The Delinquent and the Songbird: Nishina Rie Route
by Magnus Prime

Chapter One: April 30 (Wed.)

I thrust my hands into my pockets as I trudged down the hall toward the Theatre Club's unofficial club room. While I was glad that Furukawa wasn't going to give up on trying to restart the club, it still pissed me off that the Council wouldn't acknowledge her club as a real one.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I wasn't paying attention as I rounded a corner and collided with…something.

"Oof!" a very feminine voice squeaked.

"Oh, sorry; wasn't paying attention." I reluctantly pulled a hand out of my pocket and held it out to the girl seated on the floor. I could remember a time when I would have just walked past someone like that, but I could also remember a time when I wouldn't be heading to a club room of any kind. "You okay?"

She looked up at me, and something about her seemed familiar. "I'm okay. I'm sorry, too; I was lost in thought." I then saw her eyes widen at the sight of my jacket. "Oh, I'm so sorry, senpai! It's…It's all my fault!"

"No, it's not," I grunted as I helped her to her feet. "Like I said; I wasn't paying attention, so it's my fault, too."

"Th-Thank you, senpai," she said with a grateful smile as she dusted herself off.

The question kept bugging me, so… "This is gonna sound weird, but…do I know you?"

She stopped brushing and studied my face. "I don't think so…wait! You came with Ichinose-senpai yesterday when she borrowed the violin, didn't you?"

Then it hit me: "You're from the Choir Club or something like that, aren't you?"

"I am!" she exclaimed. "My name is Nishina Rie, a second-year here. But…I guess you could figure that out yourself, couldn't you? Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," I said, trying to be cool about it. "I'm Okazaki Tomoya. Thanks for letting Kotomi-chan borrow the violin."

"It's my pleasure," she said with the sweetest smile I'd ever seen. "Um…if you'll excuse me…?"

"Sure," I said, waving a hand. "Sorry for keeping you."

"H-Have a good day!" she exclaimed with a bow before hurrying past me. I tracked her with my eyes and smirked when I saw her dart into the restroom. No wonder she was distracted.

I snorted with a smile as I turned back to head to the Theatre Club.

"Your timing is way off!" I heard Kyou complaining as I slid the door to the clubroom open. "At this rate you'll never be able to deliver the killer punch line!"

"Onee-chan…" Fujibayashi said with her typical ellipse.

"Kyou-chan, Kotomi-chan's doing her best," Furukawa said with her usual timidity as I slid the door closed behind me. "She's still getting used to being around other people."

"It is okay, Nagisa-chan," Kotomi said in her usual breathy voice. "I am not hurt."

"See? She's tougher than she looks," Kyou barked. "Now get over there and work on your comebacks. Hurry! Hurry!" she ordered, clapping her hands in Kotomi's general direction.

Kotomi nodded once before hustling to the nearby corner and started repeating "What whuzzat?" over and over again.

"Glad to see you have Furukawa's club under control," I quipped as I settled into one of the many chairs scattered throughout the room.

"Well somebody has to!" she replied, clearly frustrated. "The club president is nice enough, but 'nice' doesn't have enough backbone to get things done!"

"I'm sorry, Kyou-chan," Furukawa said sadly.

"Stop apologizing and take charge!" Kyou ordered as she flipped her hair. "I'm glad to help, but I can't do everything for you."

"Take it easy, Kyou," I said carefully. "You're scaring her."

"Oh, jeez, everyone's so timid around here!" she complained. "The president is a mouse and our number one comedienne is a hermit."

"That could make for an interesting routine," Fujibayashi said with a giggle.

Practice continued like that for the rest of the club's time.

I shuffled down the hall toward the nearest exit. Since the club had ended for the day, I wanted to get home as soon as possible to get changed and back out before my dad got home.

As I reached out for the door handle, however, I heard…something. It was musical, but not like the violin I had heard a few days ago. No, this was…someone singing? It sounded nice, so I turned from the door and headed back, trying to find the source. My search led me to the Chorus Club room, which made sense when I thought about it. Last I knew, there were at least three members, though; why was I only hearing one voice? Figuring that I wouldn't find the answer by standing outside the door, I slid it open.

Apparently I surprised whoever was inside, because the sole occupant standing near the window spun toward me as she gasped with her hand on her chest. "Y-You startled me!"

Well, at least I was right. "Sorry," I said as I entered the room. I left the door open behind me, just in case. "I heard singing and was just curious where it was coming from."

She gasped again, but differently than the way she had when I'd startled her. "You…heard me?"

"Yeah. I thought it sounded nice, so I was curious," I said before my brain could tell me to shut up. "You have a nice voice. Sorry I made you stop."

"I-It's okay," she said, then her eyes widened. "A-Aren't you the one I r-ran into earlier?"

"That's me," I said, flopping into a chair. "Okazaki Tomoya." I didn't know why I felt the need to tell her my name again; it wasn't as though she'd care or anything.

"Okazaki-senpai…" she said as she studied me, and it looked like she was trying to memorize me or something.

"Just call me 'Okazaki'," I told her. "I'm not big on formalities, and I'm a delinquent, anyway."

"Would…Would it be okay if I called you 'Okazaki-senpai' anyway?" she asked. "My family is big on formalities."

"Do what you want," I said noncommittally. It didn't matter when she called me; it wasn't like we'd ever see each other again anyway.

"Did…Did you say I had a nice voice?" she asked.

"Huh?" Darn it, I had to think back, something I tried to avoid as much as possible. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"Would you like to hear me sing some more?"

"Maybe another time," I said, getting up from my seat; I had to get home to change, and I didn't want to seem interested; who knew what a girl like her would do with the attention? "Sorry to bother you."

"It wasn't a bother, Okazaki-senpai," she said brightly. "I hope you'll come listen to me sing another time."

"Sure," I said in a deliberately bored tone. "Later."

That night I spent the evening at Sunohara's dorm room.

"I haven't seen you in a while," he remarked as we lay around, reading manga. "Been busy with your new harem?"

"I don't have a harem," I grunted, flipping a page. "And the Theater Club's doing just fine without me."

"Eeeehhhhhh?" I looked over to see him grinning wickedly at me. "Got blown off by all of them, did you?"

"Shut up," I hissed, throwing the book I'd been reading at him. "Nobody blew me off; I left by my own choice."

"Fine, fine," he said as he tossed the manga back. "So did you skip the club today?"

"Sort of. Did you know that we have a singing club?" I couldn't remember the club's official name so I just did my best.

"Huh? Where'd that come from?"

"Just answer the question," I said, trying to find my place in the book.

He looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "I've never heard of it. What do they do?"

I looked at him in disbelief. "They sing, idiot."

"I mean, are they working to do a concert or something?"

"I dunno," I admitted. "There's only three of them, and they're all second-year girls-" Aw, crap; I cringed at the realization that I had just thrown him some ammo.

"Ah, I get it now; third-years are too old for you, eh?" he asked with a knowing grin. "Your strike zone's a little…younger?"

"Shut up," I hissed, throwing his manga at him again.

"Hey! Quit throwing my stuff!" he complained.

"Then quit saying stupid stuff," I countered as I grabbed a different manga; I figured he wouldn't return the one I'd been reading this time.

"Well, what am I supposed to think?" he said. "You quit the Theater Club, with its beauties…and Kyou…and join another club with three second-year girls…"

"I didn't join the club; they loaned Kotomi-chan that violin," I told him. "It's not like I'd never met them before."

"Still sounds like you're trying to trade up," he grumbled, "and you didn't tell your best friend about it."

"I don't have a best friend," I retorted, then hid my smile as he fell off of his bed. "So who would I tell?"

"I was talking about me!" He was nearly in tears at this point.

"All right, all right, I'm sorry," I said, finally giving in. I smiled as I realized that maybe introducing him to the girls would make for some amusement.