Having caught wind of plans for the night, Daizen Shizaki decided to dress differently.
Although he did not bring any formal clothes (he did not have any anyway), due to the weather becoming more cold and chilly, he brought his favorite white cloak with him and decided to wear it for this occasion.
Extremely nervous about going to a social event, he almost backed out, but with Satou Yukino at his door asking if he could accompany him to the party due to his shyness, he had no choice but to agree.
As they both left the Living Quarters and advanced toward their destined location, Yukino tried to compliment Shixaki's appearance.
"Y-You look …good, Shizaki-kun."
"Huh? Oh, thanks. Same to you. I'm surprised that you did not ask anybody else to accompany you as you made your way to the party."
"I…find it easier to talk to you! Also, I couldn't find anyone else. I-I think they all left already."
"Oh, okay."
Still, trying to look for everyone just so that they can walk with you to the party is….
Then again, he could not criticize Yukino, because he would have done the same thing.
They walked on together until they were at the far southeast side of the set of buildings. A large stretch of land filled with many various sites were in view.
As they got closer to its small wooden gate, they could see Yukikama Kawarasuri, who caught their nervous glances and waved.
"Guys!"
"King! We made it!"
"So you have. Doesn't this place look impressive?"
Shizaki nodded in excitement. Not being included in a party for most of his entire life was partly thanks to that. What exactly would occur here, he wondered.
Yukino, seemingly thinking of something suddenly, looked left and right in a slight anxiety, with his eyes searching for someone, but after a careful inspection, he sighed in relief.
He's not here.
The memory of last night still lingered in his mind as he glanced at Shizaki out of concern.
Seeing Aya and Neo arrive as well, Shizaki took a quick glance at everyone present.
"Seems like most of us are all here."
"Ah-where's...?"
Aya, Shizaki, Neo, King, Yukino. One was missing.
King scratched his head lightly with a somewhat disappointed expression.
"Kamazaki-san hasn't arrived yet. Still getting ready, I guess. She cares a lot about her looks when it comes to this type of stuff. Honestly, she is always generally a latecomer, to be honest. Don't worry, though. She wouldn't dare to miss a party, so we can check out this place by ourselves until she arrives.
The group collectively began to stroll into the recreational area, with their eyes stuck to the glamorous setup of the complex.
"It looks nice. The cafeteria staff, the stands, the music. Everything looks really good."
"I know, right? Let's start out with the food section", replied King, and Neo agreed immediately with a nod.
"Fine by me."
"Alright!"
They all went to the right, and Shizaki was almost left behind. However, as he opened his mouth to speak, something caught the corner of his eye before he could respond.
Blue hair.
The slim figure of a young woman faded into the distance from within the crowd.
Yuki Haidara.
"U-Um..."
As he turned back to face his group of companions however, the blinking dotted lines of their silhouettes were what remained.
You gotta be kidding me…
They had all left him behind due to their excitement.
He then tried to make up his mind on what was now on his mind, and pondered on strengthening his will to meet up with Haidara. After all…
{ "Yeah, yeah, don't get ya fuckin' hopes up, but if we bounce into each other again, then maybe. You'll hardly find me, though, jus' sayin'." }
Almost instantly, the thoughts in Shizaki's head started to overflow.
How should I approach her though? Is this the best time…? Wait, why am I even trying to talk to her again!? Wouldn't she find me weird trying to follow her just to converse again?
"Babyface!!!"
A very familiar voice had stopped his thoughts, and his heart skipped a beat both from the tone of her voice as well as the embarrassment from the nickname being shouted out.
Gazing at his left, he spotted a girl dressed in a beautiful red and white kimono. She skipped towards him and then stopped and stooped downwards as she tried to catch her breath, after which she rose and hastily wiped away small beads of sweat, before looking up into his eyes with a heartwarming smile.
He could barely respond. After all, the dazzling and unquestionable beautiful figure of Bella Kamazaki stood before him in a spectacular dress, taking his breath away.
Of course, many bystanders and passers-by also were drawn to her attractiveness as well, and whispers began to pass around.
"She's beautiful…"
"Is that her boyfriend next to her or something?"
"So cute..!"
It was then that Kamazaki tilted her head at Shizaki, with a slightly flushed face and with deep breaths of exhalation, prompting him to stutter.
"K-Kama....zaki-san...."
"I....made it, heh. Where's the others?"
Shizaki's eyes drifted down in amazement of the beauty of the kimono dress but then stopped short and he shifted his eyes away as he slightly blushed.
"Somewhere a-about."
"Eeeeeehh? Somewhere about? Don't tell me you don't know where they are too?"
"I....got a bit distracted and lost sight of them....you...."
"Hmm?"
Locking his eyes with her right eye, he mustered up the courage.
"You look....beautiful."
"Eh?"
She paused, but then put her left hand over her mouth while narrowing her right eye and she flashed him a mischievous look, while her face displayed a bit of red.
"A compliment from you....how smooth. Is this how you snag all the ladies at your hometown?"
"Don't make fun of me! I-I couldn't help it, dammit! I've never seen a kimono in real life, you know! I've only read about it!"
"Well, now you have your first ever view of what perfection looks like while dressed in one....although I do admit that I might have gone over the top with the outfit selection."
She eyed many around her who did not dress up like her and went for simple clothing, but Shizaki smiled and responded.
"No...y-you're good....I've seen people arrive with stylish suits and stuff, too. I only brought my favorite coat with me, so I'm not really the prime example of a flashy person here."
"Haha, okay, okay."
A few seconds of silence emerged as the couple looked at each other and around them awkwardly, staring at the many people close by.
Shizaki could feel the cheeks on his face heating up, and tried his best to think of something to continue the conversation instead of making things weird with silence. However, he just could not bring up anything as his mind was pretty much spinning. As he took a peek at the young woman wearing an eyepatch in front of him, he could tell that she too was a bit uneasy.
"H-Hey..."
Kamazaki was the first to break the silence, yet she kept her gaze at the crowd. Shizaki became tense as he waited for what she had to say next.
"About what happened after the Selection, well, with my test, I've been wanting to thank you."
"Huh? Thank me?"
"Y-Yeah! You know…doing your best to take me to my room and look after me for a while until Yukikama decided to take over like the stupid big brother-like person that he is. Thanks, I appreciate it."
Her right eye slowly made contact with his gaze, and she bit the inside of her bottom lip, while Shizaki froze, taking a bit of time to process what she had just said before nervously chuckling, with his heart still beating fast.
"Oh….haha, yeah, no problem. You're welcome."
"....So….um, hm."
She took a deep breath and then spun around to avert her face from him with a nervous smile.
"Wanna take a walk together?"
-----------------------------------------
(Chapter 33: Couple Under the Moon.)