Chapitre 6: The Eve of Happy
Despite what happened earlier at lunch, Arata was still unfazed about his excitement about the live practice of the Dance Club. The club aimed to teach its members different types of dances and promote them in school, so it was not all about one certain style. The second semester kicked off a traditional fan dance, and they were practicing for the song entitled 'Sakura.' Every month, they try to at least record themselves dancing and post it on the school blog of clubs.
Since Arata had to run an errand for their last teacher before classes ended, he was late for the practice. Then again, it was still the 4 PM action time so he was relieved as he walked towards the practice building. However, he ran into a familiar figure who was descending the stairs.
"Hey, Arata! What's up!" Yukari greeted him with salute. She pranced to the bottom of the steps where he was standing. "Are you going home now?"
"Not really. I have to support Attori in their live practice for the dance." The king smiled at the best friend. He then moved his head to the side, looking behind Yukari to find a big bag on her back. "That's the thing from last Monday. What exactly is that?"
"Why do you have to bring up last Monday!?" The best friend growled, stomping a step nearer towards the man. Her face ended up rather near his, and so she had to pull back in an instant. She started rubbing the side of her neck, a faint blush accompanying her sheepish gaze.
[An Affection Scene has started! Secret Admirer Yukari Ginmachi has the Affection Rate at 8%. Try to earn as much points as you can to raise Affection Rate with the date-able! Remember what they like to hear!]
"Uhm, Arata," Yukari whispered with a smile despite the redness on her face, "you seem to be very busy lately." Her gaze began to wander. "We don't walk back home as frequent as before. You were always going out and about for different clubs so... I thought of joining one."
"Really? That's nice!" The man smiled widely at her, only for it to fall at the realization she was making him see. Arata could only work a sheepish chuckle towards her. "Sorry if I wasn't hanging out with you like before. But that doesn't mean I don't like spending time with you." He erased the gloom and grinned at her. "Do you want to go around the city sometime? Just us like before!"
Yukari twitched and pouted a little. "Wouldn't that be a date?"
Arata waved his hands before her. "No, you don't have to see it as a date!" He then hummed as he placed both hands at his waist. "So which club did you join?"
"I'm still going for the try-outs. They had to cancel it last Monday." Yukari giggled at him, soon pumping an arm to her side in determination. "The Basketball club looked so promising this year!" She then laughed out. "Even though it was because of that creepy, violent girl earlier morning." She hummed with a smile as she brought her hand to her chin. "Hamada-sempai, was it?"
"Oh, yeah. She did get into the club even though she just transferred this semester." Arata hummed with his best friend. He then stared at her with a meaningful smile. He waited for her to give him her curious look before reaching out to cup his hands against her face. "Would you like to receive the king's blessing of good luck?"
"That sounds so suspicious, though." Yukari frowned at him, but she liked the feel of his warm hands on her face, so she did not bother to get them off. "But okay..." Her glare and blush grew as she stomped again. "This better not be a silly thing."
The king nodded with the same smile as if reassuring the girl. However, he leaned closer and placed his forehead against hers. "I've always been blessed by the RNG gods, and so I pass some of my luck to you." He watched her grew beet red under his gaze, but he still sealed their lips for a short kiss. He pulled back and made a smug face with a thumbs-up. "All done. Soar high, Harrier!"
Yukari covered half of her face after the kiss, as she tried to calm down. The redness on her face resembled being hit by a ball, but it started subsiding soon. She started growling at him again. "You punk! If I end up getting the worse luck, I'll kick you right in crotch!" The girl then took a deep breath and grinned at him, the blush still not wearing thin. "I'll call you when I pass!"
[The Affection Scene has ended! You have additional 100 points! Secret Admirer Yukari Ginmachi now has 18% Affection Rate! Congratulations!]
She adjusted the bag behind her. "Well then, I'm headed to the gymnasium now. See ya, Arata!" The girl pranced down the stairs again, with an enthusiastic smile and a determined look in her eyes.
Instead of celebrating, Arata only sobbed for being such a player with all that women that he loves. It was undeniable that his favorite had always been Attori, but it did not mean he was incapable of returning just a portion of love those women will be asking from him. He was not in the real world anymore; it was his duty to give love to everyone.
He found his way to the Dance Club room, and he slipped into the thin audience of the club. The chairs were arranged at the side, with the dancers in front of them. There was this mirror that spanned on the entire wall where the dancers watch themselves as they practice. They were in the middle of the song, and Arata could tell it was not going good. Some of them were just... lifeless. The audience was not enjoying at all, looking down on their phones and channeling interest onto something else.
The song ended, and even Attori was not happy with the results. Their club president only stared at those who seemed disinterested by the dance. They started practicing yesterday, and they promised to do better. Then again, to no avail.
"Come on, girls. Be more elegant. We're flowers." The president tried to encourage them to dance with a smile before walking to the player and setting the song again. She caught the sigh of some of them, but that was what they agreed upon and what they announced in the blog.
Thirty painful minutes went to pass, and the only good thing they had were formations. The dance itself was terrible, and Attori was starting to cringe. She turned to the direction of the audience who were chattering among themselves and were just using their phones. However, among them was Arata, who waved at her.
She went to him. "Arata, you came." The mad girl then sat next to him as they were taking their breaks. She leaned on his shoulder. "I told you we were messy."
"Well, you did give me the permission so I'll say you were like withered flowers there." Arata ran his fingers through the girl's hair, wary of her ponytail. "Looks like your members don't like fan dances."
"They just did not expect for it to be like this." She giggled. "Guess we would be working hard on getting interested first."
"No! A fan dance should be natural to graceful women like each of you." Arata grinned at the girl who took her head off of him just to look at his face. He then reached out as if asking for her fan which she handed him. He opened it and placed it between them. "Look, do you see my face, Attori?"
The girl hummed and stared at her boyfriend. "I can't. The fan is in the way."
Arata closed the fan in one stroke. "Exactly. You're not seen because of the fan. It's also because you don't need to be seen." He earned her curious hum. He then opened it again the same way he closed it. He started waving it like a petal in the meadow, captivating Attori's gaze with the fan's red color. "The fan becomes your seductive eyes, your inviting lips, and your sculpted nose. It doesn't matter where your face is..." He twirled the fan to the side of her face, covering the people's view of her from that side. "They should always look at the fan like it's the most beautiful."
Since Attori turned her head to follow the fan, she did not catch Arata stealing a kiss. She twitched and stared at him before giggling. "I'd pay to see a charming man do a fan dance."
"Pay me in my room." He winked at her.
The girl flicked her boyfriend before she got up at the call of her co-members. She took her fan from him, and went down to talk to them for a while. Arata just leaned back, seeing her smile brighter than it was for the last hour. The people around seemed to be infected by her enthusiasm, only for them twitch and turn to Arata's direction. He gave them a wave, letting them know that Hamasaki Arata, one of the school kings was watching.
And from there, they seemed to be more troubled than disinterested. Troubled that they were not pleasing him enough.
"So they thought they would practice more soon." Attori laughed out as she walked with Arata to the school lockers. The live practice just ended, and the girls were all shook because they did not know he was there. Despite that, the date-able thought the ending was not bad at all.
She hummed as she snuggled the man's arm. "It's really nice to have you around, Arata. I feel more and more satisfied with my life with you around me." She turned to him. "I might not be able to see Mama today, but it's okay. You're here with me." She grinned at him widely. "I love you, Arata."
Needless to say, Arata was frozen. Not from shock, but the mental explosion along with his heart stopping. The words he just hear her say from behind the screen were uttered right next to him, with the girl who he was dreaming to hear say them holding him. It was not as impressive as it was not the first time Attori said so, but it was the first time Arata heard it from her in this surreal world.
The king slipped his arm off of her hold and embraced her tightly. "You're... also the reason why I continued coming back." His hold tightened, receiving a hold from Attori who was confused by his reaction. "I love you so much; I would die a thousand times if it means I can stop everything from being deleted..."
"Deleted?" Attori uttered a word he said, only to chuckle lightly to it. "Oh my, Arata is having a nightmare in broad daylight. Maybe I should stay by you tonight and sing you to sleep."
"A lullaby from Attori?" The king pulled back and flashed a smile. "I would love that!"
"Then let's go home~" She grinned at him with the sweetest face she could do to relieve the king.
[The Affection Scene has ended. Mad Bitch Attei Attori's Encounter Rate is MAXED at 75%.]
Crash! Arata was once again conflicted as to which shocked him more: the noise or the chime. He just chose to pay attention to what even Attori heard and ignore the other. They were already at the lockers when Arata held her, and so they assumed someone met an accident nearby. However, it was just Yukari walking into their sight.
"It's not like I was trying to hide from you two..." She looked away. "I just didn't want to disturb you."
"Lies. You've been watching them since you saw them along the bridge." Tohru was with her, pushing her more into their sight, as she revealed herself. She smiled at Arata. "Yo, Acchan! How bold of you lunging at your girlfriend in the lockers." There went her disgusted look again. "Might as well lock yourselves inside one, yeah?"
"Would you like to be the one locked?" Attori chuckled in response.
"Just let them go on with the PDA. I'm outta here anyway." Yukari almost hissed as she walked off in an irritated manner.
Arata smiled at Attori first before detaching himself and catching up with Yukari who had not reached the glass doors yet. "Hey, Yukari! How did it go?" He struck a cool pose, raking his hair with his fingers.
The best friend slapped his face, but with moderate strength and with her hand stuck to his face. "Why do you have to do that pose? And uhh, yeah, thanks for the blessing." She later pulled Arata to her with her arms wrapping around his neck, jumping in place. "Ah! I can't believe I did it! I'm in! I'm in! They said I'll be part of the team!"
Tohru whistled as she watched the two celebrate like children, dancing around and screaming at each other. She then turned to the girl who was watching them quietly. "It's not nice to be jealous and not say it, you know."
"I can't get jealous. I know what kind of guy Arata is. He's a man everyone wanted, and a man who gives a lot. He's too kind to those who have feelings for him." Attori answered, her voice somewhat melancholic unlike usual. "If I wasn't his best girl, I would love to have him for myself even for just one second if I can." She then turned to the she-jerk. "You should try sometimes. Being Arata's girl."
"Uh, no? I'm not really the type who rides men in the middle of a school day. And out there in the garden at that." She waved her hand in a dismissive manner.
"What did you say?" Attori's blue eyes suddenly sparkled in loathing. "Riding Arata in school?"
"Ooh," was her only reply.
Even though Arata could weirdly hear them clearly, he kept on being busy with planning with Yukari how to celebrate her being accepted into the basketball team. He then checked his wallet for cash, but only a message prompted in his head.
[You have a total of 45, 672 JPY at hand. You have a total of 237, 368, 495 JPY in your bank account.]
Player-kun Complex used two types of currencies akin to real-life. The players cannot carry more than 50, 000 cash at all times, and so they were advised to open a bank account in-game to dislodge all the cash they earn throughout the game. Some shops will only deduct from the cash at hand, while some shops, even the premium ones, deduct from the bank account. With an impressive playthrough and being always number one in Multiplayer mode, Arata managed to earn a lot of in-game currency.
Aside from being a school king, he was practically a millionaire.
"Attori!" The king snapped his fingers towards the mad bitch's direction, taking the attention of his girlfriend while hooking his arm around Yukari's neck. "Pick a hotel! We're celebrating!"
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droopyghost
droopyghost Hi! Thank you for reading and voting! Thank you for commenting as well! :D Sorry, I just found out I have to manually check for reviews and comments. T^T Thank you so much!