Dinner for Three, Romance for Two

Daichi set his fork down, clinking against the porcelain plate. A puddle of sauce still remained from his eaten steak, but he was stuffed. The restaurant's white tablecloth had managed to stay pristine all throughout dinner, which considering he had an erratic crow on his shoulder, was nothing short of a miracle.

"CAW! Not gonna order seconds?" Crow asked. His gluttonous eyes were peering down towards the empty plate.

"I gave you some pieces already," Daichi sternly replied. "You ate half the steak yourself actually."

"Not like you're paying! Sweetie Sanae is too good for you! CAW!"

Their penny-pinching but benevolent benefactor was sitting right ahead of them on the table's other end. She was wiping her lips clean with a handkerchief, while a bowl of half-eaten salad rested idly. Her green meal had been doused in zesty, vinaigrette dressing that accentuated the fancy setting Pearl's Tears invited themselves into.

A dining area outside one of Outset's finest restaurants was the site of Daichi and Sanae's ongoing date. Granting shade above them was an elegant, wooden pergola lined with decorative slits that let sunshine touchdown. Neighboring buildings were fashioned after Italian architecture that served a narrow street full of high-class pedestrians. But perched above on a distant lamppost, seemingly observing everyone, was a raven whose eyes had locked onto Pearl's Tears enjoying their date.

Since the lamppost was situated in Daichi's field of view, he tried to avoid staring. So that's where Raven is watching us from now? Sure likes to move often. But must have a lot of resentment to send her boyfriend off to being a third wheel on someone else's date.

Apparently, Raven was still unaware Sanae and Daichi weren't a true couple. Though according to Crow's quick chat with her, she was growing suspicious. They'd need to up their romantic antics to keep her satisfied.

"Well, even if it's a little expensive here," Sanae started, "I thought I'd treat us to something nice since, erm, I really appreciate you being with me."

"Y-Yeah! I'll pay you back later for sure! Maybe another date or something!" Raven has really good hearing so she's probably overhearing everything we say. We've already been playing a couple all day long so we just gotta keep it up a bit more!

The duo chatted for several more minutes while Sanae finished off her salad. A butler soon arrived to pick up their dishes and left their tab on the table. Sanae's face went pale the moment she read it, but was quick to re-enter her cute girlfriend mode.

"A-Anyways—now that we've been seeing each other for a tad, I think we should get to know ourselves some more?" There was jitter in her voice.

"Oh, yes!" Daichi replied, playing along. "Ummm, well what did you do in real life?" I'm guessing she'd rather talk about that than her time before Lone Star.

She seemed surprised by his question, but maintained her professional demeanor and crossed her legs under the table. "I was working part time at a mall, not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life. Maybe part of me was hoping the right guy would come along and decide for me, hehe."

It was hard to decipher if she was telling the truth or lying. Daichi really didn't know much about her personal life, but even under playful circumstances, he found it hard to believe she'd fabricate falsehoods for him.

"Never thought about going to college or something?" he replied.

"Eh. I considered it, but there was a lot on my mind back then to say the least."

The response felt like a hint to not dig any further, but now he needed a new subject to continue. "Yeah. I'd sort of imagined we were the same age, so maybe we were worried about similar stuff, maybe."

"Age? Oh, that's right! You don't know how old I am yet!"

“Huh? Don’t mind saying?” Her enthusiasm caught him off guard.

“Not really an issue. It’s just sort of complicated.”

“Complicated?”

“Mm.” Her head turned towards well-dressed netizens around them eating lavish dinners. “People from reality don’t age here in Paradise. So it’s up in the air what we consider our actual ages."

"Neat! I didn't know that! So like, no one physically changes then?"

"Yeah. I was 19 when I came to Paradise, but I'm technically 21 now."

For some reason, learning she was older than him was perplexing. But it didn't change his feelings towards her. "Wow. I'd just turned 18, so I'm feeling a little small right now, haha."

The succulent lips she'd applied some gloss onto curled into a smile. "Being with someone younger has been nice though. I've learned a lot."

"L-Like what?"

"Hehe, dummy. That's your hint to tell me more about you," she said in a seductive tone.

"Me? I think I've said most stuff about me though." Except the whole conspiracy theorist stuff.

"CAW! Go with the flow, kid!” Crow on Daichi’s shoulder squawked. “Don’t gotta tense up so much for a date!”

"Our noisy bird has a point," Sanae said. "Just say anything that's on your mind."

Everything from the way she spoke to the way she shifted in her seat was full of pure, feminine charm while she perfectly encapsulated her girlfriend role. It was almost like she wasn't pretending at all, and instead was using the chance to let loose—to learn more about a boy she was potentially interested in. All while enjoying herself and having fun.

Say what's on my mind? But . . . my mind is blank right now! He was conflicted whether playing along would reveal too much of his feelings. Though, at the same time, his curiosity compelled him onwards to see how far she'd be willing to play her part.

"Well," he started, "I've always thought you were really pretty since we first met, and we've been through a lot together already. So, if you wanna know anything more about me, just ask and I'll be honest." It was a heartfelt reply, but one designed to transfer the romance onus onto her.

Indeed, Sanae's femme fatale act started breaking as she processed Daichi's words. A cute, blushing girl reemerged while she twiddled her fingers.

"W-Well . . . Have you ever had a girlfriend before?”

"Girlfriend? Nope! Barely had any friends in general, haha."

"What about that friend you mentioned before? The one you were visiting Kyouko with?"

"Oh, Hanako?" He was unsure if mentioning her name was ideal. "I've known her for a long time, but I couldn't exactly return some feelings she had for me."

"So . . . You don't mind being with me then?"

Huh? The question was direct, and poignant enough to startle him. Is she being serious? Or maybe it's a litmus test to see what I think of her? How should I reply?

In actuality, it would be a great moment to make her aware of the emotions he’d been harboring. No matter how it went—he could just play it off as an act, or reveal that his words were true, depending on how she reacted afterwards.

"Kid, kid!" he harshly whispered. "Sorry to interrupt, but it's time! I gotta take a shit!"

"What? Leave then, don't gotta tell me."

"Yeah! I'll be gone for a bit, but watch out for Raven!"

"Just go!"

After a quick nod, Crow spread his wings then flew away over several buildings and out of sight.

Ah, geez. That's kind of a mood killer. But before he resumed his conversation, he noticed Raven in the distance glide off her lamppost and perch closer atop a bench. Since Raven was an actual raven, she was quite larger than Crow and stood out more among the ornate scenery. Her beady eyes peered once again over towards both teens.

Not wanting to raise suspicions, he continued the chat where it left off. "Sorry about that. Erm, where was I?"

Sanae's face pouted like she was annoyed he forgot, but then her lips morphed into a playful grin. "You were saying everything you like about me."

"R-Really?" She's super playing it out! "Ummm, I remember your hair was the first thing that caught my eye. It's obvious you take good care of it."

"My hair?" Her finger started curling light-pink strands around. "T-Thanks. I get the color from my mom."

"Oh! We're the same then! I get pretty much everything from mine too."

"Like . . . your eyes?"

"Huh? My eyes?"

She cutely nodded, glancing towards him for a second then looking away. "Mm. Your green eyes—they're my favorite thing about you. I think I could look into them all day if you'd let me."

Before he realized what he was saying, the words were already escaping his mouth. "Then, go ahead and look."

Both of their longing gazes finally met one another, refracting figurative radiance everywhere. The small table between them seemed to shrink the more he dived into her oceans for eyes, submerging himself into depths he never wanted to escape from. It became like an impromptu staring contest between lovers as the air charged up with their innate fondness—and threatened to overflow.

But just when Daichi prepared to speak his feelings, Sanae let out a cute giggle and looked aside. Her brilliant eyes absorbed the beautiful scenery to her right before finally glancing back towards him.

"Do you really like me?" she whispered in a soft tone, as if not wanting anyone to overhear. Her curious face—distinct from her earlier girlfriend mode—hinted that she wasn't asking a blank question. She was genuinely wondering what his thoughts towards her in earnest were.

Is this it? Is this where I make a move? His tongue felt tied, delaying his timid response to her. Just as he composed himself, a black bird swooped in and perched on Daichi's shoulder, scattering feathers everywhere.

"CAW! What did I miss?" Crow blurted.

"Ah! B-Bad timing!" Daichi replied. "Urg, oh well . . ."

Sanae sitting ahead simply sank into her chair in disappointment, and gave the bird a signature stink eye.

"Were things getting spicy? My bad! CAW!"

"Just forget it . . ." she sighed.

"Heh. The kid had a stroke of genius, and I had a stroke of diarrhea! CAW!"

After several minutes of small chat, making sure to spruce in some lover's banter, Sanae paid their tab with stacks of silver coins. The butler came back to pick up the money and wished everyone a good day.

"You were saying you had an idea of where to go next?" Daichi looked aside towards Crow. The perched bird cocked its head around as if still thinking, but seemed finally settled on a destination.

"So, have you guys ever heard of Fizzneyland?"