His Equal

One Question

After Nonomura had talked to me, she confirmed what I had been thinking. She really just wanted her friend to be happy. Always kind to her friends, but odd, nonetheless. I thought of how I was going to do it in the first place. How would I ask her to go out with me? Knowing Asuka, she romanticized the world, but it when it came to romance itself, she seems like she doesn't have a clue about what would make her happy romantically. She is used to being behind the scenes, so would she appreciate being put in the spotlight? Or would she hate that?

I began writing down whatever ideas that I could come up with, some of them more outrageously corny. I'd rather not do those, but some of them I'll keep, just in case she would like that type of thing, I suppose. Some of the others were much more tame, and stuck more to the classic dates. I crossed out the ones that wouldn't work knowing Asuka. But, once it got down to a couple, some of them combined into others, and I now could choose between three options. Process of elimination is a man's best friend, in instances like these. I was drawn to one date idea, that would make her beyond ecstatic to go for. I circled it, and I was satisfied with it.

Now, to just ask Asuka out on the date in the first place. If anything Nonomura said was accurate, her saying yes will depend on her security of not getting hurt. How can I ensure something that can be impossible to do? I furrowed my brows, staring at the circled date idea. I suppose I'll just have to do my best, and try to keep a promise to not hurt her intentionally. 

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I was waiting at the front gate for Asuka to arrive, coffee in my hand as well. As winter is finally ending, spring is around the corner. Which means Asuka has a lot more events she has to attend, as the sports teams have a good majority of their events during the spring. So, she attends some practices, to show their training before they begin competing against the other schools. I soon saw her arrive, yawning as she did so. I held out the cup of coffee for her, and she took it immediately, downing it rather quickly. 

Her eyes were wide open after downing her drink, and she looked at me, her face slightly turning red as she gave me a smile. "Hey Gakushu! Aren't you glad that we're finally at the weekend? It feels like it's been a long week," She thought aloud, beginning to walk toward the school building. I followed suit, striding beside her. "Perhaps, but we'll have testing soon either way. So, not sure the weekends will be considered a break before and during testing," I reminded, causing Asuka to groan. "I completely forgot. I hate those stupid tests. Takes away from my photography time," She complained, which made me chuckle. 

We soon arrived at her class, and she turned to me with a grin on her face. "Well, I'll see you during lunch, Gakushu!" She turned away, heading into her classroom, while I turned around to head to mine. I have to wait for the perfect moment to ask, it cannot be during school hours, that is the worst place to ask her. It will be in a place that she enjoys, that I will make sure of.

The day had gone by, and Asuka and I were at the cafe we frequented, eating food. She was on her phone, sending a quick text message, when something in me just couldn't wait anymore. So, I looked at Asuka, clearing my throat in order to gain her attention. "Asuka, I have something to ask of you," I began, and she tilted her head, her eyes staring into mine. "Would you give me the pleasure of going out on a date with me?"

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"Gakushu, where are we going? I can't see anything," Asuka wondered, while I was leading her somewhere that I knew she would enjoy. "Just a little bit longer, and you will be able to remove your hands from your eyes." She giggled, a smile on her face. After climbing the last step, and leading her a tad bit closer to where I wanted her to be, I let go of her shoulders. "Move your hands." She removed her hands from her face, and she looked around her, her eyes lighting up. We were on top of a building that was nearby the cafe we would frequent, and I had a table set up for us to eat our dinner. But there were a couple of tripods, and cameras that were with them. She pointed at the cameras, making her way toward them.

"Why are there cameras here, Gakushu," She wondered, turning to me, her dress swaying as she did so. I stared at her for a moment, it was the second time I had seen her in a dress, and the first time, she worse something that didn't seem like something she would wear. She had a dark red dress, that didn't cling to her body like the last dress did. She finally had her hair down, framing her face. It was also the first time I had seen her with a full face of makeup, highlighting her eyes and lips. She truly did look extraordinary, and I was momentarily speechless. "The cameras are for us to take pictures of the people down below, or of whatever you desire." She gasped, running to the cameras, while I made my way over, standing beside her.

"These are really great with long distance shots! Then this one over here is really good with close ups as well! Oh my god, I love all of it! Gakushu, I know what I want to start taking pictures of," She exclaimed, turning to me after she had taken a camera off a tripod. "Let's take photos of us! A few separate and a few together, so that we have loads of memories to look back on for our first date," She explained softly, her cheeks turning red. She wants us to remember this, and she wants the start of us, to be a story we tell to others? I walked over to her, grabbing the camera from her hands, and gave her a smirk. "Well, are you going to pose for me or are you just going to be standing there?"

We began taking photos of each other, some of them rather childish. Although, in every one she is truly enjoying herself, so I suppose that is fine. As long as she is happy. We eventually began eating our food that was made while we were taking photographs, and I decided to take this opportunity to ask a question that I've been wanting to know for quite some time. "When it comes to your scoring on all of testing, why do you always aim for the same spot? I imagine you could do much better, considering I know you are much more intelligent than you let on," I wondered, causing her to smile as she was eating her food. 

"Honestly, you're right. I could go higher, but the higher the score, the more pressure you get with it. There's all sorts of expectations that comes with it, that I don't believe I could handle. I may be able to handle a lot of things, but that type of thing isn't one of those things. I like having that type of freedom, I guess. That sounds weird, right?" To me, it did sound odd. But, knowing her, I think she made the right decision. I looked down at her food, seeing that she had eaten almost all of it. She's gotten better, which made me feel proud of her.

"It's odd for me, but I am beginning to understand more and more about you, so it makes sense. I also would rather you stay the romantic free spirit that you are." I looked at Asuka, seeing her face turn red, and she looked down at her hands, a very large smile on her face. If I could see that expression every day, I could probably go without getting the top spot. I said probably. We continued talking to one another, late into the night until I took her home. We arrived at her door, and she was about to walk inside, when she turned around, grabbing my face, and pulled me in for a kiss. I was surprised, by I kissed her back, until she pulled away.

I felt oddly warm, while Asuka's eyes were wide for some reason. But she just smiled, and kissed the side of my face. "Thank you for a wonderful date, Gakushu, we definitely need to do that again. You also just scored me as a girlfriend, so goodnight. Get home safely," She stated, heading inside her home, shutting the door behind her. I touched my face, and realized the heat I felt was from embarrassment. She truly is something, giving me that type of reaction.