Chapter 265: Dancing in the Moonlight
Next to the bonfire, Sakurai Saki noticed Shinomiya Kaguya raising her bow, her gaze fixed in his direction.
Within it carried a trace of arrogance, unclear whom she was provoking.
Kaguya: <(￣^￣)>
Hmph, Hayasaka Ai's super handsome boyfriend, have you ever seen him?
Sakurai: <(￣へ￣)>
Forget it, competing in intimacy with my girlfriend against another girl, that would be utterly disgraceful as a man.
'Hm?' Sakurai Saki tilted his head.
Who exactly is that bow of hers aimed at? Who is her sight set on? Am I the bonfire, Kaguya-san?
Being glanced at several times by Sakurai Saki with that kind of "you aho-baka" look, Shinomiya Kaguya obediently settled down, adjusting her bow to aim properly at the target.
"Whoosh!"
Twenty meters away, the flaming arrow shot straight into the pile of wood. The bonfire, already stuffed with easily combustible materials, instantly flared into a blazing fire.
The flames in the midst of winter warmed the surroundings.
After shooting, Shinomiya Kaguya carried her bow and walked over to Hayasaka Ai. Out of habit, she extended the bow to her, but halfway through suddenly realized, Hayasaka Ai was no longer her maid.
"It's fine." Ai-chan took the bow.
"I'll go put the bow away first."
"Umu, thank you." Shinomiya Kaguya expressed her thanks.
Watching Hayasaka Ai leave, Shinomiya Kaguya shifted her gaze around.
Many students had already started chatting, several classes were holding celebratory feasts, gathering in groups here and there. Their topics were all about the amusing things from the past two days: arguing with customers, food not tasting good, no one buying anything. Though everyone was complaining, their moods seemed rather cheerful.
Shinomiya Kaguya overheard quite a lot.
"What's wrong? Spacing out here."
Sakurai Saki's voice came from behind, and Shinomiya Kaguya turned to look at him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Seeing you standing here alone, just like the loyal dog statue Hachiko at Shibuya Station."
"That's really too much, such a comparison." Shinomiya Kaguya looked at him with annoyance.
Kaguya: ( ｡ •̀ ⤙ •́ ｡ )
"Not going? Everyone from Class A is over there."
The two of them stood at the edge of the bonfire, unnoticed by others.
"I'm not very close with everyone in class, the relationships aren't very good." Shinomiya Kaguya spoke in a somewhat lonely tone.
"Why suddenly so gloomy? That's not like you at all. [I, Shinomiya Kaguya, invincible under the heavens]—now that's the kind of line you should be saying."
Shinomiya Kaguya was amused, letting out a few laughs before speaking: "So you do know how to joke?"
"Wait, in your heart, what kind of person do you think I am?"
"Sharp-tongued, inflexible, always looking down on people with disdainful eyes, quick to throw punches, flaws as numerous as stars in the sky, impossible to count." Shinomiya Kaguya lifted her gaze to the winter sky. The most prominent constellation was the Winter Triangle, visible all over the world.
Hm? Don't those stars over there form the shape of a heart? How strange.
"But. There are also good points."
For example, at this very moment, seeing a girl standing alone, he would come over to console her.
"So you do know how to say nice things. Kaguya-san, I've discovered a rare good trait of yours." Sakurai Saki slightly raised his chin to look at her, "Thank me."
"Idiot." Shinomiya Kaguya softly said.
Around them, students were humming songs.
People began dancing.
"Last exam, I think I lost to you."
"Why suddenly bring that up?"
"Taking failure as a wager, this lady dancing one dance with you isn't out of the question." Shinomiya Kaguya extended her right hand, her face lit up by the flames, her eyes betraying no clear thought.
"I don't recall us ever making a bet…"
"Read the mood a little, idiot!" Shinomiya Kaguya forcefully grabbed Sakurai Saki's right hand. "Everyone's dancing, do you want me to dance alone? That would be so embarrassing!"
'...there's also the option of not dancing at all!' Sakurai Saki muttered inwardly.
But with the atmosphere already at this point, refusing to dance would indeed seem rather heartless.
The two of them held hands, beginning to dance simple steps.
"Sakurai-san, you don't know how to dance?"
Shinomiya Kaguya looked straight into his eyes, while he was staring at her feet.
"Never danced before."
"Let me teach you a little. Otherwise, if you step on Ai-san's foot later while dancing with her, that won't be good." Shinomiya Kaguya said.
She slowed her steps, guiding his movements.
"Not even knowing how to dance, you really are strange."
"Don't worry, I've already learned a bit online and from anime." Sakurai Saki was very confident in his learning ability.
No sooner had he spoken than Shinomiya Kaguya felt a sharp pain in her foot. As expected, he had stepped on her.
But surely he didn't do it on purpose—his dancing skill was simply too terrible! To pretend to be that bad would probably be harder than actually dancing well.
"Ouch, let go." Shinomiya Kaguya glared at him.
"Sorry."
"Okay, continue, put your arm on my shoulder." As soon as Kaguya finished speaking, she felt a warmth coming from behind her shoulder.
This was the first time she had danced with a man. Though she had attended many banquets, Shinomiya Kaguya had never interacted much with the opposite sex before.
"Don't grip my hand too tightly."
"Got it."
Looking at her expression, Sakurai Saki suddenly understood Shirogane Miyuki's feelings.
Embarrassing! Being taught something you're not good at, so this is how embarrassing it feels?
Shirogane Miyuki, you're strong, sasuga my besto friendo!
"All right, follow my steps, don't be so tense, umu, a little slower, this is a waltz." Shinomiya Kaguya realized he hadn't been lying—his learning ability truly was fast.
After dancing like that for a few minutes, Sakurai Saki's movements became much more fluent.
"Hmph. Learning so quickly, not bad at all~" Shinomiya Kaguya was in quite a good mood.
"Okay, I've finished teaching you, so let's end it here."
"Thanks."
After saying his thanks, Sakurai Saki looked at her several more times.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Shinomiya Kaguya felt his gaze was somewhat impolite.
"Kaguya-san, sometimes you actually do good things." Sakurai Saki rubbed his chin, sighing.
"Keeping quiet won't kill you."
...
A few minutes later.
By the bonfire, Hayasaka Ai and Sakurai Saki slowly danced.
"Sakurai-chan, you're pretty skilled."
"I've practiced a bit." Sakurai Saki inwardly added: about ten minutes ago.
Thanks to Kaguya-san's generosity, and thanks to her selfless sacrifice (and her foot).
"What about Kaguya-san?" Hayasaka Ai asked.
"She went to Class A's celebration. They just said they'd have a party in class."
"We're not going?"
"There's somewhere else, no need to squeeze into the crowd. If it's meant to be a celebration, then of course it should be a party that belongs to just the two of us." Sakurai Saki stopped his steps.
He glanced at the rooftop, then pulled a key from his pocket.
Sakurai smiled and said: "This is the rooftop key, let's go there."
"Tonight the stars are beautiful, it's a perfect day for stargazing."
He had asked someone who loved astronomy—there would be no one up there tonight.
Shirogane Miyuki really loved stargazing, even paying attention to horoscope readings about the stars every morning. Sakurai had learned this from Kei-chan.
"Mn~." Hayasaka Ai nodded.
She had always liked developments with a romantic touch like this.
Though it couldn't compare to the confession at the sports festival, going up to the rooftop together didn't seem bad at all.
...
(Note: this chapter is very sweet, umu~ i approve.)
ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧