Translator: Haruto.
We follow them into the mall, and—
…
……
………
“Okay, now we’re ready to go after those two!”
“Why do I have to disguise myself, too?”
I thought we would tail them as soon we entered the mall, but… Mahiro took me to a store instead.
If they’re in disguise, then we have to hide our identities as well, Mahiro told me. Not very sound reasoning if you ask me, but we still bought some stuff to disguise ourselves.
Mahiro’s wearing round glasses with no magnification that look great on her. As for me, well, I’ve simply combed my hair back as Mahiro instructed, and got some sunglasses…
“I look dangerous.”
“You certainly do.”
Wearing sunglasses and combing his hair back can make a guy with a menacing face look even more intimidating. This is supposed to help us keep a low profile, but I feel it’s actually making us stand out even more…
“How are we going to find Yuito anyway?” I ask.
We completely lost sight of them when we entered the store.
Finding two people in a mall as large as this one would be like finding a needle in a haystack, so… I suppose we’ll have to give up and go our merry separate ways, right?!
“Mahiro-san, there’s nothing we can—”
“It’s okay.”
“?”
“I’ve put a GPS tracker on Yuito’s phone.”
“Damn… That’s totally not okay.”
I highly doubt she got Yuito’s permission to do that, so I can’t quite understand why she’s looking so proud of herself as she shows me her phone screen…
“Let’s go!”
“Figures…”
“It seems they’re inside,” Mahiro says.
“Talk about a fancy café.”
The GPS has guided us to the kind of café only couples and girls tend to frequent—somewhere I’d normally never step in.
We wait a little before a waitress arrives.
“Welcome!”
“A table for two, please.”
“For two? Okay! We’ve reserved a section for couples, so if you’re—”
“We’re not!” We yell in unison.
The waitress appears a little shocked by our sudden outburst, but we had to deny it as clearly as possible.
As she shows us in, I notice the place is packed with people. The café’s dim lighting makes you feel calm and relaxed, and there are partitions between the tables like at a diner. They’re not very tall, though, which means that you can easily peek over at the other tables if you stand up, but what kind of weirdo would do that?
Now, Yuito´s table is… Ah, the one near the left corner. It’s a bit far away from our table, which is closer to the register.
In other words…
“Hmm. We won’t be able to listen in on their conversation or even see what they’re up to from here…” Mahiro says.
“Yeah, I guess we’ll just have to—”
“Well, they’ll eventually have to walk past us to get to the exit.”
“Figures…”
It appears Mahiro has no intention of giving up. She’s opened the menu as though she’s prepared to wait a long time… and I’m sure she expects me to stay here with her, huh.
“Kasashima-kun, are you hungry? I’m making you tag along, so as thanks the bill is on me.”
“No, it’s fine…”
“Oh, no need to act so reserved.”
“It’s just…”
As a guy, it feels wrong to let a girl foot the bill for me. And, not to brag, but I’m kinda rich…
“I’ll pay.”
“Huh?”
It slipped out without thinking, but it’s fine. I’m certain I can pay for the two of us with the money I’ve got on me…
“Hehe, it seems we’re both a bit stubborn. I guess we’ll just have to go Dutch, then,” Mahiro proposes.
“Y-Yeah, alright…”
The conversation comes to a halt.
Just like with Rina, I normally only chat with Mahiro when she talks to me first, and since we’re still not really what you’d call friends, keeping a conversation going with her is not a piece of cake.
We order two iced coffees, which arrive a short time later.
I take a sip, and… yeah, it’s delicious…
“Mahiro-san…”
“Hm?”
“You like Yuito, don’t you?”
“You sure don’t beat around the bush… Yes, I won’t deny it. I like him,” she says clearly, not blushing in the slightest.
Well, no girl would do this sort of thing if she wasn’t in love.
“…You won’t tell him how you feel?”
Mahiro puts down her cup slowly, and replies, “How happy I’d be if a confession was all it took to be together…”
“Huh?”
It seemed to me like she furrowed her eyebrows for a second there.
“Liking someone is one-sided, but to be with them your feelings must be reciprocated. I might like him, but if he sees me as nothing more than a friend, he’ll just turn me down…”
“I-I suppose…”
To get together with someone as soon as you tell them how you feel, they must, in most cases, feel the same way about you, and Yuito isn’t the type of guy—nor the type of protagonist—to go out with someone just to “test the waters.”
“Besides, it’s Yuito we’re talking about… and you know what I mean by that, don’t you, Kasashima-kun?”
“I-I do…”
In short, Yuito’s a dense guy.
“I haven’t confessed yet simply because I don’t think it’s time.”
“It’s rare to see you at a loss or hesitating like this, Mahiro-san.”
“Hey, I’m just an ordinary girl, you know? But well, there’s also a chance I might run out of patience…”
That last thing she said was… terrifying.
“I’m sure you’ll fall in love one day, Kasashima-kun, and then you’ll understand exactly how I’m feeling.”
“Fall in love, huh…”
I can’t help but think that day is still a long way off…
***
“…”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing…”
The girl sitting in front of Yuito directs a meaningful look at her phone… but she quickly puts it back in her bag.
“Maybe we should take off our hats and glasses now,” she suggests.
“Ah! Right! We’re already inside the café anyway.”
Both Yuito and the girl take their “disguises” off.
“Should we order?” Yuito asks.
“Yes, and as soon as our drinks arrive, let’s get right into it, okay?”
“O-Of course… Hibari-san!”
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