Stefy: DOMO~ ... so warm here...
Essy: Why is it warm now? You were cold just earlier!
Stefy: OW! HEADACHE!
Too warm here!
Essy: *puts hand to Stefy's forehead* Yikes! Hot...let's get this done before it gets worse.
Stefy: Eww... she touched me *wipes forehead*
Essy: OI!
Stefy:
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Chapter 4[And So It Begins]Ai flipped open her cell phone once again to check the time. Not that it mattered whether or not she knew the time, she didn't even know if her target would appear at her waiting spot. She scanned the area carefully, making sure she didn't miss anyone who entered or left the school cafeteria. It was kind of difficult to keep track seeing as to how the youthful crowd jostled around the three entrances that led into the place.
"Your plan will fail~" Risa, who was seated right beside Ai, hinted nonchalantly while continuing to eat her breakfast.
"How would you know? I didn't even tell you my plan yet."
"If she doesn't appear before class begins, your plan will fail. If she chooses to have breakfast at one of the other four cafeterias in this school, plan fails. And lastly, if her class doesn't start in the morning, plan fails."
"She's here!" Ai exclaimed excitedly as she eyed the silhouette of the girl she had recently been so obsessed with.
"USO!" Risa screamed out of shock and disbelief, Ai's lousy little prediction had actually come true.
Risa stood dumbfounded as she watched her best friend push her way though the crowd towards the girl who remained un-named to them. Ai casually bumped into the taller girl, dropping the book that had somehow materialized in her possession in the meantime. Acting all innocent, she apologized, bowing her head ever so slightly and flashing a shy smile at the taller, sportier female. The slightly boyish looking girl picked up the book for Ai and went off in the opposite direction, while Ai walked back towards Risa with a triumphant grin showing itself on her little face.
"That's it? That was your stupid plan?" Risa questioned the older girl.
"Yup, plan A already in progress~" Ai replied in a singing tone.
"In progress? What progress, all you did was drop your book, which I have no idea how it ended up in your hand, in front of her. What's her name then?"
"Don't know yet," she said while taking a bite out off Risa's half eaten sandwich. "You see Gaki-chan, I accidentally dropped my phone in her bag. So, in a couple of hours, I'll call my phone using yours and then she'll have to meet me to return my phone."
Risa blinked twice and stared at Ai wide eyed shaking her head slightly then gave her friend a slap in the arm. "Has it ever occurred to you that she might just keep that damn phone for herself?! That very expensive phone, the one that you bought just days ago... Are you MAD?!"
"Itai! I didn't use THAT phone; daddy would kill me if I ever lost it in such a short period of time. I'm not that stupid you know." She retorted as she rubbed her arm. "I dropped my other phone in there, the one with lots and lots of pictures of WA.TA.SHI~"
Ai rambled on (while being dragged to class by Risa) about how that still un-named girl would see all her pictures while thinking how pretty she looked. She would then soon have the urge to meeting Ai, and when they finally did, she would get all the details she wanted, leaving her that much closer to getting her target.
Class ended and Ai began rummaging though Risa's bag in search for her friend's cell phone. Risa took her phone out from her pocket, flashing it in front of Ai's face. Ai took the phone while she smiled apologetically at Risa. She pressed the numbers of her currently missing phone and brought the phone to her ear. Ai waited a few seconds before someone had finally answered her phone.
"Hello?"
"Yea?"
"Erm, I dropped my phone. I was-"
"Oh right, I guess you would want it back? My class ends at three, so I'll meet you at the bus stop near school."
"Hai, thank you!"
***
It was three fifteen already and Ai sat impatiently on the bench waiting together with Risa. Another five minutes passed, and Risa was starting to insinuate that Ai should start saying 'goodbye' to her cell phone soon. And so began the duo's little bicker about whether or not mystery girl would run off with Ai's cell phone, when another pair of girls, both decided not the one that Ai had set her sights on, approached them.
"Hi! You’re the one who dropped your phone right?"
Ai looked up at the shorter of the pair, slightly confused, "Erm, yes." she replied with a weak smile, then glared at Risa who was beside her trying her best not to burst out laughing.
Why?"Be careful with your phone next time, alright? It's a good thing we picked it up, other people might not have returned it." She noted cheerfully as she passed the phone over to Ai.
"Thanks."
Having accomplished her assigned task, the shorter girl of the pair turned to her companion, who was staring intently at her for some reason. The girl raised an eyebrow.
"Yes Mai-chan?"
The taller, slightly less tanned girl blinked slowly, then frowned.
"Um, Rika-chan, aren't we supposed to have futsal practice right now?
Rika rolled her eyes. "I thought we told you this morning already. Practice was canceled because they called the captains of both teams in for a meeting. Some important event or something. That's why Yossi got stuck there."
Mai scratched at her chin thoughtfully. "Ah, so that's why Yossi isn't with us now. And I wondered why she passed this errand on to you."
Ai's ears perked up at the topic of conversation, her mind piecing together what was going on. If her intuition was correct, her target's name was Yossi and was the captain of the futsal team.
'Captain...so fitting...' Her eyes glazed over as she went into daydream mode.
Risa, having found herself being ignored, decided to rekindle the conversation by getting to know what was obviously two senpais standing before them.
"Ano....are you two second-years?" Risa asked timidly as she directed her attention at the one called Rika. Rika turned to look at the smaller girl, sizing her up with one eye before replying.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. You two are first-years then?" Her tone was friendly but did not encourage over-familiarity. Risa nodded vaguely, then elbowed the daydreaming Ai in the side discreetly even as Rika turned back to face Mai. Ai shot an irritated glance at her best friend. Risa only lowered her voice as she whispered.
"See I told you that they were senpais!" Ai shrugged, hissing back. "So?"
'Chin-pun kan-pun genkiyoku~ Chin-pun kan-pun kawaiiku ne?'"Ah, it's my phone." Mai said with some surprise. After some halfhearted digging around, she retrieved the phone and flipped it open.
"Who is it?" Rika asked curiously as Mai put the phone to her ear.
"Domo~ Ah, Ayaya? Yeah Rika's with me. Do you want to talk to her?"
Even though Rika was not exactly standing very close to Mai, she could still hear bits and pieces of a very loud voice through the phone's speaker. Something about putting it on speakerphone. Mai, being at the source, winced and did as ordered.
The roar that came through was both incredibly irate and incredibly calm at the same time, if such a thing made sense. Either way, it was just loud.
"WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE AN HOUR AGO!" "Oh we are? Where were we supposed to meet again?" Mai asked, genuinely clueless about any plans made with Aya.
"Ah! I knew I was forgetting something today! Gomen Aya-chan, we'll be right over."
The voice over the phone lowered her volume, clearly pacified by the assurance.
'You'd better be. Yossi's already here.'Before Mai could even blink, her phone had suddenly vanished from her hands, snatched by a suddenly furious Rika, who yelled into the phone.
"WHAT?! YOSSI'S ALREADY THERE?! WHAT HAPPENED TO HER FUTSAL MEETING?!"
'You were supposed to have a futsal meeting?' The voice over the phone asked someone in the background. A muffled reply followed by a faint chuckle was heard, the exact words not quite decipherable over the static. Nevertheless, Rika took in a deep breath, then forced her words out through tightly clenched teeth, every syllable drenched with intense foreboding.
"Yoshizawa Hitomi, you'll get it from me when I get there later. You just wait!" Then she snapped the phone shut, ending the call.
Turning to Risa, Rika smiled apologetically at her, saying.
"Sorry, it seems we have to go now." Grabbing hold of a still baffled Mai, she went to the road to flag for a taxi, disappearing into the throng of students milling around the bus stop.
Ai and Risa stared in bewildered silence for a moment, before Risa finally regained enough of her wits to quip with some amusement.
"So that's your rival... I don't think you stand a chance anymore. They sound like a married couple already." Risa sounded way too cheerful for someone in her position as best friend. Ai glared at her so called best friend viciously, but Risa was already immune to those.
***
"Ow..."
Yossi grumbled aloud to herself as she rubbed gingerly at her right arm. Who knew Rika packed quite such a punch? Then again, she probably have expected nothing less from the ace striker of their team.
What does being an ace striker have to do with punching hard? A little part of her mind mocked as she continued down the dimly lit streets towards her home. It was a fairly long walk from the train station, but Yossi liked it well enough. It gave her time to relax to herself before going back to the chaotic Nakazawa household.
A familiar scream penetrated her thoughts, and Yossi looked up, peering through the looming darkness that the approaching night bestowed. Up at the intersection ahead, the long shadows of a group of people were clearly reflected on the dark pavement, but the actual figures were unseen, hidden around the corner.
"YOU DON'T SCARE REINA!!" Yossi, who had been prepared to ignore the incident and mind her own business, froze in her tracks at the name. Cursing under her breath, the athletic girl walked forward quickly, turning at the intersection to investigate.
At first sight, it looked like some ordinary gang standoff that most decent people knew better than to interfere with. Yossi had been just as prepared to leave this alone...had she not seen her tiny cousin trapped in the middle of the five menacing-looking guys dressed in crisp black suits.
Now what had that midget gotten herself into? ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Stefy:
... AAAAATSUUUUUIIIIIII!!!
Essy: -.- Whatever.
Stefy: Oh~! *digs for a certain PB* WA.TA.SHI~ *flips through pages*
Essy: I have it too! *looks at my own*
Stefy: Ba~ka.. so over reactive. Your exploiting the emoticons.... -.-
Essy: *passes Stefy Eri's Hatachi*
Stefy:
Essy: ... I rest my case.