IBV C65: My Off-Collab with Fuwa-chan! 6

“Live stream shut-off check, done.”
Hana-san made sure the live stream was properly terminated.
I checked alongside her, ensuring I hadn’t made an oversight. Looks like it’s all off. We’re good.

“All seems in order. Good work today, Yuki-kun!” says Hana-san, smiling.
“You too, Hana-san!”

“Sorry about some parts of today’s stream, okay?”
“No, I was at fault too. I kind of got lost in the moment. Sorry…”

“I should be saying thanks since I had such a good deal out of it, though… But don’t you think that cat hoodie is a bit unfair?!”
“Oh, I brought it to prank you, thinking it’d break the cycle of me being teased and strike back by changing into it…”
When I said that, Hana-san began to look worried and flustered.

“D-Did you not like being teased?
If you don’t, I won’t do it next time!
I’m sorry if I offended you…”
“It’s not that I dislike it. It’s just…embarrassing.”
I found myself fidgeting as I said that.

“Seriously, it’s that part of you that tugs people’s heartstrings…”
“Huh?”
“Nothing! Just talking to myself.”
“Anyway, I’d appreciate it if you don’t worry about it too much…

It’d be great if you could get used to it eventually, but I know that can be hard…”

“You hold up pretty well on-stream, though?”
“That was just me holding back…”
“Gosh, you’re adorable.”
“Eh?”
Suddenly, Hana-san hugged me tightly, and I couldn’t push her away.

“Ahh! Sometimes it’s hard to remember you’re a guy with how cute you are, Yuki-kun!!!”
“Huh?! Wait! Let go, please!”
“Feeling a bit shy?~”
She teased, poking my cheek.

“Obviously! I’m a guy, after all!”
“Fuhehehe…”
Hana giggled mischievously as she started patting me.

“Ah! No! We’re not live, so there are no viewers around to save meeee!”
“Don’t worry. Just let your onee-san spoil you…”
[Prrrrrrr]
Just when I thought things would escalate, the intercom buzzed.

“Ah!”
Snapping back to reality, Hana-san released me.

“Yes. Ten more minutes? Okay. Thank you.”
She responded to someone over the intercom.

Returning it to its cradle, she turns to me.
Oh, she looks flustered.

“I-I’m sorry…”
“It doesn’t bother me, but please keep in mind that I’m still a guy! You need to be a bit more cautious!”

“Sorry. That might be a tall order…”
“But why?!”
“Erm, well, there are things I can’t really tell you…”
“Let’s…leave it at that, then…”
“Phew.”
“By the way, are we parting ways after this?”

“Hmm, I’m kind of hungry, so I thought of grabbing something to eat. Fancy joining?”
“Hehe, I was thinking the same.”
It was already late afternoon after ending the stream. Naturally, I was starting to get hungry.

“In that case, there’s a great oyster place nearby. Interested?”
“Oysters sound great!”
An oyster place, huh? This calls for deep-fried or cooked in their shell!
…I’ll have to pass on the raw ones, though. I don’t like them a little.
…Just a little, okay?

We left the karaoke bar and headed to the oyster place Hana-san recommended.

The place seems to be just a short walk from that complex with the Ferris wheel in Sakae.
We took the subway to Sakae and chatted casually as we walked to our destination and reached right around the restaurant’s 5 PM opening time.

“Here we are!”
“Looks freshly opened! Lucky us!”
“Haha, yeah.”
Seeing me get a bit more excited because I was hungry, Hana-san smiled.

“Welcome. Table for two?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Any seating preferences?”
“A table would be great.”
“Understood. This way, please.”
As I wondered if there were any seats other than tables, the waiter guided us to our spot.
On the way there, the mystery I had was solved.
There were counter seats, the kind you often see in bars.
I guess Hana-san thoughtfully chose not to sit there because they were less relaxing.

“You have such a cute outfit. Are you her sister?”
The waiter remarked.
Hm? Cute outfit?
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
Yikes.
I was still in my cat hoodie.

“S-Something like that! Isn’t she cute?”
“It suits her well.”
Blushing, I muttered a thanks.
“Th-Thank you…”
This is beyond embarrassing!

“Here is the menu. Once you’ve decided, please press this button to call me.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, thank you…”
The waiter then walked away to attend to another part of the restaurant.

“Ugh, I totally forgot…”
“D-Don’t think about it too much.”
“You should’ve told me, Hana-san…”
“I thought you liked dressing up like that.”
“But it’s so embarrassing in front of this many people…”
I said, feeling a bit sulky.

“?! (S-So cute…)”
“O-Oh, yeah! What do you wanna have, Yuki-kun?”

“Uh, fried oysters…”
“Th-Their fried oysters are delicious, you know!”
“Then I’ll go with that…”
“Yeah! I think I might order the same!”
Then, Hana-san pressed the button to call the waiter and ordered some fried oysters.

The fried oysters that arrived were huge, each one packed tight with meat.
The creaminess of the oysters was also distinctly palpable, and to put it modestly, they were delicious.
This restaurant is quite close by, so I’d like to come here again.

After we settled the bill, it wasn’t time to part ways just yet; Hana-san had a suggestion for us.

“There’s an office for Imananji nearby. Wanna see it while I drop off this laptop?”
“Huh? Are you sure?”

“Probably. I’m sorry in advance if it’s not feasible.”
“My house is not too far from here, anyway, so it’s okay!”

“Then, shall we give it a try?
If it’s not possible, maybe we’ll just call it a day since it’s on the way to the station?”
“Whatever happens, happens!”
“All right, let’s head out!”
“Okay!”
And so, we started making our way to the Nanji District Office.

All the while, I had completely forgotten that I was still wearing the cat hoodie.

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