Chapter 101: Sora Is a Runaway Train

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Translator: Soafp

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After a solid few dozen seconds of stunned silence, Ginji sat down in front of the two girls, massaging his temples.

Sora and Suzu, both now done crying, averted their eyes.

“…Since when?”

It was Ginji who finally broke the silence. Judging from Sora’s reaction, he seemed to have a rough idea of what had happened, but he asked anyway, hoping against hope.

“…Around the time she said, ‘Do you want dinner?' I-it really was a coincidence, and we just didn’t want to get in the way of your work…”

Suzu tried to explain, but Ginji stopped her with a raised hand.

“I get it. I’m not thinking anything weird. So… you heard it, huh?”

Suzu silently pointed at the two coffee cups on the table. Trembling slightly, Sora clenched her eyes shut, placed her hands on the table, and bowed her head.

“I’m sorry, Ginji! I knew it was bad, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything—”

Ginji reached out and roughly patted Sora's head, hat and all.

“No need to apologize, Sora. It's embarrassing as hell, but everything I said was how I truly feel, no lies or anything. …Though yeah, still super embarrassing. I didn't say anything weird or creepy, did I?”

Ginji let out a light laugh, shifting the mood. Suzu breathed a sigh of relief, and Sora stood up, moved next to Ginji, and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I’m glad. I’m really glad the person I fell in love with was you, Ginji…”

Ginji couldn’t see Sora's face as she looked away. But he knew exactly what kind of expression she was wearing.

“Ahaha, hey lovebirds, you haven't forgotten about me, right?”

“W-we didn't forget!”

“Did you two go shopping or something?”

“Yeah—oh! That reminds me, I just had a great idea.”

Thinking the drama had passed, Suzu stretched, but an unintentional hell awaited her.

Sora, her cheeks flushed red, clung to Ginji's arm and looked between Ginji and Suzu with a fiery determination in her eyes.

“I can't be the only one getting embarrassed here! As an apology, I'll tell Suzu all about what kind of boyfriend Ginji is! We were going to have girl talk anyway, right?”

““Eh!?”” both of them chorused in perfect harmony.

Leaving the two stunned, runaway-train Sora clung to Ginji's arm and launched into her story.

“Let's see. First of all, he's the cool-but-cute type. Of course, he's obviously cool, but when he eats the snacks I make, he's like a little kid—it's so cute. Since we started dating, I've gotten to see more of his relaxed expressions, and my heart can't take it.”

“Pffft! W-wait, Sora, calm down!”

“…Huh? I can't place a coffee order anymore… is it sold out? Does that even happen?”

“When we first met, he was cool in this unpretentious, natural way that just put everyone at ease. He has such nice table manners, eats everything I make without being picky—he's amazing. Oh, and he's pretty muscular, too! Plus, when he looks at my drawings, he really gets what I was thinking when I made them. He loves his little brother, cooks well, is dependable—he's the perfect boyfriend, no doubt about it. But those aren't even all the things that make him great—”

“…”

Ginji crashes. Processing overload.

Unaware that her boyfriend was mentally blue-screening beside her, Sora continued talking about him to Suzu. Suzu (currently single) stared into the distance with a vague expression, wondering what exactly she was being subjected to.

“Whether he's smiling or being serious, I can't take my eyes off Ginji—he's just so captivating, and I keep falling harder. I'd do anything to make him happy. I'm always thinking about him, and—huh? What's wrong with you two?”

When Sora looked at them, both Ginji and Suzu had collapsed onto the table.

“Please… make it stop…”

“Someone… towel… throw in the towel…”

That might have been the inner voice of the other customers as well. As for Suzu (relationship experience: none), she seemed to be having trouble breathing. Somehow, the two managed to stop Sora—who still had more to say—and they all left the café. The employee, now with a vacant, dead-eyed expression, handled their payment before they exited.

Incidentally, Sora was still clinging to Ginji's arm and showed no signs of letting go, leaning her weight into him. At the bus stop, Ginji checked the timetable and spoke.

“I’m planning to head home. What about you two?”

“We've done everything we planned to. What do you want to do, Suzu?”

“Hmm, I got my fill of conversation, and there’s a bus that goes near my place, so I'll head home… still feel a bit emotionally damaged…”

And so, Suzu, who didn't take the train, got on a separate bus and they parted ways. Ginji and Sora got off at the station.

“Looks like we've got quite a bit of time before the train comes.”

Sora looked up at the clock tower in front of the station and ran through the timetable in her head.

“Then let's kill some time somewhere.”

“Yeah! Where are we going?”

“Hmm… how about the batting cages behind the station?”

“Sure! I've never been to a batting center before.”

“For real!? Then I'll show you the ropes.”

“Okay!”

With that, Ginji took Sora's hand. Sora beamed and held his hand back, and the two of them started walking.