Author's extremely long and monotonous apology:
Uwahhhh, I'm back, I'm back, I'm back! ...To all of your misfortune, pukuku. (Nah, kidding. The old me is back in full force, and you'd better believe it.) If you're wondering why I cruelly abandoned my post, deserted the will of several people in the making, and disappeared to some desolate island for the past year or so (yes, I'm aware this is a tad of an exaggeration...), I... honestly have no response for that. Sure, I could go with something like, "school, haha", or "I'm sorry, I moved, my parents died in a fire, I had to live on the streets in a cardboard box with a hamster and work at McDonalds till I could afford a lap top, all the while thinking of you, whom are now my only family and blah blah blah..." I would happily. Unfortunately, I don't lie (although that, in itself, can be considered a lie. xD) Ahh, great. I have no idea what I just wrote now, thanks. BUT - I will say that while school HAS consumed most of my time, it hasn't consumed all of it (and me...). If I don't update for what, a month, consecutively, it's probably because of exams or something like that (ugh. D): Sad mustache man). If you don't know who the heck I am, that's probably a good thing. I don't usually write this informally either, I'm just being spastic (spaztic? I don't trust spellcheck...) as usual, and have no idea what to say, and yet want to say everything at the same time.
This story could be considered somewhat of a collaboration, with extremely little effort on my... sidekick's... part, who keeps insisting a Viagra truck crash into the school (while I'm trying to pertain to a rather serious storyline, thanks.) So in other words, most of this is single-author input, because the only thing they've (I'm sorry xD) really contributed is some extremely scarring mental images. I mean, really.
For now, please enjoy Chapter One(??? That's my old line! I feel so proud. :(D)
Oh yes! New penname! Oh yes.
It was a mid-summers day in Hinamizawa; the five remaining club members formally gathered around a table near the back of the room, which was now completely desolate and disorganized at the conclusion of the day. Leftover papers from other students lay scattered across the floorboards, most of them crumpled or forgotten from the day before - the teacher simply having been too lazy to dispose of them properly. Of course, in exchange for unsupervised hours in possession of the classroom after school, the students had agreed to clean up when they were done - both their messes and whatever remained from earlier that afternoon. If anyone, the club itself was responsible for ninety percent of the rearrangement in the first place. The sun had prematurely begun to set, and - because of a consistent lack of oxygen, Mion had been forced to let open a few windows as she begun pacing around the room. The cries of the cicadas were abnormally faint, possibly signaling rain, or some other unidentified disturbance...
"...And therefore, I officially resign from my position as club leader from this day forth. Any questions?" Mion was now positioned back at the center of the table, so that she had a clear view of the entire room, as well as her loyal followers. To her right - Ryuuguu Rena, shy and timid as ever, with her head bowed contemplatively, and her bag strewn carefully across her lap. To her left - Maebara Keiichi, who was now leaned against the nearest wall, with his arms folded across his chest and looking rather bored as usual. Sandwiched between them were the two youngest members - Furude Rika, who was now half bent over as she began searching for her lunchbox underneath her chair, and Houjou Satoko - who bore an awfully smug grin, and had been listening obediently for just about the entire time.
Mion's eyes began darting around the room, stopping just short of the seemingly inattentive, brown haired boy, who began muttering underneath his breath, "Like heck you'd eve-"
"Good-- moving on," she interrupted, clapping her hands together loudly in procession. "You're probably all curious about how things are going to be running around here without my supervision. However - after giving it much thought, I have come to a conclusion regarding who will be assuming my position during my... extended... absence-"
"As if it's not obvious by now just who Mion-san favo-!" Satoko covered her mouth and uttered a sharp squeal, just as the back of Rika's hand came flying straight for the corner of her lower left eye. She gasped, immediately turning to face her friend and rubbing the spot with a sour expression on her face.
"Mii~ did I do that?" Rika smiled innocently, swinging her lunchbox over her shoulder and blushing noticeably.
"Ri-Rikaaaaaaaa-!"
Rena cleared her throat unexpectedly, bringing both of their teasing to an abrupt end. She began fiddling with her hands nervously, absentmindedly kicking her heels against the back of her chair with a distinct, blank expression.
"M-Mii-chan?" She swallowed.
"Hmm? What is it, Rena?"
"Are you really... going to leave the fate of the club... in the hands of a... lo.. lo.." She paused, biting her lip and rolling her eyes into the back of her head. Mion leaned in apprehensively, patiently awaiting the continuation of her friend's thoughts.
"Lo... lo-loli..con?" Rena piped, causing Mion to rear backwards violently, Keiichi stumbling forwards and slamming his palms onto the surface of the table in objection.
"N-now, now-"
"Oi, Rena! What- the hell is that supposed to mean!? And it's not like Satoko and Rika-chan aren't nearing that age, anyway--!"
"KEIII-chan! When will you learn to shut your mouth every once in a while!?" Mion practically shouted, hardly audible over Keiichi's demanding protests.
"Ohohoho~! So it is him, th-- ouch!" Satoko whined, just as Rika bopped the bottom of her fist against her skull reproachfully.
"EVERYONE! SETTLE DOWN!" Mion shrieked, in a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation. It managed to work for all of three seconds, in which all four members brought their arguing to a halt and turned to face her once more respectively. "Now," she repeated once more, in a much calmer tone than she had before, "I'm confident that our... beloved... Kei-chan will be perfectly capable of maintaining tradition and order-"
"M-mii~, but what if Keiichi changes the rules, so that we're always the ones who have to dress up and be his maid-servants?" Rika interjected playfully, causing both Rena and Satoko to let out a somewhat-relieved sigh in unison, as an expression of their gratitude. Keiichi grimaced in pain, barely able to hide his contempt for much longer. Mion laughed and threw her head back, raising a fist into the air reassuringly.
"I can promise you that I won't, under any circumstances, allow that to happen! A-aaaand, Rena... I'm trusting you to be strong, so that if he even tries to grab any of you there, you'll kick his ass for me, and tell me next time you see me... so I can hurt him twice as bad, got that? Satoko and Rika-chan - I'm aware that you're both reaching.. ahh.. that... point, so I'll have to believe in you as well, understood?"
Rika covered her mouth with her hand slyly, nodding awkwardly along with Rena, who had now turned a bright red at the mention of such issues. Mion shut her eyes and remained still for a second or two, before reaching for her backpack as a signal of the end of today's club activities.
"Jaa... then, I just have one more thing to say before-"
It wasn't until then that she noticed the absence of another club member - who had somehow, miraculously, managed to slip from her grasp while she had been... momentarily... distracted. "K-Kei...chan? Where did he...?"
"Home, obviously," muttered Satoko, who had begun squirming uncomfortably in her seat for the past minute or so. Rika slid her chair back underneath the table, and joined Rena by the door, which had already been partially slid open. Mion stomped her foot in aggravation, banging her fist on the table in such a manner that it nearly caused Satoko to tumble backwards, drawing a small, surprised squeak from the remainder of the party. Rena put her arm around Rika's shoulder, motioning for her to follow her into the hallway - which she abided to without hesitation. Mion appeared as if she had begun foaming at the mouth, to which Satoko quickened her pace and dashed out of the room, leaving her alone in her frustration. Before it was too late, Mion frantically reached for her backpack, flinging it around her neck and making sure all of the windows had been properly sealed, before carefully sliding out of the room and meeting up with the rest of the gang just outside the school doors.
She grimaced. It was unbearably hot, and what she truly wanted was to get back home as soon as possible, and simply relax for the first time in what had seemed like forever. She could only pray.
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Mion practically slammed the door behind her, immediately dropping her backpack onto the floor next to her bedside, and plopping onto the mattress with a sigh of relief. It was finally over…everything had at last ended… and she had the remainder of the summer to make plans for God-knows-what awaited her come next fall. Whether that was college, getting a part-time job somewhere near the city, or simply kicking back and enjoying the time she was given, she wasn't quite sure. What she was confident of was the fact that it was a blistering 34 degrees *Celsius outside, and that she needed to change out of her school clothes and get into something far more comfortable before she outright collapsed into a heap on the floor. It was a Friday, and she had as long as she wanted to stay up tonight-- correction: she had as much time in the world to sleep, stay up late, and whatever the heck else she felt like doing according to her latest whim. From where she stood, it had all sounded like the greatest plan in the whole stinkin' universe… if she hadn't had several things to take care of before she could get any sleep tonight in the first place. From there, the possibilities were endless. What determined her future was now up to her to pursue -despite the fact that the majority of her adulthood had already been decided from birth.
With a grunt, she halfheartedly rolled onto her stomach, her hand clamping around the handle of the phone that rested on her bedside table and bringing it up to her ear. She dialed the number that had become so familiar to her these past few days, snickering at the fact that it hadn't even completed one variation before it picked up on the other end.
"Onee? Is that you?"
"Who else would be calling you right now?" Mion retorted, with one hand letting her hair down and flinging her ponytail across the room. The voice on the other end squealed for a few… painstakingly… drawn-out seconds, before subsiding into a dull, nonsensical babbling.
"Sooooo..?"
Mion frowned. "Whatever you're about to say, no. And I mean it."
"Aww, you're no fun," Shion complained, throwing her arms back behind her head and pouting, despite the fact that her sister wasn't around to witness it.
"No, I'm normal."Mion teased, even though she knew this was, considerably, a lie.
"So, how'd everyone take it? Not too harshly, I'm hoping – especially, since, of all people-"
"Shion, that's enough! It's not like there's that many choices, besides…" Mion muttered, allowing herself a small grin at the truth in that statement.
Shion giggled, quite content with her sister's embarrassment.
"Ahh.. whatever. It's kind of depressing, really. Does this mean you've resigned for good, then?"
Mion closed her eyes, running her fingers through her hair absentmindedly.
"I somehow doubt that. There's still time to sort things out before the end of this summer. And besides – I'm not going to totally desert my friends or anything like that. No… in fact, I've considered dropping in every once in a while, just to see how they-"
"So in other words, you're still pretty apprehensive about the whole situation, isn't that right, Onee?" Shion yawned, crossing her legs in mid-air.
"I-I guess… so. I mean… he's still… technically a newcomer and- AGHH! WHAT AM I SAYING! SHIONN! STOP MAKING ME DOUBT EVERYTHING WHEN I ALREADY-"
Her sister involuntarily spit out her imaginary drink, breaking down into hysterics momentarily afterwards. Mion sat up, folding her arms across her chest and looking anything but amused.
"Ahaha… ahh.. sorry. Look.. I.. gotta go. Make sure you keep me updated on this kind of stuff, alright? And…ahh.. be careful, alright? Later~!"
"Wait—Shion!"
Before her sister could interject, Shion had already slammed the phone back into the receiver, drawing back her curtains as to let some light into the room. She smiled, at no one in particular. Normally, she wouldn't have minded paying her sister a surprise visit, especially on the last day of school-- however, she had made sure to prioritize beforehand, and between filling out paperwork for college, working part-time at Angel Mort, and stopping by to help out at the clinic, it wasn't like her schedule wasn't busy enough already. Not only that, but she still had a lot of crap left to get together before break ended, and she'd be sincerely regretting the consequences of putting any of it off for too long.
She had been frantically keeping in touch with her sister more often than usual since the incident less than a month ago, which meant an average requirement of at least two phone calls per day, much to the receiving end's annoyment. All in all, she really didn't mind the hassle, as long as she could still feel connected to the rest of the gang's activities. As for Mion, she found it her duty as the soon-to-be head of the Sonozaki family, as well as being an openly caring and protective sister to make a few amendments here and there, so that she still had time to fill her in on what she was missing while she wasn't there to witness it firsthand. Although either of them often fought till what seemed like the death, it had never been too serious in the past, and usually ended without any severely broken bones or bruised egos. Now that both of them had begun to mature considerably, their topics grew more serious, and although there was still an opportunity here and there to poke fun at the other, they were beginning to realize where they stood as fully-fledged adults. While Shion was extremely motivated and ready to take on the world at all angles, her sister was quite the opposite. Sure, when she warmed up to her environment, she could become visibly playful, and easily able to take charge of any situation… but sometimes, she just acted like… well… a girl, to be frank. It had been a long time since Shion had seen her sister over-the-top embarrassed, or love struck, but there came those moments where it was almost painful to watch her suffering that much on the inside. She did have a crush on him, perhaps, even… loved… him, but it was that instinctive shyness that kept her peering on her toes, not quite ready to spring at what ever it was that was keeping her behind bars in full-force.
Shion's eyes followed the path of a distant vehicle, wondering if they could see her through the open windowsill. She waved, but couldn't quite tell if the person in the passenger seat had waved back or not. She traced the skyline of the city in all of it's misshapen and abstract splendor, remembering her first experience in this very same room. She had never been too fond of heights, and at first, it had frightened her to be so close to the rooftops of the surrounding buildings, afraid of opening the window and finding that she was falling into the abyss below, only to meet the solid concrete with a melodramatic SPLAT. (Why did she get the paranormal feeling that she had already experienced something along those lines before? She was alive, wasn't she!?)
She turned and made her way towards the dresser, shooing away a fly with the back of her hand carelessly. There wasn't much to do on days like these… except get straight down to business, which she had planned to do immediately – with a few minor distractions, of course.
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Mion tilted the brim of her hat inspectively, not exactly comfortable wearing such a ridiculous get-up. Her sister had hand-picked it out for her, saying that she could use something a bit… sexier… much to her unwanted confusement. After all, she was still a child, and had never dreamed of showing this much skin, much less in public. The fact that it was such a painfully obvious western-styled outfit was far beyond her league in terms of appropriateness, even though she had often been fond of this kind of style from afar. She made an awkward pose with her legs, opening her eyes as wide as they would allow like she would expect to see on the cover of the latest manga volume, or even of a stereotypical city magazine. She plucked at the unimaginably-thin straps of her tank top, grimacing at the fact that they didn't even bother attempting to hide the straps of her own bra. And then… there were the shorts, which had been purposefully faded and torn and barely covered the tops of her thighs, exaggerating her height and posture even more exquisitely. She hadn't bothered trying on the shoes – otherwise, she would feel like an outright slut, even in the confinement of her own bathroom. She had left her hair down, and refused to remove the hat in fear of what horridly tangled mess lie within. She hadn't exactly been the kind of girl to completely smother her face in all sorts of exotic powders and— in all honesty, there really hadn't been any need to in the first place (well, so far, that was…) She had never payed too much attention to the odd coloring of her skin, the breadth of her shoulders, the size of her… well… anything… and it had just occurred to her that she could be described as what was categorized as… beautiful, in a sense. She wondered if he saw this too, and if he had developed similar feelings towards her during the short time they had spent solely together. OF course, she didn't want him becoming absorbed in her appearance physically, but rather, to accept who she was as a person, and to understand her feelings from the very beginning – if that were even possible. She had to remember who she was addressing here, and that he had never come off as much of a… romantic type… much like her sister, in a sense.
She sighed and flung the hat to the side, crossing her arms before attempting to straighten out the abstrosity on top of her head. She had thought about confessing today, sure, if he hadn't just walked out on the rest of the bunch like that. She knew she wouldn't be seeing him – be seeing anybody, for possibly a long, long time, if she were accepted into the college of her choosing, and would probably make all sorts of new friends and come back completely changed and… Ah, what the hell? She had made her vows to remain the same, old man that she was renowned for in the past, and didn't plan on breaking those any time soon. She tried out a variety of expressions, feeling ridiculous all the while and not restraining herself from laughing uncontrollably at how stupid she looked. She shook her head. Something like this… it just wasn't… her. Maybe it was… love (followed by choking)… that had been driving her this far off the edge lately. Maybe it was just her usual tendency to try something new, even until the point where it nearly killed her. Either way, she didn't feel at ease flaunting around town wearing something this… extravagant… and debated on whether or not it would appear strange if she showed up at his house two and a half hours after school ended. Perhaps… it would make her seem like a… a stalker? There goes her abnormally active paranoia again, making her question just about anything and everything that crossed along her line of thought. She didn't care anymore. She was beginning to regret ever hanging up on her sister, seeing as she wasn't exactly the best expert on this kind of stuff.
She stumbled to her bedroom, leaving the door ajar to prevent so much heat from building up in such a confined area, and frowned. Her room was an absolute mess, and she was pretty sure that she was going to need to use it for later.
My sincere apologies if any of you are scarred/confused about that last bit. I enjoy watching my favorite characters suffer. It makes me warm and fuzzy on the inside. :X
Review, comment, anything, please. I'd like to consider myself already having a head start, with my previous works (which I will soon be deleting, ufu xD). And no, I have not proofread this. I believe I have the right not to. Also, I'm aware ninety percent of the word count relies on these notes at the beginning and end. I promise it won't be so misleading next time. :heh: