Prestige 1

On most nights like tonight, Arata would be more than content with just laying in bed and reading some manga. And yes, it was totally completely safe stuff he was reading.

"Hey, Arata, you still awake?" His dad never cared for knocking, which was why the young boy was used to having some randomly barge into his room. "I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere."

"Go where?" He asked. It was not normal coming from his father that he'd have to go anywhere. Partially because of his history of being a bit of a recluse, as well as the man having a lot of work.

"The company's got a get together and families are invited." It certainly explained why the man wanted him to come along. "I know parties aren't your thing, but it could be a lot of fun. After all, your school president's going to be there."

"I don't really need that as a reason." Arata rolled his eyes from the usual teasing her got for being around so many cute girls. As far as his dad was aware, none of them were interested in the boy. However, it turned out that most of them ended up having a crush on him. In fact, Misei was one of the first ones to confess to him. "But sure, I'll come along."

"Great, you don't even have to dress nice." His dad clapped his hands in excitement. "But maybe enough to impress?" With that, he left and closed the door on his way out. Arata sighed as he got out of bed and scoured his wardrobe for something appropriate for the event. Should he put more effort in his appearance for the sake of Misei? Now that his dad put the idea in his mind, it was a challenge to try and ignore it.

While putting on his clothes, he also thought about the interesting parallels with him and the girl, like with his father and her mother. That woman was the boss, while the girl was the student council president. Meanwhile, it seemed the man and boy were good help considering their positions and relationships.

While he was aware that his father wasn't the brightest bulb in the room. Surely that man couldn't be so dumb to not notice the connections. Perhaps that was also why he seemed to want Arata to come to this little party. Maybe he wanted him to get with Misei so that he'd have a better edge in his job. Then again, this man also seemed rather content with the life he had, so maybe it wasn't a major factor at all.

"All right, I'm ready." Arata spoke as he walked down the stairs to the living room. His parents seemed to be waiting for him, as they were already ready before even asking him. "Were you just going to leave without asking me?"

"Well, you normally don't care for these things." His mom answered. "But then we both realized that pretty girl will be there."

"I see…" Arata spoke in a disappointed tone. Did they really view their own son in such a simple minded manner? "Anyway, if you're ready, we should get going." So the family got themselves packed into the car, which was a lot nicer than the last one after it got trashed in that crash. He liked it a lot more, but was still sad about losing out on the gift his dad was going to get him that day.

"Ooh, it's been a while since we've gone out as a family." His mom spoke with anticipation. "It's a shame Ayami couldn't be here." That was simply the reality of having one of the kids in college now.

"Maybe when the break comes around, we can all do something together as a family." He said. The boy really missed his sister too. She was always the one there for him when it was needed, though a lot had changed during his first year without her. It was certainly filled with a lot more people than he was expecting. They chatted among themselves as his dad took the short drive to his workplace.

"Finally, now let's get to the festivities!" His dad jumped out of the car, nearly forgetting to turn off the engine as he rushed into his workplace. While his energy was coming from being able to have some fun, he really did go to work with this level of enthusiasm. "Don't get left behind."

"You don't have to run ahead of us." Arata yelled back as his mom took the keys out of the ignition. "I swear, sometimes I wonder how he's father and I'm son."

"It's really not that different when you get all hopped up on that otaku stuff." His teased as she walked past the boy who was hanging his head down. "Now, let's go mingle with the other families." He agreed with that and walked through the automatic doors of his father's workplace. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't entirely sure what exactly his dad worked as. The interior wasn't helping in explaining as it seemed to be a regular looking office like any other.

"What exactly does dad do again?" He really should've asked on the way, but the thought slipped his mind.

"They're pretty one of the major branches of a retail chain." She responded. "We've been there a few times, isn't it called… 'Uniclo'?"

"That place!?" It was a huge chain, international even. The idea that she would treat it so nonchalantly was a shock to him. Then again, it was not as if they were one of the owner, and it certainly didn't lead to them being hugely rich. Though it certainly explained to him why Misei's family was so wealthy considering that mansion of a home.

"Now let's not just hang out with just the two of us." His mom practically abandoned him in this strange place. "There's a lovely lady here who would love to see that you're here."

"Sure mom." While he agreed with her assessment, they were really pushing him with her. Hopefully they didn't have any ulterior or selfish reasons for doing so. Misei was a girl he liked a lot, but it would be disrespectful to date her for the sake of family relationships.

So the two ended up splitting up as they navigated the crowd of other families sitting around a bunch of tables. Arata scanned around for Misei, but there didn't seem to be any trace of her. Obviously his parents wouldn't lie to him about that, so where was she?

"I see you've decided to come." Suddenly, her voice came from behind him as the boy quickly turned around to face her. What he saw was someone who was extremely gorgeous in that lovely dark purple dress. It was an elegant piece, which caused his heart skipped a beat just from seeing her in this state. "It's really nice to see you here."

"R-right, hi." Now it was hard for him to control his speech patterns now that they were here together. Since it didn't appear that anyone else they were friends with were here, that meant they would be able to share this time together with no interruptions. Surely that was something she was looking forward to now that he was here.

"I have a good spot for us." She said, taking him by the hand. "We can talk there." This seemed to be a dream. To be led by such a beautiful girl… No, more than just that. This was Misei, the cool beauty of the school that so many boys would love to spend time with, even if just for a moment. Yet here he was, getting that and much, much more.

She took him to a bench that was somewhat away from the rest of the crowd. It seemed that they were the only teens here, as the other children brought her by the parents were children under the age of ten. "This should be good, are you fine with this?"

"I got no complaints." He answered as they both took a seat. That was pretty much the end of comfortable interaction as they quickly fell into an awkward silence. The only noise was from the chatter far away from them now. Misei quietly twirled her hair from being so nervous sitting next to him. It seemed that the pair were still a little reserved in expressing their feelings.

"So…" She finally broke the silence. "I'm really happy you're here. There's really no one for me to talk to otherwise." The girl wasn't one for events like these if they didn't involve her friends. At least she would have people that could relate to her, who would be there to give some joy. "Personally, I didn't want to go."

"Really? Then why did you come?" Arata was certain she wasn't aware that he was going to be arriving when she made that decision. So what was it that drew her here if not for him?

"It would've been too lonely at home." It was a little unfathomable to him that think that she wouldn't enjoy being at the house of all place. He thought it was insane what money was capable of buying when it came to homes, but there was more than its value that mattered to her.

After all, it was a large home for what? Just so that her and her mom could live there just for the basics? That woman spent more time working than anything else, and she only got joy by going to school and being with everyone she knew. "But don't worry about me, we're here together now." Misei smiled at him. Her tone to him was so different compared to how their relationship began. That girl seemed to be rather mean and up on a high horse in her treatment of him.

However, now she seemed to shed that shield of hers that was for putting a wall between her and everyone else. The only ones that were aware of this real form were their friends, who weren't even aware of that tender feeling she had for the boy she had a crush on.

"Yeah, you're right." He agreed. They were of people interested in each other, so now was the not the time for worrying about the issues they faced as teenagers. Right now, Misei wanted to get closer to him. And she was going to work hard for it with the opportunity given tonight.