Chapter 75: Date
"Ugh, I'm just too nice for my own good."
Takumi grumbled to himself after dropping the girl off at home. He dashed back at full speed to where he'd left the two "beauties." Then he froze.
"Wait… why's only Shigure's statue here? Miu's is gone? Did the city council tow it or something?"
Muttering under his breath, he reached out to pick up the remaining one—then something felt wrong. The surface was warm. What he was hugging wasn't cold stone anymore. It was soft, living flesh. That familiar sweet scent hit him, and his brain short-circuited.
Without thinking, one hand slid up to cup the chest he'd always secretly wanted to touch. Through the mesh fabric, his palm met silky-smooth skin.
"Young man. Very bold."
The "beauty" suddenly spoke.
Even an idiot would realize now—this was a real person, not a stone statue. Takumi jerked his hands away like they'd been burned.
"S-sorry! Shigure-sensei, I thought it was—"
"Never mind. Your other statue… Miu took it."
"Huh?"
"You took too long. We came to check. Miu saw the statues, got mad, and hauled hers away. I stayed to wait for you."
"Oh… so it was all a misunderstanding. Shigure-sensei, please don't kill me."
"Why would I kill you?"
"Uh… I just groped you without permission."
"No problem. I don't mind."
Takumi let out a huge breath of relief, feeling like he'd narrowly escaped death.
Shigure said flatly,
"Let's go back. Props gone. Training over."
"Right… but I'm pretty sure Akisame-sensei's gonna make me pay for this when we get there."
"You helped someone. He'll praise you."
"Huh? How do you know that, Shigure-sensei?"
Squeak squeak.
A small rodent noise came from the shadows. Tōchūmaru scurried into view.
Takumi slapped his forehead.
"Ohhh, right. It's thanks to Tōchūmaru."
He laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head, then suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"Wait a second! I get it now! Akisame-sensei saying he'd use 'listening energy' to tell if I was slacking… that was a total bluff, wasn't it? It's all because of Tōchūmaru spying on me!"
Shigure's blank expression didn't change.
"You suddenly… got a little smarter."
"Goddamn it! Goddamn it! Everyone's treating me like an idiot! I'm actually really smart, okay?! Argh, I'm so pissed!"
Takumi dropped into a squat and started pounding the ground again. Then he traced a few circles in the dirt with his finger.
"Damn it… drawing a curse circle on all of you!"
His childish tantrum and whining voice finally cracked Shigure's poker face. A tiny, almost invisible smile tugged at her lips.
"Idiot. Are you… an elementary schooler?"
"I just trusted the masters completely! I never doubted anything! Give me back my trust!"
The next morning, Takumi woke up on the tatami, stretched luxuriously, and was about to head wash up when a knock came at the door.
A girl's voice followed.
"Are you awake yet, Kouichi?"
"Huh? Miu? Look, I swear I'm not buying photos anymore. I'm completely broke!"
"Who said anything about photos? Akisame-sensei said you get a full rest day today. Training needs balance—tension and relaxation. So… I came to ask if you want to go out and hang around town together?"
"Seriously?! Wait—Miu, what's today's date?"
"August third."
"Not April first… thank god!"
Takumi whooped with joy, threw on his casual clothes at lightning speed, and stepped out—only to see Miu with her hair in super-plain braids and wearing huge, thick-framed plain glasses that completely hid her beauty. He deflated instantly.
"Miu… it's rare for us to go on a date. Why are you deliberately making yourself look plain?"
"Date?! What are you even saying, you idiot?! Who's going on a date with you?!"
Miu panicked, her face flushing a light pink. Takumi stared—this was the first time he'd ever seen her so flustered. So cute!
"Idiot, idiot, idiot!"
After yelling that a few times, Miu stormed off down the hallway. Takumi tilted his head in confusion. Why was Miu acting so shy all of a sudden today?
After washing up and eating breakfast, Takumi headed out in casual clothes with Miu. The mood between them was oddly awkward—neither knew quite what to say. They just walked in silence.
Takumi thought this was wasting a perfect rare day off. He racked his brain for a topic, then his eyes lit up.
"Miu, look over there! Such a cute kitty!"
"Really?! Oh wow, it's so cute! I wanna hug it!"
It was probably only about two weeks old—already fluffy, small enough to fit in your palm. Those big, round gem-like eyes were ridiculously pretty. Too bad it already had an owner.
"Miu, you really love cats, huh."
"Mm. They're my favorite."
"Then why don't you get one? Is it because of Tōchūmaru?"
"Mm… not completely. Tōchūmaru's strength means no cat could ever threaten him."
"Then just get one!"
Miu looked tempted for a second, but then shook her head.
"No… better not. None of the people there seem to like cats."
By "the people there," she obviously meant the Ryōzanpaku crew. Every single one was built like a tank—half a head taller than normal people—and either constantly swinging weapons around or had personalities too sketchy to trust with anything fragile. The thought of a little cat in their midst was terrifying… at least in Miu's imagination.
Takumi laughed.
"Can't do anything with you. I've got an idea that's… not terrible."
"What is it?"
Takumi grabbed Miu's hand and started jogging forward. She blushed but didn't pull away, just followed curiously.
Soon they arrived at a store packed with all kinds of plush toys. Takumi pointed inside.
"Since you can't keep a real one, how about a cat plushie? It's like… I really like Miu, but just having your photos makes me happy too."
"There's something seriously wrong with how you phrased that."
Miu's face turned scarlet. She shot him a fierce glare—but her eyes were already glued to the adorable cat plushies lining the shelves.
"Thank uou."
Miu hugged the giant cat plushie tightly, beaming with happiness. The thing cost 7,999 yen—normally Miu would never spend that much. Ryōzanpaku's finances were always tight, so she had a special attachment to money (bordering on obsessive). But when Takumi paid for it without hesitation, she accepted the gift.
"It's fine. As long as you're happy, it's a sunny day."
Miu rolled her eyes at his cheesy, overly familiar line, clearly annoyed at the sudden increase in intimacy level… but she was still smiling brightly.
Just then, the sound of a bicycle bell rang out from behind them, followed by panicked shouting.
"Outta the way! Outta the way! Brakes are busted!"
Takumi glanced back—a bike was hurtling down the slope, accelerated by gravity into a runaway horse. He swayed slightly, stepped forward in an instant, grabbed the handlebars, and effortlessly brought the out-of-control bike to a stop.
"Thank you , Thank you so much! Luckily no one got hurt—huh? You're that pervert from yesterday!"
The girl on the bike was the same one from last night. Hearing the nickname, Takumi sighed in exasperation.
"Please stop adding random attributes to me without permission.
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