https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9531ga/77/
Sorry for the long, long delay on this one. Busy end to the semester combined with a busy holiday season kept me away.
Is this Movie a Yuri Thing?
“A movie~? That’d work too~”
Honoka agreed with it right away. Good. If she had insisted on wanting to do karaoke no matter what, I probably would’ve caved. I have a reason why I want to watch a movie….
“Is there something you want to see?”
Ranko asked. She didn’t seem particularly opposed to the idea.
“Now that you mention it, they are having a Ladies Day, so it would be cheap. I think it would be a great time for us to all go together~.”
“What what~? Are we watching a B-grade zombie movie?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s a more well known….do you want to watch a zombie movie?”
“No? Not at all.”
“Then why did you….”
That’s just how this girl is.
Standing beside her, Yuzuriha was crouching down and clenching her fists.
“Mo….vie?”
“Yeah, a trip to the movie theater. Have you gone before?”
She shook her head. Just one more part to her cuteness.
“My first time…. I will….humbly….follow you….”
“No, there’s no need to be that polite.”
“Hmmm~? I might be inexperienced, but I will do my best to make you happy. “
“Not experienced….”
“Why are you blushing Yuzu?”
I would too if someone said something similar to a marriage proposal. But does that reaction mean she isn’t opposed….?
“So what kind of movie are we watching then~?”
“I hope one that everyone can be happy with.”
“Gu~, it’d be weird if you wanted a boring one.”
“There is….a live action manga….but….bad reviews on the internet….”
The girls were sharing a look and talking about what they’d like to see. The looks on their faces told me they didn’t know much about what was on….or maybe that they didn’t know much about movie theaters in general.
“It’s okay, I know about a movie that’s been really popular recently. And well, whether or not we’d all like it is just something we can see when we get there.”
I made sure to do all my research beforehand, and it was all a matter of waiting for the right moment to bring it up. At the very least, I’ve prepared enough that the worst case scenario where everyone ends up bored can be avoided.
All four of them were looking more and more unsure the more they talked about going to the movies, but Saki, Honoka, and Ranko relaxed when they saw me speak so confidently about it. In contrast to that though, Yuzuriha looked genuinely concerned.
“Is it, action….? The TV makes me feel queasy….”
Oh, I should’ve guessed that. It’s such a Yuzurin thing for her to feel sick seeing any blood.
“Hehe, I promise it’s not an action movie. There’s nothing scary about it….”
My words trailed off there towards the end. I put my brain into overdrive to piece together my lines in my head.
“But if you’re scared, how about holding my hand?”
I brought my lips close to her cute face and whispered in her ear. Yuzuriha turned away, her cheeks stained with a tomato-red color.
“O-Okay…. Thank….you….”
Her lips were shut tight. But when her eyes did dart towards me, “But….” a soft whisper passed from her lips
“In that case, I’d be shaking with excitement though right?”
“Heh….?”
She winked at my speechlessness. Her narrowed eyes perfectly captured her warmth while her small smile captured my heart.
“I think Yuzu will like what I’ve picked too.”
♠
“I’m surprised how empty it is.”
The inside of a slightly dark theater. We selected our tickets from the vendor, and we were lucky enough to find five seats grouped together despite it only being thirty minutes before it started.
There wasn’t really a need for me to hide the title from everyone, but since I thought it’d be more fun this way, I quickly rushed us through. I listened to everyone’s points that sitting too close to the screen hurts their eyes or that sitting in the middle of the theater makes it awkward to go to the bathroom. Given that, I picked out a spot further in the back of the theater, but not too far back.
I took care of gathering everyone’s money and even passed out the appropriate change. Each of us have our tickets, so now it’s only a matter of how we should spend out time until the movie actually starts. While I was wondering what that time would look like,
“Hey, hey. I want some popcorn!”
Honoka was hopping around like a little kid, pointing at a small kiosk with a nice smell wafting out of it. It’s true that eating popcorn is part of the classic movie theater going experience, and it would only make the experience funner than it is already going to be. However….
“I would rather not. The oil dries out my skin.”
“It isn’t good to watch something while you eat.”
“Fat….ty”
there was a definitive no from the other three. Honoka’s head further and further down with each subsequent no until she could only look to me for help.
“Hmm, I guess I don’t like getting my hands all oily.”
“What’s with all of you-! So in~considerate~!”
What? She stormed off on her own towards the concession stand.
“Maybe I did something wrong….”
“Well, it can’t be helped if none of us are good with popcorn.”
I will need to perform some kind of follow-up later.
♠
We waited a little ways away from Honoka as she made her order. I checked with the others to see if they wanted something to drink, but each of them either didn’t want anything or preferred to grab something from a vending machine instead. Saki-chan brought a bottle of water and some jasmine tea with her….Madame Princess, why are you showing off your amazing feminine power here? Do you want me to ask you to be my girlfriend here and now?
As I checked through that each of us were ready, Honoka returned. She had a huge cup and a huge bucket overflowing with popcorn. She moved ahead and found a nearby seat in the theater before us.
“A-All of that for you Honoka….?”
“Of course it is~. Curry flavored popcorn with Cola, both large! Hehen~ And I don’t need to share any of it with any of you.”
Honoka sat down while she spoke, twisting her body away from us. She then started chowing down on her popcorn, deliberately making sure we could hear how “Delicious” it was. The spicy aroma of curry wafted in the area, tempting me to have a bite too…. She then took a deep sip from her cup.
“Coke again?”
“She must really like it~”
“Hmm. I can’t stand the strong taste.”
While Ranko and Saki talked with me, Honoka was making a loud slurping noise as she sucked on her straw. There’s something about this kid that makes me feel like I’m dealing with an old man. A young, beautiful old man….it’s far away from a noble young lady, but isn’t that what makes her so good?
But on a more practical note, her making a grand show over how delicious her drink is is actually making me incredibly thirsty.
“Honoka~ Give me just a little bit of your popcorn”
“Mmm? But I thought Yuu-chan wasn’t good with popcorn~?”
“If it’s just right now, I can go wash my hands before the movie starts. So just a bit please”
I sat in the seat next to Honoka and started rubbing my head against her shoulder. Let’s hit her with some sweetness.
“Well~, I guess it can’t be helped”
Honoka grabbed a kernel of popcorn and fed it directly into my mouth.
“Your hands won’t get greasy like this.”
She gave me a bright smile as she did it. There is something just so heartwarming about that sunflower-like smile of hers. Even if I wasn’t interested in dating her, I still think spending time with this girl would make me feel nice.
But, that’s exactly what makes me want to tease her.
“I don’t think I can know just how tasty it is from one bite.”
“Gu! Then I guess you can have even more!”
Honoka took my provocation to heart and started placing popcorn kernels to my pursed lips. It was a little more embarrassing than I thought though since it felt like a baby bird being fed by its mother….
While I was living in the embarrassment, I noticed Saki and Ranko looking kind of grim. Feeling a little jealous? I need to keep things feeling low-key or else cause a scene here.
We all waited for our movie to begin while talking about the past movies we’ve seen. Yuzuriha has never been to the theater before, so she’s one thing, but even Saki, Ranko, and Honoka haven’t been to one since their parents took them several years ago. I know they’re all supposed to be fine, upstanding young ladies, but does that mean they don’t usually head into town to play?
Time flew by quickly thanks to our talking, and it was soon enough that a voice sounded letting us know the movie was about to begin.
“Thanks Honoka. Here, you can have one of these as a thank you.”
I pulled out a small package of wet wipes I keep on me and handed her one to use. But, she didn’t take it, instead turned her gaze towards the bottom of the bowl in her hands.
“Ah, there’s only a little bit left….”
♠
“So the girl’s love was just a delusion–“
“It was a little sad, but the story was very well-written.”
“Missed each other….serious….heart-breaking….”
“Yeah. How tragic that even though they both felt the same way, the weight of those feelings were different.”
“Even Honoka’s feeling sad? I better find my snowpants for tomorrow.”
“What was that!? My passion is as hot as a midsummer’s day–!”
“That’s not the problem….”
Rather, wouldn’t being ‘passionate as a midsummer’s day’ be the exact opposite of feeling sad?
“I’m glad everyone seemed to like it.”
Everyone shared their thoughts as we left from, “The backgrounds were nice” to “The confession made my heart twist.” It seems like I’ve achieved my goal for the time being at least. Whether you’re talking about friendship or love, I believe that sharing your feelings is important to building an emotional connection, so I plan on actively incorporating more events like this.
Honestly, I wanted to watch a movie with a stronger focus on a same sex relationship, but no matter how much I like yuri, I’d end up drawing questions if I brought them to something too explicit. All I really wanted them to see this time around is that there is a different kind of ‘like’ that goes beyond just being friends. So far though, none of them have mentioned anything about the main leads both being girls and have just accepted it.
“Yuriha….chan”
Yuzurin called my name while tugging on my sleeve.
“That movie was yuri….wasn’t it”
“I guess it was. But, isn’t that what you wanted to watch Yuzu?”
She gave a strong, decisive nod. When I saw the advertising poster, I knew I had to bring her here specifically. Looks like this part of plan went well too.
“This too, will be….food for my creation….fufufu…..”
“That’s nice”
I’ve also come to realize that whenever Yuzuriha tends to fall into her delusions when she gets excited like this. I’m happy to hear that she enjoyed it that much. But, what’s going on? Is she going for some kind of suspicious witch-type character or something? The character she’s going for changes depending on the moment, but this one really fits with her zashiki warashi-like black hair.
Experimental Translations 