A/N: This is slightly inspired by Mistel's Pink Heart Event... well, sort of.

Blind Date

An unfamiliar string of numbers paired with letters came from his lips as she heard a chess piece slide on the board. Although she couldn't see, she just knew that the boy across from her was smiling ear-to-ear.

"You're not familiar with algebraic chess notation?" Mistel asked her curiously.

She found that, surprisingly, what they say about being without one of your senses is true; her ears could pick up the distant sound of Mistel's eyelashes as they flickered behind his own blindfold. The cicadas were chirping perfectly in unison outside the window. The walls even made subtle noises from within as she sat across from the antique store owner. Or maybe it was just that being blindfolded made her pay all the more attention to her surroundings.

"I warned you this wasn't going to be easy, but if you don't know the notation you don't stand a chance."

Minori smiled sheepishly. "I'm not afraid of losing a game."

"Is that so?" Mistel said. He shifted forward in his chair, as if knowing what her next move would be. "Does that mean winning means nothing to you, as well?"

Minori jumped as she felt a soft hand calmly capture her own. It guided her without trouble to a certain chess piece, stopping once her fingers had touched its outline. It was as if Mistel wasn't even blindfolded at this point, and she had the urge to peek beneath her own to see if he was actually peeking.

"I said, kB8 B6."

As she rubbed her fingers over the carved figure, she felt that it was, indeed, a knight. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad if she just relied on her other senses and intuition. She retracted her hand back to her own set of figures, searching each one to feel its identity. She decided to just go with the front line for now; it was hard to mess up something as simple as moving a pawn forward.

"Ahh… um…" she searched for the words to accompany her movement.

Again, she could almost practically see him smile, even beneath her blindfold. "Show me," he said deviously.

Apparently his hand was already out because as soon as Minori nervously reached out, she bumped into it. She could feel her fingers shaking as she guided his warm hand to the cool, smooth figure she had just moved.

"Ah, a pawn," he commented without delay. "Not a very risky move for someone who isn't afraid to lose."

Minori frowned, letting go of his hand.

He chuckled. "I'm only teasing, of course, you know," he said. "I wish I could see your face right now. After all, how can I expect you to want to win if I don't even offer you a fair enough prize."

"Prize?" she asked, as she heard a piece from his side of the board move again. How he had gotten so good at blindfolded chess, she had no idea.

"I knew that would get your attention. Hmm, let me think. PD7 D5."

His hand once again swallowed hers whole, placing it upon the pawn he just previously moved forward.

"Well, how about this? If you win, I'll let you beat me like a piñata... since you're already blindfolded."

Minori shook her head, snorting a quick laugh. Sometimes his strange comments really caught her off-guard. His wore his innocent baby-face like a mask most of the time, disguising his true persona somewhere deep within...and he hid it well. "Either you think I'm sadistic or you yourself are a masochist."

She could feel even the slightest movement of his thumb atop hers. "Not enough for you, then? How about a kiss?"

"M-Mistel!"

"My, you're hard to please. I admit that I'm drawing a blank as to what a cute girl like yourself might find to be a suitable prize."

Her cheeks felt hot, and the thick fabric of the blindfold wasn't helping any. Not only was she completely blind, but she was also completely oblivious as to what was going on… her opponent was only distracting her further. No doubt, that was his strategy. This was his game.

"I can tell you're struggling," he offered, covering the silence between them. A gentle sigh escaped his mouth, a sigh not usually characteristic of his pattern. "If it makes you feel any better, normally a game like this would have a non-blindfolded intermediary to move our pieces for us."

She thought intently as she touched her pieces. "That would make sense. And I guess you didn't arrange an intermediary for us because…"

More chuckles from Mistel. They were light and jovial as his breathing quickened ever so slightly. He touched her hand playfully to emphasize his meaning. "That's right, you guessed it. My plan is foiled. Can you blame me, though?"

She found herself smiling with him. She moved another pawn—she hoped it was a pawn—forward two spaces, her other hand searching for Mistel's.

"Actually, this is just the way I learned to play over time. I didn't have a lot of kids my age to play with, and of course my sister rarely had time for games. Although, Iris is a formidable opponent at chess—but not as good as me."

As soon as she let go of his hand, he had swiftly moved his next chess piece before she could think further. "One pawn down," he narrated as he snatched her figure from the square it once was.

"That was part of my strategy," Minori joked, although she was slightly still in shock from the loss of one of her men.

"Oh yes, I'm sure. You're quite adorable, you know. This is the most enjoyable game I've had in a while… I do thank you for playing with me."

"How do you know I'm adorable? Are you peeking?"

Mistel paused before he scoffed lightly. "Not only do you think I'm a masochist, but you also think me to be a cheater. Tsk, tsk. What ever have I done to make you distrust me so, Minori?"

She bit her lip as she brought her hand back to her figures once again.

"Never mind that, though," he continued, "I'm glad you've opened up to me more. When we first met, you rarely teased me back. Now all you do is retort back to my advances."

"…Advances?"

"Strictly speaking, of course," he added. "I do find you to be much more brave with that blindfold on. Perhaps you're more shy when you have to actually look at me."

"The blindfolds were your idea, if you recall," she countered, more brave than she had meant it to sound.

"You are feisty today," Mistel acknowledged, but he didn't sound displeased.

"There, I moved here," she quickly said, changing the subject before it could distress her even further. Grabbing her opponent's hand was becoming progressively harder with the effect his teasing was having on her. At least he couldn't see her blushing, but she knew that neither of them had to admit aloud the shakiness present each time their hands met. She wasn't quite sure when their relationship had evolved into... this.

"I may be swift and gentle with you today," he said suddenly, and she felt the vibration as he removed yet another of her pieces from the board between them. "After all, it is your first time."

"Which one was that?" she asked, unsure of what she had even lost from her collection of black figures.

"You're not even sure which pieces are which?" Mistel teased. "You really are struggling."

"And you're enjoying it."

They both stayed silent, as he reached for her hand once again. The tension was evident as Minori realized it wasn't just her own hand that was shaking now. He set it upon one of his figures, and used her hand to move the piece for him. He was painfully gentle as he sandwiched her fingers between his own and the tip of the figure. "I do enjoy a good struggle, but… checkmate."

Minori felt her eyebrows raise. "What? So soon?" She felt her way around the chessboard, trying to assess the battlefield.

"You weren't bad, but you could use some practice," Mistel replied bluntly. "I'll be happy to challenge you anytime."

"I'm impressed," she admitted as brought her hands up to the blindfold wrapped tightly around her head. "I really am."

Before she could slip a finger under the cloth, familiar hands were on her fingers once more. "Not yet," he said as he pulled her hands away from her face. He almost sounded nervous beneath his request.

"I see, is this my punishment for losing, I guess...?" she asked.

"Punishment...?" Mistel repeated, almost confused, almost intrigued. "I certainly hope not. Although... I thought maybe since you were nice enough to humor me, I could offer a consolation prize for your defeat."

Minori posed shyly beneath his gaze, almost certain that he wasn't wearing his own blindfold anymore. She hoped that he couldn't hear her heartbeat as loudly as she could, echoes pounding harshly within her chest.

She heard, and even felt, him step close to her. His light footsteps were deafening. She could feel a lock of his golden hair slice over her cheek. She could feel him hesitate slightly as he began to kiss her.

It was almost a kiss.

"Hey Mistel, are you... oh..."

Minori was confused as she felt Mistel snap himself away from her, and she realized the intruder's voice belonged to Fritz. She hadn't even heard him come in; perhaps her senses weren't as sharp as she had originally thought. She had a distinct feeling that all eyes were presently on her.

"I, um," Fritz fumbled for coherent words as he backed away. "Do... do you blindfold all of your customers...?"

Minori heard Mistel clear his throat. He was not happy.

"Only the pretty ones, I'm afraid, so you have nothing to fear. Did you need something?"

"I'll, uh, come back later!"

The door slammed immediately after, and Mistel sighed in annoyance. "Forgive me, Minori. I'm going after him and I'm going to teach him a lesson. I swear, that boy has no sense of what 'knocking' means. You can take your blindfold off now."

Minori pulled it slightly up, over her eyes enough so that she could see him. Well, that was over fast.

He looked fondly back at her over his shoulder before he stepped out the door. "I look forward to our next blind date."