"Date?" Mash asks.
"Yes! We're going shopping together. Want to join, Sensei?" Ayane invites.
One day, Mash is invited by Ayane from the Abydos Countermeasures Committee to go shopping with the group on a day off.
"Me? Won't I be in the way?"
"No way! Everyone wants you there!"
"Alright… where's the meeting spot?"
"9 a.m., Kivotos Shopping Mall entrance."
"Got it. Tell them I'm looking forward to it."
"Will do!" click
Hanging up, Mash looks at a group photo. "A date… my first. Exciting."
Mash has never gone on a "date" with friends. He's hung out on weekends, but this feels different. "…What to wear?"
Shopping Day
At the mall entrance, Serika and Ayane, in uniforms, wait.
"Almost time, but no one's here," Serika says.
"Let's wait a bit. If they don't show, we'll call," Ayane suggests.
"True… but was wearing uniforms okay? Shiroko-senpai and the others said casual clothes."
"What's their casual look like…?"
A familiar voice approaches.
"Sorry for the wait," Shiroko says, wearing her Countermeasures mask, carrying grenades and rope.
"Ready anytime," she adds.
"What's with the gear!?" Serika exclaims.
"We're shopping…" Ayane says.
"Shopping's a battle, basically," Shiroko replies.
"That makes no sense!" Serika retorts.
"Hey!" a voice calls.
"Mash-sensei!" Serika beams.
Rolling sounds
"Sorry I'm late!" Mash arrives, inching along on an ab roller, dressed in a black tracksuit.
"Didn't know what to wear for a date," he says.
"You don't need that!" Serika snaps.
"Nice mask, Shiroko," Mash compliments.
"Thanks…" Shiroko blushes.
"Where's the blush-worthy part!?" Serika yells.
Mash rolls his ab roller, Shiroko cleans her gun, waiting for others. Serika and Ayane think, "Shopping with these two… awful."
"Sorry for the wait!" Nonomi arrives, in a dazzling white dress and sparkling necklace.
"Rich girl!" Serika shouts.
"My eyes!" Ayane gasps.
"Heard it's a date, so I went all out~♧" Nonomi chirps.
"Too much! How much is that outfit!?" Serika asks.
"Six figures, maybe?" Nonomi guesses.
"Expensive!" Ayane exclaims.
Honomi arrives late, in a simple blue skirt, white T-shirt, and pink jacket. "Hoshino-senpai! You're normal—"
Hoshino flashes her shirt: "Love!" with Mash and Abydos members' faces printed on it.
"Heavy!" Serika and Ayane cry.
Only Serika and Ayane are normal, stunned by the group's eccentricity.
"Ready for anything," Shiroko says.
Roll roll roll Mash continues.
"I've got necklaces for everyone!" Nonomi offers.
"So cute today~" Hoshino says, showing her shirt.
"This group… awful!" Serika and Ayane think.
The sane duo dreads a day of retorts.
Inside the mall, they plan.
"Wow, it's huge," Mash says, now in proper clothes, gear stowed.
"First time here with Sensei," Shiroko notes, mask and weapons gone.
"Where to first?" Nonomi asks, necklaces off.
"With Mash-sensei here… movie?" Hoshino suggests.
"Let's wander till showtime," Ayane says.
"Look," Ayane points to a sign: "Hammer Gong Challenge!" Students line up.
"Damn, it won't budge!" a student groans.
"Close! Try again?" the robot clerk grins.
"Too heavy!" another complains.
"It's a hammer, what do you expect?" the clerk replies.
(Fools. I rigged it. A stopper keeps the bar from going past halfway. No one's winning,) the clerk thinks smugly.
Mash's group approaches. First prize: a massive discount coupon.
"Sensei, try it," Shiroko urges.
"Me?"
"First prize is a discount coupon—half off!" Ayane says.
"That'll stretch our budget," Hoshino adds.
"Do your best, Sensei!" Nonomi cheers.
"Sure," Mash agrees.
(Another fool… No halo? He's not from Kivotos. This hammer's too heavy for outsiders—even I need tools—) the clerk smirks.
"Here I go," Mash says, lifting the hammer effortlessly with one hand.
"…Huh?" (What? No, calm down. The bar's rigged!)
"Hup!" BAM!
WHOOSH! The bar rockets past the limit.
"…What?" the clerk gasps.
"It's gone," Shiroko says.
"But it passed!" Ayane notes.
"Here's… your prize," the clerk stammers.
"Thanks!" Nonomi beams.
"Sensei, thank you!" Serika says.
"No problem," Mash replies.
(…I'm quitting this scam,) the clerk decides, later arrested.
At the movie, they settle in.
(I've seen this…) Nonomi frets. It's an action flick she's watched countless times at home. Knowing every scene, she can't react.
"I could do that," Mash says.
"Sensei could wall-run," Shiroko agrees.
"Maybe…" Ayane muses.
"They're vibing. Kiss incoming?" Hoshino teases.
"I-I'll close my eyes!" Serika stammers.
(Oh no, that scene's coming!) Nonomi panics.
The couple on-screen kisses passionately. Even Nonomi, who knows it, blushes.
"Awawawa!" Serika squeaks, blushing.
"Uh… t-this is…" Hoshino mumbles, red-faced.
Shiroko glances shyly.
The girls peek at the screen, typical for their age. They're curious about Mash's reaction.
(This intense scene… even Sensei must—)
"Awawawa!" they imagine Mash freaking out.
But Mash, stone-faced, munches popcorn. "Stimulating scene… This popcorn's great."
(Deadpan? In this scene!?)
(Is Sensei… clueless about this stuff?)
(His grandpa failed him!)
"Impressive," Mash says, unfazed, seeing the kiss as just friendly bonding.
After, they shop, take purikura, eat, and revel in youth.
"We lived the student life!" Shiroko and the others cheer, beaming.
Mash eyes his purchases. "…Fun."
"!" the group reacts.
"No friends, no shopping trips or hangouts before coming here. This was… new," Mash admits.
Shiroko and the others recall Mash's lonely mountain upbringing.
"Let's do it again, with more people!" Ayane says.
"Obviously!" Serika adds.
"Somewhere even more fun!" Nonomi chirps.
"Sensei enjoyed it, I'm happy," Hoshino says.
"Yeah!" Shiroko nods.
They talk into the night.
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