Shoko Komi's Ultimate Challenge

by Ulquiorra9000

Communication 7: what's the word, Komi?

Shoko cocked her head slightly and focused her hearing one particular girl in homeroom one morning: Ren Yamai. Every day, it seemed, Ren had two or three friends with her, and they chatted happily nonstop in one corner of the room. They also chatted at the shoe lockers, after class, at lunch, and more. Just what did they keep talking about? Shoko wrote down this question and showed it to Hitohito.

Hitohito winced. "Sorry, Komi, I couldn't say. I hardly ever talk to Ren unless you're involved, too. She doesn't like me very much."

What? How could anyone dislike the wonderful Hitohito Tadano? Shoko asked that, too.

"Well... you know me. I'm not that popular," Hitohito said with a little laugh. "I mean, Nene likes me pretty well, and Himiko doesn't mind me. But Ren, she has a real problem with me. I'm better off avoiding her."

Shoko saw that frightened look in Hitohito's eyes, and she recalled that awkward afternoon when she and Najimi had found poor Hitohito tied up in Ren's closet! Ren had apologized for that, yes, but still...

Today's challenge: join the gossip circle and make things right! Shoko showed Hitohito a paper reading I'm going in, and she got up and approached Ren's four-girl squad. Already, Shoko felt herself trembling, with a part of her wanting to give up this idea and sit back down. But this was Shoko Komi the Olympian! She can do anything!

"... I know! Who does she think she's kidding?" Ren said cheerily, and her three friends burst out laughing. "Like class 1-4 doesn't have enough petty drama..." She gasped, eyes wide. "K-Komi! How are you? I'm honored by your presence!"

Shoko tried to avoid the girls' eyes and held up a paper: What is everyone talking about?

Ren smirked. "You wouldn't believe it, Komi. You know that girl in class 1-4, that Yamakire? She thinks she's so cool, and she and Namaki tried to..." her voice trailed off and she waved a hand. "Oh, don't mind me, Komi. This is all about you! I'm so glad you could make time for me..." She held her face in her hands and made a funny face, like she was daydreaming about cake.

Shoko swallowed and held up another message. How come you keep talking about people behind their backs?

Ren chuckled. "Don't be silly, my beloved Komi! That's just how it works. I know everything that happens at this school, and I've ruined all kinds of friendships with the power of the spoken word. I've even prevented two relationships from forming. They were totally wrong for each other, am I right?"

Her friends agreed. They sounded rather mean about it, too.

Shoko had no idea what she was doing, but the Olympian in her couldn't just quit. She held up her next message: Ren, you're so negative about other people. Why not compliment them or help them? Everyone could use a friend to support them sometimes.

"Ah... I mean, I would never say anything mean about you, Komi!" Ren added frantically, waving her hands. "In fact, I've shielded you from more than a few rude comments since the semester began. Can you believe it? How could they speak that way about my perfect Komi?!"

"The nerve of them!" one of Ren's friends added, and the four girls nodded.

Shoko presented another message. Thank you for that. But I wonder, Ren, what nice things you would say about these people instead? What about Agari, or Onemine, or even Tadano?

Ren blinked. "Wh... what now?"

"Ew. Agari?" one of Ren's friends repeated with a look of disgust. "Ditzy, nerdy, and can't get a boyfriend. That's all we gotta say about her!" She and another friend shared a high-five. "And Onemine needs to quit acting like everyone's big sister. Like duh, we're not five years old!"

Shoko jumped. How could they say that? Ren Yamai was Shoko's friend, but to hear this...! Shoko felt her heart racing in indignation, but she forced herself to stay calm and wrote another message. She presented it: Please don't say that. Agari is sweet, smart, and has good taste in ramen. Also, Onemine is like the sister I never had. And as for Tadano... there are so many good things I could say about him. I'm positive you could think of one!

Ren stared at the message, clearly bewildered that Shoko didn't also hate Hitohito Tadano's guts for no reason. She rubbed her chin and glanced up. "As a favor to you, princess Komi... um... Tadano... I guess he did a good job with cleaning the classroom when he was on duty last time. He's certainly familiar with dirt!" She and her friends laughed.

Well, shoot! Shoko had once heard about "mean girls," and while she didn't want to speak ill of Ren Yamai, it was still uncool to hear Ren speaking ill of others. But Ren could spread gossip and rumors so easily, and she knew what everyone else was saying. Shoko couldn't beat Ren at her own game!

Could she?
Shoko bowed, then scampered back to her desk and swept aside her bangs. She suddenly felt fired up.

"Are you okay, Komi?" Hitohito asked her.

Shoko leaned closer and placed a note right onto Hitohito's desk. I'm going to spread happiness with gossip, Tadano, and no mean girl can stop me!

Hitohito blinked a few times before he broke into a wide smile. "Hey, that's an interesting idea, Komi. You're really popular, you know. Lots of people will listen to you."

Shoko nodded, then motioned. Hitohito leaned closer, and a blushing Shoko leaned to his ear and cupped a hand to it. "I hear you're a really sweet guy who's just misunderstood," she said kindly.

Hitohito went red at once and fanned himself. "R-really? Do people say that about me? How nice of them! Haha!"

Shoko made a tiny smile, then wrote another note. I think just one person said that. But they're absolutely right. She tried not to feel too self-conscious about this.

Hitohito managed to turn even redder. "I... suppose you're right! Wow, I guess I'm popular after all!"

Shoko nodded again, and hugged her communication notebook close to her chest, furiously brainstorming ideas in her mind. There stood Ren Yamai across the classroom, telling her friends every embarrassing secret and rumor she could think of. Two can play this game! Shoko can be a total gossip if she wants to. Just a few kind words can change a life, whether written or spoken. Now, where to start?

*o*o*o*o*

How about lunch?

Shoko searched the cafeteria until she found her and Hitohito's good friend Nene Onemine, who was comfortably seated alone today. Shoko sat next to her and passed a note explaining her plan.

Nene read it, then broke into a big smile. "That's a great idea, Komi. It's true that people can get really catty around here. Sure, I'll help you. Got anything in mind?"

Shoko cocked her head in thought, then added another line to her note. Please tell everyone about that cat you adopted last week, Onemine. You told me about it; now tell everyone. Inspire them.

Nene went pink. "Oh! Um... well, that was a stray my brother and I found in someone's garden, and we're probably gonna give it to a shelter. It's not like I formally adopted it."

Shoko gave Nene a hopeful look, her imaginary dog ears perking up, sparkles glittering all around her. It's such a cute story! Please spread it! Shoko's expression pleaded with her.

Nene broke into a smile. "Okay, I'll tell everyone about it. But what about you? What kind of positive gossip do you want to spread around?"

Shoko blushed and held up another note. I've never been the gossip girl type. Until this semester, I didn't even have any friends to gossip with.

Now it was Nene who cocked her head in thought. "How about something nice you did recently? Or your brother?"

Well, Shosuke recently volunteered at a homeless shelter, Shoko mentioned in her note. It was for a project for class. He was rather popular there.

Nene beamed. "Because your brother is really handsome, right?"

Shoko jolted. As the big sister, it would be weird to think of Shosuke that way! But it's true, people often gave Shosuke adoring looks, and Shuko often commented on it too... I'll spread the word, Shoko promised. And I'll see who else has nice stories to share.

Nene's smile widened. "Now you're talking, Komi! It makes up for the nasty rumors people keep spreading around. If even half of them are true, Itan is the most scandalous school in the prefecture!" She laughed while Shoko trembled with fright. Scandals? Here? Shoko wasn't ready for that kind of drama!

Better spread the word quick!

*o*o*o*o*

"He did? That's sooooooo nice of him, Komi," Kaede Otori said in that soft, singsong voice of hers when Shoko told her about Shosuke's generosity at that homeless shelter. Kaede smiled and clapped her hands together. "Your brother's tooooootally handsome and cool, Komi. That's so inspiring! Maybe I'll volunteer somewhere tooooooooo..."

Shoko nodded and managed to speak softly, since both girls were in a quiet corner of the hallway after class had let out. "Yes. Um... could you mention it to other people? They love hearing about Shosuke."

"Okaaaaaaaaay!" Kaede promised. "Like, wow, your brother's like a saint! I wish he would feed me soup in a shelter tooooooo..."

Shoko had no idea what to say to that, so she moved on, and found her gyaru pal Rumiko Manbagi at the shoe lockers.

"Hey! Wassup, Komi?" Rumiko said brightly. "You look like you totes have something on your mind, girl. Spill it!"

Shoko cleared her throat, despite her use of her paper notes. She passed one to Rumiko: You have lots of fun with your gyaru pals, right? Please tell your other friends here how much fun you have together with your gyaru friends, and how much you love one another. See if you can set a good example to spread some good cheer.

Rumiko stared at the note, then looked up at Shoko, her eyes wide. "K-Komi, I... you're so sweet to say that! Sometimes people make fun of us for our totally rad fashion, but it's true, we are really close. More people should know that! Okay, I'll spread the word! See ya later!" She flashed the peace sign and skipped her way out of school. Shoko watched her go, a hand to her heart. Was this working? Or would Shoko end up making a big mess? Too late to back out now!

*o*o*o*o*

Just for fun, Shoko took turns complimenting her mother, father, and brother at dinner that evening, to keep the positive vibes going and help Shoko get used to her newest challenge. She spoke up between bites. "Mom, I really like that new brand of shampoo you bought. It has such a lovely scent."

Shuko dropped her chopsticks and gasped, a hand clasped over her mouth. "Sh-Shoko, it's so sweet of you you to notice! No one said a thing about it, not even when I met some friends today!"

Shoko kept it up. "Dad, I really like how you still write love notes to mom every day. It's inspiring to see true love."

Masayoshi went pink and nervously adjusted his glasses while his wife squealed with joy. Then Shoko moved on to her brother. "Shosuke, thanks again for spending the day with me earlier this month at the mall. It meant a lot to me."

Shosuke quietly nodded. It was kind of cool, his expression said.

"Oh my, Shoko, you're so generous today," Shuko said fondly. "What brought this about? Was it something you read in a lifestyle magazine?"

Shoko shook her head. "I'm... experimenting," she admitted, which was the truth. Whew, that was exhausting, but definitely worth it. Shoko finished her dinner in comfortable silence and retired to her bedroom, brainstorming more ideas on positive gossip. It wasn't easy, but she did have a few leads to work with. And it helped that many of her friends would have ideas of their own.

*o*o*o*o*

By the third day, Shoko could tell that her plan was bearing fruit. All throughout the school, everyone was swapping heartwarming stories of nice things they did, or gossiping about who might be dating whom, who was secretly a nice person and worth dating (lots of dating stuff), and much more. In fact, Shoko heard Netsuno Chika informing her friends that another friend was privately hurting after a breakup, and needed someone to comfort her, so one of Netsuno's friends volunteered to help. And while it was mostly the girls who were fueling the happy gossip machine, some of the boys also opened up, and they started paying the girls elegant compliments, and Shoko could tell that the boys had been meaning to say all this for a while. In fact, one boy nervously but clearly informed a girl that his friend had a secret crush on her but couldn't admit it, and then the girl met up with her admirer and agreed to go out with him!

Shoko, for her part, had six different people share happy gossip with her before homeroom even started, and four more asked her for the hottest news about their classmates and their love lives. Everyone wanted to hear an inspiring story and support one another somehow, and the gossip queen didn't fail to notice.

"What is up with everyone today?" Ren Yamai wondered out loud. "Why is everyone being so sappy? No one's even listening to my juicy gossip! I have things to say, darn it!" Her friends agreed.

Hitohito gave Shoko an amazed look. "Whoa. You transformed the school overnight, Komi! How'd you do it?"

Shoko gave him a small smile as she passed a note. I decided to put everyone's wagging tongues to good use, Tadano, and my friends helped, most of all Nene. Now no one will spread nasty rumors or talk smack about each other ever again!

Hitohito made a nervous chuckle. "Well... I'm sure they'll go back to the usual gossip eventually. But until then, congratulations, Komi. You replaced Yamai as the campus queen!"

At once, Ren Yamai rushed over, an intense look on her face. "I heard you say my name, Tadano!" she snapped. "Are you talking smack about me or spreading nasty rumors?"

Hitohito shook his head.

Ren turned to Shoko. "Komi, my princess! Can you believe it? Everyone's being so weird! What's going on? What's the word?"
Shoko held out a note for her friend. Here's the word: I helped remind everyone how kind they can be to one another. Can you do it, too? I'm sure you can!

"K-Komi, I..." Ren held a hand to her chest. She was probably conflicted between her obsessive love for Komi and her strong desire to spread unsavory rumors about everyone she knew. She was stuck!

Tell everyone how much you love them, Shoko urged her. You'll feel better about yourself when you do. Please?

Ren winced. "I... I...!" She squirmed for a moment, then straightened her back and cleared her throat. "Tadano, I hear you're a great teammate when you play soccer in gym. Good for you, buddy."

Hitohito grinned. "Hey, thanks. And I hear that you babysat your little cousin last weekend and your aunt was really grateful. I think that's really awesome of you."

Ren went red at once. "What the...! Where'd you hear that, Tadano? Where?!"

Hitohito grinned and shrugged. "Word gets around. Don't people like to gossip around here?"

"You...!" Ren stomped her foot, but there was no denying that she was touched by Hitohito's kind words. She made up for it by turning to Shoko and adding, "Komi, um... you're free to join my gossip circle and say whatever you like! I look forward to hearing about your life! Okay, bye-bye for now!" She waved and scampered off.

Hitohito whistled. "You did it, Komi. You tamed her!"

Everyone has their good side. That's what I believe, Shoko told him with another note. And the power of gossip helps them show their wonderful true selves.

Hitohito nodded. "I think you're right, Shoko. I helped Hitomi with a bit of homework last night, and she actually thanked me and said I was smart. It's rare she gives me more than one compliment per year."

Your sister is a sweet girl, Shoko added happily on her note as everyone else kept gossiping all over the classroom. She and you are lucky to have each other.

"I... I guess so, yeah," Hitohito said with a nervous chuckle. "Um... tell your brother I said hi, okay?"

Shoko nodded. "I will," she said quietly, and she mentally marked the challenge as complete at last.