Nitsu No Sekai

Chapter 9: Forced Date, Part Two.

Mitsuko gasped with amazement and awe, loving the amazing bubble tea cafe in front of her eyes. "I haven't been here in so long!" The white haired girl exclaimed, doing a little twirl of excitement. "Look! Look! It's like yours, Hide!" Mitsuko mused as she tugged her partner's sleeve. "Pfft! You're right, my cafe's A LOT better." Hideaki said, making Mitsuko nod her head with agreement. "Oh! Yeah! Yours is a lot better!" Mitsuko agreed with another one of her adorable smiles. Hideaki chuckled, loving having certain conversations with the golden eyed girl. "Let's go." The orange haired boy suggested with a faint smile, walking inside with Mitsuko by his side. The inside was even better than the outside. Lights dangled from the ceiling that had a wood like post, accenting the long, marble looking, grey counter separating the employees from the customers. Wood tiling covered the floor, gleaming brown with tiny hints of black. Booths sat against each other by the huge window frames, which was all one big piece of glass. The smell of chocolate and tea fragranted the air. Everything was so calm and quiet in this otherworldly cafe, like the building itself wasn't awake. The only sound was a piano quietly playing in the background and the occasional clicks and clacks of cups or dishes. Compared to this cafe, Hideaki's was nothing. This one was bigger, nicer, and very orderly. "Ooh! Hide! Hide! We should share a dri-" "No thank you." The orange haired male politely declined, looking up at the menu. "Come on! We're on a date! You can at least act like it!" Mitsuko complained, wanting Hideaki to "play along"

"Like I said before, we're on an outing as friends." Hideaki reminded the white haired girl. "Oh boo! Yuuki and Haruko said it was a date, so it's a date!" Mitsuko exclaimed, only to notice she was disturbing some people with her loudness. "And the closer me and you get... The closer we get to Aiko." Mitsuko tried to persuade Hideaki, only to piss him off. "Don't mention her name." Hideaki quietly growled, not wanting to talk about his lost friend. "I'm just saying, the only reason Haruko and Yuuki's having us do this is because the closer Titania and Oberon get, the stronger they become." Mitsuko stated, kind of making Hideaki sway to her side of reasoning. "Fine... I'll... Act like this is somewhat of a date. But I'm still not sharing a drink." Hideaki stated, finally admitting that the outing he was on, was in fact, a date. Mitsuko smiled with glee as Hideaki said that, acting happy as ever. "What can I get you two?" The cashier asked as it was Hideaki's and Mitsuko's turn to order. "Oh, umm-" "One strawberry Kit Kat shake and a boba tea with extra tapioca pearls please. Oh! And a strawberry shortcake with extra whip cream on top and a side of chocolate cheesecake." Mitsuko ordered for both of them, knowing the menu like the back of her hand. "Wait, I-" "Oh! And could we have a side of grapes?" Mitsuko added, interrupting Hideaki as she did so. "Mitsuko, I want to order for myse-" "Trust me! I know exactly what you want! Not only do I know the menu forwards, backwards, and sideways, I know you forwards, backwards, and sideways." Mitsuko commented with a smile and snicker. The white haired girl used to go to this place on her birthday, exploring the menu like unmarked territory ready to be claimed by her and her mouth. "Well... If you say s-Wait! What is that supposed to mean!?" Hideaki nervously asked. "That means you told me a lot of stuff last night." Mitsuko giggled as she wrapped her arm around Hideaki's, holding his hand with hers. "That'll be forty two Arcs, sir." The cashier told Hideaki, only for Mitsuko to pay with the money Haruko gave her. "Tch! This doesn't feel right, Mitsuko's paying when I should be." Hideaki thought, not knowing the white haired girl received the money from Yuuki. The white haired Sekizo gave her it when Hideaki was talking to Haruko in the bedroom, telling her what it was for and everything. "Okay, Mitsuko, where do you want to sit?" The orange haired kid asked his "date", who wouldn't let go of him... again. "Huh? Oh! Umm, let's go sit by the windows!" She suggested, pulling Hideaki with her as she walked over to a booth. Mitsuko went in first, expecting Hideaki to follow, only for her partner to sit on the other side of the booth. Mitsuko gave him a frustrated frown, puckering her lips as she did so. "Wh-What?" Hideaki asked, raising one eyebrow. "Why are you sitting over there? I can't snuggle with you when you're on the other side of the booth!" Mitsuko complained as she upsettly folded her arms. It quite annoyed Mitsuko that Hideaki was still being his awkward self even after last night. "So I don't have to turn my head to look at you." Hideaki flatly explained. The orange haired kid randomly noticed something about Mitsuko. The golden eyed girl's hair looked longer than it did yesterday, by about four inches. Hideaki noticed because it only reached the very top of her boots last time. Now that Mitsuko was wearing slipper-like shoes, her hair was at her ankle. "Hide? Why are you staring at my legs?" Mitsuko asked, kind of weirded out by the orange haired kid's focus gaze on her shoe. "Oh, sorry. I must be crazy or something, because I'm thinking your hair grew four inches overnight." Hideaki said, adding a chuckle at the end. "It did." Mitsuko casually stated as she subtlety fiddled with her silverware. "Huh? It what?" The orange haired male asked, checking his hearing. "My hair grows really really fast. I have to cut it every night so it doesn't overgrow. Once it grew so much, my mother nicknamed me, Snowy Rapunzel." Mitsuko stated, remembering her female parent. "Yeesh, Aiko would kill for a gift like that. She hasn't cut her hair once in her life, that's how slow it grows." Hideaki explained with a chuckle. "She has to remember to cut it now." Mitsuko commented. There was a pause of confusion from hideaki. He didn't know what Mitsuko meant by she "has to remember to cut it now."