181 Bygones 2

She had a good point that he couldn't believe that he didn't think of it first. It would be mean of him to show up at a birthday part without a gift. So the boy quickly agreed with no hesitation when she suggested they go to the mall together after school the next day to shop for presents.

Which is what they did after classes were finished. The pair headed off to the mall instead of their houses to go looking for what a young girl in elementary school would love.

Arata was glad to be able to have a bit of fun outdoors with her. It seemed they rarely hung out outside of his obligations as a babysitter. In fact, this weekend would see him take that day off as all of the children were going to that part. Though, funnily enough, the two of them were going to be practically doing the same thing at her house. Just under the guise that they were at a party.

"Looks like there's going to be a lot of people coming over." He engaged with small talk with her as they entered the shopping center.

"It's just her classmates, that all." Yuriko downplayed it as she viewed it as just another birthday.

"But it's still nice to see." He remembered the first time he met the little girl. She was so shy, it seemed Yurisa was afraid the whole was going to get her. There was a sense of pride for him to see her grow some confidence throughout the year. That nearly mirrored with him opening up to others as well.

"You really like to brag about her." She took note of his tone. "Even though she's my sister."

"With how often I see her, it kind of feels like she's the little sister I've never had." Not to sound weird about it when talking to an actual relative. Though, there was a bit of a unintentional statement behind his direct one. That what he said might come across as him only seeing Yuriko as a sister as well.

"Sure, whatever." It wasn't lost on her. While Arata had calmed himself down since yesterday. Therefore not trying to dig deeper into her words or actions about their current outing. The boy did understand there was a legitimate reason for the two of them to be hanging out and shopping together. However, that wasn't how she was necessarily viewing this.

It wasn't easy for Yuriko to ask him out like this. Sure, it wasn't a real date. Neither of them were dressed for the occasion and there certainly weren't going to be anything romantic going on. Yet, this was one of those rare chances to actually be alone with the boy since there were so many people around in his life.

As much as she hated to admit it. She was real jealous of Akiba when those two were caught on their little outing. Of course he didn't view it as a date because he was told that they were just hanging out. But she could tell after that girl admitted to her feelings that there was more to it from Akiba's perspective.

So that was how Yuriko was going to approaching this so-called 'non-date'. There were going to be some hints here and there that should catch his attention. Surely, he wasn't as dumb as Yogi, so this boy should notice them when he saw them, right? Well, that said, this was still Yuriko they were talking about. She was never good at making her feelings known, no matter how subtle or blunt.

"I know what I said earlier." He chuckled sheepishly. "She is actually your sister, so do you have any ideas of where we should go?"

"This store should be fine." She directed them inside a place filled with children's toys, primarily that for those who were nearly teens. "I was planning on getting her some headphones because she's really getting into listening music on the radio." Which were getting Yuriko's nerves, so this was more for her, rather than the birthday girl.

"Hope you don't mind waiting on me while I look around then." He said as they seperated for a moment. She went over to pay, while Arata headed inside one of the aisles to begin his search. This wasn't something that he had ever gotten used to, so the boy was unsure of what to get for her.

"Well, I hope you don't make me wait on you forever." Yuriko said as she returned to him holding a wrapped box. "If you can't think of anything, I can just pick something out and we can leave."

"I'm surprised you're in such a hurry to leave me." He talked to her as he squatted down, peering over the items for sale. Arata looked over to her, which given his level gave him a nice view of her wonderfully smooth legs.

"Are you checking me out?" She spoke in an insulted tone.

"No, I was just trying to talk to you." He wasn't lying. Even though she kind of wanted her accusation to be true, another part of her wanted to just yell at him so that he wouldn't get the idea she wanted him to check her out. Yuriko hated this side of her, but what else could she do? The girl got too used to doing it to hide how she truly felt during her time growing up in a school where everyone was rough and a delinquent.

"Just hurry up, okay?" She tried changing the subject. "I'm getting impatient."

"Okay, okay." He replied, grabbing a notebook from the shelves. "Since she's getting older, I think there's things she won't want to say to you anymore."

"A diary?" She looked at him unimpressed. "I know you had one when you were a kid, but I doubt my sister's as lame as you."

"I think she'll like it." He defended his choice as he walked past her to the register. Now she was starting to get on his nerves. Which was a shame for her as most of what she was saying wasn't serious. As in, she didn't mean it, but her mind just had to push him away because of her feelings. "Looks like that's all we need to do for now." It was a short time they spent together, but that was to be expected given they had a goal in mind.

"Well…" She wasn't sure how to continue on with this so-called date. It shouldn't be difficult for someone to just say perhaps they should grab some food together. Or that they could go out and play at the arcade. "You can go ahead on home."

"Really?" He was surprised she didn't want to walk home with him today. That seemed to be something normal people would do considering the route they were taking back. "I guess if that's what you want…" A part of Arata wanted to ask if she wanted to come along with him. Though, the boy didn't want to push her on something she didn't want to do. It was a pain of trying to decipher the signs brought about between people still trying to figure out themselves.

"Yeah, I'll see you later." He wasn't trying to convince her otherwise. Now Yuriko was worried that perhaps he didn't like her as much as she would've liked. As Arata left, she headed to sit alone by herself on a bench just outside the mall. The gift she got her sister sat besides her as she stewed upon her thoughts.

The girl sat with her head hung down in disappointment. Why did she keep getting in her own way? Or, did he not return her feelings? There were always questions going on in her head that kept influencing the way she act with everyone. All she could do was act on impulse, and when she tried to something that she thought she wanted to do, her body held her back.

No wonder he wouldn't try to put any moves on her. Aside from the fact he was a reserved individual, there was also what she said to him about how she felt about him. After all, she did still kind of liked Yogi, that boy was cute. But there was something she kept wanting out of Arata. He was someone who really meant a lot to her after all the time spent together with the kids.

But perhaps that was all she was to him even after telling him the truth. They always were hanging around children, so she was just a co-worker to him. Someone who was nice enough to help him with a neighborhood job. It didn't help that even during those peaceful times, she would have insults sent his way when he would say something that could remotely be taken the wrong way.

Just once, she wished she could get over herself. Just once, Yuriko wished she could be honest with her feelings. That was all she could possibly ask for now with boys she liked. The ones she wanted to date so she could experience her youth to the fullest.

"…" As she thought about what she viewed as a pitiful existence from her. Tears began to drip down to her legs as she continued to keep her head down. Now to hide away her crying in the middle of a public place. "Arata…" She said his name out loud as if he was standing right there. "I guess I have an uglier thinking face than you."