Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Strange Beginnings ❯ Chapter 3

~Chances blown, nothing's free
Longing for, used to be
Still it's hard, hard to see
Fragile life, Shattered dreams~
-"The Kids Aren't Alright", Offspring




Genrou sighed, glancing over at Chichiri, who sat across the aisle to his right. This royally sucked. Who did Chichiri think he was, his stalker or something? He pushed his pencil point harder on the paper, irritated. First, Chichiri shows up out of nowhere in *his* apartment, claiming to be some high-and-mighty *angel*, sleeps in *his* bed, THEN insists on coming to school with him, and now *this*.

*snap*

The tip of his pencil broke off, flying up to hit him in the forehead. Genrou swore and stood up loudly, stomping over to the pencil sharpener. Sharpening his pencil with almost enough force to break it again, he stomped back to his seat and sat down as loudly as he had stood up.

Of course, all this noise drew Chichiri's attention, not to mention the professor's.

"Mr. Kou!" she said, in that annoyingly tyrannical way that all teachers seem to have. "If you are going to disrupt the class, you would be kind to either leave, or do it in *silence*!"

"Sorry..." Genrou muttered sulkily, rolling his eyes once the professor turned back to her teaching of the Ecuadorian Revolution.

Chichiri leaned across the aisle and tapped Genrou's shoulder lightly with his pencil. "Pssst!"

The fiery-haired youth glanced over through narrowed eyes. "Whaddaya want?" he hissed venomously.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." he snapped.

The missionary seemed none too put out with his charge's attitude towards him. "Alright. What class do you have next?"

Genrou's eyes widened at the audacity of this... this *person*! How dare he- "Lunch. I have second lunch today..."

"Oh." Chichiri nodded to himself. "That's cool."

*****

"Genrou-san! Chichiri-san! Over here!" Chiriko waved the two over to the lunch table he and another unknown, dark-haired girl sat at. Genrou, giant nacho tray in hand, took a chair across from his young friend, while Chichiri opted for one across from the girl, which also happened to be right next to Genrou. He idly noticed that the girl almost seemed to be *glaring* at Genrou, for some reason.

Seeming to sense the look, the fanged teen turned from his chat with Chiriko. He smiled, despite the girl's hostile looks. "Heya! I'm Kou Genrou!"

"This is Videl, Genrou-san. She just transferred here today. She's in my Trigonometry class." Chiriko explained.

Videl nodded curtly at Genrou, her eyes travelling to Chichiri. "And who's this?" her words seemed soft compared to her attitude; then again, Chichiri wasn't the one she had been glaring at.

"Chichiri desu. I'm new here as well."

Videl actually smiled. "Well, then. From a newcomer to a newcomer: Welcome to Muugen High, Chichiri-kun."

"Gen-CHAN!"

Genrou almost choked on the food he had been shoveling into his mouth as he was glomped from behind by Ryuuen. The purple-haired bishounen then plopped down in the seat on the other side of Genrou, smiling gleefully.

The fiery-haired youth himself, on the other hand, was a bit pissed off. "Ryuuen, don't scare me like that, dammit! I told ya that before! You scared the hell outta me!"

Ryuuen just waved a hand at him. "Mo... Relax, relax! You're not dead, right? I was just playing around!"

Videl gazed coolly upon Ryuuen. "Who's *this* girl?" she asked aloud.

This time, Genrou *did* choke. Ryuuen absent-mindedly slapped his friend on the back, HARD, as he answered Videl's question.

"I'm Cho Ryuuen, senior, Class B. I would assume you're the new girl on campus. Satan Videl, ne?"

The dark-haired girl slowly raised one eyebrow. "Am I that well-known already?"

"Word gets around fast here." Chiriko observed.

Talking a short break from his mostly-demolished meal, Genrou sent a sideways glare at his purple-haired friend. "Not to mention the fact that Ryu-chan HIMSELF is practically the whole grapevine at this school." he muttered, earning himself a whack to the head.

Videl looked Ryuuen over with an appraising eye. "I never would have guessed." she stated, seemingly to herself. She half-smirked in... in what? triumph? amusement? secrecy? Chichiri wasn't sure, but he did know one thing.

For whatever the reason, Satan Videl scared him.

*****

Later that day, just before school let out, Genrou finally got a chance to talk to Chichiri in private. Videl had been with them the whole day since lunch, and her presence had annoyed the hell out of the fanged youth. Thankfully, the last part of the day was spent in homeroom, in which only Genrou and Chichiri shared.

Which was the topic Genrou was angrily broaching at the moment.

"Who do you think you are?" he demanded, poking a finger at Chichiri's chest for emphathis.

The blue-haired youth blinked at him in surprise. "Nani...?"

"Do you think I'm dumb or something, that I haven't noticed that you have had EVERY SINGLE CLASS that I did today? That is WAY more than coincidence, *Houjun*." he snapped. "Don't think I haven't figured out that you must have hacked into the school system or somthin', cuz, contrary to what you *might* think of me, I'm not THAT dumb, ok?" he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh. "Who are you?" He interrrupted Chichiri, who had begun to repeat his earlier statement. "Tell me the truth, none of that 'angel' crap."

He blinked suddenly and looked at Chichiri, who looked a bit taken aback. "I-... what am I *doing*?" Genrou asked himself. "This is not like me. I don't act like this. Well, maybe to Tama, but that's not the point." he buried his face in his hands. "Gomen, Chichiri-kun. I dunno what's come over me. Just forget what I said earlier, alright?"

*****

"So... Kou-san." Videl walked between Genrou and Chichiri as the group, including Ryuuen and Chiriko, walked home from school. As Chichiri glanced over to her and Genrou, his gaze resting slightly longer on his charge, he though he caught a glimpse of malice in her eyes, but it was just as quickly gone, if it had even been there in the first place.

"Aa?" Genrou half-mumbled, seeming lost in his own thoughts.

"You ever heard of a thing called 'Anime'?"

Chichiri jerked slightly, his heart racing faster. What was happening to him? Why was he becoming so nervous over one word? Still, his steps never faltered as he continued to walk.

"Aa."

"... Do you like it?"

"... Aa."

"... Are you even *listening* to me?"

"... Aa..."

"Dammit, Tasuki, pay ATTENTION!"

Everyone in the group paused, a shared look of confusion upon their faces.

"How did you-?" Chiriko began, but stopped.

Seeming to realize her error, Videl at once looked stricken.

And that when things *really* started to become weird, even on Chichiri's scale.

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