"Good morning, Nanami-san. I know I’m a bit early, but I came to pick you up."
"...Good morning, Youshin. Thanks for yesterday."
I contacted her from a spot a little away from her house, and we met after she came out. It was a precaution to avoid accidentally running into her family.
Today, her outfit was a bit more modest… a white blouse paired with a light blue long skirt. But at the same time, there were hints of a gyaru style—her shoulders slightly exposed, and her accessories and small details subtly shining.
It felt like a fusion of modest and gyaru… but with my limited vocabulary, I couldn’t quite put it into words.
All I knew for sure was that she looked cute.
I was wearing the new clothes I bought yesterday for the first time, and I felt a little restless… but at least now, I felt like I could stand next to her without looking out of place.
I was truly grateful to Baron-san and Senpai. If they hadn’t said anything, I would’ve shown up in all black.
"You’ve got a different vibe today. It suits you."
"Yeah… I figured if I dressed like this, my dad wouldn’t realize I’m going on a date with a boy. He probably thinks I’m hanging out with Hatsumi and Ayumu again today."
It seemed that Nanami-san was keeping our relationship a secret from her family.
Well… I was too. It just felt awkward to say it out loud. I understood how she felt.
Still… my parents might have noticed something.
Yesterday, when I came home with new clothes—especially ones that weren’t black—they were surprised, but they didn’t say much. My dad just nodded and said, “I see, I see…”
And this morning… they had already left for a business trip, but they had left more living expenses on the table than usual.
That had never happened before… I was grateful, but the silence was a bit scary.
Well, no point thinking about that now. Maybe it was because of my new clothes, but today I felt strangely confident—almost invincible. I had to properly escort Nanami-san.
"Shall we go?"
"Yeah. Oh, right… Youshin, um…"
"Hm? What is it?"
"That outfit… it looks good on you. You look cool."
…Damn it, she beat me to it. This was exactly what I was lacking.
And saying that first thing in the morning was unfair. She smiled at me like a blooming flower, and I couldn’t even look back—I just turned red.
The sense of invincibility I had vanished instantly, replaced by something else… happiness.
"Nanami-san… you too… that outfit suits you… um… y-you look cute."
I managed a clumsy counterattack, but she simply murmured, "I know," and stepped beside me, taking my hand.
Even though her outfit was different, her hand felt the same as always… and that somehow reassured me.
…Before, just holding hands would make me nervous. Maybe I’ve grown a little.
Ah, her ears are red—so she’s probably happy too. Maybe that counts as a successful counter.
"So, what movie did we end up choosing today?"
"Oh, I picked that American comic movie you said you wanted to see. You said you hadn’t watched it yet. I already bought the tickets online and reserved the seats."
"I didn’t even know you could do that. I always just buy tickets on the spot with the others… So, did you at least get couple seats?"
"No, and you know that theater doesn’t have those. Stop teasing me."
She grinned beside me with a weird “Nishishi” laugh, and I couldn’t help but smile wryly.
Even if her appearance changed, she was still the same Nanami-san—always teasing me, yet often embarrassing herself too.
Well, our seats were next to each other, so it was basically the same thing.
"By the way, I’ve never seen this series before. Do you think I’ll still enjoy it?"
"Hmm, you should be fine. I got into it halfway through too. I haven’t seen all of them either."
"That’s good. I looked it up—there are over 20 movies in this series."
"If you end up liking it, we should rent them and watch together next time. Even if you don’t, I’m still making you watch them."
Watching all 20 together… that sounded like a dream. There was no way we could finish them in just a month.
Well, maybe if we really tried… but that’s not what she meant.
What did she think about our relationship?
Was I just practice? An obligation from a punishment game? Or… did she genuinely like me?
I knew this relationship started as a punishment game. But she didn’t know that I knew. And yet, she still smiled at me so sincerely.
Every time I saw that innocent smile, I felt like I was the one deceiving her.
If only there was some kind of system that showed a girl’s feelings like parameters… I really had no experience in this area.
Baron-san once said, “I think she’s completely smitten with you… but from your perspective, does she seem like someone who could deceive a guy like that?”
My answer was no.
I could say that without hesitation. She wasn’t that kind of person.
But even so… that didn’t necessarily mean she liked me.
I knew I was being overly negative, but I just couldn’t take that final step.
"Youshin…? Do you usually watch movies alone?"
Her voice snapped me back to reality. I was on a date with her right now.
"No, not really. I was just thinking that if we watched them at home, we’d be alone together… and I might be too nervous to focus on the movie. And there are so many in the series—it’d take over a month to finish them."
The moment I said “a month,” a shadow briefly crossed her face.
…Damn it. I shouldn’t have said that.
She quickly hid it, then smiled faintly.
"…Then at least until we finish all the movies… let’s stay together, okay?"
…Did that mean she’d stay with me even after a month?
Was it okay for me to believe that?
Trying to lighten the mood, I joked:
"That’s harsh. So once we finish them, you’ll dump me? Then I guess I should stretch it out as long as possible. Like I said before, I have no intention of letting you go."
She smiled again—her usual smile.
"Don’t worry. The series keeps going. There’s already a new movie coming out next year."
"I see. So the longer the series continues, the safer our relationship is."
We both laughed and walked hand in hand toward the theater.
"…You’ve dated before, haven’t you? You seem too used to this. Even buying new clothes just for a date… I’m just wearing something I already had."
"Not at all. If my game friends and Shibetsu-senpai hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve come in yesterday’s outfit. They said that was a bad idea."
"What did they say exactly?"
"Senpai said, ‘Are you a ninja or an assassin?!’ Pretty harsh, right?"
Nanami-san burst out laughing.
"…A ninja… a ninja…"
She trembled, clearly hitting her funny spot.
"So yesterday… you saved us using ninja techniques… Thank you again, Mr. Ninja…"
"…If I were really a ninja, I would’ve done it more stylishly."
Her laughter made things a bit complicated, but we soon arrived at the theater.
We exchanged our tickets, bought drinks and popcorn… and everything was ready.
"Hey, I’ll pay half."
"No, today is my way of thanking you for the lunches you’ve been making. If you pay, how am I supposed to repay you?"
She reluctantly agreed.
And of course, I was paying for lunch too.
I had thought about getting her a gift, but Baron-san stopped me.
"It’s too early. It might feel heavy. If anything, a one-month anniversary would be better."
One month… I’ll make sure we reach that.
We watched the movie together, and it was amazing—the action, the story, everything.
Afterward, Nanami-san was so excited that we went to a nearby café to talk about it.
"That was incredible! And the ending—so emotional but bittersweet! Heroes really have to fight for the Earth!"
"Yeah, it was great. Though I got confused at some parts since I hadn’t seen the previous movies."
"Same here. There were parts from other series, so I got curious. Now I see why this is the culmination."
"Wait, you didn’t know everything either? You looked like you did."
"…Were you watching me instead of the movie?"
…Oops.
"I mean, you were next to me… it just happened… by chance…"
She stared at me with half-lidded eyes, then sighed and smiled.
We spent the rest of the day chatting, eating, and even picking out clothes together.
Before we knew it, it was already evening.
I planned to walk her home before it got too late.
"What should I do for dinner tonight…"
"Dinner? Aren’t you eating at home?"
"My parents are away on a business trip. They won’t be back until tomorrow night."
"Then what will you do?"
"Maybe buy something or order delivery…"
She paused, thinking.
"…That’s not good. It won’t be healthy."
"It’s just one meal, it’ll be fine."
"…Okay."
But her expression suddenly became determined.
"Hm?"
"I’ll go to your house and cook dinner for you tonight!"
…Huh? How did it come to that?
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