Prestige 4

The pair got themselves into a private room and already Arata was feeling the heat. How could he have been so naive to not take note where he was taking her. For certain now, anyone would've thought this to be a date between them.

"So…" Things got awkward between them as he spoke up first. The room was quiet, with only the light muffles of other patrons to fill the sound. Arata was a little disappointed that this was where he took them, as it now looked as though this was his plan to go on a date with her. To give such false hope was a bit cruel. "What songs do you like?"

"I think you should go first." They already knew a bit about the other's taste in music. In fact, he remembered that night during the festival when she sneaked out with him in the woods to share some songs. Back then he was being a little dense to not have noticed her advances on him. To be fair, the boy had a few other things on his mind in terms of Matsu. As well as the assumption she was in love with Yogi instead.

Things certainly did change a lot in their relationship during this past year. He never would've dreamed of having someone like her feel the way she did about him. Not only that, but they had only gotten closer after he joined the student council.

"Say..." Arata spoke as he ran through the list of songs. "When you told me that you fell for me, was that the only reason?"

"Um, what do you mean?" She was confused as to where this was coming from. Misei would've assumed that telling him that the way he tackled his relationship challenges was enough of an explanation.

"I, um, don't mind that you like me for who I am." After all, his mom always said that should be the reason he liked a girl. Though he hadn't really thought it through back when he was younger when she told him that. At least this explained why his favorite anime characters always had the same personality.

Arata turned his head away from her as he went to ask his question. While it shouldn't embarrass him, the subject still was nerve racking. "Just that… You're good with… What I look like too, right?" A lot of people would also like to be considered good looking by people who liked them. At the very least, it would be nice not to only be liked for what was on the inside.

"Look like…" She paused for a moment as the feeling of awkwardness returned. It was already a challenge to talk about deeper topics with someone like him. She normally was good at speech, given her role at school. Yet when it came to Arata, she seemed to be reduced to the equivalent of ice melting into a puddle.

It was nearly impossible to get the words she wanted to say out. The girl's mind was filled with dread of saying the wrong thing that might turn him off. But at the same time, she didn't want to be viewed as shallow or anything when a subject like this came up. "I do think you're cute."

"But, that's only just because you liked me first, then the attraction followed?" He was still a little doubtful on her words. Mostly because she sounded hesitant to answer his question.

"No, that's not true." It wasn't the case. "Before I even liked you, I mean, even when I disliked you. I still thought you looked rather… Adorable." While it might seem weird that he was viewed as attractive at school, that was the case for the boy. For whatever reason, appearing as a reclusive person who kept a fair bit of their hair in front of their face look good to some people.

"Hmm, I see." That was a good answer for him. At least it got her to say more about her true feelings. "Then how about I reward you stepping out of your shell with a song." Arata chose out a song that he really enjoyed as one of the ending songs of an anime. Thankfully it was also a pretty popular song so he wouldn't get too self-conscious on indulging in his favorite stuff.

So the boy began singing out with the microphone. Admittedly, since he also had a lot of time to himself, the boy also found himself singing along to these songs a bit too much. So he had a good idea of following the rhythm and melody well. Though that didn't make up for a lack of talent so it's not as if he was blowing anyone away with his performance. Any judge on a musical talent show would've given him a bad review.

"Very nice." Misei gave a polite applause as he finished up his number. "You sing a lot better than I was expecting." Already she was regretting saying that as it sounded as though she thought he was going to stink up the joint. "Do you think you could do another round?"

"I mean, I could." It's not like singing was that hard on vocal cords after just one song. "But, don't you want a try?" His offer was what she was worried about as he held the microphone in front of her face. Being with the others she was already feeling uncomfortable kicking back and making a fool of herself. It just seemed like a bad idea considering how much she cared for her reputation at school.

"I'm sorry." She was disappointed that even when alone with him, there was still a struggle in her body not to do it. "I guess I should've said something so we wouldn't waste your time."

"How about this…" Arata went through a few songs that he was sure she would like given what he knew about her tastes. "We can sing a duet so you don't feel singled out." It would be pretty awkward to only have him sitting there watching her intently while she sung. So maybe she wouldn't feel so shy if they shared in this.

"You would do that?" She never had anyone do that with her before. Not even Yogi offered something like that. "Then… I'll do it." She took the other microphone and stood up from her seat.

"Great." He said as he chose the song for them. Of course a lot of the songs she liked also happened to be romantic in nature. Maybe it wasn't a surprise given she was a girl in love, but that also changed the context of their date a little bit as the first chorus began.

Still, he gave it his best. She seemed to be trying too, but from the tone of her voice, it was clear that she was still feeling stiff. This girl just needed to loosen up a bit, then she'd see that he was harmless. Realistically, what was the worst thing he'd do to her? Say they weren't meant to be? While that would sting a lot, she would move on one day.

Though right now, it certainly felt like this was meant to be between them. Arata looked at her in the eye, and she did the same. There was something that stirred in her heart, as it had done a lot lately with him. However, even he was feeling something that the boy had never felt before in his heart.

Finally, their song ended as the pair plopped back into their seats tired. He couldn't help but laugh a little bit as they took a bit of a breather.

"Ha… Hahaha." The boy couldn't contain his laughter and it was contagious as she joined in with him. "You're really bad at singing." It was no wonder why she would feel nervous about opening up with everyone. Yet despite being so poor at this skill, it was still a lot of fun to do it with him.

"The same could be said about you." Even though she was so concerned about him making fun of her, Misei took it in stride with her retort. This was a nice moment between the two that really made him happy. Though she took it one step further as the girl caught him off guard and embraced the boy in her arms.

"Ah… Misei." He quietly whispered as she got closer to him. She had a big smile on her face, yet there seemed to also be some sadness mixed into her face. Misei rubbed over the top of his head as she spoke.

"I wish we could do this all the time." She told him. "But I know if you don't like me, then I'll cherish the time we did have together." The girl was about to lean in for a kiss, which instinctively he pushed her off.

"Oh, uh." He had hurt the mood a bit with his actions. But the boy was feeling like they might be going a bit too far in the moment. "I'm sorry, but maybe…" There wasn't anything he could say to make her feel better over being rejected. Arata wasn't sure what he was feeling, but he knew that something was stirring inside of him in regards to her.

"I see…" She hung her head down in disappointment. It seemed that perhaps something was not in the cards for them. Not now, or perhaps even ever. "Then, let's just go then." The mood was soured as she stood up from him and headed for the door.

"Right… And I'm really sorry." He said as she opened up the door. The pair headed out into the hallway for the exit, but that was when something troublesome occurred.

"So you decided to sneak out here after classes?" Her mom somehow was here, and she really wasn't happy to see the two of them together. "...With him?"