A/N:Now this is something I'd completely neglected but hey! I'm on track again! Hope you enjoy the latest installment! The Ishiyama people are back in the game with a dynamic entrance!
. . .
'Hello. This is Shiroyama...Wait what? Really? Where did she meet her? Yes, I'll tell him...I'll call Natsume-oh he's the one who...? Ah, OK, I'll tell Kanzaki then. Bye.'
Kanzaki casted the tall pig-tailed man a bored yet very annoyed look; he had repeatedly told him he hated that damn cell phone of his-it reminded him of Himekawa who was always chatting or mailing away on it, he didn't need his own underling doing the same...plus, he had this very annoying moe anime opening as a ringtone which drove him insane every time he heard it!
'What it is that you'll tell me...? That you're very sorry for bringing your goddamn phone when I've repeatedly told you I don't want it here?'
He proceeded to trap in a headlock a very scared Shiroyama, who flailed but dared not protest or struggle against his boss's painful gesture. 'Ow, ow, ow; no Kanzaki-san.'
'Eh, eh?' he continued as he kept hurting him.
'It was Kaoru who was told by Asuka who was told by Yuka-'
'Eh?' he asked again only this once actually wondered, his grip loosening significantly; what business does he have being called by the women he mentioned?
'-that Yuka saw Himekawa's girlfriend.' he managed to finish at long last and took a deep breath.
Kanzaki let go off of him completely now.
'EH? She did? What was she like? How were her boobs?' Kanzaki asked, completely taken by surprise by the recent news; so Hiroko had been sighted. Now he only had to see her for himself! Then he'd be able to endlessly tease Himekawa about it-in other words make complete fun of him had she been ugly or just get on his nerves had she been somewhat good-looking.
...because there was no way in hell he'd managed to get a beautiful woman to date him, no matter what, not that pompadour freak. No reasonable woman would have him...
Shiroyama blinked at him, turning red. 'H-her boobs?'
Kanzaki nodded, like trying to explain the self-explanatory; Shiroyama shrugged though.
'I don't know, I didn't ask.'
Kanzaki punched him.
'Next time try remembering the real important questions.'
'Ow, yes Kanzaki...but hey! They said she was a cute black-haired, blue-eyed girl with piercings!' he emphasized on piercings.
'Piercings?' Kanzaki echoed surprised; he nodded.
Shiroyama really wasn't interested in this "girlfriend" thing but he knew Kanzaki was interested in this for reasons of his own -that Shiroyama didn't know but he could guess- so he did the right thing for an underling to do: he gathered information about the thing his boss wanted.
Because that is what all good underlings do: obey and fulfil their master's-err, boss's wish...like jumping off the first floor of their school. Ah, what a fun memory-which would have been even better had Oga not come in and ruined it for everyone by throwing Kanzaki out instead.
'Apparently and she has many of them; Yuka counted four: three on her eyebrow and one under her lip.'
Wow; Kanzaki was surprised at how a man like Himekawa could ever have such a good taste in women and date one with piercings. Heh, then again, anyone with piercings -himself included of course- was in the league of "cool" people just for that. Maybe he should praise Himekawa...
Yeah, on second thought maybe he should just torture him instead. He shrugged finally; he'd have all the time in the world for that later.
'So...anything interesting happening other than that; I'm really low on money and I don't wanna ask my parents so I wouldn't mind taking a job like beating someone...'
Shiroyama suddenly felt cold sweat running down his forehead; what did his boss mean by that? He'd clearly made it known he had no intention of doing anything like physical labour! 'I thought you said you were bored, Kanzaki-san, so I cancelled everything for today but-...' he said, feeling the lump at his throat.
He shut his eyes, expecting Kanzaki's punch-
POW!
And it connected.
'You fool; whoever talked about today? I meant tomorrow or in the week or something; geez, it's Sunday, who wants to work on a Sunday? Say anything stupid like that again and I'll kill you, you asshole!'
Oh; he wasn't mad for that but that other thing...? Thank god... 'But Kanzaki-san, don't you want to meet her?'
'Whom, Himekawa's girlfriend?'
'Yes; they said she'd be leaving today for a foreign country for good. Natsume said to meet him at the airport at seven.'
'Ha ha-ha! Of course she's leaving; like hell she'd put up with that jerk! OK, I decided;' he stood up abruptly 'we'll go! Call the rest.'
Shiroyama beamed. 'Ossu!'
=:=:=:=
'What? Are you certain? Both of them did-before me? No...!' Furuichi gave an exasperated cry of desperation over the phone as his eyes swam with manly tears; Oga, being right next to him with baby B'l by his side -playing with his toys blissfully unaware of the hardships of his "father"-, fixed him a very bored expression. 'Aha, aha, I'll tell them...Th-thank you, Chiaki, goodbye.'
Oga waited for his best friend to end his call first and then talk to him; he was a lot of things but he certainly wasn't ill-mannered...as far as making people suffer that was. Even Furuichi.
'What's the long face for? Who had sex before you did?'
He would hit him where it hurt; his bored gaze turned into a devilish smirk as he started laughing at him. But his best friend's red cheeks and shocked expression made it sure it hurt a lot! He-he-he...mission accomplished.
'Eh?' Furuichi knew Oga could be a mean idiot he just didn't know how much of a mean idiot he could get-
'That is a long list of people; ask him why he is even surprised anymore.' Hilda snapped unkindly and always with her emotionless facade, as she walked in Oga's bedroom with the emperor's food in her hands.
If Furuichi was shocked by Oga once now he was even embarrassed, to have Hilda say something like that for him!
'Here master; open wide~!' Today's menu was soup. 'That's it! What a great man you shall become one day! No, what a great man you already are master.' she said warmly to the child, smiling like a mother to him, her attitude pulls a 180.
'Babu...' the baby did adoringly...
'Tch! Stop praising him all the time-it will get to his head and he won't become tough, like a man should be! Baby B'l if you wanna be a strong man, quit the soups and eat what a real man eats: meat!'
Oga grabbed the stake he was eating and took a savage bite immediately; with extravagant motions, standing up as he swallowed, one foot on the bed the other on the floor, looking "cool"; the baby's eyes sparkled once more at the sight of his father, completely forgetting the soup...
'Idiot;' Hilda said simply as she hit him with the spoon 'don't forget he still can't chew-he's a baby. Now tell him he can eat the soup or else he won't.'
Oga's face fell. 'Oh, right, I forgot that; well, baby B'l a man needs to eat their soup in order to grow stronger sometimes, too...but don't flatter him Hilda or he'll be spoiled! And everyone knows spoiled brats don't become strong! I was never spoiled which is why I have become so powerful.'
. . .
At this point of the story, in order to avoid further confusion, it would be wise to have a little flashback from Oga's childhood-his time as a baby:
'There goes my cute little baby! You are so adorable! Yes, you are so adorable! You, yes you! Momma's little boy! Momma's angel! You'll become a strong and good man when you grow up, ne?'
'Honey don't you think we should stop talking to the child like he's a god-?'
Suddenly his mother went perfectly still and menacing; she turned to her husband looking like a regular homicidal maniac. 'What did you just say honey?'
The man felt the threat translated into her devilish smile: cold and pointed. He gulped. 'N-nothing darling...'
This flashback was brought to you with compliments of Oga Misaki...
. . .
'Babu!' the baby exclaimed again and took the spoon. He ate alone, denying Hilda's help or flattery...thus making the floor and everything around him a mess.
Oh no, my mother will kill me and I'll have to clean it up! Maybe I can get Hilda-...yeah right, I'll tell Misaki...Oga mused, but his most important train of thought was interrupted by Furuichi.
...who was now staring at them with wide eyes and a mouth hanging open; his hands had formed a huge "X" in front of him and he flaunted it with passion.
'Hey, hey, hey stop it, stop it! What's with you two having a casual "married couple"-like conversation? What's with this family moment and atmosphere? You aren't really married and besides, I have news! I should be the focus of the scene, not you two-dunno what the hell this author is doing!'
Both Hilda and Oga glared at him -their apathetic stares were always translated into that- and he lost his momentum for a second.
'If you have something to say, say it.' Hilda merely ordered.
'What do you mean "news" anyway? I think we just established people will always get laid before you.'
'UGH-that's not true! And that wasn't what this phone call was about...'
'Oh? You mean to tell me I was wrong?' Oga cracked his knuckles and moved towards Furuichi with his evil smile playing on his lips.
'O-Oga, what are you-...?' as Hilda stopped Oga's advance to Furuichi -by giving him an "enough is enough" stare- he cleared his throat relieved. 'I mean, as everyone knows you're the idiot and when the idiot overhears someone on the phone and they think they said one thing, then the person on the phone has just learnt something completely -AH! Oga, leggo of me-ow, ow, ow, my ears! Hilda, please help me, do something.'
Hilda calmly sipped her tea. 'No; you deserve this.'
'The idiot huh?' Oga pulled on his ear. 'So I am the idiot? No more the hero?'
'Th-th-the leading role, I meant the leading role, the protagonist! You're the protagonist!'
'Damn right I am; the kind, beautiful and good-hearted protagonist.'
'Then we must be talking about a different story.' Hilda snapped and she calmly sipped her tea again.
Oga's aggressiveness now shifted. 'Hey, whose side are-!'
'Just tell us the news; it may be something useful.'
'Oh right! Well, Hiroko-chan, Himekawa's girlfriend, she was seen by Natsume-san and Yuka-chan! They both saw her-before I did! Can you believe it!'
'Yes.' they both said; then they all calmly sipped their tea, sitting on Hilda's either side on their knees...
He looked at them with emptied, dead eyes. 'Monsters.' But then he realized. 'Waaaaah!' Furuichi clasped at his heart. 'Alain Delon, when did you-stop scaring me like that?'
'Hello master Furuichi; I overheard your conversation. I want you to know that I believe it's alright that you want to wait-I feel like I want to wait, too.'
'Wh-wh-wh-what is that weird talk Alain Delon? I didn't mean I -...Ugh, anyway -Oga, stop laughing already- they met her and they say she was kind of...well, normal I dunno. That's what Yuka says. But Natsume who was the one who talked to her the most didn't say anything. But she did say Natsume wants us to the airport at seven if we want to meet her...'
Why Oga should care about Himekawa's girlfriend was far beyond him...thus he simply didn't.
'Is Himekawa that rich thug from your school that had the nerve to kidnap us that time?' asked Hilda out of the blue, looking thoughtful.
Furuichi failed to see the point she was trying to make but answered her "yes" anyway.
But that interested Hilda a lot; if that rich man had a girlfriend who had nothing to do with thugs then she may be able to get her by her side to help her-Himekawa was rich and held power, qualities Oga lacked and needed to give her master a proper environment and potential. Maybe she could use her; if this woman met a few of her requirements then she could easily gain access or help from such a powerful family.
What an interesting day. Who knew the god-for-nothing Furuichi would be the one to bring such good news. 'Then we shall go.'
'What? Hilda-!'
'I said we'll go and it's final.'
Oga decided not to argue; he was in no mood to get electrocuted today...again.
=:=:=:=
'So...It's almost six; your flight leaves at nine. We shouldn't be wasting any more time and risk not getting you all ready for the departure on time. Let's get going. Girls, I'm afraid we'll have to leave you behind.'
Tatsuya is being surprisingly considerate all of the sudden, Hiroko thought suspiciously; this whole time, from the moment they left the house till approximately an hour ago he was experiencing a rather justified foul-mood. Spending a whole day with giggling girls who were saying the final goodbye while dirtying his favourite car, it wasn't a happy thing to endure. But now he was actually concerned for her catching her flight...?
That was very odd.
She had even checked each and every one of his calls and messages on that phone -like hell I wouldn't, stupid monkey- and there was nothing fishy or indicative he contacted someone who would make him change his mood. And she was pretty certain he couldn't have "remembered" so soon...even though she was sure should he find out he'd never tell her to her face and instead do something behind her back. And this looked like that.
But she shouldn't be paranoid...
'Girls, he's right; the less we go the faster we will get it over with. And since Yoshiro will be coming there to say goodbye and everything, no need to be seven people there!'
'Oh Yoshiro will be coming, too?'
Kaya took the question right out of Himekawa's mouth; no wonder he'd seen him nowhere, he'd be going to the airport to say the final goodbye. The thought irritated him; he wanted to be the only one with her when she'd get the biggest scare of her life.
Now what that scare was supposed to be, she'd find out the hard way. Not that she had any idea what he was preparing for her-she could only guess there might be something wrong. But she'd never know what before it happened...
Oh yeah, he was kind of annoyed Hiroko wanted Yoshiro to be there for that final goodbye, too but that was the fine print.
'Yes, he said he wanted to; also he'd said I'm an insensitive self-centred prat for not considering him in my decision and for not inviting him to come with us...' the girls giggled, but she wasn't finished 'but he actually sounded happy saying that!' she added as a horrid after thought. 'I'm telling you, he's scaring me lately. He has very weird thoughts!'
'Ha ha! Are you still pretending to read people's minds Hiroko? I thought you'd stopped by now!' Mari said as she laughed, nudging the said girl on the ribs.
'You mean I'm not the only one you do this to!' Himekawa asked shocked.
'No I haven't stopped, no you aren't the only one and just so you know I'm reading your mind now, too Mari-chan and you're thinking of none other than that red-head Natsume-...'
SCREECH!
Himekawa hit on the breaks; all of the girls found themselves colliding against something in the car-and Kaya found herself glued upon Hiroko's back as the latter was sitting in her lap at the shotgun seat.
'Ow...' Hiroko rubbed the huge throbbing bump on her forehead.
Kaya followed her example and did the same for her nose... 'That hurt...'
'...am I still alive?' Mari was in the very small space at the back and she found herself stuck between the front and back seats.
'I had no idea Tatsuya was so snappy when women were daydreaming of men...' Kaya whispered to Hiroko, a little scared...
'You two get out now! Hiroko and I need to talk; bye-bye, have a good time, now out.'
When they kept staring at him like fishes out of the water, mouths lightly parted, he started getting mad; he fixed his glasses, making himself look even scarier. 'I said out...now.'
All three women jumped; they scurried out of the car in a much disoriented manner and after sharing a very brief yet emotional -from what Himekawa could tell from inside his car- goodbye, Hiroko got back in alerted.
What it was that made him so angry all of the sudden she pretended she couldn't fathom but she definitely looked a little worried; in truth she was very much upset, fearing he suddenly may have remembered but she tried not to let anything too much show. When she sat back in her seat, she looked like a puppet: compliant yet unreadable.
Himekawa tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. 'Natsume, what do you mean Natsume-the one from my class?'
'Yes, he...and a girl named Yuka. What is it?'
'Yuka, too! Oh god damn; I didn't want them to see you-especially Yuka-and Natsume? Oh shit, fuck!'
'Wh-...Is that the sole problem...?' she asked tentatively.
His head snapped to her, looking angrier. 'What, you want more?'
'Well, no...But if that's the sole problem then it's no problem at all. I mean, I'll be leaving shortly for Britain so either they've seen me or not so what? They'll never see me again...'
Himekawa stopped; suddenly he looked like...he was thinking of something but she couldn't tell why. What was he being so defensive about? Maybe this had to do with him being hurt she didn't consult with him in either should she leave or not and this was his way to show it-he still hadn't realized and when he would she'd be too far away. Was this what he was trying to say?
Oh shit, she'll understand if I keep saying stuff like that; keep it together...Himekawa thought worried; if he freaked out like this for people seeing her then she might understand he had an ultimate master plan already in effect to make her regret ever using him.
He shook his head to shake the memory off. 'Why don't we go to our apartment for a while, Hiroko? I want to grab a few things and-um; I sort of got you something for your departure so I want you to have it before we go to the airport.'
.
.
.
'This is lovely; aw... Tatsuya, you are so unexpectedly sweet you're rendering me speechless. -Not likely, thought the man- 'Thank you so much!'
She tackled him with a stifling hug...crushing his bones along with her gift.
'Can you be grateful from a distance? You're throttling me.'
'Shut up bastard-just let me enjoy the moment for once.'
As she finally withdrew she took the present right out of his hands: it was an elaborately ornate jewellery box made of gold and silver with decorative gemstones. She could tell it was expensive and she could tell he put a lot of thought into picking it -it was the first time he got her something like that- but she couldn't exactly tell what it was he was apologizing for this once: he never got her something expensive if he hadn't done something bad first.
Well no matter; maybe this was a farewell sort of gift, so she could flaunt it to her new classmates. She could even see herself from now meeting new people: 'Oh this? This is a gift from my boyfriend; no it's a long distance relationship now; ah, he adores me; he would never cheat! We're going to get married when I come back, too! No, he's rich so he'll be coming over...'
She smirked evilly. 'Tatsuya, you should visit me from time to time while I'm away in Britain. I'm sure it'll be great vacation-and our parents will be so much more convinced-!'
'Don't you just want to brag to people there?'
Oops, found... 'No...!' he raised an eyebrow. 'Yes but so what? You don't mind, do you...?'
He shrugged 'Nah...Let's just go to the airport.'
At the airport...
Where is that woman?
Yoshiro was pacing up and down irritably, hands crossed in front of his chest firmly while behind him were everything he'd brought with him for her farewell: a small banner, bearing the words "Goodbye Hiroko-chan", a small placard which read "I'll miss you", food for his own use and a gift-wrapped package.
He looked at his watch and sighed -ignoring the pointed stares people were fixing his "gear"- (meaning all the weird stuff he brought); it was already eight! Should they be an additional ten minutes late then-...she'd even miss her flight.
Wow, wait a sec; if she missed her flight, she wouldn't leave; if she didn't leave then she'd be angry; if she were angry she'd swear and hit him to relieve her stress...
Blood flew from his nose freely; she should be late, she should be late!
.
'Wow, that's creepy; that guy over there just got a nosebleed. I don't even want to know what he's thinking...' Yuka whispered to Nene, seeing the weird boy sitting across them at the airport suddenly clutching his nose.
'Pervert...' Nene snapped, looking away.
Oga, sitting at the far corner between Hilda and baby B'l, picked his nose. 'Why is it that we are here again?'
Baby B'l chased the boogie Oga just threw away.
'We came to see Himekawa's girlfriend, remember?' Furuichi snapped while his eyes were fixated on the sliding door; he was so anxious to see her! But so far no sign of her! Where could she be...? And how did she look like; the general information Yuka and Natsume gave had nothing particular in them! What were her three sizes? Were her boobs big like Hilda's or did she have the graceful shape of Aoi? If only he could have found Natsume on his own and ask him...but he wouldn't say that: he's either too aloof or too selfish. Tch...
Kanzaki growled irritated both by Furuichi's excited tone and the time of waiting. 'Natsume, are you sure she hasn't already left?'
'Yes; she was in a supermarket around six. We were here barely an hour later, she couldn't have made it-she had no luggage and she wasn't shopping for a trip. She'll be here...'
Furuichi, always eavesdropping, jumped in on the conversation. 'Come and think of it, Natsume-sempai, that guy opposite from us has been here almost as long as we have; do you think there might be some relation? He even has placards and a banner and all...'
'The banner says: "Goodbye Hiroko-chan" so shut up and wait patiently.' Hilda said simply, sipping her newly bought tea. She's had three cups till now.
Everyone turned to her with their mouths hanging.
She raised her eyebrow as to inquire.
'You mean you knew that all the while and said nothing!' Yuka and Kanzaki exclaimed simultaneously...
'Yes.'
Just as they were about to fume, Natsume chuckled lightly trying to relieve the tension. 'Maybe we should go talk to him; if we tell him who we are we might get to wait with him.'
'Won't that just terrorize him instead?' reasoned Furuichi; he was no delinquent so he knew how scary other delinquents looked, especially in large groups...such as this.
Oga immediately got interested again. 'Let's do it! Kunieda, you lead the girls-I'll lead the boys.'
By merely mentioning her name, the girl blushed deeply. 'I no longer am the head of the red tails; Nene-san is...she should lead them.' she said softly yet certainly. All this while she was watching him play with the baby or sitting back but the attention was too sudden. Hilda raised an eyebrow at her direction amused.
'Oh come on, you're stronger; we need the strongest as leaders, like me and you!'
Aoi misheard everything once more: we need-I need the strongest leader; you are a strong leader-I need you. She blushed deeper than before 'f-fine, I'll come with you...' she replied, trying to hide behind anything.
'Then it's decided; let's go.' he completed and stood up immediately; everyone smirked in time with Oga, male or female, excluding Aoi who was still blushing and Hilda who didn't make the trouble. She really had no intention of being one with the herd; she'd stay back and attract her attention much easier.
Furuichi felt bad he ever opened his mouth. I hope he doesn't run away scared, poor soul...
.
Yoshiro could now see the admittedly big group of people who was previously staring, move towards him, all...nine of them, one was left behind. What the hell? And they were all around his age, too...he started feeling a lump at his throat; these guys all looked like delinquents and gave the same aura Himekawa give him. He gulped with great difficulty; he felt cornered.
'So you're waiting for that girl, too right?' Oga asked "conversationally"...meaning his smile was scaring the crap out of Yoshiro the closer he came.
'Th-th-th-th-that girl? Wh-wh-wh-wh-who-?'
Aoi jumped in front of Oga, hiding his sadistic smile from Yoshiro's point of view. 'Hello I'm Aoi; aren't you also waiting for a girl named Hiroko who shall be in Himekawa's company?'
Wow...this Aoi is so cute~! And a delinquent; doesn't that mean she knows how to kick ass? Score! 'Oh! Yes, Hiroko; that's right, I'm waiting for them-her-well, both, right.'
'Can we wait with you?' Oga asked, taking the lead again and coming out from behind her back; his wacky smile scared Yoshiro again but a little less this once.
'Err...'
Furuichi saw his hesitation; frankly, he couldn't blame him. But he still felt he should help him; so he went close to him and whispered to his ear: 'Don't worry; they may be crazy but they are usually harmless...in such situations. I think. Never mind; you don't want to say no to a bunch of delinquents, do you? Why do you think I'm here? It's wise to do what they say...'
Yoshiro gulped; he might have been a masochist but...only when women were concerned. Getting his ass handed to him was definitely not an option. 'I...I don't see why not...' he mumbled feeling helpless. Why was Hiroko ever dating a delinquent? And why could he not be a sociopath with no other delinquent friends?
'Don't be so uptight man, or you'll get wrinkles on your ass.' Kanzaki said humorously to the scared man, while going through his stuff with the help of Shiroyama, Natsume, Yuka and Oga.
'Ooh; I found a sandwich!' said Oga picking it up and taking a bite.
Wow, what are they doing?
'And I found a soda.' Shiroyama chimed in, flaunting his find to the girls.
But these are my stuff!
'Can you find any yoghurt in there?'
'Um...no, Kanzaki-san, I'm afraid he doesn't have any.' Natsume said simply as he sipped on a coke.
Why did it sound like it was his fault he didn't have any yoghurt in his own bag? He didn't like it to begin with...
But Kanzaki didn't seem to care for that; he turned to Yoshiro looking homicidal. 'Yo wrinkle-ass, go get me a yoghurt from the vender over there...now!'
'My name is Yoshiro and I have no obligation to-!'
All four men turned to him looking murderous and dark...
'A-as you wish...'
'Damn right, wrinkle-ass and don't you dare come back without one.' As he left he turned to the people still scavenging his personal effects. 'Yo Oga, see if there are any more sandwiches, I'm hungry.'
Oga snapped. 'See for yourself bastard.'
Kanzaki snapped, too. 'What did you say to me you piece of shit?'
'Here you are, Kanzaki; I found one with ham and cheese.' Shiroyama rushed to save the day once again.
'Heh! You're lucky Oga...'
'Care to say that again?'
'Hey stop fighting; we don't want them to make us leave right?' Nene jumped in...But none paid any attention to her. None ever did. Was she the leader of the nine tails or not!
'She's right; stop this instant.' Aoi held a mop's rod to Kanzaki's throat, going between the two. 'Don't make a scene.' she snapped and her voice was surprisingly low.
'Fine...gimme the sandwich Shiroyama.'
He did so without a moment's delay because he happened to share Aoi's feelings -no one ever listened to Nene anyway-.
Aoi breathed a sigh of relief; still, she stole a glance at Oga to see if he was still angry or maybe if he was now angry at her instead and what if he was glaring? She turned around timidly...but he wasn't even looking at her. Oh great.
Ten minutes later Yoshiro was still away, looking for Kanzaki's yogurt; ten minutes later all of his food supplies were eaten by the four man while the girls were picking through his stuff, namely his wrapped packages, his presents for Hiroko. They'd pried them open and spied a pack of chocolate bars (!), a black leather photo album, looking brand new, filled with pictures of Hiroko at all ages, most of them with her classmates. And he could swear he had seen that white-haired guy -the sole, male, person he actually liked- nick a photo out of it and stuff it in his pocket...but he chose to ignore it.
Meanwhile, Aoi was making a futile effort to keep people away from this person's - this complete stranger's - things while Hilda was still watching the lot of them from a distance...till she finally stood up.
She set her tea aside, looked over the entire place and then walked all the way to the sliding door...
Wait, why was she heading to the door?
But the answer came immediately as an all too familiar pompadour came through the door in the company of a relatively tall black haired girl; Hilda walked to the pair of them directly but not too fast as she expected Oga to come to her side before she introduced herself...which he did a moment too late as Natsume and Yuka - followed by an ever-curious Kanzaki - reached them first.
'We meet again Hiroko-chan.' Natsume said as soon as he reached her with a wide smile spread across his face.
Instead, Hiroko's somewhat pleasant expression turned sour. '...so I see...'
'Wait a minute; what's up with the familiarity? She's Hiroko-san to someone like you-...' Himekawa snapped a little bit annoyed.
'Well, Hiroko-chan, I'm Kanzaki-sempai; pleasure.'
Oh sweet; she does have piercings! And she's not as bad-looking as I thought she'd be. Hum, odd; why is she with him of all people?
'...hi; err, I'm your age so practically I don't have to call you "sempai"...but if you wish-.'
'Like I've just said what's with the familiarity? She's Hiroko-san for you, Hiroko-san. Don't get them confused-!'
Yuka interrupted him. 'Hi Hiroko-chan! Do you remember me?'
'Ah yes; Yuka-san, hello, how are you? Oh' Hiroko seemed to turn a shade redder 'do forgive me for being a little bit abrupt to you at the supermarket; I was just a little sentimental.'
And she really was sorry; she'd only been so rude to the girl because this red-haired idiot over there was pushing all of her wrong buttons. Plus, she was emotional she'd be leaving as no matter what she'll always be a momma's girl.
'Oh, no problem' said the girl, waving her hand dismissively 'I can understand; had I known you'd be leaving the country I wouldn't have bothered you. But hey! Aoi-nee-san is here would you like to meet her? She's the one I told you sort of look like-'
'Do pardon me but I believe my introduction is in order.' Hilda finally managed to communicate to Oga to get his lazy ass off of the seat and come to her side; Aoi seemed surprised - and a little miffed - by the interruption of her introduction but said nothing.
'My name is Hildegarde but you can call me Hilda, and this is Oga, the strongest man in Ishiyama-'
'That's not true!' both Kanzaki and Himekawa interjected offended.
'Yes it is!' Oga countered sadistically.
But Hilda ignored them. '-and a friend of your boyfriend.' - Himekawa's voice "also not true!" was lost in the background - 'He and I are currently living together;' Aoi turned red 'I assume you and Himekawa live together, too?'
The girl blushed profusely as she started spluttering incoherently.
Heh; bulls eye, Hilda thought amused - as the rest watched profoundly interested at the girl's reaction- but let her collect her wits and answer properly. 'We don't live together-I mean not always; we just live away from our parents and close to each other and he just happens to sleep over a few times when he isn't that tired or maybe when he wants to-...' the girl shook her head defeated. 'This is not getting any better for me is it?'
'Nope.'
'Not at all.'
'Uh-huh.'
That was Natsume, Kanzaki and Yuka; truth be told the rest were watching just as interested - Hilda had made sure Furuichi was the furthest away from her just in case he got any weird ideas - but those were the only ones who were able to talk to her like that.
'Well, I see nothing wrong with that though; it's only normal for people who date to live together.' Yuka continued offhandedly causing giggles and snorts coming from behind them. 'Whatever; this is the one I told you.'
Himekawa felt he really wanted to smother the lot of them; how could they even be here? He was sure he hadn't told anyone of this and had something slipped from Hiroko he was sure she would have warned him, so how did he find himself in this mess?
'Can we please stop with these ridiculous introductions and just get on with-?'
'Hello Hiroko; my name is Kunieda Aoi, Himekawa's...err classmate.' Should I tell her he'd asked me out once? How would she take it?
'And this is Tanimura Chiaki...' a short black-haired girl nodded modestly.
'Toyotoi Hiroko; pleased to meet all of you... well, all but Natsume that is.'
For the life of them, they would never understand why someone would choose to dislike Natsume from the pack of all the delinquents when he was the tamest one and their obvious surprise was etched on their faces, even Himekawa's. Why Natsume of all people? And as if that isn't enough the feeling between these two was mutual: the imaginary glare rays made their appearance again, fighting for victory.
'Err...I'm Nene, captain of the red tails now that Aoi-nee-san quit.'
'The red tails? Wow, even I have heard of you! Once a senior in my school wanted to transfer just to join you...! But then she fell in love with a guy and they wound up getting married and she never even graduated. Oh well. Shit happens. But she was so smart too such a waste...' Wow, she sure likes to talk, thought everyone. 'Anyway; you two must be quite strong to have had or still have the position of leader.'
'Heh; Aoi is as strong - and scary - as Hilda...'
Wow; this Oga fellow is rather bored. Wait, is that a baby on his back! 'I...see...well, either way! Have you seen a brow-haired guy anywhere around here? I'd like to say goodbye to him before I leave...'
Kanzaki exchanged a look with Oga, communicating their evil plans with but a glance; a sadistic smirk escaped both...
'We haven't seen anyone like that. Have we Oga?'
'No, we haven't.'
'Yeah; and all these stuff over there are ours; we heard you were leaving and came to see you off.'
Just as soon as they'd finished, the two men nodded to the girls and the rest of the people to go Yoshiro's stuff; turning around, hiding everything from sight, they started doing something that neither Hiroko nor Himekawa could tell...while in the background Aoi was shaking her head.
But hold on just a second; how did they know she was leaving? The thought passed through the couple's mind at the same time but none said anything, merely watched interested. If this turned out well, Himekawa even might use this to his advantage.
'Wh-why hasn't anyone introduced me yet?' Shiroyama asked between manly tears, fixing his pigtails, feeling neglected.
'I know how you feel; Hilda hasn't introduced me either...' Furuichi cried along.
'Tuh-duh!'
They were holding up the banner and the placard Yoshiro had made for her, reading: "Goodbye Hiroko-chan" and "I'll miss you".
Hiroko widened her eyes shocked; she fixed her glasses in a slight daze and stared. 'What is this...for me? You really did this for me?' she turned to Himekawa; and now it all made sense...! Well, in her mind. 'Aw, Tatsuya you're so sweet; I had no idea you were planning this from the beginning!'
Completely melting, she hugged him tightly; that was a lovely gesture! No wonder he was worried she ran into Natsume and Yuka. He wanted this to be a surprise and they might have messed up with it upon seeing her!
Himekawa was...well, astounded. Wow; this worked better than he'd thought! And he'd even get the credit for this admittedly crazy yet convenient situation. 'Ha-ha; I've been found.' he said before anyone could say otherwise and take the credit for it instead of him.
'And of course I was the one who put this together; Himekawa asked it of me because they are close with Oga and he said this is women stuff...'
Hilda knew that right about now she had him where she wanted him and he knew should he call her bluff so would see so he just played along. 'O-of course...'
'And I was in charge of the gift shopping; here~! Chocolates and this photo album! We had Tatsuya providing us with pictures for this!' Yuka strung along and, smiling widely, handed the girl her presents.
'Aw...' Hiroko sighed again, still melting. 'You are all so kind, thank you so much and really Tatsuya this is so...unexpected! I thought your present would be the jewellery box, you know, more your type kind of thing-expensive, gaudy,' Gaudy! Insolent little runt... 'but this is so thoughtful! See, you even asked Yoshiro to give you the photos...'
She hugged him again, only his once tighter, longer and actually kissed him, too. 'I'm so moved; this is really great of you.'
Suddenly all present realized this was the best opportunity they'd ever get to threaten him with something; behind Hiroko's back, they all smiled wickedly, almost evilly as the same thought passed through their minds: you'll have to repay us for this and soon enough...
Tch, men! Aoi thought instead, being the only one unaffected and without notice of her classmates plans; how low of Himekawa to do so.
'Let's go to the check-in, Hiroko-chan; you should give up your luggage already.' Himekawa prompted.
She looked at her watch; she jumped. 'Oh my God yes, or else I won't make it!'
.
Her clock read quarter to eight pm.
.
'What time is your flight Hiroko-san?' Aoi asked friendly.
'Nine; oh damn it, I won't make it! I only have an hour and a half barely...!'
...Everyone looked at her wondered, Aoi even fell behind...what was she talking about? If that was the case then she'd already...!
Himekawa looked at them over his glasses, winking; "stay back" he mouthed to the rest, taking the lead next to her. And then the pieces fell into place! This was all his doing! But what and how exactly did he do this?
.
The clock on the wall read quarter to nine.
End of chapter four! Hope you enjoyed; please review and/or message! Oh I'm so looking forward to adding Toujou here; he is my most favourite character in the manga; he's awesome like that!
