Remember in my new KaguMoko fic where I said something about a KogaSana school story? Well, that's not happening. I've written that pairing too many damn times already (since when is two too much, and doesn't that mean I've also done too much KaguMoko?) and I like my portrayals for both Nue and Kogasa, not to mention that I've never done a KogaNue fic.
This one in particular is off to a nice start, if not a tad choppy at some points in the chapter. For the most part, I'm going to be focusing on this "school story" series I have going, and if anybody can think of other pairings they'd like to see in a school setting like this, don't hesitate to say something. A MariAri fic is certainly happening at some point, so don't bother saying probably the most popular Marisa pairing ever.
"Now then," the teacher said, standing next to a new student. "We have a new student. Go on, introduce yourself."
"Um…"
"Don't be shy. Tell the class who you are."
"…h-hello," the new girl said, looking nervously at a whole classroom full of desks. The only empty seat in the room was in the far back, between a window and a girl who looked like she was up to no good judging by her posture. The girl next to the empty seat - no doubt where this new student would be placed - slouched in her seat and didn't look like she was paying that much attention. "M-My name's…"
"We don't have all day," the troublemaker-looking girl in the back said. "We all had to do this little ritual as well, so get on with it."
I'm going to sit next to her? I don't like this…
"Be quiet, Houjuu," the teacher said. "She's probably scared out of her skin. I've been told that she hasn't been to a public school in a very long time, being home schooled up until just now."
"Oh yeah? Hey, new girl, where do you live? I'd like to meet your old teacher~"
"Hush!"
"Fine," the girl labeled as just Houjuu bitterly said.
"My name's…Kogasa Tatara," the new girl finally said. A lot of people started saying things. Some of them were staring straight into her eyes, probably trying to figure out why the one on the right could be such a bright sky blue, and the other such a bright bloody red. Kogasa didn't really blame them; if she saw somebody with eyes like hers, she'd probably be even more straightforward and outright ask them "What happened to your eye?" Actually, Kogasa was pretty sure she heard some people ask their friends that exact question. Other phrases Kogasa heard included "She's cute," "She doesn't look like she was home schooled," and "I wouldn't mind showing her around~"
"Tell us a little bit about yourself, Kogasa," the teacher happily said.
"W-Well, for starters, I do want to say one thing…I'm actually a boy."
SHOCK!
"…"
"…so you're a cross-dresser," the Houjuu girl in the back said. "I'm not sure where you're from, but you're in Tohohana now. If you want to surprise us, you'd have to pretty much drop your skirt and panties and flash your business right in everybody's eyes."
"…"
Not long after; principal's office…
"Let me get this straight," the principal said, still rather unable to believe he was hearing things correctly. "You dropped your skirt and panties, and flashed your business right in everybody's eyes?"
"…y-yes, sir," Kogasa said, feeling a massive wave of guilt, nausea, and embarrassment fill her up from head to toe. "Which, um, brings me to why she's here with me," the new student continued, pointing to the Houjuu girl next to her. Along the way, somebody had called her Nue. Nue Houjuu, then. "It was her that gave me the idea."
"You little snitch," Nue exclaimed.
"See, ever since I was a baby, I've always enjoyed surprising people, and it became part of my nature when I started going to school. Only, lots of people didn't like it, and lots of times I got beat up, so I was home schooled because of it. Now that I'm in a public school again…"
"I get it," Nue said. "She couldn't resist her urge to surprise somebody, and took a suggestion the moment it presented itself without taking the time to think it over. Even if it was instinctual and subconscious, though, that doesn't change that she got in a big heap of trouble, and that giving people ideas isn't a school offense."
"Somebody as bright as you should have better grades," the principal said, looking straight at Nue. "It's such a waste that you don't even try. However, your inappropriate statement is just as much an offense as what Kogasa here did because of it. Therefore, I'm putting the two of you in detention for the remainder of the day and for two hours afterwards."
"That's crazy," Nue protested. "How come I have to go too?"
"I thought I just explained that."
"Tch. Way to go, new girl."
Six (?) hours later; detention…
"…"
"Hm…h-hey, I'm-"
"Quiet," Nue snapped. "You got me in a big heap of trouble because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. If you were about to say what I think you were - oh, let's be friends - I should warn you that you're making a shitty first impression. Goody two-shoes girls like you just get on my nerves and make want to kick somebody in the face."
"Oh, then they'd see your panties! Ha-ha…ha…"
"…" Ka-POW!
"I can see your panties," Kogasa weakly squeaked, just moments before falling right out of her seat and onto the floor with a face covered in blood.
Right back to the office…
"Twice in one day? That's a new record," the principal said, looking over the contents of one binder or another with important stuff inside it, probably. "Even for you, Nue. Now, if I'm hearing this right, you kicked Kogasa square in the nose." That was actually leagues more believable than the last story. The ice pack being held against Kogasa's nose kind of helped that notion a little bit. "…I don't know what to do with you. I'm extending your detention by another hour today, and you'll be in there for the whole school day plus three hours every day for the next two weeks. Is that-"
"Wait," Kogasa exclaimed. "Don't do it."
"Hm?"
"Don't punish Nue. It's not her fault."
"…" Now the eyes of both the principal and Nue were looking right at Kogasa. The principal seemed curious, and Nue seemed…happy? Overwhelmed? Awe-struck? Probably a combination of all three. Kogasa's first impression was a lousy one in Nue's eyes, but now that she was making a second impression…it didn't seem like Kogasa was too bad after all. "Please explain," Nue said. "Why's this not my fault?"
"B-Because…Nue never really kicked me. We were going to the bathroom, and I slipped on a wet floor and slammed my face on the counter. It hurt a lot, and I was crying lots before Nue ran to grab me an ice pack, but if I take it easy, I should be alright by the time I leave."
"…" She's standing up for me? After I got her detention and kicked her in the face just a few hours later? If I were in her shoes, and she were in mine, I'd probably try to get her suspended for a few days, or even expelled if I cried hard enough. But she's trying to get me out of trouble…I don't get it.
"Is this true, Nue?" Now the eyes of the principal moved over to Nue. "Is that really what happened?"
"…yes, sir," Nue said. "I just had to wash my face up a little, and the detention teacher said I had to take Kogasa with me. When she slipped, my first reaction was to run as fast as I could to get an ice pack, then I cleaned up the water on the floor and the blood on the counter. I get why you heard that I kicked her, though. After all, she ratted me out earlier today, and my grudges are infamous in this school. I guess everybody has at least a little good in them," Nue concluded, looking over to Kogasa a little as she finished her statement. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to take Kogasa home."
"We'll call her parents to pick her up," the principal said, reaching for the phone.
"Wait!"
"What's wrong, Kogasa?"
"They, u-um…don't have a car. I walk to school every day."
"I should at least call-"
"We don't have a phone, either. I-I mean, we did, but we all shared a cell phone and I lost it at a store the other day, and somebody else picked it up and stole it by the time I found out where I lost it."
"Then we should call it."
"You've got a pretty weak story," Nue whispered to Kogasa. "Lemme guess; you and your folks don't really have a phone, but you don't want the principal to know?"
"Yeah," Kogasa whispered back.
"I need you to tell me the number," the principal said to Kogasa. "It would be a good way to find your stolen phone."
"Like that would work, sir," Nue said, sounding a little amused that he'd actually try that. "I've stolen phones before - I got suspended for it once if you recall - and when you steal somebody's phone, the very first thing you're supposed to do is change everything about that phone until you can't even tell the last person owned it. Change the number, buy a new cover, delete every image and ringtone the thing has and replace them with your own, and the instant you think somebody's onto you, destroy the phone. Call if you want, but it's not going to work."
"…then I'll need your address," the principal said. "I'll drive you home personally."
"O-Oh, we moved," Kogasa said nervously. "Between the day that we filled out the paperwork and my first day here, we moved. We were already packing then, you see. That address there isn't where I live anymore."
"Then what's your new address?"
"You can't expect her to know that so soon after moving," Nue said. "What person memorizes their address so soon after moving? Would it be okay if she wrote it down when she got home and delivered it to you tomorrow?"
"I suppose…but we can't let her just leave here alone. No telling what kind of trouble that could start."
"I'll walk her home," Nue promised. "If I'm not back here before the school day's over, you can extend my detention however long you want, and even suspend or expel me if you want, and I'll even leave my bag as collateral." The principal looked pretty skeptical. He had every reason to, of course. Nue, offering to help somebody else? For the whole of her three years here, Nue had proven to be a violent, aggressive, trouble-causing, badmouthing, selfish, ignorant, problematic student with a criminal record since before she came to this school. Not once in her time here had Nue done anything to benefit anybody but herself, but her offer sounded pretty foolproof. Even she would have trouble getting out of this one, should her plan have included ditching school.
"…I accept your offer," the principal said, grabbing the bag that sat next to Nue's seat in the room. It was a school-assigned one, just like Kogasa's and those of most students here. With the bag safely on the principal's side of the desk, he said "You two can go. Nue, I expect to see you here within the next ninety minutes."
"You've got it."
"Or you're suspended out of school for two weeks."
"Understood." With that, Nue helped Kogasa out of her seat, and stepped out of the office. When the two were safely off of school grounds, Nue would have to make certain to thank Kogasa for not ratting her out again, and apologize for kicking her face. "How's your ice pack?"
"Cold," Kogasa commented.
"Good." Once the duo stepped out of the school's front door, Nue asked "Do you want me to carry that bag for you?"
"Thank you, Nue. It's heavier than I remember."
"I'd imagine," the black-haired girl slyly said as she slung the bag over her shoulder.
15 minutes later; Tohohana park…
"Your place is pretty out of the way," Nue commented. "And last I checked, everything past here is business; all the houses are clear the other way. Oh, are you getting thirsty?"
"A little…"
"Here," Nue said, fishing into the bag she'd taken from Kogasa's shoulders earlier, and pulling out two bottles of water. After handing one to Kogasa, she said "Thanks, by the way. For not ratting me out. And…I'm sorry I kicked you."
"And I'm sorry for getting you in trouble in the first place…hey, wait a minute!"
"Yeah?"
"My bag was empty!"
"Oh, it was empty? Cool. I would've felt bad if you had some personal thing in there you didn't want anybody knowing about, like an old teddy bear or something."
Principal's office, one last time…
"This actually feels kind of light…like it's empty." Just to confirm it with himself, the man flipped the bag open, and…absolutely nothing in the bag, but a single label.
Grade 11, Class C, Tatara Kogasa, it read. "…"
Nue, you little fiend!
I think I said that once before…
Regardless, all my school stories are taking place in an imaginary town called Tohohana, which has a far better summary in my KaguMoko fic. It's like, if Japan was New York, you know how NYC has Chinatown? Tohohana is like Japan's America-town. Make a bit more sense like that?
Also, other pairings I plan on writing in this odd school setting include…
AyaMiji, ReiSana, RemiSaku, and others. None of these are certain, of course. If you feel like seeing a certain pairing, see what school uniform images you can dig up, send them my way, and I'll see what happens. If you can't find an image with the two together, on the other hand, just find one each of each paired character you want to see :D just remember, I'm trying to only use each character ONCE