I have been wrestling with this fic for forever. Like, forever.
I don't own anything!
Enjoy~
Yumemi took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth.
It smelt like spring.
Her gaze lifted up higher. The trees overlooking the wide road were in full bloom. Yumemi's attention was brought downwards by the sound of her friend's voice. Her short friend had run ahead with an excited squeal at the sight of the blossoming cherry blossoms.
Yumemi smiled and answered her friend. She sped up her walk to catch up.
The two turned a corner and were suddenly joined by numerous other students in similar uniforms, all heading in the same direction. A tall building could be seen in the inbound distance. Yumemi could feel her heart swell in nervous excitement.
A tug at her hand by her friend hastened her walk.
"Ugh! You guys are so late!"
Yumemi put her bag down at her desk. "Actually," she said with a smile, "we're relatively early."
Her dark haired friend spoke up once more, "Well, yeah, but I've been waiting here alone! I don't know anyone else here except you guys."
"Not true," said the shortest girl, "Some girls from our old middle school enrolled here."
"But they're in different classes!"
Yumemi sighed. "I'm sorry, Ichiko. But, Suzume and I can't get here as fast as you since we don't take the bus."
Ichiko puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. Suzume giggled at the taller girl's face and pat the top of her head in condolence.
Yumemi sat in her assigned seat and smiled at her pouting friend once more.
"I can't even sit near you guys since my last name starts with 'O'," Ichiko whined with a groan.
"Yes, but," Suzume started as she took her seat in front of Yumemi, "at least we're together."
Ichiko finally cracked a smile at the small girl's comment.
"Yeah."
"My feet hurt!"
"That's because you kept on fidgeting during the ceremony," Ichiko chided.
"But why did we have to stand?" Suzume whined.
Yumemi giggled at her friend's antics. Finally, she stood from her seat. "I'm going to buy a drink, would you guys like something?" Both girls looked up.
"Juice!"
"Milk tea."
Yumemi nodded and grabbed her coin purse. As she exited the classroom through the front entrance, Ichiko called out after her, "Hurry or the lunch break will be over!"
As soon as the girl left, another person walked in through the back entrance. Immediate squeals and gasps made Suzume and Ichiko turn around to look at the visitor. Girls in the classroom were abuzz.
"Didn't he give a speech during the Entrance Ceremony?"
"Is he the Student Body President?"
"What do you think he's doing here?"
The tall young man seemed to notice the not-so-hushed voices. He quickly ducked down to the nearest students, which happened to be Suzume and Ichiko.
"Excuse me," he said smoothly, "is there, by chance, a Hidaka Yumemi here?"
Yumemi struggled with the two juice containers in her small hands as the tried to open the vending machine's flap for the third drink. Finally, she managed to grab it. All that was left was to grab her change. She fiddled with the three drinks and her wallet, trying to free some fingers to retrieve her coins. She wished that someone would see her and help her, but the vending machine was in such an isolated hallway of the school that she could barely hear the sounds of other students. Yumemi snatched up her coins with a triumphant grunt, but as she put them in her wallet, they broke lose and tumbled to the ground.
The teenager repressed a sigh.
She dropped to her knees, carefully setting down the drinks, and began picking up her coins.
"Are you alright?"
Yumemi spun, her honey locks flailing in the air, and caught the sight of brilliant red.
A tall young man stood, leaning on the wall, with an almost amused smile. His smile wavered, however, when he locked eyes with Yumemi. His face went blank for a moment.
Yumemi continued to stare. This boy looked all-sorts of foreign, but not just the America-type-foreign; he looked like he was straight out of a fantasy novel. Tall, tan, lanky, golden eyes, and brilliant red hair.
That couldn't be school regulation.
The young girl released her breath, not realizing she was holding it, and snapped her eyes away as quickly as possible. "I-I'm fine. Thank you," she said, quickly picking up her last coin. She stood up and grabbed her drinks. She just wanted to shuffle away as soon as possible.
"Wait!"
Yumemi turned around. The boy's amused smile was back, except this time, it looked to be more of a grin.
"Would you mind coming with me?"
"Rui!"
The addressed boy flinched at the loud voice. A sliding door turned his attention away from the papers in his hands. At the door, leaning against the frame, stood his best friend (sometimes he wondered though…) with a wicked grin on his face. That grin always led to no good.
Rui pinched the bridge of his nose. "What are you thinking, Munto?" he asked slowly.
"Did you go the First Years' classroom?"
"I did," he replied with a sigh, "and she wasn't there, so I sugges-"
"No need!"
Munto stepped into the room and turned to the doorway like he was expecting someone to walk in after him. Rui stood from his seat and looked curiously at the doorway. Slowly, a petite figure appeared, head ducked down low.
"He-hello," she said.
Munto turned to Rui, a glint in his eye, as he declared, "I already found her."
Rui looked back and forth between his friend and the small girl, who seemed to be a mix of nervous, embarrassed, and scared. Rui took a small step forward. "Are you Hidaka Yumemi?" he asked as gently as possible. The girl finally looked up, eyes wide and cheeks mildly flushed. Rui thought that she kind of looked like a small animal. A rabbit, perhaps.
"Yes. I-is there something you need?" Yumemi's voice had slowly died down the more she spoke.
"There is," Munto said loudly, making the girl flinch. "Be a part of the student council!"
A heavy silence hung in the room.
"Hu-huh?" Yumemi asked quietly.
Rui quickly stepped around Munto to be face-to-face with the confused girl. "What he means," he began, "is that we would be grateful if you joined the student council as Secretary."
Yumemi blinked slowly. "Huh?" she repeated. "Why?"
Rui opened his mouth and closed it again. He actually didn't know why. He turned to Munto who was casually watching from behind Rui. Finally, Munto stepped forward.
"Because I chose you."
"But," Yumemi interjected quickly, "aren't student council members chosen through a voting process?"
Rui shook his head. "It's a bit different at this school. Only the Student Council President is voted for, then he or she choses the rest of the members."
Yumemi's eyes were darting back and forth between the two. She opened her mouth then closed it, then opened it once more. "...That doesn't explain anything," she said slowly.
Rui let out a small laugh and brought his hand up for a handshake. "Well," he said, "now you have a general idea of how things are done here."
The emerald-eyed girl was still cautiously looking at the older boys. Finally, she took a step back and bowed deeply. She spoke as the boys blinked, "I'm terribly sorry, but I have to decline."
"Hah?" Munto asked taking a step forward.
Conveniently, the school bell, signaling the end of the lunch period, rang. Yumemi took the opportunity to turn and briskly walk out of the room, slowly sliding the door close behind her.
A few moments of silence were followed by a quiet sigh from Rui. He rolled his shoulders back and went back to the desk where he sat at previously. Picking up his forgotten papers, he started reading them carefully again. "You don't have to scowl."
Munto snorted. "I'm not scowling."
Rui didn't say anything else. He signed a paper then grabbed another to his left. "You know," he started, "you never did tell me why you wanted her on the Student Council."
Munto huffed as he ran his fingers through his unruly hair. "Because I know she's a good person," he said after a few seconds.
The seated young man immediately looked up. "What is that-"
He was interrupted when Munto straightened and started making his way out of the room.
"What on earth took you so long?"
"Sorry," Yumemi apologized with a smile, "I saw a girl from our class last year and stopped to talk to her." It wasn't that Yumemi liked to lie to Ichiko, but the dark haired girl was always a bit protective over Yumemi. She didn't need to worry over some strange Student Council President trying to have her join a student council.
Ichiko wanted to say more but the teacher walked into the classroom and she had to scramble to her desk across the room.
Suzume turned around in her seat to face Yumemi. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Yumemi blinked in shock. Her short friend hardly ever used such a serious tone. But, she smiled and replied that she was fine. Suzume smiled and turned around to face the teacher. Yumemi let out an exhausted sigh. Twirling her pencil in her hand, she hoped that the rest of her day would continue without incident.
Yumemi covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.
"And so, we have to go that ice cream shop," Suzume finished with a wide grin.
Ichiko giggled, "Okay, let's head there tod-" She stopped in her tracks. Her friends stopped as well. In front of them, at the front gate of their school, was a small crowd.
"What's going on?" Suzume asked as she got on her tiptoes to try to see.
Ichiko shrugged her shoulders, "Let's just try to get by."
The girls began making their way around the crowd.
"What are you doing here?"
"Where were you this morning?"
"I'm surprised you actually came today!"
"Are you free right now?"
Yumemi could hear a few of the girls' voices from the crowd. Actually, now that she noticed, the entire crowd was made up of girls.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and clamped around Yumemi's wrist. Before she could process anything, she was running. She and her kidnapper ran back into the school grounds. Yumemi could not even begin to process what was happening. She could feel the wind brush against her face and whiz past her ears. For a moment, the sounds around her dulled. She could've sworn she heard Ichiko call her name, but that sounded so far away. Yumemi took a moment to look up at the sky. The clouds sat lazily, unmoving.
The running came to an abrupt stop. Yumemi's face slammed onto a solid shoulder, then she was pulled down to the ground into a squatting position. Yumemi's mind finally caught up and she twisted her wrist in an attempt to pull free from her captor, but the grip on her wrist was like a vice. She decided to take a clear look at who dragged her away.
For the second time that day, Yumemi felt herself engulfed in brilliant red.
"God, you took forever to come out of the school," the low voice said with a groan. "I thought I was going to have to listen to those girls blab on and on."
"I didn't realize that being dragged away against my will was on my agenda today."
Munto almost jumped at the sharp coldness of Yumemi's voice. He turned to look at her, and her emerald eyes were narrowed into slits. If he wasn't holding one of her wrists, he was sure that her arms would have been crossed.
"Why are you doing this to me?" she hissed.
Munto suppressed a laugh bubbling in his throat. He composed himself. "I wanted to talk to you again."
Yumemi's eyebrows scrunched together.
"Look," Munto started, "I just- I didn't get the chance to really talk to you before."
He let go of her wrist.
"Please listen."
Yumemi's shoulders relaxed. She wasn't like Ichiko. She couldn't stay angry for extended periods of time. She sighed and made herself comfortable of the ground. Sure, it was a little weird that they were sitting in the bushes in a fairly isolated part of the school, but what could she do after he used that tone?
"Okay."
Munto smiled at the smaller girl. He plopped down onto the ground. "Well, as you know, I'm the Student Body President."
Yumemi nodded, "And your name is?"
He grinned at her, "Just call me Munto."
It felt a little strange to call a man other than her father or brother so familiarly, but she nodded nonetheless.
"And, I want you to be a part of the Student Council."
Yumemi held up her hand to stop him. "See," she said, "that's what I don't understand. Why me? I'm a First Year, and you don't know me."
For a moment, Munto's eyes seemed to go blank. Before Yumemi could open her mouth again, he was smiling once more.
"I know."
Yumemi raised a blonde eyebrow.
"I know that you'll be great."
Her eyes widened. A blush crept onto her cheeks. She was not expecting her first day of high school to be like this.
"Yumemi!"
The teens in the bushes whipped their heads up toward the approaching voices.
Munto stood up and dusted the dirt off his black school slacks. "It looks like my time is up." He looked down to the wide-eyed girl sitting in the dirt. He let out a small laugh.
Yumemi pouted and stood up. She dusted herself off in a huff.
"I do wish that you'll think about it."
Yumemi made eye contact with Munto. She wanted to tell him no. She wanted to explain to him that she wished to join a school club, not the student council. She wanted to, but he was looking at her so seriously. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she couldn't believe how golden his eyes were.
"Why is your hair red?" she blurted out.
Munto blinked at her.
Yumemi's hand snapped up to her mouth. She hoped that he couldn't tell that she was blushing up to the roots of her hair.
A hearty laugh made Yumemi's eyes scan upwards. Munto was facing away with a hand covering his mouth in an obvious attempt to stifle his laughter. His shoulders shook, and Yumemi watched him curiously. She never thought that she would be so interested in watching a man laugh.
Munto turned back to her. "Well-"
"Ah! I found them."
Two girls made their way around the corner of the school.
"Yumemi!" Ichiko ran up to the girl and grabbed her arm. "Are you okay?"
Suzume tugged softly at Yumemi's sleeve.
After making sure that Yumemi was, unhurt, Ichiko turned to glare at the taller young man. She stepped out and stood in front of Yumemi protectively.
"Who are you?" she spit out. "What do you want with Yumemi?"
Munto raised his hands as a sign of surrender.
"I just wished to talk to her."
"Who are you?" Ichiko repeated harshly.
Munto straightened his back and fixed his school blazer. "I'm the Student Council President." He stuck his chin out in a defiant manner that almost made Yumemi laugh.
Ichiko huffed. "You're lying. The President spoke to the freshmen during the entrance ceremony, and that was not you."
"You're right, that was Rui," Munto replied. "But, he's actually the Vice-President."
Ichiko's eyes narrowed with suspicion.
Yumemi jumped in and grabbed her best friend's arm. "Ichiko, calm down, please."
The taller girl looked at Yumemi with disbelief.
"He's telling the truth."
Ichiko's eyes traveled back and forth between the two. Finally, she sighed and relaxed.
"Fine. Let's go." Tugging Yumemi's arm, she led the blonde girl away with Suzume trailing behind.
They were almost around the corner when Yumemi thought to look back. But, by the time she turned, Munto was gone.
"Are you sure?" Ichiko asked while wrinkling her forehead.
Yumemi nodded with a smile. "I want to wait for you guys."
Ichiko looked toward Suzume for support, but the shorter girl just nodded. Sighing, Ichiko turned back to Yumemi. "Fine," she reluctantly said. "But come to the Track and Field Club if you need me."
"Or the Home Ec Club" Suzume added.
Yumemi nodded with a smile.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the library?" Ichiko asked grabbing her school bag.
"I'd prefer to stay in the classroom."
"Alright."
Ichiko and Suzume grabbed their things and started making their way out of the classroom. Ichiko turned back just at they were at the door.
"Run to me if that pervert shows up!"
Suzume waved and classroom door slid close.
Yumemi was left in silence. She didn't really want to do her homework, but she did want to wait for Suzume and Ichiko to go home with them. Ichiko had track and field practice, but Suzume said her club would only meet for a short while. So, she should not be alone for long. She pulled out her math textbook and notebook. Lazily flipping through pages, she took a deep breath in then let it out and made herself comfortable in her chair.
"Alone this time?"
Yumemi gasped and looked up. She was so absorbed in her homework that she didn't hear anyone walk by the classroom. A quick glance up at the clock above the chalkboard showed that about an hour had passed.
"Yumemi?"
The blonde whipped her head back, realizing that she had ignored the person who called her. "Wh-what are you doing here?" she asked.
A lazy grin rose onto the face of person standing in the hallway. He was leaning on the windowsill of the large windows that gave the classroom a clear view of the empty hallway. Or what was an empty hallway.
"I had some work to finish in the Student Council Room."
Yumemi turned back to her notebook. The math problem that she had been mulling over for the last couple minutes was still unsolved. She twirled her pencil in between her fingertips. She glanced at her red-haired visitor. He was watching her carefully. Yumemi turned back to her math notebook. As she glanced over the numbers, she tried to focus on them instead of the intense beating of her heart.
No, she was not nervous about Munto speaking to her after not having seen or heard from him in three days.
No, she did not have thoughts about him doing those days.
Had it really been that long?
Yumemi took another side-glance and let her gaze linger a bit longer than last time.
He looked different than before. His blazer was missing and his white collared shirt was slightly wrinkled. His tie was loosely hanging and his shocking red hair was pulled back into a tight low ponytail.
He looked so much older than her.
The honey-haired teen tried to focus on her equations, but the blush creeping up her neck was a little too distracting.
"Hey."
Yumemi flinched so hard that the pencil in her hand fell and rolled across her desk.
"Yes?" she squeaked.
"You wanted to know why I dyed my hair right?"
Yumemi's face spun to look at Munto. Her jaw was slightly slack and her eyes were wide. The window where Munto stood was two rows of desks away, but the way her spoke made it seem like he was whispering in her ear.
"Why would you bring that up?"
Munto shrugged and tilted his head. "You asked, didn't you?"
"I," Yumemi stuttered, "I was just wondering why a student council president would have his hair dyed such an alarming color." She was glad that her long hair covered her burning ears.
Munto laughed. "Well, you see, my father is the Head of the Board of Education."
Yumemi's eyebrows shot upwards.
"I guess, you could say that he is in charge of a lot of things around here," Munto continued as he glanced around the classroom.
"I-I didn't know," Yumemi responded, her eyes casting downward.
Munto let out another laugh. "Of course you wouldn't! The only ones who know and actually care are the teachers and the principal. That's why they all tip-toe so carefully around me."
Yumemi's mouth clamped shut. Her eyes were trained directly on Munto. The older boy almost wanted to laugh at her serious expression.
"So, would you like to hear the story?"
The teenage girl didn't say anything. She turned to her math notebook. Her handwriting was carefully neat, but her math problem still sat unanswered.
"I would," she found herself saying aloud.
The sound of the classroom door opening made Yumemi jump. She looked at the door and watched Munto walk in, a large smile on his face. Every step that he took toward Yumemi made her heart thump faster. He arrived at the desk in front of her, Suzume's desk. Pulling out the chair, he haphazardly plopped down. Turning his body, he sat backwards on the chair, lazily leaning his arms on the backrest.
Munto looked directly at Yumemi.
She wasn't sure if she liked that about him or hated it.
"Okay," he said, "I'll tell you the story."
Yumemi swallowed the lump in her throat. "Okay," she breathlessly replied.
Munto opened his mouth and then closed it. His eyebrows scrunched together. He averted his eyes.
Yumemi tilted her head. "Are you alright?"
He laughed. "Yeah. I just-" He took a deep breath. "I don't know how to start."
Yumemi's laugh pierced the silence of the room. Munto watched her with a confused expression. His face only made Yumemi laugh harder.
"S-sorry" she stuttered out between giggles. "It's just that you seemed so ready to share, but you-" She couldn't finish her sentence because the rest was drowned out by her laughs.
Munto smiled, a blush rising on the back of his neck. "Sorry," he said with a laugh.
Yumemi's laughs died down. "I'm so sorry," she said, composing herself. Her eyes sparkled with tears as she looked at Munto once more. How could she have ever felt uncomfortable and nervous with this person?
"Start however you want," she prompted.
Munto gave her a lopsided smile. "Well, I don't want to bore you." He scratched his chin lightly. "Hmm," he hummed.
Putting her chin in her hands, Yumemi leaned forward on her elbows, eager to hear.
"I used to be a delinquent."
Yumemi blinked. "What?" she asked slowly.
Munto let out a bark of laughter. "Hard to imagine, right?"
"Well, I wouldn't say that."
"Hey," he snapped, "that's rude, you know."
Yumemi giggled. Munto couldn't help but laugh as well.
"Yeah," he continued, "In middle school, I hated my controlling father who expected me to be his perfect son. I started acting out." Munto gaze wandered to the windows across the room.
Yumemi watched him carefully.
The red-haired president laughed. "If it wasn't for Rui, I would have been in a lot of terrible situations back then."
"You guys have known each other for a long time?" Yumemi asked.
"Oh yeah," Munto replied enthusiastically. "We've been together since Elementary School."
Yumemi smiled. Munto's excitement had to mean that Rui was truly someone important to him. It made her think of Suzume and Ichiko. Yumemi's eyes welled up a bit without her consent. She hoped Munto wouldn't notice. To her relief, he continued.
"I did a lot of stupid things: got into fights and hung out with the wrong people. My dad started talking about kicking me out of the house if I didn't clean up my act." Munto threw his head with a groan. "Ahhhh. I was such a brat," he whined.
Yumemi stifled her laughs with her hand. "So," she said leaning forward, "what made you clean up?"
Munto slowly looked at Yumemi. He locked eyes with her. His smile melted and he leaned in toward her. His face steadily got closer and closer to hers. Yumemi's cheeks burned red.
"Wh-what?" she stuttered out, leaning back.
Munto didn't move and didn't avert his eyes. It was so quiet that Yumemi feared he would hear her quickly beating heart.
After a moment, Munto leaned back. "I met someone who inspired me to change."
Yumemi blinked.
Munto straightened his back. "When I reached high school, I decided that I would defy my father in a different way." The president's eyes drifted back to the windows. "If I became the Student Body President, I could become a leader that could face off with my father on equal footing." He let out a light laugh. "Pretty selfish reasoning for becoming a Student Body President, huh?"
Yumemi didn't say a thing. She stared directly at Munto. Why wasn't he looking at her anymore?
"But, I still have a little rebel in me," Munto said with a smirk. "So, when I was elected, I dyed my hair red to piss my father off one more time. And Rui, being the idiot that he is, decided to dye his hair blue when I asked him to be my Vice-President." He shook his head as he laughed. "Something about 'not letting me do crazy things by myself'. What a busy-body."
"Do I have to dye my hair if I join?"
Munto whipped his head so fast it hurt. "Yo-you'll join?" he asked standing up.
Yumemi waved her hands in a panic. "I-I didn't say that! I was just wondering." Her cheeks grew warm again.
Munto deflated, plopping back down on his chair. "What?" he said, exasperated. He folded his arms on the backrest of the chair and buried his face.
Yumemi had to fight the urge to touch his flaming hair. It was a surprisingly difficult inner battle.
"Do you really want me as Secretary?"
"Of course," came Munto's muffled response. He lifted his face. "I want you."
Despite the beating of her heart, the ringing in her ears, and the heat expanding across her entire face, Yumemi managed to speak normally, "I wouldn't mind keeping a selfish president in line."
Munto's eyes widened.
"For the good of the student body," Yumemi finished with a grin. "But, I am not dying my hair."
Part 2 to come soon!
Ari, I did it! /cries
I actually thought of finishing it here, but there needs to be a Part 2. So, I hope to see you all soon!
Until next time~
Cheers!