He'd seen her turn people down before. People would confess their love to her or ask her to hang out with them, but every single time, without fail, the answer was always "no".

It stood to reason that he would be nervous, then. Rejection was so clearly on the horizon, yet he still clenched and unclenched his fists with determination and fear.

Why me? Why me..?

Shigeo hadn't told anyone what he was going to do. No sense in getting people worked up, since this was only going to end disastrously, though the extra support would be nice. He suspected Ritsu might be aware of his plan, though - he was incredibly perceptive like that. While this was one of the toughest things Shigeo ever had to muster up the courage to do, it could, from an outsiders point of view, be seen as a very simple and reasonable request.

Ask Tsubomi to eat lunch with him.

It was almost absurd how much fear laid within this question. But given what he already knew about her and what he'd seen done to others, what were the odds of this falling into his favor?

Still, there she stood chatting with her friends in the hallway between classes like she normally did. Shigeo spent the better part of the week psyching himself up and rehearsing what he was going to say. There was no particular reason for it all, he just thought it would be a great opportunity for them to rekindle the old friendship from their childhood (and maybe more, but that was wishful thinking).

Shigeo stayed a short distance away, trying not to seem too obvious that he wanted to speak to her. His knees felt like jelly, and he was positive the dread in his stomach would come up in the form of bile. Trying to force oneself to maintain composure was easier said than done, if the near-hyperventilating and sweaty palms were any indication. He'd only been there for a few minutes before his brain screamed that this was a terrible idea. He turned quickly to leave, but painless escape, it seemed, wasn't an option.

"Oh, Mob-kun! Wait!" Tsubomi called out, bidding her friends a short farewell. Shigeo stood frozen in place, his back still facing her. If his shoes had been cemented to the ground, it wouldn't have made a difference since he couldn't bring himself to move anyways. She jogged over and stood in front of him, hands clasped behind her back. "I saw you standing there, sorry about that. Did you want to ask me something?"

In that moment, everything he had rehearsed - everything he had prepared for - was gone in a flash. It would be a miracle if he were able to even formulate words to say at this point.

"T-Tsubomi! I-I uhh, I didn't um… see you… there!"

Smooth, real smooth.

She only tilted her head slightly, still smiling brightly.

"W-w-well, I just thought… m-maybe… well, if you weren't b...busy… or if you are! If you are, it's ok-kay, but I thought if you were… interesting- interested! You could…."

He felt like the entire world had stopped to stare at him as he stumbled over his words. The heat in his face was almost unbearable. But Tsubomi remained silent, patiently waiting for his question, and somehow, he felt the tiniest fraction better knowing that he wasn't being rushed. At least, he hoped he wasn't being rushed. A voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like Reigen told him to "take a deep breath and get to the point", so he did just that.

"W-will you… have lunch with me sometime..?"

And there it was. His burdening question was out in the open, like he'd just painted a huge target on his back and everyone was readying their arrows. He bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut as he awaited his judgement and, ultimately, his death, only praying it'd be swift.

"Sure."

"Oh, that's okay, s-sorry for botheri- HUH?"

His head snapped up and he met her bright smile again. Blinding like the sun, she was so beautiful he must've been distracted and didn't hear her correctly.

"I said 'sure', Mob-kun. Want to meet up here at the same time tomorrow?" Tsubomi rocked back on her heels slightly as she spoke, as if this were the easiest thing to do.

"U-uh-huh… that's good, that's okay…."

"Great! See you later then!"

And with that, she strolled off, continuing her day as usual. Shigeo, on the other hand, was still petrified from disbelief at what had just happened. Why did she turn down all of those other guys and say yes to him? Him, of all people? He, who has no talents and nothing extraordinary compared to everyone else… why? And she had given him an answer with no hesitation… he couldn't help but wonder if it meant something.

It WAS just a lunch date (emphasis on "date"), but it was a step in the right direction. When Shigeo finally found the strength to move again, he felt as drained as though he had just finished running with the Body Improvement Club and yet oddly filled with energy at the same time. Like he could collapse at any moment, but also fly if he willed himself enough to.

Her answer definitely left him agog, but he, smartly, chose not to look a gift horse in the mouth.