(no subject)
Characters: Fuji Yuuta and Ryuuzaki Sakuno
Rating: PG
When/Where: Today / By the Gardening Club Shed
What: Some Day Class girls decide to teach Sakuno a lesson and Yuuta gathers his courage in more than one way.
Authors comments: Bullying yourself is weird... and it's about time, right~?
That damned Ryuuzaki girl. Where did she get off? All high and mighty, spending time with the gems of the Night Class as if it were nothing. Sure, at first she was just some cute, innocent, classmate of theirs but she had gone too far. Love letters? Secret meetings in the morning? Going to town together during the curfew overlaps? It was just too much!
And what drove these three particular girls mad was how Ryuuzaki Sakuno couldn't just be with one Night Class boy, oh no; she was with tons of them! At least once a day; it was unimaginable. Well these three had had enough: Tomoe, Nanami, and Kinose were done with Ryuuzaki Sakuno's antics. They'd teach her a lesson today!
The three mischievous girls headed to the gardening shed they had noticed Ryuuzaki head to every other afternoon before the class shift. That annoying bee of a friend of hers, Osakada Tomoka, would normally report to the other girl when the Night Class was leaving the Dusk Dorm. But today was different, Osakada had to stay late for supplementary lessons and today was the trio's chance. They'd rough up Ryuuzaki's precious little gardening shed a bit and then confront her.
Yuuta had been thinking of surprising Sakuno by showing up to the gardening club without informing her. It was rare for him to visit there and usually he told her before he would show up, for some reason. But today would be different. Who knew, maybe there was something he could do at the club to help her out. Something heavy to carry, maybe… that would help his strength, too.
However, something was different from the usual. There were three girls Yuuta had never seen at the club before. Actually, he had seen them swooning over the Night class guys several times. Being annoying as ever. Still, the girls were for some reason heading towards the gardening shed… well, that was the way Yuuta was going as well, so he might as well see what they were up to. If they were really joining that was okay… but Yuuta had a feeling that this wasn’t about that.
"Is this really a good idea..?" whispered Nanami a bit sheepishly as she followed along behind the other two girls. She too was angry with the fact Ryuuzaki Sakuno was getting so much attention from the Night Class when they had to struggle but she was unsure of what they were about to do.
"Of course it is! Not like we're hurting her or anything, just teaching her a lesson." Kinose explained matter-of-factly. She wasn't exactly the brains behind the operation but she was up for teaching the braided haired snake who was stealing their Night Class boys away a good lesson.
"We all agreed to this, Nanami; it's the only way to make a point to that Ryuuzaki." Tomoe huffed as they made it to the shed. They opened the door with ease as the lock hadn't been set, like they imagined. Inside all of the tools for the gardening club were neatly set up in the small shed. Tomoe happily stepped in and began knocking things over without prejudice. Pots smashed and tools clanged to the floor.
Nanami cringed a bit sheepishly, she really was second guessing joining in with her friends. But with some encouragement from Kinose in the form of helping her shove over some fertilizer she soon loosened up too. It was like the girls were taking out their rage on the materials now and they happily went to work at messying the shed.
There were sounds coming from the shed. Not a good sign. Yuuta hurried his steps. The gardening club was Sakunos pride and joy… something she had worked on. He didn’t want that to be ruined by something. And those sounds clearly sounded like something was wrong. Unless the girls who went there were super clumsy… but some of the Day class girls were quite annoying and the lowest rank bullies.
Yuuta arrived at the shed and saw the girls dropping the equipment and breaking some pots. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” he shouted. “Stop that!”
Immediately the three girls stopped what they were doing and turned to spot the boy. They hadn't anticipated being caught, this was not good.
"Who are you?" Kinose demanded, frustrated that their fun had been interrupted. She was a girl with a bit of a violent streak, probably why Tomoe always recruited her for their mini acts of revenge.
Tomoe didn't remember any Day Class boys being in Ryuuzaki's club. Perhaps she had miscalculated; she was the brains of the operation and the leader of the trio. To think she had overlooked something only annoyed her further, her hand carelessly slipped and knocked over another pot. "Oops~"
Yuuta’s eye twitched. Why… he clenched his fist. “I told you to stop didn’t I?!” he shouted again, ignoring the request of introductions. “You have no business here… and what you’re doing is beyond pathetic!” Especially two of the girls had a nasty aura… one of them didn’t seem to be too into it. But that didn’t help her in this situation. Not at all.
“Either you stop or I will make you stop.” How? He had no idea yet. He didn’t want to get violent on girls, but at least he could … tie them up or something? That sounded fishy too. And it was three versus one.
"Make us..? Haha, that's funny, and how are you going to do that?" Kinose laughed. The idea of the random boy before them trying to stop the trio was amusing to her. Sure he was a guy but there was no way he stood a chance if the three of them got serious, the numbers were on their side if strength wasn't.
"What do you care, anyway?" Tomoe queried, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. She didn't like the way he was talking to them, he sounded too attached to the place. He wasn't just some random passer-by looking to do good. Any other Day Class boy would have probably ignored them.
“Heh, I have my ways”, Yuuta said with a mysterious and serious tone, hoping they would get at least a little scared over it. “And I don’t want someone’s pride and joy being destroyed… especially not my close friend's.” He was quite nervous of how he would handle the situation. He was actually hoping someone from the Night class would show up… but he had to manage things on his own.
"So you're Ryuuzaki's friend, huh?" Kinose almost laughed again, sizing Yuuta up a bit. "Better not be pining for her, you don't stand a chance." She rolled her eyes, what a poor sap. And here they had been thinking she had just been after the Night Class boys. The poor sap.
"Pride and joy? This dingy little shed... sure it's not the droves of boys she's been hanging out with lately that's her real club." Tomoe smirked, confident the two of them would hit at just the right nerves in the boy before him. She had seen him talking to Ryuuzaki every now and then and by the way he was reacting he totally had a thing for the girl. Probably her sweet and innocent act; how despicable of her.
Nanami had managed to sneak a glance outside past Yuuta for a moment and let out a panicked gasp as she tugged at her friends' shirts to get their attention. "S-She's coming!" she whispered.
Sakuno had been held up by Tomoka after class for a moment. She was telling her about how she wanted to go into town with her sometime and a few ideas about the club. Sure her friend didn't have the greatest green thumb ever but her artistic eye for color was undeniable. They were going to breathe some more life into campus soon with a bit more floral color. As she rounded the corner Sakuno saw a familiar figure standing at the door to the shed.
"Yuuta?"
She hurried over, wondering what the boy was doing there. Normally he let her know when he was coming to help, and it looked like he wasn't alone; that was odd...
Yuuta had hoped he would sort things out before Sakuno would have come around. At least to the point where they’d regret what they’ve done and would apologize. That seemed pointless, since the girls seemed rot on the inside. Night class this, night class that… was that all that they had in their mind? And accusing Sakuno of stealing them away (at least that was something he’d figure that they were so angry about) was just unforgivable.
“Say one more bad word of her again and I’ll really be pissed off… Her club is gardening. It has nothing to do with your princes. Yeah, she’s their friend. But that’s all. She’s not like the rest of you lot!” Yes, he knew Sakuno was there already, he heard her voice. But he didn’t want to stand there and say nothing.
Well darn, their fun had been spoiled. But they weren't about to walk off without completing things. Kinose was the first, she shoved Yuuta back knowing fully well he wouldn't strike back at them. The trio then stopped in front of Sakuno.
"You better stay away from the Night Class if you know what's good for you, Ryuuzaki." they threatened.
"Huh..?" The braided haired girl had no idea what they were talking about or what they meant. She looked to Yuuta who seemed infuriated and then just past into the shed and saw the mess. "Wh... what happened..?"
"W-We just thought we'd give you a warning." Nanami spoke up, upset that the girl they were prosecuting looked so hurt. Why would she be hurt? It was them she was hurting after all! "Stop acting like you're so innocent!"
"Acting... but what did I-..?" Sakuno tried to question but was cut off when Tomoe stepped forward.
"You think you're so popular and can get away with anything just because all of the boys like you." she huffed, glancing to Yuuta as she spoke. "Don't think we'll just sit back and let you get all the damned attention." Looking at Ryuuzaki just made them all more anxious. She seemed so plain, what was so great about her that everyone saw? It almost made Tomoe sick; sick with jealousy of course.
"B-But I... I don't know wh-what you mean." Sakuno didn't quite know how to fight back, or why she even had to. She could feel that the three girls before her were angry but she didn't fully understand why. Or why they had clearly been the ones to mess up the shed. She looked to Yuuta sadly and then to the three girls pleadingly. "Why did you do this..?"
"Because we don't like you." was the simple response. And it was quite clear in the way they all looked at her quite spitefully.
Yuuta tried to remain calm, but the girls made him quite sick. Didn’t they hear a thing he said? If they did, they certainly didn’t believe it. And now they were threatening Sakuno… that was once again unforgivable. Silently Yuuta took some soil to his pocket, thinking of using it somehow to get a small revenge on the girls (or just to help Sakuno escape) observing the situation closely.
Sakuno seemed so lost and sad… it hurt Yuuta. It hurt a lot. He couldn’t stand it, so he made his way through the three girls and walked in front of Sakuno, to shelter her.
“I told you to stop. How many times do I have to repeat myself? She isn’t like you think she is. Sakuno is an innocent girl who just made friends with the guys you wouldn’t dare to approach. What’s so hard about that, eh? Afraid that your idols would see your ugly side so you can’t get close to them? Pathetic…”
The girls seemed even more annoyed. Well, that was quite alright, since they would get what they deserved soon enough. “Oh and by the way. My name’s Fuji Yuuta”, he finally introduced himself. “And I’m a guy you shouldn’t mess with”, he continued and then threw all the soil from his pockets at the girls. Then he pushed Sakuno out of the shed and closed the door behind him, staying there to block it.
“Go! Fetch a teacher or something! They’ll get a punishment for messing your work up”, Yuuta said to Sakuno and smiled. “I’ll hold them off until you get someone here.”
Before Sakuno even knew what was happening the three girls had been locked into the shed and Yuuta was covering for her. She blinked a few times and saw Yuuta smiling at her, but the girl was still quite confused. However she was sure of the fact that she had done something to make those girls angry at her, she just wasn't completely sure what just yet.
"Y-Yuuta! Th-That's not good... they could get hurt or something..." Sakuno tried to protest. She could hear them yelling and struggling on the other side of the door and feared they may hurt themselves with some of the equipment in the rather dark shed.
"I-... I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding..." She knew it wasn't, it felt like something like this had happened before. And she could recall the things Yuuta had been arguing about with them just moments ago. But she didn't want anyone to get hurt over it.
“They won’t get hurt.” Most likely he’d be the one hurt if he’d let them out. Yuuta was pretty sure he now had three enemies. But well, they were Sakuno’s enemies, too, so he didn’t mind. “If they do, I’m the one responsible for it”, he said quietly.
Then he looked straight into Sakuno’s eyes. “If it’s a misunderstanding, which I highly doubt, the teachers will help us solve it. Please, Sakuno, go get someone. I promise you, if I hear anything fishy from the inside, I’ll check.”
Though she hadn't meant to say that Yuuta would hurt them like that it seemed to come off as such. The girl was positive he would never do anything to hurt anyone, and she knew the girls inside the shed weren't blameless. They had tried to attack Sakuno by destroying the supplies in the shed; that much the girl had picked up on. But she never thought of herself as being bullied just everything as a misunderstanding that she couldn't quite clear up.
"Yuuta... thank you..." was all she could really say. She would have protested more but when Yuuta looked her in the eyes she couldn't find the will to. Sakuno simply nodded and began to head off to the school building to find a teacher. Her strides started off hurried and then turned into running as she hastened; she wanted things to be resolved as soon as possible.
Yuuta looked after Sakuno, relieved that she would really go fetch someone. It felt like she trusted him… which made him feel at least a bit happy in the situation. Holding the door close was difficult even if the ones trying to open it were girls. But he was confident that he would be able to wait there until someone adult came around. Then everything would be better… and the stuff in the shed could be replaced. It’s not like it was the end of the world.
A few moments later Sakuno had returned with a teacher and the girls were released from the shed and escorted to the office. After Sakuno and Yuuta had explained the situation they were released and told the girls would get proper punishment for what they had done. It seemed they would be responsible for cleaning up and replacing anything broken in the shed for the gardening club.
Sakuno let out a small sigh of relief as she walked with Yuuta out of the school building. The girls were still being scolded and questioned for what they had done back in the office so that was the last they'd see of them for the day. The braided haired girl was just relieved that no one had been hurt, other than herself in a small way of course. She didn't know why anyone would dislike her enough to try and destroy something of hers. It wasn't as if they had had malice for the gardening club from the sounds of it.
"S-Sorry for causing you trouble, Yuuta... because of me..." she trailed off a bit sadly as she stopped behind him in the courtyard.
It was a relief that the situation had gone so smoothly. The girls were unhurt and they were going to be punished… Yuuta was able to help Sakuno at least a little… even though it was in a way that wasn’t too pleasant. He had wanted to spend a nice and relaxed evening with gardening and maybe something else after that… but the girls had ruined it.
Yuuta looked at Sakuno when she was apologizing to him. “Don’t apologize. Yeah, it was a bit troublesome… but I couldn’t just let it be like that. I wanted to help you. I just wish I could have done a better job.”
"N-No you did fine, really... thank you for everything, Yuuta." she smiled, realizing her sadness wouldn't help the situation. "I-I just feel responsible is all... if I would have been able to say something maybe you wouldn't have had to do so much..." Which was how she felt, she wondered if she had caused others the same problems before without knowing it too.
“I don’t think words would have helped in that situation. The girls didn’t even listen when I tried to talk sense into them…” Yuuta said and scratched his hair a little. “So don’t feel responsible, okay? It’s not your fault that they’re like that. Even if they say so.”
"O-Okay..." Sakuno could have easily continued apologizing or saying it was still a misunderstanding that she felt badly about. However, she found herself reassured by what Yuuta said to her and she felt like it was okay to put it behind her. "Thank you Yuuta, I-I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there to save me." she smiled to him again.
Yuuta blushed slightly. “You’re welcome. And…” he stopped himself for a while, swallowed and took a deep breath. “I would do it again if I had to. Because I… want to protect you.” Not what he meant to say, but it was also something he would have said. Just in a wrong order, but he needed courage to say the other thing… and that he lacked still. At least for the moment.
Sakuno couldn't help but blush as well, only it wasn't something the girl could really hide. She had been too caught by surprise at what he said. He wanted to protect her? The words made her chest feel a bit funny coming from him. She felt a bit bad she didn't have anything to say to that other than, "Th-Thank you, Yuuta."
The boy's face turned a bit redder as the girl thanked him again. This was a nice chance to say something… well, it could ruin the mood, but then again it could make things even sweeter. It was a risk that Yuuta had to think about… but something he really wanted to say. Since you never knew when your chances would reduce to none. Especially since Sakuno knew so many guys, who could make a move first… and they probably were better than him and…
Yuuta shook his head slightly and stopped. “Sakuno… I…” He waited until the girl would stop. This was it. Somehow the situation made him more nervous than the situation they had been in… or any tests for that matter. “I realized something a while ago. I… I really, really like you.” He stared at Sakuno for a few seconds and then looked down. There. It had been said.
Sakuno had stopped as she had been walking in step with him without realizing it, but the girl had never expected what happened next...
"Yuuta..?" was all she could really manage without thinking. He liked her? Like... like liked her? It wasn't as if the girl didn't know the difference she just didn't know how to respond. She flushed horribly; she was flattered that he felt that way, but the girl didn't know how she felt about him...
His ears felt like they were burning up. Maybe it had been a mistake to say it. There was no way Sakuno would like him the same way. After all, the other guys were much better than him… what was he thinking?
“I-I’m sorry! Just saying it like that... I-I didn’t meant to startle you or anything,” he said and kept looking everywhere else.
"N-No, d-don't apologize!" she panicked. She hadn't taken his feelings into account when she paused like she did. No doubt the boy was uncomfortable now, she just had to be honest with him. He had given her that courtesy and she was happy about that.
"I... I really like you too Yuuta but... but I don't know what that like is right now. I-I'm sorry." she bowed, not knowing what else to do. She felt horrible not being about to give him a proper response other than that. But the girl really didn't know how she truly felt about the boy yet.
Yuuta felt a little disappointed, but chose to hide it with a smile. “I understand… you don’t even have to think about it right now. I just… wanted to tell you…” he said. “And just being your friend means a lot to me. So don’t apologize for anything.” Well, he had just told his feelings and didn’t expect or ask them to be returned. So there was nothing wrong. Nothing at all.
Well, except for the fact that he suddenly felt like wanting to go to his room to be alone for a while. “Should we continue walking? I have a lot of homework to complete…”
"O-Oh... don't let me keep you then..." Sakuno couldn't help but feel a bit sad when he made it sound like he wanted to go. She really liked the time they spent together and she really did like Yuuta but she just didn't know if that was more than a friend. And what was worse, she didn't think he fully understood that. If it was Tomoka, Sakuno was sure her friend would be able to give the boy a clear answer, but she wasn't her...
"Yuuta..." she said, not finding the will to take another step forward. "I-I'm sorry, d-don't feel badly or anything it's just... I-I've never been liked by someone like that before a-and I... I don't know what it's like to really like someone else more than a friend..." She knew it didn't make much sense or make the situation any better, but she wanted to be completely honest with the boy. "I-I'm glad that we're friends too, and I'm really happy that you have those feelings for me I-I just..." Oh, she wasn't making it any better was she..? The girl could feel herself tearing up slightly with the small frustration of being unable to answer him. That sort of thing was cruel to hear, wasn't it?
Yuuta felt a bit uneasy. The words just felt like it had been a useless attempt and that he had just made things difficult for them. These kinds of things just made friendship shake a little. Yuuta hoped things would remain the same… at least close to that.
For that he had to smile, even if it was hard. Yuuta put the best smile on his face with a small childish grin. “Don’t worry about it, Sakuno. You can’t force yourself to anything. I’m just glad you know now… and don’t reject me completely. It means that we can still be friends. And like I said… that’s enough for me right now. Thank you, Sakuno.”
It was hard to remain so cheerful. He needed to get out of the situation somehow. Then he spotted something that would save him… “Oh, look. It’s the Night class guys. You should… probably go on and tell them what happened. I mean, they’re part of your club and all…”
Sakuno probably should have turned around and headed to her friends in the Night Class to talk about things, logically anyway. But she didn't, she stayed put right there. She knew that if she went off Yuuta would leave and right now she didn't want that. He wasn't telling her something, she could feel that his usual cheerful aura was all but gone.
"No..." she said simply. "No, this is more important than them, you're more important than them right now Yuuta!" Sakuno didn't quite know what came over her to say something so bold, but she had said it. Though afterward she sheepishly covered her mouth, unsure of what she even meant. But it was true, she was a horrible liar after all and it made her feel a bit better saying it. How strange...
Yuuta’s eyes widened. He was… important? Something inside him changed from bad to better. At least something was looking good. “Then… would you go out on a date with me?” He wasn’t sure why he asked that. At least once… at least once he wanted to take her out somewhere. If he was important, then wouldn’t Sakuno at least grant him that? Okay, that was a selfish thought. But he had to ask. So he wouldn’t regret it.
"Y-Yes!" she nodded, surprised again at how fast she'd responded. It wasn't like a boy had never asked her to do something alone before but a date was something different, wasn't it? And the way Yuuta had asked it felt as important as when he had told her his feelings. Maybe by then she could even sort out her own feelings too and give him a proper response.
Sakuno’s reply warmed Yuuta’s feelings again. His cheerfulness was again genuine… even if he was a bit embarrassed for asking. “Thank you. We should discuss about when later… you should really go and tell your club members about the mess. Before they go there and see for themselves. I’ll really be fine now… so don’t worry about me.”
"O-Okay... bye bye then, Yuuta. And... thank you." she smiled, happy that Yuuta seemed to be feeling better again. She then turned and headed toward the Night Class to find her fellow club members. She'd have to explain things to everyone about what had happened. And she'd have to consult Tomoka about what to do next about... well that was something to think about later!
Yuuta waved after Sakuno and started heading towards the Dawn dorm. He wasn’t sure if he was sad or happy or ecstatic… but for now he was fine. And he’d need to think of what to do on a date. Maybe now it was time to consult to someone.
Rating: PG
When/Where: Today / By the Gardening Club Shed
What: Some Day Class girls decide to teach Sakuno a lesson and Yuuta gathers his courage in more than one way.
Authors comments: Bullying yourself is weird... and it's about time, right~?
That damned Ryuuzaki girl. Where did she get off? All high and mighty, spending time with the gems of the Night Class as if it were nothing. Sure, at first she was just some cute, innocent, classmate of theirs but she had gone too far. Love letters? Secret meetings in the morning? Going to town together during the curfew overlaps? It was just too much!
And what drove these three particular girls mad was how Ryuuzaki Sakuno couldn't just be with one Night Class boy, oh no; she was with tons of them! At least once a day; it was unimaginable. Well these three had had enough: Tomoe, Nanami, and Kinose were done with Ryuuzaki Sakuno's antics. They'd teach her a lesson today!
The three mischievous girls headed to the gardening shed they had noticed Ryuuzaki head to every other afternoon before the class shift. That annoying bee of a friend of hers, Osakada Tomoka, would normally report to the other girl when the Night Class was leaving the Dusk Dorm. But today was different, Osakada had to stay late for supplementary lessons and today was the trio's chance. They'd rough up Ryuuzaki's precious little gardening shed a bit and then confront her.
Yuuta had been thinking of surprising Sakuno by showing up to the gardening club without informing her. It was rare for him to visit there and usually he told her before he would show up, for some reason. But today would be different. Who knew, maybe there was something he could do at the club to help her out. Something heavy to carry, maybe… that would help his strength, too.
However, something was different from the usual. There were three girls Yuuta had never seen at the club before. Actually, he had seen them swooning over the Night class guys several times. Being annoying as ever. Still, the girls were for some reason heading towards the gardening shed… well, that was the way Yuuta was going as well, so he might as well see what they were up to. If they were really joining that was okay… but Yuuta had a feeling that this wasn’t about that.
"Is this really a good idea..?" whispered Nanami a bit sheepishly as she followed along behind the other two girls. She too was angry with the fact Ryuuzaki Sakuno was getting so much attention from the Night Class when they had to struggle but she was unsure of what they were about to do.
"Of course it is! Not like we're hurting her or anything, just teaching her a lesson." Kinose explained matter-of-factly. She wasn't exactly the brains behind the operation but she was up for teaching the braided haired snake who was stealing their Night Class boys away a good lesson.
"We all agreed to this, Nanami; it's the only way to make a point to that Ryuuzaki." Tomoe huffed as they made it to the shed. They opened the door with ease as the lock hadn't been set, like they imagined. Inside all of the tools for the gardening club were neatly set up in the small shed. Tomoe happily stepped in and began knocking things over without prejudice. Pots smashed and tools clanged to the floor.
Nanami cringed a bit sheepishly, she really was second guessing joining in with her friends. But with some encouragement from Kinose in the form of helping her shove over some fertilizer she soon loosened up too. It was like the girls were taking out their rage on the materials now and they happily went to work at messying the shed.
There were sounds coming from the shed. Not a good sign. Yuuta hurried his steps. The gardening club was Sakunos pride and joy… something she had worked on. He didn’t want that to be ruined by something. And those sounds clearly sounded like something was wrong. Unless the girls who went there were super clumsy… but some of the Day class girls were quite annoying and the lowest rank bullies.
Yuuta arrived at the shed and saw the girls dropping the equipment and breaking some pots. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” he shouted. “Stop that!”
Immediately the three girls stopped what they were doing and turned to spot the boy. They hadn't anticipated being caught, this was not good.
"Who are you?" Kinose demanded, frustrated that their fun had been interrupted. She was a girl with a bit of a violent streak, probably why Tomoe always recruited her for their mini acts of revenge.
Tomoe didn't remember any Day Class boys being in Ryuuzaki's club. Perhaps she had miscalculated; she was the brains of the operation and the leader of the trio. To think she had overlooked something only annoyed her further, her hand carelessly slipped and knocked over another pot. "Oops~"
Yuuta’s eye twitched. Why… he clenched his fist. “I told you to stop didn’t I?!” he shouted again, ignoring the request of introductions. “You have no business here… and what you’re doing is beyond pathetic!” Especially two of the girls had a nasty aura… one of them didn’t seem to be too into it. But that didn’t help her in this situation. Not at all.
“Either you stop or I will make you stop.” How? He had no idea yet. He didn’t want to get violent on girls, but at least he could … tie them up or something? That sounded fishy too. And it was three versus one.
"Make us..? Haha, that's funny, and how are you going to do that?" Kinose laughed. The idea of the random boy before them trying to stop the trio was amusing to her. Sure he was a guy but there was no way he stood a chance if the three of them got serious, the numbers were on their side if strength wasn't.
"What do you care, anyway?" Tomoe queried, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. She didn't like the way he was talking to them, he sounded too attached to the place. He wasn't just some random passer-by looking to do good. Any other Day Class boy would have probably ignored them.
“Heh, I have my ways”, Yuuta said with a mysterious and serious tone, hoping they would get at least a little scared over it. “And I don’t want someone’s pride and joy being destroyed… especially not my close friend's.” He was quite nervous of how he would handle the situation. He was actually hoping someone from the Night class would show up… but he had to manage things on his own.
"So you're Ryuuzaki's friend, huh?" Kinose almost laughed again, sizing Yuuta up a bit. "Better not be pining for her, you don't stand a chance." She rolled her eyes, what a poor sap. And here they had been thinking she had just been after the Night Class boys. The poor sap.
"Pride and joy? This dingy little shed... sure it's not the droves of boys she's been hanging out with lately that's her real club." Tomoe smirked, confident the two of them would hit at just the right nerves in the boy before him. She had seen him talking to Ryuuzaki every now and then and by the way he was reacting he totally had a thing for the girl. Probably her sweet and innocent act; how despicable of her.
Nanami had managed to sneak a glance outside past Yuuta for a moment and let out a panicked gasp as she tugged at her friends' shirts to get their attention. "S-She's coming!" she whispered.
Sakuno had been held up by Tomoka after class for a moment. She was telling her about how she wanted to go into town with her sometime and a few ideas about the club. Sure her friend didn't have the greatest green thumb ever but her artistic eye for color was undeniable. They were going to breathe some more life into campus soon with a bit more floral color. As she rounded the corner Sakuno saw a familiar figure standing at the door to the shed.
"Yuuta?"
She hurried over, wondering what the boy was doing there. Normally he let her know when he was coming to help, and it looked like he wasn't alone; that was odd...
Yuuta had hoped he would sort things out before Sakuno would have come around. At least to the point where they’d regret what they’ve done and would apologize. That seemed pointless, since the girls seemed rot on the inside. Night class this, night class that… was that all that they had in their mind? And accusing Sakuno of stealing them away (at least that was something he’d figure that they were so angry about) was just unforgivable.
“Say one more bad word of her again and I’ll really be pissed off… Her club is gardening. It has nothing to do with your princes. Yeah, she’s their friend. But that’s all. She’s not like the rest of you lot!” Yes, he knew Sakuno was there already, he heard her voice. But he didn’t want to stand there and say nothing.
Well darn, their fun had been spoiled. But they weren't about to walk off without completing things. Kinose was the first, she shoved Yuuta back knowing fully well he wouldn't strike back at them. The trio then stopped in front of Sakuno.
"You better stay away from the Night Class if you know what's good for you, Ryuuzaki." they threatened.
"Huh..?" The braided haired girl had no idea what they were talking about or what they meant. She looked to Yuuta who seemed infuriated and then just past into the shed and saw the mess. "Wh... what happened..?"
"W-We just thought we'd give you a warning." Nanami spoke up, upset that the girl they were prosecuting looked so hurt. Why would she be hurt? It was them she was hurting after all! "Stop acting like you're so innocent!"
"Acting... but what did I-..?" Sakuno tried to question but was cut off when Tomoe stepped forward.
"You think you're so popular and can get away with anything just because all of the boys like you." she huffed, glancing to Yuuta as she spoke. "Don't think we'll just sit back and let you get all the damned attention." Looking at Ryuuzaki just made them all more anxious. She seemed so plain, what was so great about her that everyone saw? It almost made Tomoe sick; sick with jealousy of course.
"B-But I... I don't know wh-what you mean." Sakuno didn't quite know how to fight back, or why she even had to. She could feel that the three girls before her were angry but she didn't fully understand why. Or why they had clearly been the ones to mess up the shed. She looked to Yuuta sadly and then to the three girls pleadingly. "Why did you do this..?"
"Because we don't like you." was the simple response. And it was quite clear in the way they all looked at her quite spitefully.
Yuuta tried to remain calm, but the girls made him quite sick. Didn’t they hear a thing he said? If they did, they certainly didn’t believe it. And now they were threatening Sakuno… that was once again unforgivable. Silently Yuuta took some soil to his pocket, thinking of using it somehow to get a small revenge on the girls (or just to help Sakuno escape) observing the situation closely.
Sakuno seemed so lost and sad… it hurt Yuuta. It hurt a lot. He couldn’t stand it, so he made his way through the three girls and walked in front of Sakuno, to shelter her.
“I told you to stop. How many times do I have to repeat myself? She isn’t like you think she is. Sakuno is an innocent girl who just made friends with the guys you wouldn’t dare to approach. What’s so hard about that, eh? Afraid that your idols would see your ugly side so you can’t get close to them? Pathetic…”
The girls seemed even more annoyed. Well, that was quite alright, since they would get what they deserved soon enough. “Oh and by the way. My name’s Fuji Yuuta”, he finally introduced himself. “And I’m a guy you shouldn’t mess with”, he continued and then threw all the soil from his pockets at the girls. Then he pushed Sakuno out of the shed and closed the door behind him, staying there to block it.
“Go! Fetch a teacher or something! They’ll get a punishment for messing your work up”, Yuuta said to Sakuno and smiled. “I’ll hold them off until you get someone here.”
Before Sakuno even knew what was happening the three girls had been locked into the shed and Yuuta was covering for her. She blinked a few times and saw Yuuta smiling at her, but the girl was still quite confused. However she was sure of the fact that she had done something to make those girls angry at her, she just wasn't completely sure what just yet.
"Y-Yuuta! Th-That's not good... they could get hurt or something..." Sakuno tried to protest. She could hear them yelling and struggling on the other side of the door and feared they may hurt themselves with some of the equipment in the rather dark shed.
"I-... I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding..." She knew it wasn't, it felt like something like this had happened before. And she could recall the things Yuuta had been arguing about with them just moments ago. But she didn't want anyone to get hurt over it.
“They won’t get hurt.” Most likely he’d be the one hurt if he’d let them out. Yuuta was pretty sure he now had three enemies. But well, they were Sakuno’s enemies, too, so he didn’t mind. “If they do, I’m the one responsible for it”, he said quietly.
Then he looked straight into Sakuno’s eyes. “If it’s a misunderstanding, which I highly doubt, the teachers will help us solve it. Please, Sakuno, go get someone. I promise you, if I hear anything fishy from the inside, I’ll check.”
Though she hadn't meant to say that Yuuta would hurt them like that it seemed to come off as such. The girl was positive he would never do anything to hurt anyone, and she knew the girls inside the shed weren't blameless. They had tried to attack Sakuno by destroying the supplies in the shed; that much the girl had picked up on. But she never thought of herself as being bullied just everything as a misunderstanding that she couldn't quite clear up.
"Yuuta... thank you..." was all she could really say. She would have protested more but when Yuuta looked her in the eyes she couldn't find the will to. Sakuno simply nodded and began to head off to the school building to find a teacher. Her strides started off hurried and then turned into running as she hastened; she wanted things to be resolved as soon as possible.
Yuuta looked after Sakuno, relieved that she would really go fetch someone. It felt like she trusted him… which made him feel at least a bit happy in the situation. Holding the door close was difficult even if the ones trying to open it were girls. But he was confident that he would be able to wait there until someone adult came around. Then everything would be better… and the stuff in the shed could be replaced. It’s not like it was the end of the world.
A few moments later Sakuno had returned with a teacher and the girls were released from the shed and escorted to the office. After Sakuno and Yuuta had explained the situation they were released and told the girls would get proper punishment for what they had done. It seemed they would be responsible for cleaning up and replacing anything broken in the shed for the gardening club.
Sakuno let out a small sigh of relief as she walked with Yuuta out of the school building. The girls were still being scolded and questioned for what they had done back in the office so that was the last they'd see of them for the day. The braided haired girl was just relieved that no one had been hurt, other than herself in a small way of course. She didn't know why anyone would dislike her enough to try and destroy something of hers. It wasn't as if they had had malice for the gardening club from the sounds of it.
"S-Sorry for causing you trouble, Yuuta... because of me..." she trailed off a bit sadly as she stopped behind him in the courtyard.
It was a relief that the situation had gone so smoothly. The girls were unhurt and they were going to be punished… Yuuta was able to help Sakuno at least a little… even though it was in a way that wasn’t too pleasant. He had wanted to spend a nice and relaxed evening with gardening and maybe something else after that… but the girls had ruined it.
Yuuta looked at Sakuno when she was apologizing to him. “Don’t apologize. Yeah, it was a bit troublesome… but I couldn’t just let it be like that. I wanted to help you. I just wish I could have done a better job.”
"N-No you did fine, really... thank you for everything, Yuuta." she smiled, realizing her sadness wouldn't help the situation. "I-I just feel responsible is all... if I would have been able to say something maybe you wouldn't have had to do so much..." Which was how she felt, she wondered if she had caused others the same problems before without knowing it too.
“I don’t think words would have helped in that situation. The girls didn’t even listen when I tried to talk sense into them…” Yuuta said and scratched his hair a little. “So don’t feel responsible, okay? It’s not your fault that they’re like that. Even if they say so.”
"O-Okay..." Sakuno could have easily continued apologizing or saying it was still a misunderstanding that she felt badly about. However, she found herself reassured by what Yuuta said to her and she felt like it was okay to put it behind her. "Thank you Yuuta, I-I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there to save me." she smiled to him again.
Yuuta blushed slightly. “You’re welcome. And…” he stopped himself for a while, swallowed and took a deep breath. “I would do it again if I had to. Because I… want to protect you.” Not what he meant to say, but it was also something he would have said. Just in a wrong order, but he needed courage to say the other thing… and that he lacked still. At least for the moment.
Sakuno couldn't help but blush as well, only it wasn't something the girl could really hide. She had been too caught by surprise at what he said. He wanted to protect her? The words made her chest feel a bit funny coming from him. She felt a bit bad she didn't have anything to say to that other than, "Th-Thank you, Yuuta."
The boy's face turned a bit redder as the girl thanked him again. This was a nice chance to say something… well, it could ruin the mood, but then again it could make things even sweeter. It was a risk that Yuuta had to think about… but something he really wanted to say. Since you never knew when your chances would reduce to none. Especially since Sakuno knew so many guys, who could make a move first… and they probably were better than him and…
Yuuta shook his head slightly and stopped. “Sakuno… I…” He waited until the girl would stop. This was it. Somehow the situation made him more nervous than the situation they had been in… or any tests for that matter. “I realized something a while ago. I… I really, really like you.” He stared at Sakuno for a few seconds and then looked down. There. It had been said.
Sakuno had stopped as she had been walking in step with him without realizing it, but the girl had never expected what happened next...
"Yuuta..?" was all she could really manage without thinking. He liked her? Like... like liked her? It wasn't as if the girl didn't know the difference she just didn't know how to respond. She flushed horribly; she was flattered that he felt that way, but the girl didn't know how she felt about him...
His ears felt like they were burning up. Maybe it had been a mistake to say it. There was no way Sakuno would like him the same way. After all, the other guys were much better than him… what was he thinking?
“I-I’m sorry! Just saying it like that... I-I didn’t meant to startle you or anything,” he said and kept looking everywhere else.
"N-No, d-don't apologize!" she panicked. She hadn't taken his feelings into account when she paused like she did. No doubt the boy was uncomfortable now, she just had to be honest with him. He had given her that courtesy and she was happy about that.
"I... I really like you too Yuuta but... but I don't know what that like is right now. I-I'm sorry." she bowed, not knowing what else to do. She felt horrible not being about to give him a proper response other than that. But the girl really didn't know how she truly felt about the boy yet.
Yuuta felt a little disappointed, but chose to hide it with a smile. “I understand… you don’t even have to think about it right now. I just… wanted to tell you…” he said. “And just being your friend means a lot to me. So don’t apologize for anything.” Well, he had just told his feelings and didn’t expect or ask them to be returned. So there was nothing wrong. Nothing at all.
Well, except for the fact that he suddenly felt like wanting to go to his room to be alone for a while. “Should we continue walking? I have a lot of homework to complete…”
"O-Oh... don't let me keep you then..." Sakuno couldn't help but feel a bit sad when he made it sound like he wanted to go. She really liked the time they spent together and she really did like Yuuta but she just didn't know if that was more than a friend. And what was worse, she didn't think he fully understood that. If it was Tomoka, Sakuno was sure her friend would be able to give the boy a clear answer, but she wasn't her...
"Yuuta..." she said, not finding the will to take another step forward. "I-I'm sorry, d-don't feel badly or anything it's just... I-I've never been liked by someone like that before a-and I... I don't know what it's like to really like someone else more than a friend..." She knew it didn't make much sense or make the situation any better, but she wanted to be completely honest with the boy. "I-I'm glad that we're friends too, and I'm really happy that you have those feelings for me I-I just..." Oh, she wasn't making it any better was she..? The girl could feel herself tearing up slightly with the small frustration of being unable to answer him. That sort of thing was cruel to hear, wasn't it?
Yuuta felt a bit uneasy. The words just felt like it had been a useless attempt and that he had just made things difficult for them. These kinds of things just made friendship shake a little. Yuuta hoped things would remain the same… at least close to that.
For that he had to smile, even if it was hard. Yuuta put the best smile on his face with a small childish grin. “Don’t worry about it, Sakuno. You can’t force yourself to anything. I’m just glad you know now… and don’t reject me completely. It means that we can still be friends. And like I said… that’s enough for me right now. Thank you, Sakuno.”
It was hard to remain so cheerful. He needed to get out of the situation somehow. Then he spotted something that would save him… “Oh, look. It’s the Night class guys. You should… probably go on and tell them what happened. I mean, they’re part of your club and all…”
Sakuno probably should have turned around and headed to her friends in the Night Class to talk about things, logically anyway. But she didn't, she stayed put right there. She knew that if she went off Yuuta would leave and right now she didn't want that. He wasn't telling her something, she could feel that his usual cheerful aura was all but gone.
"No..." she said simply. "No, this is more important than them, you're more important than them right now Yuuta!" Sakuno didn't quite know what came over her to say something so bold, but she had said it. Though afterward she sheepishly covered her mouth, unsure of what she even meant. But it was true, she was a horrible liar after all and it made her feel a bit better saying it. How strange...
Yuuta’s eyes widened. He was… important? Something inside him changed from bad to better. At least something was looking good. “Then… would you go out on a date with me?” He wasn’t sure why he asked that. At least once… at least once he wanted to take her out somewhere. If he was important, then wouldn’t Sakuno at least grant him that? Okay, that was a selfish thought. But he had to ask. So he wouldn’t regret it.
"Y-Yes!" she nodded, surprised again at how fast she'd responded. It wasn't like a boy had never asked her to do something alone before but a date was something different, wasn't it? And the way Yuuta had asked it felt as important as when he had told her his feelings. Maybe by then she could even sort out her own feelings too and give him a proper response.
Sakuno’s reply warmed Yuuta’s feelings again. His cheerfulness was again genuine… even if he was a bit embarrassed for asking. “Thank you. We should discuss about when later… you should really go and tell your club members about the mess. Before they go there and see for themselves. I’ll really be fine now… so don’t worry about me.”
"O-Okay... bye bye then, Yuuta. And... thank you." she smiled, happy that Yuuta seemed to be feeling better again. She then turned and headed toward the Night Class to find her fellow club members. She'd have to explain things to everyone about what had happened. And she'd have to consult Tomoka about what to do next about... well that was something to think about later!
Yuuta waved after Sakuno and started heading towards the Dawn dorm. He wasn’t sure if he was sad or happy or ecstatic… but for now he was fine. And he’d need to think of what to do on a date. Maybe now it was time to consult to someone.