Aki and Minami

Following the tall, handsome faced Kuromoto Nishi, Tan-Tan's cheeks were heating up faster than the pace of her little legs could stride. It almost made her lightheaded thinking back on the display of intimacy she had just escaped from. Hell, she could still feel the tingle of his fingers on her chin, despite the moment having passed minutes ago. The walk to the manga club room felt like an eternity, and Tan-Tan's thoughts were racing with uncertainty and anxiety. She knew she should have stood firm on her rejection to visit, and now her stomach was starting to flutter. Each step brought another wave of nauseous nervousness within the tiny girl. As she tried her best to match the long strides of Nishi, she could do nothing but stare daggers at the floor while listening to the sound of their footsteps echo through the halls. Her palms began to sweat around the manga she was clutching to her chest, and her lungs felt eerily tight. 

Within these couple minutes, she had created a plan. The concept was simple: she would greet the club members with a dazzling smile and a soft introduction, then leave. Just like that, she would thank Nishi for showing her his club, bow, and head home for the day. She felt a little bad about it, but if it meant saving herself the embarrassment and risk of being bullied, she could do nothing else but that. 

With a sudden stop, Tan-Tan almost bumped into the back of Nishi. She gazed up at his tall back, waiting in silence. Her mind was going a mile a minute and she couldn't quite process the fact that she was now just standing there motionless behind him. 

"We're here." Nishi spoke with a slightly happy tone. 

She snapped out of her thoughts, now ready to face the reality awaiting her. Her fingers started going numb from the intense clasping around the books she had been carrying, but she was far too mentally occupied to notice. 

She gulped, closed her eyes, then opened them. The sliding of the old school door created a rhythmic clicking noise as it was opened. The smell of old paper lingered in the air, and the sunlight was skillfully blocked by a few wooden boards on the windows-a drastic yet necessary measure employed to prevent paper discoloration. The atmosphere was that of your average school club, gently inviting with a hint of intimidation. The shelves towered over the main desk at the center of the room, leaving no space for casual conveniences such as tea kettles or snack cupboards, which is something most high school clubs nowadays couldn't live without. She did notice a few cardboard cutouts of a particularly popular Chinese apothecary character, but the last thing on her mind was to ask why.

Amidst the Akihabara store-style club room were two second year students. The first of the two was a naturally red-haired female with a few bandages around her nose and thigh high socks riding up to her skirt hem. The second was a gloomy teenage boy who couldn't be bothered to even look up from his 'Weekly Shonen Leap' magazine, as he was studying the new chapter of Looker x Looker like it was an ancient scripture. This formidable pair had vastly different reactions upon seeing Tan-Tan for the first time. 

In the case of the natural red-head, who we will call 'Young Girl A' her eyes sparkled and her hands slammed onto the table with an excitement unrivaled by even winning the lottery.

"Whoa! You're so small!"

In the case of the edgy "Don't talk to me," boy, who we will call 'Fujiwara Loser' his eyes glared with a silent message. "Please don't be a nuisance."

Before Nishi could stop 'Young Girl A' from accidentally insulting Tan-Tan, it was past the point of no return. She immediately started ruffling Tan-Tan's bright silver hair with the force of a lioness. Strands of thin silver were bobbing and flying everywhere around her petite shoulders and scalp. Despite Tan-Tan's almost whisper-like whimpers of annoyance, Nishi couldn't help but hide a creeping laugh. She looked quite silly, after all. 

"Enough already, Minami, you're going to scare off our new applicant." Nishi spoke with a stern, playful voice. He gently pried the wrists of 'Young Girl A' off of the now afro-haired mini girl. 

"But she's so cute and ruffle-able!" 'Young Girl A' said as if it would change the fact she had just invaded a total strangers private space.

"Ruffle-able or not, you can't touch someone you just met like that!" Nishi looked slightly irritated.

Tan-Tan stood there completely baffled and dazed. From her perspective, she could tell that this Minami girl probably acts this way often. She could see the almost fatherly look on Nishi's face, as if he was scolding a child for sneaking candy before dinner. Tan-Tan somehow, despite being riddled with anxiety moments before, was now completely calm. This Minami girl is quite dangerous. The pure aloof-ness of this pretty red-head had completely dissolved any fears bubbling within her.

Still holding the whining Minami's wrists, Nishi looked over at Tan-Tan with a somewhat apologetic smile. 

"Don't mind Minami, she's always this carefree."

Tan-Tan shook her head, straightening her hair with her fingers. 

"I don't mind. In fact, I'm grateful for it."
Nishi wasn't sure what she meant by "Grateful" but he wasn't going to press the issue further. He could see Tan-Tan's facial expressions weren't as nervous as before, and that was enough for him. Releasing Minami's wrists, Nishi stood beside her. He gestured his hands towards Minami as if they were arrows. His face bore an unamused and almost playfully angry expression.

 "This is Yamaguchi Minami. As you can see, she's a bona fide tomboy." 

Nishi pointed to the bandages on Minami's face. "She's also a bit of an athlete. Why she comes to the manga club instead of practice is a mystery the world may never know." He shrugged.

Minami's face contorted into a playful smirk, her posture bent slightly forward and her pointer finger raised at Nishi.

"Because you and Aki are the only two who understand my obsession with Kento Shinoyama! The girl's swim team are just a bunch of pretty faces with no taste for a good story!" She finished her sentence by sticking out her tongue.

Tan-Tan's own face contorted next, but this time with a confused guise. 

"Kento Shinoyama?" She asked softly.

Minami's eyes widened, as if she had seen massacre. She stormed over toward Tan-Tan and her jaw hung open in shock.

 "You don't know Kento Shinoyama?! SKETCH Prance?! Asteroid Found In Space?! Witch Wonders?!" 

She waited for a reaction that Tan-Tan wouldn't give.

"SKETCH Prance? I think I've heard of it. The shonen about the boy with a weird hat, right?" 

Tan-Tan smiled nervously. Judging by the way Minami's jaw dropped even further, she knew she should probably not have called the protagonist's hat "weird." Tan-Tan took a step back and Nishi quickly stepped between the two girls, arms raised out like a barrier. 

"Minami, calm down! Tan-Tan didn't mean it like that."

It seems like Tan-Tan wasn't the only one who had the power to unleash an endless chatter attack. Minami appeared ready to deliver an intense lecture, yet Nishi stood his ground like a knight in shining armor, protecting the princess. Minami scoffed and crossed her arms, grumbling softly.
"His hat isn't weird... It's cool."

Tan-Tan nodded and bowed very slightly, as if she was trying to apologize. Her eyes naturally avoided Minami's, accidentally landing on 'Fujiwara Loser'. She briefly caught his almost alarmed gaze, but his eyes quickly turned back to his magazine. Nishi headed toward 'Fujiwara Loser' now that the potential cat fight had been avoided. He casually tossed his arm around the gloomy boy's shoulder and grinned handsomely. His index finger poked the boy's cheek and twisted it a few times, causing the edge-lord to look slightly silly.

"This is my best pal, Akinari. We just call him Aki."
Akinari grunted and gently pushed Nishi's arm off his shoulder. He half set down his magazine and casually waved at Tan-Tan.

"Yo. I'm Sakai Akinari. Aki for short."
And just like that, he was back to reading.

Nishi nudged him, causing Akinari to grunt once more. Nishi made his way to Tan-Tan's side and spun himself back around to face his club members. He cleared his throat and used his open hand to gesture toward the tiny girl.

"Everyone, this is Tanaka Shina. She goes by Tan-Tan for short. I want you to treat her with respect, like proper club members would."

 He immediately glared at Minami.

Once she was done sulking over the previous shonen boy hat incident, Minami's face softened into a gentle smile. She gave a flamboyant thumbs up and spoke in her usual boisterous voice. 

"Welcome aboard, Tan-Tan-chan!"

Nishi gave Tan-Tan a slight nudge and nodded down at her. He spoke in a soft, almost whisper-like voice. 

"See? Everyone here is nice."

Tan-Tan nodded. She was still feeling a bit uneasy. Not being used to casual interactions with such nice people was making her a little on edge. The fact that everyone was a second-year student added to the intimidation, but she was determined to show herself that she could break out of her shell. With a firm resolve, Tan-Tan made a spur of the moment decision that shocked even herself. She looked up with a fierce smile and spoke louder than she ever had before.

"Thank you for having me!"