"Why did you want to come here," Shizuka asks quietly. They'd just sat down at an empty table, Kanra waving hello to their sour librarian and leading them to a table near the back. She hadn't asked why they weren't in class, just rolled her eyes and went back to reading a book. It's rather calm around this time of day, slightly chilled in the late winter but still comfortable.
"Obviously so we can begin our lesson." Kanra stands up, disappearing around the maze of shelves to her right and reappearing a few minutes later with three rather heavy looking books. Shizuka starts to stand, about to offer to help her, when she remembers who she's with. She sits back down, trying not to feel guilty when she sees Kanra nearly drop her stack. Why should she help the girl who's done nothing but tease her and mess with her for most of the school year?
Any and all guilt flies out the window when Kanra comes over and dumps them on her head with a dull thud.
"What the hell!?" She gasps, legs jerking to stand up in an rush. Kanra keeps her hands on the books atop Shizuka's head, so they remain balanced.
"Stay still," she instructs. "The first lesson is patience, something that you very much lack."
"What do I need patience for?" Shizuka fights the sudden urge to move her limbs, strong only because she knows she has to keep her balance and not tip the books over. Wasn't the brain a funny thing? Also, a part of her is dying to tip her head to the side and send the books crashing on her petite counterpart, just to spite her.
"Because knowing you, you'll get angry the second some creep is persistent," comes the answer with a huff. Kanra lets go of the books, carefully taking a few steps back with her red eyes trained on her head. She wobbles a little, nervous under such an intense gaze, but thankfully the books don't fall. Kanra finally away once she deems it safe, fetching her phone from where she keeps it hidden in her bra, the weirdo, and pulling out a chair to sit in.
"So? Isn't that good?"
"No, you idiot." Kanra sighs, tucking silcky black locks behind her ear with a small frown. "Boys avoid you because they're scared. We need to change your reputation. That means being calm, at least at first, when the scummy ones come around. Patience is key you know, and it'll help with the other lessons," she finishes, grinning a little at her own intelligence. Little narcissist.
"...I thought you'd be giving me some kind of makeover." Shizuka mumbles, reaching up and pulling the books off her head with a frown. They're not as heavy in her hands as they'd felt on her head, and she sets one of them on a nearby table. She thinks it'll be easier to balance with just the two, and Kanra makes no move to stop her.
"What? Why?" Kanra frowns again, looking up from her phone. She looks genuinely curious, no signs of any tricks, and Shizuka gulps quietly.
"Cause, I thought...never mind." She picks the other two books back up hastily, trying to shove them back on her head in a rush. 'Cause I'm an ugly monster, and you're pretty.' As to be expected they tip and start to fall. She scrambles to grab for one, fingers catching the edges of a few pages from the thick blue book and the pages tear unevenly, leaving scraps of paper in her hand. The books hit the floor with a loud slap against the hardwood, and she freezes when she hears the push of a chair and a click clack of heels coming their way.
"Girls!" The librarian rounds the corner with a glare, red heels clacking and long black hair flowing out behind her. "What did I tell you about fighting in the library?" She's older than the nurse, though you wouldn't believe it with her youthful spirit and well preserved beauty. She glances down at Kanra's cell phone, a subtle look of worry crossing her features.
"What are you looking up," she demands, and Kanra sighs. She holds out her cell, a picture of a man with the head of the bird on screen, from the glimpse Shizuka sees.
"Just studying for the history test on monday." Kanra smiles innocently, and though the Librarian clearly sees right through her, though her shoulders do lose some of their tension.
"You aren't studying Egyptian mythology right now." She crosses her arms, smiling back tightly.
"We are. Right, Shizu-chan?" Kanra glances at her with a grin that suggests she play along, but Shizuka just glares instead.
"Not one student has checked out a book on Egyptian mythology recently, and it's too early to have received the assignment today considering you're here instead of in class," she counters sharply, and Kanra laughs.
"How observant, Namie-sensei," Kanra coos happily, not at all upset at being caught.
"Don't call me that." The librarian bends down to finally collect the fallen books, and Shizuka quickly helps her, that she should have been the one to get them.
"Namie-chan?" Kanra tilts her head with a smile, observing them as they set the books back on the table and Namie collects the torn scraps of paper from Shizuka, who mumbles an apology under her breath.
"No! Address me properly," she demands with an angry frown, the small wrinkles around her eye and mouth becoming more pronounced.
"Namie-sama?" Kanra tries insincerely, grinning wide. "Goodness, I think that's an awfully sadistic request to give a student, don't you thi-"
"Izaya! Please," Namie finally snaps in frustration. Shizuka scowls at the foreign name, a bad feeling curling in her gut just from the sound of it. "Just shut up already." She growls under her breath, turning away to examine the books so she knows where they belong. She sets the damaged blue book aside, along with its missing pieces.
"Izaya?" Kanra questions, and Namie's head snaps up. Her eyes widen a bit, brightening and opening up her lovely face on a look of surprise. 'She's so pretty…' Shizuka thinks to herself, feeling her own cheeks reddening and warming up. She bites her lip, looking away from the attractive older woman.
"...What?" Namie breathes out unsteadily, drawing her attention back, and Shizuka glances at Kanra. The other girl simply looks confused, slightly intrigued,
"You called me Izaya," Kanra reminds her, probably unnecessarily. "Who's he, a lover of yours or something?" She teases, and Namie actually laughs a little.
"Either be quiet or get back to class." She says, gathering the books up with a look that tells them they'd better cooperate. "And it's Yagiri-sensei," She reminds Kanra, walking away to put the books in their proper places.
"You're not a teacher," Kanra calls back, laughing a little. She turns to look at Shizuka, joyful expression and all, and Shizuka again has to avert her gaze lest her still warm cheeks heat up further.
"S-so, um, what now?" She frowns, making her expression drop into one of annoyance. Kanra steps forward, into her space, and she flusters a little. "Wha-"
"These don't suit you." She reaches up to undo her braids, smoothing her wavy messy hair down some before stepping back with a nod. "Your hair is prettiest down. Or maybe in a ponytail," She says thoughtfully, reaching out again but Shizuka backs up with a flustered huff.
"Don't touch me," she says evenly, and Kanra grins back at her.
"As if I want to, beast. But, I did agree to help you, so if you don't mind…"
"Don't touch me!" Shizuka growls when Kanra steps closer again, and the other girl holds her hands up with a matching glare.
"Fine, fine! Have it your way." She rolls her eyes, pulling her phone out. "I suppose we're done for today. Meet me by the gates after class ends, your bodyguard duties start then."
"But we haven't done anything," Shizuka protests, but Kanra is already walking away with a lazy wave. She growls and checks the time, it's 10:45 and time for her next class anyway. Whatever, maybe she'll just stay here and read instead.
'Delinquent girls are only popular in anime.' A little voice reminds her, and she growls back at, but stomps her way to class nonetheless.
"Look at that phone charm, Gudetama! How childish." One girls whispers to another two as they pass by, glancing down subtly at the phone in Shizuka's hand, apparently assuming they're out of earshot.
"Really? I thought he was super popular right now," The second girl smiles wickedly. "If you're seven!" Or maybe they're just bold. Shizuka leans harder against the school gate, trying not to react as she glances down at her phone charm. Gudetama was popular, she'd done a ton of research and the lady at the store said lots of girls her age liked him. Maybe she'd been lying to make a sale...
"I guess a lazy egg does suit her. It even matches her hair!" The third girl pipes up. They all laugh, and Shizuka slams a fist against the metal gate. They jump at the noice, glancing back at her before hurrying off.
Maybe they were just attacking it because they didn't like her.
"Their parents won't let them dye theirs," Someone speaks up, and she glances back to find Kanra standing there. A boy passes by, cute and semi popular, and Kanra steps neatly in his path. He flusters a bit, giving her a nervous and toothy smile.
"Oh, uh, hey Himoto-chan," He greets her eagerly.
"Hello, Aihara-kun. Could you tell me, what do you think of Gudetama?" She asks pleasantly.
"Oh, the lazy egg? I guess he's kind of funny. Why?"
"Oh, well," she shuffles, giving him a shy little grin. "I really like him, and I just wanted to see if we were the same…"
"I love him!" He speaks up quickly, jumping at the bait right away. "I think he's the best, ever!" He eagerly announces, and Kanra's face lights up. She snatches Shizuka's phone out of her hand, holding it up proudly.
"Look at Shizu-chan's phone charm! Suuuuper cute, right? I think it's a rare one." It wasn't.
"Oh gee, yeah that's really cute." He looks to Shizuka and smiles at her, too, as Kanra hands her phone back. "I didn't think you two were friends…" He looks a little puzzled. Everyone has heard of their famous fights, though Kanra has somehow been able to keep her own reputation perfectly intact while Shizuka's has completely gone down the shitter.
"Spread the word." Kanra grabs for Shizuka's hand, waving bye to the curious and flustered boy. "See you later, Aihara-kun!" She winks, then drags Shizuka away.
"What did you do that for," Shizuka questions, glancing back at the school to see the boy talking to one of his friends excitedly, presumably doing just as Kanra instructed. "Why would you do that?"
"I told you I'd get you a boyfriend, right?" Kanra glances back, all cuteness and innocence from before bled out of her and replaced by a mischievous smirk. What a cunning actress. "Trust me, you'll thank me for that."
"We're not friends." As if to remind the brunette of this, she rips her hand out of Kanra's pointedly. "I hate you!"
"I hate you too," Kanra laughs, delighted, and looks ahead again.
"What now?" She stuffs her hands under her scarf, the chill of winter lingering in the air. She really can't wait for spring.
"It's time for you to protect me."
Now that Nooses Around Necks has updated, the second most popular requested fic was For Pities Sake so I suppose I'll work on that and another update for Nooses Around Necks next before I write again for this fic and Our Afterlife together. If you have a different opinion on what you want updated, please let me know :) Thanks guys, your support really means a bunch and the more I hear from you, the more I want to write! Toodles! 3