Chapter 82: Date Start

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Translator: Soafp

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In the morning, when Ginji woke up, the faint aroma of breakfast was already drifting through the air.

“Mm, Tetsuya, huh.”

He had planned to wake up early and cook breakfast himself for the date he had promised Sora, but it looked like his younger brother had beaten him to it.

Yawning, he headed to the bathroom and took a hot shower. Thinking he'd get dressed after eating, he threw on a T-shirt and shorts he used as pajamas and walked into the living room, where stir-fried vegetables and vegetable juice were already set out on the table.

“…Looks good. You're up early, Tetsu.”

“Morning, Aniki. I'm meeting some friends today, so I just got up early.”

From the kitchen, Tetsuya brought over a rice bowl he had just filled and took off his apron.

“I'm going out with Sora. You don't have to prep dinner.”

“Got it. Oh, your phone was ringing, by the way.”

“Oops, probably Sora.”

He returned to his room and saw a message had arrived on the phone he'd been charging. Checking it, he sat back down in front of the low table.

“From Sora-senpai?”

“Yeah. We were supposed to meet up, but she says she's coming to the house.”

“When?”

“In 30 minutes. She said she wants to say hi to you too.”

“Now? Well, I guess that's fine…”

After finishing breakfast with his brother and getting changed, the doorbell rang.

When Ginji opened the door, he found Sora standing there in a white sundress and a straw hat.

She wore a light purple cardigan and was lightly sweating. A taxi pulled away behind her, so she must have gone out of her way to call a cab.

“Morning, Ginji.”

“Morning. We could've just met up somewhere, you know? Or I could've picked you up on my bike. That dress looks great on you, by the way.”

“Hehe, thanks. Meeting up does sound more date-like, but I wanted to ride the train with you—and I wanted to say hi to Tetsuya-kun too.”

As if responding to her words, Tetsuya peeked out from the living room.

“Ah, good morning, Tetsuya-kun.”

“Good morning, Sora-senpai. That outfit looks great on you.”

“…Ahem. I've started dating your brother as of yesterday. Um… I hope we can get along.”

Sora removed her hat and made the declaration in an awkwardly formal tone, causing Tetsuya to twitch his cheek slightly.

“Same here. My brother passed out from relief last night and didn't give me the details. Good for you, Aniki. Well, I'm heading out.”

“I did tell you before bed.”

“Didn't need to hear the result to know how it turned out. You two have fun.”

After saying goodbye to Sora, Tetsuya headed out.

“…It's rare for Tetsu to smile.”

“Huh? He smiled?”

Just a slight twitch of the cheek, but apparently unusual for him.

“Well, shall we head out too?”

“Yeah. But before that…”

Sora spun in front of Ginji and stepped closer. He noticed she had put on makeup and styled her hair more neatly than usual. She looked him straight in the eyes, full of conviction.

“I'm your girlfriend, okay?”

“Of course. Even if you said otherwise, I wouldn't accept it.”

Usually dressed more boyishly, Sora’s sundress had a powerful effect—so much so that Ginji's mind was overtaken with one thought: My girlfriend is way too cute. Hearing Ginji's words, Sora's face lit up.

“Same goes for me!”

“Alright, let's get going.”

They left the house together, with Sora riding sidesaddle on the bike cushioned with a zabuton. Holding onto her hat with one hand and clinging to Ginji with the other, Sora grinned non-stop.

After parking the bike at the station lot and buying tickets at the machine, the train arrived quickly. Being a holiday, the train was moderately crowded. Ginji spotted an empty seat and tried to let Sora sit, but she shook her head.

“It's better if we stand—we can talk that way.”

“Let me know if you get tired.”

“I'm not that fragile.”

To avoid hitting anyone with her hat, Sora took it off and lightly grabbed Ginji's arm with her fingers.

They chatted about the tableware they planned to buy, but at one station, more people boarded.

“Mm.”

Sora seemed to have noticed someone in the crowd.

“What's up?”

“Probably someone from our school. I've seen them at the school gate. Probably second-years.”

The group she was looking at was about five people—boys and girls—apparently heading out for fun.

“Anyone connected to Aika?”

“No one from the student council. Well, I remember them, but I doubt they know me.”

“Yeah, fair.”

Just to be sure, Ginji asked if they were connected to Aika, but it seemed not. Thinking it was unrelated, the two resumed chatting—when they suddenly felt intense stares. Apparently, the group had noticed them too. At the next station, when the crowd thinned, the group approached them.

“W-whoa…”

Triggered by her shyness, Sora hid behind Ginji. Ginji stood protectively in front of her, calm and relaxed.

A short-haired girl, a little taller than Sora, stepped forward with a smile.

“Ah—um, you're Takagi-san, right?”

“…Yes.”

Peeking from behind Ginji, Sora replied, and the girl covered her mouth in awe.

“You're too cute… way prettier than the pics on social media—so slim, those big eyes, that glossy hair…”

“They say you're Shiki-san's relative, but honestly, you might be even more amazing. Ah, we're second-years from the same school—we're heading to a concert. When we saw the famous Takagi-chan, we just had to say hi!”

Another girl with semi-long hair also crowded in closer. Sora completely hid behind Ginji now.

The boys in the back looked awkward—it seemed the girls had acted on their own.

“Um, sorry, Sora's really shy. Could you not get too close?”

“Ginji…”

Though she had managed the morning greeting, Sora was still bad at interacting with people. Especially at school, where most of the class sided with Aika and viewed her as an enemy, she had no idea how to deal with girls approaching her with genuine friendliness.

“Ah, sorry! You're just so cute, even from afar. Oh—are you two on a date? Are we interrupting?”

Sora's back straightened like a spring, and she nervously peeked out from behind Ginji.

“…Yes, I'm on a date. With my boyfriend…”

“…Yeah.”

It was as if Sora felt compelled to declare it, and Ginji scratched his cheek as he replied. Her face blushing, Sora clutched Ginji's arm and looked up at him, which made the two girls clutch their chests.

“Ahh… what is this feeling… so pure. Guh…”

One of them even covered her mouth, and Ginji and Sora exchanged puzzled looks.

“I feel like I've awakened to something… I might join that club now…”

“I get it. There were a lot of rumors, but the real thing is totally different… I need something bitter to calm down.”

Without even a proper goodbye, the girls returned to their group.

“What was that about?”

“Who knows… but I did manage to talk a bit. Pretty amazing, huh?”

From Sora's perspective, it was a big achievement, so she puffed out her chest proudly. Ginji gave a wry smile and gently patted her head.