Chapter Five

The New Club

"We need a place to hang out," Ema said. She was right.

"Why? Why must we welcome all of these people? They only made her life worse, why should we let them be her friends?" Mizuki asked. She was also right. Sitting at the kitchen table, surrounded by the "leaders" of each group, they were arguing about who was trustworthy and who was just in it for power.

"You know why. They do care about her, even though they haven't even known her for very long. You saw how it was. At least everyone present cares what happens to us. They're our friends now. We have to trust them," Ema argued back, trying to make Mizuki see reason. Yuki was fairly annoyed that they hadn't even bothered to ask her.

"Stop talking like I'm not even here! This is about me, remember? I make final decisions on who my friends are! You two will always be my best friends, but I can have other friends, now that we're surrounded by people." Yuki was practically yelling at them, and noticing this, she calmed herself down. "I'm still weak, and can barely stand, but come on, guys! Don't count me out because of that."

They both sighed. "Alright, what do you want to do?" Mizuki asked.

"Yeah, guess I can go along with your choice. I trust ya," Ema said, finally agreeing with the pyromaniac. Yuki sat silent for a moment, contemplating the various options.

"Well, how about this," Yuki finally spoke, "we organize the members into squads, similar to what we already have, and then make a club. Each squad can form a different branch of this club, and we can all do different jobs. The main branch can be the first school disciplinary squad. Kakashi-sensei offered me the position of the leader, and I have a good feeling that he'll still want me and my friends. Those who don't have large groups, or the leaders of the squads, can be in the main branch. How's that sound?"

"Complicated... are we really gonna do this?" Ed said, speaking up. "If it's gonna involve us, can we join in with the conversation?"

"Sure, shorty," Ema said. She practically fell off her chair when Ed launched into one of his short rants. A quick glare from Yuki shut her up, though, and then they began helping the others plan.

"Alright, first we need a place to meet. Ed, if we buy supplies and land, can you make us a building? Sorry to ask this of you, but Ema's right, we do need a place to meet up, and there's nowhere in the school that has enough space," Yuki pleaded, hoping that he'd agree.

"Sure, but how would you have the money?" Ed asked. He was curious.

"Oh, the three of us are artists. You can get a surprising amount of money if you're good at painting, drawing, or writing. Add that to my many other crafting skills, the income from us is around two thousand dollars a month. No problem getting things. I have plenty of money saved up." Yuki explained all of that quickly, and she looked almost sheepish. It was clear that she didn't really have much of a use for the money, except donations.

The others at the table, Ace, Natsu, Naruto, and Azu-chan, finally joined the long and complicated discussion. Most of them had been doodling, or writing down crazy ideas for fanfictions about their favorite mangas.

Ace had apparently been writing down Yuki's ideas, so he passed the paper around the group. Each person got a good look, and decided on what they would say. When every single person was ready, Ema and Mizuki wheeled in a large whiteboard.

Yuki stood up, with Ace's help, and limped over to the whiteboard. Uncorking the black marker, she drew a diagram of what she wanted, what she had planned out in her mind. It was actually simple, so even if they weren't paying much attention, the others could understand what was in her mind.

After about five minutes, the standing wore Yuki out, and her knees gave way. Ace was the nearest, so he lifted her up and set her back in her chair, and gently. Yuki thanked him and continued to talk, explaining detail after detail. Most of the group was lost by the end, only Mizuki, Ace, and Ed were still listening.

"Could you possibly sum it up?" Naruto asked. It was clear he wasn't that bright.

"Um, yeah. I didn't get a lot of the info. Can you just tell me what I need to do?" Natsu asked Yuki, and she nodded in agreement. It would be easier just to write down the tasks for everyone on the whiteboard. Planning was one of her strong points.

"Okay, tomorrow I'll finally go back to school. I might need an escort, because I'll still be so freaking weak, but please bear it. If you want to help, show up here before school tomorrow. Thanks, and I can explain the details about what we're doing during lunch break. Alright, you can go now. I'll make a list of things for everyone to do," Yuki explained. After the others went, Ema and Mizuki helped Yuki limp to her computer, and she began to type up many different ideas, and then combined them into one neat, tidy document and printed out seven copies, one for herself and each of the squad leaders.

The next morning was bright and beautiful. The sun filtering through the trees caused a dance of shadows on the ground, and the birds were singing their joyful tunes. The three friends sat there, enjoying every minute of their time spent lazing around, waiting for someone to show up.

Ema and Mizuki, being shorter than Yuki, would have found it troublesome and very awkward to help their friend to school. That was one of the disadvantages of heights. With a quick smile, Yuki stood up and wobbled over to the wall around the edge of the property.

"What didja see, Yuki?" Ema asked.

"Oh, Ace is here. Just thought I'd greet him," Yuki replied. The others stretched and pulled themselves to their feet, yawning, too. It was a warm, comfortable morning to be outside, a perfect day.

When the other two walked over to the wall, Ace and Yuki were deep in conversation about what the club would involve, and other similar things. Deciding not to interrupt, Mizuki pulled Ema over to the gate and they left ahead of the two.

"... and that is what we'll do. Ed is up to the challenge, so we can trust him to do well with that. Oh, uh, here's your sheet. I printed one for everyone," Yuki finished, handing Ace the sheet of paper. She checked her watch and noticed it was time to go. "We can't wait for long, it's almost time to go. I assume you're here to help me get to school?"

Ace smiled at her. "Yeah, I can do that. Does the fair lady wish to be quick about it, or shall I help her slowly?" he asked. Always the polite gentleman, until you got closer with him. Then his politeness tuned into jokes, and he always found a way to make you laugh.

"Why, I think this lady wishes to go quickly. Could you possibly accommodate her? She knows you must be very busy," Yuki said, giggling. It was really fun to play around like that, and she was happy and glad for her new friends.

"Why, yes, I can." Ace walked over to her and scooped her up. She hadn't honestly expected him to carry her, and blushed. "Whatever is the matter, my lady?" he said, smiling a mischievous smile. Yuki then knew that they were playing a game.

"Oh, nothing at all. Please, continue, good sir," Yuki replied, laughing.

When they arrived at the school, both were almost breathless. They had kept up the stream of polite comments all the way there, and were laughing so hard. Setting Yuki down gently, Ace made a comment on her weight.

"You know, you're surprisingly easy to carry. Like a feather, my lady."

"Oh, are we still playing this game? I shall knight you, kind gentleman. I dub thee Sir Ace of the Discipline Committee. Art thou happy, Sir Ace?" Yuki said.

"Oh, yes m'lady. Very content, I should say," Ace replied, doing a deep bow. That summoned more giggles from the already tired Yuki, and she collapsed in a heap. Ace had a momentary panicked look, but then realized it wasn't a big problem.

"I'm fine, Sir Ace," Yuki gasped in between laughs.

"No, m'lady, I think we must stop. You are too weak for more, let us continue on another day. I give you my word, we shall continue. Okay, m'lady?" Ace said. He really was worried about the girl.

Yuki, noticing his anxiousness, finally agreed. Helping her up, she leaned on his arm for support until they reached her classroom. It was almost time to start class, so Ace bid her a farewell and rushed back to his own class. Kakashi got up, and the bell rang.

Class was fairly boring, so when lunch rolled around, everyone was happy. Ed got up and went over to where the Ema and Mizuki were, followed by Luffy and Gajeel. They were all wondering where they would go first, to which classroom. Yuki pulled out her task lists, and went to class 1-B, where Mizuki, Natsu, Naruto, and Mai were.

After handing out those sheets, the group went to see the student counselor about forming the club. Luffy and Ace were surprised to see their grandfather, Garp, sitting in the office. He was just as surprised to see them.

"Ace? Luffy? Who are these people, friends of yours?" he asked them. Nodding in response, Ace explained why they were there, and then Yuki explained what their goal was. Garp listened to all of it, then agreed to make the club a reality.

"So, what do you want to name the club?" Garp asked them.

Yuki was stuck. She hadn't thought of a name, and completely forgot about it. It had been just "the club" to them. Then she remembered what the main function was.

"The School Disciplinary Squad." Yuki was dead serious. She and the leaders of the various branches would protect the school

"Okay, I guess I can do that. Come back tomorrow for details," Garp said, okaying the name. They all went back to their classes for the rest of the day, and the group was really content. What a nice name.