"Who the hell do you think you are?!"
Takako Chigusa's voice followed up her slamming the locker door shut.
She'd wasted no time. The moment she'd gotten someone to actually tell her what was going on, she'd raced to the last place she'd seen the bastard. Luckily for her, he was still there. Lucky for him, too; if she'd had to run after him across the damn school, she'd be even more pissed.
"Well?"
Takako bared her teeth in what could have been taken for a grin. To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting out of this, but there was no way in hell she was going to take something like this laying down. Takako never took anything laying down.
Don't Be Like That
Kazushi
Moderator: BRAU2 Director
WHAM!
Kazushi jerked back just in time to avoid getting the locker door slammed on his head. "Agh!" An angry curse was halfway to his lips when he saw the culprit and immediately clamped them shut.
Damn, Takako was stunning even when she was furious.
Play it cool, Kaz. She might not know about that. Maybe she's pissed off for some other reason. Besides, how would she even know it was you?
He contrived to look as innocent as possible. "Oh. Hey, Takako. Is something wrong?"
Kazushi jerked back just in time to avoid getting the locker door slammed on his head. "Agh!" An angry curse was halfway to his lips when he saw the culprit and immediately clamped them shut.
Damn, Takako was stunning even when she was furious.
Play it cool, Kaz. She might not know about that. Maybe she's pissed off for some other reason. Besides, how would she even know it was you?
He contrived to look as innocent as possible. "Oh. Hey, Takako. Is something wrong?"
"Don't play dumb with me, idiot."
Takako crossed her arms, glowering at the boy now trying to look at her all wide-eyed and innocent, as if he didn't know. Dumbass. Did he think she wouldn't find out, that she was all beauty, no brains? Maybe he was just trying to provoke an excuse to talk to her. Disgusting.
"People have been saying you and I started going out," Takako growled, looking down her nose at him. "I asked around to find out where they'd heard that, and it all ends up coming back to you."
First of all, Takako was already interested in someone else, not that she would admit it just yet. She'd have to correct this stupid rumor to him right away. But of all the boys in this school, Niida-san was at the bottom of the barrel. He was a complete pig and an attention whore. Takako hated men who wanted everyone to look at them. Guys were more attractive when they were quiet, serious but caring, and Niida-san was none of those.
"I know this was probably your idea, but even if it wasn't, cut that shit out. I'm not interested," she said, taking a moment to restrain herself. She didn't need this guy to provoke her into getting pissy or into a fight. He wasn't worth her time.
Takako crossed her arms, glowering at the boy now trying to look at her all wide-eyed and innocent, as if he didn't know. Dumbass. Did he think she wouldn't find out, that she was all beauty, no brains? Maybe he was just trying to provoke an excuse to talk to her. Disgusting.
"People have been saying you and I started going out," Takako growled, looking down her nose at him. "I asked around to find out where they'd heard that, and it all ends up coming back to you."
First of all, Takako was already interested in someone else, not that she would admit it just yet. She'd have to correct this stupid rumor to him right away. But of all the boys in this school, Niida-san was at the bottom of the barrel. He was a complete pig and an attention whore. Takako hated men who wanted everyone to look at them. Guys were more attractive when they were quiet, serious but caring, and Niida-san was none of those.
"I know this was probably your idea, but even if it wasn't, cut that shit out. I'm not interested," she said, taking a moment to restrain herself. She didn't need this guy to provoke her into getting pissy or into a fight. He wasn't worth her time.
Well, shit.
It went like this. See, there were two types of guys at Shiroiwa High: guys who said they wanted to sleep with Takako Chigusa, and guys who said they didn't, and were lying. Well, okay, technically there were also guys like Sho Tsukioka, they didn't really count. But probably even Tsukioka would probably at least go to first base with Takako if the offer was there. That's how hot Takako was.
So, naturally, when Kazushi was goofing off with a bunch of guys from the soccer team, the topic of girls had come up. Guys would talk about girls they had gone out with, girls they wanted to go out with, and girls they'd probably be willing to nail once but then never call again. And every time they got on this topic, Takako's name would be out there. She had an incredible body, and hair that was J-Pop idol levels of pretty, so lots of guys were into her. But she wasn't like Mitsuko Souma, one of those girls who was hot but would flip her skirt for any guy who gave her fifty yen. Attainable chicks were hot in their own way, but chicks like Takako were forbidden fruit. Any guy who got lucky enough to score a date with her would instantly be the stud of the team, no question.
"You're lucky to be in Class B, Niida," said one of the defensemen. "You can check her out any time you want."
A midfielder shook his head. "No way, that's not lucky. If I was in Takako-chan's class, I'd be too busy staring and fail every subject!"
"Ha! Maybe that's why Niida keeps botching his penalty kicks lately! He's got Takako-chan on the brain!"
"You should ask her out, Niida! It'd be funny to watch you go down in flames!"
Kazushi had been in a bad mood that at that moment. That little dig about the penalty kick had wounded his pride. It was just one kick, and he'd put his foot wrong and missed the goal by a mile. Just a random screwup, but they'd been razzing him about it every chance they got.
"Yeah, well, maybe I already did ask Takako out. Did you ever think about that?"
"Ha! No way! Like Takako-chan would ever go out with you!"
He puffed his chest out a little. "Maybe she and I are already boyfriend and girlfriend. If we were, I wouldn't tell you shitheads."
All of the other guys started laughing. "This is too rich! Niida and Takako-chan! Hey everybody! Did you hear? They're going out already!"
They kept the teasing up for the rest of the afternoon. Apparently, somebody had overheard them, and hadn't known it was a joke, and that person had told someone else, and they'd told someone else. And, sure, the first time someone emailed Kazushi this morning being like, "WTF u and Takako!?!?" he could have sent back, "No, it's a mistake," instead of "Maybe!
", but could you blame a guy? It felt kind of awesome to have people think that he'd actually have a shot with Takako. He didn't lie about it, he just... didn't say no. Maybe he encouraged it a little. But that was just, like, poetic license, right? He couldn't have known at the time that it'd turn into, like, a full thing. Besides, lots of people seemed to buy it, so that should have showed that they'd be great together, right? He'd figured maybe it'd give him an opportunity to pitch it to her for real, after she'd warmed up to the idea a little.
He hadn't expected the story to reach her so quickly OR for her to go full fire and fury on him, like he was some kind of pathetic loser spreading rumors out of nowhere. It was actually pretty unreasonable of Takako to freak out like this, jumping in and giving him all this crap without even knowing the full story.
"Look, Takako, I didn't start any rumor like that, okay? If I wanted to ask you out I'd just do it in person. It's pretty rude to accuse me of being that much of a lowlife, you know?"
So, naturally, when Kazushi was goofing off with a bunch of guys from the soccer team, the topic of girls had come up. Guys would talk about girls they had gone out with, girls they wanted to go out with, and girls they'd probably be willing to nail once but then never call again. And every time they got on this topic, Takako's name would be out there. She had an incredible body, and hair that was J-Pop idol levels of pretty, so lots of guys were into her. But she wasn't like Mitsuko Souma, one of those girls who was hot but would flip her skirt for any guy who gave her fifty yen. Attainable chicks were hot in their own way, but chicks like Takako were forbidden fruit. Any guy who got lucky enough to score a date with her would instantly be the stud of the team, no question.
"You're lucky to be in Class B, Niida," said one of the defensemen. "You can check her out any time you want."
A midfielder shook his head. "No way, that's not lucky. If I was in Takako-chan's class, I'd be too busy staring and fail every subject!"
"Ha! Maybe that's why Niida keeps botching his penalty kicks lately! He's got Takako-chan on the brain!"
"You should ask her out, Niida! It'd be funny to watch you go down in flames!"
Kazushi had been in a bad mood that at that moment. That little dig about the penalty kick had wounded his pride. It was just one kick, and he'd put his foot wrong and missed the goal by a mile. Just a random screwup, but they'd been razzing him about it every chance they got.
"Yeah, well, maybe I already did ask Takako out. Did you ever think about that?"
"Ha! No way! Like Takako-chan would ever go out with you!"
He puffed his chest out a little. "Maybe she and I are already boyfriend and girlfriend. If we were, I wouldn't tell you shitheads."
All of the other guys started laughing. "This is too rich! Niida and Takako-chan! Hey everybody! Did you hear? They're going out already!"
They kept the teasing up for the rest of the afternoon. Apparently, somebody had overheard them, and hadn't known it was a joke, and that person had told someone else, and they'd told someone else. And, sure, the first time someone emailed Kazushi this morning being like, "WTF u and Takako!?!?" he could have sent back, "No, it's a mistake," instead of "Maybe!
", but could you blame a guy? It felt kind of awesome to have people think that he'd actually have a shot with Takako. He didn't lie about it, he just... didn't say no. Maybe he encouraged it a little. But that was just, like, poetic license, right? He couldn't have known at the time that it'd turn into, like, a full thing. Besides, lots of people seemed to buy it, so that should have showed that they'd be great together, right? He'd figured maybe it'd give him an opportunity to pitch it to her for real, after she'd warmed up to the idea a little. He hadn't expected the story to reach her so quickly OR for her to go full fire and fury on him, like he was some kind of pathetic loser spreading rumors out of nowhere. It was actually pretty unreasonable of Takako to freak out like this, jumping in and giving him all this crap without even knowing the full story.
"Look, Takako, I didn't start any rumor like that, okay? If I wanted to ask you out I'd just do it in person. It's pretty rude to accuse me of being that much of a lowlife, you know?"
Takako scowled.
How dare this brat accuse her of being rude when he was the one who started this rumor. That's what everyone had said; that he'd told the other jocks on the soccer team that he'd asked her out and they were dating. Even if he hadn't started it--the rumor mill at this school could be like that--he'd clearly made no effort to deny it, either. And now he had the gall to act like she was the one being irrational? Niida-san really was a pig. He had no right to decide how she felt or reacted.
Hmph. Takako leaned back and little and straightened her posture, brushing her hair back out of her face. As pissed as she was, she wasn't going to throw a tantrum over something like this. She was better than that, and she wasn't going to let Niida-san have that much sway over her actions or force her to embarrass herself.
"Whatever," she replied. "Look, to be honest with you, I'm not really interested, sorry." The last word was almost habit. Takako was used to turning guys down; she knew she was both smart and beautiful, and not a 'traditional' feminine woman, and a lot of guys liked that. The thing is, she wasn't any of those for the sake of some man; she was that way because she wanted to be for herself. Boys being attracted to her was a nuisance for the most part. She tried not to be needlessly rude about it if they had the decency to be polite about asking, but it was tiresome.
That didn't really apply to Niida-san, but Takako really just wanted this interaction over, so if politeness got him out of her hair quicker, so be it. She crossed her arms. "If you could tell your friends and anyone else who asks that there was mistake, I'll let it go. But I don't want people making stuff up about me, especially rumors like that." Who knew what some of the people in their class would do with that knowledge? And if Hiroki had somehow heard about it...
Ugh. What a pain in the ass this was.
How dare this brat accuse her of being rude when he was the one who started this rumor. That's what everyone had said; that he'd told the other jocks on the soccer team that he'd asked her out and they were dating. Even if he hadn't started it--the rumor mill at this school could be like that--he'd clearly made no effort to deny it, either. And now he had the gall to act like she was the one being irrational? Niida-san really was a pig. He had no right to decide how she felt or reacted.
Hmph. Takako leaned back and little and straightened her posture, brushing her hair back out of her face. As pissed as she was, she wasn't going to throw a tantrum over something like this. She was better than that, and she wasn't going to let Niida-san have that much sway over her actions or force her to embarrass herself.
"Whatever," she replied. "Look, to be honest with you, I'm not really interested, sorry." The last word was almost habit. Takako was used to turning guys down; she knew she was both smart and beautiful, and not a 'traditional' feminine woman, and a lot of guys liked that. The thing is, she wasn't any of those for the sake of some man; she was that way because she wanted to be for herself. Boys being attracted to her was a nuisance for the most part. She tried not to be needlessly rude about it if they had the decency to be polite about asking, but it was tiresome.
That didn't really apply to Niida-san, but Takako really just wanted this interaction over, so if politeness got him out of her hair quicker, so be it. She crossed her arms. "If you could tell your friends and anyone else who asks that there was mistake, I'll let it go. But I don't want people making stuff up about me, especially rumors like that." Who knew what some of the people in their class would do with that knowledge? And if Hiroki had somehow heard about it...
Ugh. What a pain in the ass this was.
Yeesh, she was really turning up the hostility here. And over what, a stupid rumor? It was actually kind of insulting that she was getting this upset about it. He was an athlete, he was decently good-looking, and his family wasn't poor or anything. Sure, a beauty like Takako could probably do better, but it wasn't exactly polite to just shove that in a guy's face.
"Fine, fine. I'll tell everybody it's not true. But, you know, it's not like it's such an impossible idea," he said. Was it a good idea to provoke her when she was clearly in a bad mood? Probably not, but she'd really wounded his pride with all this "not interested" talk, and he was feeling a touch of resentment. "People wouldn't be repeating it if they thought it was an actual mistake. They're only saying it because they think it could be true, right? In fact, I bet I'd be a pretty good boyfriend. I could treat you way better than most guys would!"
"Fine, fine. I'll tell everybody it's not true. But, you know, it's not like it's such an impossible idea," he said. Was it a good idea to provoke her when she was clearly in a bad mood? Probably not, but she'd really wounded his pride with all this "not interested" talk, and he was feeling a touch of resentment. "People wouldn't be repeating it if they thought it was an actual mistake. They're only saying it because they think it could be true, right? In fact, I bet I'd be a pretty good boyfriend. I could treat you way better than most guys would!"
The nerve. The absolute nerve of this boy.
Takako glared indignantly. "Now listen here. I don't need a guy to take care of me, and if you think that's what I'm looking for in a boyfriend, you don't know me at all." Sure, she'd only date a man who treated her well, but she wasn't some weak housewife who needed a man to protect her. Too many people, from her teachers to her parents, thought she wasn't traditional enough. Not demure enough. All the more reason for her to prove them wrong. Takako didn't need anyone to tell her what she was supposed to be.
"And besides, if you think now is the time to be asking me you, you've got no idea what you're doing." Takako crossed her arms. It was clear to her that his ego was hurt by her rejection, and that annoyed her. If he'd been humble and accepting, she might have liked him better. Not enough to ask him out, but it would have been surprisingly mature. But no, he was getting all defensive, and that made him look bad.
Either way, she was not impressed by Niida-san's attitude towards this whole fiasco. "Look, just tell your friends that it was a mistake, and we'll leave it at that, okay?"
Takako glared indignantly. "Now listen here. I don't need a guy to take care of me, and if you think that's what I'm looking for in a boyfriend, you don't know me at all." Sure, she'd only date a man who treated her well, but she wasn't some weak housewife who needed a man to protect her. Too many people, from her teachers to her parents, thought she wasn't traditional enough. Not demure enough. All the more reason for her to prove them wrong. Takako didn't need anyone to tell her what she was supposed to be.
"And besides, if you think now is the time to be asking me you, you've got no idea what you're doing." Takako crossed her arms. It was clear to her that his ego was hurt by her rejection, and that annoyed her. If he'd been humble and accepting, she might have liked him better. Not enough to ask him out, but it would have been surprisingly mature. But no, he was getting all defensive, and that made him look bad.
Either way, she was not impressed by Niida-san's attitude towards this whole fiasco. "Look, just tell your friends that it was a mistake, and we'll leave it at that, okay?"
Kazushi was completely lost. He threw his hands up in despair. "What the heck? Nobody said anything about taking care of you! I'm not trying to be your husband or something! I just meant like, I'd take you on good dates and stuff! Lots of guys don't treat a girl right after she agrees to go out with them, that's all I'm saying!"
Why was she being so unreasonable about this? Lots of chicks would be glad to get asked out by a guy like him, and here she was, calling him an idiot and telling him he didn't know what he was doing - what was he supposed to be, a mind reader? Was there some magic time to ask her out that he was just supposed to psychically guess? Sheesh! He took a breath, and forced himself to calm down before he said something he'd regret. However pissy Takako was being right now, if he got into it with her, she'd probably tell all the other girls at school that he was a total jerk, and then he'd wind up having to join Akamatsu in the perpetual virgins club.
"Look, fine," he said, giving off an air of surrender. "I'll tell everybody it was a mistake, if that'll make you happy. Okay? And whenever it is the right time, then I'll ask you out for real. How about that?"
Why was she being so unreasonable about this? Lots of chicks would be glad to get asked out by a guy like him, and here she was, calling him an idiot and telling him he didn't know what he was doing - what was he supposed to be, a mind reader? Was there some magic time to ask her out that he was just supposed to psychically guess? Sheesh! He took a breath, and forced himself to calm down before he said something he'd regret. However pissy Takako was being right now, if he got into it with her, she'd probably tell all the other girls at school that he was a total jerk, and then he'd wind up having to join Akamatsu in the perpetual virgins club.
"Look, fine," he said, giving off an air of surrender. "I'll tell everybody it was a mistake, if that'll make you happy. Okay? And whenever it is the right time, then I'll ask you out for real. How about that?"
Takako shrugged, suppressing a pang of irritation and defensiveness.
Okay, maybe she'd been a little quick to judge. With how many of the guys looked at her, she might have been a little defensive. Who could blame her? It wasn't the first time someone had implied as much. If Niida-san seriously wasn't meaning that, then she could at least give him credit for that. "Alright, you've made your point," she replied, leaning back a little. Niida-san was clearly annoyed about this himself, which bothered her. He wasn't the one getting talked about without knowing about it. But that wasn't her problem; if he rolled back the mistake, she was happy to just have this annoying situation be over.
"That's fine, then," she said. "I just don't want anyone thinking untrue things about me." Takako didn't really expect to say yes if or when he did ask her out like that, but at least he had the decency to be honest and upfront after all. Going behind her back was cowardly, and she definitely wasn't interested in a guy who skulked around rather than being upfront. She wasn't entirely convinced Niida-san wasn't that kind of guy, but really, this had been a pain of a conversation, so she was happy to just get it over and done with.
"Let's just both move on from this," Takako said, turning around. "See you around."
With that, Takako strode off, biting her lip in irritation at this whole petty affair.
Okay, maybe she'd been a little quick to judge. With how many of the guys looked at her, she might have been a little defensive. Who could blame her? It wasn't the first time someone had implied as much. If Niida-san seriously wasn't meaning that, then she could at least give him credit for that. "Alright, you've made your point," she replied, leaning back a little. Niida-san was clearly annoyed about this himself, which bothered her. He wasn't the one getting talked about without knowing about it. But that wasn't her problem; if he rolled back the mistake, she was happy to just have this annoying situation be over.
"That's fine, then," she said. "I just don't want anyone thinking untrue things about me." Takako didn't really expect to say yes if or when he did ask her out like that, but at least he had the decency to be honest and upfront after all. Going behind her back was cowardly, and she definitely wasn't interested in a guy who skulked around rather than being upfront. She wasn't entirely convinced Niida-san wasn't that kind of guy, but really, this had been a pain of a conversation, so she was happy to just get it over and done with.
"Let's just both move on from this," Takako said, turning around. "See you around."
With that, Takako strode off, biting her lip in irritation at this whole petty affair.