Hello everyone,
Had a bit of a delay, but the new part of Everybody Loves Yaya is ready to be released. It turned out to be a bit longer than expected. Hope you like it.
Disclaimer : I don't own Stopani, and that's probably for the best. If I did, there'd be spaceships, giant robots and cameo appearances by George Carlin and Hans Teeuwen.
Everybody Loves Yaya
Chapter 9 : Popularity
Yaya calmly walked the halls of James Woods High. Morning classes had ended and she was on her way to pick up Tsubomi so that they could have lunch together in the school cafeteria. As she passed the locker-rooms, she reflected how different this school was from Astraea Hill. Even though she had just spent almost five months here, the differences were often still quite staggering.
She remembered the culture shock she had experienced the first day here quite clearly. First of all, it had been so strange to not have to deal with school uniforms. She had had so much fun combining her own clothes to wear to school every day. And, even more strangely, she found a refreshing change of attitude among the students of James Woods High. Much more than the dignified Spicans, these were a boisterous and noisy lot, not afraid to share their opinions even if they were unpopular ones. Due to her very open personality, Yaya found that she fitted right in after she had conquered her Astraea-induced inhibitions.
Another thing that Yaya really enjoyed was the open disrespect to the teachers at the school, both in the hallways and even in the classrooms. This was actually a habit Yaya had gotten into very quickly, much to Tsubomi's dismay. Though Yaya never crossed the line, she certainly tested how far she could go with the teachers, and often displayed a healthy amount of civil disobedience.
She snickered as she opened her locker and tossed a few books from her bag into it. When she'd get back to Astraea Hill, such habits would be very hard to break, meaning that the teachers there were going to have one very rebellious and americanized hellion on their hands.
There were aspects of James Woods High which Yaya didn't find as positive, though. First of all, the curriculum at James Woods was very limited when compared to Astraea Hill. Also, extra curricular activities and club-life was almost non-existent. Oh, there were clubs, but Yaya didn't really have interest in joining them. She had toyed with joining the James Woods High Lesbian Alliance. Though basically everybody at Astraea was into girls, it wasn't something that was openly talked about there. So she thought it'd be cool to join a lesbian group of girls who were open and honest about themselves. Unfortunately she found the atmosphere way too militant for her tastes, especially when some of the members, more specifically the Super Mega Lesbians, accused her of harming 'the cause' because her hair was too long.
The Sempai-Kouhai structure was absent as well. Many of the older students barely interacted with the younger students and when they did, it was usually to bully them around, rather than guiding them or tutoring them.
Another thing she found really strange was the American interpretation of the concept of popularity. At Astraea Hill, popularity was based upon actual talent and ability. Amane was popular because of her talent at horseback-riding. Kaname was popular because, among many other things, she excelled at tennis. Shion was popular because of her position, which she filled very competently and ruthlessly. Yaya herself was popular because of her singing voice.
Not so at James Woods High. The most popular students were also those who were the most shallow, brainless and one-track minded bimbos and bozos one could imagine. How a lame-brained high-school jock or a lip gloss addicted blonde girl who had to repeat two grades became two of the most popular students in this school was completely beyond her.
Oddly enough, because of her open personality and her honesty, there were a lot of students who considered her to be part of the popular crowd. Yaya didn't know what to think about that. She certainly hoped the criteria used wasn't shallowness.
After giving some greetings when passing some people she knew, Yaya arrived at the place where she'd pick up her beloved girlfriend: the physics club. Tsubomi and many of her fellow members had just had a free period and had probably spent the time discussing physics and playing some chess.
Tsubomi had gotten really good at chess. Very much so, actually. Yaya was never really good at chess, so she usually just played some Mortal Kombat with Peter while Tsubomi played chess with either Lois or Brian.
Yaya knocked on the door and entered. The Physics club was located in a small room in the west wing of the school. The room was adorned with posters of Albert Einstein, Newton, Freeman Dyson and the periodic table of elements. A telescope was set up in front of the window, while several experiments were running in the back of the room.
The members of the club sat in a circle, apparently deep in discussion.
".. . But you should be able to get the same result by using a Heisenberg class A particle accelerator," Tsubomi said.
"Ah, true," replied a lisply voiced Neil Goldman. "If you want to spend billions of dollars, of course. Another way would be to just toss the whole mixture into a supercooled beaker of mercury and then pour the whole thing into a series of intravenously placed tubes along the skeleton. That's the best cost-effective way to fuse adamantium to a person's skeleton."
"But if you do that, there is a big chance that you'll end up with a very dead Wolverine," Tsubomi added. "Better to fuse the particles to his bones by having them collide with the tissue at near-light speed. It's much safer."
"Hellllooo," Neil scoffed. "This IS Logan we're talking about. Comic book heroes never die, it says so in the unspoken rules."
"No, this is real life we're talking about Neil-kun," Tsubomi pressed. "If I wanted to, for example, give Yaya-chan an adamantium-enhanced skeleton, I'd be better off putting her inside the particle accelerator, rather than risk her life using your cheap method."
"Ahum," Yaya coughed, bringing Tsubomi and the boys to attention. "Am I interupting anything?"
A chorus of greets (and a liberal amount of oggling) later, Yaya stepped into the room. "Am I getting an adamantium skeleton?" Yaya asked. "And claws too? Be handy to open milk-cartons with in the morning."
"Yeah, that'd be cool," one of the boys announced. "You could be like a superhero with special powers, like Youko from Inukami! Or Mai from Mai Hime! Or Miyu from Vampire Princess Miyu! Or Sailor Mars!"
Yaya blinked. "I have no idea who those people are."
The boys turned to Tsubomi and they received a similar reaction, this time in the form of a curt shake of the head.
"Those are classic cool Anime characters," said Neil. "Come on, you must have heard of them!"
Yaya shrugged. "Sorry, but I really haven't."
"Watching too much TV rots your brain and dulls your soul," Tsubomi lectured. "Besides, Anime is stupid. It just recycles the same over-used cliches and plotlines over and over again."
"And how would you know that without watching it a lot, hm?" Yaya smirked.
Tsubomi blushed furiously. "I, uh, I hear things!"
"Are you sure you're really Japanese?" Neil raised one eyebrow and looked at Tsubomi suspiciously. "You don't like Anime, you don't like gadgets, you don't like robots and you don't like Godzilla."
"She was Japanese the last time I looked. And I looked very thoroughly and from up close," Yaya joked, earning herself a murderous scowl.
"I bet you don't like tentacles either, huh?" one of the boys snickered.
Yaya frowned and placed her hands on her hips. "I don't get it. You're the tenth person to mention tentacles to me today alone. The way I see it, it's you westerners that are obsessed with tentacles, not us Japanese. We never really talk about tentacles at all."
The boys murmured amongst themselves for a moment to process this information.
"I'm here to pick up Tsubomi-chan, Neil-san," Yaya said. "It's lunchtime. Mind if I borrow my girlfriend for a bit?"
And after Yaya and Tsubomi had left the room, the boys looked at each other.
"So..." asked fat Timmy. "Do you think they do it?"
"Oh, yeah," Neil chuckled. "They totally have superhawt yurisecks."
Oblivious to this lecherous slur, the girls made their way through the hallways towards the cafeteria, passing some of other students who were still pouring over their lockers. Tsubomi walked at Yaya's side, sticking close to her and scowling at boys who looked at Yaya in a way that she considered to be overly friendly.
Yaya herself didn't help much. "Hi Gregory, Hi Jeff!" she greeted two jocks cheerfully. The two jocks smiled back and immediately, Tsubomi hooked her arm around Yaya possessively and glared at the boys. 'This is MY Yaya-chan. You get your own. If you get near my Yaya-chan, I will buy a big gun and shoot you through the knee-caps. This is America, after all, so I can buy big guns in the supermarket. Do you think I'm kidding? I'm serious. Dead serious. You want to find out how serious I am? Just keep on checking out my Yaya-chan, and you'll find out soon enough. That's right, keep on looking. Make my day and ruin yours. That's right, I've got my eye on you. I know where you live. She's a lesbian anyway, so you have no chance, pal! You'll be risking your knee-caps for nothing!' was the message conveyed with a single piercing glare.
After the girls got their lunch and took their regular seats in the cafeteria, Yaya let out another wave of greetings to her passing friends.
Yaya chuckled once again. Tsubomi removed a cloth from her backpack, rolled it out and produced her chopsticks. For as long as she had been in America, Tsubomi had refused to eat with a fork. Instead, she had brought her very own chopsticks from Japan which she cleaned meticulously after every meal. Yaya had tried to convince her girlfriend to use a fork or, in some cases, her hands, but Tsubomi was stubborn to a fault. She was probably the only person in the States who ate fries with chopsticks.
But that one of the reasons Yaya loved Tsubomi so much. Tsubomi was strong in her convictions, and almost never budged for the sake of giving in to popular opinion.
-"It's funny, you know?"- Tsubomi said in between. -"My friends always go a bit odd whenever you come in the room."-
-"I've noticed that,"- Yaya said after taking a sip from her juice. -"I think it's something that happens to certain boys of the more nerdier kind when you bring two young lesbians together in one room."-
-"I think you might be right,"- Tsubomi said. -"They always act normal to me until you come round the corner. Then they all turn into Mister Hyde, so to speak."-
-"Normal is a relative term, especially when ascribed to one Neil Goldman,"- Yaya snickered.
-"Oh?"- Tsubomi raised an eyebrow. -"Let's talk about your friends, then. I was having a very deep conversation about Quantum Mechanics earlier. What did you talk about with your friends then, huh? The consistency of lip-gloss?"-
Yaya sighed. -"Don't rub it in. Anyway, those people aren't my friends, they're just people who wanna hang out with me for some reason."-
-"Hm,"- Tsubomi said. -"There's two reasons why Gregory-san and Jeff-san want to hang out with you and they're both on your chest."-
Yaya frowned. -"You may be right. I do like Kevin Swanson-san, though. He's nice. And actually has some interesting things to say. Oh, and I do really like Sarah-san too,"- Yaya said, referring to the president of the James Woods High Lesbian Alliance Club.
Tsubomi smiled and nodded. -"Oh, yes, she's so very nice to us. Too bad the Super Mega Lesbians chased us out of the club. I do wish I knew what this 'menage a trois'-thingy is that Sarah-san keeps suggesting to do with us. I've only just began learning French."-
-"Don't ask me what it means,"- Yaya replied. -"You know I completely suck at French. Next time she asks, we should just smile and nod politely."-
Tsubomi agreed. -"Oh, I'm out of juice. I'll go get some more."-
The second Tsubomi had left, another girl jumped on the now vacant seat like a praying mantis eying her prey. It was Connie D'Amico, a blond seemingly moronic girl who was widely recognized as the one girl who was the most popular in school. A girl everybody wanted to hang out with, even though, according to Yaya at least, she was unintelligent, uninteresting, obnoxious, ugly and annoying. The tall bottle-blond girl eyed her, as if sizing her up.
"Yes?" Yaya asked carefully.
"Oh, you'll do. You'll definitely do," Connie smiled wolfishly. "I have a mutually beneficial arrangement for you, Nanto, which you'll surely jump to accept."
"Uh, what's this about, D'Amico-san?"
"Alright, Nanto, I'll give you the 411," Connie produced a large chart and showed it to Yaya. "Check out my position on the popularity-chart. Oh, I'm still up there on top, but, like, I've started to notice that my rival Stacy and that slut Jennifer are on the rise. Let's just say that their sudden rise in popularity might have something to do with the fact that the entire football-team now, like, knows what the top of their heads look like, if you catch my drift."
"Ew," Yaya replied. "Still, what's that got to do with me, D'Amico?"
"Nanto, I want to head them off and secure my position. And if you've been keeping track of recent fashion trends, you know that lesbianism and bi-sexuality is really for the in-crowd right now. I am willing to take you on as a part-time lover. We'll be girlfriends in name only to the crowd here at James Woods."
Yaya blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Being seen with a lesbian girlfriend is good for my, and also your, popularity score. I've chosen you because you are pretty, exotic and many people like you, which would greatly improve my rating. We will have to kiss in public, of course. And, because you're a bona fide lesbian, I will allow you a maximum of three kisses a day and the occasional fondle to meet your needs. In return, you get to ride my coattails. Is it a deal? Oh, and you'll have to ditch the loser you're dating right now, of course."
Yaya sat back and crossed her arms. "Let me get this straight. You want me to become your part-time fake lover, so that I can get 'in' with people I don't want to be around and to gain popularity I don't care about. On top of that, you're suggesting that I should trade in the girl I love more than anybody in the world for someone like you whom I find uninteresting and unappealing? You expect me to trade you in from the girl I am in a committed, loving and, not to mention a very sexually fulfilling, relationship with?"
Yaya could tell that Connie was getting angry that she hadn't agreed to her proposal yet. "Look. Tsunami or whatever her name is, is just a loser! I mean, she hangs out with loser-nerds, she hasn't scored lower than an A in any her tests, and she's totally cramping your style with her nagging. She even actually does her homework! I mean, come on, can't get any nerdier than that! You're better off without her."
Connie actually started when Yaya slammed her fist on the table. "Watch it, D'Amico. You're talking about the girl I love."
"Pfft," Connie shrugged. "What does popularity has to do with love? So, it's a deal, right? Okay, we'll meet up later for our first kiss in front of the gym and..."
"No deal," Yaya nearly growled. "I suggest you roll up that popularity chart, stuff it into a bodily orifice of your choice and get lost, D'Amico."
Connie looked on incredulously, but then glowered. "I was hoping I wouldn't have needed to use this," she said, taking from her handbag a phone which was already hideously outdated by Japanese standards. She punched a few buttons and handed it to Yaya. Curious as she was, Yaya took the phone and saw herself on the little color screen. She was at the museum and it looked as if the camera in this phone had captured a little film of her knocking over a certain antique chamberpot after having snuck into the closed off Quahog seconds moments before the grand opening.
"Caught with your pants down, ey Nanto?" Connie smirked. "Be a shame if this were to become public knowledge, no?"
"So I have my very own stalker?" Yaya nodded.
"Like, duh! Research, of course!" Connie shrugged. "Choosing the wrong candidate could kill my popularity."
"You remind me of a girl from my school. She's called Kenjou Kaname-san," Yaya smiled.
"No doubt she's popular, beautiful and blond, yes?"
"Well, actually, all you have in common are your cutthroat mannerisms. In all other areas, she surpasses you by about a mile. In fact, if Kaname-san ever finds out I've compared her to an ignorant and moronic bimbo like you, she'll probably stuff my head up a toilet and flush it about a hundred times for the insult alone," Yaya answered.
"Enough talk," Connie narrowed her eyes. "So, do we have a deal? Will you dump the loser?"
Yaya handed the phone back to Connie, just in time to see Tsubomi getting back from the serving line with a glass of juice. She stopped next to the table and was just about to ask Connie why she was sitting in her chair when Yaya stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Yaya-chan?" Tsubomi asked.
"Tsubomi-chan," Yaya spoke, loudly enough for the entire cafeteria to hear her words. Every eye turned to her to see what the commotion was about. In the background, Connie smiled a smugly popular smile.
"Tsubomi-chan," Yaya smiled. "I want everyone to know how much I love you. I want everyone to know that I think you're the sexiest girl in the room. I mean it. You're smart, you're beautiful and you never back down from a challenge. Not to mention that you're also a great kisser and an even better lover. I just want you, and everybody here, to know how lucky I am to have you as my girlfriend."
Tsubomi's cheeks grew as red as a beet. -"Y-yaya-chan. You're embarrassing me..."- she whispered, but was awed by the sheer sincerity in Yaya's voice.
"I mean it," Yaya's eyes twinkled. "You're so much more than that dog Connie D'Amico. She wants me to dump you, so that she can take your place."
"WHAT?!" Tsubomi treated Connie to an icy scowl.
"But that's never going to happen," Yaya said, smirking at Connie. "Because she's a lame-brained popularity-minded bimbo with big smelly feet, fake blonde hair, five layers of make-up and the intellectual capacity of a below-average IQ shrimp. She has no true friends and her breath smells so bad it makes the plaster drop from the ceiling. She doesn't hold a candle to you. She is literally nothing compared to you, Tsubomi-chan."
Connie growled in anger when she realized the students in the cafeteria were starting to applaud the couple and were started to laugh at her. HER! While Yaya gently kissed the forehead of a severely embarrassed Tsubomi, Connie started to stomp off.
"You'll regret this, Nanto!" she called over her shoulder.
But Yaya was not concerned. "Do your worst," she shot back.
"Nan desu ka?" Tsubomi asked somewhat timidly.
-"Oh, just dealing with a loser,"- Yaya smiled. -"And telling my girlfriend how much I love her."-
Back at the Strawberry Dorms, Nagisa was rather worried about her best friend. She had been for quite some time now, and was gathering the courage to confront her with it. For the past half hour, she had been pretending to work on her homework, but in reality she was trying to find the right words. She looked over her shoulder and saw Tamao-chan at her own desk, apparently writing.
-"Say, Tamao-chan..."- Nagisa started softly.
-"Hm?"- the blue haired girl replied.
-"I, uh, I've been wanting to talk to you about something, Tamao-chan,"- said Nagisa.
-"About what?"- Tamao asked without looking up.
-"I've... I've been worried about you, Tamao-chan,"- There... no turning back now.
Tamao stopped writing and put down her pen. But she still didn't turn around.
-"Oh?"- she asked -"Shouldn't you be concentrating on your romantic trip with Shizuma-sama instead?"-
Nagisa froze. There was a coldness in Tamao's voice that pierced her heart. Soon enough, school would be suspended for a week in autumn, and she'd spend that week in the city with Shizuma. Is that why Tamao had been so distant lately? But Nagisa came to the conclusion that that couldn't be the case, since Tamao had been behaving oddly long before she even mentioned the romantic trip.
-"Seriously, Tamao-chan, I'm worried about you,"- Nagisa sighed. -"Please. Could you please look at me?"-
And finally, Tamao did turn around. -"Oh, really?"- Tamao crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. -"I'm flattered that you actually had the time to worry about me, considering you're not here most of the time."-
Stab. Right through Nagisa's heart again.
-"Tamao-chan, what's going on with you?"- Nagisa tried to smile, but failed. -"There's so much underwear in your closet that isn't yours. You sneak out at night and during the day, you're often nowhere to be found. And then there's all those stacks of girl-girl porn magazines underneath your bed."-
Tamao narrowed her eyes. -"Have you been looking through my things?!"- she accused angrily.
Nagisa was quick to defend. -"It's not that! I couldn't help but notice these things. There's so many panties in your closet that it can barely close, and the stacks of magazines are so high that they're raising your bed off the floor!"-
Tamao rose from her chair and glared at Nagisa. -"How dare you, giggity, accuse me of acting giggity. You are one to talk, giggity! There's nothing giggity with me! If there's anything wrong here, giggity, it's with you, giggity. Why don't you giggity mind your own business, giggity? Go giggity Shizuma-sama already and leave me giggity alone giggity. I'm giggity giggity giggity alllrrrrrrighttttt,"- she spat before running into the bathroom and slamming the door shut. The shockwave of that action caused her closet to fly open, causing an avalanche of colored panties and bras to spill forth. Also, her bed slanted to one side, causing a spew of porn to slide all over the floor.
-"T-Tamao-chan,"- Nagisa whispered sadly. She snuck over to the door and felt another stab through her heart when she heard Tamao sobbing softly on the other side of the door. It was then that she came to a decision. She opened a drawer and took a cellphone from it. She gave Tamao some privacy and locked the door behind her to prevent someone from seeing the echi stuff in their room.
She snuck off into a nearby broomcloset and flipped open her phone.
-"Hanazono."-
-"Shizuma!"-
-"Ah, Nagisa,"- to hear the warmth in Shizuma's voice after Tamao's coldness towards her was good for Nagisa. -"Good timing. I was about to call you. You should see the hotel I booked. It's gorgeous! Got the honeymoon suite, Nagisa. It has a heart-shaped bed and a jacuzzi! Oh, and the town is so beautiful. There's so many romantic restaurants and so many things to do there. We are going to have so much fun together. I'll come pick you up tomorrow evening. It's about a five-hour drive and..."-
-"Uhm, Shizuma?"-
-"What is it, Nagisa? "-
-"I... I want to invite Tamao-chan to come along with us for the holidays,"- Nagisa stammered.
Silence.
More silence.
-"S-shizuma?"-
"Atamagaokashii desu ka yo."
And there Nagisa had it. Are you insane?!
-"Nagisa,"- Shizuma continued. -"This is our one-year anniversary we're celebrating. A romantic holiday for two! Three is a crowd, Nagisa. Oh, wait. Wait, I get it... You're pulling my leg, right? Having a little fun with Shizuma? Well, it worked..."-
-"It's just that... Tamao-chan,"- Nagisa said with utter seriousness in her voice. -"She's been acting so weirdly lately and... I'm really afraid what she might do if she's left alone here for a week."-
-"You're serious, aren't you?"- Shizuma asked. -"Tell me what's been going on."-
Nagisa explained everything she knew, from what she'd seen to the rumors she had heard. Shizuma listened patiently to her.
-"... so that's the story,"- Nagisa sighed. -"I... she's my best friend, Shizuma. And I don't know what's going on with her, but something is deeply wrong with Tamao-chan. I don't think she'll do something to herself, but if she does... while I'm away celebrating our love... I'd never forgive myself, Shizuma."-
One the other end of the line, Shizuma sighed. -"Alright,"- Shizuma said. -"She can come."-
-"She can?!"- Nagisa smiled happily.
-"If she doesn't come along, all you are going to do is worry about her. But!! The evenings and the nights are ours and ours alone, Nagisa. We can spend the some of the days with her, but I don't want to see her around after dark. Seeing us together doing romantic things will probably do more harm than good. I'll book a room for her on the other side of the hotel as well."-
-"Why not the room next to ours?"-
-"Because"- Shizuma said. -"If she hears us together, it might be... unpleasant for all parties. Remember, I really intend to celebrate our love by making the sparks fly, Nagisa."-
Nagisa blushed. -"Wow,"- she said.
-"I can't believe I'm doing this... You're just too good for this world, Nagisa,"- Shizuma concluded.
-"You're the best, Shizuma. I'll tell her tonight."-
Later that evening, Tamao and her teacher Quagmire were sitting in a tree taking turns watching girls undress using the night vision goggles while having conversation.
"... so that's when Nagisa-chan invited me to come along," Tamao said while Quagmire giggitied away. Quagmire handed the goggles to Tamao. "I don't know why she thinks I should come along, but she was quite insistent and... whoa, I never realized Mio-san's boobs were that big. Wow..."
"Let me see, let me see, let me see," Quagmire took the goggles. "WHOA, JAPANESE BOOBS! Giggity-giggity-giggity goo! Anyway, why don't you take the invitation?"
"Do you think I should?"
"Why not? It's a free trip to the city. And... WHOA! Check out that Spican over there! Topless and looking in the mirror. OH!"
"Let me see," Tamao took the goggles and looked. "Oooh, nicccceeeeee..."
"As I was saying, it's a good chance to try out your skills in the wild. It'll help you learn to prowl and pick your targets and there's loads of parks in a city. Being a Pervert in the big city is a whole different ballgame than here, Tamao. Heh heh. It'd be good practise."
"I never thought of it that way," Tamao said.
"You know, sometimes you don't see something until it's right in front of you. And if you like, I'll come along, give you tips and keep an eye on you."
"Would you do that for me, Quagmire-sensei? Oh, wow, Hiromi and Ruri are making out!"
"Let me see, let me see! Giggity!" Quagmire took the goggles and watched. "OH!"
"If you will come along, sensei, then I'll go to Nagisa and tell her I will accept her invitation. In fact, I think I'll go tell her right now. Thank you, sensei, and enjoy the rest of the night."
"Oh, I will," he replied while Tamao started to climb down the tree."Giggity. Kaname and Momomi... ah, there you are, ready to make loovvvvveee. Oh, crap, they've closed the curtains! Don't close the curtains, dammit! Ah, the pure selfishness of it..."
Tamao walked towards the entrance of the dorms and was surprised to find someone sitting on the steps. -"Chiyo-chan?"- she asked. -"What are you doing here?"-
-"Tamao-oneesama!"- Chiyo cried and practically flung herself into Tamao's arms. -"I was waiting for you!"-
-"What? Why?!"-
-"I saw Tamao-oneesama walking through the hallways looking as if she'd been crying,"- Chiyo smiled. -"So I followed her to see if she was alright. But I lost Tamao-oneesama when she ducking into the forest, so I came back here and waited for you. And I was so worried when she didn't come back until this late. I'm so glad to see you, Tamao-oneesama!"-
But the feeling wasn't mutual. -"Not you too! I am so sick and tired with people being worried about me! There's nothing wrong with me! Why don't you just go to bed, Chiyo-chan, and leave me be?"-
-"T-Tamao-oneesama..."-
-"Leave me alone!"- she shouted, leaving Chiyo standing there in the darkness. But as soon as she went up the stairs to head to her room, she already felt her heart constricting with guilt.
"To the right! To the right! No, to the left. Now up. Up. Down again. Up. To the right. Up," Remon said while Kagome kept walking back and forth between the television set and the make-shift satellite dish which Chris and Kizuna were aiming at the sky.
After Chris had been raving about American television during classes, Kizuna and Remon had decided to see for themselves. And due to good ole Japanese ingenuity, Kizuna and Remon (which ample help from Chris and Kagome) had managed to turn an old zinc washtub, an old radio and a score of old coat-hangers into a satellite dish with matching decoder system, which they had connected to a tv.
Sister Hitomi, head of Lulim and the most laid-back of the three nuns that ran Astraea Hill, having been enticed with the possibility of seeing the latest episodes of 'Lost' before they'd air in Japan if this make-shift system worked, was more than eager to lend them an TV from the school supplies.
-"Do we have picture yet?"- Kizuna grunted under the weight of the zinc washtub while Chris moved to support it with a wooden beam.
-"Yes!"- Remon said.
-"Onshibaru sees dead people,"- Kagome announced matter-of-factly.
Immediately, the four friends dove in front of the television and started to zap.
"What's this show, Chris-kun?" Remon asked.
"That's the Knight Rider," he said. "It's about a guy and his car."
Zap.
"And this one?" Kizuna asked.
"That's Dukes of Hazzard," Chris replied. "It's about two guys in a car."
Zap.
"Onshibaru wants to know what this show is about."
"That's the A-team," Chris said. "It's about four guys in a van."
"I'm starting to notice a pattern here," Remon said. "Americans love cars."
Zap.
"WOW!" Chris raved. "I love these guys! They blow stuff up!"
Two rather nerdy looking individuals, one wearing a baret and the other having a mischievous glint in his eye, appeared on the screen.
"Hey," said Adam Savage, "Don't try what you're about to see at home. We're what you call experts."
"That's right," added Jamie Hyneman. "We do this for a living."
Exactly 42 minutes and 13 seconds later, an awed Kizuna exchanged a glance with an equally awed Remon.
-"Kizuna-chan,"- said Remon. -"Get the power tools."-
-"For great justice,"- Kizuna whispered.
-"Did you get it, did you get it?!"- Remon asked excitedly after Kizuna returned from her trip to Spica. With a broad smile, Kizuna produced a small bag filled with black powder.
-"Yeppers,"- Kizuna smiled. -"Kenjou-sama had some gunpowder in supply. I had to trade some rare YuGiOh cards for it, though. But if this works, I'd be worth it."-
-"Really?"- Remon asked. -"Only YuGiOh cards?"-
-"Kenjou-sama told me that they are worth more than cocaine to the right kind of people,"- she shrugged. Between the two of them, Kaname and Momomi practically ran the Astraea Hill Black Market, so it was best they didn't ask too many questions.
The four friends were gathered in a small glen near the lake and just had the last component they needed for their invention: a tree-cannon. After witnessing the Mythbusters turning a regular tree into an awesome destructive force, they just had to try it for themselves. Fortunately, there was no shortage of trees at Astraea Hill. It had just been a matter of finding a properly sized one, putting the chainsaw to it and then using a big oversized power-drill to drill in a hole. In the end, Chris was aiming the cannon by positioning it on a stack of flat shale, away from any buildings and people. All that was left to do was to put in the powder, put in the stone they wanted to fire and light the fuse.
-"Onshibaru wonders if this is wise,"- Kagome said.
-"Is Onshibaru chickening out?"- Kizuna asked.
-"Onshibaru did not say that!"- Kagome added defensively.
At the same time, blissfully unaware of the dangerous experiment taking place nearby, were two people enjoying a peaceful picnic.
Shion leaned back, letting the sun warm her face as she closed her eyes. It was such a nice day. The sun was out, the birds were singing, and all that could be heard was the water of the lake as a slight breeze made the water clash against the tiny rocks at the side of the lake.
-"Open up,"- demanded Chikaru. Shion opened her eyes to see the lovely visage of Chikaru as she held out a bit of toast with some caviar on top. Shion let Chikaru feed her toast and she lay to her side, on top of the large cloth which held both herself, Chikaru and their picnic basket as they lay in the warm grass. The perfect date.
Chikaru was wearing casual clothes, a lovely long red dress, matching well with her usual red ribbons in her hair. Unlike Chikaru, Shion was wearing her Spica uniform, however.
-"Are you ever going to take that off?"- Chikaru asked. -"It's saturday."-
-"Well,"- Shion said slyly and propped herself up a little. -"There are certain circumstances under which I can be persuaded to remove my uniform. And the rest of my clothes."-
Chikaru blushed slightly. -"Echi! Bad Shion!"-
Shion giggled. -"Sorry. I couldn't resist."-
-"There's one day we both are going to have to take off our uniforms forever, Shion-koi,"- Chikaru said. -"We graduate end March next year."-
Shion nodded. -"I don't really want to think about it yet. Astraea Hill... it's been our home for six years. Our school. The focal point of our lives."-
-"Are you scared of graduation? And what comes after?"- Chikaru asked gently.
Shion was about to give a sharp reply, but softened when she realized just what Chikaru was asking. There was no way she could lie to Chikaru. Chikaru could see through her as if she was... that black see-through nighty that Shion liked to wear for Chikaru sometimes.
-"Terrified,"- Shion answered honestly. -"Here, I'm somebody. I've a position of power. I'm respected. Out there, I'm nobody."-
-"In here, you're my Shion-koi,"- Chikaru smiled. -"Out there, you'll be my Shion-koi as well. Things will be different. And things will stay the same."-
-"You?"-
-"It'll be... strange,"- Chikaru sighed. -"And I'll miss Astraea Hill and all my friends, but... sometimes, I guess, it's just time to move on."-
-"Chikaru, I..."- Shion started, then paused for a moment. She rolled on her back and watched the clouds above them. -"I hope... I hope the two of us... I hope we'll always be together."-
-"We were apart for so long,"- Chikaru smiled. -"Now I can't imagine us ever being apart ever again. And... hm..."-
Shion frowned. -"What's wrong?"-
-"Maybe it's just me, but wasn't there a tree over there?"- Chikaru wondered.
-"It's a forest, there are trees everywhere, Sweetness."-
-"No, I remember there was this tall tree over there. You could see it sticking out above the canopy, but it's gone now. But maybe you're right, I could be mistaken,"- Chikaru shrugged.
-"You? Mistaken?"- Shion smiled. -"Impossible."-
-"Flatterer,"- Chikaru giggled and with one sleigh of hand, pulled one of the red ribbons from her hair. She took the ribbon in both hands and slung it over Shion's head. Chikaru smiled slyly as she used the ribbon to pull the other girl towards her.
Shion took the invitation and leaned in for a kiss. Their lips met and before they knew it, the two girls were kissing as if it would be their last kiss. At that moment, Shion realized that she was happy. It was a feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time, but ever since she and Chikaru had gotten back together there'd been no shortage of it.
Though there was almost unanimous support from Lulim, there were some loud voices in Spica who claimed that her relationship with Chikaru could possibly cause conflicts of interest. Shion was always quick to point out that, even though she loved Chikaru dearly, she would represent Spica until the very end and she knew that Chikaru was not the kind of person to use their relationship as leverage.
A gust of wind belt Chikaru's ribbon away from them, until it landed near a tree a few yards away. -"Wait,"- Shion said while she gazed in Chikaru's eyes. -"I'll go get it for you."-
Chikaru reluctantly let her beloved Shion escape from her embrace and watched her lover's graceful stride. Suddenly, however, she was startled by a rather loud explosion in the distance. Before she could find out where the sound had came from, she was aware that there was something heavy flying through the air. Whatever it was, it collided with the tree Shion was standing under, causing a large branch to snap off and fall down.
-"SHION!"- Chikaru cried in terror when heard her beloved's startled yelp just before she was engulfed by falling wood and leaves. She ran to her and started pushing twigs and branches aside. -"Shion! Speak to me!"-
Finally, the tiny girl came in sight. Shion groaned heavily as she tried to move herself from underneath the branch.
-"Lie still,"- Chikaru whispered. -"You might have broken something."-
-"I'm fine,"- Shion bit her lip as she tried to pull herself out. Her uniform was torn and smudged, but otherwise the girl didn't seem to be worse for wear, until...
Chris Griffin, with the Lulim trio in tow, came running towards them. "Hey, Sharon," Chris asked Shion. "Did you see where our cannon-ball went?"
"C-cannon-ball?" Shion frowned.
"From our cool tree-cannon that we just made. Do you wanna see it?"
Shion gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes when pure white unadulterated rage took hold of her. She snapped off a branch with anger-induced super-human anime-girl strength and glowered at Chris.
Chris gulped and started running.
"I just found a cool stick! Wanna see it?! UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL?!" Shion snarled as she chased after Chris.
"AAAAAAAAH! YOU'RE MEAN!"
As about an hour later, Kizuna, Remon, Kagome were standing with bowed heads in Sister Hitomi's office while Chris (which a huge lump on his head) was standing there as well, generally looking friendly and stupid and was wondering why his friends seemed to be so down. Sister Hitomi sat behind her desk, while Chikaru stood next to her. Sister Hitomi's office was quite different from any other of the school offices. One wall was entirely decorated with gifts of drawings and artworks which current and former students had made for her. The opposite wall was entirely filled up with Sister Hitomi's sizable toy-collection. Behind her hung her most prized possession: a limited edition framed poster of her favorite cartoon character: Soundwave.
"I am very disappointed with you," Chikaru told her friends. "Shion could have been seriously hurt. Where did you get this idea from anyway? What possessed you to turn a tree into a cannon?"
The four friends were feeling quite sad. In a way it would have been easier if their friend Chikaru had simply gotten angry with them.
"The TV did it," Chris admitted.
-"Do you still have the cannon?"- Sister Hitomi asked. -"Can I fire it? Oh, please, please, please, I'll be ever so careful."-
-"Not now, sister Hitomi-sama."-
-"Oh, you're no fun, Chikaru-chan,"- Sister Hitomi pouted. -"Hey,"- she asked Kizuna. -"Is that gum?"-
Kizuna immediately stopped chewing. -"Uhm. Yes. I'm sorry, Sister Hitomi-sama. I forgot I had it in my mouth."-
-"Cool! Can I have some too?"-
-"Not now, sister Hitomi-sama,"- Chikaru said again and started speaking in English. "Now, I have the perfect idea to turn your destructive urges into something more productive. Remember the old boathouse? It's fallen in disrepair since we moved the canoes to the new boat-house at Spica. And we're in luck, because now I'm going to found the Tear-Down-The-Old-Boathouse-Club! And your tree-cannon might even come in handy for that! We'll tear down the building, clear out the mess and plant new young trees in its place. Is that a good idea?"
The relieved girls exchanged a happy look. -"Will you be joining us, Chikaru-chan?"- Kizuna asked.
-"As soon as I make sure Shion-koi is alright,"- Chikaru smiled. -"Oh, and don't forget. I want all of you to write a letter of apology to Shion. She could have been seriously hurt, so do remember that."-
"Hai!" was the general consensus.
-"I will come too!"- Sister Hitomi smiled. -"I want to fire the cannon!"-
Chikaru smiled. So today's incident would be turned into a nice gathering among friends. She was glad sister Hitomi was willing. Of course, Sister Hitomi was often so out of it that Chikaru practically ran all of Lulim by herself most of the time.
Sister Hitomi smiled at the group and immediately did her patented Soundwave imitation. "Lulim: Superior. Spica and Maitor: Inferior."
Though she had promised not to leave Hikari's side, Amane found that she had been sent on another fact-finding tour. Fortunately, she had been able to limit this visit to about three days, especially now that Kaname and Momomi had their hooks in Hikari. Most of the time she had been away, she had been incredibly nervous. What would she find when she'd return to Astraea Hill. Unfortunately, she didn't have to wait long to find it.
-"What the bloody hell?!"- Amane whispered when she took in the sight of Hikari apparently overseeing the placement of a new statue at the entrance of the school. But she gulped when she realized just where this statue was being placed... it was to be placed on the same pedestal which held the statue of Maria-sama.
Correction: it was to be placed on the same pedestal which FORMERLY held the statue of Maria-sama. Maria-sama herself was nowhere in sight.
-"Hi... Hikari!"- Amane ran up to her lover and fellow Etoile. -"Wh-What... Uh. Explain, please."-
-"Oh, hi Amane-chan,"- Hikari smiled lovingly and leaned against Amane. Unfortunately, Amane was too concerned to return the hug. She noticed the statue was of the famous Japanese writer and poet Natsume Soseki stood ready to be tackled onto the pedestal. Sure, it was a nice statue and the material seemed to be high quality, but still...
-"Oh, we've decided on placing a new statue to greet the students when they enter the school. A famous literary figure should promote learning and entice the students,"- Hikari smiled. -"Natsume Soseki was the perfect choice, really. He's iconic for Japanese literature and..."-
-"Is it a coincidence that he's also Kenjou's favorite poet?"- Amane crossed her arms and shook her head.
-"No,"- Hikari smiled. -"Kaname-chan helped me pick the statue. Doesn't it look nice? And, like Kaname-chan said we'll be the only Catholic school for girls with a statue of Natsume Soseki. It makes us stand out and will impress the visitors."-
-"But... Maria-sama!-" Amane said. -"This is a Catholic school, Hikari. And you're a Catholic too! How can you take this so lightly?! Dammit, Hikari, I'm Shinto and even I'm offended by the removal of Maria-sama!"-
Hikari frowned. -"But we already have a statue of Maria-sama. And it's much nicer and in a much nicer location. And, like Kaname-chan said, we should strive to be welcoming to people of all religions, not just those of the Catholic faith. Let's face it, Amane-chan, the number of actual Catholics in this school can be counted on one hand."-
Amane sighed heavily. -"A certain confirmed atheist told you that, right?"-
-"Amane,"- Hikari frowned. -"Shame on you! Atheists are people too! Even though God will punish them for all eternity in the fires of Hell after they die..."-
Amane sighed again. -"That's not what I meant. Look, Hikari, just tell me what happened to Maria-sama."-
-"Oh,"- Hikari shrugged. -"Kaname-chan and Momomi-sama said they'd take care of everything. They got in some contractors to take away the old heavy statue and..."-
Amane almost started hyperventilating. She rubbed her hands through her hair and shook her head. -"Oh, god, no. Hikari, don't you get it? That was a valuable 150 year old statue of Maria-sama! Wake up, Hikari! They used you again. They flogged it off! You let them flog off the statue of Maria-sama!"-
Hikari looked confused, but realized she was being accused of something and was not too happy about that. -"Amane, what are you saying?"-
At that moment, two other girls rounded about the corner. Kaname and Momomi stopped for a moment to look at the statue and nodded in approval. Amane couldn't help but notice that they were both wearing new expensive clothes... and that Momomi was wearing an expensive looking necklace and diamond rings on all fingers.
Amane crossed her arms. -"I notice you're wearing some new bling-bling there, Kiyashiki-san,"- she stated suspiciously.
Kaname smiled. -"Nice, isn't it? We had a small windfall, you see. Death in the family and all that. Have you seen my new motorbike? Latest model, expensive tires, the works. We're off to the track right now. Later, dude. See ya, Hikari."-
And again the steadfast blush on Hikari's face after Kaname had winked at her. She kept looking at Kaname's back until the girls were out of sight.
-"Look!"- Amane spun Hikari around fiercely. -"I don't care how you do it, but you WILL get Maria-sama back on her pedestal. Where are the sisters? Why didn't they put a stop to this?"-
-"The sisters are at a convention for the rest of the week,"- Hikari challenged. -"Except for Sister Hitomi."-
-"Why am I not surprised?"- Amane sighed. -"Let me guess, Kenjou approached you with this idea of hers the moment the sisters left for that convention. Am I correct?"-
The silence from Hikari was enough answer for her.
-"The sisters will be delighted when they see this statue and hear my explanation,"- Hikari countered.
Amane shook her head. -"No, Hikari. The sisters will delightfully expel you when they see this statue."-
Hikari pouted. -"Sister Hitomi-sama said she liked the statue."-
-"Sister Hitomi-sama doesn't live on this planet most of the time, Hikari-chan!"- Amane snapped. -"Hikari, think! You've been used again. You've got to stop listening to Kenjou!"
Hikari narrowed her eyes angrily. -"Oh, I understand now, Amane. You're jealous. You're jealous of Kaname-chan."-
-"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me,"- Amane countered. -"There's no way I could be jealous of her!"-
-"Oh, yes you are,"- Hikari glowered. -"There's nothing going on between me and Kaname-chan. You don't have to be worried."-
And the impossible happened: Quiet, docile and calm Amane lost her temper.
-"I AM... worried about you, goddammit! You allow yourself to be used by the likes of Kenjou and you just take it all in stride and think I'm jealous of her?! Dammit, Hikari, you really are st..."- Amane caught herself before blurting out the actual word, but the message came across clearly.
Hikari's eyes watered over as she regarded Amane sadly. -"What were you about to say to me?"- she asked with a tiny voice.
-"Hikari..."- Amane sighed, now calm again. -"I'm sorry. I..."-
-"What were you about to say to me?"- Hikari asked, more forcefully this time.
Amane sighed and tried to put her hands on Hikari's shoulders. The tiny girl pulled away and fixed her lover with an angry glare. -"What were you about to say to me?!"- Hikari spat again.
-"Look, it's not important,"- Amane sighed.
-"It was clear enough,"- Hikari started sobbing and sped off towards the Dorms.
Amane sighed heavily and let herself plop down on one of the benches near the statue. The construction workers were returning from their break to lift the statue in place and Amane watched them work for a while.
'Oh, yes, wise move Amane-baka,' Amane told herself. 'If Kenjou could see you now she'd be laughing her ass off. God, I probably sent her running straight to Kenjou to cry her heart out right now.'
Amane realized that something had to be done to free Hikari from Kenjou's influence. But what? Even after having been together for almost a year, Amane had to admit she didn't know Hikari all that well. But there was one person who did.
Nanto-san.
She had to ask Nanto-san for help. It was the last option she had left.
Meanwhile, back in the States, Yaya was driving back home. As usually, she rode her bike with both bookbags in the basket on her steering wheel while Tsubomi hitched a ride on the back. She enjoyed the feeling of Tsubomi's warmth as the pink-haired girl encircled her waist and leaned into her back.
As she turned into Spooner Street, Tsubomi whispered to her. "So that's what that was all about. But, what if D'Amico-san really does show that movie to anyone?"
Yaya shrugged as she parked her bike next to the garage and let Tsubomi off.
"Don't worry," Yaya said as she and Yaya walked along the house and entered through the kitchen. "It's just a lousy old chamberpot. What's the worst that could happen?"
But as she and Tsubomi walked into the living room, she could see Peter, Lois and Brian were in front of the TV watching the news.
"Konichiwa, minna-san," Yaya greeted.
Brian turned towards her with some concern in his eyes. "Uh, Yaya? You might want to sit down for a moment."
"Huh? Why?"
"More breaking news on the heinous act of vandalism which has taken place at the Quahog Museum of Natural History earlier this month and which has shocked Quahog to the very core. Even moreso than Diane's horribly failed nosejob," Tom Tucker of the news announced cheerfully.
"A movie which surfaced on the internet earlier," Diane Simmons filled in, "shows a girl tentatively identified as Japanese exchange student Yaya Nanto blatantly destroying an item of cultural significance to the city of Quahog."
The picture changed to a three-second grainy video of Yaya accidentally knocking over the Chatterbox Chamberpot.
"Hey, Yaya!" Peter raved. "You're on TV!"
Yaya sighed. "Oh, this is just dandy."
Sorry about the cliffhanger. Summer Holiday will be posted next.
