Clouded Minds

Chapter 4: Cooking

Nishikata paced back and forth in his room, fighting the urge to check his phone every ten seconds. It was too early in the morning to leave yet, but this was his first time purposefully meeting up with Takagi since the kite-flying day. Normally, he'd be scheming up new tactics to defeat his rival, new challenges that gave him an edge, but those thoughts hadn't even crossed his mind once yet.

After running into each other at the grocery store, Takagi had texted him about the cooking date that Houjou was planning. Well, she surprisingly hadn't joked about it being a date, but Nishikata already knew what it was from Hamaguchi. He was confused at first since Nakai and Mano were supposed to go in his place, but Mano had gotten a fever so they couldn't go after all.

Nishikata hadn't been too sure how to respond. Takagi had teased him a bit at the grocery store, but she was far from her usual talkative self. It wasn't like her to just leave like that when they were together, so he had feared she really was mad until he got her invite. Nishikata had been too nervous when Nakai asked earlier, but after repeating to himself that dating was no longer uncool and how he could challenge Takagi to some sort of cooking contest, along with not wanting to make Takagi more upset, he accepted.

Discussing the details had led to other text conversations, and the next few days they were back to texting as usual. They helped each other finish their summer projects, Takagi had sent him a picture of some new flip-flops she got, and of course the endless teasing resumed. Nishikata couldn't actually hear her laughing, but the timing and tone of her text responses made it very obvious when she was poking fun at him.

What Nishikata didn't understand, however, was how Takagi had somehow forgotten about holding his hand after they flew kites? Nishikata was determined to know what it meant, if it was more than just teasing, but she hadn't even alluded to it once which made it even more embarrassing. Though he was purposefully waiting until they could talk in person, so perhaps she was doing the same.

Nishikata had barely finished breakfast but couldn't stand still, unsure of how to casually bring up the topic even after days of deliberation. It was painstakingly difficult, even in his own head, to focus solely on the hand holding, the relationship, and not immediately jump away to another topic or label it a 'contest'. For one, he would have to ask while they were alone, but Nishikata wasn't even sure how that would be possible in Houjou's house.

Suddenly it came to him. Houjou and Hamaguchi lived on the other side of the city so they had a long walk home afterward. Maybe they could talk about it then.

Nishikata scratched his head, then silently gasped. In his focus to talk with Takagi, he hadn't even thought about getting there. She lived nearby, so wouldn't it be weird if they didn't walk there together as well?

Nishikata's phone was already out from his nervous tic of checking it, so he quickly sent her a message asking when she wanted to leave.

There was no way he could bring up his question on the way, but he still preferred to walk there together rather than alone. The house was a bit far away, and Nishikata realized that they could do some tandem riding to cut down the time, but that was still way too embarrassing in public and would make it hard to talk.

The phone let out a chime, making him jump. Nishikata's hands shook as he raised the phone and tapped on the notification. Why was he so tense? His eyes widened as he read Takagi's response. Houjou's mother had gotten sick the day before so they were all cooking at Takagi's house instead.

I've never been in her house! he thought frantically. Yet strangely, the thought also excited him. Probably because that way, he could discover more of her weaknesses to beat her, right?