“So, what next?”
“Hmm… ah, how about that?”
What Arisa pointed at was one of those “shoot the zombies” games.
A rather intense choice for her.
“Ah, sure. …Come to think of it, you’re fine with zombies, aren’t you?”
Yuzuru actually had a similar zombie-shooting game at home, and they’d played it together before.
Despite supposedly being bad with horror, Arisa didn’t seem particularly scared of zombies—she shot them down one after another.
If anything, she was better than Yuzuru.
“…? What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re not great with ghosts, right?”
“I’m not bad with them.”
“Really? Then shall we watch Ring together sometime?”
“……”
“…Alright, I get it. Don’t glare at me like that.”
Her stare felt like it might actually curse him, so Yuzuru raised his hands in surrender.
Arisa let out a small huff.
“Sharks and zombies don’t scare me because you can defeat them.”
“I see… so that’s your standard.”
So things that attacked physically were fine, but anything supernatural was a no-go.
At this rate, she might even be fine with physically-based yokai and monsters.
And so, they started playing—
“Yuzuru-san, come on, focus.”
“Wait, you missed that?”
“Yuzuru-san, you’re dying too much.”
Yuzuru ended up getting scolded repeatedly.
“For now, if a zombie apocalypse happens, you’re definitely dying first.”
Of course, games and real guns were different.
If zombies actually flooded the streets, they’d probably both be in trouble.
“If I died, what would you do, Arisa?”
“…Huh? If you ask me that… what would I do? That’s difficult.”
She made an awkward expression.
High schoolers didn’t usually think about “what if your partner died”.
“Well… I suppose the model answer would be—I’d treasure my memories with you and keep living.”
“That’s a nice, devoted answer.”
They joked like that as they wandered through the arcade.
“Ah, Yuzuru-san. There’s a purikura booth. Shall we?”
“Purikura, huh…”
“…Is that a no?”
“No, not really. I just realised I’ve never done it before. You have, right?”
She’d mentioned taking photos with Ayaka and the others.
Yuzuru had taken pictures with Arisa before—but never purikura.
“That’s surprising. Haven’t you done it with your friends? Like Satake-san or Ryouzenji-san?”
“Let me ask you this—can you imagine three guys like us going ‘yay!’ and doing purikura together?”
“…That sounds awful.”
Her blunt response made Yuzuru laugh.
They might go out for cake together, but purikura was a step too far.
“It’s not enjoyable,” as he put it.
“Then I’ll be your senior this time.”
“Seems that way.”
Finding the situation oddly amusing, they stepped into the booth.
Arisa operated the machine while Yuzuru watched blankly.
“Ah—it’s starting!”
“Wait, already!?”
Flustered, Yuzuru followed her instructions, posing and making expressions.
Then Arisa began editing the photos.
Yuzuru didn’t quite see the appeal—but Arisa looked like she was having fun, so that was enough.
“Here, this one’s yours.”
“Thanks.”
Yuzuru looked at the purikura.
His first thought—
My face looks weird.
Then he compared it to Arisa’s real face.
“…Yeah, the real you is cuter.”
“H-Hey… don’t just say things like that out of nowhere.”
Her cheeks turned slightly red as she protested.
After finishing their arcade date—
They moved on to the shopping area.
“Oh right, Yuzuru-san. I was thinking… I’d like to buy a swimsuit.”
“A swimsuit? Don’t you already have some?”
As far as he knew, she had two.
A white bikini and a black one.
She’d worn the former once in the bath with him, and the latter on their pool date last year.
“I do, but one of them doesn’t fit anymore.”
“I see…”
Yuzuru’s gaze instinctively dropped to her chest.
Even through her uniform, it was obvious.
“…Excuse me, where are you looking?”
“Well, you said that, so…”
It was simply a man’s nature to check.
“By the way, how much bigger did it get?”
He whispered softly near her ear.
Arisa shot him an unimpressed look.
“That’s a secret.”
Apparently, she wasn’t telling.
And so, they entered a swimsuit shop.
“…”
“What’s wrong, Yuzuru-san?”
“Well… I feel a bit out of place.”
Even as her boyfriend accompanying her, it still felt like men stood out in such shops.
“Really? …I wanted you to help me choose.”
“No, I’m fine.”
In fact, being in a position to choose Arisa’s swimsuit was far more important.
“By the way… you prefer bikinis over one-pieces, don’t you?”
“Hm? Well… yeah.”
Between Arisa in a one-piece and Arisa in a bikini—
He liked both, but if he had to choose, the latter.
“And between white and black, you prefer black, right?”
“Not exactly prefer… I just think black suits you more.”
Her fair skin stood out better with darker colours.
White was pure and cute, but—
Her features leaned more towards elegant beauty than cuteness, so something with a bit more allure suited her better.
“Wouldn’t blue or red be nice too?”
“I see. Understood.”
“How about this one?” “What about that one?”
She kept asking, and Yuzuru answered each time.
Though somehow, it didn’t feel like his answers were really being used.
She’d ask, then clearly think, But I prefer this one…
A very typical “girl thing”.
Both Arisa and his younger sister Ayumi did this.
“Hmm…”
While she browsed, Yuzuru glanced around.
For a shop aimed at a Japanese clientele, the selection was surprisingly bold.
Arisa had chosen this shop herself.
Despite being shy about showing skin, she sometimes wore rather daring outfits.
Perhaps it was a kind of reverse psychology.
(Wow… that’s quite something.)
Looking at swimsuits with minimal fabric—or ones with strikingly suggestive designs—Yuzuru couldn’t help but imagine Arisa wearing them.
It definitely stirred something.
“Yuzuru-san, which of these—? …What are you looking at?”
Arisa approached, holding two swimsuits.
Before he could answer, she followed his gaze.
“…Hmm.”
“N-No, it’s not like I meant anything by it…”
“Well, it’s fine.”
She didn’t seem too bothered—though her cheeks were faintly red.
Then she held up the swimsuits.
“Which do you think is better?”
“Hmm… I’d say…”
And so it continued.
After visiting several more shops—
Two hours had passed.
“Then, Yuzuru-san, wait here for a bit.”
She said this at a rest area.
“You don’t want me to come?”
“What I’m buying… is still a secret.”
“Don’t tease me like that…”
Still, having something to look forward to wasn’t so bad.
“Look forward to it.”
She said that with a slightly embarrassed smile, her cheeks tinged pink.
