On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Eighty-Two

The rest of the afternoon passed me by in a blur. My wounds were alternatively aching and itching fiercely, making it very difficult for me to pretend everything was fine. I tried using aether to close my wounds like I would in the Boundary, but I had too little and it used orders of magnitude more in the Material, so it was a futile effort. A useful side effect of this though was after an hour or so I managed to turn down the pain, though I wasn’t sure whether I was interfering with the nerve signals or affecting my own brain. Still, after this I was able to move more or less normally.

We went from the café to several other stores, shopping for various bits and pieces Eri and my sister would need for our trip. In the end we also ended up in a store selling jewellery, and I while I was there I bought Eri a rather attractive pendant, sapphire and ruby, sapphire being her birthstone (her birthday was in September) and ruby to symbolise first love. The price made her wince, but if she was going to be my girlfriend, I wasn’t going to treat her poorly. I also bought something else, too, but I kept that in my pocket when no-one else but Shaeula was looking.

As the afternoon wore on it was time for my date with Yae-san, so I saw off Aiko, Eri and Rika-san, Shaeula acting as their security, not that the other girls were aware of that. My sis did make a retort at how they had to carry all the bags back with them, but since it couldn’t be helped she left it at mere grumbles. As the girls caught the train back to our town we waved them goodbye, me trying not to show my injuries. Beside me Yae-san was eyeing me strangely, face pensive.

“What’s up?” I asked gently, giving her a reserved smile.

“Err, well, it might be a bit late to say this, but I’m starting to feel a little bit guilty. I know I pushed for this date, but… I feel kind of bad for little Ri-Ri.”

“Well, too late now. Besides… Shaeula is right. Promises should be kept. It isn’t like we are going to be doing anything improper, so you might as well just enjoy it, right?”

“I guess…” she agreed. “I mean, whatever happens, I’ve had fun with the girls today, plus you bought me some nice gifts, so I’m already pretty satisfied… besides…” her gaze turned stern. “You aren’t fooling anyone. Just what happened to you? I’m not sure why Ai-chan and Ri-Ri ignored it, but you’ve not been right since you returned with Shaeula and that doll.”

Ugh, she’s got sharp instincts. But then I guess it isn’t so hard to see something is up, with the change of clothing and all…

“Well, it’s… a bit hard to explain. I’d appreciate it if you could just overlook it for now, and I’ll do my best to at least make the date memorable.”

“I think it’s been memorable enough already.” Yae-san giggled. “But… you aren’t getting involved in anything shady are you? You’ve come back to town with an awful lot of money. I mean, adult circumstances like that are hot, but little Ri-Ri will worry. She isn’t very brave… though I guess she’s changing a bit now you are going out.”

“I can assure you I didn’t do anything illegal today. Like I said, it was an unavoidable accident.”

“Well, can you at least take off the gloves? They really don’t suit you, and I wanted to hold hands like on a proper date. I promise I won’t say a word to the others.”

Sighing I removed the gloves, revealing my scraped and burned hands. Over a few hours the worst of it had recovered thanks to my superhuman status, but even so they looked a bit of a mess.

“Uh, wow. You really did hurt yourself. You were limping earlier too and moving very stiffly. I kind of want to ask you to take your jeans off so I can have a check, but Ri-Ri would probably kill me if she found out you were in your pants with me. She’s got the makings of a very possessive girlfriend you know, but I think it’s too late for you to do anything about it now!”

“Like I said, a freak accident.” Looking at the clock on the station wall I held out my hand to her. “Look at the time. We don’t want to be late for what I have planned. I won this prize, so this evening you are all mine.”

Yae-san blushed then, looking away embarrassed. On turning back she reached out and grasped my hand in hers. “You are such a smooth talker, I don’t remember you being like this the last time we met. My heart skipped a beat then. You know what, you are right. I earned this date too, by letting Masaki-kun bet me… I guess it doesn’t matter what you and Shaeula were doing, now you are with me!”

With that we strode off hand-in-hand towards the first destination I had planned. Her hand was soft in my palm, and her skin was warm. Sorry Eri. I’m really not cheating on you, I promise. It’s only handholding…

********

“I’m feeling a little out of place here.”  Yae-san admitted, as I poured her a glass of water out of the transparent jug the waiter had brought over. Under the candlelight I thought she looked rather pretty.

“Yeah well, it isn’t as though I’m a seasoned pro at dating myself.” I laughed. “But being a working adult I’ve had experience at social gatherings and also a few business lunches. You get used to it. But you are one of the prettier clients I’ve had the pleasure of dining with.”

Yae-san blushed. “Oh you! I’ll tell Ri-Ri you were flattering me! In fact… you haven’t even been on a real date with her yet but you are out with me. She’s going to be dying of jealousy. I hope you are ready for that. She seemed meek, but I’m beginning to wonder…”

“I think that once she made up her mind to go for what she wanted, she found that maybe it wasn’t as scary as she’d always feared. As for the date… yeah, I guess I am a bit of a jerk not having my first one with Eri, but at least I’m whisking her away to a very nice hotel next weekend. I think that might make up for it.”

“Yeah, but you’ll be there for work. It isn’t exactly a date, is it?” Yae-san was looking at the menu nervously, swallowing a bit at the price of the meals. I had booked this restaurant once my plans were finalised, and while it wasn’t top end, it was fairly decent, one of the best in Inuyama.

“True, but I won’t be working all the time, I’ll make sure she has a good time and makes some unforgettable memories.”

Yae-san let out a squeal of delight before remembering where she was and covering her mouth. As she blushed I reached out and patted her on the head, taking her by surprise.

“I knew it, you really are pretty cute. You were wasted on that Masaki-san, a girl like you deserves better. I hope you can stay friends with Eri and my sister too, and keep an eye on them so no bothersome flies buzz around them?” I took a drink of wine from the glass in front of me, savouring the flavour and the atmosphere. Hmm, I wonder if I am so calm because of my heightened mental stats? If this was me a few months ago I’d be sweating bullets, struggling for things to say.

“Well… to be honest, we aren’t really that close, though since our town is pretty small and we are classmates… well anyway, pretty much everyone likes Ai-chan, she is so energetic and upbeat… though the boys hate that she seems more interested in you, the little brocon queen!” Having decided what she was having from the menu I called over the waiter and ordered.

She continued. “As for Ri-Ri… you know, guys go for the shy pretty girls, but other girls really hate that sort of personality. We always see it as seeking attention, being insincere. But… the thing about Ri-Ri is everyone except you seemed to know that she was only into you, so since the other girls knew it wasn’t an act, we cut her some slack. But now… girls with boyfriends don’t really get picked on, so you needn’t worry. Still, I’ll keep an eye on her. Rika-san will too. How could we not after today?”

“Hey, I knew she liked me!” I protested. “I just thought it was more… in a sisterly way, you know?”

“Sure, if you say so. I guess you realised eventually…” she rolled her eyes at me. “Somehow the gap between how manly you’ve been during the baseball and this date and the way you don’t understand girls is cute. Anyway, thanks for today. It’s been pretty fun, seeing how an adult does dating.”

I had taken her to a movie, before taking in some nice tourist spots. We then came to this restaurant, where we were now. We made more small talk, mostly just her teasing me, for a while before our food arrived. I had a steak, while Yae-san had a mixed sushi platter and all the sides. Once we had finished our main course we shared a large parfait for desert (my second of the day!) and finally after I paid the bill we went outside, for the final leg of the date.

I had rented out a karaoke box, so we spent several hours singing away. I wasn’t that good, though my previous poor sense of rhythm and tune had improved dramatically. Yae-san wasn’t that great either to be honest, but she was enthusiastic, and she seemed to be having fun. As our time wound down to a close we left the building. Outside the night was still and humid, the stars above shining brightly.

“Here, for you.” I pressed the gift I had bought earlier at the jewellery shop into her hands, wrapped in a paper bag.

“For me? But you’ve already bought me so much…” Yae-san looked up at me, eyes watery.

“Don’t worry about it. This is your one date, so…”

“Can I open it?” she asked, and at my nod she unwrapped it, revealing a nice hairclip, studded with semi-precious stones.

“It’s… it’s lovely.” She fastened it in her hair with a shy smile, then leaned in close to me. “Take a look, does it suit me?”

As I admired it I nodded. “Yeah, it does. It’s pretty, and so are…” my words were cut off as she leaned in for a kiss, but with my reactions I was able to put my hand up between us, blocking her. As she stepped back, flushed, I smiled gently.

“Sorry, but I really can’t go any further than this.”

“I… got caught up in the moment.” Yae-san said shyly, looking away, up at the sky. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I’d feel bad for Ri-Ri too…”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m at fault here too.”

“Well, I did promise I’d put out when the bet was made, didn’t I?” she giggled quietly. “Just keeping my promise, which we all agreed was important. Still… I’ve had a lot of fun and felt like a princess with you. I guess boys really don’t measure up to men. I’ll remember this date for a long time…”

“Sure, you do that. But…” I spoke gently, but she cut me off.

“Yeah I know. You are Ri-Ri’s boyfriend. And you don’t even live locally anymore. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Still…”

“A girl like you will be able to find a decent boyfriend easy.” I reassured her, and she nodded.

“I’m pretty confident in my looks and personality. But I guess I can’t beat a cute childhood friend. I’m not stupid…” she sighed, then looked at me, eyes bright, expression impish. “But if you ever do feel the need to cheat on little Ri-Ri, I can keep a secret. I won’t tell them about your messed up hands either!”

“Yeah whatever.” I laughed then, the tension deflating. “If ever I feel the need to be an utter bastard and cheat on my beloved childhood friend, you’ll be the first I call.”

“It’s a promise then.” She touched her hairclip. “Seriously though, thanks for today. It made breaking up with my boyfriend a whole lot less painful. I’ll try and find a good man and you’ll be jealous you missed out on me.”

“Yeah, you do that. I promise to regret it, if even a little.” I’m a man after all. I don’t want to do anything to hurt Eri, but I can’t help but wonder what kissing Yae-san would have been like. She’s pretty cute…

“You’ll be coming back to town more now that you two are together, right? If so, don’t be a stranger. We should hang out, even if it’s all six of us, like today. And one last thing. Enough with the Yae-san. It may have been mostly a joke, but we did have one romantic date, didn’t we? Call me Yae from now on, please.”

“Okay then Yae, I’ll do that.” Man, that is difficult, lucky I had the practice with Shaeula. Calling a girl I barely know by her first name without honorifics is quite the hurdle.

“Oh, that gives me shivers.” She smiled once more. “So, shall we go?” holding out her hand to me I took it again in mine, ready to head back to the train station, after a long, eventful and heart-racing (in more ways than one) day…