Mouten
"Blind Spot"

A/N: I have absolutely no excuse for taking so long to update this. Honestly, it was a busy summer and then I just totally lost my inspiration for this. I've got nine other stories that I'm in the process of writing as well. . . To anyone who reads this, thank you so much! I don't blame you if you don't read this, though, because over a year between chapters is just unforgivable, really. Anyway, please enjoy. (Or try to.)

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Koala-nii. . ."

Something poked my shoulder and I swatted it away.

Reina whimpered.

"Koala-nii," she said again, sharply. I was about to turn around, tear my gaze away from the window, when she slapped me upside the head. "The phone," she bit out, waving the cordless in her hand.

Frowning, I reached for it. "Who is it?"

"How should I know?" She handed it over to me, gave me a pointed look, and then turned on her heel and left my room.

I transferred the phone to my left hand -- mostly because my other arm still hurt like hell from Keisuke's 'demonstration' nearly a week ago -- and sank into the seat at my desk, stifling a sigh.

"Hello?"

"'I kind of screwed up," came Keisuke's voice from the other end, higher-pitched than usual. "I kind of screwed up and so I got roped into setting up for the festival next week. Don't ask me how, it just happened," he said so quickly that it took a moment for me to comprehend it all.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I sat back in the seat, and replied, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Yazawa-sensei," he practically hissed back. "She's evil."

I frowned. "How so?"

"You know how the fire alarm went off Friday?"

"Yeah."

"I lied. It was me."

"What?"

"Yeah, I know," he said tiredly, sighing in frustration. "I didn't really mean to, but it was just there, and I thought 'Hey, this'll get us out of class', so I just pulled it. . ." He sighed again and cleared his throat. "Anyways, I don't know how -- she's gotta be psychic or something -- but Yazawa-sensei found out. Now she's got me signed up as a volunteer to decorate for the Haru Matsuri."

And why wasn't I surprised by this? He used to pull this sort of thing all the time; the only difference was that he never got caught then.

"Okay." I turned back and forth in the chair, glancing out the window again. It was nearly seven now and the sun had partially set, and its glow outlined some of the buildings at certain angles. "What am I supposed to do about it?"

"You've gotta help me."

How was this a bad thing, anyway? Usually the girls decorated for festivals, which meant that he'd be left alone for hours on end with a bunch of them. What was he complaining about?

Suddenly, as if reading my mind, he spoke up, "It's the anime otaku this time around. They're going to be the only other ones there. You know how they get; you have to come with me."

It was true, I had to admit. Fangirls could be scary sometimes. Especially when they started their impromptu role-playing and pretend their rulers were magical katanas.

I sat up, straightening. "No way. You got into this yourself."

"You won't help a friend in need?" he pleaded. Then, offered, "Yazawa-sensei's gonna be there. She's the TIC, you know. That's an incentive right there, yeah?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't play stupid," he muttered, tone bitter, briefly.

"I'm not helping. I've got other things to do," I replied after a moment of hesitation as I glanced at the pile of homework strewn onto my bed. It was just studying, for the most part, because we never had actual homework, but it was still daunting nonetheless. Especially because this year, test results determined what college we'd get into.

"You can't leave me alone with them."

Oh, yes I could.

"Look, Keisuke," I started, grip tightening on the phone, "I don't -- "

"Please?"

"No."

"You can you turn your back on a friend in need? How will you be able to live with yourself after this, knowing that you've betrayed your best friend and thrown him to the wolves, left him to be shredded by the feral animals of the otaku world, whose sharp fangs glint in the moonlight, blood dripping -- "

"Fine," I found myself saying. If he was in the room, I'd actually punch him instead, but threats wouldn't work over the phone.

There was a brief silence, and then,

"You will? Seriously?"

"Quit squealing," I muttered. "You sound like a girl."

"You're the best!"

"Calm down."

--

On Sunday morning, Emi, Kanna, and Yasuko were towards the center of the gymnasium, chatting away animatedly. Keisuke stopped in front of me, at the entrance, and I roughly shoved him forward.

"Jump in," I urged, ignoring the glare he sent me. "You're the one who got us into this."

"Promise you won't leave me alone with them," he whispered back, fiercely. His voice echoed off the walls and high ceiling of the room and the three girls immediately stopped talking, their attention drilled into us.

I swallowed, resisting the temptation to take a slow step back and then dash out into the hall and get the hell out of here.

Keisuke offered them a pleasant wave and a smile. "Hi."

The girl with the long braided ponytail, Kanna, turned so her body was facing us, and crossed her arms. Emi and Yasuko were standing behind the massive heap of decorations -- a bunch of crap that I didn't care to identify but was sure that I'd soon be well acquainted with.

"You'd better not screw this up," said Kanna, focus directly on him, thank goodness. Maybe they didn't notice me. . . I could just leave, and then --

"Hey, you brought Koala," Emi piped up, her head tilting to the side. Three pairs of eyes shifted to me.

"He reminds me of Kon from Bleach," Yasuko mumbled.

Kanna shook her head. "I was thinking Wiz from DNAngel."

Emi frowned. "You guys are psycho. He's obviously Keroro from Sgt. Frog."

And so the anime correlations begin. . .

"Anyway," Kanna began, sighing. Her arms dropped to her sides and she pulled at the edge of her blazer, glancing at the things scattered on the floor. "We've got to start setting up with the stands and everything. All the indoor games and food booths are going to be in here, but we've got some outdoor events, too." She scratched her head, picking up something from the pile. A clipboard. She glanced over it and nodded. "Yeah, we need to set up all that before we can actually start decorating."

As if Keisuke and I would actually stick around for the decorating part. That was a girl's job.

Yazawa would understand. Maybe.