Chapter 7. Date A Live
The world is always ironic.
For instance, in a place where no surveillance could reach, the innocent party responsible for giving the entire Caster faction a collective stomach ache was currently walking side-by-side with a young girl down the main street of Snowfield.
No matter the angle from which a pedestrian looked, they appeared to be a perfect couple.
However, the youth's aura was somewhat somber.
'Did these two have a fight?' A woman passing by on the sidewalk stole a glance back at them with a curious gaze, only stopping when she nearly walked into a utility pole while turning a corner.
"Senpai? Are you in a bad mood?"
Like a Yamato Nadeshiko worried for her husband, Sakura tugged at the hem of her Senpai's clothes—he had regressed into his old "rarely smiling" state.
No matter what state Senpai was in, he was always gentle. It was merely the difference between "cold on the outside, warm on the inside" and "warm on both sides"; to Sakura, it didn't matter. However, an abnormality in attitude itself proved that Senpai had things on his mind.
"No, I'm just thinking... is it really okay to go out shopping when we know for a fact we've been under surveillance?"
"Of course it's fine. As Nee-san says: 'Soldiers to block the general, earth to stem the flood'—we'll deal with whatever comes."
"I know she sent her jewel-type familiars to monitor the aircraft's landing site, but I suppose I'm still a bit uneasy."
Sakura blinked her eyes lightly.
"It's quite rare to see Senpai uneasy."
The reason Senpai appeared so strange was surely his vigilance toward certain inconsistencies.
From a tactical standpoint, it was as correct as could be—a formidable intuition of his. However, Sakura hoped that her Senpai, whose heartstrings had been pulled taut tens of thousands of times, could briefly enjoy life during this scheduled time.
Sakura thought for a moment and reached out both hands. Her palms covered Senpai's right hand, softly warming it.
"It's alright. I'm by Senpai's side. We will solve it together."
The warmth traveled through her palms, snapping Shirou out of his deep state of doubt.
Stunned for a few seconds, Shirou responded with a bit of self-deprecation: "Sorry, I shouldn't have passed my worries onto you, Sakura."
"That's not it! On the contrary, I don't want Senpai to hide his negative feelings from me at all."
Sakura grew anxious instead. In short, it was the wrong answer; Sakura wore an expression of silent pouting.
"...Though I don't quite understand, it must be my fault."
He was met with a pair of resentful eyes. Then Sakura spoke:
"Senpai, please repeat after me: 'I must properly express my feelings to those close to me; I cannot keep them bottled up inside.'"
"I must properly express my feelings... to those close to me; I cannot keep them bottled up inside?"
"Yes."
Sakura smiled charmingly. Seeing Shirou come to his senses, her shy irritation vanished into thin air, leaving only the traces of a smile.
She took Shirou's hand.
Shirou did not pull away.
By the way, why was Sakura walking alone with Shirou on the streets of Snowfield?
When Shirou asked this, Miss Sakura answered as follows:
Miss Saber said she felt guilty for some reason and gave up the first day's opportunity.
Illya said this morning, "So sleepy... you absolutely must not become a background character, okay?" and went back to sleep instead of joining.
Then, for some reason, the person chosen to be with Senpai on the first day became her.
Rin and the others had explicitly planned for five days, rotating who would accompany Shirou for sightseeing in Snowfield—Shirou was aware of this.
Although there had been proposals for sightseeing together, sightseeing separately, or him practicing while they shopped and rested, the result was simply them staring at him with a gaze that said, "Why are you adding to the chaos?" and thus he ceased to object.
In any case, Shirou just shouldn't worry about it.
"But I think being out together is still very fun. I'm sure it's the same for you, Sakura."
"Please don't say such insensitive things, Senpai. This is one thing, and that is another."
Hearing this, Shirou finally understood in a flash of inspiration. Saber and Illya had abstained, and Rider would yield to Sakura unconditionally. So if that was the case, the remaining situation was a sisterly rivalry.
Most likely, Rin had deferred. One could only say he should properly thank Rin.
Though if Shirou were to give his opinion, he'd certainly think going out together as a group would have been fine, but clearly, Shirou's shallow perspective carried no weight.
Shirou tightened his grip on Sakura's hand amidst the flow of people. After about half an hour, they had entered a commercial street.
Once he set aside the messy distractions, it was unexpectedly relaxing.
"Sakura, do you want to buy some food?"
"Anything Senpai wants to eat is fine, as long as you share a bit with me."
Sakura was all smiles.
Actually, this was already strange. Why was his first reaction to buy food? Regarding the commercial street... Shirou dug up a distant memory.
"Sakura, do you still remember? We used to wander the Fuyuki commercial district alone together, didn't we? The strongest memory I have is buying imagawayaki (red bean cakes)."
"Senpai still remembers that! I'm so happy!"
The days in Fuyuki City were many years ago. Shirou only vaguely remembered it happened, but Sakura praised him as if she had been expecting it, skipping the recollection phase entirely.
As for whether it was a bit "heavy"... Shirou certainly wouldn't think so.
"In that case, how about we search for some red bean cakes on this street?"
Shirou made the proposal.
This proposal was less a goal and more a game. Shirou couldn't imagine Sakura refusing; in fact, she grew excited to a frightening degree.
"I accept that proposal."
Super serious. The strength of their hand-holding shifted instantly; from Shirou leading Sakura, it became Sakura leading Shirou, before finally settling into an even pace—walking shoulder to shoulder.
That said, finding red bean cakes on a street like this was no easy task. Furthermore, they were in a foreign country. The local trends were completely opposite to those of their homeland; finding the same flavor between different countries truly required some effort.
Stopping and starting, another half hour passed. With synchronized steps, the two passed a coffee shop called "Oasis Cafe" for the third time.
This was because the commercial street was laid out in a "square-within-a-square" structure. No matter how one walked, they would unconsciously return to the vicinity of the starting point.
"What a shame, looks like there aren't any."
"No, no, Senpai, look over there?"
Sakura pointed toward a small path branching off the main road. There was actually a faint shopfront there that they hadn't noticed before.
A light scent of sweets wafted from the shop. In one corner, boxes of neatly arranged red bean cakes lay quietly.
'They actually have them?'
Shirou could only shake his head in shock. But Sakura was happy, and that made Shirou happy too.
"Excuse me, one order of red bean cakes please!"
The owner went through the routine of picking the cakes into a bag and handing them over.
"Young man, are you and the lady beside you a couple?" she asked with a beaming smile.
"..."
The heart for gossip knows no borders.
"It's a secret ♪"
Without realizing it, Sakura had grown to a point that astonished Shirou. She answered in English, calm and composed. She had the air of a Yamato Nadeshiko—a bit cute and a bit terrifying.
Incidentally, since Sakura hooked her arm into Shirou's with an inescapable grip while speaking, Shirou had no choice but to play along and pretend to be calm.
'Is this also part of your calculations, Miss Sakura?'
He had a premonition that the girl's next line would be something like, "I really like the snow when I'm with my lover; it feels like such a special atmosphere." Shirou could only shake his head hurriedly to dispel the mysterious hallucination from his mind.
When he opened his eyes again after rubbing them vigorously with his arm, his visual focus refreshed, and something that had been in his peripheral vision caught his attention.
Through the roadside railing, the Oasis Cafe on the main road could be glimpsed.
Behind the glass, which was coated in a deep black sun-protection layer, a staff member was moving.
"...?"
He felt... something was odd. The thin film of air clinging to his body seemed to have grown much heavier than usual.