"Managerial Mayhem"
SUMMARY: Wanted! A manageress for Hyoutei's Tennis Club. Applicant? Ito Himawari, an ambitious girl who wants to be anything but normal. What to expect: Headaches, sore legs, angry fangirls, flying tennis balls, and maybe even… love?
DISCLAIMER: The Prince of Tennis was created by Konomi Takeshi. As usual, the characters in the franchise do not belong to me and belong to their respective owner(s). Aside from the characters I create, I do not mean to infringe on any current copyrights on the series. Thank you and have fun reading!
CHAPTER SIX: The Manager is a Converted
"Θα μπορούσα εύκολα συγχωρήστε μου την υπερηφάνεια, αν δεν είχε ορυχείο..."
"Ah, Greek!" The raven haired girl spoke in a tone tailored for the role of a drama queen. "Why cannot we get along?"
Recently, Himawari's grades did not reach her usual standards. Her trigonometry teacher, unsatisfied with her performance, asked her to come see him inside the teacher's lounge. When she got there, he was direct to the point and asked her if there was something that bothered her. He was aware of her new position as the manager of the tennis club and advised her to withdraw from club activities to concentrate on school work.
"You see, Ito-chan," Fujioka-sensei said quietly as he met Himawari's eyes. "I think that tennis club isn't doing you any good. You're way better than that. Think of your future."
She kept her face stoic. She didn't know Fujioka-sensei was against the tennis club. There weren't many who were.
"I think I can juggle my time, sensei. I'm merely adjusting. Pretty soon, I'll be back to normal."
"I wouldn't be too sure if I were you," he warned as he turned back to his laptop. "You're not Atobe after all."
That conversation was a big slap to the face. It was an even bigger slap to her ego.
Himawari then resolved to climb back on top. In fact, she traded her precious lunchtime with Yuki today just for an hour to secretly study Greek in the library. Himawari loudly sighed in frustration, her chin resting on a propped elbow. Lying in front of her were numerous papers and documents, as well as an open notebook.
Oh, and don't forget about the Greek dictionary. The battered and worn-out Greek dictionary, that is.
But hey, things were going great. Her homework was finished. Hurray! Her paperworks were finished. Hurray!
"Ito!"
Her most hated person on the planet is going to be finished… HURRAY!
In times like this though, one can blame the trick of the light. No one in Hyoutei spends their lunch break on the library, and she had already spent a good amount of time in the library to know for certain that His Pompous Majesty never sets foot on the library during these hours. So what the hell was Atobe doing here?
No sense in not asking.
"What the he- Arhem!" She coughed when she realized that she would become neither demure nor proper if she was ever to continue with what she was going to say. The perfect girl façade then returned back in full force. "Hmm, I mean what brings you here, Atobe-san?"
Atobe Keigo, looking as devastatingly handsome as ever, merely smirked at the girl, "Japan is a free country, Ito."
"A common knowledge to everyone," Himawari answered back, leaning back and widening her fake smile.
"So why were you asking?"
Himawari shrugged lightly, her raven locks momentarily caressing her shoulders when she effortlessly swayed. "The library does not seem to be the right place for you to be spotted around, Atobe-san. If you were in your private study in the second floor, or in the Student Council Meeting Room, then I would not be surprised; it only fits your regal image after all." She tapped her chin and then brightened before his very eyes. "Ah, but the tennis courts is the place where you shine the most of course!"
Another lie and another empty compliment, Atobe recognized. It was one of those traits that he immediately disliked about her, and while it would give him tremendous satisfaction to bite her off with one of his signature dry remarks, he wasn't going to let her have the upper hand in this verbal battle.
'Two could play at this game.'
His lips were set in a straight, grim line, but he managed to say, "Ore-sama is here because Ore-sama wants to see you."
"Me?" Himawari repeated in mock surprise. She laughed and then dismissively waved a hand in the air. "How funny, Atobe-san! Surely the day isn't so quiet that you can find no other occupation than seeking my company?" Hurriedly, she added, "Besides, I'm sure I'll just bore you to tears."
"You could never bore me, Ito Himawari," Atobe responded smoothly.
Surprisingly the Hyoutei king found himself enjoying this somehow odd battle of retorts with Himawari. He studied the girl as she rewarded his fun-seeking side with a look of pure disbelief.
The raven haired girl had her mouth dropped wide open. Had someone turned up an oven or heater in here or what? Did Atobe just use one of his ladykiller moves on her? Of all people? Well, for some it would be a huge privilege and it's like living a FRICKING fangirl's dream… But that was the problem! She's NO FRICKING FANGIRL! Her lips wobbled as she tried to think of a glorious comeback.
Too late for her though. Atobe grabbed a chair and sat beside her, giving her an indulgent smile and looking terribly relaxed and comfortable on his seat. "Ore-sama thinks that we need to talk."
Quick! She had to find a way to distract him!
"Ohoho!" Himawari quickly darted her hand towards the Greek dictionary on the table. "Unfortunately, as much as I want to converse with you, Atobe-san, I have a lot of homework to do. Now, if you'll excuse me-"
"You are also taking up Greek?" Atobe suddenly asked as he snatched Himawari's notebook. He elegantly raised one of his brows, making him one of the few people Himawari knew who could do that with relative ease. "How surprising…" he murmured absently while he scanned the notebook's contents.
"It seems like an interesting language," Himawari cautiously replied, trying to keep her voice even.
"It is," Atobe agreed, before turning back to his female companion and smugly smirking, "though Ore-sama thinks that you still need a lot of work since your Greek translation is laughable at most."
Himawari's owllike eyes widened even more. She wanted to kill him so badly! Atobe's murder would probably result to a manhunt, courtesy of Atobe's rabid fangirls, but at least her heart would be at peace! She suddenly craned her head to finally get a good look at Atobe, trying to decide which side of his perfect nose could better take a punch.
"Aan~?" The Hyoutei buchou leveled his gaze at the girl too. "Why are you looking at Ore-sama like that, Ito?"
She blinked.
Damn, better think of a good excuse!
"My apologies, Atobe-san. I was merely, er, admiring your handsome visage!"
"You aren't the first one to become awestruck by Ore-sama's unearthly beauty."
"Surely I cannot argue with that, Atobe-san."
An awkward silence filled the library. Himawari offered Atobe a tight smile, which Atobe returned with another raised eyebrow. When the tension between the two of them became thick enough to double as a brick wall, Atobe unexpectedly leaned towards the raven haired girl and narrowed his eyes.
"Tell Ore-sama," his voice grew serious, his hot breath tickling her face. "Why did you want to become a manager? Ore-sama agreed to let you in because of your potential, but one could only get so far without having to actually be passionate. So why? To chase around the tennis club members? Aan~? Or maybe," Atobe's right hand found itself cupping her soft cheek. "you just want to hog the spotlight and get the fame all for yourself?"
A vein popped on Himawari's forehead. 'Breathe, breathe! Don't let him get to you… IMPROVISE!'
"I believe," Himawari finally answered through gritted teeth while she slapped away Atobe's hand. "that you are the one guilty of wanting the spotlight all for yourself, Atobe." 'MUST! DISINFECT! MY CHEEK!'
"Not so formal now, I see," Atobe stroked his chin.
"Not speaking in third person now, I see," Himawari spat back, but not without a bitter smile.
Atobe frowned considerably. Sometimes, just sometimes, when he was in deep thought or immersed in something else, he would forget to proclaim 'Ore-sama' and then replace it with the more common (-and don't forget NORMAL!) personal pronoun 'I.' Huh. At least she was listening. Feeling mildly entertained, Atobe smiled as his expression then became more predatory. "Ore-sama heard that your popularity skyrocketed after joining the team."
Himawari didn't bulge. Her pride was on the line here. "My, my. The club taking credit for my improving social status? That's new, Atobe-san."
Atobe didn't back down. His massive ego wouldn't let him do so. "Luckily for you Ito, most people can be likened to sheep; where one goes, the rest follow. You should get down on your knees and thank Ore-sama that you finally got your own lovestruck suitors. It wouldn't have been possible without the team's endorsement."
"Thanks, but no thanks," she pleasantly answered back as she drummed a finger on the table. "I'm not interested. Most especially if they follow you as their leader sheep."
Fighting the sudden urge to break into a grin, Atobe rewarded the smiling girl with another observant look. She was good. And quite shrewd. Except for his mother, there weren't a lot of women out there who were quite adept in matching his wit and conversing with him on equal footing. Himawari was… well, she's different from most women. He felt it that time too, when she walked in his office for the first time. There was drive in her eyes, and he could tell that she wanted to fight fire with fire.
Ha! The playful devil inside Atobe sneered. As if Ore-sama will let you.
His lips curved into a wicked smile, and Himawari inwardly gulped. Did someone here raise the temperature up again? She knew that smile and that was the kind of smile that Atobe must have used to win the adoration of legions of women. Squirming on her seat, she began to look for an avenue of escape.
'This scenario is so familiar,' she thought miserably as she remembered her interview inside Atobe's private study.
"What's wrong?"
"I…" She bit her tongue. She actually bit her tongue. "I just think it's a bit warm in here. Don't you think so?"
He didn't say anything else.
Which only infuriated Himawari even more.
"What I mean is," Himawari faced the diva of Hyoutei determinedly and fanned herself for added effect. "I think that the air conditioning needs some work. But it's probably just me…"
He didn't respond again. Hyoutei's manager wanted to Kamehame wave him into oblivion for this, but unfortunately, reality needed to be unkind and smack her hard on the face.
Sigh.
"Ito, it probably isn't just you; Ore-sama feels it too." As he turned to her with his legendary heavy-lidded stare, something washed over Himawari. She did not know what it was, but it made her feel numb and uneasy.
"Uh, o-okay," she flushed and then pursed her lips, her face contorted in embarrassment.
Atobe studied her horrified face, closely enough to make her want to migrate to Mars, and then he erupted into a smile. "You… You fell for it?" he said slowly, sounding too happy for Himawari's liking. "You actually fell for it! What a pity, Ito, what a pity. Ore-sama made the mistake of overestimating you."
"WHY YOU!" Before she could continue any further, she clamped her mouth shut and then balled her fists. It wouldn't be as satisfying as the castration of one Atobe Keigo, but murder in broad daylight wouldn't be good for her image anyway.
"Did you honestly think that Ore-sama was trying to seduce you?"
She raised her chin defiantly at once.
"The library," he drawled. "isn't the best stage for Ore-sama's seduction."
"I know," the girl responded sarcastically. Anything that had to do with academic ranks and homeworks and stupid Greek translations were now all thrown out of the window. "Because if you do this kind of thing everyday in anywhere public, a crazy fangirl might pop out from nowhere and abduct you. And wouldn't that be a crying shame?"
The response of the Hyoutei buchou was not exactly what Himawari was looking for. Atobe's elegant features gradually turned darker. The captain shifted his seating position, allowing her to quizzically stare at him. "Ah, that reminds Ore-sama of an important issue he needs to address." He looked at her. "Are you acquainted with someone whose name is 'Reina?'"
"Reina?" Himawari parroted. Baffled, Himawari just shook her head. "No, I do not think so, Atobe-san."
"I see…" Atobe was back to looking thoughtful with –is he hot or what?- his fingers rubbing his chin and his deep blue eyes misting over and-
RED LIGHTS!
STOP!
Himawari inwardly shook her head. Ha! As if she was gonna fall for that one again. Besides, that Reina person was probably Atobe's fangirl of the day.
"Well, that matter aside, Ore-sama would move to something with higher priority and far greater importance. And that is tennis," Himawari sighed. Finally. Something that actually had to do with her position. Though it was very unsettling that Atobe abruptly changed the topic of their discussion, Himawari definitely preferred this one better.
"The upcoming Regulars Selection Tournament will start next week and there is a lot of preparation waiting to be done. Many members have tremendously improved, but that does not mean that they are qualified enough to challenge the current team members for a match. The club members, numbering up to two hundred and more, needs to be thoroughly assessed and screened before they can actually take part in the tournament. A total of thirty-two players are acceptable, provided that those who are chosen would be up for the challenge."
Oh goody. More documents waiting to be arranged. Less time for her to study!
"Well, it's your duty as the club manger to relay this sort of information anyway, especially in a club like this one, so Ore-sama supposes that you would find little difficulty in the task. Or is Ore-sama supposed to believe otherwise?"
'You're not Atobe after all.'
The raven haired girl plastered a saccharine smile in response as Fujioka-sensei's harsh words rang inside her head in a torturous symphony. She was not going to fail this challenge.
"Consider the job done."
There was silence.
Whether it was because he wanted to mock her or express his admiration, Himawari didn't know. But she knew that he caught her off guard when he smiled benignly at her, his next words laced with unrestrained approval.
"That's my girl."
The sudden resonance of the ringing school bell then echoed throughout the whole Hyoutei grounds.
Eavesdroppers.
No matter what you do, you can be sure that anywhere you go, they'll be there. Hyoutei, in particular, had an abundant supply of them.
"Hee hee!" Gakuto was snickering. "An afternoon rendezvous with our manager? So sly!"
Gakuto's laughter was very grating and irksome, but Atobe chose not to respond. Unluckily for our Hyoutei King, Gakuto's partner-in-crime was also there. "Sooo Atobe… Himawari-chan is now the lucky girl?" The tensai was beaming at him with unmistakable –oh merciful heavens above!- paternal pride.
"You two idiots are giving this matter a great deal of unnecessary thought. Ore-sama not-so-humbly requests you to keep your dirty thoughts to yourself and stay out of this topic. That is, if you ever wish to stay on Ore-sama's good side."
Many students enjoyed having their lunches on the cafeteria and the well-kept lawns of Hyoutei Gakuen, so he thought that it would be safe to approach Himawari at this time of the day. How was he supposed to know that the Dirty Pair was expertly hidden two bookshelves away from them because of a 'book report' that they claim needs to be done?
It was a good thing that Himawari sped off at the speed of light after the school bell rang.
"I don't know," the acrobatics tennis player didn't look fazed at all. "I mean, we are in the mood for romance cause Yuushi is reading this weird vampire novel thing! You know? Twilight?"
Atobe gave the book Oshitari was currently holding a long and disinterested look. He's heard of this book, and he tried his best to read it too just to know what the whole craze was all about. Much to Atobe's disappointment, however, the book did not fit his standards because in comparison to Homer and Goethe, it was nothing but literary trash.
Oshitari lazily stretched his arms outwards. "Jealous of Edward Cullen, Atobe?"
The trademarked (-yes! It's true!) Atobe Glare™ was rising in varying high degrees in temperature as he glowered, yet he tried his best to not respond in exactly the way Oshitari wanted him to. "This Edward Cullen is a despicable bloodsucking creature with a two dimensional character," Atobe spoke briskly as the two turned to him with raised eyebrows. "He is not real and Ore-sama is. Ore-sama is then victorious. End of discussion."
"He can read minds."
"…Oshitari, Ore-sama recommends you to stop talking nonsense if you ever wish for Ore-sama to believe that your sanity is still intact," the Hyoutei King managed to say after a minute or so of scrutinizing his companion.
The tensai tapped his heart with his right hand. "Wounded," he said flippantly. "And right through the heart."
Atobe glared at Oshitari again. When Gakuto made a sound that sort of resembled a snort, he gave him a murderous look too.
"Che! You're no fun!" Gakuto threw his hands up in the air.
"That's not nice, Atobe," Oshitari pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his pointed nose. "Hurting Gakuto's feelings. Besides, I'm sure Himawari-chan would not mind if we would talk about her."
"Since when did you become on first name basis with Ito?" The buchou of Hyoutei asked, but then he mentally slapped himself because deep down he knew what the answer was.
"Yuushi here is always on first name basis with any girl," Gakuto stated, sniffing in disdain. "As long as the person wears a skirt, he would not mind. He's a womanizer like that."
Among the Hyoutei tennis team members, Oshitari Yuushi was the one notorious for being the resident skirt chaser. But he succeeds where most lechers fail because he possessed a certain suaveness that attracted girls to him. Because of this, Gakuto coined the term "chivalrous pervert" for his partner. In fact, when Shishido boldly asked Oshitari how many bases he went with his current conquest, Oshitari only smiled broadly and cheekily replied, "Base? How does 'flower base' sound to you?"
Needless to say, Shishido turned all shades of red and dashed off to who knows where after that interesting discussion.
"You are being quite rude, Gakuto," Oshitari crossed his arms over his chest. "Besides, Himawari-chan isn't just an ordinary girl. There's certainly more to her than what meets the eye. She is definitely hiding something from us. Ne, Atobe?"
"Ore-sama thinks of her as an efficient manager that he cannot afford to lose at this crucial time, but just like every other girl, she can be a nuisance to Ore-sama."
"Are you by any chance talking about the incident that happened the other day?" Oshitari coyly asked, earning him another glare from one scowling Atobe Keigo. Right now the Kansai tensai was in a good mood. He had that muted, calculating look in his eyes that he wore when he had something up his sleeve. "Atobe, it would be best if you learn not to underestimate my information network. I'm not called a tensai for nothing you know."
Gakuto just looked oblivious. "What are you two discussing?"
"My suspicions first grew when you ordered Kabaji to accompany Himawari everyday. Then it got the curious side of me thinking, 'Since when did you ever let Kabaji follow someone around other than yourself?' Not to mention that you purposely had a hand in the scandalous rumor of Himawari dating Kabaji. It did not make enough sense," Oshitari paused long enough to look intently at Atobe. "And then it all became clear when Jirou talked to me during the party last evening and shared to me about an incident involving Himawari-chan not too long ago."
As usual, it would take something a little more substantial than Oshitari Yuushi's reasoning to daunt the captain of Hyoutei. "Lovely deduction, Oshitari. But for your own good, Ore-sama would kindly recommend that you stop interfering with other people's business."
"This matter involves Himawari-chan, who is a part of the tennis club I belong in," Oshitari cut in. "Do you think that I am the kind of person who would just sit around on the sidelines while things are starting to get thrilling?"
Pregnant silence pierced the air. The Hyoutei King and the Kansai tensai were having a tennis match of glowers and no one was winning at all. Gakuto, meanwhile, pouted as he muttered about how he hated being out of the loop.
"Very well, Oshitari. We'll have it your way," Atobe reluctantly grumbled. He knew that there was no stopping Oshitari once he started sticking his nose into something. "The attack that happened the other day, there is no doubt that it was not just an accident. It was carefully planned. And as the Hyoutei Supreme Student Council President, Ore-sama is committed to bringing the truth to light while being as discreet about it as possible. As you all know, a student attack would raise suspicions and cause a panic in the student community."
Oshitari and Gakuto were hanging on to Atobe's every words.
"Ore-sama asked the guards to question the assailants and what their motives were. As it turned out, a person going by the name Reina paid them generously for their act."
"Reina?" Gakuto parroted, eyes widening. "A woman?"
Oshitari's eyebrows furrowed. "That is a big possibility. After all, Reina doesn't sound like a manly name, does it?" The tensai arched his neck slightly to look at Atobe. "So? Did you ever find out the identity of thisReina person?"
"Himawari was a specific target. They did confess that Reina only paid them to scare off the girl though. They were the ones who wanted to go… far." Atobe tapped his foot impatiently, looking a bit, hmm, cross? 'Unfortunately, this Reina person had enough brains to think of hiring those thugs from the internet. They met online and Reina sent them a large amount of money in advance so that there would be an assurance that more money would be waiting for them if they did the job right."
"It sounds pretty serious…" Oshitari placed a hand on his chin, looking truly concerned. "Were it not for Kabaji and Jirou's timely rescue, Himawari-chan would've gotten seriously hurt. Or worse." He didn't have to emphasize the last word for the other two to get what he meant.
"If you ask me," Gakuto butted in because he obviously wanted to take part in the discussion. "I think that it's very likely that a girl who's jealous of Himawari paid them to attack her. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out!"
"Gakuto, it could be as you say. Certainly, there is a mystery surrounding this person's identity and it might take some time before we can unravel it. Ore-sama needs to resolve this situation soon. However, Ore-sama also feels that this Reina person won't go down easily."
"Oh?" Now Oshitari looked amused. "And how could you be so sure of that?"
Atobe smirked haughtily, and turned away, but not before looking at Oshitari straight in the eye. "Because Ore-sama cannot be wrong."
Gakuto and Oshitari watched Atobe's retreating back.
"He could always drop her out of the club," said Gakuto as he wrinkled his nose.
The tensai's response was a musical laugh. "He won't do that."
"What do you mean?"
Now Oshitaru looked not only serious, but also contemplative. Gakuto waited for him to speak, and when he did, the confidence in his voice was unchallenged, "It's obvious isn't it? Atobe thinks Himawari-chan is great to be around."
Himawari shot her eyes open while she gasped for breath. A hand moved by its own to her chest as another one wiped the sweat on her forehead. She tried to stretch her lethargic limbs to check for the time on her alarm clock when-
'That's my girl.'
-a certain image saying that certain line thundered inside her head again. She grumbled and dove under the covers of her comforter, her fingernails digging deeper and deeper into her pillows.
Doing what all reasonably mature girls do whenever they have problems, Himawari twisted like a worm on her bed and made a complete mess out of it. The thwapping noises and the sudden creak of springs were suddenly music to the girl's ears. Suddenly it was clear that sleeping was not on tonight's agenda…
"Baka! Baka!" She berated herself, her teeth gritted in annoyance. She wanted to hit herself for thinking of Atobe Keigo. "Get out of my mind!"
After a few more minutes of bed destruction, the girl then decided to lie on her back, apparently too exhausted to turn and toss on her bed anymore. Instead, she preferred to stare at the ceiling in an utterly still yet mortified manner. The droning sound inside her head was enough to keep her awake, even if she wanted to badly sleep. She swallowed as a horrible feeling made its way through her gut again.
'That's my girl.'
GAH! That's the fifty-fifth time I recalled his words!
She mentally scolded herself again, since the one thing even more disturbing than her rewinding again and again in her head Atobe's words was the fact that she was actually counting how many times she remembered Atobe's voice. And every time she relieved it, the voice in her memory grew even sharper, more overwhelming, and more certain of its claim.
If this keeps up, Himawari was pretty sure that she would turn to one of those awful creatures- the kind of girls who fluttered and swooned every time a boy from the tennis team would move a muscle on their well-toned bodies. The kind of girls who gossiped and talked and chattered about how hot and how perfect the Regulars were. The kind of girls who saw Atobe not as a mere human being, but as a revered god who must be worshipped at all times.
Them. (Insert the sound of a screeching truck here)
Pretty soon, she would be in absolute contrast to the role she was supposed to represent. She wanted to be known as the perfect school girl, the kind of female who had the deadly mix of beauty, brains and refinement. If she suddenly reverted to a lovestruck fangirl, what would happen to her dreams?
No matter what happens, she must not lose sight of her goal!
'That is it!' Himawari bolted straight up, eyes wide at the realization. Atobe clearly did not like her, at least not in that way, so why was he suddenly all sweet and sugary with her? Obviously, he was merely pretending to get along with her so he can find her faults and then mercilessly kick her out. He probably wanted to show her the difference between the one who was dominant and the one who was just a servant. After all, Atobe seemed like the kind of jerk who would do that.
The more Himawari reasoned this out to herself, the more it made sense. How foolish of her to take the bait. It was all probably part of his diabolical plan! Everything was a set-up!
A honey trap!
Enlightened by her own psychological analysis, Himawari's eyes started to burn with intense passion. With quick movements, she hastily lifted the covers of her bed and grabbed a dart (-what the!) lying next to her lampshade. She turned to a particularly dark corner of her room and let out a battle cry.
"UGH! I HATE YOU ATOBE KEIGO!"
The photo of Atobe Keigo that was pinned on the wall (-double wtf!) suddenly lost an eye.
Atobe snapped his eyes open in shock. Instinctively, he glanced at the table mirror and gave a relieved sigh. For some reason, he dreamt of being struck by a twelve foot long pin.
By Ito Himawari.
"How dare that girl invade Ore-sama's sleeping moments?" Atobe said to no one in particular. Most of his dreams were about him being assured of his place in the world. Finally succeeding his father, dominating the world of tennis and ushering in a new era in business not just in Japan, but all around the globe were not uncommon in his dreams. But alas, here comes the ambitious Himawari, waltzing around in his dream and proclaiming her eternal hatred towards him.
He shook his head, trying to set aside that thought. It was probably another random dream- don't most people get them all the time?- and it was probably just a product of his sleep-deprived condition. There was nothing symbolic nor prophetic about Ito Himawari dressed in a witch's attire, a gigantic pin by her side. Besides, he was probably just too disoriented after falling asleep on his desk.
(Still, the triumphant grin on Dream!Himawari's face was not a good premonition.)
Shuddering slightly, Atobe crossed over the room and laid down on the bed, covering himself with his silk blankets. Perhaps sleeping on the mattress will help change things…
"BREAKFAST, BUTA-CHAAAAAN!"
Himawari kicked open the wooden door of her room, revealing pigeon-pecked hair. She scratched her face absently as she yawned loudly.
Ito Tomohisa gasped, his hands flying to his open mouth in horror. "B-Buta-chan! What happened to you?"
"Nothing, Papa," Himawari mumbled, suppressing another yawn. "I just took care of a monkey with the largest head in the world."
"You like taking care of monkeys?" If possible, Tomohisa looked even more alarmed.
"Ignore me!" This time, Himawari tried to suppress a groan. Her father was strangely childlike in a number of ways. 'Taking care of monkeys, huh? Then I'm the Monkey King's handler. How convenient.'She chuckled warmly inside her head.
"Don't talk back, young lady!" Tomohisa dramatically announced, inserting a certain amount of flair and drama in his speech. "Buta-chan, buta-chan! You're sixteen already. You'll be seventeen next week! Do you really think that it would be appropriate for your age to have imaginary friends? Especially monkey friends? I do remember you having a quarrel with your friend Winnie the Pooh a long time ago! Well, in any case, it might be better if-"
As Himawari's father continued his monologue, Himawari just put placed her hands over her ears and quickly headed downstairs. 'Someone please put a restraint order on my father, pronto.'
"Anyway, this imaginary football-headed monkey is surely just the side effect of your all-nighters. If only you'll get a boyfriend then-"
Tomohisa's grand speech was, regrettably, lost on Himawari's ears as she plotted some even more elaborate schemes inside her head to bring down Atobe Keigo once and for all. A dark aura overtook her body as she proceeded to cackle maniacally as if there was no tomorrow.
Until she comically fell down the stairs.
Silly girl.
NOTES:
-"Θα μπορούσα εύκολα συγχωρήστε μου την υπερηφάνεια, αν δεν είχε ορυχείο" can be directly translated as "I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine" and it came from the great novel Pride and Prejudice. And nope, I do not know Greek. Just used an online translator (that's not that reliable anyway).
-Yes, Atobe is also the Student Council President in Hyoutei. Just like Tezuka-buchou. LOL. Of course, he insists on calling it "Supreme Student Council."
-For Oshitari, reading romance novels is serious business. This is CANON folks!
-Twilight is mostly about the forbidden love story between a fragile human being and a near-to-perfect vampire. Atobe thinks of the book as "sinfully boring" while Oshitari has a not-so-secret EdwardXBella shrine on his closet. XD
-TRIVIA: Himawari has a dart set at home.
-Ito Tomohisa is Himawari's highly energetic father. Get to know more about him in the next chapter.
-"Buta-chan" means "Piggy-chan." If you've watched Naruto, you would know that Sakura calls Ino "buta" or "pig" just to vex the blonde. Himawari got the nickname because… Well, you better read more to find out. Hehe…
AN: Hey, hey! I'm done! Whew! This chapter took a lot of work, not because of the story, but because I don't know how to organize it. The original concept was only to show Atobe and Himawari's interaction, but then it branched out from there because the chapter was sooo short… So I made it longer! Then it reached 8000 words so I had to, er, cut it. Then I had to rewrite some more and then… Well. You get it.
Who is Reina? Well, I'm gonna introduce a few OC characters later and if you're quite the detective, you might guess Reina's identity correctly. Of course, I'll be dropping some hints too. Hehehe! –evil grin-
BTW, while writing this, I was watching the Korean version of Hana Yori Dango so my writing style in this Chappie might be influenced by that show. Erm, gomen? Readers are always free to complain and criticize me for a job badly done. –whimpers- Also, I decided to change the endnotes since my friend thinks that it looks neater this way. BUT! If you find the endnotes in the previous chapters better, be free to tell me.
BabyKangaroo: Haha! Himawari fumes a lot in this chapter too! XxMichyBabyxX:Oh definitely! It's not your fault that Atobe-sama's too sexy for his own good and you had to ogle at his awesomeness… Oops? Hehe! XD Rin-chii: Jirou is such a cute character! Thanks for reading my fc! –hugs- rebekahalana: Thanks for reading Chapter 5! About your question, well… Technically, Draco should be Harry's rival but there are some more comparisons between Cedric and Harry that made me think of Cedric as Harry's rightful rival. For example, both are exceptional students and at that time, somehow romantically involved with Cho Chang. Oh, and PROF MORIARTY! Drats! I knew I have forgotten someone! Sorry for the mistake…-bows- cooties n' screams:Whew! It's the first time I made someone giggle! Halleluiah! Schnuppi:Here ya go! A new Chappie all done and ready! –boogies- Tallyism: Himawari's a fun character to write actually. Oh, and I might try watching Skip Beat in the future. If I'll like the manga, I might try the anime. Lol- Himawari is evil. But Atobe can always make her zip her mouth. Hehe…
That's it! Thanks and enjoy!