#amamjou

Kirumi reached up with her right hand to brush the hair away from her left eye. As she brought her hand back down, she stopped just below her chin and held her right forefinger along her lower lip. "Until you said that, I thought it obvious," she answered him. "However, now you've made me second-guess myself. Do you think I somehow misunderstood your wishes?"

Rantaro chuckle ruefully. He looked down at the table and closed his eyes. "I probably wasn't clear," he conceded. "I'm new to this sort of thing, myself." Lifting his head, he looked her in the eyes and stated, "I didn't ask you here to employ your services. I happened to be passing through the region, and I wanted to meet up for personal reasons." He glanced around the room in an attempt to verify that no one was watching them, then he went on. "Kirumi... I meant for this to be a date."

Kirumi showed no reaction at first. It took a few seconds for her mouth to go agape. This was swiftly followed by her raising both gloved hands to cover her mouth, which also served to obscure the fact that she was blushing. Even so, the bloom of red in her pale cheeks was still obvious to Rantaro.

With a soothing smile, Rantaro raised both his hands. "There's no need to make a big deal out of this," he said. "We can both walk away from this with our dignity intact. It was just a communication lapse, right? No harm, no foul."

The maid's hands dropped limply to the table, causing her menu to slap down onto the surface with them. "I'm... terribly sorry," Kirumi said slowly. "Truth be told, I'm not very familiar with these sorts of things, either."

Rantaro folded his arms and leaned back. The calm smile still hadn't left his face. "That's perfectly fine," he assured her. "In fact, if you'd like to-"

"I-I would, yes," Kirumi answered quickly. She still looked flushed.

Rantaro blinked rapidly. "Just so we're clear this time," he said, "What is it that you'd like, exactly?"

Kirumi looked away from him. Her face was growing redder by the moment. She shifted her jaw back and forth for a moment before replying, "...I would like to have the date."

His smile brightened instantly. "Oh! I'm really glad to hear that," Rantaro responded. His grinned so hard that his eyes took on a squint.

"Again, I'm sorry for misconstruing the nature of your request," Kirumi said quickly. She bowed her head in apology.

Immediately, Rantaro stuck out his hand and waved it dismissively. "None of that. Come on now," he told her. "You're not my maid, and I'm not your master. We're here today as equals, right?"

When she raised her head, Kirumi was at last able to smile genuinely. "Of course," she replied. "I'm just not... well, it's as I said. I'm not used to these kinds of things."

Rantaro leaned forward, placing his right hand on the table. "And like I said, the same is true for me. Honestly, I've actively avoided these sorts of things for most of my life so far. I've been so focused on looking for my sisters that I've never thought it was smart to get mixed up in dates and romantic relationships."

"I understand completely," Kirumi said back. At last, the color in her face was returning to normal. She began to tug on the fingers of her gloves as she prepared to remove them. "I've tried not to get emotionally involved with the people I meet so that I can remain a better maid to any sort of individual."

Rantaro leaned onto his right elblow and half-smiled. "And how has that worked out for you?" he teased.

Kirumi set her gloves neatly to the side of her napkin and then smiled demurely at Rantaro, her eyelids closing partway. "I don't always have as much control of my emotions as I'd like," she admitted. "May I ask you something in turn?"

"Of course," Rantaro answered.

Kirumi kept her expression the same as she inquired, "Are you something of a 'ladies' man?'"

Just as she finished her sentence, Rantaro was tempted to exploded into laughter. He covered his mouth with his left hand for a second to keep his cool, and Kirumi found the brightness of his smile to be endearing as it peeked out from behind his palm. "Hee... heh, ah, no," Rantaro said. He looked down and closed his eyes again, still fighting back how amused he was. "I've gotten that assumption before, though. Something about the way I dress?" He shrugged as he opened his eyes back up and pointed to one with his left hand. "Is it the eyeliner?" he joked.

"It's not a single element," Kirumi told him with total seriousness. "Ever since I first spoke to you, I've been carrying two conflicting guesses about your... your nature, you might say. That was one of them, so I was curious whether our date tonight was evidence of a larger pattern with you."

Rantaro shook his head. "No, not at all. This is a special case," he countered.

"What makes it special case?" she pressed.

He hesitated for a second. "You do," he said back. "You're what makes it special." Kirumi's eyes went wider than Rantaro was used to seeing them. "When we were at the Academy together, I felt like we were building something. Through mutual understanding of each other, things we had in common... I thought we were forming a connection. and at times, I got the impression that you felt something there, too."

Kirumi folded her hands on the table and turned her head to her right, attempting to obscure her eyes through her hair once more. After a sharp inhale, she said, "You're... more insightful than I gave you credit for."

Rantaro's smile widened. "I'm happy to hear you say that."

Before he could continue down that topic, Kirumi swiftly asked, "Are you ready to order?"

Rantaro watched her face carefully. On some level, he was enjoying watching her exhibit discomfort. "Heh, sure," he said at last. He looked around and located a blonde waitress passing by a couple of tables over. With a wave of his hand and a shout of "Excuse me?" he summoned her attention.

"Hello!" the woman said with a cheesy, bright smile. "Can I get something for the two of you?"

"Yes," Rantaro answered. "Gyoza over rice, please."

"I'd like a cucumber salad with ginger dressing and the spicy konnyaku," Kirumi told her.

"Anything to drink?" the waitress asked.

"Green tea," Rantaro replied.

"Just water for me," Kirumi said.

With another smile and a bow of her head, the waitress took their menus and left. As soon as she was gone, Rantaro eyed Kirumi with playful suspicion. "I have so many questions right now," he teased.

Kirumi cocked her head. "Oh?" she said, sounding intrigued. "Go ahead then."

"You didn't order tea," Rantaro observed. "I thought you loved tea."

"I'm pleased that you remembered," Kirumi said with a twinkle in her eye. "But I've grown accustomed to a certain standard. In truth, I've yet to find a restaurant that can brew tea to my satisfaction."

"I'm not surprised," he laughed. "I used to think I was pretty good at making tea. Then I had yours."

"I think it's one of my strongest skills," Kirumi said proudly.

To accentuate his next point, Rantaro held up one finger. "On the flip side, however: You ordered konnyaku," he said. "I thought the subject of konjac was a sensitive one for you."

She heaved a sigh. "It still is... but I feel it's important to face it." Folding her hands, she closed her eyes in thought. "I feel that observing how others prepare it may help me improve."

Rantaro gave her a lopsided smile. "But you won't see how they're cutting the konjac, right?" he asked, sounding amused.

She opened her eyes and smiled back. "I can infer a lot about food preparation from the finished product," Kirumi informed him. She spoke with total confidence in her abilities.

He laughed good-naturedly. "You're as impressive as ever. But what if you don't like the dish?"

"Even a bad experience can always teach me something," she said, maintaining her tone. "That's true of anything in life."

Rantaro looked her over with admiration. "Impressive and wise beyond your years," he decided.

Kirumi gave him a tiny smile before carefully inquiring, "Can I ask you to expand on something you said earlier?"

Rantaro looked up and to the side for a couple of second, then brought his eyes back to meet hers. "Quid pro quo?" he asked.

She frowned, feeling taken aback. Nevertheless, she said "Very well."

"Don't worry!" Rantaro said as he raised both hands and grinned. "I promise I'm not going to ask you anything tough."

She pursed her lips and once more tried to brush her hair back with her left hand. She hesitated for a moment, and it sounded as though she wasn't breathing. Hesitantly, she began, "When you mentioned earlier that you sometimes thought I felt the same connection... can you recall any specific times?"

Rantaro Amami usually seemed utterly confident and calm to Kirumi's eyes. Her question, however, brought a bit of pink to his cheeks."Oh... of course," he mumbled. Clearing his throat, he looked at her directly. "I mentioned your love for tea — I assume you remember when we talked about our favorite varieties for like an hour?"

The edges of Kirumi mouth twisted upwards. "I remember," she confirmed.

"Or when we spent three hours in the A/V room debating our favorite action movies?" he continued. Kirumi raised one arm to rest an elbow on the table and set her chin atop her hand, gazing at him softly as he went on. "I've never forgotten that. How about the time that we both got addicted to putting coins into that capsule toy machine?" Rantaro said, chuckling at himself. "I could tell you were really enjoying the surprise every time you opened one." His smile grew as he finished, "And I could tell you were angry at yourself for how much you enjoyed it."

Kirumi suddenly exhaled sharply, and her eyes narrowed. Her lips went thin and her hand dropped. "Part of me is truly glad that those moments meant so much to you," she said. "And yet... I try so hard to keep my personal feelings out of my work. It seems I didn't manage to keep that up during our time together."

Even in the face of her irritation, Rantaro couldn't help but laugh. "It kills me that you say that like it's a bad thing!" he said. "You were with us for long enough that I think your true feelings should have come out. You're far too guarded." Rantaro laid his hands flat upon the table's surface and leaned forward. "The Academy didn't employ you, and we were never your charges. This wasn't your 'work' to begin with, so you should have feelings about it. I know how you feel about your 'Selfless Devotion' and all that, but I hope you understand that I want to know the real you." His smile faded, and he earnestly said, "That's what this is, for me. On those few times you really got to talking about what matters to you... I liked that. I liked you. I wanted to see more of her. I asked you here tonight because I wanted to know more about the real Kirumi, okay? I wanted to understand your real feelings."

Kirumi's expression softened. Her face began to show hints of red once more — but this time, she didn't rush to hide it. "I sincerely try to take the feedback I receive from people I trust to heart," she stated. She slowly reached out with her exposed right hand and tentatively rested it on top of Rantaro's left. "So... " she said in a whisper, "I hope this is a good start to what you're looking for."

Rantaro smiled wholeheartedly and nodded as he flipped his hand over to hold hers in his. "It's a wonderful start," he confirmed. "And… thank you for clearing your feelings up for me."

Kirumi couldn't stop her own smile back at him. "I feel like an idiotic schoolgirl," she confessed with a giggle. "I shouldn't be so affected by—" She looked down at their hands intertwined together and froze. She had to catch her breath. "For the love of... I'm really such a child," she said in a half-hearted attempt to scold herself.

He shrugged. "It's natural, given that we're about as experienced in dating as a couple of junior high kids," he joked.

Kirumi giggled and shook her head. "Unbelievable," she said.

Rantaro leaned closer. "Which part?" he inquired in a hushed tone.

"This entire thing," she answered. "And you?" Kirumi said, looking at him brightly. "What was your question? You wanted a 'quid pro quo,' correct?"

"Oh," Rantaro said, sounding as though he'd completely forgotten. "I did want that, yeah," he admitted. "It was just... you said you've been carrying two conflicting assumptions about me since we first met. And one of them was that you thought I was some kind of sleazy ladies' man."

"I never said you were sleazy," Kirumi insisted as she both grinned and shook her head. "It's simply in response to your unusual style. It conveys a sort of image that... it's-"

"REGARDLESS," Rantaro interrupted her, comedically escalating his voice. Both of them shared a small laugh at the joke. Rantaro raised his hand off the table, taking hers with him. Once more, Kirumi had to catch her breath. She did so just in time to hear Rantaro explain, "I was hoping you'd tell me the other assumption you had."

She looked down and away from him. Her shoulders slumped. "I see," Kirumi said quietly. She seemed to blush even harder. "It's not that I can't say it," she said, "but it's a bit embarrassing to do so in light of how things are going here."

His smile turned cocky and assured right when her sentence ended. "I have a feeling I know what it was," he said confidently.

Before he could guess, Kirumi looked up at him and hurriedly announced, "I kind of thought you might be gay?" As soon as she finished, she bit the edge of her lip.

Rantaro nodded. "Yes, that's what I expected," he laughed. "This isn't the first time I've heard that. What was it?" he quickly said. "The eyeliner? My skill at painting nails?"

"Nothing so stereotypical," she insisted. "It was merely a guess based on how flattered you appeared when Kokichi said — right in front of everyone — that he wouldn't mind seeing you naked."

"Oh god, I'd forgotten all about that," Rantaro said with amusement, hanging his head as he did so. "That was pretty early on, wasn't it? That kid... " He sighed, then raised his head again and confessed, "Honestly? You're not too far off, in a sense. The only significant other I've ever had was a guy."

Kirumi leaned further forward, a lopsided smile on her face. "It wasn't Kokichi, was it?" she asked, half-joking.

"Hell no," he replied swiftly. "I haven't even seen or heard from him since we graduated." He shook his head. "No no, this was someone back in my junior high days."

Her face grew more serious. "Did you think you were gay then? Or rather, I mean... what do you consider yourself now?"

Rantaro's eyes drifted up and to the side. "I've never really worried about it," he told her. "Bisexual, pansexual, whatever... I don't care about labels like that." He looked into Kirumi's gray eyes and felt his chest tighten as he said, "When I meet someone who's worth my attention, it doesn't matter what they call themselves or what I call myself, either. I just know who I like." Realizing how serious the discussion had gotten, he pulled her hand a little closer and asked her seriously, "Does any of that bother you?"

Kirumi stared back into his green eyes and said, "No. If I'm going to continue being honest about my feelings, then I suppose... I'm just happy that I qualified."

He grinned and lifted his hand closer, pulling her bare hand towards his mouth. He kissed the back of it gently, smelling rose oil as he did so. The sensation of his lips on her skin gave Kirumi a sudden chill down her spine. Rantaro managed to keep his cool as he looked back up to her. "Are you all right? I thought I felt you jerk."

Kirumi slowed her breathing. "I'm... doing really well," she said, sounding rather unconvincing. Even so, she felt a new kind of confidence. She slipped a shoe off under the table and reached forward with her right foot until she felt Rantaro's leg. He jolted for a second, then relaxed as she slid her foot up and down along the side of his left leg. "Are you okay?" she said back, trying to keep her tone smooth and level. "If I'm doing something wrong, please let me know."

Rantaro shook his head while maintaining a tight smile. "I'm good. Surprised, but good," he said.

"As you accurately stated before, I don't have much experience in dating," Kirumi stage-whispered. She glanced to their side. "Unfortunately, that also goes for affectionate physical contact." After a pause, she concluded, "I'm just trying to make this up as I go along, frankly. I saw a woman do this in an action movie once, so let me know if it's pleasant in real life."

His eyebrows raised. Rantaro looked at her with a combination of skepticism and surprise. "It's pleasant," he confirmed even as his face reddened. "What movie was that?"

Kirumi rolled her eyes ever-so-slightly and dismissively said, "Bad Company. A Hollywood movie with Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock."

He exploded with a "Haha!" at that information. "In that case, I'm glad that lousy mess could inspire something good," Rantaro joked.

The maid giggled at him. "It was pretty poor," Kirumi agreed. "But like I told you before: Even a bad experience can always teach me something."