( Takeyama POV )
I fixed my hair in the mirror. Should I expose my piercings when I go out today.....?
I mean, they're closing up bit by bit anyways. I haven't worn anything on them in a while because it feels weird whenever I touch my ear.
But maybe today, I'll do a good deed and honor Daisuke-san.
"What's with this trend anyways....." I muttered to myself, as I latched on a pair of earrings I had received from my butler. "I'm not a delinquent, yet I'm wearing these....."
I accidentally pinched my earlobe.
"Ouch," I twitched in annoyance. I stared at the red mark I had so gracefully made on my ear. "Great, now I look like I'm perpetually blushing....."
"These don't look good....."
I took off the earrings, and put them back in the black box that I kept for such occasions. They came few and rare, but they did.
"This one....."
I pulled out a simple hanging earring. It had a simple yet funky vibe to it, so I decided to experiment with it. I'd never worn this one before, so it must have been a part of the gift box that Daisuke-san had bestowed upon me before entering campus.
"Alright, this one."
I put on the earring.
Jesus Christ, this one is a bit heavy. But it's not unmanageable.
I wrapped my scarf around, and put on a navy blue trench coat. I stared at the reflection in the mirror.
Looking pretty good, not gonna lie.
I flipped out my dorm keys, and walked out of the room, headed towards Seven Hills.
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I've been getting a lot of stares. Maybe I should have left those earrings at home.
Everything was fine until a first-year Class D girl fainted across the street with a nosebleed, and she had to be carried away by her friends, who were more interested in me than their friend anyways.
I shuffled down the snowy street, walking at a brisk pace towards my destination. I hadn't checked the group chat in a while, but we were supposed to meet at around 12 noon. I don't think the time changed.
I turned the last left, and the majestic view of Seven Hills came into picture. It took me a while to register that we were actually hanging out at the Seven Hills. The spot where you go only when you're completely loaded with Private Points.
I shook my head, and stood by the entrance. Looks like I'm the first one to be here.....
I quickly opened up the group chat on my phone.
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## Operation Peri-Peri ##
Target:
I'm here. Are you guys coming or not?
Agent Kei:
I'm sorry Keisuke, but something really important came up! I need to attend this! Same goes for Hirata-kun and Maya-chan!
Agent Maya:
We're really sorry Takeyama-kun! I hope we can hang out sometime later once again 🤧🤧
Target:
..... you're kidding me. Commander Yosuke?
Commander Yosuke:
Unfortunately it's true, Keisuke. We received a really important notice. I hope we can make it up to you at a later date!
Target:
..... The Package?
The Package:
Hiiya Kei-chan~~ I'll be coming, so you won't be alone!
Target:
So just the two of us then, huh?
The Package:
Yup! Just the two of us~~
Target:
You guys better have a good reason to bail out on us like this.
Agent Kei:
🤓
Agent Maya:
🤓
Commander Yosuke:
🤓
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( Chiaki POV )
I walked down the snowy streets. I was staring at my phone, and felt a pang of joy clutch my chest when I realized that the plan really was working.
Thank you, Kei, Maya, Hirata!
On the other side of the street, I saw a Class D student..... being supported by 2 of her friends? Did she get hurt or something? Wait, is that a nosebleed?
Whatever.
I turned the last corner, and headed towards the board 'Seven Hills'. I searched around for Kei-chan. He said that he had already arrived, so he must be---
Poof!
As soon as my eyes fell on a certain person, my mind went blank.
And from the looks of it, every single female in the area had gone blank, and were absentmindedly staring at the man who was leaning in front of the billboard, staring into the snow.
He was wearing black jeans and brown boots, topped with a classy navy-blue trench coat. He completed the look with a dark scarf. But what stood out the most were his dangling earrings, something that he rarely wears. I've only seen him use his piercings once or twice when I was in his room, but I didn't know he actually had such fancy accessories.
Even though he was my best friend, and the closest I've ever been to a person, I couldn't muster up the courage to walk up to him. I felt like such an outsider at the thought of interacting with someone so handsome.
No, Chiaki! Get a grip! He's your friend, but the goal is to take it to the next level! And today is the day I finally score a date with him!
I tightened my fists, and stopped my legs from shaking with nervousness as much as I could. I took in a deep breath, and walked towards Kei-chan.
He didn't seem to notice me, as he blissfully stared at the snow, completely ignoring the obvious stares he was receiving from literally all age groups.
"K-Kei-chan!" I blurted out.
Shit! I stuttered! What a way to ruin your first impression, Chiaki!
He turned to look at me. I stared at his beautiful eyes in awe.
"Hello Chiaki. Good that at least you came," he said in a voice that clearly indicated how irritated he was by everyone walking out on him. Well, I guess I would be pretty pissed if someone pulled off this on me as well.....
"O-of course! I wouldn't leave my Kei-chan hanging now, would I?" I said with a pout. He stared at me for a good few seconds, before cracking a smile.
Oh god that smile. I could see another first year fainting a few meters away.
I tried to keep my cool, but it took every ounce of my willpower to do so.
"Thank you," he said warmly. "Well, there's no point in cancelling the event, so we might as well enjoy ourselves now, right?"
"Yes!" I beamed, and he beckoned me to follow.
"I've already booked a table for two," he replied. "Let's go in, it's quite cold outside."
He held out his hand.
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Wait, held out his hand?
W-w-wait, is he a-asking me to hold his hand!?
My brain went into overdrive. What was I supposed to do? I could feel threatening stares from strangers I had never met before in my life!
"Chiaki?"
I heard him call out my name, and he stared at me cluelessly, his hand still outstretched towards me. I gulped.
Mustering all the courage I ever could in one go, I slowly latched onto his hand.
Even with the gloves we were wearing, I could feel the heat of his body. I could feel the strong grip that he had on me, as though he didn't want to let me go. I internally screamed, and hoped that this moment would last forever.
"L-let's go," I managed to stutter, and he led me on into the posh diner. Even the waitresses were staring at him. This is so surreal!
"Right this way, sir, ma'am," the waitress clambered up to us, and she led us to our table. It was a good spot in the corner, overlooking the snowy streets outside. The warmth of the diner allowed me to take off my scarf.
We sat down opposite to each other.
Oh my god, everyone is staring at this table.
I kinda knew we were going to be the center of attention, but this is far too much from what I had expected. Like seriously, I have no idea how Kei-chan even deals with all of this. Do people always stare at him like this?
Plus, according to the newest rankings, Kei-chan is numero uno in the entire school. The results were a collection of votes across all school years, so the rankings were quite authentic.
Probably why everyone is staring at him so hard.
"What should we order?" he asked me nonchalantly, as he flipped through the menu. "I was thinking of something hot and spicy, like a sizzler maybe..... what about you?"
"Hmm....." I stared at the menu as well. There are so many cuisines I can order from! Probably why this restaurant is so famous around here. It also explains the incredible price tag attached with each dish.
"I'll..... I'll g-go with a sizzler as well," I spoke up, and Kei-chan merely hummed.
"Sure."
After placing our orders, we sat in silence on the table.
Oh no, why is it so quiet!?
Am I boring him? I mean, there were supposed to be 5 people here, so obviously Kei-chan doesn't know what to talk about! Maybe I should initiate the conversation? But what I come across as too forceful? Besides, Kei-chan doesn't think of this as a date, only I do. He thinks of this as an outing between friends!
Maybe I should ask him about his life before this school?
Now that I think about it, I don't know anything about Kei-chan.
Like, absolutely nothing. Zero. He never talks about his past, and I've never asked him either. He did tell me that he went to a very normal middle school once though.....
"Hey, Kei-chan?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you have a sibling?"
Kei-chan scrunched up his eyebrows. "A sibling? Where did that come from?"
"I'm just curious!"
"Why don't you take a wild guess?"
How typical. He threw back my own question, and now I have no choice but to give some answer.
"I'd say yes. You look like the big brother type, for some reason."
He smiled a bit.
"Well, you got me there."
I widened my eyes.
"Wait, you have a sibling!?"
"An imouto."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT BEFORE!?"
"You never asked, Chiaki," was his bored reply, and he stared outside at the snow. "It isn't that important now, is it?"
I stared at Kei-chan with slit-like eyes.
Seriously, if he's gonna keep hiding such important stuff from his best friend-soon-turning-girlfriend.....
"What's she like?"
Kei-chan closed his eyes, as though deep in thought.
"How do I put this..... she's annoying and a pain in the ass, but she's really cute."
"Wait, you don't have any other words to describe your imouto?"
"Nope."
Alright, this conversation is going nowhere. I don't think Kei-chan is gonna tell me anything more. I'll milk more information out of him a bit later, I guess.
"So, Kei-chan, how were your holidays?" I tried to be as natural as possible.
"Boring without you."
Poof! x2
My mouth opened up into a big 'O', and I blushed. Blushed incredibly hard.
How does he do that with such a straight face?!
I tried to speak out, but the words were caught in my throat.
"You know how eventful it's been right? It's not exactly private," he continued, and he stared at me.
I closed my mouth, and thought back to what he meant.
Of course. He was talking about the big news of the school at the moment — the headline on the school forum, which clearly said 'Keisuke Takeyama beats up Kakeru Ryuuen'.
But I don't understand. I know for a fact that Kei-chan wasn't the one who posted this message. Then who was it?
"I've been given some unnecessary attention here," he continued. "I didn't want this to escalate so far. Ryuuen and I had a deal, that we would keep this fight a secret from the rest of the grade. But it was exposed. Now that it has been exposed, Ryuuen has no incentive to form a collaboration with me in the future. I've lost a trump card."
I silently contemplated the situation.
In other words, as long as Kei-chan had this information captive, he could use it as leverage to either gain Ryuuen-kun's support, or use it as a weapon against him in the future. However, now that it has been exposed, it doesn't hold any value. Ryuuen-kun isn't scared of the leakage now.
But does that mean Ryuuen-kun himself was the one who posted this message?
Or was it someone else?
"You're thinking whether Ryuuen was the one who posted this or not, right?" he suddenly asked. I nodded. I'll never understand how Kei-chan always knows what the other person is thinking of.
"It's not Ryuuen," he replied decisively. "There's absolutely no point for Ryuuen to post this. Even if he believes that he can use it as a way to oust himself from helping me, it will still inevitably do him more harm than good. Drowning your reputation now to preserve whatever of it is left in the future? Ryuuen isn't that type of man."
"Then who is it?" I urged. "You definitely have some idea, right?"
He stared at me for a solid 5 seconds, before sighing. "No, I don't know. I'm not sure who it is."
I decided not to pursue the topic any further. He doesn't seem too comfortable talking about the details.
"Anyways, we're here to have fun, aren't we?" he said, and he leaned forward on the table. "Might as well do that instead."
That was so incredibly suggestive!
I gulped.
Yeah, we might as well have some fun.....
"Umm Kei-chan..... you were with..... Sakayanagi-san 2 days before..... right?" I asked nervously. I needed to know!
He narrowed his eyes. "Oh, that? We're childhood friends."
.....
Huh?
Kei-chan and Sakayanagi-san..... are childhood friends?
"Don't tell me you didn't know that?"
"Wait, how was I supposed to know that!?" I squealed indignantly. "You never told me!"
"Well, cat's out of the bag now," he said lazily. Our sizzlers arrived as well. "We're childhood friends. So we're quite close."
"That's what it's about....." I sighed in ease. Phew! So they weren't dating or anything. I don't even know what I would have done in that case.
"You jealous?"
I perked up at his question. He was staring at me devilishly, with a devious smile on his face.
Oh, I wanna punch that smug grin outta his face so bad.....
"And why would I be jealous?" I fired back.
"I don't know, I was kidding," he said hastily. "Calm down, woman. Here, have a sizzler."
He poked his fork into my sizzler, and blew on it a bit.
He then shoved it into my mouth.
Poof! x3
Did K-Kei-chan..... just feed me?
Oh my god he fed me with his fork!
HIS FORK!
I could feel my insides get all gooey and mushy from embarrassment and happiness. He just fed me!
"Chiaki? Let go of the fork please."
I blinked. I was still biting onto the fork, and Kei-chan was staring at me, waiting for me to let go of it.
"I'm so s-s-sorry!" I mumbled, after letting go of the fork. Oh my god, this is so embarrassing!
Kei-chan laughed it off. I stared at him, completely mesmerized.
Oh god I want him to tie me up and gag---
Stop!
NO!
No horni!
I smiled to myself. Instead of being horny, maybe I should just enjoy the time that I spend with him. Even if this isn't really a 'real date', it's still something.
The two of us continued our conversation for over 2 hours.
It would be an underestimation to say that this has been the best day of my life.
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