Chapter 18

Complications

Before dinnertime had come, Tomida had relayed to everyone that earlier today the head chef of a nearby five-star restaurant had personally called the mansion to ask if they could come eat at the restaurant tonight since he is having a small dinner party for his birthday. Shouko's family had been regulars at the restaurant, and when the chef was informed that her parents were not available, he said that Shouko could bring Tomida and two other friends instead. It was then decided that Raily and Kahoko would accompany them, and the two girls cheerfully agreed.

That was before Raily was told that they needed to dress up for that.

"I didn't bring any fancy clothes." Raily grumbled. Not to mention, I don't even own any.

"Me too," Kahoko frowned.

"Ano… if it's alright, you can borrow some of mine. Hanami-senpai can borrow too." Shouko said shyly.

"That would be great, Fuyuumi-chan!" Kahoko smiled.

"Er… yeah, sure. Dresses." Raily swallowed, suddenly feeling dread in the bottom of her stomach.

"A-alright… Please follow me." Shouko led them towards a small room Kahoko and Raily have never seen before. As soon as Shouko opened the door for them, Raily was greeted by a sudden burst of light that blinded her momentarily.

When her eyes finally adjusted to the brightness, she found that it wasn't exactly the light of the room that was so bright; it was because the room contained everything glittery and shiny. There were bejeweled dresses, bags, shoes, and lots and lots of jewelry with precious stones in all colors.

Both the girls were awestruck by the lavishness before their eyes. Shouko blushed heavily. "I'm sorry, my mom was really fond of shiny things."

I bet she was. Raily gawked. This room looks like a diamond mine exploded in it.

"U-um… please go on and choose whatever you want to wear."

"Are you sure, Fuyuumi-chan?" Kahoko asked, a bit hesitant. It seems even Kahoko is not used to this much luxury.

Shouko nodded. "W-we should hurry, we have t-to leave soon..."

"Alright…" Kahoko walked over to a rack of dresses and looked over them.

Raily remained standing in position, suddenly feeling very out of place. In her entire life, she has never worn anything that's even one –fourth as lavish as what's in the room. Heck she's never even worn a dress for a very long time, not to mention jewelry and high heels. Sulking, she debated on whether to tell Shouko that she felt uncomfortable and preferred to stay at home.

"Hanami-senpai…?"

Raily took a deep breath, prepared to break the news. She turned to look at Shouko and found her holding up a long, shimmering, dark violet dress.

"I… I think this will suit you, senpai." Shouko asked, her face almost as red as a tomato.

At that moment, Raily couldn't bring herself to say no to that adorable freshman. She gave a small smile and took the dress from her.

"It looks nice." Raily said. And she did mean it. The fabric felt satiny in her fingers and the color was exactly her type. "I'll try it on." She walked towards the far end of the room that had dividers and a mirror by the wall.

Raily carefully put on the dress and looked at herself in the mirror. The dress framed her body well; the bust, waist and even the length with the dress reaching a few inches below her ankles, all fit her perfectly. It was like the dress was especially tailored for her. Despite that though, she firmly believed that dresses do not look good on her. She held her hair up and scrutinized herself. This dress is not bad, but it really doesn't suit me. With a sigh, she turned a little and froze when she saw her back in the mirror. She hadn't noticed before that the dress was actually a halter, one that had a really low cut in the back, giving her a good view of her upper back. She immediately let her hair down and sighed in relief when it got covered.

"Are you done, Hanami-san?" Kahoko's voice called out.

"Y-yeah, in a sec." Raily gathered up her own clothes and took one last hesitant look in the mirror before she joined the other girls.

She surveyed Kahoko and Shouko and whistled.

Kahoko was wearing a pink strapless gown, and on her neck was a pink pearl necklace that seemed to come in a set with the pearl clip on her hair. Shouko chose to wear a yellow Victorian long-sleeved gown with a blue crystal headband that seemed to emphasize her innocence and adorability even more. They look pretty. Raily mused. Me on the other hand…

"You look beautiful, Hanami-san!" Kahoko gushed. "That dress is perfect!"

"The color matches your dark hair." Shouko added with a smile.

Raily felt color rise up her cheeks and smoothed her dress. "S-shut up. It feels weird."

The two girls laughed at her reaction.

"You should put your hair up." Kahoko suggested.

"No way!" Raily quickly said. "My back will be all seen!"

"Well, it is a halter dress." Kahoko laughed.

"I don't care." Raily said stubbornly. "I like it this way."

"We got you shoes." Shouko offered. She showed Raily the black strappy heels.

Raily looked horrified. "….Can't I wear slippers instead? They won't be seen anyway."

"I'm not used to wearing heels either." Kahoko said as she lifted her dress up and showed her white heels. "We can hold on to each other." She laughed.

Shouko remained holding the heels and looked at Raily.

Aw Geez. Why does being a girl have to be this difficult! Raily gingerly took the shoes and wore them. Whoah. I got like three inches taller.

As soon as the three of them were ready, they left the room and proceeded down to the foyer to meet up with Tomida, who had just finished preparing the boys' dinner.

Before descending down the stairs, Raily saw the boys already waiting below. With the commotion Hihara and the others were making the moment Shouko and Kahoko had gone down, Raily instantly wished that she could just teleport to the restaurant so she could miss going down the stairs in everyone's view. When Tomida called for her, it took Raily all the courage to resist running away. She slowly walked to maintain her balance and tried her best to ignore the stares she's been getting.

All the way down, Raily held on to the railings and prayed that she wouldn't lose her balance and make a fool of herself. Oh shit, stop looking at me, will you! I know I look weird okay?! So stop looking! She mentally cursed the male population for being so stupid and clueless. She was already in the last few steps of the stairs when her right foot wobbled on the next step and she tripped, leaving her flying towards the ground. She braced herself for the impact, but was surprised to see that someone had caught her before she could hit the ground.

Raily looked up and gasped to see Ryoutarou's face a few inches from her. God I didn't know he has nice cheekbones.

When Ryoutarou finally looked at her, Raily blinked and turned away. What the fuck did I just think of?

In a concerned expression, Ryoutaou asked if she was alright.

"Y-yeah," Raily replied, and that's when Raily realized that he was still carrying her from that fall. She hastily put herself back on her feet and smoothed her dress, putting up a front like it was no big deal.

Raily cleared her throat and still refused to look at him. "Er- thanks, Tsuchiura."

"Raily-san, are you alright?" Azuma came towards her, together with Kazuki and the others.

"I'm fine, guys." Raily replied. Amidst the crowd that approached her to see if she's really fine, Raily noticed that a certain blue-haired boy was missing and saw that he was looking back at them, unmoved and leaning by the wall, with an unreadable expression on his face.

Raily felt a gentle pat on her shoulder and turned to see Ryoutarou. He smiled and held up one of her black heels. "You dropped this, princess." He said jokingly.

"Oh my hero." Raily joked back. She reached out to take the shoe from him and he merely smiled, holding it away from her.

"Hey-" Raily tried to get it again but being left with one heel on her she was at a disadvantage.

Ryoutarou chuckled and held the shoe in front of her. "Let me put it on you. You might fall again."

Raily suddenly realized that everyone was still there, watching as this all unfold and this made her feel really awkward as heat rushed up her cheeks. She cleared her throat again. "N-no thanks, I can do it myself." She snatched the shoe from him and put it on her foot.

"You must remember to walk straight, Hanami-ojou-sama." Tomida smiled and offered her hand to her. She turned to the other girls. "Let us go. The car is waiting outside."

Still blushing like hell, Raily held onto Tomida and went straight out the mansion as the others said goodbye.

"Hmm, it feels weird with just us here, doesn't it?" Kazuki said, breaking the silence in the dining table.

Azuma chuckled. "It appears to be so."

"But I was really surprised to see her- I mean them, a while ago." Kazuki commented, a blush forming in his cheeks.

"The girls?" Azuma asked. "They're really beautiful tonight, aren't they?"

"Yeah!…" Kazuki agreed eagerly. "I mean, I never noticed it as much before."

"Oh, Hihara, you're growing up." Kanazawa teased.

"I-it's not like that!" Kazuki argued.

"Is there anyone in particular you're referring to?" Azuma smiled, knowingly.

"N-no!" Kazuki sputtered, getting super red now.

"…Raily-san looked really beautiful tonight." Azuma suddenly said, ever so casually.

Two heads suddenly perked up at the mention of that.

Hehe. Azuma took a drink of his water. "It was a good thing Tsuchiura-kun was fast enough to catch her before she fell, isn't it?"

"I guess." Ryoutarou muttered and continued eating.

"Isn't it just because he was the one nearest to her?" Len calmly pointed out.

Ryoutarou cut a look at him. "At least I tried to catch her."

Len put down his utensils. "Why? Should I have?"

The air around the table suddenly grew tense, and Kazuki felt that he needed to change the subject.

"Ah, haha, so it's just us boys now, huh?" Kazuki said, laughing nervously.

"Watch it, Hihara." Kanazawa cut in. "I'm still your teacher."

Kazuki put a tongue out. "Geez, we're not gonna do anything illegal you know, Kanayan!"

"What do you suggest we do, Hihara?" Azuma asked curiously.

"Whatever it is, please keep me out of it." Len said stiffly.

"Don't be such a loser, Tsukimori!" Kazuki elbowed him in the side.

Len just glared at him. "It is none of your concern."

"Oh oh why don't we play basketball? Yes, yes?" Kazuki was bouncing in his seat. "See, Shimizu looks like he likes the idea!"

"…Eh...Senpai… I don't know how to play…" Shimizu replied, not the bit fazed by him.

"It's alright! We can play it teams! It's easy!" Kazuki urged.

"Well…" Shimizu slowly nodded. "If senpai says so…"

"Alright! Tsukimoriiii," Kazuki pouted. "Join usss."

"No thank you," Len responded. "I don't have time for that."

"Tsk. If you can't play, just say so." Ryoutarou drawled out.

"I know how to play." Len said sharply, glaring at the green-haired athlete.

Ryoutarou smirked. "I bet you can't even shoot."

"Whatever you can do, I can do better." Len retorted.

"Oh I wouldn't be so confident about that, especially when it comes to sports, Mr. Music Student." Ryoutarou said, making sure to emphasize the last bit.

Len felt a vein pop. "We'll see about that then."

"So does that mean you'll join, Tsukimori?" Kazuki cried.

Len gave a curt nod, still glaring at his challenger.

Kanazawa sighed. "Hihara, you better watch those two later. I'm going to sleep early tonight."

"Will do! This is gonna be fun, don't you think Yunoki?" Kazuki told his friend.

"Oh, I believe it will." Azuma smiled knowingly. It will really be interesting to watch these two. If only Raily were here to witness this.

In the cozy little restaurant, Raily sneezed for the third time since they left the mansion.

"Someone's been talking about you, Hanami-san." Kahoko chuckled.

"…" Raily proceeded back to her food.

"That young man back there, Tsuchiura-sama was it?" Tomida said. "Are you two in a relationship?"

Raily almost dropped the spoon she was holding. "N-no, of course not, Tomida-san! How could you even think that?!"

"Oh I apologize," Tomida smiled. "It's just that you two seem close."

Kahoko giggled. "He was really sweet to Hanami-san a while ago, wasn't he?"

"He even wanted to put on her shoe for her." Shouko agreed meekly.

"He's just really nice." Raily reasoned out. Besides, he likes Hino.

"Are you not interested in him?" Tomida asked.

"N-no!" Raily tried to look appalled.

"Then why are you blushing, Hanami-san?" Kahoko pointed out, teasingly.

"I'm not blushing!"

"You're getting red, senpai." Shouko commented.

"I said I'm not!" Raily argued. "Geez, what about you, Hino? The boys were looking at you too!"

"Hihara-senpai… he couldn't take his eyes off you." Shouko wondered aloud.

"Hihara-senpai?" Kahoko laughed. "He was saying everyone looked beautiful."

Okay, time to add Hihara to the list of boys enchanted by Hino. Raily smirked. "Ah. So it's Hihara, is it?"

"What?" It was Kahoko's turn to blush now.

"Hino," Raily decided to ask her while the boys weren't there. "Who do you like?"

"W-who do I like?" Kahoko repeated, suddenly scandalized by the thought.

All eyes were on her as they waited for her answer.

"Is it Tsuchiura? Azuma?" Raily offered. "Or… Tsukimori?" She felt a little pain after saying the last name and she tried to set it aside.

"I don't know." Kahoko finally answered. "I don't want to think about it."

"Why not, senpai?" Shouko asked.

"Because I like the way it is now, being friends with everyone."

Tsk. Evasive charmer, this one. Raily gave a small smile and nodded. "You're right. Let's just focus on the concours first."

In reality, Raily had wanted to know who Kahoko liked, but then she realized that they've all known each other only for a short while now, and there shouldn't be any pressure in things such as liking someone. How sure was she that she liked anyone either? Being friends… that doesn't sound bad at all. It might be a little hard, but it's a start.

The division of teams was decided through the mighty Rock-Paper-Scissors. Azuma, Keichii and Ryoutarou were on one team, while Len and Kazuki ended up on another. It initially started off with everyone passing the ball and playing but before long, it looked like Ryoutarou and Len were the only ones playing one-on-one ball.

With his long fast strides, Ryoutarou would quickly get hold of the ball and aim the ball, without so much as a pass to his other teammates. Len was also doing the same, as he would claim the ball every time it was within his reach. The others began to notice this, and with much convincing, Azuma had Hihara stand back and watch with them and Keichii. Soon, the two sophomore boys were in a fierce battle of blocking and shooting, with Ryoutarou leading by 10 points.

"Where's your confidence now, Tsukimori?" Ryoutarou smirked, as he dribbled the ball and maneuvered his body to escape Len's block.

Taking a quick breath, Len chased after Ryoutarou, mentally cursing his lack of Physical Education classes as a Music Student in Seiso. It's been so long since he played basketball; no scratch that, it's been so long since he's moved this much actually. He was sweating so much, his leg muscles hurt, and his lungs felt like it was going to explode. All throughout his life, he had never experienced this feeling of wanting to beat someone that badly. Wanting and wanting and refusing to give up. He didn't even know what was pushing him to try this hard. Was it because of his pride as a Music Student? His desire of showing Ryoutarou that he's better than him?

Len cursed as Ryoutarou scored again.

"Tired now?" Ryoutarou cocked a brow. "The game's not over, is it?"

Len straightened up. Whatever the reason was, he didn't have the time to figure it out now. All he wanted was to win. "It's just getting started."

Ryoutarou smirked and threw the ball at him. "Go then, my turn to block."

"Ne, Yunoki…"

Azuma turned his attention away from the basketball game and on to Kazuki. "What is it, Hihara?" He asked, smiling.

"Do you think…"

"Do I think what?"

"Do you think… I have a chance with Hino?" Kazuki asked quietly.

Kazuki didn't know if it was just an illusion, but for a split-second there he thought he saw Azuma's smile turn into a snarl. He quickly shook his head. Whoah, I must be more tired than I thought. I'm seeing things.

"Mm," Azuma paused thoughtfully. "You're interested in her?"

Kazuki looked back at his friend. "I don't know… I think so."

Fool, that was a rhetorical question. I already know you do. Azuma continued to smile at him. "Well, I can't really speak for Hino-san, but are you planning on telling her that you like her?"

"Do you think I should?" Kazuki asked, worried. "I'm scared that she might not feel the same way."

"Then you won't ever tell her?"

Kazuki looked at Azuma, surprised.

Azuma just shrugged and pushed his long hair back. "She won't know until you tell her, right, Hihara?"

Kazuki clenched his fist. "Yeah… I guess that's true."

The two of them watched the game for a while until Kazuki spoke again.

"Ne, Yunoki…"

"Hm?"

"Will you help me with her?"

End of Chapter 18

Hey readers!

Hope you enjoyed this one! It's getting more dramatic now wahaha :) Hope to update the next chapters soon!

-Katelyn Haven