After they left the bookstore, Hikaru asked Mizuha what they were going to do next. Mizuha looked unsure—this had been Shimizu’s plan all along, and she had just been following.
“Please wait a moment. I’m going to ask our ‘leader’ about it”
Mizuha turned to Shimizu. “Hey, leader, where are we going now?”
“Hehe, I’m so glad you asked! You guys, follow me!”
Shimizu grinned as she waved for the group to come along.
The group followed Shimizu through the streets until she stopped and pointed at a building whose large sign read ‘Bowling Center’.
“Wait, Shimizu-chan, is this...?”
“Yup, we’re going bowling now.”
Hikaru leaned in. “Oh, bowling, huh? Not bad.”
“Mizuha, have you played it before?"
“Yeah, last year. I went with my parents once.”
The group entered the bowling center and signed up for a game. While they were putting on their bowling shoes, Shimizu had an idea.
She turned to them, grinning. “Hey, you guys! Listen up—what if the winner can make the loser do anything they want?”
“What do you think? It makes things more interesting, right?”
Hikaru turned to Shimizu. “Oh, you want a challenge? Then bring it on!”
“Deal. I’m not losing to anyone—especially someone like you.”
“Talk big, huh? Let’s see if you can actually beat me.”
The two faced off, while Mizuha watched, looking bemused.
“Umm... we’re just playing for fun, you guys...”
While Shimizu and Hikaru were busy challenging each other, Zul rolled the ball down the lane and knocked down all ten pins—a strike.
Eri clapped her hands, cheering. “That was amazing!”
“Wait, when did he start?”
“And he got a strike on his very first try?”
Zul shocked Hikaru and Shimizu.
Zul turned to the group and saw both Shimizu and Hikaru glaring at him in frustration. He shrugged as if it were nothing.
“What? It’s just a strike. Nothing special.”
This is bad. I didn’t expect him to be this good. Shimizu thought.
Zul, you traitor. How dare you steal the spotlight? Hikaru thought.
Hikaru stood up for his turn. “Alright, now it’s my turn to shine.”
Mizuha cheered for him. “Hikaru, do your best!”
Oh, Mizuha cheered for me. I’d better do my best!!
Motivated by her cheering, Hikaru rolled his first ball but only knocked down four pins.
“Damn, why didn’t it hit all the pins?” He thought and felt annoyed.
Shimizu laughed at him. “Hahaha, what was that roll, Hikaru? Even kids can roll better than you.”
“Shut up, Shimizu! I’m just testing this lane.”
Tch, this girl… how dare she laugh at me in front of Mizuha. I’d better do better on this second roll and make sure she closes her mouth.
His second ball knocked down the remaining pins for a spare. Hikaru shot Shimizu a triumphant grin. “How about that?”
Shimizu muttered under her breath, “Damn, he’s pretty good.”
Mizuha cheered, clapping her hands. “Nice score, Hikaru!”
Hikaru returned to his seat, and now it was Shimizu’s turn to roll.
“You see, I’ll get a strike on my first try,” Shimizu smirked when they exchanged turns.
“Oh, let’s see what you’ve got.”
Shimizu rolled her first ball—only to knock down five pins.
“What? Why didn’t it hit all the pins, damn it!”
Hikaru laughed. “What was that for, Shimizu? Who’s the kid now?”
“Better control your anger. Don’t break the pins.”
Shimizu felt annoyed. “That guy!!! How dare him….”
Shimizu rolled the second ball and took down the remaining five pins.
“Nice score, Shimizu-chan!”
Shimizu shot Hikaru a smug look. “See? I’ve still got it. Don’t mess with me.”
“Yeah, I know, no need to be proud of yourself.”
Now it was Eri’s turn. Zul gently touched her shoulder. “Come on, now it’s your turn, Eri.”
Eri smiled. “I’ll do my best.”
As she picked up the bowling ball, she said, “It’s so heavy.”
She wondered nervously. Can I do this?
The weight threw off her balance. Eri stumbled and fell, but the ball still rolled down and knocked down two pins.
“Eri-chan!”
Zul rushed to Eri’s side. “Eri, are you okay?”
The others came over to check on her too.
“I’m fine, just tripped over my own feet.”
Zul helped her up. “Be more careful next time. You don’t have to push yourself.”
“Thanks, Zul.”
After making sure she was okay, Zul stayed with Eri to help with her second roll.
“Let me help you with this.” He showed her the proper technique.
Following his instructions, Eri knocked down five more pins. Despite not getting a spare, she felt happy with her improvement.
Mizuha cheered as Eri returned. “Nice score, Eri-chan!”
“Don’t feel down. We still have more rounds to play. Here, drink this.” Shimizu handed Eri a sports drink.
“Thanks, Shimizu-chan.”
Finally, it was Mizuha’s turn. “Hmm, I’ll try my best.”
It’s been a while since I’ve played bowling. When was the last time? Was it last year with my family? She wondered, then shook her head.
That’s not important. I need to focus on playing now.
Eri cheered Mizuha from her seat. “Mizuha-chan, you can do it!”
“Yeah, do your best because your boyfriend here is watching you.” Shimizu punched Hikaru’s shoulder.
Hikaru blushed. “Hey, stop it. You’re embarrassing her, and I’m not her boyfriend.”
Ah, stop it, Shimizu! What do you mean by that?
Mizuha thought, blushing at Shimizu’s words.
She grabbed the ball, exhaled, and sent it rolling down the lane. The ball hit the pins with perfect accuracy. All ten pins fell. A bright “X” flashed on the scoreboard.
Shimizu and Hikaru both stared in surprise. “Wow, she’s good!”
Eri cheered excitedly. “That was great, Mizuha-chan!”
Mizuha turned back and flashed them a peace sign with a playful smile.
Hikaru’s face flushed at her smile, making Zul glance at him in concern.
“Your face is red suddenly. Are you feeling feverish?”
Hikaru composed himself. “Nothing happened. I’m fine.”
Meanwhile, Shimizu took a sip of her water and couldn’t help smiling.
She smirked. Oh, I see. He likes that smile.
The group continued playing until they had finished all ten rounds. Zul emerged as the winner with the highest score, followed closely by Mizuha. Hikaru and Shimizu tied for third place, with Eri coming in last.
Despite their rivalry, Hikaru and Shimizu shook hands after the game.
Shimizu grinned. “Nice fight.”
“You too, not bad.”
Both of them were laughing after that.
Mizuha watched them with a bemused expression.
Where’s that rival spirit you guys had earlier? Also, are you trying to forget about the ‘loser does what the winner wants’ deal? She thought.
Once the scores were in, Shimizu faced Zul. “You won, so you pick where we go next.”
Zul took a moment to think, then said he didn’t have any place in mind. He then passed the choice to Mizuha as the second-place finisher. Mizuha looked surprised, clearly not expecting to be chosen.
Shimizu urged her to pick the next destination, and all the others turned to look at her. Mizuha frowned slightly and said she needed a moment to think. Then she had an idea and suggested they watch a movie.
Hikaru quickly agreed, forgetting his earlier embarrassment as he got excited about the new plan. Eri asked what kind of movie they should watch. Mizuha paused briefly before saying she wasn’t sure, then proposed they decide once they arrived at the cinema.
With their next destination decided, the group made their way out of the bowling alley, chatting about movie options as they headed to the cinema.
Once they arrived at the cinema and saw all the movie posters, Shimizu asked Mizuha what she wanted to watch.
Mizuha looked at all the movie posters. After a moment, something caught her attention, and she made her choice.
“Found it! It’s decided. We’re going to watch this.”
Mizuha pointed to a horror movie poster. Shimizu’s face immediately went pale.
“Umm, Mizuha, can we watch another movie? I don’t like this one...”
Mizuha slowly turned to Shimizu and stared at her with a scary smile.
“Why? It’s my choice. You said before that the winner decides, right?”
Shimizu shifted uneasily under Mizuha’s sudden intensity.
Trying to hide his own fear, Hikaru smirked at Shimizu. “What’s up, Shimizu? Are you scared?”
Shimizu could tell that Hikaru was just as scared as she was. “Shut up! You’re scared too, right? Don’t pretend you’re not!”
Meanwhile, Zul turned to Eri with concern. “Eri, are you okay with this movie?”
Eri hesitated before replying, “It looks scary, but I’ll try to handle it.”
Zul smiled reassuringly. “Don’t push yourself if it’s too much, okay?”
“Thanks. I feel less scared when I’m with you.”
Hikaru and Shimizu both looked annoyed as they watched Zul and Eri together.
“These two! Why are they acting all sweet like that?” They both thought.
Mizuha stifled a laugh at their reactions.
Even though some of them weren’t happy about the movie choice, they bought their tickets and some popcorn before going into the theater.
They found their seats in the dark theater. Zul sat on the far right, and Eri sat next to him. Shimizu took the seat beside Eri, then Mizuha sat next to her, and Hikaru ended up on the far left.
When the movie started, everything seemed normal and quiet. But as it got to the scary parts, everyone began reacting differently.
Mizuha was really into the movie and didn’t look away.
Eri got frightened by the scary scenes. She put her hands over her eyes and grabbed Zul’s arm. “It’s so scary.”
Zul reassured her, “Don’t worry. It’s just a movie.”
Meanwhile, Hikaru’s face had gone pale, but he pretended it wasn’t scaring him and tried to act tough.
Mizuha glanced over and noticed how uncomfortable he looked, so she teased him.
“Hikaru, are you scared?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m never scared of anything.”
Mizuha glanced over at Shimizu, who’d gone unusually quiet. She leaned closer to check—and found her friend fast asleep.
Mizuha felt irritated. “Hey, you’re sleeping!”
She poked Shimizu’s shoulder to wake her up. “Hey, Shimizu, wake up!”
Shimizu just mumbled sleepily. “Ten more minutes, old hag.”
This made Mizuha even more annoyed.
Who is she calling an old hag? Ugh, forget it. She’s hopeless, Mizuha thought.
With a frustrated sigh, Mizuha turned back to the screen.
After the movie ended, Mizuha turned to Hikaru.
“It was a very nice movie, wasn’t it?”
“That’s true. Even though the scary parts were intense, the ending was very nice."
Right after the credits, Shimizu finally woke up. She stretched and yawned, saying, “That was good sleep. Oh, the movie’s over already? Hahaha!”
“Shimizu-chan, that was so mean, you know.”
Mizuha glared at Shimizu.
Shimizu blinked. “Did I do something wrong?”
Mizuha was pouting. “No, it’s nothing. Shimizu, you idiot.”
“What is it? Tell me, please. I’m sorry, okay?”
Mizuha crossed her arms. “Nothing!”
Hikaru couldn’t help but laugh. “Mizuha, what’s up with that face? It’s rare to see you like that.”
Mizuha blushed. “It’s nothing. Let’s go.” She walked out quickly.
Eri and Zul smiled, watching the three of them.
Night had fallen by the time they exited. Hikaru looked around at the dark streets and commented on how quickly time had passed.
Mizuha agreed, saying they’d had fun, but glanced at her watch, worried about getting home on time—she’d promised her mother.
Eri spoke up shyly. “Hey... you guys, how about we do this again next time?”
Her suggestion caught everyone off guard—it was rare for Eri to take the lead like this.
Zul smiled. “Wow, it’s so rare to see you suggest something.”
Shimizu leaned in. “Oh, that’s nice, Eri! We definitely need to do more of this.”
Mizuha nodded but took a jab at Shimizu with a bitter smile.
“It’s okay to do this again, but make sure you tell me earlier, okay, Shimizu?”
Oh, this is bad. She’s still angry about that, Shimizu thought to herself.
The group parted ways as Shimizu waved energetically while Eri gave a gentle farewell gesture. Zul, Eri, and Shimizu headed toward their neighborhood while Mizuha and Hikaru took the opposite path home.
As usual, Hikaru accompanied Mizuha since their houses were in the same direction. Noticing Mizuha’s bag from the bookstore, Hikaru offered.
“Mizuha, let me carry your things. They seem heavy.”
“No need, Hikaru. It’s not too heavy. I can carry it myself.”
“Don’t worry, just let me carry it. My hands are free except for this notebook I bought earlier.”
Reluctantly, Mizuha handed over her plastic bag. “If you insist...”
The two of them chatted while walking together.
“Today was great, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I had so much fun with everyone. Thanks to Shimizu for suggesting it.”
Silence passed between them before Hikaru spoke again, his face turning bright red.
“Umm, Mizuha... can we hang out like today, but just the two of us?”
“What? Just the two of us?!” Is it a... d-d-date?
Mizuha wondered to herself, and her face turned red.
“Umm, let me think about that later.”
“I’ll wait for your answer.”
They soon arrived at Mizuha’s house. Hikaru waved and continued on his way home.
Mizuha entered her house and announced her return. Her mother appeared in the hallway, noticing Mizuha’s unusually bright expression. She mentioned the bath was ready and suggested they have dinner together afterward, curious about Mizuha’s day.
While preparing dinner, Hikaru’s invitation replayed in Mizuha’s mind. Just the two of them hanging out together - the possibility both excited and worried her. She would need to give him an answer soon, but for now, she had her mother’s questions to deal with first.
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and then Add to home screen.