In the final countdown before the screening began, the seats in the theater were completely filled, not a single one left empty.
The noise in the hall gradually died down as well, leaving only a bit of hushed conversation.
And today, Ichin and the others were pretty lucky. Before the lights went out, he took a glance around and realized that there wasn't a single parent in the theater who had brought along a rowdy kid.
Even though thinking this way might be a bit of a blanket judgment, Ichin genuinely disliked running into parents who brought small children to the cinema—especially the kind with unruly kids who shouted and caused a ruckus while the parents did nothing about it. That was practically a nightmare when trying to watch a movie.
But today, it seemed they could finally enjoy the film in peace.
Thinking about it, and taking advantage of the dim lighting, Ichin set his milk tea into the cup holder on the armrest. With his left hand, he held Yukino's hand, and with his right, he held Utaha's.
Sensing his movement, both of them turned to look at Ichin—and ended up seeing each other as well.
They exchanged a smile, said nothing, and quietly interlaced their fingers with his, leaning a little closer toward him.
For Ichin, the situation unfolding right now felt almost dreamlike—though, of course, it also brought him no small amount of pressure.
From now on, he would have to work even harder.
The five-minute countdown ended, and the movie finally began. Ichin shifted his attention away from the two very different yet equally delicate hands in his own and focused on the massive screen ahead.
As the film started, Aoba and the others also stopped chatting and all turned their attention to the movie. It was one they had been looking forward to as well.
The nearly two-hour-long film began at 4:30 in the afternoon, and by the time it ended, it was already close to 6:30.
As the final credits rolled and the lights in the theater came back on, Ichin stretched lazily and let out a breath.
"It's over already… that was kind of unexpected."
He had a hard time putting his feelings about the movie into words. The plot in the latter half had completely exceeded his expectations.
He truly hadn't imagined that the old domestic meme born from a Mandarin translation—"the plan to kill Ultraman was set by Zoffy"—would actually become reality.
It had to be said, Anno really loved stirring things up, writing a story that no one would have seen coming.
But thinking about it carefully, it wasn't all that hard to understand. After all, in this movie of his, the Ultraman depicted was quite different from the Ultramen created by Tsuburaya in the past.
Still, no matter what, it was a genuinely good movie. Ichin himself had enjoyed it immensely.
Rolling his neck a bit, Ichin looked at Utaha and Yukino. "Let's go. Time to head out."
Standing up, everyone followed the rest of the audience out of the theater.
Once outside, they didn't linger and headed straight for the yakiniku restaurant where they had made a reservation.
Aoba and the others walked together, chatting excitedly about the movie's plot, while Ichin turned to Yukino. "When is Haruno coming over? Should we give her a call?"
"Mm, yeah, let's call her."
Nodding, Yukino took out her phone and dialed Haruno.
The call was picked up quickly, and Yukino immediately heard loud, noisy sounds from the other end—sounding like a KTV.
"Hello? Yukino? You guys finished the movie?"
"We just got out. Sis, when are you coming over? We're heading to the yakiniku place now."
"Oh!!! Right away, right away! My friend is singing right now—once she's done, I'll bring the two of them over! Don't worry, I know the address!"
"Alright, then we'll head over first. We'll save three seats for you."
After hanging up, Yukino looked at Ichin. "My sister will be here in a bit. Let's head over first."
"OK, let's drive there."
Everyone had their own cars. They went down to the underground parking lot, drove out one after another, and headed together to the yakiniku restaurant.
Since there were quite a lot of people to begin with, they had reserved two adjacent tables with two large grills. Now that Hiratsuka Shizuka had joined them, eleven people could still be seated comfortably.
By the time they arrived, the restaurant was already fairly crowded. Luckily, they had a reservation, so they were seated right away.
Once they sat down and ordered a large spread of food, the drinks were served first.
Since most of them were driving, there would be no alcohol today—everyone stuck to orange juice and cola.
Before long, plates of meat were brought out one after another. Ichin picked up a plate of beef tongue and said, "Let's start eating. When Haruno-neesan gets here, we'll just order more for them."
Both tables began grilling at the same time. On Ichin's side, he sat with Utaha and Yukino, while the seats across from them were left empty for Haruno and her two friends who hadn't arrived yet.
At the neighboring table sat Aoba, Hifumi, Nene, Umiko, and Hiratsuka Shizuka.
Once they started eating, it was clear that the quality of the meat here was excellent. The beef tongue and pork belly only needed a short time on the grill before rich aromas began to waft through the air, instantly making everyone—who had just watched a two-hour movie—feel ravenous.
The beef tongue cooked the fastest. Ichin picked up slice after slice, sharing them with Utaha and Yukino, then grabbed the scissors beside him and cut a whole strip of pork belly into bite-sized pieces.
Utaha ate a slice of beef tongue herself first, then picked up another piece, dipped it lightly in chili, and held it up to Ichin's mouth.
"Come on, Ichin, ah~~~"
"Ahm."
Ichin opened his mouth and ate the beef tongue, nodding in satisfaction. "Mm, the texture of this beef tongue is really good. It's not cut too thin."
When it came to beef tongue, Ichin preferred it sliced a bit thicker—it was much more satisfying to chew that way.
After eating for five or six minutes, the restaurant door opened. Haruno, impeccably dressed, finally arrived with two girls who were just as good-looking as she was.
Seeing the two tables over on Ichin's side, she said something to her friends behind her and immediately walked over.
"I'm here, I'm here—sorry to keep you waiting. Huh? Shizuka? Why are you here too?"
While stuffing a lettuce wrap filled with pork belly into her mouth, Shizuka shot Haruno a glare. "What, I can't be here? We haven't seen each other for almost three months, and this is what you say the moment we meet?"
"Hehe, I've been pretty busy lately~~~"
Haruno laughed and hugged Shizuka, rubbing her cheek against hers despite the other woman's look of disgust. After greeting Aoba and the others, she then brought her friends over to Ichin's table and introduced the two of them.
Looking at Haruno's two fashionably dressed friends, Ichin smiled. "Nice to meet you. Please, have a seat. We'll order some more food—excuse me, waiter!"
He called the waiter over, ordered a few more plates of meat and some lettuce, then went back to grilling.
Utaha, meanwhile, curiously brought up Haruno's class reunion from earlier that day.
"Haruno-san, did anyone confess to you today?"
Haruno froze for a moment, then said in surprise, "Eh? You guessed that?"
Pointing toward Shizuka's table, Utaha said, "Hiratsuka-sensei guessed it. So it really happened?"
Haruno shrugged, took a big gulp of cola, and said, "Just a really boring guy. I already rejected him once before anyway. Alright, enough of that boring stuff—Ichin~~ I want beef tongue!"
Watching Haruno openly act spoiled and beg for food without any restraint, the two friends sitting beside her were utterly stunned.
Was this really the Haruno they knew?
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