The announcer of the game exclaimed out to get ready, and the two got ready side-by-side. Hakuta wasn’t as excited as she was, which was why he didn’t pay too much attention to the people on screen.

Then, the music started playing and the people, who were silhouettes on the screen, began to move along to the rhythm. This was their signal to start and begin mimicking the movements onto the screen. Things started off easily enough for the pair to follow along.

And that considering the pair were still in their school uniforms. Maybe for her it wasn’t too much of a challenge with her skirt, but him wearing his slacks were a bit of a limiting factor. Shiuka seemed to notice during the middle of their dance as she unwrapped the blazer she normally kept around her waist and threw it onto the couch behind her.

In response, he did the same thing by buttoning off his own blazer. Of course, it wasn’t as smooth as hers seeing as he wore it much more properly than she did. So the boy lost some boys in his score from the move.

“Isn’t this great!?” She yelled at him as they got into the chorus. “I’m really feeling the burn now.”

“Oh, something’s burning all right.” He replied. They should’ve stretched before beginning. He felt his muscles tightening up as they moved along to the beat. “But, you weren’t wrong.” Admittedly, this was more fun than he expected. It turned out getting one your feet to play along with a friend was a worthwhile experience after all.

“That’s the spirit!” She gave him a thumbs up as they continued on with their song. Since this wasn’t a competitive game. Instead, it was supposed to be a party game to show off insane feats for him. Which was why their two characters on screen were not doing the same thing to mirror each other for points.

“This hardly seems fair.” He commented as his side was clearly the harder one. Was it so difficult to at try and make sure people could keep up? The models were doing some air defying moves that he was unable to do. Sure, there was the excuse of the couches and coffee table being in his way. But even in the best of circumstances, there was no way for Hakuta to pull any of those moves off.

Finally, they were finished with their song. Shiuka easily got more points then him, which led to her gloating heavily towards him. “I guess… That really was… A workout.” He was out-of-breath after just one song. His fitness levels truly were bottom of the barrel. Especially compared to her, who was already going through the list for the next song. “Can’t we get some drinks first?”

“Ah, you’re right.” Quickly, she was in the kitchen already grabbing out a pitcher of water. This girl moved as if she wasn’t encumbered by a lack of stamina. Meanwhile, Hakuta was hardly able to stand up straight. “Gotta make sure we stay hydrated.” The girl placed down the pitcher along with a couple of cups for the pair.

“Thanks…” He was barely able to mutter out the words as the boy dropped down and grabbed some water as fast as possible. “Whew, that’s much better.”

“Are you ready for the next song?” She asked him, returning to the game before he was able to stand back up.

“You know I said only one song.” He informed her. “Why do you want me to do this so badly?”

“Come on, it’s not like I need to prepare for sports day.” It was obvious to see after her performance from their only dance. Compared to him, she was like a beacon of health and fitness. “Well, I guess it doesn’t hurt to keep exercising. You weren’t kidding about eating my veggies, by the way. I feel so much more energy now.”

“Because a good diet’s all you need.” He responded. While he might have pushed for better eating habits, that was as far as his health advice went. Chances were, despite being yet to know his future career prospects, he would get some desk job. Who would need to be fit and strong when all they were doing was sitting in a chair.

“Even if it doesn’t matter when you grow up, what about now?” She asked about the sports day. If he was in such bad health that it included fainting when straining himself. Then surely any regular person would be concerned for his health. “I saw the rep asking you about what happened before earlier, why can’t you take this more seriously?”

“It’s just for one day.”

“Yeah, and you’ll only have… Two more sports days after this.” She had to count out how much would be left for him considering that they were first years. “They don’t come around that much. Isn’t it worth trying to make some memories on that day?”

“…” He sighed, understanding where she was coming from. “Fine, I’ll give it a shot. But I’m only doing this for you.”

“For me?” She got a bit shy after he pointed out his sole reason for giving some effort towards their sports day. “I mean, you should only be doing it for yourself. Don’t you want some confidence?”

“If it was only for me, then I wouldn’t even attend school that day.” He got up and took a deep breath to prepare himself for another song. “But you’re right, there’s a lot of people counting on me.” Even if it was leagues less compared to someone like Itsuku, there were people who noticed him. People who were cheering for him. “Now, are you going to start a song, or do I have to choose?”

“Hmpf, I won’t be going easy this time.” She said, then confidently chose the next song. From the way he spoke to her in that moment, it was clear to her that he had gained some major confidence. The song she chose was also another J-pop song that was recently popular. This was a game that had online features, so being updated on music wasn’t a surprise. Thankfully that part was free.

The music began to fill sound into their surroundings. While he was unaware of the last song she chose, which meant the boy was off in most of his movement. This was a song he actually liked, so that meant his body could find the rhythm and follow along much easier.

It was funny to him. She said she wasn’t going to go easy on him, and even though the dance steps were more challenging. Hakuta found himself following along much better than before. His body was beginning to get used to this physical activity. It was no wonder why people enjoyed these games so much. They were able to get loose and enjoy their favorite songs in a new light.

In a sense, as he looked over at her. That was what he was feeling about her in this moment. The way she danced around so casually, so joyfully to the beat. All the while doing it next to him. No, more than just next to him. They were partners in this moment, a pair having the time of their lives. Seeing her now, this was what he would call beautiful.

When did she turn to be so beautiful to him? Sure, Shiuka was a pretty girl, that should be expected coming from someone who had paid careful attention to their appearance for the public. But, it never had any effect on him because of what she was, a gyaru. Those girls usually turned him off, but now he was feeling more positive towards her. Probably because there was something else he saw from her now. Not what she had done to herself on the outside, but from him learning just who this girl truly was on the inside.

Somehow, this was a girl who found a way to get him to believe that he was capable of making the most of sports day.

“This part’s going to be interesting.” She said, breaking him out of his thoughts. Hakuta had been moving along to the music without thinking. So when he finally noticed what was happening, it was too late. The two had moved towards the other and locked up as one.

“Oh no. I forgot.” He spoke filed with panic as they danced together as a couple. This was supposed to be a romantic song, so of course the developers of this game would put in a sequence like this.

“Isn’t this so much fun?” She asked as he twirled her around, before pulling her back into his body. Shiuka didn’t mind them doing this at all, meanwhile he had anxiety building up within his body. His thoughts before were washed away with remembering a part of why he disliked gyarus. They didn’t care about the feelings to any situation at all. “Now, pick me up.”

“Who choreographed this game?” He complained as the boy was yet again holding this girl in a princess carry. The pair didn’t actually have to follow along to the screen. They could even do it without losing points, as it was easy to cheese the dancing section. However, she was having none of that. Doing that would be considered cheating themselves out of a good experience.

While she was lost in the mood of the game. He couldn’t help but pay attention to all the other things he hadn’t noticed about her. Earlier, he was focused on what he had learned about her personally. Now Hakuta saw her in a different personal sense. Her makeup, her body, her clothes, and even her sweat. It was all there for him to soak in just a few precious moments.

Finally, he was able to place her down as the song came down to its closing seconds. This certainly was a tiring experience as the pair fell over from exhaustion. For a good 30 seconds, they laid next to one another, breathing heavily.

“That’s was…” She spoke in short phrases, still breathing hard. “Fun. I guess… I needed some… Good exercise too.”

“Sure…” That was all he could muster from his tired state.

“The two of us need to keep this up.” Finally, she was able to sit up with renewed passion. “We’ll be ready for sports day if we do this all of next week.” And so, that was how the two spent their week together leading up to the big event.