My Cute UnderDog

Chapter 1

Shinomiya's POV

With summer having just come to a close, the night faded behind the first sunrise of the new fall term. With sunlight streaming through his slightly open window, the new day hit Shinomiya's boyish sleeping face with a ray of new morning light. Beginning to stir in his sleep thanks to the wakeup call he never asked for, his eyes began to twitch. Not wanting to greet the new day just yet with his beautiful gaze adorned with pretty eyelashes, Shino made that clear by shielding himself by throwing the covers over not just his body, but his head too, now turning his body from one side to the other facing the wall (which also has a window, but you don't really try to think when you're wanting some more zzz).

Knock knock!

With a groan, he knew what was coming his way now. After hearing the door click, there arose his Dad's voice. "Hayato! It's you first day back, so let's move. Wouldn't want to go without breakfast again due to being late again, now would you." After hearing his bedroom door giving a thud, Shino concedes and throws the covers off his head with as much energy as he could muster. Now rolling onto his back, he puts one arm across his forehead, a shadow overcasting his eyes, still hazy from the attempt to come to. Staring up at the ceiling, his first words of the day are, "Another year..."

After putting on his uniform and brushing his lightly brown hair, he makes his way downstairs, carrier slung over his shoulder. Standing in the doorway, he settles into his shoes, and begins to head out. Hearing her son having come down, Shino's mom catches him before he steps onto the porch. "Hayato? You haven't had any breakfast yet! What's your hurry?"

Not wanting to waste any more time, Shinomiya simply replied, "I have a lot to take care of with the health committee for the first day back to school. Give my share to Thor!" Having said that, he was on his way to a fresh new start- as a junior.

Looking back on recent events that took place over summer vacation, Shinomiya only had one thought continuously push its way to the front of his mind, 'It's time I make a name for myself.' With a gleam in my eye, I readied my fist to my chest iwth every ounce of determination brewing inside me with the declaration, "This is the year I have Serinuma see the true Shinomiya!"

Calming down, his last thought on his way to school being, 'I will. I HAVE to!'

Kae Serinuma POV

'Showing off the those big, sparkling eyes of hers, Serinuma was on cloud nine-no wait! What am I saying?! Since when do I talk in third person? And if it's any cloud I'm on, sky rocket it to whatever cloud Shion is on!'

What is our unhealthily obsessed, beyond beautiful otaku heroine talking about? Let's set the scene:

It's a bright, beautiful morning- the sun is shining, the sky is clear, a light breeze is softly brushing through your hair into the air-oh yeah. And let's not forget that instead of being on her merry way to school, where is she?

You guessed it- Anime Ito. Hearing very recently of rumors flying around that Mirage Saga might raise from the dead and be green lit for another season, our well endowed fangirl couldn't resist making a nearly morning run over to the lcoal hot spot for all her nerdy needs. She knows that it's a long shot-she knows that most rumors are dead in the water, ESPECIALLY since the leaked news has no reliable intel of source. But even so, she'll scope out anyone and anywhere she can to confirm her husbando making a miraculous recovery and returning to where he belongs-in front of her displayed on the PC.

Slamming her hands on the counter, her crazy eyes were beginning to slowly resurface. Initiating a hyper questionnaire, the clerk on shift was unfortunately her target in very plain sight. Continuing to lean in with every question asked, her body constanrtly leveled itself off the ground until she was practically a voluptuous plank neatly sprawled face forward. But despite her best efforts in gaining any new info, the clerk was not only petrified, but left just as clueless as she was, if not more after his encounter with the highly attractive high school otaku fangirl.

Giving a big sigh and slumping over on my walk of defeat, my inevitable fate felt like it was drawing closwer and closer- spiralling into a neverending, abyssmal pit of despair with no way to claw my way back up to the surface unless the sustenance I desperately craved was close at hand to sustain my existence. Making her arrival at school (FINALLY, KAE), she took her seat with minutes to spare before homeroom began, oddly enough.

"Serinuma!" I recognized the voice right away. Turning to face the back right sat two fo my good friends, Nanashima and Igarashi (although I like referring to them as something else, but I'll be G rated and leave that out!). Waving at me was Igarashi with Nana sitting in front of him eating anpan for a grab-n-go breakfast, I'm gonig to guess.

Walking over, I stood in front of them both with an attempt to smile, trying not to give away how defeated I absolutely feel. Clsoing my eyes with that attempted smile, I gave my usual welcome. "Hey, what's up? Breakfast on the go, Nanashima?"

Popping in his last bite of the doughy bread, he brought his smug (not to mention GLOWING) gaze to my own, little grin and all. "Yep. Didn't even have time to cook anything for myself this morning. Best I could do. With a dramatic grimace, he added in, "and it wasn't even fresh. Seriously! The caf could learn to throw away their stale food. I didn't pay to get choked."

Letting his own smugness surface, Igarashi just couldn't resist poking fun at his (SOUL!) mate. "You know, it's not like I didn't warn you about how awful the food is here. You only have yourself to blame, Nana."

Igarashi turns his attention back to Serinuma, catching on that something is definitely off with her. With her mask slowly, BUT SURELY AND CLEARLY crumbling away, he moves forward with, "Serinuma? Serinuma! Wh-what's with you?!"

Kae, snapping back to attention after zoning in and out of the conversation realizes he is talking about her facade showing through. Silence is among the three.

More silence.

Then more.

Until finally, Nanashima broke the deafening noise. "Woman, spit it-"

"WAHHH~AHH~AHAHAHA~~!" Kae just began bawling her overly flooded crocodile tears like the diehard fangirl she truly is all the while suffering from a glimmer of hope that may not be. Furiously wiping at her tears, she soon caves and presses her hands against her face drowning in her sorrows.

Now on alert, both Igarashi and Nanashima shot out of their seats. Arms hanging in the air, bent but outreached, they do and say what they can to calm their otaku crush down. Making the first move, Igarashi gives it a shot. "Se-Serinuma! What happened? Maybe we can help."

Slowing the roll of her tears, she becomes more audible with every passing few seconds. After her third, maybe fourth muffled cry, they finally understand: "Sh-Shion...Shion STILL MOCKS ME WITH HIS PASSING!"

Stunned, the two boys just continue to stare at her in shock and utter disbelief as if suspended in time. 'This...this can't be happening. What changed?' they both thought to themselves.

Coming to the rescue at the sound of her best friends' wails, Nakano makes her appearance. Consoling her friend, she takes Kae in and lets her stain her uniform (for the time being...). Looking up at the pair, she gets to the point. "You don't have to worry. There've been some rumors flying around on a few forums for the anime community, and Kae was one of the first to find out."

Lifting her head from Nakano's now tear stained sweater, Kae lifts her head up to direct her attention at her. Still with a few waterwork reserves let over ready to spill and her classic quivering lip, she shows her stubborn resolve. "IT'S NO~~~~T! IT JUST CAN'T BE~~~~!"

"I couldn't agree more."

All eyes turn to Nishina. Hearing the Kae cry herself, she walks over to the others. Nanashima snides, "Shouldn't you be in your own class? Whatever, jusr get her to shut up, PLEASE!"

Igarashi is all too happy to second that. "You're the only one who knows how. We're all counting on you!"

Having her arms crossed, Nishina walks over to the two girls, and gently releases Nakano from Serinuma's grip. Turning Kae to face her, she delivers her sweet nothings to soothe her dear senpai.

Still an emotional trainwreck, Kae can only muster, "Ni...Nishina~~~!"

Pulling the sobbing girl into her own embrace, she works her magic. "There, there. Serinuma, there truly is no need for worry. I can say with great fcertainty that there is a high chance that Mirage Saga is putting up a great fight and fighting to get renewed to continue their beautiful story. So cry not. Shion will come back to us. After all, he does have his biggest fans rooting for his safe return."

Having finally calm down, Kae returns to her positive self. Glimmering, she stares back thankfully at her consoler. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Thank you."

Smiling with absolute satisfaction, Nishina replies, "Anytime, really!" Turning her attention now rto everyone, she moves on to ask, "By the way. Hve any one of you seen Shinomiya? I haven't seen him this morning."

Surprised, Nanashima's the first to speak up. "Huh the kid? Never thought someone so uptight and straight laced would play hooky."

Igarashi replies, "It's definitely not like him to, so I doubt that's it."

Feeling a great twinge of concern, Serinuma can't help but start to feel anxious about the news. "Do you think he could be sick? We should all go visit him after if so. OH, and class notes, of course."

Nakano facing Kae's now turned back, she feels a somewhat obvious suspicion about any ulterior motive Kae may have underlying her kind nature. Cutting her eyes, she asked, "You wouldn't be going out of your way for Shinomiya for some possible ero-ero scene to walk into, right?"

The scene froze. And as expected, both Kae and Nishina showed their true selves in a heartbeat. Their bulging eyes, shrunken, cat-like pupils, squiggly mouths completing the twisted expression donning their faces, they give themselves away much too easily for any to be fooled, lest not to be creeped out.

Teardrops forming all around, the last word of the scene ends with Nanashima and Igarashi glancing at each other with Nana saying, "For once, I think I actually feel sorry for the twerp..."