Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The boys quickly shuffled into the changing room. Fourth period had just ended and the classes were now in the locker rooms, getting their usual uniforms back on. The sport of the term was (luckily for a certain painfully ginger boy) soccer. Akito was in high spirits and was chatting sarcastically with his team.

“Alright but we all agree that Mimi is totally cute! Her face is just so little and round.” One of the boys said with a grin.

“That's just your boyfriend bias showing…” muttered a boy to the left of Akito.
Akito listened to their opinions.

“What about that cute girl that Shinonome hangs out with sometimes. She doesn’t even go to our school and I'm tempted.” Another guy added.

“You mean Azusawa? Yeah, no. Stay away from Kohane dude.” Akito countered with a shrug.

“Oh. And why's that?” a boy said who obviously was implying that Akito and Kohane were a thing.

“Don't blame me if An jumps you.” Akito said nonchalantly. The rest of the boys looked at him in confusion to what An had to do with her.
Akito then realized that they seriously didn't know that An and Kohane were dating, he almost laughed at them.

“Damn, and I thought Toya was dense. An and kohane are dating morons.” Akito explained, sighing.
(Actually Akito was the dense one because he couldn't tell that Toya was full blown head over heels in love with him.)
There were several sounds of acknowledgement throughout the locker room as it made sense since they were literally always together at lunch and Kohane didn't even go to their school.
(They're also lesbian disasters, tell me An doesn't dress like one.)

“You know who's also cute? Kusanagi.” Someone suddenly said.

“Yeah she's so shy and just lovely in general.” The same boy from before added.
Akito thought Kusanagi was far from lovely but whatever.
Our favorite traffic cone didn't care much for talking about romance and girls at all to be honest. (He'd talk about men any day though.)
But that didn't mean he didn't try to understand where the boys were coming from, they were his friends after all. But his radioactive ginger ass (affectionate) just really couldn't get why they thought those girls were cute.

“Hey Akito-kun do you have your eye on anyone? You could probably date anyone because of how cool people think you are popular boy.” One of Akito's closer friends asked.

“Nah. The girls just aren't that cute you know? Mimi would probably be cuter with like…shorter hair maybe blue-ish. And slimmer silver eyes. Lighter skin would be better too. Maybe like, broader shoulders and taller.” The boys just stared at him before bursting out laughing.

“What!?” Akito questioned. He groaned loudly and waited for his humiliation to end.

“Dude, you just described Aoyagi-kun.” His friend said in between pants.

Akito thought for a second, at everything he just described. His eyes widened in realization.
‘I'm not gay. I'm not gay. I'm not gay. I'm not gay. I'm not gay.’
He said it over and over in his head like it was some kind of wannabe straight boy chant.
Akito felt himself becoming a fruit and Rui‘s words echoed in his head.
‘Shinonome-kun….don't fight it hehehe. Gay ass~’
Akito felt utter rage at the memory, he stood there, livid and fuming until the bell rung. And he realized he was going to be late for class. He muttered a curse and booked it.

Chapter Text

Rui walked into class quietly. It was early in the morning to say the least so none of his classmates were there yet. He praised himself at his perfect timing. All he did was drop a seemingly normal rose on his teachers desk and then walk away with a devilish smirk. The gesture might've seemed like a small gift of appreciation for his teacher on Valentine's day. But in reality it was much more in all the wrong ways. When class started Rui sat down in his seat as his teacher walked up to the desk and spotted the rose.

“What's this?” The teacher asked. Rui let out a light chuckle. The students mumbled questions. Everyone was curious by now but Rui kept quiet. His teacher turned it over before setting it to the side and starting the lesson.

“What do you think that rose is about?” A girl asked her friend in a hushed voice.

“I don't know. Maybe just an appreciation rose for white day?” Her friend responded rationally.

When the period ended Rui went up to the roof for lunch leaving the rose untouched. So far, he was satisfied with the confusion he had caused, but the mystery rose's case wasn't exactly closed yet.

When he arrived at the roof he was met by An and Mizuki bullying Akito and Nene playing a game in the corner. Toya and Tsukasa seemed to be talking about something that Rui wasn't sure he wanted to know about judging from toya‘s eerie slight smile and Tsukasa's mortified expression.

“Oh hey Rui!” Mizuki called out looking away from where her and An were kicking Akito who seemed to be sobbing on the floor.

“Hello Mizuki-kun and shiraishi-kun.” He greeted. An waved enthusiastically.
When they all got settled to eat Nene brought up the question that was on all of their minds.

“So Rui. Know anything about the anonymously addressed “mystery rose” everyone‘s talking about.” She asked, obviously being sarcastic. She immediately knew it had to have been Rui's doing. She could sense it. (Kind of like Gaydar but with dumb bitches instead of gay bitches.)

“I have no idea what you're talking about Nene.” Rui said, chuckling. He then winked at her while giving her his most innocent smile.
Nene facepalmed and let out the most tired groan mankind has ever seen.
Toya seemed to buy it.

When Rui got back to class. He made sure to press a certain red button on a small controller he had made. Once his teacher and classmates were all there, a monotone recorded voice started talking. Everyone listened in nervously, trying to locate where the voice was coming from. Little did they know it was coming from the rose.

“Everyone please evacuate the school immediately. Thank you.” The voice said.
The students looked at each other in confusion. Suddenly a countdown started and all the students were darting out of the school. Rui smiled and made his way to the roof when no one was watching. He was proud of himself that he had managed to get a “rose” into every class to use as a sensor and message deliverer. Once he got the alarm that told him everyone was out of the big brick school building, he pulled out the controller once again and pressed another button. He looked at the people down below as the school exploded. They looked like tiny specks of sugar from up there. He pulled out a megaphone and jumped off the roof with his obnoxiously purple parachute.

“Hehehe! Down with capitalism!” He exclaimed, chuckling dramatically.

In the mass of people on the sidewalk Nene dialed in the number of her therapist.

Chapter Text

Minori woke up with a start. She practically leaped out of bed already completely awake. Today was the day. For context, Minori had invited Haruka out to a small Korean store that had opened recently. It had great reviews and sold mostly just cute stationary and snacks. (If Minori spent more than half an hour trying to find the best outfit then no one needed to know.) After she chose a vivid pale green crop top and a cold pink skirt with a white fluffy sweater. She grabbed her shoes and a toast and ran out of her house shoujo style. Sure she tripped once she stepped outside but nothing could bring down her mood. She was going to spend a whole day with Haruka! A while ago she could only dream and write cringe worthy fanfiction about going to a cute trendy Korean store with THE Haruka Kiritani but now she was actually doing it!
(Minori‘s such a nerd.)

When she arrived she was met by a super adorable Haruka waiting for her. Minori had a small freak out at Haruka's glasses but quickly composed herself.

“Hi! Minori-chan! How are you? I love your outfit.” Haruka commented politely. She was practically sparkling.

“I- I'm great! And thank you! You look lovely too!” Minori responded a little too fast to not be seen as nervous.

Haruka giggled. “Minori-Chan it's just me you know. You don't have to be so nervous.” Haruka added, smiling warmly.

“O-Okay! I'll try my best! Let's go then!” Minori said joyfully.
Haruka nodded and took Minori's hand gently while they walked. If Minori died internally at Haruka‘s touch she sure hoped Haruka didn't notice.
(Haruka did notice but thought it was endearing.)
The store was a small cream colored building inside of a huge mall. It was filled with pastel colored decorations and adorable plushies. Most of the customers were either teens around Minori‘s age or small children looking at the many plushies. She saw a young lady with the most stylish short brown hair and big brown eyes pointing at some oversized hoodies and smiling. While a taller boy with orange hair and green eyes stood next to her texting someone on his phone. She seemed to be teasing him because she saw him choke and then turn to her before messing up her hair.

“This place seems lively, doesn't it?” Haruka said softly.
Before Minori could respond she heard Haruka gasp in surprise and then rush over to the mound of plushies as if she had spotted something. Minori followed her, curious as to what could have grabbed her attention so effectively.
(She was also curious about how to become this thing.)
What Haruka was holding was a small penguin plush about the size of her palm. It's face was completely deadpan but Haruka seemed to only love it more. Minori looked at her with the most lesbian loving expression. She squinted her eyes as Haruka put the penguin back. A thought graced her mind and she abided immediately.
“Minori-chan, I'm going to use the bathroom quickly, okay?” Haruka said, waving and walking away.

“Alrighty! I'll pay for us!” Minori responded, turning away before Haruka could protest. Once the brunette was sure that Haruka was out of view she grabbed the penguin and the stationary accompanied with the various treats to share with the rest of MMJ, and walked over to the cashier. She greeted her with a smile and payed happily. (If the cashier’s eyes lit up with recognition at her face and lively demeanor, he didn't say anything.) When Haruka got back she smiled at Minori and they began walking around. The shops were all brightly coloured and charming in their own ways, a nice contrast against the white of the mall. They passed a candle store that smelled amazing, there was a restaurant near it and Minori spotted a tall boy with purple hair and a tired looking girl with green hair smiling about something. Everyone looked so happy it boosted Minori's mood tenfold. A pink haired girl and a blond boy ran past them with nervous expressions. They went in the direction that was away from the restaurant. Minori had a brief thought that they might be looking for their friends but the pair were gone before she could say anything. Haruka took her hand once again and led her to a boba place. Minori flushed bright red but excitement for a drink replaced her embarrassment quickly. She ordered a mango drink with some imitation pearls while Haruka ordered a traditional tea with tapioca balls.
The drinks were cold and sweet and there was a light breeze. There were people laughing and talking all over the place and the mood was wonderfully light and happy. Minori decided she loved the mall. She looked at Haruka, who was looking adorable with her round glasses and slightly tousled hair. Her eyes were a bright ocean blue and her cheeks were slightly flushed. Minori realized the mall wasn't the only thing she loved. In fact, she loved the girl in front of her even more than she loved the mall. Minori grabbed the soft penguin from the bag and held it under the table.
“Haruka-Chan! Close your eyes please.” She asked. Haruka tilted her head but followed her instructions while giggling. Minori placed the plush into her hands carefully.
“Okay you can open now!” Minori announced proudly.
Haruka slowly opened her eyes and gasped. She held the plush close to her, hugging it tightly.
“Thank you Minori!” Haruka replied bowing and smiling widely. Minori returned the smile sipping her boba. (Trying to act cool for penguin girl.) The rest of the trip went by smoothly filled with friendly chatter and laughter. Soon enough, it was time to split ways.

“Thank you for today Minori, it's the most fun I've had in a while. I'd love to do this again sometime. ” Haruka said softly but genuinely.

“Of course! Anything for you Haruka!” Minori responded, feeling confident in her ability to rizz women. Suddenly Minori felt cool lips press against hers. It only lasted for a second and before she could say anything Haruka got on the bus and was waving to her as the bus disappeared into the distance. Minori took a second to process what just happened turning red as a tomato and screeching in joy and doing the choreography to newly edgy idols. (Only dogs could hear her because of how high pitched she was.)

Chapter Text

Mafuyu was busy. She was staring at the floor. Mafuyu liked the floor. She could step on it and nothing would happen. She stood up and walked about two meters to prove this fact to herself. She even gave the floor two extra little hops. No reaction. 

Mafuyu was starting to dislike the floor. It had wronged her, many a time and quite frankly, she had enough. 

“You coward of a floor.” She deadpanned. 

“You can just let people walk all over you.” Mafuyu continued to stare blankly at the floor as she spoke. She had learned this the especially ultra depresso espresso way. The more the purple haired girl thought about it though, the floor shared quite a lot of similarities with her. They both served a purpose to help others and make their lives easier, they're extremely dull and lifeless. But most importantly, they are both psychotically persistent. Mafuyu felt her lips curve into a small foreign smile at the thought and she lay down on the cold, dark wood floor of the hallway in the Yoisaki home. Mafuyu was the floor. The floor was Mafuyu. 

“I am the floor."