Disclaimer: Ansatsu Kyoushitsu / Assassination Classroom is property of Matsui Yuusei.
Background character
"What are you thinking about?" Kayano asked curiously.
Fuwa jumped a little and immediately lifted her gaze to the girl as she blinked, surprised.
Her violet eyes saw the image of the green-haired girl's reaction to her behavior, which was a small smile and a nod.
The girl looked at her intently, waiting for the answer that she could give her and standing silently as Fuwa internally struggled with coming up with an answer.
The bustle of the people around her seemed less overwhelming if she stayed quiet and thoughtful in her place, the furtive and almost menacing looks of the students in the main building didn't affect her anymore and the atmosphere of the gym it wasn't hostile like it had been minutes before. At least not at that time, when she was lost in her mind, the conference was over and the students had begun to head towards their respective classrooms slowly. But the curious look of her classmate was still there.
Clenching her fist around the edge of her skirt, she tried to smile quietly to Kayano as to not worry her. That way both of them could follow their classmates outside the gym and go to their building on the mountain. It was their routine when they visited the main campus, it was always the same, and it was what they had to do. And the wave of students walking slowly towards the exit reminded her of it with every passing second.
"Nothing." She said with her characteristic cheerfulness.
Kayano's smile faltered a little at that response. She could notice it, although it was normal for her to do so. Even she would doubt that answer knowing that the person had been looking down and stuck inside her little world the entire assembly.
She usually wasn't someone quiet, or gloomy, so she could understand why Kayano had asked that, trying to figure out if she was worried about something. She had even noticed the curious looks of the others.
And yes, she was worried. But she wouldn't tell her, because it was her problem, not her friends'.
"Really?" She finished asked, a bit indecisive. "You're kind of weird today, you..."
"We should go with the others already, don't you think?" She said impatient and with the intention of cutting her off.
The green-haired girl went silent and nodded, somewhat uncomfortable because of her response. She didn't blame her, it was clear she didn't want to talk about it. And she let her know even more when she turned and started walking towards the exit, ignoring the few people of her class who were there and her own friend.
She felt bad, she really did, for many different reasons.
The first was for avoiding her friends and her classmates, it wasn't like her and she was aware of it. She would confront the issue, at least try to fix it, but as she approached the exit of the gym she was sure about that it was out of her reach.
The second was because she was tired of seeing Sakakibara Ren flirting with every female student who was in his way. And they weren't few.
She didn't know what to expect, or what to think.
It was an issue that she couldn't fight, at least the way she would like to.
Love was not for her, it had never been. The best example she had to corroborate it was that she didn't like shoujo manga, she didn't use to read them, the only person who liked them was Kurahashi and she lent her some, but it hadn't been anything significant. She liked shounen manga, with fights, blood, action, drama, etc. Because it was what satisfied her, what she always liked. She wasn't sensible or cute or sweet like a shoujo heroine should be. She was the opposite and she was fine with it, because she was herself and others accepted it, she was happy as well.
But in that case it wasn't enough, it never would be.
And it didn't matter how many times she told herself that it was fine like that, because the pain in her chest showed her the opposite.
She was aware of the "why" of her sadness, she wasn't stupid. She also knew "how" and "when", she always had known.
She wondered if Sakakibara really had approached her a few months because he had noticed that she knew more about a certain issue than anyone, or because she was at that time the closest person to him at the gym, almost a few meters. Who knows, she never asked and now it didn't matter, it just happened. Because if there was something both knew at that time it was that Karma and Gakushuu were enough idiots to not want to fix the latent tension between them. And if they couldn't fix themselves, they needed help. Fuwa appreciated Karma, she had all the appreciation one could have towards the student in the E class who resembled a manga character the most; just like Ren loved Gakushuu, so he completely wanted the boy to make his mind up about the redhead in his mind, even if it meant he had to sign a "peace agreement" with a girl in class E.
And that was how it began, the petty talks that ended in small hints for the two stubborn teenagers, the furtive looks across the rooms every time the couple talked with each other, the stupid plans to bring them together that always ended in a disaster, the song recommendations, the night calls, everything.
It was fun. Why not? Seeing how the two people who they wanted to see together became closer gradually, because of their efforts and their observations. It was rewarding, even.
However there was a huge error in their plan. Because they did everything considering Asano and Karma's feelings, but they completely forgot their own.
When Fuwa thought that, it was too late. The thought of "be careful about with the class A womanizer" had changed and the image of that boy had, too.
And now, while Fuwa drifted away from him quickly in hopes he wouldn't notice her head down among the crowd of the gym, she was furious with herself for not thinking things through carefully.
That was too much for her, she knew it. But she had already said it, she should fix it. Because she couldn't be hooked to Ren forever, their "mission" would end someday and that day wasn't too far away, the figures of Karma and Gakushuu escaping together from the gym minutes before reminded her of it. The moment everything was over, she and Sakakibara would never speak again, it was very clear. And those feelings that she had begun to have for him would only hurt her much more than they already had.
And she should defeat them, it was easy. She had to forget about Ren and how much she liked him, because it was the only way she could ensure that she wouldn't be downcast in the future. That should be easy for her, right? She liked shounen manga, shounen characters did it like that, right? Because it's what they were made for, what they were supposed to be prepared for, to solve their problems, never give up, trust themselves and their friends to fight them.
And she wanted that, she really wanted it. She wanted to be like one of those characters, she wanted to have the courage to face her problems and easily defeat them, she wanted to be strong to withstand the pain that it meant. She wanted to be like Asano and Karma.
But that wasn't possible. Because she was a background character.
She was a background character, she always had been. She was designed to stay in the shadows, talk in the background, appear only when the author wanted and sometimes not even that. She wasn't as strong, or brave, not even special. She was a mediocre character, normal, with nothing that made her stand out and surrounded by charismatic and incredible characters that were better than her in everything.
She was the typical character that no matter how hard she tried, she'd never defeat the villain. She would always be the first that would face him, but she'd never win. She would only be cannon fodder, someone to give support, who'd shout encouragement to the protagonist from afar and then congratulate to them on their victory. She was doomed to fail, as a weak secondary character should be.
That was why there was no hope of dealing with those feelings, just like she could never get Ren's attention.
Because if sometimes the background characters could gather some courage, it still was of no use in her situation. Because Ren was another protagonist surrounded by them, while she would still be watching him from the shadows.
Yes, it was easy to distinguish them. Ren was a shoujo protagonist, handsome, attentive and the most understandable love interest for anyone. And that's how he was, his reputation and circumstances made him be surrounded by other protagonists. Female protagonists, beautiful women and students, charismatic, intelligent, all the good things that a heroine must have to get his attention. And they did, Sakakibara likes shoujo heroines, he protected them, he praised them, he took care of them as if they were a treasure and she didn't blame him, it was normal.
Even if she tried to get him attention in the same way the other girls did, Fuwa would never cease to be a background and pathetic character. She could never change it, because she was nobody. She wasn't as pretty as that girl, not popular as his current girlfriend, not friendly as the ex-girlfriend, she was nothing, she was nobody. She was the sad character who stayed in the background of the panel, loving the protagonist in silence, unable to catch up with the only option to support him in his relationship with another person.
That's how things were and she could change them. That's why looking at the floor during the assembly and ignoring the worried looks from her friends was all she could do. Because no matter how much she wanted it to, her situation wouldn't change, it would only get worse with time and she, like a good background character she was, would have to deal with it however she could.
Because a protagonist should be with another protagonist. Never with a background character. It was unnatural.
So Fuwa left the gym quickly, gave a false smile to Hara, who was about to take her hand to speak with her, and went to the vending machine to buy an orange juice.
She didn't want to notice Ren's gaze on her back as she walked away, it would help at all. He was better accompanied, he didn't need her, he never had. She just wanted to drink her juice without letting a single tear escape her eyes.
Because rejoicing for the happy fate of the protagonist, full of love and happiness, was also the role of a background character. Even if it broke her heart.
Hi ~
... I know, I should explain this but I don't know what to say, really. Okay, my best crack!ship in Ansatsu is FuwaRen, so when I saw the AnkyouWeek I though "I have to write something about them", and there it is. It's a little stupid, but I like it and I hace striven to do well ~ The prompt this time was "Background characters", definitely I dont' usually follow the true meaning of the prompts...
I hope someone like it ~
See you (~*-*)~~(*-*~)
