Vol. 2 Chapter 4 – After-School Uniform Date

As soon as homeroom ended and school was out, Asahi-san came over to my desk.

The purpose, of course, was to walk home together as promised in the morning.

“Well then, shall we go?” (Hikaru)
“Yeah,” (Reiya)

Grabbing our bags, the two of us leave the classroom.

Walking side-by-side down the hallway naturally draws unwanted attention.

“Uwah… So it really was true…”
“That Gloomy Type… Is he showing off to us…?”
“Bad taste~…”

Such whispers inevitably reach my ears.

Exposed to uncomfortable gazes, we turn the corner of the hallway.

Just as we were about to go down the stairs, Asahi-san stopped and spoke.

“Does it… bother you after all?” (Hikaru)
“Eh? Wh-What?” (Reiya)

I’m bewildered by her sudden words.

“Being with me, um… being looked at strangely by others, or having things said about you… I was wondering if that bothers you, Kageyama-kun…” (Hikaru)
“That’s… um…” (Reiya)
“Ayaka also said that even if I don’t mind, you might… If it’s really unbearable, I’ll try my best to avoid you at school–” (Hikaru)
“Th-That’s not it!” (Reiya)

I hastily try to smooth things over with Asahi-san, who looks apologetic and sad.

“Well, it’s not like it doesn’t bother me at all… and it’s true that it happens, but…” (Reiya)
“Then maybe…” (Hikaru)
“Even so… wanting to be together, even for just one second longer… I feel the same way…” (Reiya)
“…Yeah, me too,” (Hikaru)

She responds to my words by moving half a step closer.

We start walking again, descend the stairs, pass through the entrance hall, and exit the school gate.

Once outside the school grounds, as the number of students decreases, the unpleasant attention naturally lessens.

Finally feeling somewhat relieved, I then become conscious of the person next to me.

Asahi-san, in her school uniform, is walking beside me.

It’s her most familiar appearance, but it’s also the appearance from when she was the most distant existence, so it feels strange.

Her casual clothes suited her, but she’s also stunningly cute in her uniform.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” (Hikaru)

Perhaps she noticed me glancing sideways, as she tilted her head quizzically.

Even that simple gesture is so adorable that my face rapidly heats up.

“No… I was just wondering if we were going straight to my room…” (Reiya)
“Hmm, now that you mention it, it does feel like a bit of a waste. Since it’s a date and all,” (Hikaru)
“A date…?” (Reiya)
“Yeah, it’s a date, right? An after-school uniform date,” (Hikaru)

Asahi-san declares it as if it’s perfectly natural.

“I’ve actually admired it quite a bit~. Hearing girls with boyfriends talk about it made me feel envious,” (Hikaru)
“H-Heh… Is that so…” (Reiya)
“Yeah. In that case, we should definitely stop by somewhere… Ah, right! There was a shop I wanted to go to! Um, I think it was near here… Found it! This way, this way!” (Hikaru)

She runs a little ahead, turns back, and waves her hand energetically.

A date, I see… So this is a date…

Not the date-like something when we went to the specialty store, but an official, personally acknowledged uniform date.

I never thought such an event would occur in my life.

Following her lead, I was brought to a new smoothie shop near the station.

A stylish storefront that I would never visit alone.

It seems popular, as there’s a decent queue even at this time on a weekday.

After queuing and chatting for about ten minutes, our turn to order came.

“One strawberry banana, please!” (Hikaru)
“Then, I’ll have one tropical mango,” (Reiya)

We order the items we’d decided on beforehand and get them to go.

There’s no eat-in space, apparently designed for drinking while walking, but there was a bench nearby, so we sat down side-by-side.

“Mmm~… Delicious~…” (Hikaru)
“Yeah, it’s good. Low sugar, so the natural sweetness of the fruit stands out,” (Reiya)
“As expected of a restaurant part-timer. Your taste commentary is quite impressive~…” (Hikaru)

We exchange such light banter while drinking our 700-yen smoothies.

The old me would have–

‘Mixing fruit in a blender and charging 700 yen per cup is way too expensive. For the same price on a Stream sale, I could play like crazy for a month.’

–thought something like that… or rather, I still kind of think that now.

However, considering this experience is included in the price, it started to feel extremely cheap.

“Hm? What’s wrong…?” (Hikaru)

As I savor this unexpected happiness, I notice her staring intently at my hand from beside me.

“Yours looks delicious too~. I was actually debating which one to get until the very end,” (Hikaru)

1. Jealous? But I’m not sharing.
2. I’ll wait here, want to go buy another one?
3. Want a sip, then?

Faced with her blatant invitation, choices appear in my head.

Considering she’s the orthodox heroine, ‘3’ is the only choice for raising affection points…

“Can I have a sip?” (Hikaru)

While I was deliberating, she proposed it herself.

“S-Sure…” (Reiya)
“Then, here’s a sip of mine in return!” (Hikaru)

Still holding it, the mouth of the straw is offered to me.

At this point, there’s no choice but to offer mine as well, crossing them over.

Asahi-san unhesitatingly put the straw I was just drinking from to her lips.

Gulp, gulp, her throat moves slightly as the smoothie is swallowed.

“…Aren’t you going to drink? Perhaps you don’t like strawberries or bananas?” (Hikaru)

As I remain frozen, staring at the tip of the straw, she asks quizzically.

“No, that’s not it…” (Reiya)
“Well then, here,” (Hikaru)

It’s offered even closer.

My gaze isn’t drawn to the tip of the straw, but to her moist, peach-colored lips.

Having been a Popular Type for so long, maybe sharing drinks like this is normal for her?

She shows no sign of concern about the indirect contact via mucous membranes.

In that case, I have no choice but to go for it. Steeling myself, I put the offered straw to my lips.

What felt like an eternity, the longest sip in the world.

The pounding beat of my heart echoes in the back of my ears.

“How is it? Delicious?” (Hikaru)
“Y-Yeah… It was delicious. The sweet and sour taste of the strawberry and the mellowness of the banana matched perfectly…” (Reiya)

I answer appropriately, but honestly, because of a different kind of sweet and sour feeling, I couldn’t taste it at all.

“Right? Yours was delicious too, so next time I come, I’ll get that one,” (Hikaru)

Saying that, Asahi-san was about to drink her own again, but–

“…Ah,” (Hikaru)

As if remembering something, she removes her mouth from the straw–

“This… come to think of it, we just had an indirect kiss, didn’t we?” (Hikaru)

She smiled, looking slightly embarrassed, yet somehow like a little devil who knew exactly what she was doing.

FATALITY.

Faced with the instant-kill technique she unleashed, all I could do was writhe in agony.

****

“Excuse me~!” (Hikaru)

Unlocking the door to my home, Asahi-san dashed inside headfirst.

While I followed and took off my shoes, she then dove onto the bed with considerable force.

“Mmm~… It’s been a while, but this place really is calming~…” (Hikaru)

Throwing her upper body onto the bed, Asahi-san rolls over defenselessly.

More than ever, she’s relaxing as if it were her own room.

Seeing her like that made me happy, feeling like she considered this place a kind of sanctuary.

“I couldn’t come last Saturday because of the tournament… so it’s been exactly ten days?” (Reiya)
“Yeah, I’d been coming every week before that, so just three extra days feels like ages. Have you been doing well~? I see, I see~” (Hikaru)

She cheerfully talks to the ‘Dekkawa’ plushie beside the bed.

“Okay, so what should we do today? Continue from last time?” (Reiya)

I also sit down in my chair and wake the computer from sleep mode.

“Hmm~… What should we do~…” (Hikaru)

Still lying down, Asahi-san grips the controller and scrolls through the library screen displayed on the TV.

The silly game we played last time she visited isn’t cleared yet.

I figured we’d continue with that today, but–

“Ah, right! I just thought of something good!” (Hikaru)

Asahi-san sits up, her voice raised as if struck by inspiration.

“Something good? Is there a title you want to play?” (Reiya)
“Nuh-uh, not that… How about you and I face off, Kageyama-kun?” (Hikaru)
“Face off…? You mean in a game?” (Reiya)
“Yeah. We’ve done quite a bit of co-op play, but we’ve never competed against each other, have we?” (Hikaru)
“Come to think of it, that’s true,” (Reiya)

Even during the fruit game and the crane game, we started competitively, but ended up cooperating.

Other than that, I’ve only watched Asahi-san play solo games or played co-op games.

The only real competition was the air hockey at the arcade.

And I lost miserably at that.

“Alright, I accept your challenge. Which title should we play?” (Reiya)

At this unexpected chance for revenge, my gamer soul ignites.

“Hmm, let’s see… How about we take turns picking ones we like?” (Hikaru)
“Sounds good. To keep it fair, let’s pick games we’ve both played, or games neither of us has played,” (Reiya)
“Okay. And one more thing… To heighten the tension of the match…” (Hikaru)

Asahi-san holds up one finger towards me.

She flashes that little devil smile again and–

“How about the loser has to do one thing the winner says?” (Hikaru)
She grinned, as if saying this was the main point.