Idiots played an important role in Yui's life.
Okay, technically Kyoko was a genius, but anyone who spent more than five minutes with her would learn that the blonde lacked even a glimmer of common sense. Her other friends were only a little better, Akari being kinda naive and dense in all fairness, while Chinatsu made up for whatever she lacked in the brains department with sheer delusional creepiness. Chitose and Ayano weren't so bad, as long as the topic wasn't anything related to Kyoko or romance, at which point both of them would suddenly become a stuttering fool and outright unconscious, respectively.
Despite the overabundance of the mentally deficient in her life, Yui still found herself in need of an idiot. Not just any idiot, but one she wasn't affiliated with, and one who could be trusted to handle certain tasks. Or not trusted, in this case. Basically, someone who couldn't keep a secret.
A simple-minded gossip-monger who wasn't particularly good with faces would be ideal. Finding such a person was actually a little tricky, because Yui knew almost no one at this school, and thus had to fish around a bit before she knew where to begin searching.
And by 'fish around', Yui actually meant 'sit in a bathroom stall and listen to the conversations of the girls coming in', which, in retrospect, was about as creepy as one of Chinatsu's drawings. But girls often went to the toilet together, right? They talked about things while they did it, and it was an easy way to listen in on their conversations without being noticed. Yes, not every topic offered what she was after, more often than not the discussion was boys and senpais, much to Yui's irritation. Still, her efforts eventually paid off. After spending some time there before school, in between classes, during lunch, and after school, she'd managed to compile a list of frequently mentioned spreaders of gossip.
A short list with only three names, but still! With just three names and a quick disguise, Yui was ready to get her plan rolling. Never let it be said she wasn't dedicated to protecting her friends, or upholding justice. Her butt was still cold from sitting on a cold toilet rim for so long.
Her disguise was a simple one. A blue wig borrowed from Kyoko's Lucky Star cosplay, as well as some simple makeup to reduce the lines on her face and make her a bit prettier. Also she was smiling, which was something Yui wasn't prone to doing. All this meant that, hopefully, no one would associate her current guise with her usual self.
First on her list? Togashi Karen, who was pretty easy to find with a few directions. Hesitating to approach her directly, Yui instead… well, there was no other way to say it. After stalking Karen for most of her lunch break, she was relieved when the girl eventually went to stand alone by a vending machine, sipping juice.
Moving quickly, Yui went to buy some black coffee, while seemingly reaching into her jacket pocket for cash. At the same time she did that, she pressed dial on her phone with the number for the other phone she'd purchased just that morning already typed in.
A few seconds after her black coffee canrolled out of the machine, Yui's mobile rang. Answering it quickly, she stepped away from Karen, and answered to no one, "Hello."
After pretending someone was speaking into the other end for a moment, Yui made to walk a few more steps away from Karen. "Hey, Jun. What's up?"
"..."
"...Really?" Yui put some disbelief into her voice.
"..."
"...Ew, that's super gross. With Mr Ishii?"
"..."
"...Isn't she the Student President? He's not cute at all, what is she doing with him?"
Glancing over her shoulder, Yui found Karen leaning towards her with an interested look on her face. Perfect.
Coughing into her phone, the false blunette gave the other girl a glare and answered the imagined caller. "Could you wait a second, someone's trying to listen in."
Karen startled, looking away quickly in embarrassment at being caught.
"Yeah, I'll call you back." Yui said, narrowing her eyes in pretend annoyance before walking away and sipping at her coffee haughtily.
Hanging up as she passed around the corner, Yui smirked to herself.
With rumors of Mr Ishii and the Council President's sordid affair circulating the school, all Yui needed was evidence, which was going to be considerably trickier to acquire. The few images she did have could be too easily traced back to her, and weren't especially conclusive.
No, for this she'd need to consult someone. Someone she really didn't want to consult.
Sighing and internally bracing herself, Yui leaned back into her desk chair and dialled a number into her phone, the one she actually regularly used, not the one that she purchased just this morning.
The phone didn't even finish ringing once, when it was answered with an explosive squeal of, "Yuiiiiiii!"
Wincing, she tried to ignore the headache that formed almost instantly. God, I hate caller ID. "Hello, Chinastu."
"You haven't called me for so long, and I was worried you'd forgot about me, or that Kyoko had done something to you and I'd have to see you at your house, and I've missed you so much-"
Sighing to herself, Yui left the phone at her desk before walking into the kitchen to get a drink of water and an aspirin. She came back a moment later and put the phone to her ear.
"-nd I'm just just so glad to hear from you again." Chinatsu finished happily.
Does she even breath? "Yeah, I'm glad to hear from you, too. How have you been getting along with Akari?"
"Oh, it hasn't been the same without you. Akari's kinda boring, but she doesn't resist me anymore, so I can have fun with her."
"...'Resist you'?" Yui asked, feeling a bit worried for Akari's health.
"Yeah, she was so reluctant at first, but I showed her who's boss!" Chinatsu sounded… worryingly satisfied, to say the least.
"..." Fighting the urge to swallow in apprehension, Yui asked, "What have you done with Akiri?"
"Oh, I made her vice president of the Tea Club." Chinatsu dismissed. Her voice dropped an octave, and she sincerely said, "I'd never take orders from anyone but you, senpai."
Something cold crawled up the raven haired girl's spine, she assumed it was a scorpion that had been dipped in iced water. "That's nice."
There is a void inside that girl. Once upon a time, Yui had worried about the damage Kyoko might do to an innocent and vulnerable Chinatsu, but these days it was the other way around. She honestly couldn't believe that she once believed the pink head might need protecting, when the fact was other people needed protection from her.
Chinatsu was without a doubt the single creepiest person Yui had ever met. That pink hair concealed the mind of a psychopath and the heart of an obsessive. During her final year at middle school, Yui had honestly worried she'd one day end up on the evening news as one of those people who was tied up in a basement and enslaved for several years.
And the drawings. Oh god, the drawings. Disturbing, misshapen pictures of strange, repulsive creatures that vaguely represented her and her friends, looking like they were being eaten by leering faces, bleeding from the mouth, or ritualistically slaughtering each other. Chinatsu insisted she was a talented artist, and that they were pictures of people kissing or holding hands, but if that was her perception of what people in love looked like, then Yui had no intention of ever being in love with her.
Why does she only ever draw in black and red?
"-New club member quit for some reason. She was whimpering something about satanic tea cults when she gave me her resignation letter."
"Uh huh," Yui answered. "Hey, you know how to pick a lock, right?"
"...What makes you ask that?" Chinatsu asked after a moment.
"You broke into my house." Yui answered flatly.
"...No I didn't."
"Yes, you did. You took nude photos of yourself next to me while I was sleeping." Yui still couldn't believe she hadn't woken up for that.
"Who showed you tha- I mean, no I didn't!"
"It's your desktop wallpaper. I've been to your room, you know."
"...It was photoshopped?" Chinatsu offered after a moment.
While Yui sincerely hoped that was true, she doubted it. It's the reason I had a deadbolt added to my door. "Look Chinatsu, I'm hoping you could come to my place sometime and teach me what you know about lock picking."
"Really?!" Chinatsu squealed happily. She was always happy to have any excuse to hang out with her crush/shameless obsession. "Can I come over tomorrow?"
"...Sure." Yui couldn't help the hesitation. Inviting Chinatsu into her house felt a bit like asking for something horrible to happen to her.
Chinatsu squealed with excitement, and Yui jerked the phone away from her ear with a wince. "I can't wait, thank you, Yui! You won't regret this. I'll bring every book I have on stealth entries and all of my lock picks!"
"Got any books on home defence, too?" Yui asked dryly. "Sounds like I might need them."
"Of course!" Chinatsu replied, happily missing the point. "It's always a good idea to know what tricks someone might use to stop you."
"...I was joking about the…" Yui started, but then thought better of it. "Never mind, bring the home defence books too."
"Ooh, I can't wait! This is going to be so much fun, Yui-"
Hanging up, Yui dropped the mobile phone back to her desk, and spun in her chair to examine her apartment. After a moment, she sighed and stood up, muttering to herself, "Better hide my underwear…"
Shorter chapter than usual this week. Sorry about that, I'll try to make up for that with next chapter which I'm hoping will be awesome.
Please review.