Hourglass [Quintessential Quintuplets]

Chapter 22 - New Beginnings ( Ⅵ )

Asuka's POV:

"D-D-Date?! ...Itsuki..."

You know, there're those feelings that make your heart beat like crazy when you see a person? Proper thoughts give way to irrational actions, your heart and soul turn you into a completely defenseless idiot. I'm in a worse situation than that right now. Honestly, this isn't exactly how I pictured my first romantic success. Romance visual novels really do lied to me.

We're looking at each other. We're looking at each other on this huge theater stage, where we are completely alone. The taste of her lips is still in my mouth, this feeling is engraved on my soul to never be forgotten. Just a few seconds ago I confessed all my feelings to her. Everything I keep in my heart. Every speck of emotion that had accumulated in me one by one until this moment.

''Pfft, of course dummy. If you want me to forgive you!~♡''

Now have a girlfriend. I mean, atleast that's what I think. Since I've only known rejection so far...I'm not sure what happens next. It'll be absolutely perfect to go on a date with Itsuki. Just me and her, like real couples do.

Of course, if the situation I am in were normal what I said would be valid. I'm in the lowest position a man can ever be. A malfunctioning voice-changer collar. An overly-decorated maid dress, the wig that's itching like crazy. Makeup that almost fucked up because of my tears. And those fake boobs I swear...Okay okay, they're not that bad. To the touch, they're actually like pillows.

I give the collar a halfhearted tug. "What I wouldn't give to get this stupid thing off..."

''You said it was broken, right? Any idea when it'll come off? Maybe the Technology Club can help us." 𝗠𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱. Itsuki Nakano. Approached me with the softest smile on her face, especially after everything we've just been through.

''No idea.'' I exhale hard enough to blow a tumbleweed across the stage, then pointing myself. ''Sometime within today I guess. You sure you want to go on a date with me when I am... like this?''

"Didn't you do this to help your class? I think that's admirable. Besides..." She brushes her bangs aside and leans in to plant a small kiss on my cheek. Her breath tickles, and I nearly jump out of my frilly uniform. ''And, by the way, I already snapped a picture of you earlier."

"O-Oh, that's great!" I say, about five octaves higher than usual. This voice-changer is not helping. "If I weren't so fucking happy, I might actually hit into a permanent depression." Despite my whining, I can't stop the words that float up to my lips: "Hehe! I love you, Itsuki."

And she blushes—a deep red that matches her hair. My face also must look like a tomato with fake eyelashes glued on. If you ask me if I won my gamble, I dunno. I don't give a damn. We stare at each other for a while until Itsuki finally clears her throat and turns away. ''Ehem!''

''I-Itsuki?...''

"I-I'm going to get changed— After that, we're going out to eat. You've been keeping me waiting all week, so I'm definitely ordering something extra big, okay?" She jabs a finger at me, as if demanding a promise. ''You pay, hehe.''

I scratch the back of my neck with a sheepish chuckle. "Ahahaha. . . Sure, sure. I'm at your mercy."

[ Five Minutes Later ]

A few minutes later, I'm alone in the theater's empty seats, gazing up at the rafters where lights once shone on the unnecessarly big ass stage. Everything is so still. The production's over, and the rest of the crew has gone. My sense of time feels distorted—like we stepped out of the real world for a moment. There's an odd peace in that silence.