Hi, Norasakka here. The chapters just keep getting longer... Something from the spirit world is possessing my hands. That's why. Enjoy the story!

~ Michi ~

"Kent! Hey, Kent!" I called after him. "You asshole!"

"Why does he walk so fast?!" Musca exclaimed. "There's no way you can keep up!"

"I know!" On top of that, I didn't even know where the goukon was being held, so I was relying on him to guide me there. But with him walking so fast I couldn't keep up and then people in the crowd getting in my way, the distance between us was only increasing. "Kent!" I broke into a sprint, shouldering past strangers, until I was close enough to him to take a diving leap. "You ASSHOLE!" I clung onto his leg, wrapping my own arms and legs around it. "Slow! Down!"

"Why are you riding on my leg?" He blinked down at me, puzzled.

"Did you not hear me calling you? I was being left completely behind!"

"Ah. I was considering what songs I should sing, or whether in fact I should avoid singing at all. I suppose that took up my attention."

"What does that have to do with you walking so fast I can't keep up with you?"

"It's best to do things expediently. I walk quickly out of habit."

"Why can't you just enjoy a relaxing stroll? If you just leave people behind when you're with them it gives off the impression that you don't want to be in their company. It's a lonely feeling, you know."

"Oh." He tilted his head. "Did I make you feel lonely, then?"

"Uh, no, not me specifically, I was just explaining it to you." I mean, I hadn't liked being left behind by him, and I really liked his company… He was probably the most interesting person I'd ever met.

"I see. Well…" He stopped walking, and I realized that even with me clinging to his leg he hadn't slowed down at all. Was he even human?! "Would you mind releasing me now?"

"Promise not to leave me behind again?"

"Yes. I promise."

"Good." I ungracefully clambered to my feet and brushed myself off. "I'll grab you again if I have to."

"Be my guest."

"Er… Yeah." He was looking at me in a way that was unnerving. Not creepy, but… So steady that it affected my nerves. I jumped when he reached his hand out but stopped close to my face. "Whatcha doing…?" I asked warily, raising my arms slightly just in case I needed to swat his hand away.

He said nothing, but his face tightened with intense concentration. His fingers brushed along my bangs, then traced above my hair clip, and he rested his hand on top of my head, mussing my hair slightly. "I… Apologize. For leaving you behind."

"O-oh. It's not a big deal… But thanks for apologizing. But why exactly do you feel the need to pet me in order to say you're sorry?" I smiled. He was a weird dude…

"A casual touch builds the feeling of camaraderie, doesn't it?"

"Huh… I guess so. But it's different because you look so serious," I laughed.

"Do I?" He relaxed, looking at me with slight surprise. "I've had problems with touching others casually in the past. It feels somewhat invasive."

"Your face was all scrunched up."

"I see…" A tiny smile stole over his face, and he smoothed my hair gently before dropping his hand. "Shall we go, then?"

"Sure, just remember… Slow walking. Relaxing stroll."

He chuckled. "Of course." He looked back at me when I grabbed onto his sleeve just in case. "Precautionary measures?"

"Well, yeah." If he blazed ahead of me again I'd probably get lost.

"Here." He tugged out of my grip and wrapped his hand around mine. "Is this sufficient?"

"Uh, sure." There wasn't significance to it in his mind, I understood. Right? "How close are we to the karaoke place?"

"Less than ten minutes. Have you given thought towards songs you'd like to sing?"

"That's what you were thinking about earlier, right? I didn't really consider it that much. I've only ever sang when it's just me around, so…" I shrugged and laughed.

"Yes, I heard you at work the other day."

"Did your ears bleed? Sorry if they did."

"No, it wasn't that bad. It was charming to see that side of you, in its own way."

"Oh. Cool." I looked away from him to hide my frown. I kept thinking that I was getting mixed messages from him… But didn't the fact that I was thinking that mean that I didn't know him as well as I thought I did? Or did it have something to do with my own personal feelings? Wait, what even were my personal feelings? "Argh!" I shook my head.

"… What was that yell supposed to convey?"

"Three guesses."

"Excitement?"

"No way."

"… Frustration?"

"Correct. Second try. You're improving."

"Ah." He nodded slowly. "Why are you frustrated?"

"No reason. I mean… Nothing." I flinched when he raised his hand and lightly hit me on the side of the head. "What was that for?"

"We've made it clear to one another that we highly value each other's honesty, correct?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Then be honest with me."

"Ugh… But it's hard to explain."

"I doubt it will be beyond my comprehension."

"Well… Maybe." I paused, thinking. "What if you were in a situation in which you already knew you were going to fall in love with someone, but they didn't know it?" I looked back up at him, wanting to see his reaction.

He frowned down at me. "Is this some kind of test question to assess my progress in understanding emotion?"

I laughed. "No, no. Just think on it a little and tell me your opinion."

"Hmm…" I watched his profile as he thought. He had a tendency to tilt his head back and forth and alternate between a slight frown and a neutral expression. "Well… In a situation such as that, in which your feelings have already been decided…" His mouth curved in a smile. "I have to say, I enjoy the challenge of contemplating such a thing…"

"Glad to see you're having fun. But what would you do?"

"Well… Regardless of the situation, it's important to think for yourself. I don't believe in predetermination, but if there were such a thing then I would still want to stay sharp, think for myself and make my own decisions. Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah, I think it does. Thanks." The idea of fate had been tripping me up because I'd been caught in panicking about what was going to happen that was out of my hands. In the beginning I had scoffed at the fate of love Musca had told me about, but at this point I couldn't stop myself from believing in it. Just the idea of the fact that I was probably going to fall for the person next to me at some point just because that was the way the pathways functioned was a little scary.

"Of course."

"Uh-huh…" How would he react if I told him that I was inevitably going to like him? Should I tell him? "Hey, Kent…"

"Yes?"

I shook my head. "Never mind. Looks like we're here, right?" I had realized it from the microphone on the logo of the building. It was probably better to say nothing. After all, it wasn't beyond me to try and fight fate if I wanted to. I stopped walking at that thought. "Holy shit!"

"What now? You seem to be prone to outbursts."

"I just realized something, is all." I nodded slowly. "Yes, yes…" The reason I hadn't denied the fate of love in the first place is because I hadn't wanted to. My feelings had been genuine all of the time, so did I really have to feel so guilty about it? As long as I was that truthful, then I couldn't hate myself for moving through like I was. That was what I was hoping.

"Let's go inside, then. The others might be waiting for us already."

"Right." He pulled me in after him, and I realized that we were still holding hands. The others already had a room, so we were directed to it. I pulled my hand away before we entered, trying to be nonchalant about it, but he still looked back at me for a second. Bottom line, I didn't want to walk in holding hands with Kent when I knew Ikki was going to be there. It'd be awkward, not to mention misleading.

"Sorry we're late," Kent said as a greeting.

I stifled a smile. There were two other guys and three girls there, making it four of each gender. The other girls had flocked around Ikki since he wasn't wearing his sunglasses, so the other boys looked a bit dejected. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "Too bad, huh…"

Ikki smiled at me. "How are you?"

"Not as good as you seem to be doing," I cackled, settling down on one of the couches that had been placed against the wall. Admittedly it was a nice setup, with two couches, a table, and the karaoke machine and stage being the main attraction of the room.

One of the boys came to sit next to me. "Hey, I'm Suzuki. What's your name?"

"Michi. Nice to meet you."

"Ah, Michi. So, what's your type?"

"Eh?" I frowned. Awfully forward, wasn't he? "My type?"

"Yeah. Someone like me, maybe?" He laughed.

"Huh?"

"You do know what these are for, right? Come on, relax. We're all just here to have a good time."

"Okay?" What the hell...?

"Michi." Kent sat down on my other side and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "You were aware that most people attend these types of events in order to find potential partners, correct?"

"Oh. That explains a lot." I paused. "Oh…" Why hadn't I thought about it more before agreeing to this…? I didn't want to sit here and have random dudes flirt with me. Besides, the other three girls were prettier than I was. If only they weren't herding around Ikki, maybe I wouldn't have to be bothered.

"Aw, you didn't know? How cute." Suzuki laughed.

I blushed, edging closer to Kent uncomfortably. "Whatever…" I tried to listen in on Ikki's conversations. After all, the main reason I'd come here was to check in on how he was doing in trying to get people to know the real him.

"So, what kind of movies do you like?" He was asking one girl.

"Um… Well, what kind do you like?" She asked shyly.

"Come on, I asked you. My answer doesn't have any bearing on yours."

"O-oh… Horror movies, actually… I know it's not girly…"

"No, I don't think that. It's interesting. I heard about an new one coming out that looks promising, actually…" They proceeded to have a chat about the movie and ended up with a date for its premiere.

"He works fast…" I laughed. Luckily the other two girls gave up after that, so I was able to be left alone once they paired with the other boys.

"As I said, he's shown signs of improvement in terms of seeking a relationship with depth." Kent spoke quietly so we wouldn't interrupt other people's conversations.

"I'm so glad…" I still felt a tiny bit jealous, but his happiness was most important.

"Also. You're very close."

"Eh?" I had edged so close to him that one of my legs was basically on top of his, and I'd ended up wrapping my arms around one of his and hugging it. "S-sorry… I was uncomfortable." I edged away, hating that I had my hair out of my face now because I couldn't hide behind it.

"Why was that?"

"Wouldn't you be uncomfortable if some strange person started flirting with you?"

"I suppose I would." He paused. "So can I take it to mean you feel comfortable with me?"

"Well, yeah." I was. It felt like we were friends now, and he seemed like a genuinely nice person behind his robot exterior.

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure." I looked at him expectantly.

He stayed silent to consider his words for a minute. "What is your –"

"Hey, let's sing! Everyone's already grouped with partners, right?" One of the girls suggested excitedly.

"Oh. We're partners? That okay?" I raised my eyebrows at Kent.

He sighed. "Yes."

"It's randomized, right? So we won't know what we're going to get…" I couldn't tell whether that was a good or bad thing.

"It seems thinking about what song to pick was a waste." Kent shook his head. "Unfortunate."

"It'll be fiiiiine." I laughed. When it came to our turn, right after Ikki and the girl he had talked with, I actually felt a little nervous. "What's it gonna be? What's it gonna be?!" I hoped up and down a few times.

"Please calm yourself." Kent spoke in a monotone, but he was smiling slightly.

The song ended up being "Yuki no Hana" by Mika Nakashima. I gaped at it during the beginning instrumental section. Everyone else had gotten these upbeat anime songs, but Kent and I gotten a love ballad? I was going to kill someone…

I looked down at the ground throughout it. Eye contact would have been too awkward. When the final ringing piano chord faded, I heaved a sigh of relief. Trying to hit all of the high notes had worn me out, and Kent's deadpan hadn't mixed well with the song at all. Hearing it again in my mind, I started laughing. "That was so bad!"

Everyone else started laughing too. "Okay, who's the next victim?" Things moved on after that, Kent and I returning to our seats.

"My throat hurts," I laughed. "Did you have fun?"

"Yes, actually."

"Oh yeah, what did you want to ask me earlier?"

He shook his head. "I've forgotten. It's most important that you enjoy yourself, either way."

"Hey… Thanks for inviting me." I smiled. "I didn't think it'd be so fun."

"Of course. I'm very glad you came."

"Me too." My feelings this entire time had been genuine. Right now... I was genuinely happy.