This post has the following content warnings:
It's a peaceful day at Leblanc. Sojiro has a couple customers in his shop, both sipping coffee, one eating a curry. Mellow music is playing, the lighting is cozy, and the coffee is as good as ever.
He nods a greeting as Akira enters the shop on her way home from school.
She looks away again and ducks her head. Ryuji...
"... Can I try some of your chocolate pretzels too?"
Akira takes a couple with her free hand, and settles them into her caramel corn bag.
She brushes back a strand of hair from her face and meets Ryuji's gaze for a second. "Thank you," she says.
She tries one of the chocolate coated pretzels. They're nice.
"A-Anytime," he replies with a blushy smile. He can't help but look for a long moment, then tears his gaze away back to his pretzels.
"Um... What's your favorite heist movie?"
"Ocean's Eleven is a classic. There's also... what was it... Foolproof! Which is about a group that do fake crimes as a hobby until they're blackmailed by a real criminal to pull off a job for him. I really like how in heist movies part of the plot is fooling the audience."
"Oh. That makes sense. I didn't know that the audience was meant to be fooled, I just thought I was missing it 'cause I'm a dumbass."
He looks back over at her again. "I've never seen Foolproof before. Maybe you could show it to me sometime?"
"Yeah, there's that video rental store in Shibuya, maybe they'd have it. I'd still need something to play it on, but..."
"Bet we can get a used DVD player at a secondhand store easily enough."
"Ooh, yeah! There's a local one in Yongen-Jaya, I should check their stock."
"Yeah!"
Akira has another chocolate pretzel. They've got a second date planned already, huh?
Her fingers drum on her armrest as she thinks, tapping out a wordless tune.
And then the previews start. The first is a family drama called After the Storm, about a private detective whose gambling addiction eats most of his income and makes it hard to afford child support.
Huh, a detective story. Just not the kind she likes, alas.
"Kind of a counterpoint to the usual stories you get about private eyes," she says. "Making it a family drama and all..."
He nods. "Looks like there might be some drama about how he's making ends meet, and some bonding with his son? Not really my thing, though."
The next one is for the Angry Birds movie. It really is just the plot of the mobile game, somehow turned into a movie.
"I really don't understand who would even go to a movie based on Angry Birds. It sounds like the kind of thing you'd get dragged to by someone older who thought it was 'hip.'"
Ryuji shakes his head. "I definitely wouldn't go see it. Why even make that?"
And then the next preview starts. It's a live-action film adaptation of the shōjo manga Wolf Girl and Black Prince.
He shakes his head. "Me neither. Either date or don't. Fake dating is bullshit."
After another preview, the movie starts. An hour and a half of laughing together later, the credits are rolling.
Akira's long since run out of caramel popcorn: her head rests on Ryuji's shoulder, one arm close around her shoulders.
"... That was really nice," she murmurs. "I almost teared up at that part where they all had to lend Po their energy."
Ryuji squeezes Akira a little tighter. "Yeah, that was a really good scene. Sad, but then it turned out okay." Then he snickers. "And training all other pandas was ridiculous."
View Flat HTML
View Metadata
Search Post
