The time is 7 o'clock in the evening and Odd Jobs has closed up the cafe. Kagura had a long chat with Brady setting him up for success and Diego set up the mixer in no time at all. All that's left now before it is to get Chifuyu ready.
"This is stupid."
"C'mon Shinatsu, don't you care about Chifuyu?! This is all for him."
"No seriously, you don't have to."
Iris puts her right hand on Shinatsu's shoulder and asks nicely, "Please."
"Guh."
What's going on here is Diego asked the girls of Odd Jobs to pretend they have a crush on Chifuyu and ask him out on a date.
"F-fine. Hey, Chifuyu. It's not like I have a thing for you or anything."
"…."
And the room goes silent.
"Bwahahahaha." Chifuyu and Kagura burst out in laughter, even Iris lets out a chuckle.
"Hehe. Shinatsu, you're a Tsun... Tsun-Tsun-Tsun-Tsun-Tsun... dere."
"What's with all the tsuns?"
"Who's a tsundere?! Come here, Iris!"
Shinatsu chases Iris around the living room for teasing her, and Kagura hops on the twin-tail girl's back to stop her.
"I'll protect you, Iris."
"Get off… Woah. Hey.. Haha— Stop!"
"Oh?"
Kagura started tickling Shinatsu for some reason, but now the entirety of Odd Jobs knows an embarrassing secret of hers.
"Hey. Is Shinatsu…"
"Yeah. She's ticklish."
The faces of those who have known Shinatsu since she joined distort into evil ones whose plans are no good.
"Aren't we getting off track?!" Saving herself, Shinatsu turns everyone's attention back to Chifuyu.
"Oh, right."
Shinatsu sighs out of relief.
"Let's see, I guess I'll go next."
'Kagura, huh? She's intense. I have to be ready for whatever she throws at me.'
Kagura gets all up in Chifuyu's face and walks him down to the wall behind them. She then slams her hand against it while uttering a generic high school girl confession, "I think you're like super hot babe. We should totally go out."
"This is just another kabadon!"
"Did it work?"
"Maybe if you didn't talk in that valley girl accent."
"Whaat?! I thought that was a total success."
Diego is starting to reconsider asking them to do this. 'Yeah, maybe this wasn't a great idea.'
"Iris, you wanna go next?"
"Oh. Uh… Sure."
Chifuyu and Iris both have awkward looks on their faces. They're close friends who went through a year of training together and gone through battles for one another. Now, Chifuyu needs help once again. So Iris is taking the initiative to come through for her best friend.
"Ch-Chifuyu. You have mad rizz, yo."
"…."
"….."
"..."
"…"
"….."
"….."
"..."
"...."
Chifuyu pats Iris's back, "I appreciate the effort."
A single tear falls down her face. "I'm going to bed to die."
"Okay, please don't die though."
'Yeah, this was a terrible idea.'
"I'll go now."
"Ah, Nova you don't have to."
Ignoring Diego, she walks up to Chifuyu. Beatrice already agreed to do this, so she's going to see it through.
"Chifuyu, you are a man of great character who I look up to despite not knowing you for long. I believe I can learn a lot from you and hope you can do the same if we start seeing each other more. Please, go out with me."
'Hey. That wasn't bad at all. A bit too serious, but not bad. That's my Nova.'
"I would love to," Chifuyu replies.
The two then go in for a slightly awkward hug that wasn't planned.
'Chifuyu didn't get flustered! Looks like this wasn't 100% a failure.'
"Hey Beatrice, that was good! I think that may have helped me a little."
"Good to hear."
"Hey! Hey! It's my turn now."
Last but not least, Ariel.
"Chifuyu, when I'm with you I get to eat a bunch of donuts. During those times, I'm the happiest I've ever been. Please go out with me."
Chifuyu smiles. That is, right before he slaps Ariel upside her head, "So you only love me for the donuts?!"
"Pff.. Haha."
"Hahahahaha."
The room is filled with laughter.
***
Diego uses the remaining time before the mixer to teach Chifuyu everything he knows about the art of talking to girls who're into him. A quarter before 9 p.m, they leave for the mixer with Nicholas being the designated driver.
'Hey, master.'
"What's up?'
'What about that Erika girl. It's been over a year since I've seen her, but do you think she likes you?'
'Nah. She's a great friend. I'm sure it'd be a disappointment if I had any feelings for her.'
'I see.'
They arrive at the mixer taking place at a sushi restaurant. It's the type that has secluded rooms for each party, so they're focus will only be on what's in front of them.
"You look excited, Caesar."
"I am. I think tonight's going to be a great night."
"If you say so, then it must be true."
"I'm a bit nervous."
"Me too."
"That's not a bad thing. Just don't look lame in there. Well then boys, let's go."
With Diego in the front, they march on to the battle waiting for them. So as to fit the occasion, the 4 young men are wearing suits, albeit the only pair they own. It went without saying that they had to look their best this night. Walking to the front counter, Diego gives his name and party number so that the waiter may lead them to their reserved room. The 4 girls beat them there and are waiting. Hearing this, Chifuyu and Nicholas get even more nervous. But as Diego said, that's not a bad thing. They brace themselves as they open the door to their future. On the other side were the 4 ladies around the same age as them. The table was set up so that 4 would sit on one side and the other 4 on the other side. To the far left was a girl with long brown hair and the most eye-catching apparel. Next to her was a maiden with brown skin and eyes that appeared as if they were glowing which caught the attention of Diego. The two girls to the left were a short-haired blonde and a lady who had a weight of the 3 others combined. After introductions, they ordered food and gossiped amongst themselves.
"So, what type of girls are you guys into?"
A very forward question, but they are at a mixer after all.
"I don't know about the others, but let's see. I'm into girls like Zendaya." Diego took a moment to think about it although he'd already known his answer.
"Oh, she is pretty."
"Right?"
"I don't have a type. If someone clicks with me, then I just feel like that's the one." Caesar has a surprising answer that the girls like.
Diego on the other hand doesn't. 'An answer to please all of them huh? I can't get mad though, I respect that.'
Meanwhile the other two have barely opened their mouth since they got here aside from introducing themselves.
"What about you two shy boys?"
'Guh..' This stings Chifuyu and Nicholas.
'Bwahaha. This is brilliant. What an amusing way humans made up to get together. Hahahahaha.'
'Good to know you're loving this, Ariel.'
"Um.. My answer's the same as Caesar's."
"Well that's boring," one of the girls reply.
"Wha…"
"C'mon Nicolas, you can do better than that."
Chifuyu starts to sweat bullets seeing how easily Nicholas is already selling. What he says will be the deciding factor on whether he gets to stay or leaves and walks all the way home in embarrassment. But an idea sprouts itself in his head. It's not guaranteed to work, but if it does, it may save him.
Chifuyu yawns. He yawns to see if one of the girls is keeping an eye on him. It's a strange phenomenon when one person yawns, someone else who is observing them may also be susceptible to do the same. It can be said to be more contagious than a virus.
And just like that, someone else yawns. The girl with the brown hair. In his mind, Chifuyu deviously smirks from ear to ear. 'GOT YOU.'
"As for me, I'm actually into you, Sarah."
"Oh my," one of the girls says while covering her mouth out of astonishment.
This surprises all 4 of the ladies, especially leaving the brown-haired one all flustered.
'Chifuyu! I see what you did there. What a move!' Diego celebrates.
Chifuyu who was sitting second to the right gets up and asks Nicholas if he can get his spot in front of Sarah. He then shows a full teeth smile that's combined with confidence and awkwardness. Nonetheless, he has the girl's attention.
Diego and Chifuyu are engaging in conversation with the two girls on the left. Now Caesar and Nicholas have to make their moves. However, in his mind Nicholas is frozen. He's not sure what to do, he already made a mistake. He came along since the others wanted to, but now he's regretting it. Just as all hope for him seems lost, Caesar grabs his shoulder and whispers to him, "I'll take one for the team."
"Huh?"
Nicholas would realize the meaning behind those words in the next few seconds.
"You said your name was Lalika, right? What a lovely name."
"Oh, thank you."
He went for the girl who more like a whale so he didn't have to. As if taking a bullet for him, Nicholas was truly saved thus motivating him.
He shouts his fallen comrade's name fervently in his mind, 'CAESAR!!'
Ceasar Sumner. A true man among men.
'I'll never forget what you've done for me. I'll tell my kids the act of your bravery so it can be passed down for generations to come.'