You know what I loved about homeschooling? I got saturdays and sundays off. Here, I just get Sunday. I miss homeschooling and all the vacation time.
" Hey, Miaka-chan, you still up for that movie?" Fuyuko-chan asks coming out of her room, her black hair a mess.
" How could you possibly still be in bed at this hour? It's eleven in the morning!" I say, closing my novel. I've been awake since six the the morning, taken a shower, cleaned my room, cleaned the house, and made lunch. She isn't even out of her pajamas!
" Well, not all of us can be up at insane hours like six in the morning!" she snaps. Fuyuko-chan isn't a morning person. Probably has an AB blood type.
" Whatever. In answer to your question, Fuyuko-chan, maybe. I wanted to take a look around Yokai. Alone," I add. I wanted to figure out how those attackers have been moving around. I stand up and look around outside, seeing several medical specialists crowding around a set of students. Fuyuko-chan follows me to the window, gasping as she sees the sight of all the people surrounding the students and medics.
" They came this close to our hall?" She says with a quiver in her voice.
" Yeah. Apparently this happened before I was even up," I mumble.
" Miaka-chan, don't go off alone!" Fuyuko-chan begs.
" I'll be fine. S-class, remember?" I say, winking. She already knows I'm a werewolf, I'm allowed to use puns and references.
" Just stay safe," she sighs, clearly understanding that I'd come out winning the arguement anyway. " When were you thinking of going?"
In answer, a grab my pack shoving some dry foods, water, and a thermos containing my lunch. "I was planning on leaving as soon as you got up. There's some rice in the pot, in case you're hungry," I say with a smile. Well, if she didn't get up before lunch, I had planned to make her some rice. Roomates do the stuff sometimes, right? Besides I was raised with manners and my moms' drilled it into me that I should do small things that can change someone's day. Making rice for Fuyuko-chan? It's a pretty simple way.
" Really? Thanks!" she says, clearly grateful. My roomate is really lazy, maybe I should have made her make food. I smile in return and put on my shoes, saying goodbye, then walking down the staurs of Hyrda Hall.
Sadly, for my sensitive hearing, there's a lot of commotion outside, more from the ever-growing crowd of students than anything else. A few first-year girls turn around as they hear me coming and they quickly take in what I'm wearing: simple shorts that end mid-thigh, a plaid red t-shirt, nothing extraordinary. They must think so to because they give me a look of disaproval before turning their attention back to the crime scene.
I know I shouldn't let their looks get to me, but it does. What's wrong with me? Is my clothing choice not fitting their standards? I mean, yes, it's plaid and some people hate it, but as for myself, I love it. As does my grandfather and my uncle and my brother and my cousin, Takashi. Maybe it's because mainly the guys I know where plaid. I notice Gin-kun taking photos - he must be having a field day with this new scoop ... And then I see why they looked so disaprovingly. Gin-kun's wearing a near identical shirt! What are the odds? From the look I'm getting as I walk by the crowd, I can see this doesn't help those rumours of Gin-kun and I.
As much as I hate to admitt it I really hate it when people look at me like some freak. Well, I'm obviously different and all, but a freak? I normally have a strong self-esteem, but this takes a blow to it as I realize that a lot of people here probably think of me as some slut.
Too caught up in my thoughts, I've realized I've ended up in the thick woods around Youkai. How'd that happen? I must have been worrying over what people would think. But, this is exactly where I wanted to end up. As I see the rough terrain before me, I'm glad I chose to wear my hiking boots. Werewolves are built for the woods but I have an extremely bad habit of tripping over things. Is it even possible for a werewolf to be accident prone?
I shake my head, clearing my head. I came in her for a purpose - To find out how the attackers are getting around Yokai. I've headed out in the direction I heard the attackers coming from when they first attacked Kokko-chan but while I walk, I'm too preoccupied thinking of my first week of Yokai.
Have I really been here for just one week? It only feels like a couple of days since I left home. I still miss it terribly though. Right now, mom would be working around the house and getting lunch ready. Dad, what would you be doing? Are you swimming or out with friends? No, it'd be Teiji that would be out. Probably with Yuri-chan and my counin, Takashi with whatever girlfriend he has now. Suzume-chan and Tama-chan are probably at home. Meanwhile I'm at Yokai. Just imagining them without me brings near tears to my eyes. I miss them so, so much ...
First day of Yokai and I completley do the opposite of a low-profile. I gave a praising speech about werewolves, I beat Gin-kun, the fastest boy at Yokai, and Haiji-kun blabs to everyone that I won the monster world karate championships. Then, I end up saving Kokko-chan and being a witness to a stabbing. Because I had to stop her bleeding, I had to take off my shirt and use it to stop her bleeding (Although, thankfully, I had my gi in my bag) which just made me the subject of gossip all across Yokai.
And if that wasn't bad enough, Usagi-chan sprayed wolfsbane in my face, causing me to have yet another near death experience. She nearly poisoned all those that were near her, and she caused Gin-kun and I to be emitted to the recovery unit for three days. Well, I got three days, he left before I did. To make matters even worse, the day I get out of the hospital is the day the club ban lifted! I still don't know what I'll do about that. I've narrowed my choices down to the newspaper club, the karate club, or the skate club. What I love about the skate club is that they do a lot of collaborating projects between the singing and dance clubs. I'm good at all three (well, maybe not singing, although my family loves it when I sing. I don't think I'm that good though) but ... What about Gin-kun and Haiji-kun?
It's bad enough I have to choose between the two of them for their clubs. I love doing both, writing and fighting and Gin-kun and Haiji-kun are both my friends. How can I possibly choose between the two? Can't I just not join a club and just volunteer at the elementary school? No, of course not, that's against the rules, but I really, really don't want to have to choose between two of my few friends at Yokai. Fuyuko-chan is with the art club, so I don't really need to worry about hurting her. In her eyes, writing and skating is like an art so if this were up to her, she'd end up picking between the newspaper club and the skate club.
Only this isn't about her choice. It's about mine. I don't want anyone to get hurt by my decision though. Would Haiji-kun and Gin-kun be understanding or hurt and shun me? I would be completley upset if they didn't want to be my friend because of the club I decided to join. I can't make them both happy though. Besides, if they were truly my friends they would be happy with my decision, right? Exactly! I could even come to a compromise with them. Maybe help out the first years with their roundhouse kick, or help with a new more interesting layout for the newspaper.
But it still doesn't make me feel any better about having to practically choose between the two club leaders.
I guess I'll have plenty of time to think about it, but until then I've got my job to do. Find out how those attackers have been hurting the students at Yokai!
ROSARIO+VAMPIRE
" Hey, did you look at the Yokai newspaper?"
" Yeah, it was so interesting! It was so detailed about the robbery group incident!"
" Ah, the boss looks kinda cute!"
" Newspaper club! How about a copy of the newspaper? It's the first issue of the semester!" Adverstises Moka-chan.
While I was out in the woods, I didn't do what I planned. I didn't find the attackers location or even get to fight them. Instead, this is how it went down: Kokoa-chan and Moka-chan went into the abandoned dungeon further in on the grounds of Yokai (the exact place I was heading towards), then Tsukune-kun (who I really should interrogate soon because I'm about eighty-five percent sure he's human) followed them in and soon after that, Kurumu-chan (the succubus I saw earlier while I was chasing down Gin-kun for taking that article on the Nakajima involvement in Fairy Tale), Mizore-chan, Yukari-chan, and Ruby-san. This lead to this huge fight and Ura-Moka-chan was released! I thought for sure I'd get a fight in with her, but she was sealed away before I could even lift my fist. I wasn't at the fight, but I felt her presence and made a run for the fight. If Ura-Moka-chan is out, I'm garunteed a good fight! The thought of fighting had nearly put a smile upon my face.
I lift up the newspaper to read the small black print. On the first page, I spy an article written by Gin-kun. As I read it, I feel an icy presence peeking out from a tree. Okay, let's see, Mizore-chan is about ten yards away, behind a tree, with her shoe peeking out from the thick brown trunk of the tree with an violet-blue eye staring into my back. And this is what I can tell without even looking up from reading his article.
His article ... It's pretty good. He's got the headline big and bold and it catches your attention. The lead paragraph gives the whole who, what, when, where, why and how scenario. It proves he knows his stuff. He's decided perfectly on the other important facts to answer the questions the reader might have, like how the attackers entered Yokai and what punishment they'll receive. The section even includes quotes from witnesses and bystanders. There's even something that I said when I helped Kokko-chan! Even if I don't want to, I can't help it ... The thought that he included a quote from me brings a smile to my face.
Apparantley, Kurumu-chan notices. She smirks and comes up to me. She says," What are you smiling about, Miaka-sempai?"
I snap my head up from reading Gin-kun's article and look at her face. I smile. " Just the entire newspaper in general. It's great! The layout is eye-catching and the articles are very in-depth."
" What about my cooking column?" she pouts. I can't help but laugh.
" Don't worry, Kurumu-chan! I'll get to it eventually, after all, I'm just on the first page," I laugh.
" Are you reading Gin-sempai's article?" young Yukari-chan asks, coming up beside Kurumu-chan.
" Just finished it actually," I say with a smile," He's a very good writer." I pick up a giggle from Kurumu-chan and Moka-chan. " What are you giggling about?"
" Oh, nothing, Miaka-sama," Moka-chan smiles. I have the sinking feeling that she's thinking something about me. And it isn't something I want to give much thought about. I usually overthink a lot of things. Like Gin-kun giving me CPR when I had my allergic reaction. Like a hero. For all I know, that made the difference between my life and my death. I still owe him one for that.
" Moka-chan, if I know you, I know you and Kurumu-san are giggling about something worthwhile," I say accusingly," And I'll find out about it!"
" You're as bad as Gin-sempai when he's chasing down a scoop!" remarks Yukari-chan.
" Except when he's chasing down a scoop, he's taking pictures of girls in the changeroom," says Mizore-chan in a quiet, icy voice, coming out from behind her tree.
" How dare he take pictures of our breasts?" Yukari-chan demands.
" Why, what do you have to worry about? You have none!" says Kurumu-chan in a sweet, but very insulting voice which sets off an arguement with her and Yukari-chan about having a chest versus not having one. A tap on my shoulder saves me from having to listen to them. I turn around and find Gin-kun's bright eyes looking into my gold eyes. The intensity from his gaze shocks me so much, that I end up tripping as I turn around.
" Whoa!" he says, saving me from crashing to the ground with one, strong arm. I can't help but look blankly and him, blushing slightly. How could I fall like that? Is it even possible to trip while turning around? Is it even possible for their to be an accident-prone werewolf like me?
" Thanks, you really saved me there," I say in a bright voice, smiling at him. As embarassing as it is to trip and nearly fall (giving almost everyone a panty-flash) I'm glad he caught me.
" No problem," he says then the both of us fully stand up. He smiles at me. " How are you, Miaka-san?"
" Terrific actually! Being dragged down by all the homework and studying and Fuyuko-chan begging me to see this new werewolf horror movie at the cinema. But other than that, I'm doing pretty well and recovering very wel!" I smile. " How are yo-?"
And before I can even say anything else, Fuyuko-chan grabs me roughly by the collar of my Yokai blazer and drags me to the coffee shop. Apparently I forgot about meeting up with Hiroshi-kun. The sight I get to take with me is the sight of a bewildered looking Gin-kun and a giggling Moka-chan.
Gah! Suckie chapter! I AM SOOOO SORRY! *sobs* I can't write! I'm finding it so hard to write! NEXT TWO CHAPTERS I PROMISE I'M GOING TO PUT HAIJI IN IT! I might do another chapter like this, a two-parter kind of thing with Miaka touring the clubs and the Prankster monster, the one were Kokko Nakamoto goes around slashing girls uniforms to stay away from Gin. Should I make Miaka a potential victim or would that not fit her M.O.?
A QUESTION FOR MY READERS: What do you predict will happen in this story? Do you think any scenarios would help the MiakaxGinxHaiji friendship? What are those scenarios and why do you think that? REVIEW ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS.
Until next time, I love you all for reading and reviewing! I might be a little slow at updating because I have other things I want to update and I'm starting a Hunger Games fanfiction and I'm also working on things for Anime North.
Also, for those who don't write articles, a byline is who wrote the article. Byline in this case is Ginei Morioka ;)
READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!