It was 9.45 in the morning. Honestly, Suwa doesn't even understand why Kakeru wanted to meet him so early in the morning. Kakeru could have chosen a more civilised time to meet up, like 2.00 pm, for example. Then, he could have more sleep. It was a Saturday too.

Well, he couldn't 100% blame Kakeru too. The time they were supposed to meet up was actually 10.00 am, so he was technically early. Which means he could have 15 minutes more sleep. Not a lot of course. But, he was actually excited to meet up with Kakeru. Beyond a few times of group outing after school, and some walks back home, he had actually never gone out to have fun with Kakeru. Shoot, he was mixing up the aim of today's outing. Today, they were supposed to choose a gift for Naho.

"Su-Wa!" a voice from behind shocked him out of his thoughts. Obviously, it was Kakeru. It should have got used to Kakeru's way of scaring him every time they meet. School. Soccer practice. Going home. Break time. Lunch. And many more.

"Morning, Kakeru. Stop shocking me."

"A shocked Suwa is the cutest."

"What…" Suwa gave Kakeru a 'that is not funny at all' face which just made Kakeru smiled even more.

"So what's the plan? Nawate street? Or Nakamachi street?" asked Suwa

"Nawate street? I want to try the taiyaki." said Kakeru.

"I thought we were looking for a gift?"

"But the taiyaki is famous and I haven't tried it before. It's being like two months since I came to Matsumoto, and I haven't tried the famous taiyaki."

"Now now. Stop throwing a tantrum."

Kakeru made a big show of pouting. Suwa ended up laughing.

"Ok ok. I give up. Let's get taiyaki." Really, this boy is really a handful to manage.

Kakeru started to walk to Nawate street from the bridge. Kakeru was wearing casual clothes, something that he had never seen before. The clothes were really matching and suited Kakeru really well. Kakeru have really good taste. Suwa started to check what he was wearing. He hoped it look good, he just grabbed random clothes today. Urgh. He accidentally chose the same colour for both his pants and shirt. That looked horrible. How was he going to stand next to Kakeru?

"Suwa?" said Kakeru suddenly.

"What?" Suwa was surprised for the second time in a day. Actually, why was he even observing Kakeru's clothes in the first place? This is not even a date. What? Where are his thoughts going? Suwa rapidly repeated the words "no thoughts" under his breath.

"Suwa? Distracted so early in the morning?" said Kakeru.

"No! No such thing." said Suwa.

"Want a kiss to wake you up?"

Usually, he would have glared at Kakeru. However, courtesy of the thoughts just now, Suwa instead started blushing.

"Hey, Suwa. Where's your retort? I'm getting embarrassed here."

"Your fault."

An awkward silence hangs in the air. 'Better reach the taiyaki shop faster', Suwa thought to himself.

Due to their quick steps courtesy of the lack of conversation, they reached the taiyaki shop faster than expected. Despite the morning, there was already a long queue. That was to be expected. It was a famous shop.

"Kakeru, what do you have in mind for Naho's gift?" said Suwa while standing in the queue next to Kakeru. He thought that it might be a good idea to start a new topic.

"Some accessories, maybe? Earrings, but that might be too much. I'm not her boyfriend after all. Then, a hairpin?" said Kakeru.

"Hairpin..." Suwa imagined a Naho with a hairpin. "It might suit her. She never wears a hairpin, so she might look good?"

Kakeru seems to be imagining a Naho with a hairpin too. "Yeah, I think she will look good in it."

"When are you going to start dating Naho?" said Suwa.

"What are you saying suddenly?"

"You're sure you're not in love with her, with those glassy eyes that you have just now while imagining her?"

"No! I'm not." Kakeru was not particularly convincing as he was starting to blush.

"Sure?"

"Well, I'm not dating a new girl so fast after I just broke up with another. I don't want you to call me shallow and playboy."

"Well, you already shallow for choosing to date a girl based on her looks. Adding another playboy title wouldn't hurt much to your reputation."

"Suwa calling me a playboy will hurt me…"

"Stop acting, Kakeru. Not funny."

"Hahaha. Don't be so serious, Suwa." Suwa decided that a glare would suit Kakeru very well. He wished that he had another face so that could be permanently glaring just for Kakeru. How many times had he glared at Kakeru today?

"Suwa is hurting my heart." Looks like a glare is not enough. He might need to ignore this idiotic boy completely.

"Suwa. Suwa. Suwa." said Kakeru while constantly pulling Suwa's arm. Suwa was trying his best to ignore him.

"The taiyaki. I'll treat you. Stop ignoring me." A pitiful sounding Kakeru begged Suwa. Still, it seems that he got a free food after all. Worth it to ignore Kakeru just now.

"Really?"

"Nope." Suwa decided to go back to ignoring Kakeru.

"Just joking, Suwa."

"Not believing you."

Suwa and Kakeru decided to start looking for a hairpin for Naho after finishing their taiyaki. They both got a red bean paste one. Kakeru ended up paying for both of them, after Suwa threaten to go home. Still, two boys looking for girl hair accessories remains quite an odd activity for both of them to be doing.

Along Nawate Street, they found a hair accessory shop located on a nondescript alley. Surprisingly, it consists of a rather good collection of hairpins. Or maybe, because it was located in a nondescript alley, its stock of good hairpins has not been all bought by shoppers.

"Butterfly design, or flower?" asked Kakeru.

"Don't know. It's your gift."

"Then, you think Naho will look better in which one?"

Suwa thought for a while, before deciding that he could not decide. "Why don't you ask the shop owner for her opinion?"

"Ok."

In the end, they went with the flower design, as it was a colour that suited Naho's hair better, at least according to the shop owner.

"Ok, so we are parting now?"

"Eh, Suwa. Let's have fun. We never really went out together before, right?"

Suwa thought about it for a while. He had an idea.

"This was not in the original plan. I do not agree. Unless…"

"Unless?"

"Treat me lunch."

"Treat you lunch? I guess… Sure. But… I just bought an expensive hairpin too. I wonder if I have enough money."

"Hahaha. You're so desperate to have me that you will treat me lunch. Just kidding. I'll hang out with you. For free."

"What... You're just pulling my leg."

"Payback for just now."

"But I treated you to taiyaki."

"And all the other times."

"Fine."

It was nearly lunch time by then, so they started exploring cafes and restaurants around Nawate street and also Nakamichi street. In the end, they decided on a pizza place, as it seemed cheap and the portions looked big.

"So hot!" said Kakeru while fanning himself with the menu.

"Hey, put down that menu. So unsightly. It's not for fanning." said Suwa.

"Suwa is such a nag." Though, Kakeru still ended up putting down the menu.

"So, how about Margherita?" asked Suwa while looking through the menu.

"You like plain and simple style pizza?"

"Yup."

"Well, I prefer one a complicated one. Like this one: Seafood Deluxe." Suwa read the description pointed out by Kakeru. 'Consists of prawns, crabs, squids, clams, oysters. Also consists of a smattering of Shirasu on top. With, of course, the usual cheese and tomato base.'

"Sounds too complicated."

"Well, I like seafood though. Maybe we could order two smaller size pizzas, instead of a large one? You can try my complicated style while I try your simple style. Haha." They originally planned to order one pizza to share, but Kakeru's suggestion seems reasonable. They called the waiter and ordered the two pizzas.

"So, are you going to ask Naho out while giving her the hairclip?" Suwa was attempting to subtly (or not so subtle) couple up both of them, since Naho was the type who will not really move, while Kakeru himself seems to be of the same passive type. After the Ueda-senpai fiasco, everyone save Kakeru was aware of Naho's feelings for him. Whereas for Kakeru, he seemed to generally enjoy being with Naho. So, Suwa felt this was the right time to further push both of their relationship to a new phase.

"You know, Naho is a really nice and kind girl, and I enjoy being with her as a friend. She makes a good lunch, hehe. But, I'm not sure about whether I really like her in that way, and well, I guess my experience with Ueda-senpai made me a little more serious about relationships. I am not going to rush into another relationship so fast." Surprisingly, Kakeru answered seriously. Suwa was expecting him to deny or roundaboutly change the topic, like just now. He could only say "I see.", after Kakeru's serious speech.

"I guess, I will be thinking seriously about whether I liked her in a way that I would want to go out with her. I don't want to give her the wrong signals. Should I ask her to stop making me lunch? Even though, it was really tasty haha." said Kakeru.

"Well, you better treat her well, or I am going to bash you up as a friend of Naho."

"You really care for Naho, don't you?" Kakeru's question surprised Suwa. The truth is of course that he like Naho. Since middle school. Though, the question of crushes and feelings is a complicated one of course. Recently, he had been wondering if he still likes Naho. It would be best if he had let go of these feelings, because Naho would end up with Kakeru. The letter was clear about it.

"Well, she is a friend that I know since middle school." He decided to go with an uncontroversial white lie.

"I see." Did Kakeru saw through his white lie? Probably not, since he did not pursue further the question. The pizza arrived and they started to eat. Suwa saw this as an opportunity to change the topic from this dangerous one which may reveal his crush on Naho.

"So, where are we going next? Any plans, since you were the one who wanted to hang out? said Suwa.

"I don't know actually. Just wanted to hang out. I guess we could do what most people do, visit the shopping mall?"

"PARCO?"

"Sure."

After finishing a slice of his Margherita pizza, he decided to try the Seafood Deluxe pizza. Just one bite of the pizza and he started to regret eating it. He remembered why he never particularly liked seafood. The marine smell, and the soft chewiness of invertebrate sea creatures. Ergh.

"You're ok, Suwa?"

"Just this pizza. Not really to my taste. I don't really like seafood after all."

"Well, then just throw away this piece. I'll eat the rest of the pizza."

"Nah. It's not good to waste food. I will finish this piece at least." Suwa continued to bite the pizza in small pieces. It was difficult.

"Haha. Suwa, you're really stubborn about certain things."

"Like what?"

"Not wasting food. About wanting the best for your friends. Football."

"Really? You think so?"

"Yep. I envy you, you know. Being stubborn about things that you think are important. But flexible and kind at times too."

"Wah wah wah. Stop praising me. What are you trying to get from me, huh?"

"Love."

"Kakeru, I just lose my appetite. You need to finish this all. And with me being a stubborn person, you are not allowed to waste a single piece of food." Suwa was already used to Kakeru random jokes by now. Playing along as the serious guy was fun in a way though.

"Sorry Suwa… I peel off the seafood for you. Please don't leave me alone to finish so much food." Kakeru pleaded with puppy eyes they were totally not apologetic.

"Since you have such cute puppy eyes, I shall forgive you."

"Yes! I always knew that these puppy eyes were useful."

Suwa rolled his eyes towards Kakeru, to no effect. They continued to joke and banter about while eating the pizza, which helped Suwa very much in forgetting the horrible taste of the seafood pizza. Kakeru seems to have no qualms about the pizza though, which made Suwa wondered about the wonders of people's taste buds.

After finishing their lunch, they went to PARCO shopping mall. They didn't have any specific plans, so they ended window shopping. While walking past a sports equipment shop, which sold everything from sports shoes to sports bags, Kakeru wanted to take a look at the soccer shoes, so they walked in.

"Your current shoes not working?"

"I don't have soccer shoes. I was using my generic sneakers for soccer practice. This one." Kakeru showed Suwa the shoes he was currently wearing.

"Weren't you a soccer player in your old school? What happened to your old shoes?"

"My mom threw it. She didn't approve of me joining sports clubs." said Kakeru nonchalantly.

"Wait, then does she know that you joined the soccer club?" Was that the reason Kakeru was refusing to join the football club last time?

There was a short pause, before Kakeru added "Well, my mom died on the first day of school. That was the reason I didn't come to school for two weeks after that."

"I see." Was that the reason why the letter said not to invite Kakeru? Suwa felt guilty about it. That day, he read through the whole of the letter from his future self, but the letter was mostly vague about the details of Kakeru's life, just indicating events that he should intervene, even though Suwa's future self probably knew much more.

"Don't blame yourself, ok? I was glad that you asked me to hang out that day. I was worried about being alone in this school, this new environment." It seems that Kakeru probably anticipated his thoughts.

"If anything, I actually blame…" Kakeru whispered.

"Eh, what did you just say?" asked Suwa.

"Ah. Nothing. Was just whispering to myself." There seems to be a sadness to Kakeru's voice but Kakeru quickly smiled. Did he just imagine it? Suwa remembered the time in the park, when Kakeru was acting happy. Maybe, did he bring out bad memories in Kakeru?

"I'll settle with this pair of shoes."

"This?" asked Suwa. Kakeru chose the cheapest pair of soccer shoes. Not that it was really cheap actually, but it was also the pair with the lowest specs. Explains partly why it is the cheapest.

"Well, ever since my mother's death, I being living off her savings and my grandmother's. My relatives do try to help up, but there's a limited amount of money. So, I try to save as much. Haha."

"Your father?"

"My mother divorced him a long time ago. We lost contact with him."

"Ah, I see. Sorry for bring up all these sad topics."

"What you're saying? You're my best friend, ok? Sharing such things, that's something that is bound to happen. But, really… I want a soccer bag too. My mom threw my old one too. Well, that's not really important. I cannot play soccer well without proper shoes, but I will be able without a soccer bag anyway." Kakeru paid for his soccer shoes at the cashier.

Kakeru was trying to put up a brave face, but he knew that he was Kakeru was actually sad. At least, that is what he thinks. Is there a way to cheer him up? Well, maybe he should bring Kakeru to…

"So… This place… An arcade?" said Kakeru.

"Been to one before?"

"No. First time here."

"Then, let the expert here introduce you to the fun things in an arcade." When he was in middle school, he would sometimes go to the arcade with his classmates or his soccer club friends. Most of the time, they would just spend time and have fun, playing games like racing Mario carts or shooting games. He even went alone once. That time, he was dejected due to the loss of a soccer match and he didn't really want to go home and instead chose to walk around the mall. He came across the arcade and randomly decided to go in and play. Playing alone, without anyone to judge his performance, playing just for the fun of it, it was fun in its own way. Since then, he would sometimes go to the arcade alone whenever he experienced sadness. He wondered if Kakeru would enjoy the arcade and cheer up too.

"First, you need to buy coins before playing at the counter. But nowadays, a card is often used instead of actual coins. Haha." They proceed to buy coins or more specifically, virtual coins in a card from the counter.

"So, what do you want to play, Kakeru? There's racing, shooting games, basketball, air hockey, dancing game and well, just look around."

"Shooting?"

"Got it." Suwa led Kakeru to a replica jeep, whereby inside, there was two guns and a screen. This was a game that Suwa played before with his friends. It involved shooting monsters and comes with an interesting story about a couple going for a holiday at an exotic tropical island. Unfortunately, their holiday was disrupted by monsters. Basically, two players play as the couple in shooting monsters.

"So, how do I shoot?"

"Press the trigger obviously."

"Oh, ok."

They game started with a ridiculous prologue whereby the couple was relaxing at the beach. Clearly, the relationship of the couple was not very good. Suddenly, they were attacked by jumping mutated fishes from the sea.

"Kakeru, start shooting."

"Shoot what?"

"The fishes, see those things jumping at the screen. Argh!" A spray of air informed Suwa that a fish just attacked him in this 4D shooting game.

Kakeru gradually learned to shoot better and better, thus the times that Suwa needed to save Kakeru reduced gradually. Suwa was thus able to defend himself better.

"Kakeru, shoot those circles. And shoot the one approaching first." They arrived at the boss stage, which was a giant spider with a little too much legs and an ability to summon smaller spiders and throw rocks. Shooting the boss require shooting its weak spots, which was helpfully marked by the game with circles.

They continued playing, moving to the next level, getting sprayed by air and even water at times, and saving each other from near defeats. Finally, they were done with it. Since this was actually a couple game, the game calculated their shooting compatibility, which was at a surprisingly high 90%.

"Oh, so the couple ended up happily ever after and planning another honeymoon." said Kakeru.

"Which they probably will face another set of monsters. You know, if the shooting compatibility was low, they will end up breaking up." said Suwa.

"Really, I want to see the breakup epilogue though." said Kakeru. "It looks like it will be funny."

"You're secretly evil, aren't you?"

"Well, since we are so compatible in terms of shooting, does that mean you are also evil?"

"No way, I am an angel. You never heard of the term opposite attracts? It is my kindness that neutralises people like you."

"Suwa, you're so shameless in praising yourself."

"I am only so shameless in front of you."

"Are you trying to make me think I am special?"

"Yes hahahahaha." They both ended up laughing hysterically.

"Come, let's play another game." said Suwa.

"Ok."

They ended up playing basketball. Not real basketball, of course, but the arcade version whereby you needed to throw basketballs into a hoop within a set limit of time. There were 3 stages, at the third stage, the hoop will move. Each of them played 3 times, which ended up with Kakeru winning. They also raced Mario karts, and this time, Suwa won.

"Anything more you want to try?" asked Suwa. They have played for nearly two hours, and it was rather tiring, since the basketball really required some serious energy.

"Well, we still have two coins, so why don't we used them up through the crane game?"

"The crane game. That thing is real cheating. How can those flimsy claws even grab anything?"

"Watch the expert." said Kakeru.

Kakeru ended up winning a teddy bear plushie through the crane game.

"Lol, what should I do with this teddy bear. Haha. Here, have it, Suwa."

"What… You're giving me a teddy bear. So weird."

"Well, this is embarrassing haha, but I used to think that it was really cool to be able to win stuff from the crane game. Impressing girls haha. So I end up practicing, spending quite some money. Eventually, I won quite a number of plushies too. Since I have so many at home, you should just take it."

"Thanks then, I guess?"

"It should be 'Thank you, Kakeru-sama.'"

"Thank you, Kakeru-sama." said Suwa in a mocking tone.

It was getting late by then, so they decide to part ways and go home. Suwa hoped that Kakeru had fun and wasn't as sad as before after playing games at the arcade. Kakeru seems to be happier. As for the teddy bear, it was odd for a guy to be giving another guy a plushie, but well, it was a gift, so he will appreciate it. Suwa always had a soft spot for soft toys, but societal pressures to look be manly meant that he always looked at soft toys in shops, but never ever ended up buying an actual one. Even more unlikely was to receive a soft toy as a gift.

"Hiroto! Dinner time." shouted his mother from downstairs. "Ok!" Suwa then proceed to go downstairs.

On Suwa's bed, a brown coloured teddy bear sat there, smiling cheerfully.