and stylish outfit.

It suited her model-like figure very well.

“You look cute.”

“!?”

When I praised her, Sakura looked away and quickly lowered her head.

From below, Shizuka-chan pointed at Sakura's face.

“Ooh, Onee-chan is embarrassed!”

“D-don't say that!”

Hiiragi blushed and glanced sideways at me, pouting.

Unfortunately, I didn't really have any deep interest in fashion, so I was wearing a very ordinary jeans-and-T-shirt combination.

Still, Sakura praised me too.

“Subaru looks good too. Kind of exactly how I imagined.”

That kind of back-and-forth might be important in a relationship.

“Really? Thanks. Then the restaurant is reserved, so let's go.”

“Yes!”

I had made the reservation.

It was about three train stops away.

So we took the train to the nearest station and walked from there.

At times like this, I figured I should walk on the roadside side.

I also shortened my stride so I could match Sakura's pace.

“Is it too hot, Sakura? It's supposed to go above thirty degrees today, so make sure you keep hydrated.”

“I will.”

“And if it gets too much, we can rest, so tell me right away.”

“…Thanks.”

As we walked side by side, Sakura muttered quietly.

“You really are way too used to dealing with girls, huh?”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Hmm, barely.”

“What's the part that keeps it from being a full compliment?”

“Other girls are flashing through my mind, like maybe you've done this with them too.”

“I see…”

So this was the mental process of a jealous girl.

Maybe because I'm a guy, or maybe just by nature, I couldn't really understand that feeling… but when you don't understand something, you're supposed to try to understand it. That's what a boyfriend is supposed to do… I think.

“Relax. This is, without a doubt, my very first date.”

Sure, I might be somewhat used to women because I'd grown up with a childhood friend since I was little.

But I wasn't acting purely on past experience.

“I spent all of yesterday thinking about how to make this date enjoyable for you. I kept imagining what would make you happy.”

“For me…”

“If you think this is fun, then that's because I was thinking about you. So don't take it the wrong way.”

When I looked at Sakura, her lips were tightly pressed together and her cheeks were puffed up.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“I'm extremely happy right now.”

She changed her tune way too fast.

Where had that “barely a compliment” attitude gone?

Come to think of it, she was originally a very happy-go-lucky girl. She'd just been shrinking into herself because of all the things that had happened.

“Hehehe♪”

Sakura hurried ahead with a light, graceful step, then clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at me.

“I'm really looking forward to the place you reserved for me, Subaru.”

“I'm completely confident about it.”

“Ohhh, so you're the one setting the bar high!”

“Of course. Who do you think I am? I have opinions about finding good places to eat. Trust me.”

This wasn't just my personal opinion.

Online, the restaurant's satisfaction rating was an astonishing 4 stars and above.

The reviews were full of gratitude and praise.

Naturally, I'd done my homework to make sure Sakura would enjoy it.

I'd researched what she liked, stripped away all personal bias, and carefully chosen the place where she'd be happiest.

And at last, I reached our destination.

“This is it.”

Beside Sakura, whose excitement was building, I looked up at the sign of the shop inside the building.

Wand-Wand Mameshiba Café: NIKUKYU!!

“…”

---

Ah, so this was paradise.

There were mameshiba puppies to the right. Mameshiba puppies to the left.

And there was even a mameshiba on my lap.

“Hey, hey, one at a time. I'll give everyone treats, okay?”

When I gently scratched under their chins, they tilted their heads with dreamy expressions.

I knew they were only here for the treats, but it was so easy to feel loved…

“They're adorable.”

“Hey, isn't this a little weird?”

Sakura had a deep wrinkle between her brows.

“What is?”

“First of all, you should be making that expression toward me, your girlfriend, not them!”

That was a hundred times more ridiculous, so I let out a faint scornful laugh.

“Are you saying you're cuter than these little ones?”

“…Ugh, well…”

It took me two seconds to shut that down.

It wasn't even worth discussing.

How arrogant of a human being to think she could beat a dog.

“Putting the mameshiba aside for a moment—this place was definitely chosen because you wanted to come here, not because of me!”

“That's unfair. I used the information I was given. Both of us like dogs, and your favorite food is omurice.”

I pointed to the café area, separated from the interaction space.

“This dog café also takes its food seriously, and the dining area is separate from the dog area.”

I also love eggs.

I regularly buy my favorite egg sandwiches, and I like the egg tart from the bakery near Amanatsu's house too.

And whenever I eat tan-tan noodles at Shinonome's family's place, I always add a seasoned boiled egg topping.

“A date should be enjoyable for both people, right? If your partner looks bored, can you honestly laugh from the heart? I can't.”

Phew—little mameshiba Chappy was licking me.

“Hey, you're laughing like crazy when your girlfriend is sitting right next to you, completely full of complaints!”

So noisy.

All I had done was naturally end up here by pursuing what we both liked.

Still, if I had to justify myself…

The behavioral model I use when acting as a boyfriend is my father.

The only couple close to me is my parents, after all.

So if our taste in places overlaps a little, that can't be helped.

“Ugh… at this rate I'm going to lose completely and end up with nothing!”

Then Sakura dropped low onto all fours.

“Woof.”

“…………What are you doing?”

“If I stay like this, maybe you'll pamper me, Subaru.”

“The kind of shameless cuteness you're going for is a privilege given only to animals.”

“Hehe, okay, okay, that was a joke…”

Still, if I'm going to act like a boyfriend, I shouldn't make her sad.

“There.”

“…!?”

I stroked under Sakura's chin.

The smooth, flawless feel of her pale skin passed through my fingertips.

Her body jolted as if twitching, and she stared up at me with her mouth slack.

“Ah, uah…”

Sakura quickly stood up and forced out a trembling voice.

“I-I'm going to order drinks!”

As she left, she muttered under her breath:

“Ughhh, I lost again…”

---

Before I knew it, the day had already turned to dusk.

Time really flies when you're having fun.

Once we reached the nearest station, the two of us headed together back toward Blue Note.

“Did you enjoy your first date?”

“Hm… from my perspective, it was 120 points. From a maiden's perspective, 15.”

“You should probably stop assigning scores to people's feelings.”

“I can't argue with that!”

Sakura let out a breath and gave a small laugh.

“But you know, it was the second happiest thing that's happened to me recently.”

“Then what was the happiest?”

“That you stayed at Blue Note for me.”

As she said that, she swung around the mameshiba keychain we'd bought together as a souvenir for Shizuka-chan and looked at it.

“When I said I wanted you to stay, you were against it, though.”

“Feelings and actions are sometimes at odds with each other…”

That line described Sakura Hiiragi more accurately than anything else could.

She gave up on the person she'd loved for years, for the sake of her friend.

She said she didn't want to be with me, and yet she enjoyed the date.

She chose to enter even a fake relationship with me so she could give up on falling in love.

This girl was full of contradictions.

She stopped walking without warning, and I turned back.

Sakura was wringing her right hand nervously.

“Thank you for taking me on a date. It was so much fun.”

“Yeah.”

I answered and turned to leave, but Sakura didn't move.

“?”

When I tilted my head, she hurriedly walked up beside me.

We were walking down a long, straight slope, and every so often the back of my left hand brushed against her right.

Come to think of it, that had been part of the request too, so I took her hand.

“…!”

Walking through an unfamiliar town, I was hand in hand with a female classmate I had once hated being involved with at all, while skipping school.

It was a strange feeling.

For some reason, it made the inside of my chest feel just a little unsettled.

“Hey, for our next date, can I choose?”

“Did you hate my plan that much?”

“No, I just thought I'd like to think of something for you too.”

“…”

I looked up at the sky.

Between scattered patches of thin clouds, a beautiful evening sky spread out, and seeing it reminded me of something.

The forecast said a typhoon would be coming this weekend.