Ai

Chapter one: Peer pressure

Mizuki Kanaharo ran along the pavement to her school, feeling her backpack thump against her back as she did so. She waved goodbye to her little brother, then increased her pace, speeding away towards the Academy. She dashed into the classroom just as the bell rang, panting with the exercise. Asano-sensei looked at her sharply, but didn’t say anything. Mizuki smiled at him gratefully, and he turned away and started writing on the board.

“What kept you?” Chihiro, Mizuki’s desk-mate hissed as she copied down what Asano-sensei was writing.

“Yuki’s bike had a flat tire,” Mizuki whispered back. “I had to help him pump it back up.”

Chihiro rolled her eyes. “Can’t he pump up his own tire?” she asked.

Mizuki shook her head. “He’s only six,” she reminded her friend. “Besides, I don’t mind helping him.”

“You’re nicer than I am,” Chihiro commented. “I would just have told him to do it himself.”

Mizuki shrugged, turning her attention back to Asano-sensei and what he was writing on the board. She dutifully copied down what he was writing, not really taking any of it in. She was too busy keeping her eyes from wandering off and gazing at Mokono Igarashi.

Mokono had transferred from another school only two months before, and she was absolutely gorgeous. Her dark hair hung long and smooth, and her brown eyes seemed to broadcast confidence and defiant radiance to the world. Her skin was flawless, and when she smiled, it was as though the room lit up around her.

“Kanaharo!”

She started guiltily, bringing her attention back to Asano-sensei. “Yes?”

“Would you care to give us the answer to the question?”

She read it quickly, grateful that she had done her studying and, for once, actually knew what she was talking about. She answered his question correctly, well aware that she was blushing and wishing that she would stop. Why was it that Asano-sensei always knew when she was thinking of something else?

He nodded, turning to grill a boy in the third row. Mizuki sagged with relief, determined to pay more attention. She listened attentively as Asano-sensei began to detail the scientists who had gone into discovering atoms and how they worked, and did her best to commit the foreign names to memory, wondering as she did so just how this would help her in the real world.

She was relieved when the bell rang and she could pack her books away. She hated science class, and Asano-sensei sometimes gave her the creeps. She could just tell that he watched her, and she didn’t know if it was because he didn’t like her… or because he did. Either way, it would cause far too many problems that she didn’t want to deal with.

She walked slowly to math class, stealing glances at Mokono as she did so. The other girl was walking behind Mizuki and Chihiro, looking down at the ground and not speaking to anyone. Come to think of it, Mokono never spoke to anyone! Mizuki wondered suddenly if the other girl got lonely. How couldn’t she? Mokono didn’t have any friends at the Academy, after all. Mizuki made up her mind to try and be nicer to the new student. She wouldn’t like being the odd one out.

“Mizuki-chan!”

She looked around, searching for the boy who’d called her name. She grinned as she saw Kagi running to catch up with her. His hair was sticking up in the air, and he was slightly out of breath. She suspected that he had just come from basketball practice.

“Kagi-kun,” she greeted him, reaching up to smooth his hair down. She’d known Kagi since they were both four years old, and they had grown up as neighbors. There were times when she thought of Kagi more as a brother than a friend.

He ducked away, stopping her from continuing what he perceived as an attack on his personal space. “Stop it! You’re destroying my look!” He ran his hands through his hair, returning it to its previously spiky state.

Mizuki rolled her eyes. “It looks stupid,” she informed him. “Why do you insist on looking stupid?”

“It does not look stupid!” he protested.

“Says you.”

“I like it.”

Mizuki glanced the other way, and came face to face with Nakuru, one of her close friends. Nakuru was watching Kagi, and Mizuki could see the blush that stained her face. She grinned. Nakuru had a world-class crush on Kagi, though she wouldn’t admit it. Mizuki wished that she would just work up the courage to ask him out. She couldn’t think of a better couple, and homecoming dance was coming up. She made a mental note to talk with Nakuru about it soon.

Kagi grinned at her, then turned to glare at Mizuki. “See? Someone appreciates me!”

Mizuki laughed. “Oh, I appreciate you tons,” she assured him. “I just don’t like your hair style.”

“You know nothing about male fashion,” he informed her. “I refuse to talk to you any longer. All you do is insult me.” He strode past her, making his way into the classroom. Mizuki followed him, resisting the desire to glance back at Mokono. She knew that the other girl had heard the entire thing, and couldn’t help wondering what she’d thought. Had she been jealous? Mizuki almost hoped that she had. If she was jealous, then she might listen in more often, and Mizuki would get to watch her more.

She slid into her seat, glad that it was across the classroom from Mokono. The other girl’s presence distracted her far too much, and Mizuki had been distracted enough for one day.

The class went by smoothly enough, though Mizuki couldn’t stop thinking about homecoming. What was she going to do? As the widely acknowledged Queen of the Academy, she had to go, and she had to have a date. So who would she choose? She knew perfectly well who everyone expected her to go with, but, for some reason, she was reluctant to ask him out. She couldn’t understand why she was so shy about it all of a sudden. It wasn’t like Sayoran Ichitori was unavailable, after all. On the contrary, everyone wondered why he didn’t already have a girlfriend. He was the cutest boy in the school, after all, and plenty of girls would sell their souls to be his date. So why hadn’t he agreed to anyone? Was it that no girl had been brave enough to ask him?

She joined her friends at the lunch table forcibly stopping herself from glancing over at Mokono as she did so.

“Mizuki-chan!” Sayoran’s twin sister Sakura beamed at her. “I was waiting for you!”

Mizuki grinned back at her friend. “Well, I’m here now, aren’t I? What is it?”

“Did you hear about the new student?” Sakura demanded.

Mizuki frowned. “What new student?”

Nakuru rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Mizuki-chan! How do you ever get anything straight? The transfer student, of course!”

Mizuki looked from Nakuru to Sakura, then lifted an eyebrow. “I would understand this so much more if you would explain it to me, you know,” she pointed out.

“He came this morning,” Sakura explained. “He’s not in your section, he’s in mine. Anyway, his name is Eriol Li, and he’s absolutely gorgeous!”

Chihiro looked interested. “Cuter than Sayoran?” she asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Chihiro-chan, most boys are cuter than Sayoran,” she said. “And yes, Li-san is much cuter than Sayoran.”

“You are underestimating Sayoran’s looks,” Nakuru informed Sakura. “Every girl in the school would just about die if he even looked at them.”

“Would you?” Sakura asked. Nakuru’s blush gave them all the answer they needed. Sakura grinned, then leaned back slightly. “What about you Mizuki? Who are you going to homecoming with?”

Mizuki shrugged. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Who do you think I should go with?”

“Sayoran, of course!” Chihiro exclaimed.

Sakura made a face. “That would be too weird,” she said. “My best friend and my twin brother, a couple?”

“One date doesn’t make us a couple,” Mizuki objected.

“But you will ask him, won’t you?” Nakuru insisted. “After all, who else is there to ask?”

“I could see what this new guy looks like,” Mizuki suggested.

“Pick guys on more than their looks, Mizuki-chan!” Chihiro exclaimed. “That’s not all there is in the world!”

Mizuki grinned. “No,” she agreed. “But they sure do help, don’t you think?”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re talking about my brother like this.”

“Oh, come on Sakura-chan!” Nakuru exclaimed. “Don’t tell me you don’t think Sayoran is cute!”

“When I think of Sayoran, I think of the boy who put ice in my bed and pepper in my ice cream,” she told Nakuru dryly. “In my mind, none of that is cute.”

Mizuki laughed. “I’ll have to ask him about that.”

Chihiro stared at her. “So you’ll ask him?” she squealed.

Mizuki sighed. “Will you let me alone if I do?”

“Promise,” Chihiro agreed. “Just be sure to remember it all!”

“Chihiro-chan!” Nakuru exclaimed. “Is that all you want?” She turned to Mizuki. “If you kiss him, I want pictures!”

“I’m not going to kiss him!” Mizuki cried. “You don’t kiss a guy until the third date, remember?”

“Well, then go on two beforehand and then kiss him at homecoming,” Nakuru responded.

Mizuki shook her head. “Nope. One date, then homecoming. If it works out, then I’ll go on a third date. Got it?”

Nakuru sighed. “If you do go on a third date, then will you get me a picture?”

“Most certainly not!” Mizuki laughed. “It would be all around the school in a matter of days!”

“Hours, you mean,” Chihiro muttered. Nakuru shoved her lightly. Mizuki glared at her friends, and they subsided.

“So,” Mizuki said, turning to Nakuru. “Will you ask Kagi?”

Nakuru blushed a bright red. “Do you think I should?” she whispered.

Sakura nodded. “You would make such a cute couple!” she said.

“Do you like him?” Chihiro asked. Still blushing, Nakuru nodded. Chihiro grinned. “Then go for it! The worst he can do is say no, right?”

“Right,” Nakuru agreed shakily. Then, she took a deep breath, straightening. “I think I will ask him. So there!” She stood, going to throw her trash away.

Mizuki grinned wickedly at her friend’s back. “Oh, and Nakuru-chan?”

“Yes?” Nakuru asked warily, turning back to look at them.

“If you kiss him, I want pictures!”

4