"So you got to help me out, Kazuki," Kenji pleaded, looking rather desperate. "With implications like that, I'm going to lose my value as a man, or worse! Seriously, Sakura must think I'm worthless." He buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply. "No ounce of romance left in me... Who knows, she's probably right," he complained. "I'm pathetic."

Kazuki put down the cup he had been drying and picked up another. "But..." He contemplated Kenji's five-minute rant, which was apparently finally over for now. "So what she's basically saying is that you work too much and don't pay attention to... uh, things?" He was fairly certain he had, himself, used a couple of those complaints that Sakura had - according to Kenji - shouted at him, although the target in his case had been Soushi and it had been about Soushi overworking.

"Take her out on a date," Akira, working behind Kazuki putting away plates, cut in on the conversation. Kenji raised his head and looked thoughtful as if something had just dawned to him, and Kazuki smiled and continued his task of drying the dishes. There was a moment of silence, then Akira finished his work, turned around and looked at the other two. "Dates are the essence of romance or something," he continued with a shrug. "That's what Hiroto was saying, anyway."

Kenji rubbed his chin. "A date," he mused. "That's 'paying attention' is it not, and romantic on top of that." A smile rose to his face, and Kazuki glanced at him, a little curious. "Say," Kenji asked, looking at him. "What are the best dating spots on the island right now?"

Kazuki gave him a confused look. "Huh? How would I know?"

"Some of the high schoolers come here, don't they?" Kenji pondered. "Wait, we eat here often enough, I can't bring Sakura to Rakuen. We're talking about date here, so it needs to be special and not something we do often anyway. Needs to be some other place... What would work? Maybe I should ask Hiroto."

"Hiroto? Wait, now that I think of it..." Kazuki commented. He looked to his side where Akira was taking off his apron. "Say, Akira, wasn't Hiroto making some TV special about Tatsumiya Island dating spots? You were here last weekend shooting something, weren't you?"

Akira put the apron away and nodded. "Yeah, it's going to be a Valentine's Day special program."

"Something like that," Kazuki said. "Hiroto was narrating on and on about how Rakuen is small and perfect for couples to cuddle in, and he was making up all kinds of ridiculous stuff about the food I make." Kenji seemed amused, and Kazuki rolled his eyes. "Oh and he insisted on filming me while I was cutting up vegetables, and it was embarrassing."

"Mr. Mizoguchi did say it was good publicity," Akira pointed out.

Kazuki looked bothered. "Yeah, to the camera too, and told Hiroto to film me all he wants." He shook his head. "Really, everyone on the island knows about Rakuen, so I don't think we really need advertising." He turned to look at Kenji. "Anyway, Hiroto said about filming in some other places too. I do recall The People's Restaurant being mentioned, and something about a beach... Which beach, that I don't know, and it really isn't the season for beach dates anyway."

"The People's Restaurant is totally Hiroto being partial," Kenji stated. "But what else? Akira, what other places was he planning on including on that special program of his?"

Akira looked thoughtful. "Hmm, I think he was saying something about the Alvis break room with the undersea view, at least. Not that I know how that counts as a date spot, but it'll probably make more sense once Hiroto explains it to the camera." Kenji seemed unimpressed at the location, and Kazuki silently wondered how many times he had been on a date with Soushi then if going there somehow counted as dating. "Oh, and the light house," Akira then added. "Something about picnics...?"

"Hey, that doesn't actually sound too bad," Kenji said. "A picnic! It isn't exactly cherry blossom viewing season yet, but picnics are fun anyway. I'm pretty sure Sakura's free next Sunday and I can definitely arrange it so that I don't have anything either. I should start making plans... And food is easy to arrange since I have the expert here right in front of me. This might just work out... Thanks, Akira!"

Akira looked a little embarrassed at that but then smiled a little. "Well, I'm done," he told Kazuki. "See you later!" Kazuki nodded to him and watched him head out of the café while Kenji grinned to himself, looking like he was plotting to take over Alvis. The door closed, and Kenji leaned forward on the counter and gave Kazuki an intense look.

"What?"

"I just got an even better idea," Kenji said with a smirk on his face. "I'll pay for all the food, you just make whatever you think is suitable. But let's make it a double date, so Sakura won't be bothered about me dragging her somewhere." Kazuki looked like he wasn't really following, and Kenji sighed. "You know, the type of a date where I bring someone and you bring someone?"

"...Oh," Kazuki mumbled. "Wait, why do I have to...?"

"You're my friend, aren't you?" Kenji begged. "Who am I going to ask then? I don't want Sakura getting angry at me because of a date," he groaned. "That would be worse than what the situation currently is." Kazuki looked a little thoughtful at that as he had to admit Kenji might've been right about that part. "Come on, it'll be fun," Kenji added. "Right?"

"Well, I guess?" Kazuki agreed.

"Good then. Next Sunday, I'll get back to you on the exact time, and you have free hands when it comes to the food." Kenji emptied what was left of his cup of coffee, which was probably getting cold by now considering how long he had been sitting here. "You shouldn't have much trouble getting a date when half the island wouldn't mind going out with you," Kenji added with a smirk. "Anyway, I'll call you later!" He got up and headed out of Rakuen, leaving the somewhat troubled Kazuki behind.

Food he could arrange, and perhaps some dessert, but what was that about half the island?

That Sunday afternoon, with the lunch hour well out of the way and Mizoguchi aware that Kazuki would be gone for hours, Kazuki was finishing his picnic basket preparations when Kenji showed up. "All ready?" Kenji asked after the token greetings were out of the way. "Sakura is waiting outside with our ride. What do you have?"

"Sandwiches, chicken, vegetables, onigiri, some snack food, and cakes for dessert," Kazuki listed. "Sound good?"

"Excellent," Kenji told him. "I've got everything else we need, so unless you want to bring an extra blanket or two, you don't have to worry about those," he added. He then took a look around. "I don't see your date, though. Did you..." At that point he trailed off, realizing Kazuki had turned to look towards the end of the counter by the window where Soushi was enjoying a cup of coffee, and raised a hand to his face. "Kazuki..."

Kazuki looked back at him. "Uh... is there a problem?"

"Don't tell me that's your date," Kenji said. Soushi turned to look at the two like he was missing something important, and Kazuki just looked confused. "That's Soushi."

"Um... obviously," Kazuki replied, not really understanding what the big deal about it was. "You told me it's a double date and I'm supposed to bring someone. You were also babbling strange stuff about half the island, but who was I supposed to ask, then? You didn't exactly specify, and I'm comfortable asking Soushi."

Kenji waved his hand at Kazuki. "Look, I was thinking that you'd have enough sense to ask, I don't know, maybe Maya or... You know, Canon," he ranted. "But no, instead you ask your long-time boyfriend! Yeah, figures."

"Canon?" Kazuki questioned. That 'boyfriend' implication Kenji was making made him a little bothered, and he was still having trouble understanding why Soushi wasn't a good choice. All right, maybe Canon had been a better one considering they were trying to make Sakura comfortable, but unfortunately, asking Canon would have most likely made things awkward in more than one way. "Ah... I guess," he finally said. "I mean, she is Sakura's friend and all that..."

"I'm Sakura's friend too," Soushi interrupted him. "So I don't really see what the problem here is."

At that point there was a sound from the door, and they all turned to look at the newcomer. It was Sakura, who had obviously gotten tired of waiting. "So what's the hold-up?" She inquired, looking at Kenji. "You said you were just going to get Kazuki and his date, and..."

Kenji looked a little desperate. "Well, ah, you see, it just turns out Kazuki is a blockhead as always and his date is..." He nodded towards Soushi, who had gotten up from his bar stool.

"Oh, isn't this a fun little double date," Sakura sneered at him. "It turns out I'm going out with three guys, then?"

"Well, unfortunately I don't own any dresses," Soushi told her. "Though I doubt me wearing one would've made much of a difference."

There was a moment of silence, then Sakura burst out laughing. Kenji was busy staring at Soushi with this absolutely bewildered expression on his face, while Kazuki looked at Soushi a little questioningly, not really sure if he was joking or not. Soushi's sense of humor was a little strange, after all. "Heh, all right then," Sakura said once she had recovered from her laughing fit. "Soushi it is. Although," she then added with a bit of a smile. "I thought it's Kazuki wearing the apron when it comes to the two of you."

"I'm...?" Kazuki started, then realized he did have an apron on. "Oh! Well, I'm done with the packing, so let's go, eh?" He took the apron off, picked up the two baskets full of food and dishes and headed for the door. Kenji gave him this odd side-ways glance like he had missed something very obvious when he passed, but he didn't think much of it.

After getting a ride to their destination, they found themselves a nice spot by the lighthouse with shelter from the light sea wind. The weather was mostly clear, and though it was still a little chilly due to the season, it wasn't too bad especially considering they had blankets and hand warmers with them. They set up everything, looked at the view for a bit and sat down to eat.

"At least the food is good," Sakura commented after finishing a piece of yakitori. "The company is currently a little quiet, though."

Soushi opened a sandwich pack. "I doubt anyone is interested in talking about work on a day off, so maybe we should think of something else to talk about." He took a bite of the sandwich, then looked a little surprised. "Ah. You certainly went through some trouble with these, Kazuki; this is incredible."

"Ah..." Kazuki gave him an embarrassed smile, not sure if there was actually anything special about the food. Maybe he had unconsciously made it more carefully than usual? Having Soushi compliment his cooking was nice, though.

They ate in silence for a moment, then Kenji looked around. "I wonder what exactly makes this such a good dating spot, though?" He wondered aloud. "I mean, sure, this is a nice picnic spot, but..." He shrugged. "Hmm, maybe the view? But if you want a sea view the shrine would be a better choice... Maybe it's the remote location? Wait, if this was supposed to be on Hiroto's TV special, how come it's not crowded here then?"

"Akira said it's a Valentine's Day special, remember?" Kazuki reminded him. "So it hasn't aired yet."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura inquired, and both Kenji and Kazuki looked at her then at each other. Kazuki had enough sense to figure out that Kenji had apparently left out the part about where and why he had heard about this location as a date spot, so maybe it was better not to talk about it further.

"Oh, it's nothing," Kenji said. "Here, try an onigiri, these are tasty."

"Very tasty," Soushi seconded him, having moved onto an onigiri after the sandwich. "Speaking of Hiroto, what did you think of his latest technology program? I quite liked it."

Sakura tilted her head. "Oh? Didn't think you were the type to watch Hiroto's ridiculous TV shows." She took a bite of the onigiri Kenji had handed her, and from what Kazuki could tell, she seemed pleased with the taste. "Technology program huh... Wasn't that the one about some ridiculous made-up technology facts aimed at kids?" She continued. "It was quite hilarious."

Soushi gave her a bit of a look. "I can guarantee you those were not made up, seeing I was the technical advisor."

"The... what now?" Kazuki asked, not sure if he was supposed to be surprised or amused. He soon came to the conclusion that it was more of the latter. "Maybe I should check this one out. Soushi must be listed on the credits, too."

"Of course," Soushi stated matter-of-factly.

Now that the conversation had drifted towards Hiroto's numerous TV shows, time seemed to pass pleasantly. Kazuki noted that Sakura appeared relaxed, and Kenji more or less relieved. Perhaps it meant he wouldn't have to listen to another five-minute speech like the other day anytime soon - not that he minded listening to his friend's worries, but Kenji was, in Kazuki's opinion, slightly overreacting on the matter. Soushi was usually rather calm whenever Kazuki pointed out anything about overworking or such, but maybe their relationship wasn't exactly comparable.

"Well, that was a nice meal," Sakura said after she was finished with her food. "Good work there, Kazuki!"

"Um, it was really nothing special," Kazuki tried, but Kenji gave him a quick poke on the side. "I mean... Glad you liked it!" He quickly added. "There's still plenty left plus a bunch of snacks, not to mention the dessert." He picked up a box and opened it. "Look at these cute cake slices. I actually got a discount from Mikado for some reason when I said it was for a date..."

Kenji patted him on the back. "Maybe, just maybe there is a reason for that." He grinned. "But never mind that! Are those all different flavor? Which one would you like, Sakura?"

"I don't have any preference, so I'll take any," Sakura told him. "Let Kazuki choose." Since there were no objections to that, Kazuki put each cake slice on a plate and handed them over to the others without really looking at what was what. His was brown and had chocolate decorations, and he figured it was probably chocolate flavor.

"Strawberry," Soushi stated after eating a piece. "Pretty good."

Kazuki took a bite of his, only to find it wasn't plain chocolate as the flavor had a bit of coffee mixed in it. "Ah, I should have given this to you instead, Soushi," he commented. "It's got mild coffee flavor. Want to try?" He held up his fork with a bit of the cake on it and offered it in Soushi's direction.

Soushi leaned closer and ate it, and Kazuki smiled happily at the sight of Soushi's approving nod as he enjoyed the flavor. Soushi took a moment to finish the bite. "Absolutely delicious," he told Kazuki. "Thank you."

"Oh, look at those two," Sakura said with a smirk. She ate a bit of her cake and then turned to look in Kenji's direction. "So how come you aren't feeding me like that," she teased him. "Isn't this a date?"

"What? I thought you were fine with any flavor..." Kenji started. He earned a glare for that, and grinned innocently. "Do you want me to? This has banana flavor in it."

Kazuki suddenly got this feeling like he had missed something again, but since he didn't know what it was, he decided it was better to ignore. "Want to switch?" He asked Soushi, motioning towards the slice of cake. "I don't particularly mind what type of cake I have, and you seemed to like this one better."

"I definitely wouldn't mind doing so, but I already ate two thirds of mine while you have half of yours left," Soushi stated. "But maybe I could..." He moved closer to Kazuki, put his plate down next to Kazuki's, arranged them so the cakes were set similarly and looked at them for a while. "If I cut from there..." Kenji rolled his eyes at that while Kazuki held back from commenting on Soushi's rather adorable awkward mannerism. Sakura seemed amused by it, at least.

While Soushi was still fussing over getting Kazuki's cake piece cut, Kazuki thought he heard something from the side. Someone... talking? It was only momentary, though, and he shrugged it off and returned his attention to Soushi being absolutely precious, and Kenji trying to convince Sakura to eat a bit of his cake. Kenji was managing, more or less, and Sakura stopped playing hard to get and snatched the piece from his fork.

There it was, that sound of someone talking again, and Kazuki turned to look. "And once the Spring comes- A-ha, but wait! Looks like this date spot is already popular! My, isn't that our school doctor feeding the ever-lovable Ms. Kaname some dessert? What a perfect showcase of romance, right there! And on the side, who is this mysterious beauty our ace pilot has asked out..."

Kazuki just stared at the narrator - Hiroto, naturally - with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Everyone else turned to look as well, only to discover Hiroto talking to a camera, and Akira as his cameraman.

"Oh, but it's the island's very own tactical genius, Soushi Minashiro!" Hiroto motioned towards Soushi. "Well, this is a surprise. Or is it really, considering the special relationship between him and Kazuki over there..." He walked closer while the group was still just staring. "But it certainly is starting to look like my intelligence on this date spot was, so to speak, spot on." He leaned closer and moved the microphone towards the group. "So what's the occasion, may I ask?"

Sakura was the fastest to recover. "And what if it's just a bunch of friends hanging out?" She inquired.

"Is that so?" Hiroto asked. "It definitely doesn't look like that to me."

"It's a double date," Soushi informed him. "Or so I was told when Kazuki asked me to come with him, and later confirmed by Sakura. I don't see why that would interest you, though."

Hiroto grinned. "But of course it does! This is one of the hottest dating spots on Tatsumiya Island, and it just happens that even on the day when I come to film it, somebody is out here! This only serves as proof that my information was correct."

Kenji glanced at Kazuki, then looked at Hiroto. "Now just wait a minute. That sure is awfully convenient for you, huh? Surely you weren't expecting to find us here, or..." He trailed off, his eyes fixed on Hiroto's cameraman. "Or maybe you were, after all." He got up slowly. "Akira... Just for the record, I am going to kill you."

Akira looked a little taken aback, but Hiroto stepped in front of him. "Oopsie, we're going to have to cut that part out. Can't have that on a family program."

Sakura caught on quick. "So that's what the Valentine's Day program talk before was," she pondered. "Well then, should I let Kenji handle you, or should I just join him? I might be faster at beating the hell out of you two."

"This wasn't my idea, honest!" Akira claimed. "I just... might have mentioned that conversation we had a few days back in Rakuen, since it was Hiroto's unaired program we were talking about, and..." Kenji took a step towards him, and he moved backwards. "Please, I didn't...!"

Hiroto sighed. "Could you guys sit down so we could get a proper interview, here? We can't film you looking all angry when this is clearly a happy occasion."

Sakura was giving him a bit of a glare, Soushi didn't seem to be phased at all, and Kazuki decided he needed to do something since nobody else was stopping the bloodshed. He got on his feet and patted Kenji on the shoulder to calm him down. "I'm sure they didn't mean any harm... Um, can you put that camera away, though?" He asked Akira. "I don't really..."

"You don't have to worry about it, since I'm going to have to edit this anyway," Hiroto assured him. "I can keep your appearance to the minimum if it's bothering you."

"I don't recall agreeing to an interview," Kenji hissed. He returned to where he has been sitting previously and raided the collection of snacks they had with them, muttering something about Hiroto and his stupid TV shows under his breath.

"Oh why not," Sakura said with a bit of a smile. "But no funny business. And I think I heard you narrate something about Kenji feeding me...? That is not going on TV. I definitely don't mind the 'lovable Ms. Kaname' part, but the rest was embarrassing."

Hiroto lowered his head in defeat, but then looked at her. "Fine, fine. I take it we need to redo the part where we caught Kazuki feeding his mystery date Soushi as well, then?" Kazuki's face went pale at that, and he plopped down next to Soushi, suddenly awfully interested in whether or not Soushi had managed to cut the cake into perfectly matching size.

"Tune down on the 'romantic double date' part a little and you'll be fine," Sakura instructed. "Though I guess Soushi wouldn't mind if you interview him on that."

"What?" Soushi asked, looking like he had missed - or ignored - part of the conversation. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Here," he picked up his plate, now with a small piece of Kazuki's cake added on it, and offered it to Kazuki. "My strawberry cake." Kazuki accepted the plate with a slightly nervous grin, trying his best to pretend Hiroto and Akira weren't there.

Sakura smiled. "Never mind. Anyway, I'm going to be checking your interview recording, so keep it nice and family-friendly."

Hiroto nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Kazuki was definitely relieved when they eventually made it back to Rakuen. At least Hiroto had kept his promise about keeping him mostly out of the camera, and the so-called interview had mostly been about their opinions on the view and how enjoyable picnics were. Kenji had also softened up, and even bragged about how he had gotten a hint about the location from a "trust-worthy" source.

"That went well in the end," Kenji said, helping Kazuki carry the empty baskets in the back. He set down the baskets on the counter for Kazuki to handle. "Well, assuming Hiroto doesn't redo the whole thing and rant about romance there..."

"None of that is going on TV before I see his edits," Sakura reminded him. Soushi helped her sit down then took a seat by the counter himself. "Valentine's Day special, huh," Sakura continued once seated. "I guess I should trust Hiroto to listen to his teachers, though, and expect him to not embarrass us."

Kazuki sorted through the empty dishes and whatever else while the others relaxed a bit. He had actually made a little too much food, but they had given Hiroto and Akira a few sandwiches, and afterwards Kazuki had managed to talk Soushi into taking the leftovers on the excuse of 'you don't eat enough' - which Kenji agreed with for some reason.

"But hey, I told you it'd be fun, didn't I?" Kenji said, looking at Kazuki, now from the other side of the counter. "We should do that again sometime! But this time we make sure to stay out of Hiroto's 'popular' date spots and go somewhere else."

"Am I invited?" Soushi asked, though Kazuki wasn't sure if the question was aimed at him or Kenji. "I rather enjoyed myself. I suppose I should hang out with everyone more often, and not just in Rakuen."

"Well, suppose you are," Kenji commented with a shrug. "If Kazuki decides to be dumb enough to ask you out again, that is," he added, giving Kazuki a bit of a look. "Seriously, all the options on the island and you choose Soushi as your date..."

"Why wouldn't he?" Soushi inquired. "We are dating, after all."

Kazuki's face gained a slightly pink hue and he nearly dropped the plate he was holding, but couldn't get his mouth open for any kind of a reply. Soushi just had to be blunt like that, as always.

"Looks to me that it'll be Soushi asking a certain someone out the next time," Sakura spoke with a bit of a smirk on her face. "Seriously Kazuki, you need to be a little more manly here - like Kenji - or otherwise you are going to end up wearing more than just an apron."

"I don't mind if he wears only an apron," Soushi stated in a cool tone of voice, and Kazuki could not possible blush any redder without looking like he had been sitting in the bath for hours. He concentrated on his empty plates and pretended not to see the others. Soushi had, however, managed to amuse Sakura again, and Kenji was just shaking his head.

Whatever; it certainly looked like Kenji's problems with Sakura not appreciating him as a man were over for now, but Kazuki wasn't so sure about himself. Sakura seemed to have a little strange opinion about him at the moment, but since Soushi had no complaints, he didn't really know what to think.

...What did Soushi mean with that apron comment, though?

Author's notes:

Kazuki being as clueless as ever.

Extra thanks go to Poppy because I was out of fic ideas and this was one of her suggestions. Hey, a nice excuse to write Kenji/Sakura!

- Elmina (January 2016)