Hey all! Thanks once more for the nice reviews and also to those who have been reading! Also, for anyone who's curious there actually is a hot springs in Kyoto called the Kurama Onsen, believe it or not. When I found out, I just had to use it for their hot springs trip, lol!
Anyway, here's another fun chapter! Next chapter begins their hot springs trip debacle, so you're all forewarned! But right now enjoy chapter seven of Everybody Loves Shuichi! and be prepared for another dose of Ritsuki's nymphomania, Seita's psychotic envy, Namiko's obsessive devotion, poor Shuichi's suffering, and more! So, let the chaos ensue; I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter Seven: Shuichi's Embarrassment! A Mismatched Group of Friends!
Although at first glance most thought that Ritsuki Yamagashi was only over-the-top and kind of provocative - at the very least, she had started wearing her school uniform, even if she hacked up the skirt to ridiculous heights - it had become increasingly clear as the week wound down that she was a bona fide pervert. Over the course of five days she had already "accidentally" wandered into the boys' locker room over a dozen times, exclaiming "Oops! My bad! Is this the boys' locker room?" each time with a giggle; had formed a peep hole with Hiroshi Sunada so she could spy in on the boys' bathroom; and had become infamous for taking photographs of the male students' rear ends, particularly during gym class or when the track team did their daily stretches every afternoon, and then showing them to a pleased Hiroshi, who had quickly become her partner-in-crime. She had been heard several times by their stairwell, sighing thoughtfully and longingly telling Hiroshi, "If only boys had to wear skirts, too, so we could look up them when going up the stairs…" and Hiroshi would be seen nodding in solemn contemplation. She flirted endlessly and shamelessly, latching herself onto anything that could walk and making obscene comments just to see them blush. Still, she was relatively harmless, even if she was obnoxious.
As lunch began that Friday, Tasaka bent down to put his books in his book bag when he saw a light flash. He stood up and turned around to see Ritsuki and Hiroshi standing behind him, giggling as they looked at the screen on her digital camera at the photo Ritsuki just took. "Oh, that's a good one!" Rituski declared.
Tasaka glowered and narrowed his eyes. "Don't you two have any shame?"
Both Hiroshi and Ritsuki exchanged glances before Ritsuki answered, "No, not really," and the two burst into a fit of maniacal, shrill giggles.
Tasaka let out a low growl of frustration, as this had been the seventh time - that he was aware of, anyway - his behind had been photographed for Ritsuki's and Hiroshi's enjoyment over the course of the last few days. "Why do you have to keep taking pictures of my butt for again?" he questioned angrily.
Ritsuki grinned playfully, tossed her camera over to Hiroshi, and skipped over to Tasaka, swinging an arm around him. "Don't be so mad, Tasaka!"
"That's right; we mean no offense by it," Hiroshi chimed in, latching onto his other side and lifting the camera so Tasaka could see the photograph. "It's just that you have such a nice butt, see?"
"And it's just so cute to look at!" Ritsuki added with a smirk and a laugh.
"But why do you need another one when you already seem to have so many?" Tasaka further interrogated them, his brow twitching irritably.
"Oh, Tasaka, love, you can never have too many photos of fine backsides such as yours," Hiroshi explained.
"Although I prefer it when you're wearing those tight little track shorts of yours!" Ritsuki remarked and again she and Hiroshi began to cackle.
Sighing in frustration, Tasaka blushed slightly and snapped in annoyance, "You two really are perverts, you know that, right?"
Ritsuki put a pensive finger to her chin and said with feigned innocence, "You know, we've been getting that a lot lately," and Hiroshi began to snicker. Then Ritsuki dropped her arm to latch onto Tasaka's and took hold of his hand. Leaning close to him, she playfully said, "Come on, Tasaka; won't you have lunch with me?"
"Will you please leave me alone?" Tasaka countered irritably, trying to yank his arm and hand from hers, but to no avail.
"Please, please, Tasaka!" she whined as she pouted. Then, she hastily swung herself in front of him and took both of his hands. "Come on, Tasaka! Let's have lunch outside together! It's such a beautiful day today!" She then proceeded to drag him forward by the hands as she walked backwards toward the classroom door.
"But…wait a second!" Tasaka futilely tried to protest and yank himself from her, but Hiroshi stepped behind him and, placing his hands firmly on the back of Tasaka's shoulder, started pushing him forward.
In the meantime, when Ritsuki reached the door, she called out, "Kyoji! Ma-chan! Come eat with Tasaka, Hiro, and me!" With that, she pulled Tasaka out the door, Hiroshi following after. And both Kyoji and Maya shrugged and decided to follow.
When Ritsuki passed classroom 3-4, she stopped, released one of Tasaka's hands, and tightly clung onto one of his arm with both her arms. As the door was already slid open, she simply stepped into the doorframe and called, "Hey, Nami! We're having lunch outside. You want to come?"
Namiko frowned. Although the well-endowed, incredibly perverted Ritsuki was definitely a threat to Shuichi, as well as the majority of the male student body, Namiko kind of liked her. She knew she shouldn't, of course, but, as with Maya, she found it difficult to hate her as she was so friendly to her, not to mention all the nice stuff Ritsuki had bought her and the fact that Namiko had somehow officially become her "best friend," as Ritsuki put it. The other girls in the Shuichi Minamino Fan Club loathed her, however, and for good reasons, which presented a problem for Namiko.
"You're not really going to go eat with that whorish woman, are you Namiko?" one of the girls asked her in a whisper.
"Yeah, Namiko; seriously, you can't be friends with such a blatant enemy to the Shuichi Minamino Fan Club," another said.
Namiko cringed, realizing they were right, and despising her traitorous ways. Still, that didn't mean that she wasn't going to have lunch with Ritsuki, even if it was a complete conflict of interests as she was the President of the Shuichi Minamino Fan Club and should be setting an example; after all, Ritsuki was pretty exciting to be around. Besides, she was the president of Shuichi's fan club - she didn't actually have to worry about what anyone else said, although the thought of mutiny or impeachment fearfully crossed her mind
But Namiko simply couldn't bring herself to decline an offer from Ritsuki, who certainly was better than her usual catty acquaintances that she ate lunch with. So she sighed, raised an indignant fist, and muttered, "Damn my weakness and forgive me, Shuichi!" She then rose, laughed, and told the members of the Shuichi Minamino Fan Club, "Oh, no, no! Of course I'm not friends with her! Don't be ridiculous!" She laughed again to prove this point. "It's just that, as President of the Shuichi Minamino Fan Club, I have to do surveillance. Yes, surveillance!" It sounded like a pretty good lie, although her colleagues didn't seem all that convinced. After a pause, she curtly said, "See you!" before turning and calling out, "Sure, Ritsu! I'll come!" with a good-natured laugh.
"Wait! Namiko!" the girls protested, but Namiko was already by Ritsuki's side and commenting on how "cool" her earrings were today. And one of the girls bitterly whispered, "I can't believe it! Even Namiko's been seduced by that stupid woman!"
Meanwhile, Ritsuki said, "Shuichi, Seita, Yuu! You guys better come, too!" She then giggled and added, "Don't make me come back and drag you like I have to do with poor Tasaka!" The rest of the Shuichi Minamino Fan Club shot Ritsuki glares of fiery envy at the sound of Shuichi's name. But Ritsuki didn't notice them and gave the three boys a wink. She then left, dragging Tasaka still and being followed by an eager Namiko and then Maya and Kyoji, who were out in the hallway.
And Hiroshi popped his head in and added, "Don't think she's kidding, either!" He smirked and snickered and then followed Ritsuki - and the three boys frowned, knowing that he was right and she, indeed, was serious.
"That Ritsuki is getting to be unbearable," Kaito remarked as he packed up his things..
"She does tend to have to get her way all the time…" Shuichi commented, rising reluctantly from his seat.
"She was nice to look at originally, but now she's just getting on my nerves," Kaito replied as he stood up and started toward the door.
"She can be aggressive sometimes…" Shuichi trailed off, finding it oddly unsettling how such a flagrant high schoolgirl could have such a hold on him, or even the rest of his male peers; it wasn't as if she was strong enough to actually do anything to them. And yet as soon as they heard her shrill, pompous laughter, they all somehow feared her.
"More like controlling and spoiled," Kaito corrected as he and Shuichi headed to the classroom door, and Shuichi didn't protest.
And Seita Hachirobei followed bitterly behind them, kicking the floor and muttering, "Why do I have to have stupid lunch with stupid Shuichi Minamino for…?"
As there were several other groups of students outside eating their lunch that day, Shuichi and the others formed their own little circle in the schoolyard. Ever since Ritsuki had arrived only a seven days ago, she had assumed that both the cabinets for class 3-4 and 3-5 were friends, and, thus, were her own personal group of friends. Shuichi supposed that it might be good for their relations, since, at the moment, his cabinet was in danger of falling apart and his relationship with the cabinet of 3-5 wasn't all that promising either; it would most likely be beneficial if they could all try to be friends, or, at the very least, relatively civil to one another. Still, as much as he tried to adopt this optimistic view, he found himself resistant to it as he felt the furious eyes of Seita Hachirobei piercing into him and the dreamy, borderline obsessive gaze of Namiko passionately directed toward him. Then, of course, there was Maya and Tasaka, the latter who he was trying to avoid, especially when he was with Maya. He supposed, though, that was one thing he was grateful to Ritsuki Yamagashi for; Tasaka had been so busy fending off Ritsuki's endless advances during the course of the week that he had little time to continue with his onslaught on Shuichi.
This was actually the initial topic of discourse when the group of mismatched "friends," if they could even be called that, finally settled down on the grass and began eating their lunch. "Will you quit it, Yamagashi, and let go of my arm!" Tasaka complained, still trying to wrench his arm away from hers.
"Only if you let me grab onto something else, Tasaka," Ritsuki retorted with a playful smirk and Tasaka groaned in disgust.
"Grab onto what, Ritsu?" Maya asked in puzzlement.
Tasaka cringed and hastily answered, "Never mind, Maya!" He let out a nervous laugh as his cheeks flushed.
"It's nothing you should worry about, Ma-chan!" Ritsuki agreed. "You're much too innocent for that kind of thing!"
"What kind of thing?" Maya asked in a brainless daze.
"Aw, you're so cute, Ma-chan!" Ritsuki said with a squeal, finding Maya's clueless nature charming. "You'd make such a sweet little sister! Tasaka's so lucky!"
"Thanks!" Maya chirped happily.
"And what's with you calling me 'Yamagashi,' Tasaka?" Ritsuki asked, tugging on his arm. "We're friends - we shouldn't be so formal with each other!"
"When did I say we were friends, you crazy nymphomaniac!" Tasaka snarled back, but this didn't faze Ritsuki in the slightest.
"Oh, I didn't know you wanted to have that type of relationship, Tasaka! My, my!" Ritsuki joked, shrilly giggling.
"Tasaka, what a dirty mind you have," Hiroshi joined in. "And in front of your sister, too! Tsk, tsk, Tasaka!"
Before Maya could again ask what they were talking about, Shuichi quickly told her, "Never mind, Maya" and this seemed to satisfy her well enough. He then turned to the others and, feeling pity for Tasaka, said, "Maybe we should change the subject to something we could all enjoy…"
"But doesn't everyone enjoy teasing Tasaka?" Ritsuki asked and laughed. But she shook her head, trying to force herself to stop laughing, and said, "No, no! Shuichi is absolutely right! We should try to talk about something more appropriate!" She clapped her hands together excitedly, although her arm was still linked to Tasaka's at the elbows. "I know! Tasaka just reminded me - I want to come up with cute names for all of you, like I did with Ma-chan and Nami and Hiro; I had special names that I called all my friends back at my old high school."
The boys, save Hiroshi, all winced at the idea of cutesy names, but it was really no use. "Now, let's see…" Ritsuki began. "I think I'll call Kyoji, 'Kyo-Kyo,' and Yuu will be 'Yuu-chan,' and then Seita will be 'Sei-Sei,' and Shuichi can be 'Shu-chan,' and Tasaka will be 'Tasa-chan.' How's that?"
They tried not to groan, particularly at the numerous uses of the childish "chan." Shuichi, however, was the only one who had the courage to say anything, and replied as politely as he could, "Actually, I think it might be better if you just call us by our full names…"
A glint sparked in Seita's envious, psychotic eyes, like the light of the blazing sun off the blade of a knife, and he immediately shot back, "Well, I personally like 'Sei-Sei.' Don't you think it's a little ignorant and conceited when people speak on behalf of you without even asking?"
Shuichi frowned and apologized, "I'm sorry, Seita. I didn't mean to speak for you."
However, this concession just made Seita all the more enraged as he thought, Damn you, Minamino! Apologizing before anyone can see what a patronizing, arrogant bastard you are!
Unfortunately for Shuichi, he couldn't avoid the conflict, despite the fact that he had just apologized, for Namiko was quick to jump into the brawl and said, "Shuichi was merely doing what he thought was best, Seita. Of course, those with small minds can't gracefully accept assistance from someone as great and wonderful as Shuichi. Their brains are simply too finite to comprehend what's going on!" As she said this, Shuichi wondered if Seita really did have a point about it being "ignorant and conceited" to speak for other people without asking.
Meanwhile, Seita grew indignant, thinking, Stupid Namiko Tatsuya; always fighting Minamino's battles so he doesn't have to get his hands dirty! Determined to win this small battle, as last week he had been humiliated by Shuichi's victory as class representative, Seita kept his temper (as going into a wild rage would look bad, especially when compared to the constantly composed Shuichi) and self-righteously proclaimed, "Or perhaps, Namiko, Minamino simply was mistaken! After all, you seem to like being called 'Nami' for the last week! If Minamino is correct, then denounce this name and follow his advice! Unless, of course, you, too, are just as small-minded and finite as the rest of us! Ha!"
Namiko glowered; she had fallen into Seita's trap. She didn't want to "denounce" Ritsuki's name for her, but, if she didn't, she would be defying her beloved Shuichi. She had to think of something fast; each second of hesitation gave Seita the upper hand.
Meanwhile, Shuichi tried to explain, "Really, I don't mind what Ritsuki calls you - "
But he was interrupted by Namiko, who came back at Seita with, "If you understood what Shuichi was saying and placed it in context, you'd realize he was talking about the names just given out just now, not those given out to me, Maya, and Hiroshi. But, obviously, you like to twist everything for your own profit!"
Shuichi frowned, unsure as to what he had been saying anymore; Namiko, though, seemed to know better than him. Meanwhile, Seita wasn't going to go down without a fight. "Then how come he apologized, hmm? He knew he had miscalculated and hastily wanted to weasel his way out of his blunder!"
"No; he was simply being humble and conceding to you because he knew that someone like you could never understand his greatness or wisdom!" Namiko argued.
"That doesn't sound humble! That sounds more like arrogant and patronizing!" Seita rebutted fiercely.
As the two battled on, Ritsuki asked, "Are those two always like that?"
Kaito gravely nodded. "Sadly. It was entertaining at first, but now it's become more or less mundane. You see, Seita Hachirobei hates Shuichi as he knocked him off the top of our class. And Namiko Tatsuya is the founder and president of the Shuichi Minamino Fan Club."
"Shu-chan, you have your own fan club!" Ritsuki exclaimed. "That's so cool!"
Shuichi's face turned red - a rarity - and it made Shuichi feel all the more embarrassed. He had always known about his legion of fans, but he had never been directly asked about it. He cleared his throat and laughed nervously. "Um…well…from what I hear…"
"Wow! You must be really popular," Ritsuki continued. "I can see why you have one, though; you're gorgeous! Is, like, every girl in the school a part of it?"
"Um…" Shuichi answered, his cheeks turning redder.
"Maya, are you a part of it?" she asked.
"Part of what?" Maya replied in confusion.
"Shuichi's fan club!" Namiko answered.
"Shuichi has a fan club?" Maya inquired innocently. "That's so sweet!" And Namiko sighed, having heard her say the same exact words two times before.
"Hey, can I be part of the Shuichi Minamino Fan Club?" Ritsuki asked and turned to Namiko. "I should ask you, right, as you are the president?"
Namiko now blushed, feeling suddenly embarrassed; although she knew that Shuichi knew that she was the president of his fan club, they never exactly brought it up in front of each other. Trying to stay composed, Namiko stammered, "Well…I…"
"I mean, I should be part of my own friend's fan club!" Ritsuki persisted. "Except, of course, unless there's some sort of vow of devotion I have to make to love Shuichi and Shuichi alone. There are too many cute boys to be so committed to one guy!"
"That's why I'm an unofficial member," Hiroshi remarked with a smirk.
"Wow, Shuichi, you should be really proud, though," Ritsuki continued to draw out the awkward conversation. "You must be the most gorgeous guy in school. It's the red hair, isn't it? Girls love guys with long hair, especially when it's got such a beautiful color. And you've got such pretty eyes and feminine features, too! You're like the doll I always wanted!"
Namiko, in an attempt to save face in Shuichi's eyes (although she hadn't actually lost face, to begin with), hurriedly agreed, "Oh, yes, Shuichi is flawless! He's so talented and handsome and smart!"
Shuichi laughed nervously, his cheeks getting hotter as the conversation progressed. He lifted his hands up as if pleading for them to stop and insisted, "Please, really, we don't have to keep talking about me…"
"Yes, why do we always have to talk about stupid Minamino for?" Seita questioned heatedly, his cheeks also getting hotter as the conversation progressed, although they did so more out of his fury rather than embarrassment, as it was in Shuichi's case.
Kyoji looked baffled and asked in surprised, "You mean…you're actually agreeing with Shuichi, Seita?"
Seita looked as if he just realized he had drunk poison. If he protested Shuichi's request to end the conversation, he'd have no choice but to encourage the others to continue their discussion on Shuichi and his supposed "greatness," a thought he could not bare without feeling the need to spew out his lunch or gouge out his tongue. But, on the other hand, if he said he agreed with Shuichi…he would also feel the need to spew out his lunch or gouge out his tongue. Either way, he ended up with vomit, no tongue, and an empty stomach.
While Seita's brain appeared to be having a serious malfunction, unable to compute an answer to the question presented to him, Kaito shook his head and said, "You really shouldn't have asked him that, Kyoji."
"It looks like he's going to explode or something…" Kyoji commented with a frown.
While Seita began contemplating ritual suicide, Ritsuki pulled out her digital camera and said to Namiko, "That reminds me, Nami! If the Shuichi Minamino Fan Club wants, I've got some great pictures of Shu-chan's butt!"
Namiko's eyes lit up. "Shu…chan…?" she asked in disbelief.
"How on earth does Seita's breakdown remind her of…er…that sort of thing?" Kyoji asked, faltering and blushing slightly at the last part.
"It's because everything reminds her of that sort of thing," Tasaka remarked bitterly, glowering at Ritsuki who still clung to his arm, but the self-indulged Ritsuki didn't seem to notice.
"Now, let's see…" Ritsuki, instead, began as she casually started flipping through the photos saved on her camera. "Tasa-chan…Tasa-chan…Tasa-chan…"
Tasaka groaned and turned to Hiroshi. "Just how many pictures does she have of me?"
"Uh…" Hiroshi counted on his fingers. "Twenty-one, I think. We're pretty fond of your butt."
Tasaka groaned again. "Ugh…"
"Kyo-Kyo, Kensuke, Tasa-chan, Haruto, Eiji, Tasa-chan, Tasa-chan, Kyo-Kyo, Mr. Akimoto, Sei-Sei," Ritsuki stopped and pensively remarked, "You know, you'd never know Sei-Sei was so angry by looking at his butt…"
Seita's face turned bright red, his meltdown being quickly replaced by complete embarrassment as he coughed out a shrill, "What?"
But Ritsuki - with her limited attention span - ignored him and exclaimed, "Here we are! Shu-chan!"
Namiko reached for Ritsuki's camera, but hesitated, noticing the others looking at her. She cleared her throat and said diplomatically, "Of course, not that I condone this type of behavior or invasion of privacy because I don't and I'm not." But her eyes lingered back to the camera and she bit her lower lip as she hungrily eyed it and her conviction wavered. Finally, she couldn't contain herself anymore and she snatched the camera out of Ritsuki's hand with an abrupt, "Let me see!" As soon as her eyes fell down to the camera screen, her whole face melted and her eyes became dreamy. She let out a heavy, long sigh. "So….beautiful…" she said before letting out a squeal, hugging the camera, and gushing, "I love you, Shuichi!"
Shuichi cringed and felt his face turn as red as his hair. Kaito pushed his glasses up, frowned and longed for his manga that was unfortunately sitting in his book bag back in the classroom. Meanwhile, Tasaka looked uncomfortable as he watched Namiko possessively glomp the camera and commented, "I think she's going to have a nosebleed…" while Kyoji nodded gravely at the ecstatic president of the Shuichi Minamino Fan Club. Seita, on the other hand, just looked visibly sick, his face contorting with his disgust and his face turning a pale green at the sight of Namiko praising and gushing over his most hated rival.
Maya, in the meantime, had no idea what Namiko was so excited about, but asked in concern, "Oh, Nami, are you all right? Your face is all red! You might have a fever! Maybe you should lay down before you faint!"
"Well, she definitely looks like she's going to faint," Kaito muttered.
Meanwhile, Ritsuki was saying, "Come on, Nami! Give me back my camera! I said you could look, not keep it!" And she tried to snatch her camera back from Namiko.
But Namiko clutched onto it tightly kept singing to herself, "Shuichi! Shuichi! Shuichi!" in between gushing at the picture and embracing the camera if it were Shuichi himself.
"You're never going to get your camera back now that she has it," Hiroshi told Ritsuki, folding his arms, but Ritsuki nevertheless kept futilely trying to grab at it.
As Namiko kept singing Shuichi's name, Maya blinked. "What about Shuichi?" she asked and looked over to Shuichi. "Hey, Shuichi, why is Nami singing about you for?"
Shuichi laughed nervously, his cheeks still scarlet, and replied, "Never mind, Maya…" He then sighed, lowered his head, and shook it.
And Namiko kept singing Shuichi's name, and Ritsuki kept trying to grab her camera back, and Seita looked more and more like he was ready to pop a vein at the sound of "Shuichi" being repeated over and over. And Kaito looked bored, and Kyoji looked concerned, and Maya looked confused, and Tasaka looked annoyed, and Hiroshi looked amused.
And never had Shuichi so fervently wished that lunch would end as he did at that moment.