Souda woke up the next day ready to do everything he needed to convince Sonia to give him chocolates on Valentine's Day.
Of course, there was always a chance that she didn't celebrate the holiday, but, considering her interest in foreign cultures, the possibility was slim. She would probably give gifts to all her classmates because she was that type of generous person, but Souda would make sure that his gift was the biggest and best. He grinned to himself and started getting ready for the last day of school before Foundation Day, arriving to class earlier than anyone else. He paced by the door and rehearsed some of his lines aloud before someone could come in and overhear.
He turned with a start as the door opened, but it was Nidai and Owari who entered in a burst of energy rather than Sonia in a burst of grace. Souda halfheartedly waved to the pair and continued to pace.
"Good morning, Souda!" Nidai boomed. "How are you?"
"I'm a'ight," he said, putting a hand to his ear. "Just, uh... getting rid of some energy before class."
"Excellent! I agree that exercise in the morning is the best way to wake up," Nidai said, nodding. "You are welcome to join Owari and I during one of our sessions. Komaeda has recently started to work alongside us, and Tsumiki says that his health will improve with a regular routine!"
"Uh, cool," Souda said. He should have remembered that talking about exercise or excess energy around Nidai would only result in an animated (yet one-sided) conversation. "I'll think about it."
"The old man's right, as much as I hate to admit it," Owari said as she stretched. "My gymnastics have improved a lot since I started workin' with him. I dunno what good exercise would do you as a mechanic, though, but I bet that bench-pressing cars could impress some chicks." She flashed Souda a toothy grin as she laughed at the thought.
"Yeah, they do go for the superhero type, don't they?" Souda mused. He returned the grin. "I'll have to take you guys up on that sometime."
The three went off the topic of exercise routines to discuss superheroes, but Souda quickly clammed up as the door opened again. Saionji and Koizumi entered.
"Hey, Uncle Nidai!" the former said, jumping on his back. Nidai caught her small form easily and carried her around the room. Saionji whooped as she put her hands in the air, imitating a roller coaster patron.
"Careful, Saionji! Don't fall," Koizumi said, brows furrowing.
"You worry too much, Big Sis!" Saionji returned, drumming on Nidai's head. "Uncle Nidai would never drop me!" She leaned in and lowered her voice. "If he did, he would end up worse for the wear than me in the end."
Koizumi pursed her lips at the threat, but Nidai laughed and set Saionji down as more of their classmates entered. "Of course I wouldn't drop you!" he said, almost encompassing her whole head as he patted her hair. "I would never forgive myself!"
"I wouldn't, either!" Saionji replied cheerfully. She skipped over to her seat, Koizumi following close behind.
Souda sighed and leaned against his desk, scanning the incoming crowd for a head of platinum blonde hair. He scowled as he noticed Tanaka faithfully trailing in behind Sonia like one of those dogs the breeder loved so much. Souda took a few steps forward to approach Sonia but was stopped by an arm around his shoulder.
"Hey, Souda!" Hinata said a bit too loudly, pulling his friend aside. "I thought I told you not to bother them," he hissed.
"Woah, where the hell did you come from?" Souda sputtered, stepping back.
"I walked in through the door. Were you too busy to notice?"
"Um..." Souda looked to his right to see Sonia talking with Tanaka and Nidai across the room.
"Yeah, exactly." Hinata sighed. "Your staring is really obvious, y'know."
"So? It's not like anyone pays attention to me," Souda said, crossing his arms.
"...Yeah, well, still. Stop." Hinata mimicked Souda's pose in retaliation and said, "Oh, by the way, Nanami had a question about her GameBoy. The screen won't turn on even with new batteries, but the sound still plays, so she thinks that the screen's broken. Could you fix it?"
Souda sighed and put his hands on his hips. "I guess so, yeah. Do you know what model it is?"
Hinata thought for a moment. "It's pink."
"Okay, never mind. Just have her bring it to me after class is over and I'll see what I can do."
"Cool, thanks." As Hinata finished his sentence, Nanami entered the room, rubbing at her eyes. She waved to the two boys as she walked over.
"Good morning," she muttered through a yawn.
"Hey, Nanami," Hinata said with a smile. "I was telling Souda about your busted GameBoy screen. Do you happen to have it with you?"
"Ah, maybe..." She took off her backpack and rustled through the biggest pocket. Souda wondered if she even bothered to put school supplies in it. "Which broken GameBoy, exactly? I've gone through a few over the years," Nanami asked.
"The pink one," Hinata said, shifting from foot to foot and glancing at the clock. "But if you have another broken one, I'm sure Souda could fix that, too, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," Souda said with a wave of his hand. "It might be kinda nostalgic to look at the older technology, like when I took apart our old portable radio when I was younger, but it'd be hard to find spare parts. I'll come up with somethin'."
Nanami zipped her backpack. "I must have left it in my room. I'll give it to you later," she said, going to her seat and setting her head onto her desk.
By the time the conversation was over, the homeroom teacher had entered and ordered the class to take their seats. Souda thought nothing of it at the time, as he was too busy thinking about all the old televisions he'd disassembled when he was a kid, but he realized later that Hinata had been distracting him.
Souda almost cursed aloud in the middle of class, but he reminded himself that he still had many more chances to talk to Sonia after the day was over.
And after he'd looked at those GameBoys, of course.
...
Souda ended up spending the whole evening staring, wide-eyed, at the components of the console in the midst of his newly-organized workshop. By the time he was finished fixing the screen, testing the console, and getting distracted by the Hamtaro game inside, it was already past dinnertime, which meant that Nanami was likely asleep. Souda sighed as he stared at the clock, marveling at the way he could get so lost in his work. He resolved to get the device to Nanami the next day and went to bed, placing the console next to his nightstand so he would remember it.
He awoke the next morning to find Tanaka sitting, legs crossed, back hunched, on his own bed, a pink blob in his hands. As Souda's vision focused, he jumped out of bed and snatched the GameBoy from Tanaka's hands.
"The hell're you doin'?" Souda barked. "Who told you that you could just take my stuff?"
"You peruse my belongings on a regular basis," Tanaka said, cracking his knuckles. "I have found smudges on my personal documents that I did not leave there, and my reserves of hair product have been depleting at an unusually high rate."
"That is not true! Why would I want to read your papers, anyway?" Souda looked at the screen and idly picked up from where Tanaka had left off in the game.
"I could think of several reasons."
"Uh-huh," Souda muttered, thinking that the hamsters in the game were way cuter than Tanaka's. Friendlier, too.
Tanaka listened to the sounds coming from the console for a few moments and said, "I do not believe that game belongs to you. You have expressed nothing but contempt for the Four Kings, and I doubt you would find anthropomorphized versions of their kind any more appealing."
Souda didn't bother to respond, and not just because he didn't know what anthropomorphized meant. In his morning grogginess, he noted that the conversation between him and Tanaka bordered on friendly banter, which Souda found disturbing. He shuddered as he gathered up his clothes for the day and went into the bathroom to change, snatching up the console and walking out once he was ready to track down Nanami. The mechanic checked the cafeteria to find Hinata shoveling down his food at their usual table.
"Woah, hey, what's the rush?" Souda asked as he approached. "You turnin' into Owari or something?"
"No," Hinata mumbled around a mouthful of eggs. "I need to finish breakfast so I can go study."
"I thought you were always nagging me about crammin' before tests! What happened?" Souda sat across the table, setting the GameBoy onto the table.
"I studied for the past few weeks, but I still need to use this day to go over everything one last time," Hinata said.
"You're gonna be fine," Souda said with a chuckle. "You always do fine." He pointed at the console. "Hey, do you know where Nanami is so I can give this back to her?"
Hinata shook his head after downing the rest of his orange juice. "She's usually not awake until later on holidays. She'll probably show up here eventually."
"Okay, cool." Souda's grin widened as he said, "Hey, she doesn't have any more for me to fix, does she?"
"She did say that she had gone through more than one," Hinata recalled, "so I'm pretty sure that she would."
"Sweet!" Souda gave Hinata a thumbs up as the latter stood to clear his tray.
"I need to go now, Souda," Hinata said as he walked by his friend. "I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see ya," Souda said, tapping his fingers on the table. While he waited, he got a tray for himself and kept a watch for Sonia, but he never saw her walk in. He figured that she was just a morning person and reminded himself to go check the library later.
An hour after he had finished breakfast, Souda saw Nanami enter the cafeteria as he played the GameBoy. He quickly shut it off and waved her over.
"Hello, Souda," Nanami yawned. She smiled, struggling to keep her eyes open. "Did you fix the screen?"
"Yeah, you bet!" Souda proudly held the finished product outwards, which Nanami accepted with a slow word of thanks.
She turned the console on and smiled. "I see you made a lot of progress in Hamtaro: Rainbow Rescue."
"Uh, yeah," Souda said, heat rising to his face. "It's kinda addicting once you start, y'know?"
"Of course I know," Nanami replied. She shut the game off and said, "I only came down to get breakfast and then I'm going back to sleep, but I can keep you company in the meantime."
"Nah, that's okay," Souda said, standing up. "I actually have another errand to run. Enjoy your sleep!" He waved over his shoulder and stepped outside, heading toward the library. He went to the back corner on the second floor to find Sonia studying, as he had expected.
"Hey, Lady Sonia," he greeted.
She looked up from her book. "Oh, hello, Mister Souda," she said, smiling softly. "How are you today?"
"I'm alright. Mind if I sit here?" He pointed at the chair across the table.
"Yes, that's fine," Sonia said, returning to her work.
He sat and stared at the textbook, trying to read the words upside-down with little success. After a few minutes, Sonia asked, "Did you come here to work, Mister Souda?"
"Um... oh, yeah! I forgot," he stuttered, searching for one of his stock lines. "I forgot because you're so pretty. I just... forget lots'a stuff around pretty girls, y'know?"
"Thank you," Sonia said, unfazed. "Can you at least remember what subject you came to study?"
Souda looked around the shelves, panicked, and said, "Yeah, uh, be right back." He walked away as quickly as possible and sniffed, unsure why he felt so... off. He sank to the floor between two bookcases and sat there trying to compose himself before picking a grammar book off the shelves and returning. Sonia nodded as he sat again, and he smiled back, only realizing a second later that she wasn't looking at him. He sighed quietly and opened the book, trying to remember what rules his class had learned that year. Writing had never been his strong point, but, according to the specialized Hope's Peak curriculum, each student needed to improve their weakest area to become more well-rounded, so Souda didn't really have a choice in whether he could bypass literature altogether.
He chose to give up, however, after a sincere ten minute attempt that ended with him reading the same line three times in a row. He shut the book and said, "I have to go. I'll see you later, Lady Sonia," as he stood. Sonia smiled and waved as he left, shoving the book back into the same general spot he had found it before walking outside.
Souda wiped at his eyes as he stepped into the chilly air. He would guess that it wasn't even noon yet, but after such a demoralizing experience, he wanted to do nothing but go back up to his room and lie in bed. Maybe he could try studying to forget about it; the strategy seemed to work well enough for Hinata, at least.
He wasn't sure what was wrong. He still thought Sonia was beautiful in every way possible, and he still wanted to date her, but he just couldn't think of anything to say. All his pickup lines seemed so lame all of a sudden, and he didn't really know what else to talk about with her. As he opened the door to the dorm building and rubbed at his cold cheeks, he wondered what princesses even talked about in the first place. Politics? Economics? War? Maybe he could talk to her about weapons technology, but that didn't seem like the best topic of conversation when flirting with someone.
He concluded that he was off his game due to all the stress from the past month and threw himself into his bed, grateful that Tanaka wasn't around to rub his own failure in his face.
...
The next few days passed with no small amount of stress or of cram studying when certain students realized they had been completely unprepared for the first day of midterms and hoped to do better for the rest of the week.
As Souda expected, Sonia arrived to class on Valentine's Day with a massive basket of gifts for everyone in the class. He cursed as he noticed Tanaka holding the door open for her but brightened as she thanked Souda for taking the load from her arms. Souda placed the basket on the nearest desk, earning a few choice words of protest from Saionji, and watched Sonia dig through the packages. She gave a box to each classmate, their names neatly labeled on each one, and Souda nearly squealed when he received his.
He read the note inside slowly, as though to savor it, and looked at the chocolates inside the box. Though the contents were essentially the same as everyone else's and the note did not contain a love confession, Souda found himself in a state of euphoria for the rest of the day.
After classes, he came back to reality and remembered another pressing matter. He approached Hinata as he was leaving.
"Psst." Souda nudged Hinata's side and tilted his head urgently to the door, destroying any subtlety the gesture was meant to have. Hinata sighed and followed anyway.
When the two had walked far enough down the hallway, Souda looked theatrically from side to side to ensure that no one would overhear and said, "I heard that Tanaka and Sonia are goin' on a date this weekend."
Hinata groaned. "Where do you even learn this stuff? Do you have spies or cameras or something?"
"Tanaka's been acting weird lately." Souda tapped his foot. "He's too... happy? I saw him grinnin' to himself earlier today, and it was the scariest goddamn thing I've ever seen, but I think he was tryin' to smile."
"So from that, you came to the conclusion that they're going on a date." Hinata sighed and crossed his arms. "I have asked you many times to leave them be. How would you know where they're going to go for the date, if they are even going this weekend?"
"I can plant a microphone in Tanaka's clothes."
Hinata started into his friend's face and knew that the mechanic was completely serious. "No."
"I'm just gonna listen during their date and try to stop Sonia from doing anything she'll regret! I'm pretty good at sneakin'." Souda grinned.
"I beg to differ," Hinata said. "Your hair and clothes stick out. They'd know it was you in less than a second." He shook his head. "Why am I even talking about this? You're not following them. I have a date with Nanami that day, actually, so I can't make sure that you're going to leave them alone, but I trust that you'll do the right thing." His skeptical expression said otherwise, and Souda furrowed his brows in return.
"Hey, I don't need a babysitter, okay? I just told you because... because you're my friend, and you should know my plans for the weekend, right?"
"Your plans for the whole day consist of nothing but stalking an innocent couple?"
"It's not stalking!" Souda snarled. "Think about Sonia bein' in public with that guy. The news exploded last month when they recorded that video together, and if a bunch'a journalists start takin' pictures of them on a date, Sonia's reputation will be ruined!"
Hinata looked at his shoes as he thought. "Well, I guess you have a point that Tanaka looks a bit sketchy, but it's her choice if she wants to be out with him-"
"We don't know that! Dark voodoo magic is still a possibility!" Souda grabbed at his hat and looked around again, presumably for Tanaka or demons phasing through the walls. He seemed to think the two were the same thing.
Hinata sighed. He felt like he did that a lot when he was around Souda. "I can't talk about this anymore. I need to go study for the pre-calculus midterm tomorrow; I have a feeling that it's not going to go very well."
Souda blinked. "Dude, you're only in pre-calc? Shit's easy! I don't even need to study for math."
"Don't rub it in," Hinata grumbled. "Of course it's easy for a legendary engineer."
"Woah, legendary?" Souda laughed. "You're makin' me blush!" He rubbed at his cheek and said, "Whatever, go do your studyin' thing. You'll do as great as you always do, I'm sure."
"Thank you," Hinata said. Souda gave him a thumbs-up, watched his friend walk away, and prepared himself for the rest of his lonely Valentine's Day evening. Once in his dorm room, he planted a small microphone inside Tanaka's usual scarf and sewed it up as neatly as he could before enjoying the chocolates that Sonia got him.
Days later, after Souda finished his last midterm and fled the classroom to collapse into bed, he awoke to find Tanaka gone on the date and a familiar pile of purple fabric still folded on his dresser.
...
As the sun began its descent behind a flock of orange-rimmed clouds, Sonia checked herself in the mirror one last time before going out to meet her date. Tanaka had said that they were going somewhere fancy, but she hoped she wasn't overdoing it; she was never sure when some people considered gloves inappropriate, too outdated, too fancy, but she was sure Tanaka was not one to be hung up on appearances. She quickly decided that the evening would go about the same way with or without the accessories, so she threw on her jacket and clicked down the stairs.
Tanaka met her in front of her dorm with a bunch of flowers held in one hand, and Sonia gasped as she drew closer.
"This is the bleeding heart flower, yes?" she exclaimed, gingerly poking at a pink petal. "Where did you find them at this time of year?"
Tanaka laughed and handed her the bouquet. "Do not underestimate my ability to acquire the infamous Lamprocapnos spectabilis or any other flora at any time of year, princess! As the Ascendant Ruler of Ice, one is able to control the climate."
He didn't tell her about his trips to the greenhouse. It was climate controlled, after all.
"These are wonderful!" Sonia brushed the soft petals against her cheek. "Thank you very much, Mister Tanaka. May I go put these in my room so they will be out of harm's way? I wouldn't want to hold my heart in my sleeves!"
Impressed that she had almost gotten the expression right, Tanaka smiled and nodded. When Sonia returned, they linked arms and began their walk.
"Your scarf looks quite dashing, Mister Tanaka!" she said. Tanaka fidgeted as she felt the silky red fabric. "The color matches your eye nicely."
She didn't comment on how it matched the flush in his face, as well.
"Thank you," he muttered. "You look..." He glanced over to Sonia for a moment. "You look... very nice, as well."
"Thank you!" she said. "So where exactly are we going tonight?"
Tanaka straightened up, confident in the night's itinerary if nothing else. "As our mental reserves have been thoroughly drained, I planned, in my foresight, a relaxed evening. We will first dine at an establishment that is said to be otherworldly in terms of quality. Additionally, with the assistance of avian comrades, I have located a remote spot for watching what few celestial bodies are visible above the harsh glow of man-made lights, and we will go there after our meal." He hesitated. "That is, unless you had a different activity in mind."
"No, I agree, a relaxed outing is very welcome after a week of testing!" Sonia said, looking around as the two exited the gates of Hope's Peak and entered the city. "And we also agreed that you would plan our next date after witnessing my poor planning, yes? So I will go wherever you wish!"
"We also agreed that it was hardly poor planning, my lady," Tanaka said as he led Sonia down the streets. "The venture was quite remarkable overall."
Sonia giggled. "I'm sure that tonight will be remarkable, as well!"
They walked down the street for a few more blocks, making light conversation until they arrived in front of a small black building that emanated soft music from within. Tanaka opened the door for Sonia, and she gazed at the interior with wide eyes.
"The decor is quite different from that of the castle in Novoselic, but the atmosphere is the same," she said after a few moments. Her shoulders relaxed as she took in the orchestra and band, the chandelier in the room's center, the ornately carved furniture that made her feel at home. "I had no idea such a place was so close by." She turned to Tanaka and smiled. "It's wonderful."
Tanaka shut the door behind him and smiled back. "I am glad that I chose wisely."
Sonia laughed. "Don't you always?"
Tanaka looked at his shoes as a server approached to check their reservation. After confirming their 6:00 time slot, the couple was led to their table in the front of the small room, closest to the music. Sonia settled into her chair and watched the musicians play, mesmerized by the light reflecting off each instrument's polished sheen.
"I wish that I had learned how to play the violin," she sighed, turning back to Tanaka. "I have been instructed in other instruments, but the violin was always intriguing to me."
"You can still learn, can you not?" Tanaka asked, idly swirling the water in his glass.
"I could, but I don't have as much time as I did in my childhood," Sonia said. She grinned. "I have also wanted to play the accordion for many years! I know how to play the piano, so it wouldn't be quite as difficult, I hope."
Tanaka nodded, chuckling to himself at Sonia's wide scope of interests. "Yes, the noble child of the piano and the concertina has a most unique sound. I have heard street musicians play in my travels, and they have all utilized the musical apparatus to its full and most glorious extent."
"Do you play an instrument, Mister Tanaka?"
Tanaka let out a loud "ha" before catching himself and saying, in a quieter tone, "I play the sounds of nature, Miss Sonia. The percussive crack of ice, the steady tone of the wind, the rumble of the earth, the howl of a cruelly abandoned canine, the-"
"Can I get you two anything else to drink?"
Tanaka startled and jerked his head upwards to see the waitress trying to hide her smile in response to his spiel. He cleared his throat and shook his head in sync with Sonia.
Tanaka cleared his throat as the waitress walked away. "Yes, and so on. All these sounds combine to make a sound far more powerful, more influential than any human band could ever try to mimic, and that is the instrument I play."
Sonia's eyes gleamed under the soft light. "That is far better than playing an instrument in the traditional sense! I wonder how Miss Mioda would react to such a concept."
"Pah," Tanaka scoffed, opening the menu. "I doubt one so... rambunctious would stop to listen to the subtleties of such sound."
Sonia followed suit and said, "I believe there is more to her than meets the eye. I have discovered in the past months that many of our classmates have hidden depths that can be quite interesting to investigate."
Tanaka hummed in agreement, and both listened to the music as they looked over the choices. After placing their orders, the two continued to talk quietly until the food arrived. About halfway through the meal, Sonia noticed several servers moving unoccupied tables to make a space in the middle of the room.
"Is there something else happening?" she wondered. Tanaka smiled and didn't respond, as a suited man approaching the microphone appeared to be about to do so for him.
"I hope you are all having an enjoyable evening, honored guests," the gentleman said. "We will begin our scheduled dance in just a few moments. Feel free to continue eating and join whenever you wish." He stepped down and returned to his chair in the small orchestra, readying his bow for the next piece.
Sonia felt a presence at her side and turned to Tanaka, who was holding a hand out to her. She smiled and took it as a waltz began, and they walked to the center of the room where other couples had started to dance. Tanaka nervously took one of Sonia's gloved hands, put the other on her waist, and led her through the dance.
"I didn't know that you could waltz, Mister Tanaka!" Sonia beamed. "Did you take lessons?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes." Internet tutorials were close enough, Tanaka thought. He prayed that his hands weren't shaking too noticeably and continued to recite the steps in his head, staring intently at his feet.
After a few songs passed with few words from either, Sonia tilted Tanaka's head up with a finger. "Are you comfortable enough now? I'd rather see your face than your hair, though it is styled quite nicely," she said. At Tanaka's mumbled apology, she shook her head and smiled. "I don't mind if you step on my feet a bit, Mister Tanaka. I just want to see you."
Tanaka flushed as the two danced, and he managed to maintain eye contact with his date for a record time. His confidence grew slightly but diminished as Sonia rested her head on his chest during a particularly slow song. He put both arms around her in an embrace and was sure that she could hear his regretfully loud heartbeat as they swayed.
By the time they had returned to the table several songs later, their food had gone cold, but neither seemed to mind.
"Thank you for the lovely dances, Mister Tanaka," Sonia said with a curtsy before sitting again. "This has been a wonderful evening so far."
"It is not yet halfway over," Tanaka said, smiling softly as his nerves settled. "We may finish our business here before moving on."
As if one cue, the waitress arrived to take away the plates and promote the Valentine's Day-themed dessert, which she brought over a few minutes later after receiving a positive response. Two small, pink cakes were set onto the table and received with thanks before the waitress left the two to themselves again. They watched the last few couples who continued to dance and quickly finished their dessert before going back out to the makeshift dance floor.
When Sonia drew close a second time, Tanaka put his arms around her more readily, and the two stayed there even as the rest of the patrons filed out.
Once the orchestra began to pack up for the night, Tanaka and Sonia bid a good night to the servers and headed out, bundling up against the cold.
Sonia exhaled a cloud of her breath into the night air and watched it travel upwards as she asked, "Where to next, Mister Tanaka?"
Following her line of sight, he replied, "It is only a short walk." He hesitated for a moment before holding out his hand, and Sonia interlaced her fingers with his as the two set off to the next destination. They headed for the edge of the city, close to the beach, and walked to an old warehouse. Tanaka said that the front door was locked, so he stood in front of an empty window and offered Sonia a boost.
Sonia tentatively scooted closer. "Are you sure this isn't considered trespassing?"
"I have returned to this place several times at many hours of the day, and I can assure you that no one has passed by," Tanaka said. "The structure seems long abandoned, and I could not find a more remote spot for our purposes." He gestured to the window once more and knelt down, cupping his hands so Sonia could enter through the window.
She thought it over for a few moments, shrugged, and climbed into the empty room. Tanaka followed and led her up three flights of stairs, opening a door that led to the roof. Sonia clicked onto its center and looked around, gasping as she looked out onto the ocean.
"You really can see all the stars out there, where there are no lights," she whispered. Tanaka joined her and nodded, taking off his jacket to set down as a makeshift blanket. The two sat beside each other and looked out to the shimmering waters that reflected the moon and stars above.
Tanaka fidgeted. "Is this an appropriate location? Are you too cold? We may do something else if you find this irrelevant to your interests-"
"No, Mister Tanaka, it's wonderful," Sonia hushed. "I can barely hear the traffic, and if we keep facing this way, it's hardly like there's a whole city behind us at all." She smiled and put her head on his shoulder. "I cannot remember the last time I was somewhere so tranquil."
"I..." Tanaka swallowed. "I am glad you find it suitable."
They sat, enjoying the silence, as the moon rose steadily higher into the sky. Sonia huddled into her coat with a shudder, and Tanaka put an arm around her, feeling his heart rate spike again. He rubbed her shoulder to keep her warm but kept his gaze toward the water.
"There are thousands of undiscovered species that lurk in the ocean's depths," Tanaka whispered. "Those are the luckiest creatures. They know nothing of civilization or pollution, only of darkness and quiet. The animal kingdom is vicious, and no organism may rest for even a moment for fear of death, but I imagine those deepest under the water are the most peaceful, despite the danger."
Sonia hummed. "Well stated, Mister Tanaka. It's quite fascinating to think about what kinds of things we may never discover, isn't it?"
Tanaka nodded and slowly willed himself to calm down. "I'm glad I could discover you, Sonia."
Sonia had to stop herself from giggling at his unusual phrasing and hugged him from the side. The two sat with their arms around each other, listening to the soft sounds of waves and passing cars, and lost track of time as they contented themselves with the peaceful meeting of nature and man.
...
In a movie theater elsewhere, Hinata slowly turned his head to Nanami and began to lean in when an explosion sounded on the screen. He flinched backwards, repressing a yell of surprise, and tried to calm his heartbeat before he tried again.
He hit his target the second time, but Nanami didn't seem to notice the pair of lips on her cheek as she watched the movie adaptation of one of her favorite games. Hinata sighed quietly and leaned back, opting to take her hand instead. She squeezed back after a pause and, though her eyes remained focused forward, she smiled.