Many of you are trying to make me write a Takari. Sorry, but I cannot oblige. I will write what I feel like writing when I get around to writing it. Please respect that.
On another note, as you read this fic, you may find a few things that point to a certain idea or a certain pairing. Do not assume anything. You cannot guess where I'm going with this. You never know. And you wouldn't want to feel stupid, would you? I didn't think so. So if something suddenly changes, you can only blame yourself.
Okay, now that that's out of the way, we can move on to the replies! Thanks again to anybody who reviewed, by the way.
xbabii-gurlx: Glad you liked it. Unfortunately, I don't get to update as often as I would like, but here's another one to keep you occupied!
crazyamzy: I'm glad somebody read my policies, and I'm glad you didn't find a lot of weak points. Wow, you're quite the enthusiast aren't you? I like that. Yeah, I can be a bit lengthy in descriptions, but I have to squeeze in those little extra details, right? I don't think he's that much younger, I'm not quite sure. As for Adidas, I just added that for no real reason. My own amusement truthfully. I like to think Daisuke is that charming. After all, if you were new and you had a guy just waltz up and start speaking to you, wouldn't you feel flattered? Overall, I'm glad you enjoyed it. This isn't soon, but I did write more and update! Thanks for reviewing!
Calmer of the Storm: Well, thank you very much! Hooked…I like that. I'm finding a lot of people would prefer a Takari, but I'm still not too sure (see paragraph above all replies). Spontaneous writing is fun for me. My other fics I pretty much have planned out, so this is just a little experiment. Long's not bad though, is it? I like long. Anyway, here's more of the 'good work' for your enjoyment.
Ivgie Sole: Glad you enjoyed it. Don't wait any longer, here's another chapter!
2 lazy 2 sign in: Thanks and don't worry about not logging in. I rarely do.
nEo: NEO! You reviewed this…but you haven't reviewed any of my updates lately. Where are you?! I updated Black Rose just for you! Okay actually it was for Sen-Tay but still! Back to this story. Yes! That was the effect I was going for! You know how much I love Dais, so I'm doing anything I can to have fun with his character. I continued. And yes, work woman! More Kukachi!
Artemis of the Ice: Thank you very much, I feel honored. I appreciate that, seeing how I have no idea where this is going.
miaow227: I understand if you stop reading it, I don't mind that much. Glad you can't think of any criticism. Here's an update!
Fearless Dreamer: Thanks! Here's an update!
Kelset: John, you think everything I write is good…AND BITE ME! Wait, no…you best be playing.
review lord: Thanks a million. Hilarious huh? I like that. I continued!
digiguy-01: Thanks a ton. I updated, hope you like it!
miracles-3: Thanks so much. Here's an update. Suggestions would be awesome if you had any, but I'll let you read a few more chapters before then.
Takari Fan: I'm sorry you feel that way. As stated, I prefer Takesuke over either Daikari or Takari so go figure. I made more, but I'll have to have some Daikari before I add any Takari.
Serpentia: Aw, thanks! I wrote more, hope you like it!
Okay that should be everybody. Again, thank you so much for taking time to review. And now, onto the story.
Daisuke and I wandered down the hallway in search of room 108. Actually, it was more like I was in search of room 108 and Daisuke was just taking me there. He hadn't said much since we left the cafeteria, rather keeping quiet with his hands in his pockets and his eyes straight forward.
Now, I realize I haven't known Daisuke for very long. But when you're dealing with a boy who hasn't shut up for more then three minutes at a time since you met him, and he's suddenly not even talking, you can just tell there's something wrong. I was just about to open my mouth and ask him when he stopped in front of a door and put on a cheerful grin.
"And here we are; annual. Why are you taking annual?" He asked lightly, staring at the classroom door warily.
"Mostly because I like taking pictures. I was the photographer at my last school so I decided, hey, why not try here?" I replied and shifted my bag to the opposite shoulder.
"Well then, I'm sure you'll make this year's annual look absolutely superb." He grinned.
"Wow, two points for using a big word today, Motomiya." Another male voice spoke up from behind us. Daisuke and I turned our heads and looked at the newcomer, my eyes changing to surprise and Daisuke's into a sort of anger. When I say sort, I just mean that it wasn't pure anger, but he wasn't very thrilled either.
"Shove it, Takaishi." Daisuke's eyes narrowed slightly. Takaishi murmured something under his breath and shook his head.
"Whatever, do you mind moving? You're kind of blocking the door." The blonde waved a hand vaguely at the classroom door. I immediately moved out of the way and let him walk past me into the room. In return, he regarded me with a smile and a nod before he shut the door. As soon as it had fully slid shut, Daisuke buried his fists in his hair and growled.
"Gah, he always has to make me feel stupid." He let go of his hair and shoved the fists back into his pocket, adopting a small pout in place of the glare he previously had.
"Aw, Dais, you're not that stupid!" I replied, waiting to see if he caught on to what I had just said.
"Yeah, you're right." He sighed. I raised an eyebrow and smirked. Suddenly it dawned on him.
"Wait a sec, I'm not stupid at all!" He shouted, giving me a mock-anger glare.
"No, of course not." I whistled innocently and giggled. The bell rang then, signally the end of lunch and telling everybody to get to their next class.
"Where are you headed to?" I asked my companion, leaning against the wall behind me.
"Phys Ed." A wide, goody grin spread across the tanned face rapidly.
"Figures. You're going to be late if you don't go right now." I nudged him forward.
"Ah, I'm always late, doesn't really bother the coach much."
"Why not?"
"Hello! Striker of the soccer team? They'd be screwed without me." He wiggled his eyebrows.
"Well then Mr. Confidence, go find somebody else to bother. I want to get started." I replied and opened the classroom door once more.
"All right, see ya later, Kari!" He waved at me one last time and jogged down the hallway towards the Boys locker room. I waved back briefly and stepped into the classroom, sliding the door shut behind me. The final bell sounded off and I dropped my stuff onto a table, walking up to the teacher with my transcripts and such.
"Well now, says you want to be one of the photographers." The older woman caught my eyes.
"That's right." I smiled. She smiled back and handed me the transcripts.
"I don't see how that should be a problem. We could use one permanent photographer instead of everybody taking turns. Go for it." She nodded towards a table. Sitting there was a black digital camera and three memory cards.
"Thanks! What's my first assignment?" I asked eagerly, striding over to lift up the camera.
"I think you should discuss that with the Layout editor." She pointed over to the far end of the classroom. My eyes followed her finger and landed on a white bucket hat.
Now really, who else did you expect?
I stepped up behind the blonde and looked over his shoulder at the computer screen. He was busying himself with cropping a picture of the Mathletes.
"Hi." I spoke up after a small silence. He jumped slightly and turned around, looking at me in a strange manner. Guess I caught him off-guard.
"Hey. What can I do for you?" He said back, turning his head to focus on the monitor again.
"Well, I just wanted to know what my first assignment was so I can get out there and start taking pictures." He paused in his movement and turned the chair completely around to face me.
"You're our new photographer?" His arms folded across his chest and a slightly skeptical look crossed his face.
"Yup. Is that a problem?" I replied, giving him my own skeptical look. An easy-going grin slowly flooded his face and he shook his head.
"No, not at all." His voice changed to a happy tone and he pulled out a chair next to him.
"Have a seat." He offered. I walked closer and sat down, looking at his work on the picture.
"What are you working on exactly?" I asked curiously and leaned closer.
"Just trying to un-blur this picture, but it doesn't seem to want to co-operate." He clicked a few more buttons and waited. The picture became even more blurry and he slammed his palms down on the desk.
"Damn it!" He shouted and pushed himself away from the computer. I chuckled slightly and took his place to try and figure out what he was doing wrong.
"Ah, here we go. See, you've got the sizing way too big. That's why it keeps blurring on you." I explained to him and resized the picture. I sharpened the picture a tiny bit and sat back to reveal my work. He blinked in amazement and choked on a laugh.
"Wow, I feel really stupid now." He rubbed the back of his neck and scooted back in front of the monitor. He saved the picture and selected 'print', sitting back while the request was being carried out.
"No you're not stupid. You just need to be more observant of your work." I said and got up to grab the picture. I looked down at it and smiled. I like admiring my work, even if I didn't take the picture. I handed the paper to Takaishi and sat in my seat again.
"Thanks." He nodded once and studied the picture.
"Anytime." I shrugged and toyed with the camera, exploring all of the different buttons and gadgets for it. He nodded his head in approval once more and extended his hand.
"Nice to have you here, Yagami."
And you know my name how?
"I overheard Arishima this morning."
Did I say that aloud?
"Obviously."
I hate it when I do that! Like, you say something in your mind, yet you subconsciously say it out loud. Makes me worry about what else I've said aloud accidentally. Maybe I'm looking into this too much, I've only known the guy for what? A day and a half?
"Well then, perhaps if you overheard Arishima, you would prefer to call me by my first name?" I replied smoothly, trying to ignore the fact that I had possibly made myself look foolish.
"Oh, well, yeah. That is, if I knew your first name." He grinned sheepishly. I shook my head and laughed, finally shaking his hand.
"Hikari. Kari. Whichever." I introduced myself, idly tossing around the idea of how this boy could be so bad. He seemed perfectly normal to me.
"Well then Kari, I'm Ta-"
"Takaishi, I already know. Prefer me to call you Takeru?" I cut him off.
"Actually, call me TK. Takeru sounds too formal for my liking." He waved a hand casually, turning back to his monitor.
"Makes enough sense."
"Of course. Do I look like a professional? I think not." He grinned again and began cropping another picture.
"Dork." Was the first thing that came to mind and slipped out before I could stop it. I instantly regretted it. I mean, you don't call a person you barely met a dork. It's just downright rude. Although, apparently he didn't think it was rude, for he began to laugh again.
"You're quite a character, Yagami. Seriously." He spoke between laughs and shook his head to calm down. I blinked in surprise and tilted my head in question.
"What's that suppose to mean?" I asked carefully, not sure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult.
"Nothing. Think nothing of it." He replied airily.
"Fine."
"Why are you here?" He suddenly switched gears.
"What?"
"Why are you here?" he repeated.
"Because I signed up for this class?"
"No, no, no. Why are you here at Odaiba Junior High? I've never seen you before." He clarified his question.
"Parents are weird, moved us everywhere across the country, finally decided to move us here, to make a long story short." I explained, popping the memory card out of the black camera.
"Why did they move you everywhere?"
"As previously stated, they're weird. They just enjoy exploring new places. But now that Tai and I are getting older, they want us to actually grow up with one group of friends for the rest of our schooling. Or something to that affect." I said in a confused manner, trying to figure out what I had just said. I guess he understood it though because he nodded in understanding. Wow, I just thought through that sentence. It sounded stupid, didn't it? Yes, I thought so too.
"Well, can I give you some advice about going to OJH?" He offered with his eyes glued to the monitor.
"Sure, knock yourself out." I slid my own chair up to the computer next to his, draping the camera around my neck and popping a clear memory card into the slot.
"Don't stick around Motomiya."
Oh, so this is why Daisuke doesn't like him.
"Why not?" I asked innocently, waiting to see what his reasoning was to hate the goggle-boy.
"Because he's a freak?" He stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Doesn't seem like a freak, maybe a little weird, but not a freak." I defended Daisuke briefly.
"He's a freak. Trust me."
"Why?" TK stopped typing his caption and turned to look at me.
"Well, it's kind of hard to explain. He's extremely, well, psychotic. That's the only way to really describe it." He shrugged it off.
"At least define psychotic." I persisted him. He opened his mouth to respond, just as we heard a lot of hollering and cheering. Both of our faces held identical looks of confusion and we got up. I followed him to the classroom door and he slid it open, poking his head out into the hallway. I stood right behind him, peering out over his shoulder.
"Oh lord." TK muttered to himself and shook his head in disgust. I was about to head back to my seat, since there really wasn't much going on when suddenly Daisuke slid by the door, clad in nothing but his boxers and white cotton socks. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped, covering my mouth to suppress my giggles.
"Idiot." TK proclaimed and headed back into the classroom, giving me plenty of room.
"This should be fun." I whispered to myself, raising the camera up to my face. Just my luck, Daisuke ran by again. With my quick reflexes, I focused the camera and pressed the button, taking the shot clearly before he could leave my sight. I giggled again and slid the door shut as more people began to look out in the halls, sashaying back over to my computer and chair. I plopped down next to TK and ejected the memory card, shoving it into the drive plugged into the CPU.
"This is why I call him a freak. He does stupid stuff like that." TK returned to our previous conversation.
"Why? Just for laughs?" I asked back, opening the editing program and uploading the picture.
"Pretty much. The only people who really get true laughs out of it are his jock buddies." Was the retort given. I nodded to show I was still listening and opened the file, laughing quietly when I noticed that Daisuke was wearing blue boxers with rubber duckies on them, captured in a surfing stance.
"I don't know about that, TK. Sounds like there's more people then that laughing, judging by the noise in the hall." I commented.
"There's a difference between being laughed with and being laughed at." The blonde informed as he watched me carefully.
"You think everybody else is laughing at him?"
"Obviously. Motomiya isn't somebody everybody wants to be friends with. He's just an oddball who does random shit to get attention." He scoffed.
"Daisuke told me that if I ever needed to find him, I could always ask anybody where he is and they'd know. Doesn't that say something?" I remembered that tip.
"Yes. It says that it doesn't take a genius to know that he's either on the field or in the principal's office. That's just a given."
"Does he get in trouble often?"
"Are you kidding? Motomiya spends more time in the office and in ISD then he does in his actual classes. That boy has problems. Seriously. Don't stick around him if you want some form of a reputation."
I had to admit, TK was laying it on Daisuke pretty hard. Then again, Daisuke wasn't all sunshine and butterflies about TK either. I wonder what could possibly be so bad to make them hate each other. Maybe there's something deeper to it then just blind hate. Maybe, they had a past together and like, something went horribly wrong in their friendship like a huge fist-fight or an act of betrayal or…a murder!
…
Or maybe I'm looking into it too much. Yeah…that's it. 'It's just simple rivalry, get a grip Hikari.' I shook my head to erase bizarre thoughts. I blame my brother for my over-active imagination. Trust me, if you lived with him too, you would only be partially sane. That boy does not even begin to live in reality.
"What are you doing?" TK's voice announced itself into my cloud of oddity.
"Cropping, lighting, blurring, and printing." I replied with each task as I performed them. I scooted myself over to the printer and pulled out the picture of Daisuke.
"Oh you're kidding! Kari!" TK whined slightly. I grinned at his child-like response and slipped the picture into my binder.
"I happen to think it's funny, so I'm going to keep it…and possibly use it as blackmail." I added as an after-thought. TK shook his head again and shut down his computer.
"Whatever floats the boat, I suppose."
"Your." I corrected him.
"My what?"
"No, I mean it's your, not the. Whatever floats your boat." I explained as I began to pack up.
"Let's just say, my boat sank." He smirked and the bell sounded off. We grabbed our backpacks and headed out into the swarm of people, moving from one class to the other.
"What's you next class?" TK asked me, re-adjusting the bag on his shoulder.
"Art, room 127." I responded after a quick look at my schedule. A grin crossed the blonde's face once more.
"Right on, so am I!" He exclaimed and began walking ahead of me, waiting for me to follow, I suppose. Which I did, by the way. It's not like I'm going to try and figure it out myself and get lost.
"What type of art?" I questioned, feeling the dull thud of my bag as it bounced every time I walked.
"All types really. We just finished up a section studying about famous painters and techniques of art and we moved into drawing last Friday. You'll like the teacher too, she's real lenient and she loves her job just a tiny too much." He gave me the long-winded description.
"What makes you say that?" Was the first thing I could come up with while my head still spun around.
"See for yourself." He stopped and opened the door, allowing me to step in first. As I walked into the room, I'm sure my eyes widened and I know my mouth opened a bit. Every spare inch of the room was covered in art. There were tables set up in little groups in the middle of the room along with the teacher's desk at the front of the room. Those seemed to be the only signs of organization.
The walls were splattered with paint of all colors, bright colors like yellow, orange, and green, giving the room a cheery disposition. Hanging from those same walls were various pieces of paper, canvas, and black shelves, all displaying students' work. Charcoal drawings, pen sketches, oil paintings, pointillism portraits, pottery, sculptures: you name it, it was most likely up there somewhere.
There was a row of sinks along the back wall and under those sinks were cabinets, each labeled correctly. Most likely they stored the art supplies needed. My gaze drifted downward until I was looking at the floor. Suddenly my eyebrows shot up once I realized we were standing on a mural. The floor was painted into what seemed to be four sections: day, night, heaven, and hell. There were no lines separating them and there was almost no telling where one began and one ended. They blended together so well, which would explain the words that had been painted inside the boxes of each section. Heaven held the word 'unity', hell had 'differences', night had 'harmony', and the daylight had 'individual'.
Well, I was impressed.
"Are you going to stand at the door all day, Kari?" TK appeared by my side. I turned my head to look at my blue-eyed companion and shook my head.
"She did all this?" I breathed out, still trying to take in as much of the room as I could.
"Most of it. She hung the artwork, the shelves, and she painted the mural on the floor. She even had it coated with this type of stuff that prevents it from ever being ruined."
"What about the walls?"
"Every year, that's what I let my students do for their final. They participate in the splatter, they get full credit." A different voice spoke into my ear, causing me to jump slightly. I whirled around and spotted a woman not much taller then me with her hands on her hips and her hazel eyes focused on me.
"Well, I don't recognize you." She spoke, examining me thoroughly.
"Oh, right. I'm new here, and they told me to come to your class." I replied and handed over my transcripts and schedule and…oh you get the idea! She scanned over the paper quickly, with her head tilted downward and dirty blonde hair falling into her face. She handed me all of the papers and shook my hand.
"Pleasure, Yagami. You can call me Ms. Takara." She spoke and dropped my hand, dropping her blue purse on her desk.
"Takara. Got it." I repeated to myself.
"Have a seat and stay a while." Ms. Takara smiled and sat at her own desk, waiting for the final bell to go off. I turned to ask TK where we should sit when a call cut me off.
"Kari, over here!" I looked behind me and spotted Daisuke sitting at the table, waving at me to get my attention. He was also fully clothed, I might add. I flashed him a smile and began making my way over to him when TK touched my arm lightly.
"Kari?" He just said that one word, but I knew there were meant to be more. I shrugged my shoulders and continued walking towards Daisuke.
"I'm fully aware of what you told me, and it doesn't bother me. But you can come join us if you'd like." I replied and turned away once more, walking towards Daisuke. I slid into the chair next to him, although it wasn't really next to him. The table was set up with three chairs, one chair on each side of the table. So I sat next to him on the other side to his right…does that make sense? Maybe not, because the table was a triangle shape so each chair was on a flat side with a point between you and the next person and…never mind, I'm lost.
"How'd annual go?" He asked me as I scooted my chair in.
"It was really interesting, to say the least. And I made a new friend so it's all good."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, he's right…there." I stopped speaking as TK sat in the chair next to my right and on Daisuke's left.
"Hello Motomiya." He greeted Daisuke coolly, attempting to re-enforce the agreement of rivalry.
"Takaishi." Daisuke nodded with the same tone. Their gaze on one another lasted a good 2 minutes before the refused to look at each other again.
Apparently, they were going to be stubborn about it. I pounded my fist on the table and was satisfied I got their attention. Both boys looked at me with question marks in their eyes.
"Now listen up you two. I refuse to sit here while you two act like the other doesn't exist! You are going to attempt to get along and speak like friends, because apparently, you are friends!" I added extra emphasis on the last bit and threw a small glare at Daisuke. After all, hadn't it been he who told me that they were friends still?
Yeah…last time I checked, friends don't sharpen pencils to stab friends with.
"Kari, didn't we already have this discussion?" TK gave me his own look. Daisuke was making a face that was a cross between a glare and a pout, so it was kind of scrunched up.
"Yes, we had this discussion, but I don't care. You shall get along or I will be very unhappy and go sit over there, leaving you two by yourselves." I replied, pointing at one lone chair in the back corner of the room. Both boys followed my finger and then returned to my face with wide eyes.
"Um Kari?" TK started off.
"That's the isolation chair." Daisuke finished.
"What on Earth is an isolation chair?"
"It's a chair that anybody who's causing trouble is sent to sit in for the rest of the class period."
"Which explains why Daisuke is usually the one occupying it."
"Hey, cheap shot!"
"You set yourself up for it."
"Maybe, but still! I'm stupid like that!"
"You're telling me." Despite the fact that they were quite serious, I couldn't help but giggle. The two boys glanced at me, and then back at each other before smirking again and shaking hands.
"Here's the deal. We'll try and be nice."
"And if the stupid prick doesn't want to co-operate-"
"Then goggle-head and I can duke it out in our own time!"
"Sound fair?" They asked simultaneously. A relieved grin crossed my face and I nodded.
"Extremely." I replied and faced the front where Ms. Takara was explaining a project.
"All right, listen up. We started in our drawing section last Friday, learning the basics of the body. The next thing I would like for you to do is learn how to draw the face." She said to us and stood in front of her desk, leaning against it with her arms folded across her stomach.
"As you can see, your supplies are in front of you." Daisuke reached into the box and picked up one of the pieces of black.
"Ms. T, what's with the black chalk?" He puzzled, rubbing the black stick between his fingers.
"That's charcoal, Motomiya." Ms. Takara rolled her eyes in a joking manner.
"Yeah, Motomiya. Jeeze, I wonder about you…" TK added his own comments.
"Shut up, Takeru!"
"Why don't you shut up, Daisuke!
"Both of you shut up!" Ms. Takara shouted in their faces. Brown and blue eyes blinked once and two mouths closed. Ms. Takara grinned smugly and continued speaking.
"Charcoal is your tool today to draw the faces. Now, the person sitting with their back to me will have to partner up with somebody else at a separate table while the remaining two shall draw each other." Ms. Takara explained. Daisuke, TK, and I glanced at each other quickly. Then we came to the conclusion,
"Aw shit!" Daisuke swore while TK dropped his head on the table with a resounding bang. I was the one with my back towards Takara.
"You guys really don't like each other that much, do you?" I asked the obvious. TK lifted his head and sent me a tiny glare.
"No! What ever gave you that idea?" He spoke with his voice dripping in sarcasm.
"Look, just do the assignment and try not to kill each other, kay?" I shook my head and turned around to find a partner.
"Hey, new girl!" I looked to my left and spotted a girl about a year older then myself who's hazel eyes were staring back at me.
"Need a partner?" She asked me as she snapped her bubble gum. Nodding in return, I grabbed my sheet of paper, a piece of charcoal and pushed my chair away from the table.
"Just try and get along for the most part. That's all I ask." I repeated once more to the boys and walked away, flopping down in a different chair.
"Troubles with the nim-rods?" My partner asked me, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear.
"They pretty much hate each other." I replied as I set the paper before me. She nodded in understanding and blew another bubble.
"Only since recently though, like, last year they were good buddies." She explained to me and popped the bubble that grew too large.
"What happened?" My attention was focused. She shrugged in response and began to work, seeing how I had stopped moving.
"Nobody's quite sure. Everybody guesses that something bad happened over the summer because right before school was let out for break, they were attached at the hip. And every time somebody asks one of them about it, they get all tight-lipped and avoid the question." She sketched a few lines on her paper, creating my face shape.
"And nobody has any clue."
"Nope. But you've created a miracle." She outlined my nose and shaded it slightly.
"How so?"
"Getting them to sit at the same table."
"…They really went out of their way to avoid each other, didn't they?"
"Precisely." My eyes were drawn next. I had to prevent my mouth from dropping at the image on the page.
"You're a wonderful artist." I commented. A confident smile crossed her features.
"Thanks. I've had practice, took this class last year." She finished my lips and drew my shoulders in. She even went as far as to draw the holes in the shoulders of my shirt.
"Fast too."
"Yep. I like getting things done quickly while I have my attention focused on it." She finished with a flourish and paused.
"What's your name?" She asked, charcoal still hovering over the page.
"Hikari. Kari. Whichever." I replied.
"Light. I like that." She grinned again as she wrote my name at the bottom of the paper.
"Thank you. What can I call you?" I asked.
"Call me Akemi." She brushed off her black-covered hands onto her black baggy pants.
"See, my name doesn't really mean anything, so yeah. That's okay though!" She leaned back in her chair and looked at me. I picked up my own charcoal and set to work, beginning with her head shape. I knew my work could never be as nice as Akemi's but still, I was new to this.
"So, how long were those two friends for?" I picked up on the previous conversation.
"From about 2nd grade to last summer. That was when Takaishi moved here, into the same building as Motomiya." She replied and licked her lips. I drew her hair to just above her shoulders and my charcoal slipped from my fingers, creating a big streak going off into space. I groaned and tried to fix it, but nothing seemed to help.
"Just leave it. Takara's nuts if she thinks people are going to turn in papers without mistakes." Akemi reassured me and I kept drawing.
"They're both stubborn, so don't expect them to be good friends right away again, if that's your ploy." She continued speaking while I worked on her eyes. I bit my lip when I realized that her eyes were two different sizes.
"I hate charcoal!" I exclaimed. Akemi giggled and shook her head.
"Don't we all?" She lifted up her dirty hands. I looked down at my own and sighed.
"Oh well. And that wasn't my exact ploy, but similar. They can't be friends with me if they can't be friends with each other."
"Ooh, smooth. They obviously both want to be your friend because they're sitting together."
"I don't get why they would want to be my friend though." I drew her lips smudged together. Why can't I do this right for crying out loud?!
"Well, you're new, you're friendly, you're pretty. Why else?"
"I'm not that pretty. Besides, we have a lot of classes together, all three of us. Maybe they just felt like being nice."
"Who knows why. Just remember, you have their attention, run with it!" Akemi nodded and examined my final product.
"See, that's not too terrible for your first try. I remember my first try was a nightmare. Couldn't tell the ears from the nose." She grinned and tilted her head to look at it closer.
"You think it looks ok?" I questioned, looking at my work compared to hers.
"Of course. I really like it. And you tried your best at least." We were interrupted by a suddenly loud crash.
"My eyes are not that squinted!"
"Well, my goggles don't take up three-fourths of my head either!" Akemi and I turned around and spotted TK and Daisuke on the floor. Now, you would expect me to say they were throwing fists.
But would it surprise you if I said they were marking each other with charcoal?
…I didn't think so. I jumped out of my seat and briskly stepped over to the two on the floor.
"What on Earth are you two doing?!" I burst, throwing my hands into the air in exasperation.
"Stupid eyes!"
"Damned goggles!" I rolled my eyes upward and took a deep breath before and lowered my face down by them.
"Hey!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Daisuke stopped throwing charcoal streaks and looked at me. Wish I could say the same for TK. He lifted his charcoal up to swipe Daisuke and before he could realize that it was my face in his path instead of Dai's, he drew a large, thick line right across my cheek. I blinked once and then blinked again.
"Way to go, TK! You marked your wrong target." Daisuke laughed at TK's slip-up. TK's eyes flashed momentarily before a small smirk settled upon his lips.
"Well, fire two then!" He resounded and streaked Daisuke's light blue t-shirt with the charcoal.
"Oh, hell no!" Daisuke reached up and marked TK's white hat. TK froze and lifted the white hat off of his head.
"My poor hat…" He whimpered slightly.
"Serves you right, Goggle-Hater." Daisuke sniffed indignantly.
"Stupid goggles!" TK lunged at Daisuke again, quickly getting over the mourning of his hat. I stepped in between the two of them, just in time for Daisuke to mark the back of my pink shirt.
I did not sign up to be a referee!
"You're going down, Daisuke!" I exclaimed and marked his neck. Daisuke's face split into a grin however.
"Now you're in the spirit of things!" He replied cheerfully and drew a straight line from TK's shoulder to the tip of his middle finger.
"This is why you get sent to the isolation chair!" TK marked both of us in one swift movement.
"So what? At least I'm not a fun-sucking prick!" Daisuke replied with a new mark of his own.
"You're both being ridiculous!" I shouted over their shouting, marking both of their noses.
"Isolation Butt-Warmer!" TK swiped at my forehead and Daisuke's thigh.
"Fun-sucker!" Daisuke swiped at my knee and TK's left ear.
"Childish morons!" I swiped their shoes.
"What the hell are you three doing?!"
It was then I knew we were screwed.
Well, an hour-long detention and a thorough floor scrubbing later, I finally was on my way home. I stepped out of the elevator and produced a house key from my pocket, shoving it in the lock and rattling the door handle. The door clicked open and I walked inside, kicking off my shoes and walking further inside.
"Kari? That you?" Tai's voice rang out from the kitchen. Figures.
"It's me. Sorry I'm late." I replied as I followed the voice. I found him with his face in the refrigerator and his blazer slipping off his shoulder.
"What's your story?" He asked as he moved aside a few different jars.
"Got detention?" I said meekly.
"On your first day!?" Tai exclaimed and removed his head from the fridge. Or rather, tried. He ended up smacking his head on one of the shelves in his haste.
"Yes, on my first day." He reached behind his head and rubbed the now tender area as his gaze met mine. He didn't say much at first, taking time to take in my charcoal-stained clothes and my smudged face.
"Charcoal fight, don't ask. Ms. Takara wasn't too pleased and made us stay and clean the floor." I explained, waiting for his reaction. He still didn't say anything, just continued watching me. And as he watched me, I grew more nervous about what he would say. Finally, a wide grin crossed his face.
"Finally! I was starting to think you were going to grow to be a major two-shoes!" He laughed and did a little victory dance, causing me to giggle as well.
My brother is such a dork sometimes, but that's why I love him.
"Y'know, I'd hug you, but I don't really want to get dirty." He continued and ended up grabbing a bag of chips from the pantry instead of trying the fridge again.
"I don't blame you, actually." I nodded in agreement. He walked past me into the living room and flopped on the couch.
"How was your first day?" I asked him for the sake of asking.
"Fabulous." He spoke in a somewhat dreamy tone which made me stop in my tracks.
You see, Tai doesn't do dreamy. Ever.
"Met a girl?" I assumed. He blinked and shook his head.
"What?"
"Never mind." I shook my head. He was spacing out on me, and normally, you can't talk to him when he's like that. He brushed me off and popped a chip into his mouth.
"How was your day?" He asked in return.
"It was…good." I trailed off, for lack of a better description. I thought back to everything that had happened that day. Trying to break into the janitor's closet, meeting with the clown of the future, the Daisuke food market, annual, learning of a rivalry in my own little world, surfing boxers, the isolation chair, charcoal fights, and the sprays of icy soapy water.
Oh yeah, definitely a good day.
All right, this took me like 4 months to write, but I got it done! Yay me right? Anyway, hope it made sense.
Trust the Fox.