Tilling Soil

By: Aviantei

Chapter One


It was the first lunch break after summer vacation at True Cross Academy, and the courtyard was filled with students trying to pretend that in less than an hour they would have to go back to their classrooms. There were groups eating lunch, taking naps under trees, a game of Frisbee in action, and even the one student here and there scribbling away at their summer homework that has becoming closer to being overdue by the minute. The heat seemed to bother no one, a reminder of whatever adventures they had gone on while free from school.

Fukui Ayane, free of all other worries, was sitting in the shade of a tree to eat her lunch. Unlike other kids who took the opportunity of living on their own away from their parents to eat whatever they wanted, Ayane's own lunch seemed relatively healthy, at least in comparison to her friends' own food choices.

"So, how was everyone's summer?" Michiko asked, getting the customary question out of the way. She then giggled alongside Yori, whereas Ryouichi just seemed uncomfortable. Ayane only opened up her bottle of water and took a drink as a response. "Okay, fine, I'll start! So the first guy I dated was this total hottie but when he—"

"No one wants to hear about your many failed relationships, Michiko-chan," Ayane said, cutting off the rambling before it could even begin. The rest of the group sighed in relief, and Michiko pouted. Ayane took a drink from her water bottle then smirked. "Now, if you actually stuck with a guy longer than a few days, that's impressive. I think we'd all be interested in hearing a tale about how you resisted the urge to dump the guy for so long."

Michiko paused, needing to count up the days that had transpired over the summer. "Okay, so I didn't date any guy longer than three days," she said, confirming everyone's suspicions. She held up a finger dramatically, sending her dark brown hair flying over her shoulders. "But! That just means none of them were right for me! It's perfectly acceptable! There's no reason to treat me like a criminal for such a thing, Aya-chan!"

Ayane only raised an eyebrow. Such outbursts were normal. "Only three days huh?"

"Yes, and if you would just let me—"

"No way, three days is boring. It's the same story every damn time, and I'm not a fan of repeats. Right, Yori-chan?"

Yori jumped a bit, gave an apologetic look towards Michiko, then nodded. Michiko gave a feigned look of being appalled, but smiled reassuringly a moment later. "Sorry, Michiko-san, but it's true…" Yori said.

"See?" Ayane said, taking another bite out of her lunch. Her next words were muffled by the food that was still in her mouth. "No one wants to hear it, so keep your exploits to yourself." Not even giving Michiko time to retort, Ayane continued, "So what did you get up to Yori-chan?"

"Nothing too exciting, but I did get someone to agree to do the illustrations for my novel for me," Yori said, slightly blushing. Ayane smiled and nodded. Yori was trying to break out as a light novelist, but wanted control over the character designs that would go with it. Since she couldn't draw herself, she had been searching for an artist online to collaborate with.

Ryouichi lit up instantly at this fact, staring down Yori was bright eyes. "That's awesome!" he exclaimed. "Who is it? How are they willing to work with you? When do you think they'll have the concept sketches finished? I can't wait to see them!"

Yori blushed slightly, not used to being the center of attention. She had improved over the past few years at least. When Ayane met her in their second year of middle school she would cry while giving her class introduction just because everyone was watching her. Class presentations were a nightmare.

"Um, I'm sorry, Shirou-kun, I can't remember their username right now," Yori said. "But they do professional commissions and their art is really popular. They said they were really busy lately, but if I was willing to wait for them to read over my drafts they'd be willing to do the designs and insert pages for free. I tried to negotiate price but they insisted so I had to say yes…"

"That just means they really like your work!" Ryouichi was positively beaming at the idea. "If they're a popular artist that just means that they can promote you and help attract readers. You're really lucky that they chose you. It's a great opportunity! Can you send me the link to their work sometime?"

Yori nodded, clutching her melon bread in her hands. "Sure thing." She looked at the rest of the group, trying to think of something to say. "Um, I didn't really do much else over the summer other than write. What about you, Shirou-kun?"

"Same old, same old," the boy drawled. He leaned back, propping himself up on his hands. "I watched and read all the series I was behind on and went and checked out the start of the summer anime season. I went to Comiket, too, which was really exciting this year. I got to talk to a lot of my favorite artists there." Ryouichi grinned. "So what about you, Ayane?"

With everyone's eyes on her again, Ayane sighed. "I practiced for the tennis team and rested up on the days in between," she said. "The coach is brutal, since he says summer is the best time for as to get as much training in as possible. Once we got started I was hardly able to move on my days off." Ryouichi grimaced at the idea, and Ayane laughed. "I have to admit, it works, though. I built up a lot more muscle thanks to it."

Michiko rolled her eyes. "Yes, and I'm sure you needed it," she said, sarcasm rolling into her voice. The girl twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "It's not as if you're the star of the team anyway and won the nationals last year. Couldn't you at least have taken one of those days off and spent it with me? I had some good double dates set up, and it's not like I can take Yori-chan on those with me. No offense, dear."

Yori's face was dyed a bright red as she shook her head back and forth. "None taken," she muttered. "I'm not interested in those sorts of things anyway."

Ayane scoffed. "Like Yori-chan should even get close to the type of guys you like," she commented, earning herself a glare from Michiko. "Besides, I'm done with being your experimental test dummy to help you get through your dates faster by deciding which guy you like or not. It's disgusting watching you make bedroom guys at two guys at the same table, especially when one of them is supposed to be my 'date'." She accentuated the end of the sentence with air quotes, and Ryouichi snickered.

"It's efficient," Michiko stressed. She folded her arms across her chest and pouted. "Besides, I do genuinely try to find guys you'd be interested in. Just because you're a busy athlete doesn't mean you can't find love. Why just the other day I found the cutest—you know what, here." Michiko dug into her phone and started to try and find a picture.

"Not interested," Ayane deadpanned, intentionally looking the other direction. Michiko seemed appalled.

"Don't say that before you even see him." She proceeded to try and show an image on her screen to Ayane, who closed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. "Heavens, darling, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't even think about boys. Come on, just look—"

"Maybe Ayane-san already has someone she likes," Yori suggested. Michiko's jaw dropped, and Ryouichi looked as if he was in a contest to see whose eyebrows could retreat farthest into their hairline. Ayane's eyes snapped open in an instant.

Once she had recovered from the initial shock, Michiko seemed ecstatic. "Oh, darling, I should have known!" she exclaimed. You would have thought she had just been proposed to, she was so excited. "This is explains everything! So, who is he? Are you dating? When did you meet? Did he confess or you? What—?"

"There isn't anyone," Ayane said, trying to scoot out of Michiko's arm reach. Persistently, Michiko followed. Despite her denial, Ayane's face was slowly turning a bright red. Michiko grinned, somehow turning out like a predator. "Come on, don't look at me like that!"

Ryouichi frowned, looking disappointed. "How come you didn't tell me about this?" he asked, sounding hurt. "I thought we were best friends. Aren't we supposed to tell each other everything, even the embarrassing stuff? Hell, I even told you about my last crushes and exactly how I was rejected. It's not fair."

"I—"

"Fukui Ayane, I swear to whatever holy deity takes influence in these situations that if you do not tell me about this boy that I will personally spread the rumor about your crush throughout the school. No one will ever let you down for it until you say who it is, either," Michiko threatened. She paused for a moment, almost looking thoughtful. "Although if it's a girl, I guess that would make a lot of sense. In which case I support you, but I still want to know every last detail."

"It's not a girl!" Ayane shouted, turning several heads in their direction. She was fortunately too flustered to even notice this fact. Yori held a hand up to her mouth but didn't say anything.

Ryouichi snickered. "Michiko-san, Ayane doesn't swing that way," he commented. If anything, Yori blushed more than Ayane, staring down at the empty bento in her lap. "Though I must commend you on the strategy that would make her admit there's even someone in the first place." He looked at Ayane and grinned. "Come on, tell."

Michiko leaned in on one side, and Ryouichi covered the other. Even Yori looked up at her with expectant eyes, peaking up from her lunchbox. Feeling cornered, Ayane heaved a disgusted sigh. "Fine, I'll talk," she grumbled. "But only if you let me finish before you start babbling nonsense, alright?"

Ryouichi called out an excited "Yes!" and shared a high five with Michiko. The two then looked at Ayane with perfect poker faces and nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, Ayane was almost certain that she saw Yori scoot a bit closer to the awkward huddle that was happening.

"Let's get this straight, no one's confessed to anyone, okay?" she said. Michiko looked a bit disappointed. Ayane ignored it. "Basically, before summer break I ended up practicing later than usual. When I was heading back to the dorm there was this punk-looking kid with the headmaster. It looked like he was being shown around the school, so I thought he might be a new student…" Ugh, it was embarrassing to even think about, let alone admit out loud.

"Maybe he's going to transfer in soon," Yori suggested. "It would be rather pointless to transfer in at the end of the semester, don't you think?"

Apparently, Michiko didn't think this was a suitable option. "Oh, it's so tragic!" she exclaimed, pretending to swoon. Or maybe it was serious, one could never be sure. "A love destroyed before it could even begin! Ayane-chan, I'm so sorry that I made you bring up something so terrible; you must be heartbroken!"

Ayane didn't feel like justifying that with a response, so she responded to Yori instead. "Yeah, that's what I thought, but I haven't seen him at all," she said. "Anyone like that would stick out so I thought that it would be easy…"

"Then maybe he's a middle school student and intends to attend here next year?" Yori tried. "Although I don't know how many people would be important enough to be shown around by the Headmaster for something like that… Although in that case he probably has special circumstances…" She frowned, fidgeting with her chopsticks. Ayane remembered that saying that much was probably a big hurtle for her and let it go, sighing as she leaned back.

Michiko gasped. "Oh, an age gap, how scandalous!" she shouted. "Although two years really isn't that bad, but it will make graduating so much more painful!" She fell backward onto the grass, her skirt almost riding up. "Although, I must say, Ayane-chan, I never thought you would be the type to go fall in love at first sight. Oh, it's just perfect! I'm so jealous!"

"It's not like it's love, I just thought he was cute and looked interesting to talk to…" Ayane muttered. For some reason her cheeks still felt warm. "If he's not going to school here, there's no point. And it's not like I can ask the headmaster about some random kid, either… It's better if I just give up, to be honest."

"Some punk kid, huh?" Ryouichi commented, smirking. "Not what I thought you'd go for in the end, but I guess I can see it. Way to go and defy stereotypes, Miss Sports Star, you've done well."

"Oh shut it!"

Ryouichi laughed. Ayane crossed her arms and turned away, not caring if she was pouting. "Oh, come on, I was just teasing. Besides, even if you can't talk to the headmaster, it's not like you can't talk to his daughter and see if she knows anything."

"The headmaster's… daughter?" Yori asked, tilting her head. The other girls seemed to share her confusion, all eyes locking onto the only male in the group. "I didn't know that the headmaster was married to anyone…"

Ryouichi shrugged. "I don't know all the details, but I do know her at least. Margeret Faust-san, she sits next to me in class. She's really smart so she just ends up drawing in her notes all the time. We've talked about art and stuff before. It seems like she has a good relationship with her father, so you could probably ask and see if you could find out anything about this mystery boy of yours."

"You seem to know an awful lot about her for only having talked a few times," Michiko commented. She smirked, the same light of excitement floating in her eyes as when she had cornered Ayane. "Don't tell me that someone's got a crush, Ryou-kun~. Two of my friends falling in love at once! Oh, this is perfect!"

"Ugh, you little liar!" Ayane exclaimed, crushing her now empty bottle of water. She turned on Ryouichi, who winced. "What was all that bullshit about 'I've told you about all the girls I've had crushes on'? You guilt-tripping little weasel!"

"Come on, Ayane, I was getting to it," Ryouichi tried. He put his hands together in prayer in front of his chest. "You can't blame me, you've been busy with tennis practice and—"

"I don't wanna hear it!"

Yori coughed, the small sound enough to get everyone's attention. "If you actually want to talk to her, you should do it soon, Fukui-san," she said. She pointed to the clock tower visible over the other buildings. "There's not much time left in our lunch break and I know you have practice tonight. Isn't it better to do this sooner than later?"

Ayane frowned, dropping her arms to her side. While she had been seconds away from throttling Ryouichi, she supposed that it would have to wait. She glared at her best friend, swearing that she would get revenge on him later.

"Take me to her."


When Ayane was dragged halfway across the courtyard and pointed into the direction of a trio of students not unlike her friends, she wondered just what Ryouichi was thinking. She was just about to ask which of the two girls Margeret was—since neither of them looked like how Ayane had imagined—when Ryouichi spoke up.

"That's her," he whispered, even though they were a suitable distance away. None of the group had even looked up, too involved in their own conversation to even notice the pair that was watching them. Ryouichi must have been really nervous to be so secretive. "Margeret-san's the one with the blue hair."

"Ah," Ayane said in a one syllable response. Looking closer, she realized that the one she had thought was the male in the group was actually a girl. It was a pain, but it was possible to see her curves under the male uniform if you were looking for them. Leave it to Ryouichi to fall for someone like that.

"If you want I can introduce you to her." Ryouichi's cheeks were dusted a light pink. "I'm sure that if you say you know me she'll open right up. Though it might be a little awkward if you just open up the conversation by trying to get school information out of her…"

Ayane waved Ryouichi off, not concerned in the slightest. "Nah, I got this," she said. Ryouichi seemed to deflate at bit, but she didn't have time to worry about that sort of stuff. If time was of the essence, so be it. "I'll meet up with you after practice, okay?"

"Alright…" Ryouichi said. He cast a look over his shoulder in Margeret's direction before heading back to where they had left Michiko and Yori. The poor girl was probably being assaulted by stories of Michiko's dating adventures and needed to be saved. "See you later, Ayane."

"Later, Ryou."

Ayane stared down her target, preparing herself. Even if it was for an embarrassing reason, there was no reason to be intimidated by the prospect of talking to a group of underclassmen. Ayane took a deep breath and took a step forward before she could turn back. "Excuse me," she called, "could I speak to Faust-san for a moment?"

The two other girls looked to Margeret, confused looks on their faces. The girl in question smiled and stood up, dusting grass off her uniform. "Sure, why not," she said, acting way too natural for Ayane's tastes. It was almost unnerving. "I suppose I could spare a little bit of my lunch break to talk to Fukui Ayane-senpai."

"Oh, it's Fukui-senpai!" the girl with brown hair and big tails said, looking excited. "You helped our tennis team win the nationals last year, didn't you? That's really impressive for a first-year member! Since you already know Whiskey, I'll just introduce myself! I'm Haruhana Mocha, and this is Ruma Izona!"

The other girl, Ruma, shook her head. Her orange ponytail swayed with the motion. "How do you even have time to learn about stuff like that?" she muttered. "I'm so busy I can hardly think straight."

"Well, last year we weren't in the Cram School, so it was a lot easier to go to stuff like that, you know? Fukui-senpai is really amazing. I don't know much about tennis, but she really is." Mocha nodded, as it that settled everything. Ruma rolled her eyes.

"What fucking school year were you living?"

"Um, thanks a lot," Ayane said. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't pull off the 'aloof and super cool athlete' vibe. "Thanks for your support. I hope you'll come see us again this year. But who exactly is Whiskey, cause I don't…."

Margeret coughed. When Ayane looked at her, her face was red. "That would be a stupid nickname I have. Please don't get the wrong idea, Senpai," she said. "But you said you wanted to talk, so let's not waste any more time on unnecessary things." She shot a look at Mocha, who pouted.

"That's right!" Ayane exclaimed, realizing that she had forgotten her goal whenever the others had started talking. "This is really important! Super important!"

"So tell me—"

"No, it has to be in private!"

Margeret shifted, an uncomfortable look on her face. "I'm sorry, Senpai, but I'm sure if it's something unbelievable, there's no one more qualified to help you out with the problem than all three of us. So if you would just—"

"Private!"

Ayane latched a hand onto Margeret's arm. The underclassman looked to her friends for help, but they both only gave her helpless smiles. Ayane smirked as Margeret sighed. "Alright, Senpai, we can talk somewhere else if it's that important," the younger girl said. "Wherever you'd like to go, lead the way."

"Perfect," Ayane said. Not letting go, she proceeded to drag Margeret across the courtyard toward the now empty classrooms.

"Good luck!" Mocha called out to her friend. Ruma's laughter was loud enough to follow them as they walked.

"Alright, Senpai, what can I help you with?" Margeret asked once they finally had arrived at a place that Ayane felt was safe. While asking about a student wasn't really a private matter, the older girl still didn't feel like explaining herself where others could easily hear her. Preparing herself, she took another deep breath.

"I wanted to ask about a new student that will be coming here," Ayane said. Her cheeks were already starting to turn red. Get it together! "Or, at least, I think they'll be coming here. It's just that you're the headmaster's daughter so you might know something about them, or maybe could ask for me?" She looked to her underclassman with pleading eyes.

Margeret raised an eyebrow. "You know I can't tell you much, right? I mean, I do know a lot about transfers and such because Vatti talks to me about this kind of stuff, but it's not like I can tell you their life story. Not only do I not know it, it's kind of against the rules to give out stuff like that."

"I just want his name." Ayane felt her mouth start to go dry at the words. She was too eager, right? She shouldn't be speaking so fast over something like this. "Just his name, Faust-san, if you can give it to me. That's all."

Margeret sighed, furrowing her brow in concentration. In the end, she sighed, her reluctance breaking down. Ayane's heart sped up just at the possibility. "Alright, just tell me what you know about him and I'll see what I can do."

Ayane nodded, pulling the memory back up from a little more than a month ago. It should have been blurry, but she had worked hard to keep his image sharp in her mind. "Okay, so he's a bit shorter than the average guy, all his clothes were mismatched and kind of torn up, he has green hair that sticks up like this—" she used her hands to imitate the tongari shape "—and he was eating some kind of snack." Ayane dropped her arms and shrugged. "I know that doesn't really matter, but still. Is that enough, Faust-san?"

Ayane felt proud of herself for being able to remember so much. On the other hand, Margeret had buried her face in her hands, though Ayane couldn't imagine why. "Senpai," she said, her voice muffled, "why exactly do you know want to know about this person?" She looked up from her hands, green eyes almost desperate.

"Um, well…" Ayane poked her fingers together. There was no stopping the rush of color on her face now. "To be honest, I kind of like him, so I was hoping that I could see him again and get to know him better."

Margeret groaned, her face heading straight back into her hands. She was talking more to herself, but Ayane could still hear her. "You gotta be kidding me…" she muttered. "She wants to meet Uncle Amaimon because she has a crush on him?"

Ayane perked up, invading her kohai's one-sided conversation. "Did you say uncle?" she asked. Margeret looked up, embarrassed that she had been overheard. "He looks like he's about our age. Did one of your grandparents remarry or something?"

The younger girl was sent into a flurry of coughs, as if the idea was enough to choke on. When she calmed down, Margeret looked as if she needed to go lie down in the nurse's office. However, since she had finally caught onto a lead, Ayane wasn't about to let her chance slip away.

"Let's just say our family situation is… complicated," Margeret supplied. Ayane bypassed the comment in favor of pressing forward.

"If he's your uncle and he visits your father, that means that you maintain contact with him, right? At least a good enough relationship where you can invite him over without it being too much of a hassle right?" Ayane took a step forward.

Margeret took a step back. "Um, well, you see…"

"In that case you should be able to at least try and get him to meet up with me once. It doesn't even have to be a date. It can be a get-together or something. You have the money for that, Faust-san, so a small party should be nothing."

"No, Senpai, I really can't do that. Uncle lives out of town and was only visiting, so—"

Ayane crossed her arms, unsatisfied with the reasoning. "So then just let me know when he comes back. I'd even bring a housewarming gift. It could look like an accident, I don't care. I really just want to meet him. Is that so hard to ask for?"

Margeret looked like she was about to say several things at once, but she ultimately gave up in favor of letting out a small growl of frustration. Ayane knew she was being unreasonable, but she was stubborn. Being stubborn was what had got her into True Cross Academy, what had made her push forward to win the nationals with the rest of her tennis team. Surely it could be used to meet the guy she was almost certain that she liked.

Once she was done venting her frustrations, Margeret took a deep breath. Her face hardened, and despite being a high school first year, she looked a lot older than that. "I'm sorry, Fukui-senpai, but I really can't introduce you to my uncle," she said. "Even if I did, the situation wouldn't end up the way you're thinking."

Ayane adjusted her stance so that her hands were resting on her hips. "So are you telling me that he's already in a relationship?" she said. If the direct approach wasn't working, she would have to go from a different angle. "You really should have just said that from the start, Faust-san."

Margeret seemed to catch on, providing her own block. "I didn't say it because that's not the case at all."

"Then I see no issue. He's his own person, Faust-san. He should be perfectly capable about the selection of his own romantic interests without your assistance. If you think he's going to reject me, then I'd rather it come from him than you. No matter what you believe he's going to do to me, I can handle myself just fine."

"I'm telling you this because—"

"Do you like someone, Faust-san?" Ayane asked. Margeret visibly blushed at the words, composure lost from a single sentence as her eyes darted to where they could steadfastly observe the tiling on the floor. "I'll take that as a yes. If that's the case, then you can understand how I feel right? I can even find a way to pay you back for helping me since I'll be indebted to you. I may not be perfect but I could even try to help you out with that guy you li—"

Margeret bristled, working herself up into a panic from the looks of it. "No!" she said suddenly, voice shooting up an octave. She covered her mouth with her hands for a moment, moving them away when she was ready to speak. "No, I can't accept that, Senpai, and I can't go through with what you're asking me to do. I'm sorry for being rude but—" the bell rang across the school, signaling the end of lunch period "—I really should be attending class and so should you."

The blue-haired girl strolled out of the classroom, and her upperclassman almost swore she was smirking. Without warning, Ayane connected her foot with the nearby desk. "Dammit!"

She took a deep breath, calming herself. All she needed to do was be stubborn and push forward with everything she had. Any opponent would wear down after time, even if they had the patience of a saint and the stamina of a monster. Ayane found herself smiling despite her defeat as she headed for the doorway.

Just you wait. All I have to do is ask tomorrow. And the day after that. And day after day until you say yes.

Despite the crowd forming in the hallway, Ayane planted her feet, facing the direction she could still see the headmaster's daughter retreating down.

"This isn't over Faust-san! I'm just going to stick around you every day until you agree to introduce me to your uncle! You can count on it! I promise you I'm absolutely serious!"

Her intentions shouted to the school, Ayane turned on her heel and grinned all the way back to the classroom.


Aaand the first chapter of this mess, start.

I kind of feel bad because I'm sure anyone that wanted more AoEx fanfiction from me wanted an expansion of Karma, but that's still in the planning stages. I guess if anything I should have posted Ordinary Life first, but Tilling Soil came out first, so...here it is.

In the middle of all the depressing things I was writing last winter, I decided I needed to write something more comedic, and this was the result. Looking at my plans for the plot now, I'm not sure if it will be funny all the way through, but I'll try my best!

Like with all my works, I enjoy constructive feedback on how to make my writing even better, from big things to little typos! Feel free to drop me a line!

I'm going to be prioritizing a few other projects for now, but the next chapter should probably be within a month. Please look forward to it!


Preview:

"Don't be too hard on her, though, Senpai. Whiskey's just tsundere, so I'm sure she wants to help but is being difficult."

"That just means she got Rin to cook for her today."

"And she just brushes it off like it's not a serious request at all!"

"Practice's over, so go and put all that energy into something else."

"Huh. I thought you guys were all went to some cram school or something, so I expected you all to be top-notch students."

"And I don't see what my Comiket attendance has to do with anything."

"Agh, this sucks!"

"Hell no!"

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