Biggest Challenge Yet

Shun and his friends sat in Romio's room. Shikamaru, Hachiman, and Romio looked at Shun. Shun's elbows were resting on the table between them, and the fingers intertwined in front of his face.

He looked at his friends and began talking.

Shun: "I have gathered you all here to gain some advice regarding the biggest challenge I am about to face in my life."

He looked at Romio and thanked him.

Shun: "Romio, thank you for hosting us today. It couldn't be at my home due to certain reasons."

Romio was a little surprised by Shun's formal tone and could only say a few words in acknowledgment.

Romio: "O-Oh, don't worry about it."

Shun nodded and turned his head back so he could look at all three of his friends.

Shun: "Now, let's get back to the topic."

The three sat up straighter because of Shun's grave tone and waited for their friend to share his problem. Shun's eyes flashed with seriousness, and he began.

Shun: "As I told you before, I have a girl I like, and I have decided to ask her out, so I need your advice regarding how to approach it. I know that you guys don't have any experience with girls. I mean, you guys have zero, nada, null, zilch experience with girls, but beggars can't be choosers, so you guys are my only option."

Even though Shun had a previous life and had a girlfriend in that life, it was more than a decade and a half ago, and he couldn't even remember the people from his old life. So, Shun was nervous about how to ask out the girl he liked.

The three friends stared at Shun for a moment before pulling out the cushions from below them and began hitting him mercilessly. Shun raised his hands to shield himself.

Shun: "He-Hey! St-Stop. What happened to you guys? Why are you hitting me? What did I say? Come on, tell me."

They didn't answer and kept hitting him till they were satisfied. They returned their cushions to their place and sat back. Romio looked at Shun and scoffed.

Romio: "You are lucky that we don't have slippers near us."

Shun groaned as he corrected his clothes and hair, which got messed up from the beating. He cleared his throat and talked.

Shun: "So, will you help me?"

Shikamaru clicked his tongue and remarked.

Shikamaru: "It is not like we have a choice, so who is the girl."

Romio shared the information about the girl he had chanced upon from Shun.

Romio: "All I know is that she is not from our school, and you went on dates with her."

Shun looked at his three friends, who he could see that were excited to know his crush but were putting up an indifferent front. Romio was failing spectacularly with his eye sparkling brightly. Shikamaru had his usual bored look on his face, but his body language said otherwise. Hachiman was leaning slightly towards Shun that indicated that he too wanted to know.

Shun took a deep breath and revealed the whole deal.

Shun: "Her name is Momoi Satsuki, and she is my neighbor. I have known her since our first year. She is the same age as us."

Shun stopped talking after that, so the other three took it upon themselves to extract more information from him.

Hachiman: "What kind of person is she?"

Shun thought about how to describe and began speaking.

Shun: "She has a bubbly personality, cheerful, bright. She is very out-going. She is smart, much smarter than me.

Satsuki becomes very serious and even a bit sly if you compete with her, and she looks cute when she is angry, and you know...."

Halfway through the description, a silly, goofy, happy smile made its way onto Shun's face as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand as he fondly reminisced.

The other three felt irritated seeing Shun like that, and Hachiman snapped his fingers in front of Shun's face to bring him out the pink state he was diving into.

Hachiman: "Keep focus, lover boy."

Shun snapped out from his reminiscing state and focused on the conversation.

Shun: "So, tell me, what should I do? How should I break the question?"

The three offered some ideas, ranging from Shikamaru's lame, lazy excuses for ideas. Romio's plans were all grand gestures and were not feasible, and to be honest, would definitely creep out a girl. Hachiman offered some sane, doable ideas, which Shun took note of.

In the end, Shun looked at Shikamaru and Romio and spoke.

Shun: "You two are useless. I really pity Temari-san and Juliet-san, if you guys get together with them."

Romio sputtered the juice that he had just drunk, and Shikamaru looked at Shun with an indescribable expression, which caused Shun to scoff.

Shun: "Don't give me that look, I know you enjoy the president's company. Even though you complain about it every day, you still go to the student council room regularly, and your tenure with them was only until the school fest, which was almost a year ago, but you still go there, so yeah, you like her."

Shikamaru mumbled something about that he shouldn't have come here. Shun turned to Romio and started to lay it on him.

Shun: "And you, you rabid dog. You haven't studied seriously for the whole time I have known you, but now, you regularly ask teachers doubts.

Teachers say that you have changed, that you have started to worry about your future. Yeah, right! You are trying to get your grades up so that you could join the same school Juliet-san wants to join.

Even a monkey could tell that you like her."

Shun was on a roll and turned to Hachiman, and spoke the thoughts on his mind.

Shun: "Hachiman, if you are going to ask Orimoto Kaori out, then get over yourself and do it, but as I told you before, I think you shouldn't do it, she is totally not interested in you."

Shun breathed a sigh of contentment as he finished speaking, and looked at his friends and uttered.

Shun: "That was kind of freeing. Hey guys, we should do it regularly."

The other three looked at their purple-eyed friend and then nodded to each other. Romio looked at Shun and said.

Romio: "Okay, get out."

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

In the end, Shun decided to go on a lunch date with Satsuki. They arrived at the family restaurant and sat at their table. After they ordered, Satsuki looked at Shun and asked.

Satsuki: "So, what is the occasion? Why did you call me out today?"

Shun quirked his eyebrow and asked in faux-hurt.

Shun: "Why can't I bring you to lunch without any reason?"

Satsuki crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward a little.

Satsuki: "Well, for one, I am usually the one to make plans, and when you do make plans, we both decide where we want to go. Though you did that one time."

Shun had to concede the argument to Satsuki and took a deep breath.

Shun: 'I should just say it. Damn it. Why is this so hard?'

Shun shifted in his seat under Satsuki's gaze as she continued to look at him. Shun raised a finger to ask for a minute before starting.

Shun: "Satsuki."

Satsuki nodded and asked.

Satsuki: "Yes?"

Shun took a deep breath and came out with it.

Shun: "I like you, please go out with me."

Shun stopped for a moment and looked at Satsuki's expression, but the second he did that, he decided not to pause and continued.

Shun: 'If I am going to be rejected, then it will be after I say my whole piece.'

Shun: "You are fun to hang out with, you are smart, you are funny. I like your personality. Somewhere along the line, you became my best friend.

I don't know when, but I started to seek your company because I enjoyed spending time with you, and one day I realized that my feelings towards you were of the romantic sort.

At that time, I found myself wanting to be more than a friend.... and I have run out of things to say.

So, I will ask again, would you go out with me?"

Shun finished his bit and waited for the judgment, the response, the answer, the reply, or whatever you would like to call it. He watched Satsuki, who was looking at him with wide eyes. Shun's heart was beating as he waited for Satsuki to say something.

Satsuki looked away at Shun with upturned eyes and nodded, followed by.

Satsuki: "Yes."

Shun felt all the tension leave his body and mind, leaned back into his chair, and breathed a sigh of relief, but then sat straight and looked at his new girlfriend with a smile on his face. He wanted to pump his arms in the air and shout out in celebration but held himself back.

Shun: 'I will do that when I am alone.'

Satsuki seeing that smile, suddenly became interested in her surroundings and looked anywhere but at Shun.

Shun decided to start the conversation by returning the mood back to normal.

Shun: "I am relieved. I will be honest, I didn't prepare for this. While I was talking, I had two things I was thinking of."

Satsuki decided that she could look at Shun's face and turned her eye to him, and Shun could see a faint blush on her cheeks.

Satsuki: "Oh, what were they?"

Shun raised his index finger and started.

Shun: "Well, first is obvious, I was scared that you would reject me, and then the whole thing would become awkward. That was the worst outcome I could think of."

Satsuki shook her head and told.

Satsuki: "I wouldn't have rejected you. Actually, if you didn't ask me out soon, I would've asked you out."

Shun was stunned for a moment and then sighed.

Shun: "Well, I am glad I made the first move."

Satsuki twirled a few strands of her hair and leaned forward.

Satsuki: "So, what was the second thing you were worried about?"

Shun chuckled as he told her about his second worry.

Shun: "Halfway through, I became worried that the waiter would come and interrupt. Thankfully that didn't happen."

Satsuki thought of what would've happened if the waiter had interrupted, and that image made her laugh. To the current Shun, her laughter sounded more beautiful than any music he had heard.

Shun: 'Man, I must be really high on Oxytocin and Dopamine right now. Well, I am not complaining, this feels just right.'

He smiled as he continued to listen and talk to Satsuki as the two teenagers became comfortable with their new relationship dynamic.