Akatsuki Ruby (7)

꒰ঌ Akatsuki Ruby 7

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It was Saturday. It was the day of that new member's welcome party or whatever.

Right after classes ended, I went all the way to Ruby's classroom to meet her. After that exchange we had the other day, I was afraid she would decide not to go to the party.

Yes. For the few days since that exchange, Ruby and I had not looked each other in the eyes even once.

… Not a substitute for my sister, huh?

To be honest… her words hit home. They really, really hit home. I mean… was she completely right? Was the reason I wanted to meddle in Ruby's business because I was just using her in place of my now-gone sister?

I really believed that the first few days right after you entered school were important days that decided the direction of your entire life at that school. You would pick the club you belonged to, the social circle you belong to… it was a time where you determined your position within your school (or rather, your class). And if you failed to come out strong during those first few months of battle, then you might find that your school life has suddenly taken a turn for the worst.

School wasn't as rosy a place as adults might imagine it to be. Well, there were definitely rosy parts… and maybe even the majority of school life was rosy, but there were definitely cruel, severe parts of school life that only the students themselves were aware of. That's why I couldn't help but be concerned for my cute kouhai. That wasn't a lie; it was the honest truth.

But was that all? Was that the only reason? No, it probably wasn't. There was a reason I went so far out of my way to interfere in Ruby's business… there was a reason I always wanted to do something for her, even though she didn't want me to… probably…

It was probably because seeing her standing there looking lonely made me think about a certain someone else from a certain time ago. That person was no longer here, but that feeling about being able to do something for her back then…

That feeling still remains in my heart even today. I was happy that she relied on me, but those occurrences were no more.

That's why… that's why…

"… Tch, I'm being way too gloomy today."

And what's more, I was completely found out, wasn't I? Even I could admit that I didn't look too cool back there. But, even so, that didn't change what I had to do. Just because I had found the rather tasteless motive I had for wanting to help her didn't mean I suddenly didn't want to help her. I also had that promise with Mio to think about.

Mio had entrusted me with Ruby. I couldn't get rid of these confused feelings in my heart, but I knew exactly what I had to do. And I knew what I myself wanted to do.

"Well, I guess I have to do what I have to do." I muttered to myself and then pulled myself back towards reality.

I found myself standing right in front of my old classroom, the first-year class 1-B. Homeroom was already over, and I saw a few students coming out on their way home. I peeked into the room, with the fear that Ruby had already headed straight back. She wasn't there.

"Crap…" I smacked myself on the forehead. I had to act quickly. Maybe I could catch up to her if I ran. I turned sharply on my heel, and then…

"Uwaah!" I was completely taken aback with surprise and almost jumped up. Because when I turned around, I saw Ruby standing right in front of me. She was as expressionless as usual, and was staring up at me from point-blank range.

"… Looking all around like that in a first-year classroom really makes you seem like a hentai."

She was still angry with me, wasn't she? Granted, she always insulted me like this, so it's not like I could tell the difference…

What should I say? I had gone over a lot of ways to apologize and invite her to the party in my head, but once I had her standing in front of me I couldn't remember any of it anymore…

As I struggled to find the right words to say, Ruby silently turned away from me. She then turned her head towards me and gave me a cold, sidelong glance.

"Let's hurry it up, please."

Ruby began to walk away quickly. I chased after her while scratching my cheek.

It seemed that we were headed in the same direction as the new member welcome party. I had been under the rather arrogant belief that our friendship had grown stronger, but right now, I had no shot in hell of figuring out exactly what Ruby was thinking, or what she was feeling about me.

The welcoming party didn't take place in a classroom cramped with equipment and parts, but in an AV room that the club had been given permission to use by the school. It wasn't that formal of a gathering, but rather one where they provided snacks and beverages and we would have a good time while we ate and drank. Well, it was what you might expect from a high school club.

When I said 'what you might expect,' I mean that with a sense of disappointment. But that feeling was probably because I was so used to the flashy gatherings that Mio usually organized. So my scale of what counted as 'normal' was completely out of whack.

I chased after Ruby as she walked away so fast that I wondered if she was trying to run away from something.

"… I'm honestly relieved. I really thought you were going to hate going to this welcome party."

"Yes… I am already very, very reluctant to go. Honestly, there isn't anything I hate going to more than human parties like this."

Ruby faced forwards and spoke without even looking in my direction. I began to ask her why she was going to a gathering she found so unpleasant. But before I could, she spoke first.

"The tools they have in that clubroom… Well, it's certainly much more convenient if I can just use them there, rather than going to a part-time job and buying them myself. So even if I find it a bit unpleasant, I thought I would come here to see everyone today. There isn't another reason."

"… Oh, I see then."

Half of what she said was probably the truth. However, that wasn't all… in fact, I believed there was 'another reason.'

"Hmmmm… I don't think that Ruby-chan is really that angry. If you just put yourself in her shoes, it's no wonder at all that she would say something nasty. It's alright, if you give her a proper apology, I'm sure she'll forgive you."

I had gone to Mio for advice about what had happened that other day, and that was her response. I didn't really know how I was supposed to put myself in Ruby's shoes, and it's not like Mio told me how, but in short… when it came to girls, and not just Ruby, there was always 'another reason.' That's how it probably worked.

The minute Ruby arrived in front of the door, she stopped, and gave me an emotionless order.

"Go in first."

"Alright."

Ruby took a step back and I took her place in front of the door. And then, I pushed the door open.

There were already club members inside the room, preparing for the party. The preparations themselves weren't that fancy; they were just lining up a bunch of long desks in a circle and pouring drinks into cups. We gave a light bow and entered, and even though they were already halfway done, we started helping them out. And because this was a new member's welcoming party, I saw a few faces I hadn't seen before. The ghost members of the club were also here. The preparations were soon finished, and people began to sit down wherever they pleased.

I sat in one corner where there were quite a few empty seats, and Ruby plopped herself down right next to me.

"… What?"

"Ah, nothing…"

Ruby was a shy person, so I had counted on my prediction that no matter how unpleasant she might find it, she would sit next to me, a person she was already familiar with. Now then… where was Shirayuki Weiss, the other crucial half of this plan?

I looked all around me, when I saw a girl who might be her. She was a bit on the tall side. She is an eye-catching figure and has long, snow white hair and ice blue eyes, and damn she's extremely beautiful too.

However, she had a stern frown on her face, and with the way she was carrying herself, she might as well have stamped a huge "Bad Mood. Stay Away" in boldface on her forehead.

She seemed like she still couldn't decide where to sit, and Sasuke smartly took that opportunity to call out to her.

"Shirayuki, this seat over here is open."

"… Ahh." Weiss took a quick glance in this direction. "Yes, you're right. I suppose that would be the best option for me."

She wiped the chair with a handkerchief, and took a seat between Sasuke and myself. In other words, going around the circle from the left, it was Ruby, me, Weiss, Sasuke, the twins, the president, some fatso, and I'll omit the rest.

I was unexpectedly squeezed in the middle. Granted, this was pretty convenient, I suppose. If I wanted to serve as a mediator to help get these two's friendship going, this was probably the best position from which to do that. I honestly wasn't that confident that I could be of much help, but I would do what I could do.

"Well, it seems everyone's found their seat… so let's begin." Sasuke looked around at everyone as he spoke. Voices of agreement sounded here and there, and then the room became quiet. "Alright, prez, you're up."

"Got it. Let's have a great time and be a great club this year too. Kanpai."

"Kanpai."

Everyone raised their glass after the president's incredibly concise toast.

The minute the welcoming party began, the room filled with noisy revelry. I looked around at the people gathered. These were all supposed to be game-loving otaku, but from the point of view of someone who was more used to the kind of otaku at Comiket or cosplay exhibitions, they really didn't seem like that.

This probably goes without saying, but it was probably because everyone was young, and everyone was wearing a uniform. However, the pieces of conversation I overheard here and there were definitely those of otaku. It felt like they had gathered a bunch of game-lovers into a room and just let them talk freely.

However, Ruby was…

She was completely silent and staring forwards, without even making a move to pick up her food. This girl… she really was terrible when it came to situations like this.

To be honest, I was worried about this ever since I heard that this would be a party. It's just that this wasn't the only time this has happened; even though this girl did really poorly when it came to places with lots of people, she never learned and always went to those events anyways. So, even though I would never say this to her out loud… Ruby might be pretty hard to get along with, but that doesn't mean she didn't want to make friends.

As proof, just think about how important Naruko was to Ruby, and think about how lonely she looked when Naruko disappeared. She might appear emotionless, but she really had quite a deep well of emotions.

"Alright then…" What should I do here?

I turned to look at Weiss on my right. No matter what this girl's personality was, she probably wouldn't initiate a conversation with Ruby just based on how much of a stand-offish aura Ruby was giving out. It seemed like I would have to be the one to approach her and lead her in.

"… Nice to meet you. I'm Uzumaki Haruto, a second year."

"Nice to meet you, Senpai. I'm a first year. Shirayuki Weiss."

Seeing her up close like this reaffirmed what Sasuke had told me. She really didn't seem like an otaku at all. She really seemed refined… but at the same time, she seemed different from Naruko and Naruko's friends.

Leaving her appearance aside for now, if I used eroge as an analogy, she was the very picture of the 'student committee chair' type of character. I didn't mean she was a warm, serious type. Rather, she felt more like that faultless, intelligent beauty of a student committee chair who you would never be able to get. Compare everything to eroge. Best way to make friends.

"What?"

"Ah, nothing, it's just that you didn't seem like you were having a good time. I was wondering if you were just not in the best mood… or something."

"That's how my face has always looked."

"A-ah, I see." Geez, this was hard.

When she saw me at a loss, Weiss seemed a bit displeased and scratched her cheek. Unlike Ruby, she didn't seem to be the emotionless type.

"Ahh, well, I guess I am in somewhat of a bad mood. I just have a hard time with this club."

"And why is that?"

"Hmmm. Well, first off, it feels dirty being surrounded by all these gross boys. Second, everything feels like it's done sloppily, considering all the games the club members make are so weird and otherwise, all they do is chat with each other. Third, they don't even have the common sense to know that it's not appropriate to display figures in a classroom and to play adult games out in the open."

Weiss faced a person she had never met before and, counting on her fingers, went through all the things that were making her unhappy. But everything she said was absolutely correct. When she puts it like that, I doubt any member of the game club would be able to say anything to defend himself.

"Then, why did you join the club?" I asked that question out of the blue. If she didn't want to join, she could have just refused their invitation. And considering all the harsh things she said about the club, I doubt it was because she was too meek to refuse.

To my question, Weiss responded thusly: "Because I wanted to study programming. Even leaving aside the terrible contents of that STG the president made, from a design standpoint it was really solid, so I asked him how he made the game. And then, it really seemed like they were using some expensive software and equipment to make the game. So, that got me interested, and I came to take a look around."

Weiss seemed to be remembering back to that time, and blushed just slightly for a moment.

"When I went, I saw that they were much better equipped than I had thought… although everything was just scattered around and such a mess. So even taking into account some of the inconveniences I would have to tolerate, I decided that it would be worth it to join the club."

Her reason was similar to the reason Ruby had given me. It seemed that this girl also joined the club to make use of the game-making tools that the club president had bought with his own money.

Ruby had definitely just used that reason as an excuse to hide her embarrassment.

But, in the end, was the same true for Weiss? The fact that she cleared that game meant that she was definitely a gamer. But her appearance and actions just weren't otaku-like at all.

"That being said, I'm just at my limit."

"Why?"

"Because I hate, hate, hate things that aren't neat and tidy."

There was quite an amount of force behind those words. Weiss once again began to count on her fingers.

"Rooms being a mess or being dirty. People talking in the middle of class, or people who forget to do their homework, who skip out on cleaning duty, who can't read the tone of a conversation, who forget to take out their trash on the right day, who are dirty and filthy, who cheese moves in 1-on-1 fighters, who cheat… I hate each and every one of these people who just go against the rules like that."

I have a feeling that there were a few words in there that I had no idea about…

Hahaha… just as her appearance would suggest, she was a neurotic 'student committee chair' type character. Calling her a diligent person would be an understatement. She might honestly be a full-blown clean freak.

"… That's quite admirable of you."

"Thank you. But that's why I just can't take it anymore. Why do the people in this club seem so unmotivated? They went through all that trouble to join this club, but only a handful of them are serious about it. And then this room is so dirty. And I'm sure the president doesn't shower."

She used her handkerchief to pick up her cup, and took a drink of her soda. And then, she spoke in an incredibly glum tone.

"I… I really just can't let it go on."

Hm. In other words, this girl wasn't just a high-strung student-committee-chair character, but she was also a fussy-wife character. When she saw something a bit off, she would get the sudden urge to fix it. What a horribly troublesome woman.

Back in elementary school, she was probably that girl who yelled at all the boys to clean up when she saw them slacking during their cleaning duties.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

It's not like I could just tell her what I was thinking. So I made up something in the moment.

"I was just thinking how you really don't look like an otaku. How do I put it… you just don't seem like the type of person to join the Game Research Society. You seem like you'd fit in more if you joined the student council."

"Is that so?" Weiss turned her gaze away from me, looking not altogether displeased. "Hearing you say that puts me at ease. After all, I wouldn't want to be grouped with the others in this club."

Her words did annoy me a bit. Was it because I was already leaning a little bit towards the otaku side myself? Also, I had heard something quite similar in the past. From none other than my own sister. And that's what prompted my next question.

"Do your classmates know that you're in the game club?"

"It's not like I'm trying to hide it. Granted, it's not like I go around bragging about it either… well, in my case, I really don't think it would make a big difference if it were found out."

"Really?" How could she be so confident? "But if they know you joined the game club, wouldn't that be enough to make them think you're an otaku?"

"I don't think that's true. If people ask me why I joined the club, I can just tell them that I wanted to study programming, and I feel they would understand that. Also, I might have said that I don't want to be grouped with the other members, but to the very end, that's just a personal feeling. And if you're just worried about your public image, I don't think getting seen as an otaku is something to be afraid about."

"That's quite a surprising thing to hear you say."

I thought she was an otaku-hating clean-freak, but was I wrong? At least, the situation seemed more complicated than I had first thought. Well, in any case, I won't forget the rather rude thing she had said.

Weiss seemed to fall quite deeply into thought, and then spoke in a somewhat cheerful tone.

"For example, there have been a lot of anime recently about girls or boys who are actually closet otaku, but those stories are all just exaggerated. In reality, it's very unlikely for someone to get persecuted just because they like anime or games. After all, we live in a time where people normally go to watch anime films, right?"

So in other words, she was saying that quite unexpectedly, society had already accepted the otaku culture, so you didn't have to try so hard to hide the fact that you're an otaku. When she put it like that, I guess I could see where she was coming from. I mean, there were definitely people in my class who didn't seem like otaku but still talked about things like One Piece. But still…

"But eroge and doujinshi are bad, right?"

"Yes, they really, really are." She half-lidded her eyes and seemed flustered. "Because, I mean, you have to know your boundaries! It's fine and good that you like what you like, but there's a proper time and place for everything, and it's really important for you to be able to figure that out. Really, really important."

Naruko had said something similar. That was actually the exact reason why Naruko had hidden her hobby from her classmates. Weiss wasn't hiding as much as Naruko was, but she still was tactful in how, where, and when she told people about her hobby. She drew a clear boundary line in the sand and didn't show anybody anything beyond that line.

Indeed, her attitude as an otaku was pretty admirable.

Depending on who she was talking to, she would behave accordingly. And this wasn't dishonest of her. Rather, everyone behaved in similar ways in order to avoid conflict with other people.

"If you ask me, otaku aren't avoided because they are otaku. They are avoided or persecuted because they do things that make other people uncomfortable. Yes, for example…" She continued, but with her attention clearly on the person sitting on my other side. "For example, people who just act so pathetically regardless of the time or occasion are the worst."

She probably heard Weiss, but Ruby didn't move an inch and just continued staring straight ahead.

T-this silence was suffocating.

Hmm…? Was this… was this my fault? Just maybe… juuuuuuust maybe… just maybe.

"Oh? I could have sworn I just heard a little animal who lives only by the approval of others say something."

"… Ah, Akatsuki-san, were you here? Your presence is so light that I didn't even notice~~."

"And who may you be talking about? Please call me by my real name, my real name."

"As always, I just have no idea what you're talking about. What's this useless nonsense about your real name? Hey, Akatsuki-san, how many times do you plan to force me to tell you that you should be more serious about things?"

"Hmph, my real name is Ruby Rose. My soul does not answer to my fake name."

"… I just don't have the words to respond to something as ridiculous as that."

T-these two…

"Do you two know each other?" I swung my neck back and forth at high speed and asked that.

"… Hmph, she's the noisiest, most annoying person in our class."

"… She's the biggest problem student in our class."

That's how they responded. All the while, they both were giving each other rather unpleasant glares.

… What the hell? I had heard that Weiss was a first-year like Ruby, but…

Hey, Sasuke, what's the meaning of this? I turned my questioning gaze towards him, but he also seemed to have not expected this and was looking bewildered.

Looks like he couldn't come through when it mattered. But I really had to stop this before it got out of hand. I took a page out of Mio's book and butt in to their argument.

"Stop it, you two. Don't argue."

"Hmph, we're not arguing."

"Yes, we're not. This is a one-sided lecture, not an argument."

Sparks flew in the air. It was the chuunibyou girl versus the stubborn student committee chair person.

Geez… what am I supposed to do here? It would be different if I could find some common ground and try to strike up a conversation around that, but even that might be asking too much of me. At that moment, as if sensing the tight spot I was in, Sasuke added himself to the conversation.

"Akatsuki, Shirayuki, you two are in the same club now after all, so please try to get along."

"… This may be stepping over my boundaries, but if you would allow me to speak freely, the fact that we are in the same club is all the more reason for me to say what I am saying. After all, this person has an incredibly bad reputation in our class. She talks and acts in a strange way, she's antisocial even when people from our class invite her to hang out with them, and she has no manners… I've never seen such a poor excuse for a human being in my life. There's even been a rumor going out that the reason she never eats lunch in the classroom is because she's eating it in the bathroom."

Hey, cut it out, won't you!? Hearing that just makes me want to cry!

"… Hmph, is that so? In other words, you find it distasteful that we're in the same club? Well then, I'll stop immediately. If possible, I'd like not to be in a club with the likes of you." Ruby stood up from her chair with a clang (a bit teary-eyed).

"Hey, wait wait wait wait." A bit flustered, I held Ruby's shoulders back. "Come on, calm down."

"Yes, Akatsuki-san. I have no idea where this misunderstanding is coming from, but when exactly did I say that being in a club with you would be distasteful?"

Huh? Wait, what exactly are you trying to say…?

Weiss put her hands on her hips, and looked straight at Ruby on my other side with a proud expression. "Fufu, being in a club with you is also my chance to correct your behavior. So, really, I wouldn't be happy if you quit either."

A dead silence filled the air. After ten seconds had passed, Ruby started to mumble. "… And who in the world asked you to do that?"

"If I were forced to answer that, I would say that I asked myself to do it. Let me just make clear that this isn't an act of charity or kindness. I just hate and can't stand people like you. So, to me, this is just a chance for me to correct a situation I find unpleasant."

What she said was incredibly selfish, but I found that I couldn't blame her. Our motives may disagree, but in the end, Weiss and I were both trying to do the same thing for Ruby.

This situation was just a ticking time bomb. All conversation stopped, and the atmosphere was shrouded in silence. And what broke that silence ultimately was…

Pbbttttttt. What broke that silence was a most vulgar sound. And everyone immediately turned their eyes to what had produced it.

"Ah, sorry! I farted!" The president cheerfully lifted a hand up and apologized.

"Y-you're the worst!" Weiss made a scary face, and if looks could kill, the president would be long dead.

On the other hand, even though Sasuke would usually make some sarcastic remarks when something like this happened, he didn't say anything here at all. Just maybe, what had happened right now was the president's own way of breaking up an argument… maybe. But that really smelled pretty bad.

Swshh. Sasuke opened a window and spoke up to Weiss.

"But this is really quite troubling. I really thought that since you two had so many common interests, it would be easy for you two to talk and get along…"

"Common interests? Akatsuki-san and me?"

"Yeah, both of you are really great at games. You have different styles, but from what I could tell, your skill levels are pretty much on par with each other."

At Sasuke's words, Weiss and Ruby gave each other suspicious looks. I had no idea exactly what Weiss was thinking at that moment, but I could pretty much guess what Ruby was thinking. "Skill levels on par? With me?"

"… Uchiha-senpai? Are you saying that Akatsuki-san is as good at gaming as I am?"

"Yes. Shirayuki's ability to read her opponent is amazing, but Akatsuki's reflexes are just godly. On par with the END, really…"

"You're definitely going too far there." Weiss harshly rejected his statement.

"You think so?"

"Putting that person in the same category as a high schooler is just doing them a disservice. Uchiha-senpai might think it's alright to exaggerate in order to be considerate of Akatsuki-san's feelings, but I feel that's not a good thing to do at all."

"Ahh… haha, sorry. You sure are serious about these things, Shirayuki."

It seemed that Weiss had quite a bit of respect for that particular gamer. And because of that, it seemed that using that gamer in a comparison with someone she hated made her angry.

Ruby just sat there and watched that exchange emotionlessly.

But hmm… if you wanted some common ground for these two, then in the end it probably would have to be games… that's pretty obvious considering we were in the Game Research Society right now, but shouldn't there be a way to use games as a starting point and get something going? And it's not like getting into arguments was necessarily a bad thing. Even when Naruko and Ruby first met… or rather, I should say that each and every single time they saw one another, they would start fighting with each other. But when all was said and done, they would still play together and get pretty close. That was because both Naruko and Ruby wanted a friend with whom they could be frank about their feelings and not hide anything.

So, what about this case? Ruby had lost Naruko, and thus had lost her usual sparring partner. On the other hand, Weiss was really stubborn, and seemed to not only have a big problem with Ruby's attitude, but also seemed set on fixing it herself. Call it compatibility, or call it two gears locking well, but this might not be such a bad situation after all.

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