Chapter 38: Date

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

---

June was almost over.

As for me, I was still treated like some kind of hazardous object in the classroom.

About half the boys glared at me as if they were always one step away from punching me.

And those three girls came up to complain to me directly once a day. What was going on with them?

I had been making a point of treating them kindly, too.

What were they even thinking?

One Friday, while I was reading in the clubroom, Nakina spoke to me.

“…Hatsukade-kun, are you free after this?”

“I don't have any plans after school.”

“Then… would you like to go on a d-date with me?”

I stopped turning the page and looked up.

It was unusual for Nakina to say something like that… No, this was probably the first time.

“What brought this on all of a sudden?”

“I realized something. Things are bad if they stay like this. The second I take my eyes off you, Hatsukade-kun, you start getting friendly with even Suzuki and her friends. If I don't do something before it's too late, a plain girl like me might just fade out of the picture.”

“What kind of logic is that? Besides, I'm obviously not friends with Suzuki and the others.”

Nakina made a sour face and leaned toward me.

“I'm not falling for that trick anymore! You make us let our guard down, and by the time we notice, Hatsukade-kun has swept everything away!”

Why did I have to be treated like some kind of con artist?

Besides, she was the one who still hadn't returned the handkerchief I gave her ages ago. How many times was she going to steal my handkerchief? That was the truly suspicious part.

“So… I want us to go on a date. W-What do you think?”

Nakina's voice grew quieter and quieter toward the end.

Then, before I could answer, she hurriedly added:

“O-Of course, Hulk is allowed to come too! It's a great deal!”

“…”

Come to think of it, ever since the trip to the seaside, she had been sending me pictures of Hulk constantly. She didn't need to bait me so obviously with a dog…

I was the one who said I would accept romance, so I had no reason to refuse a date.

And given the relationship Nakina and I had, there was no way I would hate the idea at this point.

So why did she seem so unsure of herself?

Watching her freeze with a tense expression, I closed my book.

“I want to see Hulk, but let's leave him out of it today.”

“O-Oh… right. Of course.”

I put my book into my school bag and spoke to her as she drooped dejectedly.

“Come on. Let's go.”

“Huh…? But didn't you just turn me down?”

“Hulk, yes. Since it's our first date, wouldn't it be better if it were just the two of us?”

“～～～!?”

I gave a quiet laugh and started walking. Nakina followed after me with flustered little noises.

Nakina was an interesting girl—getting jealous and twisting herself into knots all on her own, then suddenly lighting up with joy.

---

When we reached the shopping district, I immediately tried to take her to a dog café I recommended, but Nakina stopped me.

“Wait! I made the plan for today!”

“I'm looking forward to it.”

It was a pretty good place with all kinds of breeds, though.

Well, it might have felt wrong to Hulk.

Apparently, Nakina had planned to invite me out specifically for today and had worked out the schedule beforehand.

Muttering as she looked at her phone, Nakina caught her foot on an uneven patch of pavement and stumbled.

“Whoa. Are you okay?”

“…”

I caught her instinctively before she could fall. She let out a little laugh—the sound that had practically become her catchphrase.

“Ehehe… thank you.”

“We're not in a rush. Stop looking at your phone while walking, and take it slow.”

This made me feel like a parent taking care of a troublesome child.

Everything she did seemed a little dangerous, so I naturally ended up acting this way.

After that, Nakina took me around to various places.

“I thought clothes from this brand would suit you, Hatsukade-kun. What do you think?”

“True. I tend to prioritize practicality, so these might be good clothes. They look easy to move in. I might buy some later if I feel like it.”

“R-Right? I'm glad I looked into it!”

“…You don't have to pick only places for me. We can go wherever you want too, Nakina.”

She smiled shyly and slowly shook her head.

“It's okay. You're always helping me, so I wanted to do something for you for once.”

I didn't think I had done anything that grand.

But it would be tactless to refuse.

“Alright. I'll let you.”

“L-Leave it to me!”

After enjoying some window-shopping, we stopped for a coffee break at a classic café.

“I picked a place that seemed to have good reviews. You're always drinking coffee, Hatsukade-kun, so I thought maybe you liked it.”

“I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I have some preferences. I order beans that interest me, at least.”

When I took a sip of the medium-roast coffee, a perfectly balanced acidity and bitterness spread across my tongue, and I couldn't help smiling.

When I looked up, Nakina was making a small fist pump.

“I'm glad you like it… phew.”

Then she began gnawing enthusiastically on the brown stick served beside her cappuccino's saucer.

“By the way… um, what is this hard brown sweet? It doesn't taste good at all.”

“That's a cinnamon stick. It isn't a snack—it's used to stir the coffee instead of a stirrer. Don't eat it.”

“O-Oh… no wonder. That's embarrassing.”

Trying to look cool and failing was very like her.

Her usual taste was probably for prettier chain cafés, and she had chosen a place like this to suit me. Laughing at her would have been rude.

As she eagerly continued the conversation, I responded to her and enjoyed both the coffee and her smile.

By the time we left, it was already dark outside.

“There's one more place I want to go.”

The place she led me to was a large park.

It was probably a famous date spot.

The benches and the edge of the fountain were filled with couples.

Window-shopping, then a café, and now a park.

It felt like she had worked her way through the top results of an online search for recommended date plans.

That made sense.

Though she still kept it a secret from everyone except me, she had been a shut-in who didn't attend school during middle school.

She probably had no experience with dates, so it was only natural that she would be unfamiliar with this.

More than anything, I was happy that she had worked so hard for my sake.

“…Hatsukade-kun, did you have fun today?”

“Yeah. I'm glad I came. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Y-Yeah. But it was so sudden, wasn't it? I actually wanted to invite you by message yesterday, but I was scared you'd say no. I kept putting it off, and then it ended up being last-minute.”

Why had she gone to so much effort?

It made me feel embarrassed to say it myself, but it was probably because she wanted me to like her.

“Shall we sit down too?”

“That bench over there is free.”

A couple had just gotten up and left, so we sat down.

“I had fun too. I hope… we can come out like this together again.”

A faintly lonely note slipped through her words.

“We can come anytime.”

“…That's not what I mean.”

Was she worried that I would end up dating someone else?

It had been some time since I declared that I would take an interest in romance.

And yet I still hadn't been concerned about or fallen for anyone in a romantic sense.

Laughter rose nearby.

When I looked over, I saw a group of boys and girls around our age laughing and cheering as they watched a couple kissing.

I watched the scene without feeling anything at all, then turned back toward Nakina.

“…Oh.”

She took a small breath.

She had seen the same thing, but quickly looked away.

“…”

“…”

It was strange even to me—why did my heart not move at all?

I thought Nakina was cute.

I probably had thought so long before we began talking like this.

She could be a little pathetic and jealous, but I didn't dislike those parts of her either.

The earnestness she had shown on today's date was appealing too.

And yet, I wasn't enjoying this situation from the bottom of my heart.

A sense of discomfort persisted constantly, like a fish bone stuck in my throat.

My father told me that I should look in the same direction as the person I loved.

I had told Suzuki and the others that they were merely looking away from their own lives.

That perhaps, after pretending not to see things for so long, they had become unaware that they could no longer see anything at all.

But perhaps that was exactly it.

Maybe I couldn't see anything right now, either.

And I knew exactly why.

“It's late. Shall we go home?”

“Yeah. It's completely night now.”

As she began to walk ahead, I called out to her back.

“Nakina.”

“What is it?”

“I'll give you an answer someday. Please wait for me.”

“D-Does that mean…?”

When I got home, I would ask my father for her contact information.

It was time to see Miko again, for the first time in years.