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They stood on opposite sides of the road. The cherry blossom leaves blew delicately in the wind, creating an atmosphere of serenity… and romance. Their gazes met, eyes locked. The struggle to break free from the bindings of the heart slowly dwindled away as their defenses fell apart and their inner core was exposed.
He was the first to make a move, legs already propelling themselves to the center of his universe. “Fuukoooooo… “
She could only follow suit in his actions. “ Tokiyaaaaaaa… “
Hands desperately reached towards one another and found their destinations. He held her close in his arms, savoring her scent. She held him back, relishing in the warmth of their bodies on a cold, windy day…
He looked deeply into the eyes of his beloved rose-haired enchantress that captivated his soul, and whispered huskily “ Fuuko… you must know, I love you with all my heart… “
She looked back at him with an equal amount of sappy adoration. “ And I love you, Tokiya, with all of mine “.
“ My darling… “
“ Oh, My love… “
“ Together… we can forget… “
“ Nothing will ever keep us apart… “.
Lips met in a tender kiss. Bodies melted in an embrace that could put all other embraces to shame. The wind sighed softly, as if to signify their consent . Music of violins, harps, and God knows what other stringed instruments, played in melodious symphony bringing to end the long denied passion. Flowers way out of season bloomed madly in the heat emanated by the two lovers. Doves. And some chubby cupid in a white, bad fitting diaper ( oddly resembling Kaoru and his Kougan Anki in bow form ) winked in triumphance, flying elsewhere to find other victims for its sick pleasure.
Fuuko and Tokiya were married soon after that.
“ Oh, honey… I’m hoooome “.
Tokiya walked in their two bedroom apartment wearing a dark blue business suit. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to see his wife.
“ Tokiya! You’re back! “ Fuuko threw her arms around her husband and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She was dressed in some pink, lacey apron and looked like she had been cooking.“ Welcome home! So how was work today, dear ? “
“ Oh, the usual. How’s our baby? “ He put his ear to Fuuko’s swelling belly. She was pregnant with their second child.
“ Just fine. He kicked twice today “.
“ And how’s our other one? “
Tokiya walked over to the crib of their first born. Fuuko stood beside him.
“ He’s fine too. Shall I go bring him out for you to see ? “ Reaching into the crib, she carefully picked up a small package of cloths. She gently peeled off the light blue clothing to reveal their little baby boy…
…Which consisted of Domon’s head stuck on a normal baby’s body, complete with nose ring and mohawk. It was their son! It was their pride and joy ! IT was also a complete monstrosity of nature.
Tokiya waggled a finger playfully at the baby’s (???) face. “ And how are you, my little munchkin ? “
It popped it’s pacifier out of it’s mouth.
“ Duh-duh “. It said.
Tokiya cooed and smiled lovingly “ Awww…. Isn’t that sweet, honey? He called me da- da “
It relieved itself on it’s diaper and broke into a very wide grin.
Fuuko could
only smile back in mute, motherly affection….
“ AGGGHGHHHHHHHHHHH!! - WOAHfff!! “
Dark. Hard. Cold. Floor. She had fallen off the bed and landed flat on her face. Fuuko thought twice before crawling back to bed. The floor was actually more comforting and sleeping there would be a sign of thanks for waking her up from THE worst nightmare she had ever had. Her head throbbed and she shivered, not because of the cold, but in sheer terror of having to remember that terrible dream. Cooking? Cleaning?! Babies?!?!?!? She sank her head back to the floor with a ‘ thunk ‘ and went into fetal position. Ooooo….. No more ice cream with pickles and mayonnaise for her.
---O
“ Come on Fuuko. Rise and Shine! “
Fuuko woke up to an irritatingly cheerful voice of Yanagi Sakoshita. Yanagi had found Fuuko off the bed. She must have fallen off. It wasn’t unusual. Fuuko shooed Yanagi away.
“ Go’ way. Five more minutes. “
“ We’re going to be late if you don’t get moving, “. Yanagi opened the closet and took out Fuuko’s uniform. She placed it on the chair. “ We’ll wait for you outside. Okay? “
Fuuko reluctantly got up and changed when Yanagi had left. She met her friends outside. Kaoru already left for his school early. That left Domon, Recca ,Yanagi and Ganko. They walked to Ganko’s elementary first and dropped her off. As they were walking to their high school, Recca suddenly blurted out “ Hey, isn’t today the start of hell week? “
Yanagi gently corrected him. “ Don’t you mean Upper Classmen and Lower Classmen Friendship week? “
Domon repeated Recca. “ Yeah, hell week. “
“ Is that today? Great. I wonder who I’m stuck with. I can’t wait ‘till I get to boss around some lower-class twerp “. Fuuko kept walking and just noticed that her friends had stopped in their tracks. Domon and Recca just exchanged a sly wink. Yanagi didn’t seem to share their deviousness. She shrugged it off. It probably had nothing to do with her anyway.
---o
“ Tokiya Mikagami “.
Fuuko read it out slowly. Like one does an epitaph.
“ Oh! Look at this Domon! I get the privilege to be bossed around by some guy named Shin Shi! “ Recca pointed out the name with his finger on the piece of paper stuck on the bulletin board.
“ Oh! And look at this Recca! I get the honor of having a girl named Hato Piman be my master! “ Domon likewise did the same action with his finger.
“ And who did you get, Yanagi? “ Recca inquired oh- so sweetly.
“ Um... well I got- “
“ How did you manage to do that? “ Fuuko sourly wondered just how exactly those two were able to pull it off. The chances of Tokiya and her being stuck together were astronomical. No way would chance accidentally pick the both of them.
Recca’s hand flew to his mouth in mock surprise. “ Why Fuuko, how could you suggest such a thing? Do you honestly think me and Domon had anything to do with choosing you and Tokiya? I thought the pairs were chosen randomly “.
She puffed her cheeks.
Domon held his two fingers up in a ‘peace/V ‘ sign. “ Besides, does it matter how we did it ? We just did!”
“ So you did have something to do with this. “
“ Uhh.. no.. “ Domon clamped his mouth shut. Oh-oh.
“ You do know that following the upperclassman’s orders are purely optional “. Fuuko smiled confidently. She didn’t have to participate in any of the activities with Mikagami. And she didn’t have to do his bidding if she didn’t want to. The school only came up with the “ Upperclassman and Lower Classmen Friendship Week “ as a fun tradition of orienting the lowerclassmen into the next grade. It only took place during the last three days of school, even though it was called a ” week “.The activities of the last three days took place after final exams and were conducted after school hours. Only during the last day of the “ week“, the lower class ‘ servant ‘ had to do the bidding of his ‘ master ‘ for the whole school day. These were optional as well, if the ‘ servant ‘ found the task too demeaning or against school rules or against their own morals.
“ But you get merits for participating and even more for winning an activity “. Yanagi reminded everyone of that fact.
Recca added, “ And since you’ve been absent for a lot of times Fuuko… you got a lot of demerits “.
Fuuko’s confidence crumbled. She couldn’t have too many demerits otherwise her school record would look bad and she might not graduate. Dang it, they had a point…She fixed her most violent gaze at Recca and Domon.
Domon took one look at it and went, “ I’m not sure about you Recca. But I think now’s a good time to… RUN! “
Yanagi’s skirt lifted a little due to the gust of wind made by the fleeing Recca and Domon.
---o
Little Ganko was 8 years old. She lived in a nice house with a white door, located just at the edge of town. She had no parents; her father long passed into the other world, and her mother had died about a year ago. Her guardians were her brother, uncles, grandfather and aunts. One day, when the teacher at her elementary asked her to draw a picture of her family, little Ganko needed two pieces of paper and big box of crayons. Why? Because she had to draw her Aunts Fuuko, Kagehoushi and Yanagi, her Uncles Recca and Domon on one piece of paper and then ran out of space. So on the other paper she drew her big brother Kaoru, Uncle Tokiya and grandfather Hanabishi.
When someone asked her about her parents, she would always have to go through that exhausting list of people. And when some kid told her it was impossible to have that many parents, she would beat the living snot out of them. She was, after all, a former madogou user. And some whiny kid was not going to make fun of her family. That was what Aunt Fuuko told her.
“ Is something wrong Ganko? “ Her Aunt Fuuko asked as they were eating cotton candy.
“ No…”
“ Oh? “
“ Yes…. “
“ Then tell me all about it. You know you can tell your Auntie anything “.
“ People say that since I don’t have parents then I don’t have a family… “
“ Well they’re lying. “
“ But… “
“ Whenever you have people who love you, then that makes a family right there “.
“ So you and Uncle Tokiya would make one, right? “
“ Uhhh… no…ummm… “ Me and Tokiya make a family?!
“ You’re turning red Aunt Fuuko. Are you okay? “
“ Are you sure you’re 8 ? “
“ I’m turning 9 soon “.
“ You sure are! You’re going to be a big girl soon! “
“ Ha ha! Stop
tickling me Aunt Fuuko! “
And that was
how a typical day in the world of little Ganko went. Until one day…
Oh okay, nothing happened. I’ll go back to writing about Tokiya and Fuuko.
---o
“ So? “
“ So. “
“ So?? “
“ So. “
“ SO?!! “
“ So. “
“ Damn it Tokiya! Would you PLEASE tell me what activities are lined up for the week? And why do I gotta carry this heavy box?! “
She hefted the ominous box that weighed a ton in her arms. Only five minutes after Tokiya found that she was to be his lower class servant did he already start bossing her around.
“ You are my slave, correct? “
“ That doesn’t mean you can break my back while at it! You get the hospital bill if that happens! … and don’t call me your slave! “
“ The exercise will keep you warm. But you can use your Fuujin to lighten the load. A reason why you are better suited for the job than I. Servant . “
“ I can’t use it while in school! People are gonna stare! Why can’t I drop this off behind the school or something?! What the heck is IN this box anyway?! Rocks? … And what’re the activities ? And don’t call me servant either! “
He looked down to the sheets of paper given to him as an upperclassman master. “ Hmm.. is seems that starting tomorrow there will be an ice skating competition at the local pond… then a field day at the indoor heated gym the day after tomorrow…starts at 3’oclock…All a complete waste of my time ”. He shrugged his shoulders and walked forward quickly.
Meaning that she had to jog to keep with him, jiggling the bulky box in front of her. “ No! It’s not! I need those merit points!! C’mon! You have to go with me to those events and record that I actually participated! “
He patted the box sending her temporarily out of balance. “ Well then. You’re going to have to convince me about participating. “
“ You!… You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?! “
His voice was level and face devoid of any expression. “ Immensely “.
---o
Kanojo entered earshot range of Fuuko’s rantings and immediately took a seat. She didn’t want to miss anything.
“ That’s it! I don’t care about my demerits anymore! “ Fuuko had spent the entire morning catering to Mikagami’s whims. She was dead beat, and wanted nothing more than the three days to be up so that she could devise a plan to get back at him.
“ What did he do ? “ Ever curious, Kanojo eagerly inclined forward.
“ He made me carry this stupid heavy box…”
“ That’s not so bad… “
“ Up and down three flights of stairs?! “
“ Oooo… “ Kanojo nodded in sympathy, making her short blue hair bob.
“ I don’t get it.. Why he made me carry that stupid thing up and down the stairs for no purpose… “
“ Maybe he just wants an excuse for you to be close to him… without people being suspicious… “
Yanagi sighed dreamily . Hearts were practically in her eyes.
Fuuko looked extremely skeptical. “ Tokiya? We talking about the same guy here? Nah, it’s probably just his sadistic streak acting up. It’s not fair that I gotta do whatever he wants just so that he can monitor my merit points while you guys have no problem with your masters… “.
“ Hime! Oh HiiiIiIIIime! I’m finally here! I’m so sorry I’m late! “
Waving like a frantic idiot, Recca sidled up to the table where the girls were sitting down to lunch. Fuuko smirked at seeing her toughest friend acting like a lovestruck fool in front of Yanagi.
“ Kanojo! Kanojo baby! Sorry I wuz late! “
Domon scratched the back of his head, looking as pitiful and sheepish as possible. Fuuko’s eyes glinted with mirth at seeing Domon turn to a quivering mass of jello when apologizing. Ah well. Those were her two best friends for you. But enough of that. Back to figuring out how to get Mikagami to lighten up his hold on her, and on how to get merit points.
“ Here, Hime! Say ahhhh…. “ Recca lovingly forked a rice ball and lovingly fed a Yanagi blushing in loving pleasure.
“ Domon, for being late, ya gotta buy me that cute stuff toy we saw last week at the store! “
“ Sure Kanojo, if that makes you happy! “
“ Really? Oh, you are so sweet! “
Squealing with delight, Kanojo clapped her hands in glee, eliciting a wide grin from Domon’s face.
“ Now it’s your turn Recca… you say ahhhh … “
“ Ahhhh… “
AHHHHH!!! She couldn’t take it anymore! This was too sickening for her to bear! No one really noticed a revolted Fuujin wielding Fuuko stand up quickly and run away from the entire lovey dovey scene.
---o
To Be… or not to be… that is the question…
“ Er. Hey Tokiya… Mind if I… stay here ? “
Tokiya looked up from “ Hamlet “ and sighed. She always had bad timing. “ Why? What do you want? There are no errands for you to do “.
“ That’s not why I’m here! It’s lunchtime! Geez, gimme a break! I’m not your- “
“ Slave? “ He finished the sentence for her with an air of snootiness. She was used to it, however, and snorted in half -hearted disdain. She positioned herself near where he was seated on the ledge. Not too close. The guy might bite.
It felt cold. Was it almost Christmas time? In less than a month it would be. That would mean almost a year would pass of her meeting Tokiya… Yanagi… Kaoru, Ganko,Kagehoushi. It all happened during spring…She chanced a glance at Tokiya who seemed perfectly comfortable with the current weather. It figured… The dreaded box she had to carry lay beside him, open. Macbeth… Julius Caesar… all the great Shakespearean tragedies.. Whopps, no, there was Dante’s Inferno sticking out…
“ You’ll have to read it next year “. Perhaps he said it too defensively? She had raised an eyebrow in question. It seemed to say : all of them? You made me carry all of them when you were probably only going to read one or two? He put his current reading material down. “ What happened to Recca and the others? “
“ They’re uh… busy “.
“ Oh? “
“ Yeah. “. She coughed nervously.
“ Even Domon? “
“ Heh-eh.. I think I made a mistake in introducing Kanojo to him… although, he’s probably happier now. “ There was a little ache in her heart again. It was always her and Domon together… beating up the same opponents… figuring out how to beat Recca… fighting with Recca…her knuckles itched from missing having someone to punch.
Tokiya looked the least bit interested. “ Oh “.
“ Yeah… know how three’s a crowd? “
“ Ah. “
“ Yeah, and two’s a company.. “
“ I see… “
“ Yeah… “
Awkward silence for the next two minutes. The pages of Tokiya’s book made a crinkling sound as the wind passed through. Her dangling heels hit the ledge while swinging them to and fro. Fuuko just realized something.
“ No, not that I’m only hanging out with you because they’re not available, since they’re busy, and you’re convenient, I mean, you can be good company, right? And it’s not like you’re the only friend I have left who’s single, and uhh… riceball? “
Tokiya didn’t know what to make of her blustering. All he got was ‘ friend ‘, ‘ busy ‘, ‘convenient ‘… ‘ riceball ‘ . She offered it with a candid smile and had to fight down every drop of blood from rising to her face in embarrassment for probably hurting his feelings… and for babbling like an idiot. She chided herself for ever snickering at Domon and Recca. It was all due to karma.
---o
“ Are you sure this is it? “
“ Sure, I’m sure! It said that the first event would take place at the local pond located nearby school. And this is the only pond I know of. “
Fuuko plopped down on a tree stump and started to lace up her spankin’ new ice skates. She got her dad to buy them for her as an early Christmas gift. All shiny and new. No way could she lose this ice skating contest! But… which way did the laces go?!
“ Do you even know how to skate, Kirisawa? We are not going to win if you don’t “
Tokiya dusted the stumpy platform and seated himself . They had arrived about 10 minutes late. He carried no ice skates, the condition of the event being that only lowerclassmen could participate. There was no one around. Perhaps they would show up soon. He noticed her having a hard time even putting the skates on. Fuuko gave a haughty laugh, sending all his warning signals on loud alert .
“You bet I do! They used to call me the Ice Skating Queen! “
“ You don’t know a thing, do you? “
“ I do too! And what about you, huh? “
“ Mifuyu taught me. Long ago .“
She stopped trying to lace her skates. Tokiya leaned forward to stand up, letting his hair cover most of his face.
The small, worn out ID he always carried fell from his shirt pocket onto the icy ground . It landed with an eerie sounding pat . She picked it up and carefully brushed away snow on it. There was a photo of a very attractive girl with long brown hair. Almost like Yanagi, but the face showed more signs of hardship than the meek healer... So this was how his sister looked like. This was the girl who took her brother’s love with her to the grave. She handed the ID back to him from where she sat . He looked at it once and touched the face of his sister gingerly before stuffing it back in place. So much sadness and regret…all very clear in his eyes of baby blue …
Change the subject. That was what she was good at. Not good in bringing painful memories to the surface. Changing the subject. Why bother talking about it? Make everyone depressed. What’s done is done. She should know as well how it hurt to think about the death of a loved one. Now what should she -
“ Oh here, let me do that. You are totally inept when it comes to lacing skates. “
He couldn’t stand seeing her fumble around like an incompetent! Especially when it came to doing something as simple as lacing skates. Squatting down and muttering , he took hold of one end of the string and started lacing a skate.
There was a faint smile of relief touching her lips before she bent down to her other skate, copying his deft, criss- crossing motions …
“Hey ! Can’t you be gentler? You’re cutting the circulation offa my legs! “
“ It’s supposed to be tight. “
---o
4’o clock. Everyone seemed to be an hour late… maybe the ice skating event was cancelled and they didn’t know?
“ Oi! Fuuko! Tokiya! What’re you doing there? “
Recca skates were tied together, and were slung over his shoulder. He was walking home with Yanagi.
“ Where were you two? We were so worried that maybe something happened to you… “ Yanagi quickly scanned Fuuko and Tokiya for any signs of a fight.
“ Where’s everybody ? “ The question came from a confused Fuuko.
Recca jerked his thumb to the opposite direction. “ They’re at the east side of school. There’s a bigger pond on that side. Didn’t you see the sign? “
“ No, “
Tokiya searched the area… and found a piece of board sticking out from the snow. He scraped the snow away to reveal a semi- large sign simply stating : Not here. Next pond on other side. ( big red arrow pointing to eastern direction ).
“ Well, looks like you’ll have to try tomorrow. Can’t believe you thought it was THIS pond… “ Walking away, his hime beside him, Recca headed home.
“ This is… not good… “ Fuuko sighed deeply . But then her shoulders started to shake with laughter.
“ What’ s so funny? We wasted an hour! “ He demanded to know what sort of amusement she found in this… this.. waste! Waste of time was what it was!
“ That’s not it. I just found it so funny that here I was, all revved up and ready to skate... and it turns out that we were on the wrong side of the school. It’s so ironic, I just gotta laugh! “ She steadied herself with a nearby tree trunk and started to make her way to the pond.
“ You’ll fall. Again “. They had already tried practicing, him staying at the edge of the pond instructing her as best as he could. It had been a humiliating and painful experience for her.
“ I don’t care. They cost my dad major paper! I might as well use ‘em for as long as I can… besides, watch this! “
She placed a foot on the pond, and executed a perfect glide across the icy plane.
“ You’re cheating! You’re using your Fuujin! “
“ So what ? My bum’s sore and cold . I’ve fallen at least 50 times! I’m going to enjoy myself, damn it! “
Fuuko proceeded to glide with her back towards him, doing a twirl in the middle of the pond, and trying to look as professional as possible .
The blades of the skates were an inch away from the ice, leaving the frozen pond free of any markings when she passed over it. Small tufts of wind billowed behind her invisible trail. She was skimming the glassy surface without a care in the world, her arms slowly carving arcs in the air…
And there was a certain… grace in her movements, if there was any ever possible, one he had witnessed only when she controlled her Fuujin. A completely surprising knack for elegance rarely seen except when using her chosen madogou…Oblivious to all surroundings, like she listened to the gentle rhythm of a song the breeze played… a sweet melody his ears would never hear nor would ever fathom… so a monkey could learn ballet…
Fuuko didn’t pay attention to him . Probably thinking she was crazy. Hah! She’d get her merits tomorrow, that was for sure!
Something wet just touched her cheek. Ice… tiny flakes of ice… And there was a light fog encircling the area. What was happening? She whipped her head around so fast it cricked, fearing that he disappeared due to some unseen presence. But he stood calmly behind her, ensui drawn and emitting a soft radiance around it’s outer edges. A brief upward twitch on the corner of his mouth flittered to let her know that it was his doing. The counterfeit snow only fell until the outskirts of the pond.
It took her breath away. Tiny, crystalline snowflakes descended slowly, glittering to make the most precious of diamonds envious at their pure, natural beauty. The fog drifted about in a lazy haze, adding an even more dramatic effect to the panorama of fantastical wonder. Ice as light as a feather…it landed on the pond only to evaporate and be seen once more coming down from the heavens above.
She should really feel a tinge of annoyance at being put on display. It felt like being in one of those snow globes you see in stores, ones that children shake while waiting impatiently for their mothers to finish shopping. The ones that are shaken to let styrofoam snow fall ontop a miniature house or Santa’s North Pole workshop. But this was beautiful, this was real…There was only a sense of awe that stirred her soul.
“ Wow! This is great Tokiya! I didn’t know you could do this! “
She pranced around the pond, pushing fog in different directions wherever she moved. Strutting like a proud peacock , unexpectedly jubilant in the probable fact that maybe, just maybe, he had fashioned this makeshift stage just for her. Her dark purple -red hair stood out from the powdery, snow covered enclosure, like a rose among thorns… or in this case a rose amongst the whitest of lilies…
More snowflakes sparkled in dazzling brilliance. The fog covered her tracks with every step she took. Ice swirled around her slender body at his command in a delicate translucence and her merry peals of childish laughter reminded him of his own past happy childhood…
The snowflakes stopped to descend.
“ This is so much fun! Come and join me Tokiya! “
The same words Mifuyu used to coax him into skating.
The fog completely evaporated. Fuuko’s laughter died along with it.
One look at his forlorn face, and she knew instantly that she had somehow bungled up and reminded him of his sister. Part of her mind screamed to change the subject. Or offer words of comfort, to make him cheer up. He was part of the Hokage Team now! And they wouldn’t leave him alone, not even if he begged them to! Recca and Domon would be there for him! And she would make sure Yanagi wouldn’t get hurt, Yanagi being the most important person in his life right now.
But another part told her to stay silent. His refusal to laugh and enjoy since his sister’s death… She couldn’t compete with a corpse or with the memory of a perfect sibling.
“ Maybe we should go home …“.
There was no point in talking about it. It would make him even more sadder… and that in turn would get her all weepy!
In a way, Fuuko had the right idea. To keep quiet and let things settle over with the passing of time. But what she didn’t see was the other side. That to talk could help ease the pain, and the sharing of the past could help lighten the burden of guilt. Because in the end, the person still had to carry the heartache alone.
---o
WELCOME TO
SOPHOMORE-JUNIOR FRIENDSHIP WEEK!
FIELD DAY
Drum roll
please, and flashing disco lights. Hell week. Day two. The big banner in
multi-colored letters hung from the ceiling of the school’s indoor gymnasium.
Students were bustling about, signing up for events or chatting with their
friends. Freshmen were present, but could not participate in the events.
There were teachers around, mostly gym teachers, and there were about two
nurses manning the first aid station.
Domon turned around to see his two friends walk towards their group. Fuuko was in front, bouncing along, having pep in every step, while Tokiya opted to walk behind her in a leisurely fashion, absorbing the surroundings like a sponge. He was practically dragging his feet, making it seem that the action caused him to spend a lot of effort. In a way, he was being dragged since he had to monitor her merit points.
Bringing Kanojo to the school gym wasn’t exactly easy. Domon had to borrow one of Fuuko’s gym uniforms so that Kanojo could be with him. Kanojo’s school was at the other side of the neighborhood, but there was nothing interesting going on there, so she decided to spend the day with the her boyfriend. The indoor heated gym was one of the buildings Domon loved the most. Even during winter he could oggle at the girls all he wanted, watching them in their skimpy shorts and delightfully tight tee shirts. He paused to wipe some spittle that had inadvertently slid down from the side of his mouth.
“ Hey, hey! How’s it going! “ Energetic as ever, Fuuko took a seat beside Yanagi.
Recca answered. “ Nothing much. My upperclassman master went off somewhere. Which event have you signed up for? “
“ Hm, not sure yet… “ She didn’t really know which one to choose. Which one would give more merit points, and which one could she win in so that more points could be gained? She looked back to ask for Tokiya’s advice, and was just in time to see swarm of freshmen girls surround him. Almost the entire female freshman population was at his beck and call.
“ Mr. Mikagami ? You are him, aren’t you? ”
“ He looked at me! He looked at me! I could just diiiiie “.
“ What a gorgeous man! “
“ Are… are you free later on today Mr. Mikagami? “
“ What’s your phone number Mr. Mikagami? “
“ Do you like handcuffs? “
“ How do you feel about dinner? My place? “
The giggles and swooning sighs could be heard even from a five mile radius. One girl fainted. Fuuko stuck her tongue out in complete and utter disgust making miscellaneous gagging noises.
Tokiya was used to admirers. But not THIS many… Well, he couldn't really blame them for good taste, could he? Oh, the curse of being beautiful! Mikagami slid his hand through his long, unbounded hair and tossed it to one side. Invisible sparkle dust filled the air with their shine. He shrugged idly and flowers seemed to pop out of nowhere. But his pupils anxiously darted out to the corner of his eye to look for help…
Just to see Fuuko imitate every gesture he did. Poorly. But she got his glimmering effect done quite well.
“ Hmp. You really are a monkey “.
Harrumphing about ‘ monkey see, monkey do ‘ , Tokiya tried to talk to the more obvious intelligent conversationalists present before him.
She was about to launch herself full force at him, if only her arms weren’t held back by Domon-!
“ Excuth me. Are you Mith. Kirithawath? “
She stopped trying to break free. There was a short, pudgy freshman standing in front of her. Curiosity took the place of anger.
“ Yea. Want something? “
“ Well.. uhh.. could… could you sign this please? “
The freshman shyly offered her a piece of paper. He bowed his head submissively.
“ Of course I’ll sign it “. Taking hold of a pen, she signed her name with a flourish. It was actually a bit flattering. What a nice, sweet boy. Unlike most of the other males she met who acted like pigs . One in particular, who she would not care to mention right now.
The freshman grinned in happy delirium. And yelled out-
“ Hey guys! It’s okay! I’m still in one piece! “
“ What ? “
She didn’t quite see how it all happened. Everything was a blur. One moment there was only her and the freshman. Then the next there was an entire stampede of geeks that practically trampled her.
“ You’re... you’re so cooool !“
“ Miss Kirisawa! Marry me! “
“ Will you show me that spin kick you do ? Huh? Will you? Will you? “
“ Do you think aliens exist? “
“ How do you feel about younger men ? “
Oh. My. God. What was happening?!?!