Living Normally In An Abnormal World - Chapter 10: Home Date

Chapter 10: Home Date

Today is my date with Kimura-san as promised. 

I should dress up for the occasion, especially since it’s our first date. 

I’m quite nervous about it.

I arrived 30 minutes before the agreed-upon time. I don’t like making people wait, and in my past life, I was taught that men should be earlier than women on a date…

Of course, I’m cross-dressing. I plan to continue doing so until I’m in my mid-teens. I’ve already told Kimura-san about my cross-dressing, so it’s not an issue.

Just then, Kimura-san arrived, looking stylish in a trendy green T-shirt and jeans. It suits her very well.

“Did you wait long?”

“No, not at all.”

“Take care of me today!”

“Sure, I’m looking forward to it.”

“That outfit looks good on you!”

“Thanks, you look cute too.”

“Thank you.”

“Shall we go?”

“Ah, wait!”

She said, grabbing the hem of my shirt.

“…… Can we hold hands? There are a lot of people around, so…”

Her face turned red as she fidgeted. Well, it’s our first date, so I might as well do what she wants.

“Sure, then please lead the way.”

“Okay… okay! Let’s go!!!”

“Hey, don’t run suddenly.”

“…… Ehehe.”

I never expected her to be so happy… And she naturally went for the lover’s hand-holding style, which I decided to keep quiet about.

“By the way, where are we going first?”

Although we’re on a date, our plan is to go shopping. In other words, I’m just her companion.

She’s into anime and games, the so-called “Akihabara type.” Since I was the same in my past life, and I often watch those things when I’m alone at home, we have a lot in common.

“Today, I want to buy a new game and I want us to play it together at my house!”

Hmm, a home date is quite a bold move right from the start.

“Ah, it’s fine. My sister is a NEET, so she stays in her room all the time, and my mom isn’t home today.”

I don’t know what’s fine about having a NEET sister… That must be tough for her.

Since Kimura-san and I always spend time together at school, I trust her, and I don’t think she’ll do anything inappropriate.

“It’s not a problem. I trust you, Kimura-san.”

“Thank you!”

“So, what kind of game is it?”

“Biohazard!”

“…… I see.”

Well, it’s almost summer, and since I’ve been watching playthrough videos, it’s not that scary. But I prefer watching Biohazard videos to playing it myself. Maybe it’s time to give it a try.

By the way, playing Biohazard in the first grade… Kimura-san is approaching the level of a gaming otaku.

“By the way, you call Maria-chan by her name, right?”

“Hmm? Yes, because Maria asked me to.”

I have old-fashioned values, so calling someone by their name right away is difficult for me. Also, I’ve had experiences where I was disliked for doing so, and I believe in the saying, “familiarity breeds contempt.”

“I’d like you to call me by my name, Rina, too.”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll call you Rina.”

“…… Then, let’s start now.”

“Let’s go, Rina.”

“…… Okay.”

I take her hand and head to the game cartridge corner.

“We got it~”

“So, are we going to your house now?”

“Yeah!”

“It’s lunchtime, so do you want to eat out or should we have lunch at your place?”

“…… At my house?”

“I can cook something if you want. Or do you want to eat outside your house? Hmm, what do you want to eat?”

“Omurice!”

“It’ll take some time, right?”

“I’ll help!”

“Sure.”

We head straight to the supermarket.

For the chicken rice, we can just use microwavable rice, right?

At the checkout counter,

“Hmm?” ← Notices hidden snacks

“Gulp!”

“You look like a child who’s about to get scolded by their parents.”

“I am a child.”

“Don’t be defiant.”

“I want snacks.”

“Go ahead.”

“Yay! Thank you, Dad!”

“Who’s your dad?”

We arrive at her house, and she hastily enters first. Then, with a smile, she says,

“Welcome, Yuuto-kun!”

“…… I’m intruding, Rina.”

“Yeah!”

And so, I was invited into her house.

Since it’s almost lunchtime,

“Rina-kun, We’ll make omurice today.”

“Okay~”

“First, we’ll make chicken rice. Rina, you cut the chicken while I chop the onions.”

“Understood.”

“While we’re frying them together, please heat up the rice in the microwave.”

“Got it.”

“Let’s begin!”

“Oui, yes.”

“…… Rina?”

“It’s my first time cooking with Yuuto-kun!”

“Oui, yes.”

First, I finely chop the onions, and Rina cuts the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Then, we fry them together in a frying pan. Meanwhile, I heat up the rice in the microwave.

Once they have a nice color, we add ketchup and chicken soup stock and mix. Then, we season it with sugar, salt, and black pepper before mixing in the rice and frying it.

I leave the final step of putting the thin omelet on top to Rina, and I make it myself.

Finally, we plate the dish and it’s ready.

“It’s done.”

“Yay!”

“Let’s eat!”

Bite

“Delicious.”

“It’s yummy!”

I don’t want to give my opinion because it would sound like self-praise. But it’s just plain delicious.

Then, Rina holds a spoonful towards me and says,

“Yuuto-kun, a~n.”

“……”

“A~n.”

“……”

“A~n.”

“…… A~n. It’s delicious.”

“…… Ehehe.”

It’s so cute how she’s the one blushing when she’s the one feeding me. I should return the favor.

“Open your mouth, a~n.”

“Ah… a~n. It’s delicious!”

“Of course.”

“Now, Yuuto-kun, a~n.”

Eh? Again?

“I made some for Rina’s sister, but I guess I’ll just leave it there?”

“You can put it in the fridge. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

We finish eating the omurice, and since it’s time for the Biohazard game,

“Eh? Hard mode right from the start?”

This girl naturally chooses the highest difficulty. Are you a masochist in games, Rina?

“Eh? Of course.”

“Then, I want toj ust  watch.”

“It’s fine, I’ll protect you…”

“It’s definitely dangerous on the first try.”

Biohazard is completely new to me, so the highest difficulty is too much. Well, I’ll just watch after dying a few times.

“Let’s go with a knife-only challenge.”

On top of the highest difficulty, she adds another restriction.

“Wait a minute, isn’t that a bit too much?”

“What’s wrong?”

Wait, did she just do something weird? I’m just a beginner, right? Beginners shouldn’t be playing on the highest difficulty with restrictions, like those video uploaders.

There’s even a tag that says, “Somehow, I didn’t disappear series.”

“Use the gun.”

“Dodging is just for show, you can win by punching.”

Your playstyle is that of a brainless gorilla!!!

I’m too tired to keep pointing that out.

“Let’s just start.”

“I’m so excited~♪”

Rina’s playstyle is even more exciting.

‘Ugaaaaaa!!!’ < Running and chasing

“Wow, that’s scary~” 

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Calmly slicing up zombies with a knife?

‘Vah!’ <Suddenly appearing

“Whoa!”

“That one startled me~”

You kicked the zombie after stunning it with a knife?

“Rina, you’re amazing.”

“Eh? Really? Thank you.”

“Wow, I can’t believe you made it to the third chapter without continuing on your first try.”

“Yuuto-kun, you’re amazing too! It’s your first time playing Biohazard, and you’re already doing a hard no-continue run!”

“Thank you.”

That’s only because you’re giving me all the items.

Rina… I wish you would do let’s play videos. If you did, I would definitely watch them. Seriously.

“My sister is even more amazing. She does let’s play videos.”

“Really…?”

But I prefer watching videos of virtual singers and Vocaloids. I don’t watch real people playing games at all.

In this world, there are similar things, so I watch those.

“Let’s take a break.”

“Okay.”

Playing for three hours straight can be quite tiring.

“Can I lie down for a bit?”

“Sure.”

“Ah, I’m exhausted~”

She stretches her arms above her head and stretches her body. Crack, creak, her body makes popping sounds. It feels so good. Then, she lies down on her back.

“Phew~”

“You must be tired.”

She says, lying next to me.

“Let’s take a nap, then.”

“Okay.”

I set an alarm for when it’s time to wake up.

(It’s around 3 pm now… Two hours should be enough.)

“Yuuto-kun, I brought a cushion. You can use it as a pillow if you want.”

“Oh, thanks. But there’s only one?”

“Well, I have some, but… I wanted to do an arm pillow with your’s.”

“Sure.”

“Really?! Thank you so much!!!”

I probably should have refused, but if I did, she would be sad. Besides, today’s date is for her, so I’ll grant her requests as long as they’re within reasonable bounds.

I extend my arm and let her use it as a pillow.

“Ehehe, I was so excited about today’s date that I couldn’t sleep last night♪”

“I see.”

“But I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to entertain you.”

“That’s not true. I’m having fun.”

“You’re so kind, Yuuto-kun. I keep taking advantage of you.”

“Don’t worry about it. Instead of worrying, think about having fun. It’s fine to be spoiled sometimes.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then, gyuuuu!!!”

She hugs me tightly. I return her hug. For now, this is enough. But what about later? I’ll think about it when the time comes.

“Yuuto-kun, you’re warm.”

“Of course, I’m full of kindness.”

“Haha♪ What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just joking.”

“Oh.”

“Let’s sleep.”

“Okay…… zzz.”

“You fell asleep quickly. Were you up all night?”

Well, I guess I’ll take a nap too. By the way, was I always this used to being around girls?

“Thank you for the date today.”

“Was it a date?”

“I don’t know!”

“Yeah, I don’t really get it either. But I had fun.”

“Next time, let’s invite Maria-chan too.”

“That might be fun. I think Maria would have a good reaction to seeing it.”

“Haha♪ See you later.”

“Yeah, see you.”

“Ah! Wait.”

“What is it?”

“Can you give me your email address and L◯NE ID?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Ehehe.”

“I’ll message you when I get home.”

“Okay, and I’ll tell Maria-chan too.”

“Thanks, I can’t do that myself.”

“We can tell each other at school…”

“Yeah, just thinking about it makes me shudder.”

“By the way, Yuuto-kun, you’re kind of a loner, aren’t you?”

“Don’t call me a loner.”

“Hey, it’s getting late, so you should head home.”

“You’re changing the subject, but okay, see you later.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

I leave her house.

Her house is about a 30-minute walk from mine, which is a bit of a distance. There aren’t many people around at 5 pm, and as the sun sets and it gets darker, it becomes a bit scary. Especially when there’s someone behind me.

I turn around and see a person hiding and quickly disappearing into the shadows.

Hmm, a person?

Ah… Isn’t that dangerous?

I dash home. Fortunately, I was almost home anyway, so I made it back safely. But,

(I should probably stay home for a while.)

That’s what I thought.