Forced Marriage, True Love

26. Date

Mitsuha POV:

I gulped as I sat at the dining table. Taki looked solemn, giving off depressing vibes. "O-onee-chan... I... can I eat in the living room?" Yotsuha asked as she looked at me. "Ya sure. Don't make a mess there." I said, making Yotsuha nod and go to the living room with her plate.

"Tachibana-san," I called, although he didn't respond and continued playing with his food. "T-Taki," I stuttered with a blushing face, making him look at me. My whole face turned red in embarrassment while he smiled at me. "Is there something wrong?" He asked. 'Of course, there is! You! Why are you so depressed?'

I cleared my throat as I kept playing with my fingers. "I-I've... been feeling low lately... so... I was thinking..." I said slowly trying to gather my courage before I finally looked up with a determined face. "Let's eat ice cream together!" I exclaimed. Taki stared at me incredulously while I kept beaming. "What?" He finally said after a long time with a puzzled face.

***

My eyes brightened as I saw the various flavors of ice cream in the stall. There were various flavors like chocolate, vanilla, mint chocolate chip, mochi and much more. "Oh my god! There are so many flavors, I don't even know which ones to pick." I said as I slightly drooled while looking at them.

"Take your time," Taki said as he took a simple vanilla. In the end, I chose the mochi flavor and the two of us walked down the pathway. A small breeze flew by, filling my lungs with fresh air. "What else do you want to eat fiancée?" Taki asked, making me smile. "For now, nothing. Let's go for a movie after this." I spoke.

We then went to a movie theatre and booked tickets for a shounen anime movie. I know Taki Tachibana would never watch anime, let alone shoujo anime, so I decided to pick something which would be more exciting for him. 'Although I don't know whether this is exciting for him.'

"The movie was exciting, right?" I asked once we exited the movie theatre and started walking out on the streets. "Mn." Taki replied solemnly, shocking me slightly. Did he perhaps... not like it? I froze on my tracks and looked down, feeling gloomy, making Taki stop as well and look at me. "Ooii! W-w-why are you... so gloomy?" Taki asked in a shocked voice. "No... nothing. This... really was thoughtless of me... to drag you out like this. I-I'm sorry." I apologized. "Wait wait wait! You did nothing wrong. I... I-I'm not mad or anything." Taki said and continued saying something, but I wasn't listening.

'What do I do? I don't understand. I can't even raise my head. Did I... do something wrong?' I shivered slightly, thinking it was all my fault Taki became depressed as tears involuntarily brimmed in my eyes. Suddenly, I saw a red rose, making me raise my head again and look at Taki, who was staring back at me with an apologetic look as he held the rose. Where did he get this from? I suddenly remembered that there was a flower shop near the ice cream parlor we went to. Did he... buy a rose for me without noticing?

Taki continued looking at me with an apologetic look. I slowly raised my hand and took the rose from him and smelt it's fresh, intoxicating scent. The next moment, Taki moved forward and touched my cheek, wiping away my tears. "I-I'm sorry Mitsuha. It's just that... I kept thinking of Shinta's letter and Tsukasa. Miki wronged him so much while I didn't even know a thing. I even blamed him for Shinta's death. I trusted the media more than my best friend... who was more like a brother to me. I... I don't know... how I can make up to him."

I smiled while Taki continued talking. "Taki, it's not your fault. Besides... I know... deep down... you wanted to believe in Tsukasa, right?" Taki looked down, feeling guilty. "Taki... didn't Shinta say he didn't blame you for anything? Then why are you blaming yourself so much? Do you think Shinta would want to see you like this?" I asked, making him look back at me.

"You're right." He said before smiling. Although it wasn't one of those flirtatious, annoying smiles, it was a warm, genuine one. I gasped as I saw that honest feeling on his face and a soft wind flew by, swaying his hair sideways. He looked... so handsome smiling that genuinely.

Suddenly, my phone rang, snapping me out of my daze and answer it. "Yotsuha?" I spoke first. "Onee-chan, where are you? Why aren't you back yet?" She asked in a worried voice. "Ah...I am on my way back now Yotsuha. I might take an hour or so." I replied, feeling embarrassed. "Onee-chan, it's not good for a young woman like you to stay outside in the night for so long." She said, making me smirk. "Look who's talking. Who do you think is older between us two?" I said in an annoyed tone, making Yotsuha giggle. "Besides, I'm with Taki nii-san. So, I'm not alone like you said." "Ooo. Alone with him, huh? I'm sorry. I won't disturb your date anymore. But come home soon, onee-chan." She teased, stunning me as if lightning had struck me.

"Yotsuha you little-" But before I could complete, Yotsuha hung up the call, making me stare at the screen in shock. "That brat's gonna have a piece of my mind today. Yotsuha, you're dead!" I cursed as I clenched my phone tightly, my face scrunching up in annoyance and anger. Suddenly, I heard a small 'pft' followed by a laugh.

I looked up and was shocked to see Taki laughing. "Stop laughing!" I shouted with a red face, which just made him laugh even more. "You're so cute Mitsuha." He said, turning my face crimson red. Taki held my hand, making me look at him. He didn't even look at me and simply stared at the vast, black sky above him. I looked up as well, feeling the soft breeze against my skin. "Shall we go home? Or else Yotsuha will be worried." I asked, making Taki nod.

***

We reached home after a three-hour drive. It was nearly eleven in the night by the time we came back, so I was sure Yotsuha was asleep. "Mitsuha, come with me." Taki said as he held my hand. Taki dragged me up to the terrace of the house and unlocked the door, making me gasp. I could see a beautiful starry sky above me and the smell of fresh, intoxicating flowers escaped from the potted plants which were aligned neatly. There were a few vines that climbed up the roof and some hung down, both of them coloring the pale house in bright colors. There was a large, beautiful fountain in the middle of the terrace, spewing out blue water. The water shone in the moonlight, making it get a silvery touch. I ran forward and spun around, my eyes shining in glee.

"Am I in heaven?" I asked. "No, but this is my heaven." Taki said, making me look at him. "I don't let anyone come here. This is... kind of like my own, personal space where no one dares to disturb me." I looked at him. Did he... really let me witness this beautiful scenery? "It's beautiful." I spoke. "Not as much as you." He said with his arms folded over his chest, making me blush. "How cringy." I spoke. "How is it cringy? Isn't it romantic?" He spoke. "What do you know about romance? You never even kissed before." I said, making him chuckle.

I turned away from him and looked up at the sky. A soft breeze flew by, making me turn my head in the direction of the wind, feeling the soft, cool breeze on my face as it blew the hair off it. Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around my waist and a weight on my body. "Thank you for today Mitsuha. You really made my day." Taki said in a soft voice, making me weak in my knees.

"I'm glad I could help you, Tachibana-san." I said as I looked up at the sky, enjoying the view.