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So, Denden was confined within the walls of an unfamiliar school building, with sixteen other high schoolers she had never met. And, according to that cute little white bunny rabbit thingy, Monomoko, they could only leave if they killed someone! ... Or watched a bunch of other people die? It was kind of complicated, but none of it really mattered. Because, after spending some time with everyone, she had faith that none of them would ever kill anyone!
Especially not under the leadership of Miss Sasaki. Even if the fancy guy with the sunglasses got into fights with her sometimes - or maybe more than sometimes - he too had a good heart and was just trying to look after the group in his own way. Denden knew, because this morning, he said he might be interested in designing her a new, 'less stupid-looking' outfit. What a sweetheart!
She supposed that reclusive boy with the jellyfish-haircut could also be a bit cranky, but that was it. There was nothing murder-y about him, or anyone there. And even if anyone did, they had strong people like Hayashi and Tsuno (a real superhero!) there to stop them.
Denden nodded along in agreement with her own inner-monologue as she merrily paced the halls.
"Denden? What are you doing?"
A gruff voice snapped her back to attention in an instant. She whizzed her head around, pleasantly surprised to see a certain tall beauty emerging from the storage room, carrying a pile of bed sheets in her muscular arms. "Hayashi!" As the red-head approached, Denden noticed a second girl in a bold red uniform behind her. "Watari! It's so great to see you! What's with all the sheets?"
"Found 'em in the storage room."
"We get to sleep with sheets again!" Watari interjected. "Yay!"
"So now we're taking them back to everyone's rooms."
"Oo! That's so nice of you!" Denden beamed. "Can I help too?"
"No, we-"
"Sure, I don't see why not. Here," Hayashi offloaded some her blankets into Denden's arms.
As they went from room to room, Denden wanted to feel proud of herself, but she kept catching Watari looking at her sort of funny.
Did she do something wrong? Or was she just imagining it?
She really hoped she hadn't done anything to offend Watari! She was so cool and fun and nice and pretty; Denden wanted to be her friend more than anything!
When they finished, Denden didn't want them all to part ways with that uneasy feeling in the air still lingering, so she blurted out "Um!" But wasn't sure what she wanted to say when her companions turned their heads back her way. "Uh, that was fun. Do you guys have, like, anything else I could help with? - Or maybe we could just spend time together..."
"Nah, I'd rather just be alone now," The back of Hayashi's hand waved at her as she exited, leaving the other two girls to watch her elegenlty swishing ponytail move further and further away. "See ya."
Once it was just the two of them, Watari finally broke the awkward silence. "So, Hayashi's pretty cool, huh?" She quirked an eyebrow.
"Oh, definitely!" Denden excitedly clasped her hands around her cheeks. "She's the coolest!"
Denden thought this was when they'd go back to being all friendly and normal again, but instead the look returned with heightened intensity.
"Well, then I guess I must be really lucky. Because, you see, when me and Hayashi were in the storage room together, she - get this - she let me stand on her shoulders!" She grinned and placed her fists on her hips, exuding so much confidence that Denden found herself instinctively in awe.
"WOW! I wish Hayashi would let me stand on her shoulders!"
"Yeah, I bet you do," Watari flipped her long ebony hair majestically. "Listen here, Denden," Denden perked up, trying to appear as attentive as she could. "You're, like, cute and sweet and all, but you can't compete with the fabulous good looks and gregarious personality of the Watari Nishino!"
"Um," What was she supposed to say in response to any of that? "Well, you are very pretty, Watari!"
Watari blinked and shifted a bit off to the side, suddenly losing her confident posture.
"Y-you okay? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, I'm just... not used to hearing that." Watari cleared her throat. "Because, it's just so obvious that people don't bother saying it, you know?"
"But that's sad! Every girl deserves to be told they're pretty everyday! Especially you, Watari," Denden reached for her hands without thinking, earning a started yelp. "You're so so so SO PRETTY!"
"Y-yeah, well-" Watari pulled her hands out of Denden's grasp and pointed at her. "You're making me lose focus! My point is: back off of Hayashi, she's mine! Got it?"
It was Denden's turn to blink in confusion. "Wha-? But, why can't we both be friends with Hayashi?"
Watari's serious expression broke as she barked with laughter. " 'Friends'? Can you honestly not tell? I don't have a problem with you two being friends. I can smell one of my own kind a million miles away; I know you're into her too!"
She was? "I am?"
"God! Are you acting dumb, or are you just dumb?"
Denden winced.
"... I-" Oh no! The waterworks started... "I-I'm sorry, I'll... 'back off'..." She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
"... Shit! No! Denden..."
Watari placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry. That all came out meaner than I intended... Hey, look at me."
She raised her head to met the warmth of Watari's fiery gaze.
"I'm not actually mad at you, and I wasn't actually expecting you stay away from Hayashi. In fact, I would be honoured to accept you as my rival in love... as well as my friend." She took her hand back and held it out to Denden. "How does that sound?"
Denden whipped her tears. "Rival in love?" she hiccupped.
"Yeah! Get back at me for being an asshole, girl!"
"I don't think you're a- I don't want to get back at you!"
"But I just called you dumb! Even though you're super smart! Because I was all jealous of how smart, and kind, and prettier you are than me!"
"Huh? There's no way I'm prettier than you, though! And I know I'm not very smart..."
"Nonsense! You're a genius! A gorgeous genius! And that's why you should be my love rival! It'll be so fun!"
"Oh... okay then!" Denden giggled.
She slipped her gloved hand into Watari's and shook it firmly. "I promise to be the best love rival/friend that I can be, Watari!"
"Me too! I look forward to all the hijinks and shenanigans we will get into on our path of friendly rivalry, Denden! May the best girl win!"