2026-05-10: First Date
- Cutscene: First Date
- Cast: Ririka Kawase, Ikumi Okuyama
- Where: Aoba Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: May 10, 2026
- IC Date: Monday, November 5, 2012 (Evening)
- Summary: After attending a concert together, Ririka and Ikumi chat about the experience—and their date—while walking down the sidewalk afterwards.
The evening air was chilly and brisk, but it didn't bother the two girls slowly strolling down the sidewalk together. The memory of cheering crows and thumping music from the concert they had just attended kept them feeling warm, as did the frequent glances they were pretending not to take at each other.
Their flushed cheeks may have had something to do with it, too.
Ririka was the taller of the two, standing at 5'7", her black hair in a half-up ponytail, a short purple dress with black lace, a denim jacket, stockings, and boots. Her hands were shoved in her jacket pockets, and her right hand was subtly tapping out a melody from the show. Ikumi was a fair bit shorter at 5'3", her short dyed green hair combed out, wearing a blouse and vest, jacket, pleated skirt, and polished black shoes paired with white socks. Similarly to Ririka, her hands were in her jacket pocket, and she was fidgeting with a 100 yen coin—her lucky coin, she liked to call it, though she hadn't shared that with Ririka.
The evening had started out awkwardly. They'd agreed to meet at a cafe before the concert, but Ririka had arrived dressed to meet a Kasugayama girl, while Ikumi had arrived dressed to meet a Gekkoukan girl. It was already bound to be awkward, of course, as they nervously made small talk, asking each other banal, safe questions while trying not to look to the outside world like they were on a date.
But in the dark of the concert, they'd started to relax. Nobody was looking at them, while all the attention was on the stage, and seeing each other genuinely enjoy the performance, and exchanging comments in between songs had served to finally break the ice.
"So..." started Ririka, finally looking at Ikumi properly. "Great concert, huh?"
Ikumi looked back, a small grin breaking out on her face. "Definitely! Thanks for taking care of the tickets, Kawase-san. And, uh...working with my schedule. I really appreciate it." Ikumi had mentioned she had a couple of part-time jobs that she needed to work, but she hadn't mentioned why they were so important: namely, that she was paying her parents back.
Ririka couldn't help but return the grin, feeling the tension loosen in her shoulders. "Of course! I was happy to do it. I'm just glad we got our schedules to line up, you know?" Ririka often had so much on her plate she had to schedule out her time pretty carefully. Last-minute changes to her plans (like the surprise trip to Yakushima) usually frustrated her to no end... but this time she had been more than happy to make the change—excited, even. "I'm just glad the tickets ended up being decent, so we got to see the show..." Ririka added with a small, relieved laugh.
That got a happy laugh from Ikumi, who was also starting to relax, her posture loosening up. "Oh, yeah! And those moves! Lisa-san's definitely been putting in the practice. Like when she did—" Ikumi stopped walking for a moment, drawing her hands out of her jacket pockets as she attempted to replicate the move, which involved a sway of the hips while turning.
Ririka stopped, her cheeks heating up as she watched the pleated skirt move, her eyes fixated on the other girl. But the turn left Ikumi off-balance, and she started to tip over. Without thinking about it Ririka stepped forward and caught her. "Okuyama-san!"
Both girls froze, their bodies pressed together for a brief moment as they locked eyes. There was a sudden, intense heat that had nothing to do with the buzz of the concert. Neither dared speak, but each was suddenly aware of the rapidly thumping heartbeat of the other.
Eventually the shorter of the two cleared her throat, and looked down to break the eye contact, though what she ended up looking at made her blush harder and glance to the side. Carefully she stood herself back up, with an assist from Ririka. "I, um. Good save. Thanks," she mumbled, not quite able to look Ririka in the eye again. She busied herself with smoothing down her vest and skirt.
"Y-yeah," replied the taller of the two, her voice shaky. "Welcome. Um..." Ririka averted her gaze for a moment. "You looked... really good doing that move."
Ikumi barked a short, nervous laugh, her hand going back in her jacket pocket so she could keep fiddling with her lucky coin. "I, uh... thanks. Buuut I'm pretty sure Lisa-san did it better."
"Maybe..." Ririka risked a look back at Ikumi. "But I think I liked your version more."
"Yeah?" The Kasugyama girl straightened up. "Even though you had to catch me when I messed it up?"
Ririka turned to keep walking down the sidewalk, though she cast Ikumi a shy smile over her shoulder as she looked back. Her voice was soft and quiet as she said, "... that was the best part."
Ikumi froze, a bashful grin spreading on her face before she could school her composure. "Well!" her voice was momentarily pitched higher. She hastened to catch up to Ririka's side again, glancing sideways at the other girl. She tried to make her voice cool and smooth, but the effect was ruined by a giddy laugh threatening to bubble up to the surface. "If I try dancing again, I'll have to make sure you're around. Purely for my own safety, of course."
Catching the glance, Ririka couldn't hide her own wide grin, cheeks still flushed. She let out a giggle and nodded. "Of course. For safety."
As they kept walking towards the train station, the world around them felt lively but far away, unable to penetrate the bubble of heat surrounding them. Ikumi eventually slid her hand out of her pocket to let it dangle by her side, and without a word Ririka did the same. The backs of their hands bumped and brushed against each other, the skin smooth and warm. At some unspoken signal they grasped each other's hands.
"So... have you ever..." Ikumi glanced sidelong at Ririka, her voice a little quieter and more subdued. "... you know." She gave Ririka's hand a gentle squeeze. "With a girl before?"
Ririka's cheeks turned a bright scarlet, and her footsteps momentarily faltered. ""W-with a girl?" The question came out with a high-pitched squeak.
That reaction startled Ikumi, who tilted her head a little. "Y-yeah. You know, go on a date?"
"Oh!" The sound came out in an explosive burst of understanding. Ririka shook her head. "That's what you meant. Um... Nope."
"Yeah, what did you think..." Ikumi's voice trailed off as she realized the answer, her own face turning bright red as she glanced off to the side. "... Oh. S-so... you think about that, too...?"
"Mmhmm," replied the Gekkoukan girl. "Um... how about you? First date with a girl, or...?" Ririka risked a glance at her date, who was still glancing away.
"Y-yeah, um..." Ikumi took a deep breath to steady herself. "I only figured it out a few months ago. Had a really bad breakup with a guy I'd been dating, and... I dunno. Something finally clicked, I guess. Your sister helped." She finally looked back to Ririka. "... how'd you figure it out?"
There was a long sigh from Ririka as she called up the memory. "There was this girl I used to hang out with. I had a massive crush on her, but I didn't really realize it until..." Her voice grew more somber for a moment. "... her family had to move. I was kind of... heartbroken. And in trying to figure out why, well... I figured out why."
"Damn, Kawase. Sounds rough. Sorry."
Ririka shook her head. "It's fine, it's fine. That was two years ago, and besides..." She flashed Ikumi a grin. "... I'd rather focus on you."
Ikumi couldn't help but grin. "Can't argue with that."
It was Ririka's turn to squeeze Ikumi's hand this time. "Good," she said.
The conversation meandered from there as the moon slowly crept higher into the sky. Ririka was surprised to find Ikumi liked sour candies—she preferred sweet, herself. Ikumi was surprised to find Ririka was an avid fan of a J-Punk band she liked. By the time they reached the train station, the tension had melted away, and they both stood facing each other, not quite willing to let each other's hands go.
"... So," started Ikumi.
"... Yeah," replied Ririka.
They lapsed into silence for a few moments longer. In unison they started, "I had—" before both breaking into easy laughs.
Ikumi squeezed Ririka's hand. Both of them had lost count of how many squeezes there had been by that point. "You first," she insisted.
"I had a really great time," said Ririka with a relaxed smile, squeezing Ikumi's hand back.
"Same," said Ikumi. "I wasn't... really sure what to expect, but... this beat the last six dates I've been on. Easy."
"Good. So... you wanna do this again sometime?" Ririka asked, taking a half-step closer.
Ikumi unconsciously moved closer too. "Yeah. I'll text you."
"Cool."
Neither girl spoke for a long moment, instead staring into each other's eyes, which seemed to sparkle in the dim night lighting. Both of them slowly shifted closer—
Only for a station announcement to cut through their reverie.
Ririka yanked herself back, finally letting go of Ikumi's hand. Her cheeks were flushed, but she was anxiously looking to the station now. "Ahhh, sorry, but that's my train, if I miss it—"
Ikumi's cheeks were flushed as well, and she ran her fingers through her hair. "No, no, it's fine—" She tried to force a confident smile. "I know you Gekko girls need your beauty rest, and all that," she said with a warm playfulness. "Have a good night, Kawase-chan."
Ririka had laughed at the joke and was already turning to head for the turnstile when the last comment caught her. She froze, staring at Ikumi for a moment before finally breaking into one last grin. "Yeah, well... don't let any Kasu girls mess up that pretty face of yours, Okuyama-chan."
There was a short, barked laugh in reply, and Ikumi waved Ririka off. "Ha, I'll do my best. Take care!"
"Good night," Ririka called, before rushing into the station, her boots thumping on the tile.
Ikumi watched her go with an easy half-grin. She lifted her right hand, the one that had been holding Ririka's hand, and just stared at it for a long moment, before a stuttery laugh forced its way out of her throat. That hand dove into her pocket as she turned away, starting to flip her coin as she continued down the street.