Lonely No More
by Cyberchao X

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Still disclaiming.

A/N: I had to edit a scene from the previous chapter, as it turned out to not make sense after I looked back at chapter 11. At first I was considering deleting it entirely, but I introduced two names in that short scene, even though I was wrong about that also being the only place where I mentioned why Arisa was so hesitant to try to get Suki along.

*late May—shortly after the end of the previous chapter*

"Watagami-san? Does your boyfriend still need a date to the dance? Because I think I've reconsidered regarding my girlfriend."

"Yeah, he does. I'm glad you came around; I was wondering why you didn't want to do that in the first place."

"Well, I'm only hoping that we can get the go-ahead…and I kind of wish I'd thought of it sooner because she probably would need the 'closeted' date more than I do…although her boyfriend does know about me now…"

"…Your girlfriend has a boyfriend?"

"We've come to an agreement to share, since we can both offer her something that the other one can't."

"How cute. I've never dated a bisexual before. So why were you so concerned about her getting approved?"

"Well, you and Chikuro-san are second-years, so it would kind of stretch the limits of plausibility…"

"I see. Your girl's still back at your old junior high for another year?"

Arisa shook her head. "Two years, actually."

Watagami laughed. "Cradle robber, are you?"

"They're so beautiful when they're still young and growing. I swear, every time I see her it seems like her boobs are just a little bit bigger and her legs just a little bit longer."

"And that's why you're my date and not Rakusan's. I can't picture something like that coming out of his mouth."

"I'm only the 'dominant' one because I already knew I was a lesbian. Now that she's a bit more confident in her sexuality, Suki-tan's likely going to be quite a handful."

"Hm, that name sounds familiar…what's her last name?"

"Makimaro."

"…Definitely familiar. You keep your girl in line, okay?" Arisa was baffled by his suddenly threatening tone, but agreed and made a note to call Suki after school.

"So, can I bring this girl as my date, Kampai-sensei?" Chikuro asked.

"Listen…I agree that the policy preventing same-sex couples from attending as couples is arcane and should be looked at, but it's there to prevent a greater loophole and you can't use that as an excuse to make a mockery of this."

"Do you really think that preventing two people of the same sex from getting a couples ticket is enough to stop people without actual dates from getting the reduced rate? Anyway, consider this a loophole to the ban on same-sex couples."

"…I see. So your 'real' date is bringing a girl with a younger girlfriend." Kampai-sensei smiled. "I'm always happy to see my students taking a proactive approach to the challenges levied against them. Very well, you've got your approval."

"Thank you, sir."

"Hey there Suki-tan."

"Ari-chan! So surprised to hear from you. You miss me that much that even one whole day is too long?"

Arisa laughed. "Well, I do feel awful about the way our last conversation ended."

"I…don't remember anything bad about the way it ended…"

"That's just it. I told you I loved you—really loved you—for the first time, and it was over the phone. It should have been face to face. But that's not why I'm calling."

"Oh, right…Tatsu-kun was fine with switching to Friday night."

"Can you get him to switch back to Saturday night? After I realized what I'd said—and meant —I reconsidered and convinced Watagami-san to have his boyfriend bring you as his date. And it's been approved, so get ready to impress; you're going to a high school dance."

"Ee! You're the best, Arisa-chan! …Wait, what did you say your date's name was?"

"Watagami. Atsuya Watagami." Arisa suddenly remembered Watagami's odd hostility. "You know, when he heard your name he told me to make sure to keep you in line. There wouldn't by any chance be a girl with that last name among your first-year fan club, would there?"

Suki laughed nervously. "Hanna-chan's a good girl. Watagami-san has nothing to worry about; I have no intentions of making any moves on her."

"Speaking of which, how is your little porcelain doll doing?"

"Well, the good news is that there's very little likelihood of me turning her into a lesbian/bisexual. The problem with that is that this is because she seems to already be there. It really seems like she wants to confess her love to me and is just too afraid, and it is so tempting to just take the initiative, wrap her up in my arms and tell her that it's okay to feel that way, let her experience what it's like to kiss another girl…" Suki trailed off guiltily. "I'm sorry, Ari-chan…I'm a bad girl, aren't I…"

"I understand completely. You have to remember, I've had some experience with beautiful, curious first-years who want to explore their sexuality with a kind, caring sempai."

"…I suppose you have. Well, I'm going to have to make sure that the first-year brigade doesn't find out about this new development…see you Friday night."

"See you." After a pause she added, "Love you, Suki."

"Love you too, Arisa-chan…no, Arisa," she corrected as she realized that Arisa had left the honorific off of her name completely. "Arisa…"

CCX: Stories ending up going in directions other than those I'd originally intended is nothing new for me…but this story started out with a foregone conclusion, and that's that Arisa would eventually wind up with Suzuka. Ah, but then again, all we really "know" is that they're together by the "present day" of Last Christmas, which is still more than 3½ years away. Speaking of which, let's cut to our suddenly popular purplette.

"Kokuro-san, do you have a date to the dance yet?"

"Nah, I don't plan on going."

"That's too bad. I know that as a girl I'm supposed to wait for a guy to ask me, but it's getting close to the day of the dance and I think everyone's just assumed that I already have a date and asking me would only lead to rejection, so I'm looking at possibly just going alone." Instantly about half the boys in the class offered to be her date. One of them got a hard rap on the head from a girl who reminded him that he already had a date. Suzuka sweatdropped. "And now we're back to the usual problem…this was sort of my intention when I put it out there that I didn't have a date yet, but none of the ones who actually offered just now were guys that I wanted to have a second date with." She had timed it well, though; the teacher came in before she was forced to give an answer, and next period was lunch. Perhaps someone from one of the other classes would be a better fit.

Shinamori was helpful, too, staying close to Suzuka and hurrying her to the lunchroom. "Thanks, Kanna-chan."

"Nice stunt you pulled there, Suzu-chan."

"You think? I'm just glad I timed it as I did. Hopefully the news that I'm still available will spread now and someone from another class will ask me."

"So why didn't you wait until you got here, if you didn't like any of the prospects in our class?"

"Well, I wasn't lying when I said that I wouldn't mind going with Kokuro-san. And there are a few other boys in our class that I wouldn't have minded; unfortunately, none of them spoke up."

Already the boys were starting to gather when a certain brash blonde girl shoved her way through. "Geez, you two, did something happen?"

"I kind of decided I was fed up with not being asked to the dance and made it known that I was still available," Suzuka replied. "How goes the hunt for a date?"

"Did I not tell you? I changed my mind."

"You're not going as the 'beard' of a gay upperclassman?" (CCX: Realized as I was writing this that Arisa didn't actually give the name to Suzuka and Shinamori.)

"No, I changed my mind about the other thing."

"…"

"…you decided to at least try to have his boyfriend bring your junior high girlfriend as his date," Shinamori deduced.

"And it's been approved."

"That's…that's great!" Suzuka said.

"Now, I think you have some boys to respond to."

"Hello, I'm here to pick your daughter up for the school dance."

"…The hell you are! You'll turn around right now and get your preteen hormones away from my baby girl!"

"Wha—?"

"What's with all the shouting, papa?"

"This boy thinks he's taking you to a school dance. He's wrong, of course. And if he doesn't stop trying to enter our house, he'll soon be dead wrong."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "I think it's been so long since you came over when he was home that Papa has forgotten you, Izu-kun."

"He must have. He referred to pre-teen hormones."

"Hold on; I'll see if oneechan is ready." She went upstairs. "Onee-chan! Izu-kun is here!"

"Tell him I'm not coming out."

"Maybe that would be best for him; Papa's busy ripping him a new one right now."

Miki rushed out of her room, knocking Sakura over and nearly tripping down the stairs. "Daddy you stop that right now!"

"Hi Miki. You didn't tell me that your father wouldn't allow you to date."

"That's because his policy was no dating until high school. Which I'm now in. So I am allowed to date. Baka-chichi, you assumed he was here for Sakura-chan, didn't you?" She pretended to cry. "Even my own father doesn't believe anyone would want to go out with me because I'm so tiny."

"Um, Miki…?"

"Yes, I know; I look horrible. I wasn't even going to come out until I heard that Daddy was harassing you. Maybe if he spent some time looking for a real woman instead of obsessing over keeping his daughters from ending up like their worthless mother, I'd actually have someone who could've helped me get this right."

"My daughter is so mean to me…what happened to 'we need you, Daddy!'?"

"…You know I only want what's best for you, Daddy. I understand why you want to protect us, but…it would be good for us to have a real mother figure, too. So let's not talk about the past," Miki said, noting that Sakura was back within earshot. Mr. Ichirei nodded, knowing his older daughter's desire to spare his younger one the full extent of what happened nine years earlier.

"So, are we okay?" Izei asked.

"Sakura-chan said I'd 'forgotten' you. You used to come here more frequently?"

"Yeah…I'm Kumaya Izei. Miki and I have been classmates since grade 1…this is the first year we're not actually in the same class, but I'm still just one classroom over, and we're both representatives for our respective classes in student council."

"Kumaya-kun…I remember you now. I was concerned that someone actually asked Miki-chan out because she looks so young, but a close friend is different from a romantic interest."

"Actually…if she hadn't been so slow to mature physically, I probably would've asked her out long before she was old enough to get past your ban. I've liked her for a long time, at least since she actually was as young as she looked, but I only just now got up the courage to get past her appearance and ask her out anyway."

"In short, Izei does love me, but he loves me despite my appearance, not because of it. Am I right?"

"Yeah. Let's go; maybe Suzuka-san can help you with your makeup once we get there."

"Since when are you on a first-name basis with Suzuka-san?"

"…I suppose I really should ask her about that. I'm just grateful to her for helping me get up the courage to ask you out…and for setting you straight after you initially said no."

Miki laughed. "Okay, fair enough."

"You do know this is just a regular dance, right? You didn't need to get us a limousine."

Suzuka laughed. "This isn't a rental, Togawa-san. It's my family's limousine." Daisuke Togawa was a member of class 1-K.

"Ah…okay, then, I guess I feel a little better about being the one who was picked up…"

"We've still got a few more stops to make." Arisa, Chikuro, and Watagami were already in the limousine, but Shinamori and her date weren't and neither was Suki.

They arrived at the next stop. "Garu-kun?"

"Atsuya-kun? I didn't expect you to be going out with a kohai too…and Chikuro-san is also here…"

"Uh, yeah…"

"What's going on?" Arisa whispered.

"That's Suhaato Garu; he's a teammate of mine. Luckily I think he thinks Tsukimura-chan's date is the one who's actually there for Rakusan, not me."

"Imagine how surprised he'll be when he finds out that his own date is probably the least straight person in this entire group."

"I still think that honor goes to Rakusan."

"That's what I was afraid of. Well, at least two-thirds of the student body will have already graduated by the time Suki-tan actually arrives here."

"I thought you said she wasn't shy about her sexuality anymore?"

"I said she wasn't keeping it a total secret; she still doesn't want it to be common knowledge!" Shinamori was the next to be picked up, and she hugged both of the other females in the vehicle before settling in in between her date and Suzuka. Lucky that that was where he had settled in. Better still, Watagami had acted the gentleman and decided to forgo sitting in the seat that had been open between Arisa and Chikuro, opting to sit on the other side of Arisa (and explaining his decision to his boyfriend) in order to let Arisa sit next to her girlfriend, who was the last to be picked up. "Hey, Chikuro-san, this is supposed to be your date," Arisa said, dragging him out of the limousine to greet Suki.

"Oh, right."

"Damnit, he's right; there's absolutely no mistaking him for a straight man," Arisa thought. Then her jaw dropped.

"Hey, Arisa-chan, I thought you said my date for the night was flat-out gay?"

"Huh?"

"Arisa-chan, please try to concentrate."

"What? Oh, right, yes, rainbows are straighter than Chikuro-san."

"Well, he seems almost as enthralled by me as you are." Arisa turned. Indeed, Chikuro was starting to drool.

"Come on, get in." Suki followed Arisa into the limo, and Chikuro followed.

"Hey, Bannings-san, I thought you said your girlfriend was only a second-year in junior high."

"She is."

"She's…very tall. And, well…built."

"You're not the only one who has noticed. Even your boyfriend was drooling."

"Let's just hope her ability to turn gay men straight doesn't work in the opposite direction."

"You mean turning straight men gay?"

"No, I mean turning straight girls into lesbians."

"Oh, right, your little sister's part of her fan club."

They arrived at the dance. "Hey, Kumaya-san, why are you waiting at the door? Where's Miki-san?"

"I'm waiting for you, Suzuka-san. Can I call you that? I feel like you're a close friend now since you helped me and Miki get together. Anyway, she kind of needs a little help…the lack of a motherly influence in her life has kind of caused some problems."

"Say no more; I'll take care of it," Shinamori said. "You stay with your date, Suzu-chan."

"Thanks, but no thanks. You referred to her as 'Itty-rei'; in my mind that makes you no friend of hers. Also you're not ditching your date that easily." The last sentence was said under her breath.

"Suit yourself."

Suzuka headed off towards the girls' bathroom. "Miki-chan—I mean, -san?"

"It's okay; you can call me Miki-chan. Thanks for always trying to avoid it, though."

"I know how sensitive you can get. Let's see what we've got here."

"I washed most of it off, so we can start over."

"Okay."

"It was quite the scene when Izei came to pick me up. Daddy initially thought that he was there for Sakura-chan…my own father doesn't think I can get a date."

"Neither did you, remember? I'm sure he's just trying to protect you from lolicons. Not that you need protection, because you're as tough as they come."

"I'm really not. Yeah, I talk tough, but I'm still just 135 cm and…well, never mind what my weight is."

"I'm sure it's a figure most girls dream of."

"Yeah, but to get that low if you're a normal height you'd have to be anorexic."

A/N: She isn't even 135 cm, either. The measuring day scene from her original scenario isn't going to be included because she's only a side character in this story, but in it she finds that they actually must have made a mistake the previous year because she's actually shorter than she was last year—but on the bright side, there's one measurement that stayed the same while everything else shrank, which means she's actually starting to develop some slight curves. So she's actually more like 133 cm, or for those not using the metric system, 4'5". Also, these figures were originally slightly higher until I realized that even in America, where the average height is higher than in Japan, my figures would probably be more accurate for an 11- or 12-year-old than the 10-year-old that Miki allegedly appears to be.

"Suzuka's spending a lot of time in there," Arisa said. "And Shinamori-san actually is sticking it out with her date, who actually knows my date and therefore thinks that Suzuka's date is Chikuro-san's date."

"He wouldn't if he saw Chikuro-san and Watagami-san together. Or, hell, you and me."

"That's true. It's a good thing I don't care if people know that I'm a lesbian, because I'm pretty sure everyone knows it now."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because everyone sees that the prettiest girl in the room is dancing with me." Suki opened her mouth to say something, but Arisa stopped her with a kiss. "Don't argue it…it's true. And even if it isn't, you're the prettiest girl here in my eyes, so I don't care."

"I was just going to thank you for being so sweet… I've got the perfect girlfriend, one who understands me and cares about me and makes me feel good about myself. I don't feel like the prettiest girl in the room…I feel like, well, an oversized junior high student who's at a function she doesn't belong at. Which I kind of am."

"You totally belong here. I'm going to go see about Suzuka, and you'll see just how much you belong here."

"I'm a little scared about what you mean…"

"Hey, Suzu-chan, what's taking so long…wait, who's the kid?"

"Arisa Bannings, meet Miki Ichirei, Class 1-O representative. Miki-san, this is my best friend, Arisa Bannings."

"Class…you're the same age as us?"

"Shocking, I know."

"What are you doing in here, Ari-chan?"

"Looking for you. Well, and proving a point to Suki-tan. She feels like she doesn't belong here because she's so young…so I'm 'setting her free' for a little while, see how many people try to make a move on her."

"You're brave. Makimaro-san looked especially amazing tonight."

"Wait, there's someone here who's actually young? Maybe this won't be so bad."

"Think again. Makimaro-san looks even less like a 13-year-old than your sister looks like a 12-year-old."

"Also, am I understanding correctly, that you are…"

"Yes, I'm a lesbian. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

"As long as you aren't also a pedophile, I'm fine."

Arisa laughed. "I'm surprised you came, if you're afraid of people who would be attracted to you."

Miki blushed. "There's…someone who loves me for who I am, not for what I look like. I only wish I'd realized sooner, but…he was kind of afraid of being branded as a lolicon, so he kept his feelings bottled up and hoped that eventually my body would start maturing. So far it hasn't."

"Don't worry…it sounds like you at least had him close to you for a long time."

"Yeah…"

"So, how many guys do you have to dance with before I can have you back?"

"Oh, come on, I turned some of them down. Also I have some other girls to dance with…don't worry, not like that." She thought about this for a moment. "Well, I can't make any promises, actually, but that's just normal girl stuff."

"'Normal girl stuff'?"

"Don't worry; just follow my lead," Suzuka said. "Let your 'token straight friend' teach you a bit about what straight girls do."

"Don't you have a date to meet up with, Tsukimura-san?"

"This sounds like more fun. And you don't have to be so formal with me; Arisa-chan's my best friend and I know how important you are to her, so we should try to be friends. Okay…Suki-chan?"

"…Okay, Suzuka-san."

Togawa managed to steal Suzuka away for a bit afterwards, but Arisa eventually caught up with her. "What the hell was that back there?"

"What are you talking about, Ari-chan?"

"You and Suki-tan!"

"Oh, that? It's common practice for groups of straight girls to engage in vaguely homoerotic behavior because it turns guys on. And you were in there grinding away as well, so don't be like that."

"Yeah, one problem with that—you're not straight!" Arisa whispered.

"Yes, but only you and Kanna-chan know that," Suzuka whispered back.

"Yes, I know that the girl who was grinding with my girlfriend is not straight. Do you see what the issue here is?"

"…Oops. I'm sorry, Ari-san, I didn't mean it like that!"

"…I know. We'll have to 'kiss and make up' later when nobody else can see us."

"Ari-chan…"

"…So, how long?"

"How long what, Suki-chan?"

"You and Ari-chan. You're not really her 'token straight friend', are you? Dancing with you didn't feel the same as dancing with the other girls…it felt more like dancing with her. Except that you're a better dancer, but that's to be expected because Arisa-chan's pretty new at this. So, have I just been a toy for her all this time?"

Suzuka gasped. "Not at all. I see the way she looks at you…you are definitely her girlfriend. I'm just her best friend. Who wants to be more than just friends with benefits…" She put her hand over her mouth. "Please pretend I didn't just say that."

"You didn't mean to confess that you're friends with benefits?"

"No…I didn't mean to confess that I was anything less than happy with that arrangement. We actually haven't been 'together' since the start of the new school year, anyway; we decided that it wasn't necessary. I've been swamped with guys, anyway…" Noticing Suki's quizzical look, she added, "You're not the only one around here who goes both ways."

"And you're certain that I'm the one she really loves?"

"Yes. Although in the interest of being perfectly honest, I wouldn't actually admit it if she was really more interested in me."

"The fact that you told me that makes me believe you more, though that's probably what you wanted…"

"Well, Ari-chan did once accuse me of being an evil genius."

"Don't worry. I think maybe we can work something out. Get out at Arisa-chan's house on the way home, okay?"

"That was kind of already the plan…I think. Or at least, she implied that we'd be getting some alone time later."

"Reeeeally. Interesting…I seemed to be under a different impression. When was this?"

"When she got mad at me for grinding with her girlfriend. I didn't even think about the implications, that because she knows the truth about me it was as bad as if I'd been grinding with some other girl's boyfriend. So I apologized, and she said we'd have to 'kiss and make up' later."

"You're such a liar."

"It's the truth!"

"I meant about you not thinking about what you were doing. We wouldn't be having this conversation if I hadn't felt your intent. But don't worry…now that I know, hopefully you'll get to do a lot more than just kiss."

CCX: Goddamnit Suki stop being such a Mary Sue. Lining up a bunch of male dates when your girlfriend walks away (even if she basically wanted you to just to prove to you how beautiful you are—no, wait, especially because of that; not realizing how pretty you are is another Mary Sue trait); engaging the main pairing of the story in a threesome…I think we can even excuse the "stereotypically American traits despite being only ¼ American" because the issue of a partially Asian character having westerner traits due to having the western blood on both sides has been declared totally plausible by the creators of Young Justice, who replied to complaints about the implausibility of Artemis's character design by saying that it was actually based on a real person who fit those criteria—although in that case it was ½-American, not ¼. Well, anyway, I do believe we've set Chapter 15 up to be another lemon-type chapter. Hopefully it'll be another short wait like it was this time, not a long wait like a lot of the other recent chapters have been. This is Cyberchao X, signing off.