The rest of the week went pretty much the same as Monday. Each day, Sachiko got up and went to school, where she went about her day like normal. Aside of a brief moment on Wednesday when Sachiko and her friends were passing 2-C just as Takashi and his friends were going in, she never saw him once; not until the final bell had rung and they were all heading off to karate.
That all felt pretty normal, too: the bus rides, the walks, karate class itself. As the week progressed, Sachiko started to wonder just how normal it was, for things to feel so normal between two people who were going on a first date. Aside of the smiles that she was now positive were lingering, Takashi seemed...completely normal. He didn't talk any more to her specifically than he ever had; he didn't maneuver to sit next to her, stand next to her, or walk next to her, though he always looked happy when he did. Considering what Hajime and Mutsuki had said, and the behavior she was used to from guys who'd asked her out in the past, it was a little bit surprising.
Then again...maybe that was all just part of going out with someone she already knew and had a pattern with. He didn't have to keep stopping by to see her, he already knew when he would. And it wasn't like they were dating, she reminded herself. They were going on A date, singular. And maybe something would come of it, but maybe not, and they weren't advertising that fact to anyone else ahead of time anyway.
But she was very happy by the time Friday rolled around. She didn't think she was particularly hung up on the date, but she had to admit it had preoccupied her a lot more than any first date had, in quite some time.
Once again, everything went normally. She didn't see Takashi at all until the bus stop, and on the bus to Hibe she sat with Kaede. They walked to the dojo, had class, and had their second class, the same way they did every night. And then...it was time to go.
Sachiko was aware of Kaede and Emi's surprised eyes on her as the three of them got dressed.
"Damn, Sachi, you look super cute tonight!" Emi said admiringly as she took in Sachiko's outfit; normally after class, Sachiko's go-to was something along the lines of jeans and a t-shirt. Tonight, she'd gone for something a little fancier: embellished jeans, a cute top, a cute pink jacket, and her favorite cat-shaped pendant necklace.
"Thanks!" Sachiko said, grinning as she faced the mirror and did her hair. There was only so much she could do with it when it was wet like this, but she still wanted to make an effort.
Kaede was grinning, too. "Sachi, have you been holding out on us?"
"Dunno what you mean by that," Sachiko said, her eyes dancing as she met her friends' in the mirror. "Maybe I just feel fancy tonight."
"You've got a date, don't you?" Emi asked. "So much for it taking a while, not like either of us actually believed that," she said, giggling.
"So who is it?" Kaede asked, leaning against the counter. "And when did he ask you?"
"He asked me this week," Sachiko said, still grinning, and the other two both looked at each other before their grins widened.
"You only broke up a week ago, Sachi, I hope this guy only asked you out this week," Kaede said. "And you didn't say who," she said, poking her.
"Maybe I wanna keep you guessing," Sachiko teased as she finished with her hair. "How do I look?"
"Adorable," Emi said promptly. "And you never keep us guessing!"
"I know, right? So why not do it this time?" she asked, grinning as they all headed for the locker room door.
Emi and Kaede exchanged another knowing look.
"We know him, don't we? Is that why you're being sneaky, because we know him?"
"Who do we know?" Shota asked as the three girls joined them in the hallway. Sachiko's eyes immediately darted to Takashi, who was standing at Shota's side; he looked pretty much the same as he always did, in his jeans and jacket, but he had also grinned at the sight of her.
That was definitely encouraging.
"Sachi's hot date tonight," Emi said. "Can't you guys see how cute she looks? She's sooooooo got a date, and she never told us!"
"And still hasn't said who," Kaede chimed in. "Which is pretty suspicious, I think."
The group of them headed out of the dojo together, Sachiko grinning the entire time. She noticed that Takashi was trying not to look at her, but he was still grinning; hopefully that meant he didn't object to what she was doing.
After all, he'd said he didn't want it to really be known until Friday, and even then unless they had to...
"Maybe I'm just trying to be more discrete," she said as they walked along. "Protect his privacy and all that."
"Are you embarrassed by him? Is that it?" Kaede asked, then frowned. "You're not actually seeing Rei again, are you?"
"Fuck no," Sachi said with an immediate snort. "That one's not fixable; even if he asked I'd've said no. So yeah...no."
"I still think we know him," Emi said. "Who do we know who Sachi might be going out with?"
"Is he from our year?" Kaede asked. "Maybe one of our classes?"
Sachiko was still grinning. "You guys're really hung up on this, aren't you?"
"Of course we are, this is important! Shota, Takashi, have you guys heard anything about anyone asking Sachiko out?"
Shota eyed Takashi thoughtfully while Takashi looked straight ahead. Then Shota glanced at the girls, smirking himself as he made eye contact with Sachiko.
She hoped she wasn't blushing.
"Heard?" Shota asked. "Specifically, no, which is a bummer," he said pointedly. "But I bet you're right, it's probably someone we know."
"Is it one of you guys' friends, maybe?" Emi mused, looking at the boys. "Have either of you heard from any of your friends they've got a mystery date?"
"Guys don't talk about stuff like that much, Emi," Takashi said, and Shota snorted.
"No, they don't, even when they should. But now you mention it, Emi, I bet that's it. In fact, I'm positive that's it."
Sachiko was giggling now, and Takashi shot her a smile.
"And I'm gonna be sure my friend knows exactly how pissed I am he didn't mention this, seeing as how I have a girlfriend and could've actually helped him plan something."
"Hey, don't lump all of us girls in together, Shota," Sachiko teased. "I mean, I'm sure you're a great dater and Kameko thinks you're awesome, but I'm not exactly Kameko. Maybe I'd hate your dates."
"Wow. And all this time I thought you liked movies, and bowling, and karaoke, and food-"
"You're right," she agreed, grinning. "Maybe I'd just hate it with you."
"Ouch," Shota said, laughing.
"Nice one, Sachi," Emi said laughing, but then she prodded Shota. "Now you're holding out on us. If you have a guess, then say so!"
Shota shrugged as they all boarded the bus. "It's just a theory." he said, grinning as he sat down beside Emi, earning a surprised look from her and Kaede both. "Personally, I want to hear what Takashi thinks," he said, looking innocently across the aisle.
Takashi glanced from his window seat up at Sachiko, who was giggling as she stood in the aisle, then leaned over and punched Shota's arm. "You're having way too much fun with this, you know that?"
"Me? What about her?" Shota asked, jerking his head towards Sachiko. "She's loving this, you can't tell me she's not."
"He's right," Sachiko admitted, grinning. "You guys are hilarious, I can't believe I never thought about doing this before!"
"Yeah, well," Takashi was chuckling as he shook his head, and Sachiko and Shota laughed, too.
Kaede and Emi had been following the whole exchange and were now looking between Takashi and Sachiko with matching shocked expressions.
"Seriously, you guys?" Kaede finally asked, and Sachiko shrugged.
"What can we say, Emi made a lot of good points the other day," she said, dropping into the seat beside Takashi and giving him a smile.
Emi was leaning around Shota. "You two. Really?"
"Yeah, really," Takashi said a little defensively. "What's wrong with that?"
"The fact it's you two? And it's kind of weird?"
"Now you're gonna hurt my feelings, Emi," Sachiko teased. "Or Taka's. Or maybe both."
Emi was clearly still processing, but Kaede had managed to recover. "So, you two are dating, now?"
"No," Takashi corrected, beating even Sachiko to the punch. "We're going on a date."
Sachiko gave him a mock-wounded look. "Wow, Taka, way to crush a girl's dreams."
He stared at her, then she giggled. "I'm just screwing with you, it's ok." Looking back over at Kaede, she nodded. "What he said. Just a date, to see how things go without having all of you guys hanging around."
"I don't know," Shota said, grinning. "I think you guys really oughtta have at least one chaperone. I don't want to worry about you getting taken advantage of, Sachi, and as your friend-"
"As your friend, I'm gonna remember you're not serious and not punch you," Takashi said rolling his eyes.
"You'd better not be taking advantage, Taka," Emi said sternly. "You should know Sachiko is a very special young lady and deserves to be cherished-"
"-I'm not gonna do anything, ok? It's just a first date!"
"I mean, you did ask about sex when we first started talking about tonight," Sachiko began innocently, provoking a groan from Takashi and almost explosive exclamations of "what?" "Takashi!" and "Wow" from their friends.
"Damnit, that's not what I meant and you know it, Sachi!" Takashi said, his entire face suddenly red. "I said the wrong thing!"
"How do you accidentally ask about sex?" Emi demanded. "That seems pretty intentional."
"Takashi not wasting any time at all," Shota said, shaking his head. "I feel like someone should tell Sensei Sohma about this."
"I hate you all," Takashi groaned, sinking back against his seat. "Maybe even you," he said with an accusatory glare at Sachiko, who was smirking and completely unrepentant.
"This is who I am, Taka," she said, shrugging. "If you don't know that by now, well...there's not really a lot I can do to help you. Still wanna go out?"
Her voice was teasing, but there was the tiniest trace of hesitation as she realized that maybe, maaaaaybe she'd gone a bit too far. This was their first date, after all; he'd had to work himself up to asking her out, and she'd had to think before she said yes. Yes, this was normal behavior for her, but at the same time...should she maybe be being a little more careful? Takashi the friend would have been fine with it, but Takashi the friend-who-she-happened-to-be-going-on-a-date-with was something totally unknown.
But he set her mind at ease almost immediately, giving her a mildly exasperated smile. "Yeah, I still wanna go out. But can you just, maybe, cut me a little bit of slack?"
"Nope," Shota said immediately, echoed by Kaede and Emi's "No way." "Sachi?"
"I didn't ask you guys!" he protested, but Sachiko was grinning, the hesitation now completely gone.
"If I remember, I'll try. How's that?"
He stared at her again. "You're not even gonna try to remember, are you?"
"Probably not, nope."
When they parted ways with their friends in Nigeyashi, the others were all grinning.
"Now, we're trusting you two to behave," Shota said with mock-seriousness. "Takashi, make sure you're being a gentleman; Sachiko is a delicate flower of girlhood-"
Takashi's scoff was loud and pronounced, earning him a sharp elbow strike from Sachiko that he barely deflected.
"You saying I'm not delicate, Taka?" she protested laughingly, and he rubbed his arm where he'd taken the impact.
"You saying you are?" he demanded, and they all laughed.
"We expect a full report tomorrow," Emi said. "Where you went, what you did-"
"-if there's going to be another date," Kaede continued, "and whether we need to choose factions."
"There aren't gonna be any factions, ok?" Takashi said. "And seriously, how do you guys find this stuff so damn interesting?"
"Don't you find me interesting?" Sachiko queried innocently, and Takashi crossed his arms.
"Yeah, but that's you, not this stuff in general," he admitted, then cringed at the chorus of teasing "awws" from their friends. Steeling himself, he ignored them and looked pointedly at Sachiko. "So...food?"
"Food," she agreed, grinning. "See you tomorrow, guys," she said to the others.
"Remember: Full report!" Emi repeated.
"Bye!"
"Have fun, but not too much fun!"
As Takashi and Sachiko boarded another bus to head down to Nigeyashi's entertainment district, Takashi sighed and looked at her.
"Seriously, how do you guys find so much to talk about with all this dating stuff? Doesn't it get boring, after a while?"
Sachiko shook her head. "Not really, nope. We're all different, after all, and the guys are usually pretty different...and it's just fun to harass each other. Don't you ever talk about dating stuff with your guy friends?"
He shook his head. "Mamoru's the only one who's got a girlfriend, and the two of them're pretty private. Sometimes someone'll mention in passing if they've got a date, but it's not like we...parse them out or anything."
"Guess that makes sense," she said after a moment, her expression thoughtful. "I don't think I've ever heard you even mention any dates before."
He shifted awkwardly. "Yeah, well, that's not surprising."
"'Cause you're so private yourself?" she teased, then realized he was blushing very lightly. "Ok, what?"
"Nothing! It's nothing, just not everyone always talks stuff to death, that's all, especially not this sort of stuff."
"You're hiding something. Come on, tell me? How're we supposed to truly commit to this date if it starts off with you keeping secrets?" she wheedled, and he rolled his eyes, then sighed.
"Fine. I haven't been on a date before, ok? That's why you never heard me mention any, 'cause there haven't been any."
Sachiko was genuinely surprised, and that surprise was so patently obvious in her expression that Takashi was immediately defensive.
"What? It's not like that's bad or anything!"
"No, of course it's not!" she said immediately, recovering...and blushing.
She was genuinely surprised, though. They didn't really hang out at school much, given their different classes, but she knew Takashi was well liked and reasonably popular. She'd definitely been asked about him before by other girls in her class who knew they took karate together, and it made sense there would be others in other classes who'd be interested in him, too.
But he'd never gone on a date...until now, with her.
There was an awkward silence while Sachiko quickly collected herself, then looked over at him with a grin. "Well, I can understand you not wanting to talk about it as much, then. It's really a topic that benefits from personal experience as well as interest, and while I'm gonna do my best to be interesting," she teased, "I won't be shocked if you don't wanna talk about it too much."
"I'm just saying, it just doesn't seem like something all that fun to talk about, especially when you've already talked about it a million times before. What else is there to say?"
"Unlike tournament odds, vulnerable body points, and the precise angle to bend your ankle during the perfect axe kick?" Sachiko queried innocently, and Takashi grinned at her.
"Exactly! 'Cause those things are different, interesting, and can't ever be talked about too much," he said, provoking a giggle from her.
"Seriously, though," he said after a moment. "I guess I get it, when you put it that way. I don't see the fun myself, but," he shrugged, then smiled. "Just try to be nice when you guys break this down tomorrow?"
"I'll try," she agreed, and he gave her a mildly suspicious look before she continued, "just make sure you give me stuff to be nice about, ok?"
He took a deep breath, then smiled determinedly. "I'll gonna try!"
"I notice you didn't ask me where I wanna eat," Sachiko teased as they waited their turn to order at the ramen restaurant.
"Why, so you could say 'wherever, as long as I get to eat?'" Takashi mimicked, and she laughed.
"Hey, that's just when it's all of us! Maybe I'm more particular on dates."
"Then you should've said something sooner," he said, then gave her a slightly nervous look. "Is ramen ok?"
She patted his arm. "Ramen's fine, Taka, I'm just-"
"-Screwing with me, got it," he said, rolling his eyes. "Want some gyoza, too?"
"Yeah!" She said enthusiastically, then said, "And I'd like my ramen with-"
"-Extra fish cakes?" he asked, and she grinned.
"That obvious, huh?"
"I mean, it's not like you order it that way literally every time or anything," he said, chuckling as he turned to order. Sachiko started to reach into her bag, but Takashi stopped her.
"I've got this, Sachi, don't worry about it."
Sachiko promptly protested. "You don't have to pay for everything, Takashi, especially not on a first date."
"I know, but I want to," he said, and after a moment she smiled, zipping her bag once more.
"Well, thanks for that! Though don't think that means you get more gyoza than me, just 'cause you paid."
"Maybe it means you've gotta give me a fish cake," he teased, and she snorted.
"Touch my fish cakes and this date's over. I'm pretty forgiving, but there are some behaviors that're never gonna fly, especially not on a first date."
"Yeah?" Takashi asked, grinning. "How many dates before you'll share your fish cakes?"
"Talk to me after our first grandkid's wedding."
Both of them were laughing as they sat down with their food and snapped their chopsticks. And as they started eating, Sachiko once more found herself wondering just what she'd worried about.
"You think Emi's gonna be mad when she finds out we're back here without her?" Sachiko teased as she stood up to take her turn bowling. "We did promise we'd include her next time."
"Yeah, next time we all went," Takashi said, sitting down and watching as Sachiko picked up her ball and carefully lined up her throw. "And we're not 'all of us,' are we? Besides, if she's got a problem then that sounds like your problem to deal with, seeing how you're the one who chose bowling," he said, grinning at her.
Sachiko let the ball fly, making an annoyed sound when three pins were left standing. "No shit I chose bowling, you were practically baiting me into it!"
"How? How was I baiting you?" he asked, laughing. "Because I reminded you you lost three out of four games last week?"
"It wasn't just what you said, it was how you said it," she said, sending the ball down the lane once more and knocking down the pins. "You knew what you were doing."
"I never knew you were so easily manipulated," Takashi commented. "Though if it's that obvious to you," he said, standing up and reaching for his own ball, "Pretty sure that means you could've ignored me and picked what you really wanted to do instead of falling for my 'obvious' baiting."
He smiled smugly as all ten pins went falling, glancing up at the scores up on the screen before saying, "you're losing again, by the way."
"Yeah, right now!" she huffed, walking up and grabbing her ball. "I can still pull this off!"
Takashi looked back up at the screen, then back at her with a chuckle. "This is the last frame, Sachi!"
"Yeah, and I can still pull this off," she said firmly, taking a deep breath and winding up before letting her ball go once more. As nine pins fell, she let out a triumphant whoop, then pointed up at the screen. "See? Now you're losing."
"By two pins, and I still have a turn! You really think I can't get three pins?" he asked, watching as she collected her ball for her second attempt.
"Hey, I'm not done yet," she said, taking her last throw. But the ball went wide, and she huffed in annoyance before looking at him and saying pointedly,
"It can happen, you know. Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, Takashi, or gets unexpectedly attacked by ninjas."
He gave her a suspicious look as he collected his bowling ball. "You go sit over there," he said, pointing to the furthest chair from the bowling lane. "If anyone tries a sneak attack on me here, I'm pretty sure it's not gonna be any damn ninja."
"You've gotta to learn to trust more," she said, sighing dramatically as she sat in the indicated chair. "Can't I just believe you're gonna trip over your own feet and throw the ball straight in the gutter?"
In response, Takashi let go of his ball, which went right down the lane and took out seven pins. As his score updated, he smirked at Sachiko and asked, "Sorry, what was that?"
Sachiko let out an annoyed exhale, then gave him a challenging look.
"Ok; best out of three?"
"I'm pretty sure you cheat at bowling," Sachiko announced later, as the two of them left the bowling alley. Beside her, Takashi chuckled.
"How? How do I cheat at bowling, Sachi, and how's it even possible to cheat at bowling?"
"You distracted me," she said loftily. "I would have done much better if you hadn't been messing with me."
"Yeah? How's that explain Saturday, then?" he asked. "Or've you already forgotten I beat you-"
"-three times, I know, you don't have to be so goddamned smug."
"'Cause you're always such a gracious winner yourself?" Takashi teased, and she gave him an innocent look.
"Duh!"
He laughed. "Yeah, maybe someone who just looks at you'd think that, but not anyone who actually knows you."
"Oh? And why'd someone who 'just looks at me' think that?" she asked, grinning up at him.
"Well...you know," he said after a moment of awkward floundering, and her grin widened.
"Dunno if I do, why don't you tell me?"
"Well...because you're little, and cute-" he broke off, his face suddenly red in the face of Sachiko's toothy grin. "Oh shut up, Sachi."
"I never knew you thought I was cute," she said, and his blush darkened.
"Well, you didn't need to, did you? Wasn't that what you said last week, that you know you're cute already and you didn't need any of us guys to tell you you were?"
Sachiko was silent for a moment, the grin shifting into something a little more serious. Then finally, she admitted. "Well...it's nice to hear it."
They were both quiet for a moment, both of them looking ahead as they made their way down the sidewalk towards the bus stop. Then Takashi glanced sideways at her.
"...you are cute, you know. Like...really cute."
She could feel herself blushing, and she kept her own gaze on the sidewalk. But she was smiling as she said, "you're pretty cute, too."
They rode the bus together down to the station, where Sachiko would catch her bus back to Hibe and Takashi would catch one over to his neighborhood. And as they sat together, they shared an awkwardly hesitant smile.
"So...you were right," Sachiko said at last, breaking the somewhat strained silence. "We did have fun together, I think."
He nodded, looking distinctly more hopeful. "Yeah, we did. Even if you suck at sharing food," he said, suddenly grinning.
"Yeah, well, you cheat at bowling, so we're even."
"I don't cheat! I don't need to cheat, even; it's not my fault you aren't as good as me."
"Wow," she said, pretending to look affronted. "Is that really how you're gonna talk to your date, you smug bastard?"
He was still grinning. "I mean...this is how I am, Sachi, and you probably oughtta know that by now."
Sachiko was giggling at having her own words from earlier turned around on her. "Yeah, guess I should. And I did. I do," she corrected herself before adding, "and I had fun."
Takashi took a deep breath. "So...you maybe wanna do this again sometime? It doesn't have to be bowling-"
"-oh no," she quickly interrupted, "at least the very next time, it has to be bowling. I refuse to let you and your damn smugness think you're actually that much better than me."
"How many times have I beat you?" he asked, but he was grinning from ear to ear. "We could do nothing but bowl, and I'll still keep beating you."
"You won't," she said firmly, "but tell yourself whatever you need to keep your ego happy."
"My ego? Look who's talking!"
They were both grinning again, then Takashi asked, "So...in that case, you wanna figure out a day that works?"
Sachiko chewed thoughtfully on the inside of her cheek, then looked him with twinkling eyes. "How about tomorrow?"
He blinked at her. "Tomorrow?"
Sachiko shrugged. "Well, it's either that, or we've gotta to wait until next Friday, right? And next Friday my class's choosing our Culture Fest theme, and depending on what that is we might have to actually start Culture Fest prep-"
"Right," said Takashi, sighing. The Culture Fest was fun enough, he supposed, but it was also a massive time suck.
Still, he was grinning as he looked at her. "So then...tomorrow?"
She nodded. "But not right after karate, ok? Maybe later in the day? It was fun, getting to see everyone's reactions today," she said, giggling at the memory, "but I'd rather we keep it to ourselves that we're going out again so soon, ok?"
He nodded, too. "Sounds good to me."
They were a little awkward on the platform after they got off the bus, but both of them were smiling. Sachiko's bus arrived first and she started to walk over to it, but then she paused, turning to give Takashi one last grin.
"Hey, Taka?"
"Yeah?"
"I really had fun tonight."
"Yeah, me too."
"And I'm really glad...you asked me out."
His grin stretched from ear to ear as he answered,
"Yeah...me too."
