1 Sōjirō Agata's Request & Pucky Balls

Sasuke was aware he had become a hot topic at his school ever since he (and everyone else at Kaimei High School) discovered he had a long-lost brother at the Culture Festival last month. A twin brother who not only ended up the eldest but an idiot.

He carried his thoughts down the school hallways; weaving his way past the jostle of students in play or clustered along the edges in hearty gossip.

A few rowdy boys caught his attention. He supposed he should reprimand their behavior and slap them with a warning.

His student council call to duty was interrupted with the annoying sound pollution coming from his brother's clubroom nearby.

'Tsk! How many times do I have to tell him to keep the noise down,' he gritted his teeth and decided the rowdy boys got a free pass for the day. Especially, when his brother ( Yūsuke Fujisaki, or as some kids called him, Bossun) was more likely to damage the school.

He stormed to his brother's clubroom and almost kicked the door open. It landed with a curt "bam" against the wall; causing all eyes in the clubroom to his attention.

'Fujisaki! How many times have I told you to respect the quiet of the other clubs?!' Sasuke scolded and gasped at the haphazard sight of the clubroom.

His breath got caught as a tight knot in his throat at the sight of the overturned desks where Kazuyoshi frequented with his computer work. Papers were littered on the ground, two chairs knocked down and the lounge, that Yoshihiko-kun had donated, had filling spilling out from bullet-like holes.

'WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?!' He shouted at his idiot brother who was sprawled on the floor in a compromising position with Himeko Onizuka unconscious on top of him. Kazuyoshi (a.k.a Switch) was doing his best to shake her back to consciousness.

'Tsubaki! Sweet, you're here. Help me get this Onihime off me!' Bossun half asked, half pleaded with tears squeezing out of his eyes and his weird kid's cap knocked off his head so it almost covered one side of his face, and allowed tufts of unruly black hair to escape around his ears.

'Fujisaki!' Sasuke growled and stomped his way to them.

'She was opening one of Bossun's prank presents that went crazy,' Switch explained through his computer, adding kawaii inflections to his computer voice in an attempt to sound innocent. He showed Sasuke a Christmas-red tin box that seemed to be jiggling in his hands.

Sasuke frowned. What type of prank present was in such a small box that could cause that sort of calamity?

He helped Himeko off his brother and fished through his blazer pocket for the small vial of pungent cologne that Michiru Shinba had gifted him earlier in the day. He assumed it was that pretty-boy's sick joke for an early Christmas present.

He uncapped the vial and waved the open end under Himeko's nose. She returned to consciousness, coughing out the bad taste in her mouth.

'Ugh, what foul smell is that?' she cursed.

'Something Shinba-san must wear,' Sasuke replied nonchalantly.

'Seriously? That pretty-boy? I'm surprised he doesn't attract a following of dogs instead of girls if he wears that sort of aftershave. Smells like fly spray.'

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders as he pocketed the vial away. He ordered the Sket Dan club members in a line to his attention, who stood awkwardly before him and appeared ready to receive his worst. He sighed. Being the respectable student was becoming tiring. Especially when the Sket Dan's snafus had fallen to his responsibility to explain before the principal.

'What are you going to do about this mess?' He threw out to them.

'Er, um, clean it up?' His brother answered through one of his goofy expressions.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He lectured them about how they should be responsible seniors of the school and everything a respectable student should be doing that they weren't.

'If the President wasn't impartial to your club, I'd have pulled the plug a long time ago. As it stands, I have to bear responsibility of explaining your irresponsible actions before the school board.'

'Very sorry Tsubaki-kun. We're deeply sorry for the trouble we caused. We will ensure to clean up the mess and be mindful of the noise we make from now on.' Himeko politely apologized with low bow. She slammed an elbow into Bossun that forced him into a bow.

Sasuke blushed at Himeko's sincerity.

'Okay then. Since you apologized, I'll let this slide but I expect this place to be cleaned up before the end of the day.'

'Sure thing!' Himeko perked up and offered him some tea. She freed up a safe spot on the lounge and forced him to sit down.

Sasuke watched his brother and Switch begin the task of cleaning up the clubroom.

'You're becoming soft eh nii-chan.' Bossun chuckled through a goofy grin.

'Nii-chan?! Since when did I became that? Aren't you the eldest?!' Sasuke spat out.

'Heehee that's right he is. Oh how cruel life can be! Still, you don't have to play coy with us little brother.' Switch's computer voice lifted with another cutesy inflection to its usual deadpan monotone.

Sasuke felt his anger subside. He kept his sarcasm to himself as he sipped on the savory tea Himeko provided him.

At that moment, the president of the Student Council stepped over the threshold and into the room.

'President!' Sasuke cried out and stood to his attention.

'Woah! What happened here?' Sōjirō Agata asked as he picked his way further inside and to the seat next to Sasuke.

'Stupid prank present from Bossun that's what happened.' Himeko growled at Bossun who was cowering in a corner furthest from her.

'I'm sorry okay? I didn't know the marbles were going to jump all over the place,' Bossun muttered his apologize as he fidgeted on the spot like a grade school kid who had been caught out.

'Marbles?' Sōjirō asked, perplexed. After some thought, realized what prank present Bossun was referring to. It was the same prank present he had gifted Shinba the year before. He recalled the flustered expression on that ladies-man's face who had been chasing the bouncing marbles, sparkling, around his bedroom in an attempt to stop the havoc they were causing.

'Ka-ka-ka! Pucky Balls are they? Maybe you should've given them to Onizuka outside,' Sōjirō said to Bossun nonchalantly.

'That would've been worse!' Sasuke piped up and felt surprised at his President's lack of concern for the mess in the clubroom.

'Anyway. I'm here because I have a job I think is for the Sket Dan, and maybe yourself Tsubaki-kun.' Sōjirō offered through a kindly smile.

The Sket Dan members paused their clean-up. They and Sasuke gave Sōjirō their undivided attention as he started to explain his request.

They learned of Sōjirō's younger cousin who was being treated in hospital with stage-4 cancer and not likely to see another Christmas. She was supposed to start Kaimei the following spring but when her cancer had progressed, her doctors told her parents to make certain preparations. One of the items on her bucket list was to spend a day as a typical high school student with friends.

Sasuke soaked in his President's words; feeling the seriousness behind the request.

'You see. Mei has practically lived in a hospital most of her life. When she hasn't, she's been home-schooled. Aside from myself and Saaya, she doesn't have friends. As you're all into this good deed sort of thing, I thought maybe you could spend the day with her if I introduced you.'

Sōjirō ended his spiel with a deep sigh, which caused the atmosphere in the clubroom to sober up and calm down.

'Of course we'll assist you President. Leave it to me!' Sasuke responded for himself and the Sket Dan with a fired up expression.

'Huh?! Surely you're not answering for me?' Bossun frowned at his brother.

'Not like you're going to refuse now is it!' Sasuke argued back and found himself in a childish argument with his brother about the decision.

'Ka-ka-ka. You brothers sure do get on well,' Sōjirō chuckled.

'But I take it as you've both accepted my request either way. So I'll arrange for an introduction.' He stood to take his leave. Having said what he needed to say.

'Sure thing. Leave it to us,' Sasuke answered for them again.

The school bell twanged around them with the call back to class. Sasuke followed his president out the door. Leaving behind his reminder of the clubroom to be clean before the end of the school-day with the Sket Dan members.