Entry 85: Those Extras of Life

October 2nd: Night

"Ogata~" Groaning to myself, I was starting to wonder whether or not I should cut off Taro when I get back home. For him to email me a study packet last night, I was baffled by the pure audacity. Sure it was helpful but- "Ogata-kyun!" No matter how much I tried to ignore Ono, it was getting harder and harder given our situation. She and I were sitting on the train, right across from one another. I'd already switched seats multiple times to get away from the young woman only for her to follow me. She even found me after I left when she was in the bathroom. I'd assumed, foolishly, that Ono would leave me alone after the favor that I had done for her. I don't know when I'll learn the lesson to not underestimate just how much this woman loves getting on my nerves. "Kuyun! Will you stop ignoring me?"

Okay, that butchering of my name is the last straw. For a moment, I thought about just straight up jumping out the window, but my rationality immediately came back. "What do you want, Ono?"

Smirking from the satisfaction of winning, she leaned back into her chair and crossed her legs. "Finally! You make me wonder just how you got a girl to fall for you. You need to treat a lady better." Grunting at her, she took that as a good enough response and continued. "Alright, alright. I think I owe you a thank you for sort of helping me. So thanks for that." The only way that I could describe the smile she gave me was as if her boyfriend just shit his pants and she didn't want to let him know she noticed. Fuck you, Ono. "but, can you do me one tinsey winsey last favor. Pweety pwease?"

"I'll think about it if you stop being so condescending."

"Twanks!" Ugh. "Can you get me a job at Library?" She's fucking with me right? My annoyance changed into pure horror when I realized she wasn't. Did she have any idea what she was asking? For one, my own brother hates her very existence and might still be planning on assassinating her. Then there's the fact that she single handedly caused the distillation of the Sentinels, something that Library had sunk quite a bit of money into. So safe to say that Ono only switched her enemies with someone else. "So, can you?"

"... do you have any idea what you're asking? First off there's the problem of your entire experience with us and secondly is the fact of what Library is! It's not like some random company that you could just apply too!"

Once again, she smirked as if she'd already thought about everything. Knowing her, she may have. "Well duh, but that's why I'm asking. Think about it, who's the best person to help end the Yakuza then someone trying to revie it and someone who still has all of the info the Geomijuil gave me." Now she's got a point. With that information and the knowledge of how the Geomijuil does business... it'd be a huge help for Shiro. It may be enough to temporarily build a bridge with them. Giving library enough time to learn how to get rid of them without throwing Ijincho into chaos.

But then again, there's a catch. There always is with this woman. I mean, she just admitted yesterday that she always meant to betray her supposed ally. "So what fucked up shit do you have planned?" Placing her finger on her chin and tilting her head, the known betrayer looked confused. As if saying "lil ol me would never do something bad!' "You don't really think I'd believe that you'd give up on your dream of being 'Yakuza queen'. I'm not that much of an idiot, Ono."

"Ya sure about that?" I hate her so much. "Well of course I have ulterior motives, Ogata-kyun. But, I'm in no position to do anything, am I? I've burnt down all of my bridges, all of my secrets and plans have either been exposed or destroyed. Oh, and I owe two bil to one of the strongest criminal organizations in Japan." True enough, hell she had to come to me of all people for help. And I took her up on it, ugh. "But~ I still want to chase my dream, and right now the only way to even stay on that path is to work with your brother. Think of it like this, I'm putting myself in the perfect position for your brother to not only use me but also stop me should I do anything shady."

"And putting you in the same position."

"I love myself a good challenge." Leaning forward, she rested her head on her hands and stared into my eyes. "So, are you going to put in a recommendation for me or should I give you my resume?"

It's a genuinely tough decision, with a lot of pros and cons. If I were to still be in this life and business, then it'd be a hard decision to make. But I'm leaving Library when I graduate and its my brother who's the head. If she would annoy him even a fraction of the amount she has me, then it'll definitely be worth it. "Sure, I'll call him once I'm home."

"Thanks Honey!"

"Don't say that sentence ever again in your entire life."

October 3rd: Morning

As I reached the entrance to my apartment, I was filled with a sense of nostalgia. It had only been two days since I'd left but it felt like so much longer. Perhaps that's just how homesickness works. Can't say I've felt it before so it's a new feeling to me. Opening my door, I intended to do nothing more than to take a nap so I could be conscious when I go over to the Nakano household for our study session today. Everyone should be at school at the moment so I had my guard down when I entered my apartment. Big mistake. "Welcome home! Do you want breakfast, a bath or perhaps... would~you~like~me?" Sitting on my bed eating what I recognized to be the last pudding I had saved was Ichika. The aspiring actress welcoming me with a sweet smile and a spoon in her mouth. I can't ever get a break, can I? "Jeez, Kuku. Is that how you welcome your big sister? We haven't seen each other in so long!"

"You were here not even a week ago."

"Eh, it feels more like months." Sighing to myself, I threw my traveling backpack and the bags of souvenirs onto the floor. Before dropping the final bag, I grabbed a wrapped gift and handed it to my 'Big' Sister. Expecting this result, she took it with a smug look and jumped off my bed. After quickly tearing off the wrapping paper, her eyes widened and she turned to me with a smile. "Aww, you shouldn't have." It was a pair of fancy sunglasses. Ones that wouldn't be surprising to see on an A-list celebrity. And wow did they cost the same amount too. I swear, every time I buy something for these idiots I'm reminded just how expensive their taste is. Taking them out the box, she put them on. "How do I look?"

Ichika's always had a eye for fashion. Sometimes its hard to tell if her or Nino are better when it comes to that. Right now, she was wearing a stylish yellow blouse and the black sunglasses popped out in an interesting way with her outfit. "You look nice. You always look nice." this was the girl who could make a trash bag look fashionable if she wanted to.

Blushing, she wiggled in her spot and covered her face. "K-Kuro! Stop or you'll make me fall for you!"

"Wow, you got a fake blush down. Your acting has gotten better."

"Boo, you're no fun." Taking her hands off her face, the actress gave me a soft slap on the arm. "I miss when you'd blush anytime I flirted with you."

"When did that happen?"

"Oop, I confused you with Fuutarou for a second. Maybe it's because your becoming so dreamy~"

"If Taro is the definition of dreamy then this world is doomed." My deadpan response got a good laugh out of her. Taking that as my win of our strange war, I plopped down on my bed. "So, are you going to tell me why you're here exactly? Don't tell me you've been taking over my apartment. Again."

Ichika didn't seem to care at all about my glare. "Well, I had to talk to our homeroom teacher today. Since Fuu convinced me to graduate, I have to come talk to the geezer every now and then. I'd love to stay study with everyone but I've got a shoot in a few hours." Hm, makes sense. To be honest, I did miss Ichika quite a bit. Sure she can be a pain in the ass with her smugness, but... "hehe, you're thinking something embarrassing aren't you~" Snickering to herself, she poked my cheeks. "So~ What is it? What is it?"

"Just... that I missed you."

"I missed you too. But ya gotta get used to it, Kuku. In a few months you won't be seeing any of us as often as usual. Besides Miku and Nino of course." The thought of that is strange. I've been with these girls for the past few years. Nothing more than maybe a week away from them. And yet, the thought of not being annoyed or bothered by them every two minutes makes me want to curl up into a ball. I guess this is what it means to grow up, huh?

Even so, I want to keep these girls, my sisters, in my life. Like a child throwing a tantrum, I spoke out the first excuse I could think of. "Well, we can meet every week..."

"Kuro, if you think that we'll all have the free time to meet every single week is insane. Plus, who knows what colleges everyone will go to. Knowing Fuu, he'd try to get into the best in the country and you might go to some shitty one."

"Oi. I'm not that dumb." She shrugged in a manner to clearly say that she didn't want to argue with me. "Well... okay that might be a bit difficult but there are still ways around it, right?"

"Stop being a baby."

"No."

Snickering at my answer, the eldest of our family smacked me in the back of the head. "Jeez, Kuku. I didn't realize you were so clingy." Neither did I. Ichika stood up. "Relax, knowing you, you're going to over think things and freak yourself out. Everything's going to be fine, okay little bro?" She was right, in far too many ways. If I don't relax, I'm going to go insane. Falling back into my bed, I decided it would be best to just take a nap. I'm going to need all my energy anyway for the eventual hell that is Taro's tutoring session.

"...Ichika, why does my bed smell like your perfume. Overly so."

"Oh yeah, I dropped some of it on your sheets. Sorry!" I was far too tired to get angry.

Same Day: Evening

I'd completely underestimated a few things about myself. I'd always assumed myself to be a serious person, one that will do whatever I need to so I can achieve my goals. Whether I like them or not. For the most part, I believe I am and my childhood was what made me into that sort of person. However, it seems like I have one large blind spot when it comes to that aspect of my personality. That is this... studying. As I stared down the math sheet in front of me, I wondered what exactly Taro saw in this activity. Hell, I wondered how any of my friends were able to even do this sort of thing. Going through school was already tiring enough for me. Having to do this sort of thing during my free time? I'm about to pass out.

Perhaps this is what Nino meant when she said that I've become an "ordinary teenage boy". How am I supposed to take that? All my life I've wanted to be ordinary, but I know she's just calling me lazy? Am I being lazy? "Ku, can you do your work instead of just staring at the paper? And the question you've been staring at you got wrong." Nino, my lovely partner, was sitting next to me and pinched my leg. "Take this seriously, idiot. Or do I have to tell Ugi on you?" As promised, the seven of us were in the Nakano household. They were still staying in the large apartment, deciding to save their money for when they all moved out for college. The seven of us were sitting in the living room, each of us going over our weakest subjects. Well, sans Miku who was in the kitchen practicing recipes for her eventual practical test. Honestly, the delicious smell is making it harder to focus.

"Sorry. I'll focus." But as soon as my eyes went to the numbers, I wanted nothing more than to close them and take a nap. Ugh, this shit is boring. I did what I had to anyway. It's annoying but I'd better get used to it. If I want to be a social worker, I'm sure I'll be expected to take countless tests and have to know a shit ton of things. But I doubt math will be important. "Ugh, I just want to hang out with you guys. Why do I have to do this shit?"

And it's going to be like this for a end of this month can't come any faster. "If you focus up then I'll give you a kiss~"

"We were going to do that anyway."

"I'll do it somewhere naughty~"

"We were going to do that anyway."

"Oi!" This time, her pinching my leg actually hurt quite a bit. "Be a good boy and do your work." Neuron activation! For some reason I was suddenly motivated once more. "Hmph, perv." How is it my fault that is what gets me motivated? You made made me like this! And so we did went on and studied in mostly silence. The only things that could be heard were the sounds of Miku's cooking and the occasional question that was asked.

It went on for hours, by the time I noticed it was already dark outside. The realization was enough to make me depressed. "Alright, good job everyone! Now make sure you all get enough sleep for our next ten hour session!" Ugh.

AN: Hello everyone. how are you doing? I unfortunately am not the best atm. Been having some health issues lately and went to the hospital recently as well, its the reason why this chapter has come out late and is unusually short. I wanted to get to better but I don't have the energy at the moment. I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave you guys wondering what's up so I decided to put this chapter out and let out a small annnoumenbt. I'm going to try and update in two weeks as promised but idk if I'll be able to atm. I'm sorry, my luck fucking sucks.

I set up a twitter so if anyone anyone who wants to know what's up with me and updates, I regularly tweet from there and if you want to get in touch with me its the best place for now. It's Zeptogram1. I'll see you all when I can! Thank you for reading.