Meguru-chan had led me into a Western-style cafe with an impressive lunch menu. While the interior was reminiscent of the retro aesthetics of a traditional coffee house, it was also carefully furnished to deliver a thoroughly modern appeal. The atmosphere was perfect for me — stylish, and neither irritatingly raucous nor awkwardly uptight. This was a place where we could relax and enjoy our meals in peace. I had gotten the Hamburg steak lunch plate, while Meguru-chan had gone for the omurice. Like the ambiance, the flavors, too, had been crafted with heaps of genuine care.

     “This is a really nice spot.”

     “Hehe. It’s one of my favorites. But your secret room also reminded me of it, so I thought you’d appreciate a place like this.”

     Oh, hm… She’s right — this shop really does look similar to the room that I’d personally decorated. …The fact that she put that much thought into picking this place out kinda… kinda makes me happy.

     As I began to get lost in my thoughts, I noticed her staring.

     “…Hm?”

     More specifically, she was staring at my food. And to be especially precise, she was gazing at it with a sparkle in her eyes and a desire that couldn’t be described in mere words. She was like a puppy staring down its owner’s meal.

     “Um… want a bite?”

     “Can I really?!”

     There wasn’t even a single moment of hesitation before her response. She had absolutely been waiting for me to say that. Oh, you adorable thing.

     “Okay, say ‘Ahh’.”

     I stabbed a bite-sized piece of my Hamburg steak with my fork and held it out to her, and she gobbled it up just as quickly as she had asked for it. No hesitation, no embarrassment. The fact that she was so straightforward about how she wanted it made me happy. She closed her eyes, focusing on savoring it. I personally thought it was great, but what did she think about it, I wonder? And as I wondered, she swallowed and opened her eyes to reveal an even brighter shine than before.

     “Senpai, it tastes like you!”

     “Hold up, I’m not ground meat, and I’m certainly not a chef, you know?!”

     Well, despite the somewhat odd review, it seemed like she liked it, which was a relief.

     “I’m so moved…”

     “Yeah, the flavors are really authentic.”

     “No, not just that — it’s because of how you fed me! That’s what makes it special!”

     “Haha, well, I’m just glad you like it.”

     It felt like she was exaggerating, and I got a little embarrassed. But at the same time, I definitely didn’t mind being told I was special to her.

     “Would you like to try my omurice, Senpai?”

     “Really? …Oh.”

     The conversation had naturally flowed towards this direction, which had primed me to graciously accept her offer — until I made a critical realization.

     Hey, Meguru… you popped that spoon in and out of your mouth so quickly I had almost forgotten, but… this would basically be an indirect kiss, right? I mean, you were eating from that just a second ago!

     “Oh, do you not want to…?”

     “No no no, that’s not it! I do want to! As long as you’re fine with it, I’d love to give it a try!”

     “Then go right ahead! Say ‘Ahh!’”

     I managed to push down my disconcertedness, bringing my mouth close to the omurice she was offering up to me. And my eyes continued to, against my will, drift beyond the spoon to her soft, full lips. And even further beyond that was —

     …Crap, now that my head is here, I’m getting flustered all over again. Agh, come on! These are the moments where you just gotta dive right in! No fear, just like Meguru-chan!

     Nom.

     Yes! I ate it! Good job, me!

     “What do you think?”

     What do I think? Oh, the taste. She means the taste.

     “It, uh, tastes like omurice…”

     “Did you think it was something else?!”

     I was so stuck on the idea of an indirect kiss that I didn’t really pay attention to the actual food. …But I didn’t react negatively, so it probably tasted good. And now, my review had also turned out a little strange.

     “Hey, Senpai?”

     “Hm?”

     “Did it taste like… me?”

     “…You mean like what you said about me earlier?”

     “Oh? Did I not just make your heart skip a beat?”

     “No, I was thinking about my comeback to that…”

     “Oh, come on!”

     We laughed. The atmosphere had turned light, and I felt that Meguru-chan, who had seemed to be focused on sating her appetite, had actually been completely aware of the indirect kiss. And for some reason… that made me happy.

     “Hey, Meguru-chan.”

     “Yes?”

     “Um, wanna trade a few more bites?”

     “Ah! I was thinking the same thing!”

     And so, we continued to jovially swap our food back and forth for the rest of lunchtime.

     “Do you take sugar, Senpai?”

     “No, just milk for me.”

     We’d decided to have a comfy coffee break after our meal. This was a cafe, after all. In fact, it was one with reportedly incredible coffee. We passed the time chatting about school and all sorts of other things… but I felt like we had started to draw quite a bit of attention. I had a pretty good idea of why, though. It was normal for me to get some stares while just walking around, and I imagined that it was the same for her. So when two girls like us were acting all lovey-dovey in public, feeding each other and all that — of course we’d end up standing out.

     The sort of gazes directed at us were proof of my claims. They were definitely intense, but no matter what they were filled with — rapture, envy, or otherwise — there was no malice behind them. There were even people practically worshiping us, mumbling about how precious and pure we were.

     Come to think of it, this was the first time we’d acted like a proper couple in public. What happened when I visited Meguru-chan’s class didn’t count — it was so chaotic, after all. Compared to that, neither of us were doing anything conspicuous over our small talk. To our audience, we probably looked like the perfect couple. Yep, a princely, handsome beauty and an adorable, puppy-like sweetheart. Heh. Hehehe. That’s right. I’m so cool, aren’t I? And isn’t my girlfriend so cute?

     “Senpai, you seem quite spirited.”

     “Huh? Spirited?”

     “Yes. You actually seem more confident right now than you usually do when it’s just the two of us.”

     “But I’m always like this. If anything, it’s when we’re alone that things stop being normal…”

     “Huh?! You mean you have less energy when it’s just us?!”

     “No, no. That’s not it. I mean that whenever you get going with that… fe-female stuff, well… it’s hard to say I’d be brimming with confidence, right?”

     I had nearly blurted out the word “female” at full volume, but managed to turn it down a whisper just in time. I felt like recently, I’d begun to get caught up in Meguru-chan’s tempo…

     “I see… But Senpai, you seem less gloomy than when I first met you…”

     “Oh…”

     That was back when that suffocating feeling had been at its greatest. I had thought I was being careful, but had I actually let it show on my face? …Wait a second. Actually, beyond just not feeling it anymore, had I recently straight up forgotten about it…? After having agonized over it so much..? …For real?

     “That contrast — that ennui you’d let through in those fleeting moments of vulnerability, oh, it was irresistible!”

     As if reminiscing on the person I used to be, Meguru-chan, too, began to wear a look of rapture. …And more than anything, I myself had begun to feel bewildered at how I’d changed.

     “Sorry.”

     Meguru-chan suddenly apologized.

     “Huh?”

     “Well, I think it’s good that you have some room to breathe now. But I couldn’t help but think a little that I liked it when you were gloomy…”

     “What’re you saying?”

     Meguru-chan continued, lowering her voice a little.

     “That being said, nowadays I get to see even wilder sides of yourself behind the scenes, don’t I?”

     “Huh?! Y-you dummy!”

     I desperately tried to stop the red from showing on my face.

     “Haha! What I’m saying is that your gap moe is going into overdrive. It’s beyond irresistible now — you’re driving me crazy!”

     “Okay, okay, I get it!”

     Honestly, how can she just say all that with a smirk on her face?

     “You know, the first time you opened up to me about what was bringing you down, I promised you I’d eat it all up. And I can say with just as much sincerity that I want you to be well.”

     “…Thank you.”

     “Oh, it’s nothing! …Hey, look at the time. Wanna get going?”

     “Sure.”

     We left the shop together.

     If there was one thing I could be sure of, it was that Meguru-chan had saved me.

     “Senpai, let’s do that again!”

     “Huh? Oh, that! Sure.”

     “Gotcha!”

     “?!?!”

     Just as we were about to head to our next destination, Meguru-chan had stepped out in front of me with her palm out, as if asking to hold hands again. I obliged, motioning to do so, but she suddenly threw her arms around the hand I’d offered. Even as I felt her warmth on me, I myself was frozen stiff.

     “W-what’s with this?”

     “It’s my new angle of attack!”

     “A-attack?”

     “Yep! What do you think? Not bad either, right?”

     She beamed up at me, sending her carefree smile right into my eyes from point-blank range.

     “It’s nice, but…”

     I began to think of what we were doing on the side street on the way to the cafe. I was the one clinging to her then, but now, our positions had swapped.

     “Considering what we did just earlier, I’m not sure how to feel about this…”

     “Hehe. That’s good, then.”

     Suddenly, that carefree expression shifted gears into one of alluring seductiveness.

     “W-wait, is this what you meant by new angle of attack?!”

     She hardly ever got this affectionate… Wait. Was she doing this on purpose to make me feel conscious?! What a roundabout strategy… well, the only thing round about it was the arms she had around mine, but… have some mercy, please.

     “How about you just try and enjoy this?”

     “…If you insist.”

     I mean, it’s not like I didn’t like this. Nor would I mind if our roles were reversed. It’s just that unlike before, we were on a normal busy street now. Lots of people had their eyes on us, all giving us the same positive looks that we received during lunch.

     I’ve always wanted to be cool, and that hasn’t changed a bit. It makes me happy to see that I’m bringing so many others so much joy. Sure, you could call it a simple desire for validation, if it makes people happy, then who cares?

     That being said, I had to keep Meguru-chan in mind right now, which is why I was so lost on what to do — but seeing as she was the one offering, I’d gladly take her up on it.

     “Alright, let’s get going!”

     I said.

     “Let’s! Okay, first stop is that way!”

     We began to head where she was pointing at, but…

     Squish.

     “Eek?!”

     “Senpai?”

     I let out a weird noise. As for why, I mean… well… every step we took, I could feel a particular softness against my arm. And glancing down over at her, I could see that my arm was basically buried between the curves in her chest. Oh my god, they’re bigger than I thought…

     And just as I felt like a certain gentleness about to spread over my face, I came to a shocking realization. That meant that the same thing was happening the other way round, right?! Like, same as how I could feel her boobs right now, she must have been feeling mine on her arm, too…

     “Earth to Senpaaiii.”

     “Meguru-chan.”

     “Oh, finally a response! What’s the matter?”

     “So like, you know, earlier in that side street… uhh… what did you think about my chest?”

     “Oh, um… well, Senpai, I think that contrary to your height, they’ve developed quite adorably!”

     Guh.

     “Woah, hey! Sorry, I didn’t mean to put it that way! My bad! Okay, okay, I’m sorry, so please don’t pull me around like this, Senpai!”

     Yeah, they’re totally fine! Small is fine! Small is stylish!

     …In the end, even though it wasn’t that far to where she wanted to go, the journey there ended up being way more tiring than it should have been.

     “I think we’ll have a good time here!”

     “Ooh, an arcade! Nice choice!”

     This spot was close enough for me to get to by train, so I used to come around pretty often back in middle school. I heard arcades used to have pretty seedy reputations back in the day, but nowadays, they were your classic date spot. Oh, how the times change.

     “I’m a bit surprised, though.”

     “That I’d bring us to an arcade?”

     “Yeah. Didn’t you say before that you don’t really game?”

     “I did, but we also talked about how it’d be fun to game together!”

     Ah. Just like how she had picked out a cafe suited to my tastes, she’d picked out this arcade with regards to what we’d spoken about before. She’d put so much effort into today’s date plan…

     “Oh, and besides, there’s a certain game I was eyeing!”

     “Oh, really? Which one? We can start there.”

     “Okay! Over here!”

     The game Meguru-chan led me to was pretty niche, even for an arcade.

     “Hah! Hah! HAAAAAH!”

      (・д・　) (　・д・) (・д・　) (　・д・)

     “AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! MY BODY’S MOVING ALONG TO THE CHART ON ITS OWN!! I CAN’T STOP IT! AHHHHHHHHHH?!? SOMEONE HELP!!!!!!”

     We were battered by the sounds of high-tempo music amidst the sight of people moving in ways that would make you doubt they were human.

     That’s right. We were in the rhythm games section.

     There were even more people around than usual, but Meguru-chan took me to a game that had a (relatively) more casual audience. It had the distinct shape of a front-load washing machine, with buttons arranged all around the large circular screen in the center that greeted players with a cute white bear mascot.^[1]

     “Oh, this is…”

     “A friend of mine invited me out to try this a while back, and I had a ton of fun, so I was hoping we could play together! Oh, but Senpai, since this is your first time, we could share a cabinet and play side-by-side…”

     “Actually, I’ve played this before.”

     “Whuh?”

     “I like how rhythm games feel like a battle with yourself, so I’m pretty into them. I tried this one out a bit back in middle school.”

     “Oh, okay, then…”

     A fire began to burn in both our eyes, and then…

     “Yaay! I won!”

     “I lost again?!”

     “But you’re doing better on accuracy…”

     Our co-op date had turned into a one-on-one showdown, in which I kept outscoring her. She was still outperforming me on precision, though.

     “Meguru-chan, you’ve got a knack for this.”

     It was an invaluable skill to have for rhythm games. Honestly, even just looking at her, I could see her moving around with such agility that I wondered if she had some skills elsewhere that could transfer to the arcade.

     “Hey, what club were you in during middle school?”

     “The dance club!”

     “So that’s why you’re so good at this.”

     Made total sense. Dancers were very suited for these types of games.

     “What about you, Senpai?”

     “Track and field.”

     “Woah! What event?!”

     “Sprints! I was pretty fast, too.”

     “Oh my gosh, that suits you so well! I’d love to see you running in uniform!”

     “…In uniform?”

     “N-not in a weird way, I promise.”

     “Really, now?”

     I playfully retorted. I did enjoy it quite a bit, and I liked being praised for it. Like rhythm games, it was a way for me to improve myself. Thinking that I could show Meguru-chan a picture of me back then, I took out my phone and started scrolling through my camera roll.

     “Here, look.”

     “Oh! …Oh? Oh…”

     Her eyes lit up at the sight of my middle-school self in my track gear, but her expression quickly changed into something scarier.

     “W-what’s wrong?”

     “Senpai. Who are these girls?”

     “Well, some of them were clubmates, and a few others were fans that just came to cheer us on. …Oh.”

     Even I could pick up on the reason for Meguru-chan’s sudden change in mood. Displayed in that picture was me, surrounded by a crowd of girls. Since I was still living it up back then, I had been been able to simply take there presence as the natural way of things while flashing a cheery smile at the camera. But if my girlfriend were to see this…

     “Grrrrrrr!”

     “W-wait, calm down! They’re just fans and friends! Really!”

     “I spy with my little eye a woman with the look of a female on her face!”

     “H-hey, I told you not to say that word!”

     “GRRRRRRRR!!!!”

     Shit, I’d done it now… What to do, what to do? Oh, wait, maybe this’ll do the trick! But on second thought, uh… Whatever, it’s my fault, so a little embarrassment is a small price to pay!

     “Grr?”

     I leaned in close to her ear and whispered.

     “The only time I have an expression like that is when I’m with you.”  

     “…”

     “…Right?”

     “…Okay, forgiven.”

     Oh, thank goodness. It didn’t seem like she was mad anymore. Wait. …What in the world did I just say?

     “S-senpai?!”

     The words playing back in my mind were enough to almost send me toppling from the embarrassment.

     “S-sorry! It’s my fault for getting so worked up, I…”

     “No, you’re good…”

     It was partially my fault for being careless, too.  But also, she was more prone to jealousy than I imagined. I was surprised, but I saw that possessiveness as proof of her feelings for me. One could say it was one of the privileges of having a lover.

     “Shall we keep playing?”

     “Yes, of course!”

     We refocused ourselves back on the game.

     “Ugh, the rhythm on this song is so tricky…”

     “Really? I feel like I’m starting to get into the groove!”

     And…

     “It’s over! Now let’s see the results… Oh, you got me!”

     “Yay!! I finally beat you on score, too!”

     This back-and-forth with Meguru-chan made me realize that competition wasn’t that bad at all — rather, it was quite enjoyable.

     “Beautiful sounds/Within the jubiliation/A lily in bloom^[2]. Even the gorilla is entranced by the view of flowers.”

      (・д・　) (　・д・) (・д・　) (　・д・)

     “COME ON! MOVE! GET UP AND MOVE! COME ON!!!!!!!!”

     Up until now, I’d been too embarrassed to let anybody see me awkwardly practicing new songs, but now, I didn’t mind being watched at all.

     “Phew, we really worked up a sweat! Super fun, though! Wanna go again?”

     “We sure did. I can tell some people are watching us, but I don’t think anyone else is in line for these machines, so… wait, maybe those two.”

     “Huh? Oh, I see!”

     What I’d noticed was a couple watching us — and the game — from a short distance away.

     “Shall we, then?”

     “We shall!”

     Nodding in agreement, I headed over to the two.

     “Would you two like a try?”

     “Wait, really?! Are you sure?!”

     “Yeah, no problem. It’s super fun!”

     “Thank you! Then we’ll do just that!”

     Speaking to them revealed that, just like we’d thought, they were a couple that wanted to play after watching the two of us go at it. And it was likely that they were too nervous to line up for it as first-timers, so the one who had to speak up was me. Obviously, anyone who took pride in their coolness had to back it up by actually being cool. Just flaunting your looks would be nothing more than narcissism, no matter how attractive you were — not cool at all. As I mentally reaffirmed these convictions to myself, I headed back over to Meguru-chan.

     “Wanna hit the rest of the arcade?”

     “Yeah! …Also, I hate to admit it, but you really were pretty cool just now, Senpai.”

     “Why is that something that you hate to admit…”

     “I’m not gonna lose to you either, Senpai!”

     “Okay, but it’s not a competition, I think…”

     After, that, we spent some more time enjoying a bunch of different games.

     And thinking a bit more about why I began to find competing fun, why I could genuinely enjoy gaming for the first time, and why I had the perceptiveness to notice that couple… In the end, it was all because Meguru-chan was with me. …That’s how I felt, at least.

---

^[1] The rhythm game in question is Maimai, often referred to colloquially as the “washing machine game”.

^[2] This is 5/7/5 verse.

---

I have returned after 1.5 months. Full steam ahead until the end of the volume!

---

If you enjoyed this translation and would like to send some support my way, feel free to tip me here.

---

< Previous Part | Next Part >