Class C: Civil War

Supposedly every person experienced a brief exposure to the limelight three times in their life. The fifteen minutes of fame struck in threes, apparently. I wondered if this was an application of such an idea.

Just a moment ago an… acquaintance I guess you would call it. I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to assume we were friends by now. I mean we had each other's numbers, but it felt wrong to call someone I had met and talked to on two or three occasions, a close friend. Though, she certainly did exude a friendly aura, so I might've been embellishing slightly. I was under the impression that she always had that air about her. She had this magnanimous charm about herself, as if she were all forgiving. As she posed a messenger of the lord, I just had to wonder what an angel was doing down here, in the land of the living. Had she fallen? Or was she sent for my salvation?

"Ayanokouji-kun! Do you want to come with us to Keyaki mall? Ishizaki-kun and his friends wanted to go." Those words came from the sweet girl from Class D, Kushida Kikyou.

"The mall? I don't have any plans." Although it hurt internally to admit my own lack of companionship, I was moved by the invitation. "Are there any more people going?"

"A few people from my class are going to meet there as well, that's not an issue, is it?" She asked through upturned eyes. She should use such methods when asking for my bank account details, it'd work. Saying that, almost all scams would have an increased performance if they were concocted by a short, cute, diabolically proportioned femme fatale.

"Great!" She hopped and turned about face to look back at the group of boys I wasn't too familiar with. They didn't seem too bad though, the one I remembered as Ishizaki even stuck his thumb up at me, with a dumb grin on his face. I reciprocated the gesture, though without the grin. I couldn't very well prop my lips into a smile with just one hand, so I'd have to go without. I suppose that meant Ibuki was the one person that could see the truest smile I could muster.

Thinking of the tigress made me mentally spin the chair around. She would've left already from the rear entrance. Ever since the day she was sick she's been making a point of avoiding me, meaning she very rarely sticks around in the classroom. I had even attempted to talk to her before she left one time, it didn't end too well. She would alternate between ignoring me or spitting words at me reluctantly, I prevented myself from talking to her too frequently or I'd probably cause a meltdown. Glancing in my peripheries revealed that Manabe and her group were also absent.

Let's just hope this doesn't lead to something problematic.

"Oi! Oi! Ayanokouji, hurry up!" Ishizaki pestered me from a distance, the same smile plastered over his features. He was energetic, I imagined he probably bordered on clueless at times. He seemed like the type that would accidentally say something that would offend.

His other two friends I didn't know much about. I had seen them before and knew their faces, knew that they were a group of sorts. But beyond that everything else was conjecture. In an effort to not keep them waiting, I hurriedly placed the last book into my bag and shouldered it whilst approaching them.

Kushida made an appeal to look around the classroom before asking me "Ibuki-san isn't here?"

"She tends to leave fairly early." The moment the bell sounded was almost preceded by her escape from the classroom.

"I'll call her." She said immediately, I assumed that she was interested in seeing Ibuki again, it had been some time since they had last spoken, if Ibuki's behaviour was an indication. As far as I was aware the only people, she had spoken to was Tokitou's group in the cafeteria and that was out of necessity seeing as Ryuuen intruded on her table.

"There's no nee-" Never mind, she done that quickly, girls are scary with their phones. I might have to pay more attention. The phone had dialled for a second or two indicating that Ibuki was either using her phone or had it nearby. I wonder if she would answer as soon if it had been me calling? She probably just wouldn't answer. As much of a show she puts on avoiding me she hasn't outright been rude to me and hadn't gone further than escaping any room I was in.

"Ibuki-san, want to come to Keyaki mall with us?"

"Well, a few of your classmates and some of mine are meeting there! Don't worry about it, Ayanokouji-kun's coming as well-" Kushida immediately quietened and regarded her phone with confusion.

"…She said she was busy." Unfortunately, you had uttered the magic word rendering that effort useless. Though I think she would've avoided coming anyway. Large groups of people and Ibuki meshed about as well as oil and water. It was probably for the best. The same could be said for me as well though. I needed to step out of my comfort zone at some point. I mean what's the worst that could happen?

---

This is the worst.

I don't know how to interact with these people. We had decided to wander around the mall and look in the clothes shops, most of which were ridiculously expensive, in my opinion. Maybe that was just the experience when clothes shopping with girls. For me, so long as the clothes fit and didn't look ridiculous then it was fine. Ibuki seemed to be the same in that regard, from the few clothes of hers I had seen.

I was kind of left to the edge of the group after failing to respond to most of the questions thrown my way. One of the girls had asked me how I felt about idols, to which I could only ask: what's an idol? The same response came out of my mouth when I was asked to comment on a new tv drama, at some point I just began to apologise rather than answer the question. At that revelation most of the group quietened their conversations and looked at me with confused expressions. None of them said particularly harsh things about that interaction, but I immediately felt the alienation born from that incident. Kushida and the only male from the Class D group successfully changed the topic and general atmosphere, at a convenient juncture Hirata as he was called also explained what they were, to which I was grateful. Just as quick he was scooped from my side by one of the Class D girls. Karuizawa Kei. She had made a fairly public display of claiming the pretty boy. The entire time she was glued to his arm and practically dragging him through the mall, though their specific relationship was never actually mentioned.

"Umm…" Most others had formed their groups. Ishizaki and his posse had struck up conversation with three of the class D girls, whilst Karuizawa and Hirata would separate every so often. I say separate but the girl was practically dragging him left and right to show off different items in the shop. The leftovers, which obviously included me were stood towards the entrance of the shop unsure of how to place ourselves. My comrade in that regard was a small shy girl with dark hair bunched into twin tails. The only thing of note I gathered was that she's reticent to speak as I am, and she had some Chinese origin. That was more from the name than any forthcoming revelation.

"Yes?"

"You said your name was Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Correct. I believe it was Wang, right?"

"Please don't call me that… It sounds dirty." I suppose calling a young girl that was a misstep.

"Apologies, I don't really use honorifics. I can if you'd prefer."

"My class calls me Mii-chan, if you'd like."

"I'm not your classmate, though." I realised that sounded a bit ruder than I envisioned.

"That's fine." She shown a placating smile.

"Mii-chan."

"…You aren't how I was expecting Ayanokouji-kun."

"What were you expecting?" I don't know why she had any expectations at all, this was the first time we were meeting.

"When Kushida-chan talked about you she said you were really funny." It was more that my surroundings were making fun of me, rather than any humour on my part.

"I'm surprised Kushida mentioned me, we've only really met twice. She talks about me?" I didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand a beautiful girl my age was gossiping about me to her friends, on the other I couldn't imagine anything good was going to come from it.

"Now and again, she said she had a few friends in the other classes. I'm not surprised, it feels as if Kushida-chan's friends with everyone."

"Kushida certainly gives off that impression." I wondered how many friends you could conceivably have. Dunbar's number was a concept which bordered this, coined in the 1990's by an anthropologist of the same name. He posed that the very limit of relationships a person could foster and maintain was 150, this did not speak of the extent of the relationships, however. Relationships had more meaning depending on the effort and time invested. If Kushida had always been like this, I wonder if she surpassed that limit far away in the past. If she spent the entire three years in this place, would she completely forget everyone on the outside? Or vice versa? To be friends with everyone meant that you were actually friends with nobody, or at least theory would teach you that. In practice it seems as if Kushida has meaningful connections with everyone she talks to. In contrast it was these pointless quandaries I was more suited to, at least compared to socialising with others.

"It's impressive, I could never be like that." Her eyes wistfully followed Kushida as she bounced from group to group seamlessly integrating into their conversations.

"Agreed." I couldn't imagine myself bouncing between groups like that. One because I lacked the anatomy for that wonderful motion and the other because I was struggling talking to one person let alone multiple.

"I wonder how she found you so funny?" That comment stung more than it should. "You look serious to me."

"Should I start telling jokes?"

"You have them prepared?"

"It was a bluff, I was hoping you wouldn't ask."

"You could never guess with a face like that." I suppose looking serious was better than looking foolish.

"…Was that a joke?"

"No, I was entirely serious."

"…This is a first for me."

"Being outside?" Now that's getting dangerously accurate.

"No, but I understand why you might think it. I'm surprised they didn't ask me what rock I've been living under." I made a show of lightly scratching my head.

"You've really never heard of idols before?" Remembering the silence bred after that moment was painful to me even now.

"Never. I don't really watch much tv."

"Or listen to popular music." I listened to popular music, just from a different era.

"Everyone has a preference, don't they?"

"That's true. What sort of music do you listen to then Ayanokouji-kun?" In most scenarios this would be a hail Mary, but it might just work with her background.

"I was taught concert piano when I was young so mostly classical. And you?"

"Ah. Parents had a way with doing that. I was taught violin myself. I even learnt to like it. For a time." Violin was also something I was familiar with, though I didn't want to come off as if I were showboating.

"You never felt angry that you were pushed into it?" Personally, I never felt this way. Probably because music was a reprieve, though it was encouraged by my father it was still something I took solace in. After all, beyond a certain point you can't play a song any better than the composer had written it, without changing the formula. And at that point it was within the realm of subjectivity. Funnily enough my progression also ended there. I could emulate the songs I was taught even now, I could perhaps even improvise something to a decent standard. But I would never make a song that spoke to the emotion or human heart, not as I am now. Despite not progressing, music was something I still felt a compulsion to partake in at times, that was the closest thing I had to a hobby. In some ways I should be glad it was forced upon me. Though I could understand why someone wouldn't feel the same. To have your agency taken away was something most people would hate. Above all else I was interested how another person, with as similar a background as a normal person could have, might react.

"At a time. When the learning got harder and it became less about the music itself. But now I'm glad they pushed me into it."

"Do you mind if I ask why?"

"I'll tell you it isn't because I still play."

"…" I stood in silence allowing her to continue.

"I can tell they wanted the best for me. That's why they pushed me into it. Even if I never picked up a violin again, I learnt that I'd have to work for what I wanted. Take the sweet with the sour. That lesson probably brought me here today." Pushing your children so they could achieve better things in the future. From the outside that might be what others attributed my father's teachings with. They couldn't be more wrong. I had no doubt any benefit for me was cast out of his mind, if those thoughts ever even appeared. The tutoring I was given was solely for the profit of my father and the family name, that was it.

"A good lesson to learn early on." You might never achieve the lofty goals you set for yourself, but in the end hard work wouldn't betray you. I was surrounded by the ultimate culmination of that thought process. I had witnessed countless others fail despite their best efforts, at the time I disregarded their pleas as ignorant excuses after simply not trying hard enough. However, over time I wondered if the very ideology I found myself shackled to was flawed. The fact that I was the only true example of a complete product was telling. Were those that failed destined to fall somewhere along the path even if they gave their all? Was I special? Would it even matter if I was? That was one of the few reasons I even came here… To find someone that might prove it untrue. Or in the event that was impossible at least someone that would… make me feel something. What that feeling would be… even now I have no idea.

"I couldn't agree more." She directed a shy smile towards me then blinked as if remembering something and looked towards Hirata and the blonde girl clinging to him as tight as the clothes on his body. "I'm glad we talked about this, it actually reminded me of something I need to do. Thanks, Ayanokouji-kun." She nodded to me before speaking to Kushida, who then directed her to… I believe her name was Matsushita, she seemed to be helping some of the other girls pick outfits from the boutique.

"Whadda, ya know. You can speak like a real human." A gentle voice spoke from behind.

"Mori… Was it?" I was surprised to see the same girl I met earlier behind me, only now she was wearing a hat with a rim that looked like a bucket and sunglasses that crossed the boundary of gaudy and went straight to ridiculous.

"First, how do I look?" She made a strange pose, bending her legs slightly and crouching. Her arms crossing in front of her chest. Her fingers forming V's on either hand with her lips puckered as if she had inhaled a lemon.

"Unique." Truly that was the only word I could think of.

"Hmm. I'll take it." She isn't really going to buy those is she? "Now let's find something for you." If this was her type of fashion, then even I had a better chance of picking good outfits. My money is going to be wasted. Before I could give a sound rebuttal, she had taken me by my sleeve and pulled me along to a distant aisle.

…Why does the shop even stock this?

"What do you think; pineapples, coconuts or palm trees?" Mori asked me that as if it were the single most important question in the world. Before me she held three Hawaiian shirts every last one of them was a different colour you might find on a highlighter and had pineapples, coconuts and palm trees patterns along the material respectively. My question is; why are there Hawaiian shirts or Hawaiian things in this store at all? There's no beach on this island and we weren't allowed to leave, I heard they had a pool. But this much holiday wear for little to no use is or should be a criminal offense. All that to say, I don't want any of them!

"It isn't even summer yet."

"Pshh. You think too much. You need to get out of your own head, relax have some fun."

"And you think picking one of these is going to make me happy?" I very much doubted it, I could only see this is as a fruitless expense.

"Wrong. I know it. Pick one! Pick one, c'mon. Pick one, pick one. C'mon, you know you really want to. Pick one, pick one, pick one, pick one. Seriously, pick one dude! Or I'll make you get the mankini." There's no way that exists, surely that would be a crime to sell to children.

"Fine… Uh, the palm trees then." Already thoroughly regretting my decision I reached for the neon yellow shirt.

"Ooh, I wouldn't pick that one. Poor choice." At this point she's just messing with me.

"Do you want me to take one or not?"

"Fine. Fine. But you'll have to take these as well." I don't know when, but she had hidden something behind her back in one hand. She showed me a pair of shorts and a lei. Again, why is this even in this store? "Oh! Oh! And these too!" She handed me the ridiculous glasses and removed the bucket hat revealing her deep almond eyes and chestnut hair that flowed easily. In my perplexity she stuffed the bucket hat onto my head and told me to get changed… Whatever let's just get this over with. Feeling a strange sensation, I turned towards one of the large windows of the store only to be met with a familiar view over the bridge.

A face I wasn't expecting to see. I thought she was busy? Ah, and she just seen that. One more misunderstanding to add to the pile, then. I watched as the cerulean haired girl continued in a different direction, likely finishing whatever important business she had.

No sooner had I found a stall had I been immediately shoved into it by Mori. It was rather juvenile, but it made me remember how stories depicted friendship, this same rabble-rousing. Jabbing at one another to show some actual lingering affection hidden beneath the surface level jokes, the fact you could forgive one another for a slight was testament to the friendship. In this scenario I doubted it was any lingering affection between Mori and me and more that she's like this with everyone she meets. For some reason she wasn't a part of any group conversations before this, so I assumed she was a free spirit. I likened her to the way Ibuki would like to be but ultimately couldn't become. Their purviews were too different; Mori gave the impression she truly didn't care for other's opinions excessively, whereas Ibuki merely gave the illusion that she didn't care.

I had stumbled into the ridiculous apparel catching a glimpse of my own reflection in the mirror.

…I look ridiculous. I haven't even put the glasses and lei on, and I don't know if I have the heart to. Perhaps the sunglasses will help to shield my eyes from this abominable sight.

"You all done in there yet? Geez how long is it going to take you? I thought boys were quick!" I hadn't taken any time to change at all, most of my time was spent admonishing my reflection and imagining how my father might react if he were to see me. I wonder if Matsuo would be happy seeing me right now. Is this the freedom and friendship you envisioned?

"Why?"

"What do you mean; why? I want to see it obviously!" There was more than one pair of shoes on the other side. What is this some sort of initiation ritual? You can only join the group by publicly humiliating yourself, or something like that.

"…"

"If you don't come out, I'll be forced to come in!"

"Mori! You can't do that!" I could hear Kushida with genuine shock in her voice.

"Hold me back, I'm boutta go in."

"Hey, she's actually doing it! Grab her. Grab her!" Karuizawa was quick to act and order the others to restrain her. Though, through my limited interactions with Mori I doubted it would make much of a difference. Besides if I didn't come out wearing something ridiculous now, it would be outrageously more awkward than actually wearing the outfit. Even I could see that.

Considering Mori was quite literally risking breaking a law to see this ridiculous sight, I just made peace with my fate. Donning the lei, bucket hat and shades I pulled back the curtain to see… The whole group here, what joy. I'm overwhelmed by happiness. They were quiet, as was I. Mori simply urged me on by rolling her wrist a few times as if to say, 'spit it out!'

I just responded with the first word that came to mind.

"…Aloha." Just before the entire crowd could erupt with uproarious laughter, I was saved from their scrutinising eyes by Mii-chan approaching the rest of the group. Although notably, it seemed like she was approaching Hirata rather than any of the others.

"Hey… umm Hirata-kun. Does this dress look… good on me?" Mii-chan had approached from behind wearing a silk blue summer dress that perfectly contrasted her eyes.

"It-" Before Hirata could get a second word out of his mouth he was interrupted by his blonde shadow. Circling the poor girl like a predator haunts its prey, all with a lovely smile on her face.

"Wow, Mii-chan that dress looks so good on you. It really accentuates your petite figure. It's like so, so cute!" Ouch. Karuizawa was quick to pounce on that. I shouldn't be surprised with how determined she has been staking a claim on Hirata. I wondered if the other girls noticed the backhanded compliment she offered. I wonder if Mii-chan was even aware of it herself.

"Th-Thanks, Karuizawa-san."

"Do you think you could help me out with picking out dresses? Jeans and skirts are all the fashion these days, so I'm not familiar with them. I'd really appreciate it!" The more Karuizawa spoke the more intrigued I became. Not because I was picturing her wearing these things, my mind isn't always in the gutter. It was because she was subtly reminding Mii-chan of her place in the hierarchy all whilst framing them as compliments and giving the impression they were on good terms.

But make no mistake when she was speaking the subtext was clear; "lacking firepower, old-fashioned, no style." I could hear the phantom whispers 'stay away from my man.'

They were clear digs at her self-esteem, I only wondered if Mii-chan would feel they were valid. I wasn't of the same opinion. She was petite meaning she wasn't as curvy as the other girls like Kushida or Karuizawa herself, but it wasn't as if she lacked feminine charm. She was shy which instigated a sudden urge to protect. Dresses were also more feminine than jeans or other fashion-trends. Besides fashion comes and goes, some things are timeless. Beyond that she wasn't unattractive she had plain but cute features, large eyes and small plump lips.

"I-I wouldn't mind! But it was actually Matsushita-san that helped me."

"Guilty as charged. The credit goes to Mii-chan though. I knew she could pull it off."

"I should be asking Matsushita-chan then! Wanna help me out?" I doubted that Karuizawa didn't realise Matsushita was helping the other girls pick out clothes. Was it another vaguely disguised jab?

"Any time Karuizawa-chan."

"Right now!" She grabbed Matsushita by her hand, not letting go of Hirata's either. No doubt to ensure he was separated form her only visible competition.

"It looks good on you Mii-chan." I knew my words were less than a band aid on the fresh wound, but it seemed like it was better than nothing. It wasn't like I was lying either. Matsushita seemed to be quite skilled at choosing the right clothes, if this example was anything to go off.

"Thanks…" She still looked a bit sullen on account of being deprived Hirata's attention. "Ayanokouji-kun, what are you wearing?"

"My new outfit courtesy of Mori. Like it?"

"It… has… character."

"Perhaps too much character."

"What brought this on?"

"I've been told I'm too dull so I thought my clothing should act as a contrast."

"Way too much contrast!"

"Maybe. Do you like the hat?" She had been staring at it for a remarkably long time. There was plenty more of the outfit to scrutinise, yet she had her eyes set on the bucket hat all this time.

"…Hey, um. What does that mean?"

"What?"

"The writing… on the hat." Rather than a genuine question it seemed rhetorical. What else could it mean?

"Honestly, I don't know. I'm not much of a fishing guy. I assume it means I must be really good at reeling them in." I couldn't see what else a master baiter could allude to.

"…I see." Mii-chan placed a small hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye. Such random sympathy almost made me bawl right then and there but being made of tougher stuff I controlled myself. Being imparted with the sense that everything was going to be okay in the end.

"Hey, you guys in as well?" Ishizaki slung his arm over my shoulder from behind.

"In? In what?"

"Dress up contest, we each take a random name and try to dress them up. Three worst outfits pay for food." I can see this going horribly.

---

Word count: 4484

Kind of played into the stereotype that Chinese kids get overbearing parents that force them into a bunch of lessons. Hey, look stereotypes exist for a reason there's some truth behind them at times, it just seemed like a natural angle for Ayanokouji to take.

The idea for the clothing competition has been done in a couple things I've read, if there was a specific example I had to give it would probably be Komi-san can't communicate, I'm fairly sure it was done in that.

The competition itself won't be too serious but that'll be the next chapter and give me the opportunity to explore the characters a bit more.

As always, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

P.S. I'll be providing an update as to why it's taken so long for the chapter shortly. But to get the general point across, I now have a Patreon. You can access it here: patreon.com/Shir0249

Chapters will be released monthly as was the intended schedule beforehand. The patreon is just for early access to three more chapters from each of these fics. Any support is appreciated greatly, thanks for your patience and support.

Until next time.