Shiina Kisaragi's POV:

"A fist fight? The Rin Mizota got into a fist fight and knocked another student out cold? On his first day of school?"

Mrs. Junpei was losing her mind. In the school's principal's office, she paced in fervent circles, grasping and tugging out strands of her hair.

On the ground, with our heads bobbed in apology, were Rin and I.

"Do you think she's mad?" Rin asked.

I shot him an are-you-serious look.

Straightaway, his frown melted into a dopey grin. "Aw. You're cute even when you glare at me, Shii."

"It's all over the internet!" Mrs. Junpei screamed onward. "Your career is ruined. I'm ruined!"

"Stop exaggerating, Mrs. Pei," Rin said. "I can still bounce back from here—"

"SHUT UP!"

"Y-y-yes, ma'am!"

Oh, God. This was terrifying. She was going to kill us. Eat us alive.

"Mrs. Junpei, it wasn't Rin's fault," I stammered in an effort to defend him. "It's mine."

"Damn right it is!" she bellowed. "If you hadn't smacked that boy, this wouldn't have happened! Rin Mizota's girlfriend is as violent as he is!"

I had a feeling she was referencing some headline. Regardless. . .

"He deserved it," Rin and I said in unison.

She appeared ready to breathe fire. "You know what you two deserve—"

"Now," a stern declaration originated from the school principal, Mr. Teruya. Coughing, he stroked the goat adjacent to his desk. Mr. Yagi was the school's mascot. While I didn't comprehend the principal's fancy for goats, and why he had it as a pet, but it was cute enough I didn't care. "We heard both sides of the story," Mr. Teruya added. "Although your actions were wrong, ultimately, you were standing up for each other. While an admirable notion, your actions, under any circumstance, aren't tolerated at this institution. We have a no violence policy."

Arms folded behind his back, he strolled up to us.

"You may be an idol but you're now a member of my institution, Mr. Rinnosuke."

"He used my full name."

"Meaning," Mr. Teruya stated. "I'm obligated to punish you like all the other students. Therefore, for the next few days, you'll be making amends. Are we clear?"

Rin bobbed his head. "Yes, sir."

"Are we clear, Miss Kisaragi?"

Squaring my shoulders, I nodded. "Yes, sir."

Mrs. Junpei released a loud exhale. She pushed her glasses to the bridge of her nose. "Actually. Mr. Teruya. Mr. Rin will be withdrawing from school."

The temperature in the room plummeted to an all-time low.

"Going to school was a bad idea," she added. "You're leaving before you ruin your reputation any further."

"W—wait!" Rin cried.

"We'll gather his belongings and return the uniform," she said directly to the principal. "Our company will handle the costs of that boy's hospital admittance, and we will reimburse you abundantly for what you've done for us."

"Mrs. Pei!" Stumbling to his feet, Rin raised his voice.

"Let's go, Mr. Rin. You need to apologize to the boy. Make a public apology to your fans as well."

"I said wait! I'm not leaving. I'm staying at this school with Shii for the rest of the school year. We agreed."

I hoisted myself off the ground as well, my legs and my heart heavy as lead.

"We also agreed this wouldn't get in the way of your career," she snapped back.

Rin furled his fingers, knuckles white. "I admit, I messed up. I lost my temper. But, but after what that bastard said about Shii—what he tried to do to her—"

"An idol can't be violent. Do you know how many sponsors you've lost? How many TV programs are speaking out about this? What your fans are saying all over social media? The public already had a scoop about you attending high school. In the same day, in less than five hours, you get into a fight. Something like this can ruin everything you've worked so hard for until this point. You were doing so well before. That's why I told you to end it with her. There was already a huge deficit when you went public about your relationship. And again, because of her—" She cleared her throat. "We can clean this up still, because most of your fans are aware you were standing up for her. But, you've lost my trust. Attending this school any longer may cause irreparable damage. I can't bet on it."

She was speaking in the best interest of Rin. I knew that, yet, it felt like I'd been stabbed by pins and needles. Sensing Rin was on the verge of protecting me again, I cut in front of him and bowed.

"I'm sorry."

"Shii?" Rin demanded, frazzled. "Don't bow your head."

"I'm sorry," I repeated, my shoes blurring as tears field my field of vision, "but please, let Rin stay for the month we have left. Let him have a good high school experience. I realize I'm being selfish after the trouble I caused, but please. I won't cause problems for him forever. I won't always be baggage to him forever. One day, I'll make it so that those words will never leave your mouth or anyone else's. I'll become somebody who can proudly stand beside Rin. I'll become a surplus for him, not a deficit." My mouth ran a marathon before my mind could process it. Staring squarely into Mrs. Junpei's bulged eyes, I ignored my embarrassment and yelled the words of my heart. "If anyone should be with Rin, it should be me. It has to be me. I'll prove it to everyone that only I belong with him!"

The silence that followed sent my heartbeat into overdrive. My whole face caught on fire.

"I— uh—"

"Shii. . ." Heart-struck, Rin shielded the bottom half of his flushed face with his hand. "You love me that much?"

"R-Rin, don't look at me right now. P-please don't look at me. This is so embarrassing."

Mr. Teruya came to the rescue. He clapped Mrs. Junpei on the shoulder. "These youngsters have reflected. Besides, all of us make mistakes. Think back to your youth. When you see them, do you remember nothing at all?"

Thinning her mouth in a straight line, Mrs. Junpei readjusted her frames. "My youth? Stop acting like I'm an old woman. I am twenty-seven."

Mr. Teruya gaped, as did we.

"And you have that many wrinkles—"

Rin's remark was met with a chilling glare.

"I'm sorry. I won't speak ever again."

Mrs. Junpei sighed. She rubbed her temples, evidence of her exasperation. It didn't help that Mr. Yagi had snuck up behind her and had chewed about five percent of her blazer. When she noticed, her frustration shot levels.

"Agh! Stupid goat!" Huffing, she shook free. Then, she waved frantically, and made a beeline to the door. "I understand! For the rest of the month!" Shooting us one last warning look. "That's it. And Miss Shiina."

I tensed.

Her gaze softened, albeit momentarily. "I will be looking forward to that day."

She'd been against me since day one. Was my number one hater. I couldn't count how many times she put me down in an effort to uplift Rin's career. Although her statement could be taken as sarcasm—although she might've not wholeheartedly meant it—it summoned a newfound smile to my wobbling lips regardless.

"Thank you!"

She tapped the Bluetooth in her ear.

"Excuse me while I take a call." A quick glance at her blazer caused her to puff. "And find something more appropriate to change into."

In as big of a hurry as she arrived, she took her leave. Mr. Teruya provided Rin and I a list of all the cleaning we had to do to make up for what we did, on top of visiting the actual student to make a formal apology. The hallway outside of the principal's office was surprisingly deserted. All the students had been ushered to class.

"I'm sorry, Rin," slipped out of me the moment we were alone. "It's because I'm an idiot who shouldn't have picked a fight I couldn't win."

"I hope you learned your lesson," he agreed. "Next time somebody pisses you off, I'm the one who'll deal with them."

I craned my neck back, speechless. "I think the whole point of our lecture today was the exact opposite. You better be kidding."

"I am not. I did absolutely nothing wrong."

"Rin," I reprimanded.

Flashing a playful smile, he wrapped me in a tight embrace. It was like being hugged by a blanket fresh out of the dryer.

"The best part of being here, with you, is that I can deal with them. I don't have to listen to you complain about your classmates over the phone, punching the air instead of their faces."

I clutched his blazer. "Sorry, Rin. I. . . chickened out."

"Is this related to your confession? Why'd you say something like that? You're fine the way you are. You don't need to prove anything to anyone."

I shook my head. "Even then, I'm insecure. The reason I can't go on social media anymore, and why I purposefully avoided you today, has to do with it. It's not good enough the way things are. I don't want to be just "Rin Mizota's girlfriend," I want to be Shiina Kisaragi who just so happens to be dating Rin Mizota. I want to be able to be the type of power couple the whole country can look at and love. To do that, I have to put in the effort, just like you did. And in the future, when I make it as big as you, they'll finally start treating me like I belong."

"And if they don't?"

"Well, then I'll just be the one to kiss you on live television, in front of the whole country," I joked. "Once I work my absolute hardest, and succeed, whatever they have to say won't even matter to me."

Flashing me those puppy-love eyes of his, he cradled the side of my face. "You really are amazing, Shii. I'm falling for you all over again."

"On average, how many girls do you say that to?"

He had to chuckle. "What kind of answer are you looking for? Just you, of course."

"Of course," I played along.

Eventually, we sillily smiled at one another.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue," I added.

"Anything for my favourite girl."

Our noses met in lieu of a kiss.

"You'll give me anything I ask for, right?"

"Very random but, of course. Not that you have to ask because I'll get it for you. Since we're on the topic, last week I bought you—"

"You did not," I cut him off. "Tone it down on the gifts. Please. You buy me way too much stuff. I had to donate or throw out most of the things you purchased. You even fly me out in first class for your concerts or events. Then, all those times we go to a different city just to get dinner—"

He pulled a face.

"If I don't spend money on you, why else am I making it?"

"For yourself? Your family?" I proposed.

He didn't look convinced.

I waved him off.

"It's another kind of favour."

Sucking in a breath, I steadied my resolve.

"Sing a duet with me!"

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

The next couple of days passed in a blur. Rin and I abided by our punishment, cleaned multiple classroom, the equipment room in the gym, the gym itself. Bluntly put, we did a lot of cleaning.

We visited that punk who surprisingly started apologizing first. He shared a sob story about his poor upbringing and promised to never do it again.

Rin made a public apology. His fans were quick to forgive him, alongside the general media. With his reputation saved, students continued to swarm him like moths to a light.

In terms of me, I didn't turn tail and run.

I faced his fans head-on despite the overall discomfort. As a result, Rin and I could enjoy ourselves a lot more at school.

I peered out past the elaborate stage. The presence of the entire school knocked me off balance. It wasn't the same as the music festival that one year where attendance wasn't mandatory. All teachers and students were alert and present for the end of the assembly.

Man, was I nervous.

Even now, I couldn't believe we were doing this.

"Yes! Yes! Where? Now? Want to sing one now?"

Rin was very supportive about the duet. And this was before I had the opportunity to give him proper details about what Hachi had discussed with me.

We sung vastly different genres of music but we managed to reach common ground. It was a group effort. Toru handed us one of his completed compositions, and Rin and I came up with lyrics under his approval. Sena and Yunoki listened and gave their feedback. We got it done in record time, and rehearsed nonstop until today. Banri and Issei stopped by to collect Hachi and Naru for their Beautician Boyz work and they helped us get ready too.

"You outdid yourself, midget."

"It's Toru, you dumb idol," Toru remarked to Rin's sarcastic praise. "Guess we'll be taking the backseat, as usual. Break a leg. Also, just so we're clear, right after this, Shiina will go back to being our lead singer."

"I'm clear on that," Rin said. "Besides, one day, Shiina and I will be performing together way more often. To the point where the world will get used to it."

I smiled from ear to ear. I couldn't wait.

"But, really. . . you're something else, midget."

"Lay off the midget part!"

Rin lightheartedly laughed. "You could probably write songs for plenty of singers. Including me. With your talent, you shouldn't limit yourself to just your band."

Not expecting the sincere compliment, Toru locked up.

"What about me?" Yunoki interjected, shooting his arm into the air. "My talent on the drums is unreal, right, Mr. Rin?"

"Um." Rin deadpanned. "Were you always here. . . ? Er, sure?"

Sparkly-eyed, Yunoki fist-pumped. "Yes! I got a celebrity's approval! There's no turning back from here! I'm destined for greatness!"

Sena yawned from where he was.

"As long as Shii's with you, that's a given," Rin answered him. He gently took my hand. "Ready?"

"Nervous, but yes."

"You know what's one trick I do to relieve nerves?"

I glanced up, hopeful. "What?"

"Fill my mind with thoughts of you. I reflect your face onto everyone in the crowd until you're all I see. It works every time. So, all you've got to do is imagine me—"

"That sounds creepy," I said. "I'll just imagine them as potatoes instead."

"Po-potatoes? Over me?"

I barrelled out onto the stage. Gobsmacked, Rin collected himself and followed, Toru and the others in suit. Squeals loud enough to shake the walls of the gymnasium followed upon the sight of Rin. All the while I cowered, Rin had no problem waving and lifting his microphone to talk to them, no problem. He brought up what the teacher beforehand had informed us of—that this was the final stretch of the ceremony. He introduced our group. Then, started talking about me.

"I know some of you still have doubts concerning million-dollar-smile me in a serious relationship, but you guys already know I'm more serious about Shiina than anyone. That's why I'm here. Obviously, I'm not perfect. I mess up. I get angry. I fall in love. I curse out and punch guys who threaten the people I care about."

Laughs ensued.

"These next few weeks while I'm here, I hope you guys can treat me like the messy guy I've just listed. I really am looking forward to a great high school experience with you—or what's left of it, actually. I also hope you enjoy this song. It was composed by a really talented songwriter—Toru over there—and Shiina and I came up with the lyrics. It's our first song together and this'll be our first performance outside of our many chaotic karaoke sessions—which, thinking about it again, this is probably a horrible idea and somebody should've stopped us." When the few chuckles that arose quieted, Rin continued, "Shiina isn't an extension of me. Those who doubt her, please give her the credit she deserves. In the years to come, watch how amazing she can be."

I elbowed him in the side—blushing senselessly.

He could really talk on and on about me.

Forcing a cough, he concluded his speech with, "She's super nervous about this performance so please record her at every possible angle— Kidding! I'm kidding!"

I rolled my eyes.

Their amusement was tangible. However, some of their devices were out and already recording.

This was horrible. After such an elaborate speech, watch me forget to sing entirely.

Though, I suppose under these circumstances, especially circumstances like this, I couldn't do that. I had to surpass their expectations. If I didn't now, when would I?

So that was exactly what I did. I put on the best performance I could. Harmonizing came relatively easily. We didn't skip a single beat. Because of Rin, that stupid smile of his, and the lyrics that came from our hearts, it was inexplicably fun too. It felt no different from our 'chaotic karaoke sessions.' We sang all our lives, so what did I expect? We worked hard every day. Sang, danced, and learned how to play instruments until we drove ourselves crazy. But, here we were now, on equal terms.

All the students gathered in the gymnasium gave a standing ovation.

Growing up, I daydreamed about this often. Performing with Rin in front of an audience. The stage or crowd wasn't nearly as big or elaborate as in my fantasies—not yet, anyway—and it was nowhere near as important of an occasion, but it warmed my heart anyway. For the first time, under the spotlight—being acknowledged by so many people—it felt like I belonged by his side.

I didn't want to give this up for anything.

—————

Imagine the song I included in the media as the duet they sing ^^