Episode 4: Futari

[Hayate]

Power of Love

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~ Episode 4: Futari (Couple) ~[/u]

Act 1: Words Gone Astray

Another typical Monday morning at Sapporo South High School. Just seconds before the start of lunch hour, the students of Class 7-A already start to break into their usual circles of close friends. Their impatience for the sounding of the bell had apparently gotten the better of them. A few short minutes later, Kozue-sensei calls class representative Misuzu Akiyama to the front of the room. “Misuzu…”, Kozue-sensei begins. “…I need you to run down to the convenience store nearby and pick up a few things for me. The teacher’s lounge has run low on several supplies. And as you can see, we’re all out of chalk. Can I count on you?”

“Leave it to me, Kozue-sensei!”, Misuzu replies. “Class rep Misuzu Akiyama is on the job! …But…if you don’t mind my asking, how did you run low on chalk so quickly?”

“…Well…” Kozue finds herself unable to respond, as the answer to Misuzu’s question was rather amusing but also a bit embarrassing.

“Aah! K-Kozue-sensei!?”

“Late again, eh, Nanbara? That’s the third time this week!”

“Is that just cause to throw chalk at me!? Aah! That hurts!”

“You should be happy I’m not throwing textbooks!”

The temperamental teacher simply continues to laugh uneasily. “A-Anyway, here’s a list of the supplies I need and some money for them.”

“Hmm…” Thinking to herself for a moment, Misuzu inquires, “Might I bring an escort?”

Kozue-sensei smiles widely and answers the blonde. “Of course you can! And I know the perfect candidate!” She faces the classroom door and notices a certain black-haired boy with bento in hand about to depart for the rooftop. “Oh, Kyo-kun!”, Kozue-sensei calls out.

With his hand on the door handle, Kyosuke Nanbara briefly tilts his head back. “What?”

Kozue-sensei giggles flippantly at her choice while Misuzu looks on at Kyosuke with an expression of shock and disgust.

…Meanwhile, on the school rooftop, Emiri, Chiaki, Rudy, and Yuzu wait anxiously for Kyosuke and Misuzu to join them for lunch. Emiri, Rudy, and Yuzu slowly open up their bentos while Chiaki is seen swiftly chowing down. The green-haired Osakan gal briefly holds her bento away from her face, rice covering the corners of her mouth. “So…any idea where…Kyosuke and Misuzu are?”, she asks her friends in between chews.

Putting Chiaki’s questionable eating etiquette out of mind for now, Yuzu picks up her bento and chopsticks. “It certainly isn’t like Kyosuke-senpai to be late, is it?”

“Maybe they decided to go out for lunch…in private.”, Rudy jokes with a short laugh, earning a meek punch in the shoulder from Emiri. “Just kidding!”

Satisfied with silencing Rudy, Emiri picks up her bento as well. “Seriously, Rudy, do you hear yourself? Kyosuke and Misuzu? That’s just crazy talk. Those two can’t stand each other.”

“Those two do seem to fight a lot, don’t they?”

“That’s just their way of expressing their love-- OW!!!” Another jab into Rudy’s right shoulder – courtesy of Emiri – would silence him once again. “Hehehe… You’ve got a mean hook, Emi-chan…”

Just then, the circle of friends would hear a pair of voices call out from the school’s front courtyard. “Come on! Pick up the pace, Nanbara!”

“Yeah, yeah, keep your skirt on!”

Curiosity getting the better of them, the group dashes over to the metal grated fence lining the roof’s perimeter and looks out towards the courtyard. Below, they notice class representative Misuzu exiting the school grounds at a somewhat quick pace. Walking a short distance behind her was Kyosuke with his hand pocketed. The group’s first thought was that Rudy’s assumption about the two having a private lunch was correct. “Ha! I was right!”, Rudy spouts in an attempt to make Emiri feel stupid for hitting him.

“Wow…”, Chiaki marvels. “Who’d have thought Misuzu was interested in Kyosuke?”

“Well, you know what they say about how opposites attract…”, Yuzu states while straightening her glasses.

“…” Emiri was the only one in the group who had nothing to say. It just wasn’t feasible, she tells herself.

…A short time later (roughly 15 minutes before the end of lunch hour), Misuzu looks over the list given to her by Kozue-sensei as she walks along the granite sidewalk. “Okay… I think that’s everything. Let’s head back, shall we, Nanbara?”

“Tch!” Just a few feet behind her, a perturbed Kyosuke is seen carrying several plastic bags. They weren’t particularly heavy, but the fact that he was carrying everything had rubbed him the wrong way. “‘Escort’, my ass! You just didn’t want to do anything remotely strenuous!”, he gripes to the cheeky blonde.

“You expect a lady such as myself to carry bags? Hmph! And you call yourself a man…”

“You know something, Misuzu!? You--!!!”

“Oh!” Unfortunately, Kyosuke’s telling Misuzu off would be cut short as she suddenly runs off in the direction of a certain flower shop.

“H-Hey! Where do you think you’re…!? …Tch!”

In front of the very same flower shop Kyosuke passes by on his way to school, Misuzu glances over an array of flowers with red petals. “Ahhh.… Such beautiful flowers… And what an interesting petal color…”

“Erythrina variegata.”

“Hmm? What was that, Nanbara?”

“They’re called Erythrina variegata, or ‘Tiger’s Claw’. They grow all over the Okinawa Islands.”

“Oh… That’s right… You’re originally from that prefecture, aren’t you, Nanbara? Heh… Rather surprising to know something so pretty comes from such a backwater place…”

“…Don’t push me, Misuzu…”

Unbeknownst to the two frequent quarrelers, a figure in a Sapporo South High gakuran is seen watching them from the shadows. “Hmm… What a pretty picture this is…”, the shadowy figure mutters to himself in quiet malice. “Hehehe…”

A short while later, Kyosuke and Misuzu return to the school’s lobby. Lunch hour would come to an end in just a few minutes. Just a few feet ahead of Kyosuke, Misuzu suddenly spins around to face her ‘escort’. “Well, I must say, Nanbara, your presence isn’t as unbearable as I originally thought.”, she says with a coy smirk.

“…If that was your attempt at a compliment, Misuzu, it needs work …”

“…You certainly have a way with words, don’t you, Nanbara…?”

“Hey, I just work with what you give me.”, Kyosuke jokes. “C’mon, let’s go back before Kozue-sensei finds something else to throw at me.”

“Hahahaha!”

A little over a half-hour later, ‘free study period’ begins. As the rest of the class breaks into its usual circles once more, Kyosuke is seen reading manga at his desk, oblivious to everything that’s going on around him. But a high concentration of whispering and low-volume speech earns the curiosity of his wandering eyes. A handful of his classmates were giving him looks of skepticism and disappointment. Upon closer inspection, Kyosuke realizes that Misuzu was on the receiving end of these gazes as well. ‘…What the hell’s going on now…?’ Suspecting that Emiri might’ve had a hand in this, he looks over at her.

Realizing that Kyosuke was gazing at her, Emiri lightly gasps and quickly turns away.

“Emiri?” It was indeed an odd occurrence for Emiri to not even look Kyosuke in the eye. “Okay… Something definitely weird’s going on here…”

“Dismissed!”, Misuzu’s voice shouts out to her classmates at the end of the school day. As the students exit the classroom one-by-one (and the occasional two-by-two), Kyosuke picks up his bag and turns to face Emiri. “Ready to go, Emiri?” Since the two live in close neighborhoods, they’ve made a routine of walking home together.

“Oh!” Hearing Kyosuke’s voice nearly causes the nearby Emiri to drop her school bag. “Um… Actually, Kyo, I think I’m gonna check out some new places in the city, so you can head on home without me, ‘kay?”, she says to him with a forced smile.

“…” Shrugging his shoulders, Kyosuke props his school bag over his shoulder and walks towards the door. “Whatever you say. Ja ne.”

After watching Kyosuke leave and Emiri’s display of masked melancholy, Chiaki walks up to console the redhead. “Hey, Emi-chan, ya feelin’ okay?”

“H-Huh? Oh, I’m fine, Chiaki! Really!”

“…”

“…Am I that obvious?”

“Hee-hee! Yup! …So, what’s botherin’ ya?”

“I heard some…things…today.”

“Hmm? What kinda things?”

“Well…”

“………NANI?!?[/i]”

…The next morning, Kyosuke routinely walks past the school gates and through the crowd of students towards the building. “I wonder what was up with Emiri yesterday… She’d better not be playing a trick to mess with my head or anything…”

Just then… “HEY, KYOSUKE!!!!!”

“Huh?” Turning to face his rear, Kyosuke notices Chiaki sprinting towards him. Before he could react, Chiaki was within range to grasp his shoulders with her hands. “Ch-Chiaki!? What’s with you!?”

“Tell me! Have you heard anything yet!?”

“H-Heard anything? What about?”

“You know! About you and Misuzu!”

“Me and…? Chiaki, what the hell are you talking about?”

“…So you haven’t heard?”

“Heard about what?!?”

However, before Chiaki had a chance to explain her hysteria, the front door of the school swing open rapidly, making a loud slamming noise, and a certain blonde stomps outside. “WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!?”, Misuzu shrieks in fury, waving around a copy of the school newspaper.

“M-Misuzu!?”

“Uh-oh… Looks like ‘Miss Class Rep’ just read the school paper…”

“Nanbara!!!”, Misuzu screams once again, dashing over to the boy with paper in hand. “Did you have anything to do with this!?”

“W-With what!? I just got here!”

“I’m talking about this!!!” Misuzu shoves the front page of the school paper in Kyosuke’s face. Near the top of the page, the words ‘Nanbara & Akiyama: A Mismatched Pair?’ were printed in large bold letters.

~Futari: End of Act 1~

Act 2: Stop the Presses

In the empty Class 7-A classroom, several minutes before Kozue-sensei would arrive, Kyosuke, Emiri, Chiaki, and Misuzu all stand in a circle around a desk. On top of the desk they were standing around was the school paper – laid out for everyone in the group to view. Kyosuke’s eyes twitch at the sight of the article, Emiri and Chiaki were rather silent, and as for Misuzu… “This is an absolute outrage!!!”, the angered blonde bellows. “What kind of person would print this!?”

“Looks like whoever printed this article didn’t leave their name…”, Chiaki starts as she examines the paper. “…but we at least know it was someone in th’ journalism club.”

“This explains why everyone was giving me those weird looks yesterday.”, comments Kyosuke as he crosses his arms.

“…Soooooooo…is it true?”, Emiri asks, suddenly speaking up.

“OF COURSE IT’S NOT!!![/i][/size]”, Kyosuke and Misuzu yell at the redhead in unison.

An exaggerated drop of sweat falls down the side of Emiri’s head. “Okay, okay, I was just curious!”

Stomping her foot on the ground, Misuzu says, “I swear, come lunch hour, I’m going to track down whoever printed this ludicrous article and make them pay for this indignity!”

“Same here!”, says Kyosuke, cracking his knuckles.

“…You’re not seriously gonna start throwing punches, are you?”, Emiri queries with narrowed brows.

“Why shouldn’t I!? The person responsible for this article should be taught a lesson for printing lies!”

“Ugh… I guess I should come along too to make sure you don’t send innocent people to the infirmary…”

Just then, the classroom door slides open and several students start to walk in. Amongst them was a bundle of silvery-black hair. “Ohayou, my good friends!”, Rudy Beaumont spouts cheerfully as he enters.

“Not now, Beaumont!”, Misuzu growls as she takes her seat in a huff.

“My, my… Someone’s panties are a tad tight this morning-- Aah!” Rudy’s remark is cut short when Misuzu throws the school paper at his face.

“If you like that face you’re wearing, I suggest you go away!”

“Hehehe… A short temper doesn’t become that cute face of yours, Misuzu… Hmm?” Turning his attention to the paper Misuzu chucked at him, Rudy’s eyes dart about a certain article on the front page. “!!!” Strangely, after reading only the article’s heading, young Rudy is overcome with unease. “…”

…As soon as the 8-note melody of the school bell signals the start of lunch hour, the classroom door slides rapidly open and a group consisting of Misuzu, Kyosuke, Emiri, and Chiaki zooms out and down the hallway. “To the journalism clubroom!!!”, Misuzu shouts out, her voice echoing throughout the school’s first floor.

Meanwhile, at the ‘headquarters’ of the journalism club, the group of people responsible for what is printed on the Sapporo South High School paper, each member of the staff is seen minding his or her own business, possibly following up on potential leads for their material. All of a sudden, the stillness of the room is abruptly interrupted when the door swings wide open and Misuzu storms inside. She walks up to the first person she sees and starts on another of her tantrums. “You! Tell me who printed this article!! NOW!!!”, the greatly peeved class rep of 7-A spouts while flailing a copy of the school paper.

The noticeably terrified chief of the journalism club trembles profusely in response to Misuzu’s impulsive entrance. “Uh… I, um…” The boy was in too much of a cold sweat to even form a complete sentence.

Shoving Misuzu aside, Emiri decides to take charge of the situation. “Please forgive my friend here. I’m still trying to convince her to switch to decaf. Hehehe…”

“Sakurai, what are you--!?”

“Just shut up and let me handle this, Misuzu! …Anyway, we’d like to know who printed this article on the school paper’s front page.”

Examining the article in question, the chief of staff’s eyes widen a little. “Ah! You mean this one?”

“Yes! So, who was it?”

“…Sorry, but the person who printed this story has requested to remain anonymous.”

“…Okay, Misuzu, he’s all yours.”

“W-Wait! It’s I-Ichiro Outa! He’s one of the top reporters on our staff!”

“Outa?”, Emiri repeats in wonder. “Isn’t he in our homeroom?”

“And where can we find this ‘Outa’!?”, Misuzu growls, quickly losing her patience.

“He’s…probably wandering the second floor around this time, looking for another scoop.”

“Well, okay then.”, Kyosuke says, speaking up. “Let’s get going before he decides to look for a scoop somewhere else.

With a wide smile and a cheery wave, Chiaki exclaims, “Thank you for your help!”

By the time Kyosuke and his friends exit the clubroom, the shaken chief of staff had collapsed into a chair, having almost suffered a heart attack. “…What the hell was that all about…?”

Meanwhile, a teenage boy with short black slicked hair is seen staking out the second-floor teacher’s lounge. The boy is seen tightly grasping a small camera and muttering to himself. He’s shortly approached from behind by a group of four. The girl leading the group crosses her arms as she drew closer. “Excuse me… Might you be Ichiro Outa?”

In a quick and sneering tone of voice, the camera-toting lad answers, “I’m busy. Come bother me later.”

“…I’m afraid this little matter can’t wait…”

“Well, it’s gonna have to, baby doll, ‘cuz I’m in the middle of--” Before the boy with the camera could finish his sentence, he’s swiftly spun around and forced to come face-to-face with a very angry blonde. “!!!”

“…Never call me ‘baby doll’…”, Misuzu snarls with an expression of much antagonism.

Cut to the school rooftop, where Kyosuke, Emiri, Chiaki, and Misuzu are seen standing around Ichiro Outa with his hands bound. “Let me guess…”, the cheeky journalist begins. “…You’re another hateful bunch come to criticize my articles, right? I know how it works. This isn’t the first time I’ve been bound and held against my will, y’know?”

“Drop the ‘tude and listen up, you little punk!”, Misuzu starts with a little ‘‘tude’ of her own. “You printed a fabricated article about me in the school paper, and unless you want to see my REALLY bad side, you’re gonna fix it!”

“Tch! And why should I do that?”

“…‘Cuz if you don’t, I’m gonna personally see to it that your life is made a living hell…”

“Oh, please. This isn’t the first time I’ve been threatened either.”

“If I were you, buddy, I’d listen well to Misuzu here.”, Kyosuke warns. “You don’t know what she’s capable of when she’s pissed.”

Chiaki then finds herself laughing heartily. “Remember that guy who snuck into the girls’ locker room last year? Tossed him out of the gym’s second-story window! Hahahaha!”

Backed-into-a-corner Ichiro swallows the lump in his throat. He had heard all about the bedlam that went down in the girls’ locker room last year from his fellow journalists. And now that he knew Misuzu was responsible for it, he begins to reconsider. “…What are your demands…?”, he mumbles.

“First, you’re to print in the next edition of the school paper that me and Nanbara dating is a lie. Second, you’re not to print any stories in the school paper that are about me without my approval. Understood?”

“Fine, fine…”

“Good! Glad we could come to an understanding!”

Momentarily looking away from his capturers, Ichiro contemplates on his defeat with a long sigh. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted what that Rudy guy told me…”

“Hmm?” Hearing Rudy’s name being mentioned, Emiri’s curiosity is piqued once again. “Did you say something just now? About Rudy?”

“Hehehe… Nosy little redhead, aren’t ya?”, Ichiro teases. “Well… A little after I caught Kyosuke and Misuzu on film, I got back to class a few minutes before lunch hour ended. So I decided to show Rudy the pictures I took…”

“Check these beauties out, Rudy-boy!”

“Not bad, not bad… Hmm? Is this Kyosuke and Misuzu?”

“Yup. I spotted ‘em in front of the flower shop down the street. Pretty weird, huh? I thought those two hated each other’s guts.”

“Who knows? Maybe they’re trying to keep their blossoming romance a secret. Hahaha.”

“Hmm… A secret romance, huh…?”

In the face of this news, Kyosuke and his friends were struck by speechlessness. Misuzu balls her hands into tight fists – a sign that her unrivaled temper had emerged once more. “Grrrr… BEAAAAUMOOOONT!!!!!” A scream so loud, it scares away the pigeons perched on the school roof.

His chopsticks clattering on the desk in front of him, Rudy would feel a cold chill run down his spine.

Hours later, at the end of the school day, Emiri and Chiaki exit the school building side by side, having made plans to get some mitarashi dango together before heading home. “There’s this place I pass by on th’ way home. They serve th’ best dango in all o’ Chuo-ku!”, the green-haired Osakan gushes.

“Great! I’m looking forward to it!”

“…Hey, Emi-chan?”

“Yeah?”

“The way you were actin’ when you heard Kyosuke and Misuzu were datin’… Did the news upset ya or somethin’?”

“H-Huh?” Chiaki’s sudden insinuation causes Emiri’s face to flush. “W-What would give you that idea? I wasn’t upset! Why would I be upset?”

“Hee-hee! Your face is all red!”

“S-Stop it, Chiaki!”

“Hahahaha!”

“Mou… So what happened with Misuzu? She teaching Rudy a lesson?”

“Well…”

As Emiri and Chiaki converse and joke on their way off the school grounds, a different kind of activity is seen playing out on the track field. Misuzu chases Rudy up and down the field, school bag in hand, with intent to strike. “I’ll teach you to start rumors about me!!!”, shouts the furious blonde.

“Come on, Misuzu!”, Rudy whines, short of breath. “I only meant it as a joke! Honest!”

“YURUSENAI!!!!!”

~Futari: End of Act 2~

~Power of Love: End of Episode 4~

~ Power of Love: Next Episode ~

???: *meow*

Emiri: …Anyone else hear that?

Chiaki: I didn’t hear anythin’.

???: *meow*

Rudy: There it is again!

Chiaki: It’s nothin’! You’re just imaginin’ it!

???: *meow*

Yuzu: It sounds like…a cat?

Emiri: …Chiaki, are you hiding something?

Chiaki: *gulp*

Kyosuke: Next time on Power of Love! Episode 5, “Watarimono (Wanderer)”!

Chiaki: S-Seriously, I’m not hidin’ any-- Aah! T-That tickles!

???: *meow*[/font][/size][/color]