*looks at clock*
TIME!
Chapter 2: Lodging, like hell!
(Shin)
Ah…I'm surprised I made it through half the day of school without falling asleep. I'm an okay student, but that doesn't mean I need to find the lessons fun. I'm usually one to not pay attention till the very last part (which of course, ends in me not knowing everything).
Sometimes I would even fiddle around with a pen, you'd be surprised how things like that can help you pass the time in class. Well…the classes that Taiga gives you anyway. Normally I would just end up dead tired and sleep through class (lunch occasionally).
However, as you know, for those who didn't skip the previous chapter, I couldn't. Why, you may ask? I don't know, something about a blonde haired transfer student which looks-oddly-foreign-but-might-not-be bugging you for half the class time.
Get the picture?
Maybe it's just me, and that I'm easily annoyed. For some reason that girl, Nero something, was really getting on my nerves.
I know it was partially my fault about that crash with her, but man, why'd I have to take in all the blame? I mean, she didn't watch where the hell she went either right? Nero kept going on why I had to 'give a thousand begs for forgiveness.' Seeing as she was still a new kid, I didn't want to give any stupid remarks to stain my reputation, but I did tell her to keep quiet now and then.
I'm honestly surprised Mr Kuzuki didn't notice our little squabbles. However, if there was one thing we actually agreed on in the few hours that we got to 'know' each other, is the fact that…
"Kuzuki looks like an assassin."
Her sister Arturia, on the other hand, was just the plain opposite. She was really, really quiet. From the occasional glances I take, it's not those 'I'm shy' kind of quiet, its kind of like a calming kind of quiet, those that don't usually speak much, but are actually pretty friendly kind. Other than that, I can't say for sure…
Maybe except that the twins were pretty damn book smart. They must've over prepared themselves or something.
Oh well, all that and more just passed, so I guess I'll go enjoy lunch in the student council room.
Whipping my head around the classroom, I noticed that a familiar set of glasses with dark blue hair wasn't here.
"Issei's absent, didn't you listen to Fuji-nee giving roll call?" Shirou said as he dragged his chair beside me, "guess we could stay here. But really, you slept through Fuji-nee's roll call?
"Eh, wasn't really listening, to be honest," I shrugged my shoulders, "so, what's for lunch? Wait…let me guess, your self-made bento?"
"Spot on, Shin."
Unlike Shirou and Shizuka, I'm not really adept at making food, so I just made some sandwiches for myself. I don't exactly have to eat a lot, so it's all good.
"Man, Shirou," I said as I swallowed a bite, "I could sure use some of Archer's cooking right now, that'd make me feel so much better."
"Yeah," he nearly rolled his eyes, something you don't see often, "except he's too busy cooking for everyone else to even come home every other time. I bet he's still in London now…"
Not a real archer, but we're talking about Shirou's brother, Archer Emiya. When we were younger, it seemed that Archer and Shirou always seemed to be fighting forever, but that really just goes to show that they were really close.
If there was one thing I had to describe Archer with, it's that he was and still is a first class chef. I ever once tasted his food. Man, that curry was so good, I thought I'd never have to go anywhere else to eat again…
Well, not until he started becoming famous. I mean come on, he appears on COOKING CHANNELS for crying out loud. Of course, means he has to travel like crazy as well.
Ugh, enough of thinking about Archer. Just the THOUGHT of his food makes me want to kill myself for eating sandwiches.
"Hmm…" Shirou glanced across the classroom, where the twins sat in a corner and ate their lunch, "wonder what their talking about."
"The hell do you care?" I raised a brow at his question.
"Just asking, is all."
I guess they weren't THAT far, I thought as I managed to catch small little bites of stuff that they were chatting about.
"Japan has respectful people, seriously?" Nero almost scoffed, "my first impression definitelty showed me otherwise."
Hey…
"Nero, you shouldn't really be one to comment on that. Throughout half the time we've been here, you were repeatedly testing that boy's patience," Arturia sighed in response to the more talkative twin, "either way, I see no point in pursuing your previous run in with him."
"At the very least I TRIED to communicate!"
"You could have TRIED to do it in a friendlier way, as well," the calmer one interjected.
"Heh," I couldn't help but give a light chuckle, "those two are just like you and Archer."
"Wha-"
"Who's like who?"
I jumped at the sudden voice of Tamamo. The pink haired girl seemed to be carrying more than a single bento with her, which was highly unusual because like I, she doesn't eat much either. She gave us a little wave as she took her seat.
"Hey Tamamo," Shirou greeted her wave back, "what's with the second bento box?"
"Well, it's not a bento. It's actually some omelette rice I tried making from a recipe little Shizu gave me," she turned to me, eyes beaming, "so, Shin, wanna give it a try?"
You'd be surprised how many friends and people I know are good cooks, and Tamamo is another one of them. She says its an essential 'wife skill' that all women should have, but I managed to get a little humour out of it and told her Shirou and Archer were definitely not women.
Eat that anime and manga, I just proved that overly cheerful girls CAN cook.
I thought it was a pretty neat idea to try it out, until Tamamo said, "I can feed it to you."
Obviously, I gave an instantaneous response, "No way, I can feed myself, thank you very much."
"Oh come on, don't be shy," she giggled as she opened the box, allowing the aroma to fill my nose. Gosh! If I had to say one thing, the smell of it told me this dish could rival that of Shirou's.
"Man that is one great smelling omelette rice," Shirou too took in the aroma and stared at it, "you have to teach me how to make that sometime!"
"Sure, sure! Now, Shin my darling, open up~"
Before I could protest, she grabbed a small spoonful (I didn't even see the spoon at first) and shoved it into my mouth. I would start complaining why the hell she did that, but DAMN! This one omelette rice tastes so freaking good.
"Shirou, you should try some if you're gonna learn how to make this. It's awesome!"
"No, its fine," Shirou declined, "I wouldn't want to take the food Tamamo made for you."
"I'm glad you like it, my dear husband," Tamamo squealed a little, "maybe we should get married, then you can eat more than just the cooking."
….
Eh, I think I'll pass. Though it did seem that, with the three of us, I almost, ALMOST forgot the presence of the two girls behind us.
Nor did I notice the one with the red ribbon laughing at me, until Shirou pointed it out that is.
(Shirou)
"And that's it for today!" Fuji-nee closed her book as the final bell rang, "don't forget all about your homework, I'm sure you don't want to suffer this early in the year."
With that little thought in us, she left the classroom, vaguely mumbling something about registration issues. I turned to see Shin and the two new girls packing up their stuff, the thick haired brunette boy walking over to me right after.
"Hey Shirou," he asked as he looked through his text messages, "Shizu says she'll be going out somewhere with her new friends, so I hope it won't piss you off but…could I drop by your place for awhile?"
Strange, why would I get angry at Shin for wanting to stop by, "Yeah, why not? It'd be boring to stay at home by yourself huh?"
"As much as it would weird me out to say it, it is kind of dull."
I chuckled a little as he said that. Shin might find some people quite annoying occasionally, but I know he enjoys the company. As Shin egged me to get out quickly, I couldn't help but notice the little crowd that gathered around the Pendragon twins.
Normally, transfers get a little nervous when crowds start to swarm them, even the most aggressive ones feel slight nervousness. However, the more talkative one, Nero, seemed to kind of enjoy very much the attention she was given while Arturia just seemed to stand by her sister's side.
Well, I guess it's a good change once in awhile.
"Come on Shirou, stop dawdling already," Shin's voice brought me back.
"Ah, sorry about that."
"You better be, now come on before-oh shit."
One of the only reasons why Shin would cut of his sentences so abruptly was probably Shinji Matou had started making his way towards us.
Shinji Matou, one of my friends back in the archery club before I quit, and (somehow) the class president. Ever since then, he's taken over as vice president of the club as well. Most people, Shin included, have something against Shinji and his attitude. Sure he may be a little rough at times, but he's a good guy…sort of.
"Yo, Emiya," Shinji waved casually, "what're you losers still doing here, trying to further embarrass yourselves in front of the new transfers of our class?"
Shinji always acts like that, but I got used to it.
Shin on the other hand, doesn't take Shinji's attitude too well, "Go away, Matou, we don't have time for your crap. Just get out."
"Shin…calm down"
"Shut up, Saeta!" Shinji's response was harsh as well, "I didn't talk to you, now did I? I was speaking to Emiya, so go back to your trash, pea brain.
"You addressed us as losers, with an 'S' at the end, Shinji. Look who's talking about the lack of brain."
"Say that again, you bastard?"
Ah, there they go again. I don't think these two guys ever get enough from yelling and quarrelling every other day, kind of like a routine to me. Still, I think it'd prove better for me to stop them, lest it breaks out into something worse.
"Good gosh! The sound of two certain idiots are certainly drowning out my own."
Nero Pendragon decided to take that moment and move towards the little warzone between Shinji and Shin, pushing through the small crowd around her, "I'm appalled, you have the gall to use such foul language in my presence?"
"What's this, the new transfer trying to act all big and strong," Shinji sneered down at the shorter girl, "I'll have you know, I call the shots around this class, so you better follow my orders or else!"
"Or else what? You won't close that dirty mouth of yours?"
That seemed to leave Shinji in quite a shock. I guess no one, besides Shin, had ever questioned him before.
"Nero, there is no need to further provoke the boy," Arturia tugged at her sister's shoulder, "let's go. We still have some duties to attend to-"
"DON'T IGNORE ME!"
With a sudden raise of voice, Shinji raised his left hand, wanting to teach the new girl a lesson for messing around with him. Damn, I can't let a transfer get hit on their first day of school, that'd just make her impression of all this worse.
But something purely unexpected happened.
The calm and stoic Arturia, none of us knew when, suddenly got in front of her sister and grabbed onto the boy's hand.
"My sister may have been rude," Arturia followed to pin his hand on my table, "but I will not have you laying a finger on her, at least not in such a manner."
"Why you-ACK!"
Shinji's face seemed to twist in pain as the smaller girl's grip tightened around his wrist. I've never seen Shinji in that much pain before, not even when Shin "accidentally" kicked him in the arm that one time in freshman year.
"Wow," Shin whispered to me, "that is one strong girl. I wouldn't want to mess with her."
I could only nod in agreement as Arturia looked up at Shinji, smiling lightly at him, "So, may my sister and I go now?"
"Yes! Please! Just let me go!"
Doing a little bow to both us and Shinji, Arturia released her grip on him and through little hushed speeches, got both her and Nero out of the classroom, as if the incident never happened at all.
"Why that girl, she should show more respect to…Emiya? Hey, EMIYA!"
Sadly, the two of us had left right the moment Shinji turned his back and went in the opposite direction of the two girls.
"Nice way for Shinji to get his retribution, by transfer students," Shin placed his hands behind his head and walked in a lax manner, "why does he got to be such an idiot to everyone he meets? It's like someone fried his circuits. The only reason people look to him is because he has good grades, nothing more or less."
"Yes, yes I get it Shin. You hate the guy with an almost similar name to you," I patted my buddy on the back, "now let's get going, I could teach you a little kendo while we're at it."
Ignoring the previous incident, Shin and I made our way out of class and down the hallway. As we passed by the first year's classroom, I could see Shizuka and a few other girls near the staircase talking and laughing about random things.
"Looks like your sister made some friends already."
"She's got the natural ability to do that," Shin nodded as we changed our shoes, "well, much better than I do anyway."
"Oh don't say that Shin."
"Easy for you to say, Shirou 'superhero' Emiya!"
Our walk back to my place was filled with more idle chatter and useless talk. Well, it was Shin mostly talking about how annoying he different the twins were, though it was mostly about Nero and her rather up stuck attitude she gave him earlier.
He seemed rather…passionate about that topic actually.
"I mean, she's acts like some Roman queen!" Shin didn't seem to want to stop, "oh but Arturia is totally different. She doesn't talk much, but she's got strength to back it up. Then again, Nero looks like she could beat up somebody anytime she wanted."
"Didn't you already go over the exact same part three times?"
"Shirou, you're not the one sitting with in front of a dominatrix."
"I honestly think dominatrix is the wrong word here, actually…"
The conversation ceased as Shin stopped walking for a moment, leaving him lagging behind a little. Before I could ask him what was going on, he slowly turned his head around, as if to check if there was anybody following us.
"Shin, what's up?"
"Somebody's trailing us," he took a step closer to me, "it's not just a feeling, I KNOW there's someone trailing us"
"It could have just been somebody going back on the same path as us you know?
"Highly unlikely."
I'm REALLY unsure how he came to that conclusion, but I guess I'll just leave him be. As we mentioned, the Emiya Residence and Shin's place weren't really very far from school, so we made it to the front gates in no time.
"I don't get how you can stand living in such a big house alone," Shin looked around my place as we entered in together.
"I'm not always alone. Fuji-nee and Sakura do drop by and pay me visits too you know?" I replied, taking of my shoes.
"Sakura…oh Shinji's sister-"
*tap tap*
…
Now, what was THAT?
"Were those footsteps?"
"I TOLD you we were being stalked!"
The voice that came next would totally, and utterly surprise Shin and I. Never would we think that because of this situation that would transpire, our lives would change (drastically or not).
"Stalked? Such a vulgar word to use on maidens such as ourselves! Why, you should be honoured about the proposition we are about to propose."
I got the feeling this is not going to end well.
(Shin)
"Uh-huh…" Shirou nodded as he listened to Nero's story, "so, to summarise what you have just said, you need a place to stay, and that you would have me lodge you two?"
"That is correct," Nero nodded from across the table, "Arturia, what do you think about it?"
"It seems that it's the only way."
Shirou looked really stressed out at what the two girls were saying, and I can totally understand why. Not past an hour ago, it was found that Nero and Arturia had been trailing us for some time already.
Of course, Nero being Nero, barged right in and said, "We require lodging, and you shall provide for us." What could poor Shirou say? Of course he refused! No one in the right mind would go around taking in two random girls into their house!
Ok wait, that didn't sound right.
Being the nice man the Shirou was, he went to prepare some tea for our blonde guests. Gratefully accepting it and sitting themselves around a small dining table (the only one anyway), they began to explain their situation.
"Apparently, there was a slight miscommunication on the teacher's part about where we would stay in the school dormitory. As disdainful as it may sound, we require an area to stay, the streets aside. From our deduction, it does seem that your residence is very close by."
"Wai…wait a second, hold up!" Shirou waved his hands in the air, "are you two really serious about this?"
"Do I look like I have time to jest?" Nero crossed her arms, "and don't treat it like it is some sort of crime. You should be honoured the one such as myself and my sister give you the privilege of living under the same roof as you."
"Although it does seem like one of the only options," Arturia added.
So, yeah, its down to this.
"Well, I do have a guest room," Shirou folded his arms and thought, "but it isn't very big, I'd say about only one person can stay inside there."
More like trying to make excuses, but that could work.
However, that sentence got both Nero and Arturia in a slightly more serious mood. Only one room meant that one could stay, and the other had to go elsewhere. In a foreign country, that would be pretty bad you know.
"I see, that is a problem," Nero nodded, "if I had to choose between myself and Arturia, I would rather have her stay instead of me."
"Nero! Your needs are as important as mine!"
"As are yours to me."
"If Shizu was here…no doubt she would let one of them stay in that extra room…" I mumbled unconsciously.
…
Three pairs of eyes stared down at me.
…
Me and my mouth, seriously.
Damn…I'm sleepy…
Read and Review please
*sleeps*