Chapter 5: Chapter 4: A shopping venture

On my way to the bus pods following the bench escape, I noticed a familiar person.

It was Yua, but she looked like she was talking to some guy underneath a street light...

Okay maybe not just talking, since she looked pretty uncomfortable. Is she dealing with a breakup? A rejection? Getting picked up should be rare, but there's a bar close by so maybe it's possible. Well it shouldn't matter to me so I'll just pass by.

"Just five minutes!"

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to get home."

"I promise it won't take more, I'll even get you a drink afterwards."

"Sorry not today, I have to catc-- please let go."

"Just hear me out."

"Like I sai--"

"Hey! Sorry I'm a little late, I forgot my phone from that building over there. You good to go?"

Yeah if I ignore it after that, I'd feel guilty. 

First thing I noticed after he let go was that he looked and smelled sober. So alcohol was no reason for this. Well, that doesn't matter.

It's vital to not give any personal information when escaping from someone. I even gestured towards the general campus building, which is accessible to anyone and not just students. Of course, I had a phone on my hand to increase the likelihood of the lie. Criminal mindset 101. 

Presumably understanding my intention, Yua played along.

"Oh no worries, let's go."

"Wait--"

"When's the bus coming though? It should come frequently since this is the main zone. I'll try texting it."

The important part was to make him aware that he was in the public eye. He should then notice that I, with my phone out, could have also captured what unfolded. At that point it would make no sense to even destroy my phone, since he can't rule out the possibility it was stored in the cloud.

Though if he was smart, he wouldn't go through this whole process. He can't do anything regardless if I'm lying or not, because he lacks the necessary information. After all, the phone was already in my hand when I came by, and I had no obligation to show him. If he chose to continue, then he'll have to live with the worry of the footage being submitted to the police. 

Of course, this footage didn't exist. I mean how could it when I only interrupted a few seconds ago? Not like he knew that though.

As a last resort, I can throw hands and hold for a few seconds so she can run away.

He looked at me briefly before finally backing off. He didn't say anything and simply walked away looking frustrated. Well I would say smart move, but he was trying to forcefully pick up a girl near a public bus area. I have a hard time thinking he's capable of anything smart at all.

"My bad, I wasn't sure if it was someone you know so it shouldn't be my place to step in."

"Ah no worries you helped me out so thanks."

She smiled as an attempt to get over the situation. Though when I looked at her hands, they were clearly shaking.

"If you wa--"

But I decided to stop talking.

I was going to offer to get her food or a drink to calm down but given the situation, that was in poor taste. I'm not sure if being around a guy right now will do her good either, so I should probably leave.

"Actually nevermind, I'll see you late-"

"Are you taking the upcoming bus?"

"Hmm? Yeah, what's up?"

"...If you're okay with it, can we ride together?"

"Well, I don't mind but… are you sure?"

She simply nodded her head in confirmation. I guess that situation drained her quite a lot.

We waited for the bus in silence for about 5 minutes. It didn't feel off though.

"...You're not going to ask me anything?"

"Do you want me to?"

"..."

"Then I won't. You don't need to force yourself to say anything either, I don't mind the silence."

More specifically, when it has a purpose.

"...Thanks."

"Don't worry about it."

The bus arrived and we got on safely. Though the remainder of the bus ride was quiet, somehow it wasn't so bad.

____________________________________

I woke up to a call on Saturday, following the mountain peak incident. Damn I'm tired. But that dream I had about shredded cheese was so good. I'm gonna check if I have some in a bit.

"Who the hell is calling at 9:00am on a weekend?"

I looked at the Caller ID and it was a name I knew but didn't expect, so I cleared my throat and answered cautiously.

"The number you have dialed is not aval-- available at the moment, please leave a message after the beep."

"...I hope you don't expect me to fall for that after you clearly screwed it up"

"...What reason do you summon me, Miss Yua?"

My life, my peace, my shredded cheese.

"...You have time to go out today?"

"But I took Koji out already?"

"I'm not talking about your dog!"

She sighed as if she lost a piece of her soul. It wasn't that bad I swear.

"Well if you're not, I was wondering if you can come with me."

I answered with a joke, but honestly I was pretty nervous. Why was she asking me to go out with her all of a sudden? 

Well I guess I can go with her since I wasn't planning on doing much today anyway.

"...Okay then. What time and where do you want to meet up?"

"Great! I was thinking we can meet at the train station around 10:30am?"

"Sure I'll meet you there."

"Alrighty!"

After hanging up the call it just dawned on me the reality of my situation. I mean regardless of her motive...

Isn't this a date?!

I start feeling nervous but I instantly bring myself to reality. I'm sure this is normal between guy and girl friendships. It wouldn't make sense for her to like me romantically when I couldn't even remember her name. This isn't even a flag, it just wouldn't make sense.

Yup, even if romance is not logical this just can't happen. Yup.

Well, I still need to step up my game in the fashion sense and bring out the relics of the past. My forgotten drip.

After getting everything ready, I set out an hour early so as to not make her wait. Luckily, I got here with no delays. So I just need to head to the meeting area.

I made my way to the spot, which is by the entrance of the station and fortunately enough I didn't see her yet.

"Nice I got here before her."

"Except you didn't."

I turned around and surprisingly enough, she was there laughing. She must have been further in the entrance where I didn't check.

"What the, why are you here so early we still have about half an hour until our meetup time?"

"I can say the same to you, no?"

"Well in my case… I'd rather be the one waiting since I got time."

"...Ahh, you don't have to worry about that."

While she said that, she was averting her eyes. 

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Now that I got a look at her, she was pretty eye-catching. I consciously had to pretend like I didn't notice otherwise I would get too nervous to continue.

She wore a white sweater underneath a light gray long coat and black pants coupled with white common projects. Her black shoulder cut hair matches her appearance so well, she may as well have been a model.

Noticing my prolonged gaze at her, she began to smile.

"...Umm, I'm sure you get this alot but--"

I clear my throat in order to say something I would be too embarrassed to say otherwise.

"You look good-- wait not in a weird way but--"

Seeing me stutter made her laugh as she broke my nervousness.

"Hahaha thanks I pulled out one of my treasured collections. But more than that…"

She averted her eyes again before speaking.

"You look pretty good also. Actually, more than usual I didn't even know you could dress like that."

My current outfit consisted of a tucked white button up shirt and a black overcoat to match it. As for the pants, I had my black trousers wrapped with a black belt. The shoes were my white common projects also. 

"Oh thanks, I used to wear these types of outfits a lot especially during my senior year in highschool."

Then I stopped caring. Basically the opposite of Naven.

"Oh really? I think it suits you so good choice."

"Thanks. So what's happening today?"

Depending on her answer, my tension can be relieved and any misunderstandings I have will diminish.

For some reason she hesitated before finally giving an answer.

"...Well actually, I'm trying to get a gift for a someone but I honestly don't know what to get him."

She said this while looking a bit nervous.

'Him' huh...okay, now I can go through this date without issues or misunderstandings.

Actually I probably shouldn't consider this a date, let's treat this as a hangout with a friend.

With that being said I nodded.

"I see, so you need help picking out a present right? I don't mind, but I don't know him as well as you do."

"Oh no it's fine your opinion will 100% be better than mine hahaha."

"Oh okay, in that case we're good then."

She exhaled as if she was relieved. Which is understandable since present shopping can be difficult. Especially the closer you are, since you are expected to know the person well enough to get a present without help. And although the friend may say they don't care, it's the pride as one of their closest friends to do so.

"Really? Thank you, it means a lot. I'm aware this is standoff-ish and it's your day off so it's fine if you don't want to."

Seeing her head droop down gave me conflicted feelings of wanting to tease her and reassure her. So I decided to tell her what I thought.

"Hey."

She looked up at my sudden call. 

"I know how hard it could be to get a gift for someone. Especially if it's someone you're close to, since you're expected to do it without any help."

With that being said, I took a short breath.

"So don't worry about it, and let me help out."

I even held eye contact with her, until she finally decided to break it.

"...So you can make that kind of face huh?"

"Hmm?"

"Ah no it's nothing...Thank you, really."

"In that case, do you want to get bubble tea or something before we start looking? It can give you some time to think, and it's on me."

"Yeah I was about to ask you the same thing. And no I'll pay you're already doing a lot for me as it is."

"Nah if anything save that for when I go to a five star restaurant."

"Wow you're ruthless."

While negotiating our payments away, we traverse across the mall with the bubble tea place in mind.

"What are you into these days?"

"Women."

"Die."

"Whoa relax!"

Are my jokes not well received? Some people at school laughed at my jokes, especially the ones based on my life experiences…

Now that I think about it, something about that doesn't feel right.

"Well if you mean hobbies, other then games like Apex I've been getting into light novels recently."

"Oh really? What kind of novels?"

"Ah, genres on mystery, psychological, or slice of life. One I got into is HakoMari. I'm thinking of getting the physical copies since I want to collect them as my first."

"Oh I see... I got it, let's go!"

Okay I guess we can get a drink later.

She leads the way to a clothing store, straight to the men's section.

"Oh hold up there's an accessory I want to get for myself, are you good to wait here for a bit?"

"Sure I'm not in a rush."

"Thanks, I'll be back!"

A female sales associate came by shortly afterwards.

"Hey! Do you need help with anything today?"

"Oh uh no I'm good thanks, I'm just helping a friend shop for a present."

"Ahh, is it for a guy or a girl?"

"A guy from what I'm told."

"Okay no worries, I would recommend checking out this section since it's been popular with people your age."

"Oh really? That's great do you mind sho-"

"Hi sorry for the hold up, but we'll be fine from here. Thanks for your help."

Yua came back and greeted her with hands behind her back a few steps ahead of me. It looked like she was clenching her fist somewhat hard, I'm assuming it's the accessory. 

"Of course! Let me know if you need anything."

The associate smiled before walking away. It seemed like Yua was somewhat restless about something. The price of the accessory was probably higher than expected.

"Hey what's up? Was the accessory too expensive?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Ah well, you looked pretty mad so I thought it had to do with the accessory. Was I wrong?"

"Oh did I look mad? My bad, it's just my natural face hahaha."

She immediately started smiling as if nothing happened. Women truly are strange creatures.

"Well let's go!"

"Wait, are you not going to buy that?"

"Hmm? Oh…right I'll come back for it if I don't find something better."

How do you forget that when you were clenching it pretty hard?

Okay you know what, let's just get through today before something unexpected happens.

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