The Dog and the Starfish

[Densetsu Karu]

Date: April 22, 2003 Tuesday
Time: 12:00 PM

He was done with that blasted cafeteria. Eating there every day in the cacophony of chatter was torturous. The cafeteria belonged to the machines, and he would not venture into their lands any longer if he could help it. Eating at his desk in class 1-B was an option, but he didn't want to spend extra time around his classmates either. The more time he spent around them, the harder he would have to work to keep up his mask.

Thus, he had settled with eating lunch in the courtyard. There were plenty of benches around, so he claimed one in the shade beneath a tree and began his lunch.

Except, now that he was sitting here alone, he began to realize how boring his day had been again. Nakamura, in her infinite ridiculousness, had at least provided him with some entertainment. And some relatability. She was a peculiar person, but her presence had not been wholly unwelcome. He had spent the entire previous week eating alone, so just having a bit of company was a nice change of pace. Overall, despite the hassle that was dealing with her, her presence the day before had been a net positive. As had been his interaction with Yasuda the day before that. He hated to admit either of these things, but they were no less true. He did enjoy the social interaction. It was undeniably a break from the monotony of his everyday life.

Ah, curses! Confound the human need for sociability!

At least he could take solace in his own mind. No one would be there to interrupt him. Getting involved with Nakamura, while it had been an engaging and fresh experience, it had also been a hassle. Part of the reason he had decided to eat in the courtyard was so that she wouldn't recognize him and want to sit with him again. That possibility sounded stressful. The fact that people could just recognize him and pull him into their world at their whims was a concern. If only he could change his form at will. To be able to disguise himself at a moment's notice... If only.

[Aizawa Shou]

It was just another one of those days. One of those off-days where things were going horrible for Shou. She had queued up in line to fetch her friend's lunch, as well as her own. After fighting through the typical tidal wave of ravenous students, ninety percent of whom were bigger than her, Shou, now feeling quite jostled, re-tied her ponytail, which had been painfully yanked several times between bodies squashing together. To rub salt in the wound, her friends had vacated the area, or had been forced out of the area by the crowds. As per usual, the diminutive Aizawa jumped to conclusions.

"Great. Never fails. I get you your damned lunch, and after five minutes, you go for a little walk." She hissed quietly, stuffing her lunch into her bag. Before long, she was ready to go, leaving behind the chaotic battlefield, and the war over food being fought by at least a hundred different factions. Her first place to search was the immediate outside. Shou muttered out a string of curses, colorfully decorating her personal argument with her long-gone friend. The teen was absent-mindedly strolling along, with two sets of lunches, having taken the second out of her bag after thinking she'd spotted her friends, who sadly turned out to be a group of seniors. One for her, and the other for her vacant acquaintance. Sadly, her grip on one item was not as strong as it could be. A ripe orange descended from Shou's arms, tumbling gloriously to the ground, rolling along like a ball until it stopped near a freshman, as identified by the green badge on his uniform.

"Hey, you there. Could you get that fruit for me?" She called, pointing her only free finger at the orange that lay near by the younger student. This was becoming more of a bother than it was worth. She had the good mind to keep the other lunch, and eat it tomorrow, saving her the trouble of having to deploy into the furious lunchroom hot zone again. It was a miracle she'd gotten both lunches without any bruises. Shou thought that the student council had ought to fix that by implementing a better queue system. Of course, they were more concerned about other matters, than the fact that the school cafeteria was a giant human sardine can, and a painful one at that.

"Underclassman! I'm talking to you. I dropped that orange. Can you grab it for me?" She called out again, louder this time. He looked kind of spaced out. It reminded her of Jun. He, and his father had a tendency to space out now and then. She was glad Koji didn't inherit that trait too. Or much else from him for that matter. Waiting for the wistful freshman to answer, and/or help her, Shou stood, tapping her foot impatiently. She'd just about run out of patience today, what with the sudden desertion by her friends. Such fantastic friends they were.

[Densetsu Karu]

A girl had broken into his personal space, fixing him with an expectant stare. She was short, doll-like, even "cute", in the same way one might find a puppy to be cute. However, her frustrated expression ran contrary to this, as he found it ugly and annoying. He noticed the orange shield that was stitched to her uniform that indicated her status as a junior. An upperclassman. She had asked him something about a fruit, but he wasn't listening her, because her voice was also annoying. He turned back down to the ground, hoping that whatever she had said had not been directed at him after all; that she had merely been speaking to some specter of convenience behind him or that she had just been babbling to herself and was not, in fact, expecting him to respond.

He was not so lucky.

In no time, she was tapping her foot impatiently. Of course she was trying to get his attention. A great sense of irritation rose from within him. Why couldn't people just leave him alone? Did his lunch need to be repeatedly interrupted by petite girls every single day?! Seemingly also annoyed with him, she spoke again. “Underclassman! I'm talking to you. I dropped that orange. Can you grab it for me?”

Was this a joke? Just because he was her underclassman, it gave her invitation to demand inane tasks out of him? Pick up your own mess, is what he wanted to say, but he held his tongue. Going off of first impressions, she was not the type of person he wanted to get into a grudge-match with. He would of course come out on top, but he didn't want to expend the energy. She wasn't worth it. Just another selfish automaton in an ocean of machinery. She wasn't worth fighting.

So, he complied, against his better judgement. He leaned down and grabbed the soft fruit. He stood back up and handed it to the girl. “Sorry, I was thinking,” he lied, trying to mask his annoyance. “I'm Densetsu Karu from class 1-B,” he said, smiling at her. The smile was not sincere at all, but he wanted her to at least have an amicable perception of him. Now, hopefully, she would bugger off.

[Aizawa Shou]

Shou raised her left eyebrow as the boy retrieved the orange for her. She immediately noticed something about him, that was quite peculiar. His accent. It didn't sound like a native Japanese accent. It sounded like a westerner's accent. European? American? Shou couldn't tell. She hadn't met any Europeans, and the only Americans she knew were family, and they came from Japan originally anyways. Could this boy be an exchange student? A transfer? He was definitely of Japanese descent, but it was his accent that betrayed him.

"You're not from Hikarizaka. You're not even from Japan, are you?" She pointed out bluntly, popping the orange in her bag, and returning the food to it as well. Her powers of observation hard at work. He looked taller than her. What boy wasn't? What girl wasn't? Shou was very conscientious of her height, and her body for that matter. She'd had crushes on boys, but they didn't seem to show any interest in her, rather, focusing on taller, prettier girls with nice bodies. Shou sighed. Her friends had obviously deserted her for some reason or another. This young freshman, who was clearly alone, more so than just a student without his or her friends.

"I'm Aizawa Shouko from 2-E." She announced, introducing herself, as the boy had done. She was so used to being a kohai, perhaps now she'd get a chance to know what it felt like to be one's senior. Her mind clicked. The poor boy was obviously alone. He reminded her of Koji sometimes. Though he was often waiting for someone, that someone, she assumed, would often be either Fujibayashi-senpai, or Mizukami-san. The latter for him to socialize with, and the former, for his attempts at pursuing a relationship. At least he was actually trying to get into one, as difficult, and as complicated as it was, taking into account at least three other people.

"Want some company?" Shou asked. Truthfully, she would have rather continued on her way, to look for her elusive friends. However, something sparked the maternal instinct inside of the junior student. She couldn't just leave the freshman alone for a very good reason. She'd never heard of any foreign student in Hikarizaka the past month, thus she suspected it was his first week in school. If it was his first week, then it was likely he hadn't made any friends yet. The gears in her scheming head turned. Maybe she could help him make a friend?

[Densetsu Karu]

She raised an eyebrow as soon as he spoke. What was so weird about what he had said? He kept his expression blank, not wanting to attract further suspicion from her. Maybe she was thrown off by his odd family name. That was, usually, the thing that gave his conversation partners pause, and even attracted some weird jokes about manga and video games he hadn't the slightest understanding of. He must've been cursed in a previous life by the god of awkward conversation starters.

Then, the girl spoke, her lips uttering a question he would have never guessed. “You're not from Hikarizaka. You're not even from Japan, are you?” He stared blankly, his mind unable to grasp onto the sheer absurdity of her inquiry. To jump to such conclusions... was it because of his dialect? Tokyo wasn't that far away. Maybe she was just very, very stupid.

...Still, her question was so ridiculous that he didn't want to correct her. He felt like he had come across a rare gem, a diamond among coal. To snuff out her misconceptions so soon would be such a waste.

Thus, he decided to play along. “I, uh... I was born in Canada,” he stated, thinking of the most ridiculous country he could come up with. “My mom's from here, though.”

She introduced herself as Aizawa Shouko and confirmed that she was from a higher class, 2-E, but he wasn't listening. He was curious of how far he could take things. How ridiculous could he make his story without alerting her to his deception? It was a cruel idea, sure, but given how rude she had been in her initial introduction, he did not have much compassion for the girl.

“I only came recently to Japan,” he said. He paused and stared at the ground as he spoke. To her, it would add to the facade, and for him, it gave him some time to build a believable sob story.

Well, that was his plan, anyway, but she began to rant into her phone to whomever was not picking up on the other end. Some fellow named "Koji", who was supposedly doing... strange things behind the gym storage. Huh. He didn't want to ask or address that one. He was taken aback by her sudden shift in priorities, apparently content to ignore him mid-conversation and yap at someone over the phone. The "puppy" analogy came to mind again. She reminded him of a small dog that thought it was bigger and tougher than it really was.

He slumped back onto the bench, already overwhelmed by Aizawa. He watched her quietly as she cursed into her phone, apparently another call not going through. Again, why was she just calling people and screaming into her phone all of a sudden? Did she really respect his existence so little? He cleared his throat. “I'm sorry, Aizawa-senpai, I shouldn't dump all of my problems on you like this. We only just met.” Maybe the feeble line would remind her that he was still there.

[Aizawa Shou]

"So you are a foreigner." Shou said, bringing a finger up to her chin thoughtfully, until her gaze shifted, then fixed squarely on her ringing cell, which she brought to her ear, having stealthily called her senior cousin. It rang several times.

"Come on, come on pick your damned cell up Koji, and answer me... What in the hell could you possibly be doing? Sucking face with Fujibayashi-senpai behind the gym storage where no-one will catch you?! Aitsu!" Shou hissed into her still-ringing cell phone. She was put straight through to leave a voice message, and furiously tossed her cell back into her bag. In reality, she didn't intend to stay and chat with this freshman, instead, she'd thought about getting her good-natured cousin to do it. If he didn't, she would pester him with the nickname he hated so much; Koji-nee. Shou grinned evilly. It was what he deserved for calling her Sho-chan. No, even better. She'd call him Koji-nee right in front of Fujibayashi-senpai. It was brilliant.

After another failed call, a string of curses, and a significant amount of foot-stamping, Shou, baring her teeth, slammed herself down near Karu, folding her arms over, and crossed her legs. Koji was good at things like this. He helped people out. He'd do it, and be glad to, unlike herself, who'd want something in return.

"I'm sorry, Aizawa-senpai, I shouldn't dump all of my problems on you like this. We only just met."

Shou let her breath out. This kid was venting. She didn't really have time for his problems, nor was she willing to lend an ear to listen to them. However, again, after looking at the poor boy, her motherly instinct kicked in once more.

"Don't worry about it," She huffed, rising to her feet, going into scheming mode, thus, with her hands on her hips, she addressed Karu again "you know what we need? We need to find you a friend. Another freshman. Let's see..."

Shou's mind was counting all the freshmen she knew... Kita-san... Ueda-san... Hirisawa-san... Then that strange girl that was handing out starfish. Fuko wasn't it? She'd be a decent candidate. If she could find her. If Koji wouldn't come to them. She'd go to Koji!

"I've got it! Densetsu-san, grab your lunch. I think I might have a solution to your problem!" Shou declared, grabbing, herself, Karu's necktie, tugging at it to coax him into moving.

[Densetsu Karu]

“Don't worry about it.”

Her reply was automatic. He hadn't dumped any problems on her. He had just said that line to bring her focus back onto him. In her flurry of phone chatter, she had joined him on the bench, crossing her arms and legs to close herself off from the world. She was looking at him, finally, her face a mixture of annoyance and... is that... concern? Had the mere allusion to him venting caused her to feel sorry for him? Perhaps she felt bad for her little outburst on the phone a moment ago.

Then she offered to help him. To find him a friend. He raised an eyebrow, momentarily breaking the facade of his feigned helplessness out of the sheer incredulity he felt at the situation. He hadn't indicated that he needed a friend or that he wanted her help. Whatever guilt that she was feeling bubbling up inside her was causing her to act strangely. Well, to be fair, everything she had done and said up to this point was strange, so her offer was par for the course. Her essence was an onion of eccentricity, each layer unwrapping to reveal yet another layer of irrational flights of fancy and moody outbursts.

Whatever. That's fine. He had already decided to play along with her delusions. There was no reason to stop now. Karu exhaled, faking a sigh of relief, for her sake. “Thank you, Aizawa-senpai.”

Suddenly, with a loud declaration, Aizawa grabbed his necktie and pulled him forward. What was her problem?! Was she trying to pick a fight?!

As it turned out, no, she was not trying to harm him. Lucky for her, he had held in his urge to immediately fight back because, frankly, he didn't want to get into a physical altercation with a girl. It would look bad for him no matter how he tried to explain it. The machines would never let a boy physically hurt a girl. So, he had let her do her thing, albeit with a strong caution guiding his steps. Her grip on his tie was strong, but not painful. He would manage. She clearly did not mean him harm, but the fact that this was her preferred method of getting him to follow her unsettled him. She was glancing about with purpose, searching for something, as she dragged him along behind her like a dog clamped down on a toy much too big for its mouth.

“You have a tight grip,” he muttered dryly, unable to resist a snide remark in light of the situation. He found himself regretting ever engaging with her; it would have been easier for him (and his neck!) if he had just ignored her and her little orange. Or maybe he should have just tossed it across the courtyard. Then at least it would have been funny.

[whammy]

Another lunch break, another day of handing out starfish. Kichiro wasn’t around, being afraid to be around Kyou for some reason. As for Kyou or Tomoyo, they had taken stations somewhere else to give a wider range of people starfish. So here Fuko was in the courtyard, handing out starfish to people as they made their way to and from it for lunch. She had been rebuffed a few times by some of the what she found out were couples sitting outside on mats or benches. Even then, a few of them were willing to take one from her after lecturing her about interrupting them. It wasn’t surprising of course. Any date could be improved upon by bringing more starfish into it. The joy and thrill of such a present would instantly cause love to blossom between the couple, ensuring them future happiness. Fuko was sure of this!

Moving on, however, Fuko began trying to find some other people to give starfish to. She had to ensure she got as many people in this area as possible. Her eyes eagerly scanned the area, prying every last inch to find a group of people that she had yet to give a starfish to or weren’t in a position to rebuff her. Eventually her eyes landed a set of first-years, if their uniforms were a sign of anything. They were a boy and a girl. Boy, wasn’t this place a prime location for couples, wasn’t it? Well, if the girls angry face and reactions were any sign, this date of theirs wasn’t going so well. With the instant power of her starfish, however, their love would once again blossom into romantic bliss.

Her timing was perfect it seemed! The girl was pulling the boy away by the necktie, probably to storm off to lecture him in a more private setting. Standing behind the tree in the courtyard, Fuko pulled out two starfish to give them. As they walked by, Fuko jumped out in front of them, starfish held up high and proud.

”Never fear, Fuko the Cupid is here!”

Voice changing into a more serious and her face thoughtful, Fuko began her spiel.

”Fuko saw the young couple in front of her arguing. In honor of Fuko’s sister’s wedding, it was decided the young couple would be blessed with the gift of two starfish to ensure their future happiness. All that Fuko asks is that, in return for this gift, you two will attend Fuko’s sister’s wedding.”

Without even giving them a chance to respond, Fuko shoved the starfish into their arms. It was now time for Fuko to begin the magical Love Charm of the Starfish! (which was most likely not a real thing, but don’t tell that to Fuko).

”So now then, hold the starfish up to your hearts and repeat to yourself ‘Starfish Love’ three times. Then, write your name on the starfish and give it to the person you love. Now….go!” she said, pointing right at them with the full expectation that they would go along with her made up charm. Fuko was adorable but fierce, and she demanded some sort of result from this. After all, this would prove once and for all the power of starfish over people’s hearts!

[Aizawa Shou]

It wouldn't be long now. Soon, she'd find her dear cousin, and dump this guy with him. Not that she was fed up with the boy already, she simply lacked the finesse in dealing with people like her relative could. If she were ever to be reincarnated as a person again, as herself again, then she'd want more patience, to be able to deal with people better, and suffer the idiots of the world. Unless they found a better cure stroke cause of it than a swift punch to the head. It'd either knock some sense into them, or destroy the precious few brain cells left inside their almost-empty heads. She'd simply brushed off Karu's statement about her amicable grip, and had returned to yanking on his necktie, before proceeding to yank his entire person along with her in search of Koji. He said he had to quickly go and see Miyazawa-san from 2-A. Yukine was quite popular among certain roughnecks who frequented the reference room where she often resided at lunchtime. Perhaps Koji was going for some of her famed advice. At any rate, he would surely be out now, and enjoying his lunch. Whether he was with his little girlfriend or not was another question. Shou was adamant the girl, involved with Koji or not, did not string him along, and end up hurting him. Not if she wanted to keep her pretty face. Growling, Shou glanced around, looking for the senior in question.

"He's bound to be around here somewhere..." She moaned, scanning like a hawk. Until of course, a small figure leaped out in front of her, with what looked like a wooden shuriken held aloft. Shou was taken aback. Her grip loosened on Karu's tie, as her face contorted into a look of confusion. It was another freshman. Shou wondered why they all seemed to be bugging her today.

”Never fear, Fuko the Cupid is here!”

"Who-"

”Fuko saw the young couple in front of her arguing. In honor of Fuko’s sister’s wedding, it was decided the young couple would be blessed with the gift of two starfish to ensure their future happiness. All that Fuko asks is that, in return for this gift, you two will attend Fuko’s sister’s wedding.”

Y-young... Couple? Us?!

Shou's face flared up into a beet red color. She'd only just met Karu minutes ago, and already someone was assuming they were an item. But before she could react, the wooden starfish that this little girl was armed with, was suddenly thrust into her hands, and another into Densetsu's. She immediately dropped his tie, huddling her arms close to her in embarrassment. She peered at the wooden starfish. It looked like it had been carved by hand, and not store-bought. That was impressive.

”So now then, hold the starfish up to your hearts and repeat to yourself ‘Starfish Love’ three times. Then, write your name on the starfish and give it to the person you love. Now….go!”

"Now just wait a minute here... I just met this guy. We're... anou... We're not together. N-not a couple that is. I'm not yanking him around the place because I like him or anything like that..." Shou squeaked, completely flustered now. This little freshman, as adorable as she was, found herself barking up the wrong tree. Unfortunately, Shou was a little too breathless after her lightning-quick dismissal of the younger student's assumptions.

[Densetsu Karu]

“He's bound to be around here somewhere...” Who was she looking for? Just as his patience began to wear thin and he started thinking of something he could say to get out of the situation, a little girl jumped out in front of them. Aizawa jumped and he blinked as he felt the grip on his necktie loosen. The little girl was holding out a hand-carved wooden star to each of them. He glanced at it, then back at her face, which was filled with an emotion he could only describe as determination.

In a flurry of small presumptions the machinations of which he would never be privy to, the girl rambled on to the two of them about romance, an upcoming wedding, and something about starfish. Then, suddenly, in his hands were one of the girl's carvings. He looked at it for a moment, his mind struggling to comprehend the strange ceremony being thrust upon him by this spectre of misunderstandings.

It was Aizawa, thankfully, who reacted first, saving him the burden of doing so. The dog would straighten out the situation to the "Starfish Girl" before them, and he could leave while they discussed whatever nonsense blossomed next.

His hopes were dashed immediately.

“Now just wait a minute here... I just met this guy. We're... anou... We're not together. N-not a couple that is. I'm not yanking him around the place because I like him or anything like that...”

As she spoke, he looked down at her, then at Starfish Girl, then back at Aizawa. Her words were almost as deranged as the newcomer's. Suddenly, he felt the strong urge to laugh. What an absurd situation he had found himself in! They had only just met—and surely, if Starfish Girl had been watching since the beginning, she would have noticed that. Had she simply seen Aizawa's forwardness in grabbing onto his tie and assumed? To be fair to her, he couldn't blame her for jumping to conclusions in response to Aizawa's ridiculousness.

With a light sigh to let Aizawa know that she had utterly failed him, Karu went in for the assist. “Aizawa-senpai is telling the truth. We're not a couple.” He placed emphasis on the honourific, trying to rub in the irony of their positions. While he took charge with a simple, composed explanation, Aizawa had collapsed into a flustered, blubbering mess. Her sudden change in character revealed a lack of experience when it came to romance. He wasn't too surprised. She had a petite charm that some boys probably found appealing, but her personality was so rotten that there was no way they would stick around.

He shrugged, focusing on Starfish Girl again. “However, I agree that the way she dragged me around could easily give you that misconception.” He flashed a smug grin in Aizawa's direction.

[whammy]

In the rush of her conclusions, Fuko didn’t really pay attention to the looks of confusion and…nope, just confusion, on the faces of the two in front of her. Even upon noticing the beet-red color of the female’s face did not ruin it for her. Actually, it just enforced her attitude about this couple. After all, why would a girl get so worked up about the situation unless she actually had some kind of feeling for the boy, right? She looked vulnerable and adorable enough right now, and the guy (while blushing) rather the same made Fuko think that the two were, in fact, a couple. This simply encouraged her to go forth until the completely made up charm was started. Eagerly awaiting a response, Fuko soon found her idea trampled upon.

Through her blushing and stammering, the girl denied that the two of them were a couple, although even Fuko didn’t buy it. Why else would she be yanking him around? For the complete fun of it? And why was she getting so worked up? This girl was weird, so very very weird. The boy seemed to be more reasonable. He was a bit clearer in his response, but was confirming the girl’s story regarding the two of them. Fuko just blinked up at the two of them, not sure how to respond. She was usually so very intelligent about these sort of things. But here it was, she was wrong about it all. Well…well…well it wasn’t her fault! As the boy pointed out, it wasn’t that hard of a thing to take a guess about.

”Oh…well, the boy here is right. It was really easy to mistake you two as a couple when you’re dragging him around like that. And getting flustered so easily about, well, that didn’t help anything either. If you don’t want to be seen as a couple, be more assertive in saying no.” Fuko responded with a huff. It was moments like this that showed Fuko to really be a little kid at heart, wasn’t it? However, there was a more important matter that needed attending to; her sister’s wedding. Breaking off the brat act, she turned her attention back to the couples, a bit more pleading in her eyes but still her assertive, childish self.

”Anyway, would you two please congratulate Fuko’s sister on her wedding day by coming to the wedding, whether you’re a couple or not.”

[Aizawa Shou]

Upon having her flushed complexion pointed out, Shou clenched her eyes shut, and cast her glance aside, not wishing for either present to see it, despite the fact, that both had, unfortunately for Shou, already seen it. She'd only just met this young boy, and already, the mere suggestion that she was involved with him, romantically at that, was too much for her. Despite her hot-blooded nature, and her penchant for yelling like crazy at most people she came across, that did not agree with her (which was usually most people anyway). Shou was very sensitive about her softer emotions. Truly, the only boys that didn't ridicule her about her crushes were her cousins. It'd come full circle with Koji, and possibly Jun as well, but for Shou, she was still alone. Jun had Rumi, though it was likely neither wanted to admit it, and now Koji was making his best attempt to be with his own dream girl. Shou really was quite alone.

Realizing the starfish was more than just a thoughtful hand-carving invitation, Shou hugged it to her chest. It was the symbol of two people, people close to Fuko. People who loved each other dearly. It warmed her heart to hear about people coming together like that. One day it would be her turn. She hoped. Would a boy like her enough for that? Her life was only at the beginning of her life. She figured she'd have plenty of time. Life could be quite hectic, so she'd do her best to enjoy the rest of her junior year, and all of her senior year.

And make a note to find herself a cute boyfriend.

”Anyway, would you two please congratulate Fuko’s sister on her wedding day by coming to the wedding, whether you’re a couple or not.”

"I would love to congratulate your sister, and her new husband Fuko." Shou decided. She couldn't help but smile warmly. Today had been interesting, as of the moment the lunch bell sounded. Two new, interesting people had exploded into the flustered Aizawa's life. Fuko however was becoming quite the school celebrity. Passing out her wooden starfish, jumping out at people randomly. Some probably fled in terror thinking that she was the infamous ghost girl. As far as Shou was aware, ghosts were usually transparent, and had the tendency to not be three-dimensional people. Fuko did not tick either box. Suddenly it hit her.

"Oh. Fuko. Your sister's wedding! I don't have a dress, or a date to take to wherever it's being held. When is your sister's wedding?" She asked tentatively. It had barely sunk in that it would be a wedding. An actual wedding. She'd only been to her aunt Haruka's wedding, to Koji's stepfather. Even then, she still had no date. Not this time.

[Densetsu Karu]

Karu was beginning to understand the necessity of the cafeteria. Yes, it was noisy. Yes, it was chaotic. However, these things were the perfect camouflage for one such as him. One could eat in peace, and ignore all the going-ons around oneself, and blame such rudeness on the pandemonium that was the cafeteria. Had Aizawa dropped her orange near his table in the cafeteria, there would be no obligation for him to pick it up or interact with her in any way. Implicitly she would have understood this, and she wouldn't have asked him for help. She wouldn't have pulled him into her tornado of non-sequiturs, and Starfish Girl wouldn't have jumped out from behind a tree to annoy him.

Alas, he had elected to eat in the courtyard, fool that he was. At least this experience had been relatively short, and he could learn from it. Thus was his new directive during lunch: Stay in the crowd. Avoid standing out. Fortunately for him, he could see an opportunity for escape from his present situation. While the two girls were distracted with discussing some wedding, he would make haste back to his classroom. The bell would be going off any minute now, anyway. It was the perfect excuse.

And so he did. Sliding Starfish Girl's carving into his bag, he nodded absently at the two's conversation for a few seconds, pretending to be interested. As they grew further and further absorbed by each other's company, he walked away, never turning back. Adrenaline surged in his blood, his body expecting danger despite his mind expecting none. Aizawa would surely notice that he was leaving, wouldn't she? She would march back toward him and grab his tie again, and this time, he'd fight back, if he had to!

That moment never came. He returned to his classroom without incident, having safely evaded Aizawa's prying eyes (and fingertips). With a sigh of relief, he leaned back in his chair, exhausted from the alertness he had been subjected to by adrenaline for the last few minutes. He pulled the carving back out of his bag to inspect it. A worthy souvenir, he decided, to pay him back for the annoyance that was his lunch. He hoped he would never have to interact with Aizawa again.

[End]