Would You Like To Go On a Date?

It was well past midnight when the train announcement woke up Mika first. As he regained his senses, he glanced at Saya. She was still asleep, her chest rising and falling with each slow breath. For a moment, Mika observed her before attempting to wake her with a call.

"Hey, Saya."

"Yes..." Saya replied, her eyes still closed and her voice groggy.

"We've almost arrived, you need to wake up," Mika said as he put on his shoes.

"Just give me five more minutes..." Saya mumbled.

"No, we're here," Mika responded, picking up his bag from the floor. However, Saya seemed reluctant to get up.

Mika pondered, 

What can I do to wake her up?

 Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind.

"If you don't get up, the bed is going to transform back into a seat and devour you," Mika said, finding the idea utterly ridiculous even as he said it.

A brief silence followed, then Saya suddenly opened her eyes.

"A bed monster?!?"

"Yes."

"Oh my god!" Saya exclaimed in panic, jumping up from the bed.

Another brief silence ensued. Saya, still half asleep, looked around in confusion before turning her gaze back to Mika with furrowed eyebrows.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked, her tone now carrying irritation.

"Well... yes."

"Are you serious? I want to punch you!" Saya said angrily, getting out of bed.

"Wait, don't step on the floor without your shoes, and you might trip if you rush—" Mika began to say, but before he could finish, Saya got her shoe stuck and started to fall.

 Just as she was about to hit the ground, Mika grabbed her and prevented her fall.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yes... wait I WAS ABOUT TO PUNCH YOU!" Saya exclaimed, recovering from the initial shock and attempting to hit Mika.

"Wait, hold on—" Mika started, but he saw Saya's hand coming towards him. Reacting quickly, he grabbed her hand and pulled her aside.

Saya's other hand was still holding onto Mika to prevent herself from falling, so when Mika grabbed her hand, they suddenly found themselves very close to each other. Saya looked into Mika's eyes with a completely vulnerable expression.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked, her face flushed with embarrassment and fear.

"I grabbed your hand to stop you from hitting me," Mika explained, the breeze from their breaths brushing against their skin.

Blushing, Saya quickly moved away and squeaked,

 "Is there anything wrong?"

"Nothing at all! GET OUT, I NEED TO CHANGE!" Saya shouted in a panicked voice.

"O-okay," Mika said, grabbing his own clothes and heading to the train's shower cabin.

After changing into fresh clothes, both Mika and Saya had their bags. The train had finally arrived at their destination, and they had taken the final transfer train together. After a short wait, the train had arrived. They boarded together and took seats side by side.

"How long will this journey take?" Saya asked curiously.

"Let me check... it will take more than two hours. That's what the map shows between Yamanashi and Suwa," Mika said, looking up the information on his computer.

"Hmm, that's long. I guess I can get some more sleep," Saya said.

"You know best, but you won't be able to sleep once we get to the hotel this time."

"I can sleep anywhere, don't worry."

"Alright..."

Saya tried to sleep for a while, while Mika used his computer to research the topics he would discuss and other tasks for when they reached their destination.

After some time, while Mika was engrossed in his work on the computer, he felt something on his shoulder. When he turned to look, he saw that Saya's head had leaned onto his shoulder. 

She was still asleep, so he allowed her to continue sleeping without disturbing her. They traveled like this for a while until they arrived at Suwa.

They walked to the hotel and settled in. They had reserved separate rooms, and after a short nap, it was time to head to their morning meeting.

***

Another day had passed after that day, and the meeting was successfully completed. Mika had explained the details to his father during their phone call.

"So, that's the situation," Mika said while talking to his father on the phone.

"Hmm, you've made a logical move, and I'm glad. By the way, what does your friend think?"

"She's generally satisfied. Thanks to the licensing agreement, even if we sell to them at a low price, she said we could continue just with the commission amount we'd receive, even if we didn't want to expand the business," Mika said while looking at the sunrise from his hotel room window.

"I see... So, did you accept the deal, then?"

"Yes, they wanted to purchase the licenses as well, but I turned them down."

"You did the right thing; as long as similar products aren't produced differently in the country, they'll need us. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you. By the way, when are you coming?"

"Well... or never mind, let it be a surprise for you too."

"A surprise?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, but you know I won't be very affected." 

"Yes, that's fine. By the way, have you been to school?"

"I went only to take the exams. What happened?"

"Your  teacher called to congratulate you. You got third place."

"Uh... yeah, thank you."

"I sometimes think you're a really odd son of mine."

"In what sense, I'm not sure, but thanks, I guess?"

"When are you coming back?"

"We're coming back tonight. Since our travel expenses are covered, it's not a problem for me. We'll take the bullet train once we reach the transfer station anyway."

"Alright then. Take care and say hi to your friend."

"Okay, see you."

He hung up the phone and took a deep breath. Felt like he was one step closer to his goal. The meeting had gone well, and the company had expressed interest in purchasing the licenses and the existing stock of products at a reasonable price. He no longer needed to keep physical products in stock. He only needed to trade with foreign based companies for buying and selling.

He went downstairs to the hotel café and ordered a coffee. He sat outside and started sipping his coffee. A new day was dawning in Suwa. Despite its small appearance, the area around the lake made it seem like a bustling city.

At that moment, Saya joined him. She was wearing a white shirt and denim shorts. Her hair was tied into two ponytails on either side, and she had a croissant and coffee in her hands as she sat down in front of Mika.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

"It's quite chilly today."

"A bit, even though we haven't entered summer yet, the altitude here makes the weather extra cold," Mika said and took a sip of his coffee.

There was a brief silence. Saya was contently looking outside with a smile.

"What are we going to do today?" she turned towards Mika and asked.

"To be honest, I don't know. The train departs in the afternoon at four, so we have about eight to nine hours now."

"Oh, that's quite a lot."

"Yeah, they probably booked it that late, thinking the meetings would take two days, but since we found the offer reasonable and accepted it, we have a free day," Mika said.

"Hmm," Saya said, eating her croissant.

For a while, both of them stayed quiet. There were few people in the hotel, and apart from the sounds of crickets and distant car noises, there was silence. They enjoyed their breakfast while looking at the tranquil surroundings.

"Hey, Mika."

"Yes?"

"I'm going to ask you something, but..."

"Yes, go ahead, I'm listening," Mika said. 

Saya seemed a bit shy about something. Finally, Saya took a deep breath and said:

"You know, since we don't have any other plans until four today..."

"Yes."

"And there's nothing to do at the hotel or anything."

"Right."

"And we can't do anything at the company we had a meeting with."

"True. So, what are you trying to say, Saya?" Mika said, not sure where Saya was leading the conversation.

"I-I mean, since that's the case, until the train arrives..." her face was starting to turn red.

"Until the train arrives?"

"U-until the train arrives..." Saya took a deep breath, her face now completely crimson, but it seemed like she genuinely wanted to say whatever it was. Finally, she spoke again:

"Would you like to go on a date?"