Delinquent and the Songbird, The: A Nishina Rie Route

Chapter One: April 30 (Wed.)

I thrust my hands into my pockets as I trudged down the hall toward the Theatre Club's unofficial club room. While I was glad that Furukawa wasn't going to give up on trying to restart the club, it still pissed me off that the Council wouldn't acknowledge her club as a real one.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I wasn't paying attention as I rounded a corner and collided with...something.

"Oof!" a very feminine voice squeaked.

"Oh, sorry; wasn't paying attention." I reluctantly pulled a hand out of my pocket and held it out to the girl seated on the floor. I could remember a time when I would have just walked past someone like that, but I could also remember a time when I wouldn't be heading to a club room of any kind. "You okay?"

She looked up at me, and something about her seemed familiar. "I'm okay. I'm sorry, too; I was lost in thought." I then saw her eyes widen at the sight of my jacket. "Oh, I'm so sorry, senpai! It's...It's all my fault!"

"No, it's not," I grunted as I helped her to her feet. "Like I said; I wasn't paying attention, so it's my fault, too."

"Th-Thank you, senpai," she said with a grateful smile as she dusted herself off.

The question kept bugging me, so... "This is gonna sound weird, but...do I know you?"

She stopped brushing and studied my face. "I don't think so...wait! You came with Ichinose-senpai yesterday when she borrowed the violin, didn't you?"

Then it hit me: "You're from the Choir Club or something like that, aren't you?"

"I am!" she exclaimed. "My name is Nishina Rie, a second-year here. But...I guess you could figure that out yourself, couldn't you? Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," I said, trying to be cool about it. "I'm Okazaki Tomoya. Thanks for letting Kotomi-chan borrow the violin."

"It's my pleasure," she said with the sweetest smile I'd ever seen. "Um...if you'll excuse me...?"

"Sure," I said, waving a hand. "Sorry for keeping you."

"H-Have a good day!" she exclaimed with a bow before hurrying past me. I tracked her with my eyes and smirked when I saw her dart into the restroom. No wonder she was distracted.

I snorted with a smile as I turned back to head to the Theatre Club.

***

"Your timing is way off!" I heard Kyou complaining as I slid the door to the clubroom open. "At this rate you'll never be able to deliver the killer punch line!"

"Onee-chan..." Fujibayashi said with her typical ellipse.

"Kyou-chan, Kotomi-chan's doing her best," Furukawa said with her usual timidity as I slid the door closed behind me. "She's still getting used to being around other people."

"It is okay, Nagisa-chan," Kotomi said in her usual breathy voice. "I am not hurt."

"See? She's tougher than she looks," Kyou barked. "Now get over there and work on your comebacks. Hurry! Hurry!" she ordered, clapping her hands in Kotomi's general direction.

Kotomi nodded once before hustling to the nearby corner and started repeating "What whuzzat?" over and over again.

"Glad to see you have Furukawa's club under control," I quipped as I settled into one of the many chairs scattered throughout the room.

"Well somebody has to!" she replied, clearly frustrated. "The club president is nice enough, but 'nice' doesn't have enough backbone to get things done!"