Red Roses: Ni hao, here's chapter 9. Now, for funsies.
LightSpeed Athlete: Thank you for your support. I will give both stories my all! Again, you're right as always. It was my first time writing based on a manga chapter.
CherryPop0120: Thank you so much. I believe every author feels the same way whenever they know someone likes their stories.
YamadaHikari: I'm so glad you found it funny. Troublesome samurai and delinquent ninja are like their cute pet names for each other.
My poll is still open for those who didn't vote yet. If you're not a registered user, just write down the title name in the review. Please, don't feel like I'm forcing you.
Now, for the disclaimer...
Agata: Kakaka, Red Roses doesn't own Sket Dance.
Red Roses: Don't ask how I got his lazy a** to do the disclaimer.
WARNING: Daisy's three letter quotes made by me shall be in English because I can't trust the online translate. I'm sorry for the lack of realism.
"Tsubaki-sama, good morning!"
Shinako cheerfully called out to the amber-eyed Kirishima twin on her way to school early in the morning before running up to president, holding out her usual homemade bento for him. Initially, Tsubaki was really embarrassed by this attention grabbing scene but since Shinako has been insisting on doing this since her second day of school, he and the other students were more or less used to it and treat as an everyday occurrence -which is was.
"Kikuchi, good morning to you too." He greeted back, taking the bento from her then looked to the ninja following him. "Kiri, be polite and and greet her as well."
Katou grunted but obeyed diligently to his stern master. "Good morning."
Shinako though was not as sweet as her once cheery eyes turned cold in his direction. "Go to hell." she hissed venomously and turned her head away as if in disgust.
Tsubaki was surprised at her blunt words. Not of what she said though, seeing he is more or less used to that as well, but the way she said it. Shinako sounded more bitter and colder than usual.
"Kikuchi, are you alright?" Tsubaki asked concernedly with Katou a little annoyed. She told him to go to hell and the president asked if she's ok?
The reason was Shinako had woken up on the wrong side on the bed, literally. Since that snowball fight day, Shinako was racking her brain to identify the strange, unsettling feelings she had watching the match. She couldn't get enough sleep and that morning she rolled over in frustration only to accidentally fell onto the hardwood floor of her bedroom, gifting her a small bump on her head and a bad start of the day.
Regardless, Shinako gently smiled and nodded her head. She and Katou escorted Tsubaki to his classroom (no amount of time could erase this embarrassment though) and the two walked back to class together, making a smart move to keep a distance between them unless they wanted to start scratching each other's eyes out.
Nothing interesting occurred throughout the morning, after a (boring) lesson or two, lunch came and Shinako decided to take a walk around school to refresh her head and ease away her bad mood. The dark-haired Japanese samurai walked a full lap around the school, eyes closed and a deep breath blew out one at a time but yet she can't clear her mind. She realized no matter what, that damnable question is still lingered in her head; what on Earth were those feelings?
"Come on, Shinako! There must be a clue somehow!" Shinako thought, her forefinger and middle finger pressed against the side of her temple to focus better. She wanted to figure this out so badly, the sooner the better. That way, her life would start to make more sense. Then, a voice echoed in her head as though her question was being answered by a soft voice in her mind.
Even though he may look like one, he may be the perfect gentleman.
Shinako recalled Harumi's words the day before. Back then, Shinako could not make heads or tails of her senior's words and wondered why her mind would drift to that particular memory at a time like this. The dark-haired girl stood silently as she thought through this puzzle for a while, her face showed confusion for a while before her brown eyes snapped open and she screamed in her head.
"THAT'S IT!"
The modern warrior looked at the watch on her wrist and saw that lunch was almost over and the bell might ring any moment so she dashed over to her classroom before the bell rang in a much better mood than she ever was this morning.
"You want to...what?" Tsubaki was confused to say the least.
"I want to give Katou a complete makeover." Shinako repeated her words with unwavering determination in her bright eyes.
Everyone was giving her strange looks like she was a crazy loon. Tsubaki cannot be blamed since Shinako was the one who suddenly walked into the Student Council room with such an odd request.
"Why?" Unyuu asked what everyone was thinking with a perplexed expression.
Shinako cleared her throat before she started to explain herself. "I was not sure why but for a few days now, I felt rather uneasy and uncomfortable near Katou"
Everyone kept their lips zipped but in actuality, many of the students noticed the samurai's recent behaviour. Many had an idea as to the reason but at the moment everyone was rather curious to hear Shinako's own theory.
"Then I recalled the words of a dear friend of mine and I finally realized the answer."
The modern samurai then pointed to the white-haired ninja in front of her with an accusing tone. "This delinquent ninja is destroying my aspect of men."
...Alright, so everyone was still pretty much confused. Shinako properly explained that the young girl's family has all been trained and associated with proper men and women customs and traditions. To her, meeting Katou who was sometimes cool-headed during dangerous situations like a gentleman should but dressed like a delinquent fighter was a brain-racker leaving Shinako, who has only seen men in black and white, baffled.
"That's why I ask you, Tsubaki-sama, to allow me to change Katou's appearance into a more gentlemanly figure." Shinako pleaded her young master.
Tsubaki stood silent and contemplated on the raven-haired samurai's request for a while and he made his statement. "It'd would be nice to see Kiri dressed in proper uniform. I accept this request."
"I'm getting excited. I'll get Unyuu company to sent a set of Kaimei Academy's boy uniform immediately." Unyuu excitedly pulled out her phones to call up her father's company.
"This will be interesting." Daisy commented with Usami nodding her head in the background.
"Yes, this makeover begins!" Shinako smiled eagerly and added on. "I brought Hibi-kun to help us with the transformation."
As if on cue, Hibiki appeared from outside the Student Council Room and briskly walked with a comb in one hand and nail clippers in the other. He glanced Katou from his shoes to his messy hair and let a vexed 'tsk'.
"Looks like I have my work cut for me." Hibiki bluntly said with an exasperated sigh.
Katou growled at the black-haired 'gentleman'. If he had it his way, he would pound that smart little mouth of his but if Tsubaki was happy with this idea, he'll go along with this, for now despite the blow to his pride.
So, Hibiki and Unyuu left with Katou to a changing room for the extreme makeover while Tsubaki, Daisy, Shinako and Usami stayed in the Student Council Room. Seeing that Tsubaki is no help with makeovers, Usami saying she'd rather see the world end than help a man, Daisy was keeping an eye on Usami and Shinako refused to touch an unmarried man in such a intimate way (like his face or torso), it was best that they did.
Time passed as the four anxiously wait for their three friends. Everyone was having their own depictions on how Katou's new appearance will be. Some were realistic, others were funny and odd which elicited a few chuckles but when Katou arrived through the door they realized all their depictions were dead wrong.
"Kiri/Katou!?" Everyone exclaimed from disbelief as their eyes goes wide. The Katou they once knew and slightly fearful of was nowhere to be seen but this strange look-alike was here.
Katou's hair was brushed down and tidier though his hairclips were still intact. His dangling chains were gone and his baggy pants and black sweater was replaced to the uniform similar to Tsubaki's. He looked nothing of his former bad boy, unapproachable persona he had prior to this.
"Doesn't he look darling?~" Unyuu said cheerfully.
"I supposed he can pulled it off." Hibiki commented, though he was mainly the one that did all the work.
"NHB (not half bad)." Daisy commented with Usami silently nodded in the background.
"You look very professional, Kiri. This is a good look for you." Tsubaki said, very impressed with his schoolmate's new look.
For a moment, Shinako stood at her spot, absolutely stunned speechless. She never expected Katou to clean up so well and how well he could look in a proper uniform. Shinako soon found her voice and exclaimed in pleasant shock. She couldn't deny in her mind that Katou looked rather fetching in his smart uniform.
Still, Shinako kept the embarassing opinions aside and gave a indirect compliment "I'm genuinely surprised there's actually a passable gentleman under all that delinquent persona."
Katou growled lowly as he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to get used to his newly combed down hair. Hibiki, irritated, quicckly slapped the white-haired ninja's hand from his snow white hair.
"A gentleman doesn't mindlessly ruin his appearance." Hibiki chastised expressionlessly as he pulled out a comb to fixed what Katou ruined.
Katou glared daggers at him to which Shinako noticed and guarded her icy-eyed friend protectively.
"Don't glare at him, you brash man. Hibi-kun knows better than when it comes to etiquette so you can learn something from him."
"She's right, Kiri. You should follow Kimura's instructions." Unyuu agreed with Shinako. "Try out your new appearance for a week or so. Maybe, you'll like it. All in favour?"
Everyone raised their hands excitedly while Katou glared venomously at everyone aside from Tsubaki.
"No way, I'm not ridiculing myself."
"Kiri, you should do it. It may be a good experience." Tsubaki chastised. "Starting tomorrow, you will try to act more gentlemanly. This is an order."
Those last words ended the whole argument. Once the president issues those 4 words, everything is settled. Shinako smiled happily at the thought of a new era. An era free from delinquent ninjas.
"I can't wait for tomorrow." Shinako giggled as Katou grumbled angrily under his breath.
The next day, Shinako was literally skipping down the road with a smile on her face. That day, she was free from that brash attitude of that white-haired ninja and he may actually work well with other people.
Shinako then remembered the times he glares, growls, and threatens everyone near him.
"Not so much the latter but I'm sure with Hibi-kun's help, he'll be...passable." Shinako said aloud as she reached the gate. She saw a group of girls giggling and blushing around the gate and all of them were staring at someone. That guy must look amazing as hell as all the girls had cute hearts in their eyes and drooling with desire like a dog eying a juicy bone.
Shinako walked closer to the crowd and tilted her head upwards only slightly since she was taller than most girls. Surprisingly, she only saw Tsubaki and Katou in the center with wearing his new attire. It seems that the girls have noticed Katou's new look. He wasn't glaring as scary as usual so the girls were thought this could be an opportunity to talk to him but none of them had the courage yet.
The black-haired samurai squeezed between the tight gaps between the giggling girls' shoulders and found her way to the boys, greeting them almost immediately. The lovestruck girls were shocked and slightly upset at how the new samurai could go up to the tall general affairs manager so easily.
"Good morning Tsubaki-sama." The brown-eyed maiden greeted sweetly.
"Good morning to you too, Kikuchi." Tsubaki greeted back politely.
Shinako then turned to the silent boy and smirked. "Good morning, Katou." but Katou stood silently beside Tsubaki, not uttering a single word to her.
Shinako huffed and sidestepped to one side right in front of Katou, giving him front row seat to her annoyed face.
"What?" Katou inquired, annoyed with the smirking samurai.
"It is not gentlemanly to ignore a lady's greeting. As a gentleman, you are supposed to greet back to her," Shinako stated, tucking her hair behind her ear and subtly cupping her ear. "I'm waiting."
"..." Katou grumbled incoherently to which Shinako raised an dark eyebrow. She took one step closer to him. Unbeknown to them, the girls who were still there were fuming with jealousy as they saw how close Katou and Shinako was.
"What was that? I didn't quite catch that."
Katou sighed and repeated himself. "...Good morning, Kikuchi."
Shinako let out short chuckle out of laughter and pleasant shock. That was the first time Katou has ever greeted her with her real name, not woman or troublesome samurai, despite being forced. Katou gave her a bitter look to which Shinako quickly disapproved.
"A gentleman does not glare bitterly at people as it is rude." She corrected but Katou's expression darkened.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Katou said as Shinako looked away but by the look of her amused smile, he can tell he was right on the money. Angered, he left the crowd, making his way to the school building.
Tsubaki, watching the whole thing, was getting worried. "Kikuchi, you shouldn't taunt Kiri like that."
Shinako turned to him and smiled innocently. "Taunt him? I'm doing no such thing, Tsubaki-sama~" Then, her smile turned slightly more sinister. "I'm simply making sure he behaves gentlemanly, whether he likes it or not."
As Shinako chuckled darkly under her breath, Tsubaki knew not to push this any further.
"Katou, a gentleman does not ignore a lady so ignorantly. Pay attention to her when she's talking." Shinako told him as they were having their lunch. Shinpei and Fumi were watching from a distance, unsure what to make of the situation.
"Shinako-san seems happier today." Fumi observed the grin on the black-haired girl's face as she scolded Katou of nearly everything he does.
"I heard Katou trying out to be a gentleman for a few days." said Shinpei. "He must be really pissed right now."
"Katou-san has been receiving a lot of female attention today." Fumi pointed out, looking around the class and even outside the classroom as girls gathered around, staring lovingly at Katou.
"Since Katou dropped that scary glare of his, the girls thought they could get close to him now." Shinpei said, also noticing the ninja's many admirers. "I hope Shinako knows what she's doing."
"Katou, you can't survive on a protein bar alone." Shinako chastised the white-haired male's eating habits.
"Get off my back, woman."
"So, you're the reason Katou-kun is dressed like that?" Harumi asked, eyes widened in surprise.
Shinako nodded happily and let out a small giggle. "Yep, and he's is going to stay like that for a while."
Harumi, surprising, was not as happy. She knew this was no laughing matter. The short-haired brunette believed in karma and acting without thinking about the consequences is a foolish mistake.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Shinako-chan?" Harumi said worriedly. "You shouldn't taunt him like this. You may not like the results in the end."
The female samurai tilted her head in confusion. "I don't understand. What sort of downside could possible come from this?"
As the jade-eyed senior opened her mouth to speak, the door slide open to reveal another student, one which both girls knew but seldom see.
A female student, about Harumi's age with long, wavy chestnut hair tied in twintails and big doe-like eyes, sparkling blue. She was short compared to Shinako and Harumi but her makeup was made up like it was done by a professional in an effort to make her more womanly. Shinako couldn't even put on eyeliner without accidentally poking her eye.
"Kimiko, what are you doing here?" Harumi asked, confused.
Kimiko was one of the three original members of the Health Committee, alongside Harumi, but she rarely stays for the Health Committee meetings, or in the infirmary for that matter, as she rather go home early to get her beauty sleep. No one knows why Kimiko agreed to join the Health Committee though Harumi assumed it was because she didn't had to get her hands dirty like other clubs.
"Did you see that cool white-haired hottie?~" Kimiko squealed in delight. "He was walking with this cool aura today~"
"White-haired hottie?"
"Do you mean Katou?" Shinako assumed, seeing that Katou was the only white-haired student in this school as far as she knows.
"Yes, that hunk~" The giddy light-brunette said. "The one you were hanging out this morning!~"
Kimiko quickly rushed to sit next to Shinako, nearly pushing Harumi off the bed they were sitting on. Even if Harumi was a cheerful girl by nature, she can't help but feel annoyed by the pushy senior.
"Shinako, you have to introduce me to him." Kimiko pleaded with a pout, leading Shinako to be confused.
"Huh, Why?"
Kimiko looked at her chocolate-eyed junior with a are-you-kidding-me look. "'Cuz he's hot and I wanna date him, duh."
Shinako stared at her, dumbfounded at her senior's blunt words. She couldn't believe her eyes. She didn't want to believe that any woman would find Katou's brash and icy personality as appealing.
"What? You want to date that delinquent ninja!?"
Kimiko cute pushed her lower lips outwards and batted her long eyelashes as she put on her best pouty look, innocent puppy eyes included. "He doesn't look like a delinquent to me. You won't let me down, would you?"
"B-but..."
Before Shinako could object, Kimiko already got up and head for the door, giggling.
"You're the best, Shinako~ I'm counting on you~" She said before closing the door behind her. She didn't even let Shinako a chance to say no.
After a few silent moments, Harumi could heard mumbling from Shinako's direction.
"My senior wants to date the most evil man on Earth." Shinako mumbled under her breath in disbelief.
"If Kimiko and Katou-kun were to start seeing each other, that means you and Katou-kun would meet each other even during Health Committee hours." Harumi added on, to which pushed the first shock from Shinako's mind and replaced it with a new fear.
"Me...and Katou...during Health Committee hours..." Shinako's voice trailed off as apparently, that was all the shock Shinako could take because once she wrapped her mind around that possibly future, she immediately fainted, falling backwards right onto infirmary bed. Harumi rushed over to the samurai's side, concernedly calling out her name as she cautiously shook Shinako's arm.
"Shinako-chan?...Shinako-chan?"
Karma is a pain in the neck sometimes
Red Roses: Be careful when you act recklessly, you won't know what could happen in life. I'm so sorry about this super late update. Stay tune for the next chapter. What is Shinako going to do?
Also,
Happy (early) New Year to everyone!
Zai Jian, have a nice day and a nice new year.
