After leaving the bookstore, Hikaru asked where they were planning to go next.
Mizuha looked uncertain."To be honest, I'm not sure. Let me check with our 'leader' about where we're going next."
She turned to Shimizu and asked, "Hey leader, where are we going after this?"
"Hehehe, I'm glad you asked! You guys, follow me now!" Shimizu exclaimed, gesturing for the group to come along.
The group followed Shimizu through the streets until she stopped and pointed at a building with a large sign reading 'Bowling Center'.
The group briefly discussed their experience—Eri had played with her family and enjoyed it, while Mizuha hadn't bowled in a while. Hikaru seemed eager to join whatever game Shimizu had chosen. With everyone in agreement, they headed inside to start their game.
The group entered the bowling center and signed up for a game. As they were putting on their bowling shoes, Shimizu got an idea.
She looked at them with a mischievous expression and said,
"Hey, you guys! How about this? The winner can ask the loser to do anything they want!"
"Oh, you want a challenge? Then bring it on!" Hikaru declared, accepting Shimizu's proposition.
"Deal!" Shimizu said back, clearly excited about the challenge.
The two glared at each other while Mizuha watched, bemused. "Umm, we're just playing for fun, you guys..." she said.
Meanwhile, Zul had already stepped up to take his turn. He rolled the ball down the lane with force and knocked all ten pins down for a strike.
Eri clapped her hands, cheering for Zul. "That was amazing!"
Both Shimizu and Hikaru just stood there, completely shocked.
Zul turned around to face the group, smiling like it was no big deal. "What? It's just a strike," he said.
Zul, you traitor, Hikaru thought. How dare you steal the spotlight?
As Hikaru stepped up for his turn, he heard Mizuha call out, "Hikaru, do your best!"
Motivated by her cheer, Hikaru rolled his first ball but only knocked down four pins. Damn, why didn't it hit all the pins? he grumbled.
Shimizu couldn't resist teasing him. "What was that roll, Hikaru?"
"Shut up, Shimizu!" Hikaru snapped back, embarrassed.
His second ball knocked down the remaining pins for a spare. Hikaru turned to face Shimizu with a triumphant grin. "How about that?"
Shimizu muttered, "Damn, he's pretty good."
Mizuha clapped her hands. "Nice score, Hikaru!"
Shimizu approached the lane with confidence but her first ball only knocked down five pins. "Arrgh, damn it!" she shouted.
Hikaru saw his chance for revenge. "Don't break the pins," he quipped with a smirk.
"That guy!!!" Shimizu muttered under her breath, annoyed.
Her second ball knocked down the remaining five pins. "Nice score, Shimizu-chan!" Eri cheered.
Shimizu looked smugly at Hikaru and Mizuha. "See? I've still got it. Don't mess with me."
"Yeah, I know, no need to be proud by yourself," Hikaru shot back.
Now it was Eri's turn. Zul gently touched her shoulder. "Come on, now it's your turn, Eri."
"I'll do my best," Eri responded with a determined smile.
As she picked up the bowling ball, "It's so heavy," she said with worry. Can I do this? she wondered nervously.
The unexpected weight threw off her balance. Eri stumbled and fell, but the ball still rolled down and knocked down two pins.
"Eri-chan!" Mizuha called out worriedly.
Zul quickly went over to where Eri had fallen. "Eri, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just tripped over my own feet," Eri said, trying to make him feel better.
Zul helped her up. "Be more careful next time. You don't have to push yourself if it's too hard."
"Thanks, Zul," Eri said.
The others came over to check on her too. After making sure she was okay, Zul stayed with Eri to help with her second shot. "Let me help you with this," he said, showing her the proper technique.
Following his instructions, Eri knocked down five more pins. Despite not getting a spare, she felt happy with her improvement.
"Nice score, Eri!" Mizuha encouraged as Eri returned.
"Don't feel down. We still have more rounds to play. Here, drink this," Shimizu said, handing Eri a sports drink.
"Thanks, Shimizu-chan," Eri replied.
Finally, it was Mizuha's turn. "Hmm, I'll try my best," she said.
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. "Eh, that's not important. I need to focus on playing now."
"Mizuha-chan, you can do it!" Eri cheered from behind.
Mizuha picked up her ball, took a deep breath, and rolled it down the lane. The ball hit the pins with perfect precision. All ten pins fell. A bright "X" flashed on the scoreboard.
Shimizu and Hikaru both stared in surprise. "Wow, she's good!" they said at the same time.
"That was great, Mizuha-chan!" Eri cheered excitedly.
Mizuha turned back and flashed them a peace sign with a playful smile.
That smile suddenly made Hikaru blush. Zul noticed and turned to him with 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.
Oh, I see. He likes that smile, she thought, smirking.
The group continued playing until they completed all ten rounds. Zul emerged as the winner with the highest points, followed closely by Mizuha. Hikaru and Shimizu tied for third place, with Eri coming in last.
Even though they had been acting like rivals, Hikaru and Shimizu shook hands when the game was over.
"Nice fight," Shimizu said with a grin.
"You too, not bad," Hikaru replied, matching her smile.
Mizuha observed their interaction with a bemused expression. Where's that rival spirit you guys had earlier? she thought.
Also, are you trying to forget about the 'loser does what the winner wants' deal?
After the scores were tallied, Shimizu turned to Zul. "You won, so you pick where we go next."
Zul took a moment to think, then said he didn't have any particular place in mind and decided to pass the choice to Mizuha as the second-place finisher. Mizuha reacted with surprise, 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, saying she needed a moment to think. Then she had an idea. Mizuha suggested they watch a movie.
Hikaru quickly agreed, his earlier embarrassment forgotten 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 and 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 towards 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 displayed on the wall. After a moment, something caught her attention and she made up her mind.
"Found it! It's decided," she announced, pointing to a poster. "We're going to watch this."
Mizuha pointed to a horror movie poster. Shimizu's face immediately paled. "Umm, Mizuha, can we watch another movie? I feel uncomfortable with this one..."
Mizuha slowly turned to look at Shimizu and stared right at her with a smile that made it clear she wasn't going to change her mind. "Why? It's my choice. You said before that the winner decides, right?" she said, her voice eerily calm.
Shimizu felt uneasy at Mizuha's sudden seriousness.
Hikaru turned to Shimizu. "What's up, Shimizu? Are you scared?" he teased, desperately trying to hide his own fear.
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!" she retorted.
Meanwhile, Zul turned to Eri with concern. "Eri, are you okay with this movie?"
Eri hesitated before replying, "It looks a bit scary, but I'll try to overcome it."
Zul gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Don't force yourself if you can't handle it, okay?"
"Thanks. I feel less scared when I'm with you," she said, giving him a genuine smile.
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 found their reactions funny and couldn't help laughing a little.
Even though some of them weren't happy about the movie choice, they went ahead and 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 side, with Eri sitting 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 kept watching everything that was happening.
Eri got frightened by the scary scenes. She put her hands over her eyes and grabbed onto Zul's arm. "It's so scary," she said.
Zul reassured her, "Don't worry. It's just a movie."
Meanwhile, Hikaru was trying to act like he wasn't scared, but his face had gone pale.
Mizuha glanced over and noticed how uncomfortable he looked, so she decided to tease him.
"Hikaru, are you scared?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Hikaru said back, still trying to act tough. "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.
"Hey, you're sleeping!" Mizuha said, feeling irritated.
She poked Shimizu's shoulder to try to wake her up. "Hey, Shimizu, wake up!"
Shimizu just mumbled back 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. 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 climax was scary, the ending was very nice," replied Hikaru.
Right after the credits, Shimizu finally woke up. She stretched and yawned, saying, "That was a nice sleep. Oh, the movie's ended already? Hahaha!"
"Shimizu-chan, that was so mean, you know," Eri said suddenly.
Mizuha glared at Shimizu.
Shimizu blinked. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, it's nothing," Mizuha said, pouting. "Shimizu, you idiot."
"What is it? Tell me, please. I'm sorry, okay?" Shimizu pleaded.
"Nothing!" Mizuha insisted, her pout deepening.
Hikaru couldn't help but laugh. "Mizuha, what's up with that face? It's rare to see you making that face."
Mizuha blushed. "It's nothing. Let's go." She strode out.
Eri and Zul smiled, watching the three of them.
Night had fallen by the time they exited. Hikaru looked around at the darkened streets, commenting on how quickly time had passed. Mizuha agreed, mentioning they'd had fun but glancing at her watch with concern about getting home on time as 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 the quiet girl to take initiative like this. "Wow, it's so rare to see you suggest something," Zul said with a warm smile.
"Oh, that's a nice idea, Eri!" Shimizu exclaimed excitedly. "We definitely need to do more of this."
Mizuha nodded but made a jab at Shimizu. "It's okay to do this again, but make sure you tell me earlier, okay, Shimizu?" she said with a cold smile.
Oh, this is bad. She's still angry about that, Shimizu thought to herself.
The group began to separate. Shimizu waved energetically while Eri gave her 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," Mizuha declined. "It's not too heavy. I can carry it myself."
"Don't worry, just let me carry it," Hikaru insisted. "My hands are free except for this notebook I bought earlier."
Reluctantly, Mizuha handed over her plastic bag. "If you insist..."
"Today was great, wasn't it?" Hikaru broke the silence.
"Yeah, I had so much fun with everyone," Mizuha replied. "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?!" Mizuha exclaimed, blushing furiously. Is it a... d-d-date? she wondered to herself.
"Umm, let me think about that later."
Hikaru chuckled nervously. "I'll wait for your answer."
They soon arrived at Mizuha's house. Hikaru said goodbye 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. Her mother mentioned the bath was ready and suggested they have dinner together afterward, curious about Mizuha's day. Mizuha agreed easily.
While preparing for 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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