This was Akari's second day at Verone High school but already, she had come to the understanding that she's considered extremely attractive and an object of admiration.
But these stares feel different, she thought to herself as she walked down the hallway to class.
The other first year students were not just staring at her as she passed them. They were glaring and all of their thoughts were the same: "All hail Kamiyama Kumiko-sama!"
Something's not right, but I can't exactly put my finger on it, Akari thought, entering the classroom.
All of the students who were bullshitting around in the room stopped what they were doing and glared at Akari.
"She is Kamiyama Kumiko-sama's enemy," they all collectively thought.
Akari blinked. Okay...that's nice and all...but who is Kamiyama Kumiko?
iii: gang gang gang.
"Takeru! At this point, leave it behind!" Momo hissed at Takeru before peaking past the school wall. Coach Kugayama was currently scolding the students who he caught at the gate. "We're late and if we don't climb up this wall, Coach Kugayama will catch us!"
"But I spent all night baking this cake!" Takeru insisted.
In his hands was a black and pink cake full of off guard pictures he had taken of Akari. The red velvet flavored cake had two layers and two unlit sparklers.
"I made that cake! Not you! You kept on fucking up and you felt that you had to use my kitchen to bake your damn cake! I didn't sleep because of you and your bullshit!" Momo cried.
Last night, Takeru came to Momo's house with cake ingredients and his pictures of Akari he had printed out. He told the Fujimuras that he had to borrow their kitchen for a bit. He was loud and the clutter he was making in the kitchen had grown to the point that Momo's mother Nagisa had told Momo to tell him to leave. Momo did but after watching him struggle, she decided to be the one to make the cake. She didn't know how to bake but Google was there. Eventually, with Nagisa popping into the kitchen every now and then to yell at them to clean up the place and go to bed, the cake was completed.
"Doesn't matter!" Takeru cried. "We need to get this cake over the wall!" He handed Momo the cake and began to climb over the wall.
Momo watched as Takeru made it to the top of the wall and scrunched her nose. "What are you doing?"
"Hand me the cake," Takeru said, reaching for the pastry in Momo's hand.
"What?" Momo asked.
"Just do it!" Takeru cried.
With a sigh, Momo stood on her tippy toes and held up the cake until Takeru took it and hopped off the wall with a "Yahoo!"
"Ahh! No!" She heard him say before he let out a breath of relief. "Okay. Safe!"
"Fujimura Momoko!" Momo jumped the moment she heard Coach Kugayama call her by her government name. Cursing, Momo turned and faced him.
That damn Takeru...! Leaving me to fend for myself! Momo bitterly thought as she smiled at the coach.
After being forced to stand in front of the gate holding up her school bag for what felt like forever, Momo was eventually allowed into the school. A shiver ran down her spine as she crossed the threshold.
"Am I just cold or something...?" She wondered to herself.
"You sense it too, right-sisi?" A familiar voice said.
Momo paused before she dug into her bag and pulled out her phone. When she opened the phone, she was met with the familiar face of the fairy in her phone named Casi.
"Oh." She frowned. "I forgot that you existed. Are you done sulking now? You've been doing it for days."
A tear appeared in Casi's doe eyes. "You don't understand how it feels to be separated from yo-"
Momo closed her phone and shoved it into her skirt's pocket without missing a beat. "Yep. She's still not done sulking."
She switched out her shoes and turned down the halls until she was in the first year's hall. Classes were still in session so students weren't loitering in the hallway. The first classroom she passed was Class 1-A. She glanced through the classroom's window as she walked by but slowly slowed down and returned to the window to get a good look.
Kumiko was seated at the center of the room and she was paying attention to whatever the teacher was lecturing about. However, none of the students were interested in the lecture. Instead, they were all staring at Kumiko. Admiration flashed in their eyes as they took in every feature of Kumiko.
"Why's everyone so hooked on Kumiko all of a..." Momo trailed off and watched as Kumiko tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. Time froze, prolonging Kumiko's small action. But that small action felt more than that. Why...when she does that...it looks so...
Another shiver shook Momo, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Shit...gotta get to class!"
She scurried off and arrived at her classroom, Class 1-C. The moment she grabbed the handle, the bell rang, alerting the start of the first class transition.
Kawaguchi-sensei, who had just finished wrapping up the lesson and was assigning homework, frowned when she heard the door open. She sighed. "You're late."
"But I showed up!" Momo responded brightly.
"Get the notes and information about the homework from Harumi. I don't feel like dealing with you today," Kawaguchi-sensei said with another sigh. Then, she packed up her things and left.
Momo waved goodbye to her teacher before waltzing over to her desk where her friends' desks were also situated. The cake that Takeru had tried to make (and Momo ended up being the one to make it) for Akari was sitting proudly on Takeru's desk.
"I'm surprised that Kawaguchi-sensei allowed you to have that cake in here to be honest," Momo said, sitting in her seat. "Well, go ahead. Give it to Irisawa-san."
"Takeru, you fuck boy!" Daiki yelled, stomping over to Takeru from where he sat a couple of rows away. "How dare you make a cake for some girl that's not my sister!?"
"Huh?" Takeru glanced at the cake and saw the pictures of Akari sitting on the cake. To make things worse, in black icing, the cake read: TO MY BELOVED WIFE, IRISAWA AKARI! DON'T HATE ME! I LUV YOU! BTW MY NAME IS MATSUOKA TAKERU!
With a gasp, Takeru shot out of his seat. "No! This isn't what it looks like! I mean, yeah, it's addressed to Irisawa-san, but I swear! The only person that I have in my eyes is your sister and your sister only!"
"What? Kumiko?" Momo scrunched up her nose. "Since when? I thought you didn't like girls like her?"
Daiki stumbled back and grabbed his heart. "What!? Takeru, is that true!? I can't believe I saw you as a brother!"
"It's all lies! You know Momo be talking out her ass sometimes! The one I love is your sister, Kamiyama Kumiko! Only her!" Takeru cried.
"Oh yeah!?" Daiki pointed at the cake. "Then why do you have that cake addressed to Irisawa Akari, Kumiko's sworn enemy!?"
"I must have been possessed or something! I'll get rid of it right now!" Takeru cried.
Momo scratched her head in confusion. "Literally yesterday, y'all two were acting like complete simps for Irisawa-san." She faced Kazuha and Harumi who sat nearby. "Y'all hear this, right?"
"Yeah. Loud and clear." Kazuha shook her head. "There is something completely wrong with Takeru-"
"Exactly!" Momo cried, vigorously nodding.
"-because how could he bake a cake for Irisawa Akari out of all people!? She is the opp! The enemy! His eyes should be on Kumiko-sama and Kumiko-sama only!" Kazuha cried.
Momo was stunned. "Huh?"
"Oh no!" Harumi stood up and pulled out her phone. "I need to do my hourly Tik Tok dance in honor of Kumiko-sama!"
"Huh!?" Momo repeated.
"I'll film you," Kazuha said, standing up and taking the phone. "We'll have to be fast so we can have it done, recorded, and posted on Tik Tok so Kumik-sama can see it."
Momo looked at Harumi who was straightening her skirt. "Harumi...? Isn't Kumiko a complete bitch to you?" Momo looked at Kazuha. "And Kazuha. I thought you hated Kumiko because she's a bitch?"
Harumi and Kazuha stared blankly at Momo.
"Um...Momo-chan?" Harumi tilted her head. "I'm not really sure about what you're talking about right now."
"Yeah..." Kazuha crossed her arms. "You're acting very weird..."
Suddenly, Takeru threw the cake that Momo had spent hours trying to figure out how to bake onto the floor and stomped all over it. Each time his feet made contact with the pastry, Momo felt her heart get stomped all over. He pounded, and pounded, and pounded, and she winced, and winced, and winced.
With her eyes focused on the black and pink red velvet mess, she clenched her fists. "...Takeru...stop it...!"
He didn't listen to her and kept on stomping. He only stopped when Momo shoved him away.
"Bruh! That was all of my hardwork! What is wrong with you!?" Momo yelled, standing up.
Kujo Hanako, who was talking to the teacher who had just entered the classroom, noticed the comotion and faced them from where she stood at the front of the room. "That's enough! Matsuoka-san, what are you doing!?"
"I'm getting rid of this cake that's for Irisawa Akari!" Takeru answered.
Yell at him! Make him feel shitty for ruining something that I had put my blood, sweat, and tears into whe I didn't have to! Then force him to bow down to me in apology! Momo thought, staring at Hanako with pleading eyes.
"Oh. The cake was for Irisawa-san?" Okay, then I guess discarding it is fine. But you should have discarded it in a different way, like throwing it in Irisawa-san's face. She deserves it, after all, for messing with Kamiyama Kumiko-sama," Hanako casually explained with no remorse for her suggestion.
Momo stumbled back and clenched tightly onto the edge of her desk. No...even Hanako too. Like, Kujo Hanako...the same Kujo Hanako who has an extremely low bullshit tolerance! She wouldn't be condoning this if she were normal!
Suddenly, something clicked in Momo's mind.
She looked around the room and her eyes landed on Kazuha and Harumi who were at the back of the classroom. Kazuha was helping Harumi film her Tik Tok. Harumi says that the dance she's doing is in honor of Kumiko...the same Kumiko who was a bitch to her back in junior high. And Kazuha hates Kumiko's guts! She'd be telling Harumi to stop this, not helping her out!
She looked at Daiki who was now bickering with Takeru. Yes, Kumiko is his twin sister, but he's never really been one to talk so highly of her. In fact, he rarely talks about her and when he's with her, he clearly looks exhausted to be around her.
She sharpened her gaze on Takeru. And you! Takeru! You've expressed so many times that Kumiko is the complete opposite of your type! With all of this evidence, including Hanako condoning all of this for the sake of Kumiko, it's obvious. Kumiko has everyone under some sort of mind control!
Mind control? Nah, that sounds way too far fetched, Akari thought during lunch break as she observed her classmates.
With her arms crossed, she leaned against a wall in the hallway and watched as her fellow first year student lined up at the doors of Class 1-A to hand Kumiko their lunch, snacks, and drinks they bought especially for her. Once someone made it to the front of the line, they had to explain to Kumiko why she should take their offerings and usually, the answer would be a no. And so, that someone would have to beg her to take it until someone from the sports team dragged them away. The cycle continued over and over again.
Actually, considering the fact that there's a fairy in my phone and I can hear people's thoughts, mind control actually doesn't sound too crazy, Akari thought, noticing a couple of girls whispering to each other and glaring at her.
Unbothered, Akari went back to observing her fellow students before she left her post and walked back to her classroom. Once she entered, she found a group of students crowded around her desk.
"What are you people doing?" She asked.
They turned around and moved out of the way, allowing Akari to get a good look at her desk. "GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM!" "YOU'RE NOT WELCOMED HERE!" "UGLY SNAKE ASS BITCH!" "BOOOOO!" "NOBODY LIKES YOU!" and "KILL YOURSELF!" were scribbled and scratched onto her desk.
Am I actually being bullied right now? Akari asked, squinting her eyes at the scene.
She looked at each of the culprits and found that there were no signs of shame on their faces. Instead, they were all glaring at her. She tuned in to listen to their thoughts and frowned when all she heard were "All hail Kamiyama Kumiko-sama" and "Irisaw Akari is Kamiyama Kumiko-sama's enemy" coming from them.
She sighed and spotted Takeru and Daiki.
"You know what!? I'll build a shrine in Kumiko-sama's honor!" Takeru cried.
Daiki rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right!"
"I'm serious!" Takeru insisted. "Kumiko-sama truly is the only one for me! I'll prove it to you by building a shrine!"
Damn. The day before, those two were simping over me, Akari thought as her eyes landed on Momo, Kazuha, and Harumi.
Kazuha was busy recording Harumi doing another Tik Tok dance. Akari listened to their thoughts and Takeru and Daiki's thoughts and frowned when she heard that it was the exact same as the thoughts of everyone. Still frowning, her eyes shifted to Momo, expecting to see her gushing over Kumiko with the same thoughts as everyone else but instead, she blinked.
Hold on. I can't read her thoughts at all, Akari thought, as Momo watched the shenanigans of her friends. Momo rested her cheek in her palm and would sigh every few seconds. A frown was tugging at her lips and the finger on her other hand tapped her desk in an irregular beat.
I can't tell what she's thinking...and that's weird. I've always been able to hear everyone's thoughts. Why can't I hear hers? Akari wondered, refusing to pull her eyes away from her.
Momo's elbow, which was slowly sliding across her desk, reached the edge, prompting her to fall forward. She quickly caught herself and with probably the thousandth sigh she's made today, she looked at her friends. "I can't stay quiet about it anymore."
She slammed her hands on her desk and stood up, receiving the attention of her friends and the other students in the classroom. "You guys are under some kind of mind control that's making y'all obsessed with Kumiko!"
Akari's eyes grew wide. She knows that everyone's under some mind control tactic! That has to mean that she's not affected!
Momo ignored the dirty looks that everyone else in the classroom was giving her and climbed on top of her desk. "Seriously!? Kumiko is y'all's lord and savior!? Please! Yamada, remember that time when your hair made you look like a carbon copy of Kumiko's so she bullied and terrorized you all year, even after you had long changed your hair!? And Okami! Remember when she would rip up all of your love letters to Maeda simply because they were addressed to Maeda, not her!? All of the girls sitting in this class have had their boyfriends stolen by Kumiko and all of the guys sitting in this class have had their girlfriends terrorized by Kumiko! Do you want me to spill more about what Kumiko has done to each and every one of y'all cuz I ain't done yet!"
Akari felt a twisted sense of admiration as Momo spoke. She doesn't give a fuck about what people are thinking. She's just here to talk her shit and keep it pushing.
Around her, the thoughts of the other students grew louder and louder: "She's slandering Kamiyama Kumiko-sama...so she must go!"
The students inched closer to Momo but Momo wasn't phased or intimidated. Instead, she continued with what she was saying. The expressions on the students' faces grew dark, even as more students entered the classroom, collectively thinking the same thing. They harshly bumped past Akari as they approached Momo and Akari watched as the classroom grew full of first year students of Class 1-C and other classes.
Uh oh...this isn't good! Akari thought before she began to push through the crowd. However, they pushed her back, refusing to let her get through.
"And Kaname! Remember when she forced you to watch her make out with that guy you liked and she terrorized you for even having feelings for that guy!" Momo continued. "Open your eyes! All of yo-" The crowd surged forward and pushed Momo off of the desk. "Woah!"
Momo fell back. She reached to grab Takeru but he simply stared at her with empty darkness in his eyes. Then, she looked over at Kazuha and Harumi but they were also looking at her the same way. And so, she closed her eyes and succumbed to her fate, praying that when her skull cracked, it wouldn't hurt as much.
But she didn't feel pain.
She didn't even feel the cold floor.
She immediately opened her eyes and found herself in Akari's arms.
"Let's go," Akari told her in her accented Japanese.
Momo stared up at her. Then, tuning back into reality, she nodded and allowed Akari to help her up.
The students around them grew closer to them and tightened the spaces in between one another, refusing to let Momo and Akari go but they pushed and shoved and even kicked until they were able to break through. Holding hands, Momo and Akari sprinted out of the classroom and down the hallway.
Momo and Akari made it onto the roof in one piece, panting as they caught their breath.
"You're not being mind controlled, right!?" Momo asked before glancing at the semi wall lining the edges of the roof. "Unless you brought me here to finish the job! If so, I'll fight!"
"What? Of course not! I brought you here cuz you're the only one who's not acting like a mindless zombie!" Akari cried. And for some reason, I can't hear your thoughts at all.
"Okay, that's good." Momo flopped down onto the floor like a starfish. "I thought I was about to go crazy in there!"
Akari sat next to her. "How come you're not under the spell?"
"I dunno. Could it be because I came late?" Momo wondered, closing her eyes to shield her eyeballs from the sun.
No, that's not it. Matsuoka Takeru, one of my former simps, also came in late, Akari thought with a sigh.
"I think I know why-lulu!" Lilu suddenly said from his place in Akari's phone which was in her pocket.
Momo sat up as Akari's face paled. "The fuck?"
Akari's phone hopped out of her pocket and transformed into Lilu's fairy form. "You must have a fairy-lulu!"
Momo blinked. "Eh? There's actually more of you!?"
Her phone slid out of her pocket and transformed into Casi's fairy form. "Lilu-sisi! Is that really you-sisi!?"
"Oh my gosh. This can't be happening right now," Akari said as Lilu spread his stubby arms out.
"Yes-lulu! It's truly me-lulu!" Lilu said proudly.
"I finally found you-sisi!" Casi cried, running into Lilu's arms with tears streaming down her face.
Momo and Akari watched the two fairies embrace before they faced each other.
"So you got yourself an alien plush toy who insists that they're a fairy too," Momo said.
"And they keep on going on about finding the rest of their fairy friends," Akari said.
"Yep." Momo nodded. "Did you know Casi, my fairy, made me sneak out of my house and spend all night searching the streets of Tokyo for her kind!?"
"Damn. You let that small thing do that to you?" Akari asked.
"It wouldn't stop crying!" Momo argued.
Exhibit A: Casi was balling a whole ocean on Lilu's arms as Lilu slowly patted her head.
"That does seem like it gets annoying fast," Akari observed.
"You have no idea," Momo said dryly.
"Going back to the whole situation that's happening right now, since we're not having our minds controlled and we both have fairies, maybe it really is because of our fairies that we don't feel a thing," Akari said. "Everyone worships this Kamiyama Kumiko girl."
"Have you met her?" Momo asked and Akari shook her head. "Good. Cuz she's a bitch! I can't believe she found a way to hypnotize all of the first years!"
"My main question is how did she even do that in the first place," Akari said before shrugging. "I don't even care about her why, if 'm being completely honest."
Still petting Casi, Lilu inserted himself into the conversation. "There is a strong possibility that this is the work of another fairy-lulu."
"Another one?" Akari asked.
"I still can't believe that there's actually more of you..." Momo grumbled, digging her fingers into her hair.
"To be honest, because of the universal system of checks and balances put in place to prevent us Zodiac Beasts from going mad with power, we can only use our powers if the 12 of us are together-lulu. But when we're not together, we each can grant the humans we choose special abilities and we call those abilities Gifts-lulu. Each Gift is unique to the fairy-lulu," Lilu explained.
Momo suddenly thought back to this morning when she glanced into Kumiko's class. "She was the only one seemingly not under the trance. Plus, everyone is out there worshiping her..." she said out loud.
"So Kumiko has a fairy and is using the Gift that the fairy gave her to control everyone. Good to know." Akari sprung up to her feet. "I'll yank that phone out of her hands since that fairy is probably hiding inside of it."
"But how do you expect to get close to her-lulu? Literally, everyone was about to become attempted murderers just because she-" Lilu pointed at Momo, "-tried to get everyone to open their eyes-lulu. There is absolutely no way that you, the person that they all hate because Kamiyama-san sees you as an enemy for some reason, can get close to Kamiyama-san without the other students retaliating-lulu," Lilu said.
Akari hated to admit it, but Lilu had a point. She faced Momo. "You're good at acting, right?"
"Um...maybe? Why?" Momo asked.
"I can't get close to Kumiko since she seems to hate my guts for some reason, but if you can act like a good mind controlled zombie, you can get close to Kumiko without her and her minions suspecting a thing and take that fairy away from her," Akari answered.
Momo scrunched up her nose. "You want me to do what now!? Oh hell no!"
The next day, Momo showed up early to school for once without Takeru by her side but couldn't make it through the classroom door.
Harumi was busy doing a Tik Tok dance on the teacher's desk with Kazuha recording her and giving her stage directions.
"Yes! Put in more power! Show these bitches that you will give your life for Kumiko-sama!" Kazuha yelled.
"Kumiko-sama! I only dance for you and you alone!" Harumi yelled as she continued to dance.
Hanako snatched a student's phone from out of their hands. "Are you looking at any other woman besides Kamiyama-sama!?"
She glanced down at the phone for a bit before she handed it back to the student. "Oh. Never mind. You were just replacing the wallpaper on your phone from your girlfriend to Kamiyama-sama. As you should."
Sitting on Takeru's desk was an intricate shrine dedicated to Kumiko. He had a clearly store bought wooden shrine but it was glued onto a large cardboard box that had pictures of Kumiko glued all over it. Electric candles lined the base and the top of the box and popsicle sticks had flags dedicated to Kumiko.
"That's the shrine that you made for my sister?" Daiki asked.
"Damn right it is!" Takeru said proudly. "I did not get a wink of sleep!"
"The shrine is hideous! A complete insult to Kumiko! What is wrong with you!?" Daiki cried.
"What!? It's not hideous!" Takeru insisted.
"Look at it! Shit, even some of the stuff is store bought! Kumiko is clearly just an afterthought to you! I understand now!" Daiki yelled.
"You know what!? I'll build a bigger and better shrine! You'll see!" Takeru yelled back.
This is just sad, Momo thought with a sigh. You win, Akari. I'll do it.
With a pep in her step and a destination clear in her mind, Momo left the classroom and stormed down the hall. She noted how the other first year students were looking at her funny, clearly not having forgiven her for yesterday's stunt. She turned into Class 1-A and found Kumiko sitting proud and straight at her desk. Her many minions were standing around her with fans in their hands, showering her with all sorts of complements as she studied her own reflection in the tiny hand-held mirror in her hands.
Don't roll your eyes, don't roll your eyes, don't roll your eyes, Momo reminded herself over and over as she approached Kumiko.
The minions around her and admiring her from afar scowled at Momo and some looked ready to pounce on her. Kumiko narrowed her eyes at her.
"Fujimura Momoko," Kumiko began with a pointed stare.
"It's Momo," Momo grumbled quietly, well aware that despite her many corrections, Kumiko still won't call her by her nickname she preferred to go by and this has been happening since junior high. She wanted to argue but she forced herself to keep it down. One little sign of disobedience and aggression, the whole plan falls apart.
She sighed. I really am the hero of this story. Everything rests on my shoulders.
Kumiko continued what she was saying. "I heard from a little birdie that you were spreading lies about me yesterday."
How are they lies when they're the truth? Momo wondered, clearing her throat.
She threw herself to Kumiko's feet and wrapped her arms around Kumiko's long legs. "Oh, Kumiko-sama! Kumiko, Kumiko, Kumiko-sama! Yes! They were lies! I just wanted to test everyone's devotion to you and see if there was anyone whose mind is fragile enough to even consider turning their back on you!"
"Really?" Kumiko tilted her head. "You really did all of that for me?"
"Of course!" Momo drove.
Kumiko crossed her legs. "So why did you run off with Irisawa Akari then?" She sneered Akari's name and clenched her fists. Her minions clenched their fists and glared at Momo.
"I ran off with her...because...I..." Damn. I didn't think this through. Momo racked through her brain, trying to find anything she can use to make Kumiko see her as one of her zombies. "I wanted to see if I could figure out how I can make her bow down and apologize to you. She took me to the roof and when I realized that bitch was crazy, we duked it out."
Kumiko blinked. "What?"
Momo stood up. "Yeah! We had a whole fight to the death and everything! Girl, you should've been there! It was crazy! But I'm so glad it was me who fought her and not you because damn! She was vicious!"
"And you fought her...all for me?" Kumiko slowly asked.
"Yep!" Momo prayed in her mind that Kumiko would believe her lie.
A smile suddenly plastered on Kumiko's face and she let out a haughty laugh. "Right! Exactly! Because everyone will do anything for me! Because you all love me! I am everyone's number 1! I will never, ever, ever be replaced!"
"All hail Kamiyama Kumiko-sama!" The students began to chant, startling Momo. Momo quickly recovered and joined the chant.
If I'm gonna act like a mindless zombie, I'm gonna become the greatest mindless zombie the whole world has ever seen! Momo thought as she continued to chant with the students.
Random Fact: Casi and Lilu had different names before this version. Lilu was Momo's fairy and his name was Moonshine and he had a blue theme. Casi was Akari's fairy and her name was Sunshine and she had a pink theme. I changed the names because I realized that moonshine is another word for ecstasy. Plus, the name change makes it easier for me to remember which zodiac each fairy represents. Momo's zodiac was supposed to be Leo while Akari's zodiac was supposed to be Aquarius but I changed them when I realized that the zodiacs each have a planet that rules them. So Momo's zodiac is Cancer, hence why she has Casi. Akari's zodiac is Leo, which is why she had Lilu.
Wassup!? It's ya gurl sugarsugarrush! Please let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review or PM! I hope y'all like this!