Chapter 32: Hey Senpai~ Do you want a bit of my ramen?

Sakura: "Hey Takagawa!"

Takagawa spun around to see Sakura in the same outfit that she'd worn on her fake date. Of course, she didn't know this. Takagawa blushed slightly and waved.

Takagawa: "H-hey Sakura-chan."

They'd agreed to meet up in the mall food court since it was really close to the arcade but since Takagawa and Sakura had arrived early, they were alone.

Sakura: "So it's nice to see you arrived early as well."

Takagawa: "Y-yeah."

The 2 of them sat in silence until Takagawa pulled out a chess set from her backpack.

Takagawa: "I brought this in case something like this happened… You want to have a few rounds?"

Sakura nodded enthusiastically. After only 2 moves, Sakura managed to lose.

Takagawa: "W-wha… How…"

Sakura: "Looks like you win, Sumire-chan!"

Sakura leaned across the table, getting right in Takagawa's face, causing her to turn completely red.

Takagawa: "U-uh, yeah. I-I guess I do. I-is there a problem?"

Sakura: "No, not a problem…"

Sakura went even closer to Takagawa to the point that they could feel each other's breath before pulling back.

Sakura: "So, are you excited for the valentine's day dance?"

Takagawa: "Yeah, but isn't that like, a month away?"

Sakura: "Still, I'm excited!"

Takagawa: "I take it that you're going?"

Sakura: "Of course!"

Takagawa: "So do you want to go with me, then?"

Sakura shot her a smile.

Sakura: "I'd love to."

The 2 smiled at each other for a few moments before Sakura broke the silence.

Sakura: "Ah, there's Nishikata-kun and Takagi!"

Sakura and Takagawa waved at Takagi and Nishikata, who were holding hands. Takagawa ran off to the 2 of them.

Takagawa: "Thank god you guys arrived. Sakura and I got here early and it was kinda awkward."

Takagi: "How so?"

Takagawa: "She… uh… got really close to me and my brain kinda… You know."

Nishikata shot her a knowing look.

Nishikata: "Yeah. I get that a lot."

Takagi: "Well, how'd it make you feel?"

Takagawa: "I… I'm not sure. I was really nervous, but I wasn't, like, opposed to it or anything. It's just… She's a lot. And I like it. It's just gonna take some getting used to."

Takagi: "Well that's good. I think Naoto and Hayase-chan are coming from over there. We were walking together, but Hayase-chan saidi that she forgot something and Naoto went to get it with her."

Nagatoro was running around poking Senpai as usual but they stopped and waved at the people in front of them.

Sakura: "Since we're all here, should we go to the arcade?"

Nagatoro: "Yeah! Are you ready to get crushed, Senpai?"

Senpai: "Hey, I'm not bad at these games myself."

Nagatoro: "Of course, otaku-Senpai!"

Sakura shot the 2 of them a smile before turning to Takagawa.

Sakura: "So Sumire-chan, do you want to play some lario kart?"

Takagawa: "U-uh, sure."

The 2 of them headed off to a different spot in the arcade.

Nishikata: "Hey Takagi! I have an idea!"

Takagi: "Let's hear it."

Nishikata: "Why don't we have a competition? Whoever wins the most games wins! Loser has to pay for lunch!"

Takagi: "Sure. Let's do best of 5 in teams. We can team up and so can Hayase-chan and Senpai!"

Nagatoro and Nishikata looked at Takagi with surprised expressions before Nagatoro defused the tension.

Nagatoro: "Well of course Senpai's gonna need a teammate! Don't hold me back, Senpai!"

Senpai: "Why don't we do that one first? First one to get a prize wins."

Senpai pointed to a claw machine which let you keep trying until you got a prize.

Takagi: "Let's do this, Nishikata!"

Nishikata: "Y-yeah!"

Nishikata: This feels weird… Normally I'm trying to beat Takagi, but now I'm working with her…

They went to the claw machine and after a few alternated attempts, Nagatoro managed to score a small heart plush.

Nagatoro: *smirking* "I bet you're really glad I got this, huh Senpai?"

Senpai: " I-I mean, we won, so I guess?"

Shortly after, Nishikata managed to grab a plush of a can of grape juice.

Nishikata: "H-here, Takagi. I thought this would remind you of all the times I bought you juice."

Takagi: *smiling* "Thank you, Nishikata. So that's 1 point to you guys."

Nagatoro and Senpai nodded.

Takagi: "Well, let's play that game."

Takagi led them to a racing game.

Takagi: "Let's link up these and whoever comes first out of us wins!"

When they started the race, Nishikata and Nagatoro immediately left everyone in the dust.

Nishikata: "You can't win that easily, Hayase!"

Nagatoro: "Don't think that you're getting off easy, Nishikata! I'm gonna beat you here and now!"

Senpai and Takagi shot each other a grin as they both found it incredibly cute when their love interests were getting competitive. Sure, it scared Senpai a little, but it was cute to him nonetheless. Soon, the race ended with Nishikata taking the narrow win.

Nishikata: "Yes! Take that, Hayase!"

Nagatoro: "Don't get so cocky, Nishikata! We're tied up right now!"

With that, Nagatoro and Senpai led Takagi and Nishikata over to a fighting game.

Senpai: "You know, this feels a little unfair."

Takagi: "Eh, it doesn't matter too much. Let's use the team battle function."

The 4 of them inserted their tokens into the JasGear machines and got ready to fight. When the match started, it was no contest. Round after round, Nagatoro and Senpai mopped the floor with Takagi and Nishikata. They weren't just amazing at the game, they were also synergizing perfectly, setting up combos for each other racking up huge damage numbers.

Nagatoro: "Hah! That's what you get for gloating."

Nishikata: "You won't win next time, Hayase!"

Nagatoro: "I doubt that if you're just as bad as you were now!"

Takagi proceeded to lead them to a set of Betris machines.

Takagi: "Whichever team has more combined points wins."

The game lasted for quite a while. Nagatoro and Nishikata got knocked out relatively quickly, but Senpai and Takagi stayed in for far longer. After a solid 15 minutes, they'd both finally reached the top of the screen.

Takagi: "It looks like… The winners are Naoto and Hayase-chan."

Nishikata: "What?! Alright, good game guys."

Nishikata extended his hand. When Nagatoro shook it, he gave her a determined look.

Nishikata: "I won't lose next time."

Nagatoro: "Hah! You'd better train hard then."

Senpai: "Nagatoro… What was that about carrying me?"

Nagatoro went red for a moment before donning a forced smirk.

Nagatoro: "Geez Senpai, I'm the reason we even stood a chance in the racing game, remember? I was also the one who got the win for us at the claw machine, Senpai!"

Senpai: "Hey, I still did well for myself!"

Nagatoro: "I'd be surprised if you didn't, otaku-Senpai!"

Takagi: "You know, we ended at just about the perfect time. We should be heading out to the food court to meet up with Sakura and Takagawa-chan right about now."

The 4 of them headed to the food court before being met by a smiling Sakura with a slightly sleazy look and a blushing, albeit happy looking Takagawa.

Sakura: "Hi guys!"

Takagawa: "Hey!"

Everyone else: "Sup."

Nishikata: "You know, I was thinking that we could try out that ramen place that just opened here. I've heard some good things about it."

Everyone agreed and they went to order. Before long, they each had a steaming bowl of ramen in front of them. Nishikata and Takagi split the bill and they sat down to eat.

Nagatoro: "Hey Senpai~ Do you want a bit of my ramen?"

Senpai: "Uh… I'm ok with my own?"

Nagatoro: "Oh, are you that nervous about an indirect kiss, virgin Senpai?"

Senpai: "I mean, if you want me to…"

Senpai took a small bit of ramen from Nagatoro's bowl before swallowing.

Senpai: "Y-yep. It's good."

Nagatoro was speechless and blushing. He'd really acted like it was nothing, huh? Meanwhile, Takagawa and Sakura were eating out of the same bowl while Nishikata had taken a few bites out of Takagi's bowl.

Nishikata: "A-are you guys really not worried about… You know."

Takagawa: "Eh. I always thought that the whole indirect kiss thing was a bit… Unreasonable. I guess germs are a thing, but neither of us are sick and it's cheaper this way."

Sakura: "Plus, we're both enjoying it."

Takagi: "Anyways, the arcade was fun. I guess Nishikata just can't catch a break, can he?"

Nishikata: "hey, I've won against Hayase before!"

Nagatoro: "For the first and last time."

Nishikata: "Shut up."

Sakura: "Speaking of the arcade…"

Sakura shuffled in her seat for a second.

Sakura: "Me and Takagawa kinda… played mario kart the entire time…"

Takagawa: "Hey, I'm not complaining. It was fun."

Sakura: "Yeah, it was very fun."

When she said very, Sakura leaned into Takagawa causing her to blush.

Takagawa: "Y-yeah."

Nishikata: "You know, I could probably make something like this ramen later. I'll have to try that. Oh yeah, after we head home, do you want to c-come over to my place, Takagi?"

Takagi looked surprised for a second before shooting him a smile.

Takagi: "Sure, Nishikata!"

Senpai shot Nishikata a short thumbs up and mouthed a "Good luck" to him.

Nagatoro: "Tomorrow should be fun! I'm already pretty good at skiing, but it'll be hilarious to watch beansprout Senpai ski! I bet you flail your arms around like you're drunk and crash every few seconds!"

Senpai: "Hey, who're you calling drunk?"

That got Nagatoro to blush and shut up. After they'd finished their ramen, they went back to the arcade for a bit then headed home.