Later on, far off into the distant future I would look back on tonight as a turning point in my time here at school. A pivotal moment, one of the foundational moments of my choices. It was tonight that my relationship with Kikyou was redefined, my resolve was hardened, and my goals were set in stone.
But mostly I remember it for the pain in my ear as a result of asking an apparently stupid suggestion.
"Do you want to go out for dinner?"
The resulting yell across the phone forced me to hold it away from my head, as I did my best to get over the ringing in my head.
"I'm sorry could you repeat that? I didn't hear a word you said."
My next sentence resulted in another bout of shouting, one that I could at least partially distinguish through the volume.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! Asking a question like that and then ignoring me! Listen you bitch, do you have any idea what sort of thing you said, and you have the audacity to ignore my response?! Fucking asshole!"
I hadn't expected a reaction this severe.
"Are you OK?"
"It's been," she almost growled, "a really long day! So, I'm sorry for reacting appropriately to a stupid fucking question."
I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for not understanding."
"And?"
"And for ignoring your response." Although that was her fault for screaming so loudly.
"Yay Kiyotaka! That wasn't so hard, was it?" Instantly all traces of anger had disappeared from her voice, a cheery and happy girl returning in a moment. I felt an involuntary shiver run down my spine in fear of such a demon.
Moving on from that terrifying exchange, I repeated the original question.
"Hmm, I have nothing planned for tonight, so I was probably going to come over anyway. Sure! I'd love to go have dinner with you Kiyotaka." I could feel the smile in her voice over the phone. It was a very rare occurrence, so it still shocked me whenever Kikyou was genuinely happy, without putting on her façade, and this was one of those times.
"Great. Meet me at the entrance to the dorms at 6." It was a bit before five now, so that gave her plenty of time to get ready. I had picked up enough to know that girls could need an extraordinary amount of time to prepare for an outing.
"Oh? I thought you, mister practical, would just want to meet there." A suggestive tone entered her voice. "Don't tell me you want to walk there with me, ne Kiyotaka?"
"I suppose that's somewhat the case. Make sure to wear something nice." The place I had in mind wasn't especially cheap, and required more than just a t-shirt and jeans, although I had no doubt that Kikyou would have worn appropriate clothes anyway.
"A-Are you asking me out on a date?"
I was about to respond, before doing a double take at what I heard. It was almost imperceptible over the lower quality phone call, but she had definitely stumbled over her words slightly. For what reason, be it embarrassment, anticipation or something completely different I couldn't tell.
"Eh?"
"Well, nice clothes implies a fancy restaurant, walking me there yourself. It kinda gives off that vibe doesn't it?"
I spent a second trying to figure out the best way to respond.
"Back on the island, I promised I'd buy you dinner, didn't I? I wasn't really thinking of this as a date, just dinner with a friend."
There was a pregnant pause.
"Oh. Well, yeah, you did! I'm looking forward to our not-date, Kiyotaka!" She just had to go and call it that.
"I'll see you at six then."
"Don't be late~" She finished in a sing-song voice, before hanging up to go get ready.
Having confirmed our dinner, I flopped down onto my bed, trying to process that strange conversation. There was still an hour until 6, and it wouldn't take too long to shower and get dressed, so I had some time to relax and think.
No part of that phone call had gone to plan. While in the end the main goal was achieved, there were a lot more questions than answers generated by it.
The relationship between Kikyou and I was in a peculiar state. We had grown very close since the cruise, where she opened up to me, and now I wasn't sure how she felt.
Before this, I had always had a pretty good grasp of who I was to Kikyou, of how she thought of me. When she hated me, when she stopped hating me, when she began to tolerate me to when she began to actively seek me out, I was able to accurately determine all of this.
Now, it was more complex.
I was confident in giving her the label of my best friend, an easy decision since she was practically my only friend, at least the only one I saw on a regular basis. She was the only person in the school I trusted, and at this point the only person I'd be willing to help out of goodwill.
But I had no idea what she thought of me. Or at least how deep our relationship was to her.
She had reacted in an unexpected way. There was the over the top reaction to my question, which I assumed came from a place of embarrassment. Looking back, I could understand the misconception, the double meaning behind my question if viewed from a more romantic light. Except for the key words 'romantic light'. It would only make sense to react in that manner if she was already considering out conversation, or me, in a less platonic manner.
Then there was the slight disappointment when I clarified that it wasn't a date, when I made it clear that I wanted to go out with a friend. Perhaps it was embarrassment or awkwardness at the question and response, but I suspected otherwise.
I was confident that was disappointment in her voice, however slight, and no matter how well she cheered up and continued the conversation it had been noticed by both of us.
Did she want to go on a date? It was possible. I wouldn't be surprised if her feelings had turned in that direction, in fact I thought it was a reasonable probability. I just didn't expect it to happen this soon.
If it turned out Kikyou had feelings for me, I probably wouldn't say no. She was certainly attractive, and I enjoyed spending time with her. She couldn't match me intellectually, but she was by no means stupid, and quite often was able to come up with a different perspective I hadn't considered or understand something better than I did due to her social skills.
No, I had no real objections to dating Kikyou. It was a common part of school life for most teenagers, to find someone special, fall in love. It was something I was curious about, but in the end, it wasn't up to me.
Kikyou had one of the most twisted minds I had ever come across. She needed to be popular, almost as a requirement for her survival. If she didn't have access to the secrets and trust of people around her, well, it was clear how unstable her psyche was. She had threatened false rape allegations against me after just hearing her true self. She needed her position to survive.
The only issue was, quite a bit of that came from the allure she gave off as a cute single girl. Most of the boys in our grade were attracted to her on some level, which gave her an immense amount of power. The trade-off was that she could never choose one person to date without inevitably losing some of that.
That risk, or rather inevitable trade-off she would have to make, was what made me hesitant to think she would even consider a romantic relationship. Perhaps she did have feelings for me, or perhaps I was misreading the situation entirely. In any case, right now, she wasn't able to date anyone. And until she either could control the grade some other way or grew enough to be willing to sacrifice those around her for a closer relationship with one person, there was simply no chance of a romantic relationship with Kikyou.
Part of me was disappointed at this. If there was anyone in the grade that I thought could help me understand emotions, to understand love, it would have to be Kikyou. There simply wasn't anyone else I trusted enough to do so. But it was a moot point. For now, at least, there could be no progression.
And I was happy enough with finally having a best friend.
Looking at the time I realised that half an hour had gone by while I was pondering over the situation. It wasn't something I was capable of resolving now, given my limited knowledge of interpersonal relationships. More and more, I was coming to understand that stories captured real life to some degree, but not enough to use them for a basis of decision making. Life was far too complex to be properly expressed in a book.
After taking a quick shower, I pulled on the new clothes I had purchased today. A nicer button up shirt, along with some slightly fancier pants. The school didn't have any outrageously high-class places, but this restaurant was a cut above the norm, and it didn't hurt to have some clothes other than my uniform.
After yesterday's profitable venture I couldn't plead broke anymore either.
I ended up downstairs, relaxing on one of the chairs in the lobby and playing a game on my phone to while away the time. Normally at this time of night it would be rather busy, but for some reason there weren't many people around. Everyone seemed to have chosen to stay in tonight for some reason. While I waited, I only counted a couple of people, all of them returning to the dorms. Even outside, the only movement I could see was people leaving Keyaki mall and heading home. The end of the vacation was almost here, and so I guessed most people were tired and just wanted a break.
It wasn't long though before the elevator dinged, announcing the arrival of my date.
Date as in the platonic dinner date, not at all a romantic date.
I looked over to the opening doors, only to be stunned as I saw Kikyou walk out. A resplendent crimson dress, perfectly matching her eyes, cascaded down her body, widening and swirling into a skirt from her hips down. Where it ended just before her knees, her black stockings rose to meet it, a slither of creamy white skin showing between. The dress itself was only held up by two spaghetti straps, supporting the full weight of her chest, but were barely noticeable next to the black choker she wore around her neck.
As usual, her short brown hair was held back with a headband, although she had swapped out the usual white for one matching the crimson of her dress. The barest hints of makeup were noticeable, but not any more than required, allowing her natural beauty to shine through.
A small purse was hung over one shoulder, which I assumed contained her phone and other necessities for girls. Small black heels only completely the look, giving her a slight bit more height than usual, enough to almost reach my chin.
It wasn't her usual cute look, one which she had favoured throughout the year, but a more mature and classier look. She had exchanged cute for beautiful, but even so I found I couldn't take my eyes off her.
As she walked over, I noticed the usual beaming smile wasn't quite there, head tilted slightly away from me, cheeks tinted red in embaressment. I suspected she probably hadn't dressed up this much often or even ever, based on her reaction. I'd never seen her in clothes like this, since she always favoured that cute sweetheart style of acting. This was something new for her, and it was understandable for a girl to be nervous about trying a new look.
As her not-date, it was my job to compliment her.
"You look lovely."
The blush deepened slightly, but her smile returned in full force, all previous concerns and worries blown away by those three words. The internet had taught me well.
"Ah, thank you Kiyotaka! You look pretty good yourself. I'm surprised you have any clothes other than your uniform."
And she has the audacity to insult me.
"I have other clothes. I choose not to wear them."
"Sure you do. Don't lie to me dumbass, I've seen your wardrobe. I bet you went out and bought these today." We started walking out of the lobby, and into the early night outside.
It wasn't long though before Kikyou stumbled in her heels, and so I held an arm out for her, which she gratefully took, using it to stay upright. I received a slight blush and a muttered thanks, but out of the corner of my eye, once she thought I wasn't looking a sly grin broke out on her face. Whether it had been an accidental fumble from a lack of experience with heels, or she had let it happen on purpose I couldn't tell, but from the way she clutched my arm to her, pulling me closer, I was inclined to think it was the latter.
It wasn't worth something commenting on, so I let it pass.
"Did I do a bad job?"
"Hmm, I suppose not. Although I don't see why you didn't ask for help picking out clothes. I'm sure it was just luck that an idiot like you would be able to find anything that suits you."
In fact, it had been Karuizawa who helped me out, but I wasn't going to mention that. I'd suffered enough teasing from her already, I wasn't going to go through it again with Kikyou now.
The path split off into two directions, and before Kikyou could move in the wrong way, I led us off in the less used one, heading away from Keyaki mall and school.
"Eh? Where are we going?"
"I told you didn't I?"
"Noooo, you were very vague. Girls don't like that shit."
"I thought girls liked surprises."
"Girls like surprises, they don't like surprise trips. You should bring us stuff, not make us go places we don't know."
"That just seems lazy."
"See, you figured it out! But call me lazy again and I'll kick you in the dick. You can't insult a girl, we're always right."
"Doesn't that seem a bit unfair?"
"Do you want children Kiyotaka?"
"Got it, I'll be quiet."
Kikyou was giggling at the one-sided brutality she had just performed when we reached the road. This was one of the few road areas that students had access to, and from my planning ahead, there was a taxi waiting there.
I led us to it, before opening the back door and helping Kikyou in, before joining her. The driver in the front had been waiting for us, and after I gave him the destination we took off, the electric car drifting quietly through the school roads.
"How the hell did you organise this, Kiyotaka?" There was a combination of nervousness and disbelief in her voice, due to the unusual situation we were in.
I shrugged. "Do you have any idea how large this school is? It's larger than the Vatican. There's a huge amount of places that most students never get to, simply because it's too far away."
I had spent the first month here running around the campus exploring. Not only was it good exercise, but I also got to explore all the far reaching locations most people never went too. There was a map available, but even with that I still found a lot of things not mentioned.
"And so, we're going to one of those places?"
"The school's too large to get around easily, so students are able to hire taxi's to get around. There was a nice restaurant I saw on the very far side that I wanted to try, and since I owed you for the island, I thought 'why not'."
"For just dinner with a friend, you really put a lot of effort in," Kikyou sighed, before softly taking my hand in hers.
The rest of the short drive passed in silence as we watched the school go past. The further we went, the less interesting things there were. Buildings became more and more industrial, and school storage was common. But every now and then there was a new park, or a potential outing place. How they managed to stay open when almost no students came out here was astounding, but I guessed the school would provide most of the funding.
The driver pulled up outside the restaurant, and as I paid for the short trip he took a look outside, before nervously asking how long we were going to be.
"I don't imagine we'll be out too late," I replied. It didn't seem to resolve his concerns, but the driver let it go.
"Enjoy your date, you two."
"Oh, it's not a date," I corrected.
"Definitely not a date," Kikyou added cheekily.
I climbed out of the car, and when Kikyou had slid over, I helped her out as well. The door shut, and the taxi drove away, not waiting around for our return trip. I would have to book another one to go home tonight, but that wasn't a big deal.
The first few drops of rain were coming down just as we entered the restaurant, to find it was empty of guests. Unsurprising since it was so far away. We were practically as far from the dorms as you could get without leaving the school.
"Ah, welcome sir and madam. A table for two, I assume?"
After we indicated yes, the server led us over to a table in the corner of the room, handed us two menus, a bottle of water and two glasses, before leaving us to ourselves.
"Are you sure about this, Kiyotaka? I know I said a nice dinner, and I'm not going to let you get out of it, but this place is really expensive." Even for someone with expensive taste like Kikyou, who had enjoyed eating out with friends all year, this restaurant was still quite expensive. I suppose that was how they survived being so far away.
"It's fine. I made a huge number of points with the water scheme last night. Thank you for helping with that, by the way."
Kikyou gave me an unimpressed look. "I've been trying to help your image, and then you go and extort the entire school."
"And who was the one person giving out water for free?"
"Yes yes, I spared a few people from the tyrannical takeover of Ayanokouji and his lazy bitch friend. I guess if it pays for dinner then I don't really care."
It was time to put a stop to this ongoing concern Kikyou had for me. If she was constantly worried about my safety, there was always a chance she would miss some important information.
"Look, you don't need to worry about me. There's not a student here who can match me, and even if the entire grade was united against me, I'd still give myself even odds."
That was an exaggeration. If everyone in the grade wanted me gone and worked together, there was probably nothing I could do to stop it. If I had Kikyou by my side though? There was a fighting chance.
"Ah, fine. I trust you won't be a complete moron, only just an idiot."
Apparently, we'd had long enough to think, because the waiter had returned to our table, asking if we'd decided what we wanted.
"I'll have a meatlovers pizza." Pizza was a meal I'd only made for myself, since the pizza place here had a rumour of being very low quality. I was curious to see what the difference between mine and a proper restaurant would be.
"I'd like the eye fillet steak, medium rare."
"And would you like any drinks?" the waiter asked, while quickly writing down our orders.
"I'm just happy with water." My response got an angry look from Kikyou.
"Aren't we here to celebrate winning, Kiyotaka? I'll have the watermelon mocktail."
"Fine. I'll have the strawberry mocktail then." I sighed. Although I said I didn't care about the points, this was going to be a rather expensive night.
"Your meals won't be too long," the waiter smiled, before leaving us alone again.
I looked around again, only to notice that the restaurant was still empty. It was seven now, which should have been one of the busiest times for dinner, and yet no one was here.
"I'm surprised it's so empty," I thought aloud.
"I mean it is really far away from school. And with the weather, I kinda get it..." Kikyou was looking outside through the nearby window, where rain was starting to come down a bit heavier now.
"Even so, I had heard it was rather popular with the third years. I guess they have more points saved up by now." I then turned my attention to another interesting point. "Steak? Honestly, I'm surprised."
The reaction my observation garnered was a combination of gratefulness and frustration, an usual duo.
"Thank you so fucking much for taking me here. God, there's nothing better than a good steak, all juicy and bloody and tender. The succulent taste of tearing into meat, it's amazing."
Clearly, she had some issues. I just hoped that wasn't an extension of her desire to crush people.
"So?" My lax response got a hardened glare.
"You don't get it, do you? Cute girls don't eat steak. They don't get any good food. No, when I'm out with those airhead fucktard girls, we have to get the smallest, most expensive fucking meal, and then spend ages taking photos. It's not even a snack! And they're all so fucking happy to get two satay skewers for 3000 points, it's sickening. I have to starve myself every time I go out with them, and it's been four fucking months since I had a steak!"
I grabbed her hand in an attempt to calm her down before she lost it in a restaurant. The waiter was looking over curiously, but like a good worker didn't come over or make a comment.
This was clearly a sore point for Kikyou. Deep down, she wasn't a girly sort of person, not as much as most people. Sure, she still cared about her appearance, and wanted to be treated like a girl, but the insignificant, useless parts that society expected of her, those were all an act. The real Kikyou was much more aggressive, much more assertive than she pretended to be.
Except, it seemed, when it came to me. Then she had no problem falling back into typical gender roles.
"I guess we'll just have to go out for dinner more often."
She smiled at me, a smile of genuine thanks, before shifting her expression into one of indifference.
"You could just cook steak too, you know? Friends don't just go out to dinner together every week." But they cook each other (read: just me) meals alone often?
"That would be a lot cheaper," I admitted.
"Hah! So, you are worried about the price. I knew it!" Kikyou exclaimed in satisfaction.
"For just this once? Not really. I can't do this too often though." That wasn't quite true. For the price of switching classes, I could also eat here every day for the rest of school, and still not come close to running out of points. Really, it was a difficult choice to make. Changing classes was absurdly expensive.
Soon enough, our meals arrived, and while I paced myself, taking in the texture of the pizza, considering the depth, how crispy the base is, Kikyou went right in and devoured the steak as fast as possible.
She didn't make a mess, but was walking a fine line, dripping onto the plate or her napkin quite often as she shovelled the meat into her mouth, a look of pleasure on her face as she enjoyed something that had been deprived for months.
"Is it good?" All I got in response was a moan.
Honestly, this was starting to become a bit disturbing.
There wasn't much conversation as we ate, enjoying the high-quality food that was provided. My pizza had been cooked to almost perfection, topped with every kind of meat there was. Kikyou's steak was also perfect, medium rare just as asked, and not too chewy.
I finished my pizza and leaned back contentedly. The meal had been delicious, and I could tell that Kikyou felt the same.
"Ah, that was amazing!"
"Considering that they're so far away, it was definitely worth the price." Of course, the meal had cost more than one would usually pay, as far as I could tell, but accounting for distance and lack of customers, the quality more than made up for that.
The waiter came back and removed our plates from the table, leaving the two of us to slowly sip on our mocktails. It was an interesting drink, but I was glad Kikyou had convinced me to have one.
"Ne, Kiyotaka, I know this place has good desert, but I really don't feel like it."
As we entered, we had gone past a display of exquisite cakes and treats, all of which looked delicious. I had the intent to sample some of them, but I too was feeling rather full after that meal.
"Yeah, I don't think I'm up for desert."
The waiter returned, and after responding no to his question about desert, I got up from my chair, before helping Kikyou do the same. She had taken off her heels while we ate, clearly sore from even just the short walk in them, but bravely put them back on, intent on finishing the night in style.
Since it had been my idea to go out for dinner, and I had promised her a good meal in the first place, I ended up paying the entire 7086 point bill myself. From the smug smile on her face, it was clear I had made the correct decision. Even on a not-date, it seemed it was my job as the school entrepreneur to pay.
I held out my arm to her, which she gratefully clung onto again, before moving to leave the store.
"You know, I'm honestly surprised, Kiyotaka."
"Surprised?"
"You didn't fuck up the not-date." I was curious at her insistence at calling it that, as if trying to draw to attention the date part, but I let it go in favour of the insult.
"I know what I'm doing," I answered proudly.
"You googled the entire thing didn't you?" she accused.
"Yes," I responded, just as proudly.
A sigh, before she tilted her head on my shoulder. "Well, you didn't do too badly."
And the evening ended perfectly, without a single hiccup.
At least it should have, except we stepped outside.
Authors Notes:
Apologies for the delayed chapter. I had a lot of trouble with this one, and wanted to make sure it was good. Next chapter will be out tomorrow.
This chapter is pure fluff stuff. As explained, Kushida can't really have a boyfriend, this is something I've seen addressed multiple times, but that doesn't mean she wants to be alone. And hence, the not-date. Stepping stones.
Honestly, i got way too fixated on the clothes they would be wearing, and it might have gone out of character for them, but i like the idea of them dressing up for a night out. Cute Kikyou always better, but she could pull off anything.
This is part 1 of a two part story, the second part will be out tomorrow. Unlike this, a lot more stuff will happen, because i can't allow their date to go well. It has to be fun, not just sweet.
Just for interest, I've never been writing in a weirder spot before. It's currently 7:15pm at late night Christmas shopping on the 23rd for me. Out with my sister for last minute items, and since the shops are open all night (literally not closing, that's a weird thing for me) I'm going to live in the food court, take a break to go watch spiderman and then keep writing here. Honestly it's so strange that I can just be here until 3am, but I'm gonna live with it. Looking forward to silence in a shopping center, McNuggets and writing.
As always hope you enjoyed.