The Other Date

Shasta had a plan, or he did at least until it started raining. Now he wondered whether he could even do the idea. Maybe he should have come up with a backup plan. But it would be too late to join something indoors at this point unless he found a café. He pulled out his phone to look up a restaurant. Maybe something with cats. She wasn't allergic to animals, at least from what he recalled when Cyrus had brought the dog over. Only Leigha was allergic.

"Shasta?"

Shasta looked up to see what he would consider a living doll. Anita had covered her outfit with a black rain slicker, a pink skirt underneath. Overhead protecting her from the weather was a pink umbrella with ruffles and bows. He walked over to her, his dark gray umbrella covering part of her umbrella as they met.

"You finally fixed your hair." She ruffled her fingers through his hair. It was not as long as before but still scattered with silver and black locks.

"It's not that big a deal. Do you like it?" he asked, trying not to stare at her the way she was staring at him.

"I do, I like it both long and short."

Shasta nodded, committing the comment to memory.

"Oh, I brought what you asked for." She handed over a note card.

"I had to ask my mother since it's been so long, but it was nice to see her."

"I'm glad. Is your mom doing alright?"

 "Busy as usual. Mom is happy that I found people who could be my soulmates."

Shasta smiled, rolling his eyes as he drew beside her.

"Well, what I planned may not work now with the rain, but we can do something else if you like."

"No, I would like to try and do what you had planned." She fanned the note card. "You have me curious."

"Alright." He took her arm as he exchanged his umbrella into the other hand.

"Are you sure you aren't cold?"

"I'm sure." She snuggled closer to him, Shasta stiffening at the contact.

"Was that too much? Sorry, Linda and Leigha said close contact creates better intimacy."

"Don't listen to them. Do as you want to do."

Anita nodded, spacing herself a little before getting closer, but not as close as before.

"I like being close," she whispered as they started walking.

"I like you being close too."

---

Close by, Norman had been watching the exchange, trying his best not to walk up and interrupt the date. He very much wanted to see what the competition was between him and Shasta, and he wasn't sure if he was winning or losing.

"Having fun spying?" asked Leigha. She walked up beside Norman, who jumped out from under his umbrella.

"I'm not spying, and what are you doing here?"

"Spying."

Norman pouted, looking back to the crowd before they followed after the pink umbrella.

"Did she tell you what they were doing?" he asked.

"Nope. I helped her get dressed. I hope Shasta likes what I picked out."

Norman looked over to Leigha, then back to Anita. She did look cute from what he could see.

"Wait, I thought you were on my side for this."

"I'm on Anita's side and whoever makes her happy. I'm not licensed, but I can perform surgery to remove either of your manhoods if you so much as hurt her."

Norman nodded, trying not to see the image of Leigha castrating him.

"Come on. They went to the grocery store."

Leigha and Norman followed after Anita and Shasta.

---

The couple shook out their umbrellas before putting them inside bags.

"I was hoping to go to the open market, but this will have to do," lamented Shasta as he picked up a basket.

"It's better we do," answered Anita as she handed over the card to him.

Shasta read over the items.

"Probably better," he agreed.

"Did you bring one for me?" asked Anita, grabbing a basket.

"One for you?"

Anita nodded, pointing to the note card.

"Sorry, no, I didn't think so," he apologized.

"It's alright. I'll have to guess then," Anita teased as she wandered in a different direction.

"Castella," he called out, Anita turning back around.

"I like Castella," he admitted. Anita smiled before continuing on her way, Shasta heading in another direction.

---

"Well, this isn't very date-like," commented Leigha, she and Norman watching them. She looked down at Norman, who seemed to be taking notes.

"Why are you taking notes?"

 "Well, she seems happy with the arrangement. So there must be something they know that we don't. And if she likes shopping, then I should learn about that too."

Leigha sighed, not finding fault with the man's logic.

"Alright, watch Anita so that you can learn about her shopping habits."

"Shouldn't I follow Shasta to know what he is making for her?"

 "Do you know how to cook?"

 "Not really."

"Then, don't try. Follow Anita and see what shopping she likes. I'll follow Shasta."

The two nodded and then split up to follow their respective parties. They kept their distance, both making sure that the target couple never noticed, although Leigha thought Shasta might have seen her one time. The couple met at the checkout line. Shasta paid for all the ingredients despite Anita trying to pay for her share. He insisted it was part of the date.

Norman met Leigha again outside the grocery store. The soulmate couple walked together underneath their shared umbrellas with their grocery bags.

"Learn a lot?" asked Leigha, while Norman was looking at his notes.

"Not too much. Anita already knows what she is making him, which is probably a dessert. But she isn't fond of sweets as she didn't stop to look at other sweets. She did stop at the tea section, however, and bought some tea. I wasn't able to find out what kind, though."

Leigha nodded, taking a bite out of the roll she had bought.

"True, I can't recall her liking sweet things, but she does like tea. She has a lot of tea."

"Okay, she might like a tea house then," Norman noted.

"Come on, they are getting away." Leigha pulled Norman after her as she raced to catch up with Shasta and Anita.

---

Shasta led Anita to a five-story apartment building near the market. It would be halfway between the shopping district and Tormino's. A few blocks up and closer to Tormino's would be her house.

"I didn't know you lived so close," she commented as he led her to a set of stairs that divided the apartment building in half.

"That's why I applied to this Tormino's. Everything in the shopping area was too crowded with too many people in the kitchen."

"You aren't a big fan of crowds, then?"

"Not especially. I like getting to know people one on one."

"Which is why you suggested splitting dates between Norman and me?"

Shasta nodded, the tips of his ears turning red as he led her down a hallway to open the second door.

---

Norman and Leigha watched from behind a tree as Shasta and Anita entered the apartment.

"Taking her home on the first date? What a- ," started Norman, Leigha covering his mouth.

"Let's get to his balcony. He probably has a balcony we can watch from."

Norman nodded and the duo began sneaking around the complex.

"What floor was he on again?" asked Leigha.

"Third, second door."

Leigha nodded, climbing on the railing of the first floor. Once she grabbed onto the pole leading from the fence to the next level. She used that to steady herself before reaching the next row of bars.

"You're going to hurt yourself."

 "Anita's purity is at stake. I don't know enough about this man to trust them in the same house. Now, are you coming or not?" she yelled at him.

Norman watched as she climbed onto the second balcony, already heading for the third floor. 

"For Anita," he whispered as he climbed on the railing, only the raindrops proved too slippery.

"Here," Leigha instructed and tossed down some rope, luckily long enough for him to reach.

"Where did you get the rope?"

"I brought it in case of an emergency. Now climb it. I won't see what Anita and Shasta are doing if you don't climb the rope right now."

Norman nodded, grabbing onto the rope. He was about to climb when he felt the rope tug upward. Norman looked upward to see Leigha pulling him up. He didn't know what it was, but right then, he felt inspired.

---

"Leigha does know we can see them?" asked Shasta as he added sauce to the meat mixture he had in the pan. Anita looked over from the kitchen, able to see Leigha pulling something up on a rope.

"What is she doing?"

"Pulling Norman. I saw them tailing us earlier."

Anita pouted, "I thought the agreement was one on one time."

"So long as they don't come in, it's fine."

Anita nodded, putting the loaf pan in the oven as Shasta moved aside.

"I'm surprised you are letting me cook in your kitchen. I would think this would be your sacred space."

 "Like I said before. I don't mind if it's you."

Anita turned pink, shutting the oven so Shasta could return to cooking.

"It smells delicious," she complimented as the rice cooker went off, opening the device to let out the steam.

"We'll see. I haven't made this before, so hopefully it's the right amount. Bowls are up there." He pointed to a cabinet. Anita opened it to pull out some bowls to serve the rice.

---

Leigha hauled Norman onto the balcony, both dripping wet from sweat, rain, and terror.

"Anything?" he asked.

"I haven't looked yet. Still-still trying to catch my breath."

Leigha slumped down against the railing, Norman doing the same. Both were too tired to see what was going on in the other room.

---

Anita set out the rice on a small, low table, meager in view of the apartment’s size

"Do you always eat at a low table?" asked Anita as she walked to the kitchen. She took two potholders and the tea she had brewed.

"Yes, my family has always been traditional. My older brother used to live here with me until he got married."

"You have siblings?"

"An older brother. But my parents have a lot of siblings, so lots of cousins closer to my brother's age. I'm the youngest."

"Is it fun having a big family?"

Shasta shrugged as he brought over the sizzling pan. "Depends. You like people so you might like it. But that's also where I learned to fight family members over kitchen use."

Anita nodded as she sat down opposite Shasta. He set the pan on the potholder she had brought over.

"Cups," he commented, getting back up to get them. "You can dish it for yourself," he offered as he pulled out two cups. When he returned, she had dished out food for him and herself on top of the rice.

"Thank you."

Shasta set the cups down; Anita was quick to pour them both drinks.

"Thank you for the meal," announced Anita with a clap, Shasta echoing the sentiment. With her chopsticks, Anita scooped up the rice and mapo tofu, taking an unladylike bite. She moaned at the taste, holding her cheek before realizing that the sauce was trying to escape. She wiped it with the corner of her thumb then back into her mouth.

"This is perfect. I haven't had mapo tofu in so long."

"Back before…" he started, Anita nodding so he didn't have to complete the sentence.

"It's hard to find good spicy food when you don't know anyone else who likes it too. And Tormino's isn't known for being that spicy. My mother used to make the best mapo tofu."

"Where did your mother learn it?"

"She said it was a family recipe from her father’s side. Spiciness runs in the family."

Shasta nodded, taking a bite of the food. He quickly reached for the tea after one taste.

"Too spicy?"

"No, shocking. I didn't expect it to be the numbing spice."

Anita giggled, helping herself to another mouthful.

---

Leigha and Norman rested on the balcony, neither moving from their spot.

"You want to watch them?" asked Leigha.

"Yeah, but I don't want to move."

"Well, if she's in danger, we are close enough to hear her scream."

"Yeah, that's true."

Leaning against each other and the rails, Norman and Leigha fell asleep.

---

"This was delicious," complimented Anita. She took the remaining castella loaf back to the kitchen to wrap up.

Shasta nodded in agreement, lying on the ground and closing his eyes.

"Don't worry about the dishes; I'll get them later," he insisted. Anita nodded, setting down the dishes before sitting next to Shasta.

"You alright?" she asked, moving her hair so it wasn't dangling in his face.

Shasta nodded, "Enjoying today."

He opened his eyes to look up at her. Anita was smiling down at him.

"Do you like me?" he asked.

Anita blushed, looking at the ground as she nodded yes.

"And you still like Norman?"

Anita's blush lessened, but she nodded.

Shasta sighed, "I always hoped you would change your mind about soulmates. I guess I did an inferior job of expressing it."

"My mind hasn't changed about soulmates. It has opened up to other ways of finding them. Plus, you are now my soulmate."

"I still don't believe in soulmates."

"Then why did you want to take me on a date?"

"Because I like you." He sat up, resting most of his body on one arm as he looked at Anita. "I like you very much. And I don't need a soulmate mark to tell me who to like or who is my person. I chose you. And maybe, there's a small hope that you'll choose me too."

Anita turned utterly red at this, looking away from Shasta.

"We'll…we'll see," was all she could say, shifting in her seat.

Shasta sighed, standing up.

"Come on, it's getting late."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm not going to let you walk home alone."

"Do we have to go straight home?" Anita stood, moving to the door where Shasta was putting on his coat while taking hers down from the hanger.

"Not necessarily." 

They both blushed as they got ready, Shasta leading her out before slamming the door shut.

---

Norman and Leigha bolted up as soon as the door slammed shut.

"What happened?" asked Leigha, looking around to see that the inside of the house was dark. 

"Where'd they go?"

They both looked through the glass; the entire house was dark from what they could see.

"Their jackets!" Leigha pointed to the entry hall and the coat rack empty.

"They left."

They both looked at each other before Leigha could try the door. Norman pulled on Leigha for added effort, only to find it to be completely locked.

"We could climb back over the railing," offered Leigha, looking over the balcony.

"Are you nuts? You almost died the first time. And how will I get down?"

"I'll catch you," she offered as she climbed onto the railing. She held the ledge with a deathlike grip as she lowered herself.

"You expect me to jump off the balcony, and you'll catch me?"

"Yeah. Would you rather use the rope and slide down?"

Norman looked at the dangling rope.

"I'm going to look into rope climbing knots if we survive this."

"You'll survive this."

Leigha made it down to the ground.

"Now, jump, I'll catch you."

"Isn't it the guy who catches the girl?"

"Do you think your skinny self could catch me? I would break you like a toothpick."

"Fair point."

"Now, jump already."

Norman nodded, wiping the railing with his jacket sleeves, which didn't help. He climbed over the fence with a deathlike grip, looking down.

"I can't do it."

"You can or you will, or do you want Shasta to hit you with his ladle so you'll fall unconscious?"

"I'll wait for that."

"Jump already!" 

Norman let go of the railing in a panic, crashing on top of Leigha.

"See, caught you, no problem," she argued as he scrambled off of her.

"I used you as a landing cushion."

"Well, these have to be good for something." She held her boobs that had helped brace his fall. Norman looked down, realizing how he had touched a co-worker's breasts - which could qualify as sexual harassment! With how wet Leigha's blouse had become, the shirt was near see-through. Norman turned completely red before marching off.

"You're welcome!" she called after him. Norman waved her off as he kept marching.

"Odd man," she commented before heading home.