Tokyo Chapter 69

"Where is it? If it's not too far, I don't mind giving it a try."

"Me too."

"I think it's in the northern part of Taito, maybe about an hour by train."

"Eh—so far! I’m not really up for going that far."

"Well, we could also visit Ueno Zoo and see the pandas, or maybe Asakusa Temple? Plus, the northern part of Taito is near Ryūkō, right? The Iye Memorial Museum is also around there, and I kind of want to check it out."

"Seeing pandas means waiting in line for over two hours, though... but yeah, it’s still worth it."

"What’s the Iye Memorial Museum?"

"Don’t tell me you don’t know, it’s for the female writer Higuchi Ichiyō! Come on, at least read a little bit of literature."

"So, are we going to eat ramen or not?"

"Let’s go, but only after we see the pandas. As for the Iye Memorial Museum, forget it. Not interested at all."

"Seriously… Higuchi Ichiyō is the lady on the 5000 yen bill!"

"Eh??? Seriously? Now I’m interested, let’s go see it!"

"…"

Shuichi Chiba watched the three girls banter and couldn’t help but stroke his chin thoughtfully. Speaking of pandas... he’d actually never seen one before.

Now that he wasn’t as busy as in his previous life, and his place was so close to Ueno Zoo, it felt like it was time to see one with his own eyes.

Otherwise, it would be a real shame if he missed out on seeing pandas in both of his lives.

"There's no use in watching anymore, Chiba. They're not in our world. People like us are destined to be alone," Hachiya Uchida said, his voice filled with a hint of melodrama, as he suddenly appeared beside Shuichi Chiba and patted him on the shoulder.

Shuichi Chiba looked up at him and replied, "We're not the same."

"..." Hachiya Uchida hesitated, as if wanting to say something but stopping himself. After a pause, he added, "Alright, I know what you're going to say, no need to say it."

"Good, Uchida. You're actually growing up. It's worth celebrating." Shuichi Chiba teased with a smile.

"..." Hachiya Uchida's face immediately turned blank, his expression unreadable.

At noon, Shuichi Chiba and An Akiyama left the classroom one after the other, sneaking up to the rooftop to meet. The picnic mat he had borrowed earlier had never been returned, so he decided to keep using it.

As he was spreading it out, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that An Akiyama was looking around suspiciously.

After confirming that no one was nearby and that her sister hadn't arrived yet, An Akiyama bent down and lightly tapped Shuichi Chiba's shoulder with her delicate fingers.

"Chiba-kun, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Shuichi Chiba sat cross-legged and looked up at her.

An Akiyama took a deep breath, then wrote the character for "person" in her palm and swallowed nervously.

Shuichi Chiba couldn't help but laugh as he watched her fidgeting, "What are you doing? Are you confessing to me?"

"Eh? Chiba-kun already guessed it?" An Akiyama blinked in surprise, then immediately tightened her expression, "Yes, I'm going to confess to you."

"Oh, well, go ahead then."

Shuichi Chiba was quite amused as he waited for her to continue. He couldn’t help but wonder what this silly, food-obsessed girl was thinking, and why she seemed to have her eyes on him, just like her sister.

That said, to be honest, this was the first time someone had confessed to him—first time in two lifetimes, actually. He might as well enjoy the experience.

An Akiyama's emotions, which had been interrupted, seemed a bit disjointed. She took a moment to organize her thoughts, then bowed deeply with a serious and earnest expression:

"I like you, Chiba-kun. Please go out with me!"

"So... what do you like about me?" Shuichi Chiba was a bit baffled, especially since the Akiyama family's thought processes seemed to operate on a completely different wavelength from normal people.

"I don't know." An Akiyama straightened up and shook her head with utter confidence.

"You don't know? Then why are you saying you like me?" Shuichi Chiba stared at her, dumbfounded.

"Because you have to like someone to date them, right? And I want to date Chiba-kun, so I must like Chiba-kun." An Akiyama felt her logic was perfectly sound.

Shuichi Chiba's brain seemed to short-circuit. What kind of reasoning was this?

"Chiba-kun? So, will you go out with me?" An Akiyama waved her hand in front of him when he didn't respond.

Shuichi Chiba watched An Akiyama with a mixture of confusion and amusement. Her reasoning was so simple, yet completely baffling to him.

"So... you want to date me just because you like me, but you don’t even know why you like me?" He raised an eyebrow, still trying to process what just happened.

"Yes!" An Akiyama nodded, her face full of confidence. "You have to like someone to want to date them, right? So, I like you, and that means I want to date you!"

Shuichi Chiba's mind stalled for a moment, trying to grasp the logic behind her words. This was unlike any confession he'd heard before, and it left him both bewildered and slightly amused.

"But... do you even know me that well?" He asked, still processing her strange yet sincere logic.

An Akiyama blinked, clearly not fazed by his question. "I know enough. I want to be with you, that’s all."

The earnestness in her voice almost made him feel guilty for rejecting her, but he couldn’t help but feel that this whole situation was surreal.

When he hesitated, she waved her hand in front of his face as if to snap him out of his trance.

"Chiba-kun? So, are you going to date me?"

He snapped back to reality. "No."

"Okay, then." An Akiyama shrugged nonchalantly. "I'll ask again tomorrow."

Despite the rejection, she didn’t seem at all discouraged, as though it was simply another task to check off her list for the day.

Shuichi Chiba watched her go, still trying to process the whirlwind of emotions and logic that had just unfolded. For better or worse, he’d never encountered anyone quite like her before.

In her mind, she clearly thought she would be like her mother back in the day, persistently confessing until she defeated all competitors and successfully started a relationship.

“The rooftop confession operation failed, so should I use chocolate next time?” An Akiyama murmured to herself, her face full of hesitation.

“Chocolate... slurp... or maybe a love letter instead... Chiba-kun might not even like chocolate... hmm, right...”

Shuichi Chiba couldn’t help but listen to her words with a wry smile, unsure of what to say. How greedy can one be if they can’t even part with chocolate for a confession?

Just then, footsteps were heard coming up the stairs.

An Akiyama jumped in surprise, quickly whispering, “Chiba-kun, remember to keep my confession a secret. Don’t tell my sister, or she’ll definitely nag and possibly mess things up.”

“...Alright.” Shuichi Chiba nodded with a barely contained laugh.

When Tsuki Akiyama arrived, she saw her younger sister sitting very straight and serious. Upon seeing her like this, Tsuki immediately grew suspicious.

"Did you do something that deserves a beating again?"

"No way! You can't just accuse me out of nowhere." An Akiyama glanced away, her gaze evasive.

Tsuki Akiyama sighed in resignation and gave up questioning her. "Next time, lie with more confidence. Don’t look away."

"Oh, I got it!" An Akiyama responded, looking as if she finally understood.

Shuichi Chiba and Tsuki Akiyama exchanged a glance, both silently acknowledging each other's thoughts.

Now you know how difficult it is, right?

Good work, this little fool really does make you worry.

"Chiba-kun..."

In the time it took for them to exchange looks, An Akiyama had already opened her lunch and started eating, all the while eyeing Shuichi Chiba’s lunchbox eagerly.

"Got it." Shuichi Chiba chuckled as he opened his lunch and shared some tempura with her.

"Chiba-kun, you're so nice~" An Akiyama stuffed the food into her mouth, squinting her eyes happily.

"By the way, there are three girls in the class who made plans to come to your shop for ramen this weekend. What do you think about that?"

As Shuichi Chiba was eating, he suddenly remembered the conversation from earlier in the morning and brought it up.

Tsuki Akiyama swallowed her food, then paused for a moment before answering, "It doesn't matter. The girls know what my family is like, and I don't really care about what they think."

"Have you encountered situations like this before?" Shuichi Chiba asked.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal. My mom has experience. I'll just remind her again tonight, and it’ll be fine." Tsuki Akiyama brushed it off.

"That's good." Shuichi Chiba didn't say more, but he couldn't shake the feeling that... given her mother's personality, would she really be able to handle it properly?

He wondered if Tsuki Akiyama had ever felt awkward in similar situations before, especially since teenagers are sensitive about their pride…

"Chiba-kun..."

Shuichi Chiba looked up at the sound of her voice, only to see An Akiyama gazing longingly at his lunchbox, a small bit of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth.

Well, it seems like she was a complete fool with no understanding of sensitivity at all.