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"If we have time, how about we go bowling together?"
Three curious pairs of eyes turned to look at Rui, sitting on a table of their usual restaurant.
"Ah, bowling is fun. I've gone with Saki and Touya multiple times!"
"Me too! I used to go with my siblings when I was little! Brilliant idea, Rui-kun!"
"Why did you propose that now, though?"
"Who knows. I remembered that time I went with my parents— Nene was supposed to come too, but she fell sick".
"I'm surprised you remember that, I didn't know myself. But… I guess it sounds fun".
"If we all agree, then it's settled". Rui smiled. *We should be able to take a break from practice next week".
And so, a week passed as quickly as ever. Nene could feel herself growing nervous with each day and moment. From what they said, she was the only one who had never tried bowling before. Maybe if she counted Wii Sports she could be the one with the most experience, but she sincerely doubted it'd be the same.
She saw Rui waiting for her outside, and lifting his gaze to see her when he heard her door close. Both of them started walking together as soon as she reached his side.
"You're up early, Rui".
"Oh, is that so? I suppose I'm excited to go bowling with you and everyone. It will be a fun experience".
"Is that so…? Well, I hope you're right".
"Could it be that you're bothered by something?"
"Ah… Of course you'd know". She shook her head, smiling slightly. "I've never played before, so I'm just nervous. Don't worry about it".
"I think you'll do well, though. Be more confident in yourself".
"If you say so. I'm also a bit weak, so I don't know if I'll even hold the ball properly".
This time, Rui chuckled. He also stopped walking on his tracks, followed by Nene.
"Is that so? How about we set a prize to help you get your motivation up?"
"A prize…? What did you have in mind?"
Certainly, a prize wouldn't be bad. Especially with that one cheap video game that was about to come out. Maybe if she could get Rui to accept…
"Maybe, if you do well, I could give you a kiss".
"Ah, a kiss". She took some moments to actually process what he had just said. When she realized, she stepped back in shock, face completely red. "W-What?!"
"Fufu. Just kidding. You'll probably want a game, right? You did mention you were interested in an upcoming game that is being released soon".
"Ah… Jeez, don't scare me like that". With a hand on her chest, feeling her heart beat fast, Nene sighed. "Yeah. I don't want to make you buy that, though. I don't need a prize".
"You'll do your best, then? That's good to hear". Rui grinned one last time as he looked around. "Well then, let's get going. We don't want to lose the next bus, unless you want to go walking".
"… Let's take one step at a time. Don't rush me, bowling is enough".
"Fufu. I supposed you would say that".
—
Their two friends were already there when they arrived at the bowling alley. Tsukasa and Emu seemed to be having a fun time themselves, even outside the alley, with Emu giggling and clinging to Tsukasa as he laughed proudly. Definitely, one of his three biggest supporters had activated some kind of prideful switch.
"Ah, you're here!" Tsukasa grinned. "I was just talking about Emu about my achievements practicing and acting as—"
"Yeah, yeah, I guessed so. Can we go inside already?"
"H-Huh?! You won't even listen to me?!"
"I guess we could say Nene wants to start already to brush off her nervousness. She was just talking about that on our way here".
"R-Rui…!"
"Ah, so that's the case! Don't worry, Nene, I'll help—"
"Don't worry, Nene-chan! You'll do great!"
"Emu…" She smiled fondly. "Hm. Thank you".
With Tsukasa complaining again, the four of them walked in. They acquired their shoes quickly, and walked to their assigned place.
Emu was first. Unsurprisingly, she knocked down all the pins on her first throw. Followed by Tsukasa, whose turn came quickly and managed to knock down a good amount of pins, and then Rui, Nene would be the last one to play in each rotation. She nervously looked at Rui come back from his turn.
"You're feeling well?"
"Ah… yeah. I'm just…" She looked down, almost whispering. "Can you lend me a hand?"
"Ah, but of course! I'm glad you asked for it".
He stopped next to the bowling ball return machine, gesturing at Nene for her to come closer.
"If you're worried about the weight, you could pick a lighter one. See, this is good. If you just hold it like this".
Rui gave her the ball, arching his back behind her as she held it. He then held her hands to help her place them correctly, making Nene's cheek tickle with his hair. Finally, he stepped back, smiling.
"You got it. Just throw it now". He stopped talking for a moment. "Imagine you're playing a game when you point, and it'll go well".
Nene took a deep breath. "Like a game"… He sure made it sound easy. She pointed and, as she was ready to throw it, she put all the strength of her arm in trying to knock down as many pins as she could.
"Woah, it rolled back here!"
Nene lowered her arm. She let a moment pass before she slowly turned away.
Behind her, Tsukasa looked at the ball in surprise, blinking silently, and Emu applauded— after all, managing to throw it back by accident was almost as surprising as a strike. Rui, on his side, looked away and bent over, holding back laughter.
"Y-You all… Rui, stop laughing!"
Her cheeks turned red.
"My apologies, that was just surprising". Rui shook his head. "It's alright. That didn't count as your first throw, so just try again".
"Uh…"
Emu ran over to her, handing her the ball she had thrown.
"Nene-chan, let it go once you see the pins! And use all your strength to hope it'll knock them down once you've thrown it!"
"Hope it'll knock them down…? That… doesn't make a lot of sense".
She sighed, but she heard Emu still. While her friend stood next to her, she took another deep breath. Her hand let go of the ball as Emu said, looking at it expectantly.
It brushed the edge of the road— even so, Nene managed to take down one of the pins, and suddenly felt Emu jump over her, wrapping her in a hug.
"See? Good job, Nene-chan!"
"I only knocked one down, though… Thank you, Emu".
"It's alright. You have another chance after this, right? Maybe you'll score a spare".
"… You cut it out".
Even if she pouted, pretending to pout angrily, a small smile appeared on the corners of her lips. Rui also smiled. Surely, all of them were having a fun time.
"Okay. I just need to throw when I see them, hope it'll knock them down…" Again, she took a deep breath. "And imagine I'm playing a game".
She threw the ball, watching it roll towards the pins closely. It hit one of the targets, and suddenly all of them were knocked down.
Nene needed a moment to blink in surprise, checking again and again how all of them were taken out.
"I… did it?"
"Woah! Amazing, Nene-chan!"
"That's great, Nene!"
Emu jumped at her again, excited, and this time Tsukasa joined to give her a high-five. With only one of them left, the three of them turned to look at Rui at the same time.
He seemed to be shocked for a moment upon seeing all of them watch him in sync, but he smiled nonetheless.
"It's impressive. See? I know you could do it. Maybe I'll get you a prize, after all".
"Hm? You two set a prize? Then, the best one is taking it?!"
"Well, that's not exactly—"
"Hm! That makes it more exciting, right, Tsukasa-kun?! Let's do our best to get a wonderhoy prize!"
Both of them laughed together as Emu ran to get a ball to herself. By then, it was probably too late— Rui talked too much, and he would definitely need to get prizes for the winner too. Not like it actually mattered. After all, seeing his friends happy made all the prizes he could think of worth it.
Once they were done, Emu ended up being the winner. Rui occupied the second place, followed by Tsukasa. With a decent amount of points, Nene marked the fourth place. Still, she was happy with her results.
Rui and Nene took a bit longer to get their street shoes back on. Tsukasa had rushed to follow Emu, who watched all over the place in hopes to find a present for her prize, something the four of them could enjoy. Without them, the place suddenly felt so silent, only hearing other people talk and play in separate groups.
"You did well today".
"Hm. Thank you… It was fun".
"Now, shall we talk about that prize?"
"Ah… don't worry about it. No need to buy that game, especially if you're buying something for E… huh?"
As Nene turned her head to see him, still tying your shoelaces, she found him surprisingly close. She barely had to react as he gently pressed their lips together, holding Nene's hand.
"You're right. I supposed I could go with the other prize we talked about".
Her face quickly turned bright red. She couldn't find any words to say either, so she simply chose to touch her lips with her fingers.
"Y-You… Weren't you joking…?"
"Only half. To be honest, I did want a kiss. Maybe it was more of a prize to myself". He doubted for a moment. "I didn't bother you, didn't I?"
"N-No, of course not! I mean… You keep bothering me, but… still… You didn't bother me now. I… guess I like my prize".
Rui chuckled again, this time at her embarrassment. Truly, her red face made her look even cuter than usual.
"… Let's do this again one day". Nene continued talking. "I-If I win… kiss me more times. As a prize".
"Oh?"
After hearing her words, it was him who blushed. He quite liked that idea; however, he wasn't expecting Nene to bring it up like that. With eyes that could only look away from her, he spoke up.
"… I'm fine with that".
Even if they wouldn't tell, both of them were making up excuses. Hiding behind games and prizes, even after all the years they spent together. Truly stupid.
As both of them breathed in, they knew what they wished for— Rui softly bent over again, getting closer to Nene's face, who already waited for him shyly, with closed eyes.
"Rui-kun! I found a prize I like!"
"Ah". Before he could get to her quickly straightened his back, just as if he was pushed by a dock. "That's good! Can you show it to me?"
"Yeah!"
Rui caressed Nene's head as he walked off, slightly surprised and nervous.
Unlike him, who did a good job to hide feelings like that, Nene became a mess. She covered her red face for a moment before she ran behind her two friends.
How stupid. She actually felt excited over some stupid, corny prize. She wasn't good enough at bowling to win anyway, not unless they were playing Wii Sports.
She kinda wished they were playing Wii Sports instead.