Ryoma wrenched his gym locker open.
After a practice that seemed like it would never end, he felt like punching each of his senpais in the face. None of them knew when to just shut up. And they were still laughing at him in the locker room as they got ready to go home.
He had said the same thing over and over. Nothing had gone on between him and Sakuno except for a simple conversation. It was a valid argument, Ryoma thought, because they had just talked. The senpais didn't seem to think that way, though. After being pinched, poked and prodded, he was hastily putting on his day clothes and attempting to escape the day that was becoming a real-life nightmare. To think that he had been considering asking the Regulars to come to the stupid party! Although how he'd keep his pride he had no idea...
Ryoma swore under his breath.
Feeling around inside his locker for his backpack, he grabbed one of the straps and tried pulling. It didn't budge. Aside from the huge box of cards he had stuffed into the backpack, it was packed with all of the homework his teachers had given him.
Ryoma pulled again. It moved slightly before flopping back down on the bottom of the locker.
Momo and Eiji, who were changing next to him, started laughing at him. Getting angry, Ryoma put one leg on the side of the locker and pulled with all of his strength.
A couple things happened at once.
The good: the backpack got out of locker.
Ryoma had only a few seconds to slightly congratulate himself.
What he hadn't realized was the fact that his backpack was open. Papers soared through the air. Pencils and erasers clattered to the floor. And lastly, in what seemed like slow motion, the box, with its insecure lid, opened. The cards flew everywhere.
He watched in horror as the Regulars gathered around the mess and began picking cards up.
Ryoma slammed his locker shut, shaking in humiliation and planning on quickly picking up his fallen materials and trying to preserve what little would soon remain of his dignity. He closed his eyes for a second to compose himself and prepare for the inevitable.
Quicker than Ryoma thought, Eiji read a card and burst out. "Mou, O-chibi! Why didn't you invite us to your party?" Oishi patted Eiji on the shoulder, shaking his head.
"Yeah, Echizen. Why didn't you?" Momo asked.
Ryoma chose to ignore their voices. Scooping up some of his papers from the floor, he took them over to his backpack and threw them in.
"Fssh. Because he didn't want you there," Kaidoh muttered.
"YOU WANNA GO, MAMUSHI?" Momo yelled.
The two started a mini-fight. The others just sighed and turned back to what, at present, was their source of entertainment: Ryoma turning as red as a tomato as he began picking up his scattered materials at a faster pace.
Tezuka and Kawamura remained silent, though an almost ominous aura enveloped the two of them.
"I could bring the Super Halloween Deluxe Akazu, and a party would be a great place to collect data." A familiar gleam from Inui's glasses caused most of the Regulars to back as far away from him as possible. Ryoma just cringed and threw what he had gathered into his backpack.
Meanwhile, Fuji was laughing and smiling sadistically, holding the card he had picked up in his hand. "Yes, that sounds delicious. But, Ryoma, please tell us why you didn't invite us. It sounds like so much fun, and the cards! Well, they're just so cute." He emphasized the last word, providing the opening of the dam that Ryoma had been trying to hold to stop his anger.
It was my father's idea, not mine, damn it!
There was a moment in which Ryoma quietly simmered and the rest of the Regulars stared at him. Ryoma lowered his cap and mentally berated himself for the explosion.
Eiji appeared quietly behind Ryoma, who didn't notice his presence until he had him in a headlock.
"Well, then, O-chibi-chan, consider us all invited."
Ryoma just stayed quiet and nodded his head. From the combined motivation of not being suffocated and the fact that they were, after all, his friends, he couldn't help but agree.
A round of laughter and a murmur of agreement rang out through the locker room. After a while, the Regulars filtered out, saying good bye to each other and talking about what costumes they'd wear while Ryoma walked a ways behind them, having stayed a while in the locker room throwing away the remaining cards into the trash can.
Ryoma shook his head. However weird his friends were, they were coming to his party, and he had managed to maintain a small portion of his pride. As he entered his home, Ryoma began to think that maybe, just maybe, the party wouldn't be so miserable after all, even as the loud cries of Nanako yelling "HENTAI!" and chasing Nanjiroh around the dinner table began to sound throughout the house.
Keh...some of this seems a little out-of-character, but maybe that's just me...And yes, I do say 'Keh' in real life, all of you InuYasha fans...
After mentally hitting myself after posting chapters, I finally came across a revelation. Even though my chapters are relatively short compared to most writers', it doesn't matter as long as they are well written and my readers enjoy them. :) So far it seems like everyone is!
How did this sudden change of mind come about? I was reading this one really good InuYasha story, and I saw that the chapters were about as long as mine. I guess sometimes it takes someone else to realize that something you've got is good, too.
Romantics: Awww. That is so sweet.
Tsubomi: -winces.- Ah, crap. I sound all mushy.
Readers: -sadistically grinning- I think our Tsubomi has reached "that age" now.
(A/N: From Bleach, oh yeah! Bleach fanatics might remember it...)
Tsubomi: ...No, it's just that (for once) something that I say actually sounds like a cool little philosophy that you might get out of a fortune cookie.
Readers: -pinch Tsubomi's cheeks- Goochi goochi goo.
Tsubomi: Stop mocking me!
-Tsubomi chases after the herd of readers.-
Er...what else should I say...ummm...I love fortune cookies...and...the end!
Of this chapter! (Did I scare any of you? Probably not.) : D
Til next time,
Tengoku no Tsubomi
