17 Golden Golf Ball

Ryunosuke dragged Yukiko away, being sure to be within the shadows of the venue. All the while, Yukiko could hear the high-pitched giggling of Fukunaga Takao.

Wasn't he supposed to be a man?

Gross.

Turning away from the two 'gracious' hosts, Yukiko began to notice Ryunosuke's lack of discomposure. "Where are we going?" Yukiko was the opposite- she was completely calm, following Ryunosuke's lead.

"We need to find a place to hide." He abruptly turned around, and whipped Yukiko into his chest as they hid behind a pillar. Three people ran past them, the crisp sound of high heels following after.

Yukiko could hear the beating of Ryunosuke's heart as her face was plastered to his chest. They stood there for a good minute until Yukiko spoke. "Shouldn't we leave now?" And get out of this situation? Not like I mind, but your hands are sweaty.

Ryunosuke seemed surprised as he looked at her. He nodded and immediately led her away. The venue had now become something other than the beautiful party that it was- now, it seemed like a game of hide-and-seek or laser tag, but with much higher stakes. And it seemed- to Ryunosuke- that those stakes weren't something that could tip to a different side.

The columns now served as hiding places, while the fairy lights were something to curse at. Yukiko had no idea how this had happened, but she wasn't going to try to find out. It was most likely Ryunosuke's problem. Scratch that. She glanced at the boy in front of her. It definitely was his problem, and she didn't want to deal with it. She had enough problems on her own.

After deciding this, Yukiko followed behind Ryunosuke without a voice of dissent, and she even helped him once in a while. They did this over and over again and turned corner after corner, always managing to hide before a guest found them. It wasn't until thirty minutes had gone by that they had landed themselves into unintentional trouble.

Surrounding the two of them were three groups- one all men, another all women, and the final a party of two men and one woman. Their backs were to a pillar, and they could no longer escape.

"Give up," one of the members of the all-women team said, a slight mocking tone in her voice. She wore a light-colored dress that sparkled when the fairy lights hit her, but her beautiful dress had outshone the girl; she had pretty features individually, but once they're placed together, the girl's face seemed entirely ordinary.

One look at the girl and Yukiko was able to recognize her. In fact, she could recognize everyone at the party. It was a special skill of hers: able to recognize a face at a glance.

Furthermore, the information given to her by a 'secret source' had been organized clearly and distinctly. There was no way she couldn't recognize the people here. For example, the girl in front of the two of them was Muratagi Nayoko, daughter of a financial planner, while the other two next to her were her younger sisters.

"You can't escape any longer," younger sibling towards Muratagi's right said. The others from the group next to them looked at each other and nodded, seemingly having agreed with what the sisters spewed.

"Of course," Ryunosuke said, his face towards the ground. Nobody could see his expression, but it seemed to be one of defeat. All at once, the guests around them began to smile... until the next word left Ryunosuke's lips. "Not."

At that, he suddenly lifted his hand up and extended out his palm and, within it, was an inconspicuous, plastic, golden golf ball.

Ryunosuke began to chuckle before he raised his voice. "Takao!" He lifted the golf ball higher. "I've found your damn ball. As for my wish? I wish for this game to be over." At that, he let the golf ball drop to the floor before he crushed it underneath his feet.

The three groups watched in dismay at everything that happened, and they couldn't help but outwardly display their disappointment. Muratagi Nayoko even had to breath deeply to avoid shedding tears.

Yukiko couldn't help but sigh- the girl's father had borrowed money from the Yamamoto clan in order to ensure that his business stayed afloat. Too bad that he never realized that it was the Yamamoto's fault in the first place.

Changing her point of view, she looked upwards and saw Ryunosuke's frowning expression, and she decided to take it upon herself to remedy the situation. She turned towards the people that surrounded them. "Leave."

Like scared rabbits, they scattered, and only Yukiko and Ryunosuke were left in their corner of the venue.

"Let's leave, too." Yukiko tugged at Ryunosuke's sleeve, and it was as if a magic spell had broken- Ryunosuke startled, and he no longer looked at a space far away.

He turned to Yukiko. "What did you say?"

"I said that we should leave."

Nodding, Ryunosuke took the lead and left the venue, not even taking the time to respond to the individuals that were saying goodbye to him and his guest. Instead, his footsteps were fast and furious as he returned to the ground floor. It was one minute too late for the driver to arrive before them.

They entered the car, and Ryunosuke slammed the door shut.

Seems like someone wasn't a happy camper.

"It isn't like the Fukunagas," Ryunosuke muttered.

Yukiko turned to him, a questioning look on her face. She had to admit that what the Fukunagas had done was a scumbag-like move, however it was understandable. No one would like to be threatened on a day-to-day basis, and that was exactly what the Yamamoto clan had done. But she might as well play along. After all, it was a 'fun' experience getting chased from rich people. "What's wrong?"

Ryunosuke shook his head. "It's nothing."

So he didn't want to tell her what was wrong? Eh... it wasn't like she cared either way. The rest of the ride was silent as they drove back to the estate.