The Blissful Torture of Unrequited Love.

She is truly the creepiest girl I have ever met!

Was she? Well, Kuroki Tomoko was certainly not the most amicable or fairest girl out there. In fact, there was something quite eerie about her overall appearance: Short and sickly frame (Like seriously, she almost looked like an elementary kid or something like that), Dark bags under her eyes (Yoshida had called her a raccoon or something like that), Oily and messy hair (Come on! You are a girl! At least wash it every morning!). The girl looked like some sort of gremlin or imp, waiting to assault the next gullible maiden that dared to step on her way.

But despite this, Emiri Ucchi had to admit Kuroki was somewhat cute... Somewhat.

So long as she has a girl, she seems happy... Disgusting!

Did she? I mean, it seemed like despite being a total and utter creep, there was quite the mob of people around her. Quite the odd group; From Yankees like Yoshida Masaki, to the popular Nemoto Hina. There was also Tamura Yuri but Ucchi knew Tomoko and her were basically the same: Loners at heart. She didn't know how Tanaka Mako fit but then again, she wasn't the weirdest of the bunch: By some strange reason, there was this overly cute girl called Naruse Yu that adored Tomoko... Shocker! Komiyama Kotomi was some sort of Childhood friend but for Ucchi, it seemed like Kotomi actually hated Tomoko... Shocker again!

But despite having these many (And surprisingly) Cute girls around her, it didn't seem like Tomoko harbored any sort of lecherous feelings.

That creep is totally stalking me! I bet she wants to do some really nasty things to me!

But that...

That wasn't true at all.

In fact, it seemed like Tomoko didn't even know Ucchi existed; Just the other day, Tomoko had called her 'Emoji Face'. Whenever they met in the hallways, Tomoko would awkwardly wave at her and leave in a hurry; The longest interaction the had was a short exchange of words: Greetings and the usual formalities before the others intruded in the conversation. And concerning those 'really nasty things', that Naruse Yu seemed the only target Tomoko had. Hell, even Yoshida had more probabilities since Tomoko had (Accidentally) Fondle her a couple of times. But concerning Ucchi, it looked as if all those times she thought Tomoko was looking were just a misunderstanding on Ucchi's part.

Then, if Kuroki truly didn't care about her...

Then, what was Emiri Ucchi to her?

A friend? Unlikely, Ucchi was the one looking for opportunities while Tomoko didn't care at all.

A Classmate? Impossible, they weren't even in the same classroom or shared any subjects.

An Acquaintance? Plausible, but since Tomoko didn't even remember her name, there were slim possibilities.

In reality, they didn't have the slightest relationship; They were just two girls that had been matched during some field trips... And that was it. Sure, Kuroko had gifted her a keychain but Tomoko had also gifted the SAME keychain to a lot of the girls in her group. Sure, they had watched the parade together but it was no different from two strangers doing the same thing. Even that stupid Under-classmate seemed closer to Tomoko than her. Heck, even that Megumi Valedictorian had actually hugged Tomoko during the graduation! All Ucchi had done was watch her from afar and engage in meaningless interactions that were ultimately forgotten, overshadowed by the weirdness of Tomoko's actual friends.

But despite her excuses, Ucchi Emiri knew the bitter truth: She knew why Kuroki Tomoko didn't know she even existed; She knew why Kuroki Tomoko would rather eat with that under-classmate during lunch instead of her; She knew why Kuroki Tomoko prefered her true friends over her; Emiri Ucchi knew why she would always be 'Emoji'.

She was a coward.

Emiri Ucchi had shielded herself with lame excuses and faux delusions; She had denied the truth while Kuroki Tomoko moved further away from her; She had felt content by watching from the distance; She had done a lot of small things instead of facing Tomoko head-on; She had denied her feelings for so long... And now, with only three months left in her last year in high school, it looked like those feelings would forever remain buried inside her heart.

Emiri Ucchi was a coward.

And there was nothing she could do to change it.

"But maybe I can!" Ogino told Ucchi with a wide smile "Come to the empty classroom on the second floor, near the biology laboratory today after classes; I will be giving a special course for students that have yet to fill their career survey!"

"Eh?! B-But miss, I-I think I can manage on my own-"

"Nonsense!" The professor cut her out "Guiding clueless students into the right path is my job-No, it is my calling!" She added getting up and grabbing Ucchi by her shoulder "I will do everything in my power to get you out of this mess! I will not let you down Emiri! And together, we will ride into the bright tomorrow! Believe in the me that believes in you!"

"I-I don't need help! I can do it, I just need more time! How about I do it again and this time, I fill the survey properly!"

"Futile! I can see you are being overwhelmed by something else aside from your studies! It is my intention to help you with your personal problems as we find your place in this world!

"B-But-! I-" Ucchi tried to speak but Ogino was already guiding her out of the office.

"Awesome! I will see you in the afternoon!" The teacher said before she closed the door on Ucchi's face.

And so, the girl was left in front of the door, unable to even process what just happened; A small voice on her head chastized her for being unable to reject Ogino's usual difficult personality, claiming she should have been already used to her erratic behavior. But in all honesty, Ucchi still couldn't figure out how Ogino's stupid head worked: She seemed quite straight-forward, almost borderline idiotic but in more than one occasion, the teacher had surprised her and the rest of the students with her quick wits and wise advice. Of course, Ucchi could count those moments with both of her hands but she had to give the teacher some credit. Even if she was plain annoying.

But what's done it's done; Now, Ucchi would have to go to that stupid course, seminar or whatever and put up with whatever the teacher wanted. She knew to never anger or disobey Ogino; It wasn't as if the teacher would lecture or punish you, blessed be her silly head. But all students knew should they go against Ogino, the teacher would become a major pain in the ass. And nobody wanted that in their lives.

Sighing, Ucchi decided to just forget about Ogino for now and return to her classroom. The break was about to end and she didn't want to get in more troubles; Ogino was more than enough for her or any other student in the whole school... But as the rest of the day passed, Ucchi couldn't help but ponder over what Ogino had said: Apparently, she wasn't the only student that had problems with their career survey. And if memory didn't fail her, Tomoko had been Ogino's target ever since her first year.

And with a painful tinge of hope, Ucchi hoped they would be together during that thing. It would make everything better... But then again, Tomoko wasn't the only victim of Ogino's antics, so Ucchi knew she would also meet the whole gang again. And that would mean she would not have a chance to get close to Tomoko, and since all of Ucchi's friends managed to fill the damn thing, she would be on her own, unable to get close to Tomoko's group until she figured a ridiculous way to get close instead of simply asking.

Emiri Ucchi was a coward.

But it seemed like lady luck had finally smiled upon her sad love story.

When she entered the classroom, she was greeted by a dozen of faces she hadn't seen before... And a bunch of messy, oily hair. Large jade eyes surrounded by dark shadows under them. Porcelain skin and a creepy smile, crowned by a huge pair of headphones as her lecherous thoughts were clearly sparkling all around her. Yep, this was Kuroki Tomoko in her purest state: A complete and disturbing loner.

For the second time, Ucchi was left at the door, unable to even process what just happened: She had expected Yoshida and even Tamura to be assaulted by Ogino; They were equally if not more troublesome than Tomoko. But here she was, at the center of the classroom, looking through her phone as the others ignored her. After a few more seconds, Ucchi looked right and then left. Once she was sure there was nobody she or Tomoko knew, she nodded to herself and walked towards the creepy girl with determination. As she made her way, a few of the students looked at her, curious as to why she was approaching the creepy and disgusting girl in the middle of the room.

After all, and despite her weird way of being, Emiri Ucchi was a beautiful girl in the end.

She stood right by Tomoko's side, the girl in question completely engrossed in whatever she had on her phone, probably something lewd, Ucchi guessed. She then proceeded to sit by her side. After that, she looked at the blackboard while she listened at the sounds around her, the chuckles and whispers of the other students, the sound of paper and pencils, and the giggles of the girl sitting next to her. The seconds passed with nothing changing; The other students had already lost interest and had already returned to whatever they were doing before... Completely ignoring the moment when Ucchi approached Tomoko and pulled off her headphones.

Suddenly, Tomoko's carefree nature morphed into panic. She instinctively hid her phone under the table and curled as much as she could on her chair, trying to make herself even smaller. She tapped around her head, trying to find her headphones and looked around until she finally noticed the girl that had sat next to her without Tomoko even noticing.

"E-Emoj-" Tomoko began, stuttering shyly. She then looked up and found her headphones in Ucchi's hand "W-What are you...?"

"Ucchi" The other girl cut her out, earning a gasp from Tomoko "My name is Emiri Ucchi, not 'Emoji'" The statement made Tomoko shudder lightly and look at her table in shame.

"O-Oh! I... I didn't kn- I mean, I am s-sorry for... You know, for not knowing your... Well, I apologize, Miss Emir-"

"Ucchi" The girl interrupted again, making Tomoko sweat in slight shock.

"W-Wha-?"

"Ucchi" She repeated again, slowly inching closer to Tomoko until Emiri was just a few inches away from Kuroki.

"T-That's a little..." Tomoko began, her eyes darting across the classroom, hoping someone would save her from the predicament but nobody was paying attention. Ucchi was now almost over Tomoko, her cold eyes boring into her own jade ones, staring deep into her soul. Unable to even look away, Tomoko answered her demands "U-Ucchi..." She said softly.

"Yes, Tomoko?" Ucchi said, her cold face replaced with a warm smile "What can I do for you?"

"Uh... M-My h-headphones..." Tomoko managed to say, shyly pointing above her head. Ucchi nodded and softly placed them on Tomoko's head, slightly caressing her hair "T-Thank you, Emi- Ucchi... He, he..." She laughed awkwardly.

"No problem, Tomoko." Ucchi said with another smile "It seems like we got caught by Ogino; Let us get along and survive her idiocy together." She added.

"Oh... Yeah! L-Let us do that!" Tomoko added with a small smile, returning to her phone while she kept an eye on the girl next to her and the warm smile adorning her face.

Ucchi, on the other hand, felt fulfilled and lucky for the first time in weeks. This was far from the countless of meetings she had come up with but it was better than nothing: Tomoko finally knew her name and it seemed like the two of them would be together for one or two hours in Ogino's stupid course, seminar or whatever this was named.

And Emiri Ucchi was planning on taking advantage of every single damn second.