"The Staring Contest!" (or "Those Eyes")- A Tonari No Seki-Kun Fanfiction

Series: Tonari no Seki-Kun
Genre: General/Romance/Humor
Summary: Has Toshinari Seki met his match?

Author's Note: I haven't written one of these in a while; but I still love this series!

* Disclaimer: This is a work of fan-fiction. This was NOT written for profit. I do NOT own any elements of Tonari-no-Seki-Kun. Tonari-no-Seki-Kun and related materials were created by/is owned by Takuma Morishige.

Thank you.

Written by: Brittany R./FoxieSango

"Today, we shall be studying the period of the Menji Restoration Era. Open your books to…"

Rumi Yokoi stared up at the board with her brow furrowed in concentration. She absolutely could NOT afford to let Toshinari Seki distract her today. Her parents had met with her teachers earlier that week and it turned out that while she was passing her classes (just barely), her grades were steadily slipping; she was on the verge of having to go to summer school. So, Rumi was determined to not let Seki-kun disturb her this time. Nope. She wouldn't even look at him—would not remotely breathe in his direction. Who cared what crazy antics he was up to today? She most certainly didn't care. …And….and why did she get the eerie feeling that someone was glaring daggers at her? A chill ran up Yokoi's spine and she shivered. ….well…maybe a small peek wouldn't hurt. Slowly….slowly and subtly, her pupils shifted to peek at Seki-kun out of the corner over her eye….only to see him giving her the fiercest stare-down she'd ever seen.

The girl reared back in shock; w-why was he looking at her like that?

Staring Contest!

(or, "Those Eyes!")

Yokoi grit her teeth anxiously. Sek-kun's eyes were fixed on her, and he looked… angry? W-why? What did she do? The girl racked her brain to think back over the past couple of weeks. ….Still, she couldn't come up with anything. Sure, she had disrupted a couple of his distractions in their classes, but she always did that and he never seemed to care before. So what was…oh! …Oh wait…well, she did ask to borrow one of his erasers last week—one that he had stamped his name on and had carved into a little tiki-figure. Did she forget give it back? Could that be why he was upset? He had put a lot of work into it. The girl closed her eyes and sighed before turning to face Seki, clasping her hands together, and bowing slightly in apology.

"Gomen, Seki-kun! I'll give you another eraser, I promise!" she whispered lowly.

"Mmh?" she heard his grunt of confusion and looked up. He had raised an eyebrow at her as if he had no idea what she was talking about. The girl blinked in surprised before puffing her cheeks out angrily. Well if he wasn't mad about the eraser, then what was he glaring at her for?

No! She didn't care! She didn't have time for this today. Yokoi sat up straight and whipped her head back towards the front of the class with her nose turned up. She didn't know what Seki-kun was up to, but she would have no part of it! The girl looked up what the professor had written on the board so far and started copying the text down, making little notes on the side to look up later for independent studying. About five minutes passed…surely Seki was now focused taking notes himself too. Yokoi glanced at him out of the corner of her eye….and…

….he was still staring at her. His eyes were narrowed and it appeared that his gaze was even more intense than before…as if he were concentrating or something. Yokoi sweat-dropped nervously…what did he want from her? Seki then held up his left fist. Yokoi tilted her head in confusion at the gesture, until he turned his palm upward and opened his hand. He was holding a bottle of eye-drops. Yokoi narrowed her own eyes. Where had she seen that bottle before…? Oh yeah! Back when Seki had done those ridiculously foolish card tricks. The mere thought of that incident made her seethe with irritation. She closed her eyes and sighed again, about to turn back to her notes until Seki placed the bottle on her desk. She glanced at him and he pointed to his eyes with his right index and middle finger, and then to her own (sort of in an 'I'm watching you' motion).

"Eh? W-wait a minute?! He's been staring this whole time because….he wants to have a staring contest?! Is he really that bored?!" she pointed at herself to be sure, and he nodded. She fiercely shook her head.

"N-no, I can't! I have to study!" she thought, knocking the bottle to the floor from her desk and furiously scribbling in her notebook. Seki gasped in dismay and bowed his head. Why would she be so cruel as to reject him so?! No, he had to get her to agree! After all, one can't have a staring contest by himself! The boy folded his arms and bowed his head in deep thought before lightly hitting the palm of his right hand with the bottom of his left fist. He had an idea! Seki reached into his bag, digging around for something in particular. Yokoi heard the rustles but ignored him. However, he then placed something else on her desk. A box. Not just any box, but a bento box; it was his lunch.

"Hm? Yokoi raised an eyebrow at this gesture skeptically. What was he up to? Seki then opened the box and inside lay the most adorably crafted rice balls Yokoi had ever seen. They were in the shape of bunny rabbits. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped into a small 'o' before a huge grin spread across her face. Kawaaaiiii! Kawaii! Kawaii! No fair! Seki knew that cute things were her weak spot and…eh?….EH! W-wait! He was reaching in to grab one and WAAAHHH! NO! No, he couldn't eat it! He couldn't!

Sure enough, the evil boy was dangling the rice ball above his mouth as if he were a Titan….and the poor bunny was facing Seki's incisors…head first. Yokoi puffed out her cheeks in anger even more and gripped her pencil tightly. She couldn't let the adorable bunny meet his demise at the hands of an evil being like Toshinari Seki! She just couldn't! With that, she slammed her hand down on the desk, just enough to get his attention. He glanced over at her, and she had a gleam in her eye.

Challenge accepted. She'd play his little game…and if she won, he'd have to let the bunnies go. If he won…he could do whatever he wanted. But she'd never forgive herself if she didn't at least try to save the rabbits. Seki gave her an evil grin and put the rice ball he was about to ingest back in its box. He also placed the cover on top and pushed it to the side, in view of both parties. He then turned to face Rumi fully.

The game was on.

Rumi set her expression to one of determination and ferocity. She was on a mission. She reached over and grabbed the bottle of eye-drops, tilting her head back and squeezing some of the liquid into each of her eyes. She blinked to make sure her eyes were well moisturized. The gauntlet had been thrown. The girl could absently hear the droning on of their teacher in the background, but whatever he was rambling about could wait. It didn't matter now; lives were at stake! And blood would be on her hands if she didn't win this thing.

Rumi furrowed her eyebrows and gave the boy before her a fixed glare. Seki, for his part, had the most nonchalant expression on his face. He was staring at her, but now…now he looked bored. Rumi raised an eyebrow in confusion. What was he playing at? Was he trying to get inside of her head?! That had to be it! He was coming off as if she wasn't even a challenge. He wanted to psyche her out! Well, there was no way that she'd let him. The girl pressed her lips together and sat up straighter, folding her arms. She wanted to come across as a force to be reckoned with. Seki raised an eyebrow at her motion as he regarded her form. He also straightened up as well. If she was going to take this seriously then so would he.

The minutes dragged on; neither competitor knew how long they had been staring at each other. Rumi's right eye twitched and Seki's own eyes bucked wide at this….was she- …oh…oh never mind. After narrowing her eyes for just a moment she was back in focus. He growled lowly…there had to be a way to throw her off her game. There just had to be! He wasn't just the Master of Killing Time. He was the master of ALL his endeavors: every craft, game, business, you name it and Seki was a winner!

….Rumi was only second best….if he was nice enough to grant her that much.

But she wouldn't beat him in this, nope!

No matter how much her eyes shined with determination. Those eyes…those eyes that watched his every move on a daily basis. Those eyes that he could make shimmer if he did something that entranced her, or that could burst into flames if he angered her. Those eyes that knew all his classroom secrets, even if no one else was any wiser.

It was all because she paid attention to him, and…

And suddenly Seki's own eyes widened. Even now, she was partaking in one of his games again because she paid attention to him. And she took him seriously when no one else did. And more than that, everything she did was guided by a moral compass that was nothing but admirable compared to his mischievousness. She truly was a worthy opponent—the yin to his yang so to speak.

….And as he thought about it, he began to realize that he had never been more captivated by her eyes….by her than he was now.

He blinked in awe.

It was only a millisecond but it was enough.

It shocked both of them.

The two kids stared at each other in disbelief as Seki's mouth slowly dropped to the floor.

"I….I did it? I beat Seki-kun?!….EEEEHHHH?!" Rumi thought to herself.

Five minutes later found the class emptying into the hallway; Rumi cheerfully humming to herself with an extra pep in her step as she walked to her next class with Seki's bento box clutched tightly in her arms; and Seki still in his seat from the previous class with his forehead plastered against the desk in dismay. He was ashamed of himself. He'd disgraced his own name. He should've known that challenging her was a dangerous game.

Rumi Yokoi's eyes would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Reviews are welcome! (Still waiting on season two)!