Three weeks into the second semester, the temperature and scenery suddenly took on an autumnal appearance. For Kotaro, this would be his first autumn at university.
This weekend, Kotaro and Misaki decided to go on a date. They planned to take a day trip to see the fall foliage, a topic they'd discussed before.
They originally intended to leave together, but Misaki suggested, "How about we meet up instead?"
"When you live together, the excitement of a date starts to fade. We need to keep things fresh and avoid falling into a rut."
"You're right. It's not like I've ever really gone on a proper date with Misaki-senpai before."
"Exactly! We started living together pretty quickly, didn't we?"
"Right... I guess we did..."
On Friday night, after being entwined in each other's arms multiple times, the couple engaged in unexpectedly innocent banter.
The next morning, Saturday.
Kotaro left home early, killed time at a convenience store, and arrived at the meeting place fifteen minutes early. The location was a plaza in front of the nearest station, often used for outdoor performances on weekends. Today, there were no scheduled performances, so the plaza was empty.
Listening intently, he could hear the slow awakening of the city. The calls of birds passing through the sky between street trees, the footsteps of joggers on the nearby path, the breathing of walking dogs, and the distant hum of passing cars.
Being outside during a time he usually spent lazing around at home felt refreshing and enjoyable.
Maybe I should start waking up earlier more often...
He sat on the steps, which also served as audience seating, feeling relaxed and carefree, when suddenly his vision darkened.
"Umm... who's there?"
Her voice is adorable. Her mischievous smile is adorable. Her hands are soft. She carries a faint, pleasant scent. Even the mere thought of her stealthily approaching from behind, crouching down to pull this prank, is adorable.
A mix of every positive emotion violently shakes my brain—
"Ugh, Kotaro, what's wrong? Hey, Kotaro! Seriously, what's wrong?! Why is your mouth half-open?!"
My girlfriend's presence still obscures my vision as I stare blankly. When she asks, "I didn't implant any poisonous needles in my palm, did I?!" I burst out laughing.
"Are you... Misaki-senpai?"
"Ugh, you got it."
As Misaki's hand withdraws, I squint at the soft morning sun. As an afterthought, she pinches my cheek gently.
"Seriously, Misaki-senpai, you're so cute you're giving me a hard time first thing in the morning..."
Kotaro turned around and stopped speaking mid-sentence.
Misaki was wearing a grey knit sweater with a cream-colored cardigan over it, denim jeans, and tiny sneakers. The most distinctive feature was her bright red beret, reminiscent of autumn leaves, and her lips were lightly painted with lip gloss.
"Heh heh... How do you like it, Kotaro?"
"I might faint."
As she unsteadily stood up, Misaki grinned mischievously.
"Can't you be a little more specific with your compliments? My boyfriend just faints all the time."
Misaki laughed cheerfully as she twirled around Kotaro. He'd never seen such a cute provocation before.
"W-well? What do you think?"
She returned to face him, clasped her hands behind her back, leaned slightly forward, and looked up coyly. It was as if she had mobilized all her charm and condensed it into this pose and expression. Her cat-like eyes gazed at him with anticipation.
I have to live up to her expectations.
I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. As the fresh morning air filled my lungs, my thoughts sharpened.
"Um... let's see... First, that beret is new, right? It's perfect for autumn. Misaki-senpai, you're truly beautiful, and I think you look great in fashionable accessories like this. The combination of the knit top, cardigan, and jeans is both sophisticated and practical, and the sneakers match the color scheme perfectly—they suit you really well. Your glossy lips from the lip gloss are lovely too. I liked your spring and summer outfits, but I really love this autumn look. I've fallen for you all over again. To have such a beautiful and kind-hearted senpai as my girlfriend... it feels almost surreal, even living with you. It's just... wow. Thank you! ...Huh?"
I showered Misaki with sincere praise, without a trace of flattery, until she suddenly buried her face in her hands and lowered her head. Sensing my gaze, I turned around to find passersby chuckling and watching us with amused looks.
"...Misaki-senpai, did I say something really embarrassing?"
"...It's okay. I got the sentiment. Thank you, really thank you. It's just... I'm so overwhelmed by how happy and flustered I am. My capacity is maxed out."
"I... I'm sorry..."
Misaki threw herself into Kotaro's arms, her forehead rubbing against his chest.
"Ugh... I just wanted ten compliments, and I got about 150... Kotaro, you're terrifying..."
"It's tough trying to specifically praise Misaki-senpai. There's just too much I want to say."
"...Kotaro, what are you doing? You're showering me with so much praise—what's your angle?"
"I just want to make you blush more, make you laugh more, and see more of those lovely expressions."
"...Idiot... I love you."
The adorable insult and confession of affection were murmured against her chest as his face remained pressed against it.
Looking up at the sunlight, I drifted into a distant reverie, thinking, At this rate, an angel might come to take me away.
*****
The two-hour train ride to our destination gave us a little vacation vibe. We started by chatting while gazing out the window, but eventually bored of that and settled on sharing headphones to watch a movie on my phone.
"Kotaro, how about this one?"
Kotaro let out a pathetic, "Eep!" when Misaki tapped on the movie title.
"No way! If we watch something that scary, it won't be a date anymore..."
"Really? The main character looks like a relative of Dr. Doolittle. I bet it's not that scary."
"Even Dr. Doolittle doesn't look like that in real life! This is beyond pale. It's genuinely terrifying. Just watching the trailer made me think, 'Forget it!'"
"Huh? Seriously...?"
Though Misaki was clearly frightened, a genuine curiosity mixed with her fear. Despite both of them being scared, they shared a common interest in horror movies.
"Then, just a little bit of the trailer... Ah, no, let's not. Misaki-senpai's mood would plummet."
"O-oh, if even Kotaro says it's that bad... I guess we have no choice."
Feeling secretly delighted that she trusts him so casually, Kotaro glanced at Misaki, who still seemed reluctant to let the topic go.
"...But you know, I really do want to see it too. It sounds interesting."
"O-oh? So... so we're watching it now? Right now?"
"Misaki-senpai, you're so cute when you're this excited. I don't even care about the movie anymore."
"You're prioritizing me too much..."
"Of course I am."
Misaki's cheeks flushed a faint pink. If they were in her room, she'd probably be clinging to him by now, but they were on the train. She glanced around nervously, then playfully tugged at Kotaro's sleeve. Wanting more contact, she now pinched his right pinky finger.
"Y-you want to play finger-pulling...?"
"I'm not gonna break it, if that's what you're worried about."
Misaki chuckled in exasperation, then gently poked and tugged at Kotaro's right hand, staring intently at him. It seemed she hadn't forgotten about the movie yet. Kotaro, on the other hand, was already starting to lose interest in the topic.
"I'd like to see it too, but we should probably skip it today."
Misaki visibly deflated. My body reflexively moved to embrace her, but I quickly stopped myself.
"But if we set aside a specific day just to watch this, that might be okay. Misaki-senpai, would it be alright to watch it at night?"
"If you're okay with sticking to Kotaro for the next 24 hours after that, then sure."
"That's a statement that makes me question the definition of 'alright'..."
I teased, but imagining Misaki clinging to me for an entire day brought me comfort.
"Well, I know I definitely wouldn't be able to sleep if we watched it at night anyway..."
"So if we stick together, both you and Kotaro should be fine, right?"
"Stop making such alluring proposals with a straight face..."
Misaki looked at me, her expression silently asking, "Why not?" I chuckled in exasperation.
"Ahem," I cleared my throat.
"So, let's watch the movie in the morning, then go out and do something fun. By nightfall, the damage should have mellowed out."
"Isn't that just like what we're doing today?"
"I think it makes a big difference whether it was planned from the beginning or not."
"Hmm, you might be right."
"Don't worry. When we go out that day, I won't say something like, 'Oh, I think I saw something in the gutter...'"
"W-what? The gutter? What do you mean?"
When I casually mentioned something that couldn't even be considered a spoiler, Misaki visibly panicked. She clung to my arm without caring who was watching. She was scared. She's cute, but more than that, I felt terrible.
"Um, I'm sorry. That was too much..."
"Not explaining it in detail is even scarier..."
"If I ask you properly, you'll probably start crying."
"...Now I'm losing confidence in watching the movie..."
"It's not something you should force yourself to watch."
Kotaro patted Misaki's head gently. Sensing eyes on them, he glanced around and saw a businessman, a family with children, an elderly couple, and a group of high school girls in uniform... People of all ages and genders were watching them with warm, affectionate looks.
"This is too embarrassing. We have to get away..." he thought. But Hamster-senpai, apparently terrified, let out a cute little whimper and clung even tighter to Kotaro's arm, refusing to let go.
Unwilling to pry him off, Kotaro awkwardly smiled at an elderly couple whose eyes he met by chance.
I thought I'd let Kotaro and Misaki chat casually, but just like last time, it ended up bloating nicely. The scene I planned to wrap up in one chapter has grown longer than expected, so I'll have to carry the rest over to next time!
Next update: June 18th (Monday)!
Thank you for reading, as always! (^^)!!