Chapter 103 – An Idea

During a certain lunch break, Ryuto pulled everyone into the cafeteria and told them to sit down at the empty table that was set aside for them.

He used his connections throughout the school and made sure that there would be an empty table for them to sit at.

At the table, there were many people with familiar faces.

Takei, Akari, Eiji, Rikka, Arisa, Helena, and of course Ryuto were all present at the table.

The reason why however, no one knew.

Ryuto had spontaneously called them all over to discuss something that was apparently really important.

Since everyone was good friends with each other, they immediately showed up and anticipated the news.

"There's no swimsuit arc yet! What is this injustice?!"

"Alright, I'm leaving."

Instead of the dramatic reveal that they thought would've happened, Ryuto said something whimsical which resulted in Takei immediately dismissing the idea.

Takei got up from his seat and tried to escape, but Akari tugged on the cuff of his left arm.

"You don't want to see me in a swimsuit?"

Akari asked in a sad manner, using her puppy eyes as a weapon in order to tear down Takei's defenses.

"..."

Takei looked dumbfounded at Akari's attack that did true damage to his psyche.

Saying no to her was no longer an option here once she pulled out the puppy eyes that Takei couldn't defend against.

He sat back down at the table with an expression of defeat.

"Of course I want to see you in a swimsuit..."

Muttering to himself, Takei let some of his true feelings leak out.

The edges of Akari's lips ever so slightly crept up as a result.

Once Ryuto confirmed the attendance of Takei and Akari, all the other pieces clicked into place.

No one else had any plans, so they were all willing to go.

So, it was decided.

On the next weekend, they would all head to the beach together.

Akari volunteered her father as the designated driver of the group once the topic of transportation came up.

They would rent a minivan that would be able to fit everyone and have Akari's dad take them to the destination.

All seven of the group members would then each pitch in a certain amount of money in order to pay for the rent of the beach house.

With everything decided, everyone dispersed from the lunch table.

Takei was intent on going to the library in order to pick up some textbooks to study, so Akari came with him as well.

"I'm really excited for this trip, but are you okay with it? I felt like I kind of forced you into doing it..."

Akari was happy to have been invited to this beach trip, but she felt that she had given Takei no other choice in this matter.

"Haha, I don't think you understand how far I'll go for you. I would walk through the burning hellfire of the underworld just to get to you."

With a light chuckle, Takei told Akari about the true extent of his feelings.

Feeling overwhelmed by the warmness that was wrapping around her heart, Akari linked arms with Takei.

"Uh, hey... We're at school?"

They had previously decided to keep the public display of affection (PDA) to a minimum at school, so Takei was justly confused as to why Akari decided to seek skin contact.

"A little should be fine right?"

"I guess so..."

He didn't really have a strong argument in the first place, so Takei let it slide.

With arms linked together, they headed to the library in a brisk manner.

Once they arrived, Takei went straight to the librarian to ask for the location of the textbook he was looking for.

After receiving the information needed, Takei went over to the shelf indicated and snatched the last copy of the textbook.

Once he rented out the book, he placed it onto his book bag so that he could study later.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Akari chatting with a fellow girl from his class.

Since he was a bit far from them, Takei could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation.

"...Bikini... sunscreen... towels... "

It seemed that the girl was just advising Akari about things that were going to be needed for the beach trip.

Takei decided to leave since he didn't want to eavesdrop, but something interesting caught his attention.

"Location... romantic rendezvous... kids!"

That last word especially caught Takei's attention.

He was curious as to what these words truly meant, but Takei didn't wish to interfere with Akari's scheming for now.

Leaving her to her own devices, Takei left the library and looked through the window that displayed the beautiful ocean that spanned endlessly across the horizon.

This... might actually be a really fun trip.

Takei was, surprisingly, excited for this trip, but he didn't want to let anyone discern his true feelings.

Although, I wish it was only Akari and I...

It seemed that the recurring daily romantic developments had made it so that love was the only thing on his mind.

---

Idiot Couple Meter: 50 -> 53%

I think Takei's IQ and common sense dropped a considerable amount after he started dating, although that's not the worst thing that could've happened.

Sugar-san: Wow, the food looks great!

Serious-san: Not as great as you

Sugar-san: ...