Disclaimer:
I do not own Gakuen Heaven and I don't make any money with this story.
gomen nasai - sorry
Senpai - older student
It was Friday afternoon. Omi and Kaoru had just finished lunch at the cafeteria and were now on their way back to the treasury room. Crossing the yard to get to the main building they saw a lot of students who were setting up benches and tables for the annual summer festival, which would take place tomorrow. The two of them had not yet been assigned to any job concerning the preparation because they had to finish some paperwork, including the report about the expenses for the food, decorations and all the other stuff needed for the party, and hand it over to the chairman.
"It all looks quite nice." Kaoru gestured towards some students who were decorating the trees with colorful lampions.
"Yes, it will look great after sunset," Omi replied.
They had reached the building and Omi held the door open for Kaoru to enter. The Queen flashed a short smile at his friend and stepped in. On their way up the stairs they met the president of the student council.
"Good to see you, Kaoru-chan," he greeted effusively.
Addressed one tried to escape further up the stairs, but Omi caught him by the wrist and stopped him. "What is it, Niwa?" he asked with a polite smile.
"Well, I know you guys still have some work to do, but we could really need more helping hands for the festival preparations."
"We will hurry," Kaoru assured, eager to get away, and pulled Omi with him.
Reaching the treasury Omi went directly to his PC and started typing. Kaoru sat down next to him to proof read the finished papers. Time passed slowly and Kaoru got bored. His eyes slid down from time to time and it took him a lot of willpower not to fall asleep. With a sigh he let the last paper slide back onto the table and tried to suppress a yawn - not really successfully. Burying his face into his hands for a moment he sighed again. Omi turned to face him.
"Are you not feeling well, Kaoru?" he asked with a worried look.
"I'm just tired. Haven't got enough sleep tonight."
Omi didn't look too convinced, but Kaoru waved his concerns aside and stood up. "I will make some tea," he stated and walked over to the sideboard where they kept their tea supplies.
"I can do that." Omi had followed him and now took the cup Kaoru was holding out of his hands.
"It's not like I'm incapable of preparing tea," Kaoru pouted. "But I suppose it will taste better if you do it," he admitted and took his chair to sit down next to the window.
While Omi waited for the water to boil he searched through the teabags. He always made sure to have a huge amount of Kaoru's favorites in stock. Today he decided for green tea with lemongrass. After putting some sugar in each cup he carried them to Kaoru.
The Queen accepted his cup with a graceful smile. "Thank you, Omi."
"I should be finished in about 10 minutes," Omi informed him while walking back to the computer with his cup. Kaoru just nodded slightly. He didn't like the thought of being bossed around by Niwa, but the King was in charge of the organization and everyone had to help with the preparations.
Taking a small sip from his cup he listened to the clacking sound of Omi's keyboard. The monotonous typing made him even more tired. Resting the hand holding the cup in his lap he stared out of the window. The sight of the trees outside was as boring as the paperwork before and his eyes slowly shut, his mind drifting off to sleep.
A few minutes later Omi had finish the last document and stood up to tell Kaoru. Gently he called out his name while approaching him from behind. No reaction. He has probably fallen asleep Omi thought with slight worry.
Kaoru had told him about being haunted by nightmares a few days ago. What sort of dreams exactly he refused to say but Omi could see that the lack of sleep was getting to him. He wondered whether he should wake Kaoru or not. One person less to help wouldn't make such a great difference, but it would be even harder for Kaoru to fall asleep tonight if he had slept during the afternoon.
Coming to a decision, Omi gently placed his hands on Kaoru's shoulders. Being a light sleeper Kaoru came awake to the touch immediately. Slowly turning his head to face Omi he lifted a hand to brush some strands of hair out of his face. Still dazed from sleep he forgot about the half filled tea cup in his hand and the contents got spilled all over his uniform jacket.
A swear word not suitable for a queen escaped his lips and he shot an accusing glance at Omi.
"I'm sorry, Kaoru," Omi apologized while taking the cup out of his hands. "Why didn't you drink it?"
Kaoru ignored the question, stood up and rushed towards the door. "I'll go and change," he said and left the room.
Kaoru walked through the corridors, angry with himself for being so rude to his friend. It hadn't been Omi's fault at all. But now was too late to apologize. Luckily he reached his room without meting any other students. He really didn't want to be seen with a dirty uniform in public - especially not by a certain student council president.
He opened the cupboard to take out his spare uniform but it was not in its usual place. Remembering to have washed it just yesterday evening he walked outside on the balcony. Sadly, the cloths weren't completely dry yet and, even if they were, he would have to iron them first. Sighing, Kaoru returned to the cupboard and pulled out a pair of brown trousers and a pale blue shirt.
He absolutely hated wearing casual clothes on the school grounds, but the alternative of walking around in dirty clothes also didn't appeal to him. After having changed he decided not to return to the treasury, but instead go looking for anyone he could help with the festival preparations.
Meanwhile in the treasury room Omi had just returned from delivering the finished papers to the chairman and was about to leave when someone knocked at the door. Opening, in the expectation to find Kaoru outside, he was greeted with the sight of Nakajima instead. The vice-president of the student council was leaning against the wall opposite the door, arms crossed and an incredibly bored expression on his face.
"Niwa told me to build up the stage for tomorrow evening," he started to explain his surprising visit. "I could use some help."
Omi smiled a little at that. He wasn't quite sure why exactly the other boy disliked him so much, but it had been like this since their first encounter.
It had been their first day at Bell Liberty and after the morning lessons Omi and Kaoru were crossing the courtyard to get to the Mensa.
"It's great that our rooms are located directly next to each other." Kaoru said and smiled at his best friend. Omi returned the smile and, for a moment distracted by the charming look on Kaoru's face, he ran into another student who just came out of the cafeteria.
"Hey, watch where you're going," he snapped angrily at Omi.
"Gomen nasai, Senpai," Omi said with his usual polite smile. The student was just a little taller than himself, with short black hair that seemed almost blue in the midday sun. His voice had been cold and emotionless, but the narrow eyes behind his glasses stared at Omi with such an intensity that it seemed almost hostile.
"Why are you smiling?" he now asked. "You don't really look sorry. Are you trying to mock me?" He bent down a little his face closing in on Omi's.
"Hide, do you really have to start a fight at every possible opportunity?" Another student had left the cafeteria and now stood at the blue head's side. His voice had been cheerful, almost teasing, and he had a muscular physique. When he noticed Kaoru his smile grew even wider.
"Kaoru-chan, what a coincidence. Do you remember our encounter this morning?"
"I do indeed," Karou replied, his voice getting an icy touch as he recalled how this stupid guy had mistaken him for a girl because of his long hair. "And I also remember telling you not to call me by this stupid name."
The other student just laughed and clapped a huge hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey Hide, did you know those two are going to take over the treasury department?"
"Really?" The smaller boy adjusted his glasses with his index finger before he continued speaking, his gaze still fixed on Omi. "They don't seem that capable in my eyes. And it's a lot of work for just two people."
"That's why I was planning to develop some programs which will do the mathematical parts of the work," Omi responded, feeling the need to defend himself against this unfriendly know-it-all.
"Oh, you're a programmer?" the other boy asked with a raised eyebrow, his tone even more condescending than before.
"Afraid of competition, Hide?" the burly student joked.
"No, of course not." With a last smirk the blue head finally averted his penetrating gaze from Omi and walked away. The other boy flashed them an apologetic smile before he hurried to follow his friend.
"What a strange encounter," Kaoru remarked.
"You can say that again," Omi agreed.
Shortly after this event Nakajima had performed his first attack on the treasury's computer and Omi had returned the 'favor' - just for fun and because he liked a good challenge. But Kaoru, who had become fairly good friends with Nakajima over time, had recently asked them both to try for an - at least - neutral behavior towards each other. Nakajima had reluctantly agreed for Kaoru's sake. Of course, this agreement did not include their hacking battles, but still, Nakajima asking Omi for help seemed like an offer of peace.
"Of course I'll help you," Omi now said.
"Very well, just drop that stupid smile, would you?" Nakajima replied coldly and turned around to lead the way.
Well, maybe it would take some time for him to accustom to the new situation, but it was a start, Omi thought, while following Nakajima outside to the gym.
Next to the gym was a storeroom where benches and tables and a lot of other stuff was kept and beside the storeroom was a moveable stage that was normally used for performances of the drama club. Tomorrow, they would act out something as well. And the music club would contribute to the festival with a performance, too.
Niwa already awaited them and helped bringing the stage into the school yard.
"Oi, Omi, where is Kaoru?" he asked while pushing the stage forward, not even slightly panting from the effort.
"I don't know, maybe in his dorm room."
"I'll go look for him. You can manage alone here, I suppose?" The two just nodded and Niwa dashed off, enthusiastic as ever.
"You can set up the background and I will take care of the electronics," Nakajima advised. "There is a ladder in the storeroom if you need it," he added and went to fetch the speakers and microphones.
Niwa had been banging for quite some time against Kaoru's door until he came to the decision that the Queen was obviously not at home. A little annoyed, he went downstairs again and found Kaoru in the hall. He was talking to Keita, who, together with some other students, prepared the drinks for tomorrow.
They were currently making a bowl (non alcoholic, of course, Shinomiya was pretty observant about this) for which Keita was cutting fruits into pieces and Shunsuke mixed them in a huge machine.
"There you are, Kaoru-chan." Niwa had approached from behind and tugged at Kaoru's clothes. "Where is your uniform? I remember you being always quite insistent that no one should wear leisure clothes at school."
"Shut up, Niwa," Kaoru hissed and slapped his hand off, even more annoyed by the fact that Niwa had dared to touch him than by the ridiculous name suffix.
"As friendly as ever," Niwa remarked sarcastically, but still smiling. "You should make yourself useful instead of distracting the others with chatting. Shinomiya needs some help in the kitchen. I think you would be more than appropriate for this job," he added with a devilish grin. "Girls are meant to do the cooking."
Kaoru could barely contain the urge to slap Niwa right into his stupidly grinning face. Staring at the ground and clenching his hands into fist he tried to gain control of himself again and come up with a good reply. When he looked up just some split seconds later Niwa had already turned his attention towards Keita and was trying to feed him a strawberry, which caused the smaller boy to blush slightly.
"You aren't useful here either," Kaoru huffed angrily and walked off in the direction of the cafeteria. This was by far not the first time Niwa had shown interest in Keita and, as far as Kaoru could judge this, the cute student seemed also interested in the king - due to reasons that were completely beyond Kaoru. What he couldn't understand either was why Niwa still amused himself with teasing him when he wasn't even interested anymore. Hopefully this farce would finally stop when Niwa's relationship with Keita developed to a more serious level.
By now Omi had fetched a ladder and started to build up the stage background. It consisted of two bars, about 9 feet high, that were put up vertically at the ends of the stage and a third bar that was fixed horizontally on top of them. After that, multiple curtains with different background pictures for the play could be put on the bar, all at the same time, and then pulled in place or tossed to the sides to ensure a smooth and fast change.
He had already finished putting up the vertical bars and now pulled the curtains on to the third bar. To fasten it on top of the others he would need some help though, since the bar was almost 20 feet long.
Nakajima had vanished some time before so he looked around the yard for some other students. All the benches and tables had been set up by now and the preparations for food and drinks were done inside the school building so there was currently no one else outside. Omi was just about to go and search for Nakajima when he heard light footsteps approaching from behind. He turned around glad that finally some help had turned up, but his smile vanished immediately when he recognized the person walking towards him.
"Shichijou-kun," Umino-sensei cried in his high pitched voice, waving one arm above his head. Omi sighed. He liked the biology teacher, but right now he was, with his slim built, the last person he could use. But he would have to do for now.
"Umino-sensei," he greeted politely as the teacher approached him. "Is something the matter?"
"I haven't seen Tono-sama since this morning. He didn't even come to get his usual fish for lunch. So I'm a bit worried. Think you could find him with that GPS collar you've made him?"
"Theoretically yes, Sensei, but I'm really busy at the moment. Tono-sama will be alright, I'm sure. In fact, I could really use some help here, if you don't mind."
"Of course not, but after wards you will help me, ne? So what am I supposed to do?"
"This bar needs to be fixed on the others," Omi explained. "You have to go up the ladder and screw one end while I'm holding the other side up."
With Satoshi's help they were quickly done with the work and just in that moment a student from the cooking club came running across the yard.
"Umino-sensei," he called already from afar. "Could you please collect your cat from our clubroom, it has already eaten two of the cakes for tomorrow."
"Oh no! I'm so sorry. Seems like I have to go now, Shichijou-kun." Omi just nodded and the teacher hurried of with the other student.
Meanwhile, Kaoru had reached the cafeteria where Shinomiya and Iwai were preparing some of the food for tomorrow. Shinomiya gave him a slightly puzzled look when he entered the kitchen.
"Saionji-kun, what are you doing here?" A little startled Kaoru explained that Niwa had sent him to help with the cooking.
"Strange," Shinomiya said and ran a hand through his hair. "I told him I'm perfectly fine with just Takuto helping me. He gave the artist, who was currently fanning a huge bowl of rice, a gentle smile and added. "He's actually doing really well."
Until now Iwai had avoided to look up and greet Kaoru, but at Shinomiya's words he raised his head and gave his friend a small smile in return. Kaoru smiled at the sight, too. It was quite rare for Iwai to be seen with a happy expression, but when he was around Shinomiya he always seemed more relaxed than normal. In fact, Kaoru was surprised the archer hadn't realized by now how much Iwai really cared about him. For an outside spectator it was fairly easy to tell from the artist's behavior how much he loved his black haired friend.
"I'm doing my best," Iwai replied, blushing slightly from Shinomiya's compliment.
"Yes, but it seems we really have nothing to do for you here, Saionji-kun," Shinomiya said apologetically. "I'm sorry you came all the way here but surely you know the phrase of too many cooks spoiling the broth."
"It's not that I think you can't cook," he hastily added. And Kaoru knew it wasn't. Shinomiya always tried to be friendly towards everyone and besides of that, Kaoru himself was quite convinced of his abilities in cooking. If Iwai could manage, he certainly could as well. Even if there hadn't been too many occasion when he had had the opportunity to test his ability. But the kitchen was definitely too small for three people.
"I understand, Shinomiya," he simply said and left the cafeteria.
Not wanting to return to the main building - chances were Niwa was still there fussing around with Keita - Kaoru rounded the building until he reached the path that led to the library, which was located in its own small building. The path was lined with trees and some benches in between and Kaoru sat down, lazily stretching his legs out, and closed his eyes. He didn't feel guilty about relaxing while the others were preparing for the festival. After all, he had offered his help - but it wasn't appreciated. And furthermore, he was the Queen of the academy. Even if he didn't like to be called by that nickname in general, sometimes it was quite helpful.
He was about to doze off in the comfortable half shadow that was provided by the trees when something heavy landed in his lap. Startled he opened his eyes and pushed himself in a more upright position. Looking down he was greeted with a pair of eyes almost as green as his own, but with a definitely not so human shape. Tono-sama flicked his tongue out shortly and then rolled himself up in Kaoru's lap, immediately falling asleep.
The head of the treasury eyed the cat curiously, wondering what to do with him. It wasn't like he was afraid of cats, like Niwa, but Tono-sama was quite heavy and Kaoru's nose wrinkled in disgust when he thought about all the hair that would be sticking to his clothes after the cat had left. Careful not to startle the animal, he tried to push it off his legs. But the beast was so heavy he couldn't move it even one inch. Kaoru sighed and leaned back again, trying to simply ignore the cat, when he heard Umino-sensei calling his pet's name. He waved to the teacher who was coming up the same path he had taken before.
"There you are, Tono-sama," Satoshi exclaimed happily. "You aren't supposed to always run away," he scolded his cat. "I don't want another incident like that with the cakes of the cooking club." "I'm sorry he bothered you, Saionji-kun," he added and lifted his cat off of Kaoru's lap.
How the small teacher was able to carry so much weight around campus all day had always been beyond Kaoru and he was even more impressed now that he had experienced the huge weight of the cat himself.
"Everything is perfectly alright, Umino-sensei," Kaoru assured and wanted to close his eyes again.
"Now that I meet you here," Satoshi started. "I have just helped Shichijou-kun with setting up the stage. Maybe you wanna go give him a hand. It seemed to me like he still had some work to do."
"Yes, I will do that, Sensei," Kaoru replied with smile and gracefully rose from his sitting position. "I was just about to get bored anyway."