Chapter 13: First Date

First Date

I jump out of bed, today is my first date with Ryo.

I didn't sleep very well last night. After I got into bed, I couldn't forget the feel of Ryo's large hands, his slightly gnarled fingers, and his well-muscled arms; his loud, dignified voice when he saved me from a pick-up artist; the words "my girlfriend"; his endlessly gentle expression; his tall, almost intimidating physique; and the overwhelming sense of defeat that would have made me unable to move if he had held me down. I don't think that this had ever suited my previous self; the gender difference was so great.

I was so frustrated that for the first time, I used my body to comfort myself.

But that was only yesterday, and today I'm going on a date with Ryo with a fresh mind.

A date...a date, huh? I have to be careful not to get too involved.

Based on the advice I received from the Tosaka Trio yesterday, I'm thinking of changing my image a bit today.

That said, the only things I can make a change of right now are my simple hairstyle and clothes.

Specifically, my hair is tied in a ponytail slightly high at the back of my head, and I'm wearing a high-necked knit sweater and a black miniskirt.

The high-neck knit doesn't expose much, but it really emphasizes the size of my breasts, and since Ryo loves boobs, it should be extremely effective. But isn't this being emphasized too much?

And the miniskirt, this is a sure thing, and according to Tomoko-chan, it's the one that gets the boys hooked. It's not as fluffy as a uniform, so there's no need to worry about it rolling up, which actually makes it more comfortable.

As for shoes, heels are still too difficult for me, so I tried wearing sneakers instead.

I tried to create an overall image that is a bit lively, but also has a certain amount of sexiness to it, what do you think?

Well, it seems like I look good no matter what I wear, so this should be fine.

When I worry about what to wear or play with my hairstyle, I am reminded once again that I am a girl now.

The doorbell rings and it seems Ryo has arrived, so I go to the front door to greet him.

Come to think of it, it's already been a week since my TS syndrome started and I greeted Ryo at the front door.

"Good morning! I'm ready."

I unlocked the door and greeted Ryo, looking up at his face from slightly below.

"Good morning, you changed your hairstyle today, it suits you so well, you're so cute and pretty."

Suddenly, my face felt so hot it felt like it was on fire. Wait a minute, I just realized why I dressed up.

I'm pretty sure this fashion was something I discussed with the Tosaka Trio and prepared in order to win over Ryo.

To get Ryo to fall in love with me? Wait, what's that purpose? What's with that "Let's definitely decide on a date plan!" thing? I don't have to decide anything!

Why do I need to try and win over Ryo? Of course not. I realized that because of my indecisiveness yesterday, the direction of my fashion choices today was wrong.

However, it would be rude to go back to my room and change now, and it's not a good idea to deliberately change my clothes or hairstyle to make myself less cute. I said I was ready, after all.

---There was no other choice, so I decided to go ahead with it.

"Is that a ponytail? It really suits you and it's cute. I love ponytails."

"This seems to be a hitotsumusubi, I don't know how it's different from a ponytail, but they look the same."

"Well, either way is fine. It looks like a ponytail, it's cute, and the high position makes the nape of the neck look sexy. In terms of sexiness, you have big boobs and the knit is quite bold, I'm happy."

"Hey, you're praising me too much! Because you praise me too much, it's making me hot, so stop praising me so much."

"You're so cute when you turn bright red, but it will be bad if you blush too much in front of other people, so I'll keep it to a minimum."

"Please do so."

Flapping my hands to look up, put on my shoes, grab my bag and we are ready to go out!

Looking over at Ryo, he also seemed to be dressed up. His clothes were a little different from when he usually goes out to play, and he had a jacket on over his clothes. He had a slightly more mature look.

It's kind of cool, isn't it? When I think about it, my heart starts beating faster and more excited.

"Let's go then."

•

•

•

"Do you realize that today is a date?"

"I know that, actually, I only realized it when the three of them told me yesterday."

"--- I thought you wouldn't notice until today. Well, thanks to that, you're dressed so cute and sexy. I have to be grateful to the three of them later."

It seems like we attract quite a bit of attention when we walk side by side, with a lot of eyes being directed at both me and Ryo, and in my case mainly at my breasts and thighs.

I'm not dressed like this to show off to you guys! That's what I think, but then would it be okay for Ryo to see it? ---Well... I guess it's okay for Ryo, he's taken care of me in so many ways.

No matter what, Ryo is special to me, so I'd be okay with him wanting to hold my hand. But nothing more than that is allowed!

First, we went to the cinema to watch a movie, and as a precaution, it was an action movie instead of a romance movie.

Well, I don't have a problem with romance movies, I guess.

I was embarrassed when I overreacted to the word "couple" when ordering a drink and popcorn.

No, no, I'm being too conscious of it, I need to calm down a bit.

•

•

•

Why does every movies always have to include a romantic element? Maybe they think that even if innocent couples like us can't watch a romantic movie, we can watch an action movie, so they might as well throw in a romantic element. What a bother.

No, we're not a couple in the first place.

After watching the movie, we decided to have lunch at a Japanese restaurant, even though it was crowded because it was Sunday.

I shared some of my impressions with Ryo, our plans for the future, and just chatted.

"Today is a date, and to everyone around us we look like a couple, so I think it's okay to call us a couple since it's a date."

"I know, it's a date, so we're a couple, yeah, I guess so."

The reason I'm telling him this is because I heard someone say, "That couple is a good match."

Ryo was trying to calm me down when I denied it.

"And one more thing, Rui, my feelings haven't changed at all, you know that, so keep that in mind."

"..."

I know, I know, but... I couldn't answer.

He hold my hands

"I still love you, no matter what."

He looks at me with serious eyes.

My heart is pounding, my cheeks are flushed, my vision is narrowing, and I feel like I'm sweating profusely.

If I don't say anything, I'll just let it go, but I can't find the words. ---I just want it to go as it is.

However, Ryo easily let go of his hand, as if nothing had happened.

"I'm going to wait for you to realize your feelings though."

He said it so casually, as if the waves were receding, as if he had read my heart and was ready to pounce on me, then he pulled away, revealing my true feelings.

And I felt lonely, I didn't want him to back off so easily, I wanted him to push harder, if he did then I would just be swept away without thinking about anything - that's the feeling I had, as if he had stopped me just before I reached climax.

So I almost got swept away, I was pulled along and tried to jump on it.

Ryo is waiting for me to jump at the opportunity, but he doesn't just wait; he creates a situation that makes it easy for me to jump at the opportunity.

It was to make me realize my own feelings. If I let myself be swept away by him, I could make excuses later, but what if I jumped in myself first? I couldn't make excuses and had no choice but to accept it.

I think it's for Ryo's own sake, but also for my own, and it feels like my thought itself is already on board, but I can't realize it.

Because the balance of my heart is now more likely to lean towards women than before.

And somewhere inside me there is a part of me that is telling me to lean towards that and relax.

With Ryo, there's no need to worry about myself being a former man. He says he loves me, and he's sincere about it, and he's sure to make me happy. Maya-san and all the Ueno family will also welcome me warmly. So, what's the point of wavering? This is for my own good, too, says something inside of me.

But I still wanted to be myself.

It would be nice if I could go there and come back, but in reality, once I cross over that line, I can't come back; it's a one-way street, and it takes a certain amount of resolve to go down a path from which I can't go back.

It's okay as long as the scales are still swaying, but once they've tipped completely, there's no going back.

I still want to be myself.

Right now, all I could do was pretend to be calm so that Ryo wouldn't notice my heartbeat, the heat in my cheeks, or what was in my heart.

After that, we went to amusement parks, bookstores, second-hand clothing stores, etc., but Ryo looked like my best friend at the time. I felt a little unsatisfied.

---It was almost evening, on the way home

"Rui, today is a date, can't we at least hold hands?"

Feeling unsatisfied, I wanted to hold his hand tol, but I decided to put up a show of resistance.

"Eh, why? I don't like it."

While saying this, in my heart I hope he will push me.

"Don't say that. You had fun today, right? Think of it as a reward."

I've heard that people are more likely to forgive when it comes in the form of a reward as the psychological barrier is lowered, and this is exactly what happened.

It lowers my resistance bar, which is already pretty low.

"Okay, just your hands."

"Okay then, let's connect it."

"--!"

So why are we holding hands like lovers?

This means my arms are pressed against him, which is bad for my heart, there are a lot of contact areas, and you're casually touching my breasts with your elbow.

Do you think I won't notice?

"Rui's hands are so soft and cute."

"If you say that, we won't connect anymore."

"What's that? I was just praising you, so don't get mad. Besides, it was Rui who said it was okay to hold your hand, and I don't intend to let go until we get home."

"...."

"Your hands are a little cold, Rui. I'll warm them up for you."

"…Yeah"

That's right, when you hold hands you can tell that girls have less muscle mass and so the surface temperature of their hands is lower.

So when I hold hands with Ryo, I feel like I'm enveloped in warmth. And when we hold hands like lovers, all of my fingers are wrapped in warmth.

Just holding hands makes me feel good, it's crazy.

"During the holidays, why don't we go on another date somewhere?"

I think for a moment - pretend to think

"Oh, yeah, that's good."

As long as the main castle wasn't attacked, I wouldn't have been easily swept away.