Disclaimer: Takaya Natsuki is the rightful owner. I'm merely borrowing her creations for my own diabolical ideals. No, really.
AN: Ouch, my head hurts right now. I think it was trying to tell me to stop typing or something, but I couldn't until I finished this chapter! XD
Life's Many Indulgences
Chapter 17: It's Quiet
"It's so quiet today," Arisa remarked, throwing her schoolbag over one shoulder. "Something exciting needs to happen."
"I agree," Saki added.
Arisa and Saki were doing their daily routine of walking to school with one another, and almost like a ritual of sorts, they were supposed to meet Tooru at the school gate. Just as expected, upon their arrival there she was standing there smiling at them, looking as if today was going to be another wonderful day. Both Arisa and Saki exchanged perplexed looks - this was something they were never going to understand about their brunette-haired friend.
"Good morning, Arisa. Good morning, Saki," Tooru greeted. "Did the both of you sleep well last night?"
"Somewhat," Arisa replied. "Saki told me earlier that she had a nightmare, but it isn't something to be alarmed about. I'd tell you what she told me, although I'm afraid it's too scary for you."
"Then I suppose I don't want to hear it."
"Are you sure, Tooru? The best part of it was when the girl's throat was slit. Actually, I think the girl in the dream was me, but I can't be too sure. However, I could have sworn she has the same hair as me; the same eyes . . ."
Arisa sweat dropped. Her friend called this a nightmare? She was skeptical about it being titled as such, since Saki seemed to be enjoying the dream rather than being terrified by it. Seeing as Tooru was getting her ears short-circuited, Arisa promptly shut the chatterbox - if only for a moment. Saki looked to her.
"I think that's enough. Tooru isn't going to be able to make it through the first period if you tell her the entire story. Save it for someone who likes horror; they'd be thrilled to hear this."
"Oh, all right. Were you scared, Tooru?"
"Not . . . Not at all!" The pale girl stated.
"Come on, the duty officer is going to usher us inside if we don't get our legs moving." Arisa went behind either of her friends and pushed them along (one hand on each back). "Man, today is pretty quiet though."
"Yeah." Saki smiled. "For now."
XOXOXOXOXOX
Motoko was brooding and it was felt in horrible waves by the entire class. Yuki and Naohito almost wanted to confront her about her upside down attitude, but again, it was not in their place to pry into her business. Or more likely, it never was.
"She looks worn out," Naohito whispered to Yuki. "I wonder what could have happened to her?"
"Best not to gossip, Nao. We aren't some high school girls now, are we?" The other youth shook his head, completely agreeing with Yuki. "If that's the case, turn your attention back to the front of the class and act like everything's normal. Can you handle that?"
"Of course I can," Naohito replied in a hurt tone. "I'm not like Kimi."
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
"How do you wanna do this, Mio?" Mai asked.
The other girl shrugged. "I think we probably should go talk to Motoko first, since she has no freaking idea what is exactly happening. And if she comes to terms with this issue, then the three of us can go deal with Minami together."
Mai nodded. "Sounds like a plan." But then she ended up frowning. "What if Motoko gets mad herself? Minami and Motoko will never be on speaking terms ever again!"
Little did the two girls know that Motoko and Minami had already met up once already. The stifling atmosphere didn't do well for the either of them, so they both ended up staring at each other, as if trying to burn holes into the back of one another's heads.
§IN THE MORNING§
Motoko was the first to catch sight of Minami, and she had a notion to go confront her fellow Yuki club member about the previous day's incident. She was surprised to find herself lying on the grass on her own without the others upon waking up. Something bad must have happened, for when Minami caught sight of her, a contemptuous look surfaced.
An air of unease hit Motoko straight in the face. She took several steps closer, but dared go no further. Fellow students passing by glanced their way, though none stopped to actually watch the confrontation.
The staring contest began - from this alone Motoko was somewhat able to understand the situation. Minami was looking to usurp her of her position. The conniving vice-president had the nerve to try and overthrow her, did she? The light-brown-haired youth had other plans. No words were needed to explain this to Motoko for her to truly understand; having been the president for so long has made her learn a few tricks. One of them was to spot others trying to take reign.
§THE MORNING TURNS INTO NOON§
And it was as so . . .
"Okay." Sharp, bronze eyes followed the movements of a certain individual. "When she comes close I want you to nag her."
"Why do I have to do it?" Mai whined.
"Because I said so. Only you'd be dumb enough to grab Motoko and actually get away with it."
"Huh?" Mai scratched at her head, not understanding what her friend was trying to say. "What do you mean by me being dumb enough?"
"Hurry, she's coming!"
"R-right!"
Before Motoko knew what was happening she felt herself being dragged down by the scruff of her school uniform. Her school bag went flying from her grasp as she tried to pry the hand off that held onto her.
"What is the meaning of this! Who is dragging me!" she hollered. "I demand you let me go this instant!" She flailed her arms and legs (very unlady-like and so very unlike her), trying to get free.
"Let go of her now!" Motoko heard someone hiss.
Within the next moment her back met the floor; its cold, hard surface gave her a slight chill, but it wasn't the time to lie there and think about it. She stood up, turned, and when she met face to face with Mai, her eyes went wide. Very wide.
"Hello there, Motoko," Mai greeted, hiding her hands behind her back. "You've come at just the right time."
"Did you drag me down the hall just now?" The girl paled and diligently shook her head. "Don't lie to me, Mai."
"Okay, okay, I did it." Mai obviously gave in easily when under scrutiny. "But Mio was the one who told me to do it. She said I'd get away with it."
Mio (from her hidden place) stilled. She was a mere two to three steps away, and there was no way she was going to be able to get away from the Yuki fan club president once she was discovered. As silently as she could she tried to tiptoe away. "Mio, don't think I can't see you." Mio armed herself with a smile, prepared to face Motoko's wrath. "If you wanted to say something to me, you didn't have to make Mai drag me down the hall just to get my attention."
As Mio was turning her head her smile instantly faded, and her gaze was then solely fixed beyond the mahogany-haired girl's shoulder. Sparkly eyes developed, along with a tint of berry pink coloring the cheeks. "Oh, my god," Mio breathed. "He's here."
"Who's here?" Motoko asked. What was up with the vague description?
"Shimazaki . . . He's right behind you!"
Motoko sweat dropped. So what if the white-haired (homo) boy was standing behind her. This was the least of her worries. Minami's plan to overthrow her was all that mattered, and until that was resolved, how can she care about what else happened around her? Unless Yuki was involved, of course.
"You dropped this." His voice was silky smooth and gentle to the ears. "It isn't a good idea to leave your schoolbag on the ground like that. Someone might steal it, you know?"
Mio took the opportunity to approach Hatsuharu. "Thank you very much!" She reached for the bag. "Motoko can be a klutz sometimes, but no need to worry!"
Hatsuharu shrugged for no particular reason, and then said, "well, see ya."
Mio latched onto his arm before she realized she was touching him. He looked down at her hand, questioning her with his eyes. Mio trembled, and for the first time in a very long time, she struggled to find the words to say. "Are you . . . Um, are you . . ."
When she wasn't continuing, Hatsuharu asked, "am I what?"
"Mio, this isn't the time for that. Excuse us, will you?" Motoko pulled Mio away.
A bemused teen stood where he was, watching the trio of girls gallop down the hallway, causing a teacher or two to scream at them about not running inside the school vicinity.
§JUST DOWN THE HALL§
"Whoa, that was close! Tooru, you almost got run over!" Arisa was clutching at her friend's shoulder, glad she was able to save the brunette in the nick of time. "No wonder the teachers don't want anyone to run in the hallways. It's dangerous."
"Their static waves were ballistic at best." Saki stared after the trail of smoke and dust. "Something exciting must be happening. It won't stay quiet for very long."
"Wait a minute, now that I think about it, weren't they those Yuki fan club girls?" Arisa asked.
"Yes, it was them."
"Heh, it would have been funny if I was able to see the expression on Minagawa's face!"
§HAVING FINALLY COME TO A STOP . . . SOMEWHERE§
"Let's talk things through like civilized Japanese people. All right, which one of you would like to go first?"
"Me!" Mai and Mio chorused. Both girls turned to look at each other.
"No, actually, Mai first."
"Mio first."
Both of these statements were also said at the same time, and Motoko was trying her hardest not to yell. She knew she was raised far better than this; she had some dignity to uphold, although it wasn't like some of it was not already torn away.
"Fine, I will begin. I should know that the both of you want to talk to me about Minami." The other two nodded, eyes wide. "I hold no grudge against her, but it shall not be tolerated that she is trying to overthrow me. This year is my final year as the president, and one of you were going to take my place. So, why is it, huh, that Minami is in such a rush to become president?"
"Well . . ." Mai muttered.
"It's kind of hard to explain . . ." Mio suffused. Motoko quirked up an eyebrow at this. "Well, mainly because Minami gave a reason of only being tired of following you around. She misses her duty as a president, too."
"I see . . ."
"You are kind of bossy, Motoko," Mai added. "Minami wasn't really like that when we were with her."
This wasn't surprising news, for Motoko knew she was bossy. She knew this from a very young age, and it did not bother her that she acted as so. But, however, at this time, it did bother her - it made her think twice about all she had said and done these past few years. Her pride, if one would like to call it that, is probably wounded at this point, but she didn't want to admit to it.
"I know I'm bossy. So what of it?" Motoko hid behind a mask of mild annoyance.
"We're just worried Minami might not want to come back to us. It won't be the same without her," Mio said.
"I'll be out of her hair at the end of this school year," Motoko reasoned.
"Despite your bossiness, you're still a good president. Motoko--"
Motoko shook her head, silencing Mio. "Say no more. If she wants to be our club's president so badly, then I suppose I can relinquish my position to her. Watching the two of your spout crybaby nonsense is going to make me cry . . . too." A tear rolled down one cheek, and then down the other. From then on they flowed down her face - fast. "See? Now I'm crying. Oh, this is so embarrassing!"
Mio and Mai didn't know what to make of this. They hardly ever saw Motoko cry; and besides, it wasn't like her to cry over the sake of arguing. Both girls had to agree that their Yuki fan club president was most good at that particular approach.
Mai frowned and turned to look at her bronze-eyed friend. She mouthed, "what should we do?"
Mio mouthed back, "console her." Mio reached out to the sobbing girl. "Don't be sad, Motoko." Her shoulders quaked beneath Mio's touch, and Mio, too, could feel tears swelling forth. "You'll only make me more sadder in knowing you'll be gone after this year. Minami doesn't have to take your position - she can have it after you've gone to a better place. We'll miss you."
"Mio? Motoko?" The effect of two crying girls only lead to three. Mai wailed like a baby, letting her voice ring loud and clear into the air. "I think I'm gonna cry, too!"
From somewhere in the distance Saki said, "see? I told you it wouldn't be quiet all afternoon. Seems like the three of them are crying. Hm, I wonder what could have happened?"
"Something bad must have happened!" Tooru made as if to dash right over. "We need to go help them!"
She was stopped by her tall blonde-haired friend. "No need, Tooru. They might be crying over something stupid."
"That's an awful thing to say," Tooru defended, eyes gleaming with purpose.
"It's best to leave them alone, Tooru," Saki added. "We needn't butt into their business, unless we want them butting into ours." This seemed to calm Tooru somewhat and the determined look in her eyes gradually faded.
§THE VERY NEXT DAY§
"So it's a done deal?" Minami nodded, head bowed. "Excellent."
"I was overreacting and wasn't thinking when I said those things. Can you forgive me, Motoko?"
"Yes, you are forgiven. When I am gone you can take over - your sense of leadership is amazing so don't you ever forget that, you hear?" Minami nodded again, head still bowed. "Still, I have you to thank, too. From now on, as unbeknownst of me, I will try to be less pushy and more group friendly. However," Motoko softly smiled, "in return, don't ever forget about me . . . Any of you."
"We won't!" the other three chorused.
They made up fast and all was done and well. Surely, Mio had thought there was going to be a week long feud of the sort, but she was glad nonetheless that it didn't occur. Their ambitions and goals soared higher than ever before.
Will Kishida and Shimazaki eventually get together?
What of Yuki? What was the plans of their beloved, chosen one? Will he be taken away by the insolent red-head?
Chapter 17: END