This is my very first fanfic so please be nice! I'll be uploading the second chapter along with this one because that's when Kotori comes in and I really wanted to introduce her. This will be a little rendition of the anime Ore Monogatari following Umi and Kotori as the main pairing, basically an AU of the anime. Umi is a very shy, misunderstood girl who unconsciously has an ominous glare that causes girls to be afraid of her while her best friend Eli is a beautiful girl that all the girls swoon over. One day, Umi saves Kotori from a groping pervert and their love story begins! Characters may be OOC and the plot will not exactly follow the anime, in fact it will stray a bit from it. Also, you don't need to know the storyline of Ore Monogatari to enjoy this fanfic, but if you do know it you'll definitely see similarities! I own nothing but this fanfic. I am currently very obsessed with Love Live! so expect for fanfics related to it. I hope you enjoy this because I am very excited about publishing it!
Chapter 1: Umi's Story
Light footsteps echoed the halls as a young middle school graduate frantically searched for her target of affection. As she ran, shouts of congratulations and wishes for this graduation day to never end followed her as her male admirers watched her frenzy chase. Others, mostly females, whispered thankfully for her departure from this school as they fearfully glanced her way, hoping she wouldn't spare them a glance. The girl never faltered, she checked every empty classroom, restroom (excluding the male restroom of course), and even janitors closets. Today, she was determined. She had a mission that she refused to back down from because today she, Umi Sonoda, would confess to her middle school crush, Satou. At the brink of desperation she approached the opened door to her former classroom, taking in the scene before her.
"I really really like you!" stammered a pretty young girl to her companion.
The girl spoken to brushed her blond bangs away her eyes and calmly spoke.
"My apologies Satou-san, but I really don't feel the same way about you," said the blonde, her striking blue eyes narrowing slightly, indicating her boredom.
Umi gasped, quickly clamping her hand to her mouth in an effort to silence herself, but the action was meaningless. The fair skinned, blue-eyed, golden haired girl turned and smiled, her eyes widening again with renewed interest as she took in Umi's appearance with her hand over her mouth, uneven breathing, and a thin layer of sweat across her forehead.
"Umi! I was looking all over for you, are you ready to go now?" she spoke turning away from Satou completely and walking towards Umi as if nothing important had just happened.
"Ah…yes, of course…I am…ready" stammered Umi, glancing worriedly at her middle school crush, her own golden eyes filled with remorse.
At that moment, her dark blue hair fell to the sides of her face as her eyebrows furrowed together, and she smiled weakly at Satou. The reaction was immediate. Satou visibly cringed, lowering her eyes and fidgeting.
"I'm sorry! I'll be leaving now!" cried the girl as she dashed past Umi, flinching as she briefly made contact with her by brushing her shoulder.
Umi watched her leave, shoulders slumping in defeat.
"Ah, this again. Of course," sighed Umi turning toward her friend with grimacing.
She was greeted with pure, feminine laughter as the blond beauty wiped a few stray laughter tears from her eyes. The scene radiated perfection and femininity, it was almost as if the very stars of the night sky encircled her form.
"You really need to work on that glare of yours Umi," she said with leftover giggles laced between her words.
"I know, I know, I'm trying. Honestly, it's not like I'm about to cast a curse on everyone unfortunate enough to look into my eyes. My eyes can't be that scary, they're just gold...a dark gold…like honey…maybe…" muttered Umi, examining her reflection in the window of the door. She tucked her loose hair behind her ears, slapped her cheeks lightly with both hands and said, "Let's just go home Eli!"
"About time," was her friend's response, and immediately began the walk home.
Her friend, Eli Ayase lived in the same apartment building as she did, so they were quite literally, next door neighbors. Looking back it, it probably was the only reason why they were such close friends. Eli's family came from Russia, so during the time when Eli and her family were adapting to Japanese culture, Umi and her family were always there to make them feel comfortable. They made an odd pair, Eli with her model status good looks and charms, and Umi with her dark, creepy looks. Nevertheless, they were friends since their early childhood years even before starting elementary school. Together they had two other close friends, the only girls that ever talked directly Umi without fear and without judging her unintentional spooky look. Umi had a preference for girls, but they tended to avert their eyes in her presence and hardly ever spoke to her while they fawned over Eli. To make matters worse, Umi was incredibly shy and would always tense up whenever she was around them which seemed to enhance the darkness of her presence. Boys however, didn't seem bothered by Umi's infamous "witch glare" and instead admired Umi for her many talents with sports and her outstanding grades. This admiration was rather extreme and added to the girls' already great dislike for Umi, even though none of these boys ever considered Umi as anything more than a good friend or even a role model.
Eli on the other hand was admired by both boys and girls, but always remained with Umi and hardly ever talked to anyone outside their friend group. She wasn't shy like Umi, just easily bored and undeniably loyal to her friend. They both were the top of their class, always competing against each other for the title of number one. They got along well, never fighting and always being there for one another. Despite of all of Umi's crushes always falling for Eli instead, Umi never held it against her friend, instead pitying the girls at their failed attempts to woe her unattainable friend. She was incredibly kind at heart with a strong sense for justice. Her intense passion for justice often led her to trouble as she was not beneath punching a bully, or on one occasion, hanging a groper by his shorts on a lamp post.
The walk home was uneventful. It felt odd to have graduated and to still be wearing her middle school uniform. The weather was beautiful, the sun gently spreading its light with few clouds in the sky. Wind lifted leaves and flower petals causing them to dance with each other in the warm air. It was peaceful, it was perfect. It was romantic. Umi could only imagine how it would feel to be walking in this scenery with someone she loved. To hold their hand and feel their warmth enclosed in her fingers. As soon as Umi let herself fall into her daydreams as the wind picked up its strength, throwing her back into reality.
"You know, you could just tie your hair back like I've told you to do countless times," remarked Eli as a strong breeze smacked Umi's hair across her face.
Eli's own hair was in a high ponytail held together by a plain white hair tie, her usual, practical hairstyle of choice.
"It would also prevent your hair from falling on your face, which would help you seem less sinister," continued the blond as Umi struggled to keep her long tresses tucked behind her ears.
"And as I've responded countless times, I only pull my hair back when I really need to focus!" cried Umi, slightly frustrated. "If I have my hair pulled back all the time, I wouldn't have anything to enhance my focus level."
"You, Umi Sonoda, are such a dork" Eli said rolling her eyes, "But I hope that somebody can look past that glare of yours and see you for the amazing dork you are."
"Eli…and I hope you find a girl worthy of your affection someday soon."
"Well said, Umi, but I'm quite happy on my own right now. Maybe you'll find the one once we start high school. When is that anyways?"
"How should I know? We literally just graduated from middle school. I'm sure the first day is sometime soon though."
Eli laughed "Well of course!"
"I don't know why, but I feel as though something is about to change," thought Umi as they approached their apartment building.
And that's the first chapter! Thanks for taking time to read it and I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will be coming right up after this. Please let me know what thought about it!
