Though she seemed a little puzzled, Yamada Ryo still half-reluctantly let Aoki snap a picture of them together at the station.
It wasn't until she looked at the photo afterward that she noticed a very obvious red mark on her own face.
Without a word, she fixed Aoki with an intense "delete it now" stare.
"Staaare—"
Aoki, on the other hand—
"I heard the matcha chocolates at Tsujirihei are really good…"
Noticing Ryo's sharp gaze, Aoki subtly averted his eyes, decisively changing the subject.
"How about we try them later? My treat."
The photo was absolutely not staying on anyone's phone—but if someone was offering free sweets, maybe… just maybe… there was room for negotiation.
In the end, the matter of the photo was left unresolved.
According to Aoki's plan, their first stop was Tsujirihei, famous for its matcha nama chocolate.
Using Google Maps as their guide, they set out toward the shop.
Uji—on the outskirts of Kyoto and bordering the city was usually quiet outside of spring.
Compared to the crowded tourist hotspot of Kiyomizu-dera, this place was almost serene.
They walked down an almost empty street, passed under cherry blossom trees that would be in full bloom come spring, crossed two traffic lights, and arrived at their destination.
Lifting the noren curtain beneath the Tsujirihei sign, they stepped inside.
Since it was early in the day and autumn was the off-season, the shop wasn't very crowded.
Even without a reservation, they got their number right away—no line at all.
After picking up their number, they ordered.
Compared to the fairly reasonable Nakamura Tokichi, Tsujirihei was… well, on the pricier side.
One serving of matcha nama chocolate could go for as much as 6,000 yen.
But Aoki had already researched and mentally prepared himself for that, so he didn't bat an eye at the price.
He ordered matcha nama chocolate, matcha ice cream, and a matcha parfait.
Ryo, on the other hand, got a matcha shaved ice with shiratama and some matcha dango.
Since everything was made fresh, it took about thirty minutes for the desserts to arrive.
Aoki had always been fond of sweets, and Uji's matcha confections had quite the reputation—he'd been looking forward to this.
Especially the famous matcha nama chocolate—
Delicate texture, layers of rich matcha and smooth chocolate, blending together perfectly…
He didn't talk much to Ryo and simply began enjoying the desserts.
And then—
Since the portions weren't huge, it only took him under ten minutes to polish off both the matcha nama chocolate and the matcha cake.
While eating the ice cream, he noticed Ryo staring at him.
Lifting his head slightly, he met her gaze from across the table.
She had the spoon from her shaved ice in her mouth, looking at him with a thoughtful expression.
"Do I have something on my face?" Aoki asked in confusion.
"Nope."
"Then why are you staring at me like that…?"
"Mm—I'm thinking about something to do with you, Suki-san."
"Something to do with me?" His confusion deepened.
Ryo nodded gravely, her pensive look shifting into a serious one. "I've realized you really like sweets. You're always buying bubble tea and little cakes, you usually have some chocolate on you, and today you made this place our first stop…"
"I guess I do like them quite a bit," he admitted. "But… why is that worth thinking so hard about?"
"I'm considering the practical use of this information," Ryo replied.
After a short pause, she explained with complete seriousness, "It's like in a galgame—when you give the heroine a gift, you choose from a list. If you give the right one, her affection points go up way more than if you give something she doesn't like."
"So I was thinking—if I only ever give you sweets as gifts, your affection for me will skyrocket."
"…Right."
Aoki's expression darkened slightly. "First of all, you can't just treat galgames and real life the same. Second… now that you've said this out loud, whenever you give me sweets, I'll just be thinking, 'Ah, she's trying to raise my affection.'"
"Wha—?! That's so sneaky!" Ryo exclaimed, looking instantly regretful.
The conversation ended there.
After finishing their desserts, they left Tsujirihei.
Before heading out, Aoki bought several boxes of their most expensive matcha nama chocolate as gifts to take home—souvenirs for friends.
After all, he had plenty of money at the moment, and nowhere in particular to spend it…
When they stepped outside, it was just after nine o'clock.
It felt too early to head back, so at Ryo's suggestion, they decided to take a short walk along the Uji River.
Heading south from Tsujirihei, they could smell the autumn river air in about ten minutes.
But just as they caught their first glimpse of the water, they suddenly ran into a Kessoku Band fan.
She was a woman who looked to be around twenty, probably another tourist.
The moment she spotted Aoki and Ryo, her face lit up, and she ran over with obvious excitement.
"Yamada-san! Suki-san! I'm a big fan!"
Her enthusiasm was a bit much for Aoki, who wasn't great at handling overly energetic strangers.
"Ah… hello," he replied politely, before sending a small, help-me look toward Ryo.
Ryo only blinked at him silently.
The fan continued, "I can't believe I ran into you two here in Kyoto! I wanted to go to your live show before, but I never found the time!"
"Ah… yeah, what a coincidence. Thank you for your support," Aoki said sincerely when Ryo didn't respond.
"Of course! I'll keep supporting you! Oh—by the way, Suki-san, Yamada-san, could I get your autographs?"
Something as simple as signing wasn't worth refusing, so Aoki agreed.
The fan handed him a pen but couldn't find any paper, so she tugged at her hoodie instead, asking them to sign directly on it.
Carefully, Aoki wrote "Suki-san" on the fabric, then passed the pen to Ryo.
While Ryo bent over to sign, the fan suddenly turned to Aoki.
"Suki-san, I really, really like you—your talent, your looks, everything! If there's a chance, please go out with me!"
Aoki, who had just finished signing and was waiting for Ryo, froze in surprise.
Beside him, Ryo paused mid-signature and glanced up.
To be fair, this fan was quite pretty.
Not quite at the level of the band's girls, but among normal people, definitely above average.
Still, Aoki wasn't the type to choose a romantic partner based solely on looks.
After a brief moment of surprise, he instinctively stepped back half a pace and answered seriously,
"Sorry, but when it comes to romance… I'm not thinking about that right now."
"Hahaha—! You're even cuter when you turn someone down! It's fine, Suki-san, I totally get it! Ahem—just kidding about what I said earlier! And Yamada-san, please don't take it the wrong way!"
"…?"
Aoki took another small step back.
Joking or not, why did she need to tell Ryo not to take it the wrong way?
'…What kind of weird fans do I have, exactly?' he wondered.
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