Chapter 15

Chapter 15 - A Promise for a Date...?

Thanks to Ayaka, Haruto successfully obtained the two bottles of sesame oil. After buying the natto, which was his original reason for going to the supermarket, and the wasabi for Ayaka's shopping, the two completed the payment, packed their purchased items, and began heading to the home center adjacent to the supermarket to buy the blowtorch.

"Here you go, Ootsuki-kun, the sesame oil."

"Thank you very much. You really saved me."

As Haruto received the sesame oil from Ayaka, he lowered his head slightly and placed the sesame oil into his eco bag.

"Ootsuki-kun, your eco bag... is really cute."

"Eh? Ah... Actually, this is the one my grandma normally uses."

Haruto said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Ah, I see. I guess it's a bit too cute for you to use, right, Ootsuki-kun?"

Saying that, Ayaka glanced once again at Haruto's eco bag.

The eco bag he was carrying was made of light pink fabric with an adorable embroidered bear on it. It was a design that was a bit too youthful for a high school boy, rather girlish, and overall, it felt a bit out of place for Haruto to be carrying around.

"Well, even if my grandmother were to use it, I still think the design is a bit too cute. She likes these kinds of things though."

Haruto said with a slightly wry smile, and Ayaka smiled in response.

"I think it's nice, though? Your grandma sure sounds cute."

"Hahaha, thank you."

Once both of them finished packing, they headed towards the home center next to the supermarket to buy the blowtorch.

"Wow, there's more stuff in the home center than I thought."

Ayaka looked around curiously at the home center, which she hadn't visited much before.

"I had an image that they sold gardening supplies and things for DIY, but they even sell appliances and groceries."

"Modern home centers really have a wide range of products. They even have kitchen supplies, and you can even do things like kitchen renovations."

"Oh, I see. Ah, they have a pet corner."

Ayaka spotted puppies in glass cages in the distance and started running towards them excitedly. However, she stopped abruptly and glanced back at Haruto with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"We came here to buy a blowtorch, right..."

"Yes, well... Shall we take a quick look?"

"Is that okay?"

"Yes, it's fine."

"Yay!"

With joy, Ayaka dashed over to the puppy area. Watching her from behind, Haruto couldn't help but smile wryly.

"There's no way I can refuse that..."

In a small enough voice that couldn't be heard by others, Haruto muttered. He took out his smartphone from his pocket to check the time for a brief moment. Though he didn't have much time left until his part-time job started, he still had some time for a short detour. Crouching down in front of the cage and observing the puppies from behind Ayaka, Haruto observed the same puppy she was looking at.

"They're so cute~ Oh! It's coming this way!"

"This one is what you'd call a Pomeranian puppy."

Haruto looked at the information posted on the cage as he spoke.

"This little one is so fluffy and tiny, and cute!"

With her face almost pressed against the glass, Ayaka's eyes sparkled with excitement. Watching her, Haruto couldn't help but smile naturally and casually checked the puppy's price. Then, after counting the zeros, he slowly averted his gaze.

"Ootsuki-kun! Look, look! Its paws look so cute~! So fluffy!"

The Pomeranian puppy, after placing its front paws on the glass of the cage, began to spin around in place, repeating the motion of putting its paws on the glass.

In response to the adorable puppy's behavior, Ayaka's voice came out as though she was deeply moved.

Certainly, the Pomeranian puppy was small, and its body was fluffy, giving it an adorable appearance as if fluffy tufts of fur were bouncing all around. However, to Haruto's eyes, the girl in front of him appeared much cuter than the puppy's cuteness.

"Toujou-san, you really like puppies, huh?"

"Yeah! It's rarer to find someone who doesn't like something this cute, you know?"

Ayaka answered while continuing to gaze at the puppy. She didn't seem to be bored despite watching the puppy repeat the same action over and over. 

Haruto couldn't take his eyes off her either. The combination of a beautiful girl and a small animal had a critical hit effect that struck high school boys, no, men of all ages in the world.

"Going to a petting zoo with you sounds like fun, Toujou-san."

Observing Ayaka interacting with animals all day would surely be a feast for the eyes, and his vision might become something like 20/16. As Haruto thought about this, he casually commented, and Ayaka, who had been gazing at the puppy all along, suddenly turned away from the puppy, looking up at Haruto.

"I want to go to a petting zoo too!"

"...Eh?"

"...Ah, no, that... I mean..."

In response to Ayaka's words, Haruto uttered a questioning voice. Seeing his reaction, Ayaka's expression shifted to a startled one, and her face gradually turned red.

Seeing her like that, Haruto recalled his words from earlier and felt his cheeks heat up as well.

(Hold up. Did my phrasing just now unintentionally sound like I was inviting Toujou-san?)

He hadn't meant it that way at all, but inadvertently, he had ended up inviting her out on a date. Moreover, unexpectedly, she had accepted it.

Haruto desperately tried to calm his racing heart and search for the right words, while Ayaka hesitated and started speaking with a shy tone.

"Y-you see... The petting zoo, Ryouta likes it... Yes! Ryouta likes it! So… um… But my parents are busy with work and can't take him there often. But, um, taking Ryouta there alone... I mean, it's a bit worrisome, and I think Ryouta would be happy if... Ootsuki-kun were there..."

Ayaka rambled on, shifting her gaze all over the place, giving an excuse-filled explanation.

However, Haruto also quickly jumped on the ferry called "Ryouta," who was his lifesaver.

"A-ah, right! Ryouta-kun does seem to like the petting zoo."

"Th-that's right, that's why, um..."

Ayaka stuttered and fell silent in the middle of her words. After a slightly awkward pause, Haruto gradually opened his mouth.

"Then... shall we go next time? To the petting zoo. The three of us... with Ryouta-kun."

"Y-Yeah! With Ryouta... the three of us."

Unable to meet Ayaka's bashful, happy, and slightly disappointed yet charming expression, Haruto averted his gaze from her.

"Um, r-right. We need to buy a blowtorch."

"R-Right, we should hurry and buy one."

In response to Haruto's seemingly contrived words, Ayaka nodded repeatedly with "uh-huh's."

From there, the two of them remained silent until they bought the blowtorch and left the home center. They exchanged glances a few times along the way, blushing and looking away whenever their eyes met.

Exiting the premises of the home center and heading towards their respective homes, the two of them faced each other once again and then looked away.

"Um, then, I'll head home for now. I'll go to your house again later."

"Y-Yeah."

"And... um, about the zoo..."

"Ah! Yes!"

At the mention of the word "zoo" from Haruto, Ayaka exhibited an excessive reaction.

"Shall we… talk about when we should go and such on another day?"

"Right... yes. Yeah, let's do that."

"Well then, for now... goodbye. See you later."

"Hm, goodbye. See you later."

After exchanging these words, Haruto and Ayaka turned their backs to each other and started walking towards their respective homes.

After walking for a while, Haruto hesitated for a moment and looked back. At that exact moment, Ayaka turned around as well, and their gazes met.

"—!"

Despite his startle, Haruto managed a light nod. In response, Ayaka blushed slightly and waved her hand shyly.

Sensing his own cheeks turning red, Haruto hastily looked in front.

"Oioioioioi, she's just so freaking cute."

Suppressing a grin threatening to form on his face, Haruto continued walking.

"Rather, did I just accidentally make a promise to go on a date with Toujou-san?"

Haruto murmured to himself, alone. Then he shook his head to dismiss the thought.

"No, no! It's not like that! It's not just Toujou-san and me, there's also Ryouta-kun. Moreover, the purpose is to take Ryouta-kun to the zoo. In other words, this isn't a date!"

Haruto heaved a sigh of relief, thinking, "That was close, I almost misunderstood," but then immediately recalled the conversation he had with her up until that point.

Ayaka showing a bright smile at the sight of the puppy, Ayaka expressing her desire to go to the zoo, Ayaka's gaze meeting his and her shyly blushing. All of those moments had appeared extremely charming to Haruto.

"Seriously, she's too cute..."

Until before he started his housekeeping part-time job, Haruto had thought of Toujou Ayaka as nothing more than the 'school idol,' always surrounded by girls and showed no interest in guys whatsoever.

He used to think of her that way, but now, that same girl was smiling at him, blushing, and even promised to go to the zoo together, albeit with her little brother.

"I wonder if I'll be okay with my part-time job from now on?"

Until now, Toujou Ayaka had just been the 'school idol' to Haruto.

However, upon actually interacting with her, he realized that she was surprisingly an ordinary girl with a very cute side.

"I can't help… but be conscious of her, bro."

Haruto was going to the Toujou household for the sake of his part-time job.

He couldn't bring any impure intentions into it.

The Toujou Ayaka he had seen as the 'school idol' versus the 'normal' Toujou Ayaka he interacted with during his housekeeping job. The gap between the two images made his heart unsteady, but he intentionally avoided dwelling on that matter too deeply.

"Alright! For now, let's concentrate solely on filleting the fish today!"

With a clenched fist and renewed determination, Haruto contemplated how to prepare the fish Ayaka's father, Shuuichi, had caught as he headed home.