Chapter Five — Part One
“Himena-chan, shall we head straight to the aquarium?”
“Yes! Oh, but Senpai, aren’t you hungry? Have you had lunch yet?”
“No. Things were pretty hectic, so I haven’t eaten.”
“The aquarium has a food court with all sorts of aquarium-themed dishes! And around here too, I’ve got every restaurant listed by cuisine and price range!”
I hurriedly pulled out my notebook, and Iori-senpai’s eyes went wide.
“You researched that much?”
“Yes! I wanted today to be something you’d really enjoy, Senpai.”
“…I see.”
She murmured it and suddenly looked away.
Wait?! Was Senpai put off?! Was all that preparation just creepy?!
What do I do. Maybe I should have kept the research to myself and just smoothly led her to a restaurant instead.
“U-um, well, that is…”
“Thank you, Himena-chan.”
“I love you…”
The words came out before I’d thought them through, and Senpai laughed at the non-sequitur.
But what was I supposed to do?! Faced with a smile like that, of course I’d say it! Anyone would fall in love!
“Since we’re here, why don’t we eat lunch at the aquarium?”
“Lunch?!”
“Yes, lunch.”
“Does that mean you’ll have dinner with me too?!”
This was going far too well already.
☆★☆★☆★☆★
“Wow, this aquarium is amazing!”
I’d practically memorised the website from staring at it so much, but seeing it in person was still a surprise.
Because this place had a carousel. In an aquarium!
The Shinagawa aquarium we’d come to wasn’t especially large, but for some reason it had a carousel, and the dolphin show had excellent reviews.
I’d already checked the showtime, of course.
“What do you want to do, Senpai? Ride the carousel? Or follow the suggested route first?”
I opened the pamphlet from the entrance, and Senpai’s expression turned slightly awkward.
“…Could we get food first? I’m hungry.”
“Of course! The food court’s on the second floor, up that escalator.”
“You really do know this place well, Himena-chan.”
“I’ve run the simulation in my head plenty of times!”
In my imagination, I’d already been on this aquarium date with Iori-senpai close to a hundred times. Which meant I should be ready for absolutely anything.
We moved smoothly to the food court. Past the lunchtime rush, so seats were easy to find.
“What do you want to eat, Senpai?”
The food court sold aquarium-themed dishes — seal stew, penguin curry, dolphin salad.
There were normal options too, but given the setting, I wanted to see Senpai try something themed.
“Have you already decided, Himena-chan?”
“Yes, I’ll have whatever you’re having, Senpai!”
Eating the same thing meant something to talk about, and surely brought us closer too.
And anything tasted good as long as I was eating it with Senpai!
“How about that one, then?”
She pointed at the penguin curry — rice shaped like a penguin, served with regular curry. The colour was ordinary enough, and it looked more appetising than some of the stranger options.
“Perfect!”
We bought two and found an open table. Before Senpai could pick up her spoon, I scrambled for my phone.
“Should we take a photo, since we’re here?!”
“Oh, good idea.”
Senpai started photographing the curry, naturally enough. But of course, my real target was her.
I needed as many photos of date-mode Iori-senpai as I could get.
“I’ll take one of you too, Himena-chan.”
“Oh, me?”
“Yes.”
It was going into her camera roll, so I needed to make sure I looked good.
“Um, if you could get my right side…!”
“Sure, though you’re cute from any angle.”
“What—”
“There, got it.”
She showed me the screen, and there I was, caught completely off guard. Not flattering, obviously.
“Um, this one’s a bit—”
“It came out cute.”
She looked so pleased with it that I couldn’t bring myself to ask her to delete it.
I really didn’t want a photo like that sitting in her camera roll, but saying so would only make things awkward.
“You dress differently in your own clothes than I expected, Himena-chan.”
Senpai glanced at my outfit while eating her curry.
“I thought you’d go for something flashier.”
It was true — normally I leaned toward brighter colours, more pink and red than white, and I loved frills and lace.
“I got something new for today, since it’s a date.”
“I see.”
“I asked Yuuri to help me pick yesterday. She helped me figure out what would work for an aquarium date.”
“…Oh. Yuuri-chan’s kind, isn’t she.”
Wait, did I just accidentally make this about Yuuri?! I should have been making the case for how cute I am, not how kind Yuuri is!
“Th-that said, I’d love to know more about what you like, Senpai, so I can plan better for next time. What kind of clothes do you like?!”
“On you, you mean?”
“Yes!”
Was Senpai just not that interested in my outfit choices? No, but she was on a date with me, so surely she cared at least a little?
For the record, I’d love Senpai in absolutely anything. Cool outfits like today’s, or the adorable maid uniform from before.
Though anything too cute, or anything too revealing — I’d want that only for me. I never wanted anyone else seeing that.
“I think a beret would suit you, Himena-chan.”
“A beret?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll wear nothing but berets for the rest of my life starting tomorrow.”
“Not to school, though.”
“…Th-then, maybe, on our next date…”
My heart sped up as I said it. My hands had started trembling, and I tucked them quietly under the table.
What if she said there wasn’t going to be a next one.
“Sure. I’ll look forward to it.”
Senpai nodded easily and finished off the rest of her curry. I hurried to eat the rest of mine too. Even on a date, I couldn’t make her wait around for me.
“Shall we go?”
We returned our trays and left the food court. A couple walked past us, arms linked, and it struck me again that this really was a date spot.
“Iori-senpai.”
“Yes?”
“Were you looking forward to today too, Senpai?”
“Of course. I was thinking about what to wear since yesterday too, you know.”
Smiling, Senpai took my hand again, just like before.
So this is what it feels like, going on a date with someone you love this much.