When the afternoon bell rang, Haru and Keiko got up from their desks and walked out into the hallway. A tall, lean second-year boy stepped in front of them. His mouth smiled, but his eyes didn’t. They seethed with arrogance.
“You’re Baba Haru, right?” he asked.
“I am, and you are?” Haru said.
The boy’s smile widened while his eyes grew cold, “I’m surprised you don’t know who I am. My name is Akechi Jubei, and I’m the student council president.”
Haru was suspicious, “What do you want with me?”
“Straight to the point?” Jubei spoke, “No pleasantries?”
With sarcasm, Haru replied, “Sorry, what do you want with me, senpai?”
“Alright, I’ll be blunt,” his cold expression turned into a glare, “I want you and Keiko to break up.”
Keiko and Haru shared a groan. The former sighed and addressed Akechi Jubei.
“I’m not interested in you, Akechi. If you want to be with me, it’s far too late.”
Jubei said, “You don’t understand. I don’t have any interest in you either, Mae. I just don’t want you to be with Haru.”
“Listen, Haru-kun isn’t like what you think he is,” Keiko spoke, “He’s a good person. The rumors about him are all lies.”
“I don’t care. People think that Haru’s a bad person, and that’s all that matters,” he replied.
Haru clenched his fist, “So, the truth doesn’t matter?”
“Of course not. Appearances are all that matters,” Jubei said, “And a model student like Keiko having a delinquent like you as a boyfriend makes the school look bad.”
“Why the hell should I care about the school? The only person here who cares about me is Keiko.”
Jubei smirked, “Then do you care about her?”
“Of course, I do,” Haru replied.
“Then you should break up with her,” he stated, “If you care about her, you need to think about her reputation, and how being around you damages it.”
“I know what being in a relationship with Haru-kun does to my reputation,” Keiko said, “And I don’t care. You should mind your own business.”
Jubei grit his teeth, “I am the student council president. Student relationships are my business. The school must look good, and anyone who threatens that image of the school will be dealt with.”
Haru burst out laughing, “If you think you’re scary, think again. You’re just some ass with delusions of power. You can’t even comprehend what real power is.”
Akechi Jubei turned and stomped off. His hand was clenched so hard it turned white.
Keiko shivered, “Haru-kun, do you think we were too harsh? He is the student council president, so we should be careful.”
“Don’t worry about him.” Haru waved it off, “I’m a witch, remember? I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve.”
“You’re not planning on hurting him, are you?” she asked.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle,” he answered with a chuckle.
The door to the journalism club swung open, and Jubei stormed inside. It was stacked with tables, computers, and printers. Numerous newspapers littered the walls. Their articles had titles like ‘School Festival Goes Great’ and ‘Student Attendance Is Up.’ Not a single one reported bad news.
An aubern-haired girl caught Jubei’s attention. Two belts rested around her waist, one of which had a camera hanging from it. The arms of her jacket were wrapped just over her belts so that its back hung off her hips like a cape. A clipboard was attached to the tied arms of the jacket. She was looking through a stack of papers.
“Watanabe!” he pointed at her.
She held her arms up, “I didn’t do anything!”
“I’m not here to accuse you,” Jubei said, “I need you to do something for me.”
“Oh,” Watanabe breathed out in relief, “What do you want?”
“You are going to get dirt on Baba Haru, something that could get him expelled.”
“Getting dirt on him? The guy’s painfully average. There’s no way he has any interesting secrets,” she replied.
Jubei scoffed, “I don’t care. Either find a secret or make one up.”
“What will we get in return?” a young boy asked, “You’re asking us to spy on someone, to slander them. That’s horrible, so we’ll need something in exchange for it.”
Watanabe looked at him and turned pale.
“Why should I give you anything in return?” Jubei glared, “I’m the student council president. Everything I do is for your benefit.”
“For our benefit? You made the student newspaper nothing more than a tool for praising the school!” the boy objected.
“Hey, you shouldn’t talk bad about him,” Watanabe stepped between them.
Jubei smirked, “Listen to the head of your club. If you don’t do what I say, I’ll reveal that your mother is the star of the Maddie’s Mud Mayhem hentai movies, Jirogami.”
The entire journalism club looked at the boy.
Jirogame said, “How did you know that?”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I have dirt on every last one of you. I could make all your lives a living hell.”
Watanabe’s eyes smiled, but she still pretended to look shocked. She had to stop herself from chuckling.
She thought, ‘You think you can do anything you want, you bastard? Just you wait, I’ll bring you down.’
“We’ll do what you say. You don’t have to worry about that,” Watanabe assured him, “But finding dirt on Haru won’t be easy. We’ll need more access to the school.”
“Go wherever you want, and don’t mess up, or else…” Jubei’s eyes widened as he gave her a toothy grin, “I’ll spread around photos of you going to pro wrestling events!”
She collapsed to her knees, “If everyone sees those photos…if it becomes known that I like pro wrestling, I’ll never get a husband.”
“I don’t think there are many men who are against women liking pro wrestling,” Jirogame pointed out.
“Men only like women who practice naginatajutsu! Even looking at another martial art is forbidden!” Watanabe declared.
Another student spoke up, “Actually, my girlfriend practices judo. So you should be…”
“One more word out of you and I’ll tell everyone that you use root beer instead of milk with cereal,” Jubei cut him off.
As Jubei turned to leave, he said, “Get dirt on Baba Haru, or else.”
When he was out of earshot, Watanabe laughed like a madwoman.
“Are you alright, senpai?” Jirogame asked.
She answered, “I’m fine. That shitty president fell for it.”
“Fell for what?”
“Akechi gave us complete access to the school.” Watanabe smiled, “We just got the opportunity of a lifetime. We’ll get dirt on him while spying on Haru! Then, we’ll be the ones who make demands!”
“You’re amazing, senpai!” a girl spoke, “We’ll kick Akechi’s ass!”
Jirogame said, “Yeah! He won’t know what hit him!”
Watanabe smiled, “Alright, then you, Himari, and Chitose-kun will go spy on Haru. Eikoh, Michi, and Eiji will spy on Akechi. Since Eikoh and Michi are second years, they’ll be able to help Eiji follow Akechi better.”
“And what will you do?” Michi asked.
“I’ll think of plans and supervise the operation, but first I’ll make an offering to the kami of journalism!” she declared.
Eiko questioned, “There’s a kami of journalism?”
“There are eight million kami,” Watanabe shrugged, “At least one of them should be a kami of journalism. Now, let’s move out!”
Ved'ma Story 