Hi people, it's been awhile.
To be honest, About Tale of the Orange Bird; I've thought through it again and again.
Supposingly, the story-line is supposed to end after Lingyin is placed in solitary confinement but i tried to add more things and stuff got way complicated. TOO complicated in fact.
Note to self - inexperienced writers should never add OCs into a anime fanfic.
Those who want to know how Tale of the Orange Bird will end, you can send me a PM and i promise THIS TIME, i'll definitely reply to people.
For now, I hope you guys will enjoy this first chapter of Tale of the Grey Cat.
As per usual, no comments will be filtered and all critical comments are welcomed! HAPPY 2017 PEOPLE! (I can't believe the last time i updated was 2012? Time flies)
The Silverio Gospel case has been resolved.
A few hours have passed since then; evidently shown by the darkness of the night sky, gently illuminated by the moon above. All light sources within the seaside resort are out, and everyone within has already been swept to the land of dreams with the soothing sounds of waves in a gentle sea breeze.
Well, that is, everyone except for Ichika Orimura. While tossing and turning on his futon, his mind once again slowly drifting back to the same scene – Whereby his childhood friend, Houki Shinonono, asked him if he had ever noticed her as someone of the opposite sex. At the same time, she grasped his hand and pressing it against her…breasts…
What's more, at the heat of the moment he actually went forward with the intention to kiss…Houki…
Heat slowly creeps up his neck to the cheeks at the mere reminder of that incident. Ichika abruptly sits up, shaking his head wildly in an attempt to dispel the impure thoughts within his mind. Yet, he can't help but blush as the images flow through his mind repeatedly.
"Argh! Just what was I thinking? Houki is a girl BUT she's also a childhood friend; she's practically like a sister to me!" Ichika slaps his face with both hands, as he vocalized his thoughts out loud. Probably a little too loud as within the next instant, an alarm clock zooms past and barely scraping the tip of his nose. Smashing directly onto the wall, the clock fell apart in smithereens.
"Shut up, you idiot – I'm trying to sleep here!"
His elder sister, Chifuyu Orimura, barks in annoyance while giving Ichika a sleepy glare. Seeing that Ichika received the message extremely clearly from the expression of fear on his face, she then turns her back on him to get back to sleep once more.
(Well, at least Chifuyu-nee frightened the impure thoughts out of my head)
Ichika thought silently to himself this time, after that near-death experience from a flying alarm clock. Smiling weakly to himself, he has almost forgotten that both of them were sharing a room after that fiasco hours ago.
Right, back then before the kiss happened, Cecilia and the rest found them and went absolutely ballistic, nearly killing(?) him with their deployed personal IS. If not for Chifuyu Orimura who happened to be nearby, the consequences may have been…disastrous. This is also why Chifuyu asked him to sleep at the same room as her, insisting that anything else other than that may lead to another scene of carnage.
Ichika sighs quietly.
(I definitely can't sleep right now, perhaps going out for a walk and taking in fresh air will help.)
He slides open the door gently, and before he can take the first step out of the door he notices a figure already outside, with a shocked expression on her face.
Was she waiting in front of the door? But why would she do something so out of character?
"C-Cecilia? What are you doing outside the room?"
Clearly not prepared for Ichika to just unexpectedly open the door, Cecilia stifles her urge to cry out in surprise.
"I-I-Ichika?! Ah…just come with me!" Cecilia stammers, nearly biting her tongue as she grabs Ichika's arm, not waiting for his reply before dragging him into an empty room, conveniently located next to the Orimura siblings'.
The door shuts behind them. Yet, Ichika is still totally bewildered by Cecilia's actions; waiting for her to explain her weird actions.
"Cecilia, is everything alright?" Ichika asks first, breaking the awkward silence within the room.
"H-huh? Oh, of course! Just a little tipsy from the alcohol, that's all!"
Despite having some small talk, the atmosphere only seems to get even more awkward with every passing moment.
(Cecilia is acting somewhat weird today…or is it just me…?)
The ever thick-headed Ichika thought to himself silently, watching Cecilia with concern as she fidgets unnaturally, looking as though as she has some desperately important to ask.
"Thank goodness you didn't try to shoot me for real after that first shot to my face; otherwise with your skills I would have probably died there."
"H-huh-ah right of course! With this lady's skills, of course I'll have to spare you some leeway!" Despite a fair bit of stammering, Cecilia manages to get back to her normal self again.
"That's more like the Cecilia that I know, haha."
"I-I-I-Ichika…!" After a faint moment of silence, Cecilia finally found the courage to say what she's wanted to ask.
"Y-Yes?"
"Well, that is…do you like Houki? As in, do you a-a-actually see her as, well, m-m-more than just a friend?"
That was a question that has been floating around his mind, bugging Ichika the whole night. Yet, when asked by another, it hit him like a bolt out of the blue.
(Do I really like her just as a friend? Sure, she has grown up to from a tomboy to a beautiful young woman...but thinking about it right now, I much rather we stay as friends.)
"…I-Ichika?"
"…Cecilia, I only like Houki as a friend, nothing more than that." After thinking it through, Ichika made his decision.
"Really?" Cecilia exclaims, as a faint flicker of delight on her face betrays the excitement she's containing within her. After all, with Houki now out of the picture, her chances of being with Ichika will no doubt be higher. "Then, if that's the case…who do you like the most?"
"Ah? Well…"
BANG
The door flies open. A shadow of a lady swiftly moves behind Cecilia Alcott and with a swift chop to the neck, she falls unconscious, dead to the world without knowing what hit her. If not for Ichika catching her in time, she'll have definitely fallen straight onto the ground.
"What did I tell you about leaving the room? Not only is my little brother an idiot, but perhaps now he doesn't even listen to his own sister huh?"
"Chifuyu-nee? But you didn't say anything about leaving the roo-OUCH!" Before Ichika can retort back, a finger flick strikes him right on the center of his forehead.
"Don't talk back. Goodness…If I wasn't worried about you dropping Alcott I'll smash your head down with my fist. Come, follow me and bring Alcott along with you, moron."
After making sure that Cecilia is placed in proper care (on her bed), Ichika is forcefully dragged back into the siblings' room by Chifuyu Orimura.
"Honestly, even someone as dense as you should have found out by now, right?" Chifuyu let out a strong heave, opening a can of beer, "Right now, be it more or less, all five of the girls have some form of feelings towards you."
Ichika nods his head. "Yes…after seeing how Houki and Cecilia acted, I'll probably be the densest human alive if I still didn't notice something like this." As the words came out of his mouth, his face starts burning up slightly once more.
Houki Shinonono
Cecilia Alcott
Lingyin Huang
Charlotte Dunois
Laura Bodewig
All of them are wonderful friends, rivals, as well as comrades that Ichika has gone through life and death situations with. It's of little wonder that after coming to their rescue, time and again, they'll develop feelings for Ichika.
"Not bad, at least you're aware of something." Chifuyu gave Ichika an approving grin, gulping down the can of beer, "Take your time to choose…there's no way that a guy like you can think it through so quickly."
"Thanks, Chifuyu-nee. I really will need some time to think this through…I think for now, I'll go back to sleep first though."
As Ichika went back to his futon while still deep in thought, Chifuyu walks out to dispose of the beer can.
"Hmph, no matter who you choose, know that it will be a bumpy road ahead. Good luck, you idiotic brother."
Daybreak soon arrives. Laura Bodewig wakes up refreshed and within moments, she straightens up her attire and tidies up herself, ready to face a brand new day.
"Oh?"
As she slides open the wooden door, a letter that was held in between the doors fall onto the floor.
"A letter from Instructor- no, from Ichika Orimura?"
Unfolding the letter, she read the contents written.
[Laura, meet me near the pond at the garden later, before breakfast.]
– Ichika Orimura
"My bride wishes to see me? Well so be it." Laura whispers softly to herself, before heading out of the room after checking her attire once more.
Walking towards the pond, Laura spots Ichika already there, waiting patiently for her. As Laura approaches, Ichika smiles at her, waving her over.
"Yes, I believe you asked me over? What is it about?"
"Hey, Laura. Well…you see, yesterday night Cecilia asked me who did I like the most."
(What? That underhanded, thieving no-good bride stealer! Don't tell me…)
Laura's brain overheated in an instant, thinking of all the worst possible scenarios.
(Don't tell me…this is the so-called NTR that Clarissa has warned me about?! Is Ichika going to be taken away from me?)
(No wait, calm down Laura; don't jump into needless conclusions. I'll try to probe the answer out of him as stealthily as possible…)
"S-S-So, what did you say to her?" Despite all her mental preparations, Laura still stammered her words slightly.
"Well, that's the thing. Before I can think of a reply, Chifuyu-nee knocked her unconscious." Ichika replies while shrugging his shoulders.
(Good job Instructor Orimura!)
Laura gives Chifuyu thumbs up within her imagination.
(Wait a minute, if he needs to think of a reply, doesn't that mean he doesn't like Cecilia in that way? Oh thank goodness!)
A slight trace of guilt flutters by her head for thinking that way before Laura removes it out of her mind, replacing it with secret joy.
"Well, good job then. As my bride, you shouldn't even be meeting other girls at night. That's immoral."
"Well, I don't know about being your bride, but I'll most definitely be alright with being…your husband." Even as Ichika's voice gets increasingly softer, he still manages to finish his sentence audibly with a heated face.
"…"
"…"
"…W-W-W-What did you SAY?!"
Laura took a while to actually process what Ichika said a few moments ago, but when the message finally got through her, her brain overloaded instantly. Despite it being a cold, breezy morning, Laura feels her body heating up with each passing second, especially her face.
(Is this a dream? This isn't a dream right?)
"After giving it some thought last night, I realised that ever since the day we kissed, I have been in love with you. It's just that I was too dense to realise about that either." As Ichika begins to confess his feelings more, he slowly move toward Laura; whereas Laura, with her mind still floaty, moves back at about the same pace.
(Wait, why am I moving backwards? He…he's my bride! I should be the one…but I'm just too embarrassed right now-Ah!)
Laura finds herself back facing a tree, swiftly cutting off her path of retreat.
(Shoot, I got too careless…!)
While frantically looking left and right, Ichika has already arrived in front of her, his hands placing on the wall for support while at the same time, cutting all other routes of "escaping" for Laura Bodewig.
(…! T-T-T-This is the legendary Kabe-don that Clarissa keeps telling me about! I can't believe that it's now used against me…!)
"Laura, I may not be able to defeat you one-on-one, but I'll definitely protect you from any dangers that you may face, together. Will you be willing to be my bride instead?" Having found more courage, Ichika manages to express his confession slightly louder without stammering and mutterings.
"…Mmm."
With a face as red as a tomato and an extremely meek yet embarrassed expression, Laura nodded her head gently a couple of times. Seeing Laura in such a manner reminded Ichika of the first time she wore the black bikini and tied up her hair…the expression she's showing on her face now is way cuter than back then.
The urge to tease Laura rises up within Ichika. Lifting her chin up, Ichika dives in for a sudden kiss. Laura, whose is just about to calm down, instead heats up again furiously as she feels their tongue intertwining with one another. It's only after few seconds before their lips finally separate.
Before Laura can say anything, Ichika speaks out with a slight blush on his face, "I will make you my bride! That's decided, and I won't accept any objections!"
Laura's face changes from one of embarrassment to a stunned one, before a sudden moment of clarity hit her, which causes to chuckle slightly.
(This time around, it's exactly like what happened a few days ago, except we're re-enacting it with switched roles, isn't it?)
"More like, that how it's supposed to be?" Laura replied, plastered onto her face is her confident smile, one you'll usually only see when she's on her Personal IS, Schwarzer Regen. Yet, with a tinge of redness across her cheeks, it transforms into a radiant and loving smile.
"Ichika Orimura, I'll accept you as my husband. Be prepared, however; I won't let you off if you ever become weak or if you ever cheat on me!" Back to her normal self again, Laura declares to Ichika.
"Of course not; after all, I'm yours."
"…Hmph, we're going to go for more ground fighting practices as well; I expect you to be at least at the level of Instructor Orimura before we actually formalize our wedding." Ducking out of the Kabe-don, Laura walks off by herself with the usual "∧"-shape mouth.
"You don't really mean that, do you? Hey, Laura! Don't run away!" Ichika chases after Laura.
A few meters away from their original position however, a girl dressed up in her trademark yellow fox costume stands up, exiting her hiding spot behind a tree and some bushes.
"Iyaa…Ichika and Laura, together as a couple? This is big news; I'll need to go back and tell the rest first…"