Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ Life In A Bottle ❯ That Time Of The Month ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

-----Author’s note: To see the place Connor visits today, please check chapter 122 of the manga, you can see it in there. I don’t know how to accurately describe it, and can’t find out what type of structure it is. Yeah, I looked, just came up empty. I apologize for my ineptitude. I do not own Negima!, but any other characters (Save for two, which will be named at the end) and ideas are my own. Enjoy.....-----


“Look, I’ve been patient with you, haven’t I?”

“Well, you’ve been.....some sort of.....variation of patient.”

A group of young men, veiled in the shadows of a decrepit basement somewhere in the city, conversed over lukewarm cups of coffee. It was a rather forced conversation, as the second party had no desire to be there. The one young man composing the said second party stared back unfeelingly into the eyes of the one he was being bossed around by.

“Don’t be a smart-ass. I didn’t go through all of the trouble of getting you transferred here just so you could waste my time,” The thick voice crawled through the air and into his ears. It sounded as though his throat were coated in a thick mucus he couldn’t cough up for the life of him.

“Actually, yeah, you kinda did. It would be a lot quicker if you just up and did it yourself.”

“If it were that simple, I wouldn’t have asked for your help!”

“You didn’t ask. You’re blackmailing the hell out of me,” Party two pointed out, folding his arms across his chest.

“J-Just shut the hell up, and go do what I brought you here to do. I’m dead serious! If you haven’t set everything up by the start of the festival, I won’t be blackmailing you anymore, I’ll follow through with it. Do you understand?”

“I understand that you think I’m a miracle worker! That only leaves me with one week, left! Not even a whole week, it’s four days!”

“Then you’d better get cracking,” The blackmailer shooed his displeased underling away.

“Fat-ass,” The blackmailed one muttered under his breath, slamming the door shut behind him. He cast a glance at the leather bound book he had clasped in his left hand, shaking his head with a groan as he set off for class.

-

What was that? What was that wonderful feeling? Wait.....wait for it.....he knew he was going to remember.....Oh! He was being kissed! Hm.....hang on, he didn’t remember volunteering for a kiss. Actually, he had never had a kiss that lasted this long. They were going on, what, fifteen seconds? That’s a long kiss. He was still in bed though, wasn’t he?

Negi’s eyes popped open, and he found himself looking straight up at Chachamaru, whose eyes were about an inch from his own. More importantly than her eyes, however, was the fact that her mouth was over his.

The android, having registered that her teacher was awake, pulled back and hurried down the ladder. She said something about class, and was out the door before Negi could form words. After a few moments of lying there in shock, he managed to bring his head off of his pillow and sit up. He turned to look over at his room, and yelped in surprise at what he saw.

He hopped over the side of the bed, dropping down beside Asuna, who was collapsed on the floor. He shook her by the shoulders as he tried to bring her back to consciousness, “Asuna-san! Asuna-san, are you ok?”

Foaming from the mouth, and her eyes sort of.....blank, Asuna only managed a slight gurgle in response. Chachamaru was going to have to take Konoka’s bed, for sure. No more loft sharing.

-

“.....Could you stop that, maybe?”

“Stop what?”

“.....You know.....that thing you’re doing.....with my hand?”

“Holding it?”

Connor tried to wriggle his hand free from Ku Fei’s iron, albeit pleasant, grip. The two were on their way to class. Kaede had left before them without a word, which was unusual. She would normally say goodbye, at least. He didn’t want to think that it was his fault, but honestly.....

“Yeah, that. People are starting to.....stare. I mean, I didn’t mind you holding onto it all night long, but now everyone can see.....”

Ku Fei began to swing her arm up and down as she walked, as if to flaunt the fact that she was holding his hand, “Nope. I never letting go. You leave if I do, so I won’t,” A wide grin was plastered onto her face as she spoke, and he could pick up a hint of music in her voice. She was in a damn good mood, he had to admit.

“N-No, I won’t. I said I wasn’t going to leave, and you can believe me!”

“I read letter you left. You say you going to leave, and we never see each other again. Then you do 180 and say you staying! This way, you have no choice. You stay, I stay, we stay!” She beamed a happy smile at Ako as they passed her by on the steps leading to the entrance of the academy.

As they neared the top of the steps, Connor pulled her to a stop, looking down into her beautiful amber eyes, “Hey.....” He practically whispered so the nearby Ako couldn’t hear, “Do you remember what else I said in the letter?”

“That you a cold-hearted bastard?”

“Yes, but that’s not what I meant. Way to kill the moment, Sunshine. I said that I wouldn’t see you again, because if I did.....I might not be able to leave.....” He looked away as he said the last part, wondering just how corny he sounded. Sure, it summed up how he felt pretty accurately, but that didn’t make it any less embarrassing to say.

He waited a few seconds for Ku Fei to reply. He took this little bit of uncomfortable silence to fidget with his tacky brown suit, which he wasn’t any more fond of than he had ever been. He wanted for her to say something, but she didn’t. Expecting a punch in the stomach or a Kaede-esque styled slap in the face, he turned his eyes back to Ku Fei’s.

She was staring back up at him with huge watery eyes, a crooked smile on her face as little sparkles seemed to rain down all around her. Her chin was quivering a little, and she had let go of his hand to hold both fists up to her chin, a lot like the quiet book girl did. The cute little flush in her tanned cheeks was subtle, but not so subtle that he didn’t notice it.

‘It’s the schoolgirl-love-sparkle.....to a degree that I’ve never seen before.....Maybe I said something I shouldn’t have.....considering she isn’t REALLY the reason I stayed.....dammit.....’ That was what was running through his mind as he started to lose himself in her adoring gaze.

Ako cleared her throat from behind him, “Um, what’s going on here?”

Connor snapped to attention, saluting the light-haired girl, “Whatever you want, Snow White!”

“Snow.....White? I-” The bell began to ring, cutting them short, “Come on, we’re late!” She exclaimed, rushing into the academy, Connor right behind her. He slowed to a stop when he realized Ku Fei was still standing on the steps, eyes still huge and happy, little sparkles still filling up the air around her. He must have eaten something funky at the beef bowl, last night.....

He stepped over to her, taking her by the hand and pulling her into the building. Ku Fei eased out of her happy moment, taking his hand back into her solid grip, “I still not letting go.”

“But you’re gonna get me in trouble! Even though student/teacher relationships are among the hottest of all relationships, they’re still not allowed! Plus, you can’t hold my hand all through class!”

-

Negi, just about ready to wrap up his lesson for the day, sent what must have been the hundredth confused glance over at Connor. He was sitting on the floor beside Ku Fei’s desk, his hand clasped firmly in hers. Actually, hardly anyone was paying attention to the lesson at all. They were all staring at the Chinese girl and their embarrassed teacher’s aid.

‘God, I hate public displays of affection. .....Wow, I just realized what a stereotype I am,’ He thought dismally, letting his chin sag to his chest.

“Um.....A-Anyway.....” Negi tried to continue with the lesson, but his own thoughts were elsewhere, as well. He remembered setting Asuna in her chair, and having to prop her up with a book, as she had yet to snap out of her foamy-sleep phase. A phase that was induced by a sudden move by Chachamaru, who was doing her best to avoid eye contact with him. He needed to talk to her about it, and maybe even consult Hakase, the robot’s creator. Surely, she would know what was going on.

“Ok!” Sakurako and Haruna both shot up out of their chairs, pointing angry fingers at Ku Fei.

“What the hell’s going on here?” Haruna shouted.

“Yeah! I tried to ignore it, but I can’t anymore!” The cheerleader exclaimed, finger still aimed at the Chinese girl.

“Uh.....G-Girls, we just had an accident.....with glue. Yeah.....” Connor muttered in response. Surely, with Negi around, they had heard weirder excuses than that, right?

Ku Fei let go of his hand and held both up to show the class, “That not true,” She stated simply.

Connor, now free, tried to roll away and put some distance between him and his roommate, but she caught him by the end of his bandanna and pulled him back close, grabbing his hand again. He laughed a little, “Getting kinda possessive, aren’t we?”

The bell signaled the end of the period, and within the first fifth of a second of its ringing, he and Ku Fei were swallowed up in a flurry of squealing girls and unpleasant questions. The Chinese girl, still clutching Connor’s hand in her own, jumped up out her seat and onto the shoulders of Chao, who nearly buckled under the sudden addition of weight. Connor flailing around in the air behind her, she jumped across the room and ran out into the halls.

Negi watched them go, and then watched as half of the class charged after them in search of scandal and answers. He was glad to see that the student he wanted to speak with, Satome Nakase, was still getting her things together.

“Hakase-san, can I have a quick word with you?” Negi asked politely, making his way over to the science prodigy.

“I’m kinda busy today, Negi-sensei. Could it maybe wait until.....sometime next month? I think I could squeeze you in.....” Hakase mumbled, grabbing her laptop and moving for the door.

“Er, actually, this is kind of important.....” The boy followed after her.

Turning around, an all-knowing gleam in her eyes, the girl asked, “It’s about Chachamaru?”

Negi nodded, and Hakase did the same, a little smile finding its way onto her lips, “Ok, come with me, Negi-sensei. Maybe we DO need to have a talk.....”

Natsumi brushed past them, muttering an apology as she hurried into the halls and away from the classroom. ‘She sounded sad.....I hope she’s ok.....’ He had noticed the depressed look on her face during class, but he had been somewhat distracted by the Ku Fei thing. Negi wanted to hurry after her to see what was wrong, but getting Hakase alone to ask her what was going on with Chachamaru needed to take precedence, he knew. He would see Natsumi, after.

-

“Wait, so.....huh?”

“That’s what she told me. She’s gradually upgrading Chachamaru-san with more and more complex machinery. She said that some of those new pieces help her to store and replicate emotions she observes, so she can be even more humanlike. She now wants to make Chachamaru-san into the perfect android. Almost identically human.....”

“And you had this talk with her because the robot.....you know, kissed you?”

“Yeah.....But does that mean that Chachamaru-san.....”

“Damn! Now THAT’S kinky,” Connor laughed, lying on his back to watch the clouds passing by overhead.

Like they did nearly every day at lunchtime, Negi and his aid were up on top of the school, enjoying one of the cheap lunches they would get out of the machines on campus. Today’s delicacies were a cold ham sandwich for Negi, and a couple of candy bars for the aid. ‘Please come back soon, Konoka-san!’ Negi thought sadly, remembering the homemade lunches he had enjoyed, once upon a time.....

“Don’t talk like that, Connor. I’m sure she’s very confused. What’s really confusing, though, is where could she possibly have seen real love?” The boy sent an accusatory look in his aid’s direction.

“Don’t be looking at me like that, kid,” He tried to put his hands behind his head, but the weight on one end prevented him from doing so, “You’re kind of ruining guy time, Sunshine.”

Ku Fei, still hanging on to Connor’s hand, turned her attention to Negi, “You think she see love because of us? Negi-bozu, so smart!” She snickered as she grabbed one of the candy bars.

“Not like he’s gonna be smarting.....”

Negi scrambled away several feet to stay out of Connor’s reach, sitting back down. “Hey,” He spoke up, realizing that his aid wasn’t going to be too dangerous with Ku Fei on his arm. This would be a good time to ask for a favor, “Do you know Natsumi-san?”

“.....Who?”

“Um, short, redhead, freckles?”

“Oh! Right, what about her?”

“Did she seem sort of.....upset, to you?”

Connor sat up, and Ku Fei with him, “I was a little preoccupied. It’s probably just.....I don’t know, that time of the month, or something.”

Ku Fei jabbed him in the ribs, swallowing the mouthful of chocolate she had been working on, “I notice, too. You know what wrong?”

Negi shook his head, “No, but I was hoping that.....maybe you could try and find out?”

“Ugh.....” Connor gasped for air, Ku Fei having jabbed him again as soon as he started to shake his head no, “W-Why me?”

“I have some things I need to take care of, and you’ll be able to ask her during PE today. Besides, I’m sure you can help make her feel better just as well as I could.”

“I don’t even know this girl! You do i-” He fell over from his sitting position, clutching his side with his free hand, “Stop hitting me! Please!”

“You help Negi-bozu, Connor! He ask nice,” Ku Fei grabbed the last candy bar, breaking it in half to share.

“B-But I don’t-” He curled up into the fetal position after another thump sounded across the campus. She was striking so fast Negi could barely see her move, “O-OK! I’ll figure it out!”

“Uh, thanks.....Connor. Or, Ku Fei-san.....well, thanks,” Negi finished the last of his cold sandwich , and stood up to leave. Connor, somewhat shakily, got up to follow behind the boy, Ku Fei in tow.

“You buy me another snack?”

“No.”

Negi cringed as he heard the sound of a fist finding its target, followed by a sharp exhale and wheezing. Connor changed his tune, and Ku Fei wound up with several snacks. ‘If anyone can break him, it’s her.....’ Negi chuckled to himself. ‘Poor Connor.’

-

“Poor Connor-sensei.....” Nodoka whispered to her library friends, one on either side of her. They were currently doing their laps around the track, as was the rest of 3-A. PE class was in full swing and it had been for the last twenty minutes.

Yue, without breaking her stride, glanced over at her shoulder at her teacher, who was jogging alongside Ku Fei, who had yet to let go of his hand, “I think she sees him as too much of a friend, and not enough as a teacher.”

“W-Well.....it’s like that with Negi-sensei, too.....” Nodoka pointed out, starting to run out of breath.

“It’s not fair!” Haruna exclaimed, throwing her fists into the air, “I want to hold his hand, too!”

“Sh! Not so loud, he’ll hear you!”

“For the record, ladies,” Connor called out to the three, “I can hear you, and I’m very flattered. If you wanted to hold my hand, all you had to do w-” Nodoka gasped a little when Connor suddenly plummeted to the ground as though he had just been knocked out. Ku Fei didn’t slow down, but was now dragging her groaning teacher behind her as she jogged. “St-Stop with the hitting.....”

“Ooh! It’s not fair! Who does that little hussy think she is? Monopolizing Connor-sensei, like that.....” Haruna fumed, looking to her friends for a little support. Yue shrugged, not exactly interested in what that particular teacher did. Nodoka blushed, but didn’t say anything, either. “Hey! I’m looking for some help, here!”

“No incentive,” Yue muttered.

“Incentive? You want incentive?” From out of nowhere, Haruna pulled out her sketchbook and pencil, and in about four seconds had whipped up an incredibly perverse picture starring Connor, Negi, and Ku Fei. She ripped the picture out of her book, and slapped it onto Nodoka’s face, “How’s that for incentive?”

The shy girl pried the paper off of her face, and took a look at it.

Ku Fei had to swerve to avoid stepping on Nodoka, who had blacked out after a major nosebleed. Connor rolled over her as he was pulled along by the tireless Chinese girl, snatching the piece of paper out of her hand as he went.
He looked at it long and hard for nearly a minute before cognitive function clicked back on, and he frowned at the paper, “How the hell did Negi wind up being bigger than me? That’s, like, a tenth of what I’m really packing,” He muttered, trying to figure out who the girl between them was.

“She probably mad at you when she draw it. That me?” Ku Fei asked, bending down to look at the picture over Connor’s shoulder. In his mindless staring at the picture, he had failed to notice that Ku Fei had pulled off to the side to get a drink.

He quickly, but carefully, folded the paper up and jammed it into his pant’s pocket, “What’s you? All I saw was some.....scribbles, and stuff. Oh, hey.....I’m gonna go talk to the redhead, now. You wait here,” He got up to try and leave, but found that Ku Fei had no intention of letting him go, “Sunshine, this is getting old. I’m not gonna bolt in the middle of class.”

“I know, but it still fun.”

“So, will you let go for a few minutes so I can have some one on one time with that girl Negi’s worried about, then?”

“Nope.”

“Ok, how about this. I’ll sleep in your bed with you tonight if you give me some space to let me do this, alright?”

Ku Fei practically threw him back onto the track, and he took off at a light run to catch up to the short girl he was asked to help. ‘Ha, ha, that’s a win-win on my part,’ He snickered to himself, pulling up beside the redheaded girl, Natsumi.

He looked down at her as they jogged along. She didn’t even seem to notice he was there. She looked distant, as though her mind was lost on some faraway planet known as thought. ‘I guess even the class full of perfect girls has it’s hardships. I mean, outside of the ones I know personally.’

“Hey, are you alright?”

His voice seemed to scare her, but it snapped her out of her daze and caught her attention, “C-Connor-sensei, what are you doing?”

“Don’t call me that,” He wagged a finger at her, “Oh, you know. Enjoying life.....” He lied, “But it doesn’t look like you are. What’s the problem?”

“P-Problem? I don’t have a problem, not at all!”

“Look, I’m foreign, but I’m not stupid. Now confess, girly.”

Natsumi’s face went a deep red as she mumbled something. Not quite catching it, he asked her to repeat it, leaning in a little closer, “It’s just, finally.....that time of the month.....”

He tripped on flat ground, falling flat on his face, “I was just kidding when I said it to Negi!” He shouted, banging his forehead on the ground once before jumping back up and falling back into stride with the girl, “Well.....Freckles.....uh, why don’t you just.....you know. Get the thing.....o-or things, I’m not sure.....that, you know, ‘fix’ that?”

“You know what will fix it?” Natsumi turned her innocent eyes up to Connor, who felt his stomach start to bubble and flip. How was he supposed to tell her what to do? How the hell did she not know?

“Well.....Yeah, don’t you?”

She shook her head no, waiting for an answer she could rely on to solve her problem.

“Uh.....can’t you maybe have this talk with one of the girls you room with? The.....‘developed’ girl stays with you, right? I’ll bet she could give you a hand.....”

“I don’t want to talk to Chizu-ne about this! She’ll only make it worse!” Natsumi’s eyes started to get wobbly as tears began to form. She was embarrassed as hell, he could tell. He was, too, he had to admit.

“How can it get worse? Uh.....o-o-ok, well.....after class.....I guess I could.....you know, m-maybe.....buy you the-e-e.....items, you will need to-o-o-o.....solve.....your problem.....” He found that it took him a lot longer to talk than it normally did. This was definitely not the kind of capacity he was used to serving in.

“There are things you can buy to-”

“Yes. Yes, there are. And because I’m secure in my masculinity, I will get them for you, as soon as class is over. Then I will bring them-”

“I need them as soon as possible! Can you meet me at six? I have a club meeting, then, and you can let me have them there after rehearsals, ok?” Having finished her laps, and anxious to prepare for her club meet, Natsumi hurried off of the tracks. She threw one last look over her shoulder as she was leaving, “You’re a nice guy after all, Connor-sensei.”

He lifted a hand after her, as though it was going to help stop her, “D-Don’t.....don’t call me that.....” ‘She didn’t even tell me where.....’

-

“Tampax, Playtex, Kotex.....why do they all end in ‘x’?” Our black clad hero asked aloud, lifting one of the myriad boxes into the air and looking it over carefully, “What the hell does it need wings for?”

“Excuse me, sir, can I help you find something?” A pretty girl with flowing black hair asked him. He was both relieved and embarrassed to see her wearing a name tag.

“Uh, yes. I just recently lost my dignity, and I was hoping I could replace it. Any suggestions?” He asked sarcastically, praying that the heat he was feeling on his face wasn’t him blushing.

“Put the tampons down and leave the store, start a new life somewhere under a new name. Only then can you leave behind the shame that buying tampons for your girlfriend brings,” The girl laughed, taking the box from him and picking up a different one, “Playtex is better than Kotex.”

Connor took the box from her, looking at it carefully before asking, “It’s one size fits all, right?”

“Um, no. You’ve gotta pick a size, too.”

“So.....you’re telling me I’m supposed to know the size of what’s going on down there? Essentially, that’s what you’re saying?” He looked at her with a blank face. If she were playing poker with him, there was no way she could ever hope to win.

“You ARE her boyfriend, right? If you were my boyfriend, you’d know what I’ve got going on down there,” The worker stated simply, folding her arms.

“How forward of you. Ok, screw it, I’ll just buy some of every size. She has friends, I-I don’t care,” He scooped up a bunch of the boxes and carried them through the store and dropped them beside the register.

He waited patiently as the girl began to run them all over the scanner, trying his best to hold his head high in pride. He was doing something that many men were too insecure to do. He didn’t care what the people staring at him thought, because he was helping one of his students through a difficult time, and that was all that mattered.

“What? What?” He asked defensively of an older man, who had ceased pushing his cart through the store to gawk at the sheer number of tampons. The graying man changed directions, slowly making his way away from the man in black, “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

With two boxes left to scan, a tired, yet playful, voice called out behind Connor, “Hey, kid!” It was the middle-aged man, he noted, as he spun to see, “You’re gonna be needing this, too!” Connor caught a tub of ice cream as the older man lobbed it over to him. A few seconds later, the middle-aged man and his cart were waiting in line behind him. He took a peek at what was in the cart, and a wide grin broke out across his face as he spotted the box of tampons buried under various other things. He saw a tub of ice cream, too.

“You, my friend, are a true bad-ass,” Connor offered his hand to the man, who shook it with a laugh.
“All in the name of love, right?” He said through a big smile.

-

‘Man, if those are the kind of lame-ass things I’m destined to do for Fate, then God, just kill me now,’ Connor thought bitterly. Cradled in one arm, he had a paper bag full of tampons, and in the other, a tub of some damn good looking ice cream. The name implied that he’d have to suffer for all of eternity should he choose to enjoy its dairy goodness, but he was willing to risk it.

He dropped into one of the many spots near the back of the bleacher-like seats, and watched as the crowd of people slowly began to fill up the stage in front of him. He was lucky, and he knew it. The guy buying tampons for his wife had a daughter, who was also part of the drama club, and had been able to send him in the right direction. “It must be Fate,” He sighed, patting the bag beside him.

Waiting followed more waiting, which was accompanied by a good friend by the name of waiting. He nearly fell asleep during the too-long-for-its-own-good club meeting, but he managed to stay awake for the last part, which appeared to be character assignments.

“Ok.....vampire one goes to.....Moro Yamamoto.....” The woman in charge stated blandly.

A teenager with long silver hair nodded once, his arms crossed over his chest as he turned to look back at the gaze he felt burning a hole into the side of his head.

Connor quickly looked away, pretending to be looking for something in the large paper bag he had beside him, ‘What a freak.....what the hell’s up with the bandaged arm thing? He’s been using it all night!’

“Vampire two, three, and four go to Sousuke Shima, Yukio Yoshiyuki, and Akayama Yukio, respectively. Our hero for the play will be.....Masayoshi Hitodama, good job.”

Connor would have sworn Natsumi squeaked when the name was said, but he shrugged it off as unlikely.

Masayoshi let out a sigh of relief, getting a couple of pats on the back to congratulate him. Connor frowned as he looked upon the teen. There was something off about him, he just wasn’t sure what it was. He looked like a normal kid for his age. Baggy jeans, plain grey shirt, black hair slicked into a ponytail. The weirdest thing about his was the black book he had, which he hadn’t let go of the entire night, and it had been a good two hours.

‘Thank God I got picked,’ Masayoshi thought, casting a little smile in Natsumi’s direction, ‘Now I just need for her to get picked for the lead female role, and everything will work out.....’

“Now for our heroine.....she will be played by Keiko Izanami. Congratulations.....” A pretty girl with long, silky black hair flashed everyone around her a smile, and blew a kiss in Masayoshi’s direction.

‘Crap.....’

Connor saw Natsumi’s head droop, and he got a little frustrated, “Son of a bitch, I was hardly awake and I could tell that Natsumi was a better actress than the anorexic whore you just picked!”

Nobody but Natsumi and Masayoshi seemed to hear him, though, as everyone else was crowding around the Izanami girl. Figures the popular girl would get the lead role.

He started down the stairs down to the stage, not particularly minding that he had been ignored by everyone. He would have gotten in a lot of trouble if he’d been paid attention to. He could hear the boy with the book talking with the lady in charge as he stepped ontot he stage and over to Natsumi, who was looking a little more upset than she had earlier, “Come on, I got.....stuff.....to give you.”

She followed him off stage and around the back, where no one could see them, “It’s ok, Connor-sensei. It doesn’t matter, now.....” The girl whispered sadly, looking away from her teacher.

“Don’t call me that, and yes, it does. I didn’t do something I never thought I’d have to do for nothing, and you’re gonna take these,” Connor stated, handing her the bag of tampons.

Natsumi looked into the bag, her eyes widening when she saw them, “What did you get me these for?” She shouted, dropping the bag. The contents popped out, scattering out across the ground.

“You said it was that time of the month, so.....”

“I.....I meant it was time to find out who got what role in Vamp Show! I wanted the lead role, that’s all!”

“Oh.....Oh! And you wanted that Masayoshi punk to get the lead male role, that’s why you didn’t want to talk about it to fully-developed girl. It’s a crush situation, not a period situation! Phew, thank God.....” Connor wiped his forehead clean, nodding a little bit as understanding came into being.

Masayoshi wound the corner of the stage, looking for Natsumi. He spotted her talking with the man in black, and hurried over to her, “Hey, there you are. I just talked to Mrs. Ishi, and she says that you’re the second backup girl, in case anything happens to.....uh, what are th-those doing there?” He asked, pointing to the mess of tampons strewn across the ground.

“Er.....those are.....mine?” Connor suggested quietly, not surprised when Natsumi panicked and ran away, “Nice going, captain sensitive. Who’s backup girl one?”

“Uh.....Kita Hoshi. Yeah.....good luck with the tampon thing, brother,” Masayoshi muttered, turning to leave. ‘I guess I’ll just have to arrange for a couple of.....accidents, so Natsumi gets to play the lead role. We’ll get to work closely together, and once I get close enough, I can spring it on her.....’

Connor, fueled by embarrassment, managed to pick up the tampons in amazingly good time, and had caught Natsumi before she had gotten block closer to the dorms.

“Hey, sorry about that Freckles, I didn’t mean for that to happen.....” He apologized, sitting beside her on a bench as she let out a heavy sigh.

“I know you didn’t, Connor-sensei.”

He let the sensei bit slide, just this once, “I got you ice cream,” He tapped the side of the tub of melted ice cream, and felt it freeze back up as he offered it to her. Somewhat quicker than he expected her to, she grabbed the tub of ice cream. He grinned as she took the spoon he offered. Luckily for him, he had brought two.

She popped the top off, and the two began to indulge. After a few moments of ice cream enjoyment had passed, Natsumi asked, “Did you really go into a store and buy those for me?”

Connor turned to look at her with a pair of the most serious eyes she had ever seen, “I did,” He spoke in a needlessly solemn tone, “And you know what else? I’d do it again.”

“You’re so noble,” She laughed, taking another bite. The fact that Connor thought she was going through that time of the month was enough to put a healthy dose of red in her cheeks, but she appreciated what he did, anyway. She lifted the tub up to read the label, “‘Forbidden chocolate decadence.....limited edition sin complex’?”

“Yeah, we’re gonna go to hell for eating this,” Connor laughed, and was glad that Natsumi did, too. He was starting to think she was a pretty nice girl. He had seen her face when Masayoshi was picked for the lead, and how it had all came to crashing disappointment when she wasn’t chosen for the female lead. Well, then again.....there wasn’t anything stopping him from..... ‘convincing’ the other two girls to back down, right? If he did, it was all part of Fate’s design, right?


-----Author’s other note: Well, that chapter was about two thousand words longer than I thought it would be. I considered splitting it into two chapters, but decided against it, in the end. Plus, part of those two thousand words was one of my new favorite scenes: Connor shopping for tampons. Yeah.

Masayoshi Hitodama is an OC created by Master Masa Random, and he will be a guest star for one or two more chapters. Check out his work, it keeps me entertained!

Moro Yamamoto is an OC created by Raedric, and he probably will not have any role in this at all. It was more of a cameo than anything else.

The play that Natsumi is in is called Vamp Show, and it is, indeed, a real life Japanese play. I looked it up on the internet for the purpose of realism. It is a 2001 play written by Mitani Koki, and is based off of a German musical, Tanz der Vampire. Also, the Japanese names I made up for the other roles of the play were names I pieced together off of stuff on the internet. It took me longer than I’d like to admit, but that’s my dedication to you: The reader.

I forgot to mention in my last ‘author’s other note’ (I DID say I was really tired) that the ‘hot coffee scene’ was a scene from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I’ve never played that game, but practically everyone I know does, so I’d heard of it. Chizuru and her weird ways.....

Thanks for reading.....-----