Another month, another chapter! We've reached 2,000 views, and I want to thank everyone for helping me reach this milestone and for your continued support! For this chapter, I wanted to experiment with Ruri's personality for a bit and give her a balanced mix between her feminine and playful side to see how that would play out in this arc. Feel free to share your thoughts on it and if you liked it, how I can improve (or if not, why it didn't work out so well). I wanted Ruri to develop further from her usual passive/stoic personality. I hope that doesn't break her character too much because as I wrote this, her feminine/playful side grew on me w)b Without further delay, please enjoy the first chapter of "The Second Date" arc!

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Weekends are best spent doing what one desires. In the case of Ruri, that would be, of course, reading her novels. She could and will spend hours on end cooped up in her room indulging herself in her small literary world, the silent atmosphere remaining unbroken. It was 11 pm when the silence was abruptly interrupted by the slight vibrations from her phone. Not many people messaged her or called her since – even she admitted it – she was quite lackluster in over-the-phone conversations. She swore that if it was Shu, she would be ready to block his number for the rest of her weekend. Without taking her eyes off the page, she answered the phone.

"Who's calling?"

"Ah, Miyamoto, it's Raku. I'm not interrupting you, am I?" That familiar voice made her heart skip a beat. She needed confirmation, and the caller information granted it. She dropped her book to hold onto the phone with both her hands.

"No, not really. What is it?"

"I was wondering. Are you free today?" His question seemed to come out of nowhere. She was tempted to ask if he was asking her out, but she decided not to. The weird wording would have made it awkward for the both of them.

"I'm free."

"Great! Want to meet up at Bonyari Mall later? You did promise to help me pick out a jacket." She recollected past events and remembered making such a promise when she stained and stretched his jacket back at the hot springs resort.

"A promise is a promise." She said to hide her anticipation for the meetup. On the surface, she was accepting his offer simply out of commitment. But truthfully, she was more than delighted to spend time with him. A light nervous laugh came from the speakers.

"It sort of feels like I'm forcing you. You don't have to go if you don't feel like it."

"I said I'm going!" Her voice raised slightly out of caution that their "date" would be canceled. "1:30 PM. Same place as last time. And don't be late." With that, she hung up. Raku was surprised by her suddenly taking over the meeting. Then again, as always, he thought that was just so like her.

Out of habit, she wore her normal casual clothes, which was nothing eye-catching. If it were any other outing, she would have been satisfied with her appearance. It wasn't like her to stress over her outfit. But much like a maiden in fresh love, spending time with her crush made her more self-conscious. So with the knowledge she had gained from the girls at the hot springs, she produced an outfit that was a bit more stylish but still overlapped with her simplistic style. Complete with her treasured hairpin and bracelet, and even she surprised herself at how much cuter she looked. She wondered if Raku would think the same. Such embarrassing thoughts would be cast aside, but a smile made its way nonetheless.

She always arrived early for meetups and prided herself on being punctual. So she didn't expect to see Raku waiting at the tree before her. It was almost hard to believe he was the same guy who was a few minutes late for their first outing, and over a book no less. Looks like he had become more reliable in time, she thought. Before she could even reach him, Raku had already spotted her and approached her.

Raku didn't really have a concrete plan or list of stores to visit. Just like their first time shopping, it was just a matter of walking around until something caught their interest. Considering that he was the one who hosted it, she was expecting him to at least have some idea of where to go. She would have been disappointed if not for the fact that this meant they would spend more time together.

"It's fine. That's how it went the first time anyways." Side by side, the two walked around the mall, keeping their eyes open for any clothing stores. They found one that displayed a nice selection of jackets. So with high hopes, they went inside and examined their options.

From jacket to jacket, the two would go through them until they found one they both liked. This was easier said than done because while Raku leaned more towards jackets with interesting – and sometimes weird – designs and bright colors, Ruri leaned to darker tones and little to no designs. This led to quite a few disputes and debates, but eventually, they came across one with a good balance of style and simplicity.

"Hey, I actually like this one," Raku said, holding the piece of clothing up. Ruri shared the same thought. They had picked out a varsity jacket, two-toned with dark colored sleeves and light base. He tried it on in front of her and asked how it looked on him.

"You look cooler." She said with a jokingly blank expression, which didn't help her sound convincing at all. Happy with their selection, Raku went ahead and paid for it while Ruri waited outside the store. When they met up, Raku noticed that Ruri was only wearing light clothes. Her outfit consisted of a light cyan shirt with a skirt jumper, which emphasized how feminine she looked. He unzipped his jacket and held it out to her.

"Miyamoto, why don't you try it on?" When asked for his reason, he simply said he was curious as to how it looked on her. She did sort of like the jacket, so it didn't hurt to at least see how it fared on her. She slipped it on, which made her realize that it was way too big on her; the sleeves hid her entire arm. She held up her arms, Oshino Ougi style. He found it hard to admit out loud, but Ruri was way too cute.

"What do you think? Too big, right?" She tilted her head slightly, further adding to the cuteness she was unaware of. At this rate, Raku wasn't sure if he could handle it. His face was slightly red from ear to ear, and Ruri could tell what he was thinking. He struggled to form a sentence and blurted out the first thing that came to mind while flailing his arms in panic.

"Y-Yeah. You look cu- I mean, it looks good on you…" Ruri could connect the dots (stutters) in her head. She was happy to know that he thought of her that way, though she wished he could say the same about her current outfit and not just for the jacket. At the side, they could hear a couple talking amongst themselves

"That's adorable. The girlfriend trying on her boyfriend's new jacket." This flustered both Raku and Ruri. It was undeniable that what they were doing was quite couple-like. Ruri took off the jacket and handed it back to its owner.

"Idiot, you're going to cause misunderstandings." She held the jacket up with one arm and used the other to hide half of her face from him. No matter how stoic she kept her face, the blood rushing to her cheeks had betrayed her attempt at keeping her cool. Raku slowly took it back, him also tilting his head to hide his blush. To break the awkward tension, he tried to spark a conversation with her.

"Looks like shopping for a jacket was easier than we thought, huh? Are you going to go home now?" It only took them about an hour to finish what they came to do. Ruri was hit with a personal dilemma. She didn't want the day to end yet. She wanted to be with him more, but she was too embarrassed to admit that.

"I guess so. I have nothing else to do here." She was saddened to hear herself say those words. In a sense, she was betraying herself, and she hated that. She looked down to hide the disappointment written across her face.

"Then if you want, we can still go around a bit. It's still too early to end it here, and I still kind of want to hang out a bit longer." Ruri looked up and saw the look on his face as he said those words. He showed no embarrassment nor fear. He truly wanted to spend more time with Ruri, and Ruri wanted the same. All she had to do was accept it.

"Alright." She smiled, happy to finally get the burden off her chest. "Let's keep going, then." He returned his own smile, happy to hear the mutual desires. Raku happily led the way to the next destination, which he promised was going to be fun. Ruri had full faith in him as she followed, excited to see where they would end up.

As they got closer to where Raku was headed, the noises of machines and crowds grew louder. After walking for a bit, he finally stopped in his tracks. Ruri looked in front of him to see where he had planned the next event of their "date": an arcade. Ruri had a disappointed look on her face. It wasn't like she was expecting anything fancy or romantic, but she also didn't expect an arcade. Raku noticed the look on her face and explained his choice.

"This is something Shu and I came up with whenever we came here. We play against each other in as many ticket-rewarding games we can. The winner of the most games can cash in all the tickets for whatever they want at the store." The idea was simple enough, and it did sound like a good time waster. Ruri was hesitant but chose to give it a try. After purchasing a cup-full of tokens, the two headed to the first competitive game they found: air hockey. At first, the game had become a war of attrition. The puck bounced between the two players without a single score, but by some chance, Raku had managed to score against his opponent. "Heh, the first point's mine!"

Whether Ruri had a competitive spirit or she was just prideful, she didn't take this loss lightly. She hadn't really been giving it her all, instead of playing neutrally. But seeing the scores 0-1 in Raku's favor had flipped her switch. The second round started, and it almost looked like a rerun of the first. Neither one was giving the other a challenge. But as soon as she spotted an opening in Raku's defense, Ruri smashed the puck and elegantly bounced it off the sides into Raku's goal. The score was tied at 1 now. The sudden strength behind her hit both surprised and excited Raku.

"Looks like you're finally getting serious." Raku leaned further into a better stance, and so did Ruri. He could see the fire in her eyes, dead set on winning. From the third round and onwards, the game had taken a full 180 turn from the first. Each hit had scoring intent, each bounce was calculated, and every advantage was taken by the pair. Raku had to admit that not even Shu had given him as much of a challenge as she did. By the fifth and final round, the game had tied at 2-2. They both gave it their best, but at the end, a victor had to emerge.

"Oh man, that was intense." Raku, the winner of the match, bent down and collected the tickets from his side. "You can choose the next game." Ruri tugged on – or more like grabbed – his sleeve and quietly dragged him to a fighting game. She sat on one side of the machine.

"I'm not going easy on you, Ichijo-kun." She dropped a token in her side.

"Wasn't expecting you to." Raku dropped his own. With both of them seated down, the match started. Despite Raku's efforts, after 3 rounds in a row, his character laid pathetically on the ground, relentlessly defeated by Ruri's fighter. He was shocked beyond belief. He didn't even get a chance to put up a fight against Ruri, who controlled her fighter like a pro. Ruri stood beside him, a smug smirk shining across her face. Little did Raku know that she had become quite adept at fighting games due to her grandfather asking to play such games with her frequently as a child.

Their competition was fierce. From ski-ball to trivia games to shooting games, it was as if these two were born rivals. They would come to close games, often winning by a slim margin. Raku thought he had the advantage since he had come to the arcade and played their games multiple times. But Ruri seemed almost like a prodigy, beating him on her first try, and if not, coming close to his score. Though they saw one another as serious rivals, and the date had become more of a competition, they were both enjoying their time, especially Ruri. She had never gone to an arcade before, so she didn't expect to have so much fun in one. After a hard-fought game, through her determined face, Raku could see the excitement in her eyes, and the small smiles of joy regardless of whether she won or lost.

With their tokens down to two, they had just enough for one more match. Their tally of wins had come to a tie, which meant the next one would be the deciding factor. Fortunately for Raku, it was his turn to choose the next game. He walked to one corner of the arcade with Ruri following closely behind him. He saved the game he was best at for last. He admitted that he only played it against Shu if he felt like he needed a small boost to his tally. Dance Dance Revolution.

Their last match started. Raku selected a song he was confident in doing well in. He could have selected an easier song for Ruri since it was her first time playing, but she wouldn't have accepted such a thing, and he knew that. The skill difference was clear from their starting positions. Raku had grabbed onto the arm supports, while Ruri simply stood in the center of her stage. She did notice this, however, and copied him.

The song began with a slow melody and easy to follow steps. Neither player had trouble with the warm-up. But as the pace began to pick up, the game started demanding both feet simultaneously, then long strings until there were no more rests in-between; just a constant flow of steps.

The song neared its final few seconds. Their scores, just like in previous matches, were close but one had come out on top. A simple mistake from either one could tip the scores in other's favor. The last input fell down the screen, and both players were ready to step on the correct arrow. As Ruri raised her foot to step, her other foot slipped by accident. Raku had reacted fast enough to catch her by her waist, which brought their bodies consciously closer. Miraculously, they had both managed to land their feet on the right step.

"You're a bit too close, Ichijo-kun." Ruri's face was flushed red. Whether it was from the exhausting game she just played or how close their faces were, no one could tell.

"Ah, sorry…" she got back on her feet before he let go of his arms around her. Raku's heart was beating fast. He placed his hand on his chest to feel not only his heart beating faster, but also stronger. He guessed it must be because he was out of shape that his body had to work harder to keep up with the game. Why else was his heart beating so much?

His attention was brought back to screen by Ruri pulling on his sleeve. The two stared at their scores, their numbers going up at a rapid speed. It slowed down over time, and the suspense was building up. In the end, only one had kept spinning.

"Ah, I won…!" Ruri's face lit up in surprise and joy.

"Amazing Ruri! It was your first time playing. How did you manage to beat me at my best song?" She flashed him a smug smirk and a thumbs up.

"I'm a swimmer, remember? My legs can handle this sort of thing easily." They collected their tickets and made their way towards the exchange counter with their cup full of their accumulated tickets. Ruri examined her options and only one managed to catch her eye. A small bear-shaped phone charm, who had an uncanny resemblance to Raku. She paid the clerk the appropriate amount of tickets and attained the cute little phone accessory. With the leftover tickets, they converted it into a small paper cheque to use for another day.

While walking to the exit of the arcade, Ruri had spotted a single token on the ground. "Lucky me." She said though she didn't know what she wanted to do with it. She was exhausted from the last game and didn't feel like playing another one. Raku thought about what one can do with one token and only one came to mind.

"The only thing around here that costs one token is the photo booth." He pointed to one standing alone at the center of the arcade. Ruri was surprised to hear him suggest it, but then again, he was only curing her curiosity. However, this gave her an idea; a mischievous one. The arcade's atmosphere and their competition had somehow revealed her small playful side.

"Then let's use it there." Ruri began walking towards the booth, which startled Raku. He told her that couples frequently used that booth to take pictures. She turned to him with a smug grin. "We're not a couple, so there's no worry." She proclaimed this boldly. Either she didn't care about the implications of going inside together with him, or she really wanted to act like a couple with him. The last possibility made Raku blush. "Just think of this as punishment."

"Punishment?"

"For losing." Raku was pulled through the curtain of the booth and sat himself down on the bench. While Ruri fed the last token into the machine and selected the specifications for the picture taking, Raku noticed that even now, she was still smiling like she was when she was playing or when she received the phone charm. He figured as long as she was enjoying herself, he'll go along with her demands.

"Please sit down on the bench. Position yourself within the camera's range and follow the instructions." Raku positioned himself on the bench slightly to one side to allow space for Ruri, but she had ducked outside of the camera's range. Ruri told him it was going to be a solo picture of just him. He was unsure as to why she would request a picture of just him but decided to go along with it. "Please make a 'silly' face."

Now he understood why. The countdown began, and Ruri urged him to do it. Before the countdown ended, Raku mustered the courage to make a fool of himself as he morphed his face. The camera took his photo and it displayed it on the large screen for both of them to see. Raku was embarrassed by how stupid he looked and buried his face in his hands while Ruri could barely contain her laughter. When he heard her tapping on the touch screen, he looked up to see her finger pressing a button.

"Allow editing?"

"Hmm? You didn't know? You can draw on pictures here. I wonder what I should draw on this one." She said with a sly smirk. He never knew she had a mischievous side like this. He wondered what brought this on. But besides that, he was more concerned about his pride here. He could barely at how dumb he looked in the last picture, but adding effects and Ruri's drawings on it would be unbearable. The countdown started again.

"Oh no, I'm not the only one that's going to look dumb here." He gently pulled Ruri inside the camera's range. It was sudden, and it caught her off guard that she wasn't able to regain her balance in time. Her body uncontrollably lurched forwards towards Raku, and to avoid hitting their heads, he tried to stop her face with his other hand. His palm pushed against her cheek, making her do an awkward face. In that split second, the scene had become a chaotic mess, but the booth didn't care.

"3, 2, 1. Say cheese!"

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Ooh boy, Ruri you Lil' mischievous girl you~. Was that a punishment? Or was that just an excuse to keep a picture of him? 0) I don't have much to add in the post-chapter notes, so look forward to the next chapter!