A/N: DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ATLUS OR ANY CHARACTERS OR THIS TOTALLY AWESOME SONG FROM A VERY POTTER SEQUEL.
I'm laughing
it's hard to hide a smile
My god, it's been a while
since I have had a reason to.
-Avps
Running a hand through his slick backed hair Hidetoshi could not help but wonder exactly how much he spent a year on hair gel. Surely it was not enough to keep a business running, but he certainly did his part to make sure that there would be no layoffs come winter. That being said, someone out there should be thanking him for seeing to it that they kept food on the table. True this was all beyond irrelevant but, to be quite honest, it was a far more interesting thought than Mr. Edogawa's lesson on the occult. Seriously, who in their right mind decided that he could possibly pass for an acceptable substitute teacher? All his ranting on magic was giving the incredibly down to earth boy a headache. This wasn't 'integrative learning', or whatever he called it; it was torture. Indeed, his time could be better spent just picking the paint off the walls, or watching grass grow. With every word that came out of this man's mouth he felt his own intellect slipping away. By this point in the lecture he had to have lost, at the very least, five IQ points; and that was unacceptable. He came here to learn about topics that would help him later in life… not about voodoo, tarot cards, arcana, and other such nonsense.
Now doodling in notebooks had always seemed extremely childish, even back when he was in grammar school he could find no real use for it. But such boredom had set in that he was now contemplating defiling the neat borders of his page with some immature image. Before he could convince himself of a better plan of action the stern looking boy had created a soft outline of a crown. Not like the three pronged ones that you saw on the heads of little girls at Halloween; but a more elaborate, almost oval shaped, one that would have belonged on the head of an old monarch. One day, although there were no more rulers, he would achieve a similar position. The power would course through his veins, metaphorically of course, and he would use it for good. He would be a kind force to all those below him, there would be no worries or fears; he would dispel everything that ailed them. From behind yet another crumpled up piece of paper hit dead center in the back of his head. Oh yes, that was why he had been rubbing there in the first place; how easily he got distracted these days. Alright, he had already decided that he was going to be a peaceful authority, but the question was- did they deserve it?
By the time he put his books away in the cramped little enclave the high school dared call a locker he had been bombarded by three notes rolled into ball form, none of them with kind comments, and had suffered through a great deal of verbal harassment. Fortunately it did not bother him; he was far too above the average population for them to even begin to understand it. It was as if he was expecting a kindergartner, without any previous knowledge of math, to ace a calculus exam. It just wasn't done. There was no way that they could grasp the fact that he was doing all of this in an attempt to create a better environment for them. It was not until the day the change occurred that Hidetoshi expected them to even notice what was going on. So he held no ill will towards them for their juvenile actions. "Greetings." The introduction came from the side, but he was all too familiar with the voice to allow himself to be taken by surprise. Pressing a hand against the door to lock away his books, the head of the Disciplinary Committee cautiously observed the Physical Education teacher who was glancing around to make sure that no one was watching. "What are your thoughts on the VP?"
His thought on the Vice President? Well he honestly did not know her very well. Sure they were both in Student Council but he had never really gotten the opportunity to converse with her before. Normally she was just texting on her cellphone and loudly popping gum when he tried to get the group's attention. Such noisy chewing had always been a major pet peeve of his but considering she was of higher rank he had not spoken up. Why did he suddenly want to know about her though? It seemed very unrelated to all their previous discussions…unless, surely he could not be thinking that she was behind the cigarette mystery? True he knew very little about her but still, she did not seem like the type to do such a horrible thing in school. Besides, why were the majority of students he wanted investigated girls? It seemed highly unlikely that any of them would have snuck into the boys' room to smoke. "I understand that you are just trying to be thorough with your investigation sir," He began, subconsciously raising his left eyebrow in an inquisitive manner. "But wasn't the cigarette found in the boys' restroom? Shouldn't we be focusing on the male part of the student body?"
A dark crimson color engulfed the older man's face and for a split second Hidetoshi thought it might have been a blush rather than pent up anger. But, although flustered, the teacher's voice showed the difference between embarrassment and rage. "Why you little-" Little, for his information the coal haired boy was five eight, a perfectly acceptable height if not a tad on the tall side. "I'll show you to question my authority." Oh boy, he used the a-word, now Hidetoshi was in for it. "I'm the only one left on your side, kiddo. So you better wise up and stop asking questions! Just do as you're told!" Three problems with that; first, he was not the only one left; he was the only one there to begin with. There had never been people on his side, which was probably why it was so easy to get sucked into this mess; he had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Second, wising up would involve more questioning of course, that was a given in any situation. And, lastly, he only listened to one person, and that was himself. Sure authority figures made the rules that he had to obey, and he would never dare of questioning them; but he despised being treated like someone's dog.
"Whatever, I'm busy." Pushing past the teacher the Odagiri boy stormed into the Student Council room. He loathed that despicable man and everything that he stood for. Alas, he was necessary to obtaining his future goals, so he would have to put up with him for a bit longer. Honestly though, he really felt as if his time could be better spent looking into the troublemakers at school who wore pants rather than skirts. With a muffled sigh he motioned towards the Vice President. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" His voice was low this time, not filled with conviction like the past accusations; for his heart simply was not in it. "I have a question about the incident at the start of this week." The girl merely nodded awkwardly as she strolled over, dark hair pulled up into two loose pigtails that dangled around her shoulders. "Where… where were you at the time it occurred?" There was no need to flat out point the blame at her, and he certainly did not need the entire council to see this. It was almost embarrassing this time; at least the last two people had been punks, this girl was a lip gloss wearing finger painting goodie-goodie.
Her face seemed surprised at first, then it quickly contorted into one of disbelief, and finally subtle fury. "You're not accusing me of smoking, are you?" Poison dripped from every word and it was almost enough to make his skin crawl; almost, not quite. Truthfully she seemed a bit foolish getting so upset; all he did was ask her a simple question. He could have been looking for a witness for all she knew. Fixing a strand of hair back into place he merely stared expectantly at her. If she had nothing to hide then she would be agreeable, right? There should be no problems here unless she chose to start one. "What the hell Hidetoshi! What have I ever done to you!" With that scream the entire room stopped to stare quizzically at them. Wonderful, he just loved having an audience, not. So much for feeling sorry for her, what an annoying girl! All she needed to do was have a polite conversation with him; but no, oh no, that was far too much to ask for. How dare he expect her to be civil with him just because he had showed her the same courtesy? These people made him sick, every last one of them.
"Why would any previous offenses to me directly need to be brought into question, Miss Vice President?" The entire notion seemed completely unrelated and most ridiculous. It was as if she was trying to insinuate that he had chosen to question her out of some personal vendetta. That was ludicrous; they had never even so much as spoken before, he was merely doing his job. However she was make it incredibly difficult to do so. A shame this girl was in her last year of high school, he would have loved making her relinquish her power once he became President. "If you are not willing to produce an alibi should I just read between the lines and infer that you don't have one?" Why else would she be resisting like this? It was easy enough to say 'I never left class that day' or 'I was home sick', she was being extremely unreasonable and dodging his questions… and Hidetoshi would have none of that. True he had not been willing to suspect her at first but, now, he almost felt as if the drama starting girl deserved to be the culprit. People like her were just a hindrance to the learning environment anyway; the school would do fine without her.
A hand shot out to smack him across the face but luckily, by now, he was prepared for such an outraged response and easily caught her hand a few inches from his cheek. A light sigh escaped his lips as he raised a condescending eyebrow. Really now, had it come to violence? What was with this place these days, everything was falling to pieces and he could find no way to stop it. This was easily the worst week of the entire year; and here he thought that it was going to be the best, ironic, no? "Let me go!" As he complied she took a few steps back and another few girls ran to her aid. Surely they did not think that a fight was going to break out; there was no way that he would ever hit a girl. That being said he would also not allow her to attack him so, if necessary, he would be forced to take some defensive action. Why was everyone getting so riled up about this anyway? Of course it would not feel good if someone accused him, but he would get over it in time, and so should they. "You know I didn't do this you teacher's pet!"
Oh he knew it, he had from the start, but her actions certainly made him wish that she was behind it. A strict punishment would do this girl some good; make her remember her place, a lesson that he knew all too well. How did someone like her ever get elected to such a position anyway, probably through popularity, how disgusting. She knew very well that she could show up late or not at all, do absolutely nothing for the school, and everyone would still love and praise her for being so wonderful. "Just cut it out you guys!" The freshman representative cried from the back of the room. His childish face, covered in scattered freckles, showed that he was clearly in a state of panic. "I didn't sign up for this! It's not fun anymore!" What a fool, running a government was never 'fun'; if he wanted something amusing or entertain he should have taken up basketball or something. This was serious business and there were no place for children who were just going to cry about matters that did not involve them. Hell, judging from the Vice President's expression, the underclassman should probably leave right now for she seemed ready to blow.
Casting aside her hands, fingers spread widely, to show that she was not about to pick a physical fight with him, the girl approached once more until she was right in his face. Sure her heels gave her an inch or two on him, but it was nothing major. As she glared down hatefully at him the only thing that was visible was her own reflection in his dark orbs. This was all just so ridiculous, he didn't even have the willpower to match wits anymore. If anything he was just tired, so very tired. Thank goodness it was Friday and he could go home and rest. His schedule was hectic and therefore left very little down time even on the weekend, but right now he felt as though he could sleep for a week. "I don't understand!" Of course she didn't; what were they talking about again? To be honest he had begun to feel a bit lightheaded and her voice was now ear-piercing. With every syllable it felt as if someone was hammering a metal stake into his head. Slamming her pointer finger against his chest the Vice President decided it would be a fine idea to involve the rest of the committee in her one-sided debate. "Why are you doing this to all of us, you traitor!"
That was a statement, not a question; there was literally no room for him to answer and she knew that. Normally such a cowardly spin on things would cause him to lose his temper, or at least mock her for the failed attempt at a proper sentence. But not today, not right now. Each time he blinked the world seemed to slip further and further away, and his eyelid were so heavy. Why hadn't he noticed this sooner? Sure everything would eventually take its toll on his body, he knew that; but it was not supposed to have happened so quickly. Hopefully he was not running a fever, which would set him ridiculously far back from his goal. Luckily he was the great Hidetoshi Odagiri, and he never got sick. Hide "How many times do I have to explain?" He shot back, dusting off his jacket where she had placed her brightly colored finger only moments before. Who knew where that had been, how dare she touch him. And just what was with the hot pink nail polish anyway, they weren't in elementary school anymore; it just looked trashy, she had to know that. "It's like I'm talking to a moron…"
Now the arrogant teenager had always heard that people pulled their hair out when pushed to their limits, but he had never witnessed it before now. Fingers locking tightly in place the Vice President began to pull at her ponytails like some sort of preschooler who had just been told that they were going to miss out on snack time. To think, this was the sort of students his classmates had elected to watch over the school. Why, they would be better off not having a Vice President than sticking with this incapable fool. She probably spent her free time watching reality shows and had some new pop song as her ringtone; because that was what showed leadership skills. Oh you were voted homecoming queen? Cool, let's make you Vice President, that isn't an idiotic notion or anything. So what if that was the way things were done around here, in no time at all he would show everyone the light. Positions would be given to those most deserving; and as for popularity? Well, he would just have to change what people thought was the 'in thing'. "Why are you accusing ME? The cigarette butt was in the BOYS' bathroom, right?"
That was true; it was the same point he had tried to bring up to the Physical Education teacher not twenty minutes ago. But then he had been scolded for insulting a higher up by questioning his judgment so, as much as he wanted to shoot back some clever response, he really had no idea. The man had been very vague from the start; however, Hidetoshi knew that someone with his intellect should be able to know actually what he meant without being told the specifics. The fact that he did not was merely a shortcoming that he did not plan on announcing to the entire Student Council. "Can you prove that it wasn't a girl who left it there?" Maybe the culprit had been concerned about getting caught in the first place, after all they were in a school building; so they decided the best place to hide was in the opposite gender's bathroom? No, that sounded ridiculous even to him; so then, what was he missing? This all seemed to make so much sense to the P.E. teacher, perhaps the coal haired boy was missing a vital piece of the puzzle? Yes, that had to be it. He was being kept in the dark about some detail that had been excluded from the report, a detail which made the offender clearly female.
"There's just no reasoning with you!" Some boy, perhaps the same one as before, he wasn't really paying much attention by this point, shouted and the classroom nodded in unison. They could do, and believe, whatever they pleased; he was not going to force anyone to agree with him. Turning on her heels, and boy were those things inappropriate for school, the Vice President whipped around and stormed out of the room followed closely by her cronies. Good riddance, they were just starting trouble anyway. Now that they were done perhaps the rest of the group could actually accomplish something. That seemed highly unlikely though for the remainder of the council was also packing up to leave. Really, just, really? They were leaving because of this? Come on, there was work to do! Surely they were not all going to use his small quarrel as an excuse to go home early. But, as everyone pushed past him to get to the exit, it appeared as though they were going to take the easy way out. Ugh, and to think, people actually wondered why he despised them so much. Well… not despised; deep down he didn't hate any of them. They were just lost, and it was his job to find them.
Slouching down into his chair the head of the Disciplinary Committee rested the side of his head on his thumb, the rest of his fingers curved between his forehead and brow. "…What a bunch of Neanderthals…" Perhaps he should head home too, it was not as if he could have the meeting by himself. The sudden conclusion would even give him more time to sleep and that could never hurt. Still, was he really helping the school at this point? Everyone was getting so upset, blowing things out of proportion, and even skipping out on council duties. A sudden slam caused his hand to whip down from his face and his orbs to scan the room for an intruder. Instead he found the back of the newest addition to their team, standing in front of the filing cabinet. She appeared to be staring intently at it, as if the sound had even surprised her. The rusty old thing did have a nasty reputation for sticking when pulled out all the way so, in order to get it to actually close, one had to give it a good push; nonetheless the redhead seemed startled by the acoustics in the small classroom. "Minako-kun, were you there the whole time?"
By now she had managed to turn around and had an expression similar to a deer caught in headlights. Not that he had ever seen a deer mind you, he had lived in the city all his life; but he still knew the saying. The fingers on her right hand brushed lightly against her left arm, as if searching for stability. Surely she was not worried that he was going to snap at her as well? Depending on how much she saw it should have been clear that he was just trying to reason with that airhead of a Vice President. Turning his head a bit to the side he noted that her bottom lip was quickly turning a scarlet color. Was she biting it? Perhaps regretting not escaping when the rest of the committee had? Well, if she wanted to leave then she could still walk out right now, he was not about to stop her. At times like this it was best to be left alone anyway. He had never relied on other people for support, emotional or physical, and was not about to start now. Drawing in a sharp breath the girl's eyes sunk, as if she was glaring at something. "They were all mean."
Mean? So he had been a bit harsh but definitely not, wait, did she say 'they'; as in the other members? That was, unexpected to say the least. Not that it was unwanted; in fact, it was like music to his ears. The usual smirk returned to his lips as he merely waved it off. "…Don't hold it against them… They're like children: they just don't understand." Yes, he was content with thinking that was why they were all so against him; not to mention that it was as close as he was ever going to get to admitting that he had upset them for his own selfish reasons. "Sooner or later, they'll see the light. Then, they'll respect me." It would be a glorious day, one for the record books. Unlike this past week, oh how he would love to forget everything that had occurred in the past five days. Quickly glancing at her face, to avoid making awkward eye contact, Hidetoshi noticed a slightly sorrowful look. Oh no, that would not do, he would not allow her to pity him. "I'm not isolating myself; I'm just being aloof. Sooner or later, someone always gets hurt in any relationship."
For a second he could have sworn her face fell a bit but, as soon as he blinked, it was back to her stoic focus. "…I guess I'm just preaching to the choir, though. I apologize." It was useless to keep explaining these things to Minako, she had never questioned his judgment before. If anything she was the one person he could rely on in Student Council. Not that he would ever allow himself to rely on another person but, if worst came to worst; it was nice to have her there. He wasn't a good friend, never had been, but sometimes he wished that he could make more of an effort to become one. Thankfully it seemed like she understood, even if she did not quite know the whole story. The lights in the room were beginning to dark, which seemed a tad peculiar seeing as how it was not nearly time for the sun to set. Maybe it was going to rain soon? That would be terribly inconvenient considering he had not brought an umbrella. How embarrassing considering he always prided himself on being prepared for worst-case scenarios. "…There's no reason to have a meeting if no one's here. Let's go."
"Alright, just let me put these away." Picking up the large stack of papers from the nearby table the crimson eyed girl hurried back over to the terrible file cabinet. For the past few meetings he had often seen her utilizing her free time to arrange those papers; wasn't that their secretary's job? Still, he applauded her for the effort. Hand locking around the handle she pulled tightly to keep it from jamming. Only problem was that it was still loose from earlier, and the added pressure sent her toppling backwards. Damn it, damn it, damn it. School property was to be respected, and he had never had anything against the long tables that filled the Student Council room; in fact, he rather liked their uniformity. But using them as a liftoff point was ideal for making it to the girl just in time to catch her mid-fall. Grabbing her left arm he whipped the newbie in right before she reached the point where the strength of gravity would have been nearly impossible for him to intervene. "M-MY PAPERS!" The shrill voice caused him to pull back immediately and release the girl as she watched on in horror as the stack of papers disassembled in the air above them and began to rain down. "No! Ugh, why am I'm such a klutz!"
Running back and forth around the room the girl attempted to pick them up in the correct order; however there were clearly too many for that to be even somewhat possible. Every now and then she would stop and scream a bit, or insult herself, and, after a few moments of watching the entire thing unfold, a light smile found its way upon his face. It wasn't his usual smirk though, rather, a full-fledged smile. And, when she even went as far as to kick the file cabinet he even found himself laughing. The sound was foreign even to him but… it felt, nice. Sort of like a heavy weight had been lifted off of his back. Bending down to assist her with picking up the papers he discovered that it was actually difficult to stop laughing after one started, and her pitiful curses at the cabinet were just fuel to the fire. As he reached for yet another paper their hands accidentally crossed and the chuckles instantly ceased. Silencing her complaints the girl quickly withdrew her hand and reached for the last paper conveniently located next to it, as if that was where she had been headed all along. Grabbing the paper he hurriedly handed it to Minako, stood back up, and cleared his throat. "We better go."
xx
So he was wrong, even the wonderful Hidetoshi Odagiri got sick on occasion. That rainstorm on Friday had certainly made sure of that. To think, he had only been exhausted before; why not throw in having to talk home with the heavens pouring down on him? It was just a perfect way to end the worst day ever. Alright, so that was a tad dramatic, but being too tired to get out of bed often made one a bit more over-the-top than usual. At least now he was going to make up for the past week's lack of sleep; see, he could look on the bright side of things. Yes, he would dedicate today to resting up so that he would be up and rearing to go first thing tomorrow morning. Imagine what he could accomplish after taking that much time to heal. Now he just had to close his eyes and get back to- "Hide-chaaaaaaaaaan!" The cheery voice called from the other side of the door but, considering her volume, she easily could have been next door and he still would have heard her. "I heard you sneezing when you came in last night so I brought you some soup dear."
If anyone else had been in the boy's room they would have seen his already pink from fever face grow ten shades darker. He was a young adult for chrissake, what was she thinking; making him soup as if he was a child still? If he wanted it he could prepare it himself, but he would never admit, even to himself, that he wanted something so silly. All he needed was rest and, besides, if his mother had made it from scratch then he was better off going without it anyway. She really was a lovely woman, but a dreadfully awful cook. Coughing a few times to make sure that his voice would not crack when he spoke he managed to get out a quick response. "I'm fine mother, really. I am merely working on a research project. Don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a while." Even if he, god forbid, wanted the sop he was in no position to get out of bed and go get it. It was better that he just rest up anyway; perhaps he would have more of an appetite tomorrow. Right now the only thing he wanted was to go back to sleep.
That was easier said than done though for, now that he was up, his mind was reeling with thoughts of the past week. Just why had he accused so many people? It seemed highly illogical now that he thought about it. Indeed, even he would have questioned his own motives had he been fully aware of what he was doing. But there were no excuses, he had overestimated his body's capabilities and his perception skills had suffered because of it. However it was a mistake he was determined to not make twice. Everyone got one free pardon in his book, and now Hidetoshi was using his. The next time he messed up he would have to take responsibilities for his actions. Hopefully there would not be a next time though. With any luck the culprit would soon be brought to justice and he could put all this nonsense behind him for good. In a week or two someone else would make a scene and his classmates would forget all about him. Life would go back to normal which, although it was not the ideal situation, it was better than this last week at school had been. At least he was free to do whatever he so pleased before, when no one was paying attention or really cared.
It was times like these that caused people to question their existence, right? That seemed terribly morbid, and beyond depressing, so he was going to skip that part of the worrying process and move right onto the dissecting life part. Besides, if he did not exist then his mother would be all alone, and that would be terrible. Not to mention that Keisuke would be out a best friend if he just disappeared; and who would want to be friends with that kid? The brunette always ate all the cookies his mother baked whenever he came over. A small frown flickered across his face at that. Sure she was not an excellent cook, but her baked goods were about the only things that were actually edible. On a more important note the student body would be left to fend for themselves, even if they were not aware of it. He could never do that to them; especially not now that he knew they were not a lost cause. Minako had proven time and time again that people could be shown to seen the light. She was a prime example of what he wanted his classmates to become; to leave her now would be ridiculous.
The flushed color returned to his cheeks once more and the dizziness soon hit like a ton of bricks. He needed to rest; all this thinking was beginning to hurt more than just his brain. As his dark orbs slowly began to flutter closed one last thought danced into his subconscious. That girl, she wasn't afraid of him, right? Sure she often seemed a bit jumpy when he was around, but he had given her no reason to be fearful. Still, she had retracted her hand very quickly the previous day; so he hoped that he had not offended her somehow. A good leader was a gentle one, a kind one; there was no way that he wanted his presence to scare her. If anything he might go as far as to say that he enjoyed the helpful girl's company, so it would be foolish to run her off now. Not that he was looking for another friend or anything like that, but he saw no problem in keeping her around for a bit longer. Hell, if there were more people like Minako maybe… he was tired; he really had to get some rest. Rolling onto his side the boy buried half of his face in the soft pillow and was soon fast asleep.
xx
Glancing at the leather strap on his wrist Hidetoshi mumbled a few coarse words under his breath and hurried up the stairs to the school's foyer. As he slid into his seat a good three seconds before the bell for homeroom rang his mother's scatterbrained voice echoed through his head. "I didn't want your alarm clock to wake you up, Hide-chan, so I turned it off. You should really stay home today; you still don't look like yourself." That woman was going to be the death of him at this rate. He had never, repeat never, stayed home from school and he was not going to start now; not when there was only a year and a half of high school left to get through. He had made it this far, it would be ridiculous to give all that up now. A perfect attendance record was a public demonstration of how devoted he was to Gekkoukan, even if it was only available to whomever was bored enough to look through all those files. Still, the information was out there and available if anyone was interested. Perhaps he would use it in his campaign next year; he had been with the student body from the very start, it was a wonderful addition to the list of reasons why he should be elected.
First period economics, exactly what he did not need starting off his week. What, were they going to learn how to sew or something? That was far from being a man's work; not that he was sexist, it was not a woman's work either. Rather, he felt as though there seamstresses and tailors out there for a reason. They loved to create new things and should be respected for it. The average person was never going to be as good as someone whose life passion involved sewing; so why bother learning? Sure it would be nice to sew a button back on his blazer, but he could probably manage that on his own without any instruction from Ms. Kanou. Rumor had it she stuffed her bra to err, yeah. That was the type of faulty parents wanted teaching their children; yes, I'm sure they would all be delighted to hear that. Oh well, it wasn't as if anyone but that boy from the other junior class was actually looking. What was his name again? Ken…Kent…Kej..ah screw it. It didn't matter anyway. The point remained that she was wasting her time; if she wanted to find a guy she was going to have to look elsewhere because the male teachers around here were either married or, well, odd.
Second period with Ms. Ounishi was no better; even though science was one of his better subjects. It was just all very dull, and the fog setting in outside was not helping to lighten his mood either. At least he felt charged and ready to go for Student Council later. Sleep was really a miracle; it had such wonderful rejuvenating properties. Perhaps he had been going about things the wrong way. Instead of trying to fit as many things as possible into one day maybe he should break it up a bit to ensure that he really got those seven hours a night again. Of course that seemed impossible now with this cigarette case always on his mind. There had still been no leads; but really, could he expect any? It was just a discarded item left behind in a room that was used by at least half of the people at school, and accessible to all of them. The more Hidetoshi thought about it the crazier it seemed to eliminate everybody but the culprit. It could take weeks, if not months; heck, he might be doing this until he graduated at this rate. And what if the person was a senior this year? They would have graduated by the time he discovered it was them, so a punishment would be out of the question. All that hard work would have been for nothing.
He shook his head a bit, but not so much as to alarm the students that were sitting nearby; he would never let it come to that. If he did not find the perpetrator within the month he would give up; it was as simple as that. However it should be noted that he was not a quitter, this time limit was merely to inspire him to work twice as hard. When the last bell rang he gathered up his notebooks and headed to his locker to store them in the dark crevice until tomorrow. Something about the uniformity comforted him; having a routine was always a wonderful feeling. Head held high he approached the Student Council room, ready to make a new impression and start off the week on a good foot. Unfortunately that seemed impossible for, as soon as he walked in, the other members of the council picked up their belongings and hurried out. "Ouch." He mocked as the last girl hurried by, nose stuck high in the air. Well excuse him Miss Snooty, don't take into consideration the fact that they had never officially met or anything; no that was completely irrelevant to her dramatic exit.
Whatever, they could go through life doing whatever they pleased; so what if they all had responsibilities to the school? Their time could be better spent going on dates, searching videos on youtube, and updating their statuses on facebook. Oh and that twitter thing, yeah, that was better than figuring out whether or not to increase the price of school lunches. Glad to see they had their priorities straight. If there was one fact that would eternally remain true it was that his top priority was success through effort and persistence. In the back of the room was a mess of papers left over from Friday's meeting. Poor Minako, she had spent ages putting those papers in order; and now they were nothing but a mess. If anything she was worse off than when she started. How infuriating that must be. If anything like that ever happened to him, well, Hidetoshi could imagine himself avoiding the council room for days in order to put off having to fix the stack once more. But that was where the two differed for, as soon as he picked up the top paper, in came the crimson eyed girl, a big smile plastered on her face.
The smile fell however when she noticed that he was all alone in the vast room, chairs scattered about carelessly since everyone had left with much haste. "Sorry, it was a quick meeting. Everyone left already." Not exactly the truth, but not exactly a lie either. There had been a quick meeting; at least, he assumed they must have done something before he showed up to rain on their parade. And they certainly all had left in a hurry, so that part was correct. "It's actually kind of nice not having those hyenas around." It came across a bit harsher than he meant it but, in actuality, he was only trying to assure himself of this statement. Was it really better without the other members of the Student Council around? Sure all they did was bicker and disagree with him, but they still contributed to the tremendous workload. If it was just the two of them every day, which was starting to look like a very possible situation, then they would fall ridiculously far behind until the entire committee became obsolete. Once they were no longer doing any good for the student body they would be disbanded and have to return to their normal lives; and who would benefit from that, no one.
Swinging her book bag back and forth the girl glanced from him to the door and back again. "You're not going home?" She phrased it like an inquiry but it sounded more like a statement. Of course he was not going home, there was work to do. But he supposed she felt as though she had to ask. The Odagiri boy shook his head slowly and returned to examining the papers. Had she sorted these alphabetically? That would take ages! He did not have time for this nonsense, but it would be cruel to force her to do it again. Hell, it would be horrible to even suggest that she assist him with sorting them. It hurt a bit to admit it but, in the past week, she had probably done more to benefit the council than he had. How terrible, he was letting the case take up too much of his time; he was devoting too much energy to what should be a secondary priority. There was a small aching in the pit of his stomach, almost as if he had let her down by not working harder. Or, quite possibly, it was his fever returning. Though he had been feeling better for the majority of the day the moment Minako walked in heat had rushed to his face; oh how he hoped that he was not still running a fever.
"There's something I want to take care of before I go home." He muttered as he shifted through the papers to avoid making eye contact. For some reason looking up was making him feel nauseous, maybe he should have stayed home today. Still, he did not feel terribly ill; but his body certainly did have the common symptoms. A troubled look crossed his brow, but he caught sight of her staring at him and quickly played it off as nothing more than a concern due to the case. "About the cigarette butt in the boys' bathroom… I have to do something… soon." Time was something he had both a lot of and not enough. He could take forever if he so pleased; but the time frame in which he would be most likely to actually find the culprit was quickly drawing to a close. There was only a small window of opportunity after a crime was committed to find the person before leads went cold and evidence became old news. "…As you can see, the meeting's over, so you can leave if you want." For once he actually wanted her to go; the heat had turned into a headache and he felt as though he needed to lie down for a moment.
That didn't seem like it was going to happen though for the girl with an up-do tossed her bag on the nearest table and hurried over to the stack of papers. Picking up the next three she stared intently at them, a trademark smile making its way onto her lips. How could she be so ready to go? If anything she should be reminded of how much trouble this endeavor was causing her; but she was staring at the papers with new life, as if she had never seen them before. It was incredible to say the least. Before he knew it Hidetoshi was captivated by the rate at which she was making a new, smaller, pile on the closest desk. "I'll help out, too!" Help out? She was doing all the work again, and he would have none of that. Taking the next four papers, one more than her just for the internal benefit of topping her, he began to make his own alphabetical pile. Back and forth they went until the piles were nearly even in size. Her pace seemed to be slowing down though while his remained steady; thank you sleep, he would definitely not forget about this the next time he considered pulling an all-nighter.
"You're probably busy all the time too. You should take a break once in a while." As he polished off the papers, his stack now towering above hers, the head of the Disciplinary Committee could not help but feel a bit cheerful. A light, yet playful, pout plagues her face as she stared down at her own neat pile. She really wasn't that bad a person; in fact, she was not bad at all. There was something about her that he just could not place his finger on. "If you have the time, please stay and listen to my story." It came out before he could re-think the offer but, like an obedient puppy, she turned and sat on the top of the table. A bit disrespectful to the school but hey, he had stepped on one last time. "…" This was going to be hard to explain; but he had to keep his composure. Maneuvering his way over to the window Hidetoshi stood where he could look down at the courtyard. "A man without position, honor, or education… What can he cling to as he struggled through life?" Out of the corner of his eye he could see her face darken, as if pondering a riddle; still, there was no way that she would be able to guess the answer to this. "'Sincerity,' a man once told me."
"…Do you know what happened to that man?" This time Minako merely crossed her hands in her lap and gazed down at her slowly swinging feet. Good, had she actually taken a guess he probably would have ended the story and sent her home right there. "While gathering information for a story, a TV anchorwoman was injured on the job." She broke her leg while attempting to get a bird's eye view of a murder scene. The rocks below her had been worn away due to years of erosion and the cliff gave way. The fall was not from a great height, but it certainly was effective. "The executives for the TV station called it an 'unfortunate accident.'" Yeah, unfortunate for the woman who they fired because of it; you know, the mother of two with an unemployed husband? "But when a magazine learned they were hiding something, the execs pointed the finger at the script writer." Because script writers have everything to do with the way the environment works. That was truly a brilliant idea on their part. "They said it was the writer who had concealed the truth: he was made into a scapegoat." A light sigh escaped his breath as he clenched and released his fist a few times. "That man is currently serving time for perjury. It was he who taught me the meaning of sincerity." Biting his lip the power-hungry teenager attempted to hold back the bitter laugh that was intensifying in his throat.
"In today's society, the weak are preyed upon by the strong. You can't survive on sincerity alone!" The newbie recoiled a bit at the sudden anger in his words and he instantly regretted raising his voice. He had already troubled himself with the decision not to scare her off; and what did he do two days later? Yell, not at her, but in her general direction. Dropping his voice back to a whisper he gazed out the window at the people below. The elementary school appeared to have let out for the children were pacing on the sidewalk, waiting for the crosswalk to say it was safe for them to cross the street. "…As for me, Minako-kun, I'd like to build a corporation where everyone is treated fairly." He knew he could not change the entire world but, at least, if he ran a business he could keep a more hospitable environment; one where people felt welcomed and did not have to worry about being thrown under the bus by their bosses. "But, to do that, I'd need enough power to make my vision a reality." How lame must he sound right now? It wasn't as if he was pouring his soul out to her or anything, but his words were still incredibly heartfelt. As the last little boy crossed the road he noted the sun beginning to set behind the far off, inner-city, buildings. "…Well, seems like we're done here. I'll walk with you to the door."
The walk was a silent one; however it was not nearly as uncomfortable as one may have thought. Rather, it was calming, peaceful even. There was nothing expected of them, no one had to force a conversation topic; they could just co-exist. By the time they got to the door he found himself going so far as to run his right hand through his gelled hair. It was just a nice environment; if all socializing could go like this then he would truly consider spending time with other people. Unfortunately it never worked that way, people were so demanding in this day in age. Oh and don't even start on cellphones. How many times had he tried to hold an intellectual conversation with another student only to have them whip out a cellphone and begin texting? Approaching the door he quickly took a few long strides so that he was in front of her to open the door. With a small, and comical, curtsy Minako hurried through it and onto the outside steps. When he did not proceed through after her she turned around and frowned. "You're not going home too? Please tell me you're not going back to that stuffy room all by yourself."
With a small shake of the head he took a short step back. "I still have plenty to do. Without the extra help we're two days behind." Actually, by this point, it was more like three. There was no way that he would ever be able to play catch-up, even if he was there working at one hundred percent all night long. But he might as well spend another half hour merging the two stacks and putting away the papers. That would make her happy right? It would be like a nice little surprise waiting for her on Wednesday. She would come in thinking there was still work to do when really she could just relax for once. How strange, normally he would not bother with something that did not directly affect him; yet, somehow, he felt even better knowing that she would be happy. His heart skipped a beat and he felt the wind knocked out of him as what he was feeling dawned on the egotistical boy. He was becoming a good leader! He was choosing to help his subordinates over himself and was actually at the point where he found pleasure in that! Oh this was wonderful; he had not been expecting this for at least a few months after he rose to power, but this was truly a blessing.
"You're always so busy Hidetoshi-san," She muttered, bright orbs casting themselves down to the ground. "I-I'm sorry you had to escort me out." In the same way which she had curtsied earlier he offered up a light and overly formal bow. It seemed to be enough to please the girl for she took off down the stairs. Once at the bottom she turned and waved dramatically as if she was flagging down a plane. How childish… before long he found himself waving back, just not as powerfully. She definitely was not a waste of his time; in fact, there was no better way he could see spending it. "See you soon!" In two days, less if he talked to her during lunch. He had never ventured outside of the room before but he knew that some students seemed to like to go out into the halls and converse. Normally he just ate with Keisuke and they discussed what was going on in their lives; and by that he meant schoolwork and his friend's hatred of the life his father was thrusting upon him. It certainly was not light subject matter, so there was no way she would want to join them. Besides, she had to have her own friends to sit with; she did seem like a very likable girl. As he turned back to the inside of the school his eyes narrowed a bit at his own carelessly smiling reflection in the granite floor.
"What…are you doing… Where are your priorities?"
A/N: One day I'll find time to edit these… perhaps when we stop having Calculus quizzes at eight o'clock on Monday mornings.
neko- haha I thought the same thing! As soon as I got that far in the I was all 'wait…gym teacher… pictures of you in your gym uniform… oh god!' It was both extremely creepy and totally hilarious .However I won't really explore that until chapter nine, and even then it will only be a sentence of two. I figure Hidetoshi never found out about the pictures or he would have gone all private dick on the student body again.
savingthegeneration- when in doubt blame it on sleep deprivation! As a college student I can honestly say that it makes you do some crazy things. Right now it's 3:45 am, I just wrote a paper that I'm not sure makes sense, and my hand is twitching from six or seven.. or eight.. cups of caffeinated tea. At this point I want to accuse random people of smoking… and erasers are starting to look like lighters haha
Fervour- I AM LOVING YOU JUST TO LET YOU KNOW. Seriously, your all caps comment made my day 8D
Next Chapter: Something To Believe In! Once you've found your light it's not exactly easy to let it go. That's why… that's why he won't bring himself to do such a terrible thing!
