Disclaimer: Me do not own PoT.
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Chapter 9
"Mirrors"
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Riiiiiiinnnngggggggg…
...
Riiiiiiinnnngggggggg…
"Ah… shut up…"
Riiiiiiinnnngggggggg…
Riiiiiiinnnngggggggg…
"-shi…"
'Eh?'
"-yashi…"
'I'm trying to sleep…"
Something really hard had hit Natsume Ayashi's sleeping head.
"GET UP, AYASHI!" Mariko swung her bokuto, hitting their kendo captain many times, "GET UP!!!"
A very fuming Ayashi held her balled fist, eyes lit with fire, "What was that for?!"
Mariko coughed. Ayashi then realized that it wasn't the best way of being seen by Seigaku (with Sakuno and Sumire) in the middle of the day. She smiled guiltily.
"You still haven't changed a bit, have you?" Sumire rubbed her temples, "You're not even wearing proper uniform."
Mariko nodded, "True, true."
"Like you're the one to talk, fukubuchou-san." Ayashi had a mysterious glint from the corner of her eyes.
It was Mariko's turn to have eyes lit in dangerously wild fire.
"Shut up!"
SEIGAKU: SWEATDROP
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On their way to the kendo club office, the two girls were greeted by almost every student who would pass their way. With this, Ayashi had to put up her "captain's sphere", as Mariko put it.
In direct contrast with her earlier reaction, when she was acting a little too childish and very… un-captain-like, when she wore her uniform properly, and she was in the presence of fellow students who seemed to look up to her, she was this respectful, model-like student. Not to mention, she wore glasses.
"Good afternoon, Natsume-senpai!" a group of chatting girls in the corridor bowed at the passing group.
Natsume muttered a small good afternoon.
"Kya! Natsume-senpai greeted us back!" they swooned.
SWEATDROP
It was something like "wash, rinse and repeat" until they entered an office.
"NATSUME-NAKATSUKASA"
"Naka…tsukasa?" Seigaku read.
"You're a liaisons officer?" a surprised Kikumaru asked, "I thought you were a girls' kendo buchou?"
It was Mariko who replied, "Uh, could we talk about it inside?"
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"WHOA! I didn't know your office is this big, Natsume-senpai!" Momoshiro exclaimed.
Ayashi scratched her face a bit, "Ehehehe, compensation for my works, I guess."
Inside the room were familiar faces belonging to the girls who they've met a week ago. Emiko (still glassed and scribbling things on her notebook) and Jun (who was showing her a sketch book) were talking to each other, while Atsuyo and Mai were coming out of a room inside the office, with a teapot and some little cups for tea. Tatsue on the other hand, seemed to be sleeping, was sitting on the couch, with headphones blocking anything she would hear.
Ayashi took off her glasses, "Oi, oi! You're turning my office into a lounge!"
"Oh? As far as I remembered this is the kendo club's main office as well!" Emiko looked at the fellow third year, the tip of her tongue peeking from behind her lips.
A book hit her face again, "Shut up! Seriously… Ah, eh, sorry, Ryuzaki-gimi, Seigaku tennis players for that, please have a seat." She showed two comfortable looking couches, though one of them was a bit wrinkled due to the girls dragging off the sleeping Tatsue.
When the visitors from Seigaku had taken their place, they began to talk about the next level of preparations. The girls (sans Natsume and Mariko, since they were the ones who were talking) shied away from the meeting, with Emiko saying that they'll just be there inside the other room.
It was odd to hear the captain say funny things while in the meeting, like they should think of the weather forecast and all.
Right in the middle of their congregation, the door slammed open. An angry looking third year with black hair, entered with his veined hands holding a letter.
He growled, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"
Ayashi had already put on her glasses, "Meaning of what, Chokichi-san?"
The older-looking man went straight to her table, pounding her table with his fists then slammed the letter in his hand.
"WHAT KIND OF BULLSHIT IS THIS?!"
Mariko snarled, "Watch your mouth, Chokichi! Can't you see that we have visitors?"
"Shut up, Hanami!" he turned angrily to the sitting girl across the table, "Why are you letting those kids have a first year in their team?! Is the standard of this school going to the dogs?!"
"Excuse us, Ryuzaki-gimi, Seigaku." Ayashi stood from her chair with an air of utter annoyance, she directed the fuming boy to her left, "Chokichi-san, this way please."
The man had already left the front of the table, and went to the next one, albeit it was a little farther away, as if meant to be that the other table could not hear the conversation, Seigaku and Sumire looking surprised by such actions.
Momoshiro pointed at the other table's commotion, "Will they be fine?"
"Saa… who knows?" out of nowhere, Tatsue appeared beside Sakuno, causing most of the Seigaku regulars to jump.
"W-what the heck!" Momoshiro exclaimed, "Tell us when you're there!"
"Err… oops?" Tatsue stuck her tongue out. There was look of triumph on Kaidoh's face when Momoshiro looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Cut the act, Natsume! Stop screwing around!" Chokichi shouted loudly, more than enough for the visitors to hear.
Mai then plopped on the comfy armchair beside Tatsue, "Ah, Chokichi-senpai sure seems to be really frustrated about it, ne, Tsucchi?"
Atsuyo then appeared behind the chair, standing, holding a teacup, "Uh-huh."
Kawamura pointed at the two girls, "S-since when have you been there?"
Emiko appeared behind the two girls and embraced them with her arms, and behind her wide rimmed glasses, winked playfully at the boys, "Since Chokichi entered the room, can't help but peek!"
"Though of course, we can't help but feel a little… curious." Jun peeked from behind the chair and waved at Fuji. Fuji smiled back
Suddenly, the boy called Chokichi threw his chair, missing Tezuka by inches. Seigaku and the remaining of the kendo girls drew nearer the tumult. Ayashi had kept her cool with Mariko standing behind her, the other man, however was at the verge of rage.
"What do you have against Fuyuko Chika?" the rosy lips of the boyish fukubuchou moved, "Ayashi had already explained to you that the boy clearly can help with the team, that's why she approved his stay."
"Don't give me this bullshit, Hanami!" Ayashi only stared indifferently at the up roaring man. She sighed.
"Jealousy denotes anger. Anger dulls the blade." She cryptically answered the boy. Mariko raised a brow.
"What the?"
Lazily, Ayashi rested her chin on her right hand, "Whatever I say, as long as you're determined to be deaf with any explanation, it's useless. Fuyuko Chika stays at the team, as long as he wants to, and only through proper and legal ways can he be dismissed from the martial arts club. And you're not even the Martial Arts captain. You can talk to your captain about it. You may go."
"STOP FUCKING AROUND, BITCH!" he roared. Seigaku was about to go to the scene, when they were surprised by the sudden sight.
The seven girls, their bokuto withdrawn and were dangerously entrapping the standing man between the wooden swords.
Mariko stood before the man, Emiko and Jun were standing behind him, Atsuyo and Mai (kneeling) were at the sides and Tatsue at the middle of the two second years, standing. Mariko was holding her bokuto on the hilt, her weapon at eyelevel, the blunt tip reached until between Chokichi's eyes; Emiko had aimed on his throat while Jun seemed to have intended to cut his torso diagonally. The tips of Mai and Atsuyo's bokuto meant to sever his lower right and lower left abdomen, while the small Tatsue had aimed directly on his gut.
The boy between the wooden blades perspired like there was no tomorrow, and for him, it was like the bokuto were real, steel blades ready to slash him into pieces if he moves an inch. The expression on his face was pure horror.
The terrible tension created by such seriousness sent Seigaku gulping seriously, Sakuno cradled her hand with the other on her front.
"Tatsue-chan…" Sakuno whispered in the air.
Mariko shouted in a manner that was rather scary, "How dare you! Just because you weren't granted with your wish, you talk like that to our buchou!"
"Unacceptable." Jun's eyes turned sharp.
Emiko who was usually the most cheerful one of the four third years looked like she was going to murder someone, "You dare…"
Mai and Atsuyo said nothing but their expression was same with their senpai. Tatsue, on the other hand, seemed to not care about the situation.
"OI! OI! OI!" Ayashi held her hands before her, relieving the tension that her club mates did, "Stop that!"
"But Aya-" Mariko tried to protest.
"Mariko, Jun, Emiko," a tone of seriousness escaped Ayashi's lips, "Sachimi, Nozomi, Kitami. Let him go."
With a whoosh of air escaping her lips, Mariko had put down her weapon, and was followed by her fellow kendo members.
The once scared boy had now broken into hysterical laughs as he exited the room, Ayashi only shook her head, though Seigaku wasn't sure if it was because of the boy.
Chokichi pointed at Ayashi, "You! Remember this! You will-"
SLAM
"Buchou, were you bothered by this boy?" a large-looking, fat orange haired appeared from outside the door, knocking Chokichi out.
"Just take him to the infirmary," she turned to her clubmates, "What were you thinking?!"
"But Ayashi!" Jun protested, "He insulted you!"
"Even in front of visitors!" Emiko added, pointing at the gaping Seigaku (sans Tezuka). Sumire just sat on her chair, though there were beads of sweat on the back of her neck.
"This is too much, didn't you hear what I said? Anger dulls the blade." Ayashi frowned, "All of you! 100 laps around the court! NOW!"
Tatsue's eyes popped out, her mouth hanging, "No way…"
"Are you waiting for me to make it 200?" a dangerous glint in her eyes showed that she wasn't kidding.
"No buchou! Right away, buchou!" they all saluted, even the fukubuchou, and in a flash, they ran out of the room.
Ayashi started to rub her temples; they heard her say, "Honestly…"
Sumire gave a hearty laugh, taking the girl's attention.
"R-Ryuzaki-gimi?" she stuttered, not knowing what was wrong, she then looked at the Seigaku regulars. They paled.
"Oi, are you OK?"
Whenever Ayashi took one step closer to them, Seigaku would take a step backwards.
Kikumaru spoke, "Natsume-san! You're scarier than Tezuka-buchou!"
VEIN POPPED
"No, I'm not!" Ayashi crossed her arms and turned her face to the left with an air of haughtiness, "He's a serious-looking, glassed monster of complete and utter seriousness from hell!"
Sumire asked, "Then what are you?"
Ayashi grinned mischievously, "I'm an angel… from the darkest pits of hell."
SWEATDROP
"Aren't those quite the same?" Sakuno asked innocently.
Ayashi burst out childish (and chibi) tears out of the corners of her blue eyes, "Kya! Ryuzaki-chan! I thought you were nice!"
"Eh?! Na-Natsume-senpai!" Sakuno stuttered. Ayashi peeked out one of her sapphire orbs.
"Just kidding."
"You're mean, Natsume-senpai." Sakuno frowned.
Ayashi shrugged, "If I won't be mean, those kids won't follow what I say." She turned to Sumire, "Ryuzaki-gimi, are we going to continue from where we stopped?"
The tennis coach shook her head, "Actually, we'd be stopping there. Don't you have classes?"
Ayashi smiled weakly, "Ahehehe, actually, my classes are all morning classes. The only reason I stay here is because of being in the… er… never mind that. I'll lead you out of the school."
"Oh, I haven't seen where you practice your club. I haven't noticed any kendo dojo on our way here." Sumire asked.
Ayashi gave another mysterious smile, "It's because we don't have one."
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A/N: So what do you guys think?
"Anger dulls the blade"-- From Bleach, said by Grand Fisher, around chapter 24-25