I'm currently browsing through the books at the bookstore in the mall. I don't find anything of interest so I decide to go. While walking, I spot a familiar silver haired girl in one of the aisles.
"Eve?" I call out while approaching her.
"Huh? Oh, (Y/N)-san." Eve says, turning to me with a smile.
"Are looking for something?" I ask Eve.
"Yes, I'm looking for a book. What about you (Y/N)-san?" Eve replies.
"I was just checking out some of the books here, but nothing interesting. What kind of book are you looking for?"
"It's about Bushido! The code of the samurai!" Definitely something Eve would be looking for.
"I see, do you need some help finding it?" I offer.
"Yes, I would like some help." Eve replies with a smile.
"What's the title of the book?" I ask her.
"It's called 'An easy to understand guide to Bushido'." Eve answers.
"'An easy to understand guide to Bushido', got it. I'll go ask customer service if they have it." I say.
"Okay, I'll keep searching here." Eve replies then she goes back to searching through the books.
I go to the customer service counter and ask the employee if they have the book in stock.
"Excuse me."
"Yes, how can I help you sir?" The employee says.
"Do you have the book titled, 'An easy to understand guide to Bushido' in stock?" I tell the employee.
"Just a moment sir." The employee says to me as she searches for the book on the computer.
"Yes, we do have the book in stock. It should be in the guides section." The employee tells me while pointing at the guides section.
"Thank you." I thank the employee before heading back to Eve.
"Eve." I call out to her.
"(Y/N)-san, do they have the book?" Eve asks me as she stands up.
"Yeah, they said that it should be in the guides section." I tell her.
"Okay, let's go look for it over there." Eve says then we head over to the guides section to look for the book.
"Let's see..." Eve and I are looking through the guide section for the book.
"It's not over here." Eve says, going to another shelf.
I continue to look through the books on the shelves when I finally spot the book we're looking for: 'An easy to understand guide to Bushido'. I take the book and turn to Eve.
"Eve, I found it."
"Really?" Eve says while standing up.
"Yup, here it is." I hand the book over to Eve.
"'An easy to understand guide to Bushido'! Thank you (Y/N)-san." Eve says as she looks through the book. "This will definitely help me understand Bushido better!"
Eve and I then proceed to the cashier where Eve buys the book before we leave.
"Thank you for helping me (Y/N)-san!" Eve says to me as we walk.
"No need for that. It was a simple thing." I tell her.
"No! That was very honorable thing to do (Y/N)-san. Samurai must help each other!" Eve says with enthusiasm.
"Maybe. But I'm no samurai, if anything, I'd be a regular grunt." I say.
"You should have more confidence in yourself! You are definitely a samurai!" Eve says walking in front of me then facing me.
"While your right about being more confident. I still don't know about being a samurai. I'd rather wield a rifle instead of a katana." I tell Eve.
"That's right! Hina-san told us that you were pretty good at the shooting gallery when you went to the amusement park together with Sayo-san." Wait, Hina told them that. I'm gonna have to watch out for Chisato again...
"She even told us that you said that know how to use real guns, is that true?" Eve asked interested.
"Yes. I learned from my dad and my grandfather. They both served in the army." I answer.
"That's amazing!" Eva exclaims
"Wanna hear some stories about my time shooting?" I ask Eve.
"I'd like that!" Eve replies happily.
Eve and I went to a coffee shop in the mall. We got drinks and some cake then I began to tell Eve stories about how I learned how to shoot and showed her some pictures for more than an hour.
"And that's how Alisa learned how to use a shotgun." I say, ending my story.
"That's an interesting story (Y/N)-san. I didn't think that Alisa-san also likes guns." Eve says. It may not look like it, but Alisa is a bit of a gun nut too. She has a thing for pistols and submachine guns. She often joins me and my dad when we go shooting.
"I wish that I could learn how to use a gun as well." Eve says excitedly.
"I thought that you did Kendo?" I ask with a tilt of my head.
"I do, but wouldn't it be nice to expand your skills." Eve says to me.
"True." I say. "Enough about my stories, how about you tell me about how you got into samurai and Japanese culture?"
"Okay!" Eve exclaims.
And for the next hour Eve tells me how she got into samurai and Japanese culture as well as how she came to Japan, became a model and finally joined Pastel Palettes.
"And that's how Pastel Palettes came to be." Eve says finishing her story.
"I see, it was real rough in the beginning." I say.
"It was, but with the spirit of Bushido, we were able to overcome the challenges in our way and succeeded. We also became friends." Eve says proudly.
"Yeah, I can see that Pastel Palettes are great friends." I tell Eve. It also hurts to think that I can ruin that with one wrong move.
"Umm... (Y/N)-san." Eve calls out to me.
"Yes?" I look up to Eve and notice that she has a blush on her face.
"Do you remember when I bothered you and Chisato on your date?" Eve asks me.
"I do." I also remember that I told her that I would hang out with her, But I haven't gotten the chance to.
"It just that I've heard that you've went on a date with everyone else in Pastel Palettes but me... So can I was wondering if..." I think I know where this is going. Eve is the only member of Pastel Palettes I haven't gone on a date with yet so it's pretty obvious what she's going to say.
"If we could on a date too?" I say.
"Ah, yes." Eve says with a nod while still blushing.
"Okay. How does this Saturday sound?" I say with a smile.
"Really? I don't have anything scheduled so that would be great." Eve says happily.
"Alright let's meet up here at the mall." I say.
"Okay. I'll see you this Saturday for our date (Y/N)-san." Eve says happily with a smile.
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Saturday
I'm on my way to the mall to wait for Eve to arrive. Today is our date and first on the agenda is to watch a movie that just came out. It's a period drama that revolves around the life of a samurai, so I'm sure that Eve will enjoy it.
"Hello, (Y/N)-san!" I look up and see that Eve was already there.
"Oh, hello Eve. Were you waiting long?" I greet Eve.
"Not really, I only got here 5 minutes ago." Eve replies.
"Is that so? You look pretty Eve." I compliment Eve.
"Thank you. I prepared for today. You look nice as well (Y/N)-san." Eve says with a faint blush on her cheeks. "So what are going to do first (Y/N)-san?"
"I thought that we could go see a movie first." I say.
"Oh, what kind of movie?" Eve asks.
"A period drama about the life of a samurai. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
"Really?! But I thought that dates are about romantic movies?" Eve says.
"While romantic movies are a staple of dates, that isn't always the case. I thought it would be better to go watch a movie that you'll enjoy." I explain to Eve.
"How thoughtful of you (Y/N)-san." Eve says.
"Shall we get going then?" I say as I offer my hand to Eve.
"Yes!" Eve exclaims as she takes my hand and we head to the movie theater.
When we reach the movie theater I line up to buy the tickets. After getting the tickets, Eve and I buy some drinks and popcorn and enter the theater to watch the movie. As we're watching the movie, I notice that Eve is clearly enjoying the movie and getting into it. The movie just ended and Eve is talking about the movie as we walk.
"That movie was amazing! It had many great scenes and showed the life of a samurai and Bushido well!" Eve says with a large smile on her face. I'm glad Eve enjoyed the movie I picked.
"What was your favorite scene in the movie (Y/N)-san?" Eve asks.
"Hmm... It has to be when the protagonist fought his rival the second time. The final battle between them was good but I liked the second one better." I answer.
"Really? Mine was the scene when the protagonist's lover bid him farewell when he was about to head out into the final battle. It was such as touching scene!" Eve says.
Eve and I have lunch before we go to various clothing stores where Eve tries out various outfits. While doing this, Eve gets the attention of the other people in the store, I even caught a few guys staring. She is a model after all, and I can't say that I wasn't staring either. Afterwards Eve and I check out an accessory shop. In the shop I see a pair of turquoise earrings. I pick them up and go to Eve.
"Hey, Eve what do you think of these?" I show Eve the earrings.
"They look nice." Eve says.
"Why don't you try them out?" I suggest.
"Okay." Eve says as she takes the earrings and puts them on. She looks in a mirror before turning to me. "What do you think (Y/N)-san?"
"It looks good on you." I tell her with a smile.
"Thank you." Eve says with a slight blush on her face. "I like them."
"Hand 'em over to me and I'll buy them for you." I tell Eve.
"Eh, you don't have to do that (Y/N)-san." Eve says while waving her hands.
"Don't worry, I want to do it, besides, I'm the one who found it." I say to Eve.
"If you insist." Eve says before taking the earrings off and handing them to me.
I approach the cashier and pay for the earrings, then I return to Eve with the earrings.
"Here you go Eve." I say while handing Eve the earrings.
"Thank you (Y/N)-san." Eve says as she takes the earrings and puts them on. "I'll be sure to treasure them."
"I think it's about time we get going." I tell Eve after looking at my watch.
"You're right, it's time for us to go." Eve says before we leave the store.
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15 minutes later
Eve and I are now on our way home.
"Thank you for today (Y/N)-san, I had fun." Eve says to me.
"No problem, I'm glad you had fun." I reply.
"I hope we can hang out again." Eve says.
"Sure thing." I say.
Eve suddenly stops in her tracks and I turn to her.
"Eve? Is something wrong?" I ask her concerned.
"(Y/N)-san, do you like Aya-san, Maya-san, Chisato-san and Hina-san? Because you've been on dates when them before." Eve asks me.
"I do, and I like you too Eve." I tell Eve, making her blush "However there are also other girls that I like. I just don't know who I like really like yet."
"I'm still trying to understand my own feelings, and you have my word that my feelings are real and not some joke." I tell Eve while looking at her straight in the eyes. "I'm not playing with anyone's hearts, please believe me."
"I believe you (Y/N)-san, you are too kind and honorable to be playing with our hearts. I also like you." Eve says to me, still blushing.
"Thank you Eve, but please wait until I can make my decision." I tell Eve.
"I will be waiting patiently." Eve says.
"Also please don't let this hurt your friendship with Pastel Palettes. You've all been through so much together after all." I tell her.
"Of course! Pastel Palettes is bound by the spirit of friendship and Bushido!" Eve exclaims.
"Thank you Eve." I say while smiling.
"Your welcome (Y/N)-san." Eve says with a smile right before she closes in and gives me a hug.
"E-Eve?" I stutter from the sudden contact.
"Please let me hug you for a while, (Y/N)-san." Eve says as she buries her face into my chest.
"Sure." I then put my arms around Eve and hug her back. We continue hugging for a minute until we let go and continue on our way.
It seems like I've went on a date with and affirmed my feelings for the girls in pastel palettes. I've also affirmed my feelings for Yukina, Lisa and Sayo. But I still need to affirm my feelings for Ako and Rinko, and I also feel like I need more time to grasp my feelings for Yukina.
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Author's Notes
I decided to put out a new chapter first (although short), I'll answer the questions from the Q&A in the next part. Now only Ako and Rinko left. I'll also do another one for Yukina since her chapter didn't exactly advance on anything.
Also, likely no chapter for the next week since me and my group have to gather data and somehow finish our thesis and defend it in a week. Basically, perform a Goddamn miracle.