Disclaimer!
ARISA manga? "Nope, don't own it"
ARISA characters? "Nope, don't own them either."
ARISA fanfic? "Oh, yeah definitely. Thanks for reading!"
The next day came by and I found myself slugged to the side of my room. I never did get to talk to Tsubasa again after she left the orphanage without telling me.
I could've called her, but that would have been unnecessary. I usually never cared about what she did as long as she didn't end up getting herself killed, so there was no point in monitoring her 24/7.
Wait.
Did I just say 'monitoring her'?
Man...I'm making myself off as her parent...
Slowly, I reached out for my school uniform and got ready for another school day.
There's nothing exciting going on; no field trip, no school event, no nothing. Just another boring day.
Except...
By the time I had made it to my shoe locker and switched my shoes, a grinning Arisa could be found standing slightly beside me.
"Good morning, Manabe-kun~"
Arisa exclaimed, giving my back a playful pat.
"Long time no see, huh?"
I stared at her blankly, connecting the dots slowly before I found myself trying hard to contain my surprise.
"What the heck are you doing here, Tsubasa?" I asked, in the most normal and casual way possible.
She frowned at me.
Nailed it!
"Pipe it down, man. I don't wanna blow my cover twice!" She hissed, slipping on her indoor shoes. "...Besides, I'm just doing Arisa a favor. It's not like I want to go back to class 2-B or anything... I still feel pretty bad for lying to everyone and now I've gotta do it again..."
She sighed and turned to me with a promising grin.
"I'll give you the details later! For now though..."
Tsubasa stood up straight and looked out towards the hallway in determination.
"...Gotta act Sweet and Innocent!"
I watched her leave and found myself smirking knowingly at her back.
Sweet and Innocent, huh?
I thought, closing my shoe locker and following casually behind her.
This'll be a scary sight...
Throughout class, I found my gaze only on her.
Her expression when she was having trouble with worksheets.
Her laugh when people told lame jokes.
It was simple actually, Arisa's seat was in front of mine.
If anyone caught me staring, I could say I was only trying to see the board.
Ha, Perfect excuse.
Then, it dawned on me.
Am I really this fascinated with Tsubasa?
To others, she appeared as Arisa, the class prez. But right now, to me, she was Tsubasa.
Tsubasa Urehara.
And... I dunno.
She's just pretty interesting to me.
I think I...
"Manabe." Tsubasa said again, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Are you gonna give me those papers or are you waiting for an invitation?"
I looked at her then I turned to look behind me, only to see a stack of papers being impatiently handed to me from behind.
"Ah, my bad..." I said, reaching behind me to grab it. "Here."
I hand it to her and she sighs, taking the papers from me.
"Don't fall asleep." She says, before turning back around.
Who said I was falling asleep?
I thought, answering her question in my mind.
Worry about yourself...
I gazed out the window and around at the dull colored classroom before my eyes settled on her again. The red wig she used as a disguise for Arisa was much too familiar. That was when I saw it, her head was clumsily nodding to the side.
Pfft, and she told me not to fall asleep.
I watched her in amusement. Sorta because I thought she'd get her cover blown again, but mostly because...
Well... Because I might've somehow held some sort of hidden feeling for her.
I just refused to believe it at the moment.
I had been thinking about it but...
It might just be thoughts...
Leaning over my desk, I let my head rest on my folded arms in front of me and gently began to poke her back.
"Tsubasa," I whispered, giving her a light tap. "Tsubasa..."
I finally got a reaction and she slowly turned her head towards me, her eyes groggy with sleep.
"Don't fall asleep."
Being Arisa is tough. Especially when there's no KING involved, and I actually have to focus on her personality.
Well... Arisa's sweet, talented, a little on the shy side and the best part, she's really dependable!
But uhh... maybe TOO dependable...
"Sonoda-san! Can you take these to the office for me?"
"Sonoda-san! I expect class 2-B's decision by tomorrow!"
"Arisa-san! Can you help me with this homework problem?"
"Sonoda-san! Can you take her to the nurse's office?"
"Arisa-san!"
"Sonoda-san!"
Ugh... leave me alone...
I slumped down low on the side of the school building, my legs spread apart as I sighed to myself.
"Since when did acting like Arisa be so tough?" I groaned, crouching down to avoid being seen from the windows. "This shouldn't be any different then last time...minus the fact that class 2-B knows of my existence."
I peered at the sky and sighed some more.
"Lunch break is about to end... hrm, lets see here...next period is science, then there's gym...and then a test."
I ran my fingers through the red wig fastened on my head and it suddenly hit me.
A test?! Dammit! I can't fail this test! If I do then Arisa's reputation will be ruined! Urg, this calls for Plan B!
I stood up and rushed back into the school building, heading straight for the school library.
Gotta study! Gotta study hard!
I thought, grabbing random textbooks from the shelves and flinging them open.
My eyes scanned through the pages full of mathematics and some sort of anatomy.
"I don't understand what any of this means..." I frowned, slumping my head down onto the books. "...I'm doomed."
Biting the insides of my cheeks, I lifted my head and tried to concentrate as best as I could. But no matter what I did, the words on the pages either burned a hole into my brain, or forever stayed letters on the page.
Nevermind... Forget it, I give up!
I flung my hands into the air in frustration.
Plan C!
"Since when was I your 'Plan C'...?"
Manabe asked, looking at me suspiciously as I stood in front of him.
"I don't remember you ever caring about your image as prez, either."
"Well you see..."
"Nevermind, I don't think I want to know anymore."
"Oh shut it, you were my only option, okay?" I groaned. "Besides, if my cover gets blown again, it won't just be class 2-B, it'll be the teachers! Or even the authorities!"
"Only when it has to do with Prez, she gets all worried..." He scoffed, looking disinterested and letting out a sigh as if 'worrying' was all I ever did when it came to Arisa.
"Wha-, that's-"
Sooooooo not true!
"Well," He huffed, now looking at me and making me stop mid-sentence from my retort. "What do I get if I help you?"
"Now you're asking for favors?" I groaned, actually taking a minute to think about it. "Hrm...how about icecream?"
"I'm not a child..." He scowled, turning away. "...Forget it, I'll think of something along the way."
Satisfied, I nodded then took out a notepad and my pencil from the 'handy-dandy' pockets of Arisa's pleaded school skirt, and got ready for his 'lecture'.
"So," I began. "What's the subject?"
Manabe sighed at Tsubasa's question and shrugged his shoulders.
"Romance"
He answered, looking as if answering her question was one of mankind's worse enemies.
"Ro.." Tsubasa was just on the verge of writing it down until she realized what the actual word was. "Wait what?!"
Her face had grown a tad bit pink at the word and Manabe couldn't help but feel a bit accomplished.
"Romans, you idiot." He told her, trying to hold back a smirk.
Tsubasa's mouth hung slightly open in confusion and she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Since when did you guys study up on 'Romans'?" She asked, not feeling confident that she would be able to pass that test for Arisa.
"We didn't." Was Manabe's reply. "I was joking."
"What the heck kind of joke was THAT?!" Tsubasa retorted, stopping herself from chucking the notepad onto the floor.
Manabe merely shrugged. They were standing in the middle of the hallway, luckily no one was around but the windows of this hallway could be completely seen by the windows at the other corridor. Once again, Tsubasa was completely oblivious to it all.
"Well then again, I shouldn't have expected so much..." Tsubasa sighed, lowering her head in disappointment.
Manabe's hands twitched at her sigh, and he shoved them in his pockets, taking in a deep breath before forcing himself to continue.
"There's no test." Manabe confessed, staring at the ground. "It's only a fitness thing in gym, no big deal."
"Really?!"
"Really..."
Tsubasa's face lit up and she playfully gave him a small pat on the head.
"Thanks Manabe!" She exclaimed, petting him as if he had done something great to congratulate for. "Now I don't have to worry~"
Manabe found his face turning pink and he quickly shied away from the small yet stupid action that she was doing.
"D-don't pet me!" He grumbled, shoving her hand away. "Anyways, are you gonna tell me what you came here for?"
Tsubasa shrugged her shoulders and laughed.
"Oh it's nothing big actually," She said, her hands held out behind her head. "Arisa just wanted to visit Kudou for the day."
"I should've known..." Manabe sighed, arms crossed over his chest. "...Just for the day, huh."
Surprised, Tsubasa cocked her head to the side teasingly, bringing her hands out from behind her head.
"What?" She asked, leaning forward in a teasing manner like she'd seen Arisa do plenty of times. "Don't tell me you miss me already."
Caught off guard by her innocent actions, Manabe stiffened up and turned around.
"Of course not!" He retorted, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking off.
Seeing this, Tsubasa couldn't help but laugh to herself quietly.
"Oh," Manabe said, stopping in his tracks. "About that favor you owe..."
Tsubasa looked up and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah?"
Manabe let out a prolonged sigh before lifting his head up again to look back at her.
"...Let's meet up after school when you're not busy being Arisa. I'll let you know what I've got in mind."
Ariah: "Whew! Thanks for reading up to this part! Also, yeah... I've been pretty lazy with details up until now, thanks for that reminder!
*sigh* Anyways, RxR! I could always use some more thoughts or suggestions or something, it helps" :)