Today is Saturday.
On a Saturday with no school, no plans, just like any other… my usual day off where I spend the morning playing games had arrived. Normally, it’s a day I look forward to all week—easily competing with Sunday for the top spot.
…Or at least, it should have been.
Even though I usually dive into my mobile games with excitement from the morning, something felt off today.
I couldn’t focus… or rather, I kept wanting to do something else almost immediately.
(…My date with Nanami-san is tomorrow… and today she said she’s going to the movies with those two… Taking her to the cinema two days in a row… maybe that wasn’t the best move…)
While thinking about that and playing, my party ended up getting wiped out.
“That’s rare, Canyon-kun. You getting wiped out like that… You seem distracted.”
“Did something happen…?”
Baron-san and Peach-san both sounded concerned. The wipe was just a simple mistake… the kind that normally wouldn’t happen to someone experienced.
That’s how unfocused I was—it was obvious even to myself.
“Well… I’ve got my first date with my girlfriend tomorrow… I keep thinking about it without realizing.”
To be precise, it wasn’t just tomorrow’s date… I was also thinking about Nanami-san today. My preparations for tomorrow were already perfect.
I’d already bought the tickets online and chosen the seats. At first, I thought we’d meet directly at the theater, but I decided against it.
Considering what happened yesterday and that senpai incident… there was a pretty high chance Nanami-san would get approached by random guys.
If a cute girl like her was alone, there’d probably be more guys who would hit on her than those who wouldn’t.
While I was worrying about that, she casually said:
“Then why don’t you come pick me up at my house?”
When I thought about it, it was simple. If I picked her up from home, there’d be almost zero chance of that happening. It was such an eye-opening suggestion that I accepted it, and we decided I’d go to her house instead of meeting somewhere.
Apparently, she had originally planned to come pick me up at my house. But… even for me, that felt like it would hurt my pride as a guy, so I politely declined.
So yesterday, for the first time, I walked her home before heading back myself. That made yesterday the longest time I’d ever spent with Nanami-san.
…And just to be clear, it’s not like I wanted to find out where she lives or anything.
“By the way, do you think people who live together go home like this? It kinda sounds nice, right?”
When she said that on the way home, I completely panicked.
Well… she quickly said, “Sorry, forget that,” so it was probably just her blurting it out. Her ears were red too.
Going home to the same place as Nanami-san… just imagining it made me squirm.
And knowing that on Sunday we’d spend even more time together than before… it made me restless.
I couldn’t sit still.
I thought about messaging her, but I didn’t want to interrupt her time with her friends… so I held back.
But Nanami-san kept sending me updates anyway.
“The movie was really good! Some scenes were a bit embarrassing, but… I guess I learned something? Look forward to it, okay?”
What exactly did you learn, and what am I supposed to look forward to… I panicked on my own.
“We’re having burgers for lunch! What did you eat, Youshin? I wish I could make you lunch even on days off… maybe I should come cook for you sometime?”
At lunch, I remembered her bento, and even my usual instant noodles suddenly felt bland.
“I can’t wait for tomorrow. I want to see you already. I’ll message you tonight, okay? Let’s have a fun date!”
She kept saying things like that.
No wonder I couldn’t focus on my game.
I was grinning the whole time. Honestly, it was kind of creepy.
“Nice, this is youth. A first date, huh? No way it won’t be exciting. Are you fully prepared?”
“Yeah, I’m ready. I’m going to pick her up at her house.”
“I see, I see. Good, good… Don’t worry about the game tomorrow—just enjoy yourself.”
“…Be careful, okay?”
Oh, Peach-san was actually cheering me on for once. That felt new.
“Just… be careful she doesn’t say it was boring, or the worst date ever, or something that crushes you…”
…Nope. Still negative.
Her distrust of gyaru-type girls might be getting deeper.
“Peach-chan, don’t say that… But yeah, make sure to escort her properly so that doesn’t happen. If you do, her affection for you should go up. Though honestly, it might already be maxed out…”
Thinking about it that way, I realized something important—just because I enjoy being with her doesn’t mean she will too.
That was actually a valuable lesson.
“So? What are you planning to wear on the date?”
“Clothes…? My clothes…?”
Clothes… what kind of clothes do you wear on a date?
…Wait, can’t I just wear my usual outfit?
“Well… most of what I have is black… now that I think about it. My pants are loose, baggy ones… and maybe jeans?”
After I said that, Baron-san went silent… and then—
“Canyon-kun… you got closer to senpai, right? Can you take a full-body photo and send it to him?”
“Canyon-san… that’s not… really what you’re wearing, right?”
Both of them sounded worried. Did I mess up that badly?
I changed out of my loungewear into my usual clothes. I don’t really go out much besides buying games or books, so I don’t have many outfits.
I took a full-body photo using a mirror at home and sent it to senpai.
After about ten minutes, he replied.
“You’ve got some nerve asking me this after I got rejected… but fine. I’m on a break at practice, send it.”
…Now that he mentioned it, yeah. But he was the only one I could rely on for this.
I sent the photo, and his reply came quickly.
“Misumai-kun… I’m not an expert in fashion… but even so—what is this!?”
“Why is everything black!? Top, bottom, everything!? Are you a ninja or an assassin!? And what’s with the red text on your shirt!? It stands out way too much!”
“…My underwear isn’t black, by the way. It’s green.”
“That’s not what I meant by pants!!”
…Apparently, I messed up badly.
“Do you only own clothes like this?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Go buy new clothes right now!! Send me photos as you try things on!”
…So my outfit was completely unacceptable.
I thanked him and headed to a shopping mall.
Trying on clothes and sending photos took a while, but thanks to his advice, I ended up with black skinny pants, a white and navy striped shirt, a white outer shirt, and simple accessories. I even bought light blue sneakers.
When I sent the final photo, he said, “That’s good. Simple and refreshing.”
So it should be fine.
It cost more than I expected, but… I’ll just think of it as a good investment.
As I was about to head home, tired… I heard a familiar voice.
“Hey, can you stop? We all have boyfriends, so we’re not interested.”
“Come on, it’s just three girls, right? Let’s hang out. No one will know.”
I looked over—and there was Otofuke Hatsumi.
Right… Nanami-san said they were going to the movies today.
Watching from a distance, I saw Otofuke, Kamoenai Ayumi… and another girl I didn’t recognize.
The three of them were being hit on by a group of three flashy-looking guys.
Post a Comment