CH 16

Chapter 16: It's Not A Date

TL: Akabane

TL: Sorry for waiting, i'm quite busy on my other site. For apologies, i'll completing this series in few days onward.

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And the next day.

Saturday morning.

I'm fiddling with my hair in front of the mirror in the changing room when Sana comes in, rubbing her eyes.

Sana, who was yawning sleepily, looks at me in the mirror and her eyes widen with a start.

"Whoa!　My brother is messing with his hair!"

It's like she saw a sight she rarely sees and instantly woke up from her drowsiness.

Hold on a second!　She ran upstairs and came back clutching her cell phone.

She takes a quick snapshot.

"Hey, don't take pictures!"

"That's fine!　It's a memory, a memory!　Try some cool pose!"

"I'm not posing!"

"I'm just saying, but natural poses are the coolest!　You're so cool!"

"It's not like that! I mean, it's normal to have your hair done! I'm a high school student!"

"But you don't have school today. It's a school holiday, but you got up early and dressed up..."

Sana huffed.

Her face broke into a grin, and her voice bubbled with cheerfulness.

"I see!　You're going on a date at the zoo!"

"He's going on a date?"

"Look at you! You were shouting so loud that out mother came rushing out of the kitchen!"

"You're going to the zoo, aren't you?　Wait for me, I'll give you some money!"

"......How much?"

"A thousand yen!"

"You're giving me that much?!"

"Take this and treat Koikawa-chan to some delicious food!"

Accepting the money here would mean admitting to going to the zoo with Yuzuka, but I couldn't resist the temptation of 10,000 yen, so I took it.

"Thanks. But it's not a date."

After I reminded her that it wasn't a date and finished my breakfast, I left the house as the grinning trio, including my dad, saw me off.

"...... shit."

Sana and the others were making fun of me, and I was aware of it.

I could see why a man and a woman of their age would go to the zoo together. I can understand why you might think it's a date, but we're just friends.

I think it's just for fun, and Yuzu doesn't think it's a date either.

If she knew I was upset, it would create an awkward atmosphere.

It's not a date.

It's not a date.

It's not a date.

It's not a date.

I repeated this over and over again to calm myself down, and arrived at the station.

It's five minutes before our meeting time, but Yuzu has already arrived.

She spots me and smiles.

She smiles at me unexpectedly, and I get nervous again.

Normal, normal, normal.......

"Yo. You're come early."

"I just got here!　Thank god it's sunny!　It's a perfect day for the zoo!"

"Oh, hey. You're so excited. I didn't know you liked zoos so much."

"I've always liked animals. And I found out that they are collaborating with Anipara!"

"Oh, that's why you're so excited."

"I heard they're having a stamp rally, and there's going to be panels!　I've got to get a picture!　I'll give you this while I'm at it!"

She hands me a brand new digital camera.

Yuzuhana's photos are always blurry when she takes them, so I'm the one who always takes them on dates.

......No, well, today wasn't a date.

"It looks new, did you buy it all the way for this?"

"I bought it before I started school. I wanted to leave a memory with my friends. In the previous timeline it was sitting in the corner of my room gathering dust. I should thank your mother for giving me the opportunity to use the camera. I'll go thank her sometime."

"Okay, thank you or something. She will make fun of me when Yuzu comes over."

I could have denied it the other day, but now I have a crush on Yuzu.

I don't have romantic feelings for her, but I'm not sure I can hide my embarrassment when she makes fun of me in front of Yuzu.

I don't want to be embarrassed in front of this girl in order to maintain our friendship.

"Why don't you just introduce me as your friend?"

"Still, my parents will make fun of me while saying, 'I'm glad you've made a cute friend.'"

"It's not a nice family to congratulate their son on his happiness. It's very different from my parents."

"Let's not talk about that. I have an old wound that aches when I think of that day."

"Old wounds, nothing, the brawl with my father hasn't happened yet. ...... Wait a minute."

Yuzu took out an adhesive bandage from her bag.

Yuzuka pats me on the cheek, and I'm surprised to feel a twinge of excitement.

"There we go."

"No, I'm not hurt yet......."

"You said something about an old injury, so I put it on. You should be grateful."

"Can you at least make it a regular bandage?　This design is embarrassing."

"Don't be so extravagant. That bandage cost a fortune. I'm sure you've heard of old wounds, but I've been injured myself."

"Yuzu didn't get hurt, right?"

"I was forced to watch someone I love get beaten up.　I was deeply hurt."

"What do you want me to do?　Put a bandage on your chest?"

"Ecchi..."

Yuzu jokingly held her chest.

I don't want you to pose like that with your cute face because it makes me nervous.

"I'm not echi. I'm just trying to heal you from what you said about your heartbreak."

"Then let me have fun for the rest of the day. Then my wounds will heal."

"If that's the case, I'll do my best."

"I'll do my best too. I'll be counting on you."

"Yeah."

We headed for the station platform.

The train had just arrived, and we boarded the train.

As we sat down in our seats, Yuzu pulled out a book from her bag.

"Here you go."

"What's this?"

"As you can see, it's a fan book of Anipara."

"Did you go to the trouble of preparing it?"

"For Kohei's sake. It would be more fun if you knew something about it, right?"

"That's true, but ...... is very thick."

"That's how detailed the characters are. It takes about two hours to get to the zoo, so make sure you read through it. You can't get excited with me if you're hazy about it. ......Hoaam."

Yuzu yawned.

Looking closer, i saw dark circles under her eyes.

"You didn't get enough sleep?"

"A little. After I called you yesterday, I rented Anipara and watched it back. Even though it's a short anime, it took me quite a while."

"You went to the trouble of watching all the episodes? That's a lot of heat......."

"Because I wanted to enjoy the Anipara collaboration."

"You can't enjoy it if you don't get enough sleep."

"But won't you be bored if I sleep, right?"

"You don't have to worry about that. You know that time I took you on a trip to a hot spring as a thank you for helping me with my doujinshi?　You slept in the hot springs because you didn't sleep in the car that time. If I hadn't been there, you would have drowned."

"It couldn't be helped. The hot springs felt so good."

"I'm glad you like the hot springs, but you should sleep properly."

"Because I wanted to enjoy the driving date too. ......Don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, I'm worried about you."

"Then use a kinder tone. You said you were worried about me, but you also fell down in the hot spring and hurt yourself. I was more worried about you than you were about me."

"It can't be helped. You were slippery."

"It's one thing to fall down, but you didn't listen to me when I told you to go to the hospital.

"You're overreacting. You're wasting our time at the hospital when we've come all the way to the hot springs."

"Of course it's a waste of time. You are more important than the spa. So, if you get bitten by a lion at the zoo, go to the hospital."

"Of course I'd go to the hospital if I got bitten by a lion. ......Just go to sleep. I'll wake you up when we get there."

"I'll let you do that......."

Yuzu was probably comfortable in the car, which was rocking with a clank, and she soon began to fall asleep.

He's leaning on my shoulder, looking happy in his sleep.

......I can't help it.

She looked forward to it so much, let's make sure we look through it thoroughly.

Feeling Yuzu's breath, i flipped through the character book and learned more about Anipara.