The beginning of the revised story previously known as Project A! Featuring pretty much the same plot line, characters with slightly different personalities, and pairings that are pretty clear from the start!
Would have gotten this uploaded a few hours earlier but the document wasn't saving for some reason.
Calling this 'Fates' for now because I'm playing FE and have no idea what else to call it. If there are any name suggestions, pls leave them in a review. :3
She sat on the bus alone. Not just alone, as in the other seat next to her being unoccupied, but alone on the entire bus, excluding the driver. It was rather early in the morning, even earlier than the time most people started going about their day. She unzipped her school bag and pulled out a small novel that her senior had loaned to her. A difficult book; she'd read it over twice and still didn't quite understand the plot. Despite that rather demoralizing reality, she opened the book to the first page and started reading quietly to herself. It would be a while before she arrived at the next bus stop.
She was jerked forward suddenly as the bus stopped. She glanced out the window, spotting a close friend standing among the sparse crowd. With a smile, she tucked a bookmark into her novel, carefully putting it away into her bag. She took a few breaths to calm herself; her friend was boarding the bus now.
After showing her ID to the bus driver, her friend turned and scanned the bus. And, with a grin bright enough to rival the sun rising, she ran to where the girl was sitting. "Morning, Chika-chan!"
Chika returned the smile with one of her own. "Good morning, You-chan!"
"Hey, hey, listen to this! Kanan-chan crashed our swim meet over the break and took first place! Can you believe it?" You sighed loudly as she leaned against the plastic seat. "And I'd been practicing so much for it…"
Chika nodded. "No one beats Kanan-chan at swimming. Though, how did she compete anyway?"
"How should I know?" You mumbled. "She just kinda, y'know, came in, did her thing, and then left again. Typical Kanan-chan, doing whatever she wants." Another sigh escaped the second year student. "So, how was your break? Did you do anything with your special someone?" You's tone shifted emphatically on the second question, her face composed in what she apparently thought was a teasing smirk.
Chika shook her head. "She was busy; I didn't want to selfishly take up her time. I was happy enough with the book she lent me." As she spoke, she patted her school bag gently. "Even though I don't really understand it still."
You hummed to herself. "Must be nice, being in love."
Chika stared at her friend.
"What?" You asked defensively.
"Have you been reading shoujo manga again?"
Chika held her still throbbing head as she climbed off the bus. You followed close behind, holding a school bag in each hand.
"Next time you say something like that, I'll hit you." You said, still in a huff from earlier.
Chika didn't bother replying with the obvious-that You already did-and concentrated on not crying from the hit. She had to stand there for a few seconds, holding back her tears, before she felt comfortable enough to walk up the large hill to their school.
To her surprise, the school's main courtyard was filled with people. Booths lined both sides of the path leading around the school; second year and third year students alike doing their best to attract attention to their clubs. And, amidst the hustle and bustle of students handing out flyers, stood their school's newest head.
"Please come by if you are interested in joining us!" Third year student Ohara Mari, one of Chika's and You's close friends, made use of her shiny 'school head' pin on her shirt to attract attention. Chika wasn't really sure how she had managed to become the head of a school she was still attending but it was also not her place to ask.
The two second years pushed their way through the crowd to reach the blonde third year. "Good morning, Mari-chan." Chika said, dipping her head in a slight bow.
"Oh! Good morning to you too, Chika-chi! You-chan! Want a flyer?"
The two girls shrugged and took one each from their senior. Chika gazed at the simple white paper, reading the small text carefully before realizing what it was. "I-Isn't this an application form?"
"Yes! For that big project I mentioned before break started! Dia and I worked hard over the break to get this started, but we still need three more people!"
"So you're recruiting more people by yourself?" You asked, handing the paper back over. Chika kept hers; she was re-reading the details of the application.
"No," Mari stood on her tiptoes, looking over the crowd. She pointed towards the bulletin board that stood outside the school. "Kanan's over there, helping pass out papers."
Chika looked up from the flyer, peering through the crowd. She caught a glimpse of a purple ponytail and was satisfied.
You looked as well. "...she's wearing her diving suit again. Aren't you going to do something, school head?"
Mari shrugged. "As long as she isn't exposing too much skin, I really can't say anything."
"I get what you mean." You said, nodding in empathy with the blonde. "Kanan-chan can be...hard to deal with."
"U-Um!" Chika flinched a bit when both You and Mari looked at her. "I-Is Dia-senpai helping you right now too?"
Mari tapped her finger against her chin, thinking. "I think I left her in charge of the booth we set up. Wouldn't want her accidentally dropping the forms all over the ground. Want to go see her?"
"N-No, it's fine!" Chika stammered. She didn't want to be a bother to the third years, while they were doing so much to get the project going.
"I hate to bring this up right now, with the mood going so nicely, but Mari-chan, we have a problem." You said, stopping suddenly when Mari made a stop signal with her hand.
"Let me guess." The third year said, looking tired. "Kanan is now stripping to her bikini." At You's nod, Mari sighed deeply, with the sound of one who has been dealing with too much stress. "I'll go stop her. You two head to class first. Try to recruit a classmate, if you can!" With that, the blonde went off on her task.
Homeroom started, and Chika still had the application form on her desk. She'd forgotten to return it to Mari before the third year left, and she didn't know what to do with it. Self-introductions had been skipped over, since all of them already knew each other from their first year, a thing that Chika was grateful for. Even knowing all of her classmates didn't change the fact that she was too scared of speaking in front of everyone. That aside, who could she and You possibly ask to join them? She was sure everyone else was already in a club or a sport, and wouldn't want to lend time to this project.
"Ahem." The teacher was talking; she'd better pay attention. "We have a new student who has just transferred here. Come in, Sakurauchi-kun."
The girl who walked in was beautiful. Not to say that Chika liked her at first glance-her heart already belonged to another beautiful person-but she was exactly the type of person Mari would call 'pretty'. Even her writing was elegant, as the new girl wrote her name with tidy strokes.
"Hello. My name is Sakurauchi Riko. I've just transferred from...from…"
Chika stared. The transfer student had started crying, silent tears flowing down her cheeks. She felt sympathy for Riko; crying during a self-introduction was the worst possible situation when trying to assimilate in a new place.
"S-Sorry...I'm…" Riko sniffled as she tried to wipe away her tears with her sleeves.
No one moved, not even the teacher, until You stood up. The ash-brunette walked to the front of the classroom and handed Riko her handkerchief. And still no one moved a muscle.
Chika was suddenly reminded of You's earlier comment on the bus as she watched her childhood friend walk the transfer student to an empty seat.
You kept a close eye on Riko the rest of the day. In the end, the redhead decided to accompany them to the project meeting without much prompting of recruitment from either of the other two. Despite this success, Chika couldn't help but feel like she'd lost something as the other two second years held hands while they walked down the hallway.
The clubroom that they made use of was only in their possession because of Mari's power over the school. More of an abuse of her authority-and some of Dia's-than anything else, this particular room in the gym had its windows completely covered in black tint. The LED light on the ceiling was the only light source in the room. A long table stood in the center, with enough chairs for all of the 'club's' members to sit on. A white board stood against one wall; a bookshelf lined the opposite wall. At some point, one of the current third years had brought in a table stove, which served its singular purpose of preparing tea. A carpeted corner was occupied by two bean bags and several pillows and blankets. And, last but not least, Mari had even brought in a TV and a gaming set.
When Chika walked in, followed closely by Riko and You, she found that the new and old members of their 'club' were already making use of the room's amenities. Mari sat at the far end of the table, her face buried in her hands. A first year Chika didn't recognize mashed buttons on the controller of the gaming device, while another first year made use of the stove to heat up water for her instant ramen. The first year Chika did recognize, Dia's younger sister, doodled on the whiteboard. In the far corner of the room, she made out the outlines of Kanan and Dia napping on individual bean bags. Chika gulped, wondering how their project was going to proceed.
Dia-sama was actually supposed to get a bigger part in this chapter, but I figured one crying introduction was enough.
Ruby-chan will get a speaking part next time. Hanamaru-chan and Yohane-chan too.
Translation of "As long as she isn't exposing too much skin, I really can't say anything." that Mari-chan says is "She's not wearing a uniform like she's supposed to but I can't be bothered to convince her to put it on."
Kanan doesn't listen to your rules Mari. No one controls the Kanan.
You is like a prince-type character this time around. Kinda miss the fights between her and Riko.
There is a reason why Riko cried. But since this chapter is Chika-centric, it was left out.
Who should do the intro this time around?