Chapter seven. Getting to know relatives and a handsome baby

The next item on Hideki's suicide list… That is, of course, the ideal date from Hideki-kun's dreams was to "sit in a trendy cafe." Plus, it was already late in the morning; neither Hideki nor Kyoko had eaten anything since the morning, so it was time for Hideki to pay back a little for Kyoko's own cooked ben-to. In general, he had two main breakfast options prepared at once. Of course, one of the options did not fulfill the "sit in a trendy cafe" item on the list, but both of them fit the "have breakfast with a girl in public" item. But Hideki still believed that Ame-san should not suffer on a date either. She shouldn't suffer too much; it's enough for her that they are together in public.

"Ame—san," he said to Kyoko, still sitting on the bench, "do you prefer a traditional or Western breakfast?" Not far from the Aquarium, there is a snack bar with traditional dishes and a trendy cafe, but you must walk there a little. There were good reviews about both, but the cafe is a little more popular.

Kyoko hesitated a little and looked down. Her gaze darted past Hideki, and she glanced at her phone. Finally, after a rather long pause, she spoke.

—Hideki-kun, I think I'd like to go to a cafe if you don't mind..." she added the last words barely audibly.

"Ame—san, I suggested it myself. Hideki smiled stiffly, and this slightly stiff smile seemed surprisingly beautiful to Kyoko.

After all, Ame-san was somehow too shy and modest for a girl who confessed "as punishment," and Hideki couldn't get it out of his head.

Even though it was a day off, the time was still earlier, but finding a place in the cafe took work. They were lucky; a perfect window seat was vacated just a few seconds after they entered. A couple of high school students walked past them. The first was a lovely girl with long black hair, who had a too calm, almost icy expression, dressed in an expensive pantsuit and a black jacket, holding in her hands, in addition to her purse, a long umbrella in a case. She was followed by a guy dressed more simply: a bright jacket and a simple T-shirt with a cartoon rabbit pattern under it. However, the girl's expression was icy only until the guy said something softly to the girl, smiling brightly himself. It happened just at the moment when this older couple was not far from Hideki and Kyoko, who were waiting for the opportunity to sit down. After that, all the icy expression left the older girl's face; she laughed merrily, grabbed the guy by the hand, and dragged him outside, still laughing.

Hideki could only envy such a good relationship between an unknown and dissimilar couple. And he was surprised to find that Ame-san's expression was similar to his own. An expression of envy, resentment, and humility passed over his partner's face. Hideki was surprised by the intense emotions on the girl's face, but he pulled himself together in time. Just by the time the waitress led them to where the same guy and the older girl had been sitting shortly before. Because of this, their relationship seemed even more fake to Hideki than before. Even more unsuitable for him.

The place itself was beautiful. They were sitting in the center of a rather large window, which was located on the opposite side from the entrance, facing the sea, and even some part of the sea was visible, albeit very far away.

Hideki and Kyoko were much more nervous than usual and only managed to order sandwiches and drinks from the waitress, who came up rather quickly. While waiting, everyone was thinking about their things and waiting for the order to be delivered to their table relatively quickly, passing in complete silence. This silence was not particularly uncomfortable, and it did not last long enough for them to feel uncomfortable, and soon it was replaced by the absorption of food.

After a while, Hideki no longer felt so uncomfortable. However, he was still a little nervous and came to his senses when he destroyed his sandwich and failed a possible item from the list: "Share food during breakfast." Perhaps not because of nerves; they were both too hungry; after all, they had been on their feet since early morning. All the time they were wandering around the aquarium, they didn't have time to eat, so the fact that they were both hungry was not surprising.

Deciding that he needed to fix the situation a little, which was about to become awkward, he reminded himself that he had to create exciting memories at all costs and was finally able to speak casually. The rule, if you need to figure out what to talk about, talk about the weather, which he read about in some book about the British, was quite applicable here.

— How do you like the weather here, Ame-san? It's a little different from our city…

The English method of starting a conversation was quite effective because Kyoko quickly picked up the conversation.

— It's warmer here than here. The sea has a lot of influence, I think. Well, our city is still higher. It's probably really cool here in the summer. I haven't been able to get to the sea since the end of elementary school. Thank you, Hideki-kun. Even though it's autumn now, I still like it. Kyoko Ame smiled brightly, and this smile knocked all thoughts of a "fake date," mandatory items, and so on out of Hideki's head.

"Do I look wrong somehow, Hideki—kun?" Ame—san's expression changed, and Hideki realized that he had been staring at her face for quite some time without saying a word.

— No, it's okay, Ame-san, I'm sorry, Ame-san.

It is unknown how much longer Hideki-kun would have continued to apologize but was stopped by a polite:

— Do you want to order dessert, dear visitors? — the cafe was too Americanized, and it gently hinted to them, "If they want to leave."

"Dessert! Hideki thought, dessert! Let the item "exchange food at breakfast is a failure"; there is also an option "try dessert from each other!".

— We want to! Hideki replied clearly, remembering the exciting desserts he had seen, "The Blue Sea is for me, and Ame—san, there is a very popular Sea Breeze with wild berries here; I highly recommend it.

— Okay, whatever you say, Hideki-kun, — Kyoko said, a little puzzled by such pressure, — Well then, I want another portion of green tea.

—And coffee with milk for me,— Hideki summed up the order. "Thanks for reminding me about the drinks, Ame-san.

Having estimated the possible development of events, Hideki rejected the option of "spoon-feeding"; there was no chance he would die of embarrassment.

After the dessert arrived, Kyoko tasted it and thanked Hideki:

Hideki-san, thank you. It's delicious!

"Can I try it too, Ame—san?" Hideki spoke calmly outwardly, but inside, he was exploding with embarrassment.

— Kyoko's embarrassment was more clearly visible, although she did not object.

Moreover, when Hideki looked at the dessert pushed towards him, he realized that Ame-san had handed him the dessert along with the spoon she was eating with… She realized this herself when she handed the dessert to him, and now she stared intently at that very spoon, gradually blushing. Hideki hoped he didn't blush himself and moved his dessert towards Kyoko. He also left his spoon on the plate that he pushed to her.

He could barely taste it. My heart started beating fast when I tasted Ame-san's dessert; with the second spoonful, the heartbeat subsided a little; it was no longer an indirect kiss and calmer.

"It's delicious," he said softly

—Yes," Ame—-san answered him just as quietly.

When they returned the dessert to each other, he mentally noted two points of good memories at once: "exchange food with a girl" and "indirect kiss," and despite all his embarrassment and nervousness, he even smiled a little.

"Where would you like to go now, Ame-san?" — The cafe door closed behind them, slightly leveling the embarrassment about having breakfast together and the first (for both) indirect kiss.

— At the sea, Hideki-kun was visible from the window, but I wanted to take a closer look from very far away. You don't mind?

"It's okay, Ame-san. If I remember correctly, we need a bus that departs from there," Hideki waved his hand. Still, he had prepared well.

It took them some time to get to the dam, where a wide pedestrian path ran just a few dozen meters from the shore. It was already quite late, and the whole place was packed with people. Many were running or jogging, a flock of schoolchildren flew by on skateboards, couples were walking and about their age, the end of middle school — the beginning of high school, and older, the end of high school or students of the local university, like the one they saw in the cafe.

First, they walked one way, and then the other along the dam, stopped, and sat down on one of the benches in the distance, from which they could watch the waves. The wind blowing from the sea gradually calmed down, and it was not cold to sit, although at first, Kyoko unconsciously clung to Hideki, who was sitting next to her. It was already noon, but neither Kyoko nor Hideki wanted to leave.

The autumn sea was stormy; foamy waves stretched both to the left and right as far as the eye could see, and despite the precise day, it looked gloomy and gray.

"Is everything okay, Ame—-san?" Hideki noticed Kyoko's sad smile as she looked at the sea.

"It's all right, Hideki—san. I was thinking, I'm sorry. After all, I rarely see the sea. There is so much senseless movement from which no trace remains. I'm sorry again, Hideki—san, that…

She didn't have time to finish because of the rumbling of her stomach.

"As your boyfriend,— Hideki added to himself, "not quite real," and continued, "I should ignore that. But as your boyfriend, I also have to feed you," he smiled.

A little annoyed, Kyoko slapped him on the shoulder but immediately smiled. And that smile didn't leave her face for a long time.

They had lunch at a family restaurant, which Hideki found online nearby. The place was inexpensive and had a lot of positive reviews. The place was quite good; Hideki and Kyoko could have been more picky about food. They went to the indicated table and sat down opposite each other. Immediately after receiving Kyoko's order, some message came, her face fell, and she stopped smiling. Then she quickly wrote what she had written, and her face reflected confusion; she glanced at Hideki and lowered her eyes again.

"Hideki—kun," she said without looking up, "can we take a selfie?"

Hideki, perfectly understanding why she would want to take a selfie, did not object:

"You just need a photo together, Ame—san, or something special.

Kyoko's face reflected understanding, and she finally looked up.

"If you don't mind, Hideki—kun," she said softly and somewhat dejectedly, "I'll try to feed you and take a selfie." Could you please sit next to me?

Getting food from Kyoko's hands was already a little less embarrassing, but anyway, they successfully took selfies. They ate lunch in complete embarrassment, hardly talking.

"Thanks for the food," they said almost simultaneously and looked at each other. Kyoko didn't look as depressed as she had after sending the message. Awkwardly, without looking at each other, they left the restaurant. Hideki started to remember that he had planned there next, but his thoughts were interrupted by Ama-san's actions: She tugged at his sleeve several times, and he looked up at her.

"Hideki—kun," Kyoko said, still quietly, a little hesitantly, but clearly and clearly, "can we walk along the seashore again?" I'd like to..." She tilted her head and finally smiled again, even if her smile came out awkward, "I'd like to walk near the water line, not along the path, but on the sand. You don't mind?

Hideki—kun smiled; after all, for people who do not live on the coast, the sea is a remarkable thing:

—All right, Ame-san. We'll even walk along the shore. Just be careful.

And they looked at the beach and even walked around it a little. It was too cold to go into the water, but they walked along the edge, the border of water and sand, although sometimes they had to bounce off the wave. But still, they were lucky; it would still be unpleasant to walk in wet clothes in the late autumn evening.

When they were about to leave, Hideki looked back — almost no traces were left. The sun had long passed its zenith, but it was still high enough.

"Shall we go back, Ame—san?" I think that in a relationship in which there is falsehood, one of the most romantic possibilities is to skip the sunset and sunrise somehow together.

— good. Ame said in a particularly low voice. And she added, albeit so faintly that Hideki could barely hear: "I would like to see both sunrise and sunset with Hideki—kun."

— What, Ame-san? He couldn't believe his ears.

"Nothing, Hideki—kun. Absolutely nothing.

Ama-san smiled so sweetly that even if Hideki—kun tried to feel the falseness, it was unsuccessful.

The bus back was gray and dim. Still, they were sitting higher in the truck, and in general, it was the beginning of a new day in the morning, and now the day was drawing to a close. However, although Kyoko and Hideki did not consider themselves worthy of this day, they had a fun and exciting time together. They both felt calm and comfortable with each other.

The bus passed through the city and stopped near the area where both lived. He was closer to Hideki's house but still decided to accompany her.

They passed close to Hideki's house, and then Hideki was unlucky.

— Senior brother, it sounded too close to the couple - And you're with a girl, after all! And he didn't introduce me! Before Hideki could come to his senses, his younger sister grabbed and dragged them both home despite his and Ame-san's unsuccessful attempts to fight back.

In an unequal battle, Ame-san lost her shoes and outerwear and was dragged into the living room and seated at a table. Hideki was sent to make tea and find some tea treats.

A few minutes later, when he came to the table, he saw in Ame-san's hands that Hideki preferred not to see today or any other day.

— Look at this. Kyoko-chan, here we are with my brother. I had just entered the same junior school as my brother.

Kyoko looked at it and was stunned. Yumiko-chan was a natural beauty, but there were two beautiful people in the photo shown. The girl was a younger version of Yumiko-chan; the older boy looked like Hideki-kun in facial features, except he was so handsome that he could have worked as a model or an idol guy. Kyoko looked at Yumiko with a confused look, and as if she understood, she explained:

— Well, yes, this is my older brother. He wasn't so big then, but as of now, he was reliable and kind.

"Reliable and kind" echoed in Kyoko's head. It's true. This trait in him has not changed at all.

— However, then my brother became sad and significant. But he remained as reliable as before.

"Don't bother our guest, Yu-chan. — The voice of the discussed "brother" rang out.

— It's okay, brother; I showed you my old photos.

— Okay — it was too late to rush — let's have tea, — Hideki put the tea and cups on the table.

"It's getting late; Yumiko Ame—-san needs to go home.

— Well, bra-a-a-tick.

"Kazumi-san, I have to go," Kyoko stood up.

— You are my brother's girlfriend; call me by my name, Kyoko-chan; how do I call you…

—All right, Yumiko-san.

***

"Thank you for today, Hideki-kun. I had fun. Kyoko bowed.

"Me too, Ame—san, me too." Hideki—Kun also bowed. See you at school, Ame-san.

— See you later.

It was the perfect date. More precisely, it would be like this if…

...If Kyoko Ame didn't feel like a liar and a thief who used a guy.

...If Hideki Kazumi hadn't felt deeply ashamed that he was enjoying the attention of an essentially good girl who, because of the loss, he was sure of it, couldn't say no to him.

Kyoko felt as if she had taken someone else's place, the place of a real girl, responsive and worthy of such a wonderful guy, and called herself a fool for getting involved.

Hideki was sad that such a sweet girl had to show herself to him publicly. However, he tried very hard not to show it.

Kyoko reminded herself that she had no choice and would end it soon. And he will think about how Hideki will repay his kindness. She had no ideas but would come up with something in the future.

Hideki reminded himself that it wasn't real and would end soon, so he had to enjoy what he had.

It would have been a perfect date if the couple on it hadn't lied to themselves and each other. Suppose they could evaluate themselves and each other adequately. But where is the adequacy of teenagers who have just started to get hit by hormones?

But even so, it was an excellent date. Both of its participants were enjoying themselves despite some disturbing feelings deep inside, which both attributed to the fact that each of them had to cope with their lies.