After their shopping trip, the seven of them arrived back at the girl's house, sitting at the couch to try the new game that Haru had gotten for (Y/n). As they were about to play, however, she began to cry dramatically when she noticed her controller was still broken from the last time that Yamato had come over.
"Don't cry!" Rei said, trying to comfort the girl.
He and Takuya hugged the girl in hopes of getting her to smile again. Haru pouted, knowing he wouldn't get to play with her while Shota tried to figure out why she was upset due to his limited knowledge of the subject.
"Shut up, already!" Yamato groaned, "You're so annoying!"
"You're the one who broke my controller!" the girl said, pointing at him.
"And I'm the one who bought you a new one!" he snapped, throwing a box at her.
She caught it, fumbling around with it before staring at it, raising her eyebrows in skepticism. It was poorly wrapped in paper so she anticipated it was some kind of bomb. However, as she began to unwrap it, she noticed that it was a controller. He hadn't lied to her. She was grateful, but to return the favor of his constant teasing, she did the same.
"Did Masaru wrap this?" she chuckled.
"Shut up!" he blushed, "How was I supposed to know how to do that?! I just bought it at the damn mall! I didn't have a lot of time, alright? Be grateful, dumbass!"
"I am," she said softly, pulling in her knees to her chest and resting on them as she looked up at him.
Those set of actions made him blush further, grumpily sitting on the couch, his legs folded. He hadn't anticipated she was to react like that, but he was glad she did, finding it both cute and attractive. The others found it cute as well. Rei began to fuss about why she never acted that way to him.
"Please, cupcake!" he whined, "Be cute for me!"
"Cupcake?" (Y/n) repeated, turning on the controller.
"Do you like it?" he laughed, "I do! I think it suits you! C'mon, make a nickname for me! How about 'my prince'? And you could be my princess! Wouldn't you like that?"
The girl remained silent, already adapting to his goofy behaviors, and began to start the game up with Haru. While he started out much better than her, focusing intently on the task at hand, she quickly learned and despite that, ended up losing to him. Still, the brunette held a quaint smile, not disappointed in the slightest.
"Not bad," he grinned, "I haven't had anybody play me like that in a while."
"Another round," the girl declared.
He agreed, trying his best to defeat her again. When she ended up winning, he jumped up in excitement, delighted to have a rival to play with. He began to compliment her on how well she played, making her blush from the attention. As he saw that he was getting more positive responses from her, he only continued the compliments, hoping to make her think fondly of him.
"How often do you play?" he asked, eagerly awaiting an answer.
"Whenever I have time, really," she replied, shrugging.
"You must be a natural then!" he beamed, "Remember, you promised to play with me when you're free!"
The brunette went on and on about how much he was looking forward to playing with her, but Yamato swooped down and picked up the controller from him, shoving him to the side and starting up the game again. Haru threw a tantrum and had to be calmed down by Shota. Of course, "calmed down" refers to the redhead smacking him on the back of the head. He didn't say a word after that, sitting down silently with his head hanging and his legs in a criss-cross manner.
"Stop shooting me!" Yamato growled.
"It's what you're supposed to do!" the girl shouted back, "Come on, you're almost dead. Don't want me to beat you, do you?"
The boy began mashing the buttons harder, hoping it would do something. It didn't. He ended up losing, almost embarrassingly, making him pout and claim the game was rigged. In response, the girl ended up poking his cheek and teasing him.
"You've had more experience!" he claimed, crossing his arms.
"Aw," she teased, "You're so adorable when you get destroyed."
He began to pull on her hair in frustration, making her whimper. His hand quickly returned back to his side and was being observed by the boy. She had just been teasing him, something that most people wouldn't dare to do and yet she was still so fragile. He let out a gruff "sorry" before handing the controller back to Haru.
"5:17," Rei announced, holding up his phone for everyone to see, "Let's get ready."
"But I want to play another round," Haru pouted.
"If you get ready quickly, then you can play," Shota said, shoving a suit into his arms.
The boy hurried off, trying to be the first one done. Unfortunately, since he wasn't very good at doing things himself, he ended up being the last one done because Shota had to help him with his tie and buttons. The redhead really was like the mother of the group. When (Y/n) came out, fully changed into the dress Rei had gotten for her, they were all in formal suits, except for Yamato who was in a traditional kimono.
"You guys look great," she smiled.
"Not as wonderful as you!" Rei said, giving her a hug from behind, "You look like a princess!"
"And you look very punchable," Shota growled, "Hands off."
The blonde only continued to nuzzle the (h/c) haired girl, complimenting her on how beautiful she looked. However, he was shoved to the side by a male that began to brush and style her hair. He was extra careful not to harm or startle her by brushing out her hair too aggressively and told her to tell him if he was being too harsh. Really, it was just an excuse to get her attention away from the blonde.
"There," Yamato said, stepping back, "Now you won't get lip from anyone."
"That's the second time you've done that," she stated, "You're an only child, right? How come you can do hair so well?"
"My mother," he scoffed, ending the conversation, "Let's go."
When they walked outside, (Y/n) noticed that both Rei's motorcycle and Yamato's car were gone, replaced with a limousine. There were three men, bowing to the group. They held the doors open for them and while the others acted like this was normal, she was trying her best to follow the other's lead.
"To the Yanagi estate, correct, Master Shota?" an older man asked.
"Yes, Okura," the boy responded.
The car started its motion after the doors were closed and the girl had never felt so uncomfortable in a car. Of course, being his car, Shota wanted to make sure that she felt comfortable. He started a random conversation and in doing so, he made her feel much better to know that she didn't have to be formal around them.
When the car slowed down, she looked out of the window to see a large gate with two men standing there with stern postures and looks on their faces. They checked the car before nodded and opened the gates, letting the car through to a beautiful mansion's driveway. The men who helped them in the vehicle opened the doors once more and allowed them to step out of the car and onto the ground.
"Welcome," Motoko said, waving at the group, "There're our guests of honor! Come on in."
She showed them into her house to reveal a large front foyer connected to a hallway that led to the ballroom. There were already many people there, conversing and dancing as if they were born to do so. Their movements were effortless, showing just how normal this seemed to them. The overwhelming luxury that was in that one room was enough to make (Y/n) dizzy. The clinking of a glass made her snap out of it and focus on who had made the noise.
"Hello, everyone," Motoko smiled, "As you all know, I've thrown this gettogether to celebrate our new students from Jindei Private High School. Since all 25 students have arrived, we'll now commence dinner and move on to dancing later in the evening. Please, follow me this way."
Motoko placed the glass and the knife she used to grab everyone's attention on a nearby platter held by some kind of servant. Then she held her dress and curtsied, leading the mass of people to a grand table. As (Y/n) began to follow, she noticed a familiar blue-haired boy chatting to some other people as friendly as possible. She ran up to him and shyly tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. He turned his head, down to her and gave a surprised grin, putting his hand on her head.
"Hey there, (Y/n)," Narahashi chuckled, "I didn't know you'd be coming. That's a relief. I thought I wouldn't get to dance with anybody."
She blushed at his forward yet indirect method of asking and fiddled with her hands behind her back. Despite the wishes of the others for her to remain with them, she followed him, asking him how the ball was going.
"It's pretty boring," he winked, "Everyone's so stuffy. I've been trying to liven it up a little but I haven't had much success. Want to help me?"
"May I?" she asked, excitedly.
They sat down together at the table, leaving only Shota to sit by the girl. He had expected to at least get some of her attention, but she was completely focused on everything the other male had to say. It didn't matter how ridiculous the subject was, she was fascinated with it and her pink cheeks gave away exactly what she thought of him. To say the least, the redhead was not fond of the student council president.
The first course was served and while many others were using refined manners, both Narahashi and (Y/n) were at a loss. She had expected him to use them considering his father was a famous politician, but he didn't seem to have a clue of what to do and didn't seem to worry about it. This made her feel much better.
"Didn't your father teach you etiquette?" Shota snapped, directing his comment to Narahashi.
"Nope," the boy responded, uncaring of the male's insulting tone, "He only just became a famous politician so I don't know much of anything. My older brother's worse though so I think I'm fine. No one's looking at me anyway."
"Why do you think that?" (Y/n) asked, sadly.
"I'm the youngest of my four brothers," he responded, "It's not a bad thing. I'd rather not have the press pushing on me about my dad, y'know? Hey, what's that?"
The bluenette pointed to something on the other side of the room and quickly stole a piece of her bread. Then he looked away and began to whistle, acting as though nothing had happened. The girl thought it was endearing and gave a little laugh but Shota, who had been watching, felt immensely frustrated from his actions. It was more jealousy than anything else but it was quite effective in making Narahashi an enemy in his eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about (Y/n)," he winked, "I haven't so much as looked at your plate."
"Sure," she chuckled, pointing to behind him, "Is that a flying toaster?"
He looked with a coy smirk on his face and when she grabbed a piece of his bread and tried to eat it, he grabbed her wrist and stole it back, taking a bite out of it. In surprise, she dropped it and began to blush further. Narahashi did the same, but his was much more subtle.
"Sorry," he chuckled nervously, "Did I scare you?"
"N-No," she squeaked, becoming more embarrassed.
Dinner advanced and they only began to annoy Shota more, making him want to snap the other male's neck for being so forward. When it was over, he tried his best to separate them, but ultimately failed.
"Narahashi," the redhead said, making the called male turn around and pay attention, "Did you know you're pretty popular with the girls?"
"Ha," he laughed, sarcastically, "No, but I'm friends with a lot of guys. The girls don't tend to like me because I'm 'unrefined'."
"Well, they're correct," Shota mumbled.
"What did you say?" Narahashi asked, doing a double-take.
"Anyway, there's kind of a group of girls over there who want to have the first dance with you. They're pretty shy, but if you didn't dance with one of them, it might break their hearts."
Narahashi shrugged and continued to walk alongside (Y/n). She smiled up at him as he threw his arm around her shoulder in a playful way. Then he gave a goofy wink to Shota which only irritated him more.
"That's flattering," he said, "but I wanted to have the first dance with (Y/n). She looks so beautiful, I just can't help it. Maybe later?"
The girl blushed as he took one of her hands and led her to the dance floor. Keeping one of their hands intertwined, he placed her hand on his shoulder and placed his own on her waist. They began to sway gently with the music and although she didn't really understand what she was doing, he helped her greatly, telling her she was doing well.
Meanwhile, Shota had stormed back to the others, leaning against the wall and scowling at anything and everything. It didn't matter what it was. As long as it moved, he hated it. Even Takuya's normally comforting presence made him growl.
"Why isn't she with me?!" Rei scoffed, crossing his arms and furrowing his eyebrows in rage, "I want to dance with her! But he's the one touching her perfect body! Do something!"
"Fine, but we'll need to find the girls first," Shota sighed, "Weren't they supposed to meet us at the food court?"
"They skipped out on us," Yamato frowned, "You know what that means. Time to work my magic. Come with me, Rei, you'll be helpful."
The blonde smirked sadistically, his other colors starting to show. He then followed the strong boy, skipping along happily. The others just watched longingly as their object of affection was dancing with another male. Takuya slumped against the wall, sitting down, and pouting in his own special way.
Akari, for once, wasn't distracted. He held a straight face, looking down at the dance floor and didn't take his eyes off of it until the song had ended. Then he focused on the window, looking up at the stars with shimmering eyes.
"You're not too bad," Narahashi laughed, "In elementary, you used to always step on people's feet. I will admit, you were pretty clumsy back then. But you, my young pupil, have surpassed me and become very mature."
"Why, thank you, sensei," the girl bowed, receiving a pat on the head from the boy.
She grabbed the boy's hand from her head and held it in her hands, looking nervously up at him. He began to blush and thought over what his next action should be. He took control of her hand, taking her to the balcony and looking up at the stars with her. He sat on the railing and gazed up at them before pulling her a bit closer to him and placing his hand on her cheek.
"Sorry for being such a jerk," he grinned, "I plan to do my best in the student council this year. Let's make it great."
He began to take his hand off, nervously tugging at his collar to free his neck when he saw the girl touch her cheek where he'd put his hand. She looked awestricken as if she'd been touched by some kind of fairy. He narrowed his eyes, understanding the feelings he had for her and pulled her in close, hugging her.
It was one of the biggest risks he'd ever taken, at least according to him. He didn't want to make the girl hate him nor did he want to ruin their relationship. So when she put her hands on his chest as if to say she felt safe, he felt a large smile cross his features as he laid his head on hers, taking the moment in.
"Hey, (Y/n)?" a girl asked.
She reluctantly pulled back from the embrace with Narahashi to listen to what she had to say. There wasn't just one, though, there was a group of girls there, looking as if they'd seen a ghost. Their eyes were wide and their postures were afraid. One of them even looked like she was attacked by a wild animal, scrapes, and cuts on her dress.
"We're sorry," one of the girls said, bowing, "for being cruel to you, I mean. Please forgive us!"
"Please!" another one begged.
"We were just jealous..." another girl said with a scowl, though it seemed like she choked the words out, "You're so smart and...much more beautiful than I could ever hope to be..."
After that last girl had spoken, (Y/n) started to suspect something was wrong considering that her tone had a hint of sarcasm mixed in between her sweet tone. She frowned, wondering what had happened to them. They weren't the kind to admit they had done something wrong. Especially to admit they were lesser than someone.
Narahashi narrowed his eyes in skepticism of the girl's reactions as well and put his hands on (Y/n)'s shoulder, pulling her back protectively. He suspected something to be up and knew it had something to do with -
"Hey!" Akari grinned, smiling ear to ear, leaning forward and putting his hands behind his back.
Narahashi held tighter on the girl's shoulders and shielded her from him. Akari's expression wavered slightly, his eyebrow twitching before he took a step toward the boy. The girl didn't feel the tension between the two but it was definitely there. The yellow-ish green eyes that looked past her at the boy only seemed full of childish innocence, nothing else behind it. Nor did she see Narahashi's blue eyes glare back at the boy in concern for her.
"Let's go dance, (Y/n)," the bluenette said, cautiously.
"Aw, but I wanted a dance," Akari smirked, knocking on his head like he'd forgotten something, "Are you going to take her from me?"
While his tone was hidden behind a faulty sweet cover, Narahashi felt the true meaning of his words and flinched. Their last encounter wasn't the most comfortable for him. He'd never been more scared in his life. He was equally as terrified for (Y/n) as he was for himself, but he didn't back down, taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor.
"That's not very fair," Akari scoffed, "You've had her to yourself all this time. Are you trying to keep her away from everyone else?"
The blue-haired male proceeded to ignore the boy, only focusing on the girl whose hand was interlocked with his. She was speechless and nothing mattered to her more than the fact that he was holding her even if it was a small gesture. There were glares shooting past her to the male. If looks could kill, he would have been killed long ago. Something told him that his time was coming.