Mashiro Yuki

Yawning, I stretched my arms and back before I started unlocking my shoe locker. 

"You can fit a thousand donuts into that large yawn of yours." 

I turned to face the speaker who was facing me, with his short hair disheveled and his face frowning a little at me. When our eyes met, he looked away, scratching his head, further messing up his hair. Somehow, I couldn't help but notice that Ogata-kun, whenever I see him or encounter him, he's always, always frowning, that at times I couldn't help but wonder to myself if I had done something wrong that he would rather not confront me about. Am I always in the way whet it comes to his romantic male interests?

"Good morning, Ogata-kun," I greeted him with a sleepy smile, pulling my bag's strap closer to the crook of my neck. "Your hair is messed up," I commented as revenge to his earlier teasing, chuckling a little. 

His eyes widened, blinked at me, and turned away, combing his unruly hair. "I don't want to hear that from someone who also has her hair sticking out in weird places," he replied with a small growl. 

"Eh?" I stared at him before I took my phone out of my pocket to look at my reflection. Some short locks of layered hair were up; my hair looked like a shaggy puppy's fur that wasn't groomed for months. Oh, yeah. I forgot to comb my hair again due to my drowsiness. "That was embarrassing..." I let out a sheepish giggle, fishing out a thick hair tie from my bag's side pocket and put up my hair in a messy bun, twirling it in the process to give it some sort of style. I combed my bangs and posed with a peace sign, grinning at my classmate. "Cute enough?" 

He stepped back, frowning at me, and looked away, scratching his nape. "What's with that question?! You l-look c-c-c---"

I laughed. "I'm teasing, Ogata-kun!" 

He groaned and was silent for a moment. "You look like you didn't get enough sleep."

I nodded. I watched all four episodes of Hybrid Child last night, and was unable to easily sleep due to the feels. I kept crying at every single episode, especially the last ones.  That series will always make me cry no matter how many times I've watched it. But it's not like I could just say that to Ogata-kun, right? "Anime," I explained with a general term.

I might say that, but I just told Ryouta-kun about my little interest. At first, I was scared that he'd be disgusted, but he just said that it's interesting with his usual charming smile right after I confessed about it. His expression did seem interested and I didn't sense that he was freaked out, so maybe that's good? He then proceeded to inquire more about the other genres I prefer---I noticed that there was something off with him at that point, but it disappeared as we talked more---and I asked him if he watched anime. He admitted that there were times that he watched anime with his older sister, which I thought was really cool since it's Ryumi-senpai and she analyzes the story at the same time that she enjoys it. A lively conversation stemmed from there.

But did I tell him about it too soon? 

Finally getting my locker open, I was taking off my outdoor shoes when I noticed something inside the locker.

On top of my indoor shoes was an envelope.

A death threat?! A challenge note?! A letter of acceptance to a school for the supernatural?! 

With nervous fingers, I took out the letter and carefully opened the plain white envelope. The paper inside was clear white, which made me a little nervous on how it looked carefully prepared. Ogata-kun stood beside me silently in interest.

I unfolded the letter and read its contents neatly written in a familiar handwriting:

Mashiro Yuki-san,

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
There's a lot to be said
On how much I like you.

I blinked repeatedly, reading the first stanza over and over, until I realized the weight of the last three words. Wait, so--- so this is--- 

My bag slipped from my shoulder.

"EEEEEEHHHHHH?!" I reacted thoughtlessly, making nearby people look at me and Ogata-kun jump away in surprise. I looked around, feeling my cheeks heat up. People were staring at me and the paper in my hands in curiosity and interest, so I hid it behind me and bowed in different directions, spluttering out apologies and stumbling upon words that this was absolutely nothing.

"M-Mashiro---Are you okay?" asked Ogata-kun in concern. I managed a nervous smile and a nod, before reluctantly continuing to read the letter. 

I'm not ready to tell you face-to-face
Even if I had admired you for more than days.
My lady, it's only you I chase,
So, for now, can I woo you in this pace?

I stuffed the paper into my uniform's pocket, breathing heavily, trying to calm myself down and trying to keep my face from turning into a large tomato. I blinked rapidly for a moment, the name on top of the letter repeating itself on my mind no matter how much it denied that maybe the sender only placed it into the wrong locker. 

So it could be either a prank or... or...

I couldn't comprehend on how it could be that someone truly sent me a l-lo---

"A love letter, huh...?" Ogata-kun mused, looking away from me again. 

"It's not a l-love letter!" I denied as I dropped my indoor shoes and hurriedly placed my feet inside. 

"Based on your reaction, I'm pretty sure it is. You're pretty popular, huh..."

I sank to my knees, curling into a ball and resting my forehead on my knees. I took heavy breaths, trying to make sense of the situation, the light weight of the letter starting to feel heavy in my pocket. 

"O-Oi, are you oka---"

"Yukicchi~!" 

I grabbed my outdoor shoes and immediately stood up at the sound of Ryouta-kun's voice, throwing them into my locker and quickly closing it. On cue, the tall blonde was already beside me, beside Ogata-kun. The two exchanged glances, that looked like they were displeased of something that just happened. Am I in the way of KiseOga...?

"Good morning, Yukicchi!" he greeted brightly, which felt like a relief. His treatment of me didn't change.

I nodded at him. "Good morning." 

He took notice of my bag that was resting on the floor and as I was about to pick it up, he snatched it from the floor. I looked up at him with a confused frown. Wasn't I supposed to get it first since I'm shorter...?

He wore it on his shoulder and gently patted the bun on my head. "Yukicchi is cute today, too~!" he complimented with a sing-song voice. He seemed happy first thing in the morning.

"Did something good happen, Ryouta-kun?" I asked. Ogata-kun flinched, looking at me and Ryouta-kun, but said nothing. 

He tilted his head as his golden eyes glittered. "Yeah! I saw Yukicchi this morning!"

Ogata-kun scoffed. Ryouta-kun pretended not to notice.

I pouted at his remark, then pointed to my bag, pretending his reply didn't happen. "My bag, please." 

It was Ryouta-kun's turn to pout. He shook his head and grabbed my hand---which I didn't realize had become cold due to the earlier incident---then took a few steps forward, pulling me to his side and away from Ogata-kun. He entwined our fingers, the warmth of his hands starting to spread through mine. I looked up at him in question but he just grinned down at me. "Let me walk you to your class and I'd give you your bag!" he said, giving me no time to thing about his offer by leading me gently further inside the school, hand-in-hand. 

I looked back at the frowning Ogata-kun and nodded with a smile, non-verbally telling him that we'd just see each other later at class. 

***

"You're not yourself today."

I met the gaze of Fujiyama-san, who was staring at me through her thick-rimmed glasses. Open in her hands was a signed copy of Otaku ni Koisuru wa Muzukashii, a shoujo-josei romantic comedy manga about two 20-something otaku childhood friends who agreed to be in a relationship with each other. It was one of Fujiyama-san's recommendations to me, as she said that the heroine is a fujoshi, just like me, who also makes yaoi doujinshi to sell on conventions. I had told her that I'd consider reading it, probably right after Ouran High School Host Club, which I was halfway finished with. There's a lot of times when I saw Haruhi as a guy, though, despite Ryuumi-senpai telling me to read it as a shoujo manga.

I forced a smile and crossed my arms on top of the wooden table and buried my face in the space with a sigh. The sender didn't give me any sort of clue on who he was, nor did he ask me to do anything about his letter. Was I supposed to reply? Was I supposed to write in verse as well? I never even considered liking anyone since entering high school! 

I let my eyes roam the shelves hoarding our club's collection of manga and anime DVDs. They stopped on the shoujo manga section, and several cliches flooded in my mind. Once upon a time, I used to mainly like shoujo manga, reading volume after volume, until I got tired of the repetitive tropes, until I discovered yaoi. I wracked my brain for the usual cliches involving a letter. 

A likely instance would be that a group of delinquent/bully girls were targeting me. Or maybe a boy was dared to write a cheesy letter, and they'd ask me to meet him after a few letters. It's too good to be true if a guy really li---lik---L-words me! But if that's real... then the guy must be visually challenged! Or he mistook me for someone else and got the wrong name! Though it's best if he just falls for a guy who will show him the world in a shining, shimmering splendid manner, and would let his heart decide!

Someone went into the club room, and I looked up to see Ryuumi-senpai proudly leading a blushing Nanase-kun in a maid costume. His eyes were glued to the ground as he constantly pulled the hem of his short skirt down to cover more of his leg's skin, in spite of him wearing thigh-high socks.

"Nanase-kun is so cute~" I commented, and even I noticed how it lacked energy than my usual enthusiastic teasing. I kind of pity him, though. 

He nodded, turning away.

"Yuki!" 

I sat straight out of surprised and looked up at Ryuumi-senpai who had her arms crossed in front of her chest and who was frowning down at me. "What's wrong with you?!"

"N-Nothing, senpai!" I denied, suddenly aware of the letter that had been untouched since this morning in my pocket. 

"If it's something you need advice on, tell us!" she said, obviously not satisfied with my answer. 

The room was silent for a moment, the sound of Fujiyama-san flipping the page of her manga breaking the silence.  My eyes were on the wooden surface of the table, but I could feel Ryuumi-senpai's pressuring gaze on me. I thought I could withstand it, until I gave in with a heavy sigh. "Okay, I'll tell you."

Ryuumi-senpai cheered, throwing her fist in the air before automatically composing herself, placing her hand on her hip, making her appear mature from where she stood and how the sun's rays from the window made her look like she's a spring of wisdom. She cleared her throat and smiled serenely at me. "Well? Let's hear it!"

I scratched my head uneasily. "This morning... uh..." I sheepishly looked at the assuring expression on Ryuumi-senpai's face. "Someone left a... l-l-letter," I stuttered at the second L-word I'd like to avoid using for a while, "in my shoe locker..."

Senpai slammed her fists on the table, making Fujiyama-san and I jump on our seats. "A death threat?! A challenge note?! The mechanics for the Game of Demise?! A letter of acceptance to a school for the supernatural?!"

I giggled at her guesses, shaking my head, until I realized that I'd have to talk about the letter myself. Do I really have to mention both L-words myself?! But if I wanted to be more like the great Ryuumi-senpai, I'd have to be more courageous. I took a deep breath and, twiddling with my fingers, replied, "A... confession... message..."

AAAnd I'm never using those two words as well. 

All the anime club members were now staring at me, and it might have been just my mind, but I heard a bit of Shiori-senpai's suppressed chuckles from outside the room, by the door. I frowned at the door, but I could understand Shiori-senpai's mind; even I found the whole thing ridiculous and absurd.

Fujiyama-san smiled the largest smile I've ever seen on her face. "A real-life shoujo manga!"

Nanase-kun looked concerned. I had no idea if that concern was towards me.

Ryuumi-senpai looked pleasantly surprised, which slowly turned into a look of confusion. 

"Did anyone sign it?" she asked attentively. 

I shook my head.

She nodded in thought. "I guess all you could do for now is to wait for what happens next."

"Yeah!" said Fujiyama-san, oddly suddenly interested. "Tell us about the plot development as well!"

Nanase-kun smiled a little at Fujiyama-san then at me. 

I nodded, forcing a smile.