Sorry!
I know I said I would try to update this story once a week. But, I have a (somewhat) valid excuse, so don't hunt me down just yet!
I ended up getting shingles shortly after I posted the last chapter, and the docs were worried that, because the rash was so close to my eye, I might lose sight in my right eye. So, I was on some intense anti-virals and had to put an ointment in my eye that had the consistency of Neosporin. And let me tell you that Neosporin in the eye is not a very pleasant experience. The whole thing just wasn't a fun time.
Anyway, after I got over that, I wasn't really in the mood to do much of anything; so I didn't. I've finally found my drive again, though, so here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!
(But seriously... who gets shingles at 24 years old?)
Gold Fibre
Project Mayhem: Phase One
...
It's been exactly one week since we were told to pair up for the summer project. During that time, Miura and I shared small conversations here and there. Mostly just greetings and farewells along with a few 'How are you?'s now and then. But, for the most part, nothing about our interpersonal dynamic has changed.
Including today, we have six more days of school before summer break begins. Today was the day the Sensei who had assigned us the project decided to tell us what it would be about; we were to write a short story in a genre of our choosing. The project would be graded on spelling, grammar, and sentence structure, along with presentation. I wasn't looking forward to that last part; I'm not really a big fan of presentations.
A few minutes ago, the Sensei had told us to separate into our groups to start coming up with ideas and a plan for the project. We only had about ten minutes before the next class starts, but I felt like it was going to seem much, much longer.
That's because the moment the Sensei told us to split into our groups, the class erupted in cheers of excitement. Then, as I turned my head to glance at my partner, I saw that she was already on her way to my desk. Taking a nearby chair, she positioned it at the side of my desk and took a seat, her gaze aimed at my face and a slight smile was playing on her lips.
As soon as she sat down, the room fell quiet. I made a quick glance around the classroom, noting the enormous number of shocked expressions pointed in my direction. Even the Sensei seemed a bit surprised.
"So, what's our project gonna be about?" Miura asked, placing her hands on my desk like it was the natural thing to do in this situation. Um, Miura-chan, do you not feel the ominous aura in the classroom right now?
"Um… I don't really have a preference. You?" I say in a bored tone, trying to mask how uncomfortable all of the stares were making me.
"Jeez, I thought this subject was supposed to be your specialty. At least have a favorite genre," she says with a pout.
Turning my attention elsewhere so I'm not staring at the cute expression she's making, I mumble, "I just like to read. I don't really have a favorite type of book, though."
Also, since when did Miura know that Modern Language was one of my specialties?
After not hearing a reply for a few moments, I turn to her only to see her pout has intensified a bit. "Fine, then I'll choose a type of story for us."
"Be my guest."
"Don't complain to me if you don't like my choice," she says in a warning tone.
"Yeah, yeah. I wont."
Just then, Miura adopted a smirk that seemed to say 'Sucker' before she said, "Romance."
At her choice of story genre, I felt my eye twitch a bit. Romance? Seriously? You want to write a romance story with me?
Before I could say anything, though, I turn my attention to the sound of footsteps that are coming towards us at a rather fast pace for inside a classroom. I see Kirito Whatever his name is making his way to my desk. As a side note, he didn't look like he was in the best of moods.
"Yumiko. This guy's your partner?" he said with an almost disgusted tone.
Miura looked at me for a few moments with an unreadable expression before she decided to spare a glance at our unhappy classmate.
"Is that a problem?" she says with a tone of obvious irritation.
"When you told me you already had a partner in mind, I was expecting someone... else. Why don't you come join me and we can write our own romance story. Just the two of us," he says in a smooth tone and with a somewhat lecherous grin on his face. For some reason, that really pissed me off.
Wait a second. I forgot the whole class had stopped their annoying excitement when Miura sat down with me. That means they must have all heard that she wants to write a romance story with me.
...
If I weren't at the pinnacle of lonerism, I might be embarrassed... Just a little bit.
I noticed Miura's jaw clench; she was definitely upset right now. But, before she could say anything, I decided to speak up.
"Oi," I say, gaining her and Kirito's attention. "That's rude to your current partner."
Miura's eyes widened a bit at my statement. What? Am I not allowed to call someone out anymore? Granted, I don't usually get involved in other peoples problems. But, seeing as Miura is my partner, I'm somewhat invested in this situation already.
"Huh? What was that?" Kirito said in a much stronger tone than before. I guess now he's upset as well.
"He said you're being a jerk!" Miura said, whipping her head to glare at our classmate. "Also, I thought I already told you not to call me by my first name," she said in an almost threatening tone.
Yup. This is the Fire Queen I remember from last year.
Kirito, as well as everyone else in the classroom, looked stunned by what just happened. Before the most popular guy in our class could even say anything, Miura turned away from him and said, "If you'll excuse us, we have a project to talk about."
And with that, Kirito awkwardly made his way back to his partner, who didn't look all that happy herself, by the way.
"I was surprised you said something," I heard her say. Looking at her once again, I noticed that all traces of irritation were now gone from her face.
"Well, I can't have him stealing my partner, right? You're the only person in this class who would willingly chose to work with me," I say, feeling a twisted smirk make its way to my face in recognition of how true that statement was.
Miura, who had been looking at me with a thoughtful expression, now turned away with what appeared to be a small frown marring her otherwise beautiful face. For a moment, it looked like she might have wanted to say something, but in the end decided against it.
Noticing that our classmates were actually starting to talk again, the atmosphere began to feel a little less oppressive. Whether they were talking only to try and ignore the small confrontation that just took place, or if they were just gossiping about what had happened, I have no idea. I let out a long sigh.
"What?" I heard Miura say. Now that she was looking at me again, I can see that her frown was replaced by a look of curiosity.
"Ah, it's just that it feels more comfortable in here now," I say, nodding in agreement with myself.
Miura chuckled. "You think the classroom atmosphere is more comfortable after that little episode?"
"It's better than everyone staring at me, at least."
"Oh, I see," she says with a soft smile, "I don't really pay attention to it. You get used to it after a while."
Now it was my turn to chuckle. "Sure, for someone like you. But for someone like me, I don't think I'll ever get used to it."
Quirking a brow, Miura's features began to morph into an almost half sheepish, half irritated expression. "Someone like me?"
"Yeah. Someone popular and attractive," I say, not really thinking about it.
After a few moments of silence along with Miura's deer in headlights expression and the slight coloring of her cheeks, I realized what had just come out of my mouth.
I clear my throat in an attempt to dispel the now awkward atmosphere I had created. "Anyway, why would you want to write a Romance story?" I say, changing the topic.
As she averts her gaze from me, the look in her eyes tells me she's trying to come up with a proper response. "Ah, well... Romance is my favorite genre and since you didn't care, I figured it was a good choice."
"I see," I mumble, not really knowing what else to say.
"So, ah... We should probably meet up somewhere to come up with a plan for this. The next class is about to begin."
"Why can't we just do it before I go to club?" I ask in all seriousness. Are you trying to take away my free time, Miura?
At this, my green eyed classmate once again adopted a pout. I'm almost positive I've seen her pout more in the past week than I did during all of first and second years combined. "No, we need more time than that," she says in a tone that doesn't offer room for any complaint.
I, however, have leveled up since last year. I now have some resistance to this kind of spell thanks to my cute little Kohai.
"It should be fine, right? I mean, all we need to do is come up with a plot and-"
"And what?" she cuts me off, "And you'll do all of the writing?"
I didn't say anything to that. In all honesty, that's how I figured this little 'partnership' was going to go.
"Jeez..." she mumbles, her eyebrows knitted in annoyance. "We need more time because I want to do a good job on this project. I'm not nearly as good in Modern Language as you are, you know."
"So, what's the problem then?"
Her annoyance got an upgrade in that moment as her eyes narrowed at me. "If you do all the work, how am I supposed to improve?"
"Huh?"
Improve? Miura, what are you talking about?
"What, you don't think I would want to get better at academics?"
Before I could say anything else, the next Sensei walked in and told us all to take our seats. Miura stood up and began to move the chair back to where she found it. But, not before saying, "Whatever, Hikio. I'll message you later."
As she was turning to head back to her seat, I could have sworn I saw a frown on her face for the second time today. This one, though, looked quite a bit more painful than the one she showed earlier in our conversation.
Was it something I said?
Also, I had noticed that there were in fact a few groups that had more than one person in them. I suppose Komachi was right. Unfortunately, this left me with some questions that I would rather put in the back of my mind.
...
...
...
After class, Miura seemed to be in quite the hurry, as by the time I turned around from my desk, she was already nowhere to be seen. Now that I think about it, she may have a valid reason to be mad at me. As much as I hate to admit it, I, like everyone else, judge people before I really get to know them. It's a hard thing not to do, you know?
Anyway, she probably felt insulted that I viewed her as someone who didn't care about school. I'll have to talk to her at some point, so I might as well try and think of a good apology. After all, it'll be a very long summer break if I have to do this project with an unhappy Fire Queen by my side.
Making a mental note to have an apology ready before I talk to Miura again, I stand up and set my course for the clubroom. Once there, I opened the door and was greeted by my fellow clubmates, as usual.
"Yahallo, Hikki!"
"Hi, Onii-chan!"
"Hello, Hikigaya-kun."
"Senpai! It's been awhile!"
Yup, everything was normal as I said my, "Yo," and sat down in my designated chair.
Wait a second...
"Isshiki?" I say, looking across the table to see my Kohai sitting next to my sister.
"Hi, Senpai!" Isshiki greets me again with a bright smile.
"H-Hi..." I mumble. Maybe it's because I haven't seen her in almost two weeks, but my normal resistance to her charms seems to need a few repairs. "Where have you been?"
"What's this? Senpai, are you hitting on me? I'm very flattered that you were worried about me while I've been away, but I'm sorry, you'll have to ask again some other time," she said with a slight bow.
This wasn't something new that went on inside the clubroom. Granted, the other three girls didn't see just how often I was 'rejected' by this little fox. But, they've seen it enough to where theyre not all that surprised by it. Komachi just smiled like she normally would while both Yukinoshita and Yuigahama awkwardly looked from me to Isshiki.
"Right. But where were you?"
"Ah! I've been with the Student Council. Some of the school administration dumped a bunch of work on us so I didn't really have the time to stop by," she said with a smile.
"I see," is all I say. Although, if that were the case, I'm a bit surprised that she didn't come to me for help like she normally would. After a brief moment of silence, my sister cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention.
"So, Onii-chan, did you talk to Miura-senpai about your project?" Komachi says with a bit of excitement. She'd been asking me this same question every day since she found out that my blonde classmate would be my partner for the summer project.
"Huh? Miura-senpai and Senpai?" My Kohai says; her smile turning into a look of slight concern.
"Yeah. Yumiko and Hikki are partners for their summer project. I'm doing mine with Hina-chan," Yuigahama said. However, Isshiki didn't seem to really pay all that much attention to her air-headed Senpai.
"Senpai, is this true?"
"Ah, yeah. Miura and I are writing a story together for our summer project," I say, causing my little sister to become even more excited. Isshiki, on the other hand, gained a suspicious look in her eyes.
"What kind of story, Senpai?" my Kohai asks in a scarily calm tone.
What a pain. If I tell them it's a romance story, they'll probably make some sort of commotion (especially my cute little sister). But, at the same time, I don't really want to lie to any of them. I suppose somewhere in the middle wont hurt, right?
"Um, it's going to be a story about the attachment and intrigue between two individuals," I say, trying to bore them into forgetting about it.
"So... a romance story?" Yukinoshita says in a dry, almost annoyed tone. Leave it to the Yukipedia to figure it out that fast.
"Well, I suppose you could call it that," I say, not wanting to admit it like it was a complete loss on my part. But with Yukinoshita's correct inference of my words, I can already sense the other three girls in the room staring holes into my head. Although, Komachi's stare seemed to be more like she was looking through me, almost as if she were daydreaming about something...
"Hikki. That's kind of gross. Making Yumiko do a romance story with you," Yuigahama says as she scoots closer to our club president.
"Oi, she's the one who suggested it!" I say in my defense. "Do you seriously think I would suggest something like that?"
"Hmm, I suppose you have a point. I doubt your rotten mind would be able to conjure up anything that even remotely resembles something romantic," Yukinishita says as she rubs her chin in thought, as if she didn't just insult me on a deep level.
"Ah, I guess you're right," Yuigahama chimes in, looking a bit more at ease than she did mere moments ago. But come on Gahama-chan, that was all you needed to believe me?
With my pride sufficiently wounded for a days work at the clubroom, I was relieved to feel my phone buzzing in my pocket. Pulling it out, I glanced at the notification.
Huh? A message from Yumi- I mean Miura.
[Hikio! Can you meet me at the bridge after you get out of club?]
I was a bit surprised that she would want to meet so soon after I offended her. But, if what she said was true about wanting to do a good job on this project, then it makes sense. It would be better to get to work on this as soon as possible so we have plenty of time to edit and fine-tune it before summer break is over.
[Sure.]
[Great! Message me when you're almost there!]
[Will do.]
Well, at least Miura sends coherent thoughts. Not like a certain pink-haired club mate's nonsensical messages...
Putting my phone back into my pocket, I finally noticed how eerily quiet it had been in the clubroom ever since I took my phone out.
"Senpai."
"Yes?" I say, feeling chills run down my spine as I looked into Isshiki's piercing eyes.
"Who was that?" she asks with a thousand watt smile; and not one of the cute ones either. It was one of the 'What do you think you're doing?' smiles she gives me from time to time.
"It was... Miura," I say, scratching my neck in an attempt to distract myself from this uncomfortable feeling.
"Oh? And what did Miura-senpai want with you?" Isshiki says in a curious tone. However, her scary smile didn't budge a millimeter.
Looking from my Kohai to the other three occupants of the room, I saw that both Yuigahama and Yukinoshita wore oddly concerned expressions. Komachi, though. Komachi had the most ecstatic expression I've seen on her in quite some time.
"She just wanted to meet somewhere so we can start working on our project," I say. No point in trying to ride the silver lining of truth any longer, I suppose.
"Ah, I see," Isshiki said in a neutral tone. "Well, I should head to the Student Council. Bye," she says, offering a wave to the other three girls in the room. As she reached the door, she turned around and looked at me with a small smile on her face. "Bye, Senpai."
"See you later," I say, offering her my own wave of farewell.
...
Is Isshiki mad at me now?
"Anyway... So, Hikki! When are you meeting with Yumiko?" Yuigahama asked, putting on a fake smile in an attempt to brighten the atmosphere after Isshiki's odd exit.
"She wanted to meet after I'm done with club today."
"Ah! Then we'll need to hurry home so you can change. You need to look good for your date with Miura-senpai!" Komachi almost shouted in excitement. Yuigahama and Yukinoshita, though, seemed to have developed a rather gloomy aura.
"Oi, don't go getting those ideas stuck in your head," I say in a gently scolding tone.
After a few more minutes of lite bickering between me and my little sister, the atmosphere began to change once again for the better.
Soon after, we all proceeded to ease into our normal club time routine.
...
...
...
"Onii-chan! Hurry up!"
"Yeah, yeah," I say as I finish buttoning my shirt. I then put on a light jacket and stood in front of the mirror. My bland looking dress shirt was well fitted, as was the jacket I was wearing. Along with a pair of decent pants and some quasi-dress shoes, I suppose I didn't look too bad. But then again, I'm not all that in tune with the fashion world at the moment. After Komachi and I left the school building and headed home, she had convinced me to go home and change instead of just heading straight to my meeting with Miura.
As I let out a sigh, I made my way downstairs to show Komachi the finished product. As I stood in front of her, her eyes scanned every inch of me, as if I were a piece of art at some gallery.
"Not bad, Onii-chan. Not bad at all!" she said in approval, giving me a thumbs up and a big smile. "Okay, now make sure to be nice. Also, make sure you don't say anything rotten. Actually, just don't do anything you normally would!" my little sister says. I can only hope she was teasing me; but, part of me feels that she was being serious...
"For the last time, it's not a date, Komachi," I say for what felt like the hundredth time since the two of us left the club room together.
"Of course it is, Onii-chan!" she says as she gets behind me and starts pushing me to the door. "Now hurry up and meet with her!"
Finding myself pushed out of my own home, I sighed. Komachi, you can be really stubborn sometimes. Considering it would seem I wont be reentering my house without getting chewed out by my adorable sister, I decided to pull out my phone.
[I'll be there in about 10.]
Having informed Miura about my approximate arrival time, I started making my way down the street. Although it's not as quiet as it is during the night time, it's still a rather peaceful street compared to many others in the area. I really hope she didn't want to go to some ridiculous popular youth spot to talk about schoolwork. The Library would be my first choice, but I suppose there are a few other options as well.
Feeling my phone vibrating in my pocket, I fish it out and open up the message app.
[Okay, see you soon!]
Once again putting my phone away, I put my hands in my pockets and continue on my trek.
As I was walking along, a thought popped into my mind: What is the world coming to? Instead of laying down on the couch or in my room playing Vita-chan or reading a book, I'm on my way to spend my evening with Miura Yumiko, the Queen of Sobu High.
So there we have it; Chapter 4!
Once again, I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this out for all of you readers!
With that being said, I wouldn't expect any sooner than bi-weekly updates from now on. However, I will give you chapter 5 by Friday or Saturday as a part of my apology for being absent for so long, but after that it will be every other week.
As usual, if you notice any spelling or grammar errors, please send me a PM so I can fix them.
Thank you so much for reading!
...
-Mystiirious
