Normally, Saikyo spent her lunch either planning or acting out one of her evil plots. She'd come up with a brilliant plan(since all her plans were brilliant...), the troopers would heartily agree to it (because she was always right), and it would be carried out as soon as humanly possible. Everyday lunchtime lines such as "Did you *see* Hikaru's new hairdo?" and "I can't believe Hiroshi and Yumiko are going out! He's *totally* not her type!" were all strange and alien to her. in fact, she considered them worthless peasant exchanges, and thought it degrading to take part in them. "Did you *see* Hikaru's new hairdo?" one Trooper asked, switching handholds on the bag containing Takeshi. Another Trooper nodded, as if this were the most important thing in the world. "Oh, I know! It's so horrible for her! And can you believe that Hiroshi and Yumiko are going out?!" "No way! He's *totally* not her type!" From the bushes, Tomoe whispered to Saikyo. "Saikyo-sama...exactly what are we doing here?" she asked. "You don't have that much of an interest in that Takeshi guy, do you?" Akiko wondered. Saikyo gave them both the Glare of a Thousand Deaths. "Of course not! Don't question my judgment! Now quiet, they've stopped..." "They're looking over behind the gym..."Tsubame noted, "I see a lot of people over there...one of them's Yuki!" Saikyo nearly jumped out of the bush, then caught herself at the last moment. "Who else is there?" she demanded. "Well..." Tsubame started, leaning over Tomoe to see better, "There's Gina, and Moemi, and Shiro...and some other guy I've never seen with them before." "Ooooohhh..." Saikyo fumed, getting frustrated. "Let me see!" she pushed past Tsubame and Tomoe, and squatted in a somewhat undignified manner towards the end of the bushes. She froze as she saw who the last figure was. She almost stopped breathing, her head slowly shook from side to side. "It can't be..." she whispered. ------ Heart Heart High Episode 20: Asako is an Evil, Evil Girl! (Wait, wouldn’t that make her the good guy?) Created by NeoPuu This part by Omi No Miko ------ Gina flinched. "Oh boy, This is gonna get ugly." "All right..." Yuki whispered, trying desperately to keep calm, while also trying to wiggle out from under the pile of people. "Maybe they didn't notice us. Maybe if we just stay *real* quiet, then they'll all just continue on like they did before-" "And what exactly is going on over here?" Asako wondered aloud, as she approached the group. "You'd almost think that it...Shiro??? And Yuki, Moemi, and Gina?" The confused Asako turned to Kenichi. "And who exactly are you?" Kenichi sighed. "Long story...but what are you doing with Takeshi? I thought you were after Saikyo only!" Asako treated herself to an evil chuckle, making Yuki twitch a bit. "Saikyo likes Takeshi, so I thought I'd teach her a lesson...show her what it feels like to have someone you love hurt! All these days wondering if she'd be all right...all the nights when I cried myself to sleep...all the times when I went over and over my plans for revenge, constantly checking to see if they would work, all those times have come to a...hey! Listen to me!" "Saikyo likes Takeshi?!" "That's news to me." "She certainly doesn't act like it..." "Well, he is kinda cute without those glasses..." Gina blinked as she realized everyone was staring at her. "What?! He is!" "This is stupid. I'm leaving." Shiro snorted, turning away and heading towards the school. Asako turned to Yuki, a determined look on her face. "Yuki..." she began, "I know that you don't like Saikyo. How *could* you like her? She's done horrible things to you, horrible things to your friends...horrible thing to me. So that's why I have to ask you...will you join me?" Yuki froze, completely forgetting her attempts to get out of the human pile. She was totally lost as to what to answer Asako. she didn't like Saikyo, that was true. she was a mean, mean, nasty, nasty girl...but that didn't mean she wanted to destroy her. Asako should be her ally, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for poor Saikyo. And Asako was hurting Takeshi, one of her best friends. Yuki couldn't just stand by and let her do that, even if it would be a blow against Saikyo. Saikyo had seemed so sad...so alone that night. Yuki felt torn between helping and hurting Saikyo. "Well? What'll it be?" Asako demanded, getting impatient. "Are you with me or against me?!" "I...I..." Yuki stammered, desperately looking for a distraction. She looked around at her friends, as if searching for an answer there. Gina seemed almost as conflicted as herself, as if she were trying which of the two trooper leaders was more reliable. Moemi looked scared, and a little sad. She knew she'd be just as unhappy as one of Asako's minions, and their little conversation the other day had left her feeling worthless and insecure. Finally, Yuki shot Kenichi a desperate look, practically begging with her eyes for some guidance. He stared right back at her, then slowly looked to the small smoke bomb he held so only she could see. He brought his gaze once more to her eyes, and she gave a tiny, almost undetectable nod. "That is..." Yuki started, doing her best Kuro impression. Asako leaned forward, anxiously. "Yes? Yes?" she prodded. "...a secret!" There was a dull thud as Asako joined Yuki, Moemi, and Gina on the ground. "Ow...that was my leg!" Gina complained, absentmindedly wishing she had something to drink. "Everyone, go NOW!" Kuro yelled, throwing down a smoke bomb. Gina scrambled out from underneath the disgruntled Asako, and helped Yuki and Moemi out as well. Unable to see in the smoke, Yuki picked a direction at random, and ran. ------ Asako, despite the disappointment in not finishing with Takeshi, was feeling somewhat cheerful as she walked into the school building. The bell had just rung when someone grabbed her arm, preventing her from walking any further. "What are you doing here, Asako?" Shiro asked, pulling her aside from the stream of students headed for class. "I'm a teenage Japanese girl, Shiro." Asako retorted, pulling her arm away in annoyance. Who was he, to think he could run her life? "Shouldn't I be trying to get an education?" Shiro only seemed frustrated at her mocking attitude. "That's enough!" he exclaimed. "What's the deal, Asako? What are you trying to accomplish?" Asako only smiled a smile that could give people toothaches. "I thought I'd let you know that I'm moving back in today, Shiro. You don't need to hover over Mother any longer." "Have you stopped taking your medication, Sister?" Shiro asked her. It was a question that always made her angry. There was nothing, *nothing* wrong with her! She was just like any other High School Student. If she seemed messed up, it was only because Saikyo had hurt her so much! And sister...that was a name Shiro had no right to call her! He wasn't her brother, wasn't special to Mother like she was. He had *no right*! "I've told you before to never call me that! I am not your sister, and she is not your mother." she spat, fuming at the stoic teenager. "You are not yourself, Asako." Shiro said, keeping a perfectly straight face. "And that is the problem. You shouldn't be here." "I'm going to tell you one thing, Shiro." Asako said quietly, looking straight at Shiro, a threatening look in her eyes. "Saikyo destroyed my life and my mother's. You may never understand why, but I am not going to rest until I've returned the favor." ------ After school, Saikyo started on her way home, walking slower than usual. She was used to having the troopers walk behind her, the familiar pattern of shoes hitting the pavement was almost calming to her. Everything she had counted on before...all that had disappeared. She hadn't talked to or heard from her parents since she ran away...they had no idea where she was leaving. One thing was for sure: she couldn't live off what little money she had right now. The thought of actually getting a job, joining the work force like the rest of Japan just seemed so...*wrong*. Of course, normal teenagers had parents who took care of them until they were ready to move out. Not that many actually had jobs for the purpose of buying food and paying bills. Even Asako had a home to go to now... Asako wasn't someone Saikyo had seriously thought about in a long time. But now...now she was a force to be reckoned with. Almost all of her friends had gone over to Asako's side. If you could call them friends, that is. Saikyo may have been mean at times, but everybody needed friends. The overwhelming feeling of loneliness she now had was eating her up inside. Only Tsubame, Tomoe, and Akiko hung out with her now, but she knew that they wouldn't stay for too long. Saikyo started jogging, suddenly eager to get to her tiny apartment. It wasn't exactly in the best part of town, making her walk home all the more frightening. She turned a sharp corner, and ran right into another girl running in the opposite direction. Both girls fell hard onto the pavement, and Saikyo let out a small yelp of surprise. "Itai!" the figure cried, rubbing her bottom. Saikyo blinked. "Yuki?" she asked. Yuki jumped up, looking bashful. "Ano...I'm really really sorry, Saikyo, but I was just running really fast and I got all lost and it was getting kinda dark, but I was a bit worried about Takeshi, so I was out looking for him and everyone else, and then I got really worried, so I didn't see you coming, and here, let me help you up!" Saikyo blinked, then noticed Yuki was holding out a hand for her. She looked away, refusing to be helped up, and stood on her own. Yuki looked a bit surprised, then retraced her hand. "Saikyo..." she started, taking a step towards the other girl. "Um...are you okay? I know that some horrible horrible stuff happened to you, and I just thought you might..." "Might what?" Saikyo sniffed, dismissing Yuki's look of pity. "I can assure you that I am more than fine, you stupid girl." Yuki just gave her an even more pitying look, which annoyed her even more. "Look, you may think you've won, but you haven't! I'm still the most popular girl in school, even if you and Asako team up, you're still nothing!" Yuki found herself getting frustrated with the snobbish girl. She'd only tried to help, and...and she got insults instead! "Oooohhh...you mean mean nasty nasty *nasty* girl! You won't have ANY friends if you keep acting like that!" "I'm not going to lose! I swear I'm not!" Saikyo yelled, stubbornly. "You don't get it, do you?" Yuki exclaimed, "You've already lost! You're losing *right now*! You treat all your friends like dirt, and you blackmail everyone into being your slave! That's *not* the way to make friends! They're *all* going to leave you at this rate!" Saikyo stared straight into Yuki's eyes, her pride preventing her from turning away. They stood there for a minute or so, neither giving in to the other. Finally, Saikyo turned and walked away in a stiff, dignified way, not saying a word. ------ Asako and her Troopers had regrouped later that day, after Kenichi had taken Takeshi and escaped. She wasn't exactly in the best of moods, having missed out on a chance to get back at Saikyo. "So, what are we doing next?" one of the Troopers asked, idly playing with her hair. "Cut Saikyo's hair, spread rumors about her, take embarrassing pictures of her?" Asako shook her head. "No, none of that old stuff that Saikyo thought up. Finally, my chance to make Saikyo feel all the pain that I felt." Asako thought back to her little chat with Shiro that afternoon. She really didn't want to have to work against him...but this was her only choice. If there was a chance she could show Saikyo how she'd felt, she was damn well going to take it. "It's time for something new...and I think I know just the thing..." ------ Next time, on Heart Heart High: "So, what do you think of my latest plan?" "I...will never think of grape jello in the same way again." All this and more on the next installment of Heart Heart High, "Poor, Poor Saikyo! Are You Really That Lonely?" ------ Author's Notes: God damn continuity. Damn, damn, damn continuity. I tried to take it in stride and be nice, really I did. But I have never been so confused as I was when trying to figure out where all these scenes went. If this part sucks, I'm not sorry at all. I'm sorry it was terribly last-minute, but that's about it. If only to straighten myself out, I added in the scene in the lobby with Asako and Shiro, told a bit more from Asako's POV. Repetitive, maybe, but it makes it a heck of a lot easier for people to understand. Gah, this whole family thing is giving me a headache. I really do want to do something good with this story, y'know, give it some direction, but I honestly can't do that if people keep screwing with my head. Is Kuro Saikyo's brother or cousin? I honestly don't know, because people keep saying different things. BIG thanks to Ravi for prereading and pointing out my continuity errors. I can assure you I fixed as many as I had the energy to. ^_^