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Chapter 31: A Date? A DATE?!
🕑 Added 2025-07-30 20:31:01 +0000 UTC“!”
Kita Ikuyo froze the moment she heard Yamada Ryo confirm it.
After quickly turning back to her friends and saying, “Sorry, something came up. You guys go ahead without me,” she briskly walked…..more like jogged over to the two of them.
“A-Are you guys really dating already?! H-How long has it been?” she asked, glancing between Yamada Ryo and Aoki Kei.
Aoki Kei, a line of exhaustion visibly twitching on his face, shot a glare at the true culprit—Yamada and let out a sigh.
“She’s just messing around,” he said flatly. “We’re not on a date. I just invited her out for lunch.”
“...”
Clearly unconvinced by Aoki Kei’s explanation, Kita’s gaze snapped right back to Yamada Ryo, who had been the first to drop the bombshell.
Her expression remained unreadable.
After holding eye contact for a couple of seconds, she seemed to weigh the consequences... and then decided to keep fanning the flames.
“We’re dating. It started... maybe two weeks ago?” she said calmly.
“Wha—!”
The idea of cool, aloof Yamada-senpai getting a boyfriend for the first time and reliable Aoki-senpai finally finding someone—it should have been a heartwarming double win.
So why... why did it feel like a dagger through the heart?
Letting out a quiet wail of “I can’t believe I didn’t know for this long,” Kita tried to process the emotional whiplash, then added, “Of course I’ll totally support you two! It’s just... wow, it’s so sudden, I wasn’t ready for this. S-Speaking of which...”
Taking a step back, she glanced between the two of them again, this time her expression filled with awkward curiosity and a hint of blush.
“S-So... how far have you two gone? Holding hands? Hugging? K-Kissing? Or even...?”
“...”
The black line on Aoki Kei’s face grew darker.
He opened his mouth to set the record straight—but once again, Yamada Ryo beat him to it.
“Holding hands?” she mused aloud, almost as if testing the word.
“W-Wait, so you have held hands?!” Kita blinked rapidly, visibly flustered.
Apparently, Kita’s reaction didn’t fully satisfy Ryo’s curiosity, because she tilted her head slightly and continued, voice cool as ever.
“Hugging?”
“You’ve hugged too?!” Kita gasped, her expression swinging wildly.
Clearly entertained by Kita’s escalating expressions, Yamada Ryo was now fully engaged.
“Kiss?”
“W-WHAA?! You kissed?! Did you really kiss?! Senpai?!”
Her lips curled into the tiniest amused smirk.
Ryo paused, then let out a small, deliberate cough.
“Well... actually, we—”
‘Bonk!’
Before she could finish, Aoki Kei promptly delivered a light flick to her head.
Expression exasperated, face still shaded by metaphorical black lines, he muttered, “Yamada-san... enough already.”
Then, after a sigh, he turned to Kita and spoke more seriously, “Really, we’re not dating, and this isn’t a date. She was just messing with you... though, yeah, not exactly in a funny way. Yamada-san, would you please clear things up?”
Holding her head where she’d been lightly bonked, Yamada Ryo mumbled, “We’re not dating. This isn’t a date.”
However...
At this point, it was incredibly hard to take anything either of them said seriously.
Kita looked from Aoki Kei’s serious expression to Yamada’s nod, her face still laced with doubt.
She hesitated, then asked tentatively, “S-So... it’s not a date?”
“Nope,” Aoki Kei said firmly.
“Then... Aoki-senpai, Yamada-senpai, are you planning to hang out around Shibuya after lunch?”
Curiosity—and perhaps a pinch of suspicion gleamed in her eyes as she looked at the pair.
Aoki Kei considered the question, then replied, “We might stroll around a bit. Around 1 PM, we’re heading to the live house for a band practice.”
They had agreed to meet at STARRY for rehearsal that afternoon.
The time wasn’t set in stone, but Kei had always preferred showing up earlier rather than later.
Ryo nodded beside him in agreement.
“I-I see...”
Glancing back at her friends seated across the restaurant, then returning her gaze to the pair before her, Kita paused for a beat.
Then, she spoke up, voice a little unsure but hopeful:
“T-Then... Aoki-senpai, Yamada-senpai... is it okay if I join you guys later?”
But then, as if second-guessing herself, she quickly added, “But! If I’d be a bother or anything, it’s totally fine! I don’t want to intrude...”
“You’re not bothering us,” Aoki Kei said with a shake of his head. “But are your friends okay with it?”
“They’re fine with it!” Kita replied quickly.
Since having one more person along didn’t make a difference to him, Aoki Kei gave a simple nod.
“Then I don’t mind.”
On the other side, Ryo Yamada had already resumed digging into her omurice.
As she stuffed rice into her mouth, she mumbled through a half-full mouth:
“I’ve got no objections…”
“Alright, Aoki-senpai, Yamada-senpai—just wait for me a minute!” Kita Ikuyo called out cheerfully.
With that, she trotted off to the other side of the café to explain and apologize to her classmates.
...
By the time they stepped out of the café, it was already around 12:10 p.m.
Although it was early June and officially summer, Tokyo's rainy season kept the midday temperature pleasantly mild.
The warm sunlight draped lazily over their shoulders, bringing with it a mellow, drowsy calm.
The three of them walked along the streets of Shibuya after leaving the café.
Even though it wasn’t far from Shibuya Station to Shimokitazawa, walking there wouldn’t take too long.
Earlier, they had said something vague about "walking around a bit," but since it was already noon, Aoki Kei suggested they head straight to STARRY in Shimokitazawa instead of wandering aimlessly.
Despite it being lunchtime, the streets were still bustling with people.
After walking for a while, Aoki Kei found himself silently retracting his earlier thought—“Having more people along doesn’t really affect me.”
With the busy streets and the presence of two stunning girls walking beside him, he was attracting far more attention than he would have liked.
Even just standing still, Kita radiated an infectious, cheerful energy that drew people in.
Meanwhile, Yamada’s trendy outfit and striking features made her stand out even more.
Surrounded by two gorgeous girls like this, Aoki Kei quickly became a subject of public interest.
He overheard whispers like “What’s with that guy?” or “Why does he have two girlfriends?” at least five times within the span of a few blocks.
Still, despite the unwanted attention, he kept a cool, indifferent demeanor.
He simply kept walking, pretending not to hear any of it.
Of course, if he could hear it, so could the two girls walking with him.
Yamada didn’t seem to care much.
But Kita, on the other hand, had begun to flush slightly as they walked.
Her cheeks were tinged red, and although both of her companions wore expressions that said “This doesn’t involve me,” she had no choice but to force a calm smile and act like she hadn’t heard a thing.
The three continued onward.
Shibuya’s streets were full of performers—stand-up comedians, street magicians doing bizarre stunts, and musicians singing and playing instruments.
After walking for a while, they were suddenly drawn in by the sound of a street performer’s voice—clear and pleasant, though the guitar accompaniment was a bit clumsy.
Ryo came to a stop.
“Oh… ‘Lemon,’ huh?”
She looked toward the performer with a hint of recognition in her voice.
Aoki Kei nodded.
The singer had a great voice and stayed on pitch.
Aside from their mediocre guitar skills, they were actually quite decent for a street act.
Kita blinked a few times, listening closely. Then her eyes lit up in recognition.
“Ah! That song’s been all over the internet lately! I’ve heard so many covers of it!”
Aoki Kei hesitated.
He glanced toward Ryo, silently asking with a look, “Wait—she doesn’t know?”
But Ryo just tilted her head and gave him a puzzled, “Hm?”
Slightly exasperated, Aoki Kei gave up trying to communicate with the occasionally airheaded girl and turned his attention back to Kita.
“You’ve never heard the original version of the song, Kita-san?”
“The original? I’ve listened to a bunch of covers, but… I don’t think I’ve ever heard the original,” Kita answered, looking a little confused.
“Ah, I see.” Aoki Kei nodded thoughtfully.
He didn’t expect everyone to go out of their way to find the original version of a song—most people just listened casually.
As long as it didn’t interfere with his income, he was actually happy that the songs he “borrowed” were spreading in this world and reaching more ears.
So after a brief moment of curiosity, he let the matter drop.
…But Ryo clearly hadn’t picked up on that intention.
“Huh? You haven’t heard the original? The original singer of this song is Suki-san, you know,” she said nonchalantly.
