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It had been about a month and a half since Yoshitoki had admitted to himself that he had a crush on Noriko Nakagawa. Considering he had never fallen for anyone before, it was a huge deal, and to make matters worse— he barely had any idea how to act around her anymore. Confessing to her seemed completely impossible, so he had to reach his last resort; asking his friends for help.
It was a quiet lunch period, with most groups off other places. Yoshitoki sat with his friends in silence for a moment, wondering how to proceed with this. He felt like asking for group advice would just end in all of them teasing him for his crush. So, he cleared his throat, catching their attention.
“Hey, uh... can I talk to you in private?” he asked, scanning the group quickly, and then impulsively deciding, “Yutaka? If that’s okay? It’s... kind of a big deal.”
The small friend group all exchanged glancess. Yutaka and Yoshitoki had rarely, if ever, spent any time alone. Yeah, something odd was going on.
"Are you guys cheating on us?" Shinji asked suspiciously, nudging Shuya as if he should join him in his concerns. Yutaka just laughed.
"If we are, this is the first I hear of it. But hey, I'm willing to give it a try," he joked, getting out of his seat. "Where do you wanna do this, lover?" he asked Yoshitoki, offering his arm.
Yoshitoki laughed at Shinji’s teasing, and despite his nervousness, he was happy to play along. He took Yutaka’s arm, grinning at him.
“Let’s go, lover. We don’t want them to overhear us,” he joked, looking back at Shuya and Shinji, who were still watching with amusement.
Once he led them to a more quiet part of the schoolyard, Yoshitoki glanced around to make sure nobody was nearby, especially the neutral girls. The last thing I need is for Noriko to find out because Yuka overheard me, he thought. Yutaka let go of Yoshitoki's arm once they were alone, figuring there was no need to keep the joke up when they were alone. Especially since, judging by his tone, Yoshitoki had wanted to have an actual real discussion.
“Okay, so, uh... this is gonna seem pretty out of the blue, but have you ever liked a girl?” Yoshitoki asked, unaware that the vast majority of boys his age have absolutely had crushes on people by this point.
Once he heard the question, Yutaka's eyes widened slightly; and his cheeks instantly flushed. "Aw, man! Shinji told you? He swear he wouldn't tell! No way..." he sighed, covering his face in with his hands. However, he quickly realized there is no way Shinji would have betrayed his trust like that. Which meant...
"No! Dude! Tell me you didn't realize because I'm so obvious? This is bad! And not just my latest "Yo mama" joke bad, but actually bad-bad!"
Seeing Yutaka’s panicked reaction made Yoshitoki flinch. He had no idea what he was panicking about— all he knew was that he had to reassure him, and fast.
“Wait, wait, no no no! Shinji didn’t tell me anything! I have no idea what you’re talking about!” he reassured him, holding his hands out as if to calm him.
Running his fingers through his hair, he continued to talk somewhat nervously. “You see, um, the reason I’m asking is because I... kind of like someone. And I was just wondering... if you were to hypothetically ask out this girl you like, how would you ask her out on a date?”
Oh man, I hope this person he’s freaking out about isn’t Noriko, or this is going to be a really awkward conversation in hindsight, he thought.
Yutaka was still a little flustered, though relieved he had not been caught staring obviously at Izumi Kanai one time too many. Now that he knew this wasn't the case, he felt a lot calmer.
"Hey, if I knew that, I'd be dating her! Well, maybe. She would probably say no, actually. So scratch that..." He said with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head.
"By the way, you don't have to keep pretending it's a girl! If you want to finally ask out Nanahara, we will all totally support you!" he added jokingly.
Yoshitoki frowned, forgetting that Yutaka obviously had yet to make his feelings known to this mysterious person.
“Hey, don’t say that! C’mon, she’d be lucky to have you,” he said in an attempt to cheer him up.
“And pfft, please. I have no idea what all those girls see in him— he’s still the same Shuya I’ve known since we were five,” Yoshitoki said with a lighthearted laugh, but then became nervous once more. “I... uh, do like a girl. But she’s not really one of the more outspoken girls in class, so, uh... I’m not really sure how to confess anything to her, y’know?”
"Wait, wait, wait," Yutaka raised his hands, getting a little nervous now. What if Yoshitoki liked Izumi too? It was not such a crazy idea.
"Do you want to tell me who it is? Or at least something about her, so I got some clue as to how I can help? I don't think the same tricks would work on... Kitano and Shimizu, for instance," he said with an almost nervous laugh, hoping this would not turn disasterous. He was not completely confident he could take Yoshitoki in a duel.
Yoshitoki felt a slight urge of panic when Yutaka asked about who it was. The only person he had told so far was Shuya, but Yutaka did have a point— he knew he had to be upfront if he was to receive advice. Also, he still was not sure who Yutaka liked— if it was Noriko, he had to be upfront about his feelings now.
“Okay, um... it’s Nakagawa. You can’t tell anyone else though, okay?” he said, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I don’t want her to know until I can tell her myself, you know?”
Yutaka let out a sigh of relief as Yoshitoki mentioned a name that was not Izumi's. He nodded. Seeing Yutaka become visibly relieved, in turn made Yoshitoki feel relieved himself, as he knew that meant Yutaka liked someone other than Noriko.
"Right! Okay! Cool! You said she isn't the most outspoken, right? So you mean Nakagawa Noriko, not Yuka? She's nice!" Yutaka said eagerly, now wrecking his brain for ways to help. There was still the issue of how Yutaka himself had no clue how he would ask out the girl he liked. This was definitely one of those situations were something is easier said than done.
"Soo... Okay. When you picture you guys' first date, what do you see yourself doing? Maybe it will be easier knowing how to ask, if you know exactly what you are asking?" he suggested.
Yoshitoki thought about Yutaka’s question for a moment. He had envisioned a few date spots in his mind, but every time he started thinking about going on a date with her, he got too embarrassed to keep thinking.
“U-Um...” Yoshitoki stammered, feeling himself blush. “Maybe a poetry reading...? She seems to really like that sort of thing, right?”
Yutaka looked at him for a moment.
"I mean... Poetry can be good. But how about something more... lively? Like a stand-up show? I'm being told girls like when you make them laugh. I mean, no girls have ever told me this, but Shinji insists it's true. So bringing her somewhere she laughs, will make her associate that with you, and like you, right?" he mused.
"Okay, so if you do that, why don't you make kind of a joke out of asking her too? Like... Like this. I'll start. Knock knock!" Yutaka said, planning out the punchline as he spoke.
Yoshitoki listened intently as Yutaka gave him advice. Of course, what had he been thinking? Stand-up comedy would be a way better venue for a first date. He tilted his head curiously as Yutaka then continued his advice.
"Who's there?" he asked.
Yutaka snapped his fingers.
"Woo," he responded, preparing himself.
"Woo who?" Yoshitoki asked, still not getting it.
"Woohoo! You got yourself a date Saturday!" Yutaka exclaimed, beaming. "Right? And then maybe you have to specify that the date’s with you, just to avoid any awkwardness if she expects someone else to pop up. And you give her the time and place! It's fool-proof. Almost."
Yoshitoki blinked a few times, unsure of how to feel about the punchline to Yutaka's joke. I mean, he thought it was good, but would it mean he sounded like he was not giving Noriko the option to say yes or no? Oh no, I can't use this, he thought.
But, when he saw Yutaka's delight at his own joke, he laughed along too. "Thanks, man! That's... solid advice. I-I mean, the problem is that I'm not super great at telling jokes, but that's definitely an idea!" he said.
Yutaka raised his brows. He did not consider the joke so advanced that anyone could have any trouble delivering in... But it might not come as easy to someone more soft-spoken like Yoshitoki.
"Sorry, man. I don't really know how to deal with these things seriously. I mean, in my head I can be pretty romantic, but actually saying the words out loud? No way," he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "This is like the blind leading the blind. Why did you come to me before Shinji or Nanahara anyway?"
Yoshitoki frowned, not wanting to upset Yutaka. He put a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, that’s just me. I’m not a huge jokester, but you should try that on the girl you like. You’d deliver it way better than I ever could,” he said, smiling.
"And the reason I came to you first is because I always thought we’re kind of alike, aren’t we? I thought that.... well, if you had an idea on how to ask people out, I should be able to do it too, right?”
Yutaka laughed. "I obviously don't know much, Nobu! I've never had a girlfriend and I've gotten nowhere with this girl..." He paused. "Sorry, I can't help more. But if it fails, I swear I'll think of some good material to cheer you up!"
Yoshitoki gave Yutaka a pat on the back, slowly guiding him back towards the other guys.
“Hey, no, that was good advice! You should really test that out on the girl you like,” he said warmly, making sure to shut up before they approached the other guys once more.
Yutaka grinned. "Yeah. Maybe. I might have to run it by Shinji!"
As they approached the others, Shinji leaned back on his chair, crossing his arms with a grin on his face. "Well, well, well. Look who comes crawling back. We had a bet going on how long until you missed us too much to stay away. I won with" less than ten minutes".
Shuya sighed." I really thought you could do an hour, Nobu! Come on, man! " he joked.
Hiroki sighed as well." And I had a bet you would run away now when you had the chance, " he said with a small nod.
Keita, resting his cheek on his hand, rolled his eyes. "I'm not allowed to place bets since the alpaca incident, sooo..."
Yoshitoki laughed and rolled his eyes at Shinji’s lack of faith in them. He glanced over at Keita questioningly, knowing he would need a full elaboration on the alpacca incident someday.
“We weren’t planning on running away or anything! I just needed some guy advice from Yutaka, that’s all,” he clarified.
Everyone looked mildly surprised by this (except Keita, who looked very surprise before laughing loudly).
"Hey! You don't know! Maybe he had questions about a prank or something. I can be helpful!"
"Were you?" Shinji teased.
"... No," Yutaka had to admit, before they all laughed this time.
After a moment, Shuya spoke. He nudged Yoshitoki lightly.
"Is it something I don't even know?" he wondered.
Yoshitoki had watched the other boys exchange quips back and forth for a few minutes, before Shuya caught his attention.
“Well...” he mumbled, running his hand through his hair, before vaguely saying, “You know, uh, some stuff, but not what I’m thinking about doing.”
"Is this about the river rafting?!" Keita exclaimed, excited.
Hiroki quickly shook his head.
"I thought we all agreed that is not happening," he said, with a look of concern.
Shinji looked at Yoshitoki, almost amused.
"Are you gonna just tease us?"
Yoshitoki shifted nervously from foot to foot, and then turned to Yutaka. “Should I tell them?”
Yutaka tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"Hmmm... I feel like you could make them work for it a little? If they really want to know, shouldn't you get something in return?" he asked playfully.
“Huh... that’s a pretty solid idea!” Yoshitoki laughed, and faced the others. “Okay, if you wanna know, I’m gonna tell you guys one-on-one. Anyone want to ask?”
Before anyone else could reply, Keita nodded eagerly.
"Eeh, yeah, duuh, I wanna know!" he said loudly. "But it sorta depends what you want back too. I don't have any money, but I got enough alpaca fur for you to make yourself an awesome sweater."
Shuya looked at Yutaka and Shinji with a confused expression.
"What's with the alpaca?" he whispered, to which they both just shook their heads.
"Don't even ask. Long story," Shinji whispered back.
“That’s definitely a story we need to hear,” Yoshitoki told Shinji, his curiosity piqued.
However, it would have to wait for another day. Instead, he had to focus on what was currently on his mind. Since Keita had expressed interest, he strode over to him, pulling him to one side.
“I don’t need money or anything, it’s all okay!” Yoshitoki reassured him. “All I need is advice.”
Keita beamed. No one ever came to him for advice and he could not really figure out why. He was full of some great ideas.
"You made the right move coming to me first!" he said with a nod, ignoring the fact that he had actually gone to Yutaka first, and then just begged anyone curious enough to find out his secret to volunteer.
"Soooo.... Spill?! How am I saving you today?!" he laughed, taking a sip of his coke.
Yoshitoki didn’t bother to correct Keita— he could tell the boy was delighted at the prospect of giving advice and did not want to take that away from him.
“Okay, so, here’s the thing. I’m sort of thinking of asking one of our classmates out, so...” he mumbled, “how would you do it? If you were going to ask someone out on a date?”
"Riiiight," Keita said, nodding seriously. Of course he had no romantic experience, but that was what improvising was for, right? "Okay, cool. I had no clue you liked anyone. So... You gonna tell me who he is or will we keep this a mystery?"
“He?!” Yoshitoki exclaimed. “Dude, I like a girl! Noriko Nakagawa!”
Normally, he had trouble admitting that without blushing, but in this case, he was quick to defend himself.
Oh. Well, this was a game-changer, Keita thought. He had assumed Yoshitoki just had a thing for Shuya. However, he was sure he hid his surprise well, despite his mouth falling open for a second. He was quick to close it when realized.
"Oh! Awesome. Let me re-organize my brain!" he said, thinking so hard he almost looked pained. "So first issue is to get her alone, right? She's like always with her group of friends and it'd be super embarrassing to ask her out in front of them and then she says no. Or if she starts crying out of horror and her friends all blame you? Dude. That can't happen!"
Yoshitoki listened to Keita, feeling his anxiety deepen. He was right. He had not even considered the possibility that he might make Noriko cry in front all her friends. How could he ever forgive himself for that?
“N-No, of course it can’t!” Yoshitoki cried. “So... what do I do? How do I get her alone?”
"Well, there's lots of great ways! Off the top of my head... You set off the fire alarm, though it'd be better if there's an actual fire. Everyone freaks out and runs, on the way out, you trip her! She can't know you tripped her. Important detail. You have to swoop in and save her! Carry her outside to safety. She'll be all like "Oh, Nobu-san, you saved my life!" You'll have her alone and in your debt. Perfect timing!" Keita described his first idea eagerly.
Before Yoshitoki could say anything, Keita lit up even more, as the ideas just kept coming.
"Next one involves that she has a drink of some sorts in a glass. Okay, she has her glass with something fizzy, and she is hanging out with no more than two friends. It's gotta be two. You, from the other side of the room, throw something small, like an olive. The olive lands in Nakagawa's drink, and the drink splashes her friend in the eye. Whoever gets splashed has to go to the bathroom to wash her eye and her other friend goes with her. As Nakagawa is about to go too, you jump in. You go: "Oh wow, I can't believe Motobuchi would throw that olive, what a twist! I thought he was cool. Anyway, I'll get you a new coke, tomorrow night?" Super smooth."
While Yoshitoki found that Yutaka’s advice was simply unsuited to him, he found that Keita’s advice was simply disastrous. He did a poor job of hiding the shock on his face. Man, no wonder he’s still single, he thought.
“Oh, uh... those sound really... interesting. I don’t know if I’d be able to pull them off, though, y’know? I don’t think I have the slick talent for it,” he said, before adding, “do you have any other ideas?”
"Sure, yeah. You could hypothetically get her alone by jumping on the chance to take her to the movies when her friends are sick with a cold. You enjoy the movie, go to the arcade, make some bets for coke. She gets some new books. She gets into a fight with some thugs. You run away..." Keita trailed off, sighing as he stared into the air in front of him for a moment. Seconds later, he snapped back to reality.
"Or! Bowling! I got a great way to ask someone out for a bowling trip, do you wanna hear?!" he grinned.
Yoshitoki was about to quiz Keita on the first suggestion— did he have a disastrous date in the past?— but was distracted by his next idea.
“Sure, bowling sounds fun! What you got?” he asked, grinning back at him.
Keita held up a finger in the air, as if asking Yoshitoki to hold on for just one moment, as he looked around for something he could use for a ball, to really show off his idea. He looked around the cafeteria, as if something would magically appear. Spotting Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano at a nearby table, he noticed Yumiko's softball gear on the floor next to her. Satisfied, he ran up to them ("Hey, can I borrow this real quick? Thanks, bye!"), leaving them looking confused but ultimately unbothered.
Returning to Yoshitoki, he bounced the ball in his hand, almost dropping it immediately, proving that athleticism was not his strong side.
"So, what you do, is you use something ball-like. Or, you know, a ball," he said, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen from his pockets. "And you write a note on it. Something like "Hey! Never thought I'd say this but hope I strike out with you this weekend. See you at bowling, 6 PM!" Yeah, did Yutaka give you good puns like this? I bet not," Keita hummed, as he scribbled the message down on the paper, before pulling out some tape to make it stick to the ball. How he fit so much in his pockets was another mystery.
Yoshitoki watched as Keita began describing his ideal way to ask someone out on a bowling date— as soon as he grabbed the ball, Yoshitoki mentally vetoed the idea (besides, would Noriko even like bowling?). To support his friend, he nodded along as he spoke.
"And then," Keita continued, with the same enthusiasm. "You just... Throw it at her face! So she can't miss it!"
To illustrate, Keita threw the ball randomly, and it flew across the cafeteria. Unfortunately hitting Ryuhei Sasagawa right in the face.
“Wai-“ Yoshitoki had began as he watched Keita throw the ball, and froze up as he saw it hit Ryuhei in the face.
“Uh. I think you just asked Sasagawa out on a bowling date,” he said quietly.
Ryuhei had stood up, holding the ball as he looked around, pissed off.
"Okay... Who the fuck threw this?!" he yelled, not having paid attention to Keita and where the ball came flying from. As no one said anything, Keita dodged behind Yoshitoki, and distorted his voice to sound much more high-pitched.
"Ooooh isn't that Kusaka's softball?!" he called out from his hiding-spot, resulting in a chaotic scene of Yumiko insisting she had not thrown anything, and Mitsuru restraining Ryuhei from throwing the ball back at her.
Keita saw this as his opportunity to dash. Doing a 180, he ran towards the school entrance, leaving Yoshitoki with very little advice but probably a whole lot of anxiety.
Yoshitoki simply watched the disastrous scene unfold in front of him. As he watched, he glanced over towards the neutral girls’ table, and saw that Noriko was watching as well, her hands to her mouth and her eyes wide in fear for Yumiko. Okay, asking her out like that is definitely out of the question, he thought, knowing that throwing sports balls across rooms would forever be associated with this incident now.
“Okay, so-“ he began to say, but then noticed that Keita was gone. He looked around, wondering where he went.
He glanced around the cafeteria, sparing looks over in Yumiko’s direction to make sure she was okay, before approaching the table once more. He noticed that Shinji was staring at the school entrance, shaking his head. What’s that all about?, he wondered, but put the question out of his head.
“So, uh... Keita’s advice isn’t going to work,” he said quietly.
"Big shock there, Nobu," Shinji commented dryly.
Yutaka laughed. "Yeah, unless we'd entered some kind of bizarro world, you must have known this was gonna be a bust! He really came up with throwing balls in a girl's face and then run off?"
The others looked a bit puzzled by this comment. Hiroki frowned.
"A girl? The ball hit Sasagawa - Oh," it had dawned on him, that this must mean what Yoshitoki was looking for advice on, was related to a girl in some way. Hiroki, always feeling a little awkward around girls that were not Takako, turned slightly pink at the prospect of being asked to help.
Shuya and Shinjj had also realized what Yoshitoki was after. Shuya of course knew about his crush on Noriko and was now curious to see how their other friends' would respond.
Shinji was staring at Yoshitoki like he was insane.
"You want advice on a girl and you asked Yutaka - no offence, Yutaka - and Iijima before me?!" he asked, in absolute disbelief.
Yoshitoki gave an apologetic look to Shinji, knowing that asking Keita before him on girl advice was probably on the same level as a war crime to him.
“It was nothing personal, I was gonna come to you too! It’s just that you’re so naturally suave with girls and I can’t talk to this particular girl without sounding like a brain dead idiot so...” he said, looking at the floor. “Got any advice, Shinji?”
"Sure. Always wear protection. The last thing we need is a teenage pregnancy," Shinji said seriously, nodding. "And one girl told me it tastes better if drank a lot of pineapple juice beforehand. That is probably just a my-"
"Wow, wow. Slow down!" Shuya laughed, raising his hands into the air. "I don't think that's the sort of advice Nobu was looking for. Right?"
Yoshitoki’s face turned bright red as he listened to Shinji’s graphic advice. He groaned and slumped down in his seat, wondering why his friends could not just give normal advice.
“No, no, no, no! I haven’t even told her I like her yet! I just want to know how to ask her out!” he protested. “I don’t need advice on any of that sort of stuff!”
"Mimura is still the only one here who has successfully asked girls out," Hiroki pointed out, to Shuya's dismay. Shuya had of course been rejected by Kazumi Shintani when he had asked her out during their second year.
"Thanks for the reminder," he joked with a pout. Yoshitoki gave Shuya a sympathetic pat on the shoulder when he was obviously reminded of this rejection.
Hiroki smiled awkwardly but continued. "If he could maybe not just skip the first twelve steps, he could probably have some decent advice."
"Twelve steps? It's like three. Step one is saying hey. It's not rocket science," he winked. "Okay. Nobu. What's the girl like?"
Upon hearing Shinji’s question, Yoshitoki felt an inkling of hope that his friend might actually have some salvageable advice after all.
“Well... she’s really sweet and considerate, but she’s also pretty shy,” he said.
Shinji nodded thoughtfully.
"So you don't want to scare her off, huh? Fair enough. Have you thought about saying "Hey, I like you. Wanna grab something to eat?" It doesn't have to be so complicated."
Hiroki stared at him like this was as ridiculous as Keita's previous suggestions.
"You can't just... say that to a girl!" he insisted, embarrassed.
Yoshitoki looked at Shinji hopefully at first, thinking that idea was pretty good. It was simplistic, but after Keita's disastrous display, he figured simplistic was better than extravagant. However, his ease quickly disappeared as he noticed Hiroki's protest. He turned to him, worried. "Why not?"
"It's just so... Direct. Do you not try to make small-talk first? Ask about the weather? Maybe casually put down the guy she likes?" Hiroki asked awkwardly, scratching his nose.
"Ask about the weather? Calm down, grandpa," Yutaka chuckled, shaking his head. They all knew Hiroki could feel intimidated talking to girls, but they had not realized just how bad it was. Shuya added with a laugh:
"Besides, we're sorta hoping the guy she likes is Nobu, right? He can't just go "Hey, too bad about the rain today. Don't I look stupid?". That sounds so dumb!"
Shinji joined in with disagreeing with Hiroki, shaking his head.
"Yeah, it is direct, and that's kinda the point. If she says no, she says no. No point dragging it out. He'll shoot his shot and if it fails, he can move on," he said simply.
Yoshitoki had listened to Hiroki, feeling alarmed at his ideas on how to ask out a girl. Maybe I'm not the one that should be asking for romantic advice... he thought.
When Shinji pointed out she could simply say no, Yoshitoki felt that panic rise in him again. Of course, he would totally respect Noriko's opinion if she said no, but he was afraid that it would torpedo any chance of them just remaining friends due to the impending awkwardness.
"What if... uh, this is, like, my first ever crush? And I can't move on? And she hates me for asking her out? And never talks to me again?" he rambled, and then groaned. "I should've just gone with Keita's bowling idea, huh?"
"If she hates you for that, he doesn't sound as sweet and considerate as you claim," Shinji shrugged. "And never say you would go for Iijima's idea. That's never the best option!"
Yoshitoki knew Shinji had a point- Noriko would not be that cruel. Also, even considering Keita's idea was insanity.
"If I ever think of taking Keita's advice again, just slap me in the face," he said simply.
Shuya smiled comfortingly. "Nobu, you don't really think she will hate you. Yeah, it will suck if she says no but... I think you got a real shot. I swear, she keeps looking over at us a lot and blushing. I've told you that! And she has shown me some of her poems when giving me lyrics ideas. A lot of them are about a crush... I don't see how it couldn't be you!" he said with confidence.
Listening to Shuya, Yoshitoki could feel himself begin to blush at the prospect of Noriko showing such obvious signs that she liked him. Was it possible? He did not want to get ahead of himself, but... all those signs did sound positive.
"Yeah... yeah, those are all really good points! You really think I have a chance?" he said. "You guys think I should do it...?"
"Do it! And if you succeed, I might do the same," Yutaka nodded eagerly, feeling himself fuelled with some hope that this was the beginning of successful love stories for their small gang. Hiroki nodded, crossing his arms thoughtfully.
"Me too," he said simply, causing the others to look at him with confusion.
"You like someone, Sugimura? Is it Chigusa?" Shuya asked curiously, nudging him. Hiroki frowned slightly, his cheeks turning pink.
"What? Of course not! Takako is like a sister to me," he insisted. "It's irrelevant anyway. I'll only ask her out if Kuninobu succeeds too. It all depends on you now," Hiroki said seriously, patting Yoshitoki's back slightly.
"Yeah, great job with keeping the pressure off him, you two," Shinji laughed. "But seriously, Nobu. You got nothing to lose and everything to win. Do it!"
Yoshitoki gulped as he realized the pressure was now on. He couldn't back out of this- if he did, he would also be letting two of his friends chicken out of confessing. What kind of friend would he be if he encouraged that?
"Okay... okay! I'm going to do it!" he said, aware of how much he was blushing. "But... you guys gotta stay close by, okay? Please?"
He glanced at Yutaka and Hiroki in particular. The neutral girls' group was one of the biggest groups in the class, so he figured there might be a chance his friends liked one of those girls. If this all worked out, he might be able to encourage a double date.
"Duuh. You think we'd miss this?" Yutaka asked teasingly, indicating he expected a disaster.
Shuya hummed. "Do you want us to walk over with you? Or can we stay here?"
"And do you want us to film it?" Yutaka chimed in.
"If you find yourself tempting to throw a ball at her, just stop yourself and walk away," Shinji added as a final piece of advice.
Hiroki simply nodded to Yoshitoki. He wished he could be as brave as he was, right now. He was not sure if he hoped Yoshitoki would succeed or fail, knowing a success meant he would have to challenge himself in the same way. Though, perhaps it was time to finally be brave...
"Don't film it!" Yoshitoki protested, but then smiled at them again. "Just... walk over with me. And possibly hurry me out if this goes up in flames."
With that, he strode toward the neutral girls' table, feeling his heart hammering. He could not believe he was actually about to ask out the girl he had fallen for. He felt his hands shaking as he approached, and told himself to try and remain cool, but found that he probably looked like a nervous wreck by the time he approached their table, his eyes immediately falling on Noriko's.
Noriko was seated next to Yukie and Izumi at the table, and they all just burst out laughing at something Yuka had said.
"I swear! No hands!" Yuka finished the story, to which Satomi frowned.
"It's physically impossible," she mumbled.
Yuka shook her head. "No, I mean, the monkey clearly did it... Oh! Hey!" she, along with the others, had realized the group of boys had approached them.
Yukie clapped her hands together, beaming. While smiling to all of them, her eyes landed on Shuya as she spoke.
"How nice to see you guys here. To what do we owe the pleasure?" she asked, a twinkle in her eye. Shuya chuckled.
"Today, it's all business, Rep," he joked to her, patting Yoshitoki's back gently, At the gesture, Yoshitoki proceeded to take a step forward, noticing how all the girls were watching him curiously, including Noriko. He glanced at her for a moment, and then kept his eyes on the floor, too embarrassed to see how she would react to what he was about to say.
"Um... Noriko... I..." he stammered. Great start, Nobu! "Okay, uh... so... I... like you. A-And... if you're not doing anything after school on Friday, I was wondering if you'd want to, maybe... uh, go out with me? Maybe? If you want?"
Izumi and Chisato both quietly gasped with excitement at their friend being asked out, covering their mouths as they watched Noriko with anticipation of her reply.
Yukie's smile grew even wider. "Oh, wow. Wow," she commented, looking from Noriko to Yoshitoki, to back to Noriko. As Yuka looked like she was about to make some kind of funny comment about the whole thing, they were all interrupted by a loud shout.
"Nobu, no! Not like thiiiis!" Keita cried dramatically. He had somehow obtained another ball, a baseball this time, and had made his return to the cafeteria. Standing by their original table, his shouting had drawn some attention. "I got you, man! Just like we practiced!" he yelled, raising his arm into the air. Now he would finally prove he could help a bro out with something. This was his moment.
Swiftly, he threw the ball, this time aiming perfectly, as it headed right towards Noriko's face.