Second chapter on the second day, whoohoo it's like a party! I don't know how long I'll be able to keep this up so enjoy it while you've got it! That said, thanks so much for continuing to the second chapter! It really means a ton to me as the writer.
Also, just to clarify since I only really said it in passing last chapter, yes, Sakuragaoka WAS an all girl school. However, they made the decision to become a coeducational establishment, opening to male applicants as of Yui and co.'s second year. Enough boring stuff. Story time!
Chapter 2: Application
Mana's footsteps became less sure as he ascended the staircase towards his destination: the light music club's designated clubroom. The words of the girl on the rooftop continued to haunt him, despite the fact that he had no intent of singing anyway. His experience with live performances, however, gave him just enough confidence to put one foot in front of the other. Although his efforts do so were half-hearted, Mana found himself in front of the door separating him from his objective. There were voices on the other side, albeit muffled beyond comprehension, indicating that the club's members were within. The boy placed a hand on the knob, steeled himself with a deep breath, and pushed the door open. Five pairs of eyes found him before his words did, and Mana was left floundering, unsure of what to say. A girl of long, dark hair took the initiative to break the silence.
"Are you here to join the club?" she offered. A glint of hope sparked in her eyes, and suddenly the stares of the other four seemed even more intense and discerning.
"Y-yes, I—"
"Rejected!"
It was then that Mana noticed her: a short-haired brunette with wide brown eyes. The same girl from the roof. He hadn't recognized her on stage because of the distance between them. If he had known that girl were a member, he would not have bothered to come. Mana took a submissive step backwards. Perhaps, he feared, he had no place in Sakuragaokoa's light music club after all.
"Yui! What the heck are you saying?" The words came from a girl with slightly blonder hair, a headband pinning back her bangs.
"Did you understand properly? He said he wants to join!" A smaller girl, her raven hair contained in a way that it cascaded from either side of her head.
"Weren't you just saying that you hoped someone would come?" A refined girl with a mane of gold framing her gentle face.
"This isn't like you at all! What's gotten into you?" The girl who first addressed Mana.
"I met him earlier!" the girl who had been addressed as Yui explained, folding her arms across her chest indignantly. "He's a monster! He tried to hurt me!" Silence pervaded for a brief moment, broken suddenly by a simultaneous cry of disbelief as the four girls turned eyes full of suspicion on the boy.
Mana quickly evaluated his position. While he did not like the idea of walking away from the light music club, he would do so for the sake of avoiding conflict. Argument and resistance were not among his areas of expertise. Starting the school year with a reputation for hurting girls, however, was not something that he would accept so easily.
"That's not what—" He reconsidered his words. "I wasn't trying to hurt her. I don't even know how I hurt her!"
"That's a good point," the older of the two black-haired girls levelly remarked. "Yui, how exactly did he hurt you?" Yui took a nearby guitar into her arms and cradled it in her lap.
"I don't know," she admitted in a mumble. "But it would be bad if he did it again and someone else got hurt too!"
"It doesn't look like you're wounded at all, though," the blonde girl observed, raising a delicate hand thoughtfully to her face. "He's the only person that's come by, so can't you forgive him?"
"That's right! Besides, if it turns out that he's trying to hurt someone, we can just kick him out!" the headbanded girl proposed.
Regardless of the arguments against her, Yui still objected, "No! Gitah still doesn't trust him, so neither do I!" She hugged the guitar tightly.
"Senpai, please don't decide such important matters based on the opinions of inanimate objects," the ponytailed girl implored quietly.
"Anyway," the girl sporting the headband placed her hands firmly on her hips, "what it comes down to is that I'm the president of the light music club, and I say—"
Mana had quietly watched the exchange thus far but decided now to interrupt, "No. It's not fair to force her with authority." He withdrew a few steps into the hallway, his best smile on his lips. "We won't be able to work together well if she hates me so much anyway, so please just forget I came by at all. Sorry for wasting your time." He turned, ignoring the girls' protests, and left the way he came. The corners of his polite smile pulled into a grimace as he departed. He had hoped that by joining the light music club he could retain at least that much of his former life, perhaps even forget that he had transferred at all, but it was not to be. His friends, his place, his sanctuary were gone, and it seemed fate did not will their return.
It'll be fine, he assured himself as he descended the stairs to the first floor. No one goes through all their classes without ever making a single friend. It'll work out somehow. His experience in middle school, however, proved this hope false, and his pace slowed to a stop on the landing separating the two flights of stairs. His unconscious thoughts stole his voice.
"I hate it," he mumbled, his tone gaining intensity as he continued. "I hate it here! I never should have agreed to transfer! I want to go back!" He was both surprised and embarrassed to feel the heat of tears on his face and instinctively looked to be sure no one had seen as he brushed them away as nonchalantly as he could manage. When he looked behind himself, however, he noticed the younger of the two dark-haired girls standing on the staircase, holding a sheet of paper daintily in her small hands. Unsure of how to react to her presence, he ceded the first move to her.
"We made Yui-senpai explain it more clearly after you left," she said as she closed the distance between the two. Her demeanor was mild and soothing, as if she were speaking to a frightened child. "Something to do with a song, or… Well, to be honest, we're still not exactly sure what happened, but it's at least clear that she was overreacting. And since Yui-senpai adjusts to people easily, I wouldn't be too worried about it." She offered the paper to Mana, and a passing glance identified it as an application to join the light music club. "I'm really sorry about all of this. We really would like you to join. I know your first impression isn't that great, but won't you at least consider it?"
Mana eyed the application hesitantly before accepting it. The girl smiled in thanks and turned to head back to the clubroom.
"Wait," Mana called. She arced her neck to meet his gaze. "Would it be all right if I asked your name?" Her smile brightened.
"There'll be plenty of time for introductions at the next meeting."
And second chapter complete! Actually, this chapter should have been posted last night, but in the end I decided to completely rewrite several sections. Mana's inferiority complex is adorable and all, but I had portrayed him as too much of a pansy even more my tastes. Well, rest assured that he'll get better as time goes on.
I have some splainin' to do on the subject of Japanese honorifics. I've been debating whether or not to use them since before I'd even finished planning out Mana's character. I really hate needlessly mixing languages in my writing, but what it comes down to is that the honorifics are very nearly necessary to illustrating the relationships the characters have with one another, such as in the cases of Ricchan vs. Tainaka-san. The addition of a male character to the cast makes these differences in address even more important, so I've grudgingly opted to keep them.
Another problem I've run into is that in avoiding giving a physical description of Mana too early, I've kind of cornered myself. At this point it would be awkward to offer a full description when we're already getting to know his personality, but if I wait too long it will be even more awkward. So, in an effort to get myself out from between this rock and hard place, I'll be looking for opportunities to nonchalantly insert Mana's physical characteristics. Strike two on my lack of foresight.
And for one last note, those of you who may or may not be concerned about the possibility of ManaxAzusa because of that last scene, no worries. It was just kindness on Azusa's part, nothing more. I can imagine neither Azusa nor Mana in a relationship, let alone with each other.
I kind of worry that having so much to clarify at the end bodes poorly for my abilities as a writer, but I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing for now... Those of you reading these words right now, thanks so much for making it all the way to the end of the chapter! As always I'm extremely open to any kind of feedback, so I do hope you'll review. But even more than that, I hope to see you at chapter 3! Yay!