Date 1: ToumaxHaruka
"This sucks, I was practically just given the leftovers!" Touma complained, sore over his loss to Shouta.
The green-haired boy, meanwhile, was laughing over his good fortune. "I'm lucky that Hokuto didn't want any of the ones I was interested in. But I'm pretty surprised by your choices—weren't you already rejected by two of them?"
"That was merely a simple error on my part," Hokuto dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I'm confident that I'll be able to win both of them over this time. In any case, the three of us are done with work for the day, correct?"
"Unless Shachou suddenly pops in with another job for us, yeah, we're done," Shouta confirmed.
Hokuto was already headed for the door, waving an arm in farewell as he departed. "May the most attractive win, then. Good luck, you two."
"Hmph," Touma scoffed as soon as the blonde had left. "He already thinks he's got this in the bag, huh? I'll show him not to underestimate the power of Jupiter's leader."
"Haha, fight, Touma!" Shouta cheered. "But it seems like you have it rough. You got that lady you're scared of, right? I'm just happy that I got the easy girls."
"I'm not scared of her," Touma denied with a death glare. "Just because I find her strange doesn't mean she's scary."
Shouta stuck out his tongue. "That so? Then why are you totally paralyzed whenever you see her? Don't tell me it's 'cause she's got some strange completely unscary powers or whatever."
"I'll kill you if you don't leave right now."
"Wah! Frightening!" Shouta laughed. "But don't worry, I'll head out, too. Good luck with your women, Touma~ If you ask me you probably got the hardest ones. An alien, a klutz, an stuck-up princess-."
"Shouta!"
With a last laugh the boy was gone and Touma was finally left alone in peace and quiet. Except it wasn't peaceful because he only had a month to woo four girls he hated (and who no doubt hated him) and go on a date with each and every one of them. An enjoyable date, at that.
"I guess I should start with the easiest one, then. Ugh, but I barely remember any of them..." Touma stared at the names of the girls he'd been left with since Hokuto and Shouta had picked everyone else. "Might as well start from the top I guess. Whoever this person is..."
/~/~/
"Amami Haruka!"
Every idol in the room glanced up at the sudden interruption, but only one yelped, "Hai!"
"Go on a date with me!"
"Hai! Ah-... wait, what?"
Touma growled as the other girls proceeded to have a laughing fit. Haruka just looked like she was about to die of embarrassment. Ignoring this, the brunet stalked up to his target and glared down at her, none too happy about his current situation.
"I'm serious. Go on a date with me. Right now."
"Um... why?"
Why? Did she seriously just ask why she was being asked out on a date? Touma scowled- 765 Pro really was full of idiots. "Why do you think?" he snapped impatiently. "Because I want to go on a date with you!"
"Ah~ AmaTou is such a romantic, isn't he?" one of the younger girls called out.
"Harurun, this is your chance!" the one next to her added eagerly.
Another girl, the boyish looking one, spoke up with a frown, stepping over to Haruka in a protective manner. "Don't tell me this is another stupid thing Kuroi has planned for the destruction of 765 Pro or whatever."
"The old man has nothing to do with this so stop acting so suspicious," Touma replied. He looked down at Haruka again. She smiled back nervously. "Well? Will you grace me with your presence for the day or not?"
"I don't mind," Haruka replied. "Where do you want to go?"
Touma paused. That was (annoyingly) a good question. He mentally kicked himself for not thinking of a place to go before barging in to the 765 agency like an idiot and declaring that one of their idols go out with him.
"Hmph, looks like the amazing Amagase Touma doesn't even have a plan for a date," the girl carrying a stuffed rabbit like a two-year-old sniffed.
"We're going to see a movie," Touma decided on the spot. He glared at Haruka to see if she had any objection. She nodded, apparently already accustomed to the idea that she had been asked out by the guy who was always insulting her and her friends.
Rolling his eyes, Touma grabbed her hand and pulled her away, trying to ignore how she stumbled from the sudden tug. Tch, it wasn't his fault. She should have better coordination. And it wasn't as though he was planning to check and make sure she was okay once they got outside... Or at least, not because he cared. It'd just look bad on him as the leader of Jupiter if he was seen with a messy girl.
/~/~/
"So what movie are we gonna see?" Haruka asked, now walking comfortably beside Touma.
He'd decided he didn't need to hold her hand as though she were a child. After all, it wasn't as though he was her dad or her boyfriend or anything. She could walk perfectly fine on her own... aside from those occasional trips she had over her own feet.
"Dunno," Touma shrugged. "Anything good out?"
"Mm, I haven't really seen any interesting trailers lately..."
"Guess we'll just have to decide once we get there."
Haruka smiled brightly. "Sounds like a plan!" Then she giggled and added, "You're surprisingly nice when you're not being all grumpy, Touma-san. Was this a dare or something by your friends?"
Touma fought the urge to shudder. Hokuto and Shouta his friends? She'd better have been kidding. There was no way he would ever consider those two as something as close as friends. Especially after they'd dragged him into this stupid game. But as the leader of Jupiter it was unacceptable for him to lose! So he shrugged again and said, "Not really. What, you can't believe that someone would ask you out on a date?"
"Eh? No way, if I said that was true then that'd mean I'd be insulting myself, wouldn't it?" Haruka waved her arms frantically. "I'm just surprised that it's you who did it. I always thought you were some kind of anti-social overconfident guy with a really bad personality."
"And I always thought you were some talentless klutz with absolutely no musical ability whatsoever," Touma shot back, trying to keep the venom out of his voice. So long as she thought he was teasing it was fine for him to say stuff like that. "Try proving me wrong there. I invite you."
"You don't think I'm a good idol?" she actually sounded wounded but Touma went on anyways.
"Isn't that what I've been telling your group all along?"
"Touma-san really is a jerk..."
"Hey." Touma frowned, glancing over at her. "That was a joke." Kind of. Not really. "Like I said, prove me wrong. If you can impress me I'll take back everything I just said. In fact..." He looked around and found, to his satisfaction, a karaoke place that was just conveniently there. "I'll challenge you right now."
Haruka followed his gaze and immediately her eyes lit up, a smile replacing her hurt expression. "That looks fun! Let's play it, Touma-san!" Without waiting for an answer she ran over, entering the building before Touma could even react.
"You don't play singing," Touma muttered but he followed anyway.
He wasn't happy that finding this place cheered her up so much. No way. They'd been going to a movie, after all, hadn't they? This was just a stupid distraction. He definitely didn't care at all that she didn't seem to be sad anymore.
/~/~/
"Ah, Touma-san, they have our songs!" Haruka said excitedly as she flipped through the songbook. "Hmm, what should we sing?"
"We? There's no 'we' in a challenge," Touma corrected her. He held out a hand for the book and his date dutifully obliged. Looking through it, Touma found a lot of 765 Pro songs, but thankfully there were also a few Jupiter songs to make up for it. "It's only a challenge if it's challenging, after all. If you can sing a Jupiter song in a way that impresses me, you win."
"Eh? A Jupiter song?" Haruka made a face. "Then you have to sing one of our songs, too. If you can sing it well enough I'll stop being mad at you."
"What? You're mad at me?"
Haruka nodded. "Of course I am!" Her cheerful smile whilst saying so told otherwise. "You have to sing The Sun's Jealousy and Girls, Be Ambitious and make them both super super good. They're my songs so I'll be able to judge them best."
"Those are such... girly songs, though," Touma protested. "Plus, I barely know them. Just the titles are giving me a bad feeling."
"You can give me two songs to make it fair, you know," Haruka replied, finding a solution to the wrong problem.
Touma rolled his eyes. As if making her sing two songs would solve everything. Still, he figured he should go with two songs he'd be able to judge easily so he listed, "Alice or Guilty and BANGxBANG. Good luck."
"Alice or Guilty?" Haruka looked horrified. "I can't sing that! It's so dark!"
"How do you think I feel about having to sing your 'girls be ambitious' thing?"
"It's about embracing aspirations!"
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"You should be happy to sing a song like that," Haruka said, green eyes now taking a confused look. "It's all about being cheerful and taking things as they are. I'm sure Touma-san could learn a thing or two from it."
Touma just rolled his eyes again. Whatever pleased her, he supposed. "Sure. Whatever you say. Now, do you want to go first or shall I?" he leaned forward with a grin. "I have to say, I can't wait to hear you mess up my songs."
This time, instead of taking offense, Haruka just smirked back. "I should be saying that to you," she said with an air of confidence he'd hadn't heard before. Quickly selecting the four songs, Haruka took the microphone and waited.
The first song, Alice or Guilty, rang out moments later, the guitar chords giving the room a menacing (incredibly cool, in Touma's opinion) atmosphere, and when Haruka began to sing it was in a low yet powerful voice the brunet had never even knew she possessed.
"The lies just keep on spilling out
Until precious moments become defined by them."
Even her voice while singing carried confidence in every note. Her body swayed slightly as she continued, and when Touma looked up from his seat he saw a hardened look on her face, an almost evil smile growing bigger and bigger. He suppressed a shiver. The Haruka in front of him right now was almost like the villain she'd played in 765 Pro's movie (not that he'd seen it, of course. It'd looked like crap.)
"The city is a warped labyrinth
And in it I lose you..."
Alice..."
Haruka glanced over, and Touma was surprised by the absolute solemn look in her eyes. She really got into her songs... Okay, fine. Touma grudgingly had to admit that she was doing well. Great, if he was honest. A lot better than he'd expected from such a klutz. Looked like 765 really did have a bit of talent, even if it was only from one person.
"So I'll break through this labyrinth that my voice could not
And when I reach out for you
I'll be able to accept my sins, and the punishment I must face
So I beg you to cast your judgement upon me!"
/~/~/
"You know, I tried listening to your words
And got a sweet piercing feeling!"
Touma blatantly ignored the giggles he heard from behind him. Seriously, just 'cause he couldn't pull off the girly tone needed for this song didn't mean she had to laugh... To shut her up, he shot a glare, but she only grinned in return, by now completely unfazed by his attempts at being scary. Tch.
"Chase after me and I'll pretend to run away and gently dive into the water because I'm a mermaid!"
Really? What kind of lyrics were these? From her seat on the couch, Haruka proceeded to have another laughing fit. Face bright red, Touma had no choice but to continue.
"I want you to catch me and say 'I love you'!
In this hot eternity our future begins!"
/~/~/
"BANG BANG BIG BANG!
My heart is a BIG BANG!
A bomber crashing dreams and reality!
Now let's make a rocket dash to the best peace!"
Haruka was practically jumping up and down as she blasted through the chorus. Hyped up by the excitement of the song, she danced around the room, laughing her way through the lyrics.
"BANG BANG BIG BANG!
BIRI BIRI BIG BANG!"
She seemed to be having way too much fun with this. Touma tried to remember if he'd enjoyed the song this much when he'd recorded it. Haruka looked like she was having the time of her life as she sang.
Watching her, Touma allowed himself a small smile. At least it couldn't be said that 765 Pro's idols didn't love music. Haruka really wasn't as bad as he'd thought.
"FIRE! FIRE GO!
BIG BANG!"
/~/~/
"Girls be ambitious!
Dream and be wonderful!
Girls be ambitious!
Love and become beautiful!"
God, this was such a girly song. Touma was trying to stay serious with it but it was just so hard. If he was a man he wouldn't be singing something like this. But he could just feel Haruka's challenging eyes burning into the back of his head. No way was he gonna lose!
"Stand up, ladies!"
Okay, if Haruka was going to laugh again at his attempts at her songs she could at least try to be subtle about it.
This was so uncool.
/~/~/
"I totally won," Haruka said triumphantly as they exited the building.
Denying it would be pointless so Touma just grumbled. He honestly hadn't expected her to be so strong in Alice or Guilty, or to be able to provide that much energy for BANGxBANG. Maybe he should stop underestimating his opponents so often.
"Aw, don't feel bad, Touma-san. You had hard songs," Haruka said sympathetically.
"I don't need your pity."
Haruka only laughed. "If it makes you feel any better it was really funny. Especially when you tried The Sun's Jealousy! But I thought you were good in Girls, Be Ambitious. If we changed it to Boys, Be Ambitious you'd probably have a new hit, huh?"
"Funny." And to prove it, Touma offered a half smile. "Anyways, you did pretty well. Could've been darker on Alice or Guilty but not bad for a 765 Pro idol."
"Hey, I was trying as hard as I could. Dark is more fitting for Touma-san."
"And girly stuff if more fitting for you. Now what's the lesson to be learned in all this?"
"That 765 Pro is the best!" Haruka cheered. "You still have to take back what you said, remember? And... you have to say that 765 Pro is ten times better than 961! No, fifty times. No, a hundred!"
"What? You can't just add on to the bet like that," Touma protested.
Haruka grinned and stuck out her tongue. "I just did. But here, I'll go first." She marched in front of Touma and stood up straight, placing her hands formally behind her back as she said loudly, "Amagase Touma is actually really nice and took me out on a really fun date so I'm not mad at him anymore." She then gave a light cough and looked at Touma expectantly.
"I thought you were only supposed to do that if I won," Jupiter's leader pointed out.
"Yeah, but all of it's true so I might as well say it, right?" Haruka smiled. "Honestly, thanks a lot, Touma-san. I had a great time."
"What, are we done already?" Touma couldn't help the teasing note in his voice. "We still have a movie to watch, don't we? Unless, of course, you'd rather go back and leave me to watch it all alone."
Haruka waved her arms frantically. "What? No way! Besides, you still have a few lines of your own to say to me, Touma-san."
The brunet smirked. Oh, he'd be saying them, alright. Sweeping down onto one knee, he placed an arm across his chest and said in the most dramatic voice he could muster, "I, Amagase Touma, take back all the cruel things I said about 765 Pro and now acknowledge them as one hundred times greater than 961 Pro in both talent and personality."
"You didn't have to add that last part..."
"Amami Haruka, please grace the humble me with an autograph!" Touma winked and pulled out a pen and scrap of paper from his pocket. "I couldn't dare hope for anything more."
Haruka giggled. "You're pretty weird, you know. But if you insist." She took the paper and pen and quickly scribbled her signature onto it. "Satisfied?"
As Touma took the autographed paper back, he knew it wasn't guilt or shame he was feeling. After all, this was just a game. He had no reason to be feeling bad for tricking one of the victims like he'd just done. It was all for the sake of Jupiter's Most Attractive. And showing Hokuto and Shouta just who was the boss in the group.
He didn't need to act as though he'd actually had a good time. Because he definitely hadn't. It was definitely just for the dumb game.
Next chapter: HokutoxYukiho