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.
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