R[]/\R!

Chapter 1

"Hey, Yui?" Toshino Kyoko glanced across at her best friend, who internally braced herself for whatever nonsense it was that was about to spew forth from what was essentially her charge's mouth. To be fair, Funami Yui wasn't officially Kyoko's caretaker, but the parents of both the Toshino and Funami households expected her to keep her to watch over the... 'enthusiastic' young blonde. Yes, technically Yui's role was best friend since childhood, but more often than not it felt to her like she was merely a babysitter.

And she didn't even get payed by the hour.

"Yes, Kyoko?" Yui answered after a moment, vaguely curious despite herself. They were on a public train though, so she could at least hope Kyoko would show a tad more tact than she usually did, right?

"...Am I gay?"

So much for hope.

What was the best way to answer that question? Yui really wasn't sure. Often it was completely impossible for her to follow Kyoko's thought process, so figuring out why this question was being asked would be difficult. Tactfully stepping around the situation probably wouldn't help much either, so Yui found herself resorting to one of her usual solutions of the blunt force kind.

"Yes." Yui turned to look at her friend. "Why?"

"Oh." Kyoko frowned, looking out the window. "Are you sure?"

Raising an eyebrow, Yui answered, "Well… you might not be, but as far as I can tell: you write yuri doujinshi, you've had a crush on Chinatsu for ages, and you've never even once shown an interest in a boy." She listed the different factors off on her fingers. "Since the last year of elementary school I've just assumed you were about as straight as a curly straw."

"Huh." Kyoko looked… pensive? Odd. Yui couldn't remember the last time she saw Kyoko look thoughtful about anything that wasn't drawing or writing manga. After a moment, Kyoko brightened up. "Okay then. I should get a girlfriend."

"...Why?" Yui frowned and for some reason felt strangely worried. The blonde knew what girlfriend meant, right? She wasn't going to kidnap someone, was she?

Kyoko gave her a confused look. "Because I'm gay? You just told me-"

"No." Yui held out a hand to cut her friend off. "I mean why ask me in the first place?"

"Oh…" Frowning again, Kyoko looked a little less exuberant than Yui was used to seeing. "Some of the girls in class were making fun of me and Ayano yesterday. They called us things like dykes and carpet lickers."

Yui blinked again, frowning. "Why? How would they know if you were?"

"Because we're both from Nanamori Middle School."

Despite herself, Yui couldn't help but snort out a laugh. "You're kidding me."

Kyoko shook her head. "Apparently that place has a reputation."

"...Kind of a well deserved one," Yui admitted.

"Mmm." Kyoko voiced her agreement. "Anyway, does this mean I need to come out to my parents?"

...I seriously doubt they don't already know. "You should probably talk about it with them."

Kyoko nodded distantly.

"...You alright?" Yui ventured after a moment. "If those girls are giving you a hard time, you can ask some of the teachers to transfer you to more of my classes."

After a moment, the blonde shook her head. "Then Ayano would be alone. She's not used to being separated from Chitose like this, so I think she needs a friend."

Yui nodded. "It kinda sucks that the only class all four of us are in is Japanese."

Kyoko hummed another agreement, but her mind was elsewhere. Gazing at her, Yui drew breath to voice the thought, You should ask out Ayano, but stopped herself after a moment. It wasn't her business after all.

Instead she said, "Kyoko, keep an eye on Ayano. She's pretty sensitive, and if she's getting bullied, well… she might need a friend."

Kyoko just gave Yui an odd look, like she didn't fully understand the point, but nodded anyway.

Sighing, Yui looked back ahead. Honestly, Kyoko could be worryingly selfish sometimes.

Sugiura Ayano sat patiently, doing her best not to show any signs of nervousness. Sitting across from her, a red haired girl a few years older than her flipped through some papers with her eyes roving across the page. Ayano wasn't fooled though, she'd read enough reports and handled enough paperwork in her time as president and vice president to recognise when someone wasn't really reading and just pretending to be busy.

"So." Ayano couldn't help but jump at the sound of files slamming against a desk. "You want to become a member of the Student Council?"

"Yes, I do." Ayano smiled politely.

"It says you were president of the Student Council in middle school, and Vice President for a year before that."

"I was." Shifting where she sat, Ayano resisted the urge to flatten out her skirt or fiddle with her hair. Calm, and confident, she reminded herself, be calm and confident.

"You understand the Student Council here is of a higher standard than those of… elsewhere, don't you?" The redhead questioned. "This school has almost ten times the number of students as where you previously attended, and because of that we can afford to be more selective of who we do and don't accept."

That means Sakurako definitely won't be accepted next year, Ayano thought to herself a touch guiltily. The poor girl was really never the brightest, though.

"On that note though, your records are impressive. Second in your clast in almost every subject," Ayano had to fight the urge to wince at that. Stupid, sexy Kyoko. "You fulfilled your role on the council well, and all teachers compliment you on your efficiency as well as leadership skills."

"Thank you," Ayano smiled again.

"Honestly, you'd be a shoe-in if it wasn't for this… concerning mention here on the last page."

Oh. Oh, god no.

The girl cleared her throat. "It says that on your last day there, you, 'Displayed behaviour unbecoming of a member of Nanamori All-Girls Middle School, let alone a member of the Student Council, or even the Student Council President. A most unfortunate blemish on an otherwise spotless performance.'" She raised an eyebrow, and looked up at Ayano. "Care to elaborate?"

She really didn't care to elaborate, but she found herself without much choice. "It was… an embarrassing moment for all involved," Ayano answered tactfully, blushing at the memory. "On the final day of school, I was under the impression that uh… a friend of mine, was going to be moving away to another city, and attending a different school from me. I was worried I wouldn't get another opportunity to... say goodbye to them, so… in desperation I did so… publicly."

The redhead smirked evilly. "It says you declared your undying love for a classmate…" She scanned through the paper… "Who was it again? Ah, here she is. Toshino Kyoko, was it? It says you declared your eternal love for Miss Toshino, on stage, in front of an audience of parents, students, and teachers."

Ayano swallowed, and couldn't bring herself to meet the girls eyes. "That's… missing some of the details." I hate you so much, Kyoko.

"No doubt." That smile was truly malicious. "And how did Miss Toshino respond to your confession?"

"...She wasn't in the audience," Ayano muttered.

"Oh no, really? The redhead's eyes widened slightly, her smile growing larger to match them.

Wincing, Ayano answered with a touch of bitterness, "In celebration of leaving the school, she ate too much ice cream during the day and threw up. She ended up spending the graduation ceremony in the nurse's office."

A snort of laughter escaped before it could be stopped. The council member covered her mouth in an attempt to hold in her mirth. "You… you said you were under the impression you wouldn't see her again, which implies that you would see her again."

"...She's currently attending this school."

Another burst of laughter before it could be controlled. "Did… did she find out about your confession?"

"No." Thank god.

A gleeful giggle cut the air. "Who-who was this girl anyway?"

"...Can we please move on?"

"Nope," was the cheerful answer as the older girl leaned in closer. "Come on, I have to know how this ended. Please tell me you two are now dating."

Ayano could only blush and look away. "We… we are not."

This time the redhead had to rub tears from her eyes by the time she got her laughter under control. "That is horrible! She has to know how you feel about her at this point."

Biting her lower lip, Ayano wished a hole would open up in the world and swallow her right then and their.

"Oh, my, god. She still doesn't?" When Ayano didn't answer, the girl sat back in her chair, shaking her head sadly. "And how long have you had a crush on her?"

"...Three years now."

The girl's eyes bugged, before she burst into unrestrained laughter. "Oh, stop. Stop, please." She clutched her sides, wiping her eyes. "You're killing me. I want the full story now. I have to know, how did you even meet her?"

Ayano had to fight the urge to whimper while she spoke. "I came second on the tests at the end of our first term. She came first, and I wanted to know who beat me."

Clasping one hand over her mouth, the girl snatched up the report again. "But you were placed second in almost every subject… don't tell me she was the one who…"

This time Ayano really did whimper.

"She was?!" The sheer glee in that girl's face was frightening as she said, "Oh, that's horrible. That's truly, truly, terrible." Despite her words, the widest grin Ayano had ever seen was plastered across her face. "I mean… damn." She shook her head. "You lost to her every time? Every single time?"

"Shut up!" Ayano snapped and crossed her arms. "She's a genius, okay? And I beat her in PE."

The council member giggled. "Yes, you didn't do too badly in that subject, but really? A genius?" An eyebrow was raised.

"A lazy, selfish, otaku who has to be the dumbest smart person alive, but… yeah, she's a genius." Ayano sighed. "She barely even needed to study to ace every test." Fiddling with her hair and still blushing furiously, she thought to herself, It's not fair. How do you get an IQ that high by eating ice cream and watching anime all day?"

Chuckling to herself, the red head leaned back in her chair. "I really want to meet this girl."

Ayano just fought the urge to glare.

"Anyway, that concludes the interview." That was an interview? "This was fun, we should do it again sometime." We really shouldn't. Waving her hand at the door, the council member continued, "If you could send the next applicant in, please."

Feeling angry and thoroughly humiliated, Ayano managed a somewhat polite goodbye before she left the room.

Sitting by herself on the train again, this time headed from school rather than to it, Yui couldn't help but feel a touch lonely. Kyoko had cram school, her parents forcing her to go, and it was about time too, while Chitose and Ayano was being interviewed to join the student council, leaving Yui alone for the long trip home. It was a half an hour on the train to get to or from her school, and her phone was a cheap disposable with no games on it, leaving her with nothing to do.

"I really need to join a club," she muttered to herself, sighing as she watched the scenery go by the window. If Chitose and Ayano get onto the council, and Kyoko keeps going to cram school, I'm going to be leaving on the train before them every day.

"I hear the tea club's recruiting," a voice to Yui's left said.

Glancing across, Yui found herself looking up into the eyes of a brown haired girl wearing the same uniform Yui was.

Yui smiled politely, "Thanks, but I thought every club would be recruiting."

The girl shrugged. "More or less, but the tea club is particularly desperate. If they don't get another two members, they'll be disbanded, and I thought I'd do them a favor by pointing you towards them." She indicate the seat next to Yui. "Mind if I sit here?"

Yui glanced her up and down, before nodding. Judging by her physical development, this girl was clearly in one of the years above Yui, and it didn't seem like a good idea to make an enemy of a potential friend. "I don't mind."

"Thanks," she smiled, taking a seat and offering a handshake. "I'm Kaname Tsukasa."

"Nice to meet you, Kaname." Yui shook the hand formally, sticking to the girl's family name rather than using her given name. "Funami Yui," she introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Yui," Kaname answered, using Yui's first name in a way that was… kinda pushy and overly-familiar in Yui's opinion, but then given who she hung out with most days, it didn't seem like something she should get too touchy about. "You're a first year?"

Yui nodded. "And you're a third year?"

Kaname smiled, "Yes. I'm the Vice President on the Student Council."

Yui's eyes widened. "Oh… really?"

"I sorta like to brag about that," she chuckled, stretching a little bit before falling back into her seat. "Do you know anyone at this school?"

Honestly, Yui felt a little weird having a conversation like this with a total stranger, but it wasn't like she had much better to do. "Yeah, some of my friends came with me from Middle School."

"Oh? Lucky. What school did you all come from?"

"Nanamori All Girls."

Kaname blinked. "Really? I've heard of that place."

"You have?" Yui raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yeah, it has a reputation."

It took a moment for Yui to remember her conversation with Kyoko that morning, and what she'd learned about how other students viewed her former school. "Oh," she said flatly.

Awkward silence descended for a few moments.

It was Kaname who broke it, "So... are the rumors true?"

"The rumors?" Yui repeated.

"Yeah, you know. They say that place is like…" She shifted where she sat. "You know…"

"A lesbian recruitment camp?" Yui ventured after a moment.

Kaname's eyes widened in surprise at the bluntness of that statement, and she looked around to make sure no one was listening in. "Well, basically, yeah. Is it true?"

Sighing, Yui looked back out the window. "It's… a well deserved reputation," she said tactfully.

"Really?" Kaname tilted her head to the side.

"...You know that anime, Strawberry Panic?"

"I haven't seen it, but I know what it's about."

"Well, it's like that, but without the melodrama and everyone's worse at hiding it or doesn't even bother trying."

Kaname snorted at that. "So, like… everyone there was...?"

"Not everyone, but… of all my friends there, I think only one of them was straight." Yui paused in thought. Wait, was Akari straight? "I think she was at least. Though I did catch her making out with Chinatsu that one time…"

Kaname giggled. "Really? Wow. I thought the rumors were exaggerated or kinda mean, but… What about you? Are you…?"

"Queer?" Yui offered.

Kaname blinked. "Well, I was gonna phrase it more politely, but sure, that works."

Pausing to consider her answer, Yui shrugged after a moment. "I don't know. I've never really been attracted to someone before, boy or girl."

"Fair enough…" Kaname shrugged. "What do you… uh… you know…"

Yui didn't know. She tilted her head to the side.

"Uh… What do you... enjoy?" Kaname pressed.

Staring for a few seconds, it took Yui a second to realise she was getting at. "You're asking what I masturbate to?"

The Vice President nodded hesitantly, blushing a little at the phrasing.

Yui glanced out the window. "Nothing, really. I just don't do that."

"Really? Like... never?"

"Don't you think this is getting a little personal?" Yui asked, frowning at the girl. "We literally only just met."

"Right, sorry," Kaname blushed, leaning back in her chair. "I didn't mean to pry, I was just curious. I've never, you know, met one before."

"A lesbian?"

She nodded.

Yui couldn't help but snort out a laugh. "Feels like I never meet anyone, but." Sighing, she started to list the people on her hands. "All of my best friends, their sisters, my other friends, their sisters too, the council president, I suspect one of the teachers… Seriously, it's like that place has a curse on it or something."

"A curse?" Kaname repeated, sounding amused.

"Something like that. If you're hoping for grandkids some day, don't send your daughter to Nanamori."

That got a snort of laughter. "I'll remember that, then."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Yui gave Kaname a curious look. "What are you doing here, by the way?"

The brown haired girl blinked, before frowning suspiciously. "What do you mean by that?"

Yui was surprised by her response, so she answered slowly, "I mean, you're the Student Council Vice President, right? My friend is interviewing for a role on the Student Council today… it's kinda odd for someone from the Student Council to go home early on a normal day, let alone when they're doing interviews."

"Oh. That?" Kaname rolled her eyes. "I'm just a paper pusher, I don't want to have to deal with candidates. Sayori, our treasurer, wanted to do the interviews, so we let her." She shrugged. "There was nothing else that needed doing, so the Pres said I could go home if I wanted."

Sounds pretty irresponsible. "Makes sense." Yui kept a good pokerface up as she considered Kaname's strangely aggressive reaction to a seemingly innocent question. Whatever. It's really not my business.

After a moment Kaname started up the conversation again. "So, I know you said you're not into… anyone, but have you ever… you know, kissed a girl?" She leaned in closer.

Yui shrugged after a moment. "A few times, yeah."

"Is it, like, different from a guy?"

"I wouldn't know-" Yui was distracted by her phone beeping. Pausing mid sentence, she took it out of her pocket and checked the screen.

It was from Kyoko, there was an attachment, and it simply read, ";) lol chck this out"

If she's at cram school, why does she have time to take photos? Yui thought to herself, annoyed. Despite herself, she opened the attached image. Given that the image was from Kyoko, she'd prepared herself for something immeasurably stupid, but even so was disappointed in her friend by what she found.

An image of two boys she didn't recognise, making out on a toilet seat in a public bathroom. It was shot from an overhead angle, meaning Kyoko would have had to stand on the rim of a toilet and poked her phone over the top of the cubicle to take the shot.

Frowning in annoyance, Kyoko responded with, "y r u in the boys room? idiot"

Putting her phone back into her pocket, Yui looked up to see Kaname watching her with interest.

"Did you just get bad news or something?" Kaname raised an eyebrow. "You look like you just ate a lemon."

"Certainly wasn't good news." Yui answered with a roll of her eyes. "It's nothing, my friend's just being an idiot again."

It was a moment before Kaname nodded, but looked a touch confused. "So you said you've never kissed a guy?"

Seriously, we just met. Who do you think you are asking me things like this? "Vice President, Kaname," Yui said in a flat tone, "I'm trying to be nice, but I really don't think who I do and don't jerk off over is any of your business."

Kaname blinked in surprised, before blushing and looking away. "Right, sorry. We only just met and I've been asking you stuff like this."

Yui kept silent, but felt a touch guilty for snapping so harshly.

Kaname chewed her lip, before sighing. "I know I was prying but I promise I was just trying to be friendly. How about I make it up to you, sometime? We'll get cake, or something."

Yui blinked and frowned, "I'm really not mad. You don't have to make anything up to me."

Kaname shrugged. "I still feel kinda guilty for running my mouth again, and besides, are you really gonna say no to making a new friend?"

"My current friends give me enough trouble as it is." Yui groused, but took out her phone anyway.

They exchanged numbers and Kaname insisted on taking a photo of Yui as well having her own taken. They chatted for the rest of the train ride, about more normal things like movies, music and school, before eventually the train came to the Vice President's stop.

"Nice meeting you," she told Yui before standing up to leave. "If we catch the same train tomorrow, want to introduce me to your friends?"

Yui shrugged. "Sure, I'll make sure they behave."

Kaname blinked at that somewhat odd statement before stepping out of the train and waving goodbye to Yui. In response, Yui nodded back but didn't raise her hand.