Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me - Volume 4 - Chapter 3.2

Watching it made me happy as if it were happening to me.

“Hey, Ryuto!” Runa called out to me later that day.

We’d planned to go home together, so I’d waited for her at the shoe racks. It had taken her a bit of time to show up.

“Hey, Runa. Where’s Kurose-san?” I asked.

“She’s still in the classroom! Apparently, she’ll be going home with Akari and some other girls.”

“I see.”

We put on our outdoor shoes and left through the entrance side by side.

“That sure was direct,” I remarked.

“Yeah. I figured that was my shot and left things to chance. My heart was actually, like, pounding, though. Aha ha. If Maria looked unhappy with it, I was gonna say, ‘Of course I’m joking! I just meant she’s cute like a little sister’ or something like that.”

But there’d been no need for it. Kurose-san had actually been waiting for that all along. For the day when everyone would see her and Runa as sisters.

It had been that simple all this time.

But as simple as it had been, it had surely been impossible for Kurose-san to create an opportunity for it to happen after what she’d done to Runa in the past.

And Runa, after having that done to her, had thought Kurose-san hated her. She felt she couldn’t be pushy with her sister.

And what broke the stalemate...

“It’s all thanks to your courage,” I said.

“Yeah. Though...” Runa began, pausing to look up at me beside her. “I got that courage from you, Ryuto.” Her large, glistening eyes pierced right through me, reaching my heart. “You peeked inside Maria’s heart for me... You were kind to her, and she opened her heart to you... That was what let us get back to how we used to be.” Runa gazed at me with a calm smile on her lips. “It’s thanks to you.”

The warmth in her voice enveloped me, and I was suddenly overcome with so much happiness that I felt like crying.

Seeing Kurose-san again after all those years hadn’t been meaningless for either of us.

I’m glad I fell in love with you once.

I hope you’ll come to feel that way too, one day.

And I pray that, if and when such a time comes, you’ll be the happiest person in the entire world.

***

After that day, we didn’t have classes again until the end-of-term ceremony a week later.

My early winter break consisted of preparing for winter courses at my cram school in the study room there and occasionally seeing Runa or talking to her on the phone.

One evening when I was in my room and on a video call with Runa, she suddenly brought up a certain topic.

“Ryuto, there’s something I wanna talk to you about.”

“What is it?”

“Do you mind if we change our plans for the Christmas dinner party just a bit?” she asked.

“Not at all. What’s up?”

We’d been planning to have a party on Christmas Eve at Runa’s house together with her family. She’d be cooking something for us to eat.

“Um...” Runa began hesitantly. She looked as cute as she always did in her fluffy at-home hoodie. “I’ve got this dream I’ve never given up on.” Although she spoke quietly, I could sense a strong will in her voice. “I wanna live in the same house with Maria and everyone else again. With both my mom and dad... Though I know it would be difficult to have my older sister there since she has her own life now.”

“Right...”

Her parents are divorced, though... But as I thought that, Runa continued.

“I know it’s impossible with the way things are now. So...I want Mom and Dad to get married again.”

“What...?!”

“I don’t think it’s impossible,” she said. “I think my dad still loves my mom, and Mom is single right now... They were each other’s first and they had three children—there’s no way she hates him, I think.”

“But how do you want them to get back together?” I asked in surprise.

Runa’s reply was spirited. “We’ll do it like they do in Lisa and Lottie!”

“In what...?”

“You don’t know the story by that name? My grandma gave me that book when I was in early primary school, saying it was about twins who were just like me and Maria.”

I felt like I’d seen that book in my primary school’s library. I’d never actually read the book, though, so I listened in silence.

“When Lisa and Lottie first see each other, they’re surprised to discover they look identical. One of them lives with her mom and the other with her dad, but they find out they’re actually twins, and when their parents divorced, each of them took one girl and raised them separately. They join forces to bring their parents together, they get remarried, and everyone becomes family again.”

“I see...”

“It’s a really happy story. When I got the book, I never thought our parents would divorce too... I envy my old self.” She’d been speaking ecstatically earlier, but now, her expression had turned a little gloomy. “When I told Maria about this, she said that if I can’t give up on the idea, we can try. So we gave it some thought together. Christmas Eve was our parents’ wedding anniversary. I can take care of our dad, and Maria can get Mom there—we can throw a party on Christmas Eve and bring them together without them knowing about it in advance. I feel like maybe, if we all eat together for the first time in a long while, Mom and Dad will remember the old days and feel like being a family again.”

Runa had finished her long speech on the other side of the screen. Now, she watched for my reaction—she seemed nervous.

“What do you think?” she asked. “Is it too simple? Do you think it’d go okay?”

“Well... Um, I do think it would be great if things ended up like that. I’d just be in the way if I were there, though, right?”

At the very least, I figured I shouldn’t be at that dinner party.

Runa shook her head, however. “No, I want you to come! Dad seems a little busy these days and Grandma will be on a trip with her hula friends over Christmas. It felt like we’re not going to be spending the holiday together this year.”

“I see.”

“So, I was gonna say to my dad that I want to introduce my boyfriend to him to make sure he comes. And Maria would invite our mom to eat out so she can take a break from work.”

“Makes sense...”

I still thought that if she wanted to bring her parents together, it was probably better for the family to meet up without any outsiders. But since this was what Runa had said, I figured it’d be okay for me to be present and maybe sneak out once I saw an opportunity to do so.

“You don’t like the idea? You can’t make it? Ah, I’ll do the cooking, of course, so come to my house afterward! Though you might be stuffed by the end.”

I smiled at Runa. “Sure, I’ll come if you want. I wanted to meet your dad at some point anyway.”

I’d said hello to Runa’s mother on the sports day, but I’d yet to properly meet her father, and he had custody of her. Runa had already met both of my parents too. I’d been itching to meet her dad when I’d walked her home after our dates, feeling like it was something I had to do as her boyfriend.

“Hooray! I better go tell my dad right away!” Runa exclaimed animatedly. “Christmas Eve is just a week from now, so I better hurry up and get ready! Gotta reserve a table at a restaurant... Oh yeah, maybe I should write letters to Mom and Dad!”

Watching Runa start to excitedly plan things brought a smile to my face. Hopefully, her plan would succeed. Christmas Eve was just a week away, and I wished that it would become an unforgettable day for both me and Runa.

In a sense, that wish would come true. But not the way I could’ve imagined at the time...

***

On Christmas Eve, the sky was overcast, even since morning. The weather was very wintry with a north wind blowing. When the sun began to set, the outdoor air chilled and dried out any exposed skin. Wearing a coat suitable for a cold winter day like this one, I headed with Runa to the appointed place.

Runa had reserved a table at a café near Station A. Apparently, she’d wanted to go to a restaurant they’d regularly visited as a family, where they’d made many memories. But unfortunately, on top of it being far from her current home, an internet search had revealed that its name had changed since then. As a result, she’d looked for a nearby place with a similar atmosphere to that restaurant instead.

“Ryuto!” Runa called out to me in front of Station A, waving her hand.

As always, she was extremely cute.

Even a guy as clueless about fashion as me could easily sense the Christmas feeling from Runa’s outfit—a red down coat over a white knit dress. It made me excited. Both the coat and the dress were mini in length, and while the patch of exposed skin between those and her long boots seemed like it would make her cold, it looked sexy.

“Sure is chilly!” she said right away, twining her arms around mine. Runa’s floral-or-fruity scent was faint in the cold air, but it made me keenly aware that this was my first winter together with her and that elevated my spirits. “Man, my heart’s pounding!”

The cold probably wasn’t the only reason her cheeks were rosy. And while I was happy about the idea that it might’ve also been because she was with me, there was probably a different reason for it.

Her “Lisa and Lottie” plan was about to be put into motion. That must’ve been what made her nervous and excited.

Runa checked her phone as we walked. “Oh, it’s from Maria. She says Mom’s already there.”

“That was quick, huh.”

“Apparently Mom didn’t have to go in today. I hear she’s been working a lot recently, so she was able to take off on Christmas Eve.”

“So she went there with Kurose-san?”

“Yep. Maria said they baked a Christmas cake together earlier today. And it’s a chocolate cake of all things. I asked Maria to bring a piece ’cause I wanna have some too!”

Seeing Runa’s innocent smile somehow filled me with emotion. Maybe that was thanks to getting an unexpected glimpse of her actively staying in touch with Kurose-san. I was also learning a bit about her twin’s daily life with their mother and how they got along well with each other.

“I wish I could’ve gotten my older sister to come too. Oh well, it’s Christmas Eve, so I guess nothing could be done about that.”

Apparently, Runa’s older sister had already had plans for a date with her boyfriend.

“But hey, I have you to make up for it. All right! I’m gonna enjoy the party today while putting my plan into action!” Runa said.

I found the sight of Runa rousing herself to dispel her nervousness to be really sweet.

The reservation was for 5 p.m. and we arrived five minutes early. Today’s party would be held in a room immediately to the side of the restaurant’s entrance.

The restaurant Runa and Kurose-san had chosen after discussing it with each other was a cozy, Spanish-style café with a somewhat stylish atmosphere. The chairs and tables here were on the small side. I wondered if the place the Shirakawa family had used to frequent had looked as comfy as this one.

Runa entered the private dining room and spotted Kurose-san and her mother sitting at the table. “Mom!” she exclaimed.

Upon seeing her, their mother opened her eyes wide. “Runa?! And Ryuto-kun... Why are you here?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? I was thinking we could celebrate Christmas together,” Runa said.

“What?! What’s the meaning of this, Maria?!”

While her mother was astonished, Runa promptly sat down and invited me to sit next to her.

The table in the room could seat six. We were currently arranged with Runa and I on one side, and Kurose-san and their mother on the other. Runa was probably going to lead her father to sit either next to her or to their mother.

“Isn’t it fine to do this once in a while? We’re family, after all,” replied Kurose-san, looking unruffled.

She’d probably invited her mother out here to eat as two, so her mother must’ve been wondering why they’d been led to a room like this. Though she was visibly taken aback, she seemed to have come to terms with this development on some level.

“So it’s that sort of surprise, I suppose,” their mother said. “Have you told your father?”

Runa and Kurose-san looked at each other.

“Well, kind of... Um...” began Runa falteringly. “Or should I say, he’s coming...”

Her mother’s eyes widened. “What?! He’s coming too?! Here?”

“I’m sorry for keeping quiet about it, Mom,” Kurose-san immediately added. “We wanted to have a Christmas party with everyone, just like the old days. You wouldn’t have come if I’d told you Dad would be here too, right?”

Their mother knit her brows. “I guess not... I don’t want to see him all that much.”

Both Runa’s and Kurose-san’s faces darkened.

“But if you two want us all to meet up, that changes things,” continued their mother. “I’m an adult, and so is your father.”

Runa and Kurose-san opened their eyes wide.

“Then...?”

“Okay. Let’s enjoy Christmas dinner together for the first time in a long while.”

Seeing their mother’s smile, Runa and Kurose-san exchanged glances.

“H... Hooray!”

“But wait, weren’t you two fighting all this time?” their mother continued. “I thought you two managed to make up when Maria said she wanted to transfer to Runa’s school, but you kept it a secret from everyone at school that you’re sisters, right? I was really surprised when I found that out on sports day.”

The sisters’ replies were awkward and vague.

“Well, um...”

“It’s not that we were fighting...”

“Well, what does it matter? Just know that we’re on great terms now! Okay, let’s decide on some drinks!” Runa then said cheerfully. She picked a drink menu off the table and passed copies to the two across from her.

The road leading to Runa and Kurose-san’s reconciliation had been a rocky one—explaining what had happened would require mentioning how Kurose-san was jealous of Runa and how she’d spread rumors about her. Runa must’ve figured it wasn’t suitable for the occasion.

“Let’s see... Well, I guess I’m letting loose today!” exclaimed their mother in an excited voice. She flipped to the page with alcoholic drinks, which prompted the sisters to secretly exchange glances and smiles.

As Runa had explained to me ahead of time, the “Lisa and Lottie” plan went like this: First, a harmonious mood would be created through a partially drunk conversation between the sober sisters and their tipsy parents. Then, Runa and Kurose-san would read aloud the letters they’d written to their parents, which contained the sisters’ feelings for them. Finally, they were going to lead things to their parents getting back together.

I was worried about whether things really would go that well, but for now, everything seemed to be progressing quite smoothly.

There was still the question of how their father would react, but according to Runa, he still had lingering feelings for their mother. Maybe they wouldn’t get back together right away, but today’s dinner party itself was surely going to be a success.

And as I waited there, excited at that premonition and nervous at the prospect of meeting Runa’s father in person...

There was a knock on the door, followed by the voice of a member of the staff. “The rest of your party is here.”

The door opened, and everyone looked that way.

Their father looked stylish and was wearing a suit—he seemed like he had come on his way back from work. He carried a coat in one hand.

Their mother was beautiful too, but since he was Runa and Maria’s father, he was quite the looker himself. I’d previously caught glimpses of him from a distance a few times, but now that I got a closer look, his big, round, and rather gentle eyes were just the same as Kurose-san’s. He had an undercut hairstyle and his sideburns had been shaven off all the way to the top of his ears. It didn’t seem rugged in any way, perhaps because of his relatively slim build. He didn’t look like a typical middle-aged man, and coupled with the fact that his suit fit him, I could tell just from a glance that he was someone who paid attention to his appearance.

He did a slight bow upon entering the room, but then he froze up. “Akie...?!”

That must’ve been their mother’s name.

Runa’s mother, meanwhile, looked confused too. “Who is she...?”

Taken aback, I looked over to the door and saw another figure behind their father—someone who wasn’t a staff member.

“Oh, right...” their father said and beckoned for that person to enter so even I could see them clearly.

The person with him was a petite woman. She looked young, although maybe she was in her thirties. Her appearance suggested that she was an office worker. She had a roundish bob haircut that made her seem more cute than beautiful. Either way, it was probably safe to say her looks were better than average.

“Runa said she wanted to introduce her boyfriend, so...I thought it was a good opportunity for me to introduce someone too. We’re planning to move in together in April and I was thinking that I had to tell my family early next year, so...” Their father’s speech faltered as he spoke, sounding like he was making excuses.

A stern look appeared on Runa’s face. “What’s this about?! What’s ‘living together’ supposed to mean...?”

While Runa had lost her presence of mind, her mother was calm. “Are you remarrying?” she asked.

Looking between his ex-wife and the woman behind him, the father was clearly overwhelmed. He nodded regardless. “I am...”

The woman behind him looked at him with a face that said, “You didn’t tell me this was going to happen.” The girls’ father drew back, as though unable to endure the pressure.

“So...what’s all this about...?” he said.

A hellish silence hung over the room inside this stylish restaurant for a moment.

Runa was the one to break it.

“That’s terrible... How could you...?!” she uttered, shoulders trembling. She then loudly put her head down on the table and began to cry.

“Runa...” I said. All I could do was pat her back.

I didn’t have the presence of mind to look around us, but I could tell from the atmosphere that everyone in the room looked uncomfortable.

***

In the end, the party had wrapped up just like that. Eating together had been out of the question at that point.

Runa’s mother had intended to pay for it anyway, but a member of the staff had said that since it was Christmas Eve and we hadn’t ordered anything yet, they expected that new customers would use the room right away.

“I feel so bad for causing trouble for the restaurant. Let’s make sure we come eat here another day,” Runa’s mother had said to Kurose-san with a smile.

Compared to Runa, Kurose-san and their mother hadn’t reacted with much emotion.

“It’s already been six years, after all,” Kurose-san had commented.

Their mother had said, “I even got married once since then.”

They’d both left looking somewhat relieved. Apparently, they were going to have dinner at their favorite yakiniku place near Station K instead. They’d invited us to come too, but as Runa had said that she was going home, we’d parted ways.

The father’s fiancée had run out of the restaurant in shock after having seen Runa crying loudly. Her father had chased after the woman.

Which brings us to the present. Runa had her head down on the kotatsu, which served as the dining table in her house. She wasn’t crying anymore, of course, but she was in a lethargic, absent-minded state. It didn’t look like she even had the energy to talk to me anymore.

It was to be expected, really.

She’d been so lively this past week. Although she was supposed to have been busy preparing for her plans, it hadn’t looked like things had been difficult for her at all, and her eyes had sparkled all the while.

“I’ve always wanted to go back to that house, where it was all five of us. Where I had Dad, Mom, my older sister...and Maria.”

It felt like the sad, vacant eyes she’d had at the time had belonged to a whole different person.

She’d always wanted to go back to that, and she’d thought that she might have actually been able to do so. That hope had made her shine for the past week.

But now, that hope had easily been shattered by the news of her father’s upcoming remarriage.

Runa had thought that her father still loved her mother. I couldn’t imagine how shocking this had been for her.

The analog clock on the wall was about to point to seven o’clock in the evening. Enjoying Christmas Eve was surely out of the question today.

There wasn’t anything I could say to relieve Runa’s sorrow. I wasn’t a part of her family. I got up quietly, figuring I should let her be alone for now.

“Okay, I guess I should go home for today...”

But the moment I said that, she grabbed my sleeve.

“No. Don’t go.” Having slightly lifted her head off the kotatsu at last, Runa gazed up at me with upturned eyes. “Don’t leave me alone tonight.”

Wh-What?!

My heart leaped with a loud enough thud that it felt like it might burst.

“I-It’s not like you’ll be alone. You have your dad...” I said.

“There’s no way he’ll come home tonight,” she said. “It’s Christmas Eve. Of course he’ll be with that woman.”

“No way...”

Would he really not come home tonight and instead spend time with his girlfriend, even though he had a high-school-aged daughter? What, did being in love make a guy forget he was a father?

“So, please...” said Runa, gazing at me with moist eyes.

The skin around her eyes was red and puffy, and it was sexy... If she looked at me with eyes like those, I...

“I-I can’t, Runa. It’s...”

“Don’t go”? “Don’t leave me alone tonight”?

That meant she was telling me to stay the night, right?!

Runa’s knit dress had cutouts in the shoulder areas, and her smooth fair skin showed through them. Her white thighs peeked out from under the kotatsu...

I gulped unconsciously.

“Why can’t you?” she asked, sweetly tilting her head. She was still holding my sleeve.

“W-Well, how do I explain...?”

Runa’s grandmother was on a trip, and her father wouldn’t be coming home... If I ended up spending the night with her in such a situation, and in her house...

I didn’t think that even a virgin like me could hold out until morning.

“No, seriously, I can’t!” I said.

I’ve decided to respect her wishes... I’m not gonna go for it until she wants to do it...!

With that in mind, I tried to leave, but Runa still pulled on my sleeve.

“Why do you say things like that...?”

Tears quickly welled up in her eyes, trickling down and sexily moistening her lips.

“I don’t want you to go...” she said. “Are you going to abandon me too...?”

Her face was flushed around her eyes down through her cheeks. She was still wearing her Christmas Eve outfit, and the way she twisted and turned was seductive.

“N-No, it’s just...!”

I closed one eye to resist the tempting sight and try to maintain my sanity.

Runa pleaded with me, though, and narrowed her eyes in distress. “I’m okay with it, you know...” she said. Her absentmindedly parted lips were sexy. My eyes became glued to the red tip of her tongue peeking out. “You can have sex with me if you want...”

Her words caught me off guard.

“So...be with me until morning...”

With that, Runa offered herself to me. I stood there, and she shifted out of a sitting position and began to cling to my legs. She leaned against them with her whole body weight.

I could feel her soft, supple, elastic, feverish touch.

Damn... If this keeps up...something will poke into her forehead...!

Nearly starting to panic, I embraced her shoulders, figuring that whatever would happen would happen.

Wait, something’s too warm...

I’d noticed it since she had started to cling to my legs, but Runa’s body felt unnaturally hot.

“Runa, do you have a fever?” I asked.

It was hard to imagine that this was her simply getting hot under the collar. As my concern surpassed my lust, my reason returned in an instant.

“Huuuh...?” Runa replied, gazing at me with unfocused eyes. Her mouth hung half-open bewitchingly.

Looking back on it, Runa might’ve looked so sexy to me for the past while because she had been feverish.

“Where’s the thermometer?”

“It’s in that drawer, over there...”

I managed to find the thermometer despite Runa not clearly showing me where it was. When I removed it from her armpit, I was astonished at the display.

“38.9 degrees?!”

Frightened by a number that was nearly thirty-nine degrees, I was in a fluster.

“Do you have any medicine...? Though I guess it’s better if you get some from a doctor... We could try cold packs, but I’ve heard they don’t have any effect on fevers... Wet towel, then?! Do you have a wet towel?!”

“Wet towel...? Does it have to be wet...? Make it wet, Ryuto...”

That really sounds like she’s talking about something lewd! Is Runa being too sexy when she has a fever, or is my mind just dirty?!

Freaking out, I somehow managed to soak a towel in ice water in a washbowl and prepared to nurse Runa back to health nonetheless.

“Are you okay, Runa? Can you walk to your room?” I asked.

She was still limp at the kotatsu and weakly shook her head. “No... My joints hurt. I can’t move...”

And so, I gave the listless Runa a piggyback ride upstairs. I did think she was on the light side, even for a girl, but I didn’t have enough confidence in my strength to carry her upstairs in my arms.

I could feel two supple mounds pressing against my back, their shapes flattening slightly.

“Heh heh...” giggled Runa dreamily. Perhaps the fever had made her consciousness fuzzy.

Her breath tickled as it hit the back of my neck.

“Heh heh heh... It’s your smell...”

“Huh?!”

Smell?! I was thorough when I took a bath this morning!

Man, I should’ve taken another shower before going out... I didn’t want my family to figure out I was hoping for something, though, so I really couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“It’s a nice smell... Relieving...” said Runa. Her voice sounded quiet and vacant.

My heart wouldn’t stop pounding at this point. For now, I was glad she didn’t think I stank.

Incidentally, I’d called my parents a little earlier and told them the truth—that Runa had a fever and her family wasn’t home, so I was going to stay the night to look after her. They’d probably been grinning on the other end of the line.