Pride Before a Fall
Disclaimer: You know the drill – I don't own any characters unless stated.
"Arima! I need tea, now!"
The person known as Arima came running, piping hot tea clattering on a silver tray. "With the macarons as always?" the third year inquired, but he was ignored as Akoya simply plucked a teacup off the tray and sipped whilst focussing on a textbook.
Is it just me, or is Akoya being even more ignorant than usual because of exams? No matter how hard he studies, he'll end up with a job anyway so why…?
Any confrontation with Akoya after that was met with similar results.
/
There was a certain tea vendor that came every week to Binan Park. Arima never doubted this vendor's accuracy because with the vendor came high-quality tea at low prices.
However, the vendor, shrouded in a cloak that shielded every part of him, always had a mysterious yet oddly serene air about him. "Is something troubling you, boy?" came the vendor's oddly soothing voice, even though Arima had no signs of worry when buying.
"It's an underclassman of mine. He's being too self-absorbed."
"I have something for that…" After placing a small vial into Arima's hands along with the usual tea purchase, the vendor and his cart rattled away, no questions asked, no extra money gained.
/
Under the assumption that he had to put the vial's contents in Akoya's drink, Arima did just that. That was how this sort of thing always went, after all.
What was not assumed was what would come after: Akoya's intense bouts of study were broken up by periodic rest stops, not just because he needed them but because he couldn't move.
"What even is this about?" Arima finally got to ask him while the pinkette was stuck in a state of partial paralysis.
"Zaou. His friend, the one who I tried to recruit for the student council, has put a bet that Zaou could beat me in maths in the end of term exams." Now, it was common knowledge that Zaou's results were abysmal, but for Naruko to place a bet on Zaou's results? Certain doom.
Akoya struggled to swallow before continuing a bit more timidly than before, "By the way, is there any specific reason I can't move? It's got to be either you or Kusatsu-kaicho, and he's been way too busy. You on the other hand have too much time."
"It was meant to teach you a lesson in humility. However, I don't know-" Arima cut himself short when he noticed Akoya's hand on the table – it was ball-jointed and wooden.
Akoya, having noticed what he was staring at, gasped and suddenly tears rushed to his eyes. "What. Have. You. Done. To. My. Beautiful. Self?!" He tried to reach out to throttle Arima but this only made it worse, as both of his hands were in this state.
After a short sprint to retrieve the vial, Arima searched its glass body to find a label. Finally he found one, and in small legible print there was this:
"The Karma Potion – if you need to bring someone down a peg, use this. It will transform the user in both mind and body."
"Akoya, I didn't mean for this to happen!" the third year cried...
It was too late. All that was left of Akoya now was a mannequin in a sitting position, wearing a student council gakuran and a pearl-pink wig.
Kinshiro would never forgive him for this, but at least Akoya could look beautiful for as long as his wooden body would last. Wasn't that his wish, for all his years of living?
The tea vendor is from an AU I did where a younger version of the student council meets in a park.
Disclaimer 2: I love Akoya to bits but his traits help pull the story together.