Chapter 11 - The Long Way Back

Hachiman and Sayaka Finished their date. What does the walk back to their rooms have in store for them?

"I had fun tonight, let's go together again..."

They had just gotten off the boat ride. Hachiman had more than enough memories to last a lifetime from the date's events, and the night wasn't over yet.

The dark haired boy looked distracted, poorly focused, confused. There was almost a mystery surrounding his behavior as he stared back at the girl gazing deeply into his eyes. Sayaka had something on her mind as the seconds ticked by slowly.

"You don't like being with me?"

Alarm bells went off in Hachiman's head. He didn't mean for that to be the subject of their conversation at all. His tongue almost tripped over his teeth as he searched for the right words to throw back at the beautiful girl standing in front of him. Shaking his head left to right frantically, he said the only answer that stumbled out of his mouth.

"That's not it..."

The reply had come poorly, and he wished he had phrased it better than he did. More than anything, Hachiman wanted to spend more time with Sayaka and get to know her better in the future. The main problem was that the young man was inexperienced with dating and even more out of touch with talking to people. Sayaka had just spoken all about wanting to meet him. Wanting to be closer to him? What did that mean?

Why did she say all of that up there? What was she talking about?

"I'm glad..."

The quick-witted woman looked at her date with intrigue and kindness. She put no distrust or space between them. The girl put her arms behind her back and leaned forward to study his face closer. She had a habit of doing this every time Hachiman looked uncomfortable and lowered his eyes to look at the ground. The act would always help those lovely red eyes stare into the depths of the dead fish orbs that framed the front of the boy's face.

"Next time we come, let's take our time and go on more rides."

There was a smile on Sayaka's face. What was this thing she just said about next time? Did this mean she wanted to go on more dates with him? Hachiman had to fight internally to keep his face from getting red. He desired so much to say something smart right here. To say something with meaning, and show this wonderful person that he needed to feel the same way. There was such an internal struggle to cherish this moment and embrace the person in front of him reaching out. That was trying to touch his fragile heart.

For the moment, the only thing Hachiman could do was nod. And for the time they were together in this time and this place, Sayaka understood his nonverbal communication. The girl stood straight back up and chuckled politely for a quick second.

"Oh, look at the time. We'd better get going."

Not a bad idea, perhaps a walk would clear his head. Help him talk more, and maybe he could escape the rest of this date without looking like such a fool.

"Yeah. I'll walk you back."

Sayaka grinned happily and took Hachiman's hand before he could take a step. He could not help but blush this time. The girl gave an easy request.

"The long way back, I hope."

Hachiman gave a small smile and nodded in response. He felt better than he did a minute ago.

"If that's what you want."

"Wait, let's stop here. Come on, Hachiman."

Sayaka had dragged her partner's hand across the platform boundary towards a kiosk by the square.

"Shouldn't we be getting back?"

The words spoken by the stoic teen fell on deaf ears as he was dragged towards a brightly colored cart hovering over the entry stairs to a nearby arcade.

The setup boasted hundreds of flavor fusions and specialty treats. A sign above the window read:

{Name a flavor, we can scoop it for you.}

"Ice cream? Really?"

The girl paused from the excited and hungry look she had on her face before meeting her date's gaze.

"Sorry, I guess I got carried away. We didn't eat before we went out an-"

Hachiman did not mind getting ice cream, so he needed to put up or shut up here.

"Oh, no, I was just surprised you wanted something for dessert this late. Sounds like a good idea."

He pulled out his wallet and paid for two triple-layered cones.

The attendant asked them both what flavors they wanted. Everything on the list looked great, but Sayaka kept it simple.

"I'll take strawberry, vanilla, and cherry."

The man nodded and created the first cone. The energetic girl waited on Hachiman while tasting the late-night snack.

"I'll take the same as her, please."

The girl gave Hachiman a wink as they walked over to a nearby table to eat their cones.

"Look at you mixing it all up. You aren't just eating that because I wanted you to get me one, right?"

Hachiman couldn't help but loosen his stature at the accusation. He pulled a spoon out from the wrapper and slowly started enjoying the dessert.

The taste was terrific. His appreciation for the meal was heightened by the company he shared it with.

After sharing small talk with his date and getting halfway through the ice cream, Hachiman started to study his surroundings. The park was still fairly busy, with many guests rushing through the stairs to the arcade especially. He would often hear an announcement over the sound system of wait times for the roller coaster.

None of those things seemed to interest him though, right now the loner was preoccupied with the red eyes looking at him from across the table.

"You know, I'm surprised I was able to get you to come with me."

Hachiman had his spoon in his mouth and looked up while trying to finish a bite. He knew this probably made him look ridiculous, but he quickly caught himself and replied to his date.

"What makes you say that?"

The orange haired girl tilted her head to the side while studying her partner and appeared to be playing with some of her internal thoughts.

"Have any other girls asked you to go on a date before Hachiman?"

There it was. He was going to look like a bigger dork than he already felt. Hachiman kept his head down and answered truthfully.

"No...this is the first one. My first one anyway."

Sayaka looked happy still.

"Why so gloomy? I'm sorry...was it an unfair question?"

"You must think I'm some crazy, mixed-up kid or something."

The girl didn't laugh and wasn't poking fun at the words.

"It's ok if this is your first date Hachiman... ."

Sayaka had laid what was left of her ice cream down and took her partner's hand. It felt so soft and loving in the nighttime atmosphere.

The stoic teen looked surprised as he studied the girl's face.

"Oh..."

The red eyes kept their soft, gentle glow, and for some reason, Sayaka did not feel the need to let go of Hachiman's hand as she spoke.

"I think you are a kind, special, and very caring person who always gets hurt trying to do things he doesn't need to do."

There was a slight gasp as the cold eyes felt a small sense of shock. They were not expecting to take in words like those.

"But... I don't think I am any of those things. I don't..."

The girl moved over to sit right next to Hachiman. She leaned her head against his shoulder so he could hear her talk better and wasn't backing down.

"Well, it's true, you have helped a lot of people with their problems, whether you know it or not. It's Because of who you are as a person, Hachiman. I think you could do anything you set your mind to."

They could both see fireworks overhead as the couple stared at the roller coaster rails in the distance.

"We should be getting back. Come on, let's go."

The long walk back to their rooms and the talk that would come with it could help bring out any remaining feelings of the night.

Not having any idea what to say, the dark haired boy decided to try something small and manageable.

"Did you get to try everything you wanted on this date?"

The internal screaming exploded in his mind after saying this. Hachiman couldn't believe he stepped in it this bad after asking such a loaded question, and he felt his heart drop in his chest.

Sayaka turned and almost started laughing after listening to the boy strike up the next part of their conversation. She put her arm around Hachiman's to walk closer with him and looked back into his eyes for a quick second before giving her answer.

"Not everything, you know... there's other things we should try together someday. If we ever get the time."

The answer calmed him down; maybe he could talk about that instead of asking such poorly phrased questions. Right now, the only thing that needed to be done was finishing this walk without making a bigger fool out of himself.

"Yeah...that would be nice."

Sayaka's smile never left. She looked happy, almost cheerful as the evening continued and the night grew darker. The moon could be seen in the distance. The amusement park looked beautiful with the bright, glowing lights of the skyscrapers and tourist attractions buzzing around their heads like giant beacons of happiness as the cheers of people spending their money on games and rides filled the night sky.

"You looked adorable in that school play, Hachiman. I almost had to break away from my character's lines to tell you how much I liked you playing the heroic protagonist. The hero that went from looking for a cat to killing god, Kazer Nacht! He even did a backflip, snapped the bad guy's neck and saved the day!"

Sayaka decided to tease him about the play they both participated in, when Hachiman stopped walking for a second and hit the girl with a truth bomb that caused her to stop walking as well.

"But...you did break character."

The girl looked back at her date with surprise and mild confusion.

"What? No, I didn't! I did a great job at being the princess who acted like he needed to be rescued by her prince, just to steal his power and summon a comically large sword to cut the bad guy in half! Just like the theater club people trained me to act and speak!"

The girl's response wasn't given rudely but more from a playful point of view. Sayaka didn't know what Hachiman was trying to get at with his point, but her playfulness didn't lower because of the tone change.

"When I kissed your hand. You called me Hachiman by accident. You were supposed to call me Licht-san."

For the first time of the night, Sayaka looked surprised and tried to hold her feelings inward. She looked away for a second before composing herself and moved her face closer to her date's. There was a hint of flustered thoughts building inside the energetic girl's heart. She pushed these to the forefront of their talk and just decided to roll with them.

"Hee hee...so you noticed? Are you ok with that?"

The reply was a well maneuvered one, and Hachiman had to think for a minute.

How does she always do that?

The scarlet eyes shined in the evening atmosphere that hovered around their long walk. They looked hungry, almost ecstatic to take in the words shared between the two people sharing the end of a date. What would happen before the end of it if they just kept talking to each other?

It was now or never; the shy, awkward, introverted boy had to grow up. He had to become stronger and say what he was feeling. This girl wasn't just someone he had a crush on. She was a person he cared for deeply. It was time to say what he needed to or at least try.

"What if I said I was?"

Sayaka wasn't tripped up by this or uncomfortable at all. She held still for a minute before taking his arm softly with her hands and pulling him in for a close embrace that the two had never experienced up until now. There was no mistaking this for what it was. The hug that followed filled them both with warmth and happiness that more than made up for the nighttime air's lower temperatures.

Hachiman felt surprised by his date's willingness to hold onto him, but he handled the new situation well. Indeed, he had always wondered if he should hug Sayaka, but the moment had never felt right.

However, in this time and this strange, funny place. He felt happy, he felt safe, he felt whole. Every time Sayaka would ask him to go on a date now, he would always say yes, without hesitation.

Sayaka had leaned her head against her partner's chest and held it there for some time while humming softly to herself before letting go.

As they slowly broke apart, the girl at her date's face for a few seconds before speaking very delicate words that meant a lot to her and, in turn, to him.

"Then I would say you've made me happier than you know. Let's keep going, Hachiman... I want to keep embracing this moment... with you."

The talk continued with happy words and reminiscence of the night they shared.

The walk up was quiet and straightforward as they let go of each other's hands so Hachiman could open the door.

The soft, delicate hands grabbed onto his wrist one more time before they had both ascended the tall staircase that led back to their rooms.

"Let's not go up yet, come with me to the library. We can talk more in there before we go to bed."

Hachiman smiled and wasn't afraid to show it in front of Sayaka.

"Sure, if you want to."

The library was downstairs next to the giant gift shop that was closed because of the time. It was quickly approaching midnight, but Hachiman felt ready to talk to Sayaka as long as she wanted to continue their date. In all truthfulness, he was praying that this night would never end.

Because it was special to him, and she was special for sharing it.

The large room of books was left open, the lights were on, and nobody seemed to be using the space currently. It felt pleasant for both of them to sit down on one of the nearby couches and continue their night.

As long as they could keep it going, it was still special.

"What are you thinking about?"

Sayaka asked the first question; Hachiman tried to sit on the end of the red, leather upholstery. Still, his date immediately scooted closer to him so she could be right next to him. Their legs were practically touching when he gave his answer.

"How far we have come to get where we are now. And..."

Sayaka was intrigued that there was an "and" at the end of Hachiman's statement. He had paused after catching himself. She looked closely at his mouth before putting her hand on the side of his face in a loving touch that resembled the intimacy of the evening.

"And what Hachiman?"

They were alone; the moment was right. He could say what he felt. There was no reason to hide.

"And I could never have made it here where I am now without you."

Was there a tear in his eye? Hachiman looked emotional; this man never looked emotional. What did he want to tell her?

Sayaka shifted her weight to lean against Hachiman's torso as she put both of her hands on either side of the boy's face.

"You are stronger than you realize, Hachiman. You're-"

Hachiman wasn't going to let Sayaka continue. He took his date in his firm arms and pulled her close to his body without any sense of patience or trepidation. Sayaka almost squeaked at being moved quickly but returned the strong embrace with her own as their noses almost touched.

He was trying to be careful about where he put his hands while talking to his beautiful date in a dangerously close face to face.

"Stay with me. Stay with me, and I can overcome anything."

They both felt so full of wonder and didn't want the night to end. After holding onto her partner for some time, the girl gave a simple thought that was echoed before they both separated their bodies and walked away from the library together. They had been lucky enough to have the whole room to themselves the entire time.

"We should do this again...soon."

The loner felt the same way.

"Yes...we should."

Hachiman led Sayaka upstairs to her room after a few more soft lines of happy tones and lighthearted compliments. They shared a kindhearted goodbye before the girl wished her date a good night and went to bed.

One last thing was said before the door was closed.

"Hachiman..."

He had almost turned around. The teen looked back at the gap in the doorway.

"Yeah?"

Sayaka was still smiling.

"I loved everything we did together, and I'll always remember it..."

Hachiman was smiling now. The girl had more to say.

"It's ok to kiss the girl goodnight too."

They were both beaming at one another as Hachiman started to look embarrassed.

"I'll try to remember that... for next time."

Sayaka took that as a compliment and whispered her goodbye.

"Good... goodnight Hachiman."

I hope you liked it! Thank You for reading and have a great weekend everyone!