The 12th of March came and just as planned, Shin woke us up by 11 AM through a phone call, a bombardment of phone calls. As per Shin's plan, we should meet near Yokohama Arena by 2 PM to get food and scout the area just in case that the artists are lurking around in disguise before the actual concert.
Yukino told me to come over by 12:30 to have lunch with her uncle at their house. This is actually perfect since I'll be picking her up anyway later.
I took a quick shower and put on some clothes. My fashion sense is actually improving thanks to the guidance of Yukino. I wore an oversized black shirt and a white cargo pants, pairing it with my jordans. I looked at the mirror and wore my piercings and necklace. I got a piercing a few days ago as Yukino suggested that I would look even better if I had one. So I got a piercing on my left ear.
Before leaving my apartment, I grabbed my gift for Yukino which I already bought a while back. I might have not thought about the surprise myself but I'm proud that I was the one who thought about this gift. I put it in my pocket before going out.
I left the apartment and started my motorcycle as I made my way to Yukino's house for lunch. As I was riding with my helmet on, I noticed that some of my hair was being blown by the wind. Did I forget to tie it before leaving? I guess I did. I look cool this way anyway so this will do for the meantime.
I arrived at around 12:20 PM. As I was about to ring the doorbell, the door opened as if Yukino already knew that I was there.
"Were you watching me through the peephole?"
"Yeah! I wanted to surprise you."
"Is that so?"
Yukino looked at me for a few seconds like waiting for me to say something. I guess she's wondering if I'm going to greet her on her birthday but I purposely didn't so she seemed disappointed and just let me in.
But, did she not keep it a secret? If I didn't ask uncle about her birthday, I wouldn't have known anyway. What's wrong with her? Well she's cute pouting and this works better for my plan so I don't mind.
We made our way to the dining room and saw uncle already sitting but not touching the food just yet as if waiting for me.
"What took you so long?" Uncle asked.
"Wasn't I early?"
"As you can see, the food's all ready, so take your seat."
The three of us sat at the table and began eating.
"Itadakimasu" We said in unison.
I wonder who cooked this lunch. It was made really well. Like it was ordered from a restaurant. The table was filled with food such as Tempura, Tonkotsu, and some vegetables for sides. I wonder if uncle cooked these.
"Uncle, are you the one who made these?"
"Yes. Do you have any complaints? I'm pretty sure I cooked it to perfection so if there's any problem, you are the problem, not my cooking."
Wow. That's some confidence. But I understand very well where this confidence is coming from. After all, the food is really good. A 10/10 for sure.
"No, it was really delicious, like it was from a top-class restaurant."
"Uncle's a chef you know? At a 5-star hotel." Said Yukino.
"Former" Added uncle.
"Really? No wonder your cooking is really good! That explains it. But, former? Do you not cook as a chef anymore?"
"I'm just taking a bit of a break from cooking. I'm saving money to open up a new restaurant so once that happens, make sure you come and buy my food."
"Yeah sure! I wish you luck uncle."
Uncle smiled and we continued eating.
After eating, Yukino went to prepare for a little while and we prepared to make our way on to Yokohama Arena. We waved uncle goodbye and went on our way.
"Take care you guys!" Said uncle waving.
I wonder if we'll make it on time. It's already 1 PM after all. I hope there's not much traffic on our way there.
Just as I've thought of that. There it is, traffic. There was a traffic jam about 20 minutes away from Yokohama station because of a small accident. Two cars bumped into each other but there are no major injuries thankfully.
"I guess we'll be late for that area scouting huh?" Said I.
"Yeah, Shin will get mad at us for sure haha."
The two of us laughed as we accepted the inevitable outcome that Shin will give us an earful later.
By 2:30 PM, we arrived at the meeting place in front of the Yokohama Arena. We slowly made our way to the group as Shin glared at us waiting for us restlessly to come near her.
"Am I not clear on the time?" Asked Shin.
"There was a traffic jam. A small accident took place when we were on our way here. We couldn't do anything about it." I explained the situation but there's no calming down Shin right now.
"Oh really? I'm glad you two are safe."
What? She actually understood the reason? That's surprising knowing Shin. I guess being in a relationship with Haruto actually improved her open mindedness. I looked at Haruto and sneaked a thumbs up which confused him.
We made our way to a restaurant nearby to grab some quick lunch. The others ordered food but Yukino and I decided to just get coffee.
"Aren't you guys going to eat?" Asked Hina.
"We ate at my house so we're good. We're still full so don't mind us."
While we were eating, I texted to the group chat where Yukino isn't included to remind them about the surprise.
"Did you guys bring the props for later?" I texted.
"Yeah! Let's just hope that you don't get nervous later." Replied Haruto as the others let out a small laugh that seemed to confuse Yukino for a bit.
"Why are you guys laughing?" Asked Yukino.
"N-nothing!" Said Haruto.
"Really? That's weird."
"You're really weird Haruto! Just keep on eating your f-food!" Added Arata, still visibly panicking.
"You guys are acting weird." Said Yukino, still confused as to why the group let out a laugh earlier. I just hope that she doesn't get too suspicious to the point where she would insist on asking us.