Story: The Melancholy of Midori Sugiura (all chapters)

The brunette in front of Youko Sagisawa introduced herself: “Ara, I’m Fujino Shizuru and I came to Fuuka Academy to fulfill a promise to one of my dearest friends. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” And with that, she sat down.

Youko blinked, her blue eyes glancing about the now muttering room. Everyone was looking at the person in front of her and whispering excitedly, both boys and girls. She inwardly sighed, not sharing their excitement, I can already see that this is going to be a hectic years. She remarked sarcastically in her thoughts. Well, more hectic than it already is…

Youko had always been like that, keeping to herself and commenting inside her head. She wasn’t cynical and didn’t ‘hate the world’, she just didn’t speak up as much as she would like to. She was the quiet type with a good, level head on her shoulders. Adults always told her that she was much more mature than other teenagers and they’d love to adopt her if they could.

Truth be told, Youko would love to be a bit more loose and be able to live out the younger years of her life blissfully. However, reality caught up with her a little faster than her peers and she learned to accept it.

Suddenly, she noticed all eyes were on her and she remembered what she had to do when it was her turn. She stood up, slightly flustered. How much of an idiot must I have looked like sitting there in a daze? She berated herself.

Their homeroom teacher for their first year in high school, Yukariko Sanada, after introducing herself and telling her new students about the upcoming year, told each student where they sat for the school year to come. She then told her class that they’d each introduce themselves in order by chair and then they’d each have to tell the class something about themselves.

The short haired brunette smiled pleasantly as she looked about the class, “My name is Sagisawa Youko and my dream career is to become a doctor.” She sat back down and looked ahead, waiting for the next person to introduce themselves. ‘A doctor’ huh? She sighed in melancholy as she remembered the days when she wanted to be things out of fantasy books she always use to read.

She then smiled at the nativity of her younger self. Things like demon hunters, beast tamers, aliens and angels don’t really exist. Some day you just have to grow up and except the fact that life isn’t getting any more interesting than it already is. It’s good to set a normal life plan. She nodded her head slightly to her own words of wisdom. I’ll go to college, become a doctor, get a husband, settle down… Youko’s gaze turned slightly to the window she sat next to, her thoughts drifting off.

“Hehe!” The person behind Youko stood up from her chair in haste, making the four legs scratch slightly on the classroom’s wooden floor. “My turn already? Great! My name’s Sugiura Midori and for the piece of information about myself, I’m going to share my knowledge with all of you!” ‘Sugiura’ cleared her throat, possibly trying to create a climactic atmosphere in the class.

“Demon hunters, beast tamers, aliens, angels and the like do exist! And when I meet them, I’m going to make each and every one of them my friend!”

Youko’s normal thought-filled mind went blank at that point as she turned around to see who said those childishly outrageous words. The girl’s green eyes shown brightly and shimmered with life; her wild, red hair looked as if it was on fire. And that grin… That had to be one of the biggest, most self-assured, real grins Youko had ever seen.

“Fufu, Sugiura’s at it again, nah?” Youko blinked, hearing a murmur from the person in front of her.

She turned back front and looked to see who said the words, and her breath caught in her throat for a second or two as her blue gaze locked with red. She slowly let out her breath after the shock of seeing deep red eyes passed over her and forced herself to calm down. The logical, level part of her brain (which was most of it) told her the person in front of her was probably an albino that dyed their hair. No wonder people were muttering after her introduction. Having an albino in class isn’t an every-day norm…

She then remembering why she turned back around in the first place. She looked at ‘Fujino’ with a questioning gaze and thumbed over her shoulder discreetly, mouthing ‘What was that about?’

Obviously, if she says something like ‘Sugura’s at it again’, she knows what that announcement was all about, Youko reasoned.

The red-eyed beauty in front of her raised an eyebrow slightly, comprehending what was mouthed to her before mouthing a response of her own with a knowing smile, ‘I’ll tell you later.’

Youko frowned slightly as Fujino turned back around in her seat to face the front. Oh… kay…

The bell for lunch rang and everyone started to get up, ready to have their first meal in a new school. Youko got up, taking out her money while trying to remember where she was told the lunchroom was.

“Sagisawa-han?”

The short-haired brunette looked up from her desk, brought out of her thoughts, “Hm? Yes, Fujino-san?” She replied after seeing who called her.

“I remember you wanting to learn about Sugiura, correct?”

Youko turned around to see if the person in question was still there and was surprised to find her missing. She blinked at the empty space, That was fast… She turned back to the Kyoto-born, “Yes, I did.”

“Then now is a good a time as any,” Fujino smiled pleasantly, “Please follow me to the cafeteria.”

---

“What is it you would like to know?” Shizuru and Youko walked down the halls of their new school toward the lunchroom. Both boys and girls alike watched them go by and whispered; some stared in awe, others in jealousy. Youko had a distinct feeling they were all staring at the tall albino next to her.

“Well, first of all, I’m rather curious about how you know her,” Youko spoke what was on her mind, which was how she usually dealt with everything. She didn’t think Fujino’s clique and Sugiura’s clique would mesh very well. (She wouldn’t show it on the outside, but she was starting to get antsy with all the stares.)

“She was in my class at my last school too, although we didn’t talk much.” Of course, Fujino being the critical analyzer she was, started to pick up on the signals her acquaintance was giving off. She cocked an eyebrow when Youko subtly narrowed her eye at the crowd of students watching them. “Is something wrong, Sagisawa-han?” She asked, inwardly amused.

Caught. Youko turned back and looked up into red. “I know they’re all staring at you, but still. I’m not use to traveling with people staring in my general direction. Honestly, it’s unnerving.”

Shizuru’s smile grew a tiny bit, “You get use to it after a while,” She said in a jovial, knowing  manner, turning her head back to the hall ahead and closing her eyes as she walked.

Youko raised her eyebrow questioning. ‘Get use to it’? “Then I suppose this happens often?”

“Quite.”

“Joy…” She then put her hand to her chin and gained a thoughtful expression. “Albinos might be a rare sight, but it’s nothing to gawk over this much at…” She contemplated out loud.

Fujino turned back to her shorter partner and raised both eyebrows, showing her amusement openly now, “Ara!”

“Nn?”

Shizuru went back to normal, “I think you’re the first person to guess correctly about my eye color.” That and I’m amused by the fact that you think that’s the only reason people are staring.

Youko frowned, “Seriously?”

The Kyoto-born nodded her head. She then brought her right hand to her mouth and started to giggle, “You wouldn’t believe some of the stories people have come up with.”

“Like?” Youko asked curiously.

“One asked if I was an alien from outer space sent here to procreate and intermingle with the human race so that my race lived on,” Shizuru giggled harder.

Youko chuckled at the absurdity of the suggestion, “Who asked that?”

“Sugiura Midori,” Shizuru smiled down at the going-to-be doctor after she finished her giggle fit. “Imagine her disappointment when I told her I was one-hundred percent human.”

Youko’s chuckling died down after that and she could only give Shizuru a stunned expression. All I’ve learned about Sugiura is that she’s really REALLY eccentric. She shook her head softly before looking back at Shizuru with normal features, “But I thought albinos had more of a pink-red color.”

Shizuru simply shrugged as they neared the cafeteria doors, staying silent.

They both entered the lunchroom and Youko gaped at the scene before her, “This is… larger than I expected.” She finished lamely.

“Didn’t you see this during the orientation?”

The short haired brunette shook her head, “I didn’t get to go to the orientation. I was still moving in. I got here a bit later than every else.”

“I see.” They walked over toward the food lines while they each took out their money.

“E-eh…” Youko inwardly gulped as she stared at the prices. What is this, a five-star restaurant?

“Ara,” Shizuru had to swallowed a smirk as she looked at her classmate’s expression. “What seems to be the matter this time, Sagisawa-han?” She drawled, knowing perfectly well what was wrong.

“Er, the prices are…” Youko’s voice trailed off.

“’A bit expensive’?” Shizuru finished helpfully.

“Yeah.”

“Well, this is a high quality school,” She said. She frowned faintly when she didn’t receive any recognition from the person who sat behind her in class. “Did you not know this?”

“No,” Sagisawa answered truthfully. “I just applied for and got into the school that was closest to home for convenience’s sake.”

“Mah, that is something else,” Shizuru said, sounding a little interested. Stuff like that doesn’t normally happen at Fuuka Academy. “Usually people have to either study hard or be wealthy.”

“Which are you?”

“Wealthy,” Fujino answered with a wink, making the international hand-sign for money. (Rubbing her thumb against her fingers.)

Somehow, I get the impression that she’s both. Youko kept her thoughts to herself.

“The name Fujino is placed in high regards in some areas of business,” Fujino further explained, sounding modest about the situation, but not obnoxiously so. “Also, there are a lot of the people that come to this school who are talented in one field of study.” She added.

“Hm?”

“For example…” The taller brunette trailed off for a moment, trying to think of a couple examples before she started up again. “Minagi Mikoto in a neighboring class: it’s rumored that she can sword-fight with fifth-dans on equal level.”

Youko’s eyes widened at this. A first year against fifth-dans?

“Another example would be Sugiura Midori. She could easily become the captain of any sport club she chose if she felt like it. Unfortunately, she doesn’t stay interested for very long so she quits, causing the teams to grovel on hand-and-foot for her to come back,” The tall brunette chuckled a little at the mental image.

“Most people with an expertise in a certain field come here on scholarships that are active throughout their high school life so long as they participate in school activities, such as clubs,” Fujino finished her explanation.

Youko frowned at the information she gathered. I didn’t know anything about any scholarships. “I suppose with these prices, I’ll have to look for a part-time job.” She said, making it known that she didn’t receive any scholarship applications.

“Then I suppose all I can say to that is, ‘Good luck and try not to get caught’.”

“Gee, thanks…” Youko rolled her blue eyes before stepping into line.

---

They both sat down across from each other at a table that was surprisingly empty in the noisy, filled room. (Sagisawa guessed that the previous group had just left.) Youko watched curiously as Shizuru took out a notebook and started to write between bites of her meal.

“This?” Shizuru asked when she caught the stare of inquisitive blue eyes. “I figured I’d start to jot things down that could be handled in class, such as who can be assigned to what job. I know a lot of people in our class and have a pretty good idea what their strengths are.”

Youko furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, “Isn’t that the class representative’s job?”

Shizuru smiled patently as she looked at the shorter brunette, “Ara, and just who do you think will be voted as class representative, I wonder?” She stayed silent and watched as Sagisawa mulled it over.

“I see you point,” Youko mumbled when she finally came up with an answer.

“Thank you.” Fujino went back to work.

“You like taking on work?” Youko eyed the thick backpack Shizuru lugged around.

“It’s not that I like it, it’s just that it’s good to be well-rounded and have many skills under my belt for when I’m older. In fact, if it was up to me, I’d much rather throw it all aside and start looking for my long-time friend,” Shizuru’s eyes seemed to sparkle pleasantly when she said this, as if bringing up a fond memory.

Youko smiled, amused at the unexpected reply, “How lazy of you!”

Shizuru smiled knowingly and wagged her finger, “One shouldn’t judge by appearances, Sagisawa-han.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Youko ended with a smaller smile, feeling much more at ease around Fujino than when they first met. “Oh yeah, your friend, who is the person, if you don’t mind me asking?” Youko asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

“Kuga Natsuki, a second year,” Shizuru smiled brightly, showing more emotion now that she was on a topic she particularly liked. “Perhaps you’ll hear of her, being labeled as the ‘Lone Wolf’ or ‘Ice Princess’,” Shizuru giggled softly finding these titles silly. If only they really knew Natsuki…

Youko smiled at Shizuru’s expression. This Kuga must be really important to Fujino-san. She then turned her eyes downcast to the ground, biting her lip. I wonder if it’s okay to ask about the promise. It might be personal… “… And about the promise you mentioned in class?” She asked tentatively, wondering if she was pushing her limits.

“The promise?” Youko let out a silent sigh of relief when she saw the tall brunette practically beam at the mention of it. “Why, to marry her and always be by her side!” Shizuru responded, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Youko’s eyes widened for a good fifteen seconds as she wrapped her mind around it before slowly falling back down to Earth, thinking about it with a level head. She gave Fujino a helpless smile, “You really are something, Fujino-san.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Shizuru smiled back after calming down considerably.

“U-um.”

They both turned when the voice of a stuttering girl caught their attention. “Yes?” Shizuru asked when she looked at the shaking, flushed girl standing right next to her seat.

“P-please accept this letter, Fujino-sama! I worked really hard on it!” The girl held out a pink letter to Fujino, her cheeks gaining more color (if at all possible.)

Shizuru blinked before smiling placidly, kindly taking the letter, “Thank you for the letter, but I’m sorry. I can’t return your feelings. The best I can do is wish you the best of luck in your future relationships.” Shizuru spoke serenely, rejecting the girl softly.

“Ah-um. Th-thank you for taking the letter anyway!” The girl bowed low, still beat-red, quickly shuffling away afterward.

Shizuru took out another piece of paper, after setting the letter down on the table, and started to write a rejection letter.

“Why write a rejection letter when you just put her down?” Youko asked. She hasn’t even opened the letter she just received.

“Well, she made her own stationary and envelope just for one love letter. I think I should at least explain myself as a thank you for going through all that hard work, don’t you think?” The red-eyed beauty explained, not even looking up from her writing.

Youko thought it over. I suppose if someone went through all that work for me, I’d feel a little guilty if I simply rejected the person. She watched as a boy a year older than themselves walked up with a cocky smile on his face. Another one? And only on the first day of school too…

“Hey, Fujino-san,” He smiled. “How about you and me go on a date tomorrow night at the movie theater?”

Fujino turned her head to the side to see her sempai, “I’m not interested, sorry.” Blunt. Her voice wasn’t any different than when she dealt with other things, but something hidden in the tone told Youko that Fujino didn’t want to deal with the boy. She turned back to her work, giving the boy a cue to not try again through her body language.

Youko almost flinched at how unreadable Shizuru’s tone of voice was. Ouch. That must be a blow of his ego. “Must be fun, being popular,” Youko lightly teased, watching the dejected boy walk away while glaring over at his friends who were laughing at his complete and total failure.

Shizuru smiled, looking up from her work from the top of her eyes, her head still bent downward. “Jealous?”

“Not really.”

“Darn, and here I was hoping we could switch for a day or two,” The red-eyed, first-year joked back.

“Well, if you told me what kind of make-up you use…” Youko responded hopefully, although her tone didn’t give her away.

Shizuru smiled wickedly, “I don’t use make-up.”

There was a brief silence. “… Okay, that just ticks me off,” Youko frowned in mock anger.

They both chuckled at their little play banter and went back to eating. The doctor-in-the-making smiled; all her uneasiness from earlier was all but gone. But as the conversation paused for a moment, her mind started to wander. After a bit, she voiced her thoughts, putting two and two together: “You’re a lesbian.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“I am.” Shizuru looked up from her work and food, lifting her head, “Is that a problem?” She almost looked at if she anticipated something, like someone waiting for a prey to take the bait of the trap they set out.

Sagisawa paused for a moment before closing her eyes, shrugging, “It doesn’t affect me, so why should it matter?”

“… You’re a very open-minded, down-to-Earth person, aren’t you?”

“So I get told.”

“I can imagine why,” Shizuru smiled.

Youko blinked as she looked at Shizuru’s smile. For some reason, it seemed a bit more sincere than the others before it. She seemed a bit more relaxed.

“Oh yes, Sagisawa-hanr12;“

Youko cut Shizuru off, “Call me Youko.” She said, after a brief contemplation of considering Fujino her first friend in high school.

Shizuru’s eyes widened for a passing moment before she went back to her normal placid expression, “Then please call me Shizuru, Youko-han.” She continued after a nod from the person across from her, “I believe you wanted to discuss about Sugiura?”

Oh, right. We still haven’t gotten around to talking about that yet. Youko nodded once more.

“Ara, then why don’t you ask her personally?” Shizuru drawled, a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she pointed over Youko’s shoulder with her chopsticks.

“Huh?”

“Hiya, Shi-chan!” A cheery voice came bounding over. The owner of the voice reached her hand over toward Shizuru’s dish and picked up a piece of gyoza with her fingers and quickly brought it to her mouth. She chewed with gusto and swallowed before continuing, “How’ve you been?”

I see you haven’t lost your habit of taking things at random. “Hello,” Shizuru said to the redhead standing at their table. “I’m doing well, how’ve you been, Sugiura?”

Midori frowned at the tall brunette, “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Midori?”

“Forgive me, Midori-han. Old habits die hard, I’m afraid,” Shizuru said with an apologetic smile.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it!” Midori’s large grin was back on her face in no time as she waved her hand over her shoulder. “Oh! And how’s… Veranda?... Violin?... Violet?...”

“Viola,” Shizuru corrected their classmate.

“Yeah! Viola! How is she?”

“She’s doing very well. She’s adapting to her new home nicely. Thank you for asking,” Fujino bowed her head a bit in thanks.

“’Viola’?” Youko asked Shizuru, not able to keep her curiosity at bay.

“My pet snake,” Fujino clarified.

Youko’s curious frown furrowed deeper into a skeptic stare, “You own a pet snake?”

“Yes. Right here on campus.”

I read that pets aren’t allowed to be kept on campus. “How?”

Shizuru smiled knowingly, “Almost anything can be bought with money, Youko-han. And with about two-hundred thousand more yen added to my boarding bills, I’m mysteriously allowed my own room and my pet snake can live with me on campus.”

Sagisawa stared blankly at the albino. I believe that’s called ‘abusing power’, Shizuru-san…

“Viola is my pet snake that my father purchased from a ‘rare pet’ store for my birthday a couple years back. She’s about a meter long with purple scales and red eyes,” Fujino seemed proud to talk about her snake.

The future doctor blinked, “Purple?” … Their eye colors match. Like owner, like pet?

“I suppose she’s from an exotic area of the world. The first name that came to me was ‘Viola’ because her scale color is violet. The words were similar, and the name Viola is very pretty. Lame, I know, but I like it.”

“Is she poisonous?” Youko asked, thinking the snake might be if it’s from an ‘exotic’ part of the world.

“Yes.” Didn’t even hesitate to answer.

Before Youko could exclaimed a response, the redhead but into the conversation again. “Hey!”

Youko turned her head in the direction of the interjection, looking at the athletic first-year that sat behind her in class, “Yes?”

“Whoa!” Midori exclaimed, her cheeks flushing slightly as she looked at Youko. She calmed down after a bit and smiled, “You’re that person that sits in front of me, right? Yeah, I recognized the back of your head!”

Youko blinked, … Okay…

“But…” Midori looked the smaller brunette up and down, making Sagisawa uneasy. “Now that I look at you, you look really pretty!” She said sincerely.

Youko’s unease was quickly replaced with confusion and embarrassment. She stared incredulously at Sugiura; her cheeks pinked a tiny bit from the sudden compliment. “T-Thanks?...” That was from nowhere…

Ara? Shizuru silently stared back and forth between Midori’s sincere grin and Youko’s awkward stare, noticing they both had blush-tinted cheeks. Her smile grew ever-so slightly as she came up with a decision. Time to play cupid!

“No problem, Youko-chan!”

Hm? Youko blinked before she realized how familiar Midori called her name. She frowned, “I didn’t give you permission to call me that,” She stated bluntly, the blush completely gone and replaced with a stern gaze.

Midori frowned back, although, her frown was showing her confusion instead of irritation, “Then just Youko?”

Sagisawa’s blue eyes widened before furrowing farther than last time, “I didn’t give permission to call me that either!” That’s even more familiar!

“So you do want Youko-chan?”

“No, I don’t want you to call me ‘Youko-chan’!”

Midori’s confused gaze turned into a scowl, showing that she herself was starting to get ticked off, “Geez, you should really learn to make decisions, Youko.”

“Argh!” Youko face-palmed, “I give up!” She glanced up to find Shizuru giving her a sympathetic stare and gave a dull glare back. Fortunately, the well-off brunette didn’t take the glare to heart.

“What brings you here, Midori-han? I don’t normally see you in a cafeteria,” Shizuru moved the conversation along, much to the shorter brunette’s relief.

Midori’s mood suddenly dropped and she sighed, dejected, “Well, I was looking out for any clubs to join so I could get my scholarship started, but none of them interested me.” She pointed over her shoulder to a huge crowd of people that just barged in. Youko stared wide-eyed at the large mob. Now I know what Shizuru-san meant before…

“There she is!” One of the pointed and they all ran toward the table of three. Youko and Shizuru watched as they all started to gather around Midori:

“Please join our club!” “Join the archery club!” “The tennis club could really use your help!” “You’d make captain of the volleyball team in no time!” “You’re the fastest swimmer we’ve ever seen! Please join our club!”

“Oh my, even the boys teams are asking for her help,” Shizuru stated calmly as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.

Youko turned to Shizuru, her mouth gaping at her words, You call this ‘asking’?! I’m just waiting for them to trample her over!

“Please join the boy’s soccer team!” One of the boy’s soccer players asked. “No! Join the boy’s baseball team! With your pitching, we’d be unstoppable!” Another boy chimed in afterward.

This has gone on long enough. Youko frowned, her normally long fuse running short, she abruptly stood up, “Quiet!” She yelled just loud enough to calm everyone else down and turn toward her, wide-eyed. Even Shizuru was surprised from the uncharacteristic holler.

The blue-eyed, first year took in a deep breath to calm herself down before slowly letting it out. She leveled her voice back to room volume before continuing, “I understand your enthusiasm to recruit Sugiura-san to your teamr12;“

“Call me Midori, Youko!” She heard a random, familiar yell from the crowd and rolled her eyes.

“However,“ She continued to address the crowd, ignoring the shouted request. “I don’t think you remember where you are. This is a school cafeteria where people gather to socialize and have a good time with friends- not get mobbed by club recruiters. Now, I don’t hate the fact that you’re doing this, because I know this is your job on the team, but please continue somewhere else where students aren’t trying to relax in peace?” She sat down.

The club members suddenly looked very guilty as they looked about the room at all the stares they were getting. Some of them simply walked out afterward while others bowed, asking for forgiveness to Youko before walking out.

“You handled that rather well. I’m impressed,” Shizuru commented.

“Yeah, you’re a life-saver!” Midori grinned broadly as she sat down next to Youko at the table. “I thought they’d never leave me alone!”

“Even with all those options, none of them interest you, Midori-han?” Shizuru asked.

Green eyes lost a little of their spark, “Nope. I tried them, but none of them really got me wishing I could do this for the rest of the school year. I tried a hand at other kinds of clubs, but… those didn’t exactly work out.” A nervous grin crossed her face as she scratched the back of her head.

I don’t think I want to know what happened in those clubs. “Then why not make your own club?”

“Huh?” Midori blinked and looked down to Youko.

“I said, ‘Why not make your own club’? It could contain the kind of activities you want to do; if you’re the president, you could set dates and times to your whim and you wouldn’t have to be worried about if you’re interested or not, because you’re the one who made the club based on what you want it to be,” Youko explained, unaware of the world of trouble she just unlocked.

Midori gasped excitedly as she imagined it, pulling Youko into a bear hug, “That’s an awesome idea, Youko!”

Crushing back… can’t breath… Youko didn’t have much on her mind at the moment.

As Midori let go of the shorter brunette, Sagisawa inhaled sharply, regaining color in her face. “Let’s go create our club right now!” Midori exclaimed cheerfully, standing up.

Youko frowned a bit, Wait, did she just say ‘our’?...

“Upsa-daisy!” The pony-tailed, redhead grin broadly as she picked Youko up from her sitting position and started to carry her bridal-style.

“H-Huh?!” Youko froze in shock, her cheeks flushed deeply from embarrassment as she was carried away from her table. As soon as she came back to her senses, she started to wriggle, trying to get free, “P-put me down! Let me go!” She demanded.

Of course, Sugiura wasn’t paying attention. She was excitedly saying to Youko aout what the club would be like and what it would consist of. She was talking too fast that poor Youko couldn’t keep up. The wanna-be doctor turned back to look at her table, looking for some help from a certain albino, only to find the said albino waving good-bye to the unfortunate soon-to-be club member. Youko glared back, only causing the humored smile on Shizuru’s face to grow a little more. And here I was actually considering you my friend! Youko growled in her thoughts before she went back to protesting toward Midori.

Ara, am I fortunate enough to watch the slowly blooming blossom of love grow right before my eyes? Shizuru’s infamous “gay-dar” detected small traces from the two right in front of her (even if they weren’t aware of it themselves.) Her expression grew mock-sad, Poor Midori-san, Youko-san seems to be a tad reluctant. She suddenly beamed and clasped her hands together. Well! That’s nothing a few pushes in the right direction can’t help! Shizuru was ‘willing’ to become Match-Maker for her new friend.

(Whether she decided to do this to actually help Youko or for her own entertainment, we don’t know.)

Speaking of love… She calmed down and started to look around the cafeteria, looking both inside the building and outside the large windows that overlooked the garden. It was high-time she got to doing what she originally planned to do during her first lunch at Fuuka Academy. “If I were a ‘Lone Wolf’, where on campus would I hide?…”

So here we are. At our new club room, apparently. The room is small, but I guess it had a quaint, welcoming feel. Well, minus the upper classman staring at us with wide, frightened eyes behind her glasses. And who wouldn’t with the grin Midori-san was giving her general direction.

It was just four days ago that Midori-san decided to make a club. The day after that, she dragged me around to get papers signed. Only one teacher was willing to ‘sponsor’ us, and I think Sanada-sensei only did that either because she’s our homeroom teacher or because she’s just that nice a person. Either way, Midori-san got what she wanted, and we moved onto the next thing.

The funding was taken care of because, technically Midori-san is ‘joining’ a club. The scholarship activates once this new club is up and running. (Oh, and I haven’t found any decent part-time jobs yet, if any of you are wondering.) These past two days I’ve been stuck filling out descriptions, contact information and such about this new club that I’m supposedly the ‘vice president’ of. Midori-san gave me information about what she wanted this club to be about, but I had to tweak it a little bit so it didn’t look like a plotline taken out of a bad supernatural-genre manga.

Honestly. ‘When things like demons, or beast or things like they appear, we come in and stop them in the name of justice! Then we befriend them and recruit them! We’ll also do small, minor stuff on the side…’ was turned into ‘Have any problems? We’re here to help. We’ll assist, no matter how big or small the issue.’

I had to turn it into a social services club with vague standards. She might get mad at me, but I honestly don’t care at this point…

… Damned Midori! She still hasn’t given me a name for this stupid club!

---------------------

“This room’s perfect!” Midori went on rambling happily. Youko might have started to think Midori was insane if not for Shizuru-san telling her that this was an everyday sight. Maybe I’m the one insane for excepting that as a rational excuse…

“Um, w-who are you?” The spectacled girl had a mousey voice befitting her image. She seemed easily frightened and Sagisawa didn’t blame her; if an overly noisy redhead barged into the room she was quietly reading in, randomly shouting about ‘obtaining a room!’, she’d be just as scared.

“Hm?” Midori looked straight to the upperclassmen and asked the same question back (albeit not as shakily.)

The blue-eyed first year frowned. Did Midori-san honestly just now notice her?

“Me?” The mousey girl’s voice still had a slight quiver to it. “I’m Kikukawa Yukino, a third year.” She looked about the group, her green eyes widening slightly when she saw Fujino. “Shizuru-chan!”

Youko raised an eyebrow for a second, but quickly put it back down. That seems to be happening often. It’s only been a week, and everyone already knows Shizuru-san?

“Kikukawa-sempai,” Shizuru smiled her usual smile. “It’s been a while.”

Kikukawa seemed to calm down slightly after seeing someone familiar, “Yes, it has. How have you been?”

“Well, thank you for asking.” Shizuru looked about the room, “There seems to be a lack of a loud-mouthed, blonde-haired friend of yours, though…” This was spoken quietly.

“Haruka-chan?” Yukino asked, smiling. “She had to take care of some disciplinary actions. She’ll be back soon.”

Who else but Midori would cut into a perfectly pleasant conversation? “This is the room we’ll be using! Now, what do we have to do to finish this club registration stuff, Youko?” Midori turned to Youko, giving her a bright smile.

“Well, I suppose that’s my cue to leave,” Shizuru smiled, walking toward the door.

“Where’re you going, Shi-chan?” Midori asked.

Shizuru smiled knowingly, “I have some business to take care of at the moment. Can’t keep her waiting, now can I?” She walked out the door, closing it behind her.

Shizuru-san always has something to do half-way through lunch. Kinda makes you wonder what it is… Youko turned away from the door, waving it over her shoulder.

Midori shrugged it off and turned back, “So, all we need now is a name!”

“Excuse me…” It seemed Yukino went back to being introverted once Shizuru left.

“Yeah, sempai?” The redhead asked.

“Don’t you need at least four people to make a club?”

“But we already have three!” Midori beamed.

“I only see two…” Yukino said quietly, with uncertainty, as she adjusted her glasses.

“One,” Midori pointed to herself. “Two,” She pointed to Youko. “And three!” She pointed to Yukino.

“W-what?!” The poor third-year exclaimed, confused.

Youko frowned, try to keep her eyebrow from twitching, So this is what Shizuru-san was escaping… She knew this would happen ahead of time!

Midori smiled brightly as she almost literally pounced onto the unexpecting third year. She took a strong hold on Kikukawa’s shoulders, “Do you know anyone we that can join?” She said, ignoring the frightened look on Yukino’s face.

A loud slam, and then: “GET YOUR HANDS OFF YUKINO!”

Youko quickly spun around to see who yelled in such a thundering voice, God?! (Her first guess.) Who else would have such a loud voice?...

… Except for a loud-mouthed blonde? Youko raised eye eyebrow as she finished her thought.

The busty blonde bolted past Youko, completely ignoring her existence, and shoved Midori off of Yukino. She turned to glare to the still-smiling redhead, “Are you okay, Yukino?” She asked the person sitting behind her, her glare focused on the first year.

Was this who Shizuru-san was escaping? Youko asked, putting two and two together once more.

“Y-yes, thank you, Haruka-chan,” The mousey brunette replied.

Midori stood up and started to brush herself off. She still had her ever-lasting smile on her face, so she didn’t seem to take the shove to heart. “So, you’re going to be our forth member?”

Youko sighed, shaking her head slightly as she watched the scene. She’s never one to skip a beat, is she?

“W-what?” ‘Haruka-chan’ blinked, her purple eyes looking confused. Apparently, she was caught off guard.

“Haruka-chan, she wants us to join her club,” Yukino explained helpfully from behind the blonde.

Haruka frowned when she heard this, “I cannot. I’m already part of the Student Council Disciplinary Team, the Director of it, so I can’t take part in anything else.”

“That’s okay,” Midori brushed it off casually. “You can just be an in-active member. Oh! Even better, you can send people here to become members! This club is here to help others!”

Haruka’s eyes widened, “So this club is here ‘to help others’?” Her expression turned into a smile. “I like that! Sure, you have yourself a deal! We’ll send over some the delinquents to get help… (And I know just the person to start with.)” She held out her hand.

“Thanks!” Midori said, shaking Haruka’s hand. “That’s more people for us!”

Youko watched the scene from the side-lines. Their trains of thought are running parallel, but aren’t exactly crossing…

“By the way,” Haruka started after she finished shaking Sugiura’s hand. She shifted into a comfortable stance, crossing her arms under her chest. “What’s the name of this club?”

“We don’t have one yet.”

“WHAT?!” The blonde roared. “You expect me to join a blub when you haven’t even giving it a name yet?!”

“’Club’, Haruka-chan,” Yukino voiced in quietly.

“Yep!” Midori gave a thumbs up. “By the way, what’s your name?” Sugiura asked, cutting off any yelling Haruka might have continued.

“Hm?” The blonde quickly humbled herself to answer the question. She cleared her throat, “I am Suzushiro Haruka, a third year and Director of the Disciplinary Team on the Student Council!”

Youko raised an eyebrow at the familiar name. I’ve heard of her from other people in school. I’ve been told to try and steer clear or feel the fiery wrath of her temper. I’ve also been told that she gains small speech impediment when she gets angry. Youko chuckled slightly a the example she got earlier, ‘Blub’…

Suzushiro gave Youko a sideways glance, “You think my name and title are funny?” She asked in a threatening tone, taking Youko’s chuckle the wrong way.

“Hm? N-no,” Youko said, slightly intimidated by the harsh glance Haruka was giving her.

The blonde turned her body fully to face Sagisawa, giving her a suspicious look, “What’s you name?”

“Mine’s Sugiura Midori,” Midori said, walking back into the disciplinarian’s view. “And my partner over here is Sagisawa Youko!”

Youko started incredulously at the back of Midori’s head, ‘Partner’? Since when am I your ‘partner’?

Two eyebrows on Haruka’s face lifted up at the second name, “Sagisawa? As in, ‘Cafeteria Queen’ Sagisawa?”

Youko sighed, hearing her newly established title once more, “Yeah. That’s me.” Unfortunately.

Apparently, Youko’s little speech on the first day of school, during lunch, had given her a lot of respect amongst the cafeteria regulars, thus dubbing her a new title that’ll probably stay with her or be passed down well after her graduation.

When I go to eat, at least I don’t have to worry about finding a seat anymore…

Haruka’s grin turned into a full-blown smile, “Fancy meeting you here! You know, doing something like that takes a lot of guts! You’re on my okay list!” She turned back to the redhead, “Well, if you someone like Sagisawa-kun in your club, it must not be that bad! Alright, we’ll join! Right, Yukino?”

A small smile was on the other third-year’s face as she nodded once in response.

Who knew this title would actually bring me luck? Or rather, bring Midori-san luck.

“Great!” Midori said as she started to walk to the door, “I’ll go to the office and get stuff we need to make it official.” She paused right as she opened the door. She turned back and looked at her classmate, “Club meeting tomorrow at lunch! Our first order of business: find out what Shi-chan does at lunch!”

Youko frowned, realizing the true weight of this newly formed club. Did I just help make a club that justifies Midori-san doing what she wants to? Great, it’s like giving her permission to snoop into other people’s lives and privacy!

Midori frowned pointedly at the wavy-haired brunette, “Don’t tell Shi-chan!” The door was closed.

Youko rolled her blue eyes. Yeah, like I’d really want to spoil the ‘secrete club meeting’. She started to follow the redhead out the door, but was stopped by a commanding voice.

“Sagisawa-kun, wait for a moment. Yukino and I would like to talk to you about something.”

“Yes?” Youko turned around to find Haruka and Yukino sitting on one side of the table in the small room.

“Sit.” It was a command.

Youko complied.

“Er, I… I don’t know how to start without sounding slightly unbalanced in the head, some please forgive me ahead of time,” Yukino said with a nervous smile. She watch fidgeting with a small ball of paper in her hand.

Haruka huffed next to her, “Tell it like it is then!”

Youko blinked. I can tell this is going to take a while.

“Um, Sagisawa-san,” The spiky-haired brunette started uncertainly, “Do you believe in, say, aliens?”

“Pfft…” Youko started to laugh. Aliens? Not since, like, fourth grade, no.

A deep growl came from Suzushiro’s direction, “That’s right. Laugh it up.” She seemed offended. Youko’s laughter died down after she heard this.

“…”

“I take that as a ‘no’ then,” Yukino sighed, adjusting her glasses. “Oh dear. How should I explain this then?”

“Argh! Fine! I’ll say it!” Haruka said, growing impatient. She stood up and slammed her hands onto the table, making the other two occupants in the room jump. “Yukino’s an alien and I’m a cyborg! Got that?!”

… What?

The green-eyed third year sighed, “You might not believe it Sagisawa-san, but it’s true.” She said, seeing the blank expression on Youko’s face.

“I… I’m sorry, but you’re right: I don’t believe you,” Youko said with a serious tone when she realized Yukino and Haruka weren’t joking. (At least with their tone. They were probably laughing loudly on the inside, Youko figured.) “Is that all you wanted to talk about? I’m sure Midori-san would like to know where I am.” Youko started to get up.

Suzushiro’s frown got deeper, “Where do you think you’re going, Sagisawa-kun?”

Youko frowned back, her stubbornness getting the better of her, “To the office, Suzushiro-sempai.” There was a slight attitude in her voice.

“That can wait.” Suzushiro challenged back.

“Would you like proof then?” Yukino said in a surprisingly loud voice. She probably sensed the tension and tried to quickly dissolve it before it formed into anything.

It worked.

Youko frowned curiously. Looking between the door and the two other occupants in the room. She then sighed and sat down. She couldn’t fool herself; she was interested.

Haruka snorted, amused. She had a knowing smirk on her face, “How about me first?”

Youko, who was starting to get bugged by the smirk on the blonde’s face, nodded her head, “Be my guest.” She bit down the rest of her words.

“Aright then!” Haruka smiled as she backed up, walking away from the table. “Watch and witness the power of guts, Sagisawa-kun!” Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light that slowly died down until just her right arm was glowing a white-yellow color. Then, her arm started to morph into a…

CANNON?! Youko’s now wide, blue eyes blinked rapidly as she looked down the barrel of a large, metallic cannon that use to be Haruka’s arm.

Excuse me, MegaMan? Yeah, I think I just found your long-lost sister.

Youko quickly turned her head to Yukino for an explanation. The expression on her face was a hilarious mixture of awe-struck/dumbfound/and just plain confusion.

Yukino coughed, trying not to laugh at the normally level-headed girl’s facial features. It was to be expected, after all. “The whole right side of Haruka’s body is made out a living metal not found on this planet. We found her on the verge of dying and applied the metal into her and it shifted into the right side you see now. It can shift and adapt into any form, texture and color she wishes it to be. But, should it be damaged too much, it can be broken like any other metal; it reverts back into the type of metal and wires you’re use to seeing, Sagisawa-san, until it is repaired.”

Her whole right side? Youko turned back to Haruka. Really? Still she looks human… aside from that cannon still aimed at my head. She stared pointedly at the cannon before turning back to the self-proclaimed alien, “What about you?”

Haruka frowned, making the arm change back into, well… an arm, “What more proof do you need?!”

Youko regarded the blonde, even though she continued to face Yukino, “Well, the ‘alien’ image I’m use to is a creature that’s small, green with an antenna coming out from the head.”

Yukino cringed slightly at the description, “I’m not technically an ‘alien’ like you’re thinking, but it’s the closest description humans have to what I truly am, so I use that term. If I were to actually describe what I am, I’m afraid we’d be here for fifty-seven years just to get down the basics.” Yukino gave a soft smile.

“Er…” How do you reply to something like that?

“Now, onto the proof, yes?” Yukino asked, seemingly giddy about the chance to show off something ‘out there’. (Pun intended.)

She closed her green eyes for a moment, then opened them, muttering something in a language Youko had never heard before. Youko also noticed that within the green of the ‘alien’s’ eyes, there seemed to be several streams of numbers, letters, and symbols Youko had never seen before falling downward. Like the Matrix movie, The future doctor noted off-handedly.

Yukino abruptly stopped everything she was doing and smiled at the high school freshmen, the numbers, letters, symbols and language now gone, “You claim to have never been kissed before, Sagisawa-san, but there’s a story behind that.”

Youko’s breath hitched in her throat, H-how does she know that?! I’ve never told that to anyone before!

“There was a boy in the sixth grade you particularly didn’t like because he constantly asked you out,” Yukino started the story, much to Youko’s inner panic. “It’s not that he wasn’t cute, you just weren’t that interested in him.

He was persistent to the point where he forced his lips onto yours, giving you a wet, inexperienced kiss.” Yukino giggled slightly as she recalled the rest of the information, “It says that he didn’t wake for four days after you were done ‘punishing’ him for his deed.”

Youko’s eyes shifted away, recalling memories she didn’t particularly like. So I got a little violent. Everyone has their breaking points and he went well beyond mine.

Yukino smiled, “Is that enough proof?”

Too much! Youko nodded once. She then frowned deeply, But why are they telling me this? Surely this is the kind of information you can’t just give out to anyone…

“Please don’t tell anyone,” Yukino asked with an almost pleading look in her green eyes.

“If you do…” Haruka’s voice trailed off dangerously.

Youko frowned, “Then why tell me if you don’t want anyone to know?”

“Er, we need to tell you because you’rer12;“ Yukino was cut off by the lunch bell. The bell signaled it was time to go back to class.

“We’ll tell you later.” Haruka signaled with her head for Yukino to follow her out the room and the mousey third year did, leaving a stunned, speechless first year sitting there at the empty table.

… Stupid bell!

---

It was at the end of the school day; the chime signaling that classes have ended rang twenty minutes ago. Youko was currently standing outside the teacher’s lounge with a paper in her hand and a ticked off expression on her face.

No. Freaking. Way…

Blue eyes glanced down at the offending paper again with a glare almost strong enough to burn holes in the said parchment.

Kuga Death Glare had nothing on the Sagisawa Disciplinary Scowl.

Yes ‘freaking way’. It was still written there. She wasn’t dreaming it.

She knocked on the door and walked in when she got an answer. She immediately made her way over the Sanada-sensei and handed the teacher the stack of papers in her hand.

“Oh, Youko-chan,” Yukariko smiled, taking the pile of papers. “What’s all this?” She asked, briefly glancing down at them.

“Midori-san has filled out all the papers needed to register a new club,” Sagisawa was trying her hardest to keep the growl out of her voice. She kept the anger at bay by gnashing her teeth behind closed lips; she managed to keep the twitch in her eyebrow to an inconspicuous minimum.

“Oh really?” The smile on the homeroom teacher’s face brightened a little more. “I’ll take this down to the Director’s office then.” She scanned through the papers, as if looking for something. “Let’s see now, ‘The Jur12;‘… Oh my.” A contemplative frown appeared on the teacher’s face.

Don’t comment on the title! Youko rumbled inwardly.

“Is this really ther12;“ Yukariko cut herself off when she saw the peeved expression on the first year’s face. “I suppose it is with an expression like that.” A sighed, “I’ll bring this down to the Director, then.” There was more reluctance in her voice this time around as she repeated herself.

“Thank you.” Forced.

Youko had to keep herself from storming out of the teacher’s lounge. After, all, it wasn’t any of their faults why she was so ticked off.

Damn you, Midori! You’re the only one stupid enough to come up with a club name like, ‘The Justice Sentai’!!

Okay… Can someone explain to me what it is exactly that we’re going?

Youko, Midori, Yukino and Haruka crouched behind various trees that were close together. They were all peering into the clearing right next to them, watching two students talking ‘alone’. They were located in the garden behind campus, surrounded on all sides by the forest of trees that encompassed the school grounds.

“What’re we doing?” Youko voiced her thoughts, albeit quietly because they were in ‘stealth mode’.

“Spying, duh,” Midori answered, moving over to the tree Youko was at and almost literally laying on top of her in order to get close enough to whisper.

Youko glared at the arm draped over her left shoulder pointedly. “Why?” She carried on the conversation, although half her mind was questioning why her personal bubble was being invaded. And why Midori can’t seem to whisper quietly.

“Because Shi-chan was acting suspicious! We have to make sure the peaceful atmosphere of our campus isn’t damaged! She could be part of a secrete organization for all we know!” Youko squirmed slightly when Midori’s heavy-breathed whisper blew right into her ear.

Sagisawa narrowed her eyes ahead, We’re the ones that look suspicious!

“I should have known that Bubuzuke woman would be the person we’re after…” The future doctor heard the blonde grumble from a nearby tree.

“You know Shizuru-san?” Blue eyes turned to Haruka, giving her a questioning gaze. Her tone of voice was normal; they were about twenty-five feet away from Shizuru and the other student, Youko doubted they could be heard from that far away.

“Of course!” Haruka seemed on the borderline of raising her voice unnecessarily high. “She’s my rival!” The cyborg’s fist clenched determinedly. Flames licked the bottom of her eyes.

Yukino, crouching under Haruka, gave the other two in the group a small smile, “Their fathers are business rivals. They both deal in completely different fields, but they still friendly advisories. Haruka-chan seems to take it seriously, though,” She added.

“And Fujino doesn’t!” Haruka fumed.

“’Bubuzuke’?” Sagisawa questioned.

Haruka snorted, “She always drinks tea! She’s addicted to that stuff!”

Youko nodded, mentally counting all the times she’d noticed Fujino take out a thermal cup of hot, steaming tea from seemingly nowhere.

Suzushiro narrowed her eyes to the first year, “How do you know her?”

Youko frowned at Haruka’s scrutinizing gaze, “I hang out with her.”

Suzushiro’s expression morphed into what seemed to be curiosity.

She wears her emotions on her sleeve. “Is something wrong with that?”

“I’ve just never seen Fujino hang out with anyone for more than, say, five days,” The spiky-haired brunette piped in, looking almost as inquisitive as her blonde partner. “Her hanging out with anyone for a week is almost unheard of.”

Honestly? Youko put a small smirk onto her face as she shrugged, “What can I say? I’m so pretty that I just can’t keep people away from me,” She joked.

“I whole-heartedly agree!” The redhead, that was still in ‘glomp position’, cheered. Loudly. Midori’s eyes widened as they shot back to the couple, seeing their curious gazes in the direction of the Justice Sentai. “Hide!” She said in a harsh whisper.

Youko could feel one of her eyebrows threaten to tic, I can’t bend down any farther without having you actually laying on top of me! Luckily, Midori didn’t say anything when Yukino and Haruka were the only ones to duck for cover.

The team waited on baited breath for the couple to turn away, and when they did, they let out a collective sigh.

“Sagisawa-kun.”

Youko blinked, startled by the sudden grave note on Haruka’s voice. “Suzushiro-sempai?”

“Now that you’re hanging out with Shizuru for longer than what’s permitted as ‘normal’r12;“

Well, excuse me for not being ‘normal’.

“r12; I just want to tell you to be careful!”

The brown-haired first year raised an eyebrow, “’Careful’?”

“Her fangirls are rabid!” Youko watched the third year in mild amusement, knowing that the blonde was doing all she could to keep a twitch in check. Bad experience?

“Okay?” Again, Sagisawa was faced with a situation she didn’t know how to handle.

The cyborg coughed a little into her hand, “As long as you understand…”

Definitely a bad experience.

Moving on… Blue eyes turned back to the group and Youko voiced a question that had been lingering on the tip of her tongue since they got there: “Who is that with Shizuru-san?”

“Kuga Natsuki.” Youko didn’t know who answered, but they didn’t explain further, so Youko prompted for more.

“You might know her being described as the Lone Wolf, or Ice Princess of campus,” Midori chirped from above.

Thanks, but that doesn’t really tell me much. (And I remember Shizuru telling me that before already.)

Yukino seemed to catch the look on Youko’s face because she continued where Midori left off, “She’s a second-year student that keeps to herself and has an aura that intimidates most. People that have been on the receiving end of her glare… let’s just say they aren’t the happiest of people.” Kikukawa gave a weak smile before continuing. “She’s the captain of the archery team; Fuuka Academy’s pride and joy. It’s rumored that she can get a bull’s eye at seventy yards and over, but she’s never demonstrated or shot outside of practice so no one knows for sure.”

Except maybe you, Youko looked at the alien for a bit before nodding, showing that she heard and understood. Something else bothered Youko: Why would Shizuru-san be interested in someone like that? By the stoic expression on her face, she doesn’t seem to be the friendly sort.

Her thoughts were cut short as Youko saw something red in her peripheral vision, and it didn’t look like their leader’s hair. She turned to see the president of the club’s face was a bright red color- even her earlobes. “I-I didn’t know Shi-chan was so bold!”

Suddenly, two weights landed on Youko’s back (“Uh-oomph!”), making her loose her balance and fall onto the ground. “(Get. Off!)” She growled through grit teeth, trying to push herself off the ground as the other three gapped at the scene in front of them.

As the ‘bold action’ finished, three weights got off Sagisawa’s back. She didn’t know whether to be thankful to them for letting her breath once more, or curse them out for pouncing on top of her in the first place. She decided to glare at them pointedly, crossing her arms under her chest and tapping her foot irritably.

Midori gave a sheepish grin, “Sorry, Youko. Forgive me?”

Yukino looked flustered by her own rash actions as she bowed deeply, “I’m very sorry, Sagisawa-san! Please forgive me!”

Youko looked as they both displayed their sincere apologies in two different ways. She sighed silently, shaking her head, “Fine, just don’t do it again.” I sound like my mother. She wasn’t particularly happy at this discovery.

Her eyes gave a sideways glance to the area that was formerly occupied by her classmate and the second year, “So, what’d I miss?”

“Uh…” The red appeared on Midori’s face once more and she scratched behind her head. Youko had to give a little smirk, unable to hold it back. Midori-san’s modest? With her personality, I thought she’d be a bit more brash.

“Forget it,” The vice president put of her hand to stop Sugiura once she saw the redhead’s mouth open once more. “If it’s that personal, I don’t think I wanna know.” I don’t like to pry into people’s personal lives like someone I know.

Sagisawa gained a thoughtful pose, voicing her thoughts out loud, “But if they left together, wouldn’t it be kind dangerous for Shizuru-san to be with Kuga-sempai?”

Midori rolled her eyes, “Psh!” She waved it off, “Shi-chan’s the kind of person to have ungodly luck to get out of any situation! A bolder could be barreling at her in a cave, but then an earthquake would suddenly erupt from nowhere and the bolder would drop down into a newly formed crevices right before it hit her!”

The blonde narrowed her eyes slowly at Midori, grumbling sounds admitting from her throat. Yukino, noticing this, started to calm the cyborg down as best she could. Youko could tell Midori’s words had ticked of Haruka for some unknown reason.

“Oh!” Green eyes suddenly brightened considerably. “I just remembered!” The club leader turned to the Director of the Disciplinary team. “Didn’t you say you’d bring someone for our club soon?”

“Yes!” Haruka’s violet orbs shimmered, a mood swing kicking in from nowhere as her disposition did a complete one-eighty. “I’ll bring in the worst of the worst to test this club of yours! You shall see her tomorrow!” She announced in that thundering voice of hers.

Youko unplugged her ears. Wouldn’t it be more logical to test the club with someone that broke smaller rules, rather than with the worst?

Midori smirked broadly, “I’ll except your challenge and hold you to it!” She then cleared her throat, striking a pose from nowhere, “Justice Sentai r11; dismissed!”

Ugh… There was no better a word to describe Youko’s thoughts at that moment.

---

“I whole-heartedly agree!”

After a minute or two, the two by the flowers chose to simply ignore the people by the bushes.

“Natsuki…” Shizuru’s voice drawled out in a sensuous tone as she looked up to her promised future wife.

The lone wolf on campus looked out over the garden hidden away in the thick tree-life surrounding the campus. Her stern expression seemed to be set in stone; her arms folded under her chest. The aura she admitted was one that seemed to demand respect. Her sharp, green eyes gave a side-ways glance to the brunette sitting on the grass next to her. “What’re you doing here?” She asked bluntly, coldly. They hadn’t been out here long.

“Natsuki…” The first year drew out again in the same tone of voice. She slowly reached out her hand and grasped Kuga’s skirt, tugging on it lightly like a child trying to get a parent’s attention. “Come sit with me, Natsuki.”

“I’ll get grass stains on my uniform,” Came the curt response.

“Then I’ll just have to come up to Natsuki,” The albino’s voice was tied with mischief. The first year slowly lifted her body, brushing of the grass from her skirt after she got up. She walked behind the second-year student and wrapped her arms around the blunette’s waist. She pressed her body close, making sure the older girl felt every inch of her body. The small smirk on Fujino’s face grew a little as she listened to Kuga’s breath hitching.

Kuga frowned, “Let go.” She commanded tersely. Her glare was directed ahead of them both; she seemed to be willing the blush off her face.

“No.” A giggle, followed by two arms tightening around Natsuki’s waist. Shizuru was inwardly elated that she had grown taller than her childhood friend.

Emerald eyes shifted back to the head resting on her left shoulder, “Haven’t you been taught to listen to upperclassmen?”

“Yes I have, Natsuki-sempai,” Shizuru closed her eyes, making no move to give up the comfortable position she was in. However, she did move her cheek so it pressed against Natsuki’s. Her smile grew pleasant as she sighed contently, feeling her companion’s face burn up, “Ara, Natsuki seems to enjoy the intimacy more than she projects.”

“Anyone would be with someone this close,” Natsuki’s gruff voice involuntarily grew quieter as she looked away. She tried not to show how uncomfortable she was by keeping her ‘cool’ attitude.

“Bad Natsuki. You should be more truthful. Here, I’ll help,” Shizuru lifted one of her arms to Kuga’s face and gently pushed the blunette’s head so it faced the left. Shizuru’s lips connected with Natsuki for a chaste kiss.

Green eyes shot open.

Once the stunned Natsuki got a hold of herself she broke free of Fujino’s grasp, stopped a good yard or two away. She brought her left hand to her face, cupping her mouth while her right arm wrapped across her torso, as if protecting it. Kuga sent the sharpest glare she could at the brunette, even though the crimson deep, full-face blush negated the effects. She tried desperately to regain her collected demeanor.

Shizuru could only chuckle mirthfully at the attempted scowl. Her hands were linked behind her back.

“W-WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” A nearby flock of birds scattered.

“That’s called a kiss, Natsuki,” Shizuru replied cheekily. Ever the level-headed one.

“You know what I mean!” Natsuki hadn’t shown this much emotion in a long time, especially emotions directed at any one person.

“Ara, I figured I’d be kissing you plenty once we were married, so why not start early?” Another tongue-in-cheek reply.

Natsuki blinked at the answer before forcing herself to calm down considerably. She brought her hands down to her side when her blush had almost fully disappeared. Kuga looked up at the taller, first year student evenly, looking straight into red eyes, “Is that the reason you followed me here? Because of that promise I made?”

“Yes.”

Natsuki frowned, her gaze lowering to the ground. She clenched her fist, wishing that there was some way she could change the past. Being with her would only hurt Shizuru in the end. She was sure of it.

--------------

“What’s wrong?”

Teary, red eyes looked up at the person who stopped right in front of her, “My daddy wants me to marry somebody I don’t want to.” She followed the news up with a few sniffles and hics.

The six year old Natsuki looked down at the five year old Shizuru who was crying in the middle of a grassy field. “Uh…” She desperately looked around, then spotted the flower in her hand. “Ah!” She grinned, causing the brunette to tilt her head curiously. Kuga puffed out her chest, a broad and cocky beam on her face, “Then I’ll marry you instead!” She announced giving the small flower to the previously crying girl.

Natsuki smiled as Shizuru’s mood seemed to lighten up. There! She thought, I’ve done my job!

--------------

How stupid of me… Natsuki frown, scolding herself. She looked back up at the first year with determination in her eyes. “You should forget that promise was ever made.”

Almost as soon as the words exited Natsuki’s mouth, Shizuru had responded with an equally determined, “No.”

“Why not?”

Shizuru’s expression grew nostalgic, “This promise is one of the only things keeping me going, Natsuki. When things get rough, I just think back to that time and tell myself that I have to go on in order to see that promised fulfilled.”

Natsuki outwardly flinched, knowing exactly what Shizuru was talking about. Her father…

“B-but how do you know that being with me won’t just make your life worse?” Natsuki blurted out, fighting a loosing battle. How many times had she fought words with Shizuru and inevitably lost?

An understanding and calm smile spread across Fujino’s face, “Silly Natsuki, I just do.”

Natsuki frowned at the response. She was silent for a bit before shaking her head; she started to walk away, back toward the main school yard. She came to a halt about twenty feet away from the brunette and without turning her head back: “… You coming, Shizuru?”

“Hai!” The albino chirped, jogging lightly before she caught up to the blunette’s right side, clasping the second year’s hand in her own.

“Don’t grab my hand,” The Ice Princess quipped, pulling her hand free of Shizuru’s grasp and stuffing both her hands into her pockets.

“That’s okay,” Shizuru said, her smile never faltering. “I’ll wait for Natsuki to warm up to me.”

“Oi…”