33 The Winner Takes it All...?
"C'mon! Together we can give all the attention that Miyu-chan dreams about, without having to be romantic. Do you understand?" proposed Haruki using his devastating smile. He finished his speech staring into Jun's eyes.
The baker grinned back, nodding his head. Then the singer looked at Takashi, tilting his head slightly, and accentuating his dimples.
"Gosh!" the artist exclaimed, "Aren't you the least ashamed of trying to convince me using that puppy face, are you, Haruki-san?"
Haruki laughed and shook his head, denying, with a monosyllable,
"Nope."
"Okay, but convincing Hinata-kun won't be this easy."
"Yep," the singer agreed with a laugh and then looked at the mountaineer,
"Come on senpai, it's going to be fun at least," Haruki could bet Saito needed a little adrenaline in his system.
"Hahaha," Saito laughed when he heard the proposal. "I'm in. So let's go back." And the mountaineer ran out to the mansion.
Jun shot back, followed by Takashi and Haruki. All of them trying to outdo the others.
At the mansion, Daisuke looked for the golden ticket in front of a frustrated Hinata.
"Daisuke-san, Hinata-kun," said Haruki catching his breath after the dispute, "Listen to me," he made a wide gesture with his arms indicating the other men, "We have a plan." Haruki said, looking from the digital influencer to the youngest man in the group.
Daisuke narrowed his eyes to look at the singer suspiciously.
"Hum, why do I think this is going to be one of your 'genius ideas' Haruki-san?" And he looked at the quartet that had just entered the room, excited teasing each other. "A plan?" he repeated suspiciously.
"Yes, look closely. We found a way for all of us to go to the ball. We will tear the Golden Ticket and each one will have a piece of it," the singer made his puppy face trick trying to win the digital influencer over.
"Haruki. You heard the rules and made your choice. Understand, I want to get out of here and I'm not willing to get them mad and miss this chance. Excuse me."
Haruki didn't lose hope and insisted,
"Even if Abe-san gets angry, they will have to accept it. After all, how are they going to have a fun Masquerade Ball if they don't have a date for Miyu-chan?"
Not even the singer putting his hands together in a pleading gesture, won the heart of the influencer who shook his head in denial of the request.
"No, I don't want to..." Daisuke stopped what he was saying to Haruki because Jun was coming toward him threateningly. The baker just invaded Daisuke's personal space and demanded, reaching out,
"Come on. Hand it over, dude."
The influencer shrank in front of Bad Boy, and backed away.
"Jun, we're friends, don't do that," Daisuke asked. But seeing his friend wasn't going to back down until he changed his mind, the digital influencer growled in frustration,
"Grr. Okay, but if we get punished, Jun Lovebread, you'll be my servant for a whole day," Daisuke demanded.
Jun laughed sardonically,
"Hm. I see you will root for our failure. But okay, I accept the price, I take responsibility for it." And Jun winked at Daisuke.
Haruki shook his head in disbelief. Jun was flirting in his face!
'Breathe. Breathe and put itching powder in their underwear, 'Haruki thought, feeling the blood rush through his veins.
"Dice-K, what was the clue for finding the invitation?" Jun asked his friend.
'Dice-K?!! That was too much! 'Haruki looked from one to the other, cringing for the 'nickname' Jun gave to the influencer. 'Where am I going to find itching powder around here? ' Haruki wouldn't give up on this idea so easily.
Daisuke took a photo from his jacket, while explaining,
"I found this photo in my room, under the pillow. This image is part of a work of art. Each of you must have a part of the image. I know I've seen it before, but I can't quite remember the work. As I recall the painting, I think the Golden Ticket is somewhere in this room."
He handed the photo to the baker, as per their deal.
"Mine is here," Hinata passed between them, almost glued to Jun's body. He placed his photograph next to the photograph in Jun's hand.
"You should show Takashi-san the clues," the singer complained. "He's the one who's the artist," Haruki said before thinking, with a half-hearted smile and narrowed eyes out of spite. He couldn't help but feeling annoyed by Jun's closeness to Daisuke.
Several eyes turned first to Haruki, then to the most silent of them, Noguchi Takashi, the actual Artist.
"...!"
Daiseuke looked this way and that, shrugging,
"Oh, really! I am not a real artist! Takashi-san do you recognize these images?" Daisuke asked, after being reminded of that fact.
The artist looked at the photographs from where he was without approaching them. Then he nodded yes.
"Is it a famous work? Is it in the mansion? Where did you see her?" Hinata hastily asked, running over the painter with many questions.
The singer recalled that Hinata had not given his word yet, agreeing the ticket should be split in equal parts, but Takashi was already responding before the singer could question the senior student.
"I wouldn't say he's a famous artist, or you would have recognized his artwork. And yes, it's in the mansion, it's in the entrance hall."
The younger man ran off, as if his life depended on it. Haruki stopped on his steps, wondering if the artwork belonged to Takashi himself. 'Man, he's so subdued!'
Jun and Saito rushed at the same time, going after Hinata, which made them clash shoulders at the door. And since neither of them gave the other a turn, they were wasting time and squeezing to pass first.
"Huff," Daisuke sighed exaggeratedly at the image. After sitting at the grand piano he started strumming the keyboard.
Takashi also went on sitting, but for some odd reason stumbled and grabbed the cushion from the top of the chair.
Haruki saw the golden ticket fall from inside the cushion, and raised a finger to point at it, agape.
Takashi saw it too. Bending down, he tried to put the golden ticket inside the cushion cover again, hiding the fact he was the first to get to it.
But the moment the artist touched the envelope, the lights flashed, changing color to blue and red colors like fire sirens. Colorful ribbons and gold and silver confetti fell from the ceiling to the sound of explosions of fireworks.
Takashi quickly tossed the Golden Ticket to Haruki, who grabbed it in the air.
The lights went out, and from the ceiling descended a video conference screen.
Abe Miyu was standing in front of the camera and holding a tablet.
'Is she dressed as a princess? This is going to be worse than I thought,' Haruki concluded when he saw her image in the tablet, in a green and gold dress in the style of European fairy tale puffy gowns, and smiling from ear to ear.
But Miyu-chan's smile froze when she saw Haruki with the invitation in his hand. Then her smile faded, diminished until her lips became a heart-shaped pout.
Haruki didn't lose his panache,
"Hi, Niko Sawada-chan. Or rather, Miyu-chan. Look, I got the Golden Ticket," the singer waved the envelope in the air as if it were a flag.
Miyu pressed a button on the tablet's screen and the invitation flashed and disappeared from Haruki's hand, appearing on the screen. A message popped up by the big screen, splitting the image in three: Miyu-chan, Abe-san, and the text:
MIYAKE TAKAO HAS WON THE GOLDEN TICKET,
CONGRATULATIONS!
ITEM BENEFITS:
1) BEING NIKO SAWADA'S DATE TO THE '1RST TMD MASQUERADE BALL',
2) FIVE DAYS AT TANABATA MATSURI DESTINY,
3) CRUISE/RESORT COLLECTION ADDED TO WARDROBE,
4) 1,000 DIAMONDS ADDED TO INVENTORY.
Despite this, she ignored him by looking at Daisuke at the piano, and then at Takashi sitting. She didn't hide his disappointment when he replied, "You."
'But what is this? Hm, the otome system is trying to add things to my inventory,' Haruki tasted bile, sour in his mouth. 'You are AI to her, that's all.'
Out of spite and taking a deep breath, Haruki started to act when talking to the player.
"YES! You and me. The two of us, ALONE! Five days on a cruise. Oh, it will be so cool, Miyu-chan!" Haruki teased her, increasing the dismay of the young woman, who was glancing at Takashi. And the Artist ignored it totally, as if he wasn't watching the broadcast.
'So this challenge was meant for Takashi to win. He's her secret crush.'
The singer was going to get the most out of this discovery, so he teased Miyu-chan's again, "But you don't look thrilled with your Tiger!"
She blushed instantly. Speaking hurriedly, Miyu tried to explain,
"I, I, didn't expect it to be you. I had chosen someone else as my first option," she explained, looking at all corners of the room, avoiding Haruki's gaze.
"Miyu-chan, I respect your choice. But I am sorry to hear that it wasn't a fair game. I still beat him, though…"
'Yes, Miyu-chan, I know who you're watching.' Haruki knew about Takashi's traumas. That conversation on the rocks had touched the singer who decided, 'You are not going to use him as a toy, Miyu-san. I will protect Takashi!'
Takashi would not again submit to the wishes of another person who didn't even bother to know him further and didn't respect him as a person.
Deciding to be unbearably annoying, the singer said,
"Well girl, this is what you will get. Me." And he pointed at himself, with both index fingers. "Or, of course, you can get five more tickets for my pals here. And take all of us to the ball. The power is in your hands, Miyu-chan. See you tonight, sweetie! Bye!"
