Chapter 74 – For Our First Date

The next morning Umi came to pick me up again. Since she was there, I decided to ask her about what happened to Amami-san yesterday.

"Mm? We didn't talk about anything serious. We were just complaining about  some stuff…"

She said as she sipped her coffee. 

"Complaining, huh? …I won't pry too much. Anyway, how is it going with you and Amami-san?"

"Mm… Well, I had a hard time dealing with her for a while, I guess…"

"I see. Then what about now?"

"Uh…"

I noticed her body tensed up at that question.

I asked that question without much thought behind it, but her reaction made me feel suspicious.

I kept my mouth shut and waited for her answer.

"N-now, huh?"

"Mhm."

"Um… You see, Yuu really loves cheesy love stories and the like, so… Uh…"

"…"

"S-Since she kept pestering me about it, I may have accidentally spilled some things about our relationship to her… D-don't blame me, okay?! I-I tried my best to keep my mouth shut…"

"So, what did you tell her?"

"…Everything up to the moment I kissed you in front of the lift…"

"Wow…"

I think I should bribe Amami-san with a lot of sweets later so she wouldn't accidentally spill some things.

And regarding Nozomu's confession; according to Umi, Amami-san calling Umi over was her trying to be as considerate as possible to him since he wasn't exactly a stranger to her. And that was the right call on her part. After all, if Amami-san and Umi came back to the classroom, ate their lunch and pretended that nothing happened, those clowns in the classroom would look down on Nozomu even more than they already did.

However, that also wasn't a good sign for Nozomu either. The fact that she was able to think rationally during that time meant she didn't think much of his confession.

"But still… I never expected that Maki and Seki would become friends… You both live in different worlds, it's really surprising…"

"I mean, you became my friend somehow, it shouldn't be that surprising after what we went through."

"True, true. Anyway, I hope that I can maintain the friends I have right now even after we graduate. After all, genuine friends like that are hard to come by. I have to cherish every one of them."

"Mhm. I agree with you."

Mom, Umi, Amami-san and lastly, Nozomu. The latter was a new addition to my contact list.

Nozomu was the first male friend I've ever made in my life. I'm glad that I became friends with him.

Obviously, I'm also glad that the first friend I've ever made was Umi and our relationship advanced to something that is more than friends. On top of that, we love each other so much… 

"By the way, are you sure you don't need my help? If Seki is serious about Yuu, I'd be happy to help him out."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but we decided to do things on our own for now. Besides, even if you're trying to help us, there's barely anything we could do. That guy is busy with his club and the final exam is coming up… We decided to hold a study session together to prepare for that and our hands are full because of it."

Nozomu got good grades back in middle school, but because he was busy with his club, his grades had slipped into the red.

He got a warning that if he scored in the red again, he'll need to take make-up tests on Christmas, so we decided to hold a study session to prevent that.

"Ah, looks like we're in the same boat. I have to watch over a certain young lady's studying because she keeps getting red marks if I don't."

"Is it Amami-san?"

Amami-san was a genius in anything that she was interested in, especially regarding sports and arts, but for some reason, she was really bad at studying. I heard that whenever she studied for exams, she would fall asleep if Umi wasn't around.

That was why Umi got caught off guard when she found out that Amami-san passed our school's entrance exam.

Honestly, I think she would be fine if she were to show a little bit of interest in her studies.

"Hmm… Since the exam starts next Friday, why don't we hold a study session before that?"

"We? The four of us?"

"Yeah. Me, Nozomu, you and Amami-san."

Umi and I excelled at different subjects, so if the two of us were to work together to teach them, we should be able to cover most of the subjects.

Though, if both Nozomu and Amami-san were uncomfortable with the arrangement, we could always call it off.

"Got it, I'll contact Yuu later. The place is your house, right?"

"Yeah. Also, tell her that if she comes, I'll make some snacks for her."

"Mm, that's good bait, that girl is a glutton."

"Says you."

"Ehehe~"

So, my schedule for next week would be studying for the test, and the group study sessions we planned.

…My schedule for this week though…

This is actually my main concern.

"U-Uh… Umi?"

"Mm?"

I looked at her, who was currently fixing my bed hair. This somehow became our morning routine, but I'm not complaining about it.

She's so cute. I'm not even talking about her face because that's an obvious thing, but her mannerisms, her personality, everything about her is cute. I'm amazed that even though she's a glutton, she could still maintain a healthy looking body.

She's normally serious, but she could become quite mischievous around the people she cherishes.

To be taken care of by this kind of girl, I feel blessed.

"What is it? Is there something on my face?"

"Nah, I just want to say that you are cute… Wait, no, that's not what I was going to say."

"What is it then, Maki-chya~n~?"

"Don't treat me like a kid!"

"But Maki-chya-n, you look so cute right now~ I want to hug my little baby boy~"

She teased me with that signature mischievous grin of hers.

I have a feeling that I'll be teased by Umi like this for the rest of my life. As a man, I should feel shameful for not having a backbone to bite back at her, but at the same time, I don't mind being like this with her.

"Umi, do you have plans for the weekend?"

"Weekend? Like Saturday and Sunday?"

"Yeah… If you're free… Do you wanna go watch a movie with me?"

"…Are you asking me out on a date?"

"…Well, something like that… You asked me about it during the festival, remember? I thought that I should be the one who asked this time."

At that time, we were interrupted by Amami-san and her friends from middle school and because of that I couldn't give her a proper answer.

"Uh… Since this will be our first date, I really want to say yes to you, but…"

"You have plans with Amami-san?"

"Yeah, with Nina too. We are going to buy dresses for the Christmas party…"

"I see… Too bad then."

I shoulda asked her earlier…

She wasn't like me, she had a social life, of course she couldn't agree to sudden invitations like this.

"Ah, no biggie… We can do it next month… Huh, Umi?"

"Sorry, Maki, I need to call someone right now, give me a second."

She immediately stormed out the room with her phone in her ear.

Then around three minutes later.

She came back with a happy expression on her face.

"Okay, I freed up my schedule. Now we can go on our date~"

"Huh? You sure?"

"Yeah. I told them that you asked me out on a date and she told me to go with you, so here we are~"

Isn't buying a dress for the party an important matter? This girl… What if you run out of time to buy it?

"Well… Thank you for freeing up your schedule. We'll go on Saturday, okay?"

"Yeah. Also, free up your schedule on Friday."

"It's always free, but… Why?"

"We're going to go on a date, so we're going to buy you some clothes."

"…Huh?"

"Huh?"

Umi gave me a look of disbelief.

Do I really need new clothes for it? We won't go too far, just the nearby cinema. Maybe, we would go around the city for a while after that, but that should be it, no?

"Are you thinking of going on a date with me wearing what you normally wear?" 

"…Can't I?"

"Of course you can't."

"B-but…"

"N-O."

"…Okay…"

That decided my plans for Friday.

I need to tell mom about this so she can give me some money.