Cleaning Up

[Sakagami Tomoyo]

Sakagami Tomoyo

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Sakagami Tomoyo was on cleanup duty. Classes had ended roughly seven minutes ago. In her arms was today’s used gym equipment, volleyballs. The larger equipment, like nets, had already been put away by other students, so the bulk of the work was already finished. Since the weather was getting colder and colder, the class had played indoors.

The game itself had been fun. Tomoyo worked up a good sweat while playing. Her team had won by a landslide. Her teammates would probably say that she was the reason they won. Although Tomoyo wasn’t on the school’s volleyball team or anything, she was just good at sports. While moving around inside the gym had warmed her body, it was as if all the heat had been stripped from her skin within seconds of stepping outside.

Winter, huh… She looked around casually as she walked, the majority of her upper body covered up with light sports equipment. It was a clear but brisk day. Even though the current season was still technically autumn, right now it felt more like winter. The trees certainly looked like fall had already come and gone, and Tomoyo definitely felt the approaching season in the temperature, too.

It was difficult carrying all the volleyballs herself, but she somehow managed. She didn't need any help. Tomoyo carried four in her arms, the maximum she could carry without them spilling, and even then she needed to do a bit of a balancing trick. The rest, which were two others, she would kick along so that she wouldn’t need to go back inside and out again a second time.

She needed to get this done quickly so that she could change into her normal school uniform and meet up with Fuu-chan, or Ibuki Fuko, in that empty classroom to assist with the starfish. Tomoyo didn’t like to make promises and not see them through in the end. She had told Fuko that she would help.

So there she was outside, slightly bent over a ball cart, emptying her armful of volleyballs into the wheeled cart next to the storage shed. Tomoyo heard someone coming nearer, but she paid little attention, thinking whoever it was would merely be passing by...

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[Kichiro Haru]

Another day, another gym class period. After having the boys and girls separated, Kichiro ended up having to play a nice game of basketball since it was too cold to play outside….he didn’t play basketball. Luckily, by this point they all knew there was no point in giving him the ball, so he was left alone really. Very rarely he would get it, and very rarely would he actually make a basket. Still, he did a pretty decent job at keeping up team spirit, even if he was not the sports star of the year.

Speaking of that, he had kept an eye over at the girls playing volleyball for several reasons. The first, well, he was a guy watching girls jumping around, and secondly, Tomoyo. She was the star sports person of….just about every sport in the school. Every club wanted her to join, but she seemed pretty confident about not wanting to do such a thing. Still, just watching her play he could see why they wanted her. She was just excellent, and that was it. There were rumors she wanted to run for class president, and admittedly, he had a feeling she’d win easily at this rate.

However, there wasn’t time to dwell on the girl, and soon gym was over and done. Kichiro was sweaty, but not as much as those that actually played. Seeing as there was still some cleanup to do, Kichiro was tempted to stay behind, but eventually headed towards the locker-room. It didn’t take too long before he was dressed, but do to some people messing with him and moving his stuff he was the last to leave, and even then he was in a rush cause he really wanted to get out of there. Coming back out, he noticed Tomoyo was heading outside, still in her gym uniform and carrying volleyballs, kicking two around.

Seeing as it looked like she was having some trouble, Kichiro started behind her to try and see if he could help her out some. He wasn’t in a rush, though the coldness of the weather sort of made him wished he had a coat with him. Heading out the door, he looked around and found that she was leaning over the volleyball cart and placing the volleyballs in it. Walking towards her, he failed to notice that his shoestrings, not very well tied due to his early rush, were starting to flop around.

”Excuse, Sakagami-san, did you need…”

At that point his foot caught on the shoestring, and Kichiro found himself flying straight to the ground. It didn’t hurt, just sting, but as he tried to find a way up he found his hand grabbing onto something soft…that was not a good sign. When he finally got the chance to see what it was, well, he found his hand right on Tomoyo’s rear. On the bright side, his face wasn’t cold as all the heat rushed up to it in a serious blush, but Kichiro’s brain was pretty quick to shut down and turn him into a babbling idiot.

”I, wait, I didn’t, it was an, I….”

[Sakagami Tomoyo]

Sakagami Tomoyo

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She heard a male’s voice behind her, then a shuffle of ground and feet. Tomoyo had barely looked over her shoulder to see who it was before she felt an unwelcome, molesting hand on her rear end. About that human instinct called the “fight or flight response”… Sakagami Tomoyo wasn’t the kind of person whose first reaction was the latter of the two.

She didn’t hear Kichiro’s pititful attempt at an apology (and if she had, she wouldn't have been able to comprehend it), nor had she even identified him yet. Her body moved on its own. After all, she used to be a delinquent with a chip on her shoulder… she needed good reflexes, and those reflexes of her past self definitely had been retained. Her leg met Kichiro’s side in a high sweeping kick, strong enough to knock anyone off their feet and send them flopping along the ground for a good distance, at least three meters.

And that was exactly what happened.

Tomoyo strode over to the crumpled body of the boy, her long, silver hair streaming behind her. She was obviously irritated. Who wouldn’t be after suddenly being butt-grabbed? Well, perhaps some people would be frightened after such an ordeal, but Tomoyo was not one of those people. Now who was this unknown assailant of hers? She nudged him with the tip of her shoe so that she could see his face. It was as if using her shoe offered her protection from the abomination before her.

“… Haru-san?” The girl’s voice held a tone of both disbelief and disgust. He was a senior in the same gym period. Tomoyo had always thought of him as a decent, although slightly awkward kind of guy. Perhaps she was wrong about the decent part. “Tch. I didn’t know you of all people were a pervert,” she frowned, her arms crossed as she stood over him. Yes, the boy was very red in the face, but Tomoyo reasoned it was not a blush from shame or guilt or embarrassment, but rather, a perverted blush.

[/size]

[Kichiro Haru]

Apparently Tomoyo’s honed sports instincts also served her well outside off the volleyball courts. In the aftermath of his groping, Kichiro soon found a leg swinging right towards him, smashing right into the side. For about three meters he got to experience the feeling of flying, but the landing wasn’t so soft. Smashing into the ground, Kichiro just kind of laid there. He was sort of hoping that if he just laid there like a dead animal, Tomoyo would simply leave him alone and he wouldn’t have to suffer anything else. That, and he was in too much pain to be able to really do anything else in response to her; at least he now knew why she was so good at sports. That kick had a lot behind it….

Seems his plan of playing dead, however, failed as he soon heard her approach him, followed by being turned over with her shoe. Great, he was apparently nothing more than some bug she was glancing over. From his position, well, things could be worse, so he kept his eyes off her to try and avoid anything else. The tone of her voice already told him she wasn’t too happy about this development, and the way she emphasized you alongside pervert didn’t help things either. Scooting back a little, Kichiro sat up to try and save something of dignity (did he have that to start with?) in this situation.

”But, but, well, i-it was an accident, I swear! I just, I just tripped on a shoelace that I didn’t tie right, a-and when I tried to get up my hand just, kind of……but I wasn’t trying to be a pervert I swear! I’d never try and grab your butt like that!...”

In a state of panic, Kichiro’s thought process was rather screwed up. That last statement sounded rather rude, as if there was something wrong with Tomoyo that would mean a pervert wouldn’t want to do something like that. While he never thought Tomoyo to be one to overly care about her looks, with most of the blood in his body going to his face, his brain wasn’t working right and so he figured she would still want to be flattered.

”Not, you know, that there is anything wrong with your butt or anything. I-it looks great….” of course he could see WHY that sounded worse considering this situation,”Not like I’m watching it all the time or anything….”

All frenzied up, Kichiro just put his head on his knees, trying to cover his head up in shame. This was not going the way he wanted it to go, and if anything was probably just making it all worse for him to keep talking. He figured it would just be better to just be quiet now and take whatever Tomoyo was going to do to him….

[/blockquote]

[Sakagami Tomoyo]

Sakagami Tomoyo

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Tomoyo eyed Kichiro’s actions warily, prepared to kick him right back down if he tried anything weird. She listened impatiently to his frantic stammering as he attempted to explain that what was practically molestation was all an accident. Tripping seemed so cliché. Tomoyo was apprehensive about trusting his words. Then again, clichés almost always had a certain degree of truth in them, didn’t they?

Tripping on a shoelace seemed too convenient, but if Tomoyo was to believe Kichiro, then that was what really happened. And then there was the main part of it all, when he groped her in an attempt to get back up after falling. Why would he grab upward instead of using his hands to push himself off the ground? He really is a pathetic guy… the junior thought exasperatedly as Haru Kichiro went on and on with his messed up blabbering.

The thought hadn’t even crossed her mind that Kichiro had been rude by saying, “I’d never try and grab your butt like that!…”, but apparently, the boy himself thought he’d sounded rude. He was digging his own grave. Sakagami Tomoyo was not in the least bit flattered by his “compliment”. In fact, she viewed it as downright creepy.

“So you’re saying you don’t watch my butt all the time, but some of the time?” It was a rhetorical question; she really did not want an answer.

Nevertheless, she gave the pitiful senior who was now in “pillbug defense mode” the benefit of the doubt, partly due to the fact that she didn’t want to waste any more time, and also because she didn’t want to have to explain why there was a corpse on school grounds.

Tomoyo sighed. “Nevermind. Just get up and stop digging your hole, Haru-san. I’ll think of this incident as an accident, but you should pray it doesn’t happen again.” It wasn’t really a threat, but more of a warning like those necessary statements on TV medicine commercials, especially those crazy ones that say, “May cause death.”

“Hey, I’m going to finish putting those volleyballs away. Don’t run off yet.” she told him.

She turned her back on Kichiro, piled the remaining volleyballs into the cart, and rolled it into the unlocked storage shed. Tomoyo didn’t have the key to lock it, but she knew that it would be locked later, so she just closed the door when she was done.

“Now that that’s done, were you planning on doing something after school today?” she asked Kichiro. It was a question that came out of nowhere. “If not, you should come with me. But of course, that’s after I change out of my gym uniform.”

Operation Starfish, for lack of a better name for Fuko’s strange goal, had stagnated. Tomoyo figured drafting some new blood into the Operation would push it along a bit. Would it be dangerous to have a person like Kichiro around? Probably not.

Plus, Tomoyo figured that Kichiro was by now pretty much obliged to obey anything that she asked of him. Not that she would force him to help Fuko against his will. She just wanted him to meet her and decide for himself if he wanted to help. After all, an unmotivated person would be no help at all.

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[Kichiro Haru]

Kichiro could just tell by Tomoyo’s look at him right now that she really wasn’t believing a word that he was saying right now. Still, he was trying to explain it all, but the more he thought about it all, admittedly he could see why it was hard to believe. Tripping shoelaces, grabbing stuff to get up and not pushing (though in his defense of that, grabbing and holding something would have been a good idea after tripping to ensure steadying yourself…). And of course, his really unnecessary attempt to not be ‘rude’ was digging his own grave (again, hindsight twenty twenty….). However, considering that in panicked states rhetorical questions aren’t really “rhetorical”, Kichiro’s first thought was how to answer the question with minimal pain. The best way to him was to be honest, which soon brought back a rather noticeable blush as he started his move into a ‘fetal position.’

”Uhm, well, maybe a little bit in gym, but I wouldn’t dare touch it….” he mumbled off. Right now he had to look rather pathetic, especially since he was the upperclassmen to this girl. Ah, what the hell did that matter in a situation like this. If the situation was reversed and he had a spine like Tomoyo he’d probably be reacting the same way. He was rather glad, however, to hear that she was willing to make him shut up and stop making it worse for him, and more importantly to brush it off as an accident this time.

”Thank you…” he responded quietly, looking up a bit as she mentioned that she was going to put away the rest of the volleyballs. He just stayed put, though at least he had the decency to stand up and brush himself off a little bit and clean up. Eventually she returned, and asked if he had any plans. He didn’t really have any, and even if he did he doubted it would really matter. Right now he owed her big time, really, really big time. As in he’d probably try and fight some gang members because he felt so guilty about it all…..wait, didn’t she used to fight gang members. Oh crap, what if that was what she wanted him to do!?

Well, he did just say in his mind he’d do anything that she asked to make it up to her, and if that meant he was going to have to join her in battle against gang members, well, he’d do it. He wondered how much funerals cost around here….In all that thought he almost missed her second comment about coming with her after she changed gym clothes. That of course snapped him right back into attention as his mind raced to prove once again that he really wasn’t that perverted of a person as his actions had shown.

”Nope, I have absolutely nothing else to do today so I will simply stay right here looking as far away from you as possible while you change and get ready. Yep, will be right here looking away.” he replied, crossing his arms and turning away, facing towards just the random school wall and ignoring her completely.

[/blockquote]

[Sakagami Tomoyo]

Sakagami Tomoyo

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“Yeah... you wouldn’t want to do otherwise,” the junior commented, trusting that Kichiro would do as he said he would, which meant he would do absolutely nothing. Haru-san’s talking had become unnaturally deliberate. It was obvious he was trying to redeem himself (was that really possible?), or at he was trying to prevent himself from falling any lower in Tomoyo’s eyes. At least the 16-year-old girl no longer viewed him as a sick pervert, but instead, just a pathetic, pitiable, typical guy. Well... she had to admit Kichiro was honest.

---

Haru Kichiro had kept his promise. Sakagami Tomoyo changed out of her gym uniform and into her school uniform in peace, with Kichiro staying far away. When she returned to where she left him, he was still there. Haru-san reminded Tomoyo of a puppy, although he obviously lacked that sort of charm that young animals have. He only was like a puppy in the way he stayed there obediently, even in the cold weather. She felt a tad guilty about making him wait outside the school building...

But since he had stayed put, Tomoyo felt she could trust that he wouldn’t run away now. She wouldn’t need to drag him by the wrist after all. “Sorry for making you wait,” she apologized as she approached Kichiro. It wasn’t that kind of “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” kind of apology, but instead, more of a polite one. “Let’s go, then. The place is inside, so you’ll be able to warm up a bit.” Tomoyo hadn’t noticed the young man’s fear over the request earlier. After all, she had been busy cleaning the equipment up.

---

The two made their way through the school corridors which were mainly tranquil and empty due to it being after school. Most people were already in their clubrooms by now, and the uninvolved students already left. Tomoyo and Kichiro traveled in silence for the most part, mainly due to the fact that Tomoyo had been looking straight ahead the whole time, signaling that she didn’t want to talk on the way there. She would only say things like, “I just want you to meet somebody,” and, “We’re almost there now.” What else was there to be said?

When they stood in front of the usual empty classroom, Tomoyo peered inside. There she was, as always. Things were a little different now since their first meeting, though. Fuu-chan was boarding with the Fujibayashi household now, wasn’t she?

“This is it,” the silver-haired girl said to Kichiro, and without a second’s delay and while ignoring any signs of uncertainty coming from the boy, she pulled him by the arm and into the room, occupied by one Ibuki Fuko.

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[Kichiro Haru]

No I would not…

[/b] Kichiro responded mentally when Tomoyo sort-of threatened him to keep his promise. However, he was determined to keep his promise and to try and redeem himself for Tomoyo…or at least not lower her ideas about him any further than they probably were by this point. Keeping his eyes strictly ahead of him, he didn’t even dare look around or behind him in fear of his eye catching something he was not supposed to see. Of course, just standing there was rather boring, but it was worth it to at least not sustain any further injuries to himself.

Of course, he jumped a little when Tomoyo finally returned; being constantly on guard was a good way to make you jump at everything that came to you. Calming down rather quickly, he turned around to face Tomoyo as she told him that there was somewhere to go and it was going to be inside and get warm. He wasn’t that cold, but that was probably cause his earlier embarrassment and blushing had kept his face pretty warmed up and fine.

”Okay then, I’ll be right, uhm, next to you I guess would be the best place to be…” he responded, realizing walking behind her after all this would be, well, a bad idea. He didn’t want to explore that thought any further than it had already gone.

------------------

Eventually they made their way into the school corridors. It was kind of creepy with no one around, but he followed anyway since he really had no choice. The walk itself had been rather quiet; a mixture of Tomoyo obviously not wanting to talk, and Kichiro to embarrassed and awkward to think of anything to talk about. The only things she ever said was that there was something that she was wanting him to meet. He didn’t ask who, but figured that if it was someone from the school they couldn’t be that bad, right? There wasn’t much of a delinquent problem here; the two big ones were that Okazaki and Sunohara, and even they didn’t seem half bad.

Eventually they arrived in front of a room, with Tomoyo peering inside to probably see who it was. Soon he was pulled inside, and there he spotted the only other occupant of the room; a small, grey-haired girl. Well, Tomoyo was right about meeting someone; he had no clue who this person was. Still, remembering his manners, he introduced himself to the girl.

”Hello there, my name is Haru, Kichiro. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”[/size][/blockquote]

[whammy]

Another day, another round of starfish. With the assistance of the Fujibayashi twins and Tomo-chan, Fuko had noticed the amount of people accepting her starfish was on the rise. It was a quadruple threat; the tag-team cuteness of her and Ryou, combined with the elegance of Tomoyo, and pure fear that Kyou inspired made them an unbeatable team! Still, Fuko was the best carver of the group, and so the job of making the actual starfish was still primarily hers. Sure, Tomoyo and the others helped, but Fuko was adamant that her starfish were the best. Not wanting to argue, they let her take the job.

So here she was, in the quiet safety of a room in the school. Wood shavings covered the floor as starfish were piled up on the desk beside her. Engrossed in the act, she careful cut out the starfish shape she desired. She had to admit one thing about the others; they had taught her to carve in a way that greatly reduced the amount of cuts her hands had. In fact, she had healed enough she didn’t need to wear the bandages anymore. That was probably a good thing; the Fujibayashi’s grandmother had been wondering what was with the bandages (and starfish, but that was easy to explain).

Eventually, however, she heard footsteps coming in, and Fuko turned to find Tomoyo looking inside the room. Moments later, however, the girl dragged a boy into the room. Fuko just looked over at them, wondering what was going on. Why would Tomoyo be dragging a boy around unless….HE WAS TOMOYO’S BOYFRIEND! Yes, that had to be the explanation for Tomoyo’s action. She had yet to see Tomoyo really hanging out with male friends, so this boy coming out of nowhere had to have been some secret boyfriend she had. While less confident acting than her sister’s fiancé, the awkward behavior he exhibited seemed a lot like how her sister’s fiancé acted around her sister. Whatever the case, the boy came around to introduce himself. Fuko was ov course polite enough to respond.

”Fuko is glad to meet you.” she respond before she turned towards Tomoyo to give out her thoughts on the whole situation. She wanted to know why she suddenly brought someone who might be her boyfriend. Was she going to make him help out on their mission?

”Tomo-chan, is Haru-san here your boyfriend? He’s acting a lot like Fuko’s fiancé can act when around Fuko’s sister….OH!”

Acting as if that was nothing big and personal, Fuko ran over to the starfish and picked one up. Running back towards Kichiro, she held one up to him. She had to do this before she forgot; Tomoyo may have gotten to him already but had to make sure he knew what this was all about.

”Please take this starfish; Tomoyo might have already told you about them. Please come and congratulate Fuko’s sister on her wedding day.”

[/blockquote]

[Sakagami Tomoyo]

Sakagami Tomoyo

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She observed that Fuko must’ve been working on the starfish again. That much was evident by the wood shavings scattered on the floor and the carvings piled on a desk.

The meeting started out normally at first. Kichiro introduced himself to Fuu-chan, who responded just as normally... besides the entire third-person talking the freshman girl always did, of course. Tomoyo said good afternoon after the introductions were done. However, Tomoyo knew everything would soon turn abnormal, but she wasn’t expecting the abnormality to sprout around herself and Kichiro instead of starfishes.

“Tomo-chan, is Haru-san here your boyfriend?” asked Fuko. It was such a direct question, and what a wrong assumption it was... Where did she even get the idea?

A girl who angered easily over incorrect inferences about her relationship status might have punched or kicked someone. A girl who had been asked such an intrusive question might have blushed or grown shy and nervous. Tomoyo was neither of those, so she just set her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Not at all.” she said succinctly. How could Fuu-chan even think that? The junior sighed, slightly annoyed. She wasn’t annoyed with Fuko, but Kichiro. She turned her head to him. “If that’s the case, then Haru-san, please quit acting like Fuu-chan’s sister’s fiancé.”

The usual routine went as it always did, with Fuko presenting a hand-hewn wooden starfish carving and then explaining its purpose. Tomoyo hadn’t told Kichiro anything beforehand, so it was a good thing that Fuko followed the same ritualistic method almost all the time.

“As you can see, she’s working very hard to make sure her sister’s wedding will be a success.” Tomoyo added. To be honest, she didn’t even know who Fuko’s sister was, nor had Tomoyo learned much more about the strange, unnatural story behind the small girl who couldn’t go home to her own house. At first, Fuko seemed like a typical freshman with a couple of eccentricities. But there was a lot more to her, wasn’t there?

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[Kichiro Haru]

Well, so far things weren’t going bad. The girl actually seemed rather polite and friendly towards him. She looked to be younger, probably a first year student. Kichiro did have to wonder how exactly Tomoyo met this girl. She didn’t seem to be the kind of person that Tomoyo would hang out with, so how they met would be an interesting question to ask. Of course, he would wait till he was on better terms with Tomoyo before doing such a thing. And about five seconds in to this meeting it seemed that was a doomed cause.

”I-I’m not,”

Before he could even make the denial of it all, Tomoyo was answering in the negative. She then turned towards him and told HIM to not act like Fuko’s sister’s fiancé…he didn’t even know who that WAS! Fuko was the one making a random assumption and he was the one getting blamed for it?! By this point he didn’t even bother to get upset about it. There really was no point in getting upset about it, though by looking at his face one could tell he was a little upset about it. Resigned to being quiet, however, he instead just focused on the business of the day here.
Soon Fuko was handing him a wooden…starfish? That was a strange thing to do. Of course, the explanation about it was even weirder, though it made Fuko’s earlier comment make more sense. So she was trying to give out these starfish as a gift to get people to come to her sister’s wedding. Tomoyo, of course, was there to prod him into accepting the gift, but admittedly even he realized how sweet the gesture was. He took a hold of the starfish and held it.

”Thank you Fuko, I’d be glad to attend your sister’s wedding….who is your sister anyway?”

Whenever Fuko gave him the answer to that question, Kichiro switched his focus over to Tomoyo to see if he could get a little more info on whatever it was that was going on around here. Something just seemed odd about it, and more importantly, he wanted to know how the heck Tomoyo and Fuko met up like this. Not that they couldn’t be friends of course, it just seemed an odd situation to get into.

”So Tomoyo, how exactly did you meet Fuko anyway? Not there is anything wrong with it, but you have to admit this is an odd situation…”

[/blockquote]

[whammy]

Fuko looked confused as Kichiro began to freak out, but combined with Tomoyo’s statement, it was clear that these two were, in fact, not in a relationship. That had to be an embarrassing thing for her to say then, and apparently had caused some emotional harm to the boy. Oh well, the truth was out now and the issue has been resolved. However, Fuko looked a little upset when Tomoyo said Haru should stop acting like her sister’s fiancé. He was a very nice person from what she understood her sister said, and anyone that her sister loved had to be a paragon of goodness. Implying that someone should not act like him seemed to be a negative comment to Fuko.

”But Fuko’s sister’s fiancée is a very nice person. There is nothing wrong acting like him.”

Naivety aside, Fuko soon returned to the business of the starfish. She was glad to see that Kichiro was quick to take up the starfish, and more importantly, quick to realize this was an invitation to the wedding and not wanting simple thank you. However, his question did bring up a point that she had forgotten to mention. Easily resolved question to do though.

”Fuko’s sister used to be an art teacher here at the school, and I want to get all the students here at the school to attend her wedding. Because of that I have to keep carving these starfish!”

With that, Fuko turned to carve more starfish, but a quick look at the scene she noticed that she did not have any more wood to carve with. She was going to have to make a run to the art room and borrow more wood for her starfish. After telling the two of them what she was going to be up to, Fuko left them alone as she went to go get the wood. It would be a pretty quick trip; after all, she had done this trip plenty of times before.

[/blockquote]

[Sakagami Tomoyo]

Sakagami Tomoyo

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Irritation was written on Haru Kichiro’s face, and Tomoyo couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt over her actions toward the boy. Maybe she had overdone it. She cast her blue eyes away for a second and frowned at herself, but quickly turned her attention back to the two, figuring it would do no good to feel bad about it, and instead, she resolved to make it up to Haru-san in some way or another.

She stood there and watched Kichiro accept the starfish. He asked one of the most frequently asked questions. Who was Fuko’s sister, anyway? The junior had already heard the explanation several times before. Fuko’s sister used to work as an art teacher at Hikarizaka High School, and now Fuko was trying to get the students to attend the wedding.

However... the only problem was that most, if not all of the current students at Hikarizaka High did not know Ibuki-sensei. The last class that could possibly have had Ibuki-sensei as a teacher had already graduated. Tomoyo wondered if Fuko knew this as well. She probably did. It wasn’t like Fuko was an idiot. She could be strange, but the girl wasn’t that oblivious, right?

Tomoyo waved Fuko goodbye as the short girl went to retrieve more wood for carving. She expected an awkward silence to ensue with only Haru-san and herself left in the room, but instead, was prompted with a question from the senior, to which she was glad to give an answer to.

“So Tomoyo,” he asked, “how exactly did you meet Fuko anyway? Not that there is anything wrong with it, but you have to admit this is an odd situation...”

Tomoyo tilted her head to the side, trying to recall the circumstances under which she and Fuko got to be acquainted with one another. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess it is kind of odd, isn’t it? It was after school,“ the silver-haired girl told him. “She was handing out those carvings, and some guys started picking on her. Obviously, I couldn’t just walk by and not say anything...” she paused, wondering if she should add in the rest of the details.

In the end, she decided to omit them. That seemed to be enough of an explanation. “So... yeah, that’s how I got to know her, and here I am, helping her now.“

[/size]

[Kichiro Haru]

Kichiro was at least glad that Fuko was on his side, though the full value of that alliance he did not know. Still, glad she was being nice. Not that Tomoyo wasn’t nice but, well, just hadn’t been a good day between him and her at the moment. Then again, Fuko was probably just defending her sister’s fiancé; after all, the way Tomoyo said it made it sound like it was a bad thing to act like him. Seeing as she was doing all of this for her, it wouldn’t have been surprising for her to be defensive of the fiancé to, right?

Well, whatever the situation, Fuko was soon running out of the room to get more wood, leaving him all alone with Tomoyo. After all the awkward silence, he finally relented to as her how exactly she had gotten mixed up in all of this mess. He had slightly expected her to be a little snappy about her answer, but he was glad to see that she was rather nice and actually told him without being mean about it. It sounded sort of sweet what she said though; defending the young girl from some bullies before deciding to help her out with the starfish. Hmm, that was the Tomoyo he had heard so many rumors about.

”Well, admittedly it was less odd than I had thought. It was nice of you to stand up to her, though I don’t know why anyone would pick on her. She seems like such a sweet, if odd, girl….”

Still, something seemed off about all of this. Even though he could see why Tomoyo would be wanting to help her out with all this, there was just something about the girl he thought off. He couldn’t place a finger on it, but just that odd feeling you sometimes got when something didn’t seem right. Still, he hid his thoughts for now; if something else was going on, Tomoyo and them would tell him about it later, right? Besides, it was rude to talk about someone behind their backs like this….Speaking of which, Fuko soon came back running into the room with a handful of starfish and an extra knife.

”Oh, Fuko, you…”

Before he finished, Fuko came running towards him and pushed the wood into his arms. Stumbling a second, Kichiro tried to ask what was happening, but then realized Fuko probably just wanted him to carry them and set them down somewhere. A girl her size probably didn’t have the strength to carry them for too long. Walking over to where the other starfish were, he set the wood down and straightened it out before turning around to Fuko….who was glaring intently at the starfish.

”Is something wrong Fuko?”

”….hold your starfish close to you.”

Before he could say “What?”, Fuko repeated the command, and he followed. Taking a hold of it, Kichiro brought it up to his chest and held it close. He wasn’t sure if he was to cradle it like a baby or something, so he just held it by the legs of the starfish up to him. Fuko just studied him closely, staring with a deep intent as if looking into his soul. It was kind of creepy really, but soon Fuko stopped, closed her eyes for a second, and then quickly pointed towards him.

”NO! This is not a cute and adorable scene. There is something inherently unadorable about you holding a starfish like that!”

”Huhhhhhh?!” Kichiro responded, sweat dropping as he had no clue whatsoever on how to respond to that. He wasn’t adorable holding the starfish? And what in the world did that even mean?! What was wrong with this girl?! Flustered, he just looked towards Tomoyo see if she could offer any hints on what he was to do now. He turned his head around when Fuko started to talk again.

”However, as a friend of Tomo-chan, Fuko will allow you to help work on the starfish anyway so please feel free to grab a knife and begin carving.” she responded, confidently and with a nod as Kichiro just looked as confused as ever. Whatever it was, he had a feeling that Fuko had finally accepted him…

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[Sakagami Tomoyo]

Sakagami Tomoyo

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Kichiro’s response wasn’t anything unexpected. He understood the situation and also seemed to be fond of Fuko after meeting her. Indeed, Fuko often gave off positive, if not a little odd, first impressions, much like how the brown-haired boy said. The oddness always seemed to come from the starfish obsession Fuko had, as well as the childish naivety she happened to possess. But yes, Fuko was certainly a sweet girl. Tomoyo merely nodded her head acknowledging Kichiro’s comments. She sensed that Kichiro was probably still contemplating over things when the sound of quick, pattering footsteps entered the room.

Tomoyo turned around to welcome Fuko’s return to the room. That was quick. The small girl was running with an armful of wooden blocks for carving before shoving them into Kichiro’s arms, with Tomoyo left feeling a little useless without a task. She stood by and watched Kichiro place the blocks near the finished starfish, and before he turned around to face Fuko again, Tomoyo could already see Fuko’s gaze intensely fixed on the starfish.

“... Hold your starfish close to you,” she heard Fuu-chan’s voice. Sakagami Tomoyo had heard that line before, when she and Fuko and first met. She remembered following Fuko’s demands, and was then told that it was a perfect scene... or something like that. The sixteen-year-old raised her brow as she observed from the sidelines.

She had expected the same pleased reaction when Kichiro obeyed, but instead, Fuko vehemently disapproved of the sight. “NO! This is not a cute and adorable scene,” Fuko objected. According to her, the way Kichiro held it was unadorable... was it simply because he was a guy? Tomoyo merely shrugged and shook her head when Kichiro looked helplessly at her. She couldn’t give him any help, for she was just as lost as he was.

Still, Fuko accepted Kichiro’s help, although Tomoyo didn’t recall Kichiro offering any of his help... Regardless, what else could Kichiro have been brought here to do? This was the whole reason Tomoyo brought him here in the first place, so she was rather happy with this development. She took Fuko’s words as her own cue to start carving as well, and so she made her way over to the cluster of desks where the ground was littered with wood shavings.

As she passed by Kichiro, she said to him, “Hey... thanks. You’re a pretty good guy.” He was being great sport about all of this. Other people might have already gotten fed up with everything and left. With that said, Tomoyo took a knife and a wooden block, and sat herself down at one of the many empty desks and began to work, prepared to carve away the rest of the afternoon in the company of Ibuki Fuko and Haru Kichiro. They truly would need to do a lot of cleaning up later...

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