Work Text:
If there was one thing Tenko loved more than adding dollops of mayonnaise on her rice, it was doing word puzzles.
Okay, maybe not more than mayonnaise but it was quite high on the ranking. She’d steal newspapers from Kondo and try to solve the puzzles during the break time away from Souko’s watchful eyes.
When the homeroom teacher announced that a new transfer student was joining their class, Tenko was busy concentrating on the one row of six empty boxes in front of her.
“Bright light that temporarily blinds someone”
The hint was a bit vague, she racked her brains to think of a word that would fit.
Headlights? No, that’s way too many letters. Flash? No, that’s one letter too short.
Her line of thought was interrupted by one of her classmates’ unruly cheering. Annoyed, she finally looked up from the newspaper to see the new transfer student walk in.
Short, choppy silver hair, eyes that looked more maroon than brown, lightly tanned skin. She looked like the girl from the cover page of the Popteen gyaru magazine Tenko had once picked up out of boredom. Her uniform was unbuttoned right upto the third button, a gaudy phone charm could be seen poking from the pocket of her too short skirt and despite it being the hottest summer in a decade, she had a light blue jumper tied around her waist like an accessory. When the sunlight hit the right places, slivers of a leopard printed bra could be seen under her white shirt.
“Hello!” Her voice was chirpy and melodious. “I’m Sakata Ginko! Nice to meet you!”
“She’s so cute!” Random classmate A screamed out. Murmurs of agreement filled the classroom.
Tenko couldn’t help but roll her eyes. What was this, a corny anime? Seriously, what highschoolers behave like this outside of the badly animated slice of life shows clearly written by adults who have forgotten how school kids act?
“Awww thank you, you’re embarrassing me!” Sakata Ginko squealed.
She usually didn’t care for appearances, but it seemed like Ginko was exactly the type of girl she would avoid. Loud, way too extroverted, looked like someone who would have trouble following her every two seconds.
“Sakata-san, let me assign you a seat.” The teacher looked around the class before meeting Tenko’s eye.
Dread filled her heart as she knew what was going to happen.
“There, why don’t you sit next to Hijikata Tenko? Third seat in the first row.”
Tenko had always been a reserved girl. Sure, when she was younger, she used to get into fights almost everyday–in fact, she also had a reputation of beating up even the older boys at the playground when they annoyed her. The kids used to call her a silly nickname too, Baragaki Tenko. But that was a thing of the past, a silly memory of how she used to be before she met Kondo and changed her ways. Now she was happy to be by herself, solving her word puzzles, enjoying proper fighting at the Kendo club after school and watching anime every now and then. Ever since she got into highschool, she had always preferred to sit alone, sharing her space with no one.
Even if this new girl sits beside her, Tenko resolved to not talk to her beyond the required niceties.
The girl was loud, even when she was not talking. The trinkets hanging from her bag made too much noise, she pulled back her chair with no care or intention to do it quietly and when she sat, the bracelets on her hand banged against the wooden table. She turned around and looked at Tenko with the brightest smile, yet her eyes seemed uninterested.
“Hello! You’re…Hijikata Tenko, right? It’s nice to meet you.”
Tenko forced a smile, returned the greeting and got back to the task at hand–her word puzzle.
“What’s that? Word puzzles? You like solving them?”
Ignoring her desk mate, Tenko thought up more words that could fit the criteria.
“I think the word you’re looking for is dazzle.” Ginko laughed. “Although I’d say ‘Sakata’ is a better fit”
Dazzle. D-A-Z-Z-L-E. Six words. Bright light that could blind temporarily.
She turned towards the girl sitting beside her, finally looking her in the eye.
“I did not ask for your help!” Tenko could feel anger rising. The puzzles were one of the few things that she looked forward to in the morning. She loved the feeling of getting the word right, of it fitting perfectly in the boxes, she loved the process of it as much as she loved the final result.
“Hey, shouldn’t you be thanking me right now? I saw you struggling with that since I entered the class.”
Tenko reminded herself that they were in class and she couldn’t go randomly hitting people just because they annoyed her anymore.
“Why the hell should I?”
“What a rude fucking girl.” Ginko scowled. “I can’t believe I’m stuck with you as my desk mate.”
Tenko stuffed the newspaper in her bag and dragged her chair as further away as she could from the silver haired girl. She had no plans of interacting with her for the rest of the term.
***
You see, in the beginning, her plan was working perfectly well. She’d ignore everything the girl had to say, would not speak a word when they were sharing a book (because of course, checking the timetable beforehand and making sure you had all your textbooks you’d need for the day was not something Ginko does), she’d refuse to let her borrow her extra pencils because she knew she’d never get them back (although, it seemed like Ginko was a little too good at stealing them from her pouch and Tenko never had the patience to ever confront her) and minded her own business.
Basically, she didn’t talk to Ginko at all, unless absolutely necessary and even then, she’d be detached and formal. There was something about the girl that got under her skin, but she never could place what it was. Maybe it was her annoying all knowing smirk, or the jingle of her trinkets that could be heard every time she walked. Maybe it was her long nails tapping against the wooden desk during the math lectures or the sound of her soft snoring during Japanese history.
Whatever it was, it irked Tenko to no end and she couldn’t wait for their seats to be changed. The homeroom teacher usually changed the seating arrangement every six months, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to ignore her till then.
The first dent in her plan occurred when the results of the mid terms were announced.
Tenko took pride in the fact that she was always number one in class. When she was younger, she’d try and score well to get her dad’s attention. Her step-mom wasn’t very fond of her and she couldn’t bear to have her father’s affections taken from her as well. So she started working more and more so that he’d notice her and keep patting her head and give her words of praise. It didn’t work after a while because her dad got too busy to care about her grades or how she was doing at school. At times Tenko wondered if he even remembered he had a daughter - or if the only thing he recalled about her was that she was a product of his mistake, something that ruined the relationship between him and his wife.
She no longer held the delusions of her dad staying by her side, but she had gotten used to the spike of joy she felt every time she was top of her class. If her dad was not going to give her the validation she wanted, then she would get it from her academics.
The ninety-seven percent on her report card seemed to be mocking her.
“Looks like I beat you!” She didn’t have to look at the girl to know that she was currently wearing her most annoying grin.
“Stop looking at my paper!”
“You looked at mine first!”
Tenko didn’t really have a comeback for that, because she indeed did look at hers first. She couldn’t help it! After all, she was convinced that the teacher had made some sort of a mistake while announcing the class results because there was no way her place at number one was taken by someone who slept during most classes. It was infuriating and somewhat embarrassing and a defeat she absolutely could not accept. She had to defeat Sakata Ginko in one way or another.
“Fight me.” She blurted out, without letting her brain filter the words coming out of her mouth.
“What?”
“In kendo, I mean. At the gym after school.” She had heard from Kondo-san that Ginko used to be a part of the kendo club when she was younger.
“Why the hell should I?”
“Because-” Tenko stuttered, because honestly, there wasn’t any reason for Ginko to fight her. “I challenge you.”
“Challenge me? What is this, a samurai movie? You’re so cringy, Hijikata-san, tell me, are you an otaku?”
“If you’re scared, you can just say so!” Tenko could feel her face heat up. Ginko should never ever find out about the Tomoe-chan poster on her wall.
“Who the hell is scared?”
“Of course, girls like you won’t really be any good at kendo.”
“What the fuck do you mean by ‘girls like me’, Hijikata-chan?”
Tenko smirked, glad to finally get under Ginko’s skin. “Do you even know the rules of kendo? Or do you just use all your free time flipping through the pages of fashion magazines?”
“For your information, I use my free time to flip through the pages of fashion magazines AND shounen JUMP.”
Tenko sighed. “Who even reads JUMP at this age? What are you, a middleschooler?”
“Don’t insult JUMP like that! You know what? Fine! I accept your challenge. It would be pretty funny to see your crying face after you lose.”
“Then, I’ll meet you after school at the gym. Don’t you dare chicken out at the last minute.”
“Hah, I could say the same to you, Hijikata-chan.”
Tenko smiled to herself. There was no way she was gonna lose in Kendo. After all, she was trained by Kondo-san himself and has never missed a single day of practice since she first started the sport.
She still remembered the first day she met him on the playground. She had beaten up a bunch of kids for making fun of her and most of the children were now actively avoiding her. She had pretended not to care, after all, being ignored and overlooked wasn’t something she was unfamiliar with. Just when she had resigned herself to a life of solitude, Kondo barged into it, with his warm smile and extended hand.
“You’re really good at fighting.”
Tenko ignored him and made her way to the swing.
“Join my Kendo club! You’ll have lots of fun there!”
“I don’t want to!” She stuck out her tongue for good measure. She didn’t want to be bothered- she was tired of the same repeating cycle of making friends and losing them. Besides, a kendo club? That sounded extremely boring and lame.
Turns out, Kondo was much more stubborn than her. He pestered her till she finally gave in and agreed to join one class. If she found it boring, Kondo promised to never bother her again.
Even now, Tenko is grateful for Kondo’s persistence. She loved the sport and was pretty good at it and the other people in the club weren’t all that bad either. She even found herself developing a soft spot for Souko even though it was clear that she hated her.
Of course, she joined the same high school as Kondo and kept training alongside his group. Her dad didn’t exactly approve of her choices, but in the end he didn’t care enough to argue with her or beg her to stay with the family. He rented out a place for her to stay near the school and sent her money every month. They never contacted each other outside of the necessary amount and her step-mother, of course, was happy to see her go. The only person who would have really cared, her brother was pursuing his education abroad. Tenko slowly learned to be self-sufficient. It was okay if her family didn’t care or if she made no friends in high school. As long as Kondo-san and the co members of the kendo club were there with her, nothing else mattered. She did not need anyone else butting in her life anyways.
Maybe that was the reason why Ginko bothered her so much. The girl had somehow managed to wriggle her way into Tenko’s thoughts by not even doing much. It disturbed her a little, to know that there was someone who could get under her skin so well.
***
The gym was slightly cool, the lack of the usual bustle of students giving it an eerie vibe. Tenko waited at the entrance, her Shinai already in her grasp. Souko was waiting with her, crouching on the ground, already bored of the whole ordeal.
“Are you sure that girl is going to come? She might have chickened out last minute.” As usual Souko sounded incredibly monotonous. Tenko had to practically beg her to come with her so that she could act as a referee.
“I’m sure she will.”
“You better keep your end of the bargain, Hijikata. For one week, instead of mayonnaise, you’ll have to eat rice with hot sauce.”
Tenko gritted her teeth in annoyance. Was fighting Ginko really worth making a bargain with Souko? Maybe there was still time to call this whole thing off.
Before she could contemplate that idea further, the gym gates opened with a bang and Ginko walked in, humming a song Tenko hadn’t heard before, her lifeless dead fish eyes a contrast to her whole demeanour.
“Ah, you’re really here waiting for me.”
“You’re ten minutes late!”
“Yeah, I was giving you time to rethink your decision. If you want to run away, Hiji-chan, now’s your time.”
“Who are you calling Hiji-chan?” Tenko willed herself to calm down. As usual, Ginko was deliberately getting on her nerves. “And I’m not going to run away. Of course, if you’re scared, you can back out now- I won’t judge you or anything.”
“As if I’d be scared of a mayora nerd doing word puzzles in her free time.”
“You-”
“As much as I’d love to stay here and listen to your petty argument, can we just end this quickly? I’m already getting tired of being here.” Souko spoke up, holding the spare shinai towards Ginko.
“Fine whatever. Let's make this quick.” Tenko muttered, walking towards the center of the gym where she had drawn makeshift boundaries for this particular battle.
Tenko had originally thought that the battle would be short lived. She was sure that Ginko probably didn’t even know the rules of Kendo, much less know the techniques of handling her bamboo sword to overpower her opponent. There had to be something wrong about this current situation. There was no way she was losing right now, right? Did Souko finally master the art of black magic so that she could curse her and cause her to lose? Was Ginko a secret Kendo freak? Why was Tenko being pushed over to the edge because of every strike she made? Ginko was agile, her movements were fast, her sword felt like a natural extension.
In any other situation, if it was someone else, Tenko would have been in absolute awe. Her eyes followed every movement of the other girl, every side step, every defence and attack. She hated to admit it, but Ginko looked beautiful like this, with a sword in her hand and her dance-like movements. She clearly wasn’t trained but every step of hers held intent.
Before she knew it, Tenko had lost the match. She would have been more disappointed if she wasn’t this surprised.
Ginko looked at her with a smug expression.
“You were really good but too bad Hiji-chan.”
Strands of silver hair were stuck on her face because of the sweat she had worked up and for once, her eyes seemed to sparkle. Tenko could feel her heart clench a little at the sight. It was a weird feeling, one she had never felt before. It took a while for her to get out of her stupor.
“Stop calling me that.”
“What should I call you then? Tenko-chan?”
“Don’t just start using my first name!”
Wait, why was her face heating up? Maybe the match had tired her out more than she had thought.
“So now what? I won this stupid challenge. What do I get in return?”
What was Ginko talking about all of a sudden?
“What do you want?”
“Let's call each other by our first names.”
Tenko scowled. It wasn’t as if she was totally averse to the idea, but for some reason it was embarrassing.
“Fine. But if I score more than you in the finals, then we’re back to last name basis.”
Ginko grinned. “Deal.”
***
Everything could turn into a competition if there were stakes involved– that’s what Tenko had figured out in the last couple of weeks.
Her and Ginko were competing a lot lately, over anything and everything. Who could reach the classroom first, who could finish their lunch first, who could run a lap of the sports ground faster.
Ginko was different from what she had initially envisioned- she was athletic, smart and begrudgingly, Tenko had to admit that it wasn’t so bad, spending time with her. Not to mention that she was extremely easy on the eyes.
It wasn’t like she had become any less insufferable- she had a sharp tongue and was constantly arguing with her but somehow, even the arguments felt fun. Tenko doesn’t think that she had ever looked forward to attending school like this before.
They started noting down their wins on the last page of their notebook- just to keep a tally of who was in the lead. It was silly, really what they were doing and definitely immature and childish but it seemed like she couldn’t act rational when it came to the other girl. She really brought out the worst in her.
“So? What are we going to do today?” Ginko was leaning over her locker, waiting for Tenko to take out her shoes.
“Hmm. How about a race to the convenience store? The loser will have to buy something for the other.”
Ginko grinned. “You’re on!”
The tassels and charms on Ginko’s bag looked heavier today. Tenko was sure that would definitely slow her down. This time, she would beat her and make her spend loads of money.
Tenko was so lost in her fantasies that she didn’t even hear the person approaching them.
“Sakata Ginko?”
Tenko looked to the side to see one of their classmates whose name she couldn’t remember for the life of her stand in front of them- his face looked flustered and he kept fiddling with his fingers. She felt anxious just looking at him.
“What?” Ginko’s playful demeanor from before was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes had gone frigid and her lips sat in a slight frown.
“I have something to say to you.” His eyes met Tenko’s and he quickly looked away. “In private.”
“Just say it here.”
“No. Um…I can’t. Can we meet at the rooftop?”
“I’ve got plans, I’m sorry. Just say what you want or let me leave.”
Tenko was no stranger to how rude Ginko could be when she wanted to but somehow it was different. Her tone sounded downright disinterested–there was no way she could be persuaded into a one on one conversation right now. It seemed like the guy had picked up on it too. His eyes showed a hint of annoyance.
“Fine.” He took a deep breath. “Sakata Ginko, I like you. Go out with me.”
Ginko remained expressionless.
“No, thank you.”
She then looped her arm around Tenko’s. “Tenko-chan, let's go. Don’t forget about our race.”
“Wait! You’re rejecting me?”
“Of course I am. I’m sorry but I don’t even know you well.”
The guy grabbed Ginko’s arm.
“What do you mean? You’re always smiling at me everyday and you’re always so-” He faltered. “You can get to know me gradually as we date.”
“Let go of me. I’m not interested.”
“How can you say that when you’re always leading me on? Come on, just give me a chance.”
“Huh?” Ginko sounded exceptionally pissed. “I already told you that I don’t fucking know you. Stop bothering me! When have I ever lead you on?”
“You’re always dressed like a slut! Don’t you think that’s invitation enough, you bit-“
Tenko couldn’t take it anymore. Her hands moved on their own accord, her fist landing a punch square on the guy’s face. She could feel the wet sensation of blood between her fingers. It seemed like she hit his nose pretty hard.
“Don’t you dare talk about her like that.”
For a moment, the hall went quiet. Tenko could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Before she could decide whether to hit the guy again or to curse him out, Ginko held her hand once again.
“Tenko-chan, we might have to run.”
She could feel Ginko pulling her, her legs moving faster to catch up to her pace. They ran for what felt like ages, till they were well out of the school.
“S-slow down.” Tenko keened over, trying to catch her breath.
“What is wrong with you?”
“What?”
“I had it under control, you know? Why did you have to butt in?”
“Under control? Stop lying! I know you would have beat him up worse. I could see your fists itching to hit him.”
Ginko stared at her in surprise. “Is that why you punched him first? To get me out of trouble?”
Tenko sighed. “No. I punched him because he was being an annoying piece of shit.”
The sound of Ginko’s laughter was like music to her ears. To be honest, she was a bit worried about her–after all, the guy did say some nasty stuff and was also incredibly persuasive. It definitely would have been uncomfortable for her. Not for the first time, Tenko wishes she had roughed him up a bit more.
“His nose was bleeding.” Ginko wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh, Tenko-chan, you’re in so much trouble now.”
Tenko simply shrugged her shoulders. “He provoked us first.”
“Thank you. And I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Ginko smiled at her once more. A genuine smile that reached her eyes, not her everyday signature smirk. For some reason, Tenko felt her heart skip a beat.
“Tenko-chan. Were you always this nice?”
Before Tenko could respond with a dry sarcastic comment to change the mood and diffuse the weird sensation in her chest, she felt Ginko’s soft lips on her cheek.
“It’s a thank you gift.” Ginko’s breath on her ear felt cool, making her shiver a bit. “With this, we’re even,okay?”
Tenko doesn’t remember how she reacted. She doesn’t even remember saying goodbye and walking home. The rest of the day passed in a hazy blur. At night, as she laid on her bed, willing herself to sleep– her mind was preoccupied with only two things– first, the slight throbbing of her fingers and secondly, the sensation on Ginko’s lips on her cheek. When she closed her eyes, she could feel the ghost of Ginko’s breath, the warmth radiating from her body and the feathery touch of her lips against her skin.
***
Turns out that hitting someone and breaking their nose results in temporary suspension. Thanks to her good record, she only got a week. Tenko never thought that she’d end up like this, getting into trouble for Sakata Ginko out of everyone, seeing the disappointed looks of her teachers and then being bored out of her mind in her bedroom. Her parents, of course, didn't care at all.
It’s not like she particularly enjoyed being at school but lately she had to admit that she was having fun. Sitting next to Ginko, competing with her and having useless arguments had become part of her routine and the days somehow felt longer without it.
Ginko breached her thoughts often. Her mind wandered to the day she kissed her on the cheek and her heart would immediately be in a disarray. She had never experienced anything like this before and she wasn’t sure if she liked it.
She needed a distraction. Maybe she could catch up on the latest season of Tomoe-chan that she missed because of her exams. Or finish the morning word puzzle without having Ginko’s annoying voice gloating over the fact that she completed hers before Tenko did.
Now she was thinking of Ginko again. It was weird- before her, she had lived a perfectly normal life, completely content in being by herself. Sure, she did get lonely at times but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. She loved Kondo-san and the kendo team and heck, even Souko but they didn’t bother her in the confines of her own room. No, it was only Ginko who was annoying enough to barge into her thoughts twenty four seven.
Tenko almost didn’t hear the knock on her door, her mind still puzzled.
She wasn’t really expecting anyone at this moment. Her parents rarely entered her bedroom and her brother was not in the country at the moment. It might be Souko, here to make fun of her. The thought alone made her not want to open the door but perhaps that was the exact type of distraction she needed right now.
She opened the door fully expecting to see Souko’s annoying self satisfactory grin. What she wasn’t expecting was to see familiar silver hair curling at the ends, red eyes boring into hers, no longer as unfeeling as it was when she first gazed into them and a smile so sweet it almost looked fake.
“Tenko-chan! It took you so long to open the door, I thought you died in here.” Ginko welcomed herself in, immediately sitting on her bed.
“…..”
“Are you surprised to see me? You mom let me in and she told me you were in your room so I decided to barge in.”
“Why are you here?”
“Now, now, is that any way to talk to the girl who is only here to help you?” Ginko thrust the little bag she was holding into Tenko’s hands. “I’ve brought notes from today’s class for you.”
That surprised her. She didn’t think Ginko could be caring enough to do that.
“You just insulted me in your mind, didn’t you?”
“Thank you for the notes.” Tenko said, ignoring Ginko’s mind reading abilities. She would think about that later.
“It’s no big deal.” Ginko smiled at her and it was a genuine smile, the one that made the weird feeling in her chest worse. “Besides, it’s the least I could do.”
“You don’t owe me.”
“Of course I don’t! I paid you back already, remember?” Ginko pointed towards her cheek.
Tenko could feel her face turn red. Why would Ginko bring that up now? Especially when she was trying her best to forget about it?
“But I’m still sorry I guess.” The silver haired girl frowned. “It’s not uncommon for me to attract negative attention because of how I dress but it’s unfortunate that you had to get dragged into it.”
“This has happened to you before?”
Ginko rolled her eyes. “It happens all the time. People think I’m easy because of how I dress and then get mad when they get rejected.” She frowned slightly. “At one point, I wanted to stop dressing up but I love gyaru fashion too much.”
“When did you get into it?”
“I guess when I was fifteen? I saw the cover of a fashion magazine and the model’s clothes really inspired me.” Ginko shifts uncomfortably on the bed. “I’m sure you already know this but I lost my parents at a very young age.”
Tenko vaguely recalled Souko talking about it. She nodded slightly with apprehension.
“I was pitied everywhere I went. People only saw me as the poor orphan child and sympathized with me. It annoyed me to no end.” Ginko was determinedly not looking into Tenko’s eyes. “When Shoyo– my foster father, took me in, I had decided to have an identity of my own, outside of a pitiable kid with no parents. And gyaru fashion and culture really helped a lot back then.”
“I see.”
Ginko groaned. “You’re thinking about how silly I am, aren’t you?”
“Not at all.” Tenko met her eyes. “I think it’s very you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s not your type at all though, is it?”
“I wouldn’t personally wear it but-” Tenko faltered.
“But?”
“I remember really liking that one leopard print bra you wear.” Tenko couldn’t help but blush. “Although now that I’m thinking about it, it would look weird on me.”
Ginko stared at her for a good few seconds without saying anything.
“Tenko-chan, I think you’ll look really, really good wearing it.”
“Uh, what are you imagining?”
“We should go shopping together this weekend. I’ll buy one for you.”
“Only if you stop staring at me like a creepy old man.”
Ginko laughed. “Deal.”
Tenko couldn’t help but laugh along with her. Were they always this comfortable with each other? She doesn’t know when exactly the dynamics between them shifted, but she couldn’t help but feel glad about it. With Ginko, it felt like she could be herself. It was a freeing feeling, one that she gradually began to welcome.
***
The week flew by surprisingly fast. Ginko visited her house every day to give her the class notes and they always ended up hanging out till late. Arguing with Ginko was fun but not arguing with her was fun too. They’d still bicker and banter but the initial spite was nowhere to be found.
On the day she finally returned to school, Tenko couldn’t help but feel a little sad. Ginko had no reason to visit her now. But on the bright side, they could get into their petty competitions again.
“I bet I can change into my gym clothes faster than you.” Ginko’s eyes were sparkling.
“You’re on.”
This should have been an easy win for her, since all her clothes were well organised, neatly folded in her locker while Ginko had to look through the mess to find her own.
Except Tenko’s gym shoes were missing. It’s weird, she always kept them in the same place. She looked around but they were nowhere to be found.
After the period was over, she found them in the trash bin of her classroom.
That was just the beginning unfortunately. Soon, her pencils, notebooks, and bag went missing one by one only to be found either thrown into the trash or strewn on the ground.
Her notebook had pages torn from it. Her pouch was thrown into the fountain. Her wallet was stolen, emptied out and thrown into the bin.
There was no doubt who was behind this, she should have known that the loser from before would definitely fight back in some way or the other and of course, he went for this cowardly approach.
She wanted to go up to him and punch him once again, but having been recently suspended, she really didn’t want any trouble.
So her best option was to wait it out- she was sure he would get bored after a while if she didn't react.
It seemed like Souko had figured out what was going on. That girl had a sixth sense when it came to detecting Tenko’s misery.
But surprisingly even she didn’t seem very delighted at this new development. She confronted Tenko one day, asking why she’s just bearing with it instead of fighting the perpetrators.
“It’s fucking annoying to see you like this. Why won’t you just go and beat that guy up?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“You’re that afraid of being suspended?” Souko rolled her eyes. “I didn’t expect you to be that much of a coward, Hijikata-san.” She emphasised on the honorific, making it sound mocking.
“I just don’t want any more trouble.”
“This makes no sense. You’d never sit down and tolerate this shit usually.”
“Careful, Souko-it almost sounds like you’re worried for me.”
As expected, the light haired girl’s face soured.
“Die Hijikata.”
Tenko had initially thought that the bullying would stop in a few weeks or so. Surely people have better things to do at school than to just harass someone all the time. Maybe if they used that time and energy to study, they could even beat her at studies, which would genuinely get her much more irritated than the petty pranks they played on her.
Sure enough, after two days the bullying stopped.
But not in the way Tenko would have preferred.
Turns out that Souko snitched about her situation to Ginko, who in turn went ahead and beat up the guys responsible for it.
This really was the worst case scenario. After all, part of the reason why she didn’t confront the losers was because she was afraid they’d somehow target Ginko again. And the girl had home ahead and taken the matter into her own hands without even consulting her once.
By the time the chaos died down, she learned from her classmates that not only was Ginko suspended for but she was also in the nurse’s room because she had gotten hurt.
That stupid girl. Why did she always have to be so stubborn? Couldn’t she just leave Tenko alone and let her deal with her problems by herself?
As she made her way to the medical room, Tenko couldn’t help but tear up a bit. It surprised her, she didn’t think Ginko being hurt could affect her this much.
Ginko looked at her with a smile on her face when she entered, as if she was expecting Tenko to be here.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
“Now, now, Tenko chan, shouldn’t you kiss my wounds first and thank me for protecting you before you bite my head off?”
“No one fucking asked you to protect me!”
“You’re right. I just wanted to do it, I guess.” Ginko smiled once more and Tenko couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered. “It hurt me that you hid such a big thing from me.”
“It isn’t like that.” Tenko scowled. “I was just-”
“Protecting me? I didn’t ask you to do that, either.”
Tenko, not for the first time, was at a loss for words. How was it that she found herself tongue tied so many times in front of Ginko? Why couldn’t she just be brave enough to accept what the girl truly meant to her?
“We're a bunch of idiots.”
Ginko giggled at that. “I guess we are.”
“Are you hurt very badly?” Tenko couldn’t see any noticeable open wounds, just a small bump on her forehead.
“I’m fine. You should see the other guys.”
“Actually, where the fuck are they? I’d love to give them a piece of my mind.”
“Tenko-chan, both of us can’t be suspended at the same time. Who is going to bring us the class notes for us?”
Tenko stared at her pointedly.
“Okay fine, they’re probably at the teacher’s office getting scolded. I don’t think they’ll bother us anymore.”
Tenko sat on the chair beside the bed. She was glad that Ginko wasn’t terribly hurt.
“You’re always getting into trouble.” She gently caressed the bump on Ginko’s forehead, her insides twisting when she saw her slightly wincing in pain.
“You’re the one to talk , Miss Baragaki.”
“I am going to kill Souko.”
Ginko laughed. “Please don’t– how the hell will I find out your embarrassing secrets if she’s gone?”
“You’re so fucking annoying, I hate you.”
She felt Ginko’s tight grasp on her wrist. “You don’t actually mean that, do you?”
“Of course I do!”
“Who the hell caresses the forehead of someone they hate?”
“That’s because you got hurt!” Tenko bit back from saying ‘for my sake’ because somehow saying that out loud would make her feel more guilty than she was already feeling.
“I don’t hate you.” Ginko said, her voice almost a whisper. “You’re annoying as hell and you always have the need to argue with me for the smallest of reasons but I have fun when I’m with you.”
Tenko stared at Ginko, the silver haired girl’s face slowly turning red. She looked flustered and embarrassed and Tenko was sure that she was matching her expression.
“I have fun with you too.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
A silence enveloped them- not exactly uncomfortable but somehow, Tenko could feel her heart beat unbearably fast. She wanted to break the silence by saying something so that the weird mood between them would disappear.
“You’re uh…wearing your leopard bra today.”
Great. Can she develop powers of invisibility immediately so that she could disappear from the face of the earth? Why the hell was that the only thing she could think of?
Ginko’s face flushed deeper. “You really notice it every time I wear it, don’t you?”
“W-what are you implying?”
“I got myself a few more in the same pattern, since you said you liked it.”
The wording felt so wrong but it also felt like Ginko was doing it on purpose. Did she notice how affected Tenko is by her and now is trying to make fun of her? Or maybe it was a new way of tormenting her?
“This one” Ginko slowly unbuttoned her shirt. “Has a lace lining on the bottom.”
She was doing this to torment her. There was no other reason. Tenko wanted to look away, but her eyes seemed to be glued onto Ginko.
“I see.”
“You wanna feel the material?”
“Uh- what?”
“Yeah, it’s a bit different from my usual ones, this one is a lot softer and I surprisingly got it for super cheap.” Ginko guided her hand over to her chest. Tenko could feel the warmth of her body under her palm.
Not for the first time, Tenko was hit with the realisation that Ginko was so unbearably beautiful. She couldn’t help but be drawn to her. Does she even know the thoughts that cross Tenko’s mind every now and then despite her trying her best to repress it?
She retracted her hand. “Yes. Um. It’s soft.”
“Tenko-chan.” Ginko sighed.
“What?”
“How many hints do I have to drop before you kiss me?”
“W-what?”
“You like me, don’t you?”
“You…what.”
“I mean…it’s obvious. Your face can’t hide anything, you know?”
Tenko could only stare at her wordlessly.
“I feel the same.”
“You do?” She wasn’t day dreaming right now, was she? Ginko really just admitted that she liked her, right?
“You have no idea. Do you even know how much you’ve tortured me in the past few months? I literally think of you all the time. I’ll be doing some random work and I’ll think about how it would have been better if you were here. I enter the classroom and the first thing I look for is if you’re there or not. I’ll be lying in bed, trying to sleep, instead I’m thinking about how amazing it would have been if you were there, sitting on my face, as I’m eating you out–”
Tenko covered Ginko’s mouth with her hands before she could finish her sentence.
“You fucking pervert!”
Ginko’s eyes shined at the insult. Tenko couldn’t help but feel like she had gotten herself into big trouble, probably more than she could handle.
The girl yanked Tenko’s palms from her mouth and pulled her closer.
“Tenko-chan, please, put me out of my misery.”
And Tenko, of course, found it increasingly hard to say no to Ginko. Whether it was stupid contests or dumb requests or silly banter bait…she always gave in.
So really, when she kissed her, she was putting both of them out of their misery.
Ginko’s lips were as soft as she had imagined. And of course, the girl herself was as brash and competitive as ever. She held Tenko’s face in her hands, kissing her back with fervour.
“So…are we girlfriends now?” She sounded slightly breathless and for some reason that made Tenko’s skin feel all prickly.
Girlfriends. What a corny and frankly embarrassing word. Still, it made her unbelievably happy.
“I guess we are.”
“Good.” Ginko leaned in to kiss her again.
***
If there was something Tenko loved more than adding dollops of mayonnaise on her rice and word puzzles it was her girlfriend.
Her stubborn, annoying, wonderful girlfriend. Half of the time Tenko wasn’t sure if she wanted to punch her or kiss her. Okay, maybe seventy-five percent of the time she wanted to kiss her. Or maybe it was eighty percent.
It was fun, spending time with her. Whether they were competing over silly things or walking back home together, or simply sitting beside each other.
“Wanna race to the convenience store?” Ginko smiled at her, her face as bright as the sun.
“You’re on.”