Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me - Volume 5 - Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3

The next day was Monday. We, the second-year students from Seirin Private High School, were gathered near the Gin-no Suzu at Tokyo Station for our school trip. Since it was seven in the morning, many of us had sleepy eyes.

“Morning, Nicole!”

“Hey, Runa.”

“Hey, Akari, what’s with that suitcase?! Are you going abroad?!”

Runa stood out with how full of energy she was. Her makeup and hair were fully done too. As she talked and smiled with her friends, she looked just like her usual self.

“Morning, Ryuto.”

It was only when she spoke to me that she blushed and smiled bashfully.

“Morning...” I replied.

I was starting to think that her being like this wasn’t so bad. This was a special kind of Runa that only I could see, and the thought of it made me genuinely happy.

As we got on the shinkansen and filled its three-seat rows, our teacher handed out packed breakfasts to everyone. My usual group was sitting together—me, Icchi, and Nisshi. Nisshi had swapped seats with a student from our class.

We were about to get started eating.

“Time to eat.”

But then...

“I can’t... I’m gonna throw up if I eat now...” groaned Icchi, who sat near the aisle. He looked more like a zombie.

To my amazement, Icchi had apparently forgone sleep entirely the previous night in order to finish the construction homework KEN had given him.

“Sheesh, dude! I’m gonna eat your share too, then!” replied Nisshi, who was sitting closest to the window. He took Icchi’s breakfast.

“You’re having two breakfasts?” I asked. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Well, why not? I’m still growing and all. I plan to grow another ten centimeters!”

Even though it was morning, Nisshi was excited. Perhaps it was because he was going on a school trip with Yamana-san. While we were in different classes, he seemed intent on doing everything in his power to sneak into our group as much as he could, even when we weren’t free to go where we wanted.

“You can rest easy and sleep, Icchi! I’ll wake you up when we get to Kyoto,” continued Nisshi.

“I won’t be able to get off in time if you don’t wake me up before then...” Icchi replied with his eyes closed. He’d already reclined his seat by about ten degrees.

“Okay. I’ll wake you up a bit before we get there, so yeah, just go ahead and...?!”

Before Nisshi finished speaking, Icchi had already begun to snore.

“Damn, that’s fast...” Nisshi said, digging into his double breakfast. “I’m gonna eat a ton and get bigger than him!”

“You should be careful. Eating quickly makes you grow horizontally instead,” I said.

And about a dozen minutes later...

“Ugh, that was too much... I feel sick...”

See, what did I tell you?

Nisshi stared out the window with vacant eyes, covering his mouth. His tray table had one empty breakfast box and one that had roughly twenty percent left in it.

“Don’t push yourself,” I said. “You’re not Icchi. You don’t eat that much to begin with.”

“Man... I wonder if I can get bigger by eating, or I have to get bigger first to eat a lot...” With that chicken-or-the-egg kind of line, Nisshi swallowed his tears. “Bleeeegh!”

“Hey, stop it, don’t throw up here! Hold it until you get to the toilet!”

“I want to, but I can’t get out ’cause Icchi’s in the way!”

“Just please don’t get it on me, okay?!”

“Bleeeeegh...”

“Hey, Nishina! Are you with Class A again?!”

All the noise we had made led our teacher to find out about Nisshi.

Our school trip had gotten off to a rather messy start.

***

Come noon, we’d arrived in Kyoto and went to a hotel near the station where we’d be staying. We all had lunch there.

Each class was moving as a group today. After lunch, we visited Tō-ji Temple and Higashi Hongan-ji, and then we actually checked into our hotel.

It was a big, modern one near Kyoto Station. Somehow I’d imagined that going on a school trip meant that we’d be staying in some old ryokan, but judging by the guidebook, this was the kind of place we’d be staying in every part of this trip.

My time at dinner in the banquet hall was rich. I got excited over the paper-lined hotpot shabu-shabu and discovered just how surprisingly delicious tofu skin was. I had avoided it all this time without ever trying it...

After that, I went to my room and took a bath. And as I was preparing to go to bed...

I heard a knocking on the door.

At first, I figured it was just my imagination and ignored it, but then the knocking came again. I headed to the door, wondering who was there.

Icchi, who was staying in the same room as me, was currently in the bath, so I was the only one who could answer it. Incidentally, students had been assigned rooms based on their groups. I was alone with Icchi in this room, and I knew Nisshi wouldn’t go so far as to barge in on us here.

“Hey, Kashima Ryuto.”

Opening the door, I found Yamana-san standing there. She was still in her school uniform, so maybe she hadn’t had a bath yet.

“If you come to our room, you’ll see something interesting. How about it, hm?”

“What?!”

G-Go to a girls’ room?!

I really wanted to go... In fact, my mind had been there for a while now, as I’d been wondering if Runa was taking a shower right about now.

“Wait, what is that ‘interesting’ thing you’re talking about...?”

“Come and find out. Follow me.”

With that, Yamana-san turned around and started breezily walking through the hallway.

“Um, uh...” I began.

With no time to say anything to Icchi, I followed Yamana-san with wet hair and wearing the T-shirt and tracksuit I intended to sleep in. The sound of my hotel slippers hitting the floor resounded through the hallway.

The girls’ rooms were a floor above ours. Since the school had booked the whole two floors, the only students in that hallway were girls moving between rooms to see their friends. The guilty pleasure of being in a place like this as a guy made my heart race.

Unlike the boys’ floor where things were pretty quiet except for some groups of extroverts, cheerful voices could be heard coming from every room that we passed here. Yamana-san stopped in front of a room that was particularly loud.

“We’re here,” she said and opened the door.

At which point...

“Cut it out, I’m gonna go change in the outside bathroom!”

Someone currently on her way out leaped into my chest.

“Whoa!” I exclaimed.

“Agh!” the girl said.

She had a sweet, gentle scent, soft skin, and dirty blonde hair that was loose and wavy.

For a moment, I thought this was Runa, but upon closer inspection...

“K-Kurose-san?!”

“Kashima-kun?!”

I had essentially caught her in my arms moments prior. She got away from me with astonishment on her face. Her cheeks were rosy.

“Kurose-san... What’s with that getup...?” I asked. While I was obviously shaken up by bumping into her, what surprised me the most was her outfit.

She looked like a gyaru from the old days. The sailor-suit style uniform wasn’t one we used at our school, and the skirt was so short that it almost revealed her underwear. Her tall, loose socks were folded over multiple times. Then, there was the hibiscus-print scrunchie on her wrist and that flashy hair color... Everything about Kurose-san’s current looks was completely different than her usual look.

“Th-This is...” she began with a blush, trembling.

She probably hadn’t expected to be seen by a guy like this. Kurose-san was shyly holding down the hem of her skirt, though it wasn’t like I could see anything anyway.

“That’s her mom’s outfit from back in the day!” called Tanikita-san from inside the room. “I was wondering how it’d go if Mia tried it on.”

Looking into the room, I saw that it was a Japanese-style one, unlike mine, probably because this was a room for four. The futon beds had been placed in a line on the tatami mats, and wigs and clothes were scattered around on top of them.

I realized what this was all about.

It appeared that because Runa hadn’t made time to try on the cosplay before the trip, Tanikita-san had brought some of those outfits here. This explained why a small girl like her had such a disproportionately huge suitcase.

Wait, so, does this mean Runa is wearing some cosplay too...?

Having arrived at that thought, I looked deeper into the room, at which point Tanikita-san gave me a meaningful smile. Like Yamana-san, Tanikita-san was wearing her usual uniform.

“Runy’s over here, Kashima-kun,” she said.

Then, I saw someone moving slowly in the corner of the room. That area had been a blind spot when looking in from the hallway.

“Is that you, Ryuto...?”

When I saw Runa, it felt like something pierced my heart—and I wasn’t exaggerating.

She was clad in a pure-white dress. Its design was simple, but its large collar and fluttering skirt made it look like something an idol would wear.

But what captivated me the most...was her long straight black hair.

I knew she was wearing a wig, but I still couldn’t take my eyes off it or say anything.

Her large eyes looked more attractive than usual, perhaps owing to her diagonally slanted bangs. The contrast with the black hair made her clear, fair skin shine.

If she were an idol, you wouldn’t be able to resist becoming her fan.

“That’s a Nogizaka outfit! A friend asked me to make it for the cultural festival for her,” Tanikita-san proudly explained. “Pretty good, don’tcha think? How do you like this kind of Runa?”

Runa awkwardly averted her eyes from me and fidgeted.

“Y-Yeah, she’s cute...” I replied.

In reaction to my words, Runa went even redder in the face.

She was really adorable. While this was my first time seeing her in such a prim-and-proper style, it didn’t feel even the slightest bit out of character. In fact, it was almost like she was this kind of girl all along—a feeling further accentuated by her current meek attitude.

Frankly, she was really my type.

I wanted to hug her. I might’ve even gone for it then and there if not for the eyes around us...

Kurose-san had gone out into the hallway earlier, and at that point tried to return to the room.

“Come on, isn’t it good enough that Runa does this? Why do I have to as well...? I’ll go change!” she said.

Yamana-san grabbed her by the arm, stopping her. “Hold on for a bit, would you? Let’s take some pics while we’re at it.”

“Exactly! Let’s commemorate our school trip!” added Tanikita-san, readying her phone.

“What does this have to do with the trip?!” exclaimed Kurose-san.

“Hey, that’s a good idea! I wanna take pics with Maria too,” Runa said, quickly getting excited and putting her arm over her sister’s shoulder and resting her hand on top.

“S-Slow down... What’re these pics for, anyway?”

“To commemorate the occasion, like I said,” Tanikita-san explained cheerfully.

The flashy gyaru Kurose-san was being overwhelmed by the prim-and-proper maiden Runa. While this was their usual dynamic, it was funny how they’d swapped who was wearing what style.

“A’ight, look at the camera!” exclaimed Tanikita-san. She was already taking pictures.

Yamana-san watched Runa and Kurose-san with a grin on her face.

It was moving to see how Kurose-san had completely opened up to Runa and her friends.

Having witnessed the two sisters with these swapped appearances, I could now tell that Runa and Kurose-san were very similar. And that wasn’t just in terms of looks—the air they gave off, their auras... That strong life force they had.

Maybe they had been born with it. Or, as Runa had previously said when comparing herself to jellyfish, maybe they’d ended up this way after living their lives getting pushed around by the currents of fate.

For better or worse, I’d lived a life devoid of ups and downs, so I was attracted to people with that kind of strength.

Sure, there were other cute girls out there, but I felt like I was starting to understand why I’d confessed to these two.

I’d told Runa it was because the timing was important when confessing one’s feelings, but if something had gone just a little bit differently, perhaps I would’ve never ended up dating her. Instead, I could have begun a relationship with Kurose-san after she’d transferred here—though I couldn’t be sure if Kurose-san would’ve fallen for me in such a scenario.

However, I had chosen Runa and was going out with her now. Maybe that choice had been brought about by coincidence and fickle fate, but I was satisfied with this outcome.

I wanted to be with Runa forever.

Having reaffirmed that feeling once again, I observed the two sisters with a smile on my face as the group merrily took pictures. But then...

“Hey, it’s lights out already! Kashima-kun?! What’re you doing here?! Get back to the boys’ rooms!” exclaimed a teacher. It was the one in charge of Class A, and she had just appeared in the hallway.

“S-Sorry!” I replied and turned around in a hurry.

“And Kurose-san, Shirakawa-san, what is up with those outfits?!”

“Th-They’re...pajamas?” said Runa with a smile, trying to play it off.

“Yeah, I’m sure they are!” replied the teacher, not falling for it. “And don’t tell me you haven’t taken baths yet!”

Kurose-san’s eyes were teary. “I-I have! But someone hid my clothes before I got out, so I had to settle for this...”

“You looked pretty into it when you put that wig on in front of the mirror!” Tanikita-san said.

“W-Well, having gone that far, I had no choice but to go all the way, right?!”

That was what had happened, apparently.

I was relieved to hear that Kurose-san had enjoyed cosplaying like this too.

“C’mon, miss, being grumpy is bad for your skin. And I take showers in the mornings, so I can go to bed right away,” said Yamana-san, cheekily putting a hand on the teacher’s shoulder.

At that, the young female teacher started to repeatedly open and close her mouth.

“Just turn off the lights already!” she exclaimed at last.

Having observed this all unfold from far away in the hallway, I hurried down to the boys’ floor.

***

We had to travel with our groups the next day too. We would take a bus from the hotel, visit Sanjūsangen-dō and Kiyomizu-dera before noon, and then we’d see Kinkaku-ji and Ginkaku-ji in the afternoon. It was a rather hasty tour.

At each site, we would be seeing the things that we’d learned about during integrated studies periods for real.

Nisshi had, once again, sneaked into our group like it was natural for him to be there.

Sanjūsangen-dō, which we visited first, was a recreation of the hondo—main hall—of the temple that had been built for Emperor Go-Shirakawa. It housed 1,001 standing Thousand-Armed Kannon statues. We’d learned all this ahead of time.

When we went inside the long and narrow hall, we found the long rows of those seemingly countless Kannon. Those wooden statues had all been made by hand, and apparently, each statue had different facial features.

“They say that one out of these statues is bound to look like the person you wanna see, right? Does that mean there are statues that look like us too?” asked Runa, checking the statues like she was looking for someone. “Maybe that one’s you, Ryuto. It looks kind.”

“I-Is it...?”

I couldn’t really tell, but I was happy to hear Runa say that.

“I wonder which one’s me?” she said.