4/26 Sun - Port Island station - Afternoon - Kazuki
Somehow, I made it to the station with my lungs intact. Running isn't a weak point for me, but it certainly isn't my strong point. Hordes of people swarm the station ground, hanging out or going to and from the station. Guess it doesn't matter what time or day it is, the station is always going to be a busy place.
I'm on time, somehow, but I can't see her anywhere… Should I look lower for her?
"Kazuki-kun," Fuu-chan calls my name from behind.
"There you are. I was starting to think I showed up at the wrong station."
"Sorry, I'm late," she apologetically bows.
"Nah, it's alright, I just got here."
She's wearing a teal-color coat, and under that, she's wearing a turtleneck. It's a cute outfit, to say the least.
"So, Kazuki-kun, where do you want to go?"
"I was thinking we could go to Changall at Paulownia Mall. If it's okay with you?"
Checked the place out yesterday after Yuka-chan gave it a glowing recommendation.
"Sure. Let's go."
Fuu-chan and I board a train to Paulownia Mall. The trip there was uneventful but I noticed that she was smiling the whole way there. I can't help but smile as well.
Paulownia mall - Changall café - Afternoon - Fuuka
We arrived at Changall. It's full of people near our age since it is Sunday. Kazuki-kun and I had gotten seated a few minutes ago, in a booth at the back of the store. Sitting back here is more than fine for me, I could never imagine sitting at one of the tables in the middle of the cafe. Not to mention it's my first time being here, do I fit with the atmosphere of this place… No, no, now isn't the time for this.
"Kazuki-kun, have you been here before?"
"Nope, but I heard good things about it. What about you?"
"Never, I wanted to come here, but I thought I'd stand out."
"Yeah, I feel you on that one. Good thing we got the back seats, right?"
"Exactly!"
Whoa, I got a bit excited there. I thought he would think I was weird for thinking like that, but I'm glad he agrees with me.
The waitress approaches our table while holding a tray in her hands. "Sorry to keep both of you waiting." She places a tray on our table. Two plates with a slice of cake on them. "Enjoy your dessert."
She leaves without sparing another second… What now? We met up, came here, and ordered some cake, so what do I do next? Is it alright to eat without sharing a word!? Obviously not! I have to strike up a conversation! I can do that.
"So, Kazuki-kun. Where did you live before coming to Port Island?" I ask him, tapping my fingers on my thighs.
"Mikage-cho," he replies.
"Mikage-cho... I think I heard that name before…."
"Oh...you did?" he trails off.
"I…think so. Ah, maybe it's just my imagination."
"Oh... Of course, it is."
Kazuki-kun takes a bite out of his cake. He froze up but immediately played it off… I think I should try and ask him about something else to break away from the topic.
"What do your parents do," I ask from the top of my head.
"Well...umm...they..."
"Was that question too personal?"
"No, not at all."
"You don't need to tell me, I'll understand."
"I don't mind, really… My parents are always working, so they're rarely home at all. Most of the time, they're overseas...away from Japan, far away from me."
A quiet, profound sense of sadness emanates from Kazuki-kun. But it's the type of sadness that's been brewing for a while, the isolating feeling that bars you from the rest of the world, from other people in general… Does he live with the sorrow, and if so, for how long…? I have no right to ask, and even if I want to, I don't want to make him feel worse; I know because I can relate…
"...But it isn't all that bad..."
"Hm?"
A faint smile forms on his face. "Because my cousin, Naoya, was always there for me."
His usual energy came back 100-fold at the mention of his cousin.
"What is he like?"
Kazuki-kun's eyes glimmer with excitement and happiness. My flutters at his smiling face, beaming with joy.
"If I had to describe Naoya, it would be...like a big brother."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but I don't think he likes it all that much. Can't tell you why, but I can't help but see him as a dependable big brother. Although, he tries to act cool, he's actually clumsy when it comes to some things."
"Really? Like at what?"
"Cooking, for one. Whenever he gets in front of the stove…shivers run down my spine. He made rice this one time, and I don't know how, but it ended up all mushy. Like, how does someone screw up making rice?"
"Well…yeah, I wonder."
Note to self: practice my cooking.
"...He also gets on my nerves sometimes, and whenever he plays co-op games, he gets all smug whenever he's playing better than me, and he likes teasing me over the smallest of things." Maybe I'm a bit glad that I'm an only child, I don't know if I could handle a sibling; maybe an older sister, but definitely not a brother. "... In the end though, I still love him like a brother, even if he's clumsy and grating at times, I like those parts of him. Without them, Naoya wouldn't be Naoya."
He stares off into space, wearing a soft smile on his face while reminiscing about his cousin. I'm jealous that he has someone like that in his life…if only I… Ah! That's terrible, I shouldn't be thinking like that. Maybe I am a bit jealous, but I'm happy for him nonetheless.
"Thank you for sharing that with me, Kazuki-kun
"You're welcome. But I don't want to go on about myself. So what about you? Telling me anything and everything about yourself!"
"Oh, well, I mean, it's not all that exciting, but…um… I never said this to anyone, but…I…like…technology!"
I said it. I actually said it! Oh god, oh god, oh god! It's unladylike for a girl to like it!
"Are you tech savvy?"
"Um…I guess so."
Oh, my heart is going to explode! He probably thinks I'm weird now!
"That's pretty cool."
"Huh?"
"Do you have your own PC?"
"Ah, yes! But it's nothing too impressive. It took me a few months of allowances to complete it… Although I was thinking of swapping out my GPU for a newer model, I don't know if it's even compatible with the CPU I'm using right now. If it isn't then it can bottleneck the system's performance, but I'm fairly certain it won't come to that. But sometimes you have to consider whether or not it's worth swapping current parts for newer ones, especially if… "
Kazuki-kun's confusion snaps me out of my rambling… Oh…OH!
My face is hot, burning even. I cover my face, saving whatever dignity I have left. "Sor– sorry! I am so sorry! It just came out and I– I couldn't–"
"It's no problem. I'm actually surprised by how passionate you are about it."
"You…you are?"
"Yeah, I don't think I heard you be as passionate as you are about tech."
"Is that okay? Don't you think it's not feminine?"
"So what? If you enjoy it, then who cares if it is or isn't? If you like it, then that's all that matters."
I always knew it was weird for a girl to like tech to the point of fascination, every other girl in class used to look at me either baffled or strangely whenever I tried to speak to them about it. Girls shouldn't be fascinated by technology, that's what I got from them… It would have been easier to throw my love for it away. But I couldn't, I just couldn't, no matter how weird it was, and I kind of hated myself for that…
"...I love it, I really do."
"Then there you go."
The time on my phone is 4:02 P.M. At six I'll have to make my way home. There's still too much I want to do with him.
"I think we should get going," I say, slipping my phone back into my pocket.
"Sure, but first things first, we can't let this go to waste."
"Ah, you're right, I didn't even touch my cake."
Kazuki-kun starts eating his cake by bisecting its pieces. Will it be okay to eat this? It shouldn't be all that much, but I still have to watch my intake… Hmm, I'll have to risk it.
Port Island station - afternoon - Fuuka
It's going to become dusk soon. We spent most of our time at the mall, playing games, and doing karaoke. The orange sun sinks below the horizon while we sit on a bench, resting up from all the moving around we've done.
"The sun looks beautiful," I tell Kazuki-kun.
"Yeah, too bad looking at it is bad for your eyes," Kazuki-kun points out. "So, Fuu-chan, was this fun for you, or did I bore you to tears?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, I never got to hang out with someone the weekend before, other than Naoya. So, I have no idea if I'm doing this right."
"No, it was fine, today was really fun! To tell you the truth, I was feeling the same; I thought I was boring you during this whole thing. I've been told I can be pretty dull."
"That's not true." He grabs my hand, firmly holding it. "I don't think you're boring at all. I had tons of fun talking to you and being able to hang out with you!" Kazuki-kun is still holding my hand. He finally notices and lets go. He nervously coughs into his hands. "I-I'm sorry," he sheepishly apologizes.
"N-no, it's all right… I didn't mind."
We face away from each other. I don't want him to see how flustered I am.
"H-hey, you wanna…do this again?" Kazuki-kun hesitantly asks. "Next Sunday…you wanna do this again?"
He scratches his cheek as proposes the idea. A bubbly feeling overflows within my heart at the idea.
"I would love to," I reply. I take out my phone to check the time. It's time for me to go home, mother will be angry if I don't return on time.
"Kazuki-kun, I have to go."
"Already?"
"My parents don't want me staying out late... But I..." I don't want to go back, not yet… Maybe it would be okay to stay like this, just for a bit longer. "Kazuki-kun, I know I said I needed to go back now, but can I stay here with you for a bit longer."
I don't want to go back there yet, not while I feel this happy.
"Sure, I can spend another couple of minutes here."
I sit back down and relax on the bench. The sun is setting and people are still out here, trying to go home. I feel a bit tired, maybe it'll be alright if I sleep for a little while. With Kazuki-kun here, I know it's safe to...
5/9 Sa - Kazuki's room - Dark hour - Kazuki
An obnoxiously loud alarm blares on and on in my room, practically telling me to wake up. It must be the alarm system Kirijo-senpai told us about. It's for shadows that are roaming the city in the Dark Hour. They normally stay in Tartarus, and when they come out to the city, it's a big deal.
I put on my uniform and take my sword out of its case. Time to go to the command room.
Mako-kun, Jun, and Yuka-chan meet up on our way to the command room. We enter the room, prepared for whatever is happening.
"We're here," Yuka-chan announces.
"Where is it, me and Hermes will rip it a new one," Junpei expresses his readiness.
"Kirijo-san, where's the target," Mako-kun asks.
"I located a shadow outside of Tartarus; It seems to be at the Port Island station. Normally, I would be more specific about where the shadow is, but unfortunately, I'm unable to pinpoint its exact position until I'm close enough."
"Then you'll just have to come with us," Mako-kun says.
"Yes, that seems to be the case."
Junpei pumps his fist. "Alright, Kirijo-senpai, what you're sayin' is that we have to go in and kick some serious ass!"
Yuka-chan sighs from his simplistic summary. "Junpei."
"Akihiko, you'll stay here and wait for the chairman," Kirijo-senpai orders him.
Shocked and angered by the command, he breaks from his usual cool demeanor. "Wha- Are you kidding me!? I'm going!"
"Akihiko, you're still recovering. If you go you'll only be a hindrance."
He clicks his teeth, admitting that what she said is true. "Fine." Sanada-senpai looks at Mako-kun. "Well, it can't be helped... Yuki, you're in charge."
"Him again," Jun voices a sharp disdain for the decision.
"All right, we wasted enough time, let's move out everyone."
As instructed by Kirijo-senpai, we're heading out for the station. With all the fighting in Tartarus I've been doing, this should be nothing. Time to show everyone what I'm made of!
Bonus: Last-minute prep time.
4/23 Thu - Iwatodai dormitory - Evening
Kazuki: Yuka-chan, thank god you're here.
Yukari: You sound desperate, Kei-kun, what happened?
Kazuki: I need to ask you something.
Yukari: On what?
Kazuki: Okay this is a hypothetical question.
Yukari: Hypothetical, got it.
Kazuki: Alright, so hypothetically speaking, I'm going to hang out with a girl on Sunday and-
Yukari: No way, you already have a girlfriend!
Kazuki: WHAT, no!
Yukari: Why do you sound offended?
Kazuki: I'm not offended!
Yukari: Sure you aren't.
Kazuki: Okay back to the matter at hand.
Yukari: Okay continue.
Kazuki: I'm gonna hang out with a girl on Sunday and I was wondering if you knew any good places?
Yukari: hmmm, maybe "Chagall café."
Kazuki: And where is that?
Yukari: ...At Paulownia mall.
Kazuki: Alright thanks.
Yukari: Why are you thanking me, I thought this was hypothetical.
Kazuki: It is.
Yukari: Sure it is.
Kazuki: It is!
Yukari: Whatever floats your boat.
Kazuki: It does float my boat because it is hypothetical...are you even listening to me?
Yukari: Don't worry, I'll keep this "Hypothetical" date of yours a secret, especially from Stupei.
Kazuki: I...umm...*sigh* thank you.
Yukari: You're welcome.