29 September 2010

Samegawa Flood Plain

After School

"Satonaka-san! Wait up!" Midori yelled out as she chased the first-year and her friend along the muddy path. A night full of snow melted into the ground, leaving behind enough moisture that it would take a week at the current temperatures to dry out.

Ahead of her, Chie and Yukiko paused in their walk and turned to see Midori coming up behind them. She wasn't rushing, but neither was she taking her time. "I've been trying to find you the past couple days, but I keep missing you." She came to a halt before the two younger girls, and bowed politely in Yukiko's direction. "Pardon me, Amagi-kun. I must speak with Chie for a moment. May we have some privacy?" She indicated the path down to the riverbank itself, cleaned of snow and melt-off.

"Of course, Vice-President." Yukiko said, giving leave.

"I'm not Vice President!" Midori objected, knowing it was to no avail. She hadn't planned on it, but somehow the student body had defaulted into that. Or the Queen. What in the world possessed her to do that anyways? Oh well, she would have to live with it, and live up to the expectations that now surrounded her.

The two carefully descended the stone steps until they were out of earshot of Yukiko. "Yes?" Chie said, wondering what was happening now.

Midori bowed. Deeply. "I apologize for my behavior," she said, holding her position for as long as her social status compared to the tomboy allowed. "It has been brought to my attention by people whose opinions I trust that I have been an... unkind example." She rose, ignoring the cold in her cheeks.

Chie didn't know how to respond. "You... apologizing to me?"

"Yes." Midori announced flatly. "Upon reflection, I have come to the conclusion that perhaps my treatment of you has been unnecessary in nature, and..." She refused to meet Chie's gaze. "That perhaps I should make amends."

"I don't believe this." Chie muttered. "You've been nothing but rude to me for months, and you expect just an apology will work out now?!"

This wasn't how Midori was expecting it to go. She was supposed to apologize, and Chie was supposed to accept it, and then the two of them could have parted ways for a while to cool each others heads. And she was trying to do what Chihiro talked to her about!

She sure wasn't going to back down either. "Rude? Sure, accosting me because I'm a student of Sanada-san doesn't count, right?"

From above, Yukiko heard the two of them start yelling at each other. Her friend Chie was speaking quite passionately about being used by the Vice-President with the latter retaliating that Chie didn't and couldn't possibly understand what was going on, and that Chie herself was being equally unreasonable.

Curious, Yukiko tilted her head. From a distance, and with both of them speaking passionately about their own positions, it was hard to tell their voices apart. In fact, the less reserved they acted, the more it really sounded like they were sisters than anything else.

At least they hadn't threatened anything physical yet. She was slightly worried, recalling that Chie had complained long and loudly how the elegant second year had just so easily gotten under her skin with everything she had ever done. Not that she could relate, given her more cordial relations with Komaki.

She had heard that yelling was occasionally good for friends, and as she watched over the two of them, she wondered if this was their way of expressing their budding friendship? Well, perhaps a better measure of that would be when Chie introduces her dog, Chosokabe to her?

So she kept waiting until they stopped arguing.

Komaki Residence

Night

Midori slumped into her daddy's chair in his office. With him out of town, she could claim it with impunity. And truth be told, more than once she had fallen asleep in it when she was growing up, only for her Daddy to come home and tuck her in there, rather than taking her to her bed instead.

She missed those days when everything was simple. She really did. And sitting down in the reclining chair, she found she barely had the energy to go out and work on her show. The argument with Satonaka had drained her emotionally and physically.

Was she really being a bitch?

She had thought about talking it over with Saki, but one look at her friend when she showed up to help at the store after her encounter with the first-year, and the two of them knew the other was too tired to speak about such things, so they simply worked at the store for a couple hours, had a late supper, then parted ways.

She could call Aigis, but it wasn't Saturday, and she honestly doubted the poor robot could tell her what she felt she needed to hear. She was too nice like that. Actually... an idea occurred to Midori and she turned on her daddy's computer rather than go back to her room. It wasn't like she was going to spy on his work, she just needed to do some spot research and refused to leave the comfortable chair.

A few minutes later, she was done, and the computer returned to its off state. Now, this she would have to talk to her friend about. Later though. She had to get back to the subject at hand. Maybe Amane could help? She was a friend, but not one such that she would lie to make her feel better.

Mochizuki Residence

Mari picked up the ringing phone, the caller ID showing that it was Midori's house. "Hello Midori-chan! How are you?"

"I am doing well," the fellow former Demon Summoner replied.

"Are you sure?" the nurse recognized a tired person when she heard it. Far too many examples to count. "You sound exhausted."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "I am. Maybe. Can I talk to Amane? Is she in?"

"One moment." Mari put one hand over the receiver, then leaned around the corner to look into the living room. "Amane? You got time? Midori wants to talk."

"Oh?" The younger girl said, looking up from her studies. "About what?"

"She would like to know why," Mari related.

"Um... I just need to ask her a question. As a friend."

"Personal," Mari said, holding out the phone should her roommate choose to accept, which she did.

"Hello Midori." Amane said, putting down her pen to focus on the conversation.

"Amane, am I mean?"

The shrine maiden didn't know how to respond to that. "What do you mean?"

So Midori started talking about everything that had happened in the months since she had moved in, barely keeping her mind ahead of her mouth to edit out the secret things she wasn't going to tell her friend. When she finally stopped, Amane's head buzzed, trying to process everything.

"I think," she said softly, "that you are trying to hard." She rubbed one hand on her forehead as she pieced together what was all going on. About the only thing she could peg down was the stress as a factor, something she had some experience in dealing with, people with crises of faith.

At least Midori didn't have to worry about Demons.

"What I think you need to do," Amane said calmly, giving the most generic advice she could given the situation, "is to step back and relax a little. You will get nowhere by charging ahead blindly with no plan."

"But I've been trying!" The impulsive girl on the other end couldn't muster the energy to make it believable.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Amane make her question sound like a command. "Then come back to this problem refreshed." She hung up then, letting out a low groan of annoyance.

Mari set a glass of water down in front of her. "What's happening?"

"She's being a teenager." Amane explained.

Mari let a small smile touch her mouth. "And you aren't?"

02 October 2010

Dojima Household

Evening

"I wanna be an angel!" Nanako proclaimed as she glared at her big sister with all the force the little girl could muster. "Angel!"

"Are you sure?" Midori tried to be diplomatic. But with this week being one that she would soon rather forget, she was forced to to end it by dealing with Nanako and her completely unreasonable demands. "Butterflies are very pretty!"

"No!" Nanako said, not understanding why Big Sis wasn't letting her dress up as an Angel for Halloween! She got to be a demon! "Angel!"

Saki shook her head. "Come on Midori. You're going to lose this argument. She wants to dress up like an angel, so she'll do that." She didn't add that the younger sister obviously got her stubbornness from the elder, and that watching the two of them come head to head like this was quickly growing boring. "Detective Dojima will side with her."

"Angel! Angel!" Nanako cried out, sensing victory! "I wanna be an angel?"

For Midori, the question was less one of getting her into a costume. She had figured out how to do that within minutes of the request, it was second nature to her. No, the problem was the angel part of the request. How was she going to explain to her that Angels were not the nice creatures of Heaven that she thought they were? That they were just as bad and wrong and hateful as any Demon?

Well, not any Demon. Frosty was an exception. And she could name one Angel that wasn't totally bad. Remiel helped them out. So, one good Angel and one good Demon. Everything there made sense.

But it wasn't like Nanko knew what Angels really looked like. She was obviously thinking of wearing a white dress with a cotton halo and cotton wings.

If it wasn't real, then would it matter? She shook her head to clear her thoughts. While she wanted to perhaps get a second opinion from Amane, who obviously knew more about this than she did, that would not help her out at all.

No, Saki was right, and she gave a look at her friend that showed she recognized defeat, and that there would be an appropriate reckoning for siding with Nanako later. "Very well. You get to dress up as an Angel. But remember, Big Sis will make your costume for you, so you have to be good, right?"

"~YAY~!" Nanako cried in joy, having won the argument. She couldn't wait to show her daddy how pretty she was!

04 October 2010

Yasoinaba High School, 1st Floor Hallway

Early Morning

Yosuke Hanamura waited impatiently for the instructions to enter the Teacher's offices. Here he was, a fresh face in this school thanks to his dad's job, and he cursed the fact that he was showing up a month into the semester. But this is what his father wanted, what with Junes and all.

This place was hicksville. He was sure he could spit from one end of the town to the other in a single go. And whose idea was it to build a big city shopping center in a small town like this anyways?

But his father had impressed on him that this was what needed to be done, and so he was here.

His inner monologue was halted when a vision of beauty walked past him and into the lounge. Her long blue and purple hair trailed behind her dramatically as she strode past him with out recognizing his existence. With a knock, and a pardon for the intrusion, she stepped in and closed the door behind her, shocking Yosuke out of his stunned silence.

"OK," he said out loud. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all."

Class 1-2

Lunchtime

"Alright, city-boy, let's show you around."

Yosuke looked up at the girl with short brown hair and the green jacket who had introduced herself as Chie earlier. They were sitting one in front of the other in class, and she had the luck to be assigned to guide him around the school for the first couple days until he got his bearings.

"Hey, thanks!" He said cheerfully as he stood up. "Name's Yosuke, by the way."

Chie opened her mouth to say something before changing her mind. "Sorry. I was going to say something rude because of who recommended me to show you around."

Yosuke was confused. "What do you mean? Didn't the teacher assign you that job?"

"No, it's more than that. Come on, and I'll tell you as we walk. Hey, Yukiko, want to join us?"

"Hrm?" The raven-haired girl with the red colour scheme looked up from her books. "No thank you, Chie. I have to catch up on some reading." She indicated the book in front of her.

"Alright then. Come on, Yosuke." Chie stepped out of the class and into the hallway. "Alright, pretty standard hallway. Three floors, one for each grade." She pointed up to indicate the correct direction. "Stairs are in the middle of the school at the lobby, as well as at both ends." She then pointed down the hallway in both directions. "Come on, I'll show you the less obvious stuff."

Yosuke watched and listened as Chie gave him the short tour. It was obvious her heart wasn't into it, and he paid attention to find out why. If he could figure that out, and work on it, he could break the ice with her a bit. First day at school, and already he could feel a chill in the air directed at him. It was like they knew who he was, or rather who his father was, and were reacting to that.

His first clue was when they walked past the second floor classrooms, and she pointed at 2-2. "This is where the worst person in the school's class is. Don't trust her."

"Who's her?" Yosuke asked, but Chie was having none of that and kept walking, showing him to the second floor that had the club rooms and leading to the upper access to the gymnasium.

"So, what clubs are you in?" He tried a different approach as she showed him where the change rooms were. "You seem pretty athletic."

"Er..." Chie tried to think of a way to avoid answering the question. "We don't accept boys," she said instead, implying she was in one of the all-girls clubs. That she had been tossed out of, or rejected from all the sports clubs was not something she wanted to admit to. Her teacher was already on her case about it, and at this point, the only club she hadn't applied to was the Tennis Club.

She'd rather do flower arrangement, or be a janitor, such was her feelings for that person.

"Ah!" Yosuke accepted her comment without question. "I suppose I'll have to ask around for myself then." He looked back at the hallway, but saw nothing to catch his interest. "Third floor?"

On the third floor, she pointed down the hallway that held the senior's classrooms, then walked down the other side. The first door was the Announcement room, and she opened the door to show him. "Nothing out of the ordinary here," she said. "But really on a few people deal with this place."

The next room was introduced. "And this is the Student Council Room. They don't do that much and honestly no one pays any attention to them if they're smart."

The door to the room slammed open, and Yosuke saw that the blue-haired beauty from this morning was standing there with a huge grin on her face. He instantly connected her presence here with the teacher's offices this morning and knew she was on the Council, and probably highly ranked as well.

"Satonaka!" the older girl said. "Ah, and you must... be..."

It was obvious to Yosuke that she was trying to remember his name, so he helped that along. "Hanamura Yosuke," he formally introduced himself. "I'm new."

"Ah! Yes!" She bowed slightly. "Midori Komaki. Vice-President, and captain of the Tennis Club. Welcome to our school. I'm glad Chie is showing you around."

"No thanks to you," the younger girl said under her breath.

Midori looked like she wanted to say something, but backed off with a massive force of effort. Even Yosuke could see in the thirty seconds they interacted that Chie and Komaki were at odds. And it was far too soon for him to even appear to be picking sides just yet. "I won't keep you any longer," Midori said to the two of them. "Hanamura-san, in case your teacher hadn't gotten around to it yet, I am reminding you that you have two weeks to file your application to join whatever student clubs you choose. If you need help locating them, or the people in charge of them, talk to Satonaka, or myself. One of us can help you."

With that, she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her before walking back to the central stairs and down.

"What a bitch." Chie announced, and Yosuke kept his mouth shut. His plans to impress people with his mature big-city ways seemed farther and farther away with each passing moment.

06 October 2010

Yasogami High School, Gymnasium

After School

Midori stepped into the gym to find her girls practising their volleys. She was still by far the best on the team thanks to her extra six-months of training, plus all her practise in SEES. Kanako was controlling her match against Eri, while Saki was faltering against her opponent, Kohaku. "Everyone!" She called out loudly enough to get everyone's attention. "Gather around please!"

Quickly, her four juniors on her team stopped what they were doing, and came over to stand in a semi-circle around her. "What's up?" Kanako asked, curious as to why their Captain was late.

Midori responded by holding up a letter. "This was delivered to the school today," she said before passing it over to Saki to read first. "It is an invitation for our entire team to go to the Regional competition in January!"

"What?" "Really?" "Wow!" Three of the four responded positively, and Midori instantly narrowed in on Saki, who just looked tired.

"Saki? You alright?"

"Just a little tired," the second-year said. "Nothing to worry about."

"Alright," Midori de-prioritized that particular concern. She was headed up to her store that night evening anyways for her weekly help and driving practise, so she could get a better grasp of any problems then. "So, as the letter says, we're invited to the weekend tournament in January. Like the one back in August, except all of us can go, instead of just me." Her tone of voice indicated she much preferred to go with friends than by herself. "So, we still have a couple weeks before I have to send back the acceptance, I want each of you to think if you want to come or not."

"I will!" Eri said, jumping up and down with her hand in the air. "I'll go!" Kanako and Kohaku reserved their decision for the moment.

"And as reward for all of us being so awesome," Midori said as the letter was passed back to her, "I'll be taking everyone out for supper next week!"

Their Captain spending money on them as a treat was always met with approval.

25 October 2010

Yasogami High School, Student Council Room

After School

"And we're done," Dan announced as he closed the book in front of them. "Thank you for another good day, Midori."

The second-year was already picking her stuff up. "I know. Sorry, got to rush. Practice."

"Have you settled on who is going yet? Or are you going to order everyone to attend?"

Midori stopped, Saki on her mind. "She's having troubles at home," she said quietly. "I haven't been able to figure it out yet, but once I do, I'll get your answer."

Dan already knew, he saw the signs that Midori hadn't with all her efforts to be a friend. "I may know," he confessed. "Do you want to know?"

Midori paused. "Sure. Tell me." She didn't sit down, but she stopped stuffing papers into her bag to pay attention to Dan.

"It's the store," he said. "Junes has been affecting a lot of the smaller shops and their bottom lines have been suffering."

Midori's brain took a moment to click into what he was saying. "That doesn't make sense, I've been working there!"

Dan shook his head sadly. "Yes, but I've said you're not paid except with a meal each week, right?"

"Yea..."

"Well, that's why you're not seeing it. Konishi-chan has to live with it, and it's very stressful."

Midori worked her mouth open and closed. "I have to do something about that."

Dan didn't know what she could do to change the fortunes of the town, this wasn't some romantic drama. But he could trust her to be friendly with Saki, and that would be a start. He changed the subject. "I will be tutoring Amane-miko tomorrow. Will you be able to attend?"

She thought. "No, I don't think so. I've got other commitments to worry about."

Dan nodded. "I understand. Well, you had best be off." He gestured to the door. "You have Tennis."

"Right!" Midori slammed the rest of her stuff into her bag, leaving corners poking out as she rushed for the door. "I'll get that by the end of the week!"

Dan waited a moment, then finished cleaning up the office. Truth be told, he was glad that Midori had stepped up to help with the Council. She was a far more personable person than he was, and being so much more approachable had meant that the student body was more likely to come to them.

And thankfully the pressure being put on him had eased considerably once he had started 'dating' Midori. The two of them kept up appearances for the public, and things were going smoothly all around.

Once the files were put away, he made one last loop of the room, checking for anything left over. There was nothing, so he gathered his things and turned off the lights behind him. Christmas was coming in two months, as was New Years. He needed to be prepared with their cover for that.

26 October 2010

Junes Shopping Centre, Stock Rooms

After School

Yosuke grunted as he lifted the boxes off the pallet and onto the rolling trolley. More electronics, including some awesome widescreen televisions that were in the latest HD standards were set to go out tonight, and it was his job to make sure the over-night crew had everything ready for them. Once the trolley was loaded, he wiped his hands down on his apron before getting behind it to push it and its load for the freight elevator.

Carefully swerving past the piles of material to be sold, Yosuke managed to get to his destination without issue, where he and one of the older gentlemen who worked in the department unloaded the televisions. "Thanks," he said, bowing. Even if he was the son of the Manager, he still had to be polite to the employees. His failed at that once, and the anger his father had when he found out was enough to still scare him.

"You're welcome." The old man said. "Look, we're good for now. Why don't you grab a quick break, then we can get the next load. It's gonna be accessories, so lots of little things."

"I know exactly where they are!" the student said. "Say, 15 minutes?"

"Sounds about right."

"You want anything while I'm at the food court?"

"No, thanks." The department worker waved Yosuke off, and the young man doffed his apron before heading up to the rooftop to get something to eat from one of the stands up there.

Upon his arrival, he noted the cloudy skies, heavy with the expectation of precipitation. Combined with the chill, and it looked to him like they were in for a serious snowfall either that evening or overnight. Well, he would be home by then, so there was no need for him to worry.

"Excuse me?"

Yosuke's thoughts about the weather in this rural town were halted by the voice addressing him from his left. Looking in that direction, he was surprised to see a girl he thought he recognized from school standing there with a sheet of paper in hand and in a fairly pretty dress. That's the point where he stumbled. "Y.. yes?"

"You work here?" She asked, as though unsure of herself. "I mean, I've seen you at school, and I know you come here a lot, and..." She looked as embarrassed as Yosuke felt, and he felt that he needed to be cool about this. Not like he was now."

"I try not to," he said. "I mean I do! I do! I'm Yosuke!", he bowed as he said that, causing the other girl to do the same. "How can I help you? I'm kinda on my break right now, but I can tell you where everything is."

"Ah. Yes." She bowed a bit again, clutching the paper tight to her chest. "Can you please... tell me where I can go to get hired?"

Yosuke laughed. "That's it? That's nothing!" He pointed back to the stairs. "Next floor down. Head to the back of the building and look for Customer Service. They'll take your application there."

"Thank you," she said, bowing again, then she was gone, running for the stairs.

Then Yosuke realized he never got her name. "Smooth," he complained out loud to himself before returning to the reason why he came up here in the first place.