"Another successful night of oden," Chibita praised himself, packing the remainder of his cooking supplies into his oden cart. After wiping his hands onto a dishrag, he began his usual nightly stroll with his trusty oden cart back to the small rental flat he called home. After safely securing his cart in the storage garage, he let himself in his apartment. He locked the door behind him and walked into his small bedroom. He read the red clock ticking on his nightstand: 9:00pm.

Perfect timing, thought Chibita. Full of determination, he went to his closet and pulled out a box purposely kept hidden beneath a mound of aprons and slippers. Ever since the time he and Iyami used those feminizing pills to trick those irritating sextuplets out of their cash, Chibita had harbored a secret interest in cross-dressing. Hence, the box he now plopped upon his floor-level bed was full of female clothing, wigs, and make-up. Thanks to the convenience of online fashion and drag make-up tutorials, Chibita was able to teach himself how to dress as a young woman better than Iyami had.

Chibita stared at a flyer hanging on the wall:

Primrose Nightclub: Dancing in Starlight

Dancing, Drinking, and Mingling

Ladies drink FREE until 11pm.

Chibita smirked to himself, anxious for the night of fun he was about to achieve. Once he stripped off his work clothes, he stepped into opaque black tights, a blue sequin dress, and a pair of black kitten heels. After carefully brushing out any tangles, he placed a shoulder-length brunette wig upon his bald head. From a green make-up bag, he removed a container of concealer and applied a thick enough amount to hide his fairly noticeable five-o'clock shadow. A heavily detailed, blue smokey eye and shimmery pink lipstick were drawn on Chibita's face within the next fifteen minutes. After a final check in a full-length mirror on his bedroom wall, Chibita shoved some cash and his house keys into a black purse and confidently sauntered towards the direction of the club.

Free drinks, here I come!

XOXO

Thanks to the dim lighting and the readily available quantities of booze, Chibita's disguise was never put under suspicion. In fact, a few men were attempting to hit on him throughout the night. Though he had never found himself fully attracted to men, he did enjoy the sudden attention. He had even attempted to dance with a red-shirted guy for a while until he got a bit too grabby for Chibita's liking. For the most part, Chibita contently sat by the bar and took full advantage of the free drink opportunity. Forty minutes, three shots of sake, and half a bottle of beer into his night, Chibita began ensuring himself that this night couldn't be ruined. Chibita's confidence was soon foiled by the greeting of a familiar voice.

"Good evening, my star."

Nearly choking on the sip of beer he had just taken, Chibita spun to his left to see an infamously memorable presence: Karamatsu. The sextuplet had his back to the bar, using it to support his elbows while portraying a forced "cool guy" pose. His black leather jacket and boots had a faint sheen under the mock starlight illuminating from the club's ceiling. He had sleeked his hair more than usual, but the excessive wetness proved he had overdone his use of hair product. The blue shirt had its first two buttons undone, giving Chibita's eyes the chance to peak at the NEET's hairless collarbone and chest. Though the club was darkened, Karamatsu continued to dawn his sunglasses over his eyes.

Seeing he caught Chibita's attention, he pushed his sunglasses forward and produced a flirtatiously smirk across his face.

"I came here to see the stars, but I never expected to see a star as beautiful as you here tonight."

Ugh, how long did it take this idjit to come up with that line, Chibita thought to himself with confusion and disgust on his face. Eyeing Karamatsu up and down, he realized the wannabe cool guy wasn't able to recognize him in his feminine persona. He felt pride and nervousness over this realization. Attempting to ignore him, Chibita continued to sip on his beer while avoiding eye contact.

Instead of leaving, Karamatsu sat himself on the vacant seat beside Chibita. He took Chibita's free hand in his own, facing his entire body toward the oden lover. While staring at Chibita's hand in his, he seductively questioned, "My dainty star, would you do me the honor of dancing with me on this lovely night?" As he finished, Karamatsu's eyes began to intensely sparkle with lust as he stared at Chibita.

Normally, Chibita could knock Karamatsu off his chair in one swing and tell him off until he left. However, the amount of alcohol swimming in his system dampened his short fuse. Clearing his throat, he spoke to Karamatsu using his well-rehearsed female voice.

"Thanks, but I think I'd rather stay here."

The sparkling in his eyes ceased, but he continued holding Chibita's hand. He gave a blank expression for a moment, clearly trying to process what had just been said. A moment later, a wide smile returned to Karamatsu's as he let out a cool chuckle.

"Ah, I understand completely."

"Good. Now, can I have my hand—"

"Poor Karamatsu girl," interrupted Karamatsu, "you shouldn't be scared of the dance floor."

Chibita blinked twice in confusion. "W-what?"

"You must feel so much pressure right now. Being given such an opportunity without preparation must overwhelm you to the very core. Well, my star, do not fear dancing with me. I promise to keep you safe in my arms as we enchant another through the beautiful ballad that is dancing."

"That doesn't even make any—Hey!" Without warning, Chibita felt himself being pulled off his chair and out of Karamatsu's grip. Once motionless, he was surrounded in the arms of a familiar stranger: the man in the red shirt he had danced with earlier.

"There you are, toots," the stranger said in a deep voice. "I thought I'd come for another dance."

"No, no. I'm fine where I am." Chibita tried his best to maneuver out of his grip, which only prompted the guy to clench his waist tighter.

"Pfft, don't be such a buzz kill." He seemed more intoxicated than before, drunkenly swaggering as he attempted to guide Chibita towards the dance floor. Chibita was able to resist moving more than a few inches from the bar.

"I said let go of me. I'm not dancing with you again." Chibita began to claw at his grip with his free hand. Unfortunately, the adamant stranger was able to avert more strength since he was almost twice the height and weight of Chibita.

Chibita's resistance quickly got the pursuer's nerves, making his attitude bitter. "Listen, bitch," he hissed loudly while gripping the overpowered crossdresser's cheeks between his fingers, "we're at a club, and you're gonna dance with me. Now quit with the hard-to-get act. It's pissing me off."

Suddenly, a large sound of glass crashing against a hard surface was heard over the music. Though the current song continued blaring, tens of people including Chibita and his victimizer turned their heads toward the sound. Standing in the spot where the sound was produced was none other than Karamatsu. He wielded the neck of Chibita's beer bottle in his right hand, which now had jagged edges where its bottom once existed. With his weapon pointed at Chibita's restrainer, the most intimidating glare Chibita had ever witnessed omitted from the sextuplet's face. Onlookers began to crowd the scene, curious to see what events were to follow. After a moment of silent staring, Karamatsu spoke in a rough and stern voice.

"I didn't come here tonight to fight, fellow stranger. However, you've forced me to intervene. Let the girl go."

Having slightly loosened his grip on Chibita, the guy furrowed his eyebrows at Karamatsu. "And if I don't?"

A streak of light flashed across Karamatsu's sunglasses. "I'll cut you down where you stand."

"You're bluf—"

"TRY. ME." The confidence and pitch of Karamatsu's voice was enough to make the guy push Chibita away, releasing him from his clutches. Chibita stumbled forward a bit, but was gently caught by Karamatsu's free arm. The guy balled his fists as if he wished to fight, but ultimately backed away.

"Whatever. I don't have interest in a prude, anyway." These were red-shirted man's last words before disappearing into the crowd of clubbers.

As others began to whisper to another about what just happened, Chibita watched Karamatsu lower his weapon and place it on the bar. "Sorry about the commotion," he said to the bartender, whom he slipped a small tip in apology for the mess. He then turned his attention to his "damsel" in distress, offering a suave smile.

"Are you alright?" Karamatsu's glasses flickered softly.

"Y-yes," Chibita mumbled with a dumbfounded nod. Something overcame Chibita. Having seen Karamatsu defend him so valiantly, Chibita couldn't help but relish the contact of the usually intolerable NEET's arm around him. He figured the shock of the event and his drink intake had to be a major factor to his reaction, but he was too wrapped up in the moment to scorn himself.

"I'm glad," Karamatsu responded. "I wouldn't want my little star shining any less bright due to a monster like him."

This idjjit's so cheesy, Chibita thought, but he's actually…pretty cool.

Karamatsu once again held Chibita's hand and faced his body towards him. In the seductive voice attempted earlier, the sextuplet repeated a request:

"So, my star, may I have this dance?"

Chibita gulped as he decided to give in to the moment. With a small nod and blush radiating in his made-up cheeks, he allowed Karamatsu to lead him through the crowd of people. Once in the center of the dance floor, Karamatsu placed his hands on both of Chibita's hips. Chibita followed Karamatsu's lead, reaching his arms up and around the other man's neck. Though the song was rather upbeat, they ended up swaying in another's arms. As Chibita looked up at Karamatsu, he noticed his cheeks were scorched red. More interestingly, Karamatsu's head was pointed in the direction of their feet and the phrase "One, two, three" repeatedly muttered from his lips.

"Have you ever danced with a girl before?"

"Huh?" Karamatsu paused his counting to meet Chibita's glance.

"Y-you're counting steps, aren't you?" Chibita smirked to himself as Karamatsu showed evident signs of being flustered.

"O-oh! Of course not, my star. Uh…I mean, yes. I'm counting steps because I…want to count how many steps I have taken while in the arms of an angel as gorgeous as you." Karamatsu did a nervous chuckle and cleared his throat awkwardly.

Chibita knew he could have continued pestering the hell out of Karamatsu but chose to be merciful just for tonight. Instead of escalating the teasing, he let the cheesy answer pass and rested his head upon the NEET's shoulder. The growing intimacy between them made up for the smell of knock-off cologne the oden enthusiast detected on Karamatsu's clothing.

"Um, my star?"

"Yes?"

"W-would you like to…have our paths cross again in the future? Perhaps you'll let me take you on a date?"

Chibita, still intoxicated by the mood and sake shots, pulled his head off Karamatsu's shoulder to genuinely smile up at him.

"Only if you promise me one thing."

Karamatsu's flirtatious smirk returned. "Anything, my star."

"Let's not do anything too fancy."

"Your wish is my command, my star."

With that, they danced in another's arms for another heavenly hour with blushes and smiles upon their faces.