Another Day with Yukina

A day later.

The school day proceeded as usual, and it seemed like the commotion about my connection to Roselia had settled down. 

  It was a relief to go back to my normal routine without all the attention and questions.

The school day had come to an end, and I was packing my things when I noticed a crowd gathering near the school gates.

It seemed that someone had arrived early. I hurriedly made my way through the crowd to see what was happening.

Amidst the crowd, a girl with long silver hair caught my attention. She seemed slightly exasperated and commented, "You're late... I feel like an animal in the zoo here," she remarked with a sigh.

I apologized and bowed in response. "Sorry." 

The onlookers continued to mutter, their curiosity piqued by our interaction.

"Nakasone and Yukina?"

"What's their relationship?"

The whispers and questions filled the air.

"Let's go now," Yukina said as she walked past the crowd, indicating for me to follow.

I followed her closely, and couldn't help but say, "You seem... calm."

She glanced at me with a hint of a smile, "Hm? Of course. We're just killing time, right? Plus, it would be a waste to decline your invitation."

What I didn't reveal was that this was all part of my plan. A few hours ago, I texted her and invited her to hang out to kill time.

  Initially, she had declined, saying: "I'm busy."

But when I mentioned, "Oh, I see, looks like I'm the only one who gets to pat the cat at the cafe," she replied almost immediately with, "That was just a typo; I'm going after the school."

That was fast but she took the bait.

As we walked along the side of the road, the silence enveloped us, punctuated only by the sounds of passing vehicles.

I decided to break the silence, "Minato-san, what do you think of the song?"

Yukina turned to look at me, her expression neutral. "What song?"

"Moon Rose."

She stayed silent for a moment before answering, "It's good. I don't think it's bad. What about you, Nakasone-kun? As a third party, what do you think?"

"It was nice, but..."

"Are you here to ask why Hikawa-san was opposed to the song?" Yukina asked.

I nodded, "Is she really opposed?"

She looked thoughtful. "No, I don't think so... but I do think there's something lacking in the song."

Well, observing Hikawa-san as we practiced she actually enjoyed it, but why?

"Ah, the perfectionist in you." I couldn't help but smile.

"Don't call me that," she responded with a faint smile.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound erupted from Yukina's stomach.

... She immediately turned bright red and averted her gaze.

That was... loud!

  "Uhh, Minato-san?"

"Be quiet," she mumbled, her cheeks still tinged with embarrassment.

"Ermm... if you'd like, how about we go eat first before heading there?"

She didn't say anything but simply nodded in agreement.

And so, we made our way to Yamabuki bakery, located conveniently close by. The aroma of freshly baked bread filled the air as we entered, greeted by the friendly face of Yamabuki-san.

"Yukina-senpai and Nakasone-kun?" she exclaimed, surprised to see us. "Welcome to Yamabuki Bakery."

"Hello, Yamabuki-san," I greeted her with a bow.

"Hello, Nakasone-kun. What are you two doing here? It's unusual to see you together. Wait, you two know each other?" Saaya asked with curiosity.

"Yeah, it's been quite a while."

"Eh? D-Don't tell me you're Yukina-senpai's boyfriend?" Saaya blurted out, her eyes widening.

"Don't even think about it," Yukina retorted firmly.

Yukina's face might have turned slightly pink, but she remained her usual composed self as she gave Saaya a pointed look.

The corner of her lips twitched slightly before she redirected her attention to Yamabuki-san.

"Yamabuki-san, we'd like to order some," Yukina said with an air of formality.

What's with the sudden atmosphere...

"Of course, what would you like?" Yamabuki-san inquired, her friendly demeanor undeterred.

We walked together in comfortable silence.

The crisp crunching of the chocolate cornet filled the air as Yukina took a bite. Her expression softened slightly as she savored the sweetness of the pastry.

"Erm... Minato-san."

"Yes?"

"I apologize for inviting you out like this, especially after your school day."

Yukina glanced at me. "No need to apologize. I wanted to take a break anyway."

I smiled in relief. "I'm glad to hear that."

"More importantly," she continued, "I'd like to visit the cafe again."

Minato-san... I guess cats are more priority huh

Upon entering the cafe again, the cats greeted us with enthusiasm, and a staff member approached.

"Welcome back!" the staff member said with a warm smile. "Would you like to wear cat headbands? It's complimentary!"

Yukina didn't hesitate. "We'll take them."

"Eh?!"

The staff handed Yukina a cat ear headband, which she promptly put on. Then, she turned to me with a serious expression and asked, "How does it look?"

Cute...

I cleared my throat, "It looks good on you."

Can I take a picture? 

I cleared my throat and replied, "It suits you well."

Yukina smiled as the cats and kittens flocked around her. She crouched down to pet them, and one of the cats let out a soft meow.

"meow."

"Hm?" I looked at Yukina, who was completely engrossed with the cats. "Did you... just meow?"

Her eyes widened slightly. "No? There are a lot of cats here, though."

"Yeah..."

There's no way... right?

While she was preoccupied with the cats, I quietly snapped a picture of her, capturing the rare moment of her softer side.

Captured.

"Hm? What are you doing there?" Yukina asked, peering at my phone. "Did you just take a picture?"

"Nope!~ I was taking a picture of a cat."

You are that cat.

"Really? Alright then." She continued to pet the cats, lost in the moment.

After a few hours nightfall approached.

"Minato-san, it's getting late."

"Oh, I didn't notice."

Although it was only 6 p.m., I thought it would be best to walk her home.

"Well then, let's go." I helped Yukina up from the couch, but the cats started meowing at her as if pleading with her to stay.

She hesitated, her eyes locked onto the cats with a mixture of longing and reluctance. "Nakasone-san."

"Absolutely not."

Yukina sighed. "I know."

I held her hand and led her out of the cat cafe.

"Please come back soon!" The staff bid us farewell as we headed back into the evening.

Yukina Minato and I were walking down the street. The air was filled with the gentle warmth of a fading sunset, and silence surrounded us.

As we walked along the streets, Yukina paused and turned to me with a smile, and it was a surprisingly warm one. "Thank you."

"Thank you."

I blinked, a bit taken aback. "For what?"

Her smile remained. "Nothing specific, really. I just wanted to thank you."

"Y-You're welcome."

"It's late now. I'll be fine from here. Thank you for the day." She gave a small bow before walking away.

I watched her figure recede into the distance as she headed home. My phone started vibrating, and I pulled it out to see that Ako was calling.

I accepted the call.

"Senpai! How was it?!"

"It went pretty great."

"Really!? Rin-rin! He's making progress!"

Rin-rin? Does that mean Rinko is with her?

"I-I'm glad... Ako-chan."

"Alright, I'll prepare for tomorrow too."

"Yeah!~ Good luck, dark her-" Before she could finish her chuunibyo sentence, I ended the call and put my phone back in my pocket. "That's enough for today. Time to go to work." I made my way to CirCLE, where I finished my day.

It had been an eventful and satisfying day.