"All right then, where are we going to first?" Ishi asked. This prompted the other three to just blankly stare at the boy. "Come on, just because this was my idea doesn't mean I have to do all the work." He sighed, social gatherings like this weren't his deal, so there was no way any of them should've expected him to handle their business.
"I'm only here because you asked." Said Chinae. "It's not like I want to be here, so I don't care what we do." She had a disinterested look on her face. Were this a real date, then he would be feeling the pressure of trying to keep her entertained. How unfair, seeing as they only just met up here.
"Then I'll be the one to suggest a plan for us." Otoya taking the reins on this date already made Ishi regret ever agreeing to joining them. Especially given the place he took them all to. "We'd like a room for four please."
"How many times do I need to say that just because she's an idol we don't have to hear her sing." Of course the boy had brought them to a karaoke bar. It was a popular hangout location for people their age, and there were tons of other students they recognized also enjoying their weekend here.
"It's not because of her." His friend replied. "I love singing at the karaoke bar, but you never want to come. So I'm taking advantage of this rare opportunity." Apparently Rinse wasn't the only person people were curious to hear sing. As someone with a rather negative outlook on life, a lot of other students were very interested in hearing what his singing voice might sound like. Was it wonderful? Ugly? Somewhere in the middle? Those thoughts began to more heavily invade their minds after the girl tried to get him to sing that one day.
"I bet under that tough exterior of yours, you're probably real embarrassed to sing in front of people." Chiane teased. He believed that she didn't care about having to sing. Either because they both knew she was talented, or that she could simply refuse. "So I can't wait until they make you sweat."
"Ain't happening." He responded. The boy could easily just not take the mic. Though that would certainly make for a boring date if half the daters didn't participate. That's what Otoya gets for coming up with a stupid idea like this.
"I'd like to hear you sing." Rinse spoke up as they came to their room. "Even if you're really bad, it'd be nice if you went and tried to have fun with the rest of us."
"Would you like to hear me sing, Rinse?" Otoya took the attention as he set up the machine.
"That'd be nice too." She responded, a lot less enthusiastic compared to her hope of listening to Ishi's singing voice. "Why don't you go ahead first?"
Ishi took note of her demeanor. He felt a little bad that she was in this position, since it was mainly his own fault. He was the one that put her up as an offer without her permission. While she was annoyed that he would do that, she still accepted to help him keep his end of the bargain up anyway. That was just the type of person she was. A bit stereotypical, but this girl was an idol all right.
She did want to spread cheer and happiness for others around her. That's how she was ever since transferring to their school. But that wasn't why she came here in the first place. No, that girl wanted to experience life among them, find out what it was like to live a so-called normal life. Too bad that it's hard to have that when everyone around you continues to be a reminder of your status.
"Yo, you've been staring at Hattori for a while now, don't you think?" Chinae snapped him back into reality. That was strange, he thought. Normally the boy wasn't one to go so deep into thought about someone else. This was bothersome, it seemed that Rinse really was having an effect on him somehow. "Last time I checked, you're on a date with me."
"Thought you didn't care."
"We might as well play the act, shouldn't we?" The way she talked to him on this pretend date. It was one thing to not take it seriously, as they had been doing. It was another thing that she seemed so at ease about it.
"You're right." He responded as Otoya loaded up a song to begin singing his own single. At least if he was paying attention to her, he wouldn't have to deal with listening to the obnoxious cries that his friend called singing. Some conversation was going to need to be had between them if this could be called a proper date. "So, have you been on any other dates before?"
"Plenty." She answered without putting any more detail on it. That was an odd response from her. Not to sound mean, but it didn't sound like any of the boys at were interested in dating her. It's not that she was ugly, but rather she was fairly normal looking Japanese high school girl.
Her long brown hair might have been the only part about her that stood out to him. Even then, that hair color made her appear like anyone else he could've known. It didn't help that she had an average chest size, body shape, and even unassuming outfit. There was little about this girl that stood out.
Which is also why her transformation into Chiana still was hard for him to swallow. That girl, even if they had the same physical features, glowed with something that caused others to pay attention to her. It couldn't have been the blonde wig she wore solely responsible for the attraction. Her demeanor, those eyes of her seemed to change as she played the part of someone else.
"Okay…" She put him on the spot once more to continue this conversation of theirs as Otoya filled the room with his music. "So that means you've already kissed and done stuff like that?"
"Can we talk about something else?" She responded without answering his question. A clear sign to him that she had something to be ashamed of from her past. "I'm not that interesting of a person, so tell me something about you."
"Can't say that I'm an interesting person myself." He answered. Though, it was a bad response that surely would never get any girl to fall for him. Unless they felt his statement to be false, which some did believe.
If this was a genuine date, then he was really floundering. Ishi didn't feel that way, but that was possibly due to his own lack on interest of being successful here. "Look, it's hard to force myself to want to talk, okay?"
"Then stop being so full of yourself, and open up a little." She took his hand. Something about her actions didn't seem right to him. This wasn't genuine come from her, that grip wasn't very strong. It was nothing like the time Youna took his arm, even if that girl was fearing for her life from the horror movie they were watching.
It was obvious to him that she was going out of her way to make that gesture. It wasn't natural, nor was it coming from any emotional response. It was almost as if she had practiced this before, many times. Yet he could tell that it was only that, a practiced routine designed to get someone to feel like it was real.
"It looks like you're the one who needs to open up." He replied, staring right into her eyes. Her body didn't like how close his face was to hers. It was unnerving as she averted from the staring contest.
"Ohohoh, it looks like Ishi's already making some moves." Otoya spoke after he finished his song. The boy still spoke into the mic, so his voice was clear to hear from beyond their room. "I never took Kamagata to be your type."
"She's not." Ishi back away from her, unsatisfied with their conversation. She was hiding something, but perhaps that might be hypocritical of him. After all, he barely showed anything of himself to her. It was unfair to expect something from her, if he wasn't willing to give back in return.
"Hey, Kamagata." Rinse took the microphone from Otoya's hands and went over to the other girl. "Do you want to sing with me? They have Chiana's song on the machine." She could tell that Ishi didn't make a romantic gesture, but one of intimidation towards the girl.
"Oh yeah, Chiana's a rising idol from what I've heard." Said Otoya. "I didn't think that Kamagata would care about that song though.
"Chiana's my… Sister." Slowly, she revealed the lie to him. "She's just a year older than me."
"You have an idol for an older sister? Lucky." He bought it without an ounce of questioning. "Hey, maybe you should introduce us to her."
"Now's not the time to be bring that up." Ishi spoke through his teeth in aggravation. This boy was already on a date with an idol. It was ridiculous to try and get an impossible harem.
"Anyway." Chinae ignored the dumb question. "I'd like to sing with you." Despite appearing to be the loner type, he could tell that she was fine with hanging around Rinse. To some, it might be because of the idol's reputation. Though he knew the truth that she wanted to be with someone she considered a friend, even if that friend didn't realize the truth.
The two sang the duet beautifully, as expected from a pair of real idols who were close to one another. Chinae didn't even attempt to hide sounding like Chiana, most likely due to the fact that it wouldn't matter. If it was believed that they were related, then it wouldn't be a big deal if they sounded the same.
"Wow, you two sounded great." Otoya gave them a standing ovation once their song was over. "I see that it runs in the family."
"It's no big deal." Chinae placed down the microphone on the table and sat besides her date. "I'm not really into all that idol business."
"A shame that the world will never see this collaboration." He lamented that Rinse would lose out on such an amazing opportunity to see with another great talent. "Anyway…" The boy picked up the mic from the table and hung it in front of Ishi. "It's your turn now."