End of Date

When we came out of the shop, the sun had already set. With the parade starting soon, we went to find a place to watch it.

We found a pretty good spot and waited for the show to start.

"It's not as bad as you imagine, is it? Many people wear headbands just like you."

"Kh... I will definitely make you pay someday."

Tsukinaga-san glared at me with teary eyes.

Damn it. Why is she so cute even when she's angry?

It seemed that no matter how I convinced her, Tsukinaga-san still took my request as a punishment game for her.

Calling her cute will only add oil to the fire. Saying that no one will pay attention to her because there are many people wearing similar things as her is also pointless.

It seems impossible to make her feel better. If that's the case, I can only enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime view wholeheartedly while waiting for her mood to improve on its own.

"Oh! It's started," I said as I saw the troupe start walking from the end of the road.

Since the center of the road was used for the troupe to pass, they put guardrails on the both sides of the road. We, the audience, could only watch from the side. Even so, it didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the visitors.

The event was lively. I could see a child on his father's shoulders, young people engrossed in taking pictures of the parade, and a man embracing his lover while pointing at the costumed man on top of the car.

Amidst the festivities, I felt like I was withdrawn from the crowd. My eyes were glued to the person beside me. Watching from the side her face that was fixed on the parade makes time seem to stand still. No, I was the one who created the barrier with the world around me. The voices of the surrounding people seemed far away, even though some were shouting right next to my ear. But none of that could disrupt my focus on admiring her face.

Perhaps because I was looking at her too intensely, Tsukinaga-san noticed and looked back at me.

"W-What?"

"Nothing."

"If there's nothing wrong, why are you looking at me like that?"

I didn't answer her question. I stayed quiet for a while before opening my mouth again.

"Hey, Tsukinaga-san. How do you feel about me?"

"Wh-What are you asking all of a sudden?"

Tsukinaga-san was shocked and confused by my sudden question. But I didn't ask it just for fun. I meant what I said.

"I love you, Tsukinaga-san. How about you?"

Staring into my determined eyes made Tsukinaga-san overwhelmed. Her eyes darted around trying to find a way out of this situation. But no matter how hard she tried, there was no way out of here.

"What is it with you? There was no way I could say it out loud."

Tsukinaga-san shrink, trying to hide herself but it didn't help at all. Her eyes occasionally glanced at me, asking me to stop all this. But I remained firm in my stance and ignored her who was already on the brim of tears.

".... you."

Words came out of her mouth. But her voice was so low that I couldn't hear her clearly.

"What?"

I put my ear to her. But it seemed like she had enough of all this and shouted out all her frustrations in one big scream.

"OF COURSE I LOVE YOU AS WELL, YOU MORON!!!"

The shout was loud enough for everyone to turn their heads in our direction. Even the parade accompanist stopped playing their instruments just to see us.

Usually, I would panic when I become the center of attention. But strangely this time I felt happy. I patted Tsukinaga-san's head who was covering her face with both hands. Smoke seemed to come out of both ears.

I apologized to the people for causing a scene before taking her away from the crowd.

On the bus ride back home, Tsukinaga-san is still covering her face.

"Come on. Why are you still covering your face? Look! It's just us and the driver here."

"Shut up."

I could see from her face, which was not covered by her hands, that her face was as red as a steamed crab. Perhaps the scene where she screamed her feelings out loud is still playing in her head.

"My bad."

I apologized if what I did was too much for her. I don't have any bad intentions, but it could be different for her. That's why I apologized.

"I apologize if I went too far. But I just wanted to know how you felt. You know, I'm glad I confessed to you back then. For someone like me to have a woman as beautiful, as kind, as smart, as perfect as you are like a dream. That's why I'm worried that my feelings are unrequited. I'm afraid that you don't feel the same way as me"

Hearing me babbling, Tsukinaga-san finally removed her hands from her face. Despite this, she still didn't look at me.

"I.... love you so much, Tsukinaga-san. Maybe you're tired of hearing it. But I'll never get tired of saying it. Therefore, I will do my best to make you feel the same way."

"You don't need to do that."

Hearing her cold reply shocked me. But when I turned my face, I could see Tsukinaga-san looking at me seriously.

"You don't have to do that, because I already did."

"You did what?"

My brain stopped processing for a moment. Plus watching her laugh piles up further data that must be processed by my not-responding brain.

"I did love you, and I always will."

My brain is still not responding, but for another reason.

"Are you sure you're not just sweet-talking me? I've heard that women are much more adept at hiding their infidelity. Are you trying to fool me right now?"

Tsukinaga-san instantly looked at me with an icy gaze.

"Are you just accusing me of having an affair out of nowhere?"

"It's just that hearing you being frank is very rare. That's why I'm worried that you're doing it to hide something."

"Haaah... Listen here. I never said I loved you because I was too shy to do so. So, please spare me from all this torment. I prefer to show my love through actions rather than words. Got it?"

I nodded obediently, just like a child who had just been scolded. But behind the tears that accumulated in my eyes was an unbearable feeling of happiness.

My brain is still not responding, but for different reasons. I was the one who asked her to confess her feelings, but when she actually did it, I was the one who got screwed.

Until we got home, even after I was on my bed, my mind was still on cloud nine. I can't get Tsukinaga-san's words out of my head.