Chapter 16 – Doujin Syndrome
The storm had passed by the time the next day had arrived. And Chinatsu-san and I were already at school together sitting next to each other. Our strengthened bond from last night still going strong.
"Ugh! Damnit! I hate coming to this freaking hellhole!"
With an added bonus of Chinatsu-san's usual grumpiness.
"Is it really okay for you to be yelling in the middle of the classroom?" I asked.
"It's fine. They're used to it."
That's not something people should be used to…
"If you say so, Chinatsu-san." I gained a sweatdrop.
"Anyway…Ikumi really saved your ass by saying that you were over at her place last night. Pretty sure that bitchy cousin of yours would've been pissed if she found out you were at mine."
"Out of curiosity…wh-why do you hate my cousin so much?"
"Because she's a prissy nuisance who never shuts up about herself. That bullshit "volleyball queen" nonsense and that damn laugh. Just hearing it makes me want to punch her. How do you put up with that?"
"You get used to it." I said with a straight face.
"Heh. Well, prayers to you, then."
"Hey, Kyouko."
Walking up towards us were Rukia and Tsu. The former had just gotten past the other classmates who she refers to as "her adoring fans".
My cousin can be such a freaking weirdo at times.
"Oh. Hey, Rukia. Hey, Tsu."
"Tch. The bitch in heat makes her presence…" Chinatsu-san mumbled to herself. Although loud enough for us to hear.
"What did you call me, you pink-haired wrench?!" Rukia yelled.
"What, can you not hear? I figured spoiled rich-ass brats like you would be able to hear how much of a bother you are to normally sane. But alas, such a fucking pity."
"Grr…you little bitch!"
"Right back at ya!"
Both girls then stared at each other in pure rage as they clenched their hands into fists.
Th-The hostility has returned!
"Hey, come on, you two. Knock it off." Tsu said as she got in between the two and broke off the stare down.
"Hmph. Whatever." Rukia said. "I just got the Volleyball team back and I don't want to risk losing it again."
"I'd give it a month…"
"Yoshikawa-san…" Tsu said with a stern look.
"Fine. I'll shut up."
"So, what's up, Rukia? Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing's wrong. It just that…when that storm came by yesterday, there was a short power outage. So, Tsu and I went to the attic to find some flashlights. And along with that…"
"Da-da-da-da! Look what we found!" Tsu cheered as she held up a sketchbook in her hands. A sketchbook that I knew all too well.
"M-My doujin!"
"Wait, what? You made a doujin?" Chinatsu-san asked with confusion.
"It was back when I spent all those months in my room. I would use this sketchbook to draw an amateur-level doujinshi. I don't think I finished it, though."
"Huh."
But back then, I saw it as creating a new world that I could escape to. To find happiness inside a fake world created by my traumatized fear-filled mind. It was one of the few things that kept me from killing myself.
…
But I never told anyone that.
"So, the innocent-minded Toshinio wrote a doujin, huh? Let me see." Chinatsu-san said as she took the sketchbook out of my hands and looked inside. As she skimmed through each page, her face became redder and redder. And her eyes widen to great proportions.
And if I had to guess why…
"Wh-Wh-What the hell?! Th-This is a lesbo story!" She yelled as she quickly gave it back to me.
"It's called Yuri, Yoshikawa-san…" Tsu gained a sweatdrop.
"Y-You seriously drew that kind of stuff, Kyouko?"
"Well, to be honest, I didn't and still don't have any knowledge about the Yuri genre or lesbian relationships at all. So, I had to skim through a lot of other ones to fully understand it."
"O-Okay, but why lesbians, though? Couldn't you make it with a guy and a girl?"
"Well…"
"What, you have something against two girls being together?" Rukia asked. "Hmph. Makes sense when you think about it. No way in hell anyone would EVER want to be in a relationship with you! Boy or girl! Ohhohoho!"
"Oh, screw you, you blonde whore!"
"Blonde whore?! Why I oughta…"
"Stop it, you two!" Tsu yelled. Getting the two to stop arguing once more.
"Tch. Whatever." Both girls pouted.
"Well, I did thought of making one with a boy and a girl. But…something about this concept connected to me. As if I drew this kind of stuff before on a regular bases. Not just the Yuri stuff, but…something else entirely…G-Gah!" I then felt my head hurting a little. Like a simple migraine. As if it was a trigger to…something.
I-Is this…a-a memory? A memory of my old self before those tragic events? Like with Ikumi-san?
Doujin…drawing doujin…why is something so minuscule as that making my head hurt like hell?
"Kyouko…Kyouko!"
"H-Huh?! Wh-What?!" I jumped up once I heard my name being called.
"Geez, what the hell? You started holding your head like it was in pain and you went dead silent on us. You feeling okay?" Rukia asked me.
"O-Oh, um…I'm fine. I was just…thinking."
"Thinking, huh?"
"I-I guess…"
I mean…the headache is gone now. Was I just overexaggerating it?
*INSERT CLASSIC JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE*
"Ah, whatever. You seem to be fine. We just wanted to give you that sketchbook, anyway. See you later. Try not to get dragged down by Yoshikawa's delinquency."
"Hmph. Better than being led a life of snooty bitching with Captain Yamabuki at the wheel." Chinatsu-san retorted.
"Grr…why you little…"
"*sigh* Why can't you two just get along?" Tsu said with a facepalm as she dragged Rukia behind her. "See you later, Kyouko."
"Yeah. See you." I said as the two left the classroom.
"Ugh. Just freaking great. I'm already in a bad mood thanks to your damn cousin." Chinatsu-san said.
"You should at least try to get along with her."
"I'd rather be lost in Shibuya while naked."
"Wh-Why be naked, though?" I gained a sweatdrop.
"Hey, by the way. This is something I just noticed, but…you weren't stuttering that entire time we were talking with them."
"Oh, that? Well, I've been with Rukia and Tsu since we were kids. So, even with all that happened traumatizing me, I'm still able to talk to them normally."
"I see…" Chinatsu-san then began to stare at me deeply.
"What?"
"That last sentence…you didn't stutter when saying that, either."
"Huh? I didn't?" I then thought back to that point. And was shocked at the realization. "O-Oh, wow. I didn't stutter at all."
"I thought you said that it was a habit of yours. Is it going away or something?"
"I don't know…it could be. I've been stuttering like that for as long as I can remember."
"Remember?"
"Alright, everyone. Let's start homeroom." Azuma-sensei said as she entered the classroom.
"Eh, whatever. It's probably not a big deal, anyway." Chinatsu-san said before going silent for a bit. "And besides…I kinda like this version of you, Kyouko. It makes you look more…confident."
"C…Confident?"
"D-Don't think about it too much. It was merely a compliment. Y-You know." Chinatsu-san then grew a blush on her face a she looked away from me. Pretty much ending the conversation.
W-Wow…She really thinks I'm more…confident. Thank you…Chinatsu-san.
At least, in a physical matter.
Classes soon ended for the day and everyone was involved with their clubs again since it's…pretty much a requirement by the school.
Never understood that rule, really…
Today, to change it up a bit, we decided to meet up in the clubroom. A place none of us have gone to since the day the two of us decided to form a club. We never even showed Ikumi-san what this place looked like.
"W-Woah…i-is this truly a clubroom?"
And like us, she was surprised at its size.
"I know, right?" Chinatsu-san said. "A room this big in the back of the Practice Building is unbelievable on its own right."
"It's surprisingly still intact. Even with all the…history this room seems to have." I added with a disgusted look. Remembering what this room was used for in the past according to Azuma-sensei.
"It truly amazes me that they got away with such an indecent activity for so long." Ikumi-san said.
"That reminds me…" Chinatsu-san said. "…we should probably scrub this place down before we do anything club-related in here."
"Agreed." Ikumi-san and I both replied.
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Yeah, what?" Chinatsu-san said.
"Hello, girls. How are things?" Azuma-sensei asked as she came inside the room.
"Oh, it's just Azuma. I thought it was someone important."
"I am important, Yoshikawa-san." Azuma-sensei said with an insulted look and tone.
"Hello, Sensei. What brings you here?" Ikumi-san asked.
"Well, I originally was coming by to check on you three. But on the way here, I ran into something that you all might be interested in."
"Really? What's that?" I asked.
"Well…"
"So, this is where you three meet up, huh? Gotta say…pretty big room for such a small club."
And now, coming into the room where two girls who I've never met before. One girl had light brown eyes and average-length blonde hair with part of it tied and held up by a cute-looking hairpin. The other had green eyes and short black hair with a single ponytail on her left side held up with two beads in her hair.
This second girl was also clinging onto the first girl as if she was her possession or something.
K-Kinda creepy…
"Chinatsu Yoshikawa, Kyouko Toshinio, and Ikumi Morino…with you three being the most talked about in school, it makes sense that you would be together."
"Oh, really? And just who the hell are you, you blonde-ass priss?" Chinatsu-san said to the blonde-haired girl with a fist held up tight.
"W-Woah, hang on. Is that any way to talk to two new club members?"
"Club members?" The three of us asked.
"We would like to join your club. If you don't mind." Said the black-haired girl while still clinging onto the blonde.
"Seriously?!"
"I was just as shocked myself." Azuma-sensei said. "They both seemed rather eager to come here."
"Eager to…come here?" The three of us were extremely confused with what was happening. Just yesterday, our club was rejected because we didn't have enough members. And now…two girls that we don't know show up suddenly and ask to be in our club? I'm not sure if this is a lucky break or a creepy coincidence.
Either way…I guess we should hear them out.
"Of course, I can explain." The blonde girl said. "I'm Sara Hirose. This is my girlfriend Momo Adachi."
"Hello." The girl named Adachi said softly.
Girlfriend? These two are…dating?
"Basically…we heard that you made a doujin all on your own, Toshinio-san. And we want to make a deal with you guys."
"A-A deal?" I asked. "Wait, how did you hear about me drawing a doujin?"
"Momo sits next to you in class." And Adachi-san did a simple nod to confirm it.
"Really?"
"How come I've never noticed her?" Chinatsu-san asked.
"Momo's a bit shy around other people." And Adachi-san nodded again to confirm Hirose-san's claim.
"Huh." We both said.
A lot like me at some points…
"So, what did you mean by "making a deal" with us?" Ikumi-san asked.
"Well…Momo and I actually started making doujins for ourselves. Not just for fun, though. We actually have a goal in mind."
"A goal?"
"To enter the storybook competition of our dreams. To use the fame and recognition from a first-place win to open the eyes of close-minded assholes who still look down on same-sex relationships.
To compete and win at…Elegy Syndrome."
"Elegy Syndrome?" The four of us asked in pure confusion.
"The hell does it sound like a freaking disease?" Chinatsu-san asked.
"It's not a disease!" Hirose-san yelled before taking a deep breath. "Elegy Syndrome is a three-day convention held every November in Akihabara. Amateur artists from all over Japan go there to express their creativity through their love of doujins. And Momo and I are no exception."
Adachi-san added a simple nod to that rather long explanation.
"A love for doujins…" I said. "…I love doujins myself and yet I've never heard of such a thing."
"That's because it's always overshadowed by Comiket." Hirose-san said. "Compared to that, Elegy Syndrome is pretty much a fan club."
"Then why not just go to Comiket?" Chinatsu-san asked.
"The doujins at Comiket are usually based on an already existing anime, video games, and other types of media." Adachi-san said. "The ones at Elegy Syndrome are all original."
"Huh. I guess that makes some sense. So, are you two like pros at this stuff?"
"We're amateurs at best." Hirose-san said. "But even with my writing skills and Momo's drawing skills, the end result becomes…not that great."
"Whenever we show one off, mainly to the older members of the Literature Club we're already in, we always get such criticism as "the writing is bland" or "the character drawings are too sloppy" or the biggest one being "there's no feeling to the characters. Making the reader want to care about them". That last one's our biggest hurdle to date." Adachi-san said.
"And what's worse is that the president of the Literature Club would always criticize what we're trying to do. Saying that changing people's perception of same-sex relationships is pointless and that the simple thought of it existing is disgusting."
"Disgusting?" Chinatsu-san, Ikumi-san, and I asked.
"Oh, yeah. I've heard of that student." Azuma-sensei said. "She's a third-year who absolutely despises same-sex relationships. Mainly between two girls. And isn't afraid to express her hateful thoughts to the many lesbian couples here. Despite the ratio of straight girls to lesbians being not in her favor."
"Oh, wow." Ikumi-san and I said in shock.
"But this school is mostly filled with lesbos." Chinatsu-san said. "Did that self-centered bitch enroll in this dump not knowing that?"
"There are straight girls who attend this school, Yoshikawa-san." Azuma-sensei said. "They get in the same way the many lesbians here do. And there isn't really a way to change it."
"Tch. Such bullshit." Chinatsu-san pouted a little.
She seems more upset about it than I would expect her to be...
"Anyway…after the latest round of insults and criticism, we were honestly about to give up. Put our dreams and goals aside and continue with normal school life. While knowing that there's someone we know that will forever be cruel to us for being lesbians." Hirose-san then suddenly walked up to me and held my hands within her own. "But when Momo told me that you made a doujin of your own, Toshinio-san…and a Yuri one on top of that…it made me believed that we still had a chance. To not only win at Elegy Syndrome but to finally get that president to shut her damn mouth. And to stop treating same-sex couples like they're the trash of society. But for that to happen, we really need your help, Toshinio-san."
"Please help us. Toshinio-san." Adachi-san added.
I stood there in shock as the two girls (and pretty everyone else) stared me down. Such a grand task has been offered up to me. And if I do this right, it could end a serious discrimination problem that's apparently happening at this school.
But at the same time, I'm not a lesbian. Nor am I knowledgeable in lesbian relationships to begin with. I only drew that one doujin because of a strange feeling I had. And even then, that was a couple of months ago.
…
But…you know…these girls seem to be suffering under the negativity of that third-year Literature Club president. All they truly want is to come to school without being criticized for how they want to live. For who they want to love and spend the rest of their lives with. And they're even doing this for all the same-sex couples here, too. However many there are here.
Up until recently, I thought I was the only one suffering. For most of my life, I believed that the world was only against me. How it chose me out of 7.5 billion people to make my life a living hell. But once I stepped out of my room…and started attending this school…I realized that wasn't the case.
Chinatsu-san, Ikumi-san, and now Hirose-san and Adachi-san. I've already met four people who have experienced the world on its negative side. And hated it to the point where they've given up on life and wanted it all to end as fast as possible.
Just like me.
But now…a month into this new life I'm in…I'm at a point to where I want to help people fight against this world's ever-growing negativity.
Just so they don't end up…just like me.
"Alright. I'll help you. Hirose-san and Adachi-san."
"You will?!" Both girls cheered.
"You will?" Chinatsu-san, Ikumi-san, and Azuma-sensei asked in shock.
"It seems fun. Drawing doujins again. Though, I really haven't done so in a while. So, you may have to reteach me a little."
"O-Oh, sure! We can do that right, Momo?!" Hirose-san asked Adachi-san, who's response was, yet again, a simple nod.
"Alright, great."
"Uh…hey, Kyouko. And what are WE supposed to do?" Chinatsu-san asked me. "I can't freaking draw."
"Me neither." Ikumi-san added. "Art is not my best subject."
"We can teach you." Adachi-san said.
"Momo's right." Hirose-san added. "Think of it as a way to thank you for letting us join your club. By the way, what's it called?"
"Uh…" The three of us gained a huge sweatdrop.
"They haven't gotten that far." Azuma-sensei said. "The whole idea of starting a club is still new to them."
"I see. Well…at least you have five members now."
"True." We said.
"Well, with all that said and done, you two still have to fill out a club transfer form. Can you come by before morning classes and fill one out?"
"Sure thing, Sensei." Hirose-san said. "We'll be there bright and early right, Momo?"
By now, you can pretty much guess how Adachi-san answered that question.
"Alright, then. Well, I have patrol duty now. I'll see you girls tomorrow, then."
"Thank you, Azuma-sensei." Four of us said.
"I guess you weren't so useless after all, Azuma." Chinatsu-san said with a smirk on her face.
…
…
…
"Yoshikawa-san. You're staying after school tomorrow for detention."
"What?! Oh, come on, damnit! I was just joking!"
"It didn't sound like it…" The four of us mumbled.
"Whatever you say, Yoshikawa-san." Was all Azuma-sensei said before fully leaving the room. Not even looking at Chinatsu-san while doing so.
"*sigh* Well, that's just fucking great."
"To be fair, Chinatsu-chan…you kinda asked for it." Ikumi-san said.
"Ikumi-san's right. That was all you." I added.
"Oh, what-freaking-ever."
"So, you three refer to each other by first name?" Hirose-san asked.
"Well, it started with those two. They knew each other in grade school."
"And then Chinatsu-san grew jealous that we were that close and so we started calling her by her first name."
"K-Kyouko!" Chinatsu-san yelled at me with a huge blush on her face.
"*giggle* I see. Well, since we're clubmates now, we should be comfortable with using each other's first names, right? Kyouko-san, Chinatsu-san, and Ikumi-san."
"Let's have lots of fun together. Kyouko-chan, Chinatsu-chan, and Ikumi-chan." Adachi-san added.
"Sure thing…Sara-san and Momo-san." I said.
"I wish for the same thing…Sara-chan and Momo-chan." Ikumi-san said.
"Eh, whatever."
"Chinatsu-san!" I nudged her on the arm.
"*sigh* Fine. Welcome to our club. Sara and Momo."
"Glad to be here." Sara-san said. "Now, let's go celebrate by grabbing something to eat. Momo's paying."
"Wait, what?" Momo-san looked at her girlfriend with a shocked look.
"Hell, yeah! Free food! I'm so totally in!" Chinatsu-san cheered.
"Alright! Let's go!"
"S-Sara, I don't…"
"We should head over to that burger place nearby. They got the best burgers in town."
"You mean that knockoff Burger King place? Is it really that good?"
"It may be a knockoff, but the burgers are so damn good. Might even beat the original."
"Beat the original? Heh…now I gotta see if you're not bullshitting with that claim. Let's go and see. Sara."
"Sure thing. Chinatsu."
"S-Sara, I…"
Both girls had left the room before Momo-san could finish her sentence. Clearly excited to get something to eat together as newly-made friends.
"I don't have any…money."
"They both left before even hearing the truth. I guess they were just that excited." Ikumi-san said.
"*sigh* Sara, you're so dense." Momo-san said with an exasperated look.
"And I'm starting to think the same thing about Chinatsu-san…" Whilst I simply gained a very large sweatdrop. Mentally thinking of what we have in store for the rest of the school year.
We're in for one hell of a time…
Author's Note: With two more girls with a serious request joining the club, Kyouko prepares to return to an old hobby with a bigger bond of friends and a slightly more positive outlook on the world itself. Though, it still haunts her with massive amounts of negativity.
So, about these two characters. Sara Hirose and Momo Adachi. These are NOT original characters. They're actually from Yuri Yuri, one of the many spin-offs of Yuru Yuri that I found for myself recently. And I thought it would be interesting to use them here in this story.
If you want to read it for yourself, it's actually kinda complicated to find. You have to search it under its alternative name "Elegy Syndrome". Because if you search "Yuri Yuri", you'll just get Yuru Yuri. It's honestly stupid how just one letter makes the former almost impossible to find. Thank God the wiki has the alternative name listed there, too.
So, this is where I'm going to stop the story for now. Next time you hear from me, I'll have the first few chapters of that fantasy story I mentioned before. As I haven't really started on it yet.
Thanks for reading. Later.