Tokyo's Most Affectionate - Chapter 52

The Date Isn’t Over Yet

Exiting from the other side of the Jikyu General Hospital, Ninomiya spotted someone crouched at the corner of the wall.

That person, hugging their knees, buried their head between their legs, making their face unrecognizable.

“Runa? Where did you go just now?”

Ninomiya glanced at her and felt surprised.

“Chizuru, Kurosawa, that haunted house was too scary.”

Upon hearing these words, Itsuragi raised her head. Finally seeing familiar faces, she let out a mournful cry.

Her face was very pale, body trembling, tears streaming down her eyes like a broken string of pearls. There were two distinct black tear streaks on her face where her eye makeup had smudged from the tears.

Clearly, she was terrified, even to the point of shedding tears, looking pitiful and heart-wrenching.

“Alright, alright, don’t cry. Aren’t you supposed to be unafraid of ghosts?”

Seeing her miserable state, Ninomiya hurriedly walked over to console her.

“Even if I’m not afraid, I can’t handle it alone. The two of you suddenly disappeared, and I was chased by those ghosts. It was too scary.”

This attempt at comfort was utterly useless for Itsuragi.

Heaven knows what she went through alone in the haunted house. 

The feeling of being abandoned by the whole world and being left alone, the feeling that every dark corner and every place is full of malice is so terrible.

“Sorry.”

Kurosawa, standing behind them, saw her miserable state. His previously cheerful mood turned cloudy.

During their journey in the haunted house, he thought Itsuragi wouldn’t be afraid of ghosts, so he didn’t worry at all.

But now he realized how much Itsuragi sacrificed to create opportunities for them to be alone together.

“Miss Runa, I will definitely repay you when I have the chance.” Kurosawa clenched his fist, making a mental note of this favor and assistance.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I accidentally sprained my foot just now, so I couldn’t keep up with you…” As she saw Itsuragi scared like this, Ninomiya hurriedly tried to console her.

“Sprained your foot? Are you okay?” Hearing this, Itsuragi looked at her foot while sobbing.

“It’s okay, Kurosawa helped me with it.” Ninomiya noticed her gaze and shook her left foot to show her.

“Ah, here I am, terrified all by myself, while you two are helping each other out, being all sweet and romantic. You owe me, and I want a big meal.”

Seeing that she didn’t seem too scared, Itsuragi felt she got the short end of the stick and immediately demanded.

“Alright, alright, we’ll treat you to a big meal. You can have anything you want.”

Ninomiya, noticing Itsuragi’s tantrum, quickly tried to appease her.

She could imagine how frightening it must have been for someone to go through the haunted house alone. If they hadn’t been walking so slowly, Itsuragi wouldn’t have ended up like this.

After crying for a while, Itsuragi finally calmed down.

“Let’s go, grab something to eat first, and then head home.”

Itsuragi stood up, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a tissue, and spoke.

“Yeah, you go freshen up in the restroom first. Your makeup got smeared.”

Ninomiya nodded and reminded her.

“Tonight, I’m sleeping with you. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep.”

Itsuragi, not particularly concerned about her makeup, expressed her intention.

With only one person of the opposite sex present, presumably her best friend’s future boyfriend, she didn’t care about her appearance at all.

“Sure.”

Ninomiya gladly accepted the suggestion.

Although the haunted house trip was less scary with Kurosawa carrying her, she knew that when night fell and she was alone, she might feel frightened when looking back on the experience.

At this moment, the sky was still bright, even though it was dusk. Summer days were long, and they found the women’s restroom after leaving the haunted house.

Kurosawa went into the men’s restroom. After finishing, he walked out and leaned against the wall outside, waiting.

Now that he had some free time, he could focus on thinking about the rewards, which were piano and drawing skills.

The main difference between the permanent reward and the experience card reward laid in the mastery of knowledge.

After about fifteen minutes, they visited the children’s amusement park again, picked up the toys they won from the shooting range, and left Fuji-Q Highland.

It was twilight, and many visitors were leaving. Everyone had different experiences, but smiles adorned their faces.

An amusement park was a place that brought joy and relaxation to people.

Is it over?

As they walked out of the amusement park, Ninomiya turned back to look at the sign on the gate, feeling a bit empty and reluctant.

When she entered this morning, she didn’t have much of a feeling, but after spending the entire day, she suddenly realized that the amusement park was much more fun than she had anticipated.

“Chizuru, is your foot hurting? Why are you stopping?” At that moment, Itsuragi called out.

“Coming.” Ninomiya lifted her head, looked at Kurosawa and Itsuragi a few meters ahead, and responded before catching up.

Soon, they returned to the car.

This time, without saying much, Ninomiya sat in the back seat with Kurosawa.

“Where are we going?” Ninomiya fastened her seatbelt and asked.

“I’ve already found a restaurant. Be prepared for your wallet to take a big hit,” Itsuragi said, humming as if still holding a grudge.

“No problem.” Ninomiya wasn’t too concerned about spending money. She didn’t spend much on a regular basis, and besides, it was indeed time to compensate and treat Itsuragi well.

Not only did she take the time to accompany her to the amusement park, but she also served as the driver, covering such a long round trip.

Approaching 6 o’clock, it was rush hour, which was the case for any city.

It wasn’t until 6:30 that they reached their destination.

“A Western restaurant?” Ninomiya, who got out of the car, saw the nearest restaurant, with an elegant style and Western-style decor, feeling a bit surprised.

“I want to eat a big meal.” Itsuragi got out of the car and said.

“Let’s go.” Ninomiya, without refusing, looked at Itsuragi and then at Kurosawa before saying.

She was in a good mood, with a faint smile on her lips.

“How many people, and do you have a reservation?” Upon entering the Western restaurant, a waiter in a suit approached them.

“Three people, no reservation.” Ninomiya replied.

“Please follow me.”

This Western restaurant was quite high-end, with relatively high prices, so even during meal times, there were still available tables.

Soon, guided by the waiter, they took their seats.

“Kurosawa, why haven’t you said anything since earlier?” Ninomiya asked as they sat down.

“I was just thinking, I had a really great time today.”

Kurosawa, who was absorbing knowledge about piano playing, smiled as he came back to reality and responded.

“Indeed,” Ninomiya also agreed.

“Except for me getting scared out of my wits at the end, today was quite interesting,” Itsuragi muttered while holding the menu.

“We didn’t mean to leave you behind, stop complaining,” seeing her still full of resentment, Ninomiya complained helplessly.

“I’m not complaining.”

As they chatted, Kurosawa remained silent, only glancing at the piano not far away.

This Western restaurant was selected by him after researching online yesterday, and he had informed Itsuragi about it when they left the amusement park.

Perhaps the amusement park adventure had ended, and the dating mission was completed, but before they reached home, today’s date was not over yet.