first date
Koshino prided himself on being a skilled negotiator. Yet there were some things that could not be entirely enforced on his terms and sometimes Koshino found that he was forced to give in, to make compromises and to allow the other party in the transaction to impose his own terms. After all, if one did not compromise, one then had to suffer the consequences of a failed negotiation and walk away empty-handed. Since his best friend had impressed upon Koshino the urgency of his desire and his immense anguish at his own failed attempts, Koshino felt that it was imperative that he ensured a resolution to his friend's dilemma. With the firm belief that the matter had to be settled once and for all, Koshino felt keenly that he could not push too hard for his own terms and thus worked hard to ensure that the objective of his mission would be achieved.
This was precisely why Koshino then, had allowed Sakuragi Hanamichi to tag along as he spied on Sendoh's first date with Ayako. Sakuragi was, unfortunately, a necessary piece of the puzzle that had to be included in the picture. With much haggling, Koshino had managed to draw out Ayako's phone number from Sakuragi. The price for that much prized phone number included filling in a curious Sakuragi on all the details of the mission, as well as bribes of free hamburgers and pizzas.
"So how is this supposed to help your chances with Ayako again?" Sakuragi asked through a mouthful of popcorn as Koshino desperately tried to get the tall redhead to duck down as Sendoh and Ayako approached the box office outside the theater.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Its not me. Its Sendoh who likes Ayako!" Koshino hissed.
"Right. But then, why did you go through all the trouble of getting the phone number again?" Sakuragi said. He didn't quite understand Koshino although he was starting to form the opinion that Koshino was the epitomy of the true "bro". He wondered if he asked Koshino for help whether Koshino would actually respond and set up a whole day's itinerary for him and Haruko. After all, Koshino seemed to demonstrate that he enjoyed being quite the planner of events. He had planned Sendoh's date down to the very last detail and had dictated exactly what the course of the day's events should look like.
"That ... ... that's because there is a divine being who balances the odds and ensures that people born with a buttload of talent have severe deficits in other areas of life." Koshino said. "Now will you please lower your head. The last thing Ayako needs to see is two chaperones on their first date!"
"Oh? What other severe deficits does Sendoh have?" Sakuragi said, his curiosity piqued.
"How is that important right now?" Koshino said and frowned as he watched Sendoh and Ayako purchase their movie tickets. In his expert opinion, Sendoh was standing way too far away from Ayako. How on earth would Sendoh at such a distance be able to coolly sling his arm around Ayako's shoulders or casually place her hand in his? That ninny.
"Does he have smelly feet?" Sakuragi continued to press on. His own feet never smelt very good after a basketball game. It would be comforting knowing his rival also suffered the same shortcomings. Sakuragi started to feel a surge of goodwill and camaraderie towards Sendoh. To think they may have so much in common, it was almost as if they were cut from the same cloth.
"What? No. I don't know." Koshino said and grabbed Sakuragi's arm. "C'mon. They're entering the theater now. We have to follow"
"Ok, but you know, you should recommend this foot spray to Sendoh. It'll help him with his problems." Sakuragi said kindly and was pleasantly surprised at his own sudden show of generosity. He supposed it was only natural to help out people who had the same problems. Compassion was sadly so rare these days.
Koshino stared at Sakuragi as he had grown two heads. He would never be able to fathom the redhead.
As the cinema lights dimmed, Sendoh found himself releasing a breath that he had hitherto not known he had been holding. Everything had so far seemed to go according to plan. Calling Ayako up and asking her out for a date had not been as difficult as he anticipated. He supposed it helped that he had practised his lines with Koshino ten times before actually dialing her number to ask her out. His own conversation with Ayako on the phone had been extremely brief and direct. It had taken a maximum of three minutes and only required him to utter two sentences:
"Hi Ayako. I was wondering if you would like to catch a movie with me this weekend."
"Sure! What did you have in mind?"
"Ok. I'll see you Saturday at 3pm. Bye"
In his elation at hearing her affirmative reply, Sendoh had hung up before realizing that Ayako had asked a question and that he had given a completely separate reply. In his mortification, he texted her the details of the movie and the location as he was both too embarrassed to call her again and worried that he would again say something stupid.
But now in the cinema, it seemed as if things would finally start going his way. He looked over at her and smiled. She was dressed differently today. It was his first time seeing her in a dress and he thought she looked beautiful. He didn't know how to tell her that without sounding cheesy but he figured he would find a way to do so as the day went on.
Smiling, he stared at the movie ticket in his hands. It was only then that he realized that Koshino had recommended a horror movie. He guessed that this was supposed to be a strategic choice to help him get physically closer to Ayako. The only hitch in the plan was that, he, Sendoh, really, really, really, absolutely hated horror movies.
Author's note: back from the deadddddd. Unfortunately, work has kicked in and i had deadlines that took priority over this :( Hope this chapter is enjoyable.