The following morning.
Yuuki passed through the school gate slightly behind his usual time. Upon reaching the entryway, he heard a racket coming from the shoe lockers.
“Morning, Rio! Allow me to hold that bag for you!”
“Pfff. What is she, the school don?”
“Less chatting more greeting, people! You don’t wanna make her mad!”
“Oh no, anything but that!”
The rowdy bunch’s cackles grew distant, leaving only a single girl silently changing her shoes behind.
The school don? Yuuki glanced over just as she closed her locker, their gazes meeting.
Flowing black hair, tenacious eyes, a face lacking all expression. Further inspection revealed it to be the seatmate breaker, otherwise known as Rio.
Fearing a shakedown, Yuuki attempted to mount an escape.
“You there, hold it.” He walked up to his locker and changed his shoes, ignoring her. Rio went right up to him “You have some serious nerve to ignore me like that. Narito, was it? We need to talk.”
“Sorry, I’m booked for the rest of the month.”
“What?”
“We can talk here. I don’t mind.”
“Come with me.” She disregarded Yuuki’s words, dragging him off to an empty hallway. Rio pulled out her phone from her bag, showing it to him after a bit of fiddling. “Care to explain?”
On screen was what appeared to be a picture of a uniformed girl and boy facing each other on the street. Whoever took it probably had bad hand shake because the image was so blurry it was hard to make anything out.
“Are they in the middle of practicing their afterimage technique?”
“After what? Don’t play dumb with me. It’s you and Yui.”
“Me and Yui? Where’d you get that?”
“I, erm, I have my ways.”
“What ways?”
“What difference does it make? All I want to know is if you and Yui are d-d-dating.”
“Not a chance.”
No need to add that, well, actually, we pretend to be girlfriend and boyfriend in my little sister’s presence.
The tension in her concerned expression eased ever so slightly. “Okay, so if you’re not dating, then how do you explain this picture?”
“We just happened to go home together, I think.”
“Just happened to? You mean you cajoled her into it, leveraging your seatmate status?”
It appeared there were several misunderstandings at play.
I almost get the impression she’s unaware of the seatmate killer. Time to find out.
“Have you asked Yui out?”
“Hu-Huh? A-Ask her out?!”
It would seem even the seatmate killer wasn’t as thorough as to go after other girls.
Yuuki nonetheless had to warn her, as that could always change in the future. “Don’t bother. She’ll reject you.”
“Yes? We’re both girls after--” Rio had the most confused face but then she placed her hand on her chin. “I see. So this is your way of saying you want to ask her out but are too afraid of being rejected, yes? I caught you red-handed!”
“Not really, no.”
“Or so you say. Anyway, a friendly warning. Yui’s popular, so popular you’re not even in the same universe.”
“I know.”
“But she’s also helplessly kind to everyone. To put it bluntly, you’re getting the wrong idea.”
“Kind?”
“So, to avoid inevitably embarrassing yourself, stop associating with her. If she chats you up, tell Yui ’I don’t have time for you, woman. I’m too busy chilling with the boys.’ and ignore her.”
“Why.”
“Because dealing with misunderstanders like you is tiring for her.”
“Misunderstanders.”
“Why are you looking at me? Look, just, do as I say. I’ll even give you this Quo card.” Rio rummaged through her bag, pulled a card out from her wallet and held it out.
Instead of a shakedown I get a five dollar card? What luck.
“Let’s go.”
“Aren’t you oddly cooperative?”
Yuuki took the card and parted ways with Rio, who had a satisfied look on her face, heading to class.
Yui chatted him up the second he sat down at his desk. “Mornin’. How’re your studies coming along?”
He glanced over to his side and saw Yui wearing her usual smile. Guess I have to ignore her for five dollars’ worth of time.
Yuuki gazed out the window. “Am I Buggin’ you?” He continued staring out the window. “Buggin’ you?” A bug sat on the window sill. He pulled out his phone. “Stop ignoring me.” Yui ripped off a piece of eraser, chucking it at Yuuki.
Likely realizing the futility of her actions, she began fiddling around with her phone too.
Moments later, a notification popped up on Yuuki’s phone. It was a text from Yui.
“Stop ignoring me.”
Learn how to take a hint.
Rio told him to ignore her but she didn’t say anything about texting.
“Attention starved, much?”
“Excuse me?” She replied, adding some strange stamp which read ’do you want a slap?’.
“I’m giving you attention.”
“Don’t need it.”
“Ah, I see. Finally turning to the cold shoulder approach, are we?”
“Implying I’ve tried any other approach.”
“Touché.” Yui shot Yuuki a glare, who continued ignoring her. “Look at us, texting each other all secret like. Getting serious couple vibes.”
“My fingers are getting tired.”
“Aaand there they go with the wind.”
“You could be studying right now.”
“A once in a lifetime opportunity to have your way with me for a day and you’re telling me to study?”
“Paw.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“So you choose stockings.”
“I thought about that all afternoon. You plan on making me wear them on my head, don’t you?”
Yuuki stopped responding, which appeared to have finally broken Yui. “Why aren’t you talking?”
“I don’t have time for you, woman. I’m too busy chilling with the boys.”
“And other lies you can tell yourself.” She shot back.
And with that, I believe my work here is done.
“Phew.”
“Phew? What’s with the ‘I totally wasn’t told to repeat this exact line verbatim’ style delivery? It was Hayami, wasn’t it?”
“No it was... what’s her face.” He gazed up at the ceiling, only to spot the devil herself outside the window. “Huh.”
Rio poked her head out from underneath the sill, her eyes gesturing Yuuki over. It appeared she had made it there through the balcony.
Resigning himself to his fate, Yuuki opened the sliding glass door, walking into the balcony.
“Sit.” Rio, crouched over, beckoned. He did as told. “You tried ratting on me, didn’t you? Couldn’t even do that properly.”
“You didn’t tell me not to.”
“Don’t you have any common sense? What are you, some kind of robot who only follows orders?”
“Should’ve given better orders.”
“Better orders? You didn’t even follow them!”
“Energy levels critical. Please insert a Quo card.”
“Why you lousy no-good fuel guzzling hunk of junk!” She pinned Yuuki to the wall, her finger practically shoved into his face as she barked at him, her hair swaying in the wind.
How fragrant.
Just as Yuuki was about to lose himself in Rio’s hair, a strange sound reached his ears. “Mhmmm.” Yui gazed out onto the balcony with a skeptical look. Noticing her gaze, Rio promptly pushed him away. “Don’t you two get along.”
“What? N-No! H-He--”
“Rio you’re surprisingly... whew.”
“I-Its’ not what it--” Rio choked on her words, her face turning pink. She shot Yuuki a glare. “I was just checking if someone’s messing around on the balcony!” She declared as she whipped around, storming off.
Yui gazed at her, puzzled. “She’s... a bit of an oddball, that one.”
“A bit is an understatement.”
“Ouch. That hurts, coming from you.”
“Aren’t you to blame?”
“For what?”
It was only natural to think that it was Yui who messed up Rio’s mind. The dreaded seatmate killer. Making an oddball out of a well-behaved model student. The perpetrator, however, seemed fully intent on feigning ignorance.
“Still, that caught me by surprise. You wouldn’t believe how long it took me to get where I am.”
“Get where?”
“You’re surprisingly socially competent, you know that?”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.”
“I know, I know.”
“Right, I’ll buy you DFC on the way home. Had an unexpected influx of cash.”
“Unexpected influx, you say?” Yui was beyond suspicious.
In any case, the seatmate killer’s ally, the seatmate breaker, proved to be quite the thorn in Yuuki’s side.
Guess saving the victim takes priority. Got to work from the bottom up. Though, there’s still plenty of time. Yuuki thought, flaunting the Quo card he got from Rio.
✦ ✦ ✦
Year two class four’s classroom.
As lunch break rolled around, a couple of guys gathered at the desk next to Rio’s and started making noise.
“We going outside for lunch or what?”
“Quiet, she’ll scold you for misconduct again.”
“S-Scold me? Have mercy, queen!”
The bunch broke into riotous laughter which seemingly spread to their surroundings, spawning a wave of giggles.
Rio didn’t react, she didn’t even so much as glance their way, she just quietly got up from her seat and left.
She bought herself something to eat and drink at the cafeteria and walked outside. She went around the school, down a narrow walkway to a square hole in a building.
It was by complete accident that she found this spot. She wandered around aimlessly searching for a place where she could be alone and, before she knew it, she found herself here.
It was perfect for lunch-- no people, no noise. Great find, if I do say so myself.
Rio gently sat down on some protruding concrete. She pulled out her phone and opened an instant messaging app to check for notifications.
She tapped on the illustrated cat icon with the name Yui next to it, only to then close the app with a generous swipe and put away her phone.
With a faint sigh she lifted her head up just in time to catch a small moving shadow out in the corner of her eye. A kitty. The cat walked with its tail lazily hung, its fur light brown lined with the occasional silver hair.
“Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” Rio gestured it over.
The cat listlessly raised its head and looked over to Rio, only to immediately turn around and run.
After watching it fade out of view, Rio opened her stuffed bread and took a bite. The inside was mostly air.
I might as well just bring my own food at this rate. She crammed the rest of it into her mouth, washing it down with a drink.
Just about as she finished her lunch, a quiet plop resounded underfoot. Rain. The forecast predicted cloudy weather, yet the clouds had suddenly darkened over.
As Rio idly gazed up at the sky, the plops became louder and louder until it eventually started pouring mere minutes later.
Rain struck concrete, trickling down to Rio’s location and forming black stains on her shoes and the hem of her dress.
She backed up against the wall, pulling her knees toward her chest. Can’t get me here. Rio sat there and waited, watching drops of rain dribble down the walls.