She Comes And Goes As She Pleases (Part 60)
by BrDPirateMan
The Miss Campus lineup was one man… er, woman down, on account of her twisting her ankle and unable to walk properly. So the organizer kept trying to cajole me into convincing Eri, whom he felt was the next most viable candidate, to participate.
"It'll be easy for her!" he said, the words coming out too fast. "Not trying to butter up your girlfriend, bro, but she'll be the perfect replacement. We just need you to talk her into joining. Please, we're kinda desperate here."
"Look," I said, "even if she agrees, there's one problem…"
"There'll be no problem as long as you use the right words. Come on, bro, you're her boyfriend for goodness' sake. Surely you hold some sway over her!"
"That's not the point – "
"We really need this, pal. If this pageant doesn't work out we'll be ruined! You don't want that, do you?!"
The president tried to rein him in. "Hey, don't push him. He has something to say. Let him talk."
"There's no time for talk!"
There are pushy characters, and then there's this guy. It's a wonder he even managed to organize an event of this magnitude at all with the way he communicated with people. I'd hate to work under this bloke.
The door opened and as a whole we all turned to look. Eri trudged in, visibly worn from emptying her bowels. She did not look good at all. And yet, when she saw the crowd that awaited her, she still had the energy to throw me a deadpan remark.
"Neku, I asked for medicine, not a welcoming party."
Hawaiian Boy went right up to her. "You've got to help us. You're our only hope!"
The sudden approach of this man took her aback. "Wh-What's going on?"
The president briefed her on the situation at hand, interjected every so often by our pushy friend and his pleas. I knew things were looking tough for the pageant, but he could stand to learn how to shut up.
"Whaddya say?" said Hawaiian Boy. "Just this once? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
Eri tried to explain her way out of this dilemma. "Um, but I – "
"It'll be fine! It won't hurt, I promise."
"No, look – "
"Since you're a model, this will be a piece of cake for you! Just go out there and strut your stuff like you always do!"
"Wait, would you just li– "
"There are some really attractive prizes in store for you if you win. There's – mmphraphmm?!"
Fed up with his constant interruptions, I covered his mouth with my hand. He reacted indignantly, but before he could lash out at me, I trained an icy glare at him which stopped him dead.
"Let. Her. Finish."
"Thanks, Neku," huffed Eri. "That helps."
Her relief was also reflected in the eyes of everyone else in the room. Finally she could talk in complete sentences, but I kept my hand on the guy's face in case he started acting up again out of habit.
"I understand where you're coming from," she said, "but I'm suffering from a bad bout of diarrhea. I keep having to go to the washroom!"
The colour drained away from his face. Peeling my hand off, he breathed, "Diarrhea? At a time like this?"
"Hey," I said, "she can't help it if she has it."
"What are we going to do? We barely have time to search for a replacement."
The president calmly offered his thoughts. "I don't think we'll be able to find a potential contestant so quickly. We may have to work with three. I'll have the emcee reflect on this detail in his speech later on."
"Not so fast, pal," grunted Hawaiian Boy, arms folded. "We still have a bit of time. We are going to keep looking for that fourth contestant. I'm not giving the audience three when we promised four. You never know. There might be someone just round the corner, willing to give us a hand."
Now it was the president's turn to fold his own arms. I could tell he was just as fed up with the guy's attitude as everyone else, but did his best to maintain an air of professionalism. "Like I said, we're not going to find one so easily, and even if we did, we won't have a lot of time at all to cram in the preparations. But fine, look. We'll keep looking around if that makes you happy, but if we can't find one within the next half hour, the pageant will go ahead with three contestants. Deal?"
"Hmph, fair enough. Right then, let's get to it. We have a beauty to catch!"
The president and his crew prepared to leave on their search for the elusive fourth contestant. With so little time, this would at best be a fruitless endeavor. Well, good luck to them, I suppose.
Then someone called out, "Wait!"
Shiki? All eyes turned to her. She was fidgeting and trembling on the spot like nobody's business. And her face was reddening with every second that passed.
"What's wrong?" asked the president. "Something the matter?"
She took a deep but ragged breath, and let it out.
And she said, with a small voice, "I'll do it."
"I… I beg your pardon?"
Everyone stared at her, not knowing what was up. She seemed to shrink away from all the attention she was suddenly getting, but steeled herself to speak up once more. This time, with a louder, clearer voice, she repeated the words.
"I'll do it! …I-I'll take part in Miss Campus!"
Our breaths joined together in a unanimous gasp. Hawaiian Boy could scarcely believe his ears. Eri grew a smile so wide, I could swear she was turned on by the very prospect of Shiki becoming a beauty pageant contestant.
"For real?" he stammered. "You're willing to become the replacement?"
"Don't be ridiculous," snapped the guy whom I helped drag Shinohara to the infirmary. "We're supposed to make sure that everything goes smoothly in the festival. Isn't that our job? Or have you forgotten?"
"Of course I haven't!" In what I felt was a clever twist, she turned his logic against him. "But everything has to go smoothly, right? Well, if I take part in the pageant then we'll have four contestants as promised! Miss Campus can carry on like normal!"
He reacted with an indignant grunt but had no comeback. The president, on the other hand, was very calm.
"While I understand your logic," he said, "and I appreciate that you want to help, isn't this too daunting a task for you? Do you understand what's expected of you, Shiki? Among other things, you're going to be on stage… in a swimsuit no less!"
Yeah, that's what I was thinking, actually. How's she going to handle that?
Shiki was given a rough summary of the what there was to do during the pageant. There were a few segments with each one more embarrassing than the last. Personally, as much as I admired her bravery, I wasn't sure she had the gumption to pull it off well at such short notice. The others felt the same way. Except the pageant organizer. And Eri. She has faith in her friend. Also, she likes seeing her in a swimsuit.
"Do you see now?" warned the president. "If you aren't ready, you might end up doing more harm than good. Are you aware of this?"
However, she was adamant. "I am. But we have to give this a shot. Leave it to me!"
"You're a lifesaver!" said Hawaiian Boy with glee. "You just saved us a whole lot of trouble! But let's hurry. We need to get you prepped! Chop chop!"
As she was quickly led away with the rest in tow, Eri and I ran out of the infirmary to shout some encouragement her way.
"Shiki! Good luck out there!"
We saw Shiki extend a thumbs-up high up in the air as she rounded a corner and disappeared.
"I'm sure everything will work out," giggled Eri. "She's a freaking survivor."
"Will she really be alright?" I gulped. "She might be in over her head."
"Oh, she'll be fine. She looks great naked, trust me. So of course bikinis will be no problem for her."
"That's not what I meant."
"Uh, I… I think I need to go again!"
Clutching her stomach, she sped off, leaving me in the dust. Guess I should go get her those meds already…
XOXOXOXOXO
I was a man on… another mission.
Eri's meds had been taken care of, but she was far from out of the woods. The urge to use the washroom was still there and she couldn't roam too far from the infirmary as a result, so much to her immense displeasure she had to sit out the afternoon shows.
This led to me being assigned as her eyes and ears for the event. She tasked me with snapping photos of the pageant, with added emphasis on Shiki's debut.
"Get as many photos of her as you can," she said. "With a spanking hot bod like hers, there's no such thing as too many!"
"You sound like a dirty old man," I said.
Mildly offended, she puffed out one cheek and gave me the single most blatant lie ever spoken in the history of mankind.
"How rude! I am not dirty-minded."
"Sure, and I got a bridge to sell you."
"Come on! I just like beautiful things and people. And since Shiki is one such person, what is wrong with admiring her? Off you go now! Good hunting, Neku!"
Then she hurried away to the washroom and was gone. That's my cue to get a move on myself.
I headed for the auditorium earlier than usual so I could secure a good seat up front, and was I glad I did. The whole place filled up fast. Had I taken any longer, I'd have to climb up to the rafters to even see anything.
As everyone was settling down, my thoughts turned to Shiki. She's one of my best friends and I've always known her to be a fighter. She's a very determined woman who would overcome any obstacle in her way.
However, it's only because her goals were realistic that she's been able to attain them at all. Getting good grades? No problem. Study hard everyday and she aces her exams. Making cool clothes? Perfectly doable. Give her some measurements and a vision of what to create and off she goes.
But participating in a beauty pageant? Well…
It's not really a matter of putting your heart to it and succeeding through sheer hard work anymore. Not when she barely knew what she was doing and had such little time to prepare. She's pretty, but that won't be enough. What she needed was practice. You don't just blunder your way through a pageant without ample preparation and expect to do well!
My hands went all cold and sweaty thinking about the many things that could go wrong. Would stage fright paralyze her into a catatonic state? What if she bit her tongue and flubbed her introduction? What if she had to wear high heels, and lost her balance? Or have her swimsuit come loose and leave her in the buff? Come to think of it, she's never been on stage before, except during our high school graduation ceremony when she went up to receive her certificate. And even then she was a bundle of frayed nerves. I remember standing behind her before her turn came, and telling her over and over that it would be alright. She had to take deep breaths like she was a pregnant woman preparing to give birth.
And now she's going to be half-naked in front of a whole crowd. What had she gotten herself into? Her heart was in the right place, but…
"Ladies and gentlemen!" boomed the emcee. "Welcome, one and all, to our Great Afternoon Extravaganza!"
Well, like it or not, it was happening. I uttered a prayer of luck for Shiki. She's gonna need it. And some.
The first hour was actually quite enjoyable. There were a couple of live music performances which I liked, as well as a comedy skit that actually managed to get a few laughs out of me. Then there was the play. It's hard to describe what it was. The best I could say was that it was essentially Snow White… in space. And that the villain was swinging a lightsaber. But strangely, for something that shouldn't work, it wasn't too bad.
Although I was having fun, the pageant was never too far from my mind. I imagine it wasn't for a lot of people, but for a different reason.
The emcee's voice thundered across the auditorium. "The moment you've all been waiting for is finally here. Yes, that's right, folks. The best in beauty and cuteness and fanservice… here to duke it out for glory and the crown!"
My stomach clenched. This was it. I almost forgot about the photos I was supposed to take. I readied my phone and when I looked around, I noticed many others had done the same. Shiki had a lot to live up to.
"Ladies and gentlemen… ahem, especially the gentlemen…" – this was met with a chorus of appreciative laughs – "…the Miss Campus beauty pageant of 20XX has officially begun!"
My eardrums nearly ruptured from the ensuing cheer.
"Let's start things off nice and simple before we ramp up the pressure. Oh, you're gonna be in for a real treat when you lay your eyes on our yukata-clad beauties! First up, from Hotel Management we have a breath of fresh air that'll knock you off your feet like a typhoon… Please welcome…"
The emcee called out her name in the hammiest way imaginable, and that's when the first contestant stepped out of the shadows with a megawatt smile. Roaring applause greeted her as she waved at the crowd. Hmm, not bad. Eri would still beat her hands down though.
The appearance of the second and third contestants was similarly well-received. The latter even gave the audience a big wink, which drove everyone nuts. I bet she did that to gain an edge over the competition. Not that it meant much; this pageant was purely for fun.
"Last but not least," said the emcee excitedly, "is this cute young lady hailing from Fashion Design. With a course like that, you know you should be glad!"
Alright, here it comes! Ugh, come on, me! Stop shaking!
"Everrrry-buh-dee, bring your hands together for… Shiki Misaki! ! !"
I gasped when I beheld the woman now framed within the spotlight. Now, this wasn't the first time I've seen Shiki in a yukata. The sight was nothing new to me. But somehow, up on stage she just… shone. She was like a different person altogether. Whoever worked on her makeup and clothes backstage must have been pros. I could sense her nervousness but she did her best to put on a brave front and that smile was just so adorable. The crowd cheered while I went trigger-happy with my phone's camera.
Then disaster struck.
She tripped.
Almost fell flat on her face too.
The loud thunk she made hitting the floor sounded painful. Everyone clammed up in shock and the whole auditorium went deathly quiet. The emcee didn't know what to say. Even I froze. This was one of the things I was afraid of and it actually happened!
Was she okay? No broken bones? Organs still intact? Ego in one piece?
Just when I feared the worst, she picked herself off the floor in two seconds flat, struck a pose and flashed the peace sign.
"Relax, I'm fine," she said, smiling. "I'm Shiki Misaki. Nice to meet you!"
Her second wind was rewarded with much louder cheers and applause than before. I even heard wolf whistles in the midst. Holy hell, not only did she save the moment, she turned it around and made everyone love her. I didn't know what gave her that burst of courage but I sure was glad for it all the same.
Knock 'em dead, Shiki!
All four contestants stood in a row, smiling with their pearly whites in full view. The emcee was practically boiling over with excitement.
"Will you look at that, folks! Aren't they just lovely?! Oh, it'll be hard to make a decision later on! Pay close attention to those ladies, everyone, because at the end of the day, you – yes, you! – get to vote who goes home with the title of Miss Campus!"
Oh, I knew who I'd cast my vote for.
The girls, standing in a row, took turns introducing themselves and giving the audience an idea of what sort of person they were like. This part seemed easy enough and Shiki didn't have any problems with it.
The next part, however, was the moment of truth.
"And now," said the emcee, "let's get started with the swimsuit segment! You don't need chicken brains to know what's in store for you guys, but let's make things more interesting… you know, make each contestant do a little something unique to add to their cuteness factor…"
What the heck was that supposed to mean?
As though in response to my thoughts, he laughed self-deprecatingly, "Alright, folks, I'll be honest. I don't know how to explain that last bit. Fortunately, our ladies are on the case to show you how it's done! So without further ado, let's start with…"
The first girl strode out on stage from behind the side curtain. One look at her floral print bikini and the whole place was set ablaze. The crowd roared their approval. When she spun round to show off how she looked from behind, that approval increased twofold.
In the midst of the hullabaloo, the emcee chuckled, "Hot darn, girl, you lookin' great! I like the flower motif you got going on there. Alrighty then, it's your time to shine! Put that cuteness to good use and go for it!"
And she obliged. She did the peace sign, holding it up to her face so that her eye was between the two fingers. "Hey everybody! Let's be good friends, okay?"
Everyone clapped. I feared for my eardrums. They seemed to like what she did back there.
"Ha ha ha! Nice!" The emcee smiled widely. "See that, everyone? That's what I'm talking about!"
Hmm. So when that emcee mentioned about 'doing something cute', this was what he meant: selling yourself to the audience. Well, I guess that's the whole point of advertising…
The second contestant did something similar but added some improvements of her own, which did wonders for her popularity. Girl number three put on her best impression of bedroom eyes and blew a kiss, saying, "I'm counting on you, okay?"
That netted her a lot of supporters, if the auditorium trembling like an earthquake was anything to go by. The emcee even hung a lampshade over it, "Whoa, I said do something cute, not sexy!"
How's Shiki going to top that? The bar was raised higher with each contestant that came before her. The pressure to perform must be immense.
Now the emcee called upon her. "Hungry for more, fellas? Then it's time for a big helping of contestant number four! Everyone, please take a good looooong look at Shiki Misaki!"
There was a noticeable two seconds of hesitation before she finally revealed herself (in both senses of the word). Out of all the swimsuits they had to put her in, it had to be the one that showed the most skin. String bikinis don't do a good job of covering you up, after all. At least she had the curves to look hot in it.
She wasn't completely at ease. Although she did her best to look natural, there was a certain stiffness to her smile and gait, like she was a mannequin who had come to life and just started to learn how to move in a human-like fashion. No one seemed to mind, though. Because the string bikini trumped all else.
"Hoo yeah!" the emcee whistled. "I call leetsauce on this one, like daaayuum! Alright, you know the drill by now, Shiki. Do your thing and wow us all to kingdom come!"
I felt the breath hitch in my throat. What was she planning to do now?
She bent her body into a gentle S-shape and lifted her hands, curling them into loosely clenched fists to mimic cats' paws. Then, with a halting voice, she went…
"Um… meow?"
There was silence all around. But not because no one was impressed. More like confused. No one knew quite how to react to that.
The emcee struggled to find the right words to defuse the tense air. "Oh! I… I wasn't expecting that… but in a good way! I think that deserves an encore, don't you think? Preferably with a little more oomph, you know what I'm saying?"
"M-Meow…"
Slowly the applause started to trickle in, which was a good sign. Truth be told, that was cute enough for me. But not everyone was satisfied and the emcee could see it.
"Oh, what is with you people?" the emcee good-naturedly chided the audience. "She's giving it her all! Show her some support! Alright, from the top, Shiki. Don't be shy! Crank up your kitty power and give us your best shot, like 'pow'! Or is that 'meow'?"
At this point I started to get worried. I tried to clap harder to make up for the people who didn't, but there was only so much one person could do. Come on, people! Clap your hands already, dammit!
And then something amazing happened. Something I couldn't for the life of me imagine happening. Shiki dropped on all fours, and crawled – slooowly – all the way to the front of the stage. Her hands were still balled into fists, perhaps lending the impression that she was a panther on the prowl. Her entire act was so over-the-top that every member of the audience pretty much lost their mind. She lifted one 'paw' and licked it seductively… and this time when she said 'meow' again, I couldn't hear it. Not when the entire auditorium was in an uproar. It was an instant hit.
Looking at her, I was reduced to blushing my face off. At least twice I had to ask myself: was this girl, already half-naked on stage to begin with, on her hands and knees and licking herself… and it's supposed to be mild-mannered Shiki? That's got to be an impostor, right? A clone, maybe? An alien?
The emcee had this huge grin and said, "Whoo! Now this I did not expect. Can someone give this girl a pair of cat ears and a tail? That'd be perfect!"
I never thought she'd step up her game like this. I couldn't even start to comprehend it. But at least the people liked it.
I'd have a bunch of questions for her when we next meet.
But until then, I clapped my hands until they hurt.
XOXOXOXOXO
The sky was growing darker. The last few streaks of sunlight lingered in the horizon, painting the clouds pink.
The arrival of the evening marked a shift in tone for the festival. Most of the stalls were now closed and people were cleaning up and packing stuff away. Only a handful of visitors remained – mostly young couples taking a stroll and enjoying a quiet moment to themselves. Even the festival committee members had little to do. Or maybe they were taking a break.
It's customary for a lot of school and college festivals to cap things off with a bonfire dance, so this is exactly what they did. They'd set up a big fire in the clearing out at the back. A handful of couples took to doing a traditional folk dance around it; the rest just stood around and watched. It looked fun, but I had no idea how to do it in the first place.
I did manage to grab a hold of Shiki and the two of us got to talking. Incidentally, she was back in her uniform, something she was far more comfortable walking around in.
"Hey, congrats," was the first thing I said to her. "You did great during that pageant."
She pulled her cap downwards to try and hide her face. All of the memories of her stint as a pageant contestant came flooding back and she was ready to die from embarrassment. What she was going through was akin to getting drunk, waking up two hours later, and being told that during those two hours you stripped to your unmentionables and belted out a song out in the streets. Now that you're sober, you start to regret everything.
I did my best to be a reassuring friend to her, but got the distinct feeling that no matter what I said, it would be of little help. And I was right.
"C'mon, it's not that bad," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You ended up in second place! It was a pretty tight competition too. If you had just a few more votes, you'd have easily cinched first place."
Her body temperature rose so high that I had to pluck my hand away from her shoulder. I didn't want it to turn to ashes.
I continued, "Your performance during the third segment was pretty good too! I really liked your choice of song."
No good. Now she's radiating so much heat I could feel it tickling my cheek. I feared that if I talked about the swimsuit segment shenanigans I'd get half my face burnt off, but here goes…
"Say, Shiki," I mumbled. "Mind if I say something?"
I saw her frame jerk slightly, like she had been trying desperately to avoid talking about something, but had been pushed into a corner since it had been brought up and had no choice but to face up to it… which was exactly what was happening.
Her cap was now draped so low over her face that I couldn't see anything of it. She was content to talk to me by mumbling through it.
"I-Is this about… what I did?"
"W-Well… I never figured you for the kinky type…"
"I-I'm not kinky," she spluttered. "I'm not like that, honest! I just wasn't getting any reaction from the audience during the swimsuit segment, so I had to do something or else it'd be awkward! I… I was desperate…"
That's as good an answer as any for now. "You were in a bind… Yeah, I could see that. When the audience went dead silent I was worried too. Don't worry, I understand. I'd feel like crud too if I was on stage and no one clapped when they should."
"Glad you see where I'm coming from. Which reminds me, Neku…"
"Yeah?"
"Can you please… please forget what happened back then?"
Poor girl. She'll never live it down. She'll be a lot more popular now, if that's any consolation. Some cool guy would have noticed her by now and maybe, just maybe, he'd look past the sexy cat act and see her for the nice girl she was. And then maybe it'd be the start of a beautiful relationship. Maybe.
"Uh… I'll… um, I'll try…"
"You're not gonna forget, are you."
"H-Hey, come on. I won't think any less of you for what you did. You managed to save the pageant and the day. You obviously weren't comfortable with it and yet you stuck with it to the bitter end. That takes guts, and I respect that."
She lifted her cap slowly to look at me.
"Really?"
"I'm positive. You were pretty awesome."
Slowly but surely, she began to calm down. She even managed to crack a smile, albeit a bashful one. "I just did what I felt had to be done. I'm… glad it all worked out. Though one thing's for sure: I'm not doing this again. That and, well, once the committee disbands, that's that. I'm out."
"Is it still… bad with your colleagues?"
Shiki crossed her arms and took a second or two to compose her thoughts. "Well, a few of them that I was pretty cool during the pageant, but the rest… well, frankly? I think if they just plain didn't like me to begin with, nothing I do is going to change their minds."
I sighed, sad for her. "And here I thought they'd see you in a better light after the sacrifices you've made. Seriously, what do they want?"
"Pretty much the only person who was consistently nice to me throughout was the president. I won't miss a lot of people."
"Never mind them." I squeezed her shoulder gently. "You've done the best you could, and it turned out alright. That's something to be proud of."
"I… yeah, you're right." She beamed at me. "Hey… thanks again for your support. You're… You're a good friend." She gave me a feather-light punch to the arm out of affection.
"You too, Shiki. You too."
We smiled at each other and shared a gentle laugh together. Suddenly a pair of hands went over my eyes, obscuring my vision and startling me.
In the darkness, a familiar voice posed a riddle, "Guess who?"
"Ah, there you are," I said. "I thought for sure you'd fallen into the toilet and gotten stuck or something. So how are you feeling now, Eri?"
"Like an oxymoron."
She took her hands off of me and I just looked at her, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I feel both good and bad. On one hand, I've recovered from my diarrhea at long last, so thanks for the medicine. But… I still missed the afternoon shows. When I knew Shiki was going to be in it, I was ecstatic, you know. Ecstatic!"
Shiki gulped and the heat returned to her face in full force. "Y-You didn't miss anything."
"I'll be the judge of that, heh heh." Eri held out one hand to me. "Neku? Show me the goods."
"Uh, right." I opened the photo gallery on my phone and passed it to her. "Hope this is enough."
Flicking through the photos I'd taken, she gushed, "Oh, this is plenty. Wow, everyone looks fantastic!"
"What's this about?" Shiki asked. Uh-oh…
"Oh my god! Shiki, you've outdone yourself this time!"
"What? What are you looking at? Let me see – "
When she saw the photos I took, many of which were of her infamous cat shtick, she turned to me, shaking in outrage.
"Neku, you actually took photos of me at that time… I thought I trusted you…"
I tried to save myself, all while Eri continued to marvel at the sight of her bikini-clad friend, oblivious to everything.
"Um, l-let's all calm down for a bit… I had no choice, you see. I was asked to take those photos – "
But Shiki would have none of my excuses. She was too embarrassed to think straight.
"You're terrible!" she fumed. "Voyeur! Sex maniac! Nosebleed freak!"
I held up my hands in defense. "But I don't even get nosebleeds anymore!"
"I asked you to forget, but you went and made a whole album!"
"B-But I had the photos taken before you asked me to forget!"
"Shut up! You're just a pervert!"
Eri didn't help matters at all. "Man, I wish I was there to see you in action! That would be so hot. Too bad all I can settle for are these pics, but I'll take them. I'm not fussy."
"Oh no you don't." With ninja-like speed, Shiki swiped my phone out of her hand. "You can't have these pics. I'm deleting them, and don't you dare stop me!"
"No, wait! My photos! My precious!"
But it was too late and Shiki was fast with her fingers.
"There," she huffed, shoving the phone back into Eri's hands. "Enough of your drooling, you two. I'm not going to be a part of your silly games."
I peered over Eri's shoulder as she frantically searched through my photo gallery. But there was no trace, no indication that those photos ever existed. Even the recycle bin had been emptied, making all my work for nothing. I wasn't the one who wanted them, but even I felt a sense of loss.
"Awww, what a waste," pouted Eri. "You could've put them in your resume or something."
"That'd ruin my chances of landing myself a job if anything."
"At least leave me with one photo and let me set it as my cellphone wallpaper…"
"I'm even less okay with that!"
"Wow, you're hard to please," laughed Eri. "But okay, seriously though? You were the bomb, Shiki. Throwing away your pride and risking it all to save the festival… that's pretty darn neat. I know I'd vote for you just for that alone."
"Thanks, uh… thanks, I guess."
Eri wrapped her arms around Shiki in a hug, surprising the latter. And then, in a genuinely sincere tone, she said, "I mean it, Shiki. It could have gone south in all truth, what with you being a newbie to pageants and all, but you made it work, so… all's well that ends well, right? Really, give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it."
"Well… I guess." Just as she was about to wholeheartedly return the hug, Shiki noticed something that made her eyebrows crease together. "And Eri, don't touch my butt, please."
I saw that one of Eri's hands was in the process of emigrating to Shiki's backside but stopped short of reaching its destination upon the latter's warning. The girl just couldn't resist a good grope.
"Oh, don't mind me," giggled our bubblegum-haired friend. "I need a pick-me-up after the diarrhea I suffered through."
"Get your pick-me-up elsewhere." Shiki pried her away from herself. "Seriously, you and Neku are such weirdos."
I sighed, though I was also amused. "Don't lump me in together with her, Shiki."
The three of us had a nice chat about the festival but it was cut short when one of Shiki's colleagues called her over for something. She had to leave and that was the last we saw of her for the night. When she was safely out of earshot, I turned to Eri who was smiling to herself.
"You know, for someone who just lost a bunch of photos, you don't seem too sad about it."
She chuckled. "I didn't lose them."
"What're you talking about? She deleted them from my phone. There's nothing left."
"Tsk-tsk… Neku, you're like a newborn chick. You still have a lot to learn!"
"Then what, pray tell, have I been missing, O great master?"
"While she was busy branding you a pervert, I sent all of those photos to myself from your phone." She took her own phone out of her pocket and showed me her newly-received photos, flashing me a cheeky grin. "See? All mine."
Eri was one hell of a crafty fox and she knew it.
"If I didn't know better, I'd have thought she turns you on."
"It's nothing like that, don't you worry. But the beauty of flowers can be appreciated by man and woman alike."
"Then how do you explain your teasing her back at the café?"
"Oh, that? She has a weakness for butlers, you know? So seeing her best friend dressed up as one must have made her really confused. It's always a riot, so I couldn't help myself."
"Don't be so cruel. It's your fault she's still wondering if she's straight or not."
"I told you it's funny!"
"You have a really weird sense of humour."
"Heh!"
We looked at the bonfire and the people dancing around it. I spied one couple sneaking off into the darkness, perhaps to find a quiet place where they could confess their love to each other.
"Are you really okay now, Eri? You know, with the diarrhea and all."
"Yeah, I'm fine now. The urges are all gone."
"If you're up for it…" I held out my hand to her. "…then may I have this dance?"
She smiled sweetly and linked fingers with me. "It would be my pleasure, Master Sakuraba."
"You're going back to your butler persona again."
As we headed for the bonfire, she giggled, "Force of habit. Do you even know how to dance, though?"
"No, you'll have to teach me the secret."
"Then come. I'll show you how the pros do it."
"I don't want to be a pro. I just want to not step on your toes all the time."
"Ha ha ha! Don't you worry, with my guidance you'll be tiptoeing in your sleep!"
The evening ended with the elegant crane teaching the clumsy monkey how to use his feet the right way. All in all, the college festival was a ton of fun and I'd gladly come back for the next one that came around.
XOXOXOXOXO
Having fun all day can wear you out plenty. As enjoyable as the festival may be, I was left completely drained. Eri, on the other hand… eh, you know her. She doesn't ever tire. She just goes into screen saver mode. At any rate, we just lounged on my bed, doing very little.
She did have enough juice left in her to print out some of the photos we took today, and those she slotted into our scrapbook. Every new page she assembled was met with a look of pride and approval.
"Perfect!" she gloated to herself with a huge grin. "Oh man, I love every one of these! I'm so glad everything turned out well today. It was so hard picking out the best ones… but pick them out I did, and behold!" – she spread the scrapbook in front of me, flipping through the pages – "Here they are, in all their glory!"
I gushed at all of the cute photos of us together. My eyes lingered on the one we took posing together with the weird alien fruit statue.
"Ooh, I like this one, Eri. It's funny."
"Heh, that statue is infamous at our college. We even have an unofficial nickname for it: the 'orifice invader'. It gives people the chuckles every time… or the creeps."
"…Sounds about right. Can't say I've seen tentacles on a fruit before."
I turned the page and nearly choked seeing the next photo. Let's just say that when the image of Shiki on all fours and licking her paws loomed into view, I sure was glad I wasn't in the midst of drinking anything.
"She'll slaughter you," I spluttered, "if she finds out about this."
"Then all we need to do," she retorted cheekily, "is to make sure she doesn't. I mean, look! She's a work of art! That swimsuit! That body! And especially that… posture! I always knew she had it in her. She just needs to show off her figure more instead of hiding it away underneath frumpy clothes."
"I'm sure she appreciates your thoughts… but she's still gonna slaughter you."
Then I had an idea which put me in a playful mood.
I grabbed a long scarf from my closet and approached Eri. She was so busy drooling over her half-naked friend that it was only when I draped it across her shoulder that she looked up. The confusion on her face as she plucked at it was adorable.
"Neku? What're you doing?"
"I just wanted to see what you look like wearing a sash… you know, like a Miss Campus sash."
Much to my delight, she caught on and got into the act. She's always been a good sport.
"Well now, if you're going to crown me as this year's beauty queen, we ought to make it as authentic as we can!"
Eri hopped off the bed, telling me to wait a bit, before zipping out of my room. She returned in a minute, having traded her clothes for a purple sequined bikini that sparkled like a disco ball. The sight wowed me. And she had the scarf looped across her body. Which made her look rather silly. Silly yet sexy.
"Now you look the part," I whistled. "You just need a crown."
"You can use this," she said, handing me the cap she was so fond of wearing.
"What, this? Heh, I guess this will work in a pinch."
"Alright, do the deed, Neku!"
I ceremoniously placed the cap on her head and now she looked even more ridiculous than ever. Despite the laughter bubbling in my throat, I steadied my wavering voice enough to announce, "Ladies and gentlemen, behold! The… um, honorary grand prize winner of the 20XX Miss Campus beauty pageant! Miss Tanikawa, have you any words for your audience?"
She grabbed a pencil off my work table and hovered the blunt end in front of her mouth, pretending it was a microphone. "Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who supported me. I'd especially like to thank my boyfriend, for not leaving the toilet seat up…"
"Pfft…"
"…Secondly, I'd like to reiterate my standing on various important global issues, that is to say, I'm a strong advocate of world peace, environmental protection, usage of recyclable materials and the practice of brushing your teeth at least twice a day. And lastly, a message to the person who matters the most out of everyone…"
"Who would that be, by the way?"
"Myself, of course!"
"Heh, naturally."
"Thank you, me. You've outdone yourself this time, me. Good job, me!"
I could hold it in no longer and the guffaws just spilled out. "Well said!"
"Yes, well said, me!"
The two of us spent the next few minutes rolling on the floor with laughter. I always love it when she plays along.
...
Author's note: Hi everyone, I'd like to take this opportunity to address the anonymous readers/guests who have left reviews for me. You guys have been really supportive and it fills me with joy to read about your opinions and the things you both liked and didn't like about the story. I want to thank you guys but it makes me sad that I can't even do that since it isn't even an option to reply to anonymous reviews. Just know that I am immensely grateful for your feedback. Words can't describe how thankful I am.
Of course, I am not ignoring the signed reviews either. You guys have been really informative too! So I guess at the end of the day what I want to say is simply... thank you. Thank you so much, everyone.
I'll catch you all in the next chapter, fellas :D