Chapter 1:
"No. I'm not going to show you my notes so stop asking!"
"Buuu, you're so mean, Yui-chan! Friends are suppose to help each other," Kyouko pouted in response.
Yui was irritated, once again her friend was demanding her notes. She hated having to deal with her apathy, especially this early in the morning.
"Yeah, help! Not do everything for! Why can't you just do the work yourself? You're more than capable," Yui asked, knowing very well the answer.
'I had to meet my deadline for my latest doujinishi,' she said along with her friend in her head. She had heard that excuse so many times before it has now become a staple in her memory.
"If you can work so seriously on those otaku things, then why don't you just transfer your energy to your homework for a change?"
"Because," Kyouko paused. Her mind jumbled through a couple of different excuses. The two continued to walk in silence through the corridor for about a minute with Kyouko bearing a facial expression reflecting deep contemplation.
"Are … are you going to finish that or – "
Kyouko snapped her fingers, interrupting Yui's question. If she was aware that Yui was just speaking then she did not display so.
"I can't do that because if I transfer my energy towards my homework, I won't have any remaining for my doujins! Sacrifices must be made!"
Kyouko gleamed, proud of her own cleverness. Yui could only sigh. It was as good of an excuse of any that her easily excitable friend could have mustered. And Kyouko sighed herself. From experience, she had already guessed that the assignment would not have ended up in her hands. Her mind sorted quickly through several variables trying to determine how this assignment could be completed before it's impending due date. Completing it before class time now would be simply impossible. That was a certainty.
'No, if Yui-chan won't muster over what's rightfully mine,' the blonde thought, 'then I'll have to find someone who will!'
"Don't claim work you didn't do as yours," Yui mumbled, reading her friend's mind.
Kyouko was going to comment on her friend's display of telepathic power, but was distracted by the sudden appearance of a purple-haired girl in her field of vision. It was her friend Suguira Ayano, who appeared busy with some sort of student council work, putting up flyers and the like. Kyouko smirked a little, her problems were solved. Ayano would hand over the homework to her no doubt about it. Yeah, she'll have to deal with a raised voice and a lecture about responsibility, but in the end Ayano always helped her out even though she claimed to be her rival.
Without a word to Yui, Kyouko dashed towards the vice-president. "Ayano!" She yelled out as she propelled herself towards her. Yui, recognizing her friend's agenda, shouted out to her.
"Hey, Kyouko, don't bother her. She seems pre-occupied with something!"
But Yui already knew that this was fruitless. Once Kyouko decided to do something she could not easily be brought under submission. Ayano diverted her focus away from her work and towards the encroaching blonde. "Toshino Kyouko," she said, a little perturbed and somewhat melancholic. Toshino Kyouko was the girl of her dreams. Although she claimed to be her sworn rival, in reality she had been hiding romantic feelings from her for a couple years now. In the recent past, she was trying to take any opportunity to get closer to her crush in an effort to build up more of a coalescence. Presently, this has not been the case. Since Monday, she's been avoiding Kyouko in an effort to dissipate those feelings. Of course, this was no easy feat since irritating others was a genetic attribute of the girl, and she was constantly intruding into her life.
'I know Toshino Kyouko very well now,' Ayano thought, the mentioning of her crush soliciting feelings of want, then confusion, then anger, then sadness all amalgamated in one substantial package of angst. 'The only reason she'd be bothering me this early is probably to copy an assignment that she couldn't be bothered to do herself!'
Ayano had mused over the idea of talking to Kyouko about keeping distance for a few weeks, but couldn't figure out a way to do so that would exonerate her from suspicion. A suspicious Kyouko would be incapable of restraint – she would solicit a confession from her through any means necessary. No, that could not be allowed! Not ever. Not after the weekend incident. Ayano's angst had flared up significantly by the time her crush arrived, but being naturally dignified she managed to regain some composure.
'She doesn't know my situation, and it really doesn't involve her personally,' she thought. 'It would be unfair to get mad at her. I'll politely tell her to stop being around me. With her no longer around, I could possibly fix myself. Or at least begin, too.'
Her intrinsic voice twanged with a tad melancholy on that last thought.
"Look, Toshino Kyouko, whatever it is you're about to say- "
Kyouko interrupted her, probably unconsciously, and without a breath, declared her purpose.
"Hey Ayano, I need your homework! I wasn't able to do mine! I know it was assigned last week and all, but my doujin headline was last night and I had to finish –"
Ayano's face grew red. Not just from being in the presence of her crush as was the norm, but from anger as well. But it was more than just mere irritation; however, no she was enraged. Dealing with Kyouko's inattention, her interruptions, and self-centeredness was taxing for Ayano in most situations, especially this early in the morning. But she was always quick to dismiss those feelings instead replacing them with a sensation of jubilee, one that only comes from being noticed by a crush. But that was precisely the dilemma - the crush itself was the source of her anger and confusion. It wasn't natural, or so she began thinking. Thus, those little Kyouko encounters that she once eagerly awaited for each day had now degenerated into a nightmare.
'If Toshino Kyouko could just go away, then I would be fine! If it wasn't for her I'd be cured,' she thought to herself, Kyouko's words re-entering her conscious mind. The girl had now somehow deviated her monologue into something about her manga or whatever. She listened to every word uttered while trying desperately to think of how to appropriately react in this situation. But she couldn't think. Kyouko's rambling about mangas and animes kept distracting her, a topic which again she knew and cared about very little of even during the best scenarios. Ayano was confused and didn't know how or what to feel anymore. But every word coming out of her crush's mouth now gave her headache.
"So, you see, it was actually Rivalrun in disguise all along, which shocked me! So Mirakurun had to–"
"Shut up," Ayano said. "Ehh," replied Kyouko, going blue from shock. Ayano's words were bitterly said and they struck her through the heart. A deafening silence descended upon the halls of Nanamori Middle School.
"I'm…I'm sorry?"
"I said shut up! Okay? No, I'm not giving you my homework! And no I don't want to hear about your weird otaku stuff! I don't want to see your face today or ever! Just leave me alone!"
And with that, Ayano huffed off. She walked past an approaching Chitose who had bore witness to the whole affair. Kyouko stood there completely dumbfounded. Her eyes were fixed on Ayano walking away. She saw Chitose lip a, 'Sorry,' as she turned to chase after her infuriated friend.
Yui saw how shook up Kyouko was and went to her. "Kyouko-chan," she asked. "Are you okay?"
Kyouko turned her head around, her eyes now a little teary. "Yui-chan, why was Ayano so scary and hurtful just now?" She thrust her head down on her friend's shoulder for support. Yui pat her friend's back in an effort to cheer her up. Her instinct to say that she did, in fact, tell her so was beginning to become manifest; however, and she decided to cave into it, albeit while remaining tactful.
"You shouldn't have been bothering her," she said. "Maybe she just had it up to here with your antics. You do bother her a lot."
Kyouko originally planned to sleep throughout class, but after this morning she just couldn't. She reflected on Yui's words from earlier, and found that there was sense to them.
'Do I really bother Ayano-chan that much?' she thought to herself. She reflected on her past egregiousness: constantly breaking into the student council office without advising her beforehand, taking her puddings, coercing her into handing over assignments, or compelling her to cosplay in crazy outfits. They would all appear irritating from an objective standpoint to be sure. But Kyouko didn't think that any of those really warranted the vile reaction Ayano elicited today. It just didn't reflect the trend. Sure, Ayano would raise her voice at her and express her irritation freely, but she was never that hostile about it. Despite whatever annoyance Ayano conveyed, Kyouko always saw a glimmer of happiness somewhere as if she was secretly enjoying herself but didn't want to admit it. But today her words were so uncharacteristically hurtful.
'I know Ayano. There's something more to this. There's something wrong.'
She took the occasional glance at the girl. Kyouko sat behind her a bit so she couldn't see her face. But she could see that Ayano was looking out the window, not paying attention to the class much.
And Kyouko wondered what she was thinking about.
"Psst. Hey, Kyouko-chan," Yui said, disturbing her train of thought. "It's a note from Chitose. I think it's for you."
Kyouko took the ripped piece of loose-leaf from her friend and unfolded it.
'You want to know what's up with Ayano-chan?' the note read. 'Meet me by the west-wing staircase later and I'll let you know. First floor.'
"I'm feeling a little off about this," Yui said as the pair headed towards the meeting point designated by their white-haired classmate. "I mean, do we really have a right to intrude into Ayano's personal affairs? She never sought out our involvement."
"Chitose-san is offering to tell us," Kyouko countered. "She asked us if we wanted to know."
"Yeah, but does Chitose-san really have a right to let us into her life? I mean, I know they're best friends and all, but-"
"C'mon, Yui-chan! Don't you want to now what's up with her? Maybe we can help her in some way!"
"Yeah, maybe, but –"
"Look, there she is," Kyouko interrupted. Chitose entered their range as the pair approached the stairs. She had her back turned towards them.
"Hey, Chitose-chan," greeted Kyouko.
"Ah, there you are," whispered Chitose as she turned towards them. She urged them with her hands to follow her behind the staircase. The pair complied.
I'm sorry for the security," Chitose said once the group was behind the staircase. "What I'm about to tell you is very personal, so I can't betray Ayano-chan's trust by letting this get out in the open."
"If you're so worried about that then why tell us at all?" asked Yui.
"Well, I guess apart of it is that I'm tired off keeping this all to myself. That initially sounds selfish, I know, but this really is a big burden to bear, so I'll tell you two, but can you promise me that this remains secretive," she asked, using the "the down low" hand gesture to emphasize her point. The two girls nodded.
"And naturally, I can't tell you every detail. You understand."
The two nodded again, and then Chitose told them of the recent dairy incident.
To Be Continued ... Maybe