T.K.'s Note:
Finally, another chapter out!
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh! casts and the plot line mentioned in the anime and manga. I do, however, own the plot line aside from the ones mentioned in the anime and manga as well as Miyazaki Cho, Michiyo Naoko, Miyagi Gem, Sasaki Aya, and other OC's that are not done by Kazuki Takahashi. Also, all music and lyrics go to their respective owners and companies except minor lyric changes.
Final Note Before Reading:
Special thanks to those who've read and reviewed / messaged! Enjoy this next segment of Just a Crazy Girl.
Chapter Ten: Sabotage. Well, Nobody's Perfect.
.:: :: ::.
"Kimura-sempai, what are you doing here?" Cho asked as he settled next to Sasaki.
Last time Cho recalled, Kimura was Michiyo's boyfriend. What was he doing with her school nemesis, Sasaki? Does he also share the same interest of destroying Michiyo's status? Does he also desire to take part of causing social humiliation towards the Head Queen Bee?
"It's not what it looks like," Kimura assured while defensively waving his hands.
"It better not," Cho mentally commented. "I may loathe Michiyo with a passion but I'm against dishonesty in a relationship."
"Aya-chan and I are really good friends," Kimura added. "We've known each other since elementary school."
"You wish," Sasaki scoffed as she playfully punched Ryoki on the arm. "We've known each other since seventh grade."
"Really?" Ryoki lightly chuckled. "I'm pretty sure it was the middle of sixth grade."
"No, the beginning of seventh grade," Aya corrected.
To avoid social awkwardness Cho took it as a cue to depart.
"I must go. It was nice seeing you Kimura-sempai. Sayoonara Sasaki, Kawano, Kobayashi-sempai."
Cho respectfully bowed and was heading towards the exit until Kimura called out.
"Can you not mention this to Ren-sama? She'll flip if she finds out I'm hanging with Aya-chan."
"My lips are sealed," Cho replied over her shoulders while giving a meek smile.
"Don't forget tomorrow morning, Miya-chan," Sasaki reminded.
"Hai."
.:: :: ::.
The next day Cho was in a great mood: projects handed in with ease, morning routine with the Power House, and her goal for the day was to familiarize her favourite male senior's interests without the interference from a certain referee. Luckily for her, he had not requested for a restraining order due to the fact that they attend the same institution. In order for the request to succeed she would have been warned about assaulting the young CEO instead of merely aggravating his nerves. Cho would have to be cautious of her actions towards Seto Kaiba.
It was eleven o'clock, the start of the lunch hour at Domino High. Cho had a close watch on the male senior while glaring at the high-status female student. It was like a father watching his daughter on her first date: any move made upon the precious individual and you will be sought after, except the roles and situation have been switched.
At quarter past and the boyfriend of the blue-eyed Queen Bee arrived in search for his beloved water lily.
"Ren-sama," Kimura cooed from the classroom entrance as he graciously posed against the door frame.
Several residing female classmates sighed at his gesture of affection. Oh how they wished they had a boyfriend like him who would visit them whenever they could, not to mention openly announce their nickname for their significant other. However, Naoko was not pleased with the public display of affection.
"Yes? What do you want?"
"Some members of your fan club wanted to give you something," Kimura answered as he strolled towards her. "They couldn't find you and asked me if I could look for you to meet them."
Naoko gave a thoughtful expression.
"Can you find them and ask them to meet me here instead?"
"They said it's a surprise and they can't move it from where they are," Kimura answered with a pout. "They want you to meet them there to see it."
Naoko was being sceptic about the situation. She also yearned to complete her notes while the information was still fresh in her mind.
"Can I meet up with them later?"
"That's not a courteous thing to do for your fan club, Naoko-sempai," Cho enunciated as she bitterly ate her lunch while closing her eyes due to her lack of interest on the subject about her most despised classmate.
Naoko let out a heavy sigh as she heaved onto her feet. She then followed her admired companion out of the classroom to meet with her devotees.
Five minutes later Cho came upon realization that the barrier of her goal was no longer present. It was her chance. Who knew how much time she had before the piceous-hair female returns?
"Kaiba-sempai," Cho called out as she turned to her left.
"We have agreed that in replacement of the restraining order we are not to have any contact for the remainder of the school year," Kaiba hissed as he scorned his glare at the book in front of him.
"But you replied back, therefore, you broke the agreement yourself," Cho pointed out. "Also, the agreement must be dealt on paper in order for the agreement to take effect. You, of all people, should know you seal the deal in writing."
Cho took notice of his clenched fingers gripping onto the hardcover of his book. If his scowl was not enough to burn through the pages, it was now enough to pierce through his novel, through his desk, and penetrate the two floors of the institution.
No need to piss him off just yet.
Too late.
I need him to cooperate and obtain as much information as I can before the blue-eyed devil re-enters the classroom.
"Sempai," Cho continued, "Why do you like the game of Duel Monsters?"
Silence.
"Sempai?"
Kaiba remain muted as he ignored her presence.
"Don't tell me you seldom duel and it's a former past time as well?" Cho gasped as she almost dropped her chopsticks.
"It's not a former past time if I have decided to put my corporation in top priority for the time being," Kaiba sneered.
"Sempai, you're a student," Cho brought up. "It's not all work and no play, you know."
"Claims the bonkotsu who doesn't own a multibillion corporation."
"Maybe not but at least I know how to enjoy my life," Cho scoffed as she returned her posture to face the front of the classroom.
"Who ever said I do not appreciate my life?" Kaiba retorted. "You are not one to judge the lifestyle of a mere bonkotsu to a successful CEO of the gaming industry."
"I'm not a mere commoner if I live in a pent house, Sempai," Cho quipped.
"Who also attends a public school on a daily basis."
"Then what makes you?"
Come on, Joanna, don't make him upset just yet.
"Look, I'm sorry Kaiba-Sempai," Cho apologized. "It just pains me to see so much responsibility pinned onto one student. It's just not fair."
"If Life was fair then clearly you are not cut out for reality," Kaiba retorted as the topic began to irritate him, not to mention the interrogation by the lunatic student.
Cho exasperated as nothing was allowing the respectable male senior to open up about himself. Cho would have to think of a lighter topic to exchange opinions about.
Fifteen minutes past and Cho decided to have another attempt to converse with her favoured senior.
"So..." Cho trailed. "How did you know Michiyo-Sempai?"
Here they go again, another irrelevant topic about the female senior without her knowledge. Speaking of the piceous hair classmate, she had been missing for quite some time.
"It's none of your concern," Kaiba replied as he flipped a page of his novel, hoping to avoid the discussion.
"Did something happen between you two?" Cho asked with curiosity as she leaned forward for an answer.
"No," Kaiba flatly responded. "End of discussion."
"Like, I know you said you owe her brother a favour, but how exactly did you meet her?"
"Miyazaki, I said end of discussion," Kaiba warned. "If you're so anxious of learning our encounter, why don't you ask –"
Kaiba's sentence was interrupted due to the sudden aggressive slide of the classroom door. The residing classmates diverted their attention to the being at the entrance, some gasped while the rest remained silent. Cho couldn't help the slight smirk tugging at the corner of her lips upon the sight of Karma.
Naoko Michiyo, standing at the corridor drenched with an assortment of fluorescent green, orange, and purple paint dripping from the top of her head while her blazer was soaked as if a bucket of water fell on top of her. There were also lines zigzagging across her uniform that suggested she was tied up prior to the dump.
"S-Sempai?" Kenji exclaimed, mortified for the sight of his beloved senior being the centre of social humiliation. "What –"
"Tsz!" Naoko hissed as she hushed the president of her fan club by a point of an index finger.
She inhaled deeply as she made her way to her desk while passing by students fearing to comment. The air was reticent that the dripping of paint contacting the floor was audible to every binaural senses residing in the classroom. She caught sight of Kaiba's amused smirk, which made her more furious.
"You think this is funny, Sempai?" Naoko confronted.
There was a slight sharp gasp as the peers watched the quarrel.
"In fact I do," Kaiba responded. "Is there a problem?"
"Next time I'll make sure they come after you as well," Naoko coerced as she held her book bag containing an extra set of the school's uniform. "Then we'll see what is amusing."
She stormed towards the classroom door where her boyfriend stood as she left a trail of splotched paint on the hardwood floor.
"On the plus side, the colours compliment your eyes," Ryoki added in hope of an optimistic view of the situation.
Instead, he received a dangerous glare followed by a light shove before she walked the other direction in the hallway.
"Oh, come on!" Kimura called out before following after her. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that was going to happen, but you have to admit it was a little funny! Ren-Sama!"
"Let's see you get deposit by buckets of fluorescent paint after being bind and propelled into the janitor's closet!" Cho heard Naoko's distant snap.
Alas, Cho was content... for now. Her trap went according to plan as she was the mastermind behind it. She suggested the idea to the Power House while Sasaki was responsible of rounding the third year students. Then it was up to the third years to gather the first and second years of Sasaki's fan club to take part of the practical joke. All they had to do was to wear a blue ribbon in their hair similar to Naoko's fan club to have the scheme succeed.
However, Naoko returned five minutes prior to the start of the next class and all of Cho's satisfaction went down the drain when students were complimenting the different colours against her black hair. To add insult to injury, Gem was in the classroom to give her sympathies and was also a part of the praising crowd.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. After everything Michiyo has done she still received praises. It's just not fair, isn't it?
No, it isn't. Someone with an indifference to other people's feelings should not be encouraged to continue their game of manipulation.
First Naoko had the nerve to obtain dear Kaiba-kins' attention, now she's stealing your best friend! She will not get away with it. You know how to resolve this conflict, don't you?
Of course, now it is personal: this means war.
.:: :: ::.
Tuesday rolled by fairly quickly as it was Wednesday morning. Another scheme was devised and judging by the rumours of Naoko's particular phobia, it was worth waking an extra hour to witness. This time, it was Kawano's responsibility to convince Naoko's beau to arrive at the school a little later than usual. Of course, Satomi was not a fool to suggest the idea herself: she found a minion to carry out the plan.
Tuesday afternoon, a second-year male, secretively a fan of Satomi Kawano's, had a 'man-to-man' talk with the red-head senior. He wanted to observe Ryoki's relationship with his Queen the next morning, however, their arrival to school was considered an early hour for him so the second-year suggested a specific time. Ryoki agreed, oblivious to the set up and arrived with Naoko the next day.
Cho was at her shoe locker on the other side of the designated trap, counting down the seconds like a dynamite ready to explode.
Three... two... one...
She gazed to the top right corner of her eyes. There was nothing.
Ten seconds past by.
Cho bent down to slip her feet into her loafers. Still nothing until-
"WHAAAAAAAA~!" Naoko hollered. "Get it off, get it off, get it off!"
Cho smirked as she stood, just before closing her locker door. As Naoko whimpered Cho calmly made her way up the stairs while the student body rushed to the senior's aid.
It was a flawless plan. Right after the second-year male made arrangements with Ryoki, he went to find Hara Kenji. He somehow convinced Hara to open Naoko's shoe locker to leave a gift. Hara being sceptical suggested to hand the gift for him. The second-year agreed but little did Hara know the Kawano fan knew the combination. Once Hara left school grounds the second-year returned to the Queen Bee's metal compartment and left his real gift: replaced the fraudulent love letter and filled her shoes with artificial fuzzy spiders as well as a bucket of them above the wall of metallic boxes.
Cho sighed as she hugged her books close to her chest. She thought it was a brilliant plot. She had patiently waited in the computer lab until it was time to witness the plan into action. To add onto her genius idea, the male knew he was transferring to a school in Sapporo with Tuesday being his last day of attending Domino High.
Cho: 2, Enemy: 0.
It was unusual to spot the arachnophobe attending classes on a Wednesday morning (ironic how she's also an entomophobe labelled as a Queen Bee). There had been an announcement about an exchange student program involved with Domino High and according to the list posted outside of the school office Cho was among the few students participating to host the foreign peers including Gem, Michiyo, and Kaiba.
Cho took her seat as the rhythmic tone signalled the commencement of the school day. As she sat in her first subject English class, her educator Oku-sensei briefly went over the procedures about the arriving visitors.
"These twenty students are from Canada and the hosts or hostesses are picked according to the students' extensive knowledge in English," Oku-sensei explained. "I am honoured to announce that we have five students in our class gracious enough to accommodate the travellers studying abroad."
There was a light tap on the classroom door as every residing pupil directed their attention towards the soft noise. A man with silver streaks against his dull black hair greeted Oku-sensei and introduced himself as Mr. Sancheck. Pfft, Mr. Sancheck, what kind of name was that?
While reciting the exchange program with the class four students in their school uniforms stood next to him, with three being female. Cho arched her eyebrow as she recalled there was supposed to be five. She diverted her gaze to the entrance and although there were several students loitering in the halls none of them allowed themselves into the educational room. She decided to address her concern to Mr. Sancheck, who was supposedly the principal of the Canadian school.
"Are there supposed to be five students for this class?" Cho asked. "My math may be wrong but I count four at the front."
"Bravo, you officially passed kindergarten," Naoko sarcastically muttered as she rolled her eyes.
"He had to make a short detour to the washroom," Mr. Sancheck replied. "He will be arriving shortly. Your English is fluent Miss..."
"Cho, Cho Miyazaki."
"Cho... Cho, oh here you are," Mr. Sancheck smiled as he consulted his list. "You will be hosting Miss Vivian Douga."
Vivian pulled an empty chair as she made her way down the aisle and sat next to Miyazaki. She then held out her hand for a hand shake.
"Name's Vivian, but you can call me Viv," she greeted.
"Cho, but you can call me Joanna or Jo," she reciprocated.
Vivian had shoulder length tawny hair with hazel eyes. Cho couldn't help but admire her school uniform as it was consisted of a black blazer lined with a satin burgundy trim, a white collar shirt knotted with a deep red neck tie and a charcoal pleated skirt with red plaid lines.
"You don't sound like you have a Japanese accent with your English," Vivian pointed out. "I'm assuming you were not raised here?"
"Very perceptive, Vivian," Naoko mentally commented. "The next obvious statement you'll blather would be comparing our blazers to bubble gum."
"No," Cho confirmed. "I was raised in the States before I transferred here three weeks ago."
Mr. Sancheck continued to pair his students with their corresponding host or hostess. Hara was paired with the sole male student Joel Keller while Yoko Hitori was paired with Karen Hansen. Cho cocked her head to the left as she perceived a female with a layered asymmetric hair style with fuschia peeking underneath remaining at the front of the class. She was also wearing pink and black plaid star earrings and heavy eyeliner not to mention the only female student wearing black pants instead of the plaid skirt. She seemed interesting enough to be acquainted with.
"Raven Isobe," Sancheck called out. "You are being paired with... Naoko Michiyo. Michiyo?"
Naoko meekly raised her hand as she avoided eye contact with the Canadian principal. Vivian scrutinized the physical appearance of the classmate and her expression turned disgusted once she had a hunch of who she was.
"God, don't tell me that's –"
"Syren?" the principal questioned. "I almost didn't recognize you there! It's great seeing you again."
"'Great seeing you again'? Has Michiyo attended his school before being transferred to Domino High?" Cho asked herself.
"Likewise, Sir," Naoko replied as she made a small nod.
"Well, I can tell it's going to be a pleasant experience," Sancheck smiled at his alumni.
"Last time I recall Mr. Sancheck, Syren at school was anything but pleasant," Vivian piped as she slouched back into her seat.
"Like having class with you was a walk in the park," Raven commented as she made her way to sit in front of Michiyo.
"I see you have obtained Syren's blunt sense of humour," Sancheck chuckled. "It's no wonder you two are best of friends."
"Best of friends? You mean I have to deal with two of them now?" Cho silently shrieked as she replicated Vivian's expression.
"Join the club," Vivian whispered. "It's like tenth grade all over again. And just when I thought we got rid of her, now I have to deal with her pathetic existence."
Cho and Vivian were synchronized as they both shook their heads while glaring at their loathed enemies to showcase their disapproval for the partnership. It would be a lot more difficult to continue terrorizing the Queen Bee if she had another pair of eyes. Cho would have to conjure another set of plans without being detected by Michiyo's doppelganger.
Miyazaki's thoughts were distracted by a few giggling outside of the classroom.
"And cue the man of every girl's dream," she heard Naoko sarcastically announce in Japanese while leaning over her desk.
In walks the dashing brunet with his usual stoic features carrying his reflective briefcase instead of his school bag. For Cho it was a bonus and on a Wednesday! He then paused as he took notice of the extra students residing the classroom along with a foreign man at the front.
"Evidently, he did not get my memo about the exchange program," Naoko whispered to Raven.
Raven snickered as she leaned her back against the window while crossing her right leg over the left.
"Ah, Mr. Snooty, I remember him," Raven recalled. "He's hotter compared to the last time I saw him."
'Last time I saw him'. Oh-ho, no, no: hands off Missy. Cho will not allow the opportunity for this gaijin to dig her claws into her beloved Senpai! If Kaiba had a speck of attention towards the pompous piceous-hair C-chested queen then there was a slight chance the punk-star wannabe will obtain his attention as well. As if the mission of destroying Michiyo's social status was straining enough now she would have to eliminate the foreign Bird as competition.
The students were becoming restless as the volume of the students' chatter began to rise. The peers took it as a favourable opportunity to communicate while waiting upon the missing exchange program participant. Kaiba was making his way to his assigned seat until he noticed Yoko Hitori's partner occupying it. If it was Hara's partner Kaiba would have asked him to boot it no problem, however, as the host school Kaiba must act chivalrous to the visiting adolescences.
Speaking of chivalrous, Michiyo will be tested considering these were her former classmates and last time he recalled Michiyo did not leave the greatest impression before departing their institution. Kaiba narrowed his eyes to the female sitting in front of his employee.
As for leaving the greatest impression...
"Pourquoi l'associée de l'ancien forçat est ici?" Kaiba conversed, evidently irritated by this girl's presence.
"Je suis ravi de vous rencontrer aussi," Raven replied as she rolled her eyes.
If Raven Isobe being companions with her loathed nemesis was not enough to have Cho put her on 'The List' then being capable of conversing in French with her beloved senior and with his undeserving personal assistant was enough to engrave her name. The fact was not sitting well with Cho.
"What are they saying?" Cho asked her counterpart.
"The cute boy asked why the partner of the ex-convict is here," Vivian translated. "The gangster wannabe was being sarcastic saying something like "it's nice to meet you too" or something."
Partner. It was not the perfect word aiding Cho's situation of sabotaging Naoko's chances of winning the popularity contest. Perhaps she could have Vivian involve with her plans if they both despise their pairing. Question would be how much does Vivian loathe Naoko's partner in crime and how interested would Vivian be if she were to participate to plot Naoko's demise?
Cho's conniving thoughts were interrupted when she heard her residing female classmates (minus Michiyo) squeal at the male entering the classroom. It was like a movie star entering the ordinary world with a glowing aura, perfect blond hair, pearly smile, and a confident pose with one of his hands in his blazer pockets to match with his deserving height. If Cho was not so infatuated with Kaiba she would have moved onto him. He was simply breathtaking in Cho's opinion.
"Oh snap..." she heard Raven comment. "This is not good."
"Not good?" Cho muttered as she turned to face the girl with fushia hair.
Michiyo, out of all people, was diverting her attention towards the window. THE WINDOW. There was a gorgeous male who looked like he was from a European decent standing at the front of the classroom, probably a man from the land of Gary Stu's, and Michiyo decided to speculate the window to her left. The indescribable gesture perplexed Cho.
"Ex-boyfriend or something?" Cho asked Vivian.
"No, someone who she had beaten up before she got suspended from our school."
"No way..." Cho gaped as she glanced at the male before glancing at Naoko.
"Beaten to a pulp to be exact," Vivian added.
Kaiba whipped his attention to Michiyo as she was sweeping invisible dust from her desk and Raven identified his expression as having no prior knowledge to this new fact.
"He was sexually harassing the girl," Raven explained. "She had to do something about it."
"But to physically harm someone?" Cho questioned as she confronted Raven.
"Finally, our last student arrived," Mr. Sancheck announced as he consulted his list, bringing the students' attention back to the front of the class. "This is Nathan Harrison and he will be residing with Seto Kaiba."
"Seto Kaiba?" Nathan's jaw dropped. "You mean I get to reside with the inventor of the Duel Disks and one who hosted the recent Battle City tournament?"
"Aww, c'est mignon, non?" Raven teased. "Tu as un admirateur, monsieur."
The volume of the classroom began to rise again as the students arranged themselves to accommodate the new pupils. Kaiba remained standing against the side walls with his usual stoic expression as Nathan made his way to stand next to his idol. Nathan paused as he walked by Michiyo before retrieving his steps.
"Syren?" he called out.
His assumption was confirmed when Naoko stiffened.
"Well, well, well," Nathan sneered. "Satan's Child is still in school surprisingly."
"It's Naoko," Raven defended, "back off Harrison."
However, Vivian decided to side with Nathan.
"No, you're right, it's Syren," Vivian smirked as Raven glared.
Naoko removed her hand from the side of her face and forced a smile to her former offender.
"Hi, Nathan," Naoko greeted. "How are you?"
"I could ask you the same," Nathan replied as he crossed his arms while glaring down at her.
"Biter," Naoko mentally speculated."He completely stole my pose."
"I'm doing fine, thanks."
"Enjoy it while you can," Nathan growled as he narrowed his jade-coloured eyes. "I'll make sure this month is a living hell for you."
Naoko's smile dropped before she inhaled sharply. "Alright, I deserve that..."
"You deserve much more than what I am about to do," Nathan coerced before taking her chin between his fingers. "Although, you look good yourself. I might have to go easy on you since you've upgraded to Satan's Mistress."
Naoko narrowed her cerulean eyes before whipping her chin out of his touch. No one, repeat, no one touches her face unless it's Ryoki. Under normal circumstances, anybody other than her boyfriend would have met their fate with a body flip to the other end of the classroom. Unfortunately, it would not help her obtain her new image if she continued her unreasonable retaliation.
"Gone soft, I see," Nathan chuckled before walking away.
However, Raven had other plans. She snuck her foot in front of Nathan's path and result him to trip forward while causing a commotion with the desks to support his fall. The class diverted their attention to the ruckus.
"Oops, my bad," Raven falsely apologized. "I should have waited before I retrieved the pen. Hope your ego is not damaged."
While the class was filled with minor giggles Raven diverted her attention to her best friend for appraisal. Unfortunately, Naoko shook her head while giving an uncomfortable expression for her friend's unnecessary choice of action.
"No?" Raven asked.
Naoko shook her head again.
"Oh... je suis desolée," Raven apologized as she slightly lowered her head.
.:: :: ::.
"How can she possibly be in her last year of high school if we haven't finished Eleventh Grade?" Vivian shrieked as she tore her dinner roll in half while sitting among her fellow Canadian classmates during lunch hour.
"If you paid attention last week when Sancheck explained how the Japanese education system worked you would have known," Raven scoffed as she tossed a grape into her mouth. "In Japan their school year begins in April and not in September like in Canada. When Naoko moved to Japan she was already in second year, or Eleventh Grade to be technical, since high school starts in Grade Ten."
"But she never completed Grade Ten at Misonto, how could she be enrolled for Grade Eleven?" Vivian's friend Cindy growled as she pounded her fist onto the table.
"See, this is why you were held back a year for math class," Raven quipped. "Unlike you, she passed her entrance exams. Her grades were well enough to advance her into the next year. Besides, what's the point of her repeating the grade if she already knew the curriculum? Oh wait, you wouldn't understand."
Raven's smirk grew larger as she placed another grape into her mouth. Just as Cindy was about to retaliate Mr. Sancheck held her shoulder.
"Do not let Miss Raven's insults get to you Miss Harkands," Mr. Sancheck smiled. "You do not want a repeat of last year, do you?"
Cindy bit her lip as she recalled her last trip to the principal's office with Raven. Syren may be physically aggressive when it came to expressing her frustration but Raven was the one who needed anger management when provoked.
"No, sir," Cindy surrendered as she slouched back into her seat.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the cafeteria, Cho was settled with Gem, Mazaki, and Jounouchi. As Anzu was profoundly reciting her dream career to Gem, Cho was preoccupied by glaring at the group six tables down where all the respectable seniors sat. It was peculiar that Michiyo was sitting with the Power House, but it was also interesting to witness all fourteen students clustered together. However, despite the appearance of the unfamiliar seniors Cho's blood was boiling upon sight of the piceous-hair senior communicating with Kaiba-kins.
The Seniors' fan clubs deemed it would be a great idea to showcase to the exchange students who they thought are the leaders of the Domino High due to their high status of "perfect role models" or "the popular of their cliques". It was rather insignificant considering the group was flawed when Michiyo became a part of it.
Yugi and Honda were chatting with a white-haired male, presumably this Bakura that Anzu had mentioned, while the three unknown Queen Bees were just... well, sitting there. A blondie was minding her own business, eating her lunch while a female with asymmetric dark, chocolate brown hair was reading a book. Another female with longer, mahogany-brown hair cancelled the surrounding noise with her earphones as Hara and Matsuo were conferencing, most likely a debate, about who was the better female role model. Kimura had his arm wrapped around Michiyo's neck while twirling her hair between his fingers as he concentrated on what Sasaki was talking about. Lastly, Kawano was filing her nails during the same time Midori was jotting down whatever ideas Satomi had conjured.
Cho continued to watch the Elite Fourteen, especially Kaiba. Her heart sank every time Kaiba would scan the cafeteria, had butterflies whenever Kaiba scowled at Cho for inappropriately gazing at him, and almost let out a fan girl shrill whenever tugged on the collar of his school uniform due to a mild humidity. But all of those satisfying emotions were stripped once he muttered something inaudible to Michiyo before he gave an icily stare as he took hold of her wrist.
At that moment, Cho felt like she was watching a foreign movie: she wanted to know what the characters were saying but she had no subtitles. She inhaled sharply as Kaiba attempted to reveal Michiyo's forearm. It was like a glass shard being jabbed into her sides. How dare he touch another girl! Michiyo refused to grant Kaiba's request as she reactively took hold of his. She glared back at him with the same intensity before digging her nails into his wrist as a cue to let go of her. Kaiba then pointed to Naoko's forearm with his available hand as he deviously sneered at her. The other twelve seniors seemed to be unaware of their brawl.
The only words Cho could decipher from the Head Queen Bee was onii. It was certainly not calling Kaiba an older brother; it was more of Michiyo talking about her own older brother. They continued to bicker before Michiyo released her grip. She then tapped Kimura's hand a couple of times to attain his attention while retaining the glaring contest against her Senpai. Ryoki was startled when he caught sight of another man touching his woman.
"Hello, Earth to Joanna!" Gem called out as she waved her hand into Cho's view.
"Hmm?" Cho answered before diverting her attention to her friends.
"Anzu asked you a question," Gem replied. "She asked you who do you think will win the popularity contest on Saturday?"
"As long it's not Michiyo, I don't care who wins," Cho responded as she reverted her sight back to the Elite Fourteen's table.
Miyazaki's expression turned stoned once she discovered that Kaiba was no longer in his seat along witih Michiyo. They were both missing. Cho became panicked as well as angered just by the thought of Kaiba taking grasp of Michiyo's wrist once again. She scoured the area until she was relieved when Kaiba was exiting the cafeteria while Naoko was standing behind her punk star wannabe of a friend.
"Joanna," Gem called out once again. "You've been acting strange lately. Are you okay?"
Crap. What do I say? Think of something, quick!
"I'm fine," Cho reassured. "Just wondering why Yugi and Honda aren't sitting with us today. I'm also wondering why the exchange students aren't sitting with us either."
It was one thing lying to Gem but to have her becoming suspicious and pestering about Cho's recent behaviour instead of minding her own business was starting to get onto Cho's nerves. Gem may be playing the role of the older sister and was concerned for Cho, but Gem was not making the situation any easier as Cho would have to continuously fib just to protect her from any future social suicide if Gem were to discover what activities Cho had been involved in.
.:: :: ::.
"The event you all have been waiting for!" Daichi Matsuo announced to the gymnasium of anticipated students. "Domino High's Annual Popularity Contest~!"
"Welcome students of Domino High and Misonto Heights to our Annual Popularity Contest," Kaiba roughly translated Matsuo's speech.
Kaiba was irritated that he was chosen to be responsible for being the translator to the exchange students due to the fact that Ryou Bakura didn't have a projected enough of a voice and Yugi had the slight case of stage fright. Regardless of the fact that Mutou was voted as the school's Tournament Co-ordinator and Bakura being the Head of Languages, Kaiba was the most suitable candidate to co-host the contest next to Matsuo, the person in charge of the school's media and broadcasting.
"Before we continue," Daichi added in Japanese while standing in front the curtains of the stage, "I must state the rules for this contest. The male seniors who have signed up their lovely counterparts are being represented by them. For example, I have signed up Kobayashi Midori-sempai to participate in this contest therefore, she represents Matsuo Daichi by wearing green."
"At this school we have fourteen respectable seniors that the younger students look up to: seven male and seven females," Kaiba explained to the foreign students. "The male seniors who have signed one of the female seniors are being represented by them. For example, the female who I have enrolled to participate in this contest will represent me by wearing blue."
"Second," Daichi continued, "this contest is not judged by individual effort, but as a group. There are twelve students participating: four Queen Bees and each Queen Bee are grouped off with 2 other students. The main idea of this contest to determine who is the better role model or impact on these younger students."
Daichi looked over to his senior classmate for the translation, however, Kaiba was not reciting.
"The exchange students are not participating in our event," Kaiba defended. "They are merely witnessing, therefore, they do not need to know the rules."
Daichi sighed before continuing.
"Third, everybody in the group must participate. If one member is to be absent or has no participation in the event, the group will be disqualified. Judging will be done by sheets of paper and each student must choose who they think won each round. The respectable seniors that are not participating in this event such as Takenaka Atsune-sempai, Ueda-Toshiko-sempai, Bakura Ryou-sempai, et cetera, will tally up the votes and declare the winner on Monday."
Matsuo glared at Kaiba to continue, however, Kaiba remain muted.
"At least briefly explain to them," Daichi begged.
Kaiba exasperated before continuing.
"Twelve students, four groups. Every member must participate, if not they will be disqualified. The objective of this contest is to determine who has impacted on these younger students the most, or loosely, who is the better role model to our students. Each group is directed by a respectable female senior and are being judged as a whole and not individually. Judging will be decided upon the students and the results will be announced on Monday."
Cho was among the crowd, gazing at Kaiba's confident posture while he stood next to Daichi. It was almost as if Kaiba had turned politics into something interesting by the way he kept a stoic expression while reciting the rules to our fellow exchange students. She was glad the second year students convinced him to co-host the contest. If only she could devise a plan to divert Kaiba away from what she had in store for his representative. As much as it would be worthwhile to witness the downfall of the Head Queen Bee, it also pained her to destroy Kaiba's chance of winning as well.
Miyazaki tried to convince both Cindy and Vivian to participate in the sabotage, however, both Canadian students felt it would be better to humiliate her after she had won the title. Cho tried to tell them that Naoko's fan club would come after them, but they would not listen. Cho has to act alone for the meantime.
"Let's get this contest started!" Daichi announced before scurrying off the stage with Kaiba following behind.
There was a brief second of silence before the tune of Caramelldansen commenced (or Uma Uma Dance known in Japan because of its misinterpretation to the lyrics). The whole crowd began to cheer once the curtains were rising and there stood all twelve participants posing with both hands on their hips. Their choreography positions were staggered as both Naoko Michiyo and Aya Sasaki were in front while Midori Kobayashi was behind Michiyo and Satomi Kawano was behind her friend. There were also four first-year students positioned closest to the Queen Bees while four second-year students are placed at the outer edges of the pack.
It was evident which two students belong with which Queen Bee as their outfits were uniformed. Sasaki was wearing a red, one-strap tank top that stopped at her mid-section along with a matching leather mini skirt and her hair tied up into a high ponytail decorated with a crimson satin ribbon. If that didn't scream, 'scandalous', the addition of her fire strap heels could do the trick. It was disturbing that Aya's group wore something similar except one had a pleated skirt while the other wore a red athletic girl shorts.
Next to Sasaki, however, was a more conservative Michiyo. Only skin that her and her group members were showing were their torsos and their forearms as they wore black, baggy cargo pants held up by a metal studded belt, a simple black corset lined with blue trimmings, a cropped white hoodie sweater, a couple of black wrist bands, and a dark charcoal choker holding a small, rectangular tag. It was unusual to observe the Head Queen Bee with her straightened hair flowing over her shoulders that Cho took notice of Michiyo's newly trimmed bangs covering part of her eyes. At least they were sensible enough to dance in sneakers.
Cho focused her vision onto her loathing enemy's abdomen. Regardless of being situated a quarter length from the stage, envy circulated through her veins as she acknowledged its tone. Cho's list of Naoko's irritating qualities was getting longer than a five-year-old's Christmas list. If new attributes accumulate at a constant rate Cho would have the list to be as excessive in length as a roll of toilet paper. How she wished she could just flush down every false aspect this Queen Bee had created upon herself to disguise the Lucifer that she is.
About fourteen to fifteen seconds into the introduction the group became synchronized. From what Cho had observed, they clapped to the right while flicking their opposite leg behind then switched to the left before dipping towards the right as they stretched and reached as if they were grabbing something from the top shelf. Following after, they repeated the same sequence except starting from the left, clapping to the right before dipping to the left. As their left arm was pointing to the ceiling they started to sway their hips to the beat while slowly lowering it. There were some encouraging cheers from the males in the audience and Cho couldn't help but to direct her attention towards Kaiba.
He kept his indifferent expression while standing with his arm crossed in front of him by the bottom corner of the stage. Daichi, on the other hand, was recording the performance with his hand-held video camera as he periodically moved from standing next to Kaiba to the other end of the scene.
"Pfft, I can think of other reasons why you're smiling Matsuo," Cho scoffed.
Settled on the opposite end of the platform were Kimura and Hara. They seemed to be dancing. Cho glimpsed to the stage before reverting to Ryoki a couple of times and concluded they were jiving with the same routine as the participants in the limelight. Cho rolled her eyes as Ryoki and Kenji were mirroring each other when they began to pose like they were arching an arrow to the sky before replicating the same stance to above the other person's head.
She glanced to the performance and took notice that Michiyo and Sasaki were no longer at the front of the dance group. They were now at the outer edge while the first years took their seniors former positions.
"Dansa med oss klappa era händer..."
Suddenly Aya and Satomi, who were at the outmost edge on the right side of the stage called Ryoki and Kenji onto the stage by waving their hand to come on over. Cho observed as Ryoki waved his hands in front of him as if saying, "No Thanks" while laughing nervously. The two Power House members ran out of the spotlight as they tried to invite them but both males had their feet planted onto the ground to prevent themselves from humiliation.
"Caramelldansen. O-o-oa-oa..."
Cho narrowed her sight upon the females and noticed they were unusually close with their counterparts, especially Sasaki. The promiscuous act was wavered considering Sasaki and Kimura are close friends but how comfortable exactly was Naoko when she knew about their friendship?
"How comfortable is she really?" Cho smirked to herself.
As if a hint of Cho's satisfaction was shot by an arrow, Naoko was nowhere near facing the direction of her boyfriend. Instead, she was facing forward and enjoying her prissy choreography.
"Enjoy while you can 'Chiyo," Cho muttered to herself, "I'll make sure that smile is ripped off your lying face."
Sasaki and Kawano shrugged their shoulders before joining the others while departing from the two older Jokers. As they returned to the dance pack, the first years were now lined up in the background. As the music continued the first years made their way to the outer edge of the group while alternating side steps, just like what the seniors had done before, as the second years claimed their spots.
"Det blir en sensation överallt förstås..."
Shortly after all twelve members were single-filed at an angle as they moved their hands like a rollercoaster wave. They all fully spun before simultaneously kneeled as one-by-one they stood with a pose with every beat like a domino effect, starting from Satomi Kawano and working its way to the last first year student. They spun once more before slightly leaning back and pointing in front of them.
They returned to their original position before they lined up and made little heart gestures using their fingers as they continued dancing. As there were a lyric break, where the instrumental part was rendering, they continued to side step before switching positions again.
Once the lyrics returned the twelve participants became synchronized again before the chorus.
"Dansa med oss klappa era händer..."
They all had their arms opened wide as they hopped on one foot while pivoting counter-clockwise. As the chorus was repeated for the final time the choreography was also reproduced as the Queen Bees were positioned in the centre of the pack while an equal number of both First and Second Year students were stationed on either sides.
Within the next ten seconds Naoko, Midori, Satomi, and Aya choreographed their way to the back line between two First Year students while the remainder of the pack skilfully danced their way to form a row in front of them. As the hind row consisting of the Queen Bees were pointing twice to the left before pointing twice to the centre, the foreground spun 360 degrees on their knees before the entire group were rotating their wrists towards the right to above their heads. As the number concluded they had just enough time to swing their left arm into a complete circle while pointing to their top right corner as they simultaneously diverted their aim to the audience.
The crowd applauded for a great opening act as the participants exited the stage. It was Cho's cue to put the plan into action.
Cho met with one of Kobayashi's Fan Club Supporters a couple hallways down from the entrance of the performing platform. She handed her a CD case and advised her to choose any track that she pleased.
Cho returned to the crowd and waited for the first part of the contest to commence. The first group to perform was Kawano's group. They stood in their black strap stilettos and their matching scandalous attire with their short pleated skirts and charcoal crisscross bra while facing away from the crowd as they soaked themselves with the constant wolf whistles from the male population. They also had two black bracelets on each wrist, a satin ribbon on their upper left arm, two matching hair pins to hold their bangs, and braided their hair into a high pony tail with a black fuzzy pompom. It was almost as if they were trying to slut-a-fy Britney Spears' music video of Hit Me Baby One More Time with a mix of Tomb Raider. No effin' kidding. If anyone saw their daughters dressed like that they deserve a double dose of bitch slapping across the face and a boot out the house.
"I pick all my skirts to be a little too sexy, just like all my thoughts they always get a bit naughty," the group sang before spinning around.
"When I'm out with my girls I always play a bit bitchy. Can't change the way I am: Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy me."
Cho's jaw dropped slightly by the girls' vocabulary. Were they even allowed to sing such provocative music? Then again, how could she not see this coming? She was surprised no one had stopped them yet. She witnessed Satomi gliding from her left of the group towards the centre as she took the first verse.
"I'm the kind of girl that girls don't like, I'm the kind that boys fantasize," Satomi sang as she slightly lifted her mini skirt before quickly flicking it back down. "I'm the kind that your momma and your daddy were afraid you'd turn out to be like."
Kawano continued to sing as she walked towards the other side of the stage. Cho was feeling nauseous to witness another girl – scratch that, other girls – flaunting their appraised assets across the stage like strippers on a pole... without the pole! Cho couldn't bear another moment as she diverted attention to other people in the crowd.
"People think it's intimidating when a girl is cool with her sexuality, I'm the 180 to the stereotype girls like staying home and being innocent."
It was obvious the males were enjoying what they were seeing as some fan club members were encouraging the show with their rowdy cheering. Some of the females were even joining them! She scanned the crowd for her lavender-haired friend Gem and spotted her talking to Anzu as they completely ignore Kawano's burlesque event. She then scanned further and could easily tell she was not the only one uncomfortable of Satomi's dirty dancing. About nine rows back Michiyo's doppelganger Foreign Bird Raven had her eye twitching before covering her mouth as if she was sick to her stomach.
"And when it comes to the guys I'd lay I'd always pick the ones who won't figure out that I was clearly rebel to the idea of monogamy."
Cho arched her eyebrow upon hearing the lyrics before she returned her vision towards the stage. At that moment Satomi and her group were already on the platform's floor before slowly pulling themselves towards the edge of the performing area. Cho was outrageously vexatious that she slapped her hands in front of her eyes while the male student population howled like packs of dogs at a full moon.
On the contrary, it was a catchy tune: she just didn't like the fact that one of the girls she communicated with on a need-to-know basis was dancing with her group like teenie boppers. Then again, Kawano is almost a young adult...
"I like all my shorts to be a little too shorty unlike all my guys, I like them tall with money."
Cho whipped her head with a narrowing glare. She better not be referring to Kaiba! Her scowl turned surprised as she took notice of Satomi standing in front of Ryoki. If Kawano knew how to piss Michiyo off, it was definitely getting close with her beau, however, Michiyo was nowhere in sight.
"I love all my nights to end a little bit nasty," Satomi and her group sang while she performed a body roll to contact Kimura's.
Cho had to seal her mouth from gasping audibly upon watching one of Michiyo's foes getting slightly frisky with Michiyo's boyfriend. Did Satomi want to be shot? It was appalling; on the other hand, it would test how the Queen Bee would respond to this type of situation at a public event.
Kawano and her group sang the last verse with a seductive tone while blowing fake kisses and flirty winking to the mass of students. As they concluded their song the student body applauded while some cheered louder than others. It was evident that Satomi had won that round, but it was still early to call. Michiyo had no chance of winning the singing portion of the contest, especially with what Cho had planned for the piceous-haired senior.
.:: :: ::.
At last – it was finally Michiyo's group to perform. Kobayashi and her group sang the song Sakura Kiss by Chieco Kawabe. In a way it suited Midori's hopeless romantic persona along with a talent of making her voice in a high pitch while Aya and her group sang First Kiss by Aa. It was odd she was starting her part of the competition with something slow instead of a large entrance like her friend Satomi or upbeat like Midori.
Within Naoko's group consisted of a Midori Fan Club Supporter as well as Kawasaki Kaori's younger sister, Merani. Cho was anticipating the Queen Bee's expression the moment she delivered a devoted Kobayashi fan the arrangements. It was simply child's play to change the alternative background melody considering Midori had a similar taste in music as Cho and what better way to please the Midori Fan Club Supporter than to play a composition by one of her idol's favourite artists?
Naoko and her group confidently stood in the limelight, waiting for the introductory snare drum solo to commence. They were uniformly dressed like a couple of 'swaggers' with their loose cropped hoodies covering the top half of their faces. Cho stood in the crowd with her arms crossed, slightly smirking for what was in store for the Queen of Brats.
There was a short crash cymbal entry at the beginning of the song before the recognizable pop culture number by Lana Montana played. For a split second Cho was ecstatic when she witnessed the slight drop in Michiyo's jaw as the tune continued.
"Simply priceless," Cho congratulated herself.
"Everybody makes mistakes," one of the girls sang.
Both girls glanced behind them for verification of their change of track. Naoko, however, was unresponsive as she froze in the centre of the stage.
"Everybody has those days," Merani continued.
Both Merani and Kobayashi's fan, Wakana, were showing signs of confusion and panic. It was one of the worst case scenarios so early into the contest, perfect for disqualifying Naoko's group. And if Michiyo thought she could just cut off the music and start over, think again. On top of switching track numbers at this particular time, Cho had to make sure that the Fan Club Supporter agreed to discard the original track to avoid the Queen Bee saving herself from the humiliation. If the original number was not to be found, Naoko cannot possibly skew her way out of it. It kept getting better by the beat.
Merani Kawasaki and Wakana shrugged their shoulders as they pumped their arms into the air for a count of four. They both chanted in unison while Naoko was recovering from her horrific twist of event. If only the piceous-hair senior would remove her hoodie the entire student body could witness her downfall. There was no way Michiyo would know the lyrics if she was an anti-fan of the Teen Sensation. Sabotaging Kaiba's representative was a lot easier than planned and Cho was enjoying every splitting second of it.
"Sometimes I'm in a jam, I've gotta make a plan, it might be crazy, I do it anyway," Merani took the lead while Naoko and Wakana synchronized their choreography.
It was evident that Naoko was trying to hide her flushing face as she devised a way to recover her dignity. It was twice worthwhile when she was silently arguing with the person backstage as the two underclass mates were melodically carolling the chorus. Cho scanned the crowd and her smirk deepened when Michiyo's fan club sat in the front row with mortified expressions. It must be terrible for them to watch their role model crash and burn in front of Karma.
Merani and Wakana whipped their attention to the back of the stage for their high status senior to participate. Unfortunately for them, Naoko waved her hands into a forward circular motion for them to carry forward. Wakana was becoming frustrated and would be royally pissed if Michiyo refused to participate, even with the repetitive lyrics in the chorus. If the stubborn-ass female remained silent to prevent from socially embarrassing herself it would cause the group to be disqualified. Wakana rolled her eyes before taking control of the second verse.
Majority of the crowd was dancing along as the music became more and more energetic. Merani and Naoko bent over before whipping their posture upwards as their hair and hoodie flipped back. Cho spotted the President of Naoko's fan club, Kenji, gritting his teeth while rapidly tapping his fingers onto his left upper arm as if he wanted to jump in and save his plummeting love interest. Kimura had a sympathetic smile towards his girlfriend while mouthing something undecipherable just before receiving Naoko's infamous grimace.
"What's the matter, Sempai?" Cho chuckled to herself. "You don't seem to be having fun."
To the untrained eyes Naoko appeared like she was merely caught off-guard, but just by the sight of Naoko optical organs and clenched jaw she was struck with anxiety and her dwindling power of control. If only she was struck by a speeding bus it would have made Cho's day even better.
Cho couldn't help but to divert her focus to Kaiba, who was standing at the sidelines of the stage with a gravitating glare. She had a tinge of guilt for destroying Kaiba's choice of a better role model to the younger students, but whoever in contact with the female Lucifer shall suffer the consequences to make up for all the harm caused in the past, even if they completely did not deserve to suffer with Naoko.
"Sometimes I fix things up and they fall apart again, nobody's perfect," Merani sang.
Merani's brown irises were growing with concern as they were two-thirds to the end of the song. She desperately yearned for Naoko to participate, however, Michiyo still had her lips sealed.
"Next time you feel like it's just one of those days when you can't seem to win," Wakana advised.
Yes, you just can't seem to win, Michiyo.
From the corner of Cho's eyes she spotted Raven about to exit the gymnasium. Cho became curious and decided to follow after her.
"Isobe better not ruin this," Cho gritted as she made her way towards the door.
"If things don't turn out the way you plan figure something else out," Cho heard Wakana stress.
Cho grinned widely in the dimly lit gymnasium. It was evident how it would conclude as Cho continued to follow pursuit after Raven. She held onto the corridor's handle. Suddenly Cho's heart sank.
"If nobody made mistakes and if everybody had their way then life would be like, like a perfect world with nothing wrong to say."
"NO!" Cho mentally shrieked as she darted her attention back to the stage. "That was not a part of the plan! She was not supposed to improvise!"
There, standing with a microphone in her hand, Michiyo found a way to tolerate Lana Montana and used her to her advantage. There were encouraging cheers from the crowd as Naoko continued.
"I know that I've made mistakes and I regret it every day, but I've sincerely apologized, I hope you see it that way."
Cho wanted to strangle the nearest item within reach or at least fire something with a sniper to the pompous teen. Instead, she bit her thumb to repress her ever so growing frustration. She scowled at the female in the centre of the performance with a burning desire to decapitate, dismember, and destroy every piece of Naoko's existence.
"Nobody's perfect, we gotta work it, we know in time we'll find a way," Naoko and her group smiled.
Naoko was supposed to despise the artist, she was supposed to be obstinate to participate, and she definitely were supposed to remain muted!
"Nobody's perfect, we live and we learn it 'cause everybody makes mistakes," the group continued in unison.
But you do not deserve a second chance like everybody else! You were supposed to suffer!
"Got that?" Naoko called out before concluding the first part of the popularity contest. "We're not all perfect."
"That rounds off the first part of Domino High's Popularity Contest!" Matsuo announced as the crowd applauded before Naoko and her group left the spotlight. "Close call by Naoko-sempai and her group! Great work with all of our participants, no one has been disqualified. We will enjoy a ten minute break before commencing the second part: the Dance component!"
Cho needed fresh air and fast. Her fist was gripped tightly like a volcano ready to explode from the amount of resentment stored for Michiyo. Cho would need to revise her schemes as well as preventing Isobe from interfering. She made her way to the side entry of the institution.
Cho deeply inhaled before exhaling. There just has to be another way to seal off Michiyo's improvisation, rid her doppelganger Raven and still succeed of sabotaging Naoko's chance of winning the competition. The more Cho thought of how Naoko survived the first round the more choleric Cho became. She pounded the brick wall with the side of her fist to release her aversion. She then froze with the sound of audible voices around the corner of where she stood.
"Ren-sama, just like you said: Nobody's perfect," a male quoted.
"That still does not conceal the fact you have made questionable decisions and unforgiveable conduct," a female sneered.
Cho peeked around the corner and found the two respectable –well, one of them was respectable – seniors having a lovers' quarrel.
"As if you were any better," Ryoki quipped. "You've done some horrible things in the past and I have forgiven you, Naoko."
"Let me make this clear, Kimura" Naoko's voice transformed into a threatening tone. "You cancelled our dinner plans and made plans with Kobayashi Midori."
"And I told you that your fan club supporter must have been seeing things," Ryoki interjected.
"You assumed I was working, claiming you were going to see a movie on your own, but instead made out with Kawano Satomi," Naoko listed in a louder volume, disregarding Ryoki's last statement.
"And I told you that it wasn't me!" Ryoki defended.
"You thought I'd be preoccupied with the exchange students, snuck away with Sasaki and made love with her on the roof top!" Naoko snapped.
Cho's eyes grew in size. First off, umm, EW? Second, there was no way someone like Kimura Ryoki, someone who would try to make his girlfriend smile, showed affections to his significant other, and got along with everyone would do something so repulsive. Cho refused to believe it. Maybe Michiyo was jumping to conclusions.
"Ren, I know things haven't been easy for you, especially since New Year's, but don't you think you're taking things out of context?"
"Out of context?" Naoko shrieked. "I witnessed with my own damn eyes Kimura! After you cancelled our dinner plans I had to make a coffee run and saw you with Kobayashi after you informed me that you voided our reservations."
"Dori-chan was having boyfriend issues so I thought I'd console her!" Ryoki tried to explain.
"You held her hand and twirled her hair for five goddamn minutes!" Naoko corrected. "You then gave her a kiss on the cheek. Last time I checked, that's not consoling especially when you are engaged in a relationship with someone else."
"I was just being nice," Kimura slightly muttered.
"Being nice?" Naoko questioned. "Just like when you were with Kawano? After I told you I could not tend to our plans, I called you back to correct my claim, only you did not answer your cell phone. Was making out with Kawano be the reason why you did not want to acknowledge my phone call?"
"Did you lie just so that you can monitor me?" Ryoki retorted.
"No, I was intelligent enough to know that you wanted to see the movie that day and couldn't wait another day to view it," Naoko jeered as she felt offended for the accusation.
Cho wanted to part from the argument, it was not any of her business, but it was like a horror movie: you want to know what happened while apprehending the fact that you may get caught if you do not leave at the right time.
"And let's not forget what happened a couple of days ago," Naoko reminded, sounding more upset than before.
"Ren-sama, you're just stressed from the contest and you're hearing rumours –"
"I am not stressed from the event," Naoko snapped. "Stop trying to avoid your misconducts. A couple of days ago I came to the roof top to escape from my former classmates, at least they were not allowed on the roof top. Then I heard something from behind the ventilations and went to investigate. I thought it was Sasaki or one of the China Dolls' fan clubs trying to cause another prank. When I arrived at the scene I thought I was hallucinating but half naked Sasaki called out your name just before you removed your face from her chest!"
Cho almost choked as she wanted to gasp for such a vile behaviour by someone who she thought was a good person. Cho kneeled as she leaned forward to have a better hearing of the conversation.
"It can't be anyone else, Kimura, you're the only six-foot-three male in the entire institution with red hair!" Naoko continued to argue. "What? Can't control your hormones that you felt it was acceptable to have sexual intercourse with Sasaki on school property? Do you have no respect on my values and morals that you felt the need to give into your corrupted idea of a desirable activity with a female other than your girlfriend?"
"Naoko, can't we discuss this after today's contest?" Ryoki begged. "I promise that we can work this out."
"No," Naoko flatly refused. "You had your chances to own up to your mistakes. I said this before and I have no intention of repeating myself for the third time: We Are Through."
Cho bit her lip as she heard Naoko walk away from the confrontation. Cho slowly stood up to avoid creating a suggestion that she was eavesdropping. She gradually backed up while focusing at the corner before turning around. Her face came in contact with a broad chest. She froze still before gulping. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage as she reluctantly looked up.
Cho was staring into narrowed sapphire eyes of Seto Kaiba.
T.K. – "Entomophobe / entomophobia": fear of insects.
Caramelldansen belongs to Caramell.
Nobody's Perfect belongs to Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus.
Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy belongs to Tata Young.
The first segment of the contest I was going for a Kiss / "breath-taking" theme: Aya with First Kiss, Midori with Sakura Kiss, Satomi's so-called breath-taking number by Tata Young, and Naoko's original song was supposed to be Want My Breath a mash-up (Destiny's Child Lose My Breath and Stephanie from Tenjochiki Japanese version of What U Want) done by Masa Mixes.
I can't believe Cho is so evil! Actually, I can: I created her xD. Come on, she has the resources to seek revenge at her disposal and not to mention that stupid voice in her head. If you don't think she should get away with it, not to worry, she has it coming **. Wow, pretty chilly out there.
How do you like Raven and Vivian? Cindy will make another appearance in this series at some point, same goes for Raven, just not any time soon. And Ryoki Kimura? Feel free to flame –cracks self up because his hair is red-. At first I was a little hesitant of adding the little quarrel at the end but it will kind of give a sense of what type of person Cho is in the next chapter.
Anyway, if you would like to drop a comment or have any suggestions about my story or for improvements don't be afraid to send a review or message =). Any questions for clarification are acceptable too.