Chapter Five: “The Princess Wants to Seize the Chance” — Part Four
“The aquarium was fun, wasn’t it.”
“Yes! It really was.”
We stepped out to a beautiful sunset. The days really were getting longer; that wasn’t just my imagination.
I wonder if summer break will mean seeing less of Senpai than now.
Every year until now I’d looked forward to summer break. This year, I was almost afraid of it arriving.
“What do you want to do about dinner?”
“I have plenty of options!”
I pulled out my notebook and spread it open. For this meal with Senpai, I’d researched every nearby restaurant’s menu, price range, and atmosphere down to the last detail.
No blind spots. There had to be something in here she’d want to eat.
“What do you feel like, Himena-chan?”
“Whatever you feel like, Senpai!”
“I appreciate that, but… I’d like you to eat something you actually want too.”
She smiled, just slightly troubled, and I found myself falling for her all over again at how considerate that was.
“…But I genuinely want to eat whatever you want, Senpai. Just thinking, oh, this is what Senpai feels like eating today, makes me happy on its own.”
Being with Senpai was happiness enough on its own; what I wanted to eat barely registered. Honestly, whatever I ate would probably taste like happiness regardless.
That answer probably just left her more confused.
“All right. Then I’ll decide.”
She looked over my notebook and pointed at a place called Sky Café. A five-minute walk from the station, with a solid food menu.
“This place looks like it’ll have plenty of options.”
“Senpai…”
“If we order different things, we can share, right?”
“What?! Really?! Can we do the airplane spoon thing?!”
“I only said share, Himena-chan.”
She laughed elegantly, hand at her mouth, then crouched down to look me in the eye.
“But I suppose I could feed you, if you’d like.”
“Really?!”
“Yes. As long as you actually pick something you want to eat.”
With that, she started walking again. I hadn’t even finished processing how cool she’d just been.
Is Iori-senpai actually unfair, or what?!
Where does the natural Senpai end and the deliberate Senpai begin? I have no idea, and I love that I have no idea!!
Oh no. This is bad. I’m definitely making a strange face right now!
I covered my face with both hands, and Senpai, a few steps ahead, turned back and called my name.
Lit by the sunset, her face glowed in a colour I’d never seen on her before.
“…Could Senpai actually be a goddess…?”
☆★☆★☆★☆★
“Here, say ah.”
The spoon Senpai held out was piled high with omurice. A little large for one bite, but even that was adorable in its own way.
I opened my mouth carefully, making sure nothing spilled. Getting ketchup on my face would be mortifying.
“How is it? Good?”
“Yes! Because you fed it to me, Senpai!”
“I’m glad.”
The feeding effect was doing a lot of work, obviously, but the food itself was genuinely good too. Fluffy egg over ketchup rice packed with chicken, a perfect combination.
“C-can I feed you something too, Senpai?!”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
Senpai opened her mouth. I caught a glimpse of her little fang, and my heart skipped.
The fact that Iori-senpai is sitting in front of me with her mouth open, completely unguarded, is honestly too much.
Even the inside of her mouth is beautiful. Her teeth are perfectly straight.
“Himena-chan? Still waiting.”
“Sorry!”
I scrambled to wind some pasta around my fork. Lifted it slowly, and brought it to her mouth.
“Say… ah…”
Senpai took the bite. It felt a little like feeding a baby bird.
Senpai, a baby bird. Senpai, my baby… yes, that’s not bad at all.
“The pasta’s good too.”
“Want more?!”
There was no way I was letting a feeding opportunity slip by. I quickly wound another forkful, and Senpai laughed, clearly enjoying herself.
“I’ll have more, but you should actually eat too, Himena-chan.”
“I think I could fill up just from watching you eat, Senpai!”
“No you don’t. I’ve never heard of a date like that.”
Ugh…! The word date, coming out of Senpai’s mouth, hits with frightening force.
Both of us thinking of today as a date — just that fact alone made me want to declare it a national holiday.
“Senpai, are you enjoying the date?”
“Yes, I am. It’s been a while since I went out somewhere like this with someone.”
“Club keeps you so busy.”
“Yeah. Probably haven’t gone out like this since last summer.”
Looking at Senpai’s face, I could tell she was genuinely enjoying herself. But whether she was enjoying it in a romantic sense, I couldn’t tell.
Does she actually see me as a real romantic prospect? Or is the word date just something she’s teasing me with, while really thinking of me as a friend?
What kind of face would she make if I confessed properly?
Would she be happy? Confused? Troubled?
Nothing but anxiety, and yet I’d already decided: today was the day I’d say it.
“Senpai.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s order a parfait for dessert too!”
“Sounds good. You should eat plenty today too, Himena-chan.”
“Yes! I’ll get the biggest one they have!”
The thought of today’s total calorie count was a little frightening, but today was special, so it couldn’t be helped.
I needed something sweet to steel my nerve!