23 - A Movie I Can't Remember, But I Can't Forget

RAW

Haruto and Ayaka, holding hands, enter the theater where the movie is being shown and head to their seats.

As they entered the theater much earlier than the start time of the screening, there were not many people, and the two were able to come to the two seats lined up next to each other without letting go of each other's hands.

"These seats, right?"

"Yes."

Ever since they held hands, Ayaka has been acting demure, and her words are short and her voice is small.

"So, shall we sit down?"

"Yes."

Haruto opens his palm to let go of Ayaka's hand in order to tip over the chair with the folded seat.

Then, she grips Haruto's palm tightly.

As if to say, "Don't let go."

Haruto looks at their joined hands, then looks at Ayaka's expression.

Her face is still bright red, and she turns her face away to avoid Haruto's gaze. However, Haruto doesn't let go of her hand, but instead reclins his seat with his free hand and sits down.

(Does this mean... we're still holding hands...?)

After gazing at Ayaka's palm, which shows no signs of letting go, Haruto also sits down in his seat, still holding his hand.

Nothing is still being displayed on the big screen in front of him.

But Ayaka stares intently at the blank screen, as if the movie is already showing.

"We still have quite a bit of time left."

"... Yeah."

"The previews haven't even started."

"... Yeah."

"There are a few more people here."

"... Yeah."

"..."

"..."

Haruto looks around for something to talk about as the conversation continues.

Ayaka then speaks in her usual small voice.

"...It's a really nice day today."

"Huh?...Ah, yes. It was a clear day."

"Yeah...it was a clear day."

"Yes...um..."

The conversation stops.

The fact that they're talking about the weather in a dimly lit theater with no windows is proof that they've run out of things to talk about.

"...I wonder if the trailer will start soon?"

"...It looks like it's going to start..."

The theater is now filled with more people than it was at the beginning.

Haruto is getting a little impatient that the conversation just won't continue, but he decides to stay calm and get through it with a relaxed attitude.

"..."

"..."

A moment of silence flows between the two.

The silence makes Haruto especially conscious of the hand he's holding with Ayaka.

Her pale, slender palm was a little cool when he held her hand, but now it's slightly warm.

Tojo Ayaka is the "school idol" who is said to be the cutest girl at Haruto's school.

Sitting next to her at the movie theater, holding hands, Haruto couldn't help but feel his heart beat faster.

Feeling the warmth of her hand on his left hand, Haruto was overwhelmed with thoughts.

(I understand that she might be holding hands to avoid other guys, but isn't there really no need to hold hands while watching a movie? But I don't feel like she's letting go of my hand, so maybe...)

A convenient interpretation comes to Haruto's mind.

He glances out of the corner of his eye to see how Ayaka is doing.

She is still staring at the screen with her cheeks flushed red.

(No, that's not possible... I guess. He's only recently gotten involved with Tojo, after all. He hasn't done anything to make her think that.)

She doesn't hate him. But she doesn't like him either.

Haruto tried to remain calm and brushed off the interpretation that was convenient for him.

As he was thinking about this while glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, Ayaka, who had been looking at the screen, suddenly turned her gaze towards Haruto, and their eyes met.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Haruto hurriedly turned his gaze forward, and Ayaka looked down.

Just at that moment, the lights in the theater dimmed even further, and an advertisement appeared on the screen.

"The advertisement has started."

"Yeah, it has started."

As usual, the conversation was short, but the awkwardness was somewhat alleviated by the video playing in front of him.

Haruto stared blankly at the camera, which was using a sharp dance to appeal for the prevention of movie voyeurism, and thought.

(Looking at Tojo's reaction, I thought so... or was I just mistaken...)

After the advertisement ended, a trailer for a movie that was due to be released soon began to play.

(But... if that's the case, why? Hmm, judging by Tojo's behavior at school, she doesn't seem like the type to fall in love at first sight.)

As I was pondering this, the theater suddenly went completely dark, and a triangular film production company logo appeared on the screen from the rough waves crashing against the rocks.

"It's starting now."

"Yeah... I'm looking forward to it."

"Yeah."

After that short conversation, the movie begins.

A handsome young actor plays a high school boy, and a high school girl plays an idol whose popularity is on the rise.

The movie begins with a depiction of the two of them going about their daily lives at high school before summer vacation.

Haruto feels relieved for the time being, freed from the endless conversation and awkward silence.

However, that relief is fleeting. Another problem troubles Haruto.

The movie the two are watching is what's known as a "youth heart-thumping movie."

As such, the movie is full of heart-thumping gestures like "head pats," "back hugs," "arm grabs," and "chin grabs."

Every time that scene comes up, Ayaka lets out a sigh, "haa" or "hmm," and stares intently at the screen with her sparkling eyes.

If that was all, it wouldn't be a problem for Haruto.

"Tojo-san is quite, no, quite a girly-girl," he thought to himself, and that was the end of it.

However, now they were holding hands.

And, probably unconsciously, she let out a sigh and lightly squeezed Haruto's palm.

Every time Ayaka squeezed his palm, Haruto's heart beat quicker, and he glanced at her expression from the side, mesmerized by her profile, shining with excitement as she was captivated by the movie.

If you keep doing this like that, you won't be able to take in anything of the movie.

Time passed like this, and the movie was about to reach the middle.

Ayaka was still unconsciously squeezing Haruto's hand tightly and mercilessly, putting a strain on his heart.

Haruto was beginning to feel competitive towards her.

Having always been quite competitive, he was not happy with the situation in which Ayaka was making his heart flutter one-sidedly.

It's not that he disliked the current situation, but just letting himself be dominated didn't suit Haruto's personality.

Haruto waited patiently for the moment to come.

He shook off the evil thoughts from his head and desperately tried to calm his racing heart.

He focused his eyes on the screen, gauging the timing.

Soon, the scene came where the hero and heroine were wrapped in curtains and kissing in an empty classroom.

(It's here! It's here!)

Just as Haruto had expected, at this scene he heard a sigh from next to him and his hand clenched tightly.

At that moment, Haruto also clenched Ayaka's hand in return.

"--!?!?"

At the same time, he heard a small, voiceless scream from next to him.

Haruto turned his gaze to the side to see Ayaka.

She was staring stiffly at the screen, her double-lidded eyes wide open in shock.

Perhaps she was just too moved by the scene earlier.

Thinking this, Haruto tried squeezing Ayaka's palm tightly a few more times.

It was as if he could hear a sound effect like "pshhh", and Ayaka looked away from the screen and down.

(Huh? Did I go a bit too far?)

Haruto was a little taken aback by Ayaka's greater reaction than he had expected, and he stopped squeezing her palm for a moment.

Ayaka, who had been looking down, then looked up at Haruto.

"...Uhh..."

As if she was protesting something.

And yet it seemed as if she wanted something.

With only the light from the screen shining, Ayaka's expression, faintly illuminated, was somehow dreamy and alluring.

Haruto couldn't help but stare at her expression.

Then, Ayaka gripped his palm tighter, with a force that was clearly stronger than when she had gripped it unconsciously before.

As Ayaka looked up at him, Haruto's face turned red with enough force to make the sound effect "Bofun!" come out.

Haruto hurriedly turned his face towards the screen so that no one could see his expression.

(Ugh, I've been defeated...)

Haruto had been defeated in a spectacular fashion.

At that moment, he heard Ayaka smile faintly, "Hehe."

Hearing her declare victory, Haruto honestly admitted defeat.

Haruto hated to lose, but strangely, this defeat didn't make him feel bad at all.

After that, the two of them watch the movie quietly, holding hands.

Haruto is already completely unable to keep up with the content of the movie.

However, in order to avoid being defeated by Ayaka again, Haruto stares at the screen in silence.

Soon the movie reaches its final scene.

No one knows how it happened, but the hero and heroine are now united and walk slowly along the riverbank illuminated by the setting sun.

The movie ends with a close-up camera angle of the two of them holding hands like this, their fingers intertwined in a "lover's hold."

The ending plays and the end credits appear on the screen.

Some of the audience members have already gotten up and are heading for the exit.

(Is Tojo the type to watch the movie until the end?)

Thinking this, Haruto turns his gaze towards Ayaka.

She starts fidgeting with her palm as she looks at the screen with the end credits rolling.

(Oh, maybe she wants to let go soon?)

Thinking this, Haruto opens his palm as well.

The two of them held hands before watching the movie. That means they had been holding hands for over two hours.

Haruto was also worried about his own sweaty hands, so he tried to pull his palm away to wipe them off.

However, it didn't work.

This is because Ayaka didn't pull her palm away from Haruto's, but instead intertwined her fingers with his.

Haruto and Ayaka's palms met again. This time, instead of holding hands like they had before, they had upgraded to a "lovers' hold" with their fingers intertwined.

"Um... Tojo-san?"

Haruto couldn't help but call out her name and ask.

"...Otsuki-kun, do you watch the credits until the end?"

"Eh? ... Ah, yes."

Haruto was confused by Ayaka's complete refusal to hold hands with Haruto.

Ayaka, still looking away from Haruto, said shyly to him.

"Then...let's watch it together...to the end?"

Haruto had only one answer to Ayaka's cute request.

"Yes, of course."

The movie they watched today seemed like it would be one that Haruto would never understand, but would never forget.