22 - Shall we hold hands?

RAW

Haruto feels the gazes of many people piercing his body, but he tries his best to ignore them as he walks.

"Today's movie is going to be fun!"

Ayaka walks beside him with a spring in her step and smiles.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it too."

Haruto is dazzled by her charming smile and after a short pause, he speaks with determination.

"Today, Tojo-san, you look...very nice."

"Huh?...I-Is that so?"

Today, Ayaka is clearly dressed for going out.

Haruto has always felt that he should compliment her as a courtesy for dressing up so well for today, but it's quite embarrassing for an adolescent boy to say it out loud, and only now has he been able to say it.

Ayaka twitches at Haruto's words and looks at Haruto with a shy look.

"Yes, today Tojo-san has the aura of a mature woman, but she also has a cute side, and I think she's very...attractive."

Haruto feels his ears turning red as he says this.

If he could, he would have liked to compliment Ayaka more smartly and simply, but he was too embarrassed to say it the way he wanted to, and he was a little stuck for words.

"Um, okay...thanks..."

Ayaka, on the other hand, bows her head and thanks him in a small voice.

From her reaction, Haruto wonders if what he said earlier was pretentious? Maybe it was disgusting. He can't help but think about it.

(Grandma, am I behaving like a gentleman right now?)

As Haruto is thinking this in his mind, Ayaka, who had been looking down, suddenly raises her head and looks at him.

"Um...you look cool today, Otsuki-kun."

Ayaka says hesitantly, looking up.

The destructive power of that blows away Haruto's dreary thoughts in an instant.

"Otsuki-kun has always been like that, but today you seem even more, well... mature..."

Haruto felt his heart pound when Ayaka said this, even though she was embarrassed.

(Ah, I see. This is why all the boys at school are confessing to Tojo-san.)

Haruto felt like he had caught a glimpse of Ayaka's charm, the reason she is so popular that she is called the "school idol."

Haruto and Ayaka compliment each other, both blushing, as they arrive at the cinema on the top floor of the station building.

The lighting is a little darker than the other floors, and the unique caramel-like scent of the cinema tickles their nostrils.

After purchasing their tickets from the machine, the two look towards the popcorn counter, where a sweet, tempting smell is wafting from.

"Tojo-san, do you buy popcorn and drinks when you watch a movie?"

"Maybe it depends on the situation. I don't eat that much, so I often share with friends."

"So, will you do that this time too?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Then I'll go get it, so please wait a bit."

The area around the order counter was crowded with people, so Haruto asked Ayaka to wait and lined up by himself.

It was summer vacation season, so there were quite a lot of people, and there were about three lines of people waiting to order in front of the counter.

"This might take a while."

Muttering to himself, Haruto lined up at the end of the middle line.

"Well, we have plenty of time."

Since they met up earlier than scheduled, there was plenty of time before the screening.

Haruto let out a light sigh as he lined up in the slowly moving line.

Thanks to being away from Ayaka, he no longer felt the gazes that had been on him until just now, and he was able to take a breather.

"Is Tojo-san exposed to such stares every time she goes out? That must be tough."

Feeling sorry for Ayaka, Haruto casually turns his gaze in the direction where she is waiting.

There he sees Ayaka, with a troubled expression on her face, having been approached by three men of college age.

Seeing this, Haruto leaves the line, which was about to be able to order, and hurries back to Ayaka.

"Excuse me."

Haruto speaks a little loudly, and the three men notice him and turn to face him.

"Huh? Do you have a boyfriend?"

A man with light brown hair and lots of piercings looks at Haruto with a slightly surprised look.

"Oh, so you were on a date. That was bad. Sorry."

Another man with brown hair and piercings also raises his hand lightly to apologize to Ayaka.

"Oh, no. Well, it's fine."

Ayaka said, sidling up close to Haruto, who had just returned.

A third man was watching.

A man with flashy red hair and piercings in his eyelids and lips said with a big grin and high excitement.

"What?! Is he really your boyfriend?! He's just a friend?! In that case, why don't the five of us hang out together? Let's do karaoke or darts or something!"

"No, we're going to see a movie later."

Haruto said firmly to the red-haired man, who seemed a little pushy.

However, the red-haired man showed no signs of backing down and continued to smile as usual.

"Really? No, wait, wait. Why don't we go see a movie together? Right?"

As the red-haired man said this to the other two, the brown-haired man who had apologized to Ayaka earlier gave a wry smile.

"Don't get in the way of our date you're bothering us."

"What? you're really on a date? It's not that, right? you're just friends, right?"

The red-haired man asked, peering at Ayaka, who was half-hiding behind Haruto.

Haruto was a little annoyed by the man's behavior and opened his mouth to say something back, but Ayaka, who was behind him, spoke before him.

"He's my boyfriend! We're dating! So, um, we're on a date! Um, I'm going to leave..."

Haruto took over after Ayaka, who was quiet at the end of her sentence.

"......So, can you stop interrupting our date?"

For a moment, Haruto's thoughts stopped at her words.

However, he quickly regained his composure and spoke to warn the red-haired man.

"Really? Seriously? Well then, let me apologize. A real apology. Right? If it's an apology, that's fine, right?"

The red-haired man continued to press on after being told this much, so the other two brown-haired men stepped in to stop him.

"Seriously, stop it! That's so sad! Come on, let's go!"

"No, I'm really sorry. Enjoy your date."

"Hey, hey! Stop it! Don't drag me!"

Saying this, the three men left Haruto and the others in a noisy manner.

"Phew... that guy was pretty pushy."

"Y-yes. Maybe I was a little scared. I'm glad Otsuki came back..."

"No, it was my mistake leaving Tojo alone. I knew Tojo would be hit on, so I'm sorry."

Haruto bows his head and Ayaka shook her head in a panic.

"No! Otsuki isn't to blame! And I'm sorry too. I called you... my boyfriend."

Ayaka looks down and says apologetically, and Haruto smiles and answers.

"No, that guy was pretty pushy, so you had to say that much before he would back down."

You have to be a little dramatic and say things clearly to get your point across to a person like that red-haired man.

"Yeah. Um... you didn't dislike it, Otsuki-kun? Um, you said you were going out with me..."

"Of course I didn't dislike it. In fact, I'm actually happy."

"Really!"

Haruto's words changed Ayaka's worried expression to a bright one.

"Really. If you don't mind, feel free to use it to avoid guys."

"Well, then... well... well... no, I guess not."

Haruto tilted his head at Ayaka who stopped him midway through what he was about to say.

"What is it? If there's anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

"... is it okay?"

"Of course."

"... Well then. Um... can I hold your hand?"

Ayaka said in a faint voice, blushing all the way to her ears.

"Hand?"

Haruto asked again without thinking, and Ayaka nodded slightly.

"As long as Otsuki doesn't mind, then... I think it would look more like we're lovers. Then what happened earlier wouldn't happen again..."

"Yeah... I see."

What she says is true.

If you're holding hands, it's obvious to the outside that you're in a relationship. There shouldn't be many people who would try to pick up girls like they did earlier.

"Is it okay, Tojo?"

"I'm... yes."

After nodding, Ayaka adds in a tiny voice, like a tiny drop of water falling into a puddle, "If it's Otsuki."

"Is that so... then, shall I hold your hand?"

"Y-yes."

Hearing Ayaka's response, Haruto holds out one hand a little awkwardly.

Ayaka also holds out her hand in response.

Haruto carefully reaches out his own hand to Ayaka's slender, white hand.

Eventually, as their hands lightly touch, the two of them twitch their shoulders and let go of the hands they had just put close to each other.

"......"

"......"

The two of them silently exchange glances, then silently look away again.

Haruto steels himself and quickly reaches out to grasp Ayaka's hand.

The moment he grasps her hand, Ayaka's shoulder twitches just like before, but this time she doesn't let go and lightly squeezes Haruto's hand back.

"......Ah, popcorn. Do you want some?"

After grasping Ayaka's hand, Haruto remembers that he was on his way to buy popcorn.

Haruto says, looking at Ayaka's hand.

As usual, the counter in front of the order counter is crowded, and standing in line while holding hands is likely to be a nuisance to others.

"......It's okay. I don't want to let go of your hand."

Ayaka answers in the same faint voice as before.

Right now, her face is the reddest it's ever been.

"Is that so...?"

Thinking that his own face is probably red as well, Haruto gently pulls Ayaka's hand.

"Well, shall we go see the movie then?"

"...Okay."

Ayaka obediently follows Haruto, pulling her by the hand.

Haruto no longer cares about the jealous looks everyone around her gives him as she's so cute.