"I saw you talking to Ayano this morning. Is there something going on?" Midori softly asked the student council president with caution. She knew that when Megami had her head buried into one of her large textbooks, she could be unpredictable and testy. And no one was to blame her. She had a lot of responsibilities within the school, doing almost more work than even the principal. Having another student come up and try to talk to her while she was in the middle of all her work was like having a child disturb their parents when they were in the middle of something critical. That's what her peers were to her. No different than annoying little children constantly biting at the ankles for attention, and she was to always monitor them and set them straight. She was above them and they had to be worthy of her time.
So unless someone was a part of student council, they needing to be bearing important business when invading Megami's personal space (her's being over twice the average size of one's 'bubble'). Sweet Midori knew well of all precautions she had to take, and was willing to gamble a harsh response. A good thing for her was that the percentage of receiving a verbal backhand from Megami was lower than the regular since Midori was on the list of her more "favored" students.
"Absolutely not. And that's the end of it." Megami was quick in a reply while typing her lessons on a clean laptop.
Well that was much better than how it COULD have gone. Midori concluded and left the busy girl be. If she prodded any more, Megami would no doubt unleash a warning, or even a 'sting' perhaps.
"Out of everyone in this school, why HER? AYANO?! Isn't HE the one that taught me to point out danger miles away? She has a shady history and her parents double it. Her mother's had negative reports years ago in this very school when SHE was a student and her husband.." Megami's frustration leaked out of her like smoke from the ears. She physically stopped herself and widened her eyes when she thought more about the husband, Ayano's father. Megami's only seen him a few times, and whenever he was out in public, Ayano's mother was glued to his side. She controlled absolutely everything. She'd probably even wipe the man's nose for him if she thought it was necessary.
And he'd never protest. The man was like a dog that only knew how to obey. Whatever choices his significant other made, he'd go along, all with a smile on his face.
Something wasn't right about that family. They acted almost too normal when dealing with other people. Ayano's mother acted almost too happy for the average person.
And what was this about her parents suddenly heading for America out of nowhere? Leaving Ayano home alone like they were simply just going out to dinner together for the evening. Her delicately laced hand balled into a fist when she realized how much time she was wasting thinking about the creepy peon's life. And all because of her father! She hummed a grumbled and refocused on her schoolwork.
Ayano was so amazed by her Senpai talking to her this morning that she had chewed straight through her pencil when fantasizing in class. Spitting out bits of wood and lead, she dug through her bag and got a pen instead to replace the mutilated pencil. She made a small scribble on her paper, making sure it would write. When the utensil made a fresh shiny black line, she was satisfied and pulled out her invitation card from this morning.
She WOULD be going, there was no other thought on it, but she was also curious about what new information she could learn about the whole thing. It was a far stretch, but worth a try. She whipped out her phone and snapped a picture of the small invitation. She sent the image to a person that had every answer as long as she was given proper "payment". Technically "every answer" only referred to the school, but sometimes Info-Chan would surprise Ayano.
Ayano tapped her pen on her desk until she felt a quick buzz from her phone, alerting her of the new text message she just received. She quickly tapped on the message and saw Info-Chan's reply.
*You got invited to the Saikou party?!*
Funny. Even Info-Chan was shocked. Before Ayano could decide on what kind of question she should ask, another message went through.
*What the hell did you do to get an invitation?*
Info-Chan was begging to know. This was a question Ayano herself wanted to learn the answer to. She kept her head low so the teacher wouldn't see her texting.
*I honestly don't know. Megami handed me the thing this morning. No words exchanged. Well, except for her saying that none of it was her idea.*
Ayano hit "send" and waited.
And waited.
BUZZ!
*Then that means she was forced to give it to you. Which is actually a funny thought. Anyway, only her father hands out invitations. Or her grandfather. ONE of them thought it was a good idea to include you on their list. The question is WHY.*
She read.
*Do you think they just invite a handful of random people in the city and I happened to be picked this time?*
Ayano typed and sent.
BUZZ!
*No. The Saikou's have class. They would never play that kind of "game". There's a specific reason you have that invitation. I just wish I had an idea of why. Sorry, but I can't help you in that category. But if you go, tell me what you find out. If it's a reason of interest, it COULD help me in learning more about Megami and her family. I'll repay you with endless favors for a whole month.*
Was the last thing Ayano read before she finally put away her phone and finished her lesson. All the favors she wanted for a month sounded like a nice bargain.
The end of the day was rolling around and Ayano was thinking about the requirements for this party.
"He stated quite clearly that I didn't need to dress fancy. Well that's good considering I don't even HAVE anything fancy. My school uniform is enough, so that's a check, but what about.." She realized something that could put a dent in her plans.
Transportation!
"I can't drive! And my parents aren't here to take me!" She panicked, guessing that Mr. Saikou was unaware of her parents' recent departure, leaving her with no means of transportation.
And she couldn't simply walk. The house-mansion- was ways away. Her heart sank, thinking that her plans were about to be destroyed because of this one setback.
Without thinking too much on it, she took out her phone and began texting Info again.
*Problem. I have no way of getting there. Do you think any of your favors could include fixing that?*
She asked a bit desperately.
Info-Chan is convenient, but she's not THAT convenient! She scolded herself for asking such a stupid question. Her phone buzzed and she was ready to read a message saying something among similar lines.
*Can't do that, but I bet you can make Megami do it.*
She read.
Megami?!
*How could I make her do something like THAT? Hand-delivering me an invitation was probably already enough damage to her ego.*
Ayano didn't believe for a second that Megami would be of any help.
BUZZ!
*Think about it. She was FORCED to hand you that note. She's being controlled by somebody else. Someone wants you there so badly that they made MEGAMI hand the invitation to you personally. Otherwise you probably would've just gotten it in the mail or something like that. IDK. But if it's being given to you in person by a SAIKOU, it's important. I can guarantee that Megami knows how desperate someone is to get you there. If you asked for a ride, she would no doubt have to cater to you. And..I kind of want to see her get knocked down a notch from manipulation. After all, she's still trying to track who's been selling all the panty shots. It's been putting a strain on my business.*
Ayano read the message and bit the tip of her finger whilst deciding on what she should do. It wasn't like she was AFRAID of asking Megami for this special favor, but it was definitely something she wasn't prepared for.
How would she approach? However it would be, it needed to happen fast. She only had a few minutes before the rest of the classes were released and Megami would be gone along with her opportunity to impress Senpai.
Senpai… the thought of him sent the flame of a thousand suns in Ayano's chest and she bolted, running up the stairs and heading towards the area where the student council club resided. She had just made it. The door swung open rather hard in a way that said whoever was on the other side didn't care if it stuck a passing student. Thankfully, Ayano was far enough to where she need not worry.
Several girls walked out and almost jumped back when seeing Ayano's appearance. They gave offended looks, as if Ayano had stepped onto their front porch and trespassed. They whispered several things to each other, most likely gossip about Ayano, who only had a look of stone on her face while they left her. Finally the silver-haired leader was last to leave.
Megami's reaction was a bit more dramatic. She audibly gasped upon seeing Ayano again, feeling completely violated. After gathering herself, she tossed her head to the side so the hair in her face would move away.
"What do you want?" She asked, gritting her teeth to stop herself from exploding. This was when Ayano figured it all out.
She certainly WAS being controlled by somebody! It wasn't like Megami to stop herself from tearing into someone who was somewhere they weren't supposed to be. It was apparent that she was most likely EXPECTING to see Ayano again at some point and had to deal with it.
"I need to ask you a favor." Ayano started with no trace of fear. Megami's light eyes widened, her pulse rose.
She was nervous and nervous as hell!
"I need a ride to Mr. Saikou's party. There's no other way I can get there." Ayano didn't wait for Megami to say anything beforehand, and she laid out her demand just like that! Ayano could've sworn she saw the skin on Megami's lower eyelid twitch a bit. She did however see her pupils shrink to the size of pinpoints.
Megami's blood was rushing to the head, making her pulse echo in her cranium.
"How DARE she! Thinking that I'm some MAID?! Absolutely not! NEVER! I'm not going to-" the long buzz of Megami's phone sent a jolt through her system. She instinctively took and out and saw who the caller was. She slowly slid her thumb across the screen to answer it, taking a few steps back from Ayano.
"Y-yes?" She answered. Ayano watched Megami's face go pale, her eyes filled with terror. She couldn't hear what the person on the other end was saying, but she could tell that it was a male. An authoritative one at that.
"Okay..Okay I will. I mean-Yes sir." Megami didn't get a chance to lower the phone when the other person hung up on her.
"You will follow me outside but keep a ten foot distance away." She physically cringed when giving these strange directions to Ayano.
Ayano would be accompanying Megami to her place, but Megami would be making sure that no body saw this. Ayano sneered behind the frantic girl's back the entire time. When leaving the school, she pulled out her phone one last time.
*You were right. I'm on my way there now.*
It was almost a minute before she got a reply.
*Good Lord, this is amazing. Tell me everything you find out. I promise you the rewards will be worth it.*
An invitation to the Saikou party, a talk with Senpai, manipulating Megami, and free favors for a long time from Info-Chan. Ayano could say she was having quite a day..