Chapter Four

Arguing Peers

"Rin!" Aoki called cheerily, attacking the blonde and linking arms with her. She giggled and looked up at Rin with a smile. Aoki was a delicate, dainty girl, and she still remained a few inches shorter than Rin's five foot one inch. Rin was used to having everyone be taller than her, other than Neru, so it was still a shock every time she noticed the girl's height. "I can't believe it! This is the first time my friends'll get to meet you! I'm so excited!"

"Yeah," Rin mumbled half-heartedly, smiling delicately. She was a little afraid to meet Aoki's friends. She already had enough trouble remembering information about the friends she currently had. Adding more to remember definitely wouldn't help.

"Wait till you meet Lui," she giggled, her face red with excitement. "He'd totally fit in with your gang. You'll see what I mean." She put a finger to his lip in contemplation. "In retrospect, Cul might, too." Then, Aoki laughed and stuck out her tongue playfully. "Just kidding. We joke about it, but it's not really true. Cul's got a boyfriend, after all. Or, at least, she says she does. We're not really sure since she says he lives in America. Weird name, too. I can't even pronounce it. Aru–Arrrr–Al! Ahaha, I got it!" She laughed cheerily. "Yeah, my English isn't very good. Yours is, though. You spoke it fluently with that guy on the train. Where'd you learn it?"

"My friend Iroha," Rin replied uncertainly. Right, yes, it was Iroha. Iroha was good with English pronunciation. That's why she called Gumi Gum-Gum. Rin and the others couldn't even pronounce that properly. "She has some pen pal in England. I forget his name. Starts with an O, I think. In any case, she likes using English pronunciation and stuff. She ends her sentences with 'mew' instead of 'nya'."

Rin might've kept talking if it weren't for the fact that someone cried out loudly, "Aoki! Look out!"

And then, Aoki was knocked to the ground by a red blur. Rin widened her eyes in shock at the scene as a girl with flaming red hair drawn back into a spiked ponytail captured Aoki in a giant hug, not unlike Iroha did sometimes.

"Aoki, you'll never believe what Ring said! She said that your friend looks like that guy! You know, the guy she was totally into who convinced her to run away with him! Isn't that just super creepy?"

The redhead continued to gush on and on until Aoki laughed and pushed her off. "Give me some time to breathe, goof," Aoki laughed, her face bright red as she glanced at Rin. "You're totally creeping Rin out."

"Like my friends were any better," Rin offered with a smile, rolling her eyes as she thought of Aoki's reaction to the group of lesbians, polygamists, and student-teacher affairs. Not to mention Rin's over-protective, jealous-type girlfriend.

"At least they don't bowl you over in the middle of the street," Aoki challenged.

Rin resisted to urge to reply that, no, they didn't bowl her down in the middle of the street, but, if she believed in what Gumi told her, on more than one occasion, she and Gumi had rolled down the hill behind her house together, ending up in the meadow that was like a second home to them. Now, considering Gumi and Rin had secretly been in love with the other, which was worse? Unless Cul loved Aoki, of course, but Cul apparently had a boyfriend.

"We can all see your panties, Aoki," came a voice from behind Rin. Rin turned around to see a snobbish, rich-type girl standing behind her, wearing a pleated skirt and a scowl. Her hair was short, the colour a mixture of orange and yellow. Beside her stood a girl with long, light blue hair falling just as long as Miku's. How in the world did she brush that?

"Lui, you're such a meanie!" Aoki exclaimed to the short-haired girl, hurriedly pulling her ruffled black skirt down. "Jerkface!" She then looped and arm through Rin's and smiled at her. "See what I mean? Lui could totally fit in with you guys, right?"

Rin stared at the short-haired girl curiously. Was she missing something? Perhaps Lui had commented on her panties because she was checking Aoki out. Rin was so caught up in her thoughts that her natural meekness seemed to vanish for a moment. "Are you gay?" Rin wondered, tilting her head to the side.

"Crossing-dressing doesn't automatically make me gay," the rich-type girl snapped, glaring harshly at Rin. "That's stereotyping. Why, are you?"

Rin, while trying to understand what the girl had said, replied, "Yeah, I am. I have a girlfriend."

Then, the girl with light blue hair snorted. Rin looked at her curiously. The girl looked away innocently, though annoyance flickered clearly in her blue eyes. Rin felt a spark of anger and wanted to ask the girl what her problem was, but she couldn't find the courage to.

"Lui almost looks like a girl, doesn't he?" Aoki questioned, smiling.

Wait, what?

"I just happen to like girl's clothes better," the short-haired girl stated.

You're not a . . . ?

"And it looks so good on you!" Aoki exclaimed.

You're a . . . .

"Honestly, I totally thought he was kidding that first day of school when he came in wearing the girl's uniform. I mean, sure, Cul wears the guy's uniform, but a couple other girls do that too. It was the first time I'd ever seen a guy wear that uniform. I just figured he did it on a dare, but, to this day, I've never seen him wear pants."

"You're a boy?" Rin exclaimed, unable to control herself.

"Of course, dumbass," Lui snorted, narrowing his eyes at her. She would never tell him that doing that made him look even more like a girl. And that she found herself a little attracted to him when he did that. "Do I look like a girl?"

Rin clamped her mouth shut and looked down, incredibly embarrassed now that her inhibitions had returned. Luckily for her, Aoki was there beside her. The blue-and-violet-haired girl tilted her head back and laughed loudly, drawing much attention to herself. "He's pretty sexy, huh?" She narrowed her eyes playfully at Rin and nudged her, a hint of flirtation in her gaze. "Doesn't it make you want him?"

Rin, flustered, redness spreading to her ears, closed her eyes to shout out as loud as she could, "No no no! I love Gumi and only Gumi because she's my girlfriend and we're in love!"

Silence followed her words. Rin, utterly humiliated, opened her eyes slowly, gazing around herself to see many people watching her. She caught the gaze of a couple classmates and looked away shyly. This wasn't good. She and Gumi weren't exactly open about their relationship at school. Monday was not going to be fun.

"Yo, Rin!"

And, before Rin could turn around to look at the speaker, said person gently gave her a hit on the top of the head. It didn't hurt, but the shock caused Rin to hurriedly cover her head and look sheepishly to the shorter girl behind her, one Neru Akita.

"'Sup?" Neru wondered.

"We were really hoping that was you," Haku stated, smiling delicately. "I don't know what we would have done if it wasn't."

Rin heard someone speak and turned to see who it was. The girl with light blue hair stared at them, her gaze turning vicious when she turned to Rin, but, before that, she had looked shocked and a little afraid.

"I know you," Haku then murmured gently, her red eyes meeting the other girl's blue ones. "You're Ring Suzune."

Ring let go then. "How could you be friends with someone like her?" she spat at Haku, terrifying the silver-haired girl and causing Neru to step protectively in front of her. "This girl"–she jutted her chin toward Rin–"went back to him, even after she was freed. Gumi freed her, and she went and ruined all of that. Gumi gave herself to him to save her, and she wouldn't even respect that sacrifice."

Rin froze, catching on immediately. "You knew Len?"

"Len?" Aoki wondered, looking up at Rin curiously.

"For your information, she went back to free us all," Neru spat at the blue-haired girl. "If it weren't for her, we'd still be in Len's world, thinking of nothing but how best to please him."

"But what she did to Gumi—" Ring insisted.

"She was just putting on an act," the usually-timid Haku defended. "She had to get Len close to her so she could inject the poison into him."

"It's her fault you were taken," the bluette then insisted.

"And it's thanks to her that we weren't taken instead by that psychopath who was on the loose," Neru snapped. "If we hadn't been taken by Len, we could've ended up like Luka, just like she and your friend almost did."

Aoki's friend had terrible rage flaring in her light blue eyes. "That doesn't mean I'll ever forgive her! She hurt Gumi so much!"

Gumi? Rin had hurt her? But she'd just been trying to . . . .

"Do you know what hell Gumi put her through in return, Ring?" Neru snapped. "Do you know how long Rin spent alone when Gumi ditched her back at the beginning of high school?"

"Neru, stop it," Rin whispered, too quiet for Neru to hear. But Aoki did, and she held Rin's arm tightly in an attempt to offer some comfort.

"Like you know!" Ring barked in return. "You weren't even her friend before Len!"

"Everyone knew," Haku argued. "I barely even knew her, but everyone knew that Gumi was her only friend, and then Gumi left her. Not that Gumi's the only one to blame in all this, but you don't understand like we do, Ring."

"Please stop," Rin whispered, still unheard.

"I understand all that I need to," Ring hissed.

Then, Rin felt herself being pulled back sharply, Aoki refusing to release her and going along for the ride. She looked up to see whose hands it was that were on her shoulders. Lui's fiery gaze stared at the three bickering girls.

"She said to stop," he said calmly. "Ring, stop being an idiot and let it go. Rin's done nothing to hurt you, got it? It's your own fault for falling for it. I don't know exactly what happened with him, but you have to let it go."

"I don't have to listen to you," Ring challenged.

"You don't have to, but you will," Lui said with absolute certainty.

The two stared off for a while before Ring ruefully averted her gaze. Then, the boy said, "We're here to go shopping, right? Then let's go." He glanced at Haku and Neru. "If you two will behave, you can come along."

"Don't mind if we do," Neru said coolly, glaring at Ring, who returned the gesture. Linking hands with her girlfriend, she walked a couple steps behind Rin and Aoki, who remained linked together and walked behind the two in the lead, Lui and Ring. Cul had invited herself back with the two newbies and chatted excitedly with them.

"What's their situation?" Rin wondered to Aoki about the two in the lead a little while later once Haku and Neru were busily telling their entire life story to the redhead and Ring and Lui talked about schoolwork.

"Ring and Lui?" Aoki wondered. "Childhood friends. They've always been inseparable."

"Like me and Gumi," Rin murmured wistfully, suddenly missing her girlfriend. "Inseparable, always and forever."

Author's Note: I refuse to make Lui into some sweet girly-boy. Even if I put him in a skirt. Yes, I definitely needed a crossdresser in here, too. Oh, awesome anime you should watch (I watched it on simulcast when it was being released in Japan) called Wandering Son about a crossdressing boy. It was really good. So, aside from that, hope you enjoyed. Also, I'm putting up a new poll every week, so please take the time to vote if you can. I'd love your input. Also, I have a GumixRin v-day fic planned so please vote for a different pairing, people :P