Thin Ice

So that was going to be how it was, wasn't it? Arata knew after what happened with Matsu and Yuriko, that others were going to attempt to vie for his attention. So this is what it must've felt when everyone was in love with Yogi. Though, that boy seemed rather oblivious to everything going on around him.

Arata on the other hand, was completely aware of their plans. And just as he was for Erina, it seems that people are going to be aiding them in more ways that just moral support.

Still though, this was a party. He was going to try and enjoy it best he can. Even with all the distractions. Plus, having a bunch of girls into him wasn't that bad. At least they weren't going to make him suffer pain, hopefully.

Then, the thoughts of what happens to many of the main characters within a harem plot flashed through his mind. Maybe this wasn't going to be that great after all.

"Arata." It was Misao who was the first to talk to him as he returned. Most of the people here were getting ready for ice skating, something that he planned on sitting out on. It wasn't something he ever did before, and didn't feel safe doing it with people that he cared about. "Could we talk? Alone?"

"Sure." He wondered what she could want to discuss. Arata had only gotten back, just to be taken away from the group again. But if it's Misao, then it must be pretty serious, and it was.

"You know, you shouldn't keep dragging your feet." She immediately scolded him. They may be friends, and she does care for him. But Misei is someone she cares more about, and being someone watching this from the sidelines. She doesn't want problems to arise from inaction.

"I'm sorry." He knew that this was going to be unacceptable from her point-of-view. Especially since she had put so much of her time helping their friend. Too much, if you asked him.

"She's too patient, and I don't want her to spend too much time waiting for you."

"I know, but I hope we both understand that doesn't mean I'll want to date her." He responded. Which was part of why he had his concerns. To reject her, it would break her heart. And he wasn't sure he'd want to do that so easily.

"Of course I do." She wasn't happy about that fact, but it was going to have to be her potential reality. Especially since Misei wasn't the only one. "Now then." She returned to her smile, brushing that thought out of her mind. "Let's return to the others."

They rejoined the others, who were getting their skates on to get onto the ice. Arata wasn't really keen on following them.

"Aren't you going to put on some skates?" Misei asked. He responded in the negative. The fact that he was inexperienced being his reason. "Heh, then perhaps I could give you a lesson?" She had practiced how to do this at a high level when she was very young.

Though, even if that wasn't the case. It was clear as to what her intentions were. Arata hesitated for a moment, until a nudge by Misao reminded him of their conversation.

"S-sure." He accepted the offer. Getting on his own skates now. This shouldn't be that big of a deal. After all, he did the same for her with swimming lessons. It's just that, he was more concerned about getting hurt, or hurting someone else with his lack of skill. These blades looked sharp.

Misei was the first one out on the ice. At the gate, she held out her hand for him. Arata accepted, and slowly went onto the slippery flooring. It was a challenge to keep himself steady, as they got further away from their exit.

"Just don't worry about falling." She said, grabbing around his body. "I'll make sure you don't fall."

"Yeah sure." He replied, with some level of sarcasm. This was just an excuse, wasn't it? Either way, he wasn't against it. The support was nice, as he clutched closer to her. He could feel how warm her soft coat was, as they were up against each other. For the moment, she cherished, looking him right in the eye with a warm smile.

"Oh, um." She realized that she might've been too in the moment with him. "I should give you space, um, because you need to practice."

"Right." He slid away from her, slightly. Only her hand held his arm now. "So, you used to do this a lot when you were little?" He asked, as they slowly moved around the rink. It was filled with other people enjoying the festivities. Mostly couples, it appeared.

"I did, I've even competed." She bragged. "But, unfortunately, an injury has ended that dream." She hurt her ankle badly during a spin attempt. She couldn't do much for months, and it never healed right for her to want to attempt serious moves anymore.

"That's a shame." He responded. "I'm sure that it wasn't easy to stop something you liked." It was. She remembered her mom being pretty mad hearing about that. Even if it wasn't her fault.

"I'm sure it's fine though." She tried looking at the bright side of things. To try and forget the bitterness of the time. "If I didn't get hurt, my life would be pretty different. Perhaps, I might not even have ever met you."

Arata got a bit bashful hearing her say that. Of course she'd go for a kill shot like that, to remind him of her feelings. But, it didn't do much to sway his opinion. Still, he appreciated hearing her open up a little. It was clear that Misao had been coaching her for something like this.

Maybe he could get to know her better, personally. She really turned out to be a sweet girl. That school president, that acted so cool, so tough to maintain respect. He never expected to see such a soft side to her like this.

Maybe she wasn't a bad idea, but did he like her more than…

"Hello!" Before he could finish the thought, the other girl he was thinking of arrived. Matsu saw what was going on here, there was no way she was just letting go without a fight. "Are you two having fun?"

"We are." Misei responded with irritation in her voice. "But, I'm also teaching him. So if you could be so kind and leave us be for a while."

"Oh, actually, I could use some help myself." She tried to come up with an excuse, but it was a rather poor one at that.

"But you look like you came up to us pretty easily?" Arata commented on her better form. Thinking fast, she pretended to struggle at it.

"It was just beginner's luck." She made of showing of her slipping around. Neither of them fell for this bad acting, but she wasn't going to leave them alone. So the two just pretended to let her in on the lessons.

"Well, what's next?" He asked, as Matsu now stood between him and Misei. Arata understood why she was doing it, but it felt a bit mean.

"We could trying having you move backwards." She offered an idea. It was a basic trick, that didn't require much skills. "I can just take your hands and-"

"Ooh, can I hold his hands?" Matsu interrupted again. Trying to force herself into the situation.

"I thought that you were one that needed assistance? Surely it wouldn't be a good idea for you to try and ensure his safety."

"Um, maybe you both could take one of my hands?" Arata tried to defuse the situation. This was supposed to be a fun time for everyone. Lucky for him, both the girls took his idea. As the old saying goes, 'One of Arata's hands is better than both for the other girl'.

So he took one of each of their hands. Moving backwards felt really awkward for him. If he was walking, then it would've been fine. However, with his unsteady footing, he was just too worried about falling.

"It's fine." Misei spoke to calm him down. "We're here, so don't worry."

"Yeah Arata." Matsu didn't want to get one-upped here. "Do your best, I'm rooting for you." Their words of encouragement were nice. It made him feel a bit more steady, though did little to improve his skills. Not a big deal, since that type of stuff took time anyway.

"You know, I have to say." He commented. "This is kind of fun."

"That's nice to hear. I'm having a lot of fun myself." Misei smiled. However, Matsu was about to kill the mood.

"Yeah, and it's thanks to me how exciting this is." Misei raised an eyebrow at that statement.

"What are you talking about?" She glared at her. "I'm the one that was helping him before you showed up."

"Well, he looked so scared before I came in." Matsu glared back. "He's a lot calmer because of me." In their little quibble, they lost focus on the task at hand. Or perhaps, lost the hand they were tasked with.

"Hey, uh, guys." Arata attempted to get their attention back, as he slid further from them.

"Honestly, I don't know why you feel like inserting yourself everywhere." Misei scolded her.

"Well, he's my friend too. So I can talk to him whenever I want." Matsu countered.

"G-guys?!" He called out to them, as he gained more and more distance from the two arguing girls. Without his safety net, he was freaking out. His struggling was causing him to move faster and faster.

Terrible, seeing as he was moving backwards. It was a huge challenge when he couldn't see where he was heading to. All these people around, they heard his cries. Moving out of the way to avoid collision. Soon enough, there was one person that didn't hear him coming.

"E-Erina, watch out!" She had stopped for a second to appreciate a nice view of Yogi. Too caught up in her mind to hear him crying out to her. "No, no, no."

Bang. They collided with each other. It sent her flat on her face, hitting the hard ice floor. He tripped over backwards, landing on top of her back. As a result of their collision, her foot kicked up, and the blade sliced into his left arm.

"Ah! Ow, ow, ow." He yelped in pain, grabbing over the cut.

"Are you two okay?" Misei and Matsu finally heard his pleas for help. Skating up to him and Erina laying on the ground.

"I got cut, but I'm okay." He replied. Erina, who somehow didn't get knocked out from hitting her head, got up.

"Ugh? Arata? What just happened?" She turned her head up to look at everyone. Unfortunately, her eyes landed on the one place she really wished she didn't see. "B-b-blood?!" The ice didn't knock her out, but the sight of bleeding did. Erina passed out, crashing her head back down to the ice.

"Erina!… Um, could you help the two of us out of here?" Arata laughed weakly. This ended up pretty much how he envisioned him going out here was going to be.