"Vampire-Chan" "That's a sweet ass picture." Upon hearing the voice behind her, a tint of red spread over porcelain-like skin. "Mm, thanks. But it's not my best work." "Well, if you think about it, you would never really want to achieve your best work. Because if you achieved your best, then you can't get any better, and that would just plain suck." The short, dark haired girl turned to meet a set of piercing green eyes, which were currently fixated on the photo at hand. She eyed the tomboy before her, recalling that this girl was 'The new transfer'; a nickname given to the chestnut haired brutish teen by many of the students. It was a simple acknowledgement by the student body—not wanting to give the Kino girl a mean nickname; for fear that she would react rather disdainfully towards whoever spoke it. Because she has already made two teachers, the captain of the basketball team, and one substitute teacher cry. The young girl couldn't help but smile at the thought. "My name is Tomoe Hotaru. You're Kino Makoto?" Green eyes met up with dark purple as the shorter girl spoke, softening the glaring penetration they had originally been placing on the photo. Both girls appeared to size one another up, though there was no comparison, in Hotaru's mind. She could never win a fight verbally or physically against the tall tomboy standing before her; but she still felt she needed to defend whatever ground she could find. Surprisingly, Makoto smiled at the dark haired teen and Hotaru felt any and all tension between the two, drain auspiciously into space. Hotaru watched closely as the new transfer leaned against the desk behind her and purse her lips, seeming to debate what to say next. After several seconds, Makoto spoke, "Yeah, I'm 'The New Transfer', or otherwise known to some as Kino Makoto," the tall brute let out an airy snort before continuing, "So show me what you consider to be your best work." Purple eyes widened a moment before finally grasping what was being asked. The ghostly looking girl picked up a large folder sitting beneath the photo on her desk and began to sift through the countless pictures inside of it. 'She knew I was thinking of her nickname. It could not have been a coincidence.' Hotaru swore she could feel emerald eyes burn into her as she thought, but brushed it off, concentrating on the matter at hand. Finally, the porcelain hand pulled out an 8 x 10 matte photo and handed it to the intimidating girl in front of her. Upon receiving the photo, Makoto spoke sharply, "What do you call this?" "Wanting." Briefly, green eyes met up with dark purple, before looking back down at the picture. The photo showed a transparent skeleton limb reaching out into the recesses of space. At first glance, there appeared to be nothing in the darkness, but to the right of a tiny star looked to be a similarly tiny red rose. Hotaru began to wonder what the girl was doing in the art room at all. She'd rarely saw the tall girl between classes, considering they were in different grades, and also heard that she had shown no interest in joining clubs when she first transferred. 'And why the sudden interest in my photos?' The shorter girl's eyes narrowed downwards as she thought and barely noticed the photo being handed back to her. "This isn't your best." Hotaru rolled her eyes as the she took the picture, "Well, according to your theory, that's a good thing." Makoto rolled her own eyes in response and snatched up the large folder to the right of the dark haired girl. "Hey! Give that back!" Hotaru had jumped up and was reaching out one hand towards the folder, her eyes becoming darker by the second. It was not a question, but a command, the young girl was issuing. The tomboy dipped her head in acknowledgment of that command and turned her body to face the shorter girl. "Easy there." Makoto mumbled lightly, a tint of amusement in her voice, "I just wanted to look at something." Tomoe Hotaru was not tall; rather, she was a bit on the short side. Her jet black hair was cut unevenly and spiked, giving her a punk-Goth look and gratuitously offsetting her porcelain-like skin. There was not a blemish to be found on that skin, either. Though she was forced like everyone else to wear the school uniform, Hotaru took it one step further adding several spiked, black leather arm bands, and her most treasured pair of black leather knee-high boots which were adorned with countless silver buckles. People often referred to her as a witch or a vampire-wannabe, just thinking she was another one of those whiney, petulant emo-kids who wanted attention for their 'shocking' clothing. The purple-eyed girl neither cared about, nor dressed to anyone's preference. But she realized that her persona was her best intimidation. After all, who wants to get in a row with someone who would place a curse on you or would try to bite your neck? This is not to say that her persona worked on everyone—just most. At the moment, though, Hotaru knew she was going to have to use every piece of arsenal in her artillery to get back that folder, at whatever costs. Before the dark haired girl could attack, the baggy-clothed girl in front of her slipped one of the pictures out of the folder, and quickly handed everything back but the picture she had in her hand. The teen could only blink as she felt her folder back in her hands, sans one photo. "You shouldn't treasure something like that," Makoto said, become suddenly serious, "In the end, they're just pictures that are worth no more than the cost to print them." Emerald eyes danced as they looked upon the Goth in front of her. 'I wonder if I could destroy the planet before she sees my blush... shit, too late...' Purple eyes closed and the small girl clutched at her folder, gasping for air from holding her breath for so long. When finally Hotaru opened her eyes, she saw the picture that was in the taller girls hands being held in front of her face. "This is one of your better ones, in my humble opinion." The pale girl could only stare at the photograph being held in front of her. She felt as though she'd forgotten how to speak. 'How did she?... When?...' Her small frame shrugged over in obvious defeat and Hotaru reached up, taking the picture from the brute. Dark purple eyes looked up to meet a definably softer gaze from her peer, a smile crossing the shorter girls face as she stared. Makoto had decided, during the teen Goth's obvious agony, to sit on the top of the desk behind her, bringing her legs up and crossing them underneath her. She now had her head in her hands and was giving Hotaru a very pitying look. "Do you even take photographs yourself?" "Nah, I'm not really into all that snazzy art stuff." The tomboy chuckled in her own amusement and watched discreetly as the purple-eyed girl packed up her things. Coughing indignantly, the small girl spoke, "That was pretty obvious. That choice of picture proves you definitely have no taste." Hotaru smirked. "And that you're far too intense for you're own good." Purple eyes watched as Makoto's upper lip, slowly curled upwards, followed by the sound of an escaped laugh. Quickly the chestnut haired girl brought a chapped hand up and covered her mouth, laughing several more times in the process. The dark haired girl watched and couldn't help but genuinely smile at the scene. A crash from outside startled both girls in the empty classroom. Two sets of eyes shot towards the closed door and in no less than a second, both girls were making their way towards it, giving one another curious glances along the way. --------------------------------- "Hehe, Rei-chan, be more careful, there are probably still people around here." The raven haired girl only growled in her response and went after the brown haired girl in front of her again. She no more than wrapped her arms around the girl's midsection when they both heard the door to the art room open up. Lavender eyes shot up in a challenging manner at the two intruders. 'Just when I was about to get to the good part.' The girl in Rei's arms could only blush and pulled quickly away from the fiery girls' arms. She bowed towards a pair of green and purple eyes before running down the hall and around the corner. Rei could only lean back against the wall and laugh in amusement as her prey ran away. "Can't mind your own business Kino-san?" Lavender eyes watched as the chestnut hair girl plainly shrugged, tilting her head to one side, and quirking her eyebrow in response to Rei's provocation. Emerald eyes were staring back, half closed, looking thoroughly bored. Anger surged through the raven haired girl's body as she surveyed her classmate. "Whatever. Didn't mean to interrupt the interlude you and Vampire-chan were having in there." Rei had been itching for a fight with the Kino girl since she transferred here and found her opportunity arising at a very convenient time. 'The New Transfer' was never seen hanging out with anyone outside of lunch or class, the fiery girl having painstakingly noting this, for she wanted at least one person to watch as she obliterated the tall girl into pieces. 'An audience is very inspiring, after all.' Lavender eyes smirked as they watched the vampire-like girl to the brute's right shift uncomfortably. Makoto, on the other hand, was acting as though she didn't even hear what had just been said. 'Ignorance, one of the oldest tricks in the books, eh Kino?' The tall teen made a showing of bringing her hand up to her mouth, giving an awe-inspiring yawn towards the raven haired girl and rolling her eyes. After finishing the yawn, Makoto turned sluggishly to her right and began to walk away from a surging Rei and a confused Hotaru. "Oh? Being the bigger person by walking away? What's the matter M-a-k-o-c-h-a-n? Afraid to exchange a few words with little ol' me? Maybe you're attracted to me, I can't blame you though. As sexy as..." Rei didn't get to finish as the tall brute cut in, speaking sleepily. "Hot air balloon." Lavender eyes blinked a moment, uncertainty evident in the sexy girl's face. "Wh... What did you say?" A smirking Makoto turned to meet two sets of purplish eyes, "You're a hot air balloon." "And what is that supposed to mean?!" The green eyed girl only shrugged and turned back around, continuing her walk down the hall. "You figure it out." She called back. 'What the hell is this girl playing at?' "Stay away from Ami-chan!" Rei watched as the tall brute stopped suddenly. 'That's it.' The raven haired girl smiled in triumph as she found her opponent's weak spot. Flaring her nostrils slightly, Rei continued, "She's too good for you anyhow; the likes of you would just bring her down." "Oh? And the likes of you doesn't?" The sexy teen turned abruptly to the sound of the cold voice behind her. Dark and unfeeling purple eyes stared right through the other girl. A tingle of exhilaration ran through the base of Rei's spine as she looked deeply into those eyes. Brushing that feeling away, the raven haired girl crossed her arms and leaned slightly backwards, illuminating the intensity of her fighting stance. "If I wanted any opinions from blood sucking whores, I'd have asked you, Vampire-chan." "Just because you don't want something, it does not mean that you don't need it. Besides, I'm not the whore here." 'That's it!' Lavender eyes were ablaze as the raven haired girl stomped one foot to the ground and threw her hands to her sides, fists clenched. "Now you listen here you stupid little Goth, you'd better keep your bitch mouth shut before I decide to make your life a living hell!! You're an underclassman and as such should treat your upperclassmen with respect!!" Rei felt her blood run like lava through her body as she screamed at the little emo girl before her. Hotaru could only roll her eyes in response to the screams from her upperclassman. "You need a mint." The raven haired girl gritted her teeth, growling slightly just as the purple eyed girl before her added, "Rei-sama." The sexy teen stopped gritting her teeth a moment and breathed out heavily on the young girl. Rei could feel her fists shaking a bit and turned away from the underclassman, ready take on her original target, only to find the hallway empty. "She left in the middle of your rant. Apparently you bored her to near death." Lavender eyes turned back, glaring at the Goth girl with the intensity of a thousand suns, "Shut the hell up." And with that, the raven haired girl stomped away. Hotaru merely watched her recent assailant with cold eyes as the girl rounded the corner. After she felt that Rei was definitely not coming back, the dark haired girl let out the breath she'd been holding and relaxed her stance. --------------------------- 7, September 2005 Begin Entry: 20:45 I was finally able to return to school today, with my mother's blessing that is. The past several days were probably more tiring on my body than if I was actually at school; at least that's what I'd like to believe. On Monday, after Mother left for work, I pulled out my calculus book and read the next six chapters. Having been watched like a hawk by Mother for the entire rest of the Sunday, I did not get a chance to do my homework. Just to be on the safe side, I also did the work for each of those chapters, triple checking my answers. It was around 13:00 by the time I finished and I decided to prepare a sandwich for lunch. During lunch, my thoughts couldn't help but wander towards Kino Makoto. Though I've recorded bits and pieces of what I could find out about the 'Rogue', I'd never actually spoken to her until Sunday. My feelings for this girl have been swaying like a pendulum from the moment I first greeted her. The day at the hospital, I felt, did not go well at all with her. Her green eyes are far too intense, always cutting through me like a heated dagger through butter. And though it may just be my imagination, I believe she wanted me to feel like I did; her first two weeks at the school were filled with nothing but intimidation tactics so that people would stay away. Everything that I experienced was exactly what I had expected from her, with the exception of the short time just after my panic attack. There was a definitive difference in that Kino Makoto than in any I'd had observed. Though the experience was aggravating and tiresome, in the end, I felt calmer than I had been all day. Could it be that she intended for things to turn out that way? This 'Rogue' is either very people-savvy or just plain lucky. After lunch I intended to clear my head of that scraggly and bothersome annoyance by reading two of the assigned books in my American Literature class. At around 16:00, Minako called my house to see how I was doing. We chatted for a bit about nothing in particular and when I hung up with her no less than 15 minutes later, Usagi called with the same questions as Minako. I am happy to see my friends care for me so much. Rei called later that evening, but our conversation was cut short as she had priestess duties to attend to. When my mother arrived back home at 21:27, I had finished both books. For the life of me, however, I could not decipher any of what Hemingway was trying to say in The Sun Also Rises. I made a note in my planner to reread the book over the weekend. Mother scolded me for not having had dinner and proceeded to call a take-out place. It was true, I was hungry, but I'd felt if I stopped reading my thoughts would once again return to dancing green eyes. The following day, I finished work in Advanced Science and History for the next several chapters. The night before I'd planned to keep myself busy all day and prepared my food in advance so that I wouldn't have any time in letting my mind wander. Rei came over after school and gave me the homework for the past two days. We talked about what had happened and I thanked her for being genuinely concerned, but there was no need for her to worry. Rei is such a good friend. I finished the work with time to spare that evening. Feeling that I was ready and prepared, I went to sleep early. I dreamt that I was flying through the air, awkwardly. I couldn't see where I was going and kept bumping into things. When I bumped into a window, I looked closely at the reflection and saw that I was a bat. I woke up at that point to the alarm. I arrived at school at 07:10, as always, and prepared for the day through my planner. Everyone began to arrive in the classroom 20 minutes later along with Rei, with a brown haired underclassman clinging to her. The two said their goodbyes at the door and Rei sat in the desk next to me, complaining that she had to tutor this girl in history. From the looks of the two when they first walked in, I don't think Rei really minded that much. As the bell rang, the 'Rogue' walked in. Her green eyes were dancing again and as she turned down the row, she caught my eyes and nodded, acknowledging me. I couldn't help the blush that crept across my face. The teacher began to speak and I was lucky enough to have a distraction. But it didn't help because during the entire class, I felt her drilling into the back of my head with those eyes. Why does she make me feel this way? After class, Rei pulled me quickly out of the room, much to my dismay. I had decided to stick around in hopes to be able to speak to Makoto. I thought that if I just spoke to her, I could get those feelings to dissolve quickly and I wouldn't be so sidetracked by them. She would remind me of the uncouth brute she actually is and I could go back to disliking her. At our lockers, Rei was saying something to me, but I can't remember what it was. My next class was calculus and started at 09:00, so I had to say my farewells to her and depart down the hall. Calculus went much smoother than American Literature. I spent most of the period helping Michiru and Haruka understand the new calculations and how to apply them to the problems on the board. Those two are so enigmatic, I believe one can't help but be cheerful when around them. Even Advanced Science, the next class, wasn't so bad, despite having felt those emerald eyes on me the entire time. Morning classes having finished at 12:25, I was heading off to lunch with Minako and Usagi on my tail. They, of course, both have different classes than Rei and I in the morning, and so they're always waiting for us after Advanced Science. Rei stayed behind, as she still had to finish up the experiment, and told us to go on ahead. I looked around quickly for Makoto, but she had already left as well. As we walked down the hall, Usagi had her arm around my shoulder probing as to whether or not I was actually okay, though I repeatedly told her I was fine. Minako was to the right of me saying that if she'd had a panic attack, she'd probably milk the after effects for a couple of weeks if only to get out of doing any school work. I couldn't help but smile. It was then we rounded the corner and who could be standing there? It was none other than Kino Makoto. She was leaning against her locker, chestnut hair falling across her eyes and parts of her face, looking positively comfortable and even, somewhat, good looking. The school requires that all students wear uniforms but there is a flaw in the charter: it does not specify that girls should wear girl uniforms and boys their own. I have only ever known Haruka to cross that boundary; until Makoto came, that is. She wore her uniform well though, I'll admit. Juuban is very relaxed about how the students wear their uniforms, as long as they wear them. The slacks were a tad on the baggy side; her shirt was not tucked in and was left unbuttoned, revealing a black t-shirt underneath. Despite her overall grunginess, she reminded me of one of the boys I would often see skateboarding in the park sometimes. Surprisingly, I found myself attracted and repulsed at the same time. I didn't realize that I had stopped in the middle of the hall with both Usagi and Minako giving me awry glances for staring. It was several seconds before Minako touched my hand, bringing me back to life. She whispered in my ear that she thought Makoto was really cute and that she thought 'The New Transfer' and I would make a doubly cute couple. I could only blush. Usagi giggled unabashedly and before I knew it, she had trotted over to the 'Rogue'. My body had paralyzed itself as I watched 'Meatball head' chatting animatedly with Makoto and I felt a rush of feelings swarm through my stomach up my throat. It was jealousy clear and simple. Makoto was smiling and nodding as Usagi talked to her. I wondered why she couldn't be nice like that with me all the time. Minako, meanwhile, had covertly managed to get me to move my feet in the direction of the 'Rogue' and when I'd noticed what she was doing, I was already half way there. I gave her a look that said I didn't want to go and she smiled in response, trying to encourage me by saying that it would be okay. For some reason, my throat had dried out completely, and I couldn't explain why I didn't want to go. I'll explain it here: It came to me during the end of Calculus that Kino Makoto was the type of person you did not approach. She approached you, but the rest of time, she wished to be left alone. Or, at least, that's what I came up with in my calculations. I met her emerald-like eyes as I approached and instantly I became mesmerized. All logic left my brain as I stood in front of her, my mouth partly open and I believe, blushing madly. She simply watched me. She didn't say hello, she didn't ask how I was, nor did she even try to make conversation about some silly topic. At first I thought perhaps she was feeling as I was, but when I studied her face, she wasn't at all tense and looked slightly bored. That hurt me, a lot. I managed to find my voice and greeted her, asking how she was doing today. I didn't get the chance to get her response however, as I felt a strong hand grab my arm and pull me away quickly. It startled me so I yelped out, turning to find that my attacker was actually Rei pulling me to lunch. She said we had to hurry because she planned to meet up with Tatsumi, the underclassman she agreed to tutor, at the end of lunch to discuss their schedule. The rest of the day went by in a blur; I had cram school after regular school and did not arrive home until 18:00. After a light dinner, I spent the next few hours studying. But I still cannot concentrate. In writing this, I hope to pinpoint the problem in my lack of concentration efforts and fix it. There is nothing left to say at the moment, but I have a feeling that this semester is just beginning. End Entry: 23:04 by: Mizuno Ami ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
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