Countdown R.P.

Chiharu frowned when Maiko spoke. Somehow Chiharu had the feeling that this was a lie. She didn't think that Maiko would be the type of person who loves shopping and such. She shook her head. It was silly for her to think this way, she had only met Maiko today. She had no right to judge. Chiharu turned back to face the teachers and such. When will the school day end. She already to get out of school. She was lost in her train of thought so she wasn't paying attention. She was elbowed in the gut when it was her turn. That would leave a bruise. Chiharu stood up folded her hands in front of her.

"I'm Chiharu Miyazaki and I like...uh well I like-"

Great she was lost what was she suppose to say?! She was holding up the class. They were cocking their eyebrows at her now. Lovely, this situation was very lovely.

" -horses. I like horseback riding and such."

She said and quickly sat down. When she looked up she saw the red expressions on her classmates faces. She cocked and eyebrow and they lost it. The room was surrounded in laughter. They were laughing so hard they were tears. Chiharu's grew bright red.

"W-What?"

She asked hoping this would calm them but it only sent them into another round of hysterics. Chiharu facepalmed. What had gone wrong? She answered the thing that first came to her mind. That was horses. She really did love horses so what was so funny? She crossed her legs under the desk and her arms across her chest and pouted.

The students were dying by now even the teacher was laughing. she mumbled under her breath.

"Laugh it up guys. It's so hilarious"

"Aw, c'mon Chiharu don't be mad. Liking horses is okay...... if you're still in grade school!"

One of they guys in her class joked. The rest of the students laughed too. Chiharu couldn't help herself. She was embarrassed and ticked. Her face showed that perfectly. Her expression was murderous and her face was red as well as her ears. She closed her eyes in hope to catch a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. Perfect start to her senior year. The teacher calmed the class down a bit and the class continued with the introductions. But that didn't cool Chiharu's hot temper. She was pissed. What was so funny about liking horses. She was tired of being laughed at. She was normal just like everyone else. Why be publically embarrassed? It was unnecessary and unwanted. She just wished she could leave and go home. Or turn invisible.

Maiko sits forward in her seat so that her elbows are propped onto the surface of her desk, one finger idly twirling a lock of chestnut colored hair as she waited for the introductions to come to a close. Soon, it is Chiharu's turn, the girl that Maiko recognizes as the one who had won the scholarship instead of Hitomi. The thought makes her glance towards the Welcome Committee leader, who looks unsurprisingly bitter and undoubtedly jealous of the Miyazaki girl. Silently, she scoffs to herself, disguising it as a petite cough as she turns her head so that one wouldn't catch the expression on her face. Tsubaki watches for a moment as Chiharu is elbowed sharply in the gut, causing the short haired girl to stand quickly to her feet. "I'm Chiharu Miyazaki and I like...uh well I like-" She begins, pausing momentarily.

" -horses. I like horseback riding and such."

The class, which was once enveloped in pure silence, bursts into laughter. "W-What?" Chiharu asks frantically, face growing bright red in embarrassment. For a brief, flickering moment, Maiko feels genuinely bad for the girl but the feeling is quickly replaced with irritation. Not at Miyazaki, but at the rest of the class. She didn't understand their humor, which frustrated her. What was so hilarious about liking horses? Personally, she had stopped liking horses when she was younger after falling off the back of one of the majestic equidae, and had grown to fear them ever since. However, this had never stopped her from seeing them as beautiful, which they were, though Maiko would never step near one even if her life counted on it.
By now, the teacher was laughing also. Placing her chin so that it was rested in her palm, she clears her throat and begins to speak, appearing undaunted.

"I, for one, think horses are beautiful. My parents own a stable of their own- you could stop by if you'd like, Chiharu."

Maiko smiles for what felt like the hundredth time today, appearing perfectly friendly and inviting. The class isn't laughing nearly as hard as before, and despite the occasional giggle from the back, everyone had fallen silent. Some even looked jealous that Miyazaki had been personally invited by Maiko to hang out, which makes her smirk secretly to herself in amusement.

The introductions continued pretty much normally, even if the girls in the back of the class near Tsubaki were all excited about going to shopping or something other ridiculous like what only girls would be excited about. Ren just sighed and slumped even more forward on his seat, now barely paying any attention to what was going on around him in the hopes of being able to completely ignore his fiance and her new fan club. All the giggling and shrill female chatting was slowly starting to get to his nerves.

Ren kept thinking of his unfinished projects and in due dates for a while; the contract with that one company needed to be signed and sent forward before next Thursday -- if all the terms met the Hanasaki's demands, that is -- and the meeting with the other company was tomorrow morning at this one high class hotel over breakfast. Ren did not understand why people wanted to discuss things like these so early in the morning, and why the hell his secretary had scheduled it for him so early... It would be rude to cancel it, so it was a bit late for that.

His thoughts were interrupted when Ren realized the change in the atmosphere. It was quiet for a while and everyone were waiting for something, and when Ren turned his head to look around Miyazaki shot up from her seat and started her introduction... which was pretty much just mostly stammering over words at first, before she got to say what she wanted. And then the whole class erupted into laughter. Expect Miyazaki herself, and Ren who did not find anything funny about the matter. He just pretty much sat on his seat, dumbfounded by the fact that people were laughing so hard over a matter that was not even funny, which just made them seem stupid in his eyes. The teacher included, who should have known better and not laugh at all.

As Miyazaki sat down to pout and her face just got redder and redder by the second, Ren sifted his position on his chair bit uncomfortably -- not because his positon was uncomfortable, no, not at all, but because he felt uncomfortable for Miyazaki's sake. Pity even, and the need to help her out. Ren glanced around in the classroom, finding Hattori and Suzuki laughing and glared at them. His dark gaze was so piercing and powerful that it made Suzuki freeze when he noticed it, and elbow Hattori on the side. Both of the boys were still smirking a bit, even though they did seem a bit worried, not sure why Ren was sending them flying daggers with his eyes. But they knew not to question Ren when he was like this; even if the boy's actions might have seemed confusing and sent a bit paradoxal picture for the others at times, Ren always seemed to know exactly what he was doing and there was always a good reason behind his every action.

As Ren turned back and was about to raise from his seat to calm down the rest of the class, Tsubaki suddenly spoke up which made Ren turn his attention to her now and sit back.

"I, for one, think horses are beautiful. My parents own a stable of their own- you could stop by if you'd like, Chiharu."

Cocking his eyebrows up in surprise by the sudden chivalry that Tsubaki was offering for Miyazaki. He did not need to do anything, as the class fell silent and everyone cowered under Tsubaki's perfect smile -- her influence was strong, if not least terrifying.

Ren clicked his tongue against the palate in approval. But he was not ever going to tell Tsubaki he was agreeing with her over something, or that she had just done good job. But it was visible from the boy's eyes that he was indeed grateful. And to stiffle the last giggles, Ren also spoke up.

"I also like horses, magnificent creatures. And to be honest, I've actually taken riding lessons just couple of years ago. Does that make me also seem like a grade schooler?"

Ren leaned his chin against his hand and looked carefully every student around the room. As he spoke, he was not smiling at all and his voice was serious and firm, but light enough not to him feel too intimidating. If the class was silent before, now you could have probably heard a pin drop.

"That's what I thought," Ren said and turned forward again, now looking at the teacher and smiled; "Isn't that right, Mrs. Tachibana?"

The teacher flushed and looked Awkward with capital A. So much for a role model, huh? Ren sighed and ran his hand through his black mane of a hair, looking like he was a bit troubled by the sheer idiocy of the people around him, waiting for his words to sink in and finally have an effect. Three, two, one...

"I-- I also like horses," one girl chimed in from somewhere back, and soon there was agreeing mumbling all over the room. Ren leaned his chin against his hand again and covered his mouth with his fingers to hide a satisfied smile.

Bingo.

Chiharu looked over to see Maiko Tsubaki addressing her. She was surpized because why would she go out of her way to speak to her. Chiharu wasn't anything special. In fact she was being made fun of right now.

"I, for one, think horses are beautiful. My parents own a stable of their own- you could stop by if you'd like, Chiharu."

Chiharu's eyes widened as she said this. The Great Tsubaki just invited her to her humble abode. Of course this was something everyone wished they could have. A invitation to Maiko's house. She glanced around the room and saw people shooting daggers at her with their eyes. Of course they'd be jealous. This sort of thing didn't happen everyday. Chiharu nodded in Maiko's statement because she didn't know what else to say.

There were still a couple of giggles though afterward. But Chiharu felt much better. She didn't like being laughed at. But then again. Who did? Something else shocked her. The voice of Ren.

"I also like horses, magnificent creatures. And to be honest, I've actually taken riding lessons just couple of years ago. Does that make me also seem like a grade schooler?"

Chiharu blinked and looked at him. His tone was different than that of Maiko's. Maiko's was more of a bored yet polite statement. But it lacked feeling. Chiharu didn't feel the warmth she should feel when someone smiles like that. Ren's tone suggested that he was quite serious but not serious to the point of being scared. But close. He was standing up for her too. It took everything Chiharu had to keep her mouth shut instead of just letting her jaw drop. Her enemy, her rival, the man she was planning to crush, just defended her. Suddenly she felt the warm feeling that lacked in Maiko's statement. Chiharu put a hand on her chest, surprised that this was happening now.

The class had now grown silent. None dared speak against Ren. Chiharu continued to watch him in disbelief.

"That's what I thought," Ren said and turned forward again, now looking at the teacher and smiled; "Isn't that right, Mrs. Tachibana?"

The teacher blushed and looked away from Ren's powerful gaze. Wow, she sure wasn't as mature as Chiharu thought. Soon people around the room started saying they liked horses. But Chiharu connected it to Ren's doing. They were only saying that to make themselves look better to him. Such shallow ways. But then again Chiharu was grateful. The teacher cleared her throat and began talking about school stuff cutting the introductions short. Chiharu took out a small piece of paper and wrote a note on it in her quick script. Then she folded it and slipped it onto Ren's desk.

Note:

Thanks for earlier. I appreciate it

The smiley face she wrote echoed the smile that was already planted on her face. But it wasn't a normal smile. It was that of delight and determination. She wouldn't lose to Ren even if he tried to distract her here. School went by in a breeze. Since they were seniors they got early release. That meant less classes and you could leave after lunch. The classes blew by and Chiharu was paying attention to the teacher's every word. Her notes were flawless. No doodles today. Just facts that would help her win that scholarship. The last teacher of the day was just starting to wrap up the lesson when the bell rung. People started shuffling in their seats.

"Alright class and don't forget the homework either. It's due tomorrow!"

But the students weren't paying attention. They were leaving the classroom to go get lunch or take their lunch outside. Chiharu placed her books in her bag and pulled out her home-made bento. When she finished packing up she got her stuff and began walking downstairs. She caught a glimpse of Ren's fangirl's club holding a bunch of bento's. They must be planning to give it to him. Poor girls. She shook her head. Her soft footsteps made a padding sound across the linoleum floor. She got to her shoe locker and replaced her shoes and grabbed her skateboard. Then she quickly headed to eat under her favorite sakura tree. There was a pond right beside it. Their public school may be public but it had some nice things too. She would normally be eating here with her best friend but he was out of town.

She sighed. She missed his company. She snapped her chopsticks and began to eat. Her thoughts drifted to the afternoon. She would be spending the rest of her day meeting the horse at the Hanasaki mansion. She wouldn't be able to see gramps today so she would have to call him. She crossed her legs while sitting by the pond and against the sakura tree. The wind blew the petals around her and landed in her hair. It was truly great scenery she loved the view.