Raspberry: The Second Helping
By TheBlackKid
Chinatsu's POV
"Ugh…Man, I'm SO hungry! I didn't eat breakfast this morning because I was nearly late for class."
"I'm surprised you kept up the whole time, Akari." Sakurako said to her as we were returning to the classroom with snacks from the Snack Bar. "I would've mentally "screw it" and slept until lunch came along."
"But you already do that on a regular bases." I said.
"Hey, can you blame me? The teachers are boring as hell. As soon as they open their mouths you feel like falling asleep."
"And yet, you keep wondering why you're failing…" I gained a sweatdrop.
"*moan* I'm so hungry…" Akari whined. "…can't I just take one snack right now?"
"No, Akari. You know the rules. Not until we do a full ingredient check on each one."
"But why, though? Ever since last week, you guys have been monitoring what I eat as if I'm some kind of child. It's ridiculous!"
"Are you serious right now…?" Both Sakurako and I looked at her with dead-faced looks.
"What?"
"N-Nothing." I said. "Just…don't touch any of the snacks, okay?"
"*whine* This blows!"
What really blows is that you don't remember why we do this, Akari…
The three of us soon made it back to the classroom…where the other two first-years, Himawari and Kyouko, were waiting for us to come with the snacks.
"We're back." I said.
"That was fast." Kyouko replied. "No line again today?"
"Nope. We just walked up and grabbed the snacks. Probably because more people are bringing their own lunches nowadays."
"I see…"
"Plus, the two students behind the counter were shaking in fear once they saw Akari." Sakurako said. "And probably wanted to get her out of there as fast as possible."
"Uh…"
"Wait, they were shaking in fear?" Akari asked. "I thought they were cold."
"Akari, the girl behind the counter was almost in literal tears once she saw you." I said to her.
"Really? But why?"
…
…
…
"Does she seriously not remember?" Himawari asked me.
"No…she doesn't."
"What are you guys talking about?" Akari asked.
"Nothing, Akari. Let's just hurry up and go through these snacks."
"Seriously? But I'm hungry!" Akari whined again while I did a huge groan of annoyance.
To protect this school from another incident…you can wait a few more minutes, Akari.
After the snack check, we each received a fair amount of snacks. Each in our favored preferences. And while most of us were eating, Akari had a really pissed-off look on her face.
Because all she got…was an apple.
"You're not gonna eat, Akari?" I asked her.
"Seriously? Eat THIS? It's a freaking apple! I'm not gonna get full from only this!"
"Why not, Akari? Apples are healthy for you." Himawari said.
"I'm already healthy enough!"
"Well, you can never be too healthy, Akari." Kyouko said.
"This is coming from the girl who eats Rum Raisin every day."
"H-Hey, shut up! That's different!"
"Why do you guys have more snacks than me, anyway? None of you can seriously be hungrier than me right now."
"We're doing this for your own good, Akari." I said. "We're doing all we can to prevent what happened last week to EVER happen again."
"Last week? What are you talking about?"
"Akari…" Sakurako said. "…do you SERIOUSLY not remember what happened last week?"
"Hmm…" Akari thought for a moment. "…Well, I tried these nasty chips last week. Does that count?"
And the four of us facepalmed so hard it could be heard from the whole entire class.
*sigh* This girl…we're gonna have to tell her, aren't we?
"Listen, Akari." I spoke again. "We're going to explain IN FULL DETAIL of what happened last week. And you BETTER pay attention, got it? Everything that happened is mostly your fault."
"Mostly?" Akari got confused.
"There's someone else to blame. But we'll get to that later." Himawari said.
"Okay…I'm still not sure what you guys are talking about. But if you're going to explain it, then I might as well listen." Akari then took a bite of the apple and chewed it without a care in the world.
Oh, so NOW you eat the apple!
"*sigh* Whatever. Let's just get this over with before lunch ends." I then mentally prepared myself to retell the horror that all of us went through thanks to one Akari Akaza.
And the main contributor to it all…that DAMN fruit. And I don't mean the apple.
*LAST WEEK…*
"Come on, Senpai~! What's this super big surprise you wanted to show us?! I can't contain the excitement no more!"
"Calm down, Sakurako-san. We're almost there." Ariana-senpai said to the excited blonde as we had all met up with her after school and were now following her to a "surprise" that she says that she has for us.
It was really sudden, too. None of us expected a surprise to come or who the surprise was coming from. Ariana-senpai isn't the type of person to just give stuff away without any sort of reason.
At least, that's what the other three third-years tell us.
"Let's see…it was a left from the Student Council Room, up the stairs to the third floor, and it should be near the end of this hall…"
"Hey, Ariana. Where exactly are we going?" Iyo-senpai asked.
"I don't think I've ever been down this hallway before." Rise-senpai added. "And I've been here for three freaking years."
"It rooks, how you say...deserto." Madeleine-senpai said.
"It's not deserto…I-I mean deserted." Ariana-senpai said. "There are actually some clubs up here."
"Like the Literature Club."
"Seriously? You climb up all those stairs to get to your club?" Ayano asked Chizuru.
"It's a long distance, sure. But it isn't really a problem."
"It's a good workout for my soccer practices coming up." Himawari added.
"Oh, yeah." I said. "You're starting soccer in the spring, right? Congratulations."
"*giggle* Thanks. After an agonizing year of waiting, I'm finally getting into the field. And I'm going straight for the top, too."
"Well, aren't you prideful." Rukia said. "But do you really think all that confidence will take the soccer team to the top?"
"I'm sure it will. And who knows, Rukia. Maybe we'll be good enough to outclass the volleyball team someday."
"Is that a challenge, Himawari? If so, then you're on! I'll prove to you first-hand that none shall beat the Volleyball Queen! Rukia-sama will reign supreme! Ohhohohoho!"
"She's totally forgetting that we're just a three-person team…" Ayano whispered to Tsu.
"She's already too far gone. Let's just let her have the moment." Tsu replied with a sweatdrop.
"Aha! Here it is!" Ariana-senpai yelled out as she placed her hand on the door to a room in front of us.
"This room? What's so special about it?" Yui asked.
"Well…long story short, this is our new clubroom."
"Clubroom?!" We all asked in total shock.
"Aw, hell yeah! Our own clubroom! I wanna see!" Sakurako cheered as she excitedly opened the door and went inside.
"H-Hey! Sakurako! *sigh* Geez, that girl…" Himawari said as she went after her. With the rest of us not that far behind.
Inside was…rather big. Bigger than your average-sized clubroom. It had an average-sized square table in the center, a computer on top of a long table on one side of the room, and then next to the computer was…a microwave and a fridge? And then on the opposite side was…a bed?
What kind of clubroom is this?
"Wait, so…this is OUR clubroom?" Kyouko asked. "What for?"
"Basically, the vice-principle keeps getting on my ass about letting you guys eat lunch in the old gym. Saying that it's a health issue or something like that."
"If it was a health issue, then why the hell did we get shoved in there for volleyball practice?" Tsu asked. Sounding rather pissed about it.
"She has a point…" Ayano said in the same tone.
"That prissy-ass vice-principle screwed us over, didn't he?!" Rukia yelled as she tightened her fists in anger.
"H-Hey. Calm down, Cousin." Kyouko said to her.
"Well…I'm not sure about that." Ariana-senpai continued. "But to solve our hangout spot problem, I had to do some digging around the school files to figure something out. Then I found this place. Which, apparently belonged to the Tea Ceremony Club before shutting down last year."
"What is it with us and being strangely involved with Tea Ceremony Clubs?" I asked.
"It's a very strange coincidence, Chinatsu…" Akari responded with a sweatdrop.
"Well, I don't really care about tea. THIS PLACE HAS A FREAKING BED!" Kei said before jumping onto the twin-sized bed. "*sigh* I now have a place to take my lunch break naps."
"All you care about is taking naps." Chizuru said.
"What can I say? I'm a nap enthusiast. Now, if you excuse me…" This was the last thing Kei said before quickly going to sleep. Seemingly ignoring the fact that he's currently in a room with a bunch of girls.
"And…he's already asleep." Himawari said with an exasperated sweatdrop.
"Kei sure is happy when he gets to take a nap." Tsukasa said with a regular sweatdrop.
"Yeah, a little too happy..." Chizuru said with an irritated sweatdrop.
"So, we basically have our own official spot to hang out at." Yui said. "I can get used to this."
"It definitely beats sitting on those hard dusty bleachers in the old gym." Ayano added.
"Hey, let's throw a party to celebrate!"
"A party?" We all asked Chitose.
"Well, Christmas is coming up, as well. It would be killing two birds with one stone."
"That's true…" Ayano said. "…but does it necessarily HAVE to be Christmas-themed?"
That's when everyone in the room went dead silent. Remembering the one fact about Ayano that's really hard to ignore.
"Oh, yeah…you hate Christmas." Tsu said.
"Geez…it's going to be really hard to be happy about it knowing that you'll be flat-out miserable the whole day." Rukia added.
"I-I won't be miserable." Ayano went silent for a bit. "W-Well…I-I'll be a little angry about it due to the memories I have of it. B-But I'll have Haruka with me. A-At least…"
"Yeah, but…"
"Well, it doesn't necessarily have to be Christmas-themed."
"It doesn't?" We all asked Iyo-senpai.
"Of course not. We could just think of some other theme and go with that. And I got the perfect idea. *giggle*"
"Rejected." Rise-senpai, Ariana-senpai, and Madeleine-senpai all said with a straight look.
"You don't even know what it is!"
"We know that it involves horror in some fashion." Rise-senpai said.
"Some of us are still trying to recover from what you did to Akari-san's eye during the party last month." Ariana-senpai said.
"I thought it was cool…" Akari pouted.
"Akari…" Tsukasa and I looked at her with huge sweatdrops.
"Well, then I got an idea of my own."
"Rejected." Yui, Ayano, and Chizuru responded to Chitose's statement. Again, with straight looks.
"You don't even know what it is!"
"Yes, we do." Yui said. "We know it involves yuri in some perverted way."
"I may hate Christmas, but there's no way I'm stooping THAT low to not celebrate it." Ayano said.
"*whine* Chizuru! Help!"
"What do you want me to do about it?" Chizuru gained a sweatdrop.
"Well…how about we make a winter-themed party?"
"Winter-themed?" We asked Kyouko.
"You know. Snowflakes on the walls and fake snow on the ground…it could be our own winter wonderland of sorts."
"Oh, I get it." Rukia said. "Not a bad idea, Cousin."
"A winteru wonderrand...it wourd be rike ouru winters bakku home, Ari." Madeleine-senpai said. "The, how you say...speciaru memories wourd retsurn tū us."
"*giggle* Yeah, it would, Maddie."
"So, will that do for you, Ayano?" Kyouko asked her. "It won't mention Christmas at all."
"Well…alright. I guess I can take part in this one. Thanks, Kyouko."
"We're still friends, aren't we? Even though we're not as close as we were back in middle school."
"Yeah…true."
"*sigh* Such a shame, too. If only Chinatsu wasn't in the picture…"
"Th-The hell's that supposed to mean?!" I yelled at Chitose."
"Alright. So, we're all in for the winter party." Ariana-senpai said. "Now, we just gotta decided who gets what."
"Rock, Paper, Scissors for the snacks!" Sakurako cheered.
"Jan! Ken! Pon!" We all chanted in Japanese (with the exception of Madeleine-senpai, who said it in French).
LATER, WITH A FOUR-WAY TIE FOR LAST…
"*whine* How the hell do we always lose?!"
"That's just how it is, Chinatsu. We suck at Rock, Paper, Scissors." Akari said to me as we were walking to the store to pick out sweets and stuff for the party.
"Well, you have an excuse because you only got one eye. I feel like the others KNOW that I suck at the game and they use it to screw me over!"
"It's okay, Chinatsu. I'm not good at it, either." Tsukasa said as she tied with us.
"Why the hell am I tagging along?" Kei asked. "I didn't even play."
"That's precisely why you're tagging along." I said. "You lost by default."
"*groan* How is that even fair?"
"Don't worry, Kei." Tsukasa said to him. "I'm sure you'll have so fun at this winter party that it'll easily make up for being dragged along with us. It'll be great."
"You sure are cheerful about this, Tsukasa." Kei said. Which led Tsukasa to giggle a little.
What's up with her? I mean, I know she and Kei knew each other before they each came here, but…she definitely has something in mind.
"By the way…why are we having a winter-themed party when this town hasn't had temperatures below 35°C in over a year at this point?"
(Quick Note: 35°C = 95°F)
"Now that you mention it…it does seem nonsensical…" I said as we all looked up at the boiling hot sun above us.
"Wowie…a heatwave lasting 13 months is unheard of." Tsukasa said. "Is Takaoka really going to have yet another hot as hell winter?"
"Well, Haruka and the Supernatural Agency still hasn't figured out what caused this heatwave in the first place…" Akari said. "…so, it's most likely."
"Geez…can't Ayano use her Violet Soul powers to fix this weather?" Kei asked.
"Don't you think we tried asking her? She said that her powers don't work like that. That amethyst crystal inside of her is usually an emotional thing."
"I see…"
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. So, we might as well put up with it." I said. "Winter or not, this party's gonna be fun as hell!"
"Yeah!" Akari and Tsukasa cheered.
"Meh. If you say so, Chinatsu." Was all Kei said.
Minutes later, the four of us arrived at the nearest supermarket from school. We each decided to split into groups of two to tackle everything. With Tsukasa and Kei handling the drinks while Akari and I did the snacks.
"Geez…look at this list of snacks." I said. "Everyone sure has their own preference, huh?"
"Yeah, tell me about it." Akari said. "BBQ chips for Tsu, Himawari wants Pocky sticks, Iyo-senpai wants chocolate-covered pretzels and Sakurako wants every cookie known to mankind…she could've at least be serious with her choice."
"It's Sakurako. When is she EVER serious?"
"True…" Akari then looked back at the list. "…And I can't even read what Madeleine-senpai wrote down. Her English is just flat-out garbage."
"Yeah, I know. It honestly makes me worried about how she'll do in college. Or if she even is going to college."
"Oh, she's going. Rise told me that the four of them are going together. To where, they're not sure yet."
"Not sure? But they graduate in 3 months."
"Yeah…they do." Akari then gained a sad look on her face. Which made me look back at what I just said. And I felt really guilty for saying it so carelessly.
"R-Right…y-you and Rise-senpai won't be in the same school anymore. S-Sorry for…y-you know."
"*sigh* It's fine, Chinatsu. Rise did say that wherever she ends up going, she'll always make time for me. So, it's not like we'll never see each other again after she graduates. But I'm still going to miss her, though…"
"Akari…" I said in a pity-filled tone. And it would've continued like that if it wasn't for…
*POP*
"Huh?"
*POP*
*POP*
*POP*
"Don't you think you two had enough of those?" We heard a familiar voice.
"Aw, come on, Hiro. They're really good. For an obscure candy, these things are pretty good."
"Yeah, seriously." A third recognizable voice added. "It's shocking how this candy went unnoticed for so long. People nowadays are…*chuckle* th-they're really *giggle*…th-they're really missing out! Baaahahahahahaha!"
"Geez…don't start laughing now. We're in the middle of a store." Said a fourth recognizable voice.
"S-Sorry! I-I can't *giggle* I-I can't *giggle*…I-I-I can't control it! Gaahahahahahaha!"
"*sigh* Cheo…"
"Well, that's to be expected from the girl with Pseudobulbar Affect." Said a fifth recognizable voice.
"Good thing we're all already used to it." Added a sixth one.
"Hey, aren't those the Rakuyama girls?" Akari asked.
"Yeah, it is them." I said. "Hey, guys. Funny to run into you all here." I then spoke up. Gaining the group's attention.
"Oh. Akari and Chinatsu." Hiro said.
"Hey hey, girls! Been a while since we last saw each other!" Aoi cheered.
"Nice to see that my old clubmates are still kickin' it like always, ya get me?" Sachiko spoke in her usual country dialect.
"N-Nice…t-to see…y-you…a-again! *giggle* Baahahahaha!" And Cheo struggled to speak as she was still trying to get her laughing under control. As usual.
Nice to see that they haven't changed much…
In case you don't remember, these girls are friends of ours who attend a different school known as Rakuyama High. Their backgrounds are as followed:
Hiro Takaoka, Aoi Isurugi, and Sachiko Ichiko all used to be in our class back during the Nanamori days.
Cheo Izomi is a friend of Kyouko's who has a very similar situation to her (they're both 17-year-old first-years due to traumatic life issues).
And Haruka Koyama and Takane Dezaki are Chizuru's friends also from Nanamori. They came to the school party last month and even helped out Lyrica (who I now know is Yui) with her performance.
I'm still freaking jealous of that, by the way.
"So, what brings you girls here?" Haruka-senpai asked.
"We're just getting some things for a party we're having." I said. "Akari and I are getting snacks and we have two others getting drinks."
"Another party, huh?"
"Man, I heard that party last month was fun as hell." Aoi said. "And yet, I couldn't go because we had that pointless Cultural Festival."
"Pointless?" We both asked.
"It was only pointless to her because she didn't get to keep any of the money we made with our booth." Hiro said.
"Oh…" We both gained sweatdrops.
"Hey, can you blame me? We pretty much saved the damn festival after Sachiko blew up another oven."
"A-Another?!" We yelled in shock as we turned to the country girl.
"D-Don't look at me like that! I was trying to make cookies for the festival and I couldn't find the sugar. So, I improvised."
"Sachiko…substituting cayenne powder for sugar isn't improvising. It's just being oblivious at cooking." Takane-senpai said with a sweatdrop.
"Well…it wasn't as messy as the other times."
OTHER times?!
"It's truly shocking that they still allow you in the Baking Club, girl. *giggle*" Cheo said.
"Hey, guys. We got the drinks." We then saw Tsukasa and Kei heading our way with all of the requested drinks in tow. And it was a lot, too. Considering that most wanted their own drink.
And I just realized that this is going to come out of MY allowance. Great…
"Hey, looky here." Takane-senpai said. "It's Tsukasa and the out-of-place boy. Nice to see ya."
"Oh. Hello there, Haruka-san and Takane-san." Tsukasa said.
"I have a name, you know…" Kei said in an exasperated tone.
"Yeah, I know. It's just that with a group of mostly homosexual girls, you are kinda out-of-placed."
"As if that's MY fault!"
"Wow, you two. I didn't think you were friends with a boy." Aoi said. "Is this some kind of harem now?"
"N-No, as if!" I yelled. "Kei would NEVER be my type if I was straight! I don't even understand why any girl would be straight in the first place! It's so nonsensical!"
"Way to devalue our love lives, Chinatsu…" Hiro, Aoi, Sachiko, Cheo, Haruka-senpai, and Tsukasa all said in pissed-off tones.
And I easily felt their anger.
My bluntness is my own worst enemy…
"A-Anyway…what were you girls doing before we came up?" Akari asked while trying to defuse the tense atmosphere I created.
"Oh, right." Aoi said before showing us a clear white bag that was filled to the brim with what looked like gumballs. The bag itself was tied up with a red ribbon. "We were showing Haruka-senpai and Takane-senpai this obscure candy we found."
"It's called *snicker* T-Tubular *chuckle*." Cheo added.
"Tubular? That's a weird name for a candy."
"That's probably why it's so obscure." Takane-senpai said.
"What's this candy like?" Tsukasa asked.
"It says that they're gummy balls that appear pure white. Their flavors are hidden until you put them in your mouth and chew on them." Aoi explained. "And when you figure it out, it's supposed to be "super tubular!". Whatever that means."
"I get it" Kei said. "It's basically a risk game. Like that jellybean game that comes with good and nasty flavors."
"Does that really sound safe to eat?" I asked.
"Well, Cheo and I have been eating these things for three days now and nothing bad has happened so far. So, it should be perfectly fine."
"Well, even still…"
"Come on. Just try one. Maybe you'll figure out some tubular flavor."
What does tubular even mean?
"Eh, I'll try one." Akari said as she grabbed a gummy ball from Aoi and placed it in her mouth. After chewing on it a little, she ended up blowing a huge bubble before it popped all over her mouth.
"Hmm…tastes fruity. Almost like I've had it before."
"That's the fun of it." Aoi said. "You think you know the flavors…but at the same time, you don't. And it makes you want to keep eating them until you do."
"That sounds unhealthy." Hiro said.
"Yeah, but when do I ever eat healthy?"
"You really should if you want to keep that figure of yours." I said.
"Well, I am curious at what these other flavors are…I'll buy one!"
"Seriously?!" Hiro, Haruka-senpai, and I said to Akari with pure shock.
"That a girl, Akari!" Aoi cheered. "The three of us can team up to figure out these flavors!"
"It'll be one *chuckle* t-tubular of a time! Baahahaha!" Cheo added.
"What does tubular even mean?" Kei asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine…" Sachiko said.
We soon paid for the stuff we got and separated from both the Rakuyama girls and Kei & Tsukasa. As Akari and I were on the bus heading home.
While on the bus, Akari was eating those weirdly-named gumballs she bought.
*POP*
*POP*
*POP*
And the popping was starting to get on my nerves.
"Don't you think you've had enough of those, Akari?" I asked her.
"Oh, come on, Chinatsu. It's all fun. I'm just trying to guess all the flavors. There are a lot more than I thought."
"Wait, you actually figured out some?"
"Well, only a few. Cherry, Grape, Orange, Lemon…they're your basic candy flavors. I was honestly hoping for some wild ones."
"Yeah, I can see that with a name like "Tubular"."
FYI, we Googled what tubular meant. Apparently, it's some kind of slang from the 80s. Pretty weird.
"You sure you don't want any, Chinatsu? You could at least try one."
"*sigh* Fine. I'll try one." I dug into the bad and took out a gummy ball. Staring at its pure whiteness as I hesitated to put it in my mouth.
How many flavors even are there? Neither Aoi or Cheo ever brought it up. Maybe they just didn't know…?
"Come on, eat it already." Akari said.
"Okay, okay." I stared at the gumball one last time before I placed it in my mouth. And chewed it until it was sticky all over.
…
…
…
"BLEH! THAT'S DISGUSTING!" I then yelled as I spat out the candy on the floor.
"You didn't have to spit it on the floor…" Akari gained a sweatdrop.
"Ugh! It really is a risk game! I got a bad flavor!"
"What was it?"
"I can't really describe it…it's just when I started chewing it, it reminded me of raspberries. So gross!"
"Raspberries, huh?" Akari then gained an uncomfortable look on her face.
"Yeah, why? What's wrong?"
"Chinatsu…you do remember, right? My allergy?"
"Allergy?" I then thought for a moment. Trying to think about what she was talking about.
And then it hit me…
"Oh, yeah…you're allergic to raspberries." I said. "You know, you should really get that checked out. What happens to you when you eat one is not normal."
"Don't you think we've tried that? No matter where we went, doctors couldn't think of a cure to treat it. They just tell me "don't eat raspberries and you should be fine.". But that isn't exactly easy nowadays."
"I see…well, we'll just have to tell everyone to leave out raspberries when picking food and such. We rather not have a repeat of what happened 2 years ago."
"Hehheh…yeah…" Akari started rubbing the back of her head. "…S-So, um…what exactly happened 2 years ago?"
"Huh? Wait, you mean you don't remember?"
"No, not really. I kinda blacked out once I ate that raspberry cookie. And then, the next thing I knew…I was home in bed. With all Akane telling me was that my allergy happened again."
"I-I see…" I gained a sweatdrop.
She seriously doesn't remember?! That was pure hell for the rest of us!
*Bus Stop #153. Bus Stop #153.*
"Oh, that's my stop." I said as I grabbed my share of the bags and got up from the seat we were sharing. "I'll message you later tonight, okay?"
"Alright. See you tomorrow, Chinatsu."
We parted ways after I had got off of the bus. And as I made my way home, my memories of what happened 2 years ago kept swarming my mind.
"Geez…I seriously can't believe Akari doesn't remember what she did the last time. How the hell does a simple fruit just wipe her memories like that? It makes no sense…much like her allergy as a whole."
Chibi~…Hahahahahaha~!
I shuttered in fear from the sudden memory I got of Akari's allergy in full effect. Easy one of the worst moments of middle school.
I just hope it doesn't repeat in high school…
Kyouko's POV
"Hey, Kyouko…do you remember Akari's raspberry allergy?"
"*cough* *cough* H-Her allergy?! Th-The hell you're bringing THAT up for?!" I yelled in a panic after choking on the water I was drinking.
"So, I'll take that reaction as a yes…"
"*sigh* Sorry. It's just…that allergy of hers is the source of some really bad childhood memories. For both me and Yui."
"Yeah, I'm aware."
"So, why bring it up, anyway?"
"Well…when we went to the supermarket yesterday, we ran into the girls from Rakuyama. Aoi and Cheo had this weird candy with them that has its flavors unknown until you eat them. Akari bought a bag, I ate one, and the taste reminded me of my hatred for raspberries. Which, in turn, brought up…"
"Right. I get it now." Kyouko then let out a huge sigh of stress.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just I was remembering the time Yui and I first found out about Akari's allergy. It was a pretty scary moment. Especially for a crybaby like me at the time."
"Would it be wrong of me to ask what happened?"
"Well…" I went silent for a bit. "…let's just say that what happened back then is how Yui and I realized that we were into girls."
"W-Wow…" Chinatsu gained a look of shock.
"Yeah…it was that bad."
"Well, whatever happened…I guess I owe it thanks because it got me to be with you, Kyouko."
"*giggle* I can agree to that, my little China-chan."
We both then brought our lips together as we engaged in a passionate make-out session of love. Expressing our deepest emotions of romance as we shared our love with each other. Eternally happy to…
Akari's POV
"Hey, what the hell?! How does you two making out tie into what happened last week?!" I yelled out in a pissed-off tone.
"W-We were getting to that!" Kyouko said.
"Y-Yeah, we were just adding some romance to the story!" Chinatsu added.
"But the tags say "Humor" and "Supernatural"." Himawari said. "There shouldn't be any romance whatsoever."
"Admit it. You two just wanted to brag about your relationship." Sakurako said.
"W-W-We did NOT!" Both girls yelled with huge blushes.
It's written all over their faces…
"So, what happened next?" I asked. "That didn't involve kissing."
"Well, we'll just skip to the day of the party. Just so the story won't be too long." Himawari said.
"*sigh* Whatever." I went back to eating the apple I was given earlier. Still rather pissed that it's the only thing I'm eating for lunch.
…
But it ain't that bad, though…
Himawari's POV
"Food~…delicious food~…I can't wait much longer~…I gotta have a taste~…"
*SMACK*
"Ow!"
"Quit screwing around already." I sad after hitting Sakurako in the head.
"Hey, you can't be hitting me in the head like that! I'm still injured!"
"It's been 5 months. I'm pretty sure your wound has healed by now."
"Case in point, you ran all the way here, bypassing me, just to try to get some of the food." Ariana-senpai said.
"Well, what can I say? When you're hungry as hell, a gunshot wound to the stomach means nothing at all! Hahahahahaha!"
"R-Right…" Both Ariana-senpai and I gained sweatdrops.
She's still a rambunctious nutcase…even with a bullet forever stuck inside her.
A few days later, we had all gathered up at the clubroom to start this winter-themed party. Everyone had brought their own dish to share and even the decorations were rather pretty. Despite the fact that they came from Ana of all people.
Who knew she was a pretty good artist?
"Okay…" Ariana-senpai said. "…so, we got food. We got drinks. All the decorations are up."
"We could've at least added a creepy snowman or something…" Iyo-senpai pouted.
"Can it, Iyo. Anyway…it seems like everyone's here."
"Wait, we're missing Akari and Chinatsu." Yui said.
"They'll be here soon. They had to stop somewhere first." Kyouko said.
"I see…"
"So, we can start eating, right?" Sakurako asked. "Cause I'm freaking starving! This cheesy dish right here has been making my mouth drool ever since I saw it! I wanna eat it right now~!"
"Get a grip, Sakurako." I said with a facepalm.
"*giggle* So, you desire our dish that badly huh, Sakurako?"
"Huh?" We all asked as we looked at the Ikeda twins.
"Wait, you mean YOU made this, Chitose?" Ayano asked.
"Well, no. It was only our idea."
"Jeb made it." Chizuru added.
"Jeb? You mean that talking mouse?" Rukia asked.
"Despite his size, he's a really talented cook. He's been making our meals for a while now and each one just blows both our minds and our tastebuds. It's honestly shocking how good he is."
"W-Wow…" We all gained a sweatdrop.
Yeah, we're far from normal at this point…
"Sorry, we're late." Chinatsu said as she and Akari came into the room. The latter was deep into her phone clearly texting with someone.
"Where were you two?" Yui asked.
"The store. Akari wanted another bag of that Tubular candy because she wants to know all the flavors."
"I've made a bet with Aoi that I can figure them out first. I've got ¥500 riding on this." Akari added.
"Akari…" Rise senpai gained a sweatdrop.
"What? Making bets with Aoi? That's supposed to be MY thing!"
"Why are you defending that?!" I yelled at Sakurako.
"So, you actually hooked on these things huh, Akari?" Kei asked. "How many did you figure out?"
"The only ones I got are Cherry, Grape, Orange, and Lemon. And Aoi figured out Strawberry, Pineapple, Watermelon, and Lychee."
"Lychee? As a candy flavor?" Tsu asked.
"I've heard of weirder ones…but that's still insane, nonetheless." Tsukasa said.
"There's only one more flavor left and neither of us can guess it. Let alone find it. We keep getting repeats of the others. I think I have lychee breath by now…"
Lychee beath is definitely a new one…
"Well, Akari. We're about to start the party." Rise-senpai said. "So, tell Aoi to hold off on that bet for now."
"Alright, fine. Let me just eat this last one and then we'll…" As Akari chewed on the last gummy ball, she suddenly froze up stiff as she fell to the ground. Losing consciousness along the way.
"Akari? Akari?! H-Hey, what's with you?! Akari!" Rise-senpai yelled as we all circled up around her.
That's when we noticed something.
She had this swirly red rash on her arms and legs, purple drool coming out of her mouth, and purple eyes that had dilated to great proportions.
Wait…why does this look so familiar?
"Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no!"
"Oh, crap! Oh, crap! Oh, crap! Oh, crap!"
"What's with you two?" Ayano asked the currently panicking Yui and Kyouko.
"G-Guys, this may sound sudden, but we need to get Akari to the Nurse's Office like…right now!"
"Why? The party's about to start."
"Can't she just lay on the bed?" Kei asked.
"No, she can't! We gotta get her out of here before…"
"Hahahahahaha~!"
"Crap! We're too late!" Kyouko shouted in a panic.
We all backed up from Akari as she stood up on her own. Multiple drops of purple drool were pouring from her mouth as she had a really derpy look on her face.
This is REALLY starting to look familiar…
"Uh…Akari?" Rise-senpai asked.
"Are you feeling okay, Akari?" Tsukasa asked.
…
…
…
"Heeeeeey~…Yu-Yu~…Koko~…Chibi~…"
…
…
…
"…Other people~…"
"Oh, no…" Yui whined.
"It's happening again!" Kyouko whined.
"Damnit. I was hoping she would forget about that." Chinatsu complained.
"Other people?" The rest of us asked. Confused as to what was going on.
"Guys, what's happening?" Ariana-senpai asked. "What happened to Akari-san?"
"Wait a minute…Isn't this Akari's raspberry allergy?" I asked.
"Her what?" Those who didn't know what I was talking about (mainly the OCs and Tsukasa) asked in confusion.
"So, you remember it too huh, Himawari?" Chinatsu said to me. "I was getting the same feeling."
"W-Wait, hold on a second. Akari's allergic to raspberries?" Iyo-senpai asked.
"Yeah…" Yui said. "…it's been something she's had since childhood."
"Whenever she eats a raspberry, she gains this swirly rash on her arms and legs, starts drooling purple spit from her purple tongue, and her dilated eyes turn purple." Kyouko added. "Her personality drastically changes, too."
"What the hell kind of allergy is that?" Rukia asked.
"It's definitely a special one, Cousin."
"So, this is her allergy taking effect?" Tsu asked. "Didn't she just ate a gummy ball?"
"Yeah. Which means that gummy was…"
"Hahahahahaha~!" Akari suddenly laughed like crazy again. This time, we paid attention to her mouth. And saw that the gummy ball she ate was stuck and covered all over the inside.
And recognizing the smell and the color…we knew what it was.
"It's…Raspberry flavored." Yui and Kyouko said with worried fearful looks.
"Ugh. The smell…it's just as gross now as I remembered it being. I think I might puke."
"Chinatsu…" I gained a sweatdrop.
"Heeeeeey~…what up, bitches~? It's been a while~…Hahahahaha~."
"W-Woah…so this is Akari's raspberry allergy. It's so freaky up close." Rise-senpai said.
"The girru known as Akari is acting rearry weird." Madeleine-senpai said. "Armost rike she is...turripping on the barrs, man."
"Maddie…" Ariana-senpai said with a sweatdrop.
"Did she just say "tripping on balls"?" Sakurako asked.
"Yeah…it's her trying to understand slang again."
"Guys, can you just help us with Akari?" Yui asked. "It'll be bad if something were to happen right now."
"Why? What could happen?" Tsu asked.
"Hey, guys~…I don't *burp*…feel so *burp*…good~…*groaning* *gargling sounds*BLECK!"
"Ew…" We all whined as Akari has just puked out some of the raspberry gummy. Most of it was on the floor…but somehow she got some on our clothes, our hair, and even…
"*whine* She got raspberry puke all over the food!" Chitose whined.
"Nooo! Not the cheesy goodness!" Sakurako yelled in vain as she dropped to the floor.
"You're getting more puke on it!" Chizuru said.
"Hahahaha~! All better~!" Akari yelled out before turning around and heading for the door.
"H-Hey! Akari! Someone stop her!" Yui yelled.
"Akari, wait." Kei said as he stood in front of her. "If you're going to go somewhere, let's go to the nurse and put you to…"
"Heeeeeey…Kei~. Has anyone ever told you that you look so…fucking dope~? Hahaha~."
"Uh…what? Akari, what does that even mea-"
And then suddenly, without any warning, Akari did the unthinkable. She ambushed Kei and flat out KISSED him on the freaking mouth! It was so insane that I thought it was all a crazy-ass dream!
Maybe I'm the one that high right now…
"Akari, stop! Get off of him!" Tsukasa yelled as she separated the two. And I don't know if it's just me still in shock, but she looked all teary-eyed for some reason.
"Hahahahaha~! Imma outta here~! Later, bitches~! Hahahahahaha~!" And after all of that, Akari had finally left the room. Walking all derpy-like as if she was drunk beyond compare.
"Oh, no…she got out." Kyouko said.
"There's no telling what damage she'll do in that state. We gotta go after her." Yui said.
"Can we first morn the food that lost their lives to this tragedy? *sniff*"
"Grow up, already." I said to a crying Sakurako.
"Uh…hey, guys." Tsu said. "Akari's vomit is bubbling."
"What?"
We all looked at the red vomit puddles Akari left behind and they were indeed bubbling. It was so gross that I wanted to puke myself.
But I couldn't even do that. Because the puddles began to gather together and rise up on their own. Twisting around in the air to just about the same height as most of us. It started forming arms and legs…and even a body. And when it eventually gained a full head, we were all shocked to see what it had turned into.
Or…more like "who".
"Ugh…my head. Why do I feel like I was passed out for hours?"
"N…No way…" Yui, Kyouko, and Chinatsu said.
"I-Is that really…" Ayano, Chitose, Sakurako, and I asked.
"A…AKARI?!" Rise-senpai shouted in total shock.
"Huh? Oh, hey, guys. Wait, why does my voice sound distorted? Is it some kind of cold?"
None of us said anything. I mean, how the hell could we? We were all were in stone-cold shock. As we all kept staring at…a red gooey version of Akari Akaza.
This is definitely NOT a normal allergy…
Akari's POV
"Woah…s-so my allergy came into effect and…m-my BARF turned into a gooey clone of me?"
"Yeah…it was pretty insane." Sakurako said.
"You seriously don't remember any of that, Akari?" Chinatsu asked.
"Well…" I thought really hard about it. "…now that you mention it, I think some of it is starting to come back to me…oh, God! I really kissed Kei, didn't I?!"
"Yeah. You did. And I gotta admit, Akari…I was feeling disappointed in you. If you really wanted to go straight, you could do so much better than Kei, of all people. Probably someone more manly."
"Okay, one. You're missing the point." Himawari retorted with a sweatdrop. "And two. I'm really glad Kei isn't here to hear you devalue his manhood."
*INSERT CLASSIC JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE*
"Well, lunch is over. Let's hurry and clean up."
"W-Wait, what about the rest of the story?!" I yelled. "That can't be it if my allergy became active, right?!"
"You're right. It's not it." Kyouko said. "But we don't have time to continue it now. We'll keep going after school."
"*whine* So, it's a part 2 then…"
"Don't be too sad, Akari." Sakurako said. "Lots of things have a part 2. Movies, TV shows, manga…hell, even this story is a part 2."
"This is a sequel." Kyouko said.
"It is? Huh…well, I guess they're the same thing."
"Whatever you call it, I just hope it doesn't take too long…" I whined once more.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: That's right! It's a sequel to my most popular Yuru Yuri Oneshot ever! And this time, the dreaded raspberry is out for more than just vengeance.
And also...this story marks the official revival of the Inner Struggles series! Previously put to an end over 1 year ago!
For those who read the update before, this was the story I was talking about earlier. It's been sitting on my computer for a good long while and, after Himawari & The Dark Sapphire kinda bombed, the idea and passion came back for me to work on it again.
Now, this story will be a 2-parter (maybe a 3-parter). I mean…after all the editing, this part alone will be over 7k words and I'm pretty sure the full story will be close to 12k, if not 11k.
Part 2 will be up next week. After I update a few other stories. And of course…The Melancholy of Kyouko Toshinio will continue after this story's completed.
Thanks for reading. Later.