Hoshi-sensei: Well… Aya-chan is obsessed with 'Kasumi' now. Sooo… Blame her… Or maybe she had other plans
Shy: There's a reason why I chose Omi's name to be Kasumi. Yes, at first it was because of the similarity, but there's another reason now. XD It shall be revealed much later.
Wahahahaha!! *plays episodes 5-8 of Gluhen over and over on the DVD player* …… Sorry… This show has officially driven me crazy… It's almost worse than when I found the translations for Dramatic Precious. I need that second DVD.
… And I am boring you so on to the fanfic.
Oh wait… Words of warning… I have started a new school year, and I've realized that school greatly interferes with my creative juices, so this fic will most probably slow down for a while (like it did just now). I would love it if I really can continue with this same pace, but I highly doubt it.
Chapter 5
"What did you two do to Aya-chan yesterday?"
"Hm?"
Omi had just left her apartment, dressed as the way that was she was the previous day. Once again, Aya hadn't been able to get a hold of her and she had been free to choose whatever she had wanted.
Of course, now, there was the issue of the new bra. Aya had presented her with the three pairs (though more accurately, shoved them in her face) that she had bought the previous day (What happened to the other two? Omi wondered).
Omi was fidgeting a bit, still trying to get used to the discomfort when she exited her room.
Yohji had been waiting outside her door, leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest. He had an amused smirk on his face.
"I asked what you and Ken-ken did to Aya-chan yesterday. She was in a foul mood when she got back… by herself, I might add."
Omi winced, "Um… H-how foul?"
Yohji still had that amused look on his face. "I'll put it this way… We've got a half-cranky, half-scared Fujimiya Ran downstairs. Did you know that he had to sleep in the basement?"
Omi eeped.
"And from what I hear, Ken's been complaining that she's been yelling orders from the room. She's quiet now, so I think that's why Ken-ken's just catching up on sleep now."
Omi decided not to answer anything. She just darted past Yohji for the stairs. Yohji laughed again and followed.
-----*-----
"What the-?!!"
Sakura had a slightly terrified look as she turned around to the two newcomers. Ran was only half-conscious; Sakura appeared to have been trying to get him to respond but Ran wouldn't budge.
But that wasn't why their youngest worker seemed scared. Not at all.
The shop hadn't opened yet, but it sounded like there was some commotion going on outside. There was a lot of yelling and even sounds of a possible fight.
"The hell?" Yohji mumbled.
Sakura immediately rushed over to them, clasping her hands in front of her, pleading. "Please, do something!! It's been going on for some time now and I was trying to tell Ran-kun to stop it, but he's just been… he's not doing anything!! So…"
Ran looked up when he heard his name and just grunted. His eyes seemed a bit red from lack of sleep but he also looked like he was determined to stay where he was.
When Omi came past, she asked, "Aya-kun… wh-why did you stay downstairs last night?"
Ran only mumbled, "Aya locked me out."
"Then what is she doing now?"
"Still locked in there."
Omi winced. "Aren't you going to try to talk to her or something?"
Ran looked up at her, his eyes a bit wide with incredulity. "Hell, no."
Omi facefaulted.
"Yohji-kun!! Omi-kun!!" Sakura cried again. "It's getting worse!!"
Omi finally diverted her attention back to the storefront. With Yohji's help, she opened the front of the shop to discover that already there was a small crowd of girls hovering outside.
…… And a smaller crowd of high school boys. And there seemed to be some sort of brawl going on.
Yohji had stepped closer, whistling. "Damn. Those boys are getting rowdy."
Some of the boys were yelling. The girls shrieked a bit now and then, and there were some angry murmurs.
One boy, who looked to be older than her by a few months, or perhaps a year, was holding his cheek. A taller boy was before him, glaring, being held back by some of his companions. Around them, some of the others were muttering and grumbling.
"I thought you said there was a hot new chick here!"
Omi eeped. Yohji had an amused look on his face.
"There was! I saw her a couple of days ago when my sister wanted to get flowers for Kaasan!"
"Then where is she?"
"She wasn't here yesterday either!" Another guy complained.
"Maybe she has her days off now!"
There were more angry mutters that circled through the small group of boys. One of them spoke up again. "Remind us again why we're looking for her."
The boy in the middle smirked. "She's Tsukiyono's cousin."
There was a round of silence for a while. Eyes widened and jaws dropped. Wheels turned as imaginations put this information to mental imagery.
That had decided it for everyone. There were suddenly a lot of excited yells. Then another bout of incoherent angry ones and the makings of what looked to be another brawl.
Yohji decided he had heard enough and cleared his throat.
The boys stopped arguing and looked up at him.
Yohji frowned a little at them. "Ah! I just wanted to announce that the Koneko has opened. Ladies!" He grinned broadly as he gestured toward the half-frightened girls nearby. "Come right in. Aya, Sakura-chan and I will be happy to take care of your needs."
Some of the girls giggled, while others sighed in relief. Some of them began piling inside.
The playboy turned his attention back to the rest, "Ah! And for you, fellows……" he gestured to the side. "I'd like to introduce Kasumi-chan……"
He stopped when he saw that Omi wasn't there. He turned a bit and found her hiding behind him.
"Yohji-kun… no…" she wailed. "They're going to tear me apart!"
"Now, now, Kasumi-chan! It's all right…" he yanked her arm and brought her into view. He nodded apologetically to the boys. "She's just a little shy, her being new and all. But I reassure you, you will all be in good hands with her."
Before Omi knew it, she was alone with the rabid boys.
Rabid fanboys.
"Y-yohji-kun!! Wait!!" she managed to shriek out before her voice was drowned out.
"K-kasumi-chan was it?" One of them asked excitedly.
Omi gulped, "U-uh… y-yes.. Miyo Kasu-…"
"You're Tsukiyono's cousin?!"
"Th-that's rig-."
"Are you new in town?"
"I…"
"Do you need someone to show you around?"
"Are you attending at Hokusei?"
"Do you need help with schoolwork?"
"Are you free Friday night?"
"How about Saturday?"
Omi's eyes were bulging out of her head with each question. She couldn't even get a word in. And the more she couldn't say anything, the more the boys were all pressing in. She was sure they were going to trample her at any moment.
Finally, she couldn't take it and screamed.
"HELP!!!"
Sakura was quite wide-eyed as she watched the boys move in. There were flailing arms somewhere in the middle, but she couldn't really tell.
She looked around and saw the other girls were mostly giggling, gushing, or looking at plants so she moved closer to Yohji to whisper concernedly.
"Yohji-san?"
"Yes, Sakura-chan?"
"Are you sure…" she paused to check if anyone was listening. "Are you sure Omi-kun is going to be fine in there?"
"Bah… He can handle it…"
"Yohji-kun!! Aya-kun!! HEELPP!!" Omi shrieked again.
"…Okay… maybe we should save him…"
"Damnit…"
The two of them turned toward the new voice. Ken had arrived, grumbling to himself. His eyes were as red as Ran's, meaning he probably hadn't gotten much sleep either.
"Ho, Ken-ken! What's up?" Yohji grinned.
"Ken-san?" Sakura asked worriedly. "Are you all right?"
A little more mumbling and Ken plopped into a chair beside Ran. If it weren't for how different the two looked, they could have been brothers with the same look on their faces.
"What was that?"
"Aya-chan…"
"What about her?"
Ken yawned, then grumbled again. "I was trying to get some sleep when she started yelling something. I think it was something about chocolate."
"Chocolate?"
"Does she want chocolate?"
"Hn."
Sakura blinked, then looked at the calendar. "Oh."
"Oh?" Ken looked up at her. "Oh… what?"
"Oh, I think I know what's wrong with her and why she's so moody." She pointed to the calendar. Then she blushed and said sheepishly. "It's… I think it's… her time of month…"
Yohji suddenly snorted.
"Oh…" Ken said. Then he sat up straighter and blushed as well. "Oohhh…"
"Shit…"
They all jumped and stared at Ran, who had just muttered the curse under his breath and then proceeded to beat his head softly against the table.
"It's three to five days… Just three to five days…"
There were three pairs of wide eyes and three jaws clattering on the floor.
"Ran-kun!" Sakura cried, taking his shoulders and trying to sit him back.
"Anyone have a camcorder?" Yohji asked. "This is a once a month moment… Hm…" he thought for a moment. "You think that if this thing of Omittchi's lasts more than a month, he'd get one too?"
There was silence for a while as three heads turned in his direction, gaping.
"Hey! Calm down!" Yohji held up his hands in his own defense. "It was just a thought." He suddenly grinned. "Can you guys all imagine what Omi would be like if he were moody like that too?"
Ran simply moaned and Sakura had to stop him from beating his head on the table again.
"Oh yeah…" Ken glanced around them. "Where is O-…" he looked up and saw a girl pass close by. He corrected himself. "Where's Kasumi-chan, anyway?"
There was suddenly another half-shriek and more noise coming from the front of the store. Yohji pointed in that direction. "Follow the crowd of drooling maniacs."
Ken blinked. "Huh?"
"Apparently, on her supposed second day of work, our little Kasumi-chan has already become quite popular."
Ken suddenly stood, eyes looking like they were going to fall out of their sockets. "You left her in there?!"
Noone seemed to react.
"Am I the only one who can see what kind of danger this is to her health??"
"In other words, are you the only one who sees that Kasumi's really hot and amazing?"
Ken fought to keep himself from punching Yohji. "That's not what I meant. I meant, who left her there to deal with them alone?"
Sakura pointed in Yohji's direction. "He did it."
Yohji frowned. "Thanks a lot … And here I thought you were the nicer, sweeter one of the femme duo. Calm down Ken! We were just about to save hi…her…" he saved as a pair of girls giggled past.
Ken was still glaring at the crowd, getting up and stalking over.
"I think he's jealous."
"All right!! Break it up!! Give her some air!!" Ken yelled over the ruckus.
The other boys were only slightly intimidated by the older, slightly larger male who had come their way. They were like a pack of wolves, fighting over dominancy on who would be the alpha, and who would get the best meat… and mate…
"Back off… Back off…" Ken instructed. "She's probably scared as it i-… whoa…" he stopped when he passed by a guy with the makings of a black-eye.
"Scared, my ass," he mumbled. "She's got a punch…" Hearts suddenly formed in his eyes. "I like em feisty!!" The hearts grew even larger.
Ken groaned and shoved the guy aside, not really caring if he put too much force into it. He swam his way through the crowd until he finally reached the corner of the shop.
He made a face when he saw Omi in the middle, hiding behind an upraised chair and with the hose in her other hand. "You guys come closer, you get soaked!!"
"O-… Kasumi…"
Omi lowered the chair and sighed with relief. "Ken-kun!! Thank god!! I thought they were going to eat me alive!!"
Ken wondered briefly if any of them might have been planning just that.
"All right, all right! Let's be organized here!"
"There…" Ken looked at Omi. "Yohji's here too.. We're gonna make it better, all right?"
But Omi did not like that grin on Yohji's face.
"Okay! Ready? Now form a line, people! One at a time! So that each of you gets a chance at a question and a proper answer!" As the boys scrambled to get a place in line, Yohji turned to Omi and winked. "We should charge for this. It'd haul in a lot of extra money."
"Yohji-kun!!" Omi yelped.
"Yohji!!" Ken growled.
There was a sudden whistle from the other side of the room. Ran had slightly recovered and he was standing. He glared at the huge, only slightly organized line of boys and yelled something he hadn't yelled in some time.
"If you aren't buying anything, then get the hell out of here!!"
Thankfully, most of the boys obeyed, though with some grumbling and complaining. Even most of the girls sighed their little sighs of disappointment as they left the shop. Unfortunately, some stuck around.
"So, Kasumi-chan?" One particularly good-looking boy winked at her. "There's a party on Saturday night. You're coming, right?"
Omi blinked.
"Aw, you agreed already!"
"I did?" Omi's eyes grew wide.
"He did?" Ken suddenly fumed.
The boy missed Ken's pronoun trouble and continued, "I'm picking you up here at 7?"
"You are?" Omi asked again.
"You are?" Ken fumed even more.
"Great, it's settled!"
"Hold it! You're not taking Kasumi-chan out without my permission."
The boy scowled, "Oh yeah? Who do you think you are? Her boyfriend??"
Ken lost his ferocity and Omi choked. "H-he… K-ken-kun's not my boyfriend!!"
"Could've fooled me," Yohji said, forgotten at the side.
"Yohji-kun!!"
Yohji rolled his eyes and suddenly draped his arms over both Ken and Omi's shoulders. "Sorry. We're having Kasumi-chan's welcoming celebration on Saturday. Nope! Sorry…" he interrupted when the boy looked like he was going to say something. "Only us invited… and Aya and his sister and Sakura-chan."
"…Oh…" the boy looked quite disappointed. Then he smiled again, "Maybe I can catch you at school? Or there are other parties."
"Um… I… guess so?" Omi said, unsure if he should just lose all politeness and tell the guy off or be polite and lie.
"Great! Maybe I can see you here tomorrow then!"
"M-maybe…"
Ken shot her a half angry look. Yohji noted this with a sly grin. The three watched as the boy left the store before Yohji removed his arms.
"Aww… Kasumi-chan… How could you do this?" Yohji sniffed.
"Wh-what?" Omi stammered.
"I really thought we could have had something, you and me. "
"Yohji-kun, that's not funny."
"Yeah, it's not," Ken snarled.
"Aww… Ken-ken's jealous…" Yohji grinned, patting Ken on the head.
"I am not!!"
"Where the hell IS everyone??!!"
Everyone in the shop jumped. Ran suddenly shrank back at the table, a frightful look over his normally calm face.
"Guys, we've got to invest in a camcorder." Yohji muttered. Then he looked as if he has just realized something. "Oh…" he suddenly looked at his watch. "I think I was meeting someone today. Ja! See you all later."
"Coward!" Omi yelled after him as he disappeared. She turned back and gulped.
Aya suddenly appeared.
And she did not look happy.
"Oh no… "I just remembered! I have this major project due week, better get started on it!" And Omi just zipped past her.
Ken and Ran suddenly had the same thought.
"If she's down here…"
"Then upstairs would be…"
They looked at each other, and nodded. As one, they both bolted out of the shop, running back up to their respective rooms to get some well-deserved rest.
Aya watched as the shop suddenly emptied out of the men… and one boy-turned-girl. Soon, even the remaining fan boys and girls had retreated. All that was left was herself and her best friend, Sakura.
Sakura sat down where Ran was sitting earlier and calmly looked up at Aya. She offered a candy bar. "Chocolate?"
"Yes please…" Aya said as she sat down by Sakura.
They sat there in silence for a while.
"So what's been happening?"
"Yohji-san is out on another date. Ran-kun is losing sleep. Omi-kun's become popular with the boys and Ken-san is jealous."
"Aa."
"I think Ken-san likes Omi-kun."
"So what else is new?"
A giggle. "Right…"
More silence.
"1000 yen says they'll get together in a month."
"I say two months."
"Deal."
-----*-----
1000 yen amounts to roughly about US$8.50 (and about 450 in my local currency O.o)
I'm an ultimate weirdo in this fic… Reviews appreciated…
omiclones@hotmail.com
