Walking back to her seat, Kaya could already hear the whispers of the students surrounding her, and she was sure Masato heard them too.
"Noisy, aren't they?"
"Totally!"
"Chattering on and on..."
"How annoying..."
Kaya sighed and sank further into her desk. These people wanted to be idols? They seemed more like tabloid journalists, with how quick they were to start gossiping. No way you could charm people with crappy attitudes like that.
Suddenly, with the snap of someone's fingers, the curtains fell closed and the lights turned off. Colored spotlights danced across the ceiling. 'Why is this school so extra? ...Oh yeah, Zany Mc Whack-a-Mole runs this place.'
"Good morning-pu!"
A pair of spotlights landed on the one and only Tsukimiya Ringo. Kaya sat up straighter. She wanted to make a good first impression, after all.
"Okay, okay, everyone, take your seats!"
Kaya was stunned when she noticed that Nanami sat just one seat in front of her and one seat to the right. The class was abuzz with excitement over the celebrity's appearance.
"Tsukimiya Ringo!"
"What a superstar idol!"
"Cute!"
Ringo seemed to swell with pride at the praise, nodding along at their comments, and posed cutely at the class.
"I'm the very picture of a maiden, Tsukimiya Ringo! I'm in charge of A class here! Call me Ringo-sensei! It's a pleasure to meet you!" The spotlights changed into multicolored apples and scattered around the room as the lights came back on. Shining could learn a thing or two from this guy. His movements were much more appealing and didn't make Kaya want to smash her head against a brick wall. She perked up as she heard a conversation in front of her.
"Even right in front of us, you can't tell he's a man, you know?!" Oh boy.
"Ehhhhh?! That person is a man?!" Ways to piss off Ringo 101. Immediately, a pair of hands slammed onto the poor girl's desk. Kaya Had to hold her hand over her mouth to hide her amusement. She felt bad for the poor girl, but Ringo's reaction time was comedically quick.
"You haven't heard of Tsukimiya Ringo?! You need impact to be a hit on TV! Isn't that common sense?!" with a 'humph!' he stood back up and turned back to the front of the class, leaving poor haruka shocked. Looks like Ringo found out which student he was going to pick on. Tomo, Kaya couldn't remember her full name, looked at Haruka in disbelief.
"You really didn't know him?"
"Actually...We don't have a TV in our house..."
"Huh?! Does your family live in a cave?!"
Kaya couldn't help letting out a small giggle at that, not really expecting anyone to hear. She started doodling in her notebook, having heard all of this before. She drew a tall boy with somewhat spiky hair and sharp eyes, holding a young, quiet and timid looking girl with long dark hair tied into a braid, and dark eyes. ......It was bittersweet. She was so engrossed in what she was doing, she failed to notice that her laugh had gained the attention of a certain composer, who studied her expression with curious eyes.
She wondered why that girl looked so...lost.
After homeroom had ended, Kaya immediately stood up and trotted over to Masato, who was, at this point, her only friend. She could only hope she wasn't being too clingy.
"Hey, um, Hijirikawa? Do you mind if I tag along with you for lunch? You're, uh, kinda the only person I know." He seemed to consider this for a second.
"I need to stop by the library first. Is that okay?" She nodded eagerly.
"Of course!"
And so the two were off. The stop by the library was fairly quick. Apparently Masato knew exactly which books he wanted and where they were. It was almost like a dance, watching him flit about the library. He waved her off when she told him so though, and they soon both headed towards the cafeteria together.
The two were making their way towards the lunch line when Masato's expression suddenly soured. He grabbed Kaya by the wrist and started power-walking towards an opening in the crowd. Kaya stumbled to keep up, confused. He wasn't mad at her, was he? Surely not. She realized what was happening the second she heard a new voice.
"Meeting you again must be fate."
"A flirt, as always."
Kaya awkwardly stood by Masato as the whole group looked over in their direction. Nanami's eyes lit up in recognition, and she opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.
"And as always, you're a stiff."
As Haruka was getting hounded by her friend, Ren confidently strode towards the pissed off pianist. Masato's grip instinctively tightened on Kaya's wrist. She had almost forgotten he was holding onto it. It didn't hurt, and she didn't really mind, so she didn't say anything. Ren momentarily glanced over at her, the smallest traces of surprise evident on his face, before looking back at Masato. They had a staredown for a few seconds, before Jinguji spoke.
"I didn't think the eldest Hijirikawa son would be in A Class." Kaya felt a twinge of annoyance. It was one thing watching it on a screen, but now this was her friend he was bad mouthing! She looked up at Masato in concern, but he just stared confidently back at the saxophonist.
"Soon enough,I'll use my ability to turn things around."
"Heh. I'm looking forward to it." The golden haired boy then turned his attention towards the girl next to his rival. "And who's this little flower? I didn't think this stick in the mud talked to anyone, much less a pretty thing such as yourself." Kaya was aware that this man was a flirt. She knew it was part of his character, and had expected it. Even so, she was somehow not prepared for the flirting to be directed at her. So she panicked. Kaya hid behind Masato, who at the same time moved forward to shield her, and stammered out;
".....I, uh, I'm sorry...."
After a few seconds of silence, the other blonde, who had been standing just slightly off to the side but hadn't spoken a word thus far, slapped a hand over his mouth to hide his laughter, failing miserably. Huh. She hadn't even noticed Syo, what with whatever energy had been going on between Masato and Ren. Seeing Kaya's distress, and frankly wanting Ren as far away from her as possible, Masato quickly spoke up.
"I can make friends, thank you very much, though I'm not sure if I could say the same for you. Now, please stop with your incessant flirting, you're clearly making her uncomfortable." Ren studied the two of them, before smirking.
"Alright, then. Make sure not to hold on to her too tightly, then. People may get the wrong idea." Masato blinked, realized what he was implying, and hurriedly let go of Kaya's wrist, muttering a soft apology and coughing awkwardly into his fist. Ren smirked.
"I'll see you around, little flower." and with a wave of his hand, he was gone. Kaya breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he was out of sight, and stepped out from behind her human shield.
"Thanks Hijirikawa, and uh, sorry." he smiled gently back at her.
"Don't worry yourself too much over it. Now, with that disturbance out of the way, let's order our food."
As the two ate together, Kaya couldn't have known that she had already piqued the interest of four different people, and that the hands of fate had begun to change...
~~~
WOO! This chapter is double the length of the usual chapters! I think maybe now that we're on track with the plot, the chapters will continue the trend of being long as hell, so that's good I guess?
AUGHHHH I hate writing flirting! Hate it! I mean, I'm gonna have to if I'm gonna write Ren... but also I hate Ren so... Ugh, I'm really trying to write him neutrally, but I know I'm a bit bitter. Sorry. I'll tone it down next time.
So far, Kaya has only really gotten to interact with Masato and a little bit of Ren, but this IS still a various x reader, so everyone will have time in the sun eventually. Also, guess what? Haruka is also a love interest! She will be joining the Kaya Club too.
Today's absolutely idiotic nickname is: Soap (Syo)