Two Opposing Idiots Go Seperate Ways

With the sun rising and the morning getting ready to get into full swing, Tomoka flung her bag off her shoulder and onto the floor beside her desk. She walked over to her chair and flopped down. With a few minutes before class, she laid her head down on the desk to try and get a bit more rest before the seven hour grind that awaited her began. But all of that was ruined when some lumbering idiot walked on over to her desk.

"Tomoka, you can't learn during class if you're asleep. Get up."

"Yamada."

"What? My name's Nikko, not Yamada."

"I hate you. Leave."

"Come on, don't be mean. I'm trying to look out for you."

Realizing that he wouldn't just leave, Tomoka raised up her head.

"What do you want?"

Nikko put on a great smile and waved.

"Good morning!"

"Morning. Now leave me alone."

"Okay, but I'll be back later."

"Whatever."

Reina put her head back down and tried to enjoy the final few moments before class. Meanwhile, Nikko went over to Reina's desk, where she and Juzo were watching him. Reina seemed impressed with him.

"Wow, a girl that isn't completely repulsed by you."

"What do you mean? Shinobu's not disgusted with me, either."

"Shinobu works with my uncle, so she's gotta have low standards."

"Someone's feeling extra terrible today. Making fun of family members, that's a low blow."

Not wanting to listen to banter, Juzo butted in.

"So, it looks like you've slithered your way into Yamada's favour."

"What can I say, no girl can say no to me."

Reina raised her hand.

"I can, and have on many occasions. Shinobu's also said no to you."

"Stop it with your blasphemy. No one wants to hear your opinion right now. But honestly, there's something about Tomoka that's intriguing me. I'm going to figure out what exactly it is."

Juzo nodded along with his optimism.

"Cool. Hope you have fun with that."

The bell rang, forcing them to split off to their desks. A few hours of mind-numbing lectures and notes eventually led to the freedom of lunch. Juzo, who'd fallen asleep in the class prior, was joined by an angsty Reina, who greeted him with a slap to the face.

"Get up, you lazy jackass."

Juzo's eyes flew open, but his sudden movement in response to the physical stimulus caused him to fall back and off of the chair.

"Ouch."

"That was the least emotional "ouch" I've ever heard, you weirdo. Now hurry back up."

Juzo scrambled up to his feet and set his chair back up. He took a moment before sitting down, making sure Reina didn't do anything else to him.

"What the hell's your problem? You're acting strange."

Reina grabbed a chair from an adjacent desk and put it beside Juzo's desk. But instead of sitting down, she leaned over on it.

"That bastard Nikko just took off after Yamada as soon as the bell rang."

"So?"

"Why doesn't he want to stay with us? Yamada acts like she doesn't want him around, and we're his friends, so why did he choose her?"

Juzo pulled out his lunch and began to eat.

"Looks like someone's jealous. Nikko's his own person. If he wants to hang out with Yamada, he's free to do so."

Reina got tired of standing up, so she sat down in the chair.

"But he's our friend. Why is suddenly everything about Yamada?"

"Everything? He only met her yesterday."

"That's exactly my point. He barely knows her, so why is he so obsessed with her? What if he starts spending all his time with her instead of us? What if he doesn't want to be friends with us?"

"Then we won't be friends anymore. Friendship doesn't work solely off of one person's feelings: it needs everyone involved to put in effort."

"Don't say that! I won't let that happen to us!"

Juzo stopped eating.

"Reina, you need to calm down. The best thing to do is to just trust Nikko. He wouldn't abandon you."

Reina took a moment to collect herself.

"Huh. You're right. Sorry."

"Hey, Reina, are you okay? You've been acting strange lately."

Reina shook her head.

"No, I don't think I am."

"You wanna talk about it or something?"

"To be honest, I don't even know what's wrong."

"Well, if you need to, I'm always open to hearing you out."

"Thanks."

The two silently ate the rest of their lunch for the rest of the break.

"Yo, Tomoka, you want something?"

Nikko yelled over from the vending machine at Tomoka, who was sitting on a nearby bench.

"I'm not a charity case. If I want something, I'll buy it myself."

"A simple "no" would have worked, but okay."

Nikko punched in the number for a juice. A loud clang echoed from the dispenser, and he reached in and grabbed the can. He walked over to Tomoka's bench and sat down beside her, cracking open his drink. Tomoka just stared at him as he drank his juice.

"Do you have to sit beside me? I'm eating out here because I wanted to stay away from my classmates."

"Well, luckily for you, I'm not just a classmate, I'm your friend."

"Since when did I agree to that?"

"Right now."

Tomoka just shook her head and continued to eat her lunch. Nikko joined her, as he also took out his lunch and began to eat. The two ate silently together until Tomoka asked a question.

"Why are you trying so hard to hang out with me? You barely know what kind of person I am."

"That's a good question. Honestly, it's hard to put into words, but there's just something about you that compels me to try and be your friend."

"What, my looks?"

"That's part of it, but there's something else about you that's special. I don't exactly know what that is yet, but I want to find out."

Tomoka let a smile escape onto her face.

"You're a strange guy, Nikko. I'll tell you what, I'm free after school today. But I'm not going to pay for anything."

"Really? If that's the case, you wanna hit up a karaoke place? I'm quite talented at singing."

"Sure, that sounds like it could be fun. We'll go after school, then."

Nikko looked down at his watch.

"Oh, the bell's gonna ring soon. We better start heading back."

Tomoka crumbled up some garbage from her meal in her hand.

"You go on ahead. I have to throw this stuff away."

Nikko walked back to the class by himself. He strutted over to the usual area where Juzo and Reina were eating. Juzo noticed the strange walk of Nikko.

"What, did something good happen?"

Nikko did a little spin.

"Me and Tomoka got a karaoke date after school."

Reina dropped the food she was holding.

"You got her to go out with you that fast!?"

"I guess. Don't worry, I'll tell you guys all about it tomorrow. I'm going back to my desk."

As Nikko left, Reina tried to compose herself and clean up the mess she made.

"Ugh, dammit."

Juzo knew he had to do something to comfort his friend.

"Hey, Reina, I'm gonna go to your place again today. Is that fine?"

"...Okay."