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The day seemed to fly by as Haruka-senpai and I explored Akihabara. Evening was setting in, and we had to start thinking about returning to the hotel.

“Senpai, it’s starting to get late. Do you have any plans for dinner?”
“The hotel provides dinner, but we could go out instead. It’s just a buffet.”

“So, would you like to grab something to eat before we head back?”
“That sounds great, let’s do it!” Senpai agrees, grinning.

“There’s a famous beef katsu place nearby that I’ve heard is really good!”
“I’ve never actually tried beef katsu before.”
“Me neither.”

“Well, trying something new never hurt. Shall we go, Yuki-kun?”
“Absolutely!”

And with that, we headed for the beef katsu restaurant near the train station.

A short walk later, the restaurant was in sight.

There was a bit of a line, so we queued up and patiently waited our turn.

“Did you enjoy yourself today, Yuki-kun?”
“I did! I especially loved the cat café… That was the best…”

“I’m happy to hear that. The cat café was certainly a highlight! I’d love to visit again.”
“Me too! I wanna go back!”

We chatted fondly about our day at the cat café, reminiscing and laughing.

“(What’s with those two…? They look so wholesome together.)”
“(I can hardly handle all this cuteness…)”
“(The question is whether the other one is a boy or a girl.)”
“(Regardless, they’re still incredibly endearing.)”
I could hear whispers around us as it was finally our turn to order.

Upon entering the restaurant, we promptly chose our meals from the menu.

“I’ll have the beef katsu with barley rice set, please.”
“And I’ll take the beef katsu and yam and barley rice set, please.”

“A beef katsu and barley rice set, and one with yam. It may take a bit, so kindly wait.”

“THANK YOU.”

The server retreated to the kitchen, leaving us in anticipatory silence. As I contemplated what to say next, Senpai broke the quiet.

“So, Yuki-kun.”
“Yes, Senpai?”

“When are you heading back to Nagoya?”
“I think I’ll be leaving the morning after next.”

“I see. School?”
“Yup. I have classes that day.”

“School can be quite inconvenient at times, can’t it?”
“You can say that again… Going to school in this heat… The gym feels like a sauna… It’s unbearable…” “Right? It’s so hot in the summer. We should just take the whole season off.”
“I couldn’t agree more…”

While we chatted, our beef katsu arrived at our table.

It was quicker than the server had suggested, just a few minutes after we’d placed our orders.

“That was faster than expected, wasn’t it?”
“Certainly was, especially for katsu.”

As we were discussing this, the server provided some instructions.

“Please note that the katsu is served raw, so you can cook it to your liking on the plate provided. We’ve provided some seasoning for you to use as well.” “

That’s interesting, so we get to cook it ourselves! Thank you!”
“That’s a unique way to serve it… Thank you very much.”

“Enjoy your meal.”
With that, the server excused himself.

“BON APPETIT!”
We enjoyed our meal, cooking the beef katsu to our liking.

The barley rice was surprisingly light and fluffy. I discovered that the beef katsu paired best with wasabi soy sauce.

“THANKS FOR THE MEAL!”
Once we finished eating, we paid the bill and made our way to the station.

“Yuki-kun.”
“Yes, Senpai?”

“I want to thank you for today. I had a lot of fun.”
“I had a great time too! Thank you, Senpai!”

“I hope we can have more days like this in the future.”
“Invite me anytime you’re free! If I’m available, I’ll join you.”

“Really?! That makes me so happy. Though, I’m often quite busy, so scheduling could be a challenge.”
“Hahaha… It sounds like you have your hands full, Senpai.”

“Being popular is great, but I feel like it’s taking away from my time as a student.”
“I never really thought about it that way… but you’re right… I guess I’m not exactly ‘normal’ either, am I?”

“I don’t think anyone would call you ‘normal,’ Yuki-kun.”
“Hmm… but I enjoy it, so I don’t mind.”

“I’m glad you enjoy being a VTuber.”
“I do! Seeing all the different reactions to my streams is rewarding.”

“I might feel the same way.”
“Really?”

“Remember the woman who was bothering you this afternoon? Seeing how people like her and my fans at filming locations react to me… I think we’re both in similar situations, even if the context is different.”
“You’re right. The setting might be different, but the essence of it is the same. After all, we both have fans.”

“Let’s both do our best, okay?”
“Absolutely!”

“I’ll tune into your streams when I can, so keep doing cute things!”
“That’s… a bit embarrassing, but I’ll give it my best shot!”

“Great! Now, I need to catch that train.”
“And I’ll take this one.”
We point in our respective directions after passing through the ticket gates.

“Goodbye, Yuki-kun.”
“See you later, Senpai!”

“GOODNIGHT.”
We board our respective trains, heading back to our accommodations.