Chapter 9: The First Date
It's the first Saturday since the start of the new term.
Looks like Touka wasn't kidding yesterday when she made that scene in front of everyone about our first date today. She's really planning to have that date with me. We've exchanged a few texts and agreed to meet in front of the train station.
And here I am. I've arrived earlier than the time we agreed on, but it looks like she had the same idea.
It's kinda weird to see her without her school uniform on. She seems different, in a way, but she still stands out in the crowd regardless. She’s pretty far from me, but I’d spotted her from a mile away.
“Oh, come on—why don’t you hang out with us?”
“You’ll have the time of your life.”
She's surrounded by three guys who don’t look like the friendliest bunch.
Well, Touka is really cute. I guess it's a given she’d attract creeps.
“I’m sooo sorry guys, but I'll have to pass. I’m waiting for my boyfriend,” she says with a gentle smile.
Well, she handled the situation well. Hopefully, the guys get the message and leave. I mean, that would be the logical thing to do here.
“Your boyfriend? Sure, sure—whatever. I bet he's some boring dude, right? Just come with us.”
“Don’t be so cold, baby. You’re gonna hurt our feelings.”
It doesn’t look like they’re going to give up anytime soon.
Everyone who’s passing by just ignores the situation and keeps walking. I feel sorry that she has to deal with those pests on her own, so I rush toward her.
“Hey, sorry for making you wait.”
The moment she sees me, her smile brightens, and she runs toward me.
“You guys know her or something?” I ask the guys.
As soon as they see my face, they take a step back in shock. Even these guys are scared of me? The ones who're supposed to be the real criminals here? Man…
“I’m sooo sorry, guys! My boyfriend would get super mad at me if I hung out with you. See ya around!”
She seems so confident when she says that, but I notice that her slender arm is trembling the moment she slides it around mine.
“Yeah, I’d get pretty upset. Sorry about that.”
The sooner we get out of here, the better; so I’ll just start going now, and…
“Hey, asshole! Wait!”
One of the guys shouts from behind me.
“...What?”
“You think just glaring at us will make us shit our pants or something?”
“You just wanna look cool in front of your girl, huh? You're outnumbered—there's three of us here, and you’re on your own. I bet you were just tryin' to shake us off so you could run off with your tail between your legs.”
“This place's too crowded, don'tcha think? Let’s go somewhere a little quieter."
…Okay, so I wasn't off the mark. They're definitely criminals.
The three of them surround us and lead us toward a deserted alleyway. On our way there, Touka gives me a concerned glance—she’s clearly worried about the whole situation. I mean, the death grip she's got on my arm is another solid giveaway.
We arrive at the deserted alley.
“S-Senpai…,” she whispers worriedly.
“Don’t worry; it’ll be fine.”
“And just what's gonna be fine, huh?”
“Still trying to look cool?”
“Hehe! You fuckin' idiot!”
The three of them surround me with jackal-like grins.
"Time to eat some asphalt!"
One of them throws a punch at me.
I quickly glance at Touka, who's behind me. I need to keep myself in check and make sure I don’t make a mess out of them in front of her.
I easily grab the guy's fist as he's mid-punch.
“What the?!”
I throw him away from me, which makes him lose his balance and topple backward. He crashes into one of the other guys, and both of them fall to the ground.
I look at the two of them lying there and say, “I don't want to make a big scene, so how about we end this?”
I wouldn’t like a passerby to see us and call the police either. They'd just end up making a mountain out of a molehill.
“Cut the bullshit!”
Weren’t you the one who started throwing the punches?
I turn to face the guy who has the best physique out of the three. He's probably the leader of their little gang. Looks like he’ll pack more of a punch than the other two.
…It turns out he just relies on brute force, though. I can clearly see through his moves. I fight back a yawn as I use his strength against him and pin him down on the ground.
“Nagh! Fuck! Fuck off of me!” he cries out angrily as he struggles to break free from my grip.
He sure has balls, still trying to shit-talk me after getting wiped so easily. Hopefully, now they get the message that they shouldn’t keep looking for a fight.
“Just give up, and I’ll pretend nothing ever happened. But if you’re still looking for a fight, I’ll actually have to start trying, so just keep that in mind. Don't say I didn't warn you.”
As soon as I finish threatening them, they calm down and start nodding repeatedly like puppets.
“Sorry, dude. We won’t lay a finger on your girl, swear on our moms' graves.”
She’s not even my girlfriend, but whatever.
“I'm glad you guys get it.”
I let the leader go; he quickly gets up and helps his friends up as well. Without saying a single word, they turn tail and run out the alley.
They’re smarter than I gave them credit for. If this had gotten out of hand, I bet Touka would’ve been shocked, and that's putting it lightly.
“...Whoa, Senpai. You don’t just look the part, huh? You’re a legit criminal, through and through,” she says once she's sure the guys are gone.
“I don’t think I’m a criminal. They looked for a fight, and I just tried to finish it as peacefully as I could.”
“You call that peaceful? Damn, you didn’t even realize how dangerous you are.”
“Haaah… I swear, you’re just…”
She could at least thank me for getting rid of those assholes.
I was going to tell her as much, but I can see that her hands are still trembling slightly, so I'll drop it.
“I was sooo scared, y'know? I’m not a big, strong man like you, Senpai. I’m just a weak and delicate lady! I’m sorry for being so cute that I attract those kinds of guys, okay?! It's not like I enjoy being hit on! Hmph! Happy now, Senpai?!”
She's right there. I wasn’t really thinking about that, so I guess that's my bad.
“I bet I scared you too, so yeah. Sorry about that.”
She gives me a surprised look.
“I-I was, not gonna lie! I don’t really care, though; you’re always scary either way.”
I thank her for her extremely kind and considerate words.
“Oh, I see. Nice to know.”
“...But, to be honest, I feel sorta embarrassed. I mean, you’re the one who helped me out. So I feel like I should be thanking you, instead of having you apologize for scaring me. I have a better opinion about you now, though, Senpai,” she says and smiles at me.
“Could you elaborate on that?”
“Well, before, I thought that you were just a nice guy who only happened to look like a thug. But now I know that once you're angry, you actually turn into a dangerous thug,” she hugs herself as she says this, pretending as though she's scared.
“How's that a better opinion of me?”
“Whoopsie. You got me there.”
Oh, so it was another one of her jokes. Classic.
I notice her hands have stopped shaking, and I can’t help but smile when I do. Touka notices my smile and blushes a little. She looks a bit embarrassed.
“Well, looks like we’ve had a rough start, but how about we go on our first date now? Let’s make the best out of it.”
She nods silently at what I say, her cheeks still flushed a petal pink.
☆
“So what're we gonna do now, Senpai?” She asks me while we walk in front of the train station. She’s back to normal now.
“How about watching a movie?”
“Going to the movies? Not like it’s a bad idea, but doesn’t that sound too normal for a date?”
“How’s that a bad thing?”
“I mean, sure. At least we won’t get involved in another fight if we go,” she answers with a shrug.
What the hell is she expecting from me? The least she could do is be more honest about what she wants. When she gets all cryptic like this, it just gets on my nerves.
Since we've decided to go to the movies, we head toward a theatre that's located in a nearby shopping mall.
“Well, I’m fine with going to the movies... but are they even showing anything good today?”
She checks the board that shows which movies are being screened today.
“...Oh my, Senpai! Don’t tell me that you got the idea 'cause you wanted to see the “Love Letter” with me! It looks super cheesy and predictable! I see I can’t relax for even a second around you. You're always trying to woo me, aren’t ‘cha?”
With a smile, she points at the movie poster, which features a shamelessly handsome actor and a young actress in the center.
“Huh. I thought you’d rather watch something like this, to be honest.”
It’s one of those post-apocalyptic flicks where a buff dude and his cute chick sidekick tramp around the world and kick other people’s asses. This one, specifically, seems to feature some cowboy-looking villains.
It’s been on the billboards since winter of last year, so it must’ve been quite the hit.
“Maybe you’ve already seen it?”
“Whoa there, Senpai—hold your horses. How d'you figure that? How would a cute, delicate girl like me enjoy a movie like that? It looks like it's packed with violence.”
“If I had to say… it fits your personality pretty well.”
“I swear…,” she says while pouting. After a second, she continues, "I'd be lying if I said I didn’t see the trailer on TV the other day, or that I found it interesting.”
In the end, we decide to go and watch it. It turns out it's filled with a lot more violence, gore, and screaming than you'd imagine.
☆
The movie has quite the production value—it doesn't lack any edge, and the special effects are impressive. The action scenes are also pretty cool and well-made.
I glance to my side from time to time to check on Touka, but she seems to be watching the movie intensely with a smile plastered on her face. Yep, I knew these kinds of movies were her thing.
She's so surprised and excited by the movie that she doesn't even notice when she latches onto one of my sleeves. I check on her because I figure something's wrong, but she's staring raptly at the screen. Her expressions are as easy to see as the movie showing in front of us.
It's fun to see this side of her and to watch her reactions based on what happens in the movie. It's definitely a new side of her, and one I normally can’t appreciate.
☆
“That was fun.”
“Yeah. Skipping that romance movie was a good choice,” she agrees, nodding.
We’re at a fast food joint, sipping on drinks while talking about what we thought of the movie.
“You seemed to have fun watching it, though. Like, way more than normal,” I say in between trying my drink.
“Wait a sec, Senpai, don’t tell me that…”
I look at her, only to be greeted with an evil smile.
“What?”
“You toootally love me, don’t you, Senpai? Did you seriously spend the whole time ogling me instead of watching the movie? Oh my god, Senpai! You can look at me whenever you want, don't worry! You should at least try to forget me for a little bit and watch the movie! ” she says in a teasing tone. She playfully kicks at me with the tips of her toes.
Man, does she ever stop daydreaming? Or at least keep quiet about it?
“Yeah, I let myself go there. It was pretty cute seeing you enjoying the movie so much."
She’s just going to turn whatever I say against me, so I’ll just agree with her and move on.
“...What?!” she answers, surprised.
She stops kicking at me, too. Thank god for that; that game of one-sided footsie was starting to hurt.
Why's her face red now, though? She’s also fidgeting; did I say something wrong?
“What’s wrong?”
She looks at me, somewhat befuddled.
“Well, it’s just that you’ve been super nice and flattering me so earnestly… It feels pretty embarrassing, y'know? Not that I don’t like it, but still…”
She tilts her head.
It looks like she completely misunderstood what I meant and didn't pick up my sarcastic tone. I can’t really tell her I wasn't trying to flatter her, though—she'd just turn it against me and make it look like I'm just being coy or something.
After deliberating on it for a while, I come up with an excellent idea. Maybe I can finish this date faster than I thought. I finish my drink and say, “...Maybe we should leave it here for today, then?”
“Why would you even say that?!”
“You seem really embarrassed about all this, and you’re trying too hard to not show it.”
“...Did you just act nice so you could have an excuse to call this off? If so, that’s the shittiest reason ever,” she says while staring at me.
Awkwardness ensues; we look at each other briefly and force ourselves to smile.
“Let’s just forget about this. Anyways, what're we doing next?”
“How about just keeping me company, huh?” she asks while sulkily while pouting.
I don’t really have anything specific in mind since I’ve never gone on a date before, but maybe we could go there…?
“How about we go to an arcade?”
“An arcade? Wait, don’t tell me! Are you going to show off your impressive criminal skills again? Maybe extorting little kids out of their allowance?!”
“I’m not planning on showing that off. Mainly because I've never even done it in the first place," I say with a sigh.
“Yeah, I know,” she answers lightly, a smile on her face, “Are you gonna show me your ‘epic gamer’ skills, then? Y'know—playing, punching the screen 'till it breaks, throwing ashtrays at people 'cause you're mad you lost…”
That all sounds strangely familiar. I think I saw it in a manga I read not too long ago…
“Who do you even think I am?” I say in a tired voice. She looks at me with a grin.
☆
We arrive at the arcade. We enter, and after checking out all of the games inside, Touka says, accompanied by the biggest shit-eating grin ever, “Looks like there’s no one else around here to be your criminal match, Senpai.”
“No clue what you’re talking about.”
She’s probably joking around so much because of the fight I had with those guys before. I guess she wants to tell me that she wasn't bothered by it, and that she’s not scared of me.
Well, at least she knows how to communicate, in that sense. It makes me think that she actually could give a damn about others if she really put her mind to it. It would be nice if she worried about me more often, but at least I know she cares about me a little.
“Well then, Senpai. Let’s do some 1v1 action!”
I nod.
“Let’s try this racing game!”
We decide to try the racing game she picks out first and choose the versus option.
Judging by the way she’s handling the controls, this isn't her first time at the rodeo. Unfortunately for her, I’ve played this game countless times already, so I’m obviously better than her. In the end, I win by a huge margin.
“Ugh! Okay, then—how about that beat-em-up next?!”
She spots a pretty popular fighting game machine that's vacant, so we sit down there next. She’s surprisingly quite good at the game, but it’s not enough for her. I win effortlessly against her, so much so that I don't even lose any HP.
She doesn’t punch the screen or throw any ashtrays at me when she loses, but she does glare daggers at me.
“Fine! Let’s play some air hockey now. This time, I won’t lose!”
She slides a coin into the machine, and we both head to opposite ends, ready to play. Again, she’s good at it... but my reflexes are sharper than hers, and I hit the puck with way more strength, so it’s a lost cause for her.
She couldn’t even score a single point against me. The final score is 11 to 0, and she looks like she's on the brink of tears.
“...You’re disgusting,” she utters as tears well up in her eyes.
“Normally, when a guy brings a girl to an arcade, he's supposed to go easy on her! What the hell, Senpai?! D'you have fun preying on the weak?!” she spits out, glaring at me heatedly.
“I mean, I had fun.”
“Ugh!” she shouts through clenched teeth.
I'm actually pretty surprised—I think she’s a little too mad over this. Where is it coming from? Does she really hate losing that much?
Wait a sec, I think she completely misunderstood what I just said.
“Wait, my bad. What I meant is, I had fun because this is the first time I’ve ever come to an arcade with someone else.”
I've tried to make friends with other people here before, but everyone was just frightened of me. In the end, I’ve never had the chance to play these games with anyone else.
“So yeah, sorry. I’m probably spoiling the fun for you.”
She looks at me, surprised at my explanation.
“C'mon, Senpai. How can I call you disgusting after you told me that? Dummy.”
“My bad.”
“I’m tired of playing against you, so how about we try doing something together now?” she asks while pointing at another machine.
“...The photo booth? You want us to go in there? Are you drunk?”
“Okay, I thought you’d complain about it, but I didn't expect you to ask me if I was drunk. C'mon, is it that big of a deal? If I stick the photo on my phone case, everyone at school can see how much of a lovey-dovey couple we are!”
“Oh, okay. You have a point there.”
She’s right. It might help keep other guys at bay, like she wants.
“How about we take a picture, then?”
“Sure thing, Senpai! C'mon, let’s go!”
We enter the section of the arcade that's “Out of Bounds for Single Boys,” as one sign puts it. Touka heads straight into the photo booth.
We insert a coin, and a funny voice asks us to choose a mode for the picture.
“I’m choosing this one!” she declares and quickly chooses one of the options displayed on the screen.
"Get ready to pose for the picture, guys!♪" the machine sing-songs.
“Come on, Senpai! Let’s pose like we're an actual couple. But no touching me, okay?! Try not to get too down about it and end up in tears.”
“Sure. I don’t know what you mean by posing like a couple, but I’ll just leave it up to you. Also, that’s not something I’d cry about.”
“That’s right! Just leave it to me! And stop trying to look so tough, dude!”
She gives me some instructions about how I should pose, so I just follow suit.
Snap!
There, that's the final photo.
Touka seriously bosses me around as we try several times to take a good photo. Finally, fortunately, we take a good picture. Now I can be free.
“We can use an app later to write whatever we want over the picture, but you don’t mind if I just do it here and finish this quickly, right?”
“Sure. I don’t even know what you’re talking about, so just do your thing.”
She nods and starts writing some stuff over the picture displayed on the screen. I decide to check out what she’s doing.
“Doesn't my face look pretty weird like that?”
“Hm, yeah. I thought that using this filter to make your eyes bigger would distract from the fact that you look terrifying, but…”
“Looks like I didn’t do a good job posing.”
“Yeah. To be honest, you look like a ghost here more than anything else,” she sighs.
She could at least be a little nicer when she's talking about my looks...
“Hm, I wonder if just writing this could work…” she ponders as she finishes fidgeting with the screen.
A copy of the photo comes out of the machine. Touka snatches it and peels off the adhesive protector from its back.
“Okay, Senpai, take out your phone.”
“Uh, sure.”
I take it out, and…
“Here you go! No tearing it off, you hear me?”
She slaps the photo on the back of my phone, just like that. She didn’t even bother asking me for permission before doing so.
I check out the picture—I can see myself, looking "like a ghost,” as she claims, next to her. The flash when the machine took the photo was really bright, so I thought it was going to come out too shiny. I guess it was fixed with a filter.
There's no need to take a long look at the photo to see that Touka looks 100 times better in real life. People say the prettier someone really is, the less photogenic they are. I’m hoping that it’s the same deal with me. I mean, I can’t be this scary-looking in real life… right?
“Sure, I’ll be careful with it.”
She answers with a smile, “I had fun with this arcade date, really. But now I’m hungry, so how about we have something to eat and call it a day after that?”
“Oh, I see. I had fun too,” I say with a smile of my own.
Putting aside the rocky start we had, thanks to those guys, I think our date went pretty well. I’m relieved, since it was my very first and all.
First Date: After Story
When I get home, I head straight to my room and throw myself onto the bed without even bothering to change out of my clothes. I close my eyes and recollect the day's events.
“Man, Yuuji-senpai is so weird.”
I thought as much the first time we met, but the time we spent together today just reinforces my belief. I mean, he’s brusque, scary looking, and super strong. Like when I saw him fight today, for example—he definitely gives off gangster vibes. But he’s also a very considerate guy, kind of an airhead, and definitely socially awkward. It's obvious he's not used to interacting with other people based on how he talks to me. But still—he’s actually a very nice and gentle guy, for sure.
I feel like everyone misunderstands who he truly is, including me. Even though I'd pegged him as just a nice guy, and nothing more, today showed me how wrong I was. He’s not just a nice guy, and people aren't wrong when they claim that he's scary or dangerous.
Today, when those three guys surrounded us, I was really, really scared. And seeing Senpai totally unphased by the situation scared me even more. I thought, “Is he used to this kinda thing?” Well, it wasn’t like he expected them to reach that level of violence… but to think that he wasn’t even expecting it makes it even more frightening.
That’s not all there is to him, though. I mean, today's actually been mostly fun. So much so that I forgot about the fight for a while.
Going to the movies, discussing what we thought about it while having a drink, and getting owned at the arcade was enjoyable… Okay, maybe that last part wasn’t so fun, but still. Overall, I think that it was an enjoyable experience.
We may not know each other well, since it’s only been a week since we first met, but I know how weird and nice he is. I know about how frightening he can be, but also about how good of a person he can be. Despite his traits, I still think being around him is fun.
That can't be all there is to him, though… I feel like there’s something else about him, something that he hasn’t shown me yet. There must be something. I know there is, since even I have things I'd rather keep hidden. I bet it's the same deal with him, and he's got something he doesn’t want to show others.
We've only been dating for a week, but I want to know more about him. I don’t even know what I'd do if I knew more about that secret side he keeps hidden away, but for some reason, I want to know. I just feel it inside me; I want to know more about him.
That’s why I think he’s weird.
I think about him more and more each day. It's not because I like him or anything like that; it's mostly because I’m curious about him. More than that, however, it feels like I’m expecting more from him each day. Like I expect him to understand my true self.
…Not that I'd ever open myself up to him like that, but I just feel like he'd understand me if I did. And the more I think about it, the more I hate myself for ruminating in my weakness.
I shake my head and stand up. I reach over for my purse and take out the photo I took with him at the booth. There's Senpai, in all his ghastly glory, enhanced by the intense flash. I'm next to him, looking cute as ever.
I read the message I wrote down on the photo: "Our first date!" Reading it makes me smile fondly—I definitely had fun today, even more than I’d like to admit. I peel off the back of the sticker and paste it inside the flap of my phone case.
“God, he looks way too scary!”
I'm not planning to rip it off of my case because of it, though. Actually, the more I look at it… he's kinda charming, in his own way… or maybe not?
I expect something from him. After all, I’m Ike Haruma’s sister, and I'm pretty sure he's the reason why Senpai agreed to the fake relationship. No matter how cute I am, he’d never agree to do it just because of my looks.
I know that what I want from him is something out of his reach. I don’t think he has even the slightest notion of who I really am, just like the rest. But somehow, deep inside, I just expect something else from him that I don’t from other people. Despite that, I know it's just another way he’ll end up disappointing me.
Ultimately, that’s what I think of him and our relationship, but...
“The next time we go to the arcade, I’ll crush him with the game I’m best at!”
I’m already thinking of our next date.
I can’t deny it: I’m interested to see how our relationship goes… as well as interested in him.
