Chapter 57

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A nice fluffy beginning of a date for the start of the new arc.

Title: Meeting up with Satou-san and I

Satou-san and I often meet up with each other.

After graduating from Higashi High School, we were dating normally. This isn’t the first time we’ve met up together, and we’ve been on dates before while we were still in high school. But no matter how many times I’ve done it, I still get nervous while waiting for her like this. No, I’m not nervous. I’m not nervous to meet Satou-san. We’ve been classmates for two years, and seeing each other now doesn’t make me feel sleepless or restless the night before. I just didn’t get enough sleep last night because I got into bed and read a magazine or something. And today it’s a very nice day and my palms are sweating. My head is hot from standing in the sun, and I feel like the heat is going around my whole body. That’s all it was.

Anyway, Satou-san didn’t show up yet. Even though Satou-san, who is somewhat slow and sluggish, is the kind of person who doesn’t show up late for meetings. She said he doesn’t like to keep people waiting, and that’s why she leaves her house as early as possible when she’s meeting someone. In fact, there were times when she was waiting for me 20 minutes before the meet up, and when I was in a bit of a hurry and headed to the meeting place early, I often saw Satou-san, who had come before me, smiling and waving to me. I think it’s probably because of the painful waiting period she had in the past. I don’t really want to talk about this, or if I could, I wouldn’t want to remember it again, but I can’t help but think about Satou-san, and I can’t forget her. I can say that I wouldn’t do such a thing, and I know that Satou-san thinks so now. Therefore, she will never experience such a thing again, and I don’t need to worry about her. If you’re talking about worry, it’s Satou-san right now. It’s already five minutes before the meeting time, but she hasn’t come yet. It may be a bit early to worry that something is wrong. But it could be Satou-san, because she is usually not this late.

Maybe she’s contacting me. So I checked my cell phone, but there were no texts or calls. If that’s the case, something is probably wrong, too. Then I looked around for a moment.

I looked back and saw Satou-san’s figure easily reflected in my eyes. She was wearing a white, shoulder-less one-piece. This is the dress I recommended when we went shopping together before. I’m sure that Satou-san would look much more mature wearing it, but her sluggish movements and the atmosphere she exudes are the same as always. I’m good at spotting Satou-san in a crowd, and even now I can easily spot her from the crowd in front of the train station on a holiday when the station is full of people. But somehow, as soon as I turned around, Satou-san dove into the shadows of a nearby tree with the movements of a badly made spy.

…What? It was almost as if she was trying to avoid detection. It’s like a little kid playing hide-and-seek. But why do you need to hide from me? Pretending not to notice, I casually caught her out of the corner of my eye as I looked around. Satou-san hides when I turn around to face her, but when I try to turn my head around, she pokes her head out from behind a tree. Then she approaches me with her quiet steps. Apparently, she is trying to get behind me. I don’t think it’s possible, but is this some kind of childish idea to surprise me? I stopped moving my head, turned around to face the front and took control of my phone as Satou-san approached me sorely. I bring up the mirror app and pretend to look at the screen to show my back. Satou-san was already close enough to me to see her expression, and I could see her smile, innocent for a naughty girl, on the screen. I don’t know what she’s doing when she’s wearing such a cute outfit.

Anyway, I knew what she was up to. Probably, she wants to watch me being struck by the sight of her, either by saying ‘Wah’ from behind me or by giving me a thump on the shoulder. I don’t think that kind of mischief is like you, but at the same time, I feel that childishness is very much like you. If it’s you, Satou-san. But I was the first to notice her. This kind of thing doesn’t work if the target notices you, and I won’t be as surprised as Satou-san expects me to be. Satou-san might be disappointed if I was. And I’m a little embarrassed that I found her so easily in front of the busy station, too. I arrived at the meeting place before her, who usually arrives early, and then wandered around restlessly because Satou-san didn’t show up, and then easily found her in the crowd. It’s as if I can’t wait to see her and am itching for her to come – or maybe that’s true. Even if that’s the case, a man doesn’t want to be seen as such. That’s why I have to pretend that Satou-san doesn’t notice. If she stands behind you and lets out a loud cry of ‘Wow!’, you’ll be exaggeratedly surprised, as if you were caught off guard. You should act as if you didn’t even notice that Satou-san was there – maybe that will make her happy.

I checked Satou-san’s figure on the screen of my cell phone. She was already about three meters away from me. She doesn’t know I’m aware of it, but she closes the distance with a smiling, carefree smile. Is it about time. I quietly took a deep breath to show her how close I was to giving her a performance. If I listen carefully, I can hear her stifled breathing. Then her shadow gently overlapped my shadow as it fell at my feet. That’s when I thought it was coming.

Suddenly, someone bumped into my back. At the same time, my eyes were covered by soft hands.

“Yamaguchi-kun, guess who’s there?”(S)

I didn’t need to think too much about it; the voice was so familiar to my ears. But I couldn’t answer immediately because I was choked up. Partly because Satou-san’s actions were not what I had expected, and partly because her hands, which blocked my view, were warm and really soft. Or maybe it’s because I’m taller than her and she had to reach up to cover my eyes, but she snuggled herself up against my back. Anyway, I almost dropped the cell phone I was holding. I managed to respond with a mouthful that felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest as I hurriedly clutched it.

“You’re Satou-san, right? I can usually tell….”(Y)

When Satou-san heard my answer, she slowly removed her hand from my eyes. Then she let go of my back and looked up at me from behind.

“Wow! That’s amazing, Yamaguchi-kun!”(S)

The moment he said that, Satou-san was smiling carefree. But immediately, she looked worried.

“Oh, sorry. Did I……..scare you that much?”(S)

Did I have such a surprised look on my face? That’s because my pulse is getting a bit high, but that’s not because I was surprised, but rather – well, it’s still a surprise, isn’t it? My back is still hot for some reason.

“It’s not a problem. Not really.”(Y)

I shook my head in a hurry. I continued to look up at Satou-san, who was looking up at me anxiously.

“I’m not that surprised. I mean, I’ve noticed you.”(Y)

“What? Really?”(S)

“Yeah. I saw you coming towards me with a smile on your face, and I knew you were trying to surprise me.”(Y)

It wasn’t a lie or anything, it was the truth, but it’s strange because somehow when I say it now, I sound like a sore loser.

“It was….”(S)

Satou-san nodded in agreement and then smiled in relief.

“Yamaguchi-kun’s eyes were wide open. I’m afraid I startled you too much.”(S)

“Well I was somewhat surprised. I thought it would be sudden to call a person to startle them, and I was prepared to be a little surprised too, but I didn’t expect it to happen like how you did it. I didn’t expect it.”(Y)

I’m not lying, but my explanation is as far as it goes. Maybe it’s because my heartbeat hasn’t subsided yet.

“I’ve been thinking about that too.”(S)

She blushed at that point, as if embarrassed.

“But if it was Yamaguchi-kun, I felt like he would understand that it was me, even if it was just my voice… was it weird? These thoughts.”(S)

I could tell if it was Satou-san, not just by her voice, but by the way she moved from a distance, or just by her atmosphere. I don’t think it’s weird. We’re going out, so it’s normal.

“I don’t think it’s strange. I know your voice, too, if it’s Satou-san.”(S)

She seems pleased when I tell her that. She smiles with her red cheeks and grips the sleeve of my shirt.

“Thank you, Yamaguchi-kun. I’m glad you understand.”(S)

“I mean, that’s just a given.”(Y)

I was light on my words, but I couldn’t stop my face from loosening up. Of course, Satou-san looked at me exactly the same and made me even happier.

“You’re right. Yamaguchi-kun is a great guy, you’ll definitely understand, won’t you?”(S)

I’d like you to say something else instead of ‘because he’s a great guy’, but I didn’t have time to correct you either, and most importantly, Satou-san seems to be happy, so I’ll let it go. In order to enjoy the date, I need to calm down and hold Satou-san’s hand as soon as possible.

Satou-san and I often meet up with each other, but that’s not enough to make me nervous. But I would be surprised if someone did something like that today, or I don’t think it’s any use to be embarrassed. My back was still hot. Satou-san’s hand was warm as she linked it back together, and she glanced at me, so my heart had been beating loudly for a while.

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