“What? Him again? And with another girl too!”
That’s the reaction of those watching from the side upon seeing me taking the floor again with Rae.
Regardless of that reaction, the two of us spent a great time following the rhythm and making it a special moment for us. Furthermore, I noticed some boys being surprised to see her. She was never on their radar among the attractive girls in our school.
I mean, if I hadn’t built a connection with her before meeting her friends, I might also have overlooked her for Nazuki. In a normal sense, she’s prettier and has a stronger presence than Rae. But then again, she’s not the one who I fell for. It’s this knowledge girl who already changed a lot from how she was initially.
Although she’s still going to bring up her knowledge once or twice per conversation, she now built the habit of thinking for herself first. And that made her bond with her friends deepen. And obviously, that also translated into her good relationship with the other girls. Kana and Rumi are fond of her like a little sister but since she’s a little mature because of her knowledge bank, they’re holding back on doting on her. Aya and Hana are also close to her. The former because of their tendency to love reading and the latter because of their interactions in our club. Hifumi is also getting closer to her through that group chat of theirs. They’re like a duo of walking encyclopedias when it comes to topics unrelated to me.
Maybe if there’s another gathering just like that time in the restaurant, I’ll see them all together.
“Ruki, am I doing this right?”
“Mhm. It doesn’t need expertise anyway. As long as we follow the rhythm. You’re doing great.”
“Great, huh? It’s because of your guidance, idiot Ruki. Anyhow, are you sure of your plan of dancing with everyone? You know, in my knowledge, doing this dance is often taken as a confession or just the flaunting of one’s relationship. It’s still fine now since I’m the second one... What about later? When you’re on your tenth girl to dance with, everyone will be cursing at you.”
Rae chuckled by the end as though she already imagined the scene. Everyone would be up in arms murmuring about how shameless I am for not stopping. Maybe they’ll also accuse me of changing the meaning of this dance.
But it doesn’t matter to me. Or my girls. This night is for us to create another special memory, after all.
“I say let them curse at me. I’m prepared for that much at least. Have you forgotten how we’re going to go public in the future? This is nothing compared to the judging gazes they’ll throw at us. I’m more worried about you and the other girls though...”
“Idiot Ruki. We’re way past this talk. We know what we signed up for... We’ll just have to make our faces as thick as yours to not be ashamed in front of others. We love you enough to do that much and more.”
A proud smirk blossomed on Rae’s lips as she said that. A moment later, she adjusted her steps to allow herself to huddle closer to me during this dance.
Roused by those words and actions, I ended up holding her closer to me to the point that it made the spectators grit their teeth at how affectionate we became during this dance.
I could’ve kissed her too but for the sake of their sanity and to not make a bigger scene, I’ll reserve that for later.
Soon, the third loop of the song ended and I guided her back to her friends.
Together, we teased Nazuki and Yoneda, asking them if they wanted to take my invitation or save it for later.
Of course, that made Nazuki pissed at me while Yoneda laughed at our silliness. I could sense that she would take my invitation just for fun.
Following that, I moved to Class 3. However, before I could even say something, the adorable forehead girl appeared before me, inviting me to the dance herself.
Naturally, I didn’t even think of rejecting her. I grabbed her hand and let her guide me back to the centerstage where another bout of attention focused on us before the fourth loop started.
“Again?! Oi. Onoda, try not to be too obvious about being a playboy! Stop at one!”
I don’t know who yelled that but that became the sentiment of the crowd upon seeing me again.
But as always, I ignored them and focused on Misaki and our special dance.
Of course, contrary to what they were hoping for, I continued bringing girls to the dance floor. Each time, it’s a new girl.
After Misaki, I went to get Komoe who never expected to get her turn so soon.
Then, I moved back to our class, ignoring Setsuna-nee’s glares and her obvious bafflement at what I was displaying.
I invited Aya, then the trio of Nami, Hina, and Saki before moving back to Class 3 to get Maaya.
At that point, those cursing had almost given up. They just started to take note of who I would be dancing with next.
I saw Shiina laughing every time I would show up and then Sara looked at me with concern, perhaps thinking I was intentionally putting myself in a bind.
Unfortunately, I still didn’t stop even after getting the most beautiful girl in our Year level.
Once I guided Maaya back after the ninth loop of the song, I went to invite Chii, Hana, and Kanzaki.
Soon, as the 12th loop came around, everyone’s exasperated eyes fixated on me as they all tried to guess who I would invite next.
In the end, it caused an uproar when I went for Juri who didn’t even hesitate to take my hand.
At this point, the college boys also started reacting to the ridiculousness of the situation.
Maybe some of them were already thinking that I turned this bonfire dance into a joke. But little did they know, my girls and I couldn’t care less about what they were thinking.
We were all focused on ourselves rather than their judgemental eyes. We savored this special moment and laughed at the absurdity that we created.
Of course, just because the majority was displeased at what I was doing, my girls and most girls whom I’d helped earlier with their tents were all having a good laugh seeing me becoming the public enemy number 1. Some of them were also hoping to be invited to dance by me.
Nonetheless, my actions still led this activity to be livelier than what everyone was expecting. I mean, others got influenced by my shamelessness. They gathered their courage to invite their crushes – and it’s not just limited to boys. Even girls who like someone started taking initiative.
Due to that, the dance floor was never empty even after the tenth loop. Normally, the couples would’ve already finished dancing by then and the heated atmosphere would die down. But because of me, the bonfire continued to burn brightly.
“As expected of you, Ruki. Not discounting the fact that you riled everyone up, you brought more positivity to everyone.”
Bringing my mind back to the present, Juri praised me once more. The beautiful smile pasted on her lips looked mesmerizing. Staring straight into her eyes, I could only see my reflection on it.
“Sheesh. I keep getting praised by you, Juri. But this isn’t my intention, you know? I just wanted to create this kind of memory with all of you.”
“I’m aware. That’s why it’s so impressive. Don’t you agree with me? Just that, you better prepare for Setsu’s nagging. She’s about to erupt soon.”
“Yeah. It’s about time, right? I should bring her here too.”
With that kind of response, Juri burst into laughter.
“Pfft... You’re really acting like a menace. But that’s fine. You do what you do best anyway.”
Juri squeezed my hand tightly and our dance continued like this. Her praise continued inexhaustibly and even though she didn’t say it openly, she’s also having a blast in creating this kind of memory with me.
Now then... Let’s continue the chaos. I finished dancing with all of my girls but I don’t think I’ll be able to stop from this. I’ll surely be dancing until they wrap this bonfire dance up.
