Rounding a corner within the school library, I was greeted by a startling sight.
A petite girl. Up on the tips of her toes, stretching as far as she could to claim a book on the tallest shelf of a bookcase. Nobody was in her vicinity, leaving her vulnerable when she ultimately lost her footing and teetered backward.
I caught her before she could collapse. Emitting an awkward gasp, she reeled from me, red enveloping her complexion.
"S-sorry!"
"It's okay." I smiled. "Try to be more careful next time."
I easily removed the book from its place and extended it to her.
"This is what you wanted, right? Here."
She scooped it into her arms, though the colour on her cheeks didn't vanish. "Th-than. . ."
My eyelids fluttered.
Her blush darkened.
"Th-thank you!" she exclaimed.
Then, without the slightest warning, she booked it out of the area. Another girl, her friend I assumed, stood directly ahead, to which they reconvened.
"What's wrong, Yume? Why the rush?"
"S-sorry." The timid girl ducked her head. "I-I just didn't know what to do. Sh-she was so near. And tall, like a model. So I. . ."
"Isn't that Beanstalk Shiina? She's bad news."
"R-really? But she seemed so nice."
"According to the other first years, she's anything but. Apparently, she terrorized the Music Festival to humiliate Upperclassman Hanai. She also took down every member of the Beautician Boyz and now they're her loyal servants."
"E-eh!"
Exhaling heavily, I sauntered elsewhere, their hushed whispers fading as I did.
I guess the rumours about me were still running amuck. It didn't bother me, really, but I wasn't sure how to feel about the whole Beautician Boyz bit. Loyal servants? Where would they get that idea?
"Kisa, there you are!" Banri's holler lofted to my ears.
I pivoted on my foot only to find him with a blinding beam searing to his ears. He gestured to the nearby table, whereby both the chair had been specifically redesigned. Had proper cushioning and everything.
Chatting frivolously while simultaneously steering the masses a good distance were Upperclassman Issei and Hachi, a stilted Naru hovering behind an adjacent bookcase, gaze locked in this direction.
I slumped into the comfy seat, crossed my leg and situated my chin to my knuckle. Banri proceeded to sparkle, contented that I'd appreciated his efforts.
At that same moment, Hachi and Upperclassman Issei crowded me.
"Kisaragi, you sitting like that reminds me of a European queen," Upperclassman Issei gushed. Wasting no time to get into character, he descended onto one knee and bowed his head. "Allow me to serve you, Your Majesty."
"Ooh, let me! I wanna serve Shiina, too!" Hachi cheered. He dropped onto his knees also. "What're your orders, your royal eminence?"
"Hey!" Banri cried, shooing them off in disgust. "Get away from Kisa. You'll infect her with your idiocy."
"No fair, Ban-Ban," Hachi complained. "You're always the first one at Shiina's side."
"Yeah!" Upperclassman Issei pouted. "Let us be there, too!"
"Never," Banri spat, hitching his chin. "It makes sense beautiful people stick with the beautiful. That's what I'm doing now."
"Are you calling us ugly?"
"Jerk!"
Crossing eyes with Naru cowering a safe space in the background, he recoiled then further hid his face from mine.
Servants, huh, I mused onward. It wasn't ringing any bells.
"More importantly, Kisa," Banri said, after warding off Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber. "Were you able to find what you're looking for?"
Sighing, I craned my neck back to meet his eyes. "Not at all. You'd think it'd be a lot easier finding my way around a library, but I'm completely lost."
Right then, the school bells pealed, loud enough to cease all chatter stuttering around the room.
"Oh no, it's already this late?" Upperclassman Issei yelled, lurching to his feet. He snuck a glimpse at the watch he wore. "We promised Miyake to meet him before class starts."
"Are you guys busy with something?" I asked.
"We have another show coming up so we're stuck preparing for it," Banri answered.
Oh, yeah. They did those pretty frequently. I'd found it normal for them to be around me lately so I assumed they had a lot of free time.
"We're meeting with celebrities, too," Hachi added via grin. "I hope they're all nice!"
Banri expelled a saddened breath. "Who cares about those arrogant rich kids. If it was up to me, I'd style Kisa and Kisa alone, forever."
"That goes against everything our group stands for," Upperclassman Issei replied. "Oh, but if Kisaragi ever wants, she should stop by my dad's hair salon. I'll gladly provide whatever hairstyle she wants any time."
"I-In that case," Hachi stammered, poking his face to mine, "Shiina is always welcome at my family's shop! In fact, you can come by today. I'll be waiting after school—"
Banri shoved his cheek. "You guys don't get it. You don't have the right to stand let alone breathe next to someone like her. Learn your place."
"Saysh you," Hachi muffled. Considering his face was being smushed by Banri, his voice was hard to decipher. "Shiina ish for everyone! Shtop being shelfish."
"You're the selfish one! And you're damn cheeky toward your upperclassman."
My mouth met in a purse as this cat and mouse fight only escalated. Upon the swarms of students who piled outside to head to their respected classes, most watched this all unfold in disbelief. Mrs. Uetsugi, the librarian, was also staring them down hard, which I pinned was due to their noise level.
"Aren't we supposed to be in a hurry?" Naru muttered. Least to my knowledge, he'd appeared amidst the fray. Arms crossed, he met their eyes haughtily. "I only came here because Hachiko said he wanted to greet Upperclassman Enatsu. . . but at this rate, Upperclassman Miyake will chew us out for missing the meeting."
The trio stalled their argument long enough to address the addition of Naru.
"What are you talking about, Rumi?" Hachi mumbled, blinking, face half-flattened by Banri's palms. "I caught you staring at Shiina sooo intently from afar so I dragged you here because I thought you wanted to see her."
The heaviest blush seized Naru's complexion. "I-I w-wasn't. . . !"
"You were, though! Why're you denying it?"
"I-I. . ." His eyes darted left and right, until finally, he extended a pointed finger at me. "I-It's not like that! I was m-merely. . . That's right! I was merely watching out of curiosity because Upperclassman Enatsu and Upperclassman Taniguchi were speaking to you, and I knew we had a meeting to attend. I assumed it was my duty to break up the conversation before things got too carried away. . . !"
Pleased by his spiel, he stood tall, not that his imminent blush lessened in the slightest.
"It wasn't l-like I was staring at you in particular," he stammered onward. "Of course I wouldn't. So, don't get the wrong idea."
Albeit baffled, I nodded. "All right, I won't."
"Good," he replied. "There's nothing worth staring at you for anyway. You're ugly. And barbaric. And the way you smile with your whole heart. . . rubs me the wrong way."
Despite the insults, he flushed harder, lips quivering. His decibel was hardly audible.
"Th-the way you effortlessly get into my head is also a pain. And your condescending tone. . . It's all so. . . All of it is so, so cute."
I blinked, missing his final whisper. "Did you say something, Naru?"
He nearly leaped from his skin. Steam poured out of his ears, mouth flapping wordlessly for a hot second.
Slamming his eyelids shut, he bolted for the exit. "N-nothing! Dummy!"
He was gone before I could process what had happened. Lowering an eyebrow, I scratched the backside of my head. "Man. He hates me that much?"
I didn't blame him, considering our history. But ever since he started displaying his sensitive side around me, I always ended up feeling like the bad guy. . .
"Narumi's incredibly awkward," Upperclassman Issei chuckled.
"For real," Hachi agreed, cheeks puffed. "Shiina is cute so he should just say so proudly."
The only one not sharing in their amusement was Banri, who smouldered unbelievable rage. "That Jin. How dare he insult Kisa right in front of me. I won't forgive him."
Stomping forward, Banri made for the library doors, fists clenched at his side.
"W-wait, Ban-Ban! Rumi didn't mean any harm!" Hachi exclaimed, hastening after him.
"I'll end his life before he does mean it, then."
"Ban-Ban, at least talk it out first!"
"Are you coming, Kisaragi?" Upperclassman Issei's question transferred my attention upward.
I hummed. "I think I'll keep searching until the last minute. Miss Akagi made it clear she'll kill me if I don't bring it to her class."
"That doesn't sound good. . ." He flashed me a soft smile. "If you're ever in trouble, call on me, okay? I'll rush over at the speed of lightning."
Was he still worried about the last time I got cornered by Hanai's subordinates? I told him I'd be fine, no matter the enemy. Such a worrywart.
Nonetheless, heart warm, I nodded. "Okay."
With a ginger head pat, he departed also, leaving me alone in my thoughts. Ascending to my feet, I ambled forward, up to the many shelves. Once again, I glided my gaze left, right, up, down, attempting to locate the book I'd ventured all the way here for.
After receiving a. . . colourful lecture from Miss Akagi, my homeroom teacher, concerning my performance this term, the demonic troll thereby constructed a list of extra material for me to utilize while studying.
However, simply finding them was an ordeal in and of itself.
Sure, it might've been embarrassing that I, Shiina Kisaragi, couldn't navigate my way around a library, but in my defence, Hoshizaki Academy's was larger than my middle and elementary school's combined. Growing up, I never read much besides comic books, either, so I never found it compulsory to visit any other aisles.
"These books count as nonfiction, right?" I murmured to myself. "Then why aren't they here? Did somebody loan them out?"
What would they need with astronomy books, though? Unless Miss Akagi recommended the same books on the list to another student. . . which I could totally see that demonic troll doing. Even then, it didn't make sense. There were at least five books written on this note. How could all of them be loaned out at the same time?
Ugh, this was a disaster. I was stuck. Of course, I could attend Miss Akagi's class empty-handed. . .
"You damn dimwit! What's the point of you paying attention to my lessons if you can't even wrap your dumb head around the basics?! Get these books! And commit them to memory before tomorrow's class! If not, I'll dismember your wretched beanstalk body!"
. . .On second thought, I'd rather find them. My dad always warned me not to incur the wrath of demon trolls whenever possible.
Expelling a long breath, I continued my strenuous search. I looked high and low, on nearby carts, up on the second floor and back down. When there were only two minutes left until classes officially commenced, I was dragging my feet.
"At least one of them," I murmured. "Dammit, I should ask Mrs. Uetsugi."
She was scary, but not as scary as Miss Akagi will be when I make it to her class with empty pockets.
Upon turning the corner, my legs wobbled. I saved myself before I could fall by gripping the nearby bookcase. My vision swirled when I realized what had happened. I pressed my eyelids shut to steady the dizzying world. What the. . . ? Was I tired?
Shaking my head, I parted my eyes. The swaying was much worse this time. Colours blurred, lines intersected. I spotted legs donning the school uniform pants, a fellow student, leafing through nearby books. Then, a glimpse of red hair.
I took a step, at least I think I did. However, black filled my vision. My senses deteriorated. Then, my body shut off without warning, disconnecting me from the world entirely.
✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧
Pages turning.
It was a sound I recognized while my subconscious swam through infinite darkness. The scent of vanilla hit me next as my eyelids wearily drew apart.
The brightness was dazzling and brought unintentional tears to my eyes. Squinting, I digested the blurry ornaments dangling from the ceiling.
A floor. Blanket. Something soft under my head—a pillow?
One by one, my surroundings registered, senses flooding back to me. Where was I? When did I fall asleep?
Flip.
That noise. . . Where was that coming from?
Without straining my neck, I rolled my eyes right.
Lying flat on his stomach, thumb sifting lazily through the book in his palm. A wide variety of other book stacks surrounded him, some half-open, most, shut.
Possibly because I'd produced involuntary sounds, he lowered his book and craned his head.
His face alone knocked the sleepiness out of me in one fell swoop.
I shouted instinctively.
"K-Kamakiri?!"
—————
A surprising individual makes an appearance.
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