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It took a lot of aggravation for Aoi to attack someone. As much as she threatened and intimidated when dealing with misbehaving students, she knew deep down that she wouldn’t actually hit them unless they struck first. She had her limits.
Right now, Shiromi was testing those limits.
“This better be the last time you do that, Torayoshi.”
Shiromi only shrugged. “Why? I got the answer sheet from that kid before he spread it around, didn’t I?” She waved the answer sheet under Aoi’s nose.
Aoi batted her hand away. “I don’t care. Find some other way to get stuff from people. I’m sick of breaking up all these fights you cause.”
“But that’s your job.”
“And that’s the opposite of yours!”
“Not really. Again, I took the answer sheet from him. That’s my job.”
“Then find a better way to do it!” She stood and slammed her palms on the table, oblivious to Kuroko’s glare. “You doing your job shouldn’t make the rest of our jobs harder!”
Shiromi raised an eyebrow. “If you have a better idea, I’d love to hear it.”
Aoi waved her arms vaguely. “Just take it from them! I’ve seen you do shit that should be considered impossible! You don’t even need a distraction, just – reach into their bag and take the thing!”
“Why do you think I never get caught, Aoi?” Shiromi leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Yeah. It’s because I don’t do that. Only an idiot would try it.”
Aoi opened her mouth to respond – only to be cut off by Akane. “Girls! Please don’t fight!” She gently pushed Aoi back down into her seat. “I’m sure we can all come to an agreement on this! Let’s just talk about it in a more civilized way.”
“Thank you, Akane.” Kuroko pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Now, I understand that you both take your jobs very seriously – as you should. However, one of you is going to have to change your methods if we are to come to a peaceful solution.” She turned to Shiromi. “It seems like that would be you. Perhaps you could find some more ethical means of taking unauthorized items from students?
“I gotta distract ‘em before I go through their bags somehow. What else am I supposed to do, pull the fire alarm?”
“There are tons of other things you could do, asshole!”
“Aoi.” Kuroko shot her a glare. “We are being civilized.”
“Fine, fine…”
The conversation went around in circles. Aoi only became more and more irate. It almost felt like a mercy when the final dismissal bell rang; she stood and all but stormed out of the room, nearly forgetting to grab her bag on the way out. Shiromi sauntered out behind her, her pace a little quicker than usual – a sure sign that even she was getting annoyed.
“Look, we’re gonna have to settle this one way or another.” Aoi turned and glared at her.
“Are you trying to fight me?”
“No! Just listen to me!” Aoi rubbed her temples. “Our job is to break up disputes among students, not cause them.”
Shiromi shrugged. “Yeah, so you’d have less to do if I wasn’t around.”
“That’s not the point! You’re constantly being disruptive! I’m surprised Megami hasn’t kicked you off the council by now!”
“Bold words for someone who threatens other students on a daily basis…”
“Yeah? Well at least I don’t manipulate people and go through their belongings behind their backs!” Aoi took a step toward her. “You have the authority to straight-up stop someone in the hall and ask for their bag! But no, you have to make my job harder!”
Shiromi snickered. “I don’t even start that many fights. Why are you getting so worked up about it?”
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been hit. Usually, Shiromi could see a punch coming from a mile away and duck out of reach; she had always found angry people predictable.
Not Aoi, apparently. Shiromi reeled back from the punch, raising a hand to her stinging jaw. Aoi stood glaring down at her. That had been an unwise move; they both knew it – Shiromi could get her kicked off the council for this, or maybe even suspended.
But where was the fun in that?
Aoi doubled over, coughing as Shiromi’s fist connected with her stomach. Oh, so it was going to be like that.
Her leg shot out and struck Shiromi’s shin. One hand grabbed her scarf and dragged her closer to punch again. Shiromi took the chance to headbutt her in the nose, and Aoi stumbled back, swinging her fist forward in an effort to defend herself. She regained her footing and swung at Shiromi’s jaw –
“You two! Cease this at once!”
Both girls froze on the spot. Kuroko stepped in and pried them apart, keeping a tight hold on the collars of their uniforms. Akane stood a few feet away, shifting from foot to foot and looking vaguely concerned. Kuroko narrowed her eyes.
“Both of you, back in the meeting room. Now.”
“Oh, dear! Please hold still…”
Aoi flinched, instinctively reaching to push Akane’s hand away as she dabbed the blood from Aoi’s nose with a damp cloth. Shiromi sat on the other side of the table with an ice pack pressed to her bruised jaw, watching Kuroko pace back and forth.
“What were you two thinking? We’re supposed to set an example for the other students, not behave like children!” She glared at them from behind the desk.
“Aoi hit me first. I was just defending myself…”
“If someone hits you, you do not strike back, unless you have absolutely no other choice! Retaliating only worsens the situation!” She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “According to school rules, you should both be suspended for this!”
Shiromi and Aoi exchanged a terrified glance.
“However…” Kuroko sighed. “Since it is your first offence, and both of you are valuable members of the council… I will refrain from letting the faculty know. But if I catch the two of you fighting like that again…”
“Thanks, Kuroko.” Shiromi leaned back in her seat. She glanced at Aoi. Aoi avoided her gaze.
Akane shoved a pack of tissues into Aoi’s hands. “Take these in case it starts bleeding again! You two should go home now. Kuroko and I will clean up the meeting room. Just try to keep from fighting…”
“Yeah. We will. Thanks.” Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Aoi stood and left. Shiromi followed a few moments later, staying far out of punching range.
The door clicked shut behind them. Akane slumped into her seat, sighing heavily. “I thought it would come to that eventually… I just hoped they wouldn’t fight on school grounds…”
“Yes.” Kuroko took a seat beside her. “Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again. I’d hate to have to kick them out.”
“I was surprised you didn’t do that this time.”
Kuroko paused. “…I just thought that we should cut them some slack, since it was only one incident. And finding replacements would be a pain.”
“I guess so.” Akane giggled. “Besides, I have to admit, it would be boring without those two around.” She stood up and dusted off her skirt. “Now, we’d better clean up as we said we would.”
“Yes. We should.” Kuroko began gathering the used teacups onto a tray. “And… we’re going to have to resolve that problem sometime soon. Especially if we want to prevent further fights from breaking out.”
Akane nodded. “But let’s worry about that tomorrow. We should just try to relax for now. It’s been a long day for all of us…”
“Indeed.”