74 Chapter 12: Date II [6]
'This is the last one...' Rei thought to himself as he observed his surroundings.
The skies were cloudy, that however didn't manage to cover the whole skies. The clouds, however, were numerous enough to block most of the heat coming from the sun.
Leaning on a tree, Rei then shifted his head slightly to the left. There, he could see two figures walking to his direction in fast speeds.
In fact, Rei could swear something very similar like this already happened in this day.
"Rei! Have we kept you waiting?" Asked by Tohka with her voice laced with excitement.
Rei shook his head in response and smiled.
"You didn't of course," he said. "You two were just right on time"
Rei was then hit by a Deja vu for his so-common response. But anyways, he decided to ignore it and shrugged it off from his head.
The final destination of their date was in a amusement park that was just recently built a few months ago. Despite that however, this amusement park was quite a hit for the occupants of Tenguu City, thus making the place quite the hotspot for various activities.
Especially, if we are talking about weekends.
That's why once more, he had immersed in his thoughts for one last time before letting everything proceed.
'Time including other variables summarization...'
It's around 4 in the afternoon. Weather is optimal. Almost everything that could be utilized in this park to make the finale of this date are available. Threats, none, however he shouldn't let his guard down at every moment. No problems detected so far.
'Surrounding observation...'
Obviously populated considering the time right now. Noise are all over the place—no, just calling it noise would rather crude of a description, so let's go with... lively. The place is very lively. It might cause slight discomfort to both Tohka and Tenka due to their nature of being wary to humans as a whole.
Nonetheless, the two seemed to be adjusting better than expected. Tohka being the cheerful and bubbly one she was, she already feels kind of part of the society.
Furthermore, even if Tenka feels slightly bothered with the amount of humans surrounding here, which he had taken notice of it in the first few minutes of their date, she at least managed to not glare down at them with hostility.
It may not sound much, but Rei already considered that as a big step forward.
'Situation ending analysis...'
The perfect timing to conclude the ending of this date would be around sooner or later.
"...Also, I hope they would like my little presents that I would give them later"
Rei unconsciously mumbled those words so softly to the point where it could not be heard by any normal person.
Well, the girls he was accompanying however would not fit the word 'normal' by any means.
Both Tohka and Tenka heard it and showed varied reactions. The former showed a glint of excitement on her eyes while the latter shrugged.
Rei who had noticed that he was spacing out at that moment shook his head not even remembering that his thoughts slipped out from his mouth.
It was then Rei's eyes met Tohka's, who was silently watching him. Without even blinking her eyes, she looked at him intently as they began to stroll around the populated streets of Tenguu City.
It's been a few hours already after they took their lunch. From the looks of it, it seems that Tohka might be craving for some snacks this time.
It was a routine where Tohka eats around five times a day. Breakfast, snack, lunch, another snacks again, then dinner. Some would really be curious as for how Tohka could manage to keep her curvaceous and model-like body despite her diet.
Even Rei doesn't really know why, although he could probably come up of his own theories that could be considered as facts or nonsense, he doesn't plan to try to solve it any further.
After all, some things are better left untouched, don't they?
"Tohka?"
Rei called her carefully. Tohka slowly blinked her eyes and spoke to him.
"Nn? Is there something wrong, Rei?"
"Well, I should be the one telling you that though," Rei teased as he gestured his hands. "Is there something wrong Tohka? You've been staring at me for a while"
"Umu..." Tohka nodded. "...That might be the case actually. Ah, sis, do you want to ask Rei something?" she asked as she smiled at her sister.
"...why are you passing me the chance to answer if anything is wrong with your well being?" Tenka raised a brow at Tohka.
However, she just sighed in defeat at the end and answered Rei in Tohka's stead as she continuously looked at her with those pleading eyes.
"There's nothing wrong bastard," Tenka stated as she crossed her arms. Her answer was just plain and direct. "So? Are we now going to continue? If I remember correctly, the last place where we will settle this date of ours is still a few blocks away"
"Ah! That's right!"
Donning a smile, Tenka then came closer, grabbed his arm and then Tenka's as she led them around the area.
The two looked at each other before giving a subtle nod of appreciation as they let themselves be dragged away by the excited Tohka. Tohka is the priority. That is one of the few things that Tenka would wholeheartedly agree with Rei no matter the case.
'It seems that she knows what she's doing'
Rei took Tohka to be the type of girl to make decisions on spot, a direct and honest girl. 'Well, she really is savoring the moment right now, doesn't she?'
It was a subtle reaction to say that everything is going well so far, and Rei is glad that it seems that Tohka and Tenka seemed ti have loosened up anyway.
And so, they proceeded to the final stage to conclude today's date.
——
A small bench in the center of this amusement park.
Rei bit the cinnamon rolls in his hand and pondered in his mind. The pleasant sweetness and cinnamon taste that spreads in your mouth.
'I don't know if it's been a while since I've eaten cinnamon rolls'
Snacks eaten at amusement parks have a special taste for some reason.
'Does the distinctive lively atmosphere add to the taste?' Rei thought as he took another bite of his snack and looked at the women sitting next to him.
"Mm~"
"....nom"
Tohka wipes her mouth with a faint smile as she expressed her happiness as she ate her snack while Tenka who instead was donning her usual blank expression at least didn't voice out any displeasure.
In short, the two are more or less enjoying it.
Seeing that the two are eating well, Rei seems to have been relieved. He sipped the drink that they bought and asked Tohka to strike up a conversation.
"So, how is it? Delicious, ain't it?"
Rei asked, and got the attention of the two directed to him next. Cinnamon rolls—rolls of sweetness, are a food that these two just recently tasted. The joy and delight of experiencing various delicacies was something that the two had same in common.
Tohka slowly turned her head and met his eyes. She simply smiled as she gestured her hands in a thumbs up and nudged Tenka to answer his question as well. Like her, Tenka's eyes soon met Rei as she gave a nod as well while she mumbled her answer.
"....It's not bad"
Tenka then took another bite of her snack with a pleasant smile on her face, before immediately turning it back to normal.
After giving them a satisfied smile of his own, Rei threw away the wrapper of the snacks in his hand in the nearby trashcan and thought about the next thing that will happen to this date.
While the two are still eating, he decided to settle things down in his mind in swift speeds.
The most famous thing in this amusement park is the roller coaster, which is jokingly said to be as one of the longest and highest within Japan. To be frank, he didn't even knew about this fact up until a while ago when he did a little bit of research in the internet.
Heck this wasn't even mentioned in the anime nor novel. Maybe it's just didn't really exist, or was just ignored in the first place. Or perhaps it was a new addition or something?
However, as it is famous, it obviously have a much larger crowd than the other rides.
As the wait is long, you have to stand in line for a long time, and then you will naturally get tired quickly.
'I don't know if Tohka and Tenka wants to ride it, but if possible, it would be better to avoid places with long waiting lines'
Yes, he plans to avoid that as much as possible. The word patience doesn't really mesh well with both Tohka and Tenka occasionally.
That's why he better had taken precautions already in his mind about what he should and shouldn't do.
'So a place where you can enjoy moderately and rotate quickly for other rides.... Shall we start with something like a decent bumper car?'
It's not even that far away, so they don't have to walk for a long time. Besides, maybe the two would be interested about it. After all, no matter how childish a bumper car ride would be, it was still undeniably fun for beginners.
After riding the bumper car, Rei thought it would be good to ride a moderately fast ride.
'Uh, what is the second most popular ride after roller coasters again? The ferris wheel? Eh? There's also a water ride? Now that's surprising'
Water rides came as a surprise. It's actually rare to see those in open amusement parks like this, especially in Tenguu City which are prone to Spacequakes lately.
Well. Both Tohka and Tenka came out beautifully decorated, and riding a water splashing ride would just make things different. It would be troublesome for their pretty get ups be wet from splashing waters in the ride.
'I'll try to find some fun rides that don't splash water...'
After a few more seconds of thinking, he reached his conclusion.
Having gathered resolve in both heart and mind, Rei immediately asked Tohka and Tenka after they had eaten if they would like to ride the bumper car, and after thinking about something for a while, the former excitedly said that it was interesting and good while the former just shrugged and accepted his proposal.
As expected, the place was populated. Rei tried his best to hover themselves through the crowd without bumping to anyone.
While walking around to get to their destination, something unexpected happened.
"Eh? Aren't you Transfer student-kun?" A male voice called out nearby.
He was a teenager with swept-back spiky black hair and dark gray, nearly black eyes. Dressed in clothing that could be described as nothing more than weird.
"...Tonomachi-san? Also, my name is Rei Ainsworth, not transfer student-kun," Rei spoke the name of the newcomer recognizing him at a glance.
Yes, it was Tonomachi Hiroto, who was also the best friend of Itsuka Shidou. On to the topic of his clothing, to give a guess, the boy was currently wearing something a detective would that you see in movies.
A coat, a magnifying glass in one hand, a hat...and many other more...
Rei looked at him with a weird expression. He wondered what is this guy doing here with such peculiar clothing.
'Is he planning to go on a convention center? To do Cosplay?' Rei wondered silently.
It was then Tohka and Tenka who were beside him registered Tonomachi's presence in mind.
"Is he an acquaintance of yours, Rei?" Tohka asked with a tilt of her head.
"Ho? Is that another kind of armor that humans wrap themselves on?" Tenka asked in wonder.
"Oh. He is. Well, he is classmate in fact. Also, that's not some kind of armor, that's just..." Rei paused before continuing as he coughed. "...a peculiar choice of clothing that you would not be able to see most of the time," he answered as he took a look on Tohka and Tenka's expression about this.
"Umu umu... So a friend then! Nice to meet you! My name is Yatogami Tohka!" She cheerfully greeted Tonomachi who was surprised by her sudden introduction.
"Hm. I see. So that's just a unique choice of clothing huh?" Tenka commented with a hint of interest at the first few seconds, but she immediately loss interest on the boy as she began to think about some things while waiting for this conversation to end.
"O-oh! Nice to meet you as well, Yatogami-san! My name Tonomachi Hiroto!" Tonomachi introduced himself stuttering at first when he saw the two beauties on both sides of Rei.
"A-anyways, you sure hooked up a pair of beauties on both hands there Ainsworth-san!" Tonomachi commented as he then looked at Rei and Tohka before continuing. "Hm hm. Makes me wonder who of these two was your partner. It seems that you are in a date eh?"
"Thanks! Umu, and you are correct! We are in a date, hehe," Tohka replied as she hugged Rei's arm showing how close they are.
First impressions are a vital point in forming various relationships. And she sure took a liking on how this boy easily deducted that Rei and she was in a date!
'As expected of one of Rei's acquaintances!' She joyfully thought in her mind. 'He has an eye for things I guess'
And she was mistaken about that claim. She will remain clueless about that fact however.
"Oh! Then how about the other lady on your side? Hm? They look similar? Twins perhaps?" Tonomachi inquired as he tried to approach Tenka. "Hello! You have probably heard it, but my name is—"
"Don't talk to me, insect" Tenka spoke coldly that made Tonomachi's body shiver as he took a step back.
"Y-ye mam!" He saluted in instinct. Weird.
"Hey hey, don't scare him like that," Rei said trying to lighten off the atmosphere. "Don't mind her words too much," he said back to the poor guy.
"N-no, it's okay"
"Hmph"
Tenka simply huffed looking away keeping her thoughts to herself.
Rei who was oblivious to her thoughts just smiled and confirmed Tonomachi's claim as well. "And yes, we three are on a date"
"T-Three?!" Tonomachi exclaimed.
Rei simply shrugged at him which left Tonomachi's jaw hanging in surprise.
"...Normally, I would've commented that riajuus like you should just die," he commented darkly which went not unnoticed by the three but sensed no hostility nor harm about it or whatsoever. "But no, I am currently on a mission! I won't let such dark thoughts get in my objective!"
He raised his hands as he pumped his fists as he exclaimed those words. Those actions of his garnered weird looks from the people nearby.
However, Tonomachi Hiroto does not care about that! He is the embodiment of confidence!—or so he would like to call himself, at some point, that said confidence could be described as shamelessness to be honest.
Rei just chuckled at the teenager's antics in amusement.
"And what could that be?" Rei asked, wondering what this so-called mission he was in.
"Oh. Well, I'm just searching for somebody," Tonomachi answered as he took out his phone next. "To add. This is a mission given to me by my girlfriend!"
The next few moments had passed in silence.
"....huh?"
"Ho? So having a 'girlfriend' in those small boxes is possible?" Tenka said in surprise.
"E-eh? Rei, you won't...compress us inside phones right?" Tohka asked, genuinely showing slight fear at the idea. "R-right?" She repeated.
Meanwhile, Rei looked flabbergasted at the claim and shook his head and heads frantically. "No no no. Of course not! Where did you even get that idea from?"
"Hehe. Behold her beauty kuhahaha!" He declared, garnering more looks from the surrounding people. Now those looks were filled with pity or disgust.
"Seriously?" Deadpanned Rei.
Now that he remembered, that girl on the screen came from a gal game which is known as 'Fall in Love: My Little Seed'. The said girlfriend on the screen also has a striking resemblance to Kotori, with the only difference that both her hair and eyes are pink in color.
That made his brows twitch for a reason. But anyways...
"Oh! Gotta go then, I still need to find somebody! See you Ainsworth on Monday!"
...with those words, Tonomachi turned and walked away swiftly as he navigated his phone and left the area.
"...Did he ever show us who he was trying to find?" Questioned Tohka.
"No, why?" Rei curtly replied. "Do you perhaps want to help him, Tohka?"
Tohka shook her head as she showed a smile. "If this wasn't a date, I would gladly do so. He seems to be a nice...weird guy. Spending time with Rei and Sis is more important after all!"
"I see," he patted her head much to her delight. "Let's get going then"
"Umu!"
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[A/N: KUHAHAHHAHAHA!
I. AM. BACK. FINALLY!
15 days, 2 weeks without an update. How embarrassing. I kept u guys waiting for too long, hope u still haven't dropped this xD.
Well, I just won a contest claiming first place added with a sum of cash heh. My hard work and dedication of practicing paid off! Sadly, the writing of this chapter is delayed for very long because of that.
Now now. I'm just gonna say that these kinds of length and time release of chapters would be like these. Hope ya guys still have the patience to read and not drop this xD.
And you guys probably didn't expect Tonomachi appearing here hehe. He has a role to play here, albeit a little one. Take a guess on what it is!
Also, I already have some drafts in mind for this arc. This arc would end around 6-8 more chaps! After that, Kurumi's would begin finally!
That's all I have to say right now! See ya guys on the next update!]
