Chapter Text
It was lunchtime.
Usually, the courtyard by the water fountain is filled with students from the social butterflies and the boys just talking bouts with one another, and even when people had there fair share of lunch the cooking club leader tries to share his octopi sausages which no one turns down. It's lively and serene during this time.
But today it didn't seem like many was by the courtyard, not even Osana’s childhood friend Taro sat in his usual spot by the fountain. She sighs in relief though, as she wasn’t sure if her mind could take any more stress right now. Raibaru sat next to her by the bench as she stretched her arm out, taking in the sun and the rustles from the tree, seeming like she is enjoying the time she has right now especially being by her best friends side. But it did not seem to be the case for Osana, as she continued to fidget as she was entrapped by her mind after the events that occurred this morning.
“You doing ok, Osana-chan? You don’t look so well,” Raibaru notices the other, tilting her head to allow her golden pigtails to cascade off her shoulders, wearing the prideful smile she has as she looks at her friend.
Osana catches her breath as her face begins to burn up, trying to understand what the hell is the situation she is in right now. “Y-yeah! Of course, I’m fine, duh.” She continued to fidget as she messed with her twin-tails, noticing the shift in colour near her ends, furrowing her eyebrows as she continued to think of the words she wanted to tell the other. “It’s just that, you know, I don’t think you should hang around me anymore.” She finally slipped out her thoughts.
Raibaru straightened up as her face morphs from confusion into concern, leaning into Osana as the two foreheads begin to collide. She was checking on the other’s temperature which she thought it was fine. Osana did not expect such, quickly pushing the other away, Raibaru laughing at the other. “Have you been doing physical stuff lately? I don’t recall you reacting as fast as you did now,” she chuckled, Osana displeased with the situation the two are currently in. How can the other be so forward when she is stuck in her thoughts?!
“Ugh, what is wrong with you?!” She got up and pointed at the other, her face continuing to burn up as she isn’t used to being so confrontational, “Is that blonde hair of yours getting to you?! You’re as ditzy and weird as usual!” Other students were now watching the scene, murmuring to one another which caught Osana’s attention, causing her to try to compose herself so that she doesn’t make others think any less of her. Though it’s hard when she is completely pissed off.
“I- what? What did I do?” Raibaru finally asks, catching up with whatever Osana is spouting.
Osana brushes off her skirt as she turns on her heels, ready to leave at any moment, “I mean, you’re always hanging around me! How am I supposed to get a boyfriend at this rate?” She mumbles, turning her gaze away from the other. As she was about to leave Raibaru hand grabbed onto hers and tried to tug her back, her strength always besting the other.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say but I hang around you because I want to protect you, you know!” She tries to explain herself, though stumbling as she tries to find other ways to prove herself innocent since Osana didn’t seem to be giving her any explanations any time soon, “I mean, I like hanging with you as well, I get to indulge in my girly side as I get to do other things I like to do! Like art and cooking, and since Budo is taking care of the martial arts club I don’t need to feel guilty for wasting my high school-”
“Maybe it’s better if you have stayed in the martial arts club, then.” She cut the other off, turning her head slightly just to hide her face from Raibaru. The girl holding onto Osana’s hand blinked slowly, trying to process what the other just said as she tried to laugh it off dryly.
“Surely, you don’t mean it, Osana-chan!” She tries to tug the other back, this time only being met with Osana trying to twist her wrist from Raibaru’s grasp.
“Yes. I do mean it! Now let go,” fumbling, Raibaru finally let go of Osana, a surprise from both of them. Still refusing to look the other in the eye, she took a few steps away as she waves her hand, a gesture for goodbye, “You know, between the two of us, you’re a lot weaker than I thought.” There was no response from Raibaru as Osana allowed her pink twin tails to be blown by the gentle breeze as she walked off back into the school building.
Osana sighed as she sat on her desk, covering her face in her arms as she recalled the events at lunch. Even though she told Raibaru to leave her alone, she seems to have dismissed the fact that the two have a class together. Groaning, she glances and sees other students that are standing around the class and talking to one another.
She reached into the inside of her desk to pick at the paper that’s within, feeling her face heat up once again in anger, recalling how it was stuck inside her locker that morning. Usually, Osana dismisses love letters from guys, since her heart has someone in mind already, but this one just took a piece of her mind, more than usual.
Why? Because it is written with Raibaru’s name on it. How is she supposed to deal with the fact that possibly Raibaru has somehow fallen for her and sees her this way?! No way is she going to deal with that! The best way to do it is to cut ties as quickly as possible and not get herself confused in that situation.
Osana now has to wait for Raibaru to enter class any moment and deal with the awkwardness of it all, leaving the letter in the desk as she might want to confront the other about it later.
Before she could delve her thoughts any further, in the corner of her eye she noticed someone. Osana tries to recall the classmate's name since this girl doesn’t usually get to class on time or skips class altogether. Osana scratches her head, watching the black hair pale figure sit on her desk as she takes out a textbook for the class, seeming to be about biology from what she could tell. Osana doesn't indulge herself in science-related topics, but it almost amazed her to see this no-show study anyway.
‘Hmm… let’s see, there are only 15 students in the class, I think she tried to talk to me once or twice in passing conversation…’ She mumbles, having a hard time. ‘The teacher calls her out each time she's late, what was it? Aishi? Yeah, it was!’ As she was about to look up to glance at her classmate it seems that Aishi had already noticed Osana staring at her.
Her eyes were dark, but her gaze seems far away, making Osana freak out for being caught even looking at her. “Did… you want something?” She managed to ask, slow and monotonous. Osana is now praying that the other doesn’t think low of her.
“Uh- hi there Aishi-san! I was just going to say…” She tries to save her tail as she comes up with an excuse, “isn’t it a bit late for you to be studying? You should be doing that at home, duh.” Well, that was meaner than expected but then again, Osana is not one for confrontations, and it was true, if this girl thinks that she can pass without coming to class then she might as well do online courses like Megami, the head council who is also a no-show.
Ayano lingers her gaze just a moment, raising an eyebrow as to why she should care about what Osana thinks, turning her gaze back to her textbook after. Osana would have been appalled by this action but couldn’t be bothered, class I about to start and there was nothing that could be stopped with Raibaru coming to class. Students were now saying there goodbyes as they head to their homerooms and lunch bell rang out, marking the end of free time. Some classmates still linger to continue their conversations about after school plans, whereas Osana just wants to go home and rest. She already made Rabairu and Ayano dislike her, she can’t lose anymore, can she?
Speaking of such, Raibaru entered the class and is trying to walk over to Osana, as if she spent the rest of lunch thinking about what had unfolded between the two. There’s no way Osana can escape from this awkwardness now, right? Might as well hear her out.
“Hey, Osana-chan, do you have a moment?” She asked, but Osana knows she is going to keep pressing so this is a loaded question.
“What? Can’t you wait after school?” I mumbled as I tried to fix my gaze somewhere else, trying to prove that I have no interest in this topic.
“It’s just if you don’t want to be my friend because you had someone in mind you could have just told me,” rubbing the back of her head, her orange eyes looking at the other in hopes of reasoning with this friend of hers. Osana blushed slightly, unsure how to respond, could it be that Raibaru knows about the tsundere's feelings for Taro and giving up her feelings for her friend’s happiness? Osana tried to wrap her head around everything to make sure if that could be the case, exasperated in its conclusion.
“Look, I would tell you but the thing is-” Osana was stopped by hands that clasped her shoulders, turning her head to see Ayano nearby with a small smile, her hands firm on Osana.
“Excuse me, but may I borrow Najimi-san for a moment?” She said, in a serious tone, but her eyes give off innocence. Osana was about to question her before Ayano tighten her grasp on Osana’s shoulders, her cold fingers going through the fabric. Is this possible? “I don’t feel well and Osana doesn’t seem comfortable around you right now.” She continued speaking as a matter of factly.
Raibaru flinches as she got into a stance, ready to break out into her martial arts skills any moment which caused Osana to nearly grimace, not being a fan of violence. “There’s no way you’re going to take Osana-chan before class starts! You hardly even come to class, why would it matter if you leave or not-”
“No, she’s right,” Osana stood up, placing a hand on Ayano’s shoulder as she to steadies herself, a nervous smile plastered on her face as she tries to join on the alibi, “Aishi-san needs student support right now. You can deal with that, right Raibaru?” dropping the friendly honorifics to prove how serious she is on wanting to be left alone now.
Raibaru slowly nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed that she almost thought of fighting Ayano for coming between the two like that, raising her head slightly to look at Osana with confirmation for something, “If you go, can’t I come with-”
“Absolutely not,” Ayano stated, causing Osana to be mildly surprised, but also grateful that her classmate can stand up for her.
“Yeah, it’s better if you stay and let the teacher now that I’m taking her to the nurse,” Osana mumbles as she grabs Ayano’s hand and tries to walk off, the final bell ringing for everyone to be in class. Osana puts up a peace sign as she leaves Raibaru behind, Ayano then followed suit as she turns to look at the ‘indestructible rival-chan,’ her glare almost penetrating as she walks out the classroom.
The former martial leader held her chest close as she watched her friend leave like that, trying to decipher what occurred just moments ago. There must have been a misunderstanding! There has to be, but she couldn’t get herself to get up and try to talk it out to the other again. Well, one thing for certain, Osana was right. She was pretty weak since Raibaru’s heart was gentle, she couldn’t possibly disobey anyone for her happiness.
For now, she has to not overwork this gentle muscle of hers.
“Phew! Thanks for bailing me out there, Aishi-san, for a moment I thought you hated me, so it came as a surprise that you would help me back there,” Osana laughed slightly as to not let the teachers in the other classes overhear the two in the hallways, “oh, wait, you’re not sick, are you? I mean, your hands were really cold so if you do need to go to the nurse-”
Ayano shook her head as she walked down the hallways, “Hate is a strong word,” she mumbles, though looking thoughtfully to herself. Her ponytail sways slightly as she seems a tad caught up on what Osana had said, causing Osana to nearly worry if she had offended the other in any way. To her surprise, Ayano continued moving forward, Osana watch in awe seeing the girl who is hardly in class look mature and calm even so, “Oh, I’m not sick. Don’t worry.” She waves her hand to prove that she is doing just fine.
“Oh, I see, you’re one of those people who’s heart is very slow or something, right?” Osana thought, causing the other to flinch slightly, but return to a calm exterior as if Osana had figured her out, “I mean, if that's a touchy subject then I don't care. Thanks for getting me out of there though-” Ayano turned to look at Osana with the same smile on her face that she used on Raibaru, small but innocent as her eyes seem far away. It almost made Osana sad just by looking.
“I’m not interested in getting to class anytime soon,” she hums, as she walks down the hallway, Osana noticing how the other puts a spring in her step as she walks away, only making her follow Ayano in curiosity, “I want to show you something.” She continued walking down the end of the hall where a supply room is, bewildered, Osana followed anyway. The ginger wasn’t planning to deal with her friend in class.
“What is this?” She tilted her head, Ayano motioning her hand for Osana to come closer and go inside the room, which was dark from what she could tell. Once the door was closed behind the two and Ayano turned the lights on, the room was empty with only an instrument box which was as anti-climatic than hoped for “What a weird room, is this where you skip all day?” She continued to ask questions, looking around but amazed that she didn’t know that there was a spare room that the dark hair girl was aware of.
“You could say that,” Ayano stepped closer, her hands behind her back and her steps springing more and more as if there were good news she wanted to tell.
This left Osana with a sour taste as if something was off. At first, it seemed like Ayano had no interest in her during class, but it seems that she has gotten friendlier out of nowhere. It just didn’t fit right in this situation…
“If this is where you skip all the time, wouldn't you get caught by the student council or someth-” Osana tried to joke before feeling a jab on her neck, her eyes widened unsure how she missed Ayano taking out the syringe with such quick reflexes. It was swift and silent, and Ayano seemed to be pleased with herself.
Osana slipped towards the ground as she tried to use all the muscle in her body to push Ayano away, but Ayano had no intention of letting go. She knelt and put a hand over Osana’s mouth, trying to silence the other as she tried to put as much tranquillizer as possible without accidentally overdosing her victim. Osana screams were muffled as Ayano moved closer, her weight atop of the ginger as her strength and vision left her.
The last to go was her hearing, having to deal with Ayano’s fits of giggles as she tossed the syringe to the side as she grabbed the sides of Osana's face towards her own, forcing her to have a good hard look at what this classmate has done.
“Earlier, I said hate was a strong word,” she nearly coos, “but the thing is, I despise everything about you, Osana Najimi.”