21 - It's a Date

RAW

fter doing the housework for the Tojo family that day, Haruto returns home and studies, spreading out his reference books on the living room table.

"Haruto, are you still studying?"

His grandmother, clad in pajamas, asks Haruto as she places a teacup of tea in front of him.

"Thanks, grandma. I'll go to bed before it gets too late. I have to go out tomorrow."

"Oh? Is that so?"

His grandmother looks a little happy that her grandson is going out to play, which is rare for her.

"Yeah, I'm going to see a movie."

"A movie is rare. Are you going to see it with Tomoya?"

Haruto's best friend, Akagi Tomoya, is a childhood friend, so his grandmother knows him well.

"No, it's not Tomoya. Well, I'm going to see it with a girl from my class."

"Oh my, is it a girl?"

"Ah, yeah. I see."

Haruto said, a little shy, and took a sip from his teacup to hide his embarrassment.

"Is that so? Well, tomorrow is a date."

"Bwah! So, a date?"

Haruto spat out the tea he was drinking when his grandmother said that.

"No, grandma. It's not a date. I had something I needed to talk about with that girl, and we decided to go see a movie on the way..."

"Haruto."

"Y-Yes."

The grandmother called out her grandson's name in the middle of his story, interrupting him.

It was a habit he'd had since he was little, so Haruto reflexively straightened his back and replied.

"Okay, Haruto. If you meet a woman outside, that's a date, right? Even if the woman doesn't think of it that way, the man should think of it as a date and escort her to the best of his ability. That's what a gentleman is. Do you get it?"

"Yes."

Haruto answers honestly, and his grandmother nods with satisfaction.

"Women respect men. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't matter who the man is. Women only want to devote their love to the man they want to spend the rest of their lives with. So, Haruto. In order to be thought of that way by women, you have to give them more love than they give you. Give them more than you are given. And do it without being proud or showing off. And..."

"Always be kind and considerate. Got it, grandma."

Haruto takes over the last part of his grandmother's story.

"Tomorrow, I'll do my best to be respectful to the other person, um... I'll go on a date."

"Yeah, do your best."

His grandmother smiled gently and said "Good night," and left the living room.

Haruto, who was left alone, thought about what his grandmother had just said.

"Indeed, it's normal for a man to escort a woman properly as a courtesy."

His grandmother's way of thinking may be a little old-fashioned in this day and age, but Haruto, who had been told since childhood to be "kind to women," decided that he needed to think carefully about his plans for tomorrow and stopped studying for the time being.

"Now that I think of it, I haven't decided what movie to see yet."

When he goes to see a movie, he usually goes with Tomoya, and usually goes to the theater without making any particular decision, and decides what he wants to see on the spot.

However, when the other person is a woman, it's better to decide in advance.

Haruto takes out his smartphone and tries to contact Ayaka.

Just then, a notification from a communication app appears on the home screen.

"Oh, it's from Tojo."

Haruto opens the app and checks the chat.

--Are you still awake?

Along with the message, he receives a stamp of a rabbit peeking out from the wall to check on her.

It's still before 9 p.m.

His grandmother has already gone to bed, but it's too early for young Haruto to go to sleep.

--Yes, I'm awake.

Along with his reply, Haruto sends a stamp of a bear burning with fighting spirit.

--That's great. So, we're going to see a movie tomorrow. Is there one you want to see, Otsuki-kun?

Haruto groans softly in response to Ayaka's message, worrying about what to do.

To be honest, there's nothing on the screens right now that he can say, "This is the one I want to see!"

However, he can't just be honest about that, so he decides to ask Ayaka for her opinion.

--There's so many movies on the screen, it's hard to decide. Is there anything you'd like to see, Tojo-san?

-- I know, it's a tough choice! But I'm kind of interested in this one.

After that message was sent, a URL was also sent.

Haruto tapped the link and was taken to a promotional page for a certain movie.

"...Summer Sky and Love"

It's a movie starring a hot young actor and a rising idol, and is what's known as a "youth heart-thumping movie."

The movie is popular among young women, and is called "Natsukoi," and is ranked high in the Japanese movie rankings for summer screenings.

"Wow, Tojo-san watches this kind of movie too."

Having seen Tojo Ayaka's behavior at school, Haruto had assumed that she was very dry when it came to romance.

"I guess she's quite romantic, isn't she? Well, it's normal for high school girls to watch this kind of movie."

When Haruto and Tomoya go to the cinema together, this is the genre that is first excluded, but this time it would be better to go along with her.

As he was thinking that and about to send a reply, Ayaka sent him a message first.

--What do you think? I wonder if Otsuki-kun isn't interested in this kind of thing? I'm fine with other movies too!

She must have been worried because it had been a while since she had marked the message as read.

Haruto quickly replies, apologizing for the message's emotional content.

--No, I want to see this movie too. Let's watch Natsukoi together tomorrow.

--Yes! Looking forward to it!

Haruto can feel Ayaka smiling from ear to ear on the other side of the phone, and he can't help but smile.

--Is it okay if we meet at 10 o'clock in front of the station building tomorrow?

--Yes, yes! That's okay!

Ayaka sends him a stamp of a rabbit with its thumb raised.

--Well, shall we go to bed early to prepare for tomorrow?

--Yeah, that's right. ...Good night.

--Good night.

After finishing his conversation with Ayaka, Haruto closes the communication app.

The movie theater they're going to see tomorrow is on the top floor of the station building.

There are many other shops in the building, including a few cafes.

After checking out information about the shops for a while, Haruto prepares to go to bed a little earlier than usual for the next day.

"...Going to the cinema with Tojo-san...If the boys from my school find out, I'm sure they'll beat me up."

Thinking about this, Haruto got into bed.

---………………………………………………………

The next day, after finishing his daily early morning study, Haruto takes a shower, changes his clothes, and styles his hair with a hair product that he doesn't usually use.

Finally, he checks his whole body in the full-length mirror.

"Yeah, there's nothing strange about it."

Haruto checks his appearance and nods.

As someone who escorts women, a clean and well-groomed appearance is the minimum standard of etiquette.

Faithfully following the teachings of his grandmother, Haruto finishes getting ready and heads to the front door.

"Grandma, I'm off now."

"Okay, okay, be careful."

"Okay."

After his grandmother sees him off, Haruto heads to the station building where he's supposed to meet Ayaka.

It takes about 20 minutes by train to get from the town where Haruto lives to the station building.

The past few days have been sunny and clear, as if all other weather has been forgotten.

Feeling fed up with the scorching heat every day, Haruto gets out of the air-conditioned train and heads to the place where he's supposed to meet Ayaka.

"Hmm, I've arrived about 20 minutes earlier than the meeting time."

He left home with plenty of time to spare, but it seems he was too early.

Thinking about this, Haruto heads to the square in front of the station building.

The square is often used as a meeting place, with benches and large objects set up there.

Today, several people were sitting on benches or leaning against objects while playing with their smartphones while waiting to meet someone.

There was some commotion in one corner of the square.

"Hmm? Is something going on?"

Sometimes, street performers perform in this square.

Haruto had just arrived earlier than the meeting time, so he approached the noisy area to kill time by watching some street performances.

He could hear the voices of people around him, especially men.

"Hey, isn't that weird? Isn't she a celebrity?"

"Is she waiting for a boyfriend? Shall we talk to her dog?"

"She can't be an ordinary person, right? A model? An idol?"

"But isn't her figure amazing?"

Haruto tilted his head at the content of the conversation he could hear.

It didn't seem like they were watching a street performance.

It looked like there might be a model or idol-like person at a drama or magazine shoot, and a crowd of onlookers had gathered around.

Haruto thought to himself, "I might as well take a look," so he showed his curious nature and pushed his way through the crowd to get a glimpse of the idol or model everyone was paying attention to.

And then, Haruto's eyes caught the person they were paying attention to.

In an instant, all the summer heat he had been feeling disappeared.

(Isn't that Tojo-san?!)

Haruto screamed in his head.

Perhaps she was aware that everyone was looking at her, as she stood still, looking a little uncomfortable and bowing her head.

Ayaka's outfit consisted of a black flared skirt from the bottom.

A white off-the-shoulder top was worn with a thin cardigan over it.

The off-the-shoulder top wasn't that revealing, and was quite modest in design, and with the cardigan on top, she looked elegant.

However, her good figure still seems to attract the attention of men, and even men passing by glance at her once or twice.

Haruto is once again reminded of the incredible charm of Tojo Ayaka, the "school idol."

(If I call out to her, I feel like the men around me will kill me...)

But he can't just not call out to Ayaka.

However, the reaction of the people around him when he calls out to her makes Haruto a little hesitant.

As he hesitates about what to do, Ayaka suddenly looks up and their eyes meet.

In an instant, her expression, which had looked uncomfortable and anxious, changes into a big smile.

"Otsuki!"

The charm of Ayaka's big smile makes several men sigh, and several stand with their mouths open in amazement. And so many people stare at Haruto, who is smiling at him.

With all of her gazes on him, Haruto smiles at Ayaka who comes briskly towards him.

"Sorry Tojo-san. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No. I just got here too, so it's okay!"

Given the crowd that has formed around her, it's probably a lie that she "just got here," but he doesn't dare point it out.

Haruto says with a smile.

"Well, shall we get going?"

"Yes!"

Ayaka replies with a very happy look on her face.

As he walks next to her, Haruto feels the gazes of jealousy, envy, and all sorts of things.

(I have a feeling that I'm going to be really tired today...)

But even as he thinks this, Haruto's heart is beating a little faster.