Timeline: Somewhere around the end of the first volume and the beginning of the second.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I am not the current, former, or future owner of Dengeki Daisy.

Taboo Word

Teru considered herself to be a very kind person. Perhaps she was a bit slow at times, and maybe she wasn't as feminine as she probably should be, but she was a pretty nice girl, overall. And it was because she was nice that she could not, no matter how much it would later benefit society, take the rake in her hand and bring it down, hard, one the head of one certain lazy janitor.

Because nice people did not do that kind of stuff, she continued to remind herself as she sent a glare at the lazy man.

"Hurry it up, slave," the bane of her existence said, unconcerned by the glare. He took another sip of his cola, and leaned back in the white lawn chair that he had borrowed from the shool shed. Not once did he lift his gaze off the screen of his laptop.

Teru had no doubt that he was playing Tetris. Again. She had to force herself to not tighten her grip on the rake. The last thing she needed was for the handle to crack and provide Kurosaki with a new reason to dump even more work on her.

Keep calm, keep calm, keep calm, she chanted to herself. He's just a stupid janitor. A stupid janitor who should go bald for making her spend her lunch hour raking up leave.

"Stop spacing out and finish up. I'm getting cold." The stupid janitor complained.

"You could help you know." Teru couldn't help muttering under her breath as she gave the leaves a particularly vicious sweep.

"Nah, that's what you're here for." He was smirking. Even though her back was to him, she just knew he was smirking.

Go bald Kurosaki, she cursed him silently, redoubling her efforts on the leaves. They swirled around her from the excess force unleashed upon them. She was making more of a mess than before.

"What's wrong with you anyway?" Kurosaki asked, finishing off the last of his soda. He crushed the can and tossed it over his shoulder into the trashcan by the wall. "You've been frowning ever since you got here. Miss eating with your friends?"

"I sent Daisy a text days ago," Teru confessed, sighing. "But he still hasn't answered. I'm getting worried."

"Maybe he's finally showing his true colors," Kurosaki said with feigned disinterest, reaching into his pocket to pull out another cigarette. His fingers brushed what remained of his phone after some idiot, and now very sorry, kid bumped into him while he was reading Teru's message. "Probably realized how pathetic he is, chatting with a grade school kid."

Teru snapped.

In her defense, even nice people have their limits.

"Go bald!" She shouted, throwing aside the rake and attacking him, or more specifically, his hair.

"Hey!" he protested, jerking his head out her reach before she could grab hold. "Stop it, you psycho kid!"

"Never!" She replied, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him closer to her height. Darn him for being so tall. "And take that back! I'm not a kid!"

Kurosaki snorted grabbing her other hand before it could grab hold of his hair. "Sure you aren't, Miss A-cup."

"Pervert!" She slammed her foot into his knee, catching him off guard. He went down, clutching the injury, his shoulders shaking from the pain. "Go bald!"

She smirked, triumphantly. That's what he got for underestimating her.

"You little…" he ground out through clenched teeth. His head was bowed, his overgrown hair obscuring his eyes, but the throbbing vein at the corner of his lips was clearly visible.

Uh oh. Teru started to back away slowly, her confidence starting to ebb away in face of the dark aura starting to surround him. Maybe kicking him hadn't been that great of an idea as she had previously thought.

Kurosaki's vein twitched ominously.

Okay, time for her to leave.

"There goes the bell, time for class!" She spun around, ready to dash far, far away, but her plans were foiled by the hand clamping onto her shoulder. She immediately froze.

"And where do you think you are going," a dark voice purred into her ear.

"C-class…"

"There's still twenty minutes of lunch left." The grip on her shoulder tightened.

"Oh." She was so dead. Daisy, where are you? Help!

Kurosaki grabbed her hair, and pulled it with just enough force to tilt her head back so that he could look down at her face. "Why do you resort to violence—"

"An opening!" Her hand shot out and latched onto a clump of his hair. She yanked at it, intending to pull out just enough hairs for him to let her go.

The last thing she expected was for all of his hair to come off.

She gaped soundlessly at the bald head that was revealed, too stunned to remember her plans of running away. No way, no way, no way.

She only vaguely heard Kurosaki rub his head, his bald head, and mutter a few annoyed words about the draft. The draft? He was bald, as in no hair on his head, and he was worried about the draft? What heck was wrong with him?

"Y-you…you're…you're…b-b-b," she stammered, unable to say the suddenly taboo word.

He frowned at her as though he couldn't understand her surprise. "What?"

"You-you're bald!" she screamed, finally jerking free of his hold. Her hand, the one holding his hair, no, a wig, she realized, shook as she pointed her other hand at his bare head.

He gave her a bored look. "Why are you so surprised? Aren't you the one who's always telling me to 'go bald'?"

"Well, yes, but…" That didn't mean she actually wanted him to go bald! She just said that to relieve stress! Stress that he caused!

"And you pull out my hair all the time," he continued, unconcerned by his perfectly smooth, shiny head.

"But-but," she protested weakly, bowing her head. She did do that, but it wasn't enough to actually make him go bald right?

"And, don't you pray for me to go bald, as well as writing it on my food in ketchup?"

Well, she did do all that, but she never thought it would actually happen! She never wanted his hair to, his hair to—

"Words are a very powerful thing you know." Kurosaki said sagely. The sunlight hit his head at an angle that made it seem as though his head were surrounded by a holy light.

Teru cowered in its shine. "But…but…but…"

"It's okay." He said with a kindness that was terrifying. "I'm sure it'll grow back…someday."

"I'm so sorry!" she wailed, bowing frantically. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I never meant for you to actually go bald!"

She was still shouting apologies and bowing as she ran away before Kurosaki could extract his revenge.

Little did she know, he already had.

Kurosaki smirked, and pulled off the bald cap he had donned that morning. Darn thing was itchy and hot, especially with a wig over it, but it was definitely worth it if it would finally stop Teru from targeting his hair all the time.

FIN

I just love Teru's insult. Hehe, go bald people who don't review! ^^