Baby Steps

It's a holiday today but for some reason, I was at the shop.

“Akito, Akito!” Fuyumi called me repeatedly in a fit of excitement. It's a good thing she's more talkative than before but too much of a good thing could be bad too. “Ja-Ja~n!”

She waved some slips of paper too close to my face to recognize. After grabbing it, it seemed to be amusement park tickets. Story was, her dad was supposed to go but for some reason caught a cold so she proposed to Hyuuga that I be on their date. The guy was equally thrilled and both of them were beaming.

“Akito being a third wheel, thought I'd never see the day!”

“It'll be fun! Since I can rely on two men to carry me when I pass out from the rides!”

While the two of them were busy fantasizing on how I'd perfectly fit in with their first date, I dragged Hyuuga by the neck and asked, “What the hell are you thinking? You could've just gone to my place!”

“That's the plan, actually,” he said. “Until Fuyucchi saw the extra ticket.”

His plan was to invite Kiyoko as both thanks and my guardian since, according to him, I might get bored being a third wheel and leave so it'd be better if it's a double date.

A date with Kiyoko? That's giving me chills.

“Hohoho~I'm flattered by the sentiment but I'm afraid I'd just ruin it for you guys,” Was Kiyoko's response. Glad it ended that way.

“But,” she continued. “It'd be a waste so I'll be calling in a substitute, if that's fine.”

And so, we were ordered to wait for a bit while she prepared her proxy back at the main house.

When she returned, Senna in tow, the two were left speechless.

“H-H-Hey,” Fuyumi grabbed my hand and Hyuuga's and used it to pinch her cheeks. “This is real, right?”

“Wow, I've never seen her in normal clothes…”

I, too, was stunned, but for entirely different reasons. Senna wasn't used to people yet and having three might be beyond her.

Kiyoko as always sensed my intentions and simply smiled. Damn, so it's all part of my job, huh. Bring it on.

“Yuugure,” Kiyoko said.

As if a doll being wound up, Senna twitched, then bowed. “I'm Yuugure. I'll be in your care for today.”

“S-S-Same here…”

“Of course, Lady Yuugure.”

I frowned. What in the world were these two doing? What's with the formal language?

Before I could eke out a reaction, Hyuuga dragged me away. “What the hell man? You wanna get a girlfriend or not?”

“Girlfriend?! Wha?”

“That's Lady Yuugure of Musubi Antiques, dimwit! If you wanna get good love luck you have to be on her good side. Are you sure you're an employee here or what?”

I tilted my head, still confused. “Is she that big of a deal?”

“Please don't tell me you did something stupid. Dear god…”

“Hyuuga, I live under a rock so kindly enlighten me,” I think I did some research, but I really couldn't see why they revere her so much.

“Sigh, you know she had some haters, right? Well, guess what? They've all suffered from bad relationships be it with friends or family! There’s also stuff about people mistreating their lovers getting afflicted with random diseases. I kinda get that it might be a bunch of coincidence, but better be safe than sorry, you know?”

I slumped my shoulders. So that's what this was about. Well, time to change things up. If I wanted them to consider me a friend then I have to show them what I'm made of, starting with this.

I wanted to introduce the girl I've been working with; a normal girl with normal struggles. She's not entirely Yuugure, rather, it's one of the masks she wore to survive… to protect herself. I wanted them to see her as an equal, and if possible, as a friend too.

When we got back, I stood between Senna and the lovebirds and cleared my throat. “Ahem, Kiyoko, is there any reason why I can't call her ‘that’?”

Upon hearing no response from her, I assumed it's fine or she's testing me. Whatever her motive, I'd stick with my plan. “Alright, Fuyumi and Hyuuga, while this person is Lady Yuugure, it's not dusk yet so, for the rest of the day, kindly refer to her as ‘Senna’.”

“A-Akito,” Fuyumi was back to being her old self. She's trying to make herself small. “Isn't that dangerous...?”

“I'll just ask her to curse me thirteen times over, provided she really can curse people,” I turned to Senna. “Is that acceptable, Senna?”

Senna was twiddling her thumbs, her head hung low to hide her face. “I… actually can't curse people…”

I glanced at Hyuuga. “See? No harm done. I'm still friends with you… or… uh… am I…”

Hyuuga was grinning from ear to ear. “What happened, brave boy? Cat got your tongue?”

“He's probably more embarrassed assuming you're friends with someone like him than his speech,” Kiyoko commented.

“Akito always has been my friend,” Fuyumi now switching back to her better version approached Senna and extended a hand. “A friend of my friend is also a friend… so, can we be friends, Miss Senna?”

“Se-Senna is… fine…”

Hyuuga stretched his arms up. “Whoa! That's intense! Well, since it's confirmed we only have another cute girl on board and not a goddess then it's all well and good!”

He joined Fuyumi and wrapped his hand to hers which was, for some reason, stuck with Senna's.

“Sorry if this can come off as rude but I try not to hold another girl's hand in front of my girl,” he added. He's just saying that since Fuyumi had a blissful expression on her face. Well, it's always nice making new friends.

All in all, the tense atmosphere was gone and the two of them were now back to being fired up. If they could trust me this much, then there's no way I'd betray that. Ever.

After bidding farewell to Kiyoko, we finally set out for this very coincidental double date.

Fuyumi seemed to be too accepting of the change and was addressing Senna in a normal way. Hyuuga even commented how happy she's been to meet a new friend so soon.

“A friend of her friend is also her friend,” he said. “That's what's screaming to get out of the shell she used to protect herself. It’s great to see this personality more.”

“That just means you're a great guy who sees people for who they are.”

“What? No, man. It took me years to get past that phase,” He looked at the lady trying to hype up the trip to the other. She looked like a kid on an adult's body. “Sometimes I really do hope you're right though. That I can see what's underneath. Maybe they could've been to better partners sooner.”

“Hyuuga, Hyuuga! Come, come!”

He lightly elbowed me. “Here's to hoping your meeting with Senna will bless you with good luck.”

I felt a tug at my sleeve while Fuyumi asked Hyuuga about specifics on our trip. Senna wasn't with them. She must've fallen back to give space to the lovebirds.

She said nothing but I think I understood. Although seriously, her ability to move without any presence was something I wanted to ask and maybe learn. It'd be a pretty cool twist if the Hoshii's were shinobi who just turned to matchmaking as a trade when the need for their main craft dwindled.

“You're… walking a bit faster,” I said.

“She…” Senna shook her head. “I want to take these steps. Can I count on your support this time as well...?”

I smiled. “You can rely on me, you know?”

***

“We're here! Senna, Senna!” Fuyumi held her smartphone, squeezed herself beside Senna and, “Can I take pictures of us?”

Senna was visibly surprised. “People always do without asking so yes, you can...”

“Oh, that's not good,” she said. “I wanna respect boundaries since… I, uh, tend to get pushy but I wanna get close…”

Senna held up an awkward peace sign. “Y-Yay… Is this alright?”

I looked at the two and at their surroundings. As usual, nobody recognized her. They earned some stares but that's about it. Good. This way, we can kick back and relax.

Hyuuga elbowed me. “Hey, you're boring holes at my girl. Not cool, dude.”

“No, dumbass. I'm just on the lookout. Besides,” I threw him a cool-guy head tilt. “Third wheels must ruin dates.”

“Oh,” He flashed a smile at my challenge. “You'll see whose ruining who, punk.”

As the girls had their photo op, us guys settled on a little duel to see how many times I could interrupt their moments.

We're still at the entrance but damn, never have I thought I'd be enjoying this.