NOVEL NEXT Chapter 62: Double Date?
Last night, he had used his dreamwalking ability to enter Yukino's dream again.
And this time, it wasn't just Yukino, Miko was there too.
So now, Yukino was even more embarrassed.
I wonder if she'll eventually get used to having these kinds of dreams. Hmm… I'm looking forward to it!
"It's my turn! It's my turn!"
At that moment, Hana, who couldn't wait any longer, saw Ryuji put down his lunchbox and hurried over.
"You've already fed Miko, it's time to feed me!"
"???"
Is there really something to fight over here?
Ever since they started dating, Ryuji and Miko often fed each other when eating. But he didn't expect Hana would want in on it too.
Seeing Ryuji not reacting, Hana pouted unhappily.
"I'm your girlfriend now, so of course you have to feed me!"
"Uh…"
To be honest, when Ryuji mentioned establishing a relationship yesterday, he was mostly joking.
But this innocent girl took it seriously.
He glanced over at Miko, who was still smiling softly as if she didn't mind at all.
I'll have to ask Miko how she feels about all this later.
Even though Ryuji never planned to be a "nice guy," he still cared about how his girlfriend felt.
When they got home tonight, he would ask Miko for her thoughts.
"Alright, fine."
He agreed without hesitation.
Compared to Miko, Hana's appetite was noticeably larger. Well, that's also because of Kawai's special constitution.
"This feels so strange!"
As Hana was being fed, she found the whole situation a bit odd.
Since she could remember, she had always fed herself and had never been fed by someone else.
"Does it make you uncomfortable?"
Ryuji didn't think much of it, asking casually.
"It's not uncomfortable, just weird. But for some reason, it makes me feel really happy!"
"..."
You really dare to say whatever's on your mind, huh?
Even so, Miko, who was standing nearby, still didn't react much. It was a bit strange.
Feeding Hana took almost two or three times longer than it did with Miko and this was because Hana ate quickly if she hadn't, it would've taken even longer.
These days, Ryuji spent his lunch breaks mostly in the Service Club room.
It was quiet, and no one bothered him there.
"It's almost time to go back to class."
"Mm."
After parting with Ryuji, Yukino felt much calmer.
Strange… Why does my heart race whenever I see Ryuji?
Could it be that… I've actually fallen for him?
"No! No way! He already has a girlfriend!"
The first thing Yukino refuted was not the idea of liking Ryuji, but the fact that he already had a girlfriend.
"But… what if Miko doesn't mind?"
After all, in last night's dream, Miko didn't care and was even… together with me...
Realizing what she was thinking, Yukino quickly shook her head, trying to banish those thoughts.
"I must be going crazy!"
If she wasn't crazy, how could she even be thinking about this?
It was just a dream!
Yukino kept repeating that to herself, trying hard to shake the idea.
But unfortunately, sometimes the more you try not to think about something, the more it sticks in your mind.
The afternoon's club activities didn't last long. On the way back, walking side by side, Ryuji brought up something.
"Hana"
Knowing what Ryuji was about to say, Miko spoke first.
"It's fine."
"Hmm?"
When he looked over, he saw the same gentle expression in Miko's eyes.
"No matter what you do, Ryuji, I'll support you. As long as I can stay with you, I'll be happy."
"..."
Honestly, even Ryuji was a little surprised by how Miko's emotions had changed.
Maybe, when she decided to be with him, Miko had already anticipated things like this.
After all, Ryuji was never an ordinary person.
The rules that apply to most people didn't mean much to him.
"Don't worry."
After a moment of silence, Ryuji smiled and pulled Miko into his arms.
"You'll always be mine."
Since Miko was his, Ryuji never even considered abandoning her.
"Yeah."
Miko nodded happily.
When they got home, Miko immediately went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Unlike Shizuka, Miko's cooking wasn't some kind of culinary disaster. Although it wasn't exactly gourmet, it was still pretty good.
While she was cooking, Ryuji lounged on the sofa, sighing at how nice life was.
"Ding!"
Just then, the phone beside him lit up with a new message.
"Huh?"
Seeing the sender, Ryuji was a little surprised. It was from Utaha. He clicked on the message, and a photo popped up. It was a selfie of Utaha, but the focus wasn't on her face it was on her black stockings, taken from several angles.
Well, she is a popular senior, after all. She really knows how to highlight her best features.
Before Ryuji could reply, another message came in from Utaha.
"Oops, I sent that by accident! Don't think too much about it, Ryuji!"
Right, "by accident." You don't seem to be in a hurry to delete it, though.
Just as Ryuji was about to reply, his phone chimed again.
"Eriri?"
Why are they both messaging me at the same time?
Actually, Utaha and Eriri hadn't planned to message him together. It was just a coincidence.
After waiting all day for Ryuji to reach out and hearing nothing, both girls finally took the initiative.
It was really just a coincidence!
"What should I do? Isn't this too plain? Will Ryuji misunderstand me? Am I coming off too cold?"
In her room at the Sawamura family villa, Eriri had already removed her contact lenses and replaced them with thick black glasses.
Lying on her bed, clutching her phone with both hands, she looked uneasy.
She wanted to sound more gentle, but for some reason, the words she sent felt so curt and formal.
If Ryuji misunderstood her, Eriri would have no idea what to do.
Similarly, Utaha was not feeling much better.
She stared at her phone, growing anxious.
The message had been marked as "read," but there was still no reply.
"Did I come off as too frivolous?"
It seemed easy to be misunderstood, but she had never sent photos like that to anyone before.
Only Ryuji.
She wasn't even sure why, but she just felt the urge to send it to him!
Now what? It's too late to delete it. What can I do to stop this awkwardness?
Fortunately, both Utaha and Eriri's anxiety didn't last long, because Ryuji finally responded.
His message to Utaha had a teasing tone.
I thought you took that photo on purpose to make my heart race, senpai.
Meanwhile, his response to Eriri was a bit more serious.
You aren't bothering me. Is something up?
Both girls let out a sigh of relief at the same time. They had gotten a reply, and things hadn't gone badly.
Grateful she hadn't been misunderstood, Utaha quickly continued the playful tone with another message:
Did the photo really move you?
Of course! Just from looking at it, I could eat three full dinners!
Though her message was bold, Utaha couldn't help but blush. But inside, she felt a wave of happiness.
If Ryuji was joking with her like this, didn't that mean he didn't dislike her?
Ryuji-kun, are you free this weekend?
Senpai are you asking me on a date?
Weekend? Ryuji suddenly remembered it was already Thursday, and the weekend was just two days away.
So, Utaha wants to go on a date with me?
Yes, because I'm still stuck on a few parts of my novel, I wanted to do some "field research" for inspiration.
Damn it! Utaha scolded herself after sending the message.
Utaha, Utaha! You're usually so bold and clever, so why are you hesitating now? You should have just said it outright!
Great!
But luckily, Ryuji didn't turn her down.
Awesome!
Seeing his reply, Utaha couldn't help but cheer inwardly.
Let's meet on Saturday at noon, then?
Sure!
After securing Ryuji's agreement, Utaha immediately started mentally planning her outfit for their date.
On the other hand, Ryuji shifted his attention to responding to Eriri's message.
Thank you for what you did yesterday. If it weren't for you, I might have died. I never thought I'd come so close to death.
It was precisely because of that incident that Ryuji's heroic figure had been etched into Eriri's mind.
It's nothing. After all, Eriri is really cute. If something happened to you, I would've been really sad.
Cute!
Eriri's face instantly turned bright red as she read the message. She buried her head in her blanket, her whole body twisting in embarrassment.
"Cute! Ryuji said I'm cute!"
This was incredible! Really incredible!
However, Eriri didn't notice that the door to her room had cracked open a little, and a pair of eyes were quietly watching her from outside.
It was her mother, Sayuri. Lately, she had noticed her daughter acting a little strange and came to check on her.
But what she saw through the door… So, her daughter was in love?
Actually… no.
Eriri had originally intended to act tsundere, but remembering what Utaha had told her, she knew that the whole "tsundere act" had fallen out of favor.
There was no one in the real world who would put up with a tsundere.
With that thought in mind, Eriri suppressed her usual instinct and sent a new message.
Actually, Ryuji-kun, you're really handsome too!
Utaha probably didn't expect this. She had merely teased Eriri with a single line, but it ended up helping Eriri out in a big way.
Is this really Eriri? Ryuji thought, surprised.
In the anime world, Eriri was famous as one of the top-tier tsunderes her "tsundere" ranking near the top of the charts. But now, she was being unexpectedly direct.
Chatting with this side of Eriri felt surprisingly refreshing to Ryuji.
While tsunderes might be entertaining to watch in anime, in real life, dealing with them could be exhausting.
Is that a compliment, Eriri? That makes me happy!
Um, are you free this weekend? Because of everything that happened, I wanted to… thank you, Ryuji-kun!
Afraid of being rejected, Eriri quickly tacked on that last part to her message.
As Ryuji looked at the messages on his phone, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
These two... they didn't plan this, did they?
First, Utaha asked him out, and now Eriri was doing the same.
Great!
Reject them? That was out of the question.
I've got something on Saturday, but how about Sunday instead?
********
Check out the other fanfictions I'm working on;
* One Piece: King Of The World Starting With The Nitrogen-Nitrogen Fruit
* My Hero Academia: Thunder God
*Naruto: Reborn As Orochimaru
*Starting With Real Madrid