Author's Note: Wow, I can't remember the last time I've been on fanfiction... It's kind of weird to be back, actually, but all the same, I'll give it my all to write something good. And, oh, I haven't read the other Bungaku Shoujo's, so this story is based around the first book.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bungaku Shoujo, naturally. It was written and belongs to Mizuki Nomura.

Book Girl and the Taste of Sunshine

I don't remember to have ever fallen asleep while meeting up with Tohko in the dusty, cramped space of the storage room where she forced me to sit down with her everyday after-school and write her what she called a 'snack' as part of the Literature Club, but on this special occasion, I dozed right off with my half-empty ballpoint pen still in hand. Of course sitting in a rickety, creaky, about-to-fall apart wooden chair didn't really promote a peaceful slumber, but I managed to catch a good five minutes of Z's before Tohko called out to me and awoke me from a dreamless rest.

"Konoha?" she asked, shifting in her chair which squeaked beneath her weight, sounding as though it was going to break into pieces on the spot.

At first I detected a hint of tenderness in Tohko's soft voice, but I was proven to have been imagining immediately as she extended her hand out to me and asked, "Is my snack ready yet?"

Groaning, I sat up straight and wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth. I stared at Tohko, my eyelids drooping whilst I pushed the sleep from my eyes and yawned tiredly. "Oh," she exclaimed, setting her book down with a small corner of the page she'd just devoured sticking out of her mouth. "There it is~" Standing up, Tohko leaned forward and tore the story I had been working on for her from my cheek. Because of my drool, the paper had stuck to my skin-which I only now realized-as Tohko took it.

"Aaaah~" she hummed, her eyes skimming over my sloppy work. "Finally. I was starting to get famished..."

Speed-reading, Tohko finished my unfinished story, crumpled it up into a ball, and stuck the whole thing in her mouth. "Hmmmm," she hummed thoughtfully, her eyes wandering around whilst she tried to get the taste. Suddenly, her face scrunched up with bitterness, and she began to spit the story out. "Yuck, yuck, yuck!" she cried, opening her mouth wide open and brushing her tongue off with her long, slender fingers. "Konoha! What did you do! This tastes like putting chocolate milk in applesauce! Icky!"

"Maybe you should let me finish next time, Tohko," I responded blankly, not really in the mood to bicker back and forth with her. (Actually, that was a lie. Today I had intentionally written a bad story just to annoy Tohko. Judging by her reaction, it was working.)

"That's not the point!" she shot back defensively. "The point is you made it taste bad! It's gross, so write me a new one."

Turning, for an idea to jog my memory into writing her a masterpiece, Tohko gazed off out the foggy window before her. It had been raining for the past two weeks, which may or may not be one of the many factors contributing to my foul mood. Of course the main reason was that I had been up all night trying to write yet another love letter for Chia, but the rain was adding on, no doubt. I didn't like bad weather; it reminded me too much of all that I hated about myself.

"I've got it!" Tohko suddenly announced proudly, shooting upright and placing her hands on her hips. "Konoha! Write me something picnic-y!"

"Picnic-y...?" I asked slowly, already and unimpressed frown making its way across my face. "Are you serious?"

"It's been so gloomy out lately," Tohko went on, ignoring me. "I need some sunshine, so write me something picnic-y!" Already, the dreamy ideas of a sunny picnic made Tohko place her hands on her cheeks and blush madly. "So delicious~"

"You really are something, Tohko," I sighed, shaking my head.

-X-x-X-

"What exactly counts as a picnic?" I asked curiously, rubbing my eye while my pen scratched down on a brand new piece of paper, finishing up the last sentence that had come to mind.

"Something sunny," Tohko answered quickly, chewing on a piece of paper from a new book she'd borrowed from the library called The Tale of Genji. "Something sunny and beautiful. Oh! Like, the main hero meets his first love atop a beautiful hill after having been separated from her for so long, and the passion of seeing each other again melts away all the troubles they've burdened for so long... Y'know, something like that. Bright."

"You know you're not supposed to eat books from the library, Tohko," I said with a heavy sigh, going back to scribbling down something as quickly as I could. "And you know what else... Tohko?" I added thoughtlessly, looking up briefly, before quickly going back to writing.

"Mmm?" she asked, her mouth full of paper, thus leaving her unable to talk.

"... You're pretty good at coming up with stories," I said casually, trying to put on a smooth voice to woo her over. "Why is it that you never write your own food?" She stared hard at me as I spoke. "... Because I'd bet you'd write some true masterpieces."

Swallowing, Tohko looked down at her book and laughed. "I've told you a hundred times, Konoha. My job is to eat! Now hurry up and write me some dessert. This book tastes really meaty, I need something sweet to wash it down."

This is so unfair, I thought, shaking my head when I realized that I had heard this conversation before. "This is so unfair..."

-X-x-X-

Tap! Tap! Tap!

"Someone must have angered an amefurikozo," Tohko mumbled mindlessly, staring impatiently out the window, her fingers drumming against the hard leather of her book. "Konoha," she whined, her stomach growling loudly. "I'm hungry! Where's my dessert?"

My face went warm slightly as I scribbled the final sentence of Tohko's treat. A little unsure, I pulled it back away from her when she greedily reached out and tried to snatch it up. "What are you doing?" she barked, jumping up out of her seat, which fell backward to the floor with a heavy THUD! "Konohaaaa! Give it to me!"

"I-I-I'm not finished yet," I protested, clutching my paper close to my chest. "Just w-w-wait a minute!"

"I saw you finish!" Tohko argued, leaping forward and trying to seize my work. "'The end' is written write there... Konoha! G-I-V-E IT TO ME!"

"No-!"

Determined to steal my paper from me, Tohko grabbed my free wrist and began to pound on the top of my head with her other hand. "Tohko!" I cried, releasing the paper in her violent ambush.

"Ha!" she yelped, grabbing the story before it could drift down to the floor. Pushing herself upright, she got off the table, kicked her chair back up, and plopped down in it before I even had half a second to rub my sore head where I knew a nasty bruise was forming. "Tohko," I panted breathlessly, "you're... you're so cruel!"

Tohko ignored me. She was too busy reading my story, however, my one tactical error had been found, and already she was looking up at me from behind the paper. "Konoha?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as I looked away, blushing madly.

"Don't think it means anything," I sputtered, unable to meet her gaze. "I couldn't think of any names today."

Tohko smiled; she was seeing right through me. "You know if I eat this with our names in it, you'll be cursed."

"I don't believe in that," I muttered quietly, finally looking up at her. "That's a myth."

"You took my advice," she went on, dropping the curse subject, knowing I was telling the truth. "Thank you, Konoha..." Taking her time, Tohko crumbled my story up and stuffed it in her mouth. She made a low crunching noise as she chewed my hard word over in her mouth, trying to pin-point its exact flavor. "Mmmm," she said, dragging out the M's as long as possible. Pausing, her face lit up with her eyes going huge. "Konoha!" she cried, swallowing my story down. "Y-your story! It tastes wonderful! It's just like cucumber sandwiches served with lemon iced-tea and a nice, big, crunchy apple salad on the side!"

"Picnic-y?" I asked sarcastically, chuckling at Tohko's praise.

She shook her head, which caused my smile to dissolve. "No," she said, my body tensing up. "Not picnic-y..."

"Well?" I barked, my temper shortening. "Wha-what is it then?"

Looking up at me, Tohko beamed from ear to ear. With a sinister smile, she placed a finger on her lower lip and whispered ever so quietly, "It tastes sunny, Konoha. It tastes sunny and... beautiful."

~End