“A... a date?”
Kuroki had just suggested we go on a date—right after I’d supposedly come back from a maid cafe.
(This girl... she’s looking at me like this was all part of some grand design.)
She was playing it like she pitied me for only being able to interact with girls at a maid cafe. While pretending she was doing me a favor by saying, “In that case, I guess I have no choice but to go on a date with you,” she had actually been the one to initiate it.
As a perfectionist who had set her sights on me, she must have intended to go on a date from the very start. That’s probably why she was waiting for me in the first place.
But I was the one who had handed her a perfectly valid excuse on a silver platter.
Just a moment ago, I was feeling relieved, thinking I’d outsmarted her with that lie about the maid cafe. This was her immediate counterattack. It was like the moment I’d called checkmate, she’d blocked it perfectly and put me in a counter-check.
Did this mean Rui Kuroki was seeing several moves ahead of me?
(She’s too much of a tactician... it’s like a game of shogi.)
Still, I couldn't wrap my head around the obsession that drove her to go to such lengths.
“Honestly, Ryouta-kun. You don’t have to be so on guard, you know? Even if I call it a date, it’s already evening. We’re just going to walk together through the station area.”
“Wh—why do you go that far, Kuroki?”
“Go that far?”
“I’m just a loner at the bottom of the class hierarchy, you know? No matter how much of a perfectionist you are, isn’t this a bit much?”
“A bit much?”
Every time I spoke, Kuroki echoed my words back to me like a question.
“I mean, you must be exhausted from track practice, yet you sat on the station platform reading a book, not even knowing when I’d show up... it’s just not normal.”
“Were you happy?”
“H-Huh?”
“When you saw me waiting on the bench, were you happy, Ryouta-kun?”
Kuroki sat back down and flashed me a bright, teasing smile.
“It—it’s not about being happy. I was honestly just surprised. Or rather, I don’t understand your reason for going to such extremes.”
“That’s because... ever since that day, I’ve wanted you to fall in love with me, Ryouta-kun.”
There it was again—the suggestive mention of “that day.”
It had been stuck in my head like a stubborn piece of food between my teeth, which is why I’d asked Tanaka if he had any ideas. And the conclusion we’d reached was the junior high school graduation ceremony.
“But in your case, Ryouta-kun, it’s because you’re special—unlike the other boys.”
“Sp... special?”
“So, shall we? Our little stroll date.”
I still couldn't see the full picture of why Kuroki was so fixated on me. But regardless of her reasons, I wasn't cold enough to just say, “See ya,” and walk away from someone who had waited for me on a station platform on such a windy day.
In fact, when someone goes to those lengths, it becomes nearly impossible to turn them down.
“Fine. I don't know about it being a 'date,' but it's the same way home from the station anyway...”
“Hehe.”
“What are you laughing at?”
“Oh, nothing. Well then, shall we?”
☆☆
We passed through the ticket gate and walked side-by-side down the main street.
Walking next to Kuroki, I noticed she didn't smell like her usual sweet perfume. Instead, she had a refreshing, clean scent, likely from her deodorant.
As always, her profile was stunning—her nose was perfectly straight, and her eyelashes were long. Looking at her from the side, I understood all too well why she was hailed as a girl of peerless beauty.
She might be a bit of a perfectionist and slightly unhinged, but Kuroki’s specs were truly off the charts.
“Ah, a kitty.”
Just as we were passing a park along the street, Kuroki spotted a stray cat heading inside. She immediately turned toward the park to follow it.
“H-Hey, Kuroki!”
I chased after her.
Kuroki crouched down and, with practiced ease, made a little clicking sound with her tongue to lure the cat over. It was a round, chunky calico. To be honest, I couldn't exactly call it cute, even to be polite.
Yet Kuroki handled the fat cat with ease, happily ruffling its fur.
“D—do you like cats, Kuroki?” I asked, crouching down beside her.
“Hmm... if it’s between Ryouta-kun and a cat, I think I like the cat better!”
(I—I lost to a cat!?)
“Ah, you look disappointed.”
“I do not! Absolutely not!”
“You were thinking, ‘Even though she likes me enough to wait hours for me at the station~,’ weren’t you?”
“T-That’s not it!”
Well, to be fair, that was exactly what I was thinking. Since she’d hit the nail on the head, I could feel the embarrassment spreading across my face.
“You’re so cute, Ryouta-kun, getting jealous of a cat. Oh, do you want me to rub your belly, too?”
“Definitely not.”
I’d much rather see your navel... I kept that wicked thought strictly to myself as I retorted.
“Hehe. But for me, cats are... special.”
There was that word again. Special.
“Why are cats so special to you?”
“...I used to have one a long time ago. It passed away, though.”
That got heavy fast. Had I just stepped on a landmine?
“But thanks to that cat... another special thing was born into my life. That’s why I’m grateful to cats, and why I love them.”
Another special thing?
I didn't really get it, but one thing was certain: another mystery had been added to the enigma that was Rui Kuroki.