Dear Diary I'm not really sure what to write here. I've never had a diary before.
Tomorrow is my first day of high school. I'm so excited! I'll be going to Furinkan High. Yuka and Sayuri will be going there too. We'll be in the same class, so at least I'll have friends straight away. Maybe I can join one of the martial arts clubs, to see how I compare..."
She read on through the first week of the entries. That wasn't right at all. No, scratch that. It was too right. It was her. Every word, every emotion, every reaction was her, her, her. And she hadn't written it yet. Which was impossible. Grasping the book, and peering closely at one of the pages, she turned her attention towards the writing, as opposed to the content. Comparing it to her own writing style, she realised that it looked about right... but she had to admit that she was far from an expert in this area. But how could she find someone that was an expert? The answer was obvious. Nabiki would surely know something, this was the sort of thing she dealt with. But giving Nabiki something like this was probably not a good idea. She could hear the rumours now... "She asked her sister to do a handwriting test on her own diary. Poor dear must have a split personality..."
So Nabiki was out. As a general rule, don't go to her for help with anything if it can be helped. That was the problem with her. She was smart enough to make sure that it generally couldn't be helped, for one reason or another. And then, when you did inevitably get her help, you'd leave with an empty wallet and a vague, nagging feeling that you didn't get exactly what you asked for.
Which was similar to how she felt about this... unusual occurence. How to explain it? How to even begin explaining it? If she'd just opened it, and it had been filled with these words, then it would've been entirely possible to set up something like this. An elaborate setup, likely perpetrated by Nabiki as a practical joke. But instead the words had simply appeared there on the page, as if by...
"Akane! breakfast is ready!" Shocked out of her musings, she put the diary in the top drawer of her desk. She intended to read through it a little more later on, just to see what else it said. However, by the time she got back to her room, her mind was on other things.
"So did any of the boys in our class catch your eye?" Sayuri asked the next day. It was lunchtime, and the three friends had gathered outside to discuss the day so far.
The last question had been directed at Akane, and she realised that Yuka was also looking at her with raised eyebrow. "Give it a rest already. I'm not interested in getting a boyfriend quite yet," she said. But she knew that, as always, it wouldn't be quite that easy to get them to let go of a topic like this.
"Well, that's a shame. There's a boy heading our way, and he's looking right at you." Yuka nodded her head in the direction of the approaching boy. He looked confident in himself, if a little dopey. He appeared to be carrying a bokken on his hip for some reason. Akane had a feeling that she was forgetting something...
"Ah, most beautiful maiden, my name is Tatewaki Kuno, age 17."
Akane stared at the strange senior, and suddenly remembered where she had heard that name before, and just what this meant. "Um... I'm Akane Tendo. Did you want to speak to me about something?"
"Fair Akane Tendo." A flourish, a spin, and he was holding a single rose, on bended knee. "I would date thee"
"No thanks. Not interested in dating anyone right now."
But to her horror, her friends weren't having any of that. "Oh, go on Akane. He seems nice enough... And besides, it's just one date. Even if you don't like him, you'll have a better idea of what to do with someone you do like."
"Your beauty fills my eyes, my life, and my heart. Your graceful presence is matched only by mine own strength..." Kuno rambled on, completely oblivious to the conversation.
Akane turned to her friends. "You really think he's a nice guy?" They listened to some more of the 'poetry' Kuno was spouting, and shook their heads. "if this is the best quality this school has, I'd be better off not dating anyone."
Kuno had the misfortune, then, to attempt an embrace on his one true love, quickly discovering that she not only had great strength, but a short temper.
Nabiki stared down at her cash cow in disbelief. She had been sent down to the infirmary to check up on whether he'd be able to rejoin the class, and while he was conscious, he was not looking his finest. Which was strange. Very strange. Who in the hell could've beaten Kuno up? He was-is the best martial artist in the school. A lot of people that heard him speak may have thought otherwise at first, and that little psychological trick had made Nabiki very rich the previous year.
"So, Kuno-baby," she started, and smirked when he winced at the nickname. Truth be told, she only used it because it annoyed him. "Just how did you end up here?"
"If you must know, Nabiki Tendo, I was carried in by my juniors."
"You know what I meant, Kuno. Start talking."
He sighed a deep sigh, and his eyes went glassy. Nabiki somehow managed to resist the urge to flee, as she knew the signs all too well. The idiot had found a new victim. Or, as he would put it...
"I have met with an angel," he started.
No question of it. The idiot was in love. After a week, the girl would inevitably pay Nabiki a large amount of money to get him off her back. Which she would manage by introducing some reason or other that she was unsuitable for someone of such noble stature... But before then, Kuno would be purchasing whatever information about the girl that Nabiki could get her hands on. Which meant it was time to start milking.
"So, what's her name this time?" she asked, while sitting on the stool next to the bed.
"I have fallen for no less than Akane Tendo."
Nabiki picked herself up from the floor, and grabbed Kuno by his collar.
"Akane?! You mean you... Wait. You asked out my little sister?"
"Indeed, Nabiki Tendo. I made to ask her out, and then, so moved was she that she rushed into my embrace. Sadly, she moved with such speed and passion that she inadvertently rendered me unconscious for a short time."
She couldn't believe it. This was perfect.. Akane wasn't the type to ask for help to deal with a problem she felt she could handle. Meanwhile, Kuno would eat up whatever he fed her. Oh, that was perfect! She could even sell pictures this time! The money she could make from this...
Her brain finished interpreting what she'd just heard, and interrupted the thought before it went any further. Kuno was in the infirmary, because Akane had beat him up. Why had she beat him up? Because he had asked her out. Which didn't make sense. Akane wasn't the kind of person that would take offense at that sort of thing... Hardly. She'd just turn the person down as nicely as she could, and leave it at that. Why had she taken such an intense dislike to Kuno? The answer to that question being obvious, she rethought it. Why had Akane taken such an intense, immediate dislike to Kuno, to the extent that she felt it necessary to knock him out? She needed to look into that, especially with this new investment.
The day passed, and a few hours after school Nabiki saw Akane heading towards the dojo, obviously in a bad mood snuck towards the dojo, camera in hand. She took a few pictures of Akane, who upon seeing her, stomped towards her and took the camera. She then said "I'm not going to break it, because you'd just charge me for it." With that, she put the camera to the far side of the dojo, and completed her training in peace while Nabiki made plans to figure out what was eating her little sister.
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(Posted Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:43)
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