The Michiru Production

Content: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Violence, Angst, Romance, Humor

Rating: T

Type: Semi-AU

Warning: Language, physical abuse, bullying, slightly tweaked personalities (it's nothing major actually). And you might find certain characters portraying different roles as well. Do go along with the flow.

Inspired by: the Japanese drama, Nobuta wo Produce. Might pick out a couple of ideas from there but not a lot of it of course.

Now, do enjoy and review when done thank you (:

Daylight had barely broken but being late for school isn't really the best way to start off a seemingly good day, that's for sure. The tall boy quickly slipped into his shoes, forgoing the bagel his father had left for him on the kitchen table before bolting right out of the front door. He paused abruptly at the lamp post right outside his house to spike his hair up a little bit more before jumping on his bicycle and tearing off down the street.

To me, everything in life is merely a game.

The boy rode quickly and there's something about him. The moment he reached the school gates (even a little before that), people were already greeting him. And when he opened his locker to change his shoes, he always has to look at himself in the mirror for another time, just to make sure his hair is in place.

That's just the beginning. After all, we repeat meaningless things every day, don't we?

Slowly, confidently, he strolled towards class 2B. Jumping in animatedly into the classroom, he high fived his guys, people that were supposedly his best pals, before taking his seat. The guys love him but the best thing is, so do the girls. Not to mention the teachers too. It just like having your cake and eating it too, but hey, not everyone can achieve that.

Yet, that's exactly what he can do. Chika Akatsuki.

"Hey Chika," some girls and guys he knew from another class were waving to him. "Wanna join us for karaoke today after school?"

Chika puts on a smirk as he leans the side of his body against the window. "No problem!"

Assholes. Listen to what you people are saying. You guys have yet to even pay me back for the last time!

Then, Chika's face falls and he gives a pained face for a second. "Aw man, I just remembered! My homeroom teacher wanted me to stay back today to get some work done..."

The girls started to whine. "But it's no fun without you, Chika!"

"It's okay; you guys can carry on first. I'd be there once I'm done alright?" And he actually smiles.

I won't go even in a hundred years!

"Save that last song for me, you got it?" Chika laughs as he gets up to return back to his original seat. But naturally, he doesn't mean every word he says. It's just that if he says the right thing at the right time and keeps himself in a good position; he can easily reach his goal without getting hurt. Being cool, confident and caring is what he's supposed to be.

That's how you get popular. That's how you get friends. And that's how everyone looks up to you and gives you opportunities.

But no matter how perfect one person is, there's always a natural enemy hidden somewhere. And that enemy is none other than Shito Tachibana.

Well, he's not really an enemy. He's just...hard to comprehend. It's like you don't know what he's thinking about because he doesn't express his feelings a lot. And what gives with the cold and indifferent act? You don't get friends by keeping your mouth shut and rejecting offers to go hang out or handle class projects. Therefore, Shito only has a tiny amount of 'friends' and Chika Akatsuki isn't inclined to be one of them.

Ah, but enough about him. Such people just aren't worth investing my time and effort into.

Another school day has passed. Everything went by pretty smoothly today (as usual) and right now, Chika's going to go home and finish up his work. A student who wants to be popular must know how to act. Not only are your looks and behavior important, your work is too. You aren't supposed to be very smart (if not people are going to hate you for that) but sucking in class won't get you very far either.

As Chika rode his bicycle along a small road, he had been thinking about random things again and even though it really isn't like him, he almost crashed into a girl. Thank goodness he snapped out of it just in time and swerved to a side. Right now, she'd fallen down due to shock, but at least it wasn't due to injury.

Chika hopped down in a hurry from his bicycle and ran back to the girl.

"Hey, you alright...?" he asked worriedly.

Chika had lived around here his whole life but never had he seen this girl before. She looked like about the age of a high school student, except she had zero fashion sense (really, an oversized sweatshirt, uncombed hair and grandfather Bermudas? Get real). And she had this really weird...vibe around her. Even worse than Shito, Chika hated to admit.

The girl didn't say anything at all; only standing there with her head bent low in front of him. Her shoulders were even trembling slightly but he didn't even touch her. Seriously, what gives?

"Ah, if you're okay, then I'd just be going. Sorry about just now..."

She still didn't reply, so Chika just went on his way.

Little did he know that his peaceful days in high school were about to come to an end.

"Oi, guys! I just saw the new transfer student!" Zen, one of the guys from 2B, burst in the next morning, desperately trying to catch his breath. A new term had already started since one and half months back and having a sudden student transferring over is just surprising. But guess who already broadcasted the news?

"We already know it's a girl, Zen, thanks to Chika," one of the girls yelled irritably from the back of the class. "But what does she look like?"

"What, Chika knew before I did?" Zen sighed. He thought hard before hurling out a reply. "Uh, I only saw her back view but I suppose she looks like...O...Otsuka Ai (Japanese pop singer)!"

The girls started chatting excitedly and the guys made whistling sounds, wide eyed, even Chika, who of course have no idea what she looks like. It seemed a little far-fetched but it's not like he was the one who'd said it. Outside, Chika pretended to get all excited with the guys, but inside, he wasn't exactly one to put all his eggs in one basket.

"No way she's that good looking!" Someone protested.

"That means she might even be able to beat Toko Toma from Class 2A!"

Chika snorted, though it was an action that was unseen and unheard in the midst of the entire ruckus going on in class.

I'm not going to waste my energy worrying about a transfer student. I've got better things to do than that!

Just as Chika lifted his eyes, he saw his homeroom teacher, Mr Bekko, walking in.

"Right class; get back to your seats now! Settle down!" Mr Bekko pushed the glasses higher up his nose. "We're got a new transfer student this morning, so don't get too excited but let's give her a warm welcome shall we?"

Nobody said anything, as if waiting for a show to begin.

People are like this, aren't they? Who doesn't judge another by their appearance first?

Mr Bekko ignored the class' sudden silence and called out for the new student to come in. "Don't be shy now, just come on in and join your new class, Kita!"

The class waited for 'Kita' to walk in first, and boy, she really took quite a while. They could see her inching in through the door, with her head bent in front shyly. Like, you can't even see her face. Suddenly, everyone really doubted Zen's words. Otsuka Ai material? Please. With hair as long and as messy as that, she could easily snag the lead role in a horror film already. No one's complaining yet, only because this meant Mr Bekko's lesson can be delayed.

Chika looked very uninterested at first, before realizing who she was- the hair color, the large glasses and that build; and then he bolted up from his seat.

"Eh?! You're that...," Chika pointed. She was the same girl he'd almost knocked over yesterday!

"Oh, you know Akatsuki, Kita?" Mr. Bekko asked.

All the girl did was to shake her head and Chika sat himself back on his seat, catching himself just in time.

"Mmm," Mr. Bekko went on, as the girl finally got to the front and center of the class, "Why don't you introduce yourself, Kita Michiru?"

Michiru? So that's her name.

Michiru didn't say anything, even when the class waited. When Mr Bekko politely asked her to elaborate on her likes and favorite subjects, she still just kept her face down, shaking her head at both his questions and keeping mum.

"Really? None at all?"

Michiru shook her head for the third time, her hands pressed flatly against her too-long skirt.

"Well, okay then. Yours is the second seat from the back is in the second row, so get out of there now Carmella. And the rest of the class, do make her feel welcomed alright."

Carmella was the worse girl in class (possibly even the level) and besides being known for being a bitch; everyone knows she's not one to be trifled with. She's the only girl that can ever get highlights in her hair and get away with it for school simply because she actually gets decent grades and the teachers don't know what to do with her. Evidently, her face turned dark when Mr. Bekko insisted that she return to her original seat.

"I'm sitting here." Carmella spat.

"And since when is that? Be nice for once and just go back to your previous seat up front then."

Carmella looked pissed but she got up anyway. "What the fuck, why do I have to move?"

"Please don't complain about it." Mr. Bekko overlooked Carmella's language before motioning for Michiru. "Alright now, go sit there. And for the rest of you, I'm going to take attendance now."

Everyone watched on as Michiru slowly scrambled for her seat, still not lifting up her head to look at the class properly. It was hard not to find her weird, and particularly for Carmella, annoying. Things only worsened when the renowned bitch caught sight of Michiru wiping the desk once while settling into her seat.

"Did you guys see that?" Carmella asked a few other girls who were around her.

"Yeah, we totally saw that," they'd whispered back loudly and Carmella glared at Michiru one more time but she didn't do anything to her. At least, not yet. However, during class, Carmella started passing about a note to her girls, a smirk playing at the end of her glossed lips.

"Isn't she gross? The little ass doesn't know where she stands yet."

The other girls that received the note always return a smile back to Carmella before writing stuff on the paper too.

"Yeah, no doubt. She's freaking grossing me out."

"I sit next to her and I think she stinks."

"Definitely. I can smell her stinky pits from here. Ew much?"

Chika had been listening in class up till now, when he saw the girl next to him scribbling happily on a piece of paper. Even though he could give a good guess about who it's about, he'd rather stay out of it. It's best not to interfere in something which isn't your business after all.

"What, you having that again for lunch?" Shuji Tsumugi, one of the 2B boys, peeped into Zen's lunchbox.

"What about you? Didn't you just have tuna bread yesterday?"

The bell for recess just went off and it was a sure sign of release for the students. The usual few guys started to gather into a bunch to have their food together. Chika was among one of those guys (even though he doesn't have any food with him), laughing along heartily to their jokes. Not even a minute later, Shuji spotted a familiar figure standing at the classroom's back door and he slapped Chika on his back instantly.

"Chika, my man! She's here for you, yo!"

Once again, the other guys gave low whistles and laughed as a form of teasing Chika. It always happens, whenever Toko Toma from the class next door comes over. If anyone was a worthy candidate to compete with Chika in terms of popularity, Toko would probably be the very first one.

Among all the girls in school, Toko Toma of Class 2A was the best in every area. She was the prettiest girl around, with the best figure and the more flawless skin and she excelled in terms of sports too, for she was the captain of the girls' volleyball team. She usually gets straight A-s during exams and the teachers love her, probably even more than Chika. Not only that, she was actually very nice, plus great with cooking. In other words, she was like, perfect.

Chika abandoned his guys like always and ran off to a waiting Toko.

"I'm a little proud of what I've made today," Toko smiled shyly at him.

"Really?" Chika gave a look of excitement. "Man, I can't wait to try it. Let's go!"

Some girls in class watched on as Chika ran off in another direction with Toko. Then, one of them poked at Shuji with a pencil and asked, "Hey, is Chika going out with Toko Toma?"

"Duh. If not, why would they being having recess together every day?" Shuji rebutted.

Zen rubbed his chin. "Hmm, recess with Toko Toma...Chika really knows how to pick them huh?"

"Yeah, I'd totally put my whole week's allowance to get an opportunity like that. I bet the food she prepares herself must be good!" Shuji nodded.

"Idiot! It'd probably be all gone by the time you try to bet on it!"

Carmella wasn't listening to the little Chika-Toko chatter going about with the boys. Normally, she might be remotely bothered about high school gossip but not today. Standing up all of a sudden, she went over to Michiru's table and glared down at the petite girl.

"Hey you. You wiped the table this morning like it was dirty after I sat in it. You've got guts, bitch."

One of Carmella's girlfriends, Mabel, slammed her hand on Michiru's desk. "You're sitting in Carmella's seat. Do you even know this is where we usually eat?"

But Michiru only kept quiet. She didn't say a single word and she didn't move either.

"Hello, can you even hear us, you twit? ...I bet she's just pretending."

Mabel grabbed at Michiru's hair to tug her head back. The girl had quite an emotionless face on and she didn't react to the taunts either. That simply annoyed the hell out of Carmella.

"Little Miss strange, trying to pretend she can't hear us." Carmella glared at Michiru with her perfect fox-like eyes and spotting Michiru's lunchbox on the table, she hit it right off to the ground. Everything inside, rice and all- came spilling out but Carmella's gang and Carmella were laughing gleefully.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault!" Carmella laughed, not the least bit apologetic.

"Let's go, little Michiru has to clean up now." Another girl slapped lightly at Michiru's face before the girls went on their way laughing. Michiru slowly got up, not saying anything to defend herself. Nobody offered to help either, because it would look like they pitied the new girl and Carmella would therefore come after you. They just watched as Michiru got on her knees to pick up the lunch box and spilled rice and ran out of the class.

Meanwhile, Chika watches in anticipation as Toko Toma opened up the lunchboxes. As usual, they were having their food in the Physics lab, where it was nice and empty. It was as if he hit another gold mine once again. Fresh beef, raw salmon and adorable little balls of rice! The way she arranged her food was so cute too that it was hard to resist not starting before Toko was ready.

"Ah, this looks awesome! I don't even know what to begin digging into first!" Chika scrambled to pick up his chopsticks properly.

Toko giggled as she poured some juice for Chika to go along with the food. Looking at the happiness on Chika's face as he bit into one of the pieces of salmon really does make her heart skip a beat.

"This isn't food, Toko, its heaven!" Chika commented while busy stuffing his face. "Such stuff makes me glad to just be alive!"

Toko giggled again. "I'm glad. I heard there's a new "Otsuka-Ai" student transferring to your class today. How'd that go?"

Chika shook his head quickly. "No, no, we got it all wrong. She's actually kind of gross too." He poked his chopsticks into one of the broccoli and ate it. Usually he hated vegetables but somehow, Toko's broccoli was out of this world.

"Seriously, what'd you put in this? Can broccoli really taste that good?"

Chika had such an animated face on that Toko was overwhelmed with happiness herself.

"So, what time do you want to meet up? After school?"

Chika paused for a moment, searching his mind as quickly as he possibly could. A...meet up? As in like, a date? Damn, girls are really good. Some can't even remember a Math formula to save their life but they can actually remember a date.

Toko read his face. "You forgot, didn't you? You promised me today that we will-."

"-I didn't forget! Serious!" Chika defended himself. "I remembered! It's just that...I'm sorry, Toko! I've got something really important to attend today!"

Toko eyed him suspiciously. "And what might that be?"

"Well, uh...a funeral."

"A funeral?" She gave a disbelieving look.

Chika pulled a black tie out from the back pocket of his hands and showed it to Toko hesitantly. "Yeah, it's a close family friend. That's why I just can't go out with you today. Sorry."

"Oh, you're serious." Toko nodded understandingly. "That's okay then. Let's just change it to another day? Which day should we make it then?"

Chika swallowed, beads of perspiration forming on his forehead. He dreaded to make date promises like these. They just waste your time, time that could be put to better use. But if he didn't agree to it, then...Toko was never going to forgive him or cook him free and delicious meals like these anymore.

"Ah...when should we make it? Uh...," Chika turned away with a small laugh, still trying to figure out of a way to escape from this when he heard someone enter lab. He and Toko both turned to look and they saw the weird new student, Michiru, standing there with her eyes slightly widened. It was the first time Chika ever saw her face properly and the girl looked like a mouse!

"Erm...I was just looking for a place...to throw this...," Michiru stuttered, holding her lunchbox up a little.

Chika's mind moved quickly and he saw it as an opportunity to escape. "You can't do it here, you gotta do it outside. But you don't know where to go to throw that right? I'll show you then."

"Huh?" Toko looked up at him.

"That's the new student. I'm just going to show her where to throw the food since she doesn't know." Chika grabbed his school blazer and went up to Michiru. "Let's go." He was careful not to promise that he would be right back so he wouldn't have to be back at all. Was he brilliant or what?

Chika led the way to the dumpster at the back of the school, where Michiru emptied her lunchbox meekly. It was strange, considering the food weren't even leftovers or anything.

"What really happened?" he asked her. "Someone didn't do it, did they? Like Carmella and the others..."

Michiru stopped, but she didn't speak. By now, Chika was used to her not saying anything at all already, so it didn't matter. "Well, I don't care whether anybody did it or not, it's none of my business," Chika stated.

Michiru turned on the tap and begun to wash her lunchbox. For the first time ever, she spoke. "You should be getting back. Your girlfriend's waiting for you, isn't she?"

Chika didn't go anywhere. "Eh, it's alright. She's not even my girlfriend." Suddenly, he remembered the tie stuck at the back of his pocket and pulling it out, he tossed it into the nearby dustbin.

"Don't you have a funeral today?" Michiru asked.

"Ah, you heard that? That was a lie."

"But the necktie..."

"I found it on my way to school this morning. Just thought it might come in handy for ducking out of that promise of mine," Chika stuffed his hands into the deeps of his blazer pockets.

"Then you shouldn't even have made that promise in the first place."

Where did she suddenly find all the guts to talk this much?

"Well...I just had to, you know...," Chika mumbled, slightly taken aback by the new girl. But what was he doing there, getting all bothered about answering her anyway? He'd said way more than he should and besides, it was none of her business!

The school bell went off just in time and not waiting for Michiru to be done washing, Chika just left for class first.

The next morning-

As usual, Chika joined the group of guys he usually hung with before class begins. They were talking about the new girl, Michiru, and how she's probably already on top of Carmella's black list.

"What do you mean?" Chika asked Zen.

Zen cocked his head to where Carmella and her clique are. "Take a look. They're steadily escalating their little antics..."

Chika twisted his body around so he could see what Zen was meaning. Indeed, Carmella and those other girls were purposely seated at Michiru's seat. Michiru hasn't showed up in class yet, but they were probably waiting for her, to see what she would do if they insisted on not leaving. It would give them an even better reason bully her.

Chika furrowed his eyebrows. Without another word, he jumped up and went over to them.

"Hey, isn't that going a little too far?"

Carmella put her head on her hand. "It's just a joke. Don't you like jokes, Chika?"

"Yeah, but you can't really laugh at something like that...uh, she's not really that interesting anyway right? I bet her reaction's just going to be something totally lame."

Carmella sighed and got up to get out of the class. "You are so boring, Chika."

"Yeah, but you'll thank me when you realize you've got better things to do than babysit some freak." Chika waved them off while laughing. He didn't know what he was doing, but he knew he'd just saved Michiru's ass. Why did he do that in the first place, he didn't understand either. How odd.

***

Carmella went out of class for a breather, with the other 3 girls following around behind like good little puppy dogs. Perhaps it was just Michiru's own bad luck, because she was spotted instantly by Carmella just as she was walking down the corridor to class.

"Aw, look, it's the transfer student." One of Carmella's girls stopped Michiru in her tracks. "You're gonna' die on your second day and that's just too bad! Haha!"

They were laughing in unison and agreement. Michiru had her head down again, and scrambled to push past the girls, her target being only the classroom.

"Fucking boring and annoying little twit," Carmella hissed. "Just you wait."

For recess period, Chika was hanging out Toko Toma again. They were seated at the stage of the school hall and were just enjoying each other's company, chatting happily, when Chika caught sight of Michiru from the corner of his eye. The girl was sitting at a flight of stairs right outside the school hall and it seemed like Toko hasn't realized she was there yet.

She's really going to get picked on though, if this goes on...

But none of this was Chika's business. Why was he remotely even bothered, he didn't understand either.

"Chika?" Toko questioned him with her eyes.

Chika turned back to Toko. "Uh, yeah?"

"You're spacey today. What were you thinking about?"

"No, nothing much," Chika replied with a smile. Anyway, none of it was his business. He didn't even have to bother at all.

***

Soon, recess was over and Chika and Toko had to part ways to return to their separate classrooms. As Chika strolled his way back down the halls, he caught sight of Shito Tachibana, the guy whom he wasn't on best terms with. Shito didn't seem to be very bothered with him (if he even saw him at all), instead looking rather reoccupied. Chika, out of curiosity, turned to see what he was staring at.

The little pervert was looking into the girls' toilet! But wait. He could hears loud voices coming from inside and they were oddly familiar. Of course, they belonged to Carmella, Mabel and the others!

"Quit screwing around with us, you idiot!"

"Say something, Kita, or are you both mute and deaf?"

"Little bitch, purposely ignoring us aren't you?"

Chika's eyes widened, as he heard the terror going on inside. All along, he knew certain girls were terrifying and even if he was popular among them, he would never want to get close to any of them because they spell trouble. This was exactly the kind of trouble he meant. They're just bitches themselves.

From the reflection in the mirror (which was near the open door), they could see Michiru trying to make a run for it. But it was 4 against 1. Carmella and her girls grabbed at Michiru, stopping her, before Carmella herself hosed Michiru down with cold water. They were laughing! They were bullying someone and they were having fun doing so!

Chika remained outside, still contemplating on what to do, when he heard Shito's voice.

"Oi! What's wrong with you people? Is that really that fun?"

"Asshole. Don't just come running into the girls' bathroom like that," Carmella stared back with her heavily eye shadowed eyes. They weren't afraid of Shito at all, no matter how scary a face he had on. They sprayed water into his face as well, soaking him, even when he placed his hands up to try and stop them.

Chika jumped into the girls' bathroom. "Hey, you guys. I think I heard the headmistress' voice coming this way!"

"Really? What the fuck." Carmella dropped the hose and they dashed out of the toilet, the whole bunch of them, to make a run for it like cowards.

So there left a very soaked Michiru and Shito, plus Chika himself, who still didn't know what he was thinking.

"Damn, that was cold," Shito spat as he ran his fingers through his hair. But compared to Michiru, he was much better off already. The poor girl was probably freezing, sitting in the middle of the dirty bathroom floor, soaked to the bone.

Chika reached a hand out to her, noticing the tears in her eyes, despite her not saying anything. She ignored him. Shito pushed past Chika and grabbed her arm to pull her up instead, before taking her blazer off her and putting his own around her. He only got sprayed in the face, so his blazer was still quite dry.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Shito said and he led Michiru away. Chika looked on and then, he just followed the two.

The three of them ended up on the open roof of the school building. Shito had made Michiru get her P.E jersey and pants so she could have something dry on while waiting for her uniform to dry. Even though Michiru had obeyed obediently, she was still very quiet about everything and that, Chika didn't understand.

"Hey...," he piped, and when Shito turned around, Chika waved him away. "No, not you. I mean, Michiru. Why don't you at least, you know, make an effort to act a little better, to try and fit in with everyone?"

"Yeah," Shito agreed, turning to face Michiru. (Chika was stunned here, because it's the first time Shito ever agreed to something coming from him) "If you changed yourself a bit, you could be quite different."

"I can't change anything," Michiru miraculously mumbled.

"You know that's not true," Shito replied. "You can't give up when you haven't even started."

"I...I've thought about it before, but every time I open up my heart and have expectations, I end up disappointed. When my parents died and left me with my uncle and aunt, I thought I could learn to love them like I've loved my parents. But once, I overheard them saying I was a nuisance, and if I didn't have my parents' inheritance money, they would've gave me to an orphanage. You see...people can't be trusted and I'm already used to things like these...," Michiru trembled as she spoke.

"You can't say things like that. Not everyone's the same," Shito said.

"Exactly," Chika agreed (much to his amazement again). "How can anyone get used to getting bullied? Having water sprayed at you...having your lunch being spilled...how can that be okay with you? You have to try to do something that daring that no one's ever done before to change yourself or nothing will be any different!"

But Michiru returned to being mum again, not replying him and that somehow frustrated Chika.

After school, Chika was just about getting ready to return home when he noticed Shito standing nearby. He was originally thinking about riding past and ignoring him as usual, if it isn't Shito himself calling out his name.

"Oi, Akatsuki!"

"What dya' want?" It was weird, seeing Shito asking for him. Just because they had a little incident earlier today didn't mean they were friends.

"I was thinking...if you taught Michiru a skill or two about blending in with people, maybe she won't be-."

"Don't be naïve. She's still going to get picked on, no matter how many skills I teach her about blending in." And it's not as if you're doing such a great job blending in yourself.

"Ah, really?"

"Listen," Chika looked around, making sure no one was around to hear him. "If someone of such a low level, if you even know what I mean, want to try to become popular so quickly...it's just not realistic. If you want people to take notice of her, you're going to have to get her to the top level. Or else, no one's going to view her any differently."

"Then...how do you get Michiru to that whatever top level thing you mean?"

"It's not that easy. People will only care about her appearance and how she behaves, but even that's tough enough for someone like her. It's just like...those big shot producers that turn a normal girl into an idol or making a song that isn't even good into a hit. You can't even believe the amount of people that crowd over all that. You've got to have money, brains and a willing party to make everything work and it's not simple."

"Interesting..." Shito rubbed his chin. "Let's do it. Let's 'produce' Michiru into the most popular girl in school."

"HUH? What for?"

"You said it yourself. To try to do something that daring that no one's ever done before. And this is it."

Chika tried to butt in, "Yeah, I did say that before, but-."

"I'm sure you don't want to see Michiru get bullied again and neither do you want to keep saving her butt right? This is something we can do to help her, unless you want to leave her to Carmella."

"No, but we? Why does it have to be me?" And with you too.

"I don't mind doing it alone, but obviously," Shito shifted uncomfortably here. "...Obviously I'm not the most popular and in-demand guy in school."

Chika kept quiet. This guy is evil. He certainly knows flattery can get you somewhere.

"Alright, I'm not totally thrilled we're in this together, but I don't want to see our schoolmate get bullied either. I'm counting on you, Akatsuki; to produce Michiru into the most popular girl in school ever."

To be continued...

I'm not very sure about how I feel about this story all through writing it, but I've always wanted to do a Zombie-Loan fic (this is my very first in fact, so I'm hoping for more people to review for me to see how people feel about it). Chapter 2 will take some time because school's reopening for me in a day's time so please wait patiently for it (if you're anticipating the next chapter).