41 The First Date (?) Part 2

And so, the pair found themselves at a local arcade and cashed in a couple of coins for the arcade ones.

To no one's surprise, the first one Kagami picked was the basketball throwing game where he ended up breaking the high-score record. Yui joined in too but as stated in previous chapters, the girl's athleticism was next to zero.

Her high-score was 5.

Eventually, Yui wanted to try some other stuff so the duo visited different games and played together. Kagami was thankful that Yui was an easy girl to please. Plus, she seemed to be having heaps of fun watching Kagami beat several high-scores. The only thing that pissed him, or rather both of them, off was the fact Yui was getting unwanted attention from random dudes who spend half their life in the arcade.

She indeed looked pretty today, not that she didn't every other day, but her outfit definitely caught some attention and Kagami took it upon himself to guard her closely whilst glaring at any guy that stared.

"Fufu, my date is very protective." the girl teased. Kagami blushed and tried to explain himself.

"N-No, it's just -- You look too pretty today! It's bad if other guys stare at you ~ " he murmured the last part.

Yui looked up at him and blushed.

'Damn. He's too cute! Gah! My heart's beating too fast!'

"I don't hate it. I'm glad you look out for me," she admitted.

[Author's comment: I hate myself for writing this cringe]

Kagami let out a relieved sigh and ushered her along to the next machine.

At around noon, the two had spent way too many coins and had tried just about every game they could find in the arcade. At this point, both were feeling parched and opted to go to a nearby cafe for something to eat.

"Say, isn't Rio's aunt's cafe near here?" Yui asked.

"You wanna eat at a maid cafe?"

"I mean, why not? Plus, they do have good options there and I heard she'd reopened after getting more workers."

They had left the arcade with bags of prizes, and were strolling down the sidewalk. At the corner, they took a right and entered the street where the maid cafe was.

Kagami in all honesty would rather NOT go to such a cafe, especially on a date, but seeing the brunette girl's excited face, he couldn't bring himself to ruin it. Things were going wonderful right now so he sure as heck didn't want to screw it up over a petty reason.

"Fine. Since we're here already and all..." he said.

Yui cheered and skipped to the door before opening it.

"Ara, Yui-chan. What brings you here today?" Akari, Rio's aunt, was carrying a tray with someone's serving of parfait on top.

"Akari-san, good afternoon. Actually, I'm here with Tai - Kagami," Yui said. On cue, Kagami entered the café with a sour expression which garnered attention from the café's patrons.

Akari's eyes glinted while her lips tilted to a smirk.

"A date? Fufu, how adorable. How about you guys try the couple's special? Just for today, I'll give you two a discount."

Yui's eyes brightened, "Really? Thank you Akari-san." She jabbed an elbow at Kagami who pursed his lips.

"Uh yeah. Thanks." he muttered awkwardly.

Akari smiled and led the two to a spare table before making her way to the kitchen. They watched the workers walking up and down and felt a wave of nostalgia.

"It's hard to believe the last time we were here, it was because you lost a bet." Yui commented.

"Yeah a bet that YOU accepted. Still haven't forgiven you for that," Kagami huffed. Yui laughed.

"Aww, don't be like that. Besides, just between the two of us -- " she leaned forward and whispered, "you looked really good in that uniform."

The poor boy's cheeks flamed as he bit back a smile. 'This girl...'

"You're mocking me."

"Not at all."

"...." Kagami snorted and said; "And you looked cute in your maid outfit."

Now it was Yui's turn to blush.

This was how their relationship was. They tease each other, joke, bicker, argue - like friends. Except now, there was feelings involved but nothing changed too much.

"How's the preparation for the Winter Cup going?" asked Yui taking a sip of her water.

"It's tiring. Coach has been working us to the bone and we've been watching videos of our possible opponents and...."

"And what?"

"...I'll be going to America for some training." Kagami said. "After our loss with Touou, I realised that what I'm doing right now is not enough. Plus, I've got a mentor there who will train me."

"I see." Yui wasn't surprised since she knew all of this already. "Do your best and don't forget to message me."

The boy snorted.

"Ahem, here we are; The Couple's Special." Akari suddenly appeared carrying a tray. Yui's eyes doubled in size seeing the massive sundae dessert placed on the table.

"Normally I would say this is too much but...." Yui looked at Kagami with a smirk, "I think we'll be fine." Especially with that guy's insatiable appetite.

"Enjoy ~" Akari grinned.

And they dug in.

Kagami ended up ordering two more, both of which he finished by himself while Yui just watched him happily.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Yui entered the house with a giddy face only to walk in to see her brothers, aside from Atsushi, waiting for her with crossed arms and Niko in the corner giving her an apologetic smile.

Ah shit.

"So, little sister, where have you been?" Hiroshi asked. "Nice outfit you got on."

"I uh, just went out....with a couple friends." Yui averted her eyes.

"Yeah right! Who's the bastard you went out on a date with?!" Sora pointed.

Yui cringed and shot a brief glare at Niko. "He's a friend."

"A friend? What's his name?" Ryu pushed up his glasses.

"....Kagami Taiga." There was no point hiding it.

"Hmm? His name sounds kind of familiar." Sora muttered. "Who is he?"

"He goes to Seirin. He's the ace of the basketball team there, someone who could rival Atsu-nii." Yui said.

"Eh? Well done little sis." Niko gave her a thumbs up while the brothers just gave her deadpan looks.

"No no no! Not well done! It's always them popular sporty ones you need to watch out for!" Ryu exclaimed. "...let us meet him."

"Absolutely not." Yui refused. "You guys are gonna mess with him."

"No not at all, we just want to have a nice chat with him." Sora smiled suspiciously. ".....and maybe murder him while we're at it."

"I heard that." Yui narrowed her eyes.

"Look Yui, we just want to make sure he's not going to harm you." Hiroshi walked closer and rubbed Yui's head. "We can't let any harm come to our precious sister."

Yui pouted before sighing, "I know. But you'll have to wait for awhile. He'll be busy preparing for the Winter Cup."

"Ah yes. Atsushi mentioned something like that didn't he?" Niko said.

"Yosen is one of the qualifiers. They're one of the schools expected to win." Yui said. 'Though, they'll be taken out by Seirin.'

"Hmm. I suppose it can't be helped then but -- " Ryu smirked. " -- once the Winter Cup is over..."

"Yeah I got it. But I swear he's a good guy." Yui told them.

They just smiled and patted her in return.