I'm Done Pretending

Mai wasn't actually lying. She and Yukino, and they were picking on him until they fell asleep, having a great time.

"Really? But you said more than just that, didn't you?"

"Yes, there's more, but why should I tell you? That's a young girl's secret."

Shuya grinned and said, "How about I trade you a girl's secret? I know Motoko's amazing secret."

What secrets could Motoko possibly have?

Mai was very puzzled.

"Hehe, actually I wasn't planning to tell you, I was just keeping you in suspense."

Seeing how concerned she seemed, Shuya felt that this evened things out.

"Damn it... I care about this so much..."

Mai fell for it as expected.

After all, Motoko was so innocent; she was extremely curious about what she could be hiding.

She hesitated for a while, but couldn't think of anything, so she had to give up.

"Forget it, forget it, I don't want to think about it."

Mai asked, "We..."

Where do we go now?

Shuya asked the question first. As long as he spoke quickly enough, the blame wouldn't fall on him.

"... You're too cunning!"

Mai stomped her foot angrily.

The two remained silent, neither able to come up with a solution, and eventually went to Odaiba, a place devoid of any originality.

After walking Odaiba for a while, they went to the famous Oedo Onsen Monogatari their date.

Shuya quickly changed into a yukata and waited for Mai to come out at the entrance of the Hirokoji area.

He stood there quietly, and even though he was using Strange Arts, his extraordinary appearance still attracted frequent glances from passersby.

That awful ending keeps haunting me, it's even keeping me up at night.

It was indeed moving, but that was before the ending. Kyoto Animation's production is undoubtedly world-class; the opening almost broke my emotional defenses, the middle and later parts completely captivated me, and then the ending... well, that's it? That's all?

Sigh, Wei Mei is indeed very pretty, but that's about it.

I'm still upset, so I need to sort out my feelings and vent them. You can take a look if you're interested.

Damn, it's been a whole day, and I just can't muster the energy to do anything...

Section 617, page 575: I'm not installing anymore.

It was just a matter of changing into a yukata, so Shuya didn't have to wait too long.

Five or six minutes later, Shuya, feeling somewhat exasperated by the girls' stares, noticed Mai emerging from the crowd.

Already beautiful, she wore a blue yukata with a petal pattern, which enhanced her beauty, giving her an aura of classic elegance.

Shuya was momentarily lost in thought, while Mai, seeing Shuya in his black yukata, also drifted off for a few seconds.

"... Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Huh? Hmm."

At first, only women were looking over, but now that the two of them are standing together, even the men are taking notice.

It's always been like this, but it's still quite annoying.

Let's go.

After Mai finished speaking, she took Shuya's hand and they started walking forward.

This might have been an attempt to show passersby, "You saw that? So don't bother me~", but to Shuya, who knows her well, she was unusually bold today.

Shuya was led forward by her soft little hand.

His surprise caused him to fall a few steps behind, but after calming down, he caught up with her and walked alongside her.

Shuya asked in surprise, "Seriously, what did you say to Yukino- chan? Why did you suddenly stop pretending? And why were you being so proactive?"

Mai made up a random excuse. "I'm just trying to prevent us from getting separated, don't misunderstand."

That's a really flimsy excuse.

Shuya shook his head, but he knew she was just shy.

She changed the subject. "You look pretty good in this outfit, it's rare to see you like this."

Even when going to places like festivals, Shuya always wears casual clothes.

Shuya said, "As you know, I'm not really interested in these kinds of clothes."

That's what they say...

"Forget about that, what do you want to play?"

Shuya pointed to the surrounding shops.

This area has a festival atmosphere, with stalls selling snacks or playing games.

There were so many people here, it was exactly like the festivals I usually go to.

"Hmm... which one should we play first?"

"It's your decision."

Mai was pointing to a shop that sells shuriken.

He had no objection and simply nodded.

So he and Mai went there and gave him 400 yen for a game.

However, it would be too unfair and boring for Shuya to shoot, Mai chose to take the court herself.

Without her extraordinary abilities, she's just an ordinary person with a slightly stronger physique, so she can fully appreciate the joy of this game.

After visiting the store, the two held hands and continued strolling and playing.

Once they blended into the crowd, they were noticed much less, and they walked with ease.

Shuya thinking about anything else and focused on enjoying the fun he had with Mai.

All things considered, being with Mai was probably the most relaxing.

... And when necessary, he can also have his favorite life consultation.

"?!"

Mai sensed danger and looked around in confusion.

But of course she didn't see anything.

After playing there for a while, the two of them went outside to rest in the foot bath garden.

This is an outdoor Japanese garden with a foot bath, where people can leisurely soak their feet and enjoy the scenery.

It was a weekday, but there were still quite a few people. The two of them could only find a relatively quiet spot, and after sitting down, they dipped their bare feet into the water.

The people around me were chatting, it was a bit noisy, but still tolerable.

"... It's quite comfortable here."

After Mai finished speaking, she playfully splashed water with her toes.

Transparent water droplets splashed up, refracting the sunlight and creating a crystal-clear effect.

Shuya's gaze followed the water droplets down, then landed on her pale pink toenails, still wet with water droplets.

"Watch your gaze, you're being too lewd."

Mai made a comment and then put her feet back in the water.

I'll try my best.

Shuya answered, but then looked down at her calves peeking out from under her yukata.

She usually wears black pantyhose, and it's rare to see her barefoot.

With legs that beautiful, it's no wonder he glanced at them a few more times.

"... His gaze is getting increasingly lewd."

Mai reached out and lifted his head, trying to make him look at her face.

However, seeing how close she was, Shuya could only take the opportunity to kiss her cheek.

"Idiot, you idiot! Why are you doing this all of a sudden?!"

Mai blushed and tried to push his face away, but he grabbed her hand and placed it on the ground, holding it together.

"Don't blame me, I thought you were implying that I should do that."

Shuya denied it, but even tried to shift the blame onto her.

"You're really good at saying those things."

Her tone sounded somewhat sarcastic.

Shuya pretended not to notice and nodded, saying, "Not bad, not bad."

"You've changed so much today, haven't you? Was the heart-to-heart talk with Yukino- chan really that effective?"

He was indeed curious about what they had talked about.

"It's been said to be a secret."

"Well, I can probably guess that."

Shuya she really didn't want to talk about it, Xiu stopped asking.

Anyway, judging from her reaction today, he could roughly guess what was going on.

"Oh, but don't get me wrong, we're not dating right now."

It doesn't matter.

After finishing speaking, Shuya hesitated and said, "So, Yukino- chan told you about her, um..."

As he chose his words, Mai silently raised her hand. "You mean this?"

Her disdainful look was really captivating.

"Ahem, that was all just a momentary impulse."

"Stop talking, I don't want to hear it."

Mai rubbed her forehead. "You're really going too far... but it's also a problem that Yukino didn't really put up a fight."

Shuya spoke up for Yukino: "That's true, but if you were in the same situation, you probably wouldn't resist much either."

"Shuya, shut up."

Mai stared at him with an unfriendly expression; she was furious that the truth had been revealed.

He said kindly, "Alright, alright, continue soaking your feet. Would you like me to massage your legs?"

"Unnecessary!"

Mai resolutely refused.

"Don't say that, my massage technique is actually quite good."

"I said, no need! There are so many people here, don't get horny!"

"... Tsk."

Mai is right; even if they do nothing together, they still attract attention.