Mean Girls

[oneblackcat]

She hurts so much inside, she doesn't even know how else to deal with it.

It was simple enough, wasn't it? The hurt was because of Flayn. Was it her perky, happy, perfect innocence demeanor? Her exoticism? Noguchi had genuinely tried to understand what it was that made Flayn so much better than her in Yukimura's eyes that his preference would be so blatantly displayed. It was bad enough to face the sting of rejection, but the slap of humiliation on top of it? She would be lying if she said it hadn't led to a few wet spots on her pillow that night.

The doubles match only made it worse, and that was on top of the rumor he and Flayn had stolen away to a private lunch together in between. How bold was she being without classroom eyes on her? Already she'd proven willing to hold his hand in public view. Whatever the answer, it was clearly enough to have Yukimura bewitched.

It wasn't that she'd ever been particularly close to him. Like most girls, Noguchi had only watched and yearned from a distance for most of junior high, and then into high school. He was just perfect. Beautiful, well-mannered, talented across multiple spectrums.... and there was something about him that captivated her like steel to a magnet. His very presence was an irresistible force. Noguchi had known a couple of little crushes before him; none had held so intensely or for nearly as long. She was simply desperate.

And then, she was also angry. That project reassignment felt like robbery, the one chance where finally they had a reason to talk, and even if he didn't take an interest, it was such a special thing just to be able to sit with him, and she could look up and he was right there.

Until he wasn't, because someone decided to finally show up and be without a project partner, and then decided to turn the charm up to 21 right there in front of everyone. Now Yukimura was being so intimate with her he even personally styled her hair before the match, she'd heard. That long, soft, green mass of curl. He'd complimented it before, too, hadn't he?

She hurt, and she was angry, and those feelings fueled a dark desire to hurt and humiliate back. She wanted Flayn to suffer the way she did, to feel the misery her presence had inflicted. And why shouldn't she? Wasn't it good to learn not to stick out from the crowd so much? It was Flayn's own fault for being so forward and shameless and completely, utterly disregarding of the comfort of others. Did she think she was the only girl in the world who liked him?

Given Yukimura's clear affection for her tresses, it wasn't hard for her and Konishi (bless her best friend, confidant and partner in crime who understood everything) to settle on a punishment. And when Yukimura excused himself to get some supplies from the back room, and then Kudou-sensei left the art room to do whatever it was he wanted to do that wasn't teaching, opportunity knocked.

With mental placations of the near future, she slid over to Flayn's table and into the chair across from her with an awkward smile.

"Morning. Mind if I join you for a bit? Since you were late joining the class, I never really got a chance to properly meet you."

Comments

[senseskill]

The sound that seemed as loud as a thunderclap was no figment of the imagination; the entire room heard it. It was the sound of Yukimura's hand intercepting Konishi's wrist.

"That's dangerous," Yukimura said, the gentle manner of his tone at odds with the contempt in his eyes as he looked past his nose to Konishi's face. The scissors, whether from the startle or from the sudden strength of his grip, slipped from her fingers and clattered against the tile floor. A flutter of green shavings fell around it.

It wasn't a perfect save, but it looks like he made it in time to prevent serious damage.

"You shouldn't be walking with those in the air, Konishi-san. You almost took off Flayn's ponytail. What were you doing?"

If he overheard any of the conversation at the table, it was as good as white noise, buried under a fury that burned deceptively hot under his icy composure. Composure that he kept icy because his anger was so intense he dared not let even a trickle of it out.

Assault. She tried to assault Flayn. The question is not whether to escalate this; it's exactly how far up the chain to climb.

[seems_fishy]

Flayn's neck jerks away from Konishi, letting her see for herself the fall of the soft green hairs. She quickly pulled her ponytail over her shoulder, trying to assess the damage.

"It is..." She bit her lip. Looking between Noguchi and Konishi (looking at Yukimura seems... dangerous...), then back down at the floor, at the... the mess...

Flayn tries to sweep the fine, thin hairs into her palm because, well, they shouldn't be on the floor, they should probably be in the trash, and feels her eyes welling up.

"I... I will go," she said, making for the door.

[senseskill]

Yukimura experiences a flicker of alarm and concern for Flayn as she rises and leaves, almost enough to make him abandon what he's started. Flayn is indisputably more important. What exactly would that accomplish, though? He hates it a little right now, but he knows his strengths, and it will be more productive for him to focus on what he's already doing first.

Instead, the effect this has had on her fuels the dark, menacing aura directed at Konishi.

"Y...Yukimura-kun, wait!"

Noguchi immediately feels the scrutiny of his gaze.

"...Unfortunate. You two could have made a strong doubles pair. You have good teamwork, don't you."

"Wh...What are you talking about? It was an accident!"

Yukimura finally releases Konishi's wrist. "You should save your excuses for someone in a position to consider them. Both of you, please come with me."

"...No. Neither of us has done anything wrong. You're treating us both like criminals!"

The intensity of Yukimura's glare was the last thing Noguchi saw. She fell silent, her eyes staring in vacant horror at nothing in particular.

"As you wish," Yukimura said. "If you prefer to forfeit the privacy of the headmaster's office for discussing this, I'll let him know where to find you. Excuse me."

He turned and left.

[senseskill]

Yukimura does not actually know for sure that the headmaster is in his office. What he does know is that he doesn't have time to waste walking the school in search of him. What he also knows is where to find a reliable chain of communication upwards.

"Excuse me," he says as he opens the door to one of the classrooms and scans it quickly for his audience. "Yagyuu. A moment please."

Two minutes in the hall later, the student council president has all of the information he needs and returns to his seat. Yukimura looks briefly back in the direction of the art room, and heads the other way, towards the staircase to the rooftop garden where he ate lunch with Flayn the other day. It's a wild guess, but it's the best one he has to make. If Flayn wanted him and him only to find her, he has to believe this is where she would go.

The push bar to the exit door feels ice cold against his palm as he gently pushes it open and steps out, looking around for her figure. His anger is dispelled with the execution of everything needed to address its cause. What remains is the concern for how she must feel after being ganged up on and deceived like that, now free to bloom to the surface.

"Flayn...? Are you here?"

[seems_fishy]

She wasn't so embattled as to weep, but a few tears blink out of her eyes when she's startled by the sound of her name. She's taken the ponytail down and spread the long, loose waves over shoulders, trying to disguise any irregularity she may be the only one close enough to see.

"Over here," she said, on the bench, looking up when she sees him coming.

"I didn't mean to leave you all alone with the project..."

[senseskill]

She did come here. Thank goodness.

Yukimura's stride is brisk but not hurried as he approaches her. "The project is the last thing on my mind right now. Are you okay...? That was an awful trick."

[seems_fishy]

Flayn tries to hold her mouth taut but she can feel it quivering.

"I cannot fathom how... Or why..."

She doesn't want to show Yukimura a teary face, because someone so very strong and self-contained surely cannot help but despise it. And she has perhaps worn out a welcome with someone like him.

Her head bows, wondering if she's just burdened everyone here through the mechanism of their own politeness.

[senseskill]

Yukimura looks down. It's nothing to do with Flayn; it's frustration at himself. He hasn't the slightest comprehension either. There's nothing he can give her to ease her confusion, or to make the humiliation she must feel right now hurt less.

No. He refuses to accept his own helplessness. Hear her words, Seiichi. What does she really need?

...

"May I join you?"

[seems_fishy]

"Yes, of course," she said. "Though I should not detain you from procuring an education! I'd hate to keep you away from everyone and all to myself."

She laughs a little brokenly.

"Mind you, I say that merely for convention's sake. Truly, being alone with you right now is the only thing I can bear."

[senseskill]

Were the situation not so heavy, her manner of offering the socially acceptable lie and then immediately undermining its purpose with a callout would be funny. As it is, the hollowness and pain in her voice erases any humor from the response.

Yukimura manages to push down his own dark self-gratification at her confession to only wanting his company and eases down to a sit on the other half of the bench, angled towards her.

"Frankly, I feel the same way. If my presence can bring you any comfort, I'm glad to miss a little class time for it."

Almost against his will, Yukimura's memories flash back to the art class, and how readily she sought his hand as a gesture of comfort and support. It makes his chest a little tight in a flutter of nervousness and hesitation-- that just wasn't done here. But he wants to. And if she did it first... and it's not even a lie...

Only a little of that nervousness and self-doubt is allowed to come to his expression before he finds his boldness, and places his palm over her nearer hand.

"I don't have answers for you as to how or why they did it, but I can tell you there's zero place for that behavior at Rikkai. I reported it to the student council president before coming here; it will be addressed.

"You've done nothing wrong."

She probably knows that already, but surely it's a comfort to hear it confirmed all the same.

[seems_fishy]

Her head lifts even as he hand reflexively entwines itself with his.

"That means my father will know momentarily," she said, reciting the thoughts as they came into her head. "And he will..."

She blinked.

"Ah. If I do not go back to class and Father perceives my distress, I do not know what he will do. It may be drastic."

[senseskill]

Without a sound, and barely a shift in his body language, Yukimura descends into private crisis.

For all the Valentine gifts he's received and reciprocated as is custom a month later, he has basically no experience with romance and dating. It was a leap just to go to a touch of hands as a friend would do; that's quickly escalated into territory solidly in the camp of couples. It isn't that he minds, but what does this mean about their status now? Neither of them made a confession, and this is hardly the time for one. Does Flayn consider them to be dating without even the need for such a thing? Yukimura hasn't exactly been shy about his own signals. Was that normal to officiate with a handhold where she's from? What is he supposed to do now?

Breathe. Breathe and focus and stay calm. It's not the most important thing right now, says at least the greater half of what remains of his cognitive function.

"You don't need to worry about that," he assures her. "While it's true he'll eventually be informed, the student council president is thorough and well-organized. He'll want to know all of the facts and prepare a formal report before he gets the headmaster involved."

[seems_fishy]

"Who is the student council president? I do not think they can prevent my father from acting... rashly. Particularly if they are so rational themselves."

Belatedly, she looks at their hands.

Then back at Yukimura.

"I am sorry, is my hand getting too sweaty?"

[senseskill]

Yukimura is not quite sure what to make of this continued concern. How would her father even know to act?

"No, it's not at all... More importantly, how is your father going to get involved before being told about it? Are you expecting him to stop by and check on you for no reason? --Ah, I'm sorry. I got carried away. To answer your question, the student council president is Hiroshi Yagyuu. He's played tennis for the school for years, so I know him well.

"In any case, you only need to think about taking care of yourself right now. Leave everything else to me."

[seems_fishy]

She smiles wryly.

"I imagine someone will tell him sooner rather than later. If they are so ill disposed to me, I can easily imagine others who feel similarly about them. And would be willing to make their lives harder accordingly."

And school would be the most convenient weapon.

"But you are right I shouldn't be worrying about them... Though, since you are worrying about me, I almost feel no need to."

[senseskill]

Yukimura can privately admit he's not concerned with whatever fate has in store for bullies. Particularly not bullies that had targeted someone he was fond of. Suspension was the minimum he would accept in consequences, and he had no reason to think it was a case he'd need to argue. What a strange position this is to be in, though, finding Flayn's father such an easy figure to identify with after the way they butted heads about Marui at the beginning of the year.

Flayn's admission makes him smile just a little. "Is that so? Then you can leave that to me too, if you like."

He leans back slightly to check over her tresses. She's rearranged things a bit since class.

"It doesn't look like she was able to do any damage. Thank goodness..."

[seems_fishy]

"Because you came to my rescue so swiftly!" Flayn said quickly. "I shudder to think what might have happened if your reflexes were at all slower."

[senseskill]

The flush of pleasure in his expression from her praise betrays his true feelings beneath the requisite modesty.

"It was nothing really. Although I must admit, tennis will do amazing things for your grip." Konishi might be feeling a bruise around her wrist in the near future. There wasn't really time or mind for considering how much grip strength was needed in an emergency. You simply grabbed, and the urgency of the moment did the rest.