CHAPTER 35

         It seems I've walked in on something terrible.

         "Oh c'mon, Hinata. Buck up."

          I stopped at the threshold of the corridor, a stack of documents in hand. After learning that I hadn't finished my summer homework, Suzuki-sensei had been on my back since and even gave me this haul to take to the staffroom. Regardless... Peeking over into the hallway nearby, I took in the situation with antsy.

Hinata recoiled against the wall; much larger guys closing in on him some more, daunting smirks pinning up their lips.

"We're busy today so just do our work for us," continued the tallest male. "Got it?"

Hinata downcasted his gaze. "But I have—"

"Huh?" he pressed in a domineering hiss. Tilting his head to the side, he positioned his fist against the wood near Hinata's head. "You have what?"

Regardless of his buckling knees, he bit the inside of his cheek to keep his cool. "Nothing," he grumbled out.

The two guys broke out into matching grins.

"See," the leading guy snorted. "That's what I thought I heard too."

Then at that, his subordinate practically shoved the stack of papers into Hinata's abdomen. He barely caught it in time, gritting his teeth from strain, but with a loud laugh and condescending puff, the two delinquents went sauntering down the hall. I gritted my teeth. What the heck? There had to be no way in hell those assholes were hurting my Hinata.

"Do you need me to give those back to them?"

Hinata recoiled in shock as I came sauntering up towards him, beckoning to his pile. I clicked my tongue as I tightly gripped the papers in my hands without a care for a paper cut.

"I'll sock them upside the head while I'm at it."

Hinata froze up, panic breaching his features. He hurriedly opened his mouth, "You have the wrong idea, Hoshino!"

"Wrong idea?" I echoed, pursing my lips. "Who were those guys?"

"My classmates," Hinata responded. "I owe them!"

"You shouldn't owe people like them anything."

"But I do." Hinata repositioned the stack of papers on his arms, lips downturned. "Back in May I asked them to take over my classroom duties because I was in a hurry to get to the Art Club. It makes sense that they'd ask me to take over theirs."

The look on Hinata's face made it evident that wasn't the entire case.

"If it was back in May didn't you already have the opportunity to pay them back?" I pressed.

Hinata's shoulders tensed. "But if they need me to take over for a third time—"

"Third time?" I echoed. My blood was beginning to boil as I swirled on my toes. I nabbed at the documents in his arms. "Give me those, I'm going to return it to them even if I have to shove it up their asses—"

"Hoshino!" Hinata seized my sleeve to stop me. "It's fine, honest. It's my fault for relying on them in the first place."

My furrowed eyebrows didn't relent as I swivelled his way again. "And because of that they have to treat you like this? I don't accept that. That's why I can't understand why you can!"

Hinata's eyelids peeled further apart. His hold on my sleeve eased, until a sparkle of awe soaked through his countenance. Not exactly expecting that kind of reaction, I went on guard. Though, that did help to dissipate my frustration a bit.

"You're being a pushover, Hinata," I said, primming my mouth into a frown. "It's because of how kindhearted and understanding you are that you end up in these kinds of situations. Wasn't it the same back in middle school, too?"

Hinata ducked his head, proving that I'd hit the bullseye.

"You have to toughen up a bit and learn to put your foot down. If you don't, people like them will trample all over you forever." I clenched my teeth and shot a black look in the direction those idiots had scampered off in. "But for right now maybe I can step in—"

Hinata once again stopped me with another tough clasp of my arm. "Like I said, I wouldn't want you to fight them."

"If you're worried about my wellbeing, it's perfectly fine," I reassured him. "I may not look like it but I'm very much capable of whooping someone's ass if I get angry. Ask my siblings; they even call me 'Miyuzilla,' as appalling as that title may sound."

Hinata gained a disconcerting expression. "I don't want to trouble you, Hoshino," he truthfully said, putting on a half-hearted smile. "I want to handle this myself."

My lips curved upwards at his conviction. "Then put it into action and get a backbone."

"Backbone?" He furled his fingers even tighter around the documents. His confidence had fallen right through. "How could I ever..."

"The trick is to take them down with one punch."

"One... punch?" He was utterly blank as I met his eyes. "But Hoshino, there's no way I can do that! Those guys are way bigger and stronger than me. They'll squash me like a bug!"

"They won't be able to do anything to you unless you allow them," I reminded him. "Besides, most guys are wimps. They put on that lean-and-mean act all the time."

He tilted his head. "An act?"

I nodded. "It's an asset to have if you want to put yourself out there without the worry of being pushed around." I broke out into a smile. "Besides the many animes I've watched, I've also lived over ten years with an older and younger brother who do that all the time so you can trust me on that."

Hinata's lower lip caught between his teeth. "Is that so?"

"It's exactly so," I replied. I nudged my head back. "But more importantly, we should be taking this stuff to where it needs to go. You don't want to be late for clubs, right?"

Hinata didn't make any movement to respond, causing me to furrow my eyebrows.

"Hinata?"

At that, he picked up his head. Newfound determination was swirling within his eyes. "It's nothing," he said, already moving his feet forward. "Let's go."

Despite my conflicting confusion, I pursued him. I could only hope that my words managed to reach him.

——————————————————

"Hibiki, don't you have a club to get to? Why are you here?"

The guy who was currently lounging on the couch in our clubroom, went on to strum the guitar he on his lap. "See, I need a bit of help," he said.

          Hiro and Yuji who were both seated in front of the flat screen TV they had borrowed from the Gaming Club didn't even look up to address him.

           "You're supposed jump here," Hiro hissed to Yuji, fumbling around with his controller. "Hurry!"

          Yuji was scrutinizing his eyes at the game they were playing before staring down in confusion. "Wait, how do you jump again?"

"I already explained it a minute ago— Great, you got us killed."

         Hiro paused to facepalm as the screen displayed a huge 'DO YOU WANT TO START OVER?' whilst replaying the way they had gotten sniped.

         "Now we've got to restart."

Yuji made a face. "Hiro, you're terrible at this game. I don't want to be on your team anymore."

Hiro's face twitched as he glowered at him. "I'm never playing multiplayer with you again."

A whistle flew out of Hibiki's mouth as he cocked an eyebrow. "You guys seriously just chill in this club."

"It's awesome, right?" I murmured as I tapped around on my PS Vita. I grinned like an idiot as I did. "Aww, of course I'll marry you, Jinto~"

Hibiki deadpanned as he peered my way. "And you're just off marrying fictional men..." I continued to dreamily coo at my screen. Hibiki released a sigh. Then, a smirk stretched back his lips. "If you want a marriage partner so badly—"

          Wannabe smooshed his cheeks to silence him. Hibiki's voice reduced to a muffle as he aimed a steady glare at an already beaming Wannabe. Hibiki sourly scrunched up his features as he nudged Wannabe's fingers off of him.

          "Why are you smiling like that?"

Wannabe's optimism hadn't dwindled the slightest as he retreated with a nonchalant laugh. "You said you need our help," he answered. "My help," he added, a haughty smirk in place.

        Hibiki immediately scowled at him. "I don't need your help," he spat. I guess they still didn't get along. "I just want you guys to listen to something."

          "Hibiki-san, would you care for some tea?" Kouichi inquired.

          It was odd he asked considering he'd already prepared the steaming tea and was currently pouring it into a fancy tea cup. Along with the Photography Club, apparently Kouichi had been apart of the Tea Ceremony Club all throughout middle school, leaving for a slight soft spot for the stuff. If he wasn't taking pictures, he was practicing the art by himself.

This club was seriously a gathering of procrastinators with loads of free time on their hands.

"Thanks," Hibiki said after Kouichi offered him a cup. Kouichi went back to his respective spot as Hibiki took a polite sip and savoured the taste with a smile. He set it down on the table in front of him and picked up his guitar again. "See," he said. "The Music Festival is coming up and me and the rest of the guys from the Light Music Club are getting ready to perform for it."

            "How can a guy be so freakin' perfect?" I squealed, grinning goofily as I ogled at my game screen. Seeing the picture of the beautiful 2D specimen, I melted internally, falling onto my back. "Blushing so hard just because he wants to marry me? Ah, I don't even care anymore; just make all my fantasies a reality and kiss me already!"

          Silence consumed the room at once.

          Hibiki spoke first: "Gladly—"

Wannabe once again squished his cheeks. Hibiki shot him a bitter look. Wannabe unhanded him, and with a frown, all boys shifted their focus to me.

           "Oh my gosh, it happened!" I squeaked, gripping the fabric above my chest with one hand and rolling around on the couch. Peeking through an eyelid, I watched to see what would follow only to have my heart swell even more than before. "'What I can give you today is a promise,'" I read aloud. "'One that goes: 'I'll never leave you, nor will I ever stop loving you—no matter what'... Holy flipping penquins— this flirt! So unfair!"

"Um... Hoshino." Wannabe cleared his throat. "We're in the middle of receiving a request—"

"Goodness. Can you stop playing with my heart so much, Jinto-kun?" I whined, burying my face into the cushions. "I love you too, dammit."

"Um...?" he tried again.

"She does realize we're in this room, right?" Hiro grumbled.

Yuji frowned, leaning back on his hands. "She's purposefully trying to make us jealous."

"Hoshino-san is so bold," Kouichi chuckled.

"If you want some harem-oriented games I can lend you some," I called over after calming down my erratic heartbeat. I flipped over to my back, tapping at the buttons. "I've tested a couple out but jeez, they're not as fun as otome games... Aww, this boy~ You're making me so happy, you idiot~!"

I continued to giggle to myself, being the softy for cheesy lines that I was. With the exception of Kouichi and Wannabe, the disapproval coating the rest of their features hadn't lifted the slightest.

Wannabe cocked his head to the side, dipping a brow in accordance. "Girls are quite scary."

"Hoshino-san is having a good time," Kouichi said, laughing. "I'm happy for her."

"As her Club President I should also be," Wannabe said. "Even still, I'm worried. Nobody should be spouting lines like that to a programmed game. It's all fake, and various people playing the same game are receiving the same plot and lines. There's nothing valuable about them, and you're nobody special to them at the end of the day—"

"Wannabe," I snapped, aiming the most foul glare his way. "I suggest you shut your mouth if you value your life."

          Hibiki and Hiro beckoned for him to do so, but Wannabe only puffed his cheeks up.

"But I'm worried," he pressed. "Instead of pursuing a fictional love you should try to value real life love."

"Real life?" I echoed, hoisting myself upwards. My scowl hadn't fallen. "Never heard of it."

"No," Hibiki interjected, rising to his feet and holding out his arm to tell Wannabe to stand down. "That blond's onto something, Miyuki. You should really try to fall in love with an actual human being." He paused. "I mean, considering that you don't already love me—"

"And what kind of merit would I get out of exposing my heart to feelings like that?" I responded, scrunching up my brows. "In fact, my standards have already risen way too high; to the point where I've stopped expecting some clichéd love story to happen to me. Besides, who would ever fall for a girl like me in the first place? The idea is almost as crazy as me passing all of my classes."

I jutted my chin, snorting. The very notion was laughable.

"Then."

          I followed my eyes in the direction of the source. Yuji had slanted his eyes, all sense of nonchalance lost from his features. My shoulders tensed, suddenly uneasy.

          But it didn't take me too long to figure out he wasn't the only one to have gained an edge; Hiro had as well. He wasn't smiling and most certainly wasn't happy to hear the way I'd phrased things.

          "If someone were to fall for you," Yuji continued. "What would you do?"

The suffocating rigidness of the situation only stretched further. I craned my neck around, towards Hibiki who was smirking widely from ear to ear and an equally amused Kouichi alongside him. Then toward Wannabe who was the only unaffected one—nothing but confusion breaching his countenance. Meeting my eyes, Wannabe slowly blinked before turning his attention to the rest of them.

"Guys?" he asked. "Why'd you suddenly get so serious?"

Kouichi resumed fiddling with his teacups, smiling to himself. "I guess I wasn't the only one."

"Only one?" I reiterated.

"So that's how it is." Hibiki seemed to comprehend Kouichi's strange implication with ease. Gaining an air of indifference, Hibiki picked himself up to his feet, keeping a stable hold on his guitar before slinging the strap over his shoulder. Sauntering forward, he approached me, a dangerous smile upturning his mouth. "But it seems this princess of ours is a little dense."

"Huh?" Wannabe demanded, whipping his head around. "What's going on?"

I wanted to ask the same thing.

Hibiki came to a halt in front of me, the corner of his lips curving up further. He leaned in, a flicker of mischievousness in his eye.

My mind had entirely been taken off the game in my hand as I tried to make sense of the baffling situation things had unexpectedly escalated to. "Hibiki?" I asked.

          He spun around with his hands in his pockets. "Know what—I don't need help after all."

"With the Music Festival?" I asked.

"I've changed my mind," he said, glancing over his shoulder with a final grin that even reached his eyes. "I hope you all look forward to the day."

He exited the room with that, leaving behind a stiffness I wasn't quite accustomed to. I brought my lips together as I turned to look at an impassive Yuji and Hiro who had already resumed their game on the TV. Wannabe was still in a baffled daze while Kouichi ushered him a cup of tea.

My stomach churned from unease.

What exactly were we supposed to be looking forward to?