V2 Chapter 22 (96) | For Our First Date
âTsukasa-kun. Wake up, itâs morning!â
I was still sleepy. While I was rustling around in the futon, Anri pulled off the covers.
I opened my heavy, sleepy eyelids, and the curtains were fully opened, allowing the dazzling light to enter the room.
Then, the goddess peels off my futon, bathed in sunlight.
With a big smile on her face, she even starts shifting my pillow. I appreciate her waking me up, but I wish she would be more gentle.
âMouu, itâs morning already â¦â¦.â
Anri is wearing a white apron and her hair in a ponytail.
From behind the open door, the good smell of miso soup wafts in today.
âYou have to get up early. Today is the day to go to the movies, right?â
Yes, today is the day we are all going to the movies.
Since we are meeting up in the afternoon, I will go out in the morning, have lunch with Anri, and then go to the meeting place.
If anyone finds us, we have an excuse today.
Yesterday, however, I stayed with Anri until late at night to pick out clothes.
If I thought this one was good enough, the next was this one. I was then accompanied by bags, shoes, and even accessories.
No, it was nice to have Anriâs one-woman fashion show all to myself.
The clothes I saw were indeed cute, and some of them were quite goofy.
But, you know, itâs a long story. Itâs decided! but somehow the next outfit comes up.
I wondered if girls were like this, but I ended up staying with her until late at night.
âAnri, please wake me up a little more gentlyâ¦
Suddenly having the futon pulled off is heartbreaking.
I wish she would wake me up a little more slowly.
âGently, is it? â¦â¦â
Anri sat next to me on the bed and put her white hand on my cheek.
âTsukasa-kun, itâs morning.â
Then, Anriâs soft lips touch my cheek.
âYou make me do embarrassing things in the morning. â¦â¦â
After saying that, Anri gingerly left the room.
I told her to be gentle, but I didnât say I wanted her to go that far.
But if she does that, Iâm going to be fine in the morning too!
Okay, letâs get up!
I go to the bathroom in my jersey and wash my face.
Then I went to the kitchen and looked at the breakfast that was ready.
This morning there was rice, miso soup, salmon, and nori. And a fried egg.
âAnri, arenât you getting pretty good at cooking?â
With her apron on, Anri is preparing oshinko.
âTsukasa-kunâs mom is a great cook, and sheâs really good at teaching.â
The fried eggs Iâve seen before, that was the first fried egg Iâd ever seen.
But what about todayâs fried egg? Normal.
It is round. The yolk is round around the center of the rounded white.
I completely left the breakfast preparation to her.
Itâs my fault for oversleeping.
âIâm sorry I left it all to you.â
âNo, itâs not like that. I made it for Tsukasa-kun and wanted to eat it with him.â
Anri removes her apron and sits in front of me.
Anri, in a good mood since this morning, keeps smiling the whole time.
âLooks delicious.â
âI did my best. Letâs eat up and get going.â
Breakfast proceeds in a friendly mood.
The test is over. We are going to see a movie today.
Then, everyone is going to have dinner together atâ¦
There will be peace and quiet up there.
According to a message I received from Takayama last night, the attire should be casual-formal.
He said that the tickets were being awarded to people a little older than us and that we should not wear strange clothes.
And Sugimoto, who had been wondering about it, seemed to have talked to her parents about it, and they gave her permission on the condition that Anri goes with her. Surely Sugimotoâs parents were against her going out at night alone with a man?
âIs there anywhere you want to go today, Tsukasa-kun?â
Until the meeting time, I had free time.
I had no problem going anywhere or doing anything.
âI donât really have anything in particular in mind. Is there anywhere you want to go, Anri?â
Anri is thinking about it a little.
Shopping would be nice, but we would bring luggage.
âGame center â¦â¦â
âGame center? Does Anri want to go to the game center?â
Anri nodded silently.
Looking at her expression, she seems a little embarrassed.
âIâve passed in front of it many times, but Iâve never been inside yet. Is that a no?â
âNo, thatâs fine. I donât think I can stay in there for very long.â
âThank you. Iâm excited to go to the arcade with Tsukasa-kun.â
It was the first date with Anri.
A proper date destination is the game center.
Iâm used to the arcade, but what am I supposed to do when we both go there?
Iâm basically a solo player, remember? Should we just play a two-player game?
â
At the entranceway, Anri and I are standing facing each other.
For some reason, Anri is checking my clothes.
Whatâs more, my hair is being done something by Anri, and above all, all the clothes I chose have been rejected.
Itâs very frustrating, but I canât help it. To begin with, I am equal to having no taste in clothes.
Just a few minutes ago, Anri was in my room going through my wardrobe.
I didnât expect her to turn my clothes over so much.
She ended up asking me, âWhat were you doing last night? You should have at least picked out your clothes properly!â She was furious.
No, I was accompanied by Anri to watch the Nadeshiko fashion show, right?
I donât understand the female mind.
Such precious time in the morning was consumed and my clothes and grooming were decided.
I apologize for the trouble. Anri, Iâm very sorry.
â Tsukasa-kun. We donât have time to go today, but letâs go shopping for clothes together next time.â
She speaks to me in a rather strong voice.
I havenât bought any clothes lately, and I wouldnât mind a little more.
âThatâs right, letâs go together.â
We started walking to the station, talking like that at the entrance.
Our first date. We were walking arm in arm for the first time.
I was nervous. I couldnât help but look at Anri with a sideways glance.
Unlike usual, Anri is wearing plain clothes today. It suits her very well.
Even if she were walking next to me, her beauty would catch someoneâs eye.
I wonder how she sees me next to her.
Do I look like a man worthy of Anri?
If not, I must be diligent.
âTsukasa-kun, where are you looking?â
I was looking at Anri with a sideways glance, but our eyes met.
âI was looking at Anriâs smile. I will keep looking at Anriâs smile from now on.â
With red cheeks, Anri looks straight into my eyes and answers me.
âThank you. I will walk next to Tsukasa-kun so that he can smile too.â
We are having a happy time right now.
Whether this time will last forever or fade away is entirely up to us.
It all depends on us. We must capture happiness with our own hands.