Pushing through the crowds after her last class, Takao's mind began to race. Haruna had acknowledged her text, but Kirishima hadn't. That made her a bit nervous, even though Takao couldn't figure out why. What had her completely confused was why those two had approached her in a friendly manner. Every other time she had dealt with the sisters, something had gone wrong. She came away hurt in one way or another, but not this time. Why? Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Takao reached the parking lot and began searching for Kirishima and her sister.
Something hit her in her left ribs, and Takao jumped as a small rock rolled away. Turning, she saw nothing out of the ordinary until a crop of yellow hair poked up over the hood of an old car Takao had overlooked. Calling out Haruna's name with a forced laugh to try to conceal her nervousness, Takao made her way over.
"Ah so you made it. Good." Kirishima and Haruna pitched their bags into the trunk of the car which, based on the two-tone green paint job, belonged to Kirishima. "Hop in, we'll explain on the way."
"Uh, what?" Takao momentarily panicked, but regained her composure. "Where are you going? What's the plan here?"
Kirishima faced Takao. Her usual aloof, haughty facade faded, to be replaced by a more serious, almost solem, expression. "There're a few things I was hoping to achieve by having you help us. Besides giving the student council a bit of what they deserve, I want to at least try to help clear the air between you and us."
Takao was taken slightly aback, as neither Kirishima nor Haruna came across as girls who would want to make amends out of the blue. "A-alright, I can get behind those ideas. One question though…"
"Whatcha got?" Kirishima's gaze met Takao's and she shivered.
"What brought about the change of heart for you two to suddenly want to be friends with me?" Takao locked eyes with Kirishima, blue eyes locked with blue.
"I had a feeling you were gonna ask that sooner or later." Kirishima sighed. "Actually, HaruHaru and I were planning on having this conversation with you over some Italian. Care to join us?" Haruna stuck her tongue out at her sister's nickname but nodded along with her.
Takao stepped back. "Uh, what about my car?"
"We'll drop you off back here before we head home. Don't worry." Haruna rested a hand briefly on Takao's shoulder. Takao looked from Haruna to Kirishima and back to Haruna. Neither girl appeared to be joking.
Takao's first thought was that this was somehow all a trap of some sort. In her mind, there wasn't any reason why these two should just suddenly be nice to her. On the other hand, she was getting somewhat annoyed by the constant antics of the student council. Her mind flashed back to several instances in the past few months when the council had gotten on her nerves. If anything, she personally wanted some the very least, she would at least maybe get to know these two better. Her phone was still in her pocket, so if worst came to worst she could text Gunzou and have him come to get her. Hopefully it wouldn't be that bad.
"Alright one question first." Takao wanted to clarify one thing first. "How do I know you're genuine?"
Kirishima turned to face the blue-haired girl, and laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, I can't blame you for asking that. After everything we did and said, you're skeptical right?"
Nodding, Takao eyed the pair. "Anyone would be." She set her phone aside and leaned forward.
"Quite frankly, we're worried," Kirishima said, her voice a bit lowered.
Kirishima opened the door of her car and slid in, while Haruna ushered Takao into the back seat and slid in beside her. Haruna sighed. "Strange it may sound, but it's our sister Hiei we're worried about. Or more specifically, her relationships."
Understandably, Takao did a double take. "Uh, Hiei? As in Student-Council-Hiei?"
Both sisters nodded. "Yes, her." Haruna confirmed. "It's not unusual for either of us or Kongou to not hear much from Hiei for a month or so, but she checks in every once in a while. That said, the last time I got a text from her was…" Haruna paused as she looked back through her phone. "...back in November. It's January, and there's nothing from her or her friends. As much as I don't always like her, it's worrying me."
"That surprises me," Takao said, as Kirishima started her car and headed out of the parking lot. As Kirishima pulled out onto the street, she stopped the car, and Takao looked up in concern. "Is something wrong?"
Snickering, Kirishima shook her head, and a sly grin broke on Haruna's face. "Kiri's got a few tricks up her sleeve yet. Hold on."
"Uh, alright…?" Takao, despite sounding skeptical, knew Kirishima's reputation as part daredevil, part showoff, and knew to heed Haruna's warning.
The moment Takao had buckled up, Kirishima stood on the brake, and Takao heard the engine begin to race. Shooting a worried glance at the blonde beside her, Takao didn't have time to voice her question before she was slammed back against the seat, while Kirishima cheered and Haruna let out an uncharacteristic shout of laughter.
Fighting to peek at the speedometer, Takao made out an 82 before Kirishima hit the brakes. "Okay what the hell was that? And what's with all the smoke?" She tried to control the shaking in her voice, but to no avail.
"That is called a boosted launch, dear." The delight in Kirishima's voice was apparent. "It's a lot to try to explain, so I'll tell you about it later. Anyway, we're going over to Olive Garden for some food while we discuss what to do with Hiei. Then we'll swing back here and drop you off."
Takao nodded. "Alright. I'll just let Gunzou know where I'll be." After sending him a message, Takao leaned back as Kirishima and Haruna settled into car talk that she couldn't follow. Reflecting on the past two days, Takao tried to figure out what had happened that led to where she was now—in the back of a really fast car with two sisters she wouldn't have ever expected to be nice to her, going to talk about helping their sister. The sister Takao still didn't like, or even personally know. I'm definitely ordering a drink today , she murmured quietly. Still, with nothing better to do for the trip to the restaurant, Takao slipped her headphones back on, and tried to rest.
