Here Comes Your Prince!

'Wow!!! Cupcake, you can see the status of the other guys,' Jun's euphoric words upon discovering the fact came back to him.

'The system records everything that happens while the smartwatch is active! And I can see mine and theirs!' Haruki confirmed it once again, looking at the small screen. 'It's true, Honda-san created a leash to watch and control us! But as far as we found out, that was also the key, or the transport to leave Neona.' This thought wasn't encouraging. Haruki sniffed,

"Yeah, I'm 'Downcast'."

Looking at the screen, the singer decided to see the messages Jun had received. He wanted to know how Jun was now, 'Is he as 'downcast' as I am?'

But when he took the indicator over the Bad Boy's character's name, he stopped. Haruki was undecided for some time, concluding that he shouldn't be worrying about Jun. He decided to check a more useful profile: the digital influencer's.

...

HONDA SATORU, the Nerd *

KAWANAMI YUTO, the Student

MAEDA RIKU, the Artist

MIYAKE TAKAO, the Athlete

NISHIMURA KOICHI, the CEO

SUGAHARA KAI, the Bad Boy

...

And the moment Haruki pointed his index finger to touch Sugahara Kai's profile, he heard his name being called.

"Haruki, can we talk?"

The voice was close. The singer looked at Saito who was walking slowly toward him. Only then did Haruki notice that the mountaineer was up there. 'How long has he been there?' he asked himself in his thoughts, embarrassed that he hadn't noticed. But disguising his annoyance, Haruki replied smiling,

"Sure Saito, what is it?"

"You, Takeda Haruki. You are the second person in my life, who has cared about protecting me," the mountaineer knelt in front of him. And a heart floated to the singer. But Saito, who had his face close to the ground, didn't notice it.

Haruki blushed,

"Saito-senpai no, please. Don't do it. I didn't do any of that. I, I was just,..." the singer interrupted when he saw Saito's hand raised with his palm towards him, asking him to stop.

"You might be grateful to me. But why can't you receive my gratitude? You confuse me, Haruki."

"I can, senpai, sorry. I accept, but get up or sit down. I'm embarrassed with you kneeling,"

"Okay, I'm going to sit down." Saito sat next to Haruki. After a time that they enjoyed in silence, he spoke.

"I want you to be my Haruki pair. This is my way to thank you," Saito asked, looking at the sea. But when he finished, he faced Haruki, waiting for his decision.

The singer blinked and continued looking at the sea. If he accepted it, it would be the end with Jun. Knowing the adventurer's feelings made him feel like refusing was too harsh on Saito, and it embarrassed Haruki to no end. Turning his face to Saito, Haruki smiled slightly as he said,

"Saito, I don't think about dating. But if you accept, we can get to know each other a little more. A) I start by saying that I don't like bondage, B) I'm more the romantic type."

Another heart came out of the gray device on Saito's wrist and flew to Haruki. Saito saw it this time, getting red cheekbones. Haruki opened his mouth and eyes, in a false display of astonishment, as he felt his smartwatch vibrate,

'Hm winning hearts must give me some benefit,' he reasoned, but he couldn't check it now. It would be rude, right?

Saito activated his, checking what had happened.

"What happened, Saito?"

"Ohh, this trinket. As if I need a machine to tell me what I feel."

"HA HA HA" Haruki laughed the way Saito said it. The oldest man in the group had done a passable impersonation of a grumpy character from a cartoon Haruki liked.

"Come, let's go back," Haruki called the mountaineer to return to the house, where the singer intended to clarify this 'dating' thing, in the secret room. For him, it was just a lie to feed the analysts, watching them as if they're a sims game or a reality show.

At the mansion, Haruki found no one in sight, confirming his conclusion that they were studying all the features of the device. 'I'm going to have to try harder, if I want to use mine well,' he thought, and both went to Haruki's secret room. Saito entered before him.

At that moment Jun appeared in the corridor and the three men faced each other. He came to them, Haruki stood in front of the door preventing Saito from leaving and Jun from entering.

"We need to talk," Jun said.

"Perhaps, but I can't right now. I'm going to have a private conversation with Saito-senpai," the singer was assertive, looking Jun in the eye.

Once again they were surprised by a song that started playing, but it differed from the 'meeting' jingle, even so the trio was on the alert. The music stopped and a soft female voice spoke,

[GENTLEMEN, I AM OKAMI SYSTEM. THE TRANSPORTATION TO THE TANABATA MATSURI DESTINY LEAVES IN THIRTY MINUTES. PLEASE EQUIP YOUR TICKETS TO BE GRANTED ACCESS IN THE CRUISE. IT'S A GALA EVENT, DRESS CODE: BLACK TIE.]

"The show is about to start," Haruki joked. "Excuse me Jun. Now I need to go to my bedroom to check if my tuxedo is there," Haruki took the opportunity to not have to talk to both of them at the same time. And escaped by bumping into Jun, who didn't move to make room for him.

Haruki entered his tiny room, the official bedroom, it is. And he found the black-tie suit hanging on a hook on the wall, because there was no wardrobe there.

"I don't know how to tie a Windsor tie, how am I going to tie a bow tie?"

And on the bed was a shiny black wooden box. Haruki went to it wondering what was inside the box, knowing he had won the analysts' grudge. So he opened it carefully with his arms outstretched and keeping it far from his face,

"Cufflinks. How beautiful. Of course, I have to look like a prince today,' Haruki recalled that he was Miyu's date, and rules were rules. As time passed, he gathered everything in his arms and went to look for help to get dressed.

"Senpai, can I come in?" he said as he knocked on Saito's door.

"I need help, I don't know how to put these things on," he explained, showing the box of jewels to the mountaineer as soon as he came to open the door.

Saito was already buttoning his shirt when the singer arrived.

"Put on what you know. I'll help you with the rest," said Saito, going to the closet to finish dressing.

The singer got naked and dressed quickly, when the mountaineer returned he just needed to put on his bowtie and jewelry.

Saito was experienced and did it quickly,

"Now close your eyes. I'm going to style your hair." The mountaineer used a hairspray, a hairbrush, and a dryer. Making Haruki miss his pre-idol days. They had a small team to help them with their appearance.

"Open your eyes and look up," Saito was now contouring Haruki's eyes carefully with an eyeliner soft pencil, smudging it a little and highlighting Haruki's beautiful phoenix eyes.

"Saito-senpai, isn't it too much? Miyu-chan has no appreciation for me."

"But she has eyes. Haruki, pay attention. Beauty stirs emotions. Use your good looks wisely."

The singer agreed and turned to see himself in the mirror.

Haruki laughed when he saw his prince charming hair from the fairy tale drawings. And winking at the reflected Saito, he said,

"Yes, man! Style is everything!"

And Saito turned him around again. Staring at him, he traced Haruki's lower lip with his thumb.