I stared at the paper in abject horror. Slowly, painfully, I shifted my gaze to my partner, unable to say a word in my sheer dismay.
Akiko shrugged. "It's not my fault."
With trembling fingers, I pinched the paper between my thumb and forefinger. The ripping sound that it made was music to my ears.
I had not just gotten Marui and Niou as the other two members of our group. Nobody knew, anyway – and nobody would know, since the paper with the fateful number was now in shreds on my skirt.
(Flashback)
It was Monday, the day when most administrative work was done. Our form teacher, Yamamoto-sensei, quickly quieted the class at the beginning of her lesson and produced several sheets of official-looking paper. All of us settled in for at least fifteen minutes of admin stuff with no real lesson – not that we minded, seeing as English wasn't exactly our favorite subject.
"Now, class, I mentioned that we would have a day trip to Tokyo organized by the student council about a month ago – remember?" she began. "Well, it's going to be held this Friday, and there are some important things that I need to brief you about. The first time I talked about it, you all decided on partners for the trip, but after much discussion with the other teachers and the student council themselves, we have decided it would be best to go in groups of four – in other words, two pairs will form one group," she explained.
"As if we don't know what two plus two is," Akiko muttered out of the side of her mouth to me.
Shrugging, I replied, "Yamamoto-sensei isn't the math teacher; she's the English teacher. It's likely a great achievement for her to be able to understand that equation."
"Since having four girls together without any boys or four boys without any girls would be dangerous, we decided to have two girls and two boys per group. Also, as this way certain pairs would be in much greater demand than others – " here she gave a pointed glance towards a pair of Marui's fangirls, as well as another pair of Niou's fangirls, all of whom were gazing starry-eyed at Marui and Niou – who had, incidentally, paired up together – "it was thought that the best method of resolving this problem was to make the entire class draw lots."
This immediately resulted in a huge uproar, and naturally, the fangirls were the loudest protestors. Normal people, like Akiko and I, covered our ears in an attempt to preserve our hearing. Yamamoto-sensei, on the other hand, was probably already used to the volume and shrillness of the screams of her class, and managed to ignore them easily.
"Please send one member of your pair to come up and draw a number," she said, indicating two cardboard boxes with smallish holes on top, just big enough for someone to put a hand in. "The person who has the same number as you, as well as their partner, will be the other half your group for the trip."
I looked at Akiko. "You'd better go. What with the luck I've been having…"
She nodded in assent and stood up, making her way to the front of the classroom with about half of the other students and joining the line that was already forming.
Yamamoto-sensei shook her head at the behavior of her class. "Goodness, children, weren't you paying attention? I said that the groups would comprise of two boys and two girls, didn't I? If you all try to draw from the same box, that would defeat the purpose. Two lines, please, boys here and girls here."
I watched Akiko closely. Was she eyeing Jackal? Wait a minute… that was a terrible pairing. I shuddered at the very thought that my best friend might have fallen for the half-Brazilian – not that I was being racist, but that I did think Akiko would have better taste… then again, I really wasn't one to talk, having no taste whatsoever.
"Oiii…. Who got a four?" called a familiar, drawling voice – Niou. "Marui, we got four…"
Marui laughed at his partner. "I hope it isn't bad luck. I heard that four is an unlucky number."
Both Marui's and Niou's fangirls began to pray, extremely loudly, that they'd get the four. Why were they praying so loudly? Because they had to drown out the prayers of the other fangirls. Which, in effect, meant that they got louder and louder every second… the boys were laughing at the two culprits; Jackal was giving them a look of mixed awe and pity. Popularity was a mixed blessing – that was for sure.
When Akiko came back, her face was completely expressionless. Although this wasn't unusual, I still got a sense of foreboding. She pressed the small piece of paper into my hand.
Trying to quell my apprehension, I unfolded it – and a big, black '4' stared back at me.
Kami-sama hated me. Really.
(End Flashback)
"We did not get four," I whispered fiercely to my friend. "We did not."
"They'll find out," she said mercilessly. "If I were you, I'd have tried to trade with one of their fangirls instead of tearing it up. They'd have jumped for it immediately."
I froze. Cries of utter disappointment from the fangirls echoed in our momentary silence. How stupid could I be?!
Sitting down at her desk again, she propped her face on her hands. "Sad, though. That was a good opportunity…"
"A good opportunity…?" I probed, curious. When she didn't appear to have heard, I repeated, this time louder, "A good opportunity for what?"
"Hmm…oh, to get their money. Their fangirls would've paid through their noses to get to group with them," she explained. Was it just me, or had she hesitated before answering…?
"Everyone, find your other group members once you have gotten your numbers," called Yamamoto-sensei. "Report to me after that so that I can record your groups."
Akiko glanced at me. "So… what do we do now?"
"Keep our mouths shut and hope that the fangirls will pretend to have gotten the four and take our places?" I suggested, though I already knew that that plan wouldn't have a chance in hell.
Her eyebrows rose slightly, and her mouth curled in a wry smile. "That's never going to work – no, it might, but it's a very slim chance. No, it won't work. Look." She indicated the two boys.
Their tables were swarmed with fangirls, all saying that they'd gotten the four. Niou cracked one eyelid at the chaos and sighed. "Show the paper, girl. We're honest folk – or at least we usually are."
"Kyaah!! Niou-sama!!" the fangirls… well, fangirled.
Yamamoto-sensei suddenly descended upon the crowd. "Don't even try to make a fake paper," she warned – and most of them fell back, eyes welling with tears. "No tears, either – they're not going to work on me," she added, somehow managing to look dangerous for once.
I groaned. "Damn you, Yamamoto-sensei. Damn you too, Kami-sama." Four was, indeed, an unlucky number.
--
The feeling of fangirls' angry stares digging into my back was not helping my bad mood. That (bleep) still had the nerve to grin like that, when he knew full well that I did not approve of this grouping at all. Bastard. I glared daggers at him. He popped his bubblegum right back and gave me the trademark grin that embodied his cockiness to perfection.
Niou, who had been watching with some interest, yawned widely. "Na, Marui, Mura-buchou said he was in charge of this one, didn't he?"
"Yukimura-san's in charge?" repeated Akiko, looking interested. Immediately, I added Yukimura to my list of suspects.
Marui nodded. "Yeah, Mura-buchou's vice-chair of the student council; he didn't want to be the chair because it'd cut into his tennis time. Niou, are you sure he's the one in charge of this?" He sounded faintly worried.
The Petenshi shrugged. "Can't remember… just a feeling I got, I suppose. Especially when I look at our task. It's so Mura that either he's the one in charge or it's Yanagi. You know he and Mura-buchou like to discuss student council cheemonology when they don't talk tennis."
"…Our task?" repeated the redhead, grabbing the piece of paper. His eyes skimmed over it, and he raised them to meet Niou's in an almost frightened look.
Naturally, I became curious too. "What is our task, anyway? Aren't we just going on some random field trip to –"
"No, we aren't just going on some 'random field trip' to Tokyo," interrupted Niou, making air quotes. "When Mura-buchou's got a finger in the pie, things aren't that simple. And this isn't just a finger; it's more like his whole hand is in there."
Akiko took the paper from Marui and read through. I saw her eyebrows rise until they vanished into her hairline, and my sense of foreboding shot sky-high. "Akiko, give it here."
Wordlessly, she passed it over. I began reading.
Senior-Year's Day Trip to Tokyo: Timeline, Required Materials and Task Sheet
Timeline:
0800: Assemble in middle-school courtyard according to classes; teachers will take attendance.
0830: Leave for Tokyo in chartered buses. Stay in your classes for the journey; you will separate into your groups upon alighting.
1000: Arrive in Tokyo, Shinjuku. Separate into your groups for task.
1400: Complete task and return to Tokyo, Shinjuku. Those who return earlier will have free time to be spent as they like. Between 1000 and 1400, please have your lunch.
1430: Leave Tokyo, Shinjuku and head back to school.
1600: Arrive in school. Dismissed upon arrival.
Note: All projected times may be subject to change due to weather conditions and/or other delays e.g. failure to complete task within given time. Also, lunch is not provided. Please buy your own lunch or bring a bento.
Task:
You are to go to four different areas of Tokyo, e.g. Shinjuku, Aoyama, Nakano and Adachi, and find a certain type of shop per area – see below. Upon reaching the respective train station in each area, head for the ticket station and wait there. The student council member in charge of that area will message you the task to be carried out in that place.
Train-travel is strongly recommended as taxis are exceedingly expensive and buses are inefficient. Be warned that human traffic, especially during the lunch hour, will be hectic. Do not under any circumstances leave your group alone. Always make sure that you have your partner or another group member with you if you need to leave the group.
IMPORTANT: This activity requires at least a mediocre skill level with video taking and editing. The marked results will be the final Computer Skills grade for this year. Remember, there will be no other projects that may help to pull up your marks, and Computer Skills is a highly regarded subject in high school. Also, this project will also have a relatively large impact on your marks in Art.
Please submit via email or the school website sharing folders to the Student Council by Monday.
Recommended areas and shops (choose four): Shinjuku (bars), Harajuku (clothes, preferably gothic Lolita), Aoyama (rugby), Ginza (high-end branded goods), Adachi (food – bunka fry), Nakano (otaku), Nerima (anime/manga), Akihabara (electronics), Asakusa/Asakusabashi (traditional Japanese dolls)
Required Materials:
Video Camera
Money
Umbrella or Raincoat (weather forecast states that there may be rain in Tokyo)
Medications for those who need them
Anything else you may consider essential. However, be reminded that you will have to move a lot, so carrying too many things will be detrimental.
Organized by the Student Council of Rikkaidai Fuzoku Chuu
I blinked. And blinked again. "A bar for Shinjuku?!"
"Apparently even the student council doesn't mind the fact that we happen to be underage," observed Akiko.
Marui was chewing on his lip in ill-concealed anxiety. "Freak it, those have to be my two worst subjects," he muttered, clutching at his hair in frustration. It seemed that he'd forgotten all about his bubblegum.
Niou grinned. "If I remember correctly, your last art piece was graded 'unmarked'…"
"Shut up!"
"Well, it just means you'll have to work extra hard on this one, ne?" commented the Trickster with a glint in his eyes that did not inspire any confidence.
--
A/N: Hum… sort of a filler chapter, I suppose… which is probably why it's so long. This was essential to provide all the info we're gonna need for the later chapters. :-X
Credits to Shu-chan for the idea – and no, she isn't Shu Kitari. Does anyone even remember that Kitari's surname is Shu? XD
This day trip to Tokyo thing will take quite a few chapters. I'm estimating around four or five. Hopefully nobody gets bored with me and drops the story… I'll be trying my best to make it amusing, ne?
If you don't like the way I start somewhere in the middle of the story and then do a flashback, please tell me. I seem to be doing a lot of my chapters like that. O.o
PS. Four is actually considered an unlucky number by the Chinese. It is pronounced the same as 'die' when spoken in Cantonese, a Chinese dialect… lolz
PPS. Does anyone know where exactly Rikkaidai is? I know it's in the Kantou region, but that doesn't really say much. It could be in Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, or Kanagawa… O.O that's a lotta places, man. And this is only the prefectures, not even the cities… T.T
