Edited by the amazing TheInfernalCelestria

I spent the evening with Erinn, not really paying attention when the front door opened. Our conversation was cut short when Naoki entered the room, a bag of groceries in one hand.

"What are you guys talking about?" He inquired suspiciously.

I crossed my arms. "Not telling you."

Erinn laughed as Naoki became irritated. I got up from the couch to help unpack the food and the house settled into a normal routine.

Mum was going to be away for the next few weeks on a work conference, arriving back just in time to say goodbye to me as I leave on our school trip to Kyoto. She did this a lot, and often it resulted in the three of us living temporarily at our house.

We ate dinner late before I finally retired to my room for the night.

Erinn and I had decided on Kaori's birthday present easily; she'd been wanting a book series for a while now. As for dealing with Asano, we had been talking about that when Naoki came home, so I didn't get many tips.

'I guess I'll have to wing it,' I thought

I crashed onto my bed, pulling out my laptop from my backpack. With an exasperated groan, I found my anime website was down again, most likely changing the servers for the millionth time.

So, that plan went down the drain.

Next, I tried Wattpad, but found no book updates. There was nothing interesting on Facebook, Webtoon, or even YouTube.

"What did I do to deserve this?..." I asked myself. "First-world problems much."

The clock read 9:43pm; not nearly late enough to go to sleep.

Should I try texting Asano? It would be better to clear things up before the party...

The thought was dismissed from my mind.

I can't let him get away with what he said to me.

...But he did have a point...

"Gahhh!" I screamed, muffling the sound with a pillow over my face.

Why the hell can't I think of anything that isn't Asano lately?!

I looked at the lock screen on my phone again, and after deciding I was bored with the wallpaper, went to my camera roll.

"Anime... anime... milkshakes..." I muttered to myself.

At the mention of milkshakes, I found my mind wandering back to the school, where I'd seen that strange creature the other day.

A yellow octopus wearing clothes?

I tried typing it into the search bar, along with the name of the school. Nothing in particular popped up, until about halfway down the list.

An article titled, "Creature spotted around Kunigigaoka area" sounded almost too coincidental. In fact, the article itself specified something closely matching the description of what I'd seen, though he had normally been seen out at convenience stores and... underneath clothes lines?

I made a mental note to ask someone about it. I couldn't ask Asano or Kaori, so my mind settled on the only other option; the E-class. If anyone would know things, Karma Akabane seemed like the type.

Yeah, great idea.

"Hey, have you seen a giant yellow octopus wearing clothes around lately?"

How dumb does that sound?!

===========

Class had ended once again. I hugged by books closer to my chest as I pushed my way through the crowds of people in the hallways. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my sleeve from behind and tugged me to the side, into a doorway and out of the swarm. When I looked up, I found myself face-to-face with the class rep from 3-D.

"Matsuoka-san, the principal wants to speak to you in his office."

It was no doubt about my class move. It had been a month since I'd transferred and about a week since my fight with Asano.

I nodded and thanked the girl before heading back out into the now smaller group of people who were rushing to their next class. I joined the flow before turning off to the office, waiting outside the door.

I could hear voices from inside and they didn't sound very happy.

"But we can't just accept new students into our class, there are government laws we have to abide by!" The voice, obviously belonging to a man, sounded quite fed up with whatever situation he was in.

Next spoke the principal.

"I apologise, Mr. Karasuma, but with the current situation, especially with the results that this student has given us, we cannot let them into one of the higher classes. If any student fails more than half of their exams, it is almost certain they will not make it to any higher than the E-class. We do have a reputation to uphold after all."

There was an awkward silence. I felt awkward listening to the conversation between the two but I couldn't help but wonder who they were talking about. I stepped away from the door as I heard the conversation come to an close, standing off to the side as the doors opened.

The spiky haired man from Class E exited the room.

Strange, I thought he was their teacher... so why wasn't he teaching?

I suddenly remembered the woman I'd met and realised she must be in charge for the moment.

When he was about halfway down the hallway, I took the chance to enter the office myself, closing the door once more behind me.

The principal spoke, "Matsuoka-san, please have a seat."

"Am I here about classes again?" I inquired, taking a seat across from him at the wooden desk.

He nodded. "Your results have been improving once again since your move from the A-class, and if you keep this up, there is a chance we could transfer you up again."

I let out a breath, relieved at the good news. But suddenly, his eyes turned dark and intimidating.

"However, I am sure you are aware of the consequences that come with failing the upcoming exams. As I have said before, if you do not get sufficient grades on the exams then you will be transferred to the E-class."

The air had gone still. Goosebumps rose on my arms and legs, and I nodded my head.

"I understand."

He smiled. It was a malicious smile, one meant to incur fear. Regretfully, it was successful.

"He isn't the head of one of the top schools for no reason,"

I recalled the words Naoki had told me once, back in my first year.

"That's good," he said, pausing slightly, almost as if he was trying to decide what to say next.
"Now," he continued, "on a slightly more personal matter, may I inquire as to the situation with Gakushuu?"

My breath hitched. Was he talking about our fight? Luckily, the principal continued before I could speak.

"Not that I am concerned about the well-being of my son, but he has been in a foul mood and wastes his time with pointless activities, not taking time to study any more."

He leaned forward, resting his chin on his folded hands. "Do you know why this is?"

I shook my head. "To be honest, I haven't spoken with him for a while, but nothing seems strange to me."

Asano Gakuhō leant back in his chair once more, the tense atmosphere vanishing in a matter of seconds.

"Thank you for your time, Miss Matsuoka. You may go back to class now."

With no more words spoken, I quickly gathered up my books from the floor and exited the room.

That man is a snake

Walking the empty corridors alone, everything seemed eerie.

No, not a snake.

My thoughts were jumbled, his intimidation tactics are successful for a reason.

Centipedes in your ear

A well known line from an anime I'd watched in the past, it seemed to fit the principal rather well.

Whispering lies, instilling fear

=====

With the rest of the day being rather uneventful, I caught Kaori after class.

"So, it's your party tonight then," I said, "you looking forward to it?"

Her face brightened. "I can't wait! It's been a while since we've had a group of us together like this."

I ignored the nagging thought of Asano at the back of my mind, pushing it away and focusing on my conversation with Kaori. However, it didn't last long.

"You and Asano are going to be fine, right?" She asked, suddenly concerned. "I didn't really think about it when I invited him..."

I laughed. "It's fine Kaori, you worry too much! We've both put it behind us."

Of course, that much was a lie.

When I got home, I hung around in the living room for a while, playing on my phone until the door finally opened.

"Naoki-nii, you remember you're dropping me off tonight, right?"

There was a grunt of agreement from my brother as he walked into the room, sitting in the armchair opposite me.

"The principal notified me about your meeting,"

"Of course he did."

"You'd have to pass these exams you know."

"Yep."

There was a moment of silence.

"Well," Naoki spoke up, "I'm not getting any decent conversation out of you this time." He stood up again and started heading upstairs.

"And your party starts in about ten minutes too," he called.

=====

The car pulled up to the karaoke bar and I jumped out, quickly crossing the street and making my way through the building. After asking at the desk, I found out where Kaori's room was and made my way there.

I've never been to a place like this before...

When I walked into the room I wasn't surprised to see some of the students from both the A and B classes, as well as Kaori and Asano. It seemed everyone BUT me had made it on time.

"Sorry I'm late, Naoki got home late again!"

I said, blaming it on my older brother like I normally do.

It was a good thing I'd been in the A class; I knew everyone who was there already.

Asano and I avoided speaking for the most part, except for when forced to have a conversation, but otherwise the night passed normally.

Kaori was happy when I gave her the books, something I was glad about.

Everything was fine.

After the party we all headed out of the building, most of the others heading off to their own cars until Kaori, Asano, one of the A class girls and myself were the only people still waiting around, standing on the corner of a busy intersection. It was loud with the late-night traffic of people trying to get home.

As the other girl turned to leave, Kaori went with her to 'walk her to her car'. It was obviously a chance to let Asano and me talk, a chance that I wasn't planning on taking, but something Asano was.

"So, Matsuoka-san, I guess you're still angry with me, aren't you?"

His voice had a slightly rude tone to it, like he was still angry as well.

However, I was definitely not about to tell him the truth.

"I don't know why you're still hung up on it Asano-kun, it's been a week, you know."

I'm acting like a little kid, trying to make him feel bad about it

"I am sorry, you know," Asano said, becoming more solemn. "I was rude, and what I said wasn't right, but I still stand by some of the things I said."

I could see my brother's car coming around the corner and pulling up on the other side of the road.

"I've got to go, but I'm sorry as well. I was acting immaturely too, but I don't think either of us were wrong."

He laughed quietly.

"You've always been the stubborn one, Aki-san."

A moment passed before his words registered in my brain.

"What did you say?!" I exclaimed. "You said my first name!"

Asano turned red.

"You weren't supposed to hear that..."

It was my turn to laugh now.

"I win!"

Kaori was coming back. Asano turned to face her, and I took a backwards step off the curb to cross the road. My hair flew in front of my face, blocking my view temporarily.

I pushed my hair out of my eyes in time to see Kaori yell at me.

I didn't hear the car,

Or anything after.