Happy New Year eveyone! This plan was conjured up by somebody and I just went along with it. Thanks to SilverFang88 for beta'ing!
Also, my Kamijou side story is still in the process, and I'm not too sure when I'll be able to publish.
Anyway, please do enjoy this lighthearted fic!
Disclaimer: I do not own ToAru, and I do not earn any form of money from this. This is just purely for fun.
There was a small sigh that no one in the classroom heard.
Fukiyose looked up from her neatly written notes of today's lesson and onto the blackboard where a bunch of haphazard scribbles written in white chalk outlined the plan for her class' upcoming Christmas party. Even from this distance towards the window, she could feel the chilly bites of winter through her uniform.
The soft sound of chalk stabbing something caught people's attention.
"Alright," said the blue haired boy named Aogami Pierce in front of his classmates. He waved the poor chalk around like a conductor's baton before pointing it directly ahead to no one in particular. He smiled and struck a daring pose for some odd reason, which made Fukiyose sigh once more. "We're going to have a gift exchange event for our party! Each one of us is going to pick a name from a box, and on the day of the party, will give that person we've picked a very exciting present! With that, Mai-san, please bring the box in."
Hearing her queue, a rather quiet and small girl wearing a white headband stood up wordlessly and stepped outside for a moment. The class began making small conversations for a moment until they heard a large squeaking from outside.
"Huff… huff… here you go… huff… Aogami-kun…" said the headband girl as she desperately pushed what looked like a large wooden lottery wheel inside the classroom.
"That's not even a box! And why aren't you helping her, Aogami!" retorted Fukiyose all of a sudden as Aogami looked triumphant on the week's hardship of crafting Fantasy Roulette Wheel Omega. The first and second versions were a failure, but he was finally able to make it work right before the party announcement.
Despite the imposing appearance, the other students didn't pay it any mind. As there were a lot of questions floating around such as who they want to pick and what to give as a present, the classroom was filled with excitement.
"What is going on? Why is everyone looking like they found a lucky charm?" A polite voice caught Fukiyose by surprise. The girl named Himegami Aisa looked at her with an expression as if she had entered some sort of weird game show.
"Oh, that's right, it's your first time celebrating here in Academy City," replied Fukiyose as she rested her elbow on her desk and leaned on her hand with her cheek. "The classes always hold a special event before the holidays. It's not all too extravagant like the Ichihanaransai though."
"I see…" Himegami's eyes began to lit up. "Will we eat a lot of food?"
"Aogami arranged for it so yes," replied Fukiyose plainly and then moved on to a softer voice so that no one could hear. "Although I did all the planning and budgeting… I even took note of everyone's likes and dislikes..."
Fukiyose emanated all the stress that she accumulated in the form of a violet miasma as she started recounting all the intricate and difficult details of her planning as a committee member, as well putting that blue haired class representative in line. Meanwhile, Aogami called his classmates one by one to the front of the lottery wheel where they turned the lever connected to the wooden structure by unnecessary wires and motors.
Fukiyose stood up once she heard the blue member of the idiot trio call her name amidst the crowd of classmates giggling. The sound of the mechanical cogs rotating began as she watched the contraption move. A red ping pong ball rolled out of the hole and into a small basket once the wheel stopped. She picked it up and read the name.
"Hmm... so who did you pick, Fukiyose?" Aogami asked with a grin.
"Why should I tell you?"
"Damn, thought I could catch you off guard." The blue haired boy scratched the back of his head before moving on to the next name.
Fukiyose walked over to her seat and promptly hung her head.
Noticing the gloomy change, Himegami leaned forward and whispered in a quiet voice. "What's wrong?"
Slumped over her desk, Fukiyose looked at her with dead eyes. She turned over the ball in her hand without saying anything, showing the name Aogami Pierce.
"...oh." The girl who would look good in a shrine maiden outfit answered with a delay, mixed with some gloominess. "So… porn mag?"
"There's no way I'll use that as a present!"
"But what else could he want?"
"I... I don't know!"
Oblivious to the two girl's situation, Aogami looked around worriedly. "Huh? Tsuchimikado is still not here? Thought he'd promise that he will be attending today."
Without warning, the classroom door opened with tremendous force and a blonde haired delinquent stepped in all battered as if he had fought an all out war with some underground organization.
"The star of the show has arrived, nyah!" announced the boy named Tsuchimikado for some reason. "Now where is the treasure and the girl?!"
Aogami snickered and pointed towards the outrageous roulette. "There's no guarantee of pulling a girl in this gacha event, friend. No redos too, so there's no point in saving the game right now."
"I see, I see…" nodded Tsuchimikado with a grin, though his clothes were all dirty and he was stumbling all over the place like a drunkard. He started up the roulette and took the ball that came out.
"Who did you get? Is it a beauty?"
"Well, of course."
Aogami stepped in close to see the other boy's reaction and found the face of an arrogant winner who must be taught a lesson.
"Why you dirty bastard! Punishment! Punishment!"
"A god has finally smiled upon this humble person nyah nyah!"
Once the two idiots stopped their fist fight, Aogami, with a bruised left eye, called for another name. "Hmmm…. Is Kami-yan not here?"
"Ah, he couldn't come due to some business. I'll take the name to him if that's alright." Casually, Tsuchimikado went up to the front once more and spinned for a name.
The class ended not long after. The red pavement making up the wide stairway in front of a certain high school was partially covered with pure white snow. It had been shoveled earlier but the gentle snowfall caused some parts to be coated with small portions.
Fukiyose rewrapped her knitted scarf around her neck as her mitten wearing hands found comfort in her coat's pockets. Small puffs of her breath escaped her as she stepped carefully down the steps. From across the street she could see lights and decorations for Christmas. The students, who were exiting the school, carried similar decorations as she could see from their paper bags.
"So, what are you gonna give Aogami?" Tsuchimikado said out of the blue when he reached her, his hawaiian shirt turned into a hawaiian coat.
Fukiyose's cheeks reddened, as red as her nose. "How did you know that?!"
"Aisa-chan told me."
The girl's eyes widened and turned sharp. "Why are you using her first name?"
The sunglasses idiot did not say a word but shrugged and grinned in a wolfish way.
Fukiyose looked away and begun thinking about that ever smiling idiot who she had helped countless times in managing these events. Without her, there would be no order or punctuality in their meetings. However, she did admit that his friendly personality helped the class unite as one. In some way they make a good combination.
Tsuchimikado leaned in close to her ear where her long black hair draped down. "Hey, I know what would make him happy. It's gotta be you asking him out on a date," he whispered.
"What?! What nonsense are you spouting?!" She shuddered back almost too quickly, her eyebrows twitching and cheeks reddening even more.
"I know him better than anyone in our class, and I'm certain he's head over heels for you. Didn't you notice how late he stayed up at night doing those things you requested for the party?"
The Iron Wall girl stepped into the appropriate talking range again when they reached the school gates. "He's just a diligent worker that's all! No way that's a sign that he likes me!"
"Oh?" The sunglasses wearing boy let out a thin smile, his eyes underneath the dark lenses as sharp as a blade and as amused as a toddler. "How about that time when he brought you notes while you were out sick a few days ago?"
"That's just him doing his class rep duties!"
"How about that time when he volunteered to clean the classroom with you when your partner was absent?"
"Again, that's just him being a reliable class rep!"
"How about that time when he steered Kami-yan away from you when you were alone in the classroom on break?"
"E-eh?" Fukiyose stopped in her tracks as she tried to browse her memories of that event. But she could not remember that, at least not from the perspective of Kamijou Touma or Aogami Pierce. She did eat lunch alone one time while the others were out getting props and materials. And she did remember Aogami coming in asking for Komoe-sensei's whereabouts.
"Or that time when he took on jobs that our classmates would have pushed on you."
"Did… did he really do that?" She stared at his eyes looking for a serious answer.
Tsuchimikado's grin vanished as he replied. "Of course he did. I wouldn't be standing here like an idiot with snow falling over my head if he didn't."
"Why are you telling me all this?"
The playful grin came back. "I just thought that watching you two being so indecisive has gotten tiresome. Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have to buy Aisa-chan a present for the gift exchange." And then the idiot dashed off like a jet, leaving the dumbstruck girl standing by the school gate.
The flustered girl was silent. She did not move even when her heart was pounding vigorously. She did not fear if the claims were actually a prank, she feared that they could be the truth.
As time moved forward, the day of the party drew closer. Then, before she herself realized it, the day of the party had arrived.
The same old classroom containing the same old students suddenly looked intimidating. But even so, she was there to face him and give him her present.
"Hm?" The blue haired, hard working, class representative tilted his head questioningly as he noticed the small envelope the Iron Wall girl brought out for him. "Don't tell me these are those boring gift certificates you find in department stores?! I don't even shop at malls, I just order all my stuff online! Fukiyose, will you really crush my dreams of a memorable Christmas present?!"
"Just open it already," replied the girl with an annoyed tone, crossing her arms and looking away, a small hint of embarrassment surfaced.
The boy opened the meager present with a feeling of anticipation. "Coupons?"
"They're coupons for free entry to a cat cafe." Fukiyose replied suddenly. "Don't you like cats?"
"Yeah, I love them a lot!" Aogami let out a beaming smile. "But why are there two?"
The sound of her heart beating started becoming too much to bare. She brushed her hair back over her ears as she desperately tried to avoid eye contact with that bumbling blue idiot.
Noticing the sudden behavior, the boy stiffened and thought if this was just an act. "Hey now, Fukiyose, it's not good tease a boy like that. If you continue acting so cute, I'll read too much into it. If Kami-yan can't break the iron wall, then what chance do I have?"
Fukiyose looked up and stared at him directly, cheeks red as apples. "And what's so wrong with that? If you're not planning on giving that extra coupon, then just throw it already.
With that, the blue haired, friendly idiot smiled and handed it to her. "Wanna go out sometime?"