It was Friday Maths, and the combination couldn't be worse. Friday should be the day of rest, the day when the wheels of activity grind slowly to a halt with everyone slipping into the lazy stupor of the weekend. Nobody should be forced to do anything, much less calculations of areas under a graph, or the steepness of the incline of a curve.
Asaoka's mood had recovered somewhat since yesterday, the thought of a secret lunch meeting cheering him up considerably.
Mr Yamazaki, the long-suffering maths teacher, was no longer surprised by the whoosh and blur of movement through the door as the lunch bell rang. Asaoka-kun had been practically teleporting away from his class the minute it ended.
Unfortunately, teleporting was exactly what Asaoka needed. He had decided halfway through math class that he had better pick Mami up outside her classroom instead of meeting her at the designated spot.
He felt his heart drop all the way to his toes when he got to the second years' corridor and saw one particular pesky first year talking to Mami-chan. His footsteps quickened as he approached them, cursing inwardly to himself.
The other second years didn't pay him much attention, since he, Yoh and Fumi frequently show up in their corridor for Haruna, Asami and Mami. Some noticed that he was alone, which was unusual, but didn't think much of it.
"Mami-sempai, are those bento boxes you're holding?" Hio said.
"Yeah…" Mami had seen Asaoka, and he wasn't smiling.
"Is the other one for Haruna-sempai?" Hio asked hopefully. Hopefully, because it would mean that she had made one for him if it wasn't for Haruna-sempai.
Mami shook her head, unaware of his question. She could tell that Asaoka was in a foul mood, and it vexed her.
"So it must be for me! Mami-sempai, you shouldn't have gone to such trouble just to tell me you like me too!" Hio was overjoyed.
Mami gaze snapped back to him in horror as what he was saying finally registered in her head. She shook her head frantically while protesting. Hio reached out to grab one of her boxes, and Mami was snatching it away in a flurry of motion when everything in the universe just stopped.
To say that he was agitated would be the understatement of the century. His agitation had reached the sublime, such that it could scarcely be observed. His eyes held a devastating gleam, and his smile was so genial and sparkly, it actually hurt to look. His grip on Hio's arm, like the unholy gleam in his eye, betrayed his murderous intent.
Mami was a little frightened for Hio, but the prey himself didn't seem at all fazed to be held fast in the jaws of death. It seemed that he was only curious who this tall stranger was.
"I would stop if I were you." Asaoka spoke, in a voice low and smooth as honey. Mami was transfixed.
"I would suggest that you stop harassing my Mami-chan…" The smile was blinding.
"And I would also recommend that you stop trying to take what was made for…" Asaoka continued as he dropped Hio's arm like a dead rat.
"Me." Asaoka plucked the bento box from Mami's unresisting fingers.
He stepped between them to manoeuver Mami away from the shorter boy. He was triumphantly pleased to discover that he was at least two inches taller than Hio.
"Shall we go?" Asaoka turned his charm on Mami, who nodded mutely. Who could resist that voice?
Asaoka placed a hand on the small of her back (Mami was too shell-shocked to notice that he'd taken such a liberty.) to steer her away from the scene. He turned to give Hio one last disparaging and victorious smirk. Some second years had stopped to watch and they gasped at the pure wickedness of that expression.
Poor Hio was left quite dazed. It took several moments after their departure for what Asaoka had said to sink it. "His Mami-chan!? What!? Hio wailed to himself and scared away some second years.