AUTHOR'S NOTE: Amaya: Okay, so we're gonna turn off our crazy for a minute here. For anyone who just wants to laugh and get in a good mood, please skip over this part and get to the actual story. This author's note is mainly just addressing one particular review. First of all, thank you for pointing out our misrating, this story is now rated M to better suit the content.
Shiro: And also, we do slightly agree with the point you made. However, the way you presented those points was so rude that it pointed out your own immaturity. Perhaps you need to grow up a little more to enjoy funny fanfiction.
Amaya: Yea, if it wasn't blindingly obvious here, we're not really taking this all that seriously. As much as I love Uta Pri, I will admit that it is silly and melodramatic as hell. So not only should you not take this fic all that seriously, you should not take the original show all that seriously either.
Shiro: Addressing the characters, they go out of character all the time. Hell, they even point it out at one point! Plus, it's hard to fully capture a person's behavior and character all at once just from a few shows. Especially when the series isn't very long yet.
Amaya: And honestly, how many of you can name a fanfiction where the canon characters' personalities matched perfectly with the original. Especially in a shipping fanfiction. Maybe one in a thousand.
Shiro: If that! And also, the "they fell in love too quickly thing" Masato fell in love with Haruka in like the third episode! And expressed it with a song!
Amaya: And Syo hasn't technically fallen in love with me yet, in all honesty. He just slipped up, called me pretty, and got embarrassed by it. That's not love. ...Yet.
Shiro: Plus, the whole story is about how they try to figure out how to talk to each other about liking each other. And if you don't like our story, don't read it!
Amaya: If you wish to further violate your brain with our immaturity, keep reading. If not, you are welcome to stop.
Disclaimer: We do not own Uta Pri. Damnit.
Chapter 3
~~~~~~~~~~One morning, three weeks later~~~~~~~~~~
Amaya was sitting on a bench overlooking the lake, staring blankly at a list of phrases, many of them with crossed out words or half-erased. The phrases were supposed to be lyrics, though Amaya had not yet figured out how to arrange them just yet, or if all of them would even be in the same song. She had been trying to figure out some kind of pattern all morning, but she couldn't keep her focus. Her mind was on Syo again. It had been so long since the hat swiping incident, but she still felt her shame wash over her each time she saw him. More than anything, she wanted to speak to him. Or at least allow him to speak to her without making a break for it! But she feared of doing something foolish again, or something even worse.
"Syo-kun," she whispered to herself. Even just saying his name brought warmth to her body. "Ugh. Amaya, you idiot. Why does speaking have to be so much more difficult than singing?"
But then, the sound of a velvety smooth voice behind her interrupted her thoughts.
"Hello, my lady."
"Huh?" Amaya turned and recognized the figure of Jinguji Ren standing before her. She knew him as the (in)famous womanizer of the school, and the successor of the Jinguji conglomerate. He really does have permanent bedroom eyes, she observed. "Uhhh...hi?" He didn't possibly come over here to hit on me...did he? She thought. I'm sure Syo must have told the entire S class what a crazy ditz I am.
But much to her surprise, Ren took his place beside her and leaned in close. "I saw you sitting over here all alone. You reminded me so much of a little lost kitten," he took Amaya's hands and pulled even closer, barely a few inches from her face now. "My beautiful lost Kitten. Would you like to come home with me? I promise to keep you safe and warm," he assured, giving her a wink.
Amaya pulled back, smiling uneasily despite her disgust. "Thanks, but um... you're too tall for me," she replied, almost laughing.
Ren's seductive smile did not falter. "If I cannot have you, my Kitten," he said as he took her face in one hand, pulling her close again. "Can I at least have a parting kiss?"
This is not happening right now, she thought as her own smile tensed into something more akin to a grimace. She pulled back her arms, ready to give Ren a forceful shove, or more if need be. But Amaya never got that chance before...
"REEEEN!"
~~~~~~~~~~Not far from there~~~~~~~~~~
It's been a long time since I've seen her up close, Syo thought, walking peacefully through the quiet Saotome courtyard. For reasons he could not comprehend, lately he had found himself missing the eccentric purple-haired girl. Initially, he had kept an eye on her out of suspicion. But he could not help notice her undeniable appeal despite her neurosis. These strange feelings had begun one evening last week. He had been walking this very same path, when suddenly he had heard the sweet, gentle strumming of a guitar from above. He knew it was ridiculous to think that the sound was coming from the heavens, yet that had been his first thought nonetheless. But it had been no celestial being. It had been her. There she had been, perched on the roof of the school, looking out over the silver moonlit skyline and smiling contently as she played her hauntingly beautiful tune. Syo's mood had been absolutely horrid that day, primarily as a result of his mounting stress from the idol course, and Natsuki's awful cookies he had been forced to taste the night before. And yet, her song had brought a smile to his face in spite of everything.
Before, Syo had always been a bit leery of her. But after that night, after hearing her music...
...Amaya. That was her name, right? He thought. Natsuki told me once, but she's never told me herself. Every time she sees me, she runs away as if I'll attack her or something. His mind drifted back to the first day of school, when she had snatched his hat right off his head. And how he had reacted in his usual fashion. Did I really sound that angry when I ran after her that time? he asked himself with a sweatdrop.
His thoughts were interrupted as he spotted two silhouettes against the lake, sitting on a bench and leaning in close to one another. They both looked very familiar...
"Amaya?" Syo wondered aloud in surprise. But then his heart clenched uncomfortably as he recognized the person leaning over her. "Ren?!" Almost instantaneously, every cell in his body seemed to light aflame with outrage. "REEEEN!" he shouted a second time as he shot across the courtyard at incredible speed, headed straight for them.
Ren hardly had a second to turn around before he was tackled to the ground by the tiny idol-in-training.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH HER?!" Syo demanded as he clutched Ren's collar in his black-painted fingers and banged the playboy's head against the ground.
Amaya watched the display with eyes so wide that they felt as if they would fall from her sockets. She was at least half convinced that she was dreaming. "S-S-S-Syo-kun?!" she stuttered in disbelief.
Ren winced as his head started to throb, barely believing that someone so small could have such strength. But as always, his cocky smile returned. "I was only saying hello to my Kitten."
"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF 'HELLO' WAS THAT?!" Syo yelled in rage. "AND WHY DID YOU CALL HER KITTEN?! HER NAME IS AMAYA!"
He...knows my name, Amaya thought dreamily. She felt as if she would melt into the ground right then and there.
"AND SHE'S NOT YOURS! SHE'S-," Syo stopped dead in his words, taken aback by the thought that echoed what he had not said. The fire in his eyes vanished as he blushed maddeningly.
"She's what?" Ren challenged, more intrigued than ever.
Syo's teeth were clenched so hard he thought they might break. Slowly, he looked up at Amaya, a look of pure shock still on her face.
She's...She's...
This time, it was him that ran away.
Amaya watched him go, somehow managing to get to her feet despite feeling drained of all strength. She looked down at Ren, who slowly sat up and rubbed the back of his aching head. While taking a cautious step back, she simply said, "I'm...gonna go now."
With that, she left Ren alone on the grass.
~~~~~~~~~~Later, around noon~~~~~~~~~~
Amaya and Shiro sat side by side in the Saotome cafeteria as always. A certain bluenette was watching them from the corner of his eye close by. Or he was watching at least one of them.
"You look oddly flustered today," Shiro commented casually to Amaya. "Did you have an eventful morning?"
"Oh, you have no idea!" Amaya exclaimed. "But it's not like I'm gonna tell you."
"...Okay then," Shiro replied.
"Hey! You were supposed to ask me anyway!" Amaya cried.
"Forgive me, I haven't eaten much yet," Shiro responded, poking at her plate with her fork.
"I know that's not why you don't care."
"True that."
Amaya sighed, smiling pleasantly to herself. "It was a wonderful morning though," she whispered. "Well...accept for when Ren almost...uhhh nevermind."
Shiro looked at her in almost alarm. "What?"
"Oh, so now you're interested!" Amaya snapped as she crossed her arms and turned away.
"Talk of the most famous flirt in school? Of course I'm interested!" Shiro exclaimed.
"Well, if you're sure," Amaya began. "Ren almost kissed me this morning while I was trying to work on our latest idol assignment. But then...but then..." she trailed off with a content sigh, hugging herself in delight at the memory.
"Maaaybe I...don't wanna know," Shiro said cautiously. "Just go ask the nurse for an STD test later."
Amaya snapped back to attention, paling in disgust. "For god's sake Shiro! He didn't mount me!"
"Well, there's a big surprise," Shiro muttered with a roll of her eyes.
Yesterday Amaya might have said, "He can't be that bad." But after this morning, she wasn't so sure.
"So, did you get any progress done with the assignment?" Shiro asked.
"Um...not really. I didn't really add to what I came up with yesterday anyway," Amaya admitted. "Considering what happened, I was a bit...distracted."
"Told you," Shiro deadpanned.
"Shut up!" Amaya retorted.
But then at that moment, Shiro felt warm breath in her ear. "Hello, Little Mouse," a seductive voice said.
A shutter raced up Shiro's spine. Why does everyone refer to me as a rodent?! Her inner self screamed in rage.
"Hi Ren," Amaya greeted uneasily. Though her tone made it sound like a threat.
Ren's eyes shifted to look at her. "I'm sorry, my Kitten. You had your chance," he said with a slight bow.
"...Uh-huh." Amaya simply turned away and took a bite of her sandwich.
"Now as for you," Ren continued, turning back to Shiro. "I hear you have quite a talent with your fingers," he said, vaguely referring to her piano skills.
Shiro paled in repulsion, pushing away her food tray. "I'm not hungry anymore," she squeaked.
"Oh?" Ren said, his lips still in her ear. "But I am."
The sound of shattering ceramic could be heard close by. Masato's tea cup had been reduced to shards in his hand.
Oh no! He's hurt! He's bleeding! HE'S GONNA DIIIIE! Shiro's inner voice screamed in panic.
But then, apparently ignoring the pain, Masato charged for Ren, fury burning in his eyes.
Not again, Ren thought, his cool expression making a rare break for panic.
Masato's fist flew through the air, throwing all of his weight behind the punch as it impacted with Ren's face. Ren fell to the ground, his nose gushing blood as he groaned in pain.
Totally ignoring the fallen Ren, Shiro stood up and took Masato's injured hand. "Oh my gosh, you're hurt!" she cried, uncharacteristically vocal. "Here, sit down, I can fix this!" She turned away only for a moment to retrieve some bandages from her bag.
"Why do you carry bandages around?" Amaya asked in confusion. What she really wanted to know was how the hell Shiro had managed to speak to him without passing out yet. But she did not want to shatter the illusion just yet.
"Because one day you're gonna do something stupid enough to get one or both of us hurt," Shiro replied.
Amaya rolled her eyes and did not bother to respond.
As Shiro finished her handiwork, she gave Masato a genuine smile. "There, all fixed up." Her eyes popped open in shock. ...I talked to him...I'm touching him! She clung to his hand a moment longer before she fell out of her chair, unconscious.
"Thaaaat's more like it," Amaya said. Truthfully, she was a bit impressed by the fact that Shiro had stayed calm for so long. A whole minute and a half!
Masato looked down at Shiro, his face slightly discolored as he tentatively touched his bandaged hand. He walked away in a daze, as if he didn't know where he was going.
"Hey! Prince Charming! Where do you think you're going?" Amaya called after him in annoyance. But Masato did not seem to hear her. "Oh, so now I gotta carry her? Great!"
Ren, who had still not received help from anyone, managed to stagger to his feet, his hand covering his bleeding nose. That's it, no more flirting today, he thought begrudgingly as he too walked away in a sulk.
~~~~~~~~~~In the hallways~~~~~~~~~~
Masato wondered listlessly down the halls of Saotome Academy, still staring at his injured hand. Lost in thoughts, he attempted to flex his fingers, flinching in the process. Her touch was so gentle, he thought. At last, he managed to grip his hand into a fist, still wincing from the pain. There's no denying it now. Masato looked up to find he had already made his way back to his classroom, though it was expectantly vacant. Not wanting to go back to the lunchroom, he simply leaned against the wall to await his next class. If I cannot deny it, how can I reveal this beautiful truth to her? He clenched his hand even tighter as he remembered the Academy's one rule. Or should I say anything at all? That one damn rule...
After a few more minutes ticked by, at last a second pair of footsteps echoed in the empty hallways. I hate going to the nurse. Especially twice in one day! Ren lamented as he tenderly poked his bandaged nose. He's surprisingly strong. ...He and Syo.
Masato, taking no notice of Ren, glared off into space, silently cursing that one dreaded rule. Unknowingly at that moment, the space he was staring at happened to be Ren as he passed by.
Ren froze where he stood. Today is not my day! He resisted the urge to flinch as Masato's gaze burned through him, keeping one hand in his pocket in an attempt to look relaxed. Anywhere but the face, he inwardly pleaded. …I take that back.
The bell rang for class, but neither of them moved. Masato still glared at what he thought was empty space, and Ren stood still as if he were about to be struck by a cobra.
Within barely a minute, the two infamous girls were, as always, the first to arrive back at class. Shiro, apparently having recovered from her fall in the lunch room, looked up at her blue-haired savior. Don't turn red, don't turn red, she commanded herself, her expression just as stoic as Masato's. Seconds ticked by, and still she managed to keep her rising blush under control.
Amaya however, was more occupied by the interesting scene before her. She looked back and forth between Masato, and an unusually tense Ren. A devious grin spread across her face as she surveyed Ren's injuries. Imma mess with him! She decided. "Hi Ren!" she greeted cheerfully, giving him a mockingly sweet smile.
Unfortunately, at that exact moment, Syo Kurusu happened to walk by. But he stopped as he heard Amaya's seemingly more than friendly greeting towards the playboy. His heart clenched in the same way it had this morning. He reached up and pulled his hat down, hiding his face in its shadow.
Amaya spotted him from the corner of her eye and felt as if her spirit had left her body. "No! It's not like that!" she blurted frantically. "Me a-and him...and us...and NO!... and...and...," she hid her own face in her hands. "Damnit," she whimpered as she cried comically. She hung her head and whispered, "I'm just gonna go to class now."
Shiro briefly glance back at him and said flatly, "Hello Kurusu-san."
"Why are you talking to him?!" Amaya whispered furiously.
"Just keep walking," Shiro provoked tiredly.
Shiro crossed Masato's path as she pushed Amaya through the doorway. As soon as Masato was completely behind her, his face blazed bright red.
The very moment the classroom door shut behind the girls, both Masato and Syo glowered at Ren with all their ferocity. The playboy sweatdropped nervously and finally began to walk away. Though he did not feel any safer as he sensed Syo's angry aura behind him. Why does he have to be in the same class as me?
Drop dead, Syo growled in his mind as mental daggers flew into Ren's back.
Ren knew it would be unwise to further provoke him, but he could not resist asking as he reached the S class door, "Why are you so angry?"
Syo froze and his face flushed slightly. But his flustered expression was quickly diminished by his everlasting temper. "I'm not angry!" he shouted indignantly. "I just don't trust you around women!"
"You've seen me with plenty of women," Ren retorted, his smile at long last returning. "Why get so heated up over that one?"
Syo remained silent for a few moments, eye twitching and his knuckles whitening as he clenched his fists hard. At last, he growled in frustration and shoved Ren to the side. "Get out of my way!" he commanded as he stomped into the classroom.
"Mmm, feisty little one, aren't you? I bet the Kitten would like that," Ren murmured suggestively.
"SHUT UP!" Syo yelled as the heat in his face flared.
A few doors down, in the A class, a similarly interesting scene was transpiring.
"Whyyyy," Amaya whined to herself. "Every time he's near me I somehow mess everything up!"
"Mm-hmm," Shiro agreed nonchalantly as she flipped through a book.
In desperation, Amaya clutched Shiro's shoulders and shook her sporadically. "Is it karma, Shiro?! Is God punishing me?!" on her last word, she hugged Shiro tightly.
"Not as much as he's punishing me," Shiro muttered. "You're still here."
As the rest of the class A students began to file in, Masato finally followed them. He was only a few steps in before he spotted the girls embracing. Don't tell me she's...A crestfallen expression appeared on his heated face.
Taking a break from her frenzy, Amaya looked up to see Masato's unusually emotive face. She shifted her eyes back and forth quickly. Promptly, she released her friend, dropping Shiro to the ground.
With a gasping breath, Shiro commanded hotly, "Stop...hugging...me, you dimwit!"
"What do you mean 'stop'? I haven't hugged you in practically two weeks!" Amaya argued.
"I would prefer never!"
Already exhausted by the day's events, and at a loss for a witty response, Amaya simply stuck out her tongue.
"Do you want to lose that tongue?!" Shiro warned.
"Why don't you lose your tongue?!" Amaya snapped. "You hardly use it on anyone but me!"
Masato's eyes widened and his face darkened into a bloody crimson. WHAT?!
"I know I don't talk to anyone!" Shiro retorted, unwittingly clarifying Amaya's meaning. "And ya know why?! Because people suck! I hate people! People are taller than me! There's like...I can count the number of people on my hand that I like that are taller than me! And you're half of one!"
Masato hung his head in despair. She despises me.
"Aha! You just admitted we're friends!" Amaya pointed out.
"I just tolerate you! I only like one and a half people! I consider you half a person!" Shiro corrected.
Amaya's brow twitched in annoyance. But then she perked up in curiosity, "Wait, you don't even like anyone in your family. Who could be this other one whole person? ...Or is it two half people?!"
Shiro glowed bright red and plopped down in her seat. "None of your business!" she snapped. She glanced sporadically over to Masato.
Masato's despair vanished, staring at his desk in awe. There's hope?
Amaya glanced back and forth between them, bopping herself in the forehead in memory. "Duh," she muttered to herself. But then she smiled and said with a sarcastically joyous wriggle, "Prince Charming."
"Shut up!" Shiro demanded through gritted teeth.
The familiar phrase echoed in Masato's mind. Does she mean...me? He looked over to the chatting pair, who he now knew were completely platonic, in the likeness of a hopeful puppy.
Suddenly, a very femmy, yet at the same time masculine voice called out joyfully, "Good afternoon, class!" Ringo-sensei strode in with his usual sunny disposition. "I have decided to start my own personal project. I am going to figure out a way to enhance all of the idols' appeals!" He directed his gaze toward the back of the class. "I started with you, Shiro!" A sly smile spread across his womanly features. "Would you like to know what I came up with?"
…Not...really, no, Shiro thought horrifyingly as Ringo-sensei crossed the room. "...Do I have a choice?"
Ringo-sensei only offered a smile as he plunked a fuzzy pair of cat ears on Shiro's head. "Don't they just look adorable? And they're realistic too! They move depending on your emotions!" he explained brightly. But then his mirth disappeared seamlessly as he glared at Shiro authoritatively. "I don't want to see you take them off," he ordered.
Utterly mortified, Shiro thought. That means I have to come to class like this every day? But with a defeated sigh she thought, At least it can't get any worse.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ringo-sensei chirped, his vigor returning as he presented Shiro with a matching cat tail. "Go behind the piano and put it on."
Shiro's new ears sagged in dejection. "Yes, sensei," she half-sobbed. After attaching the tail, she returned to her seat with her ears flattened and the tail between her legs, looking even smaller than she usually did.
Amaya giggled at the sight. "Now you're the Kitten."
Ears flattening more in anger than humiliation now, Shiro glowered at her friend, tail swishing impatiently behind her.
Masato tried to resist glancing over to her, but...failed. ...Precious, he thought as he blushed slightly.
Later that night, in the dorm~~~~~~~~~~
"Ugh," Amaya groaned as she looked at her stack of assignments before her. "I can't focus."
"We've already got twice the work dumped on us," Shiro grumbled. "And I'm trying to concentrate, so will you shut up?"
"I know you can't concentrate either!" Amaya argued. "By the way, are you gonna take those things off?"
Shiro's ears twitched in agitation. "Shut up! If I take them off, I won't have the courage to put them back on."
With a second groan, Amaya fell back heavily on her bed. "That's not the only thing we're lacking courage in," she muttered.
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh come on! Quit playing dumb!"
Anger flared on Shiro's features, her tail fluffing out. "I'm not playing anything! Especially dumb! That's your thing!"
"My grades are just as good as yours!" Amaya retorted, a vein ticking in her temple.
"I wasn't talking about grades!"
Electric energy fizzled in the room as the girls stared each other down.
As usual though, Amaya was the first to break the silence. "We have to do something about this," she said with a sigh.
"Our fighting?" Shiro asked as her ears twitched in confusion.
"Nah, not that. That's become normal at this point," Amaya said.
"Then what?"
Amaya eye twitched in disbelief. "You know what!" She tossed a hardcover dictionary at Shiro's head, attempting to knock some sense into her. However, she missed.
"Ehehehe...you missed," Shiro mocked. "But seriously, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Wow," Amaya sighed. "Your grades may be good, but when it comes to love, you're clueless."
"...Love?"
Amaya facepalmed and walked across the room to retrieve her dictionary. Upon picking it up, she flipped through the pages and landed her finger on a certain four letter word. "Love: attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers."
"A-a what desire?!" Shiro stuttered. "And I know what love is! But what does it have to do with anything?"
Amaya tossed the dictionary over her shoulder, blushing slightly at what she had just said. "Okay, maybe the official definition doesn't suit our situation," she admitted. "But come on, you figured out how I felt about Syo a long time ago. And I figured out the same with you and Prince Charming."
"...Who?"
"AHHH! Masato, damnit!"
"Hijirikawa-san?" Shiro repeated, warmth rising in her face.
"See?! That face! That one right there!" Amaya claimed triumphantly, practically poking Shiro's nose.
"...Okay, you have a point," Shiro finally admitted. "God it pains me to say that!"
"But what can we do?" Amaya whispered. "We can't keep avoiding them at every turn."
"You're the one who's doing the avoiding," Shiro corrected.
"Well at least I don't faint!"
"You wanna go?!"
"Wait, wait, we need to focus!" Amaya reminded her. "Between the two of us, we should be able to come up with something!"
Shiro averted her eyes in typical fashion. "I'll think about it when I'm done with my assignment."
"I guess you have a point," Amaya reluctantly concurred.
As she returned to her bed, the room fell silent.
What can we do? They pondered and unison.
END AUTHOR'S NOTE: Shiro: Aaaand done!
Amaya: Despite that little um...bump in the road there, we still had fun with this!
Shiro: Yea, wonderful fun! Laughed our asses off too.
Amaya: As we always do. Reviews are very much appreciated!
Shiro: But if you're going to review, please be respectful.
Amaya: Constructive criticism is welcome as long as its not accompanied by rudeness.
Shiro: Dude, there's a reason why people are into anime. People are generally not that rude to their own kind!
Amaya: Right. Until next time, bye!