Super GALS Fan Fiction ❯ Silence for Naught ❯ Calm Before a Storm ( Chapter 1 )

Taken place around Volume 6. I do not own the Gals! characters, nor do I make profit from them.

 

Silence for Naught

 

Chapter One: Calm Before the Storm

 

The walk back home was always the same distance, but after tonight's events, Rei Otohata thought it felt farther. Tatsuki's suspicions and Yuya's observations of him glazed heavily over his brain. He's known for a while that he had feelings for Ran.

 

He scoffed audibly. `So?'

 

There wasn't anything he was going to do about it. He couldn't tell her; he couldn't confess. There was something about right now that seemed premature.

 

And so he was patient. Ran Kotobuki certainly wasn't going anywhere. Their friendship wasn't likely to end; he noticed this because Ran was the sort of girl that treasured her friendships dearly. And despite her normalcy of immature behavior and careening around Shibuya, underneath it all he knew that Ran considered him a friend.

 

He felt he had nothing to worry about, and his concerns for Aya were stifled. Honestly, who would think he could like a girl like that? She was crying all the time, needy in a very indirect way - always following the crowd. And though he didn't hate her, he humored her. Her affections were enduring - sweet and naïve - but not totally irritating in the long run. Rei had just felt that Aya was just not the type of girl he wanted.

 

Though he knew that underneath it all, he had been with Aya because of Ran's urging.

 

He gritted his teeth unexpectedly. `That girl can ask anything of me and I'll do it.'

 

Feeling a bit defeated with that personal observation, Rei wondered if it'd be better if Ran never knew how he felt about her.

 

Yes, maybe things were better this way. She had a boyfriend after all, even if Rei questioned the depth and validity of her intentions.

 

Sighing, he kicked a rock that was loose from the sidewalk as he approached his house. He felt even lonelier when he realized that his parents were gone for the entire week, leaving the house totally in his care. He knew he'd never talk to his parents about his problems, but a presence of knowing that someone was at least there could be comforting enough.

 

Now, he was all alone coming home to an empty house with a mighty weight on his shoulders.

 

Well, at least he could sleep. He thought that it might not matter if he was alone, just as long as he could climb into his bed, rest, and let the worries of his day fade away.

He just hoped he didn't dream about Kotobuki tonight. He hoped that the universe would at least spare him one night.

 

He shivered as he a cold breeze nipped at his bones. Images of his recent dreams about Ran plagued his mind and warmed his blood.

 

`Silly,' he thought to himself, `I'm feeling downright silly.' And if he could trample and subdue teenage urges he would, but honestly, he wasn't motivated enough, and he didn't mind having those heady visions of Ran anyway. Thusly, he let thoughts of Ran's creamy skin and determined eyes sink into his mind and caress over his heart.

 

`Ran,' he said her name, and it echoed throughout his core. Then, his eyes flickered and he came back to earth. Yes, for now he would keep everything - his thoughts, his feelings, and his desires - close to his heart. And as long as he kept his distance from his own feelings and from any opportunities alone with her, he would be fine. He could hold everything back.

 

“Hey, Oto-chi,” a voice pierced through the dark. Rei looked up, mildly taken aback at the bright sepia eyes staring back at him.

 

`So much for keeping my distance,' Rei mused. He was sure the universe was laughing at him. He couldn't help but let a small grin escape.

 

Ran Kotobuki, the very girl he needed to avoid right now, was on his front porch in the dead of night.

 

His blood warmed at the sight of her, and his tiredness faded.

 

---

 

Ran Kotobuki thought it had been one hell of a night. She hated the fact that things were going on and she knew nothing about them. She had to be `in-the-know' and to not be wasn't really fitting for the number one gal of Shibuya. She dreaded to think she was losing her touch; especially, when Mami-Rin informed her so callously that Tatsukichi was bailing out on her.

 

`That good for nothing,' she growled, and gritted her teeth in annoyance at the thought of Mami-Rin's smugness. Even Nii had given her a weary look.

 

`What's this crap about me being better with Otohata?' And she couldn't even try to miss the worried look on Aya-chan's face when Mami-Rin mentioned him. Tatsukichi was an idiot, but he wasn't without great intuition. In fact, during her time dating him, Ran found him to be quite observant about people.

 

So she had no freaking clue how the heck he could even come up with an idea that she would dump him for Otohata. “What the heck? Why would I date that nerd?” she mused aloud, and after safely patching things up with her boyfriend for the night, she sat in her bedroom perplexed, annoyed, and completely baffled by the situation.

 

How could such juicy events go on beyond her knowledge?

 

She balanced a pencil between her nose and lips, crossed her arms and lost herself in thought.

 

She knew Otohata wasn't the type of person to spread rumors, and Mami-Rin wouldn't make up something so crazy. Nii would never let her get away with such a rumor anyway, and his face had been as serious as hers.

 

So what was the deal? Ran groaned, and she had an uneasy feeling about where things were headed. If only she could think about those cute, unattainable 6” high-heeled red leather boots with white faux fur at the top and accented with gunmetal rivets and chains.

 

Damn, those were great boots!

 

But her mind shifted elsewhere, always settling on Rei's placid face. Her eye twitched - damn that boy was too good looking for his own good, had a bit of a dreary personality, and he made her so angry sometimes. How can someone be so good looking and boring all at the same time? She thought it was quite a crime against nature.

 

The other crime, she pondered, was that beneath Rei's cool demeanor and obstinate ways, he really was a good guy. He could have been a good guy for Aya, but his constant indifference to the situation made Ran wonder if he'd really been into Aya at all.

 

“What's the deal? Are you into Aya or not? You need to do something, either let her down or take her out. She's just not the type of person you can be so placid about. She can't act for herself, but don't hurt her if you like her. Do something soon because you're the first person she's ever come to love.”

 

At the time, Ran had acted only upon Aya's best interests. She wondered, with what everything Aya and Rei went through, if maybe she had pushed him too far.

 

“Ironic that you're telling me this,” Rei had scoffed. “In fact, the way I feel about…”

 

Her eyes widened and her mouth shaped in an O. `Wait…' She had been distracted at that time, and she could have even missed such a murky signal. But that was Rei wholeheartedly - a boy of mixed signals and questionable thoughts. Mystery and a deep brooding were all apart of his disposition.

 

What was he trying to tell her? Even more importantly, Ran remembered the exact time the conversation took place. This was all before he started going out with Aya. This was even before Tatsuki came upon the scene.

 

She bit her lip in unease. `So that's how you're going to be, Rei-pyon.' Ran narrowed her eyes when she finally understood.

 

Sometimes she could be distracted, and sometimes she paid attention to other things that didn't seem as important underneath the surface. But she was not stupid. Patting herself on the back, she congratulated herself on her intuitiveness.

 

Now, it was time to find Otohata Rei and get some definitive answers! If anything, she'd like to settle this precipitating unease that simmered among her group. She couldn't help herself really - she could almost feel a storm ready to brew among them all.

 

TBC …

 

AN: Yeah I know I have a million WIPs already and I'm starting a new one. Don't worry, this one will hopefully be short and quick, depending upon my interest in it (and barrage of death threats). Hee…Next chapter soon.