Hakuta suffered a rather long ride. Aside from having to take a bit of a delay due to traffic. He also had to contend with the girls sitting all around him speaking in shrill voices over their excitement for the night. If only he could share in their enthusiasm, but he wouldn’t be himself if that were the case.
And so he mostly tried to sit quietly to himself while they rode, but the girls wouldn’t leave him alone either.
“Aren’t you looking forward to the party?” Iruka asked him as she sat besides the boy. He would’ve preferred she or Shiuka be the only one next to him, but instead he was flanked by Ninka, leaving him surrounded by gals. “You’re kind of quiet.”
“It’s not like we’re going to a concert.” He responded. They were going to a formal event with all the outfits associated with it. The boy would’ve assumed they’d have some aware and act a little bit more with class. This was to be a dignified event. At least that’s what he hoped.
Eventually he was saved from having to be trapped within the same limo as these girls as they finally pulled up to the entrance. Hakuta was stunned by the sheer size of the building where their gathering was hosted. It was one used for such events, that much he already was aware of. But being able to attend such an event instead of being an outsider walking by was an entirely new experience for him.
They stepped out of the limo and Shiuka’s dad handed off the keys to the valet so they could walk inside as a group. As they took their steps, Hakuta found himself getting anxious. He hadn’t thought about it until this moment, but he really had to take himself seriously tonight. How the others around him didn’t feel this was a mystery to him. Especially his dad since that man should have the same amount of experience as him.
“Wow.” He couldn’t help but utter one single word of awe when he walked inside. Hakuta had never been inside this building before. So this event was his first impression and it made for a good one. The ones who created this space paid attention to all the fine details, from the décor to the architecture all the way down to the delicate catered food.
“Wooo! We made it!” Shiuka was much less subdued compared to him as she and her friends cheered their arrival. He would’ve thought that would be viewed as disrespectful, but no one seemed to mind. Then again, if she had been to these kinds of things before, were they just used to how she was?
“Say, now that we’re here…” Ninka wasted no time in moving in on him now they had made it. “How about the two of us hang out for a bit? I’m sure you’ll see I’m a sophisticated woman too.”
“Actually, I was going to look for Ino.” He answered. “I know she’ll be here, seeing as her dad invited us all here in the first place.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?” She had two reasons for preferring he not do so. The first being more obvious, since she’d much rather he be with her instead of Ino, but the second was a fair question to ask. “He’s pretty strict, you think you’ll be able to just see her without him getting in the way?”
“She already knows I’m here, and I guess she must know you’re all here too.” He had no idea on how much of the guest list she’d be aware of, but it wasn’t like she was in control of it either. “I just want to say hi at least.”
“Can I at least come with you?” She didn’t want to, but it was better than just letting him go off on his own. “Besides, better me than anyone else, right?” She hinted about her knowledge of Ino’s secret identity. It still worried him about what she might do with that information, but everyone else was already hiding something else major from her. So in a cosmic sense, it seemed fair.
“Fine.” He relented and gave her that bit at least. Hakuta led the way as they moved along the large building which still felt a little empty as people were still streaming their way inside. There were much worse things he could be doing with Ninka, where she admittedly looked elegant in her fiery red dress which a split leg opening. If she wasn’t sharing a room with the other girls, then she’d easily stand out among the crowd.
“Slow down a little.” She told him, lagging behind a bit. “It’s a little hard to walk in these heels and you’re acting like we’re on some mission or something.” Ninka felt him being a bit too dedicated on trying to find Ino. The night was still young, so he’d have plenty of time to see her and share a small conversation.
“Sorry.” He responded, slowing his pace and realizing he had gotten close to the punch bowl. “Here, have a drink if you’re feeling a bit tired.” While she might’ve been more athletic than him in most areas. Having to move quickly on high heels couldn’t have been easy.
“Thanks.” She couldn’t help but smile gently over his kindness. Even if he continued to push back against her, she hadn’t gone so far to annoy him enough to keep the boy from being willing to tolerate her. “Maybe it won’t be that easy to get to her. Since her dad’s so important, they probably got her somewhere safe so no bad dudes steal her away.
“Considering how her dad is. I wouldn’t be surprised if he sees me like one of those bad dudes.” Hakuta’s mood took a turn for the worse when he thought about their circumstances.
“Don’t put yourself down.” She put a hand on his cheek after his head hung down a bit in disappointment. “If he can’t see that you’re a great guy, then I have no clue how anyone voted for him.”
“Just because you like me doesn’t mean everyone else see me like that.” It did little to cheer him up.
“What’s up with you?” She looked at him with concern. “It’s not like you to get all down on yourself like that. It’s like someone told you you’re worthless.”
“I’m not going to pretend I’m someone who belongs here.” He told her, expressing what had been growing inside for a while. “I don’t know, it’s just a little weird to me that she’d really bother with a guy like me.”
“Well, you two do have one thing in common.” She said, implying their love of video games brought the pair together. “Well that and the fact you both wear glasses.”
“Gee, thanks for the pep talk.” He wasn’t sure what he expected from her advice. Perhaps he had hoped she’d talk about less irrelevant stuff, but he should know Ninka well enough to understand how she’d react to certain situations.
“To be honest, if there’s anyone I really feel for, it’s got to be her.” She continued. “I mean, if her dad knew the truth I wonder if he’d hate her?”
“Don’t talk like that.” It was absurd for him to believe a parent would hate their own child. But it seemed he was pretty strict on his ideology and she would make it rather politically inconvenient to push what he believed was right for society. “I’m sure they care about each other a lot. I mean I don’t always agree with my dad on everything.” If anything, it was rare to see him agreeing with his father on most matters.
“Eh, you make a good point there.” Her tone made it sound like she only agreed just to not have to argue, which was for the best considering where they were in this moment. “Well speak of the devil, I can see her dad.” She didn’t actually see him, but it was easy to assume the grouping of people, with a few reporters from the looks of it, would be surrounding the representative.
“She must be with him.” Considering the context, Hakuta assumed the family would be sticking together for the sake of public appearances. If that were the case, then he felt bad for her.
To be unable to properly enjoy this party with people she called her friends. Which now that he thought about it was actually not many. It seemed like he was her only real friend, with Iruka being more of an acquaintance to her. On the bright side, at least she wasn’t a full blown gyaru hater anymore. “Should we even bother?”
“I don’t see when there being a crowd ever stopped me.” Ninka missed the point of his doubt and took his hand to guide him there. Despite being the one originally against the idea, she was now the one taking him to Ino. If he was going to start his night off, he might as well see it all the way through.
