Nashi-san Is Too Oblivious!

Practice Going On An Aquarium Date!

{NASHI'S POV}
Can you believe this doofus? All that time practicing cooking and practicing confessing yesterday, and Storm hands a full bento to me instead of Emmy as soon as he walks into the guild hall. Shy boy is too embarrassed to even approach his crush!

No matter, I'll do it for him. I march over to the table Emmy is sitting at with Lica, Lance, and Rosemary, and hold the bento in Emmy's face.

I force a smile. "Storm made this for you."

Everyone looks up at me real confused for a second, then they see something behind me. I feel Storm's presence. Understanding (pity?) dawns in their eyes.

Emmy smiles awkwardly and pushes the bento back to me. "I think maybe you should eat it."

I grind my teeth. Can't she see how carefully it was wrapped? "But it's for you."

Emmy sniffs the air. "I think I'll be frozen for 70 years if I accept that. Besides, I don't like spicy food."

It does smell very spicy. See, Storm? You didn't listen to my suggestion and now Emmy isn't going to eat the bento you probably spent hours on!

My guildmates are like family to me, but I have the urge to pummel Emmy until she begs for forgiveness. I resist it only because I'm carrying Storm's bento and I don't want to spill it.

"Fine then!" I huff. "I'll eat it instead!"

Now Emmy can see what she's missing out on. I won't even share! I turn to Storm for permission. This bento wasn't made for me after all, but I'm a magnanimous friend—I'll make sure his hard work doesn't go to waste. I want him to be happy, so I'm afraid he'll be upset by his crush's refusal.

To my surprise, Storm is smiling brightly. It seems he doesn't mind me hijacking Emmy's bento. I dig in, moaning happily. Spicy bliss!

Storm coughs. The other four kids look at each other, nod, stand, and leave simultaneously, but I'm too busy eating Storm's cooking to care. He sits down next to me, fidgeting anxiously.

"What's wrong?" Oh no. Is he really okay that I eating something meant for his special someone?

"Ahem." Storm clears his throat, his face tinged red. "Nashi, on my last job, the employer gifted me two tickets to an aquarium along with the reward. W-Will you go out on a date with me?"

I blink once, twice. Then I flash back to reality and clasp his hands, delighted. The Storm I know isn't so easily discouraged! "Of course, silly! I'm your ally!"

He looks hopeful but confused. "My... ally?"

"Dates can seem intimidating beforehand, first dates especially so. You want everything to be perfect for your first date with..." I trail off, since the crush in question—Emmy—has dragon slayer hearing. I nod like the sage that I am for deducing his true intent with super ease. My eyes sparkle as I clasp his hands tighter. "Don't worry. I'll help you scope out the place; find the best exhibits, shortest waits, best route, and whatnot! We'll practice together now to make your real first date later a flying success!"

Storm sighs, much less happy. "I should've known."

"Well excuse me." I huff, feeling annoyed. "I know I'm not the person you wanna go with, but you're stuck with me. I'm gonna make this the best damn not-date date you've ever been on, believe it!"

"Yes, yes." Storm shakes his head, chuckling. "That's the type of person you are."

Lance pats his shoulder with mock-seriousness as we head out the door. "Good luck."

"I'm gonna need it." Storm responds playfully, batting Lance's hand away.

I can't help but be excited for our practice date, my heart skipping out of tune. Yeah, that really needs medical attention stat.

All of my excitement, of course, drains out of me the moment I'm on the train. I tuck my head into Storm's lap and nuzzle close to his cool body, where I feel the most comfortable and least nauseous, lest we have another Train Incident of X808 on our hands.

It takes two hours to get there, but Storm strokes my head the entire time. I end up falling asleep in his lap and wake up tucked against him with the train stopped. Storm smiles softly down at me.

"Wake up sleepyhead, we're here."

I flush and sit up quickly. Oh my, I wonder why it feels I just drank a quintuple shot of caffeine? Must be a congenital heart defect.

"Let's get going!" I cheer, marching onward. I'm really excited to go to the aquarium. Thank goodness he didn't get tickets to an amusement park, I'd die.

Storm hands two tickets to the lady in the booth. She looks at our tickets then at us, and smiles broadly. She pulls a confetti cannon out from beneath the ticket booth and pops it over our heads.

"Congratulations to the one millionth happy couple to visit the Lily Aquarium! You've won a free behind-the-scenes lovey-dovey tour!"

Everybody claps. I open my mouth to explain that this is a date between friends and we're not actually a couple. Storm elbows my side and whispers in my ear. "Go along with it. We'll get to feed the penguins."

Call me cheap, I'm sold. Penguins!

I lean into Storm's arms and rest my head on his shoulder. His arm snakes around my waist like it's the most natural thing in the world. His skin is cold.

The behind the scenes tour is so neat! It's almost a shame that Storm doesn't get to share this with his real crush. Still, I'm a little selfish today.

I 'ooooh' and 'aaaaah' at all of the exhibits. The water is so clear and blue, just like Storm's ice magic. It's beautiful. And the little multicolored fishies are all so cute! They come in all shapes and sizes. The sharks are so ginormous! We get to pet stingrays and feed the animals, including dolphins and penguins!

My favorite part is the sunken pirate ship. We get to walk through a recreated ship with water above, below, and on either side of us. You can literally see fish no matter which angle you look.

I hold Storm's hand unconsciously, dragging him around all day. And at the end of our so-called lovey-dovey tour, the aquarium staff take us to get our free commemorative photos.

"Now," the cameraman says, "kiss each other."