Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

The train that had been rocking the passengers, including the four of us, left the prefecture where I lived and proceeded to the prefecture next to it.

Mashiro gazed out the window and engaged in a conversation with Ayano-san.
Mashiro’s expression was not as lively and energetic as Ayano-san’s, but compared to when I first met Mashiro, her smile has become much more natural.

While I was relieved to see such a change in her, I thought about what I should do today.
I need to tell the truth about Mashiro to Sakakibara and Ayano-san, the two people who invited me today.
So far, I haven’t told them Mashiro’s name or age.

Even though I trust them both, I don’t necessarily know that they will accept this without resistance.
I know that there are risks involved. Even so, if Mashiro could have more freedom, I would cherish that thought more than anything else.

As I continued to look at Mashiro while thinking about this, Mashiro noticed my gaze and turned to me.

“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”

I averted my gaze from Mashiro, who was asking me with a curious look on her face.
The fact that she seemed to have a little bit of anxiety mixed in with her expression suggested that she probably has a pretty good idea of what I’m thinking.
I averted my gaze to avoid causing unnecessary worry, but the person I averted my gaze to was my colleague with a mischievous smile on his face.

“Well well, girlfriend. Satou is a man, too.
“…?’

Sakakibara was about to say something strange, while Mashiro tilted her head with a question mark. Then, Ayano smiles with the same smirk on her face as Sakakibara’s
…In order to avoid causing unnecessary worry for Mashiro, I have to genuinely enjoy today’s date.
I made up my mind again and pulled Sakakibara’s cheek, who was still talking nonsense.

When we got off the train at our destination station, I was first surprised by the number of people and the size of the station.
I’m not the type of person who likes to go to places with a lot of people, partly because I don’t usually go far anyway.
I thought I was used to the crowds at the shopping mall I went to with Mashiro, but I wasn’t at all when I saw this place.

Mashiro was looking around frantically, looking more surprised than I was.
After a few moments of this, she walked up to me and grabbed me by the hem of my shirt.

It was a crowded and big place. Even though I had a way to contact her if we got separated, just thinking about it made me sick to my stomach.
After some thought, I gently shook off her hand that was only my sleeves. Instead, I squeezed her hand with my own.

“Don’t get separated, okay?”
“T-Thank you very much.”

It was not the first time I’ve held hands with Mashiro, and this morning I even linked arms with her, but I was still nervous.
However, as a man, I didn’t want to look like I couldn’t do it. That was why I try to look as nonchalant as possible when I talk to her.

Unlike me, Mashiro didn’t seem to be embarrassed, but her cheeks relaxed happily when she saw our hands clasped together.
Seeing her face like that made me feel even more embarrassed, so I averted my gaze from her again.

The outlet mall we were going to visit was built adjacent to the station where we had just gotten off.
There was a direct passage from the station, and it didn’t take much time to get around.

As soon as we arrived at our destination, Ayano-san took the lead and charged into the mall without any time to rest.
Sakakibara was conversing happily with her as she led him by the arm, while Mashiro and I followed the path they had paved.

Ayano-san had been to this place before and seemed to have some idea of the stores she wanted to visit.
The first place we entered was an apparel store, a usual shopping destination.
Inside the store, there was a wide selection of women’s clothing, some seasonal, some unique.

“Come on, come on. You can’t stay attached to your boyfriend forever.”
“I-I wasn’t trying to…”

Naturally, there was no room for Sakakibara and me in the crowd of women’s clothing, so Ayano-san and Mashiro were left alone to shop.
Ayano-san took Mashiro, who had been holding hands with me up until that point, and forced her to leave my side.

I had been holding hands with her with a feeling of petty embarrassment, but now that we were apart, I felt a little sad.
It was both a protective ego and a shameful thing for a man to do, but I couldn’t help but be aware of the sensation of my palms getting colder and colder.

However, as Mashiro’s guardian, it would not be good for her if I were to act like a fool. In that sense, Ayano-san’s presence was very crucial to me.

“Is today’s outfit your own taste?”
“Ah, um, this is…by Satou-san.”
“Hmm~, I see…”

Ayano-san, who had been asking Mashiro a question, turned to me with a grin.
As I mentioned this morning, Mashiro’s outfit today was the first outfit I’ve given her as a gift.
Regardless of my taste, the outfit fits with Mashiro perfectly.

I’ve never had the chance to have someone else evaluate it before, but at least it didn’t seemed too bad from Ayano-san’s view.
Though the smirk on her face was quite annoying, of course, it was better to have a friend of the same sex choose it for Mashiro than an amateur like me.

“Satou-kun is the type of person who likes that kind of neatness, but I thought he would take different approach~”
“I-I can’t…”

Stop it, don’t tell Mashiro strange things.
And Mashiro-san, who took your words to heart and looked at me with an indescribable expression, please don’t do that either.

After I received a very unpleasant punishment, the two girls went into the back of the store.
Sakakibara and I were left behind, but since we were both their lovers, we couldn’t help but follow them.

“Girlfriend, this! I think this will definitely look good on you!”
“Wa, isn’t this a bit too flashy?”
“No, it’s not, it’s fine!”
“It’s still really too flashy.”

When I see Mashiro talking to someone other than myself, I feel strange.
I realized that Mashiro was just a normal girl. I also realize that I have not been able to give her the life that a normal girl leads.

Mashiro always tells me that she was happy. That made me more than happy, but the reality was that there are still restrictions in her life.
I hope that events like today’s could contribute a little to Mashiro’s free way of life…

I thought about this as I watched her smiling happily.