Date #4

Minako Aino

Minako was inside a cafe, sitting at a table by herself. She was wearing a simple green dress with white ballerina-like slippers and was waiting for a certain someone to arrive.

While the blonde was waiting, she strategized for what she was about to embark on.

"All right, this is it, Minako. Your second chance to get the perfect date," Minako thought internally. "Your goal: to not only wow Harusuke with your wisdom while showing him a good time, but most of all, to get the one thing that's considered the biggest prize... in your standards, a head pat!"

She clenched her hands in determination.

"Those two circus flunkies from before may have spoiled it the last time, but there's nothing to get in my way this time! I've taken all the necessary measures, and thanks to watching the others with their practice dates, I'm ready to make mine a success this time! No more louse ups and no more surprises!"

She then glanced around the cafe.

"And if I know Usagi and the others, they're likely watching us somewhere out of sight. But then again, it's not like I have anything to hide. Either way, this practice date will be a success! I'll make sure to wow Harusuke with my charm and my experience this time! You got this, Minako! You're the goddess of love! Fight on, and win!"

As she psyched herself up, a familiar someone approached her table.

"There you are, Minako. I was wondering where you were."

Minako looked up and found Harusuke in front of her in a gray button-up shirt, blue pants, and a gold baseball cap.

"O-Oh! Hey, Harusuke!" stammered Minako. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"So, ready to get our practice date started?" said Harusuke. "I'm curious about what you have in mind for us today and what dating tips you've got for me."

Minako importantly cleared her throat. "That's right. But don't forget, we're also going to have fun. And this will also be a good chance to see what you've learned."

Harusuke chuckled. "Sounds good to me. Shall we go?"

The two then departed the cafe. But as you would expect, Usagi and the rest of her group poked their heads up from behind some shrubbery that obscured their table.

"All right. So, this will be Minako's second practice date with Harusuke," said Makoto. "I wonder what she's got in mind."

"And let's just hope those two won't have any uninvited guests like last time," Rei said.

"That's why we're going to tail them," said Usagi. "It's not only to make sure those two are safe but also to make sure if an enemy shows up, we'll be there to help them."

"Don't even think about justifying this," Luna quipped. "It's still spying, plain and simple."

"And yet here we are, sticking around, not stopping them," sighed Artemis wryly. "Not that they'll listen to us anyway."

Minako and Harusuke walked along their way, first stopping at an ice cream stand and buying some cones.

Minako got herself two scoops of lemon and cherry, while Harusuke got vanilla and chocolate.

As they walked while eating their ice cream, they checked out some of the shops.

While they did, Minako watched Harusuke as he ate his, waiting for an opportunity to arrive.

"All right. The moment I see even the smallest spec of ice cream on Harusuke's face, I'll get him with the old Romance–Inducing Smudge wiping technique," she thought. "I've seen Rei pull this off, so there's no reason I can't! And when Harusuke gets dazzled by it, maybe I'll get a head pat!"

But Minako was so focused on waiting for the chance she didn't see that she was about to run into a sandwich board sign that stood outside of a shop. However, before she could, Harusuke cried out.

"Hey, Minako! Watch it!"

The next thing Minako knew, she was grabbed by the shoulder, forcing her to stop. But because she stopped so suddenly, Minako found herself smooching her ice cream, which left a big smudge on her lips.

"Wh-Whoops. Sorry," apologized Harusuke. "I noticed you were about to run into that sign, and I didn't want you to run into it."

"Th-Thank you," said Minako.

Harusuke then noticed the stain of ice cream on Minako's lips, and without giving it much thought, he used his free hand to wipe it off with his thumb and lick it off.

Minako stiffened in response while Harusuke blushed slightly.

"S-Sorry!" he apologized. "I noticed you had some ice cream on you, and I wiped it away without thinking!"

"N-No. I-It's OK," Minako stammered. "Th-thanks for getting that." She then gave Harusuke a nudge on the ribs. "It looks like someone's learned well from the past practice dates. That was quite the bold move there, Harusuke."

Harusuke could only laugh awkwardly.

But despite giving him praise, Minako couldn't help but curse inside.

"Dang it! He was able to use the Romance-Inducing Smudge trope before I could! No matter! I've still got a few more tricks up my sleeve to dazzle him!"

Their next stop was at another clothing store outside of the Juuban District. Inside, the two of them looked around at different clothing and accessories. But while they did, Minako was busy coming up with another idea.

"OK. So maybe that last one didn't work out, but that doesn't mean there are other ways to dazzle Harusuke," she thought. "I'm going to find something to wear to knock his socks off!"

She then looked around, trying to find anything to wear, until her eyes fell upon some underwear on display a few feet away. It was an orange two-piece with polka dots on it. When she saw it, she began picturing herself wearing that same underwear in front of Harusuke, causing him to fawn all over her and give her a bit more than a head pat.

Then, Minako went red in the face while growing hot with embarrassment.

"N-No way! There's absolutely no way I can do that! I'm not that desperate!" she squeaked. "So let's try and stop picturing those kinds of fantasies, OK?!"

Harusuke then approached Minako. "Hey, Minako. Have you found anything to try on?"

Minako jumped. "O-Oh! I, um, n-no. I haven't," she stammered. "I can't seem to find anything."

"Well, you want me to pick something for you?" suggested Harusuke. "Or maybe you have something in mind for me?"

"N-No! That won't be necessary!" said Minako. "Let me browse around some more."

Harusuke blinked but shrugged. "All right, no rush or anything," he said. "In the meantime, I've got some clothes I want to try on, and I would like to get a second opinion, so I'll be in the fitting rooms if you need me."

He then left and went inside the fitting rooms.

Minako then started to fret. "Sh-Shoot! I have to find something to wear before Harusuke's finished! Come on, think!"

She frantically looked through the dresses until she picked a random dress. But as she was about to go into the dressing rooms, Harusuke came out.

He now wore black pants, a white T-shirt, a red button-down shirt, and a tan fedora hat with a gray band.

"Say, Minako. What do you think of this?" Harusuke asked as he posed a bit. "I wasn't sure whether or not this would look good on me, but since you're good with fashion, I'd like your opinion."

But upon seeing him, Minako couldn't help but stare with eyes full of wonder, believing him to be the most dashing and handsome thing she had ever seen.

"Oh, wow…" was all she could mumble.

"Um, Minako, you're going to have to give me more than that," Harusuke chuckled. "When you just say "Oh, wow," I can't tell if you think it looks good or horrible."

"N-no! I mean, you look great!" Minako stammered out. "I… almost couldn't tell if it was you."

"Great?! That's a major understatement! He looks like a hunk!" Minako squealed in her thoughts. "He looks so fabulous. I want him to buy that outfit to see him pose for me!"

Then she realized.

"Wait a second! What am I thinking?! I'm the one that's supposed to be dazzling Harusuke, not the other way around! He's totally flipped the book on me again! Is this what it means when the student is surpassing the teacher?! I have to try and salvage this!"

She went straight into the fitting rooms and hurriedly put on what she picked out.

"Hey, Harusuke! Let's see what you think about this? Dazzling enough for you?"

However, when she came out of the fitting room, Minako was anything but dazzling.

She wore a tube dress with a long, puffy fur coat, high heels, and a long feathery boa around her neck.

When Harusuke saw her, he couldn't help but blink as he stared. Minako noticed this, and when she saw what she was wearing, she couldn't help but go bright red with embarrassment.

"Well, uh, it's different, in my opinion," said Harusuke politely. "But I don't think it suits you, Minako."

The red-bowed blonde could only hang her head in shame and defeat.

Their third stop was a cafe for lunch.

While sharing a table, Minako and Harusuke ate lunch together, enjoying the food and drinks. Minako had omurice, while Harusuke had pasta. Minako was still up to her schemes.

"OK. So maybe I ended up embarrassing myself back there, but as the saying goes, if you don't succeed at first, do it and do it again! This time, I'll go for the spoon-feed technique! I'll take a bite of my lunch and then feed it to Harusuke without him realizing! Then, when I tell him, he'll have to praise me and give me a head pat!"

She ate a few more spoonfuls until she took another and prepared to give some to Harusuke.

"Hey, Harusuke. Wanna try some of my omurice?" offered Minako.

"Sure. I don't mind," said Harusuke.

But as Harusuke opened his mouth and Minako prepared to feed him, something went wrong again. The spoonful of omurice slipped off its spoon and landed right in the middle of Harusuke's lap, leaving a stain on his pants.

Minako let out a screech in alarm. "I'm so sorry! It was an accident!"

"Nah, don't worry about it," soothed Harusuke. "It happens."

He then stood up from the booth and lifted his shirt slightly to expect the damage. However, while he did, he inadvertently exposed his belly button and a bit of his abs, which didn't go unnoticed by Minako.

When she saw it, the blonde couldn't help but go bright red, and her heart seemed to stop.

"I think I can wash this out in the bathroom," said Harusuke. "Just give me a minute, OK?"

"U-Um, yeah. Sure," stammered Minako.

Harusuke then went away. But while he did, Minako was more happy than disappointed with her failed attempt.

"That may have failed, but in a way, I felt like I won in some way," she murmured quietly in a daze. "Thank you, universe."

While Minako was lost in a daze, she didn't see that a few onlookers over at the next booth were also blushing, having seen everything that transpired.

After that, Harusuke and Minako continued walking to their final destination for their practice date.

Minako was upset.

"I can't believe this! Every time I try to make a move, it blows up in my face!" Minako thought indignantly. "Is this another attack by the enemy, or is this some writer's idea of a joke just to make me suffer?! I'm making myself look totally uncool here! I'll never be able to get a head pat at this rate!"

But she wasn't giving up, determined to somehow find a way to get a head pat.

Harusuke then noticed Minako scowling. "Hey, you doing OK, Minako?" she asked. "You seem kinda down."

"O-Oh! Don't worry! I'm fine!" reassured Minako. "I was just… thinking about where to go next! That's all."

Minako looked around, scanning the area for anywhere else to go.

Then, her eyes fell upon a large building. Its sign depicted a bowling ball knocking over a pin, and the words flashed: RAIJIN AMUSEMENT, showing that it was a bowling alley.

An idea then popped into Minako's head. "That's it! Why didn't I think of this before?!"

"Hey, Harusuke, we're going to have a little bowling competition," she said with a confident smirk. "Whoever loses has to do whatever the winner says. You game?"

Harusuke was a little caught off guard by the challenge but agreed.

ONE BOWLING GAME LATER…

Minako and Harusuke had a lot of fun with their game, but in the end, Minako won, much to her overwhelming delight.

"Yes! Victory goes to the goddess of love and beauty!" Minako cheered.

"Man… I guess that means I lose," Harusuke sighed. "Although I have to admit, it was pretty fun. But since I lost, I must do whatever you say, right? Just please don't make it too outlandish."

Minako gave a cat-like grin. "Oh, believe me. I'm sure it's something you won't mind doing and what I've been wanting alllll day."

Harusuke blinked nervously as Minako stared at him, ominously silent until she stated her wish.

"I want you to give me a head pat!"

Harusuke stared. "Huh?" was all he could say.

"You heard me," Minako said. "Give me a head pat and tell me I did a good job while you're at it."

"But… is that seriously all you want?" asked Harusuke. "I would have thought you'd have me do something like buy you more sweets or have me do something silly."

"Of course, that's all!" Minako snapped. "Besides, I was really trying, you know! After all those times I goofed up on our date, I wanted to show you a good time after the way our practice date ended!" She paused, pouting while poking her fingers. "But then again, I guess you can say the legend has happened again, so I probably don't deserve it."

Harusuke paused before starting to laugh, much to Minako's disdain.

"First of all, it's "history repeats itself," Minako," he said. "And secondly, that didn't happen today. If it did, we would have been attacked by the Dead Moon Circus or something like that. And… sure, there were a few hiccups here and there, but no date has to be picture-perfect. In fact, it's what makes it fun. I mean, that's the point of a date. And I had a lot of fun today."

"Did you really?" Minako asked, cheering up a bit.

"Yup," said Harusuke. "I'd say you succeeded with this practice date. Therefore…"

He reached out, put his hand on Minako's head, and stroked it gently.

"You did a good job, Minako. You should be proud. And thank you."

As he petted her head, Minako felt her heart pound in her chest, and her eyes sparkled happily.

"This is even better than I could have imagined!" Minako squealed in her thoughts. "I feel like my heart's going to fly out of my chest!"

She closed her eyes in bliss as she smiled giddily.

"This was totally worth it~!"