Successful by accident

I had an uncanny feeling of deja vu as if I had done this already. I stopped and looked at the bright screen with a half-done line art of Momo-chan and myself – I was there because this wasn't going to be posted online anywhere. The artwork showed a front view of us on a wooden bench against an old brick wall with big and fluffy ice creams. I was feeling confident about it. Not so much about the apology, but I was proud of my art – it was better than some of my recent uploads, that is.

It didn't take very long until I leaned back into my chair, tired and with a sense of work well done. Moving a little away from the monitor also helped me have a different angle on the screen I'd been staring at for far too long, and even then it looked pretty good.

And with another hit of deja vu, there I go sending the popular VTuber a DM while I sit in my dark room late at night.

"Hi, just passing by to say that I hope you had a good stream. Don't mind my totally-not-an-invitation..."

Then I sent the picture after the message.

When I saw her reply, I paused my video. It was some guy showing his trip to a hut in the middle of nowhere in Hokkaido.

"Wait a minute... Haven't we had this conversation earlier?"

And then she replied to my old message challenging her to a rhythm match at the arcade.

"lol"

Come on, I know you're not exactly happy but did you have to hit me with the "lol"? That's where I draw the line!

"You got me there." I couldn't enforce that line, it turns out.

"Did you plan this out, too?"

"I did, in fact." I sent the sticker of a smug cat. "I saw your school uniform and after thorough inspection, it turns out that if we both take the line that goes south heading downtown, we'll arrive at the same station. From there, we'll walk two blocks to a really nice ice cream place. Or at least I hope it's nice, assuming it still looks like the street view..."

It took her a little while to start typing.

"Huh. That's true, you really did your homework!"

"Yup. So, I know that you rush home every day, and I have the basketball club. So... How about Wednesday?"

"That works for me."

That was solved easily, for the most part. It took some work on my part, and a long conversation with my mom about the topic, but all-in-all, it went smoothly. When the week started and I was back at school, I ended up busy enough to forget about how much I had done during the weekend. That was not something that made me happy, but I was also too involved in school activities to stop and complain. On my time outside of class, I had a passing conversation with Aoki about her cousin, and also about other things. After Friday and the dinner at my house, I started feeling a lot more comfortable around her and our friendship felt more natural. It's embarrassing to admit that not only did I not forget about it, but I also paid attention to when she was going home with her friends from last week – that this time around, she came by my desk to say bye in person. That did make me a little happy.

As for Souma, well, we were good friends before and are good friends now. We've known each other for longer, and have gone out together quite a few times, too. But now the difference is that he successfully bridged his two friendships in me and Aoki, and we hung out as a trio at school for the first time.

I didn't forget about the club either. I was still a bit nervous from guilt after going straight home the week before, but just like in the message, senpai's reception was warm and supportive. He also seemed to have told everyone about it, because I got many more comments saying that I was looking good. Hehe, thanks, everyone. I'm cured, would you believe that?!

Regardless, I tried my best during practice just like I promised myself, and worked twice as hard when setting up and cleaning up. I was a sweaty mess even with the cool wind that blew, and it took washing my face to cool down before going home.

And like that, it was ice cream day. I was feeling overwhelmed by school assignments. So, between that and the planned activity, I was starting to feel a bit anxious, so much so that before leaving home in the morning I double-checked that I had money in my wallet. During lunch break I texted Sakurai to confirm everything, half serving as a reminder, hoping to remind her just in case she forgot. It felt like the longest day, and being set free of school deserved to be celebrated. But before I could do so, Souma called my name.

"Finally, let's go." I replied as I checked to see if I wasn't forgetting anything under my desk.

He waited for me with Aoki near the door, and we walked down the hallway together.

"I think it's time I tell you that Haruto has a date with my cousin." I was startled, and she was giggling. This girl is evil!

Both Souma and I looked at her at the same time, but I managed to speak first.

"Stop it!"

"Yuina what did you teach him? He's flying!" He teased me.

"Now that I think about it..." I continued and spoke over Souma. "it does technically sound like a date..."

Souma burst out laughing, and Aoki laughed with him.

"My guy, you asked her out on a date without thinking it was a date?" He was tearing up already.

"Oh my... At least she said yes. Can I count that as a win even if it wasn't intentional?"

"Sure thing!" Aoki nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, and you get a good job and good luck from us, too." Souma managed to stop laughing. Very considerate.

"Alright, guys. I'm off to this... date... thingy..." It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this was the most embarrassed I'd felt in a while, despite all the other times I thought similar things in the past week.